Steve: Hey, J. Just wanted to let you know that it looks like there’s gonna be a huge snow storm up here tonight. They’re talking about shutting down the entire city of Montreal right after the game. We’re probably not going to be able to leave until late tomorrow or Thursday. I’m sorry I might not be home for your birthday. Seriously, I’m so so sorry. I love you.

Jenna: It’s okay babe. I understand. Just be safe and come home to me eventually. You can make it up by getting a shut out tonight for me. I love you too. Be safe.

Steve: Anything for you, love. I’m so sorry. I’m a horrible boyfriend.

Jenna: Steve, please don’t. You know you’re the best boyfriend ever. I love you.

I sigh, curling up into a ball on our bed. Steve had this whole sweet day planned out for us tomorrow. He wouldn’t tell me what we’re doing, but I’ve heard from a couple of the other ladies that he’s got the most amazing plan. I guess that means it’s all off.

I give myself fifteen minutes to lay in bed and wallow in sadness, letting a couple tears fall. This is the fourth year in a row Steve’s been away for my birthday. I know how bad he feels about it, and honestly that’s what upsets me the most. I can handle him not being here. It’s part of his job description. And he’s always made up for it when he comes home. But I know it makes him feel like a horrible boyfriend, and that kills me.

Wrapping myself into his hoodie, I head out to my kitchen to start getting the snacks ready for the ladies. Each night they’re away, the wives and girlfriends take turns hosting the group to watch the game together. It’s like our own version of a sorority. I make sure to put the kids’ snacks on a lower table, and put all the dangerous things like the knives higher up so they can’t reach. One time a knife was left lying out and one of the kids cut their hand on it. It wasn’t that bad of a cut, but it still scared us all.

Just as I’m setting out the last of the snacks, there’s a knock on the door. I look down, realizing I’m still in Steve’s hoodie and sweatpants. Whoops. Guess I gotta answer the door dressed like a hobo.

“Hey girlie!” Caroline Lecavalier says, leading her two children into the house. They head straight for the spare room where I’ve set up Steve’s xbox and a couple games. Her face falls when she takes in my appearance. “How are you doing? Vin told me they probably won’t make it back until Thursday.”

“I’m okay, I guess.” I answer. “A little upset. But mostly because Steve’s taking it so hard. He feels worse than I do.”
“Oh, sweetie.” She gives me a hug.
“I actually forgot I was in my sadness clothes. Will you take care of everything for me while I go change real quick?” I ask.
“That’s so funny. I call Vin’s shirt and sweatpants my sadness clothes too. Of course I’ll take care of everything.”
“Thanks.”

I head back to our room to change into a pair of jeans and my Mason jersey. I brush through my hair and put on minimal make up. I want to look decent, but I’m just not in the mood to look great.

By the time I’m done and leave our room, just about all of the women and children are here. Caroline gives me a small smile and hands me a glass of wine, knowing I so desperately need it. I down it quickly and pour another, taking this one slower.

The more serious girlfriends, fiancees and wives have all gathered in the living room in front of the television, where as the ‘flavors of the month’ as I secretly call them are in the kitchen. I make sure to steer Andrew MacDonald’s girlfriend Kelly with us, knowing she’s more than just a fling from what Steve’s told me about the new defenseman.

“So who’s starting tonight? Steve or Ray?” Matt Read’s fiancee Erin asks.
“Steve is.” I respond.
“Good. He’s been playing so well lately.” Johanna Timonen pipes up.

I smile shyly. It always makes me feel warm inside when someone says something nice about Steve. I know he’s been playing well lately. Everyone in the NHL knows that. But the fact that someone else in verbally complimenting my boyfriend right in front of me just makes me happy.

“How are you and Andrew adjusting to Philly?” Caroline asks Kelly.
“I think we’re doing good, actually. We found a house we really like and put an offer on it a couple days ago. It sounds a little crazy since we don’t know how long we’ll be here. But we both just kinda have a feeling he’s going to sign for a couple more years. He’s always loved playing in this city even when he was the enemy. He said there’s just this sense of competitiveness and passion from the fans, and I’m starting to understand what he meant. It’s not something we had in New York. This feels like home.”

I look around and see the loving smiles on all of my friends’ faces that match mine. She just described exactly how all of us feel about Philly. This is home.

“Well Steve has said he loves playing with Andrew. He’s a good defender who really helps out his goalie a lot.” I say. She blushes a little.
“Thanks.”
“Okay, ladies. It’s game time!” Someone shouts, turning up the sound on the television.

For the next twenty minutes (well, more than that. But the next twenty hockey minutes.) I focus solely on the game in front of me. Steve is once again making phenomenal saves. But unfortunately the offense just can’t find a way to score.

“Steve has truly been outstanding.” Caroline says as they go to intermission.
“He’s just been feeling good lately, you know?” I say. “He’s happy.”
“When they’re happy, they play better. It’s a known fact.” Johanna says.

The serious women all chuckle and the ‘flavors of the month’ simply smile a little. I guess they don’t know that known fact. We continue to gossip a little for the rest of the intermission, eating snacks and drinking our wine.

When the second period starts, though, it’s right back to watching intently. About half way through, Brendan Gallagher knocks into Steve a little and PK Subban’s shot goes into the back of the net. Steve is instantly jumping up and skating over to the ref, talking to him and asking for a goalie interference call. The ref calls for a review, and they replay the goal a couple times.

“Steve is furious right now.” I say more to myself, watching his reaction to the whole thing as he’s standing next to the bench talking to his defense.

I breathe a huge sigh of relief when they rule it a no-goal due to goalie interference. Steve smiles brightly and slides his mask back down his face, heading back to the net. The rest of the period is back and forth, but still no one can seem to score a goal. As it heads to the second intermission, I get up and grab a couple bottles of water to take to the older kids who are still awake.

“They got really lucky that goal got called back.” I hear in the kitchen. “It was a clean goal.”
“I know. I don’t know why Mason is playing, but he’s just been so lucky this game.” I recognize Ray Emery’s girlfriend’s voice respond.

I roll my eyes at the two girls. At one point in time it would have really upset me. But since I’ve come here to Philly and become a part of this WAGs family, I’m no longer letting the opinions of certain women bother me. I mean, they’re both probably going to be gone in a couple weeks anyway. Maybe a couple months if they’re lucky.

“So Jenna, how are you feeling knowing you’re turning twenty six tomorrow?” Claude Giroux’s girlfriend asks as I take my seat in the living room.
“I feel old!” I laugh. A couple girls chuckle with me. “Steve always makes fun of me because I’m a year older than him until late May. He calls me a cougar.”
“Aw. What are you going to do?” Erin asks.

“I’m not sure, actually. I know Steve had this whole plan that I wasn’t allowed to know about. But now that they won’t be home, I’ll probably just lay in bed all day. I’ll call my family and FaceTime with Steve. Danny and I have a Skype date in the afternoon, so I’m really excited for that. But that’s about it.” I respond.

“Who’s Danny?” Zac Rinaldo’s newest girlfriend asks.
“He’s my older brother.” I answer. “He’s currently in Afghanistan with the Marines. I haven’t talked to him in two months.”
“Oh.”

I give her a small smile. I think I might actually like her. From what I’ve seen, she seems like a decent girl. Unlike the ones he’s brought around in the past. I mean, the fact that she’s in jeans and a jersey says something. The ones that only last a month usually go all-out whenever they’re away from home. Emery’s girl, for example, is in a skimpy dress that would probably work for a bar or club. Not appropriate for this kind of setting, though. Plus, I’ve noticed Zac has been a little different since he met her. Not as much of a loose cannon. He’s been reserved on the ice- playing smart and drawing more power plays than penalty kills.

The third period begins and I can’t help but suddenly get a little upset, knowing Steve isn’t coming home right after. I watch with a heavy (but proud) heart as he stops shot after shot. Time after time, he comes up big. If Emery’s girl is still wondering why Steve is playing, he’s certainly proving it to her now.

I’m terrified they’re going to go into overtime. The Habs call a time out with less than thirty seconds left to play, and I can see Steve and Giroux talking furiously to the team as they huddle by the bench.

The play resumes and I can feel my heart beating fast in my chest. The Habs clear the zone and instead of letting it go for icing, Steve handles the puck outside of his crease. Danny Briere comes flying at him, but Steve makes a beautiful pass up to Giroux, who dekes Subban at the blue line and shoots towards the goal.

We all jump out of our seats when it hits the back of the net. The boys are up 1-0 with twelve seconds left on the clock. I cheer even more when it’s announced that Steve got the only assist on the goal. It’s his first point of his career.

We all cheer again twelve seconds later, when time runs out and they’ve officially won the game. We sit for a minute and listen to Coatesy interview Steve.

“Now Steve, this was your seventh shutout of the season. But it was also your first point of the season. What was going on out there?” He asks.

“Well, I made a promise to my girlfriend that I’d get a shutout tonight for her. And so I had to keep that promise. But then I guess I also just decided why not get my first career NHL point tonight for her too?” Steve laughs. I blush furiously.

“Any particular reason for this promise?”
“Yeah, it’s actually her birthday tomorrow.” He says.
“Well happy birthday to her. And happy Flyers win to all the fans. Great game tonight, Mase.”
“Thanks, Coatesy.” Steve smiles at the camera before heading down the hallway to the locker room.

“That was SO CUTE!” Erin yells, smiling at me.
“Seriously. Vin has never done anything like that for me!” Caroline agrees.
“Completely adorable.” Kelly says.

I bury my face in my hands, embarrassed.

“Oh gosh.” I laugh nervously. “That’s insane. I can’t believe he did that.”

They continue to gush about how adorable his interview was while they begin to file out of the house. A couple of the wives stay to help me clean everything up and we get it done quickly. I give them all hugs as they leave and finally I’m alone in what now seems like a gigantic apartment.

I hurry to my room to change back into Steve’s clothes and get comfy in our bed before checking my phone.

Steve: Told you I’d do it.
Jenna: I never doubted you, love. You were amazing.
Jenna: You ARE amazing.
Steve: Only because of you, beautiful.

I blush. Oh, he’s laying it on thick.

Jenna: FaceTime?

There’s a long pause. I can see he’s read the message, but he’s not responding.

Steve: Not tonight. I’m sorry. But we’re trying to rush to get back to the hotel before they close everything down. Things are crazy. I’ll call you as soon as I wake up in the morning, though.
Jenna: Please.
Steve: Like I’ve said before. Anything for you.
Jenna: Perfect boyfriend alert.
Steve: I try.
Jenna: I’m exhausted now. I’m gonna fall asleep.
Steve: Okay. I’ll talk to you later. Good night, babe.
Jenna: Good night
Jenna: I love you
Steve: I love you so much more.

Smiling, I reach over to plug my phone in and curl into Steve’s pillow, inhaling the comforting smell of his hoodie around my body. If he’s not going to be here tomorrow for my birthday, at least I have his hoodie here to soothe me.

I’m not sure how much later it is, but I’m jolted awake when I feel a large, muscular, semi-naked body slide into bed behind me and pulls me close to it. I turn frantically in the dark, searching for a clue to who it is.

“Relax, beautiful.” Steve says. “It’s just me.”
“What are you doing home?” I ask, throwing my arms around him.
“We were able to convince the airport to let us leave. We were the last flight out of Montreal before they shut everything down. We made it literally with minutes to get our shit on the plane and take off.”
“Oh my god.” I say, nuzzling my face against his chest.
“There was no way in hell I was going to miss your birthday again.”
“Like I said before- best boyfriend ever.”

He chuckles and pulls me flush against his body. His hand slides up his hoodie and begins rubbing small circles on my bare back. Mine rubs along his ribs in a similar pattern. His muscular thighs intertwine with mine, his foot slowly stroking the back of my calf. His lips press small kisses all over the top of my head, my forehead, my cheeks, my nose, and finally my lips.

“I love you, Jenna.” He says.
“I love you too, Steve.”
“I got the puck from the game. Since it was my first NHL point.”
“I’m so proud of you, baby.”
“I want you to have it.”

My hand stops.

“Steve, that’s a really important puck.” I say.
“You’re a really important girl.”

I nuzzle my nose into his chest.

“Thank you.” I say.
“No, thank you.” He responds. “Now go back to sleep. I have a full day planned for when we wake up.”
“Okay.”

Wrapped in Steve’s arms, I let myself drift back into the realm of sleep.

“Happy birthday, beautiful.” I hear him whisper just as I pass over into unconsciousness.

Notes

Requested. Enjoy!

He's SO CUTE. My babe.