Second Chances

Faith.
“Are you meeting Jeff at the arena?” Autumn asked as we made our way over to my apartment.
“Yeah, he was really tired last night so he went straight to bed and he had practice so I still haven’t had a chance to see him.” I explained.
I haven’t seen Jeff in over a week since I came to Pittsburgh for my break; fortunately the canes were playing against the Pens so I’d be able to see him tonight.
I walked into the apartment I shared with Steph and Tori while I was in Pittsburgh and went straight to my room. I slipped on a pair of jeans and searched for my Skinner jersey praying that I packed it. I finally found it and put it on; I walked out of my room to see Steph wearing a Staal jersey. She agreed to wear it so I wouldn’t be the only one wearing a canes jersey while my friends had Penguin jerseys on.
“What would Jon say if he saw you wearing another man’s jersey?” I asked.
“He’s ignoring me so I really don’t care what he says.” She shrugged playing it off as if she didn’t care, but I knew she was still hurt over it.
“Take a photo with me.” She walked over to me and took a picture of us in our jerseys making sure to show off whose jersey she was wearing.
“I hope he cries.” She joked as she posted it to instagram.
“Who are we going to make cry this time?” Autumn asked a little too excited.
“Jon.” I explained.
“He still hasn’t called you?” Autumn asked.
“Nope, and I don’t care,” Steph lied, “Would it be too cruel to wear a Smith jersey on Friday for the game?”
We both nodded, “Do it anyways.” Autumn encouraged.
“Don’t!” I hissed, “You’re going to ruin your relationship.”
She shrugged her shoulders as a reply, “Let’s get going.” She grabbed her leather jacket and slipped it on before walking out the door with Autumn and I following her.

“You did so great!” I squealed as Jeff picked me up from the floor.
“I scored the game winning goal just for you.” He kissed my lips as he put me down, he pulled away but I grabbed him and kissed him again, it had been too long since we last kissed.
A few teammates hollered as they saw how heated we were getting which caused us to pull away and laugh, my cheeks burned as all the attention was on us. I looked over to see Steph and Eric exchanging phone numbers, I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to Jeff.
“I missed you.” I pouted as I quickly kissed his lips.
“I missed you too. Are you coming to the game tomorrow?” He asked as she sat down to unlace his skates.
“Yeah, Steph said she’d come with me.” I explained.
Steph and I would be driving to New York for the Canes vs Rangers game tomorrow, Jeff was only in the area for two days and we had to make the most of it. I didn’t want to ask any of the other girls to come knowing they all wanted a day to themselves with their boyfriends.
“That’s nice of her,” Jeff eyed Steph getting a little too close to Eric Staal. “Isn’t she dating Toews?” He asked.
“Long story,” I huffed, “Don’t worry, nothing will happen between them.” I reassured.
“What makes you so sure?” He asked as we went back to unlacing his skates.
“She made it very clear that she’d never get with Eric because that’s her brother’s name.” I explained and we both laughed a bit.
“Makes sense.” He grinned showing off his dimples that I loved so much.
I eyed Steph as she walked over to us; she sat down beside me and tapped away at her phone.
“Steph..” I started.
“His name’s Eric, don’t.” She cut me off.
“Told you.” I laughed.
The rest of the night consisted of random conversations with the players, I said goodbye to Jeff before heading back to my apartment with Steph. We called it an early night due to the fact that we’d have to wake up super early to start driving to New York.

I sipped my coffee as I drove, Steph sat in the passenger seat tapping away at her phone talking to God knows who. We had been driving for about two hours and the sun was just beginning to come up, my butt was already numb and I couldn’t wait to reach our hotel and pass out.
“My butt hurts.” Steph whined as she moved around in her seat, she grabbed her cup of coffee from the cup holder and took a gulp.
“Mine does too. We’ll be there in a few hours.” I reassured, I tried to think positively before I end up running us off the road.
“Jon’s calling!” She shrieked as she held onto her phone.
“Speaker!”
“Hello.” She answered before putting in on speaker so I could hear as well.
“Hey..” He greeted shyly.
“Hey? Three days and all I get is a hey?” She snapped.
“I’m a jerk I know.” He admitted, I looked over at Steph to see her frown.
“Yeah, you are,” She sighed, “But I love you regardless.”
“You do?” He asked.
“Of course I do you idiot!” She laughed a bit easing up the tension.
“What about Staal?” He asked referring to the instagram post.
“Gross, his name is Eric.”
“Oh right, you’re brother. Will I still see you on Friday?” He asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Babe listen, Faith and I are driving to New York so I have to go but I’ll call you later okay?”
“Alright, I love you, bye.” He cooed.
“I love you too.” She smiled before hanging up.
I pulled into a truck stop to stop for gas, “You’re weak.” I laughed as I got out of the car to fill the tank.
“How?” She shouted as she got out as well.
“He ignores you for three days and you forgive him so quickly. You should have made him beg.” I explained.
“I love him and I don’t want to fight with him.” She pouted before walking away.
I filled up the tank and leaned against the car as I waited for Steph to come back, I thought about the first time Jeff and I fought. It was over telling the girls about our relationship, I had overreacted and it caused a fight that almost ruined what we had. I could understand why Steph was so eager to forgive Jon, she didn’t want her relationship ruined over something so little.
I got out my phone and called Keirstyn, she answered on the third ring complaining about how early it was. I explained the phone call between Steph and Jon to her even though she was half asleep and not paying much attention to a word I was saying.
“Where are you?” She asked.
I looked around for any sign indicating where we might be, “Somewhere in Harrisburg.”
“Alright, well call me when you get there.” She hung up before I had a chance to say goodbye.
Steph walked back holding a tray with two cups and a bag of snacks for the road, “I’ll drive.” She offered before getting into the driver’s seat.

It had been hours but we finally reached our hotel, the minute we walked into our room we collapsed on the beds and napped for a few hours. I was woken up by my alarm; I got out of bed and woke up Stephanie, which wasn’t easy.
I quickly took a shower and got ready for the game, I put on some leggings and my Skinner jersey, I quickly did my make up not wanting to spend too much time getting ready. We were out the door and on our way to the arena an hour later.
We sat quietly in our seats as we watched the team warm up for the game, Jeff scored and pointed towards me, I rolled my eyes at the cheesy gesture and continued watching them warm up. I took a sip of the soda I had bought and kept my eyes on Jeff throughout the warm ups.

The game had ended 3-2 Hurricanes, I couldn’t wait to see Jeff and congratulate him on the win, driving 6 hours was worth it to see the smile on my boyfriends face. We made our way over to the dressing room to congratulate the team, we walked in as the press left.
I walked straight up to Jeff and hugged him tightly “Congrats!” I smiled as he twirled me around.
“Get a room!” Elias called out, I shot him a glare before turning back to Jeff, and he had the biggest smile on his face.
I quickly kissed him before pulling away, “You should shower you stink.” I teased.
“Come here!” He pulled me in for another hug engulfing me in his odor. I pushed him off of me and took a few steps back.
“Shower!” I hissed pointing towards the showers; he put his hand up in defense and walked over to the showers.
Steph and I waited for Jeff to finish getting ready before we went out to dinner to celebrate the win with the Staal brothers.
We got to the restaurant and Jeff pulled out the chair for me and I blushed, I sat down and he tucked in the chair for me, he sat beside me and grabbed my hand under the table. Jordan and Jared sat at the ends of the tables and Steph and Eric sat across from us.
Dinner went well, we had a lot of small talk and I got to know the Staal brothers a lot more than I already did, Jeff and Steph bonded over them bother growing up in Toronto, while Steph and I told stories of our adventures in Toronto or the times she’d come to Hamilton to hang out.
I was pretty bummed when we had to say our goodbyes, we had a great night and I didn’t want it to end, I was also dreading driving back to Pittsburgh tomorrow morning. I gave each Staal brother a hug as they got in their car and drove back to their hotel; I gave Steph the keys to my car since I’d be staying the night at Jeff’s hotel.
We parted ways and drove back to the hotel, I couldn’t wait to get in bed and cuddle up to Jeff, something I hadn’t done in a while. We got to his hotel in a matter of minutes and were eager to get up to his room.
I jumped onto his bed as I cuddled up in the sheets, I threw off my leggings lying only in my jersey, he looked over at me and licked his lips. He crawled on top of me making sure to support himself so he didn’t crush me. I flipped him over and straddled his hips letting him know I was in charge.
“Kiss me.” He demanded. I leaned down and kissed him, I ran my fingers through his messy hair as I deepened the kiss.
“I love you.” He said as he pulled away to catch his breath.
“I love you too.” I leaned down and pecked his lips quickly.
“I really love you. I’m in love with you Faith Lianos.” He blushed a bit.
“And I’m in love with you Jeff Skinner.” I admitted truthfully. I lay down and cuddled into his chest knowing I’d have to say goodbye to him in the morning was killing me.
“I don’t want to say goodbye.” I sighed.
“I don’t either.” He pouted before kissing my lips. “When do you come back?” He asked.
“Sunday.” It was four days away.
“That’s not too bad.” He rubbed my back trying to cheer me up, I knew he was upset but he always tried to hide it.
I sat up and straddled his hips again, “Let’s make the most of this night.” I smirked before pulling off his shirt. I started grinding my hips into him as I teased him.
“Such a tease!” He growled before grabbing my head and pushing me down to kiss him.

Notes