At 730 the alarm on Vivienne’s radio went off. Sounds of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on 105.9 the X filled the room as she rubbed her eyes and slowly got up to walk across the room so that she could turn it off. After showering, she stood in front of her closet and stared at all of her clothes. “What to wear, what to wear…” she asked herself. It took her a while, but she decided on her Stanley Cup Champions shirt. That way, she wouldn’t offend any players by wearing a jersey. Vivienne pulled her hair up, did her makeup, and sat around for 20 minutes until it was time to leave. With ten minutes before they were supposed to meet up, she left the apartment and started the four block walk to the coffee shop. Just as she sat down, Marc-Andre entered the café. Vivienne smiled and waved as the sexy goalie pulled out his chair. “I did not make you wait long, did I?” he asked. “No, not at all. I just sat down when you walked in.” She flashed him another smile. There was silence for a moment, and then Marc-Andre said, “I guess I should go buy us coffee.” “Us? You don’t have to buy me coffee. That’s ridiculous!” “I owe you, remember?” “Yea, but…” “No ‘buts’,” he laughed. “Let me get it. It is not like it’s a dent in my wallet. And I’d really like to do this for you.” She thought about it for a minute. “Well I guess that’s ok…” “What kind do you like?” Vivienne thought for a moment. She didn’t want to come off as a gold digger or like she wasn’t appreciative of what he was doing. “Raspberry mocha?” Marc-Andre smiled and nodded. After buying the coffee he sat back down and handed her the cup. They talked for about a hour, learning about each other. Marc-Andre kept steering the conversation away from him so that he could find out more about Vivienne. They talked about favorite colors, pets, first cars, that sort of thing. The two surprisingly had a lot in common. Both enjoyed traveling and learning new things. One thing they found they didn’t have in common was music. Marc-Andre was a big Nickleback fan, but Vivienne wasn’t really a fan of Canadian music, especially Nickleback. It was something they could laugh about though. No one can have similar taste in everything. “Oh! We have to get going! Your practice will be starting soon.” “You’re right. Lets go.” The two hustled out of the café and up the fifteen blocks to Consol Energy Center. On the way, they decided to “race” there. Marc-Andre truly had the advantage. As well as being in top physical shape and being the athletic type, as Vivienne was not, he also had legs much longer than hers. Vivienne’s legs only went as high as the middle of his thighs! On top of that, her feet were much smaller than his. One of his strides was equal to two of hers. Clearly the hockey player would win. But being the gentleman that she was discovering him to be, ladies came first, and she “won”. He “tripped” and “hurt” his ankle. Marc-Andre had to “hobble” the last three blocks. “You didn’t have to do that,” she smiled as they reached the end of the race; the corner of Washington and Fifth. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” he “panted”. “You won fair and square.” Vivienne rolled her eyes, “Sure I did.” Vivienne started walking towards the American Eagle Entrance gate. Marc-Andre had continued on walking up the “hill”. It took him a moment to realize Vivienne wasn’t with him anymore. “Vivienne!” he yelled to get her attention. She turned around, looking for him, and saw him up the street a little. “Where are you going?” Vivienne realized her mistake. She forgot that the players didn’t enter the same way the fans do. He chuckled at her and motioned for her to follow. “I can’t believe I just did that. I feel so dumb.” “Don’t. Its an easy mistake.” Vivienne’s face was very red. “You aren’t a player, employee, or family member. No one would expect you to know our secret entrance.” “Is it really that much of a secret?” she asked jokingly. “Oh yes. Its like the entrance to the Bat Cave or something.” “What? Are you a superhero now?” “Duh,” he said as he held open the door for her. She smiled and asked, “And which masked man are you? The Caped Crusader? A member of Professor Xavier’s team?” The proceeded down a hallway. “Your first thought was right. I am Batman.” “Oh really? And why is that?” “I make all the great saves using my well trained body, and I’m in charge!” he jested. Out of seemingly nowhere, they were joined by another voice. “You’re in charge?” it questioned. Vivienne was startled and jumped. “Oops. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Sidney Crosby apologized. “Anyway, what makes you think you’re in charge? I’m the captain!” he playfully joked. “You might be the captain, but you’re just a sidekick. I steal the show.” Vivienne just looked between them as they “mocked” each other. “Oh, Sid, this is Vivienne. Vivienne, Sid.” “Hi,” she said and made a small wave. Sid took her hand and shook it. “Its nice to meet you.” “So, the locker room isn’t far from here, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to go in there…” “Yea, all of us guys walk around mostly naked and do weird things, you know?” (haha, this is so Sid. He says “you know?” at the end of like, every sentence, you know?) Vivienne nodded. Sid continued walking down the hall while Marc-Andre addressed her. “I’ll show you where to watch the practice. You can sit near our bench. That way you’ll see and hear everything that we are up to.” “Alright. That sounds nice. Thank you.” Marc-Andre took her past the locker room and out into the arena. “Coach!” he called over to Bylsma, “This is my friend Vivienne. Is it alright if she watches practice today?” Vivienne laughed in her head. It was like he was a little kid asking his mother if his friend could come over and play. “Sure, as long as you don’t get distracted.” Bylsma held out a hand gesturing to a spot on the bench for Vivienne to sit. She watched the guys skate around and listened to all the things Bylsma and his team of coaches had to say to the hockey playing men. Marc-Andre was just as she imagined him to be; just like in every news clip and video she watched, he kept his playful yet competitive persona as he teased the guys to motivate them to score against him. The practice was not very long. There was an off-ice portion that they still needed to attend. It would be the method portion of their training before the game that evening. The guys would then have about an hour or so before they needed to gear up for the game. Marc-Andre skated up to the bench before going to the locker room to shower and change before the rest of practice. He asked if Vivienne had a good time, and apologized that they couldn’t hang out more because of the “meeting” before the game. Marc-Andre also asked her if she knew how to get out without going through the public entrance. She smiled and said she could find her way out fine. They said goodbye, and both parties went separate ways. Vivienne had her own redding up for the game to do. She and Monica had tickets for the game and had been excited for over a month for this upcoming event. On her way home, she stopped at a little store to buy a poster board. Then she went home, wrote her message, and got ready for the game. Monica came over, and they walked over to the arena. There was no point in driving, seeing as how close Vivienne lived, all the traffic of leaving, and the high event parking prices. They had no idea where their seats were. It didn’t matter to them as long as they went; every seat in Consol Energy had a great view of the ice. The women were extremely excited. They laughed and giggled the whole walk to the arena. On the way, Monica questioned Vivienne about her “date”. “Do you think there will be another one?” “I’m not sure. I hope so. I had a great time. He is so cute! And he is funny. I mean, I’ve seen film of him goofing off before, but he really is hysterical. Plus we have a lot in common. He likes watching movies, hockey…” “Wow. Yinz are made for each other. Movies are so specific, and hockey is so uncommon, especially for a professional athlete who plays the sport.” “Shut up Monica. You are such a bitch,” Vivienne joked. Monica nodded. “Which entrance should we use?” “How ‘bout the one that leads to the locker room?” Monica smirked. Vivienne laughed. “No. As fun as that would be…I’d probably lose all hope in being asked back. The American Eagle gate will probably take longer than the wait at the Trib…” “Yea, let’s use the upper one.” The girls walked up Seventh Avenue to use the more discrete entrance. They were scanned for inappropriate objects and then let in. The first thing they did was consult a map to find their seats. When they discovered the seats’ location, they were ecstatic; their section was right behind the net! That means for at least one period, Marc-Andre would be close to them. It was bittersweet that plays happening on the other side of the rink would be difficult to see, but there was nothing that could make them more thrilled. Monica’s stomach growled as they made their way to their section. To their right was a Nakama sushi stand. “Viv, I want sushi.” Vivienne gave Monica the “are you serious? You’re at a sporting event and you want sushi?” look, but there was nothing she could do to stop her ravenous friend. Monica skipped to the line, waited for her order, and eventually they made it to their seats. Surprise! An usher took them three rows behind the net.