We've Got This

“Come on Jean! We’re going to miss our flight!” my best friend Nicole shouted to me from outside my window.

“I’m coming!” I shouted right back, grabbing my bag and heading out of my bedroom. On my way out I stopped and hugged my parents and brother. “Bye guys; see you in a few days,” I said, hugging my dad tight.

“Be safe sweetheart,” he replied, hugging me twice as hard. “Say hello to your uncle if you see him. Now go; you’re going to be late,” he added as he let me go and pushed me out the door. I gave one last wave before joining Nicole and my other best friend Amanda in the cab that was taking us to the airport.

Perhaps I owe a bit of an explanation? Well, my friends are about to spend a long weekend in Dallas, Texas. We rented a really nice, swanky house out in the suburbs with the help of my uncle Mike, who happens to live down there. Our main reason for going is to just get away for a girls’ weekend because we have all graduated from college and we needed a weekend off from our lame jobs, but I really want to take in a Stars game and try and get tickets for WrestleMania.

Anyway, back to the story. We made it to the airport with just enough time to get our bags checked and get to our gate. The flight went very smoothly, and my uncle had arranged for our rental car to be waiting for us at the airport. It was a beautiful black Chevy Camaro. “Holy fucking shit,” I breathed as I got into the driver’s seat, causing Nicole and Amanda to laugh at me. “Shut up! Camaros are my dream cars!” I exclaimed, plugging in my GPS to get us to the house.

It took us about an hour to get to the house, and I was blown away when we got there. The neighborhood was beautiful, and the house was huge. All of the houses were huge. Ours had an upstairs balcony, and a gazebo, pool and hot tub in the backyard. “Alright, let’s get our shit inside and pick our rooms,” I said as I turned off the car and got out. Nicole and Amanda didn’t even wait for me to get out before grabbing all their stuff and running into the house, no doubt hunting down the best room.

I laughed when I got upstairs and saw the two of them fighting over the master bedroom, all of their bags on the bed. “Jean! Tell Amanda that I get this room!” Nicole shouted, and I threw my hands up.

“No fucking way,” I chuckled. “You two can duke it out for the room. I’m gonna go take the one with the balcony over the front yard,” I said, picking up my bag and walking into the smallest of the bedrooms. It was nice enough for me; I didn’t need huge. I just needed comfortable.

Once we were all situated in our rooms, I got on the computer to find fun things to do tonight. I knew that the Stars had a home game tonight, so I checked into that first. Luckily, I managed to find three decent seats in the lower level; good thing I was saving for this trip for a while beforehand. “Hey guys,” I shouted from the kitchen. “Want to go to a hockey game tonight?” I asked.

“Sure,” Amanda said as she entered the room, Nicole right behind her.

“Sweet!” I exclaimed, buying the tickets. “And I looked around and there’s a bar pretty close to the AAC, so we could go there after the game if you guys want,” I added, and they nodded again.

Since it was still early-ish in the day, we decided to take some chairs into the front yard, bring out a stereo, and just sit out in our bathing suits, talking and soaking up the sun. And, of course, we pre-gamed a little for the night. We got some honks from drivers by, and we just waved at them as the music blasted.

The only bad part was that my phone kept ringing constantly until I finally had to turn it off. “Who keeps calling you?” Nicole asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Who do you think?” I asked, tossing my phone into the grass. Both she and Amanda rolled their eyes as well, knowing full well who I was talking about.

A few hours later, once we decided we had had enough sun, we had our tickets printed and had gotten a cab to take us to the game. Since we knew we were going to a bar afterward, we didn’t bother taking our car.

I was beyond excited for this game. No, the Stars were not my favorite team, but I just loved hockey. They were playing the Nashville Predators, and it was an exciting game. The Stars ended up winning 5-4 in a shootout. It was a great game, even though the Stars were playing without one of the best players, Tyler Seguin.

Amanda and Nicole weren’t as big of hockey fans as me, but they were still able to keep up with what was happening and have a good time, which was all I could ask for from them. Once the game ended, we waited a few minutes as the crowds dispersed, knowing that it would take a while to get out of the arena. We were walking to the bar anyway, so we had no rush. We wore more bar-worthy clothes to the game, so we didn’t need to worry about changing either. I just wore basic skinny jeans, my Vans, and a green V-neck that showed a decent amount of cleavage.

Once we finally made it out of the AAC we headed over to the bar, going to straight to get drinks. Bars were not exactly my “scene”, but Amanda and Nicole went to the game with me, so I put up with it. However, I was not going to let them persuade me to get on the dancefloor. That was not going to happen. “Oh come on Jean! We’re in a new city, hundreds of miles away from home! Live a little!” Nicole whined, but I shook my head.

“Nah, I’m good. You guys got me into a bar, what more can you ask of me?” I chuckled. “You guys go dance, I’ll stay here and watch our drinks,” I added, hopping up onto a bar stool. They shrugged and turned around, getting lost in the throngs of dancing people.

After a few beers and some people watching, I felt a presence and heard someone sit down on the stool next to me. “Can I buy you another drink?” a man’s voice asked, and I looked over to see a familiar face.

I shrugged. “That depends,” I said, taking the last sip of my current beer before setting the bottle back down on the bar.

“Depends on what?” he asked.

“On if you expect that by buying me a drink I’ll automatically go home with you,” I replied. “Because that’s not going to happen. I have a little bit more dignity than a vast majority of the sluts in this place tonight.” He just looked at me, somewhat dumbfounded, making me chuckle. “But if that’s not what your plan is, then yes, I would love another drink.”

He chuckled nervously. “Um, wow. Heh, I’ve never gotten that reaction from a girl before,” he replied.

I chuckled. “Yeah, well, I know exactly who you are Tyler Seguin,” I replied. “Just because you’re a hockey star doesn’t mean I’m going to fawn all over you like some puck slut. Like I said, I have a little more dignity than that.”

“You know who I am huh?” he asked, taking a drink of his own beer.

“Yes, yes I do. Drafted second overall by the Boston Bruins in 2010, won the Stanley Cup your rookie season in 2011, and are currently in your third season with the Dallas Stars, but you’re done for the rest of the season with a partially lacerated Achilles tendon. Sound about right?” I asked sassily. “Though I do hope, for your sake, that you’ve gotten over that childish party boy attitude. If not, that would be a real shame; being an alcoholic and a has-been at the age of 24. That would totally suck,” I added.

He took a few moments before responding, probably because I just blew his mind. “Wow. So you do know me,” he replied.

I shrugged. “I know hockey. I love the game, and I respect talent when I see it. And you, my friend, are very talented.”

He nodded. “Well thank you, I appreciate that. And I like to think that I have outgrown the whole party boy reputation, seeing as I’m not trying desperately to get you into bed with me,” he chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. “I’ve been coming to this bar for a while, rather regularly, and I’ve never seen you before,” he added.

“That is because I’m not from here,” I replied, as I waved over the bartender to order another beer.

“I’ve got it,” Tyler said, slapping a few bills onto the counter as the bartender gave me my beer. I smiled appreciatively as I took a swig. “So where are you from then? Some other part of Texas?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I’m actually from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago,” I replied, and he almost spit out the beer he had in his mouth.

“Chicago?” I asked, shocked. “What are you doing down here then? If you don’t mind my asking.”

I shrugged, taking another sip of my beer. “A couple girlfriends and I rented a house for a long weekend. They’re here for a vacation, but I’m here more to just get away,” I replied. “We actually went to the game tonight,” I added.

“A Blackhawks fan at a Dallas Stars game. That’s a new one,” he chuckled. “Can I ask what you’re here to get away from? I mean it’s cool if you don’t want to say,” he added quickly.

I sighed. “Just to get away from everything. Crappy job, living at home, yes I still live at home, um, yeah, just life in general I guess. I graduated college, so I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with my life,” I replied.

Just as he was about to reply, I was tackled from behind. “What the fuck?” I shouted. “Nicole! What the fuck is wrong with you? Can’t you see I’m talking to someone?” I yelled, motioning to Tyler.

She gave him a small smile before frantically turning to me. “We need to get the fuck out of here. NOW,” she replied, trying to yank me off the stool.

“Why?” I asked. “I’m actually having a nice conversation,” I said, giving Tyler a smile.

“He’s here,” she said.

My heart dropped. “Oh my God. How?” I asked, trying to keep my composure. I wasn’t doing very well. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Tyler I’m so sorry, I really have to get out of here,” I said, getting off the stool and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning away. “Thank you for the beer,” I added as Nicole pulled me out of the bar.

Notes