Never Again

** LACEY'S POV**

It was early in the morning on my only day off when I heard my cell phone go off from my living room. The song playing was Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies', so I knew it was my best friend Grace calling. With a groan, I rolled over to face the clock on my bedside table. It read "7:04". I cursed Grace under my breath for calling so early. I flipped back over and mumbled into my pillow, "What the hell does she want?" I threw my arm on the other side of my bed in search of my cell phone, patting the sheets for it, finding nothing but my kitten, Pepper. She raised her head in frustration, and jumped off the bed, letting me know that she was not happy with my sudden movements.

The reality of my phone not being in its usual spot beside me sunk in, and I scrambled to reach it before it stopped ringing. After a short, hard fought battle with my blankets, sheets, and then my sleepy body, I managed to reach the living room.

"Hello? Grace?"

"Hello? Hi, is anyone there??"

"Grace?"

"Fuck", I said while flipping the phone shut. All of that effort and she doesn't even give me enough time to get out of my very comfortable bed to answer. She should know me better by now; she knows I always sleep in on my days off. If she had the guts to disturb me today, she was going to pay.

I quickly brought up her contact information and sent her a text while walking back to my bedroom.

Me: "If you're calling me this early, it better be good Gracey."

I climbed back into bed, got settled under the covers and waited for a reply. I didn't have to wait long because not even five minutes later, 'Single Ladies' was blaring through my house once again. This time I was ready for the phone call and I answered pretty quickly.

"This better be good, Grace" I mumbled into the phone, trying to express my sleepiness and frustration through my tone.

"Oh my God, Lacey! I'm so glad I got a hold of you."

"Grace, it's seven in the morning. Couldn't you have tried to get a hold of me.. you know... a few hours from now? At like 11? It's my day off, you know."

"I know, I know. But Lace! Guess what?"

I don't think I've ever heard Grace so excited over anything before in our 10 years of friendship, so I decided to play along and entertain her.

"What? Did your prince charming knock on your door last night, get down on one knee and propose to you? Oooh, Grace! Tell me his name! I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner!"

Laughter erupted from the other end of the phone. "No! That definitely didn't happen."

"So prince charming didn't knock on your door and sweep you off your feet, but you met him, right?"

"NO!"

"Then what on earth are you so excited about Grace? I've never heard you so excited before, I can practically see you bouncing up and down on your toes with excitement and the day has barely started."

"If you would stop with your ridiculous guesses and let me talk, maybe you'd find out!"

I laughed, feeling my earlier annoyance leaving my body. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'm listening now."

"You know how my boss has season tickets for the Hawks right behind their penalty box?"

"Uhh, Grace, you know I really don't follow sports that much. The Hawks are a hockey team, right?"

"Yes, you idiot. The Hawks are a hockey team. And you're going to see them play tonight! My boss can't make it and he gave the tickets to me to put them to good use, and I'm bringing you!"

"I don't know, Gracey. I want to, but I'm really not into sports. Maybe you should invite someone else, someone who follows the Hawks and who would enjoy it more."

A loud groan started ringing in my ear, Grace's frustration with me emerging. "But Lacey, I want to take you! Come on, give it a chance. Maybe you'll like it! Besides, even if you don't understand what's happening, the players are cute. Come on. I'll take you to dinner and I'll even buy you a beer! Pleaaaaaase, Lacey! It'll be fun!"

I sighed in defeat. I've known Grace long enough to know that when she really wanted something, she usually got it. Besides, what's the worst that can happen? At least I can say I did something on my day off.

"Alright, alright, I'll go with you. What time is the game at?"

"It's at 8, so I'm picking you up at 6 on the nose. You better be ready!"

"I will be, I will be, I promise. Now let me go back to sleep!"

I heard Grace shout "yes!" to someone in the background and I let out a laugh.

"See you later, Grace."

"Bye Lacey!"

I flipped my phone shut for the second time that morning and threw it on the other side of my bed, just as Pepper jumped back on. A little 'meow' escaped her lips as she curled up on my side, the both of us falling back into a much deserved sleep.

♦ ♦ ♦

The rest of my day went by pretty uneventfully. When I woke up I went for my daily jog to Starbucks, and I got myself a little brunch since I slept longer than I had originally planned to. I got home from my run, took a shower, and cleaned the house from top to bottom. I had been neglecting my little apartment recently due to my hectic schedule at work, and I didn't notice how messy it really was. By the time I was done cleaning, it was already time to start getting ready. I got dressed in a simple white tee-shirt and a pair of jeans. Not feeling motivated enough to do anything with my hair; I decided to let it hang loosely past my shoulders. With a little bit of mascara and a touch of eyeliner, I considered myself good enough to go. I mean, it was only a hockey game. Last I heard those weren't very formal events.

To my surprise, my doorbell was ringing. I took a look at the clock on my wall which read 5:30. "Well that's odd," I thought, since Grace is usually right on time for things. Never early, never late. Always punctual. I walked to my door and let her in. I didn't even have time to get in a simple "hello" before Grace was pushing me back towards my bedroom.

"Good thing I came here early. What are you wearing Lacey? Why do you have on minimal makeup? You're lucky you have me as your best friend."

I was in shock. This definitely wasn't like my best friend. I looked to my left and saw Grace going through my closet, pulling out a low cut v-neck white shirt as opposed to my higher cut one, with a pair of black leggings and high heels.

"Here, put these on while I go turn your curling iron on."

I sighed and did as she said because I knew there was no point in arguing with her, especially if she showed up early just to ensure that I was dressed to her standards. I didn't see the point in changing and working harder on my appearance, but apparently Grace did.

Once I was fully clothed to her standards, I met her in my bathroom. I was starting to regret agreeing to this, and my good mood was slowly but surely flying out my window.

"Uh, Grace, why exactly did I have to change? What was wrong with what I was wearing before? Why are you doing my hair, and why oh why is my makeup bag out?"

Sensing the irritation in my voice, she tried to be as nice as possible with me. "Sweetie, I know to you it's just a hockey game, but it's actually so much more. We're really close to the players; they're going to be able to see us. I'm curling your ends and touching up your makeup just to enhance your natural looks. I guess you didn't really have to change outfits, seeing as how I brought a jersey for you to wear, but you never know. If you got it, flaunt it, as my mom always said. Now sit still, I promise this won't take long."

To my surprise, Grace kept her promise and was satisfied with my appearance by six on the dot. I picked up the jersey she had brought for me, and looked at the back. It had the number 88 on it, and the name said "Kane." I had no idea who that was so I shrugged and slipped it on over my clothes. With a final look in the mirror, Grace led me out my front door and towards her car.

♦ ♦ ♦

After a delicious meal and a local restaurant, we headed towards the United Centre for the game and for Grace to get me my well deserved beer. After waiting in a lengthy concession stand line, we went in search of our seats and found them minutes before the pre-game ceremonies began. Once we got settled, I finally took in my surroundings. I looked around the crowd which could be better described as a sea of red. The atmosphere was really great, and I found myself smiling.

"Wow, Grace, this is actually kind of cool. Thanks for bringing me."

A satisfied look came across Grace's face and she smiled at me. "I knew you would like it. Just wait until you see the players. Especially the one who's name is on your back. He's the team cutie," she said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes at her and watched as the crowd roared when the players skated on the ice. A few took a skate near our seats and it was so cool to watch. We could hear their skates cutting into the ice, and their adrenaline was contagious. I found myself really excited for the next couple of hours, and I settled deeper into my seat.

♦ ♦ ♦

Unfortunately the player's adrenaline wasn't pumping for long. Halfway through the game they were losing 4-0, and the Hawks goalie was going crazy. I don't know what he was complaining about, but apparently the referee didn't like it and he called a penalty. To my surprise, number 88 skated towards the penalty box in front of us and sat himself down.

Confused, I turned to Grace. "Hey, Grace, why is he getting the penalty? Isn't it the goalie that got called?"

She laughed at the confused expression on my face before I could get my answer. "Yeah, but goalies don't serve their penalties. The coach has to send a player who was on the ice at the time to serve it for them. This time, it worked in our favor. We get to sit near the team cutie for the next four minutes."

I took this time to look at the Hawk in the box a little better. He seemed cute, but it was hard to see his face from where we were sitting. I opted to do a quick google image search on him, and I liked what I saw.

"Lacey! Lacey! Look! He's looking at you. Oh my God, he's totally checking you out. Lacey!"

"Huh? What? Sorry."

"Team cutie. Checking you out. You missed it."

I turned my attention towards the penalty box to see if Grace's claims were true, but the boy was no longer there. The penalty had expired and he skated back to his bench, which appeared to be filled with a group of very frustrated men.

When the game ended, Grace and I ended up staying a little bit longer to take some pictures together. She said that we needed photographic proof to remember the day that Patrick Kane checked me out. We were finally gathering our things to leave when a man with a Chicago Blackhawks jacket tapped me on the shoulder, taking me by surprise.

"Uhh, miss? I have something for you, straight from the locker room."

He placed a hockey puck in my hand, with white writing on it signed by the number 88.

"Oh no, this must be a mistake. This can't be for me, this is the first hockey game I've ever been to."

I placed the puck back in his hand and turned to walk away when I was interrupted again.

"No miss, no mistake. I've been instructed to give this to you. Make what you want with it. Have a great night!"

I watched the man walk away for a few seconds before Grace interrupted my thoughts.

"Read it Lacey, what are you waiting for?"

Being brought back to reality, I looked down at the puck.

Meet me at room 1988 of the Trump Tower at midnight.

Notes