The Hockey Life
Call Me Maybe
PART NINE: CALL ME MAYBE
The next day was Christmas Eve. I was so glad that it was almost Christmas already. It had always been my favorite holiday ever since I was little, for obvious reasons, but also because it was the only holiday that my whole entire family got to spend together. I had cousins and aunts and uncles that lived in other states that I never saw and I always looked forward to seeing them. Other than that, I just loved the lights, decorations, music, movies, scents and pretty much everything else about it. As I thought about how enjoyable the holiday would be, I was relieved to remember that it was basically a free day at the United Center.
Brad had decided to reward us interns for the dedication we had put into his program so far, so we got to have a Christmas Eve Party. There would be food and drinks, and of course, skating. The team was invited to hang out after practice and party with us, but I expected many of them to be busy with family. Oh well, at least Dylan and I would had each other.
Tess gave me an odd look in the morning as I tore through my closet. I got to the end of my clothes and I found what I had been looking for - my ugly Christmas sweater. The Christmas Eve party had an ugly sweater theme, and I was sure that if there was a contest for the most grotesque one, mine would win. It contained a giant Christmas tree with ornaments, garland, and lights that took batteries and could actually light up when turned on. Of course it was red, green, and white, too.
“You’re wearing one of the twins?” Tess asked, examining the sweater. We had matching ones that we had found for a party with a similar theme a couple years previously.
“Of course!” I answered. “Hey, why are you even up right now? Isn’t it a little early for you?” I wondered.
“I can’t sleep in on Christmas Eve,” she revealed.
“Isn’t it supposed to be the night of Christmas Eve when you can’t sleep?” I questioned her.
“It’s both for me. I guess I’m just more of a kid at heart than the average person,” she answered. I shook my head at her in shame and headed to the bathroom to get ready. By the time I headed out the door I was completely festive. I wore the twin sweater with some basic skinny jeans and Uggs. I had Christmas light earrings in that lit up just like my sweater, too. I made sure my hockey gear was in my car when I got inside it, and I left.
When I arrived at the UC, I was greeted with ugliness. All of the interns had already arrived, probably because they had left early after seeing how bad the roads were. I, on the other hand, hadn’t accounted for the large amount of snow that had fallen on the streets of Chicago.
“Damn, you look ugly!” Dylan said as I came up to the cluster of people in Christmas attire.
“Thanks, you do too!” I laughed. Everyone had done a pretty good job of dressing for the theme except for Puck Bunny. She had the least obnoxious outfit on, and she had found a way to turn ugly into sexy, but not in a good way.
“Where’s your ugly sweater?” one intern asked her, flaunting his.
“I didn’t have an ugly one. Who wants to purposefully look bad anyways?” she replied, her bad attitude in full force.
“Anyone with a sense of humor,” the guy said, taken aback by her like I had been on the first day.
“Or a soul,” Dylan mumbled, too quietly for anyone but me to hear.
“Low blow,” I commented.
“Well, I’m sure everyone was thinking the same thing. Especially you,” he said, nudging me. I didn’t even try to hide my hate for that girl anymore. Dylan just laughed at my comments and eye rolls. He was used to it.
Our conversation was interrupted when Brad walked in. I was completely surprised at his outfit. Normally, he was very professionally dressed, but instead he was wearing a hideous sweater for the party, just like the rest of us.
“Wow, you guys look great…I mean, terrible. You all look terrible in the best way possible,” he rambled, not even sure what exactly he was saying. “Lena, are those lights on your sweater?”
“Yeah, and they actually work too,” I said, turning them on. They began to flash obnoxiously and everyone except Puck Bunny giggled. She just crossed her arms and scoffed.
“Wow, that’s pretty impressive,” Brad said. “Well, practice is a little shorter than usual today, so you all can just hang out until it ends and then we’ll be able to get out on the ice and get things started. We’ll get the food set up so everyone can start eating soon,” Brad said.
“So, we aren’t going to do any work at all today?” Alex, the most outgoing intern, asked.
“Nope, not today. It’s basically a holiday, so you guys can just relax and have fun,” Brad answered, and he left us with a smile. It seemed like he had some Christmas spirit, because he rarely smiled, kind of like Coach Q. I had begun to think they were related somehow, actually.
We had all come later than usual like we had been instructed to do by Brad, so it didn’t take very long for practice to end. There was only about thirty minutes left when we arrived, so we all found seats and watched the last bit of it. Since we all had chosen seats in the first level, close to the glass, we actually distracted the team with our sweaters. I had turned my lights off, but Dylan convinced me to turn them on again just long enough to get the players’ attention and to make them laugh. Although it was funny, I felt bad afterwards. They had to regain their focus and I doubted that Quenneville approved of that.
When practice ended, all of us interns headed to the food tables. The staff had all pitched in and brought various foods and desserts, and everything looked really good. I wasn’t at all shy about eating and I filled my plate. I was lucky that I had decent metabolism, because I definitely ate like a hockey player. Well, a male hockey player. Tess and I had the best appetites on our team, and we had been made fun of for that before. Even Dylan made a comment about it.
“I think you have more food than me,” he said, checking out my plate.
“A girl’s gotta eat,” I said.
“Well, I’ve gotta hand it to you, at least you’re eating something,” he said, glancing at Puck Bunny. She had barely anything on her plate. I wondered why - It wasn’t like she needed to diet or watch her figure. I didn’t understand her reasoning, but maybe the lack of food was what gave her such a terrible attitude. I sure would be mean if I was hungry all the time.
Dylan and I ate together and we mingled with the other interns. I hadn’t gotten to know them as well as I should have, but they all were really nice, cool people. Finally talking to them made me regret the fact that once I found a few close friends, I tended to cling to them and not really look for any other people to let into my life.
After eating, Dylan and I were the first ones to change into our skates and head out onto the ice. Skating probably wasn’t the best thing to do right after eating a bunch of food, but we were dedicated to our sport and we really didn’t care.
“You brought your hockey stuff?” he asked me when he saw me getting my own skates out of my hockey bag.
“Yeah, I always have it with me. You never know when you might need it,” I explained, tying my second skate and standing up.
“I guess I should take your advice then, I didn’t bring my own stuff with me but now I kind of wish I had,” he answered.
“I’m sure you could borrow a stick, there are plenty here,” I told him. “I think I’m going to skate for a bit before I start playing, though,” I decided, stepping onto the ice. “You coming?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” he answered, and he stepped onto the ice too. I took off, figuring that he could catch up with me easily. I glided across the smooth surface easily. I didn’t know what it was about the UC ice, but being on it gave me a rush. Music started playing to set the party off and I was lost in my own little world for a moment until I realized that I was speeding out of Dylan’s reach.
“Thanks for waiting,” he laughed, coming up next to me.
“Sorry, I guess I got a little sidetracked. Isn’t this amazing, though? Being on this rink?”
“Yeah, it really is,” he agreed, taking in all the seating around us. “Just imagine what it would be like to skate here for a living. Every seat filled, the crowd cheering, a replay of your best play of the game on the jumbotron…” he said, clearly daydreaming.
“That’s what you want to do, isn’t it? Play in the NHL?” I asked. We had spoken about what we were going to school for, but he had never mentioned an athletic career. He had told me he was in school for business and I had told him that I was in school for a medical career. I had spilled to him that I wanted to look into becoming some kind of personal or athletic trainer, which was part of the reason why the internship meant so much to me other than the fact that I loved the sport and the team. He had never gone into specifics on what he wanted to do, and now I knew why.
“Yeah, it really is what I want to do. I know that. My parents know that too, but they broke it to me a long time ago that being a professional athlete wasn’t a very realistic career choice. It’s the one thing that I really want, but for now I’m just sticking with business, I guess,” Dylan confessed.
“Well you better enjoy this, then,” I told him. “It might be a while before you get to play in a place like this for a living, so you better live it up right now.”
“You don’t know that I even have the skills for my dream job,” he said.
“I can see how much you love it and how dedicated you are, though. If it means that much to you, then you train and practice hard and whether or not you have the best skills, all of the work you put in is what makes you a great player,” I assured him. He was right, I had never seen him play, but somehow I knew that he had potential. I was glad to see that my pep talk made him a lot happier. We skated a little longer. The other interns slowly began filing out onto the ice with us, but they were no match for Dylan and I.
Once we were used to our new skating environment, Dylan and I decided to play some casual hockey. I got my stick and puck out of my bag and Dylan was able to borrow a stick from the UC. The other interns skated around us as we passed the puck back and forth. I could tell he wasn’t as comfortable as I was.
“Hey, why don’t you try getting in goal?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You said you were a goalie. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
He got goalie equipment and I went to center ice while he headed to his goal. I took my first shot at him and he saved it. It could have easily been beginners luck except that I kept taking shots and he saved almost all of them. He was actually a really great goalie from what I could tell.
“Amazing form,” said a familiar voice behind me and Dylan. I turned around and saw Corey Crawford. I hadn’t even noticed, but some of the players had gathered on the bench to watch and were now joining us on the ice.
“Seriously?” Dylan asked, astounded.
“Yeah, seriously. You’re good.” The huge grin that formed on Dylan’s face made me smile, because it was clear that he was really stoked to hear good comments from his favorite player. I knew what that was like. In fact, I got to relive the moment.
“You’ve got good form too. You guys are both really talented,” Crawford said to me. Considering the fact that Crawford was one of my favorites on the team, I was excited to hear a compliment from him as well. But it wasn’t just him this time. Every member of the team that had chosen to stay came out and talked to Dylan and I. I almost felt like a celebrity.
“I would tell you how talented you are, but I kinda got that out of the way already,” Patrick Kane said, skating up to me. Crap, I had forgotten he was even on the team for a moment.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Nice sweater,” he said with a smirk. I suddenly realized that all the Hawks were in their own Christmas sweaters. I couldn’t help but think of the holiday video that had been made for Blackhawks TV a year or two before. They had all put their own twist on famous Christmas songs and worn ridiculous sweaters for a fake ad for a holiday album. I wished they would make a video like that every year, but I realized that they would most likely run out of ideas pretty quickly if they did.
“Thanks. Sorry if it distracted you during practice earlier,” I apologized. Somehow, I was managing to stay cool and collected. Well, at least more so than usual.
“It’s okay, I didn’t mind being distracted by you,” he said. The way he said it and smiled at me gave me the vibe that he wasn’t just being friendly. It was the same kind of vibe I had gotten from Dylan after the game the day before, but this time, I was even more torn on how exactly to answer.
“Why is that?” I finally asked.
“It was a nice break from practice,” he said. Of course. He wasn’t really interested in me. Why had I let my hopes soar for even a second?
“Oh.”
“And I think you can rock an ugly Christmas sweater a lot better than any of the other interns,” he laughed. Wait, what?
“Really?” I asked, not sure if it was purely a joke or not.
“Yeah, you look cute in it.” I felt the blood rush to my face as I heard the sentence slip out of his mouth. It all had to be just a really realistic dream. Even so, I wasn’t about to pinch myself and end it, at least not yet.
“Thanks,” I said, hoping my cheeks weren’t too red. I was half relieved and half annoyed when Bryan Bickell came up to Kaner to ask if he wanted to go get dessert. Apparently the cakes, pies, cookies, and other random sweets had been set up where the normal food was earlier.
“Are you coming, superstar?” Bickell asked.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t miss dessert for anything,” I said honestly, and I slowly followed behind them and the rest of the players. I grabbed a couple different kinds of Christmas cookies and I decided I would eat with Dylan again. He seemed to have gained a huge confidence boost after everything the Hawks told him. He was in a great mood, and I was too, even though I was confused by the messages I was receiving from Patrick. Before I could get into deep thought, though, I reminded myself that it was probably a dream and I had nothing to stress about.
We did some more skating after gobbling up most of the desserts that had been put out and slowly the Hawks began leaving. Most of them had to travel for the holiday, and I was actually amazed that any of them had stayed at all. Before they all left, though, I remembered that I needed to complete my gifts for my dad, Brian, and Tess. I asked Brad if I could have a few pucks if I paid him for them. When I told him what I wanted them for, he insisted that I just take them. I rushed over to Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp, and Jonathan Toews, asking them if they would sign pucks. They all were really nice about it and agreed to it.
After almost every player was gone, the party wound down. Us interns decided to go too. As I headed out the front doors, Patrick, who was still there, caught up with me.
“Hey, you almost forgot your puck! Brad said you had brought your own,” he said hurriedly.
“Oh, thanks!” I said with a smile, taking the puck he was handing to me. I thought I had put it back in my bag, but it could have easily been misplaced, so I was thankful that he was nice enough to make sure I had it back before I left.
“No problem. Well, I’m sure I’ll see you soon. Have a good Christmas,” he told me, and he headed the other way.
“Thanks, you too.” I went out to my car and said goodbye to Dylan, who was parked across from me. He was already in his car so he pulled out of the parking lot just as I unlocked my car. I tossed my hockey bag into the back seat and opened it slightly to put the puck in. As I dropped it in, it flipped over and I saw writing. It was a phone number. I opened my bag more and I saw that my own puck had already been in there. I hadn’t forgotten it, Patrick just needed an excuse to give me his phone number. I finally pinched myself and I felt the pain. I hadn’t been dreaming; it all was real. Patrick Kane had actually flirted with me AND given me his number, all in one day.
The next day was Christmas Eve. I was so glad that it was almost Christmas already. It had always been my favorite holiday ever since I was little, for obvious reasons, but also because it was the only holiday that my whole entire family got to spend together. I had cousins and aunts and uncles that lived in other states that I never saw and I always looked forward to seeing them. Other than that, I just loved the lights, decorations, music, movies, scents and pretty much everything else about it. As I thought about how enjoyable the holiday would be, I was relieved to remember that it was basically a free day at the United Center.
Brad had decided to reward us interns for the dedication we had put into his program so far, so we got to have a Christmas Eve Party. There would be food and drinks, and of course, skating. The team was invited to hang out after practice and party with us, but I expected many of them to be busy with family. Oh well, at least Dylan and I would had each other.
Tess gave me an odd look in the morning as I tore through my closet. I got to the end of my clothes and I found what I had been looking for - my ugly Christmas sweater. The Christmas Eve party had an ugly sweater theme, and I was sure that if there was a contest for the most grotesque one, mine would win. It contained a giant Christmas tree with ornaments, garland, and lights that took batteries and could actually light up when turned on. Of course it was red, green, and white, too.
“You’re wearing one of the twins?” Tess asked, examining the sweater. We had matching ones that we had found for a party with a similar theme a couple years previously.
“Of course!” I answered. “Hey, why are you even up right now? Isn’t it a little early for you?” I wondered.
“I can’t sleep in on Christmas Eve,” she revealed.
“Isn’t it supposed to be the night of Christmas Eve when you can’t sleep?” I questioned her.
“It’s both for me. I guess I’m just more of a kid at heart than the average person,” she answered. I shook my head at her in shame and headed to the bathroom to get ready. By the time I headed out the door I was completely festive. I wore the twin sweater with some basic skinny jeans and Uggs. I had Christmas light earrings in that lit up just like my sweater, too. I made sure my hockey gear was in my car when I got inside it, and I left.
When I arrived at the UC, I was greeted with ugliness. All of the interns had already arrived, probably because they had left early after seeing how bad the roads were. I, on the other hand, hadn’t accounted for the large amount of snow that had fallen on the streets of Chicago.
“Damn, you look ugly!” Dylan said as I came up to the cluster of people in Christmas attire.
“Thanks, you do too!” I laughed. Everyone had done a pretty good job of dressing for the theme except for Puck Bunny. She had the least obnoxious outfit on, and she had found a way to turn ugly into sexy, but not in a good way.
“Where’s your ugly sweater?” one intern asked her, flaunting his.
“I didn’t have an ugly one. Who wants to purposefully look bad anyways?” she replied, her bad attitude in full force.
“Anyone with a sense of humor,” the guy said, taken aback by her like I had been on the first day.
“Or a soul,” Dylan mumbled, too quietly for anyone but me to hear.
“Low blow,” I commented.
“Well, I’m sure everyone was thinking the same thing. Especially you,” he said, nudging me. I didn’t even try to hide my hate for that girl anymore. Dylan just laughed at my comments and eye rolls. He was used to it.
Our conversation was interrupted when Brad walked in. I was completely surprised at his outfit. Normally, he was very professionally dressed, but instead he was wearing a hideous sweater for the party, just like the rest of us.
“Wow, you guys look great…I mean, terrible. You all look terrible in the best way possible,” he rambled, not even sure what exactly he was saying. “Lena, are those lights on your sweater?”
“Yeah, and they actually work too,” I said, turning them on. They began to flash obnoxiously and everyone except Puck Bunny giggled. She just crossed her arms and scoffed.
“Wow, that’s pretty impressive,” Brad said. “Well, practice is a little shorter than usual today, so you all can just hang out until it ends and then we’ll be able to get out on the ice and get things started. We’ll get the food set up so everyone can start eating soon,” Brad said.
“So, we aren’t going to do any work at all today?” Alex, the most outgoing intern, asked.
“Nope, not today. It’s basically a holiday, so you guys can just relax and have fun,” Brad answered, and he left us with a smile. It seemed like he had some Christmas spirit, because he rarely smiled, kind of like Coach Q. I had begun to think they were related somehow, actually.
We had all come later than usual like we had been instructed to do by Brad, so it didn’t take very long for practice to end. There was only about thirty minutes left when we arrived, so we all found seats and watched the last bit of it. Since we all had chosen seats in the first level, close to the glass, we actually distracted the team with our sweaters. I had turned my lights off, but Dylan convinced me to turn them on again just long enough to get the players’ attention and to make them laugh. Although it was funny, I felt bad afterwards. They had to regain their focus and I doubted that Quenneville approved of that.
When practice ended, all of us interns headed to the food tables. The staff had all pitched in and brought various foods and desserts, and everything looked really good. I wasn’t at all shy about eating and I filled my plate. I was lucky that I had decent metabolism, because I definitely ate like a hockey player. Well, a male hockey player. Tess and I had the best appetites on our team, and we had been made fun of for that before. Even Dylan made a comment about it.
“I think you have more food than me,” he said, checking out my plate.
“A girl’s gotta eat,” I said.
“Well, I’ve gotta hand it to you, at least you’re eating something,” he said, glancing at Puck Bunny. She had barely anything on her plate. I wondered why - It wasn’t like she needed to diet or watch her figure. I didn’t understand her reasoning, but maybe the lack of food was what gave her such a terrible attitude. I sure would be mean if I was hungry all the time.
Dylan and I ate together and we mingled with the other interns. I hadn’t gotten to know them as well as I should have, but they all were really nice, cool people. Finally talking to them made me regret the fact that once I found a few close friends, I tended to cling to them and not really look for any other people to let into my life.
After eating, Dylan and I were the first ones to change into our skates and head out onto the ice. Skating probably wasn’t the best thing to do right after eating a bunch of food, but we were dedicated to our sport and we really didn’t care.
“You brought your hockey stuff?” he asked me when he saw me getting my own skates out of my hockey bag.
“Yeah, I always have it with me. You never know when you might need it,” I explained, tying my second skate and standing up.
“I guess I should take your advice then, I didn’t bring my own stuff with me but now I kind of wish I had,” he answered.
“I’m sure you could borrow a stick, there are plenty here,” I told him. “I think I’m going to skate for a bit before I start playing, though,” I decided, stepping onto the ice. “You coming?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” he answered, and he stepped onto the ice too. I took off, figuring that he could catch up with me easily. I glided across the smooth surface easily. I didn’t know what it was about the UC ice, but being on it gave me a rush. Music started playing to set the party off and I was lost in my own little world for a moment until I realized that I was speeding out of Dylan’s reach.
“Thanks for waiting,” he laughed, coming up next to me.
“Sorry, I guess I got a little sidetracked. Isn’t this amazing, though? Being on this rink?”
“Yeah, it really is,” he agreed, taking in all the seating around us. “Just imagine what it would be like to skate here for a living. Every seat filled, the crowd cheering, a replay of your best play of the game on the jumbotron…” he said, clearly daydreaming.
“That’s what you want to do, isn’t it? Play in the NHL?” I asked. We had spoken about what we were going to school for, but he had never mentioned an athletic career. He had told me he was in school for business and I had told him that I was in school for a medical career. I had spilled to him that I wanted to look into becoming some kind of personal or athletic trainer, which was part of the reason why the internship meant so much to me other than the fact that I loved the sport and the team. He had never gone into specifics on what he wanted to do, and now I knew why.
“Yeah, it really is what I want to do. I know that. My parents know that too, but they broke it to me a long time ago that being a professional athlete wasn’t a very realistic career choice. It’s the one thing that I really want, but for now I’m just sticking with business, I guess,” Dylan confessed.
“Well you better enjoy this, then,” I told him. “It might be a while before you get to play in a place like this for a living, so you better live it up right now.”
“You don’t know that I even have the skills for my dream job,” he said.
“I can see how much you love it and how dedicated you are, though. If it means that much to you, then you train and practice hard and whether or not you have the best skills, all of the work you put in is what makes you a great player,” I assured him. He was right, I had never seen him play, but somehow I knew that he had potential. I was glad to see that my pep talk made him a lot happier. We skated a little longer. The other interns slowly began filing out onto the ice with us, but they were no match for Dylan and I.
Once we were used to our new skating environment, Dylan and I decided to play some casual hockey. I got my stick and puck out of my bag and Dylan was able to borrow a stick from the UC. The other interns skated around us as we passed the puck back and forth. I could tell he wasn’t as comfortable as I was.
“Hey, why don’t you try getting in goal?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You said you were a goalie. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
He got goalie equipment and I went to center ice while he headed to his goal. I took my first shot at him and he saved it. It could have easily been beginners luck except that I kept taking shots and he saved almost all of them. He was actually a really great goalie from what I could tell.
“Amazing form,” said a familiar voice behind me and Dylan. I turned around and saw Corey Crawford. I hadn’t even noticed, but some of the players had gathered on the bench to watch and were now joining us on the ice.
“Seriously?” Dylan asked, astounded.
“Yeah, seriously. You’re good.” The huge grin that formed on Dylan’s face made me smile, because it was clear that he was really stoked to hear good comments from his favorite player. I knew what that was like. In fact, I got to relive the moment.
“You’ve got good form too. You guys are both really talented,” Crawford said to me. Considering the fact that Crawford was one of my favorites on the team, I was excited to hear a compliment from him as well. But it wasn’t just him this time. Every member of the team that had chosen to stay came out and talked to Dylan and I. I almost felt like a celebrity.
“I would tell you how talented you are, but I kinda got that out of the way already,” Patrick Kane said, skating up to me. Crap, I had forgotten he was even on the team for a moment.
“Oh, yeah.”
“Nice sweater,” he said with a smirk. I suddenly realized that all the Hawks were in their own Christmas sweaters. I couldn’t help but think of the holiday video that had been made for Blackhawks TV a year or two before. They had all put their own twist on famous Christmas songs and worn ridiculous sweaters for a fake ad for a holiday album. I wished they would make a video like that every year, but I realized that they would most likely run out of ideas pretty quickly if they did.
“Thanks. Sorry if it distracted you during practice earlier,” I apologized. Somehow, I was managing to stay cool and collected. Well, at least more so than usual.
“It’s okay, I didn’t mind being distracted by you,” he said. The way he said it and smiled at me gave me the vibe that he wasn’t just being friendly. It was the same kind of vibe I had gotten from Dylan after the game the day before, but this time, I was even more torn on how exactly to answer.
“Why is that?” I finally asked.
“It was a nice break from practice,” he said. Of course. He wasn’t really interested in me. Why had I let my hopes soar for even a second?
“Oh.”
“And I think you can rock an ugly Christmas sweater a lot better than any of the other interns,” he laughed. Wait, what?
“Really?” I asked, not sure if it was purely a joke or not.
“Yeah, you look cute in it.” I felt the blood rush to my face as I heard the sentence slip out of his mouth. It all had to be just a really realistic dream. Even so, I wasn’t about to pinch myself and end it, at least not yet.
“Thanks,” I said, hoping my cheeks weren’t too red. I was half relieved and half annoyed when Bryan Bickell came up to Kaner to ask if he wanted to go get dessert. Apparently the cakes, pies, cookies, and other random sweets had been set up where the normal food was earlier.
“Are you coming, superstar?” Bickell asked.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t miss dessert for anything,” I said honestly, and I slowly followed behind them and the rest of the players. I grabbed a couple different kinds of Christmas cookies and I decided I would eat with Dylan again. He seemed to have gained a huge confidence boost after everything the Hawks told him. He was in a great mood, and I was too, even though I was confused by the messages I was receiving from Patrick. Before I could get into deep thought, though, I reminded myself that it was probably a dream and I had nothing to stress about.
We did some more skating after gobbling up most of the desserts that had been put out and slowly the Hawks began leaving. Most of them had to travel for the holiday, and I was actually amazed that any of them had stayed at all. Before they all left, though, I remembered that I needed to complete my gifts for my dad, Brian, and Tess. I asked Brad if I could have a few pucks if I paid him for them. When I told him what I wanted them for, he insisted that I just take them. I rushed over to Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp, and Jonathan Toews, asking them if they would sign pucks. They all were really nice about it and agreed to it.
After almost every player was gone, the party wound down. Us interns decided to go too. As I headed out the front doors, Patrick, who was still there, caught up with me.
“Hey, you almost forgot your puck! Brad said you had brought your own,” he said hurriedly.
“Oh, thanks!” I said with a smile, taking the puck he was handing to me. I thought I had put it back in my bag, but it could have easily been misplaced, so I was thankful that he was nice enough to make sure I had it back before I left.
“No problem. Well, I’m sure I’ll see you soon. Have a good Christmas,” he told me, and he headed the other way.
“Thanks, you too.” I went out to my car and said goodbye to Dylan, who was parked across from me. He was already in his car so he pulled out of the parking lot just as I unlocked my car. I tossed my hockey bag into the back seat and opened it slightly to put the puck in. As I dropped it in, it flipped over and I saw writing. It was a phone number. I opened my bag more and I saw that my own puck had already been in there. I hadn’t forgotten it, Patrick just needed an excuse to give me his phone number. I finally pinched myself and I felt the pain. I hadn’t been dreaming; it all was real. Patrick Kane had actually flirted with me AND given me his number, all in one day.
@hockeygirl07
Thank you so much! :)
11/1/14