Page 6 of No Pucks Given
At least I would see it in roughly three hours.
“So will you at least tell me the last time you saw him?” Natalie probed.
I wasn’t a girl to kiss and tell too much, but there was no reason not to be honest, especially when Natalie was the one who allowed us to meet up.
“Two weeks ago.” Natalie’s jaw dropped open, but I held up my hand to stop any protests. “We’ve talked daily since that night, since Stephanie has been home with me. You know I don’t introduce her to just anyone. Tonight started her dad’s weekend, so the moment she got dropped off, I came here."
The arena went dark, and the crowd hushed, including us. I was grateful for the interruption in the conversation since I hated gossiping to Natalie about her brother, and I’m sure the moment the pre-game ceremonies were done, our conversation would go back to our dating lives.
It was time to introduce the players, and we all dutifully booed the Broncos and shouted the moment they announced the starting lineup of the Legacy.
My eyes were drawn to Carter’s tall figure, from the moment he stood next to a little kid during the national anthems (Canadian and American since the Broncos were from Texas) to the ceremonial puck drop. Even though Carter would be larger than life on the jumbotron, my eyes were laser-focused on the real him. The one who would be dutifully smiling for the camera.
The moment he snagged the puck and handed it back to the referee, Natalie elbowed me again and said, “Oh, you are so smitten with him. I’ll leave you alone so we can watch the game, but don’t forget about your end of the deal.”
After the game, Natalie brought me down to the family lounge, which had always been off-limits to me before. The lounge was reserved for the players, and they only allowed those they wanted to be there. So even when I watched games in the family section with Natalie in the past, I wouldn’t be allowed to go to the lounge. It seemed completely fair since it was a perk for the players, not for the guests of guests.
Throughout the night, the other wives and girlfriends completely ignored the two of us. I had a feeling that a few of the girlfriends didn’t like or trust Natalie since she had so much access to the players, and as an extension, they didn’t particularly trust me. But I didn’t care since that allowed me to have a girl’s night with my girl and just let my hair down. Natalie was awesome, and it was nice not having to be on all the time.
The room started to clear out until there were just a handful of people left in the lounge. With each guy coming into the room to pick up their girlfriend or family, I started to fret.
Was coming down to the lounge a bad idea?
Then I was reminded that he told me to meet him here for our date. He neglected to tell me how to get there, but he must have assumed someone would show me the way.
Looking up at the TV, I realized why he hadn’t come out yet.
He was giving an interview, but given how his pads were off, we must have been in the final stretch. His hair was soaked, but it suited him since not a hair was really out of place.
Knowing it would be a little while before he could come to get me, I checked my phone to see if any script changes had come through. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything crazy, and I could focus on learning my lines.
After I got through all my scenes, I looked up to see Carter staring at me, and he was holding a brown paper bag with handles. It seemed so odd. “What’s that?” I asked.
He looked down at the bag I pointed at. He lifted his shoulder in a half-shrug. “Just some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”
It was such a random thing to come home from the arena with and act like he wasn’t holding a brown paper bag. “Really?”
“Yeah.” He smirked. “Crustless and with strawberry jam.”
That made it even worse. That’s something I used to make for Stephanie. I couldn’t imagine a grown man wanting it. “Why?”
Carter smirked again before extending his hand out to pull me up to a standing position. “Tradition. Come on. Let’s go get some dinner.”
I fluffed the curls at the back of my head as I got up. “Are you sure you don’t want your sandwiches?”
“I’ll eat them later. I would much rather take you on our date.”
We headed out of the arena, and Carter brought me to a quiet dim sum place in the middle of Vancouver’s Chinatown.
Chapter 6
Carter
Icouldn’t take Siobhan back to Jokers even though it was one of my favorite haunts after a game. It was a private club, but it wasn’t a place to go if I wanted to woo a girl. My policy was to meet girls at Jokers, but if I wanted to actually start a relationship, I brought them to someplace nicer for the first date.
Chinatown seemed to be one of the few areas of town that didn’t seem to be absolutely hockey-obsessed, and it was nice to get a meal in peace. I loved playing in a hockey market and being revered, but sometimes I just wanted to go to a nice restaurant without having fans recognize me.
I decided to take Siobhan to one of my favorite dim sum places.
