The Hockey Life

PART THIRTY-SIX: PEACOCK
The rest of the week was nothing special. I did have hockey practice as well as a training session with the Hawks. I spent most of my session attempting to tend to Patrick Sharp and his injury. He would be off the ice for a little while, but he came in to be with his team and have his ankle tended to anyways.
When Friday came, I was surprisingly disappointed. I had been looking forward to the movie date with Patrick. However, in the morning, he called me so he could be the bearer of bad news.
“Hey,” I answered after swiping my iPhone screen to answer the call.
“Hey babe. I, uh…I kinda have some bad news,” he said.
“Okay…”
“I don’t think we’re going to be able to go on our date tonight,” he revealed.
“Oh. Why not?”
“As it turns out, Johnny and I have a photoshoot and then we have some things to film for Blackhawks TV. We could just go later, but I know you have another practice tonight and a game tomorrow, so I doubt that would work,” Patrick decided.
“Yeah, that and I have an assignment to finish tonight after practice, so a late show really wouldn’t work for me,” I agreed.
“I’m really sorry, Lean. Usually we’re told stuff like this more in advance but it was a little last minute this time. I promise I’ll make it up to you somehow, though. We’ll find another time to go,” Patrick apologized.
“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out,” I answered.
“Alright. Well, I better go. I’ll text you later,” he said.
“Okay. Bye.”
“Bye.” Tess had walked into the room about halfway through the conversation, so she figured out what was going on.
“No date tonight?” she asked.
“Nope,” I confirmed. “We’re going to try to do it another night,” I added.
I was very focused that night. I worked hard at practice and I got my assignment done in time for me to get a good eight hours of sleep before my class in the morning. We won our hockey game the next day too. Sometimes it paid off to have a break from the Blackhawks world. I got a lot done.
Apparently the Hawks got a lot done when they weren’t dealing with me too. They ended their regular season with a win and they started their playoffs on the right foot too. Their first match up was with the Minnesota Wild. They won the first game 2-1 in overtime. They also got a win in the second game of the series (5-2). Because of both the internship and my continuous experience with the trainers, I finally was able to be at playoff games. I had never been to one before, so it was exciting for me. It made me want the Hawks to win the cup even more than usual, just because I knew I’d get to be there if they made it that far, not to mention the fact that I’d get to celebrate with Patrick.
The cup was still pretty far away, though. It was only the beginning of May and the cup was never won until June. Patrick definitely had his eye on the prize, but he didn’t let himself forget about me. In between the second playoff game and the third, he decided it was time for a date night. I was really happy when he texted me the day before.
>Hey, you ready for a date night?

>How about dinner tomorrow night? You pick the place.

>Ok, we can go there then. I’ll pick you up at 6. Oh, and I was thinking maybe we could come back to my place afterwards, if that’s ok. I have something planned for us

>Alright, I’ll see you then and I’ll text you later tonight. I’ve got lunch with the guys now, so I’ve gotta go

This time I was confident that nothing was going to ruin our plans. I was still a little weary about getting my hopes up too much, but I stayed optimistic. Much like the last time we made plans for a date night, time dragged on until the evening of the date came. I didn’t know why I was so happy about the date since I saw Patrick all the time. I guessed it was just the fact that it was a romantic night out instead of a casual night in. We hadn’t been out on a real, nice date for so long. I knew I would have to spend plenty of time in the bathroom to make myself look perfect, so I started getting ready early.
“You’re taking over the bathroom already? It’s only four thirty in the afternoon!” Tess complained.
“We haven’t been out to a nice restaurant in forever, Tess. I want to look good. Besides, you know there will photographers following him around everywhere, especially now that it’s playoff time,” I explained.
“Yeah, that’s true I guess. Where are you guys going anyways?”
“The new Mexican place downtown. We’re getting dinner there and then we’re going back to his place. He says he has something planned for us there,” I said casually as I began to do my makeup.
“Oh. Okay. Well, I’m just gonna leave this drawer open, then,” Tess said. She slowly and dramatically opened the drawer where she had stored the condoms from Brian.
“Oh, save it Tess. You thought the same thing the last time he wanted me to go back to his place late. Remember, after that game? And as it turned out, he changed his mind and he just wanted to go out. This isn’t any different,” I said.
“Yes it is! That was just casually after a game. This is very different. He’s wining and dining you at a really nice restaurant that you’ve been wanting to go to. You haven’t been on a really cute, romantic date in forever. And now he just suddenly decides he needs to take you out on one and then take you home afterwards? I’m also pretty sure you said that he had something planned for the two of you,” Tess rambled.
“He could have ANYTHING planned for us,” I said.
“Oh, okay, well you tell me what he could have planned for you guys at his place. Game night? A Netflix marathon? That’s not good enough for him to plan considering the fact that you have those events every time you go over there. He wouldn’t tell you he had something planned only to disappoint you,” Tess continued. Maybe she had a point.
“Yeah, okay. I guess that’s true. But we haven’t even talked about sex. He has no idea how I feel about it. How does he know that he can just plan that and I’ll automatically go along with it?”
“I don’t know, I’m just telling you to be prepared. You guys have been together for four months. Maybe in high school months that’s not long, but we’re almost out of college. We have one night stands, we move fast. That’s just the way it works,” Tess said.
“Yeah, for you, and the majority of people our age. Not for me, though. Maybe for everyone else, that kind of intimacy is normal, but I’ve never gotten that far with anyone before. I’ve waited this long and I’m not about to waste my first time if I’m not ready,” I told Tess.
“I highly doubt that you’re not ready. I’m sure you’d change your mind if you were having a moment with him. But either way, even if you don’t, it’s not a big deal. He’s not a tool, he won’t dump you if you say no.”
“Yeah, but what if I say yes? What if I do change my mind and I say yes and I’m absolutely terrible, Tess? Guys are too needy in that department, he’s not going to want to be with me if I’m terrible. I mean, I don’t know what I’m doing.” Tess just laughed at this.
“He’ll understand if you just tell him it’s your first time. And besides, have you looked at yourself lately? I’m pretty sure he’ll feel really lucky just to have an amazing girl like you say yes to him!” Tess said. Well, she was annoying and bratty a lot, but she did know how to make me feel better.
After that conversation, she left me alone for the most part so I could finish getting ready. By the time it was five thirty, I was basically ready to go, so she went back to annoying me.
“Let me see your purse,” she demanded as she stole it from me before I could give her permission.
“Why? What do you need it for?” I asked, but I got my answer as she stuffed the condoms into it.
“Take them out, Tess!”
“No! I don’t care if you feel like you’re not ready, your brother is right! You could get pregnant and die, you know! You need to take precautions, at least!” she insisted.
“Tess, he said he had something planned for us. Don’t you think he’d have some of these already if he planned this?” I asked as I took them out and put them back in the drawer.
“Actually, whether or not he was planning this with you I’m pretty sure he has plenty. He’s a boy, he has them by default. So I guess you’re right,” Tess decided. It wasn’t much later when I got a text from Patrick that said he had just parked and he was coming to the door.
“He’s here, do I look good?” I asked, even though I knew what Tess’ answer would be.
“Of course you do! Oh, but before he gets here, I have a song for you,” she said. She plugged her iPod into our iHome and she pressed play. Peacock by Katy Perry started playing and I rolled my eyes as Tess obnoxiously sang along.
“Turn it off, Tess! That’s not funny,” I said as I hid a smile. Maybe it was a little funny, but I didn’t want her to know I thought so.
“Oh, come on, it fits! There’s a pretty good chance that you’ll see a peacock tonight,” she laughed. I heard the knock on the door and I ran to the iHome to turn the song off.
“I highly doubt it. Now please try to contain yourself while I answer the door,” I said. I went to the door and opened it. Patrick stood there, holding a bouquet of flowers. Wow, he was going all out already. Maybe Tess was on the right track about him.
“Wow, these are beautiful! Thank you!” I said as I quickly found a vase to put them in. I filled it with water and placed the flowers inside.
“You’re welcome. You look amazing,” Patrick said.
“You too, babe. Well, should we get going, then?”
“Yeah, I guess we should.
“Don’t forget your purse, Lena!” Tess said as she handed it to me.
“Thanks. See you later Tess!” I said. After that, Patrick and I headed out. Here’s hoping that the night would go well, whether Tess’ hunch about his plans for us was right or not.

Notes

Just a tip, if you've never heard the song Peacock, by Katy Perry, you might want to check it out. You'll understand how ridiculous Tess is once you've heard it! Well, anyways, I hope you liked the chapter!