The Hockey Life

PART FIFTY-SIX: ANOTHER NEW YEAR
Lena’s P.O.V.
After a couple of away games, Patrick and I were back in Chicago and therefore, back at the United Center for work. By that point, the Melanie and Travis duo had won a competition that earned them a spot as equipment manager at a game, which they greatly enjoyed. Once the Hawks were back in Chicago, everyone got a chance to work a job at the United Center for a game. It seemed like the final day of the internship, AKA the final competition, arrived rather quickly, and so did New Year’s Eve. It landed on the day after the competition this year.
This time around, I saw the competition from a different perspective. Instead of participating in it as an intern, I was participating in it as a trainer, monitoring the participants who had to wrap an ankle as part of it. The teams actually didn’t do too bad - I was pretty impressed with them. Overall, they didn’t get times like my fellow interns and I did the year before, but the talent was definitely there. In the end, the Melanie and Travis duo won this competition too. I was actually pretty happy about that. If I had to pick interns that I was the closest to, it would be them. Melanie was really nice and bubbly and Travis was very sweet and shy. I hoped that they would have as much success as Dylan and I did now that their internship days were over.
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Jonathan’s New Year’s Eve party seemed to be a celebration for the interns, much like it was for me. It almost felt strange to be going there with Patrick this time, knowing that Tess was already there with her boyfriend and the host of the party. A year ago, Patrick and I hadn’t kissed, let alone defined our relationship yet. That was so crazy to me. I couldn’t even remember what it was like to not be dating him.
“You look amazing tonight,” he told me before I got into the passenger seat of his car.
“Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself,” I smiled.
“Hey, you’ve got something on your face…” he said. He leaned in and kissed me and I laughed in the middle of the kiss. “What? There was something on your lips, I swear!”
“Okay cheese ball, I think you should just stick to getting us to Tazer’s place on time,” I told him.
“Oh, come on. We have plenty of time,” he told me before he pulled me close and kissed me again. After a minute I pulled away.
“People can see us,” I told him.
“Nobody’s even around,” he said. I checked my surroundings and he was right, but I still felt ridiculous.
“So what? We can do this later, in the privacy of your apartment instead of a car in the middle of a parking lot,” I said.
“Promise?”
“Yes. Now can you start driving, please?”
“Sure.”
When we got to the party, I saw all the interns from this year as well as the ones I knew from when I was in the internship. It was good to see them all again…well, maybe except for Puck Bunny. I was convinced that she would never like me and I would never like her when she barely acknowledged me as I said hello to her. Oh well. I wasn’t the only one, it seemed.
“Who is that girl?” Melanie asked me. She had brought her boyfriend, Jared, along, but he was already mingling with the players.
“I’ve always just called her Puck Bunny,” I laughed. “She was in the internship with Dylan and I last year.”
“What does she want with a Blackhawks internship?” Melanie wondered.
“To flirt with all the players? I don’t know. All I know is that we don’t exactly get along. She didn’t really get along very well with anyone last year though.”
“It doesn’t seem like much has changed about her,” Melanie decided.
“I guess not.”
The party went on and I made sure to talk to everyone I knew. There was dancing, karaoke, basically everything from the party last year but with a few more people. It was just as fun if not more, now that I was with Patrick. This time I didn’t have to wait until midnight to get a kiss from him, but when the clock struck twelve, it was still just as exciting.
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“Guess what?” Tess’ voice rang as she entered our apartment. It was around eleven in the morning on New Years day, and I was cooking a brunch for Patrick and I. Instead of going back to his place, he stayed at my apartment after Jonathan’s party. I assumed that Tess didn’t know by the surprised look on her face when she noticed Patrick.
“What?” he asked before I could respond.
“Oh, hey there Patty. Sorry, but it’s private information. Can I speak with you in my room, Lena?” she wondered. I laughed, not surprised that she hadn’t even bothered to say hello when she walked in.
“So what’s this private information you have to tell me?” I asked her once we were alone.
“Something happened last night…or this morning, I guess.”
“Well that’s not very specific,” I said.
“I know. Here, let me just pull up this song…” A few seconds later, I Just Had Sex started playing on her phone, quietly enough so that Patrick wouldn’t be able to hear.
“Why this song? Why couldn’t you just tell me?” I giggled.
“Because your reaction was perfect and the song was completely worth it!” she explained.
“Well, congrats!” I told her.
“Congrats for what?” Patrick asked, his voice muffled from the door.
“You dirty little eavesdropper! What did you hear?” Tess asked as she opened the door and punched him in the arm. Funnily enough, she got hurt worse than he did.
“Just the congrats. But don’t worry, I’m sure I can get answers from Johnny later,” Patrick told her, an evil smile on his face.
“Unfortunately, he probably will tell you, what with your bromance and all,” Tess rolled her eyes.
Tess helped me finish making brunch and then she ate with Patrick and I. After we were done eating, he left and I spent the rest of New Years Day with Tess. After partying the night before, we decided to lounge around our apartment in yoga pants and hoodies. It was a pretty lazy and uneventful way to start the new year, but we were completely fine with that. The next 364 days would give us plenty of opportunities to get out and do amazing things.

Notes

Hey guys, sorry that it took so long for me to update, I was working on another story. However, this story should go back to normal updates now. As always, leave me some feedback in the comments and let me know what you think :)