Never Again

** LACEY'S POV**

I stared at the little black piece of rubber in my hand, completely dumbfounded. I laughed at how much a hockey puck could throw me an unexpected curveball in life. There's no way that Patrick Kane, who is good looking and apparently, according to Grace, famous enough to hang out with whomever he wants, wants to hang out with me. This must be a mistake. I'm just Lacey Roberts, a twenty two year old girl originally from Québec who spends half of her time at school studying to become a lawyer, and the other half of her time working as a receptionist for one of her professors. I've never done anything noteworthy in my life besides getting decently good grades and moving out by myself, and despite what Grace thinks, I am not the most gorgeous girl in the city of Chicago. I barely have time for a social life. Hell, I barely have time for the life I currently live and all the things in it.

Yes, this is definitely a mistake. Patrick Kane didn't mean to give this puck to me. This puck must be for Grace.

Ah, Grace. Also twenty two, a little on the short side, with short blonde hair to match. No boyfriend, but a line of boys waiting for a chance to take her on a date. She's fun, she's exciting, and she's enthusiastic about absolutely everything in her life. She always has time for other people, and she always finds time for herself. If you ever had a question about how to balance multiple important things in life, Grace is the girl to go to. Not only will she help you, but she'll get done everything she needs to get done, too.

Grace began her monsoon of questions towards me, bursting my thought bubble.

"What are you going to do Lacey? You absolutely have to go. It's not every day that Patrick Kane goes to girls; usually girls have to go to Patrick Kane. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and you have to take it."

Although I heard what Grace was saying, I wasn't truly registering her words.

Finally, I found the ability to speak again. "Grace, I think this was meant for you. This puck has to be meant for you. You're the bigger hockey fan here, and you're the better-looking one between the two of us. He probably just told that guy to give it to the girl behind the penalty box, and he accidentally gave it to me instead of you. You should go, you deserve this moment. I know you want it, and deep down, I know it belongs to you."

I had a lot more to say but before I could say anything else, Grace was shaking her head at me, seeing right through me and my future speech.

"Lace, hon, you really do underestimate yourself. Look at you. You have curves on your body in all the right places, your hair and skin both have a beautiful, natural glow and you are the sweetest person I know. This was definitely meant for you, and I know the whole situation is outside of your comfort zone, but I really think that this could be good for you. Besides, you were the one wearing the Kane jersey. If you think that went unnoticed by him, then you're sadly mistaken," she said with a smirk.

"I don't know, Gracey. I'm scared. When I agreed to come tonight, I didn't think this would happen. I thought I was just going to watch a group of men pass a piece of rubber around for three hours, have a couple of beers, then go to sleep. I have to work tomorrow; this was my only day off."

I finally built up the courage to lock eyes with my best friend and she let out a sad sigh. "I know you're scared Lace, and you have perfect reason to be. Alex didn't treat you the way he should have treated you, but him and that entire story were left in Québec when you decided to move here. It's part of your past now, not part of your future. You can't go on in life not trusting every person who is male, because they're not all like him. You haven't even gone on a date since you've moved out here and it's been three years. I really think that you should do this."

Without answering Grace, I decided to take a few minutes to listen to, absorb, and process what she was saying. I knew she was right. It had been way too long since I have been on a date, or even considered going on one. It wasn't that there haven't been any guys, because there have been. There have been guys who have offered to buy me a drink while out at a bar, there have been guys who offered to pay for my daily coffee at starbucks, and there have been guys who have asked me for my number when they saw me at school. I've always refused them. Each and every one of them got a flat out, instant 'no' from me. I tried not to be rude about it, but I'm sure I've come off as rude sometimes. Some of the guys were really attractive, but I was way too scared to accept their offers. Alex really left his scars on me physically, mentally and emotionally. It took me moving out of the country and changing my phone number to finally rid myself of all contact with him, and to be able to begin the healing process. A large part of me was still scared, but I knew Grace was right. It was time for me to try to trust men again.

"Lacey, I know you're thinking this over, but we've been standing outside the arena for almost 45 minutes. It's quarter to midnight. If you were thinking of going, we would have to get going to drop you off as soon as possible. As a matter of fact, you'll probably be late even if we leave right this second. I don't mean to rush you, I truly don't, but if you do want to take this risk then the time really is now."

I took a deep breath, and made the decision that might change my life forever.

"Okay."

"I'm sorry, what was that Lace? I missed it. Did you just say okay?"

"Yes. I said okay. I'll go. Let's go. Before I change my mind."

Grace couldn't contain the huge smile that overtook her entire face. "Aw, Lacey! I'm so proud of you! Let's get going then. We'll grab a cab and give them the address, and we'll get there as soon as we can. I told you tonight would be fun!"

I lost myself in my thoughts yet again, hoping that I wouldn't regret this decision when I heard Grace yell "TAXI!!!!!"

♦ ♦ ♦

I must have spent a large portion of the taxi ride way too deep in my own thoughts, because before I knew it, the car was parked outside the Trump Tower and the driver was asking us who was getting out.

Before Grace could speak, I did. "Both of us, but don't leave yet. My friend here is coming back."

Grace gave me her best "what the hell, Lacey?" look before snapping back at me.

"Oh no you don't, don't even try to pull that stunt on me. You are going to march through those doors by your confident and cute self, and you are going to go to the door 1988 and knock. Then you are going to have the best night of your life, and you will proceed to call me the second you are out of there with details."

Even though cabbies typically don't interfere with their customer's conversations, this particular one decided to throw his two cents in.

"Room 1988, eh? I don't know how many times I've dropped girls just like yourself off here for them to knock on the door of room 1988."

Before I could even think of what that meant, Grace had pushed me out of the cab and closed the door yelling a final "good luck!" to me before the taxi pulled away from the curb.

♦ ♦ ♦

After what seemed like the shortest elevator ride of my life, I was actually there. I was outside what is most likely Patrick Kane's home, and I knew I should be happy about it. In reality, I was terrified. I was terrified that this was all a plot from a possible rapist, I was terrified that this house might belong to a murderer, and I was terrified of the countless unthinkable dangers that could be behind that door.

I looked at the watch on my wrist. It was 12:07 am. I was almost ten minute late, but I was here. I contemplated running down the hall, getting back in the elevator and descending to definite safety, but I had come so far already.

With a final deep breath, I gently tapped the door of apartment 1988 three times and waited for a response.

Notes