Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Chapter Four

After Ryan parked his car in the lot, we made our way up to the Igloo. Along the way, we passed several members of the team and eventually I was walking with Sid.

“Canadians are so much better!” I was not about to change my mind for anything.

“What?” he was utterly confused, “I’ve never heard an American speak the way you do about Canadians before.” He smiled at me and instantly my heart rate picked up.

“It’s just that they…I don’t know,” I stammered, then looked back up at him. “They’re just so great. With they’re accents and their overall cuteness.” I quickly regained my former confidence. “Don’t worry; you gained major points with me just for being Canadian.” I smiled back at him and reached out to touch his arm. He laughed as we walked along to the locker room.

“We’ll continue this later,” he said as he pushed through the door. “I have got to find out just what kind of un-patriotic girl you are!” He winked at me then disappeared. I waited outside of the locker room as Ryan approached. He was talking on his cell phone.

“I told you where I was last night,” there was an exasperated tone to his voice. “Yes….I know…I did call! Yes…of course….I’ll see you later babe. I love you.” He snapped his phone shut and came over to me.

“Sounds like someone’s worried,” I said nonchalantly as he approached.

“Yeah, she’s being a bitch. Whatever,” was his reply. He led me out into the arena. It looked so different without the thousands of fans filling it to the brim. He then opened the door and led me onto the ice.

“Uh, what are you doing?” I asked as he held his hand out for me to follow. “I can’t skate to save my life, and I don’t even have skates on.”

“I’m walking you to the bench,” he said, clearly walking me in that direction. “That way you can get an up close view of the practice.” I held onto his hand for dear life until I was firmly seated. “Be back in a second.” He leaned in to kiss me and I swiftly turned my head, allowing him to only graze my cheek. “What?”

“Nothing ,” I said as I looked up at him.

“Are you sure?” he asked me, seeming worried.

“I said its nothing and its nothing,” I answered.

“Okay babe, whatever you say. I’ll see you out here.” He tried a smile that fell flat when I only stared blankly at him. Ryan was frustrating. I never knew quite where he was. He was the same way from when we were younger. One minute he was giving his all, everything he had. Then the next, he was just there. It was something that bothered me and I’m not sure it even had much to do with the fact that he had a wife. He was with someone else and I was the thing on the side. I accepted that, but I knew it wasn’t something built to last forever. A relationship built on lies never works. It’s fun for the time being, but someone normally ends up getting hurt in the end. Even after only spending one day with him, I decided that that person was not going to be me. We would keep it fun and casual. Just like we used to. We could never date normally anyway, so this is what it would have to be and I would tell him later. Just then the boys came out of the door, ready to go.

The skated around, warming up first. I watched them intently. Even though I had been in the locker room a day earlier and was even closer to them at that time, this was still surreal. Watching my favorite team skate while sitting on their bench. I had to remember to thank Ryan for this later. Just then, Max interrupted my thoughts.

“You know cutie,” he began, “I’d love to take you out sometime.” I smiled at him and reminded myself that I’m not tied to Ryan and I could do whatever I wanted.

“I’d love to go out sometime,” I replied. He smiled broadly and leaned over to say more, but was cut off by Ryan.

“What are you doing?” he asked. I couldn’t tell if the question was directed at me or Max. Thankfully, Max decided to answer.

“I’m just asking this beauty out,” he said, looking at me, then to Ryan. “And before you interrupted, she was just agreeing.” Disbelief sprouted in Ryan’s eyes. He looked to me, but I didn’t look down or away. I challenged him. Daring him to object and risk having his teammates find out about us.

“That’s nice,” he said and skated away.

“He’s such a little bitch lately,” Max said more to himself than me. “Well, we’ll continue this conversation later.” He put his hand over mine before skating away. As he was leaving, I heard him mutter something under his breath.

I stared after Max as he skated away, wondering to myself if we could ever have a real relationship. Sure, he’d be fun to hook-up with, but who knows? As I contemplated this thought I could feel myself growing weary. The night had been long, after all. I took off my sweatshirt and balled it up, placing it on the bench. Then I proceeded to lie down on top of it. It was not the most comfortable of surfaces, but it would do. As I drifted off to sleep I thought of Ryan and if he would be hurt if I did go out with Max. I also thought about if I really did wanna go out with him. Soon though I wasn’t thinking anything as I was deep asleep. I guess I must have slept the entire practice, because I was woken up by a gentle tap on the shoulder. I brushed the hand away wanting “five more minutes” but whoever it was persisted. I opened my eyes slightly, squinting in the harsh light. My vision was still blurry so I couldn’t quite make out who it was. Well, not until he spoke of course.

2 comments:

  1. I have a feeling Ryan's not gonna be too happy about that date.
    But he's married so he can't really be pissed anyways lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, I agree. It definately would be a bit hypocritical of him.. lol Great chapter. :-)

    ReplyDelete