A few days later, and several physical therapy sessions with both Don and Phil, James’ knee was doing much better. The spasming ended, the swelling went down, and x-rays showed that the joint bones were no longer grinding together as they were a week before.

“A few more days of this, and I think you’ll be good to go” Don said, bending James’ leg.

He was lying on his side on the treatment table, feeling his way through the stretches Don was administering. This was always the worst part of his therapy, but he could tell a difference in the lack of pain this go-around.

“That’s good news, man” he replied, holding his breath as his knee was twisted into a new, strange angle.

“It’s obvious you’ve been lying off of it when you’re not on the ice.”

James chuckled. “I won’t lie to ya, Don – it’s been a real pain in the ass.”

“It always is” he said, rather amused. “Your girlfriend been okay with all the ‘rules’?”

“Oh yeah, she’s pretty cool. It’s more on me than her, if you know what I mean.” James eyed Don from where he was laying, and Don smiled.

“How long have you two been dating now? And turn right, please.”

James moved his leg to the right, and Don put it into a new stretch. “A little over ten months now. One year coming up in February…if you can believe that.”

Don laughed. “No offense…but no, I can’t.”

“Most can’t, so no offense taken.” He winced a little as he felt his leg being pulled and his knee was responding. “Fuck.”

“Just a few more seconds.”

He held out through the pain until he felt Don ease up.

“That’s a tough one.” Don gave him an understanding smile. “Your knee is holding up, though, which is very promising.”

All James could do was exhale heavily. He’d been on the table for an hour now, and in the trainer’s room for over two hours total. He knew it was part of the job and part of the recovery process, but it wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend two hours of his life.

“So what’s her name again?” Don began a new stretch on James’ knee, holding it against his chest. He was trying to keep his mind engaged through the last few stretches.

“Allison.”

“Ohhhhh yeah, I think I’ve seen her at games, right? Waiting for you outside the locker room?”

“If she was wearing my number, that was her.” James smiled to himself. The fact that Don even remembered Ali waiting meant she stood out to him. Then again, how couldn’t she; the girl was a head-turner and he knew it.

“So first Christmas together coming up then.” Don set James’ leg down and typed something into his laptop. “Got anything special planned?”

“Actually…” James hesitated. “I have a pretty big plan in place, if I can get my ass back from Phoenix on time. I have a reservation and it’d be a major fuck-up if I can’t make it.”

“Whoa.” Don laughed. “Going all out, huh?”

“What do you think?” James grinned at him.

“I think I’m talking to someone other than James Neal right now.” Don was impressed, and it showed on his face. “You gotta give me a hint. Secret’s safe with me, so no worries.”

“Let’s just say….” James began, his grin widening. “It involves a jersey and an ice rink that seats 19,000.” He watched Don slowly process the hints he gave him, waiting for the moment it finally clicked. When it did, he laughed at his trainer’s expression.

“You’re fucking kidding me” Don said.

James shook his head.

“No shit, you rented it?” His mouth was still hanging open.

James smiled.

“Well I’ll be damned. If she doesn’t love you yet, she will after that, Neal.”

“Ahh, this is nothing” James said with a shrug. He knew his plan for Ali was a major one, but there was a lot of thought put into it. He had the idea not long after they returned from their trip to Whitby. Both of them had such a good time on his old pond that he had to recreate it somehow for her. Ali loved that memory too much not to.

Don patted James’ thigh. “Alright, you’re all set for today. Nice job.”

Sitting up, James ran his fingers through his hair, giving it a bit of lift where it was flattened from lying on the table. He swung his legs around and sat for a second, flexing his thigh and calf muscles.

“How much longer you think I have to go?”

“Maybe another couple of days?”

“So the game against the Devils…I’ll be ready?”

A form spit out of Don’s printer, which he handed to James. “Ready as ever. You said it wasn’t bothering you too much in St. Louis on Tuesday, right?”

“Yeah, no trouble at all.” James hopped down and looked at the form. In writing at the bottom, Don had left a note to Coach Bylsma that he would be cleared in two days. Thank God. Miracles do happen.

“Well good luck next week on your plan with Allison.” Don and James shook hands.

“Thanks…I may need more help on that than my knee.” He held up the form that Don had given him and smiled. “Thanks again.”

As James went back to grab his things in the locker room, a couple of the guys were still hanging around. Most of them were heading to the gym for further conditioning, and James wished he could join them. He thought he might be able to lift at least once during the whole ordeal, but nope. He’d lost out on that as well.

Because James knew that Ali was already done with work for the afternoon, he thought he’d surprise her with bringing lunch home. He grabbed two sandwiches at a deli he knew Ali loved, then headed home.

As he made the final turn onto their street, he saw Ali out for her daily run not too far ahead of him. She was going at a good clip, too; James was pretty impressed. She had a neon yellow long sleeve running top on, black running tights, and what looked to be his black and white Pens hat. No matter how many times James tried to tell her how sexy he thought she was in her workout gear, Ali never believed him. If she could see her ass and the way it moves like I can right now, she would never argue again. Not only that, he thought it was so cool whenever she wore his hat.

Slowly, so as not to totally scare the hell out of her, James pulled his car closer to the sidewalk. He was still a distance behind, but as he pulled up a little further, he saw Ali glance over. She did a double-take, then started laughing when she saw it was him.

James rolled down the window and leaned over. “Nice ass!”

Ali flicked one of her earbuds out of her ear. “Nice car!” She continued to run, though slower now as James crept alongside her. “You gonna follow me all the way home?”

“I just may!” He kept one eye on the road ahead, but remained leaning towards the open window. Ali had put the earbud back in and kicked up her speed a little. James hit the gas pedal.

“Race?” Ali yelled.

James revved his engine, which made her laugh even more. He gave her a wave, leaving her to finish the rest of the distance on her own without him harassing her. He did, however, wait outside on their sidewalk for her when he got home.

As she came up the street, James could see her chest was heaving hard. One thing he could also tell was that she was all smiles.

“Guess what!” she exclaimed.

“What?”

Ali had to catch her breath for a second, but her smile remained. “Six and a half minute mile!”

“WHAT?” James practically jumped off the pavement when he heard this. He dropped the bag of sandwiches and took her in for a massive hug. “Babe! That’s AWESOME! Is this the first time?”

Ali nodded excitedly. “First time, and I held it even after I slowed to say hi to you!”

James didn’t waste a second. He took her face into his hands and kissed her. Really kissed her. He didn’t care if sweat was literally running down her face from under her hat; this was something that deserved a kiss.

“See?” His grin must have been a mile wide. “And you said you couldn’t do it.”

“I know…” Ali shook her head in disbelief. Three weeks since she decided to try the marathon, and she finally got down to almost a 6-minute mile. “Thank you, James.”

He was in love with the tired smile she gave him then. “So let me guess….you’re not hungry?”

“No, I AM! And please tell me that’s lunch.” She pointed at the takeout bag still on the sidewalk.

“Sandwiches from your favorite place.” James pulled the hat off Ali’s head and put it on his own, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Thought I’d surprise you.”

“And you think I’M the best” Ali said, leaning into him.

They went inside and ate lunch and talked about their mornings. Ali didn’t bother showering, and James loved that he got a few extra minutes of her in her running clothes. After they ate, they stayed at the kitchen table and just hung out and rested; each had a fairly busy morning and early afternoon, and neither had a single plan the rest of the day. When James delivered the good news that he would be officially cleared of all knee issues in two days, he was pretty sure he never heard Ali squeal so loudly.

“So we can finally fuck?” Her brown eyes were huge.

James laughed. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

“You’re not the only one who’s been horny as hell, dammit.”

“Wait, wait, hold on.” James leaned his elbow on the kitchen table, hand held out. “You mean it wasn’t enough that I went down on you four days in a row this week?”

Ali cursed the smirk that was successfully taking over her face. She tried to bite her lip to prevent James from seeing it, but the way he was looking at her, she knew it was no use.

“You are greedy, woman” he said in jest.

“No, YOU are!” Ali laughed and tried to slap at his hand, but James yanked it away. “You know I repaid you doubly for all of that!”

“Not why I did it, babe.” He leaned over the table and kissed her as he stood. “And you know it’s not.”

She did. James enjoyed it as much as she did, and he did it because his attention was always focused on her. Always. It was something Ali was never truly used to; but she made sure James was always thanked.

As she watched him move about the kitchen, her mind drifted to the run she just had, and an idea came to her.

“Hey, James?”

“Yeah?” He turned from the fridge, Gatorade bottle pressed to his lips.

“Want to watch me as I submit my race application?”

The look on Ali’s face was a mix of excitement and hope. “You’re damn right I want to” he said. There wasn’t a thing in the world that would pull him away from joining her.

“Yes!! Okay, let’s do it.”

She went and retrieved her laptop from the living room and set it on the kitchen table. As she brought up the website to apply, James pulled up a chair, sitting on it backwards right next to her. They looked at one another and Ali grimaced, but in an excited way.

“But I’ve never done this before!”

“You never went out with a hockey player either, and look at how that turned out.” He gave her a kind smile. “You’ve got this, babe.”

She sighed. After a few clicks, she had the online registration form open and ready. Line by line, she filled in the form: name, address, birthday, height, weight, medical conditions; all the usuals.

“130 pounds?” James looked at her and laughed. “You’re overdoing that by at least ten.”

“Well there’s no way I’m 120.”

“So go 125, then?”

They looked at each other; Ali’s gaze was much more serious than his. She typed in 125 pounds and moved on. James was actually watching Ali’s expressions more than her filling out the form. The way her face became a little pinched as she typed was kind of cute, and he took just a second or two to admire it.

“Okay.” Ali looked at him. “So….I’m done.”

“So press send!”

Ali bit her lip. “Should I even do this?”

“You’re already in it” James replied. He placed his hand on her neck beneath her ponytail, and his touch made Ali instantly relax. Inside though, her stomach was still a bundle of nerves. Once she hit send, there was no going back. She would be out of $150, and most of her dignity.

“But you do this sort of thing all the time” Ali said. “You’ve been competing and winning and joining in things—“

“—Yeah, but now it’s my turn to cheer you on.” With his hand, James gently pulled Ali towards him so he could kiss her. When their lips parted, he kept his face close to hers. “I want that chance.”

Ali looked him in those striking eyes; their color still an ever-evolving pool of emotion. Now, they held all the reassurance she needed to commit.

She turned to the laptop and sighed. “Okay, fuck it. Let’s do this.” With one click, she hit Send.

Before either of them really knew it, the website refreshed to a new page, and the words: Congratulations! You have successfully entered the City of Pittsburgh's Annual New Year’s Day Marathon. Thank you for your submission!

Ali looked James. “Holy fuck, I just entered for a marathon.”


* * *


The next day after practice, James sat in his car staring at his phone. He scrolled through a list of jewelry stores, but either none of them were nearby, or none of them interested him much. Finally, he came to a pretty impressive website for a jeweler that wasn’t too far from the rink, but would take some time to get to in traffic. He figured he would at least try this place first, then work from there. In all honesty, he really had no idea what he was doing or how to do any of this, but he kind of liked that feeling.

When he arrived at the jewelry store, he was even more impressed. Three associates flocked towards him the minute he walked through the doors, but the only female there was the one to help him first.

“Hi there! My name is Angela, and I’m here to help you with any questions or assistance you may have. Is there something specific I can help you find?”

She was friendly enough, with a matronly feel about her in addition to her age. James guessed she was at least in her upper 40s, maybe early 50s. Hopefully someone with experience, because I have zero.

“Hi Angela. James.”

They shook hands. “Pleasure to meet you James.”

He looked around, unsure of really where to start. “Actually…” He laughed nervously. “I have no idea what I’m looking for.”

“That’s what most men say when they walk in here.” Angela’s smile was warm and had a hint of humor in it. “Did you have a specific item in mind? Like a ring, a necklace, or a bracelet?”

“A necklace” James answered. That, at least, he knew well. Ali kept her jewelry to a minimum, but she did love necklaces.

“Perfect, let me show you this first counter of necklaces.”

As she led James over, he was already overwhelmed. The first counter? As in…there’s more?

“Take a look at these.” Angela unlocked the first counter and waited as James bent to peer through the glass. Rows and rows of necklaces and pendants were laid out before him; all were different, with different sized stones, different colors, and different metals. Angela stood watching him with a smile on her face.

“Is this for your wife?”

James laughed. Oh the irony. “Ahh, not quite there yet. It’s actually going to be part of my girlfriend’s Christmas present.”

“Oooo, a part, huh? Very nice!” Angela nodded.

James didn’t even know what he was looking at. He never bought a piece of jewelry for a girlfriend before. As he looked, he tried to picture Ali in some of the items in front of him; he also tried to picture something that she would be proud to wear, but it needed to reflect her style, too.

“How about we try this one?” James pointed to a necklace to the far left side of the case. He watched Angela lift the necklace up and hand it to him.

“Three carats worth of diamonds in this one. White gold or yellow gold, we can switch it up for you depending on what you’d like.” She watched James hold the necklace like it he was afraid to break it. First timer, she thought.

James wasn’t sure; it looked pretty big. While he wanted all of Ali’s friends to know just who’d gotten her the necklace, if he went too big, she likely wouldn’t wear it often.

“I like the design, but maybe in something smaller?” He handed back the necklace.

“I should ask you first” Angela began, “did you have a price range?”

“No.”

“Well…just to let you know: this counter and the one counter over are somewhat pricier—“

“—Doesn’t matter, money’s not an issue.” He didn’t mean for it to come out sounding pompous, so he quickly rebounded. “I mean….I just want the best for her. I’ll worry about money later.”

Angela smiled. “I may have just the thing, then. What do you think abouuuuttt…..” She walked over to the adjacent counter and unlocked it. “…This?”

James saw her point to piece that was closer to him in the front row. “Whoa.”

“Yeah?” She brought it out for him to look at.

It was a solitaire diamond pendant shaped like a square, aligned so the four prongs mimicked a diamond shape. The pendant was held by a white gold chain through a large v-shaped bail.

“Damn.” James held it up, and it seemed to sparkle more than the others. “Sorry about my lack of knowledge here, but….what’s the deal with this one? Why is it so bright?”

“It’s what we call a ‘princess cut’ diamond. This one is 2 carats in size…and as you can see, it reflects light much better because of its cut.” Angela had to laugh. “Let me guess – this has to be your first time picking out diamonds….am I right?”

James couldn’t lie to her, and he felt a little embarrassed. “Yeah….the only ice I’ve ever dealt with is frozen, sooo…” This made Angela laugh a little more, although James was positive she didn’t catch the joke.

“Well whoever she is, she must be pretty special” Angela replied. “Because not a lot of men walk out of here with a necklace like that just for their girlfriend.”

James looked at her. “Oh yeah?”

“The 2 carat option, which you’re holding? Costs about 15 grand.”

Easy. He tried to envision Ali wearing it, and it was a much better fit than the first round one he saw earlier. Looking down into the case, he saw a few others that were similar, including one that had several of the same looking diamonds in graduated sizes, all in a row. No, and no.

James looked down at the necklace in his hand. He felt good about it, but he gave it back to Angela. “I like that one. Don’t let it go too far away.”

“You got it” Angela said with a laugh. “Take your time, though. No rush.”

“Thanks, I might need it.” He might need several trips back here at this rate. Walking past the other glass counters, nothing really struck him. There were a few nice ones, sure; and there were some with colored gemstones, but he knew Ali wouldn’t dig that. He wanted to stay classic. He wanted it to be bold, but not too bold…and classic. Like Ali.

“You know what?” James walked back to where Angela waited at their original spot. “Could I see that square one again?”

“Of course.” She lifted it back out of the glass case and handed it to him. She watched him mull it over for a second, and then, of all things, he lifted out his phone.

James flipped through some of the pics on his phone until he found a somewhat close-up picture of Ali. She was smiling with her sunglasses on, her hair down and around her face. He remembered taking it a couple months ago in the middle of summer, when they went on a road trip together to the Jersey Shore.

He held the necklace up to the phone until it looked as if Ali was wearing it. Angela had never seen anyone do what he just did, and found it rather endearing.

It has to be this one. It has to be. The way it looked just on a silly picture made him smile. It seemed like something she would like. The way it sparkled more than the others…well if that didn’t say it right there, James didn’t know what would. He handed the necklace to Angela.

“I’ll take it.”


* * *