Go Easy on Me

The pair of girls walked out of the banquet hall and Heather took out her phone to call a cab. Keira crossed her arms over her chest, wishing that she had brought a cardigan with her. Heather hung up her phone and sighed, walking over to the curb as she waited for the cab. Keira could tell she was acting weird so she walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

Heather looked at her and furrowed her brows in confusion.

“Yeah, I’m fine, why?”

Keira laughed and looked at her friend, still confused.

“You just seem off. You left the gala so suddenly when you were talking to that guy. Did something happen?”

Keira could swear she saw a smirk break out onto Heather’s face, but she ignored it and continued to be skeptical of her friend’s behavior.

“No, nothing happened. It was fine. I just wanted to get back to the apartment.”

Before Keira could pry any more, the cab pulled up. She followed Heather into the car and both were silent for the entire ride back to the apartment. When they arrived at the apartment, Heather raced out of the cab, leaving Keira to pay the cab driver. Keira handed the money to the man and shut the cab door behind her, suddenly feeling pretty aggravated with Heather. She took the elevator up to the sixth floor and rushed to the apartment that she shared with Heather, opening the door.

She saw that Heather somehow had already taken her dress off and was in a pair of shorts and a tank top, brushing her teeth. She barely acknowledged Keira as she came into the apartment and at this point, Keira was fuming. She went over to the bathroom and stood between Heather and the sink, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“What the hell is your problem, Heather?”

Heather motioned her out of the way, and Keira obeyed, only because she didn’t feel like getting Heather’s spit and toothpaste all over her dress. She watched as Heather finished brushing her teeth and put her toothbrush away, finally turning around to face her.

“What are you talking about, Keira?”

Keira was usually a pretty quiet and passive aggressive person, so it took a lot for her to be actively angry and confrontational, especially with her best friend. But right now, Keira was furious and she was not going to act like this didn’t piss her off. She was ridden with guilt that she ditched the mystery guy at the gala. Even for her best friend, there was no need to be so rude. Keira reached down to peel off her shoes and tossed them aside.

“You rushed me out of here before because you just had to go to this gala. Then you spend the whole time talking to some hockey player and after an hour you decide that you’re bored and just want to leave? Maybe I didn’t want to leave.”

Heather was leaning against the wall in their hallway, relaxed, and quite frankly, amused at Keira’s sudden outburst.

“I mean you were sitting by yourself so you didn’t look like you had anything keeping you there.”

Keira went to mention the guy she had been talking to, but instead she retreated to her normal quiet self and kept it to herself. She didn’t want to start a fight with Heather because of some guy she had spoken a few words to and knew nothing about. She sighed and walked to her bedroom, taking off her own dress and throwing on some beat-up sweatpants and a t-shirt. She went to the bathroom to apologize to Heather, but saw that she was already in her room with the light off. It was odd for Heather to go to bed so early, but Keira shook it off, thinking maybe she was just tired after all. She took out her contacts and brushed her teeth before heading into her room once again, collapsing onto the bed. She put in her headphones and passed out, the faint image of a handsome guy still on her mind.

Keira woke up around nine the next morning and sat up, thinking there was no use in trying to sleep any longer. She grabbed her glasses and walked out to the kitchen to make some coffee. She poured herself a cup and then heard the door to Heather’s room open. Usually, she didn’t see Heather until at least 11 AM on the weekends. Keira poured another cup of coffee and moved towards the hallway to hand Heather the cup when she was faced with someone who was definitely not Heather. It was a guy; in fact, it was the same guy Heather had been talking to last night at the gala. Keira didn’t know what to do, so she silently handed him the second cup of coffee.

“Thanks. I’m Sidney, by the way.”

“Keira.”

As if Heather could sense the awkwardness that was occurring, she came out of her room and entered the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee and went to stand next to Sidney.

“Keira, this is Sidney.”

Keira smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, we just met.”

Heather blushed and looked at Keira with an apologetic smile. Sidney cleared his throat and turned towards Heather.

“Well, I have to go get ready for practice. See you later?”

Heather nodded and he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, before waving goodbye to Keira and heading out the door. Keira just stood there, trying not to laugh and getting the slightest satisfaction from Heather’s embarrassment.

“If you wanted to rush home so you could hook-up with a hockey player, you could have just said so.”

The blush on Heather’s cheeks darkened and she fumbled with the fabric of her shirt.

“I didn’t want to make a scene. And it wasn’t just a hook-up. Look, he invited me to go watch the team practice and he said you could come along too. Please, will you come?”

Keira playfully shook her head but agreed, and a half-hour later they were making their way to the Consol Energy Center. They walked into the arena and Heather led the way, following the directions that Sidney had given her. When they entered the stadium, Keira went to take a seat in the back, thinking they were just going to stay hidden and watch. However, Heather grabbed her and dragged her down closer to the ice, so that they were sitting right in front of the boards. Sidney must have noticed them come in, because he turned around and waved in their direction. Heather smiled and waved back, elbowing Keira to do the same.

The rest of the team saw Sidney’s attention directed elsewhere and turned towards where the girls were sitting. Keira’s breath caught in her throat as she saw a certain guy. She elbowed Heather and turned towards her.

“Keira, what the hell?”

“I met one of those guys last night. He came over and started talking to me and went to get me a drink when you came over and said you wanted to leave. I was pissed last night because I left without saying goodbye and felt guilty. Now here he is.”

Heather asked her to point out which guy it was and Keira pointed to one with messy brown hair and a scruffy beard. Heather lifted her brows and smiled, looking at Keira.

“Wow, him?”

“What do you mean?”

Heather laughed and continued to stare at Keira with an amused look on her face.

“That’s Kris Letang. He’s only one of the most sought after players in the league by tons of girls because of how gorgeous he is. But I’m sure you figured that part out on your own.”

Keira watched as Kris skated around the ice, stopping every now and then to talk to the other players or run a hand through his hair. She felt fluttering in her stomach and bit her lip as she continued to look at him. She moved her gaze to the floor and started to tap her foot, something she always did when she was nervous. She was brought out of her daydream by Heather.

“Hey, don’t be too nervous. They’re coming this way.”

She looked up and saw she was right, a couple of the guys were coming over to where they were sitting, including Sidney and Kris. Sidney came up and sat next to Heather, chatting and laughing with her. Kris shook his hair out of his eyes and moved over to Keira.

“I didn’t think I’d see you after you ran off on me last night.”

Keira found it difficult to look at him, nerves taking over. She mustered up the courage and looked into the deep brown eyes of the handsome Kris Letang.

“I’m sorry about that. Heather wanted to rush home to have Sidney come over, I guess.”
Kris chuckled and moved closer to her, a crooked smile breaking out onto his face.

“Yeah, Sid told me about it. I wish I could’ve done the same with you.”

His slight accent made her chuckle and she leaned towards Kris.

“I’m not that easy, you see.”

He moved his head down and came close to her. Keira hoped he couldn’t see the goosebumps that had appeared on her arms due to his closeness. He whispered into her ear in a voice only she could hear.

“Well, I’ve always been a fan of a challenge.”

Notes

Hi!

So here's the second chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you so much to everyone who has read, commented, and subscribed.

Let me know how you're liking it!

xo - Erin