Page 55 of Unmasking Secrets
Blue and pink lights glide across the ice and the stands while the music plays loudly on the speakers. The music and crowd drown out the sound of skates on ice. Most of the crowd wears the blue and pink jerseys that match the team, making me question whether I should wear the team colors too instead of my generic pink hoodie.
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to attend a hockey game. It’s colder in here than I was expecting. I’d been curious about why Archie had told me I would need to dress in layers for our date. It’s fake fall here in Texas.
“There are still a few minutes until the first period. Want me to grab us some drinks?” Archie leans in.
“Yeah.” I nod but don’t take my eyes off the glass.
The team is skating around, doing practice shots into their goal. Some of them are stretching and. Oh. My. God. I totally get why some of those videos came across my social media feeds. This is sort of hot. I swallow.
Archie laughs next to me. “On second thought, come with me.”
I glance over at him, then grab his hand.
“Okay.” I smile.
We walk down the row and up the steps, then down another set before rounding the corner to walk over to one of the concession stands.
Across the way is an area of team merchandise. There are shirts, sweaters, foam fingers, and more.
“Let’s grab something to remember this night after.” I whisper to him as we wait our turn in line.
“You’ve got it.” He chuckles.
The line moves fast. We’ve grabbed ourselves drinks in pretty reusable cups and a giant pretzel to share. I lead the way to where the merchandise is and find a pink hoodie with the team’s logo across the chest.
“This is perfect!”
I flip through to grab my size and then get him one of the dark blue hoodies to match. By the time we’ve made it up to the woman checking people out, my hands are full.
He passes me his card before I can object.
“Let me treat you, please.”
I hand him the bag, but I keep out our hoodies.
“We need to put these on.”
And we do. Right near the middle of the concourse. We switch to our Lonestar Bobcat hoodies and matching beanies. I pull my phone out and hold it up to take a selfie of the two of us.
I struggle to us in our cute new hoodies, when he grabs my phone from me. His long arm allows us to both be shown. I place a kiss on to his cheek and then look back at my phone’s camera.
“The game is about to start.” He points to the small TV in the corner that shows the countdown down to the seconds.
It takes two minutes to get back to our seats, where we settle in just in time to watch the puck drop.
I’ve never been into sports. I don’t have anything against them; I just never understood the appeal. A lot of people around here enjoy football, and I guess that was the only one I was used to being around.
Hockey is on a whole other level. I find myself enraptured. My eyes follow the players as they skate across the ice. Fights break out, and I find myself as into the game as the crowd surrounding me. I’ve never cared to come to a game before, but now I want to come back, and this one has only just begun.
This doesn’t feel like a date. There aren’t any nerves or jitters. It feels like I’m just hanging out with my best friend. Only—his arm is around me, resting on the back of my seat.
“We have to come back for more of these games.” I lean in so he can hear me over the noise.
“It’s a date.” He chuckles. “Plus, we need more excuses to wear these hoodies and beanies you insisted we needed.”
I place a quick kiss on his cheek. “We needed them to blend in.”
“Whatever you want.” He shakes his head.
