Page 28 of SlapShot Sweetheart

“I’m not his partner – and we’re not pucking either!”

“Okaaaaay…” Becca drawled, putting up her hands defensively. “Maybe I misunderstood what the term ‘his girl’ means?”

“Theo told you we were sleeping together?”

“No. Travis told me that Theo was bringing a girl this evening and that he told my husband that ‘she’s special’ – which is why I came to the game. I wanted to meet the woman who charmed our friend. Theo’s a great guy.”

“We’re just friends.”

“Perfect.”

“Why are you making it sound funny?”

“I’m not. I think it’s perfectly wonderful that you are friends – so maybe we should just call this section the ‘Victory box’ or ‘Cheer Zone’?”

“What about ‘Allons-y Alley’ or something like that?” Aimee volunteered, remembering Theo had yelled it in the hallway, and the players seemed to rush forward in excitement. Maybe it wascode for something or a hockey term… only to hesitate as Becca looked at her in admiration.

“That’s perfect!”

“It is?”

“Yes – Theo and Travis say it all the time. It means ‘Let’s go!’ in French.”

“Your husband speaks French?”

“Mostly just the bad words that Theo or Gerry taught him,” Becca muttered, frowning deeply as she rubbed her forehead, looking perturbed… and Aimee couldn’t help it – she laughed. The thought of Theo teaching his friends a bunch of bad words in French just seemed to tickle her funny bone. What a wild and crazy man, she marveled silently, seeing him line up with the others as a hush descended in the arena.

“Ohhh here we go,” Becca said in excitement, grabbing her arm, and even Aimee felt tense. There was just something in the air, like something was about to happen or explode wildly… and she saw Theo stand up, flinging off his gloves, pointing at one of the other players.

“Awwww come on!” Becca groaned before screaming. “KEEP YOUR HELMETS ON!”

“What’s happening?”

“Your man is starting something on the ice, and the puck isn’t even down yet.”

Aimee felt something akin to pride as she watched Theo bucking up to the other player, hearing his voice, but the words were indistinguishable. The air was alive, crackling with tension, and it was like the entire arena was taking a deep breath as the other player in white flung off his gloves, too. They were about to fight, just like the hockey game they’d watched. She knew it was something he did, something he was quite proud of, and remembered his agent had urged him to keep it up for the lucrative contracts that came his way.

“KNOCK HIS BLOCK OFF, THEOOOO!” Aimee screamed sportingly as Theo darted forward into the fray, hearing Becca’s laughter beside her before yelling at her husband, too.

“Oh yeah, you’re gonna fit right in, Aimee. GO GET ‘EM, GIROUX! WATCH THE FACE! WATCH THE FACE, FELLAS!” The two women shared a glance – and began screaming again emphatically, in solidarity.

As the game came to a close, Aimee was surprised to see that she and Becca were whisked back by security once more. It was surprising, but then again, as they walked back, she happened to glance up and saw several faces glaring in their direction – female faces. It wasn’t hard to gather why they were being escorted out safely. Not everyone was happy-go-lucky that they won by one point, only to feel Becca grab her by the wrist, looking at her.

“Don’t dawdle,” she whispered. “I had popcorn thrown at me, which is why we are escorted out now. Not everyone is happy that the players have families or relationships.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. I thought my brother was going to come unglued. He was with me and caught the tail end of someone’s soda being dumped toward me.”

“That’s terrible…”

“Which is why John’s our bestest-buddy, right John?”

“Yes, Mrs. Giroux,” the security guard chimed in, waving them through the doorway just as Aimee saw some of the players exiting the ice and headed their way. “You ladies follow me while things calm down.”

Aimee followed Becca as she entered a small room with a couch, a coffee pot, a platter of finger foods, and a dozen pink roses. Becca gave her a smile, looking around, and peeling back the Saran Wrap easily as she chatted.

“They really take care of us,” the woman began as Aimee breathed in the scent of the roses, smiling. They smelled just like the ones she had at home on her kitchen table. “Those are new. I’ve never seen roses in here before after a game.” And Aimee hesitated, swallowing and backing away slightly as she saw a small card tucked in the flowers. Picking it up, she opened it before handing it to Becca.

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