18
Kat
“Thanks for coming with me. I wouldn’t have been able to even find my seat by myself. This place is crazy packed.” My voice rises a little bit over the noise level, and I’m thankful Mary can hear me over the shouting and cheers as she leans closer, her eyes on the ice with an intensity that tells me she’s looking for a certain hockey player.
“You know me, girl, always willing to watch muscles flexing and strong, big men beat each other up to show dominance. God, just look at those determined gazes they have going on. Hope they can bring that to the bedroom too.” She grins and has a faraway look in her eyes as her gaze follows number sixty-nine on the ice.
I thought I’d have a quiet night in, maybe read a book since I’m only working Monday through Thursday and the occasional Saturday, but nope. Granger came out of his room once we got home and held up a jersey with his number printed on the back. He practically shoved it over my head and gave me tickets for the game tonight with seats close to the benches behind the glass his team sits in. So here I am, at my first hockey game, and it’s overwhelming but my adrenaline is pumping with excitement. The stands are completely full of the university student body, parents, and fans cheering on the Boston Terriers with our school colors. My jersey has his number on the back and falls down to my jean covered thighs, but it really blends in with the other fans showing their support with matching jerseys.
“You and Beast huh? How’s that going?” I casually ask her and sip my beer quickly, pretending I don’t see her narrow her gaze on me.
She starts tapping a booted heel with her arms crossed over her own jersey with the—surprise, surprise—number sixty-nine on the back. I give it a pointed stare, and she sighs loudly and uncrosses her arms to reach into the popcorn container. Stuffing her face, she makes me wait and slowly sips her own beer before turning slightly towards me.
“He’s amazing, but I’m not sure… It’s just… Can I tell you something without you judging me?” she whispers, all serious and looking a little concerned.
I give her my full attention, taking my gaze off the ice for the first time since the game started and setting my beer down between my feet.
“I’ve never judged you, and I won’t be starting today. To be honest, nothing you say after the peeing professor can ever surprise me again.” We both shudder and giggle while leaning against each other's shoulders.
“We haven’t, um, well, had sex. I’ve given my best, thrown myself at him basically. Hell,chica, I ripped his shirt off and humped that long length over his jeans, but he told me no. Something about waiting, and I’ve never been more confused in my whole life.” She looks away, her gaze back on Beast, and shakes her head in wonder.
My poor friend can be slutty at times, but she has a heart of gold under there somewhere. She doesn’t realize that Henry—AKA Beast—wants to get to know her first. Personally, I think she needs a man like that, but what the hell do I know? I’ve never had a boyfriend, and the closest that I’ve had is a fake one. That’s the way the cookie crumbles in my life. Everything backwards.
“Maybe, and I could be wrong so don’t quote me, but what if he wants more than just sex?” I pretend to gasp at the outrageous thought, but she lets out a real gasp with her hand over her heart.
“More than sex? What else is there? My God! What if he just wants to breed me, and I’ll be popping out his kids!” She looks ready to bolt, and gets half out of her seat before I place my hand on her arm.
“Mary! Calm down! I’m sure that’s not it.” I hear the doubt in my own voice, and she looks ready to start crying. “He probably just wants to get to know you more like your shining personality than just a one night stand?” The words spill out of my mouth before she gets any more crazy ideas, but then again, what. The. Hell. Do. I. Know?
Relationships are confusing.
“I don’t—I didn’t know there were guys out there like that,” she slowly admits, and gazes down at the rink with a glazed look in her eyes.
“He seems to care about you, so stop worrying. Don’t worry, the sex will happen, and it’ll be amazing,” I say, trying to reassure her while I glance back at Granger and follow his movements. I wave when he looks up at me with a lopsided smile.
“I’m not getting the hanky panky, but it looks like Granger wants to get into your panties. Are you bumping uglies?” Mary asks with a sly smile while I start choking on my beer.
“What? No! Of course not. I already told you the deal, and it’s not like that. What does he look at me like?” The words leave my mouth before I can stop myself, but I’m curious why she thinks that.
“Please,chica. You’d have to be blind not to see the way he stares at you. I’d bet if you shoved your pussy in his face, he’d happily drown a satisfied man.” She sips her beer with a giggle when I start choking on popcorn.
I need to stop eating or drinking around her, because you never know what’s going to come out of her mouth.
“He can’t possibly want me that way,” I whisper to myself, but of course, Miss Nosy hears me. It’s beyond me how she can hear while the crowd is roaring, but that brings my attention back towards the game and the countdown on the board of the third period ending.
“Think what you want, but that tall glass of muscular hunkiness wants in your pants,” she says, shoving my popcorn into her mouth as her head whips back and forth following the puck.
I ignore her and focus back on the last few minutes while pretending to not be obsessed with said hunkiness.
I’m a liar even to myself, because he’s all I ever see anymore.
Granger is moving with a speed of determination and intensity that shows his mind is focused only on one thing, and that is winning. The opposing team players bear down on him, coming from their end to protect their goaltender as Granger carves the ice up towards the net. The puck moves gracefully back and forth as he stick handles around the defensemen with two wingers off set behind him in a V pattern. I can’t look away even if I tried. He moves as if he’s flying, and his blades look like they hardly touch down on the surface. It’s such a rehearsed dance, and so well balanced, that you can tell they’ve done this move a hundred times. You can tell something amazing is about to happen as the crowd pushes up from their seats. Mary grips my hand in a tight squeeze as she screams in excitement, but I’m barely breathing as he picks up speed, the puck practically a blur between his stick blade. The two offensive players on the other team try to steal the puck from him, but at the last second, Granger stops so suddenly that ice sprays up, and he circles around his own two wingers that push forward from behind him. As Collins passes Granger, he sends the puck to him. Collins skates towards the corner passing the puck back and forth with the other winger Michaels, trying to confuse the opposite team as Granger makes his way towards the blue line. Collins snaps his stick back and sends the puck flying towards Granger while the other players are distracted. The moment the puck makes contact with the stick blade, he takes off towards the net with a speed that makes time seem to stand still as he sprints closer to the net. I never knew hockey could be this exhilarating and heart pounding, but when he shoulders a player out of the way, sending his skates off the ice, Granger takes a shot and sends the puck airborne across the short distance to the net.
My eyes widen as the crowd starts going ballistic around me, and the buzzer goes off as the puck hits the net just as the third period ends with seconds to spare.
“Granger scores the goal to break the tie! Boston Terriers win!” the announcer exclaims over the speakers with a deafening blast of music, and the crowd goes wild as the team surrounds Granger in a pile of winning excitement.
I wrap my arms around Mary as we jump up and down, sloshing beer and sending popcorn flying everywhere but oddly not caring. I’ve never seen anything like that. He keeps saying I skate like I was made for the ice, but I think he was born to play hockey, based on the passion I’ve seen tonight. He needs to go pro, and I’m praying some scouts are here to see how amazing and talented he is on the ice.
