Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals was moments away and Gabi was nervous. She was sitting next to Marc and Jordan. She didn’t know why Jordan was sitting next to her but she wasn’t going to ask him to move because if he did, she’d be next to her mom and that was something she didn’t want. She couldn’t help but smile as her eyes landed on Eric skating on the ice during pre-game warm-ups, if there was one thing that she couldn’t doubt and that was his love of the game of hockey. Watching Eric play had always been one of her favorite things to do and even after they broke up, she still watched him play any chance she got. None of her friends understood why but she had to watch him follow his dreams.

“You still love him,” Jordan whispered so no one can hear. “You should tell him.”

Gabi looked at Jordan, “I don’t want to talk about it. Plus you are one to talk about loving someone and not telling them.”

“That’s because I know she doesn’t love me back,” He said his eyes wandering over to Whitney. “So there is no point in telling her and trust me I know it’s my fault.”

She rolled her eyes, “It’s never too late, Jordy. I know deep down she loves you too but like you implied you’ve been nothing but an ass to her, so of course she is going to act like she hates you.”

“Look,” Jordan said his eyes wandering back to Whitney. “It doesn’t matter. I’m leaving; I’m going into the draft this year. You on the other hand need to let Eric know that he still has a shot with you because he deserves to know.”

Gabi sighed, “Look, by the end of the summer, everything will be fine between me and Eric. There is no denying that we belong together but I want you to promise me that you won’t leave Thunder Bay without telling her how you feel.”

“Fine,” He grumbled running is fingers through his blond locks. “The game is starting.”

Gabi moved her eyes to the ice just as the puck was dropped for the first period. She watched the game closely especially when Eric was on the ice. When the first period was over the Hurricanes were down 1-0 and as Eric left the ice to go into the locker room, she saw him look up at where his family was sitting and their eyes connected for a second. A smile spread across her face as she winked at him and saw a small smile spread across his face, showing her that he knew what he had to do and he wasn’t going to stop until he got it. Gabi didn’t listen to the people around her talk about the game, she was focused on the feelings that seeing Eric smile up at her stirred in her belly. Even after three years, Eric Staal could still make a thousand butterflies swarm in her stomach. She shook her head as the second period began, she couldn’t think those things. They had a lot of things to work through before they could even consider being a couple again. The main question that haunted her was could she trust Eric not to break her heart again. Her eyes were trained on the game focusing all thoughts on the game. She watched as the Canes did everything that they could to try and get on the board and let out a sigh of frustration as the Oilers scored two more times to put themselves up 3-0. Gabi saw the look of frustration on Eric’s face as he skated past her, it made her just want to reach out and hug him but that look melted away when Rod Brind’Amour slide the puck past Roloson. The RBC center erupted in cheers as the team celebrated their first goal of the night. It was the goal that started the Canes on the right path. They were trailing 3-1 when the second period ended but the fire they needed had been lit and the game was getting intense. When the third period started Gabi saw that the Hurricanes had come out to take the game back from the Oilers and do that they did. They quickly notched the second goal, when Ray Whitney slid one pass Roloson. Then less then four minutes later Ray slid another one pass Roloson but that wasn’t the name that Gabi paid attention too. She couldn’t help but feel proud when it was announced that Eric had gotten assist on Ray’s goal. Once the tying goal was scored, she saw new life in the Hurricanes, they were doing everything to get that go ahead goal and at 10:02, Justin Williams scored the goal the Hurricanes were looking for, putting the Canes up 4-3. Unfortunately the score didn’t stay that way, as Ales Hemsky was able to get the puck pass Cam Ward knotting the game at 4 each. With more than five minutes left in the game, a scary moment for both teams took place when Andrew Ladd of the Hurricanes suffered a big hit from Marc-Andre Bergeron, which caused Ladd to crash into Roloson. The result of this hit was Roloson being taken into the locker room, hurt and possibly out for the rest of the series. It was a big loss for the Oilers. With 32 seconds left in the game, Rod Brind’Amour scored his second goal and the most important goal of the game, the winning one as the Canes came back from being down 3-0 to win game one 5-4. Gabi couldn’t help but smile as she watched Eric celebrate with his teammates on the ice. If there was anyone who deserved this win, it was the Hurricanes. They fought hard and showed the heart of the team during this game. As Eric skated off the ice, she saw him look up at her again, to which she responded with a smile, letting him know how proud she was of him. One day at a time, one game at time, and slowly Eric Staal was working his way pass the wall she built to keep him out and she wasn’t going to fight it.