Love On the Brain (Corey Crawford)

7| Sweater Weather

Jessica

I think in my lifetime I've been to about three professional sporting events. One was with my dad when I was a little girl and we went to a Cubs game on veterans days. Another was a Bears game with my brother and his family, and the last one was another Cubs game with my friends and we left after the third inning because we got bored and wanted food that didn't cost a hundred dollars so we went to get to Portillos and got a hot dog there. And I have been around professional sports here and there but never have I got to go to a hockey game and never have had to actually learn about the sport.

My forte is the mind, not the body. Therefore sports was never a part of my interests. But I've always been curious as to what happens in the mind of a athletes, they have a whole another set of problems going on up there because of what they do and it's pretty cool that I get to learn from Corey who is pretty successful from what I've heard. He was very thoughtful, he just wasn't sure what those thoughts were or how to express them. And for me to better understand what it's like to be a professional hockey player I was coming to his game tonight to see for myself first hand.

So I pull on a pair of jeans and a nice long sleeved t-shirt. I make sure my hair looked good and put on a little makeup before heading over to the United Center where I would be meeting Corey. Once I find a place to park the security man looks at the pass Corey gave me before escorting me out to the arena. The game won't start for another three hours and the place was as empty as ever which made it easy to find Corey standing in the tunnel. So I make my way down there and he easily finds me. When his eyes meet mine he gives me a huge smile and it made me feel so much better... for whatever reason.

"Yay! You made it" he starts.

"I'm here" I chuckle.

"You look great" he claims and I feel my cheeks heat up. His eyes scan me and for the first time my heart starts to beat a little bit faster. Well that was new...

"Thank you Corey, that was very sweet of you to say" I smile.

"So this is it. Your seat is behind the net but there's not much to look at yet. I can show you around a little and explain some things" he says.

"That would be great" I nod.

He shows me the locker room and weight room and where they had team meals. I see where they watch film and the offices where all the behind the scenes work goes on. Finally we end up where my seat will be and he drops me off.

"So that's pretty much it. Now I go and get in game mode and put on all the pads and tape and my jersey" he explains.

"That's cool. You got a nice little gig here" I admit as he laughs.

"I'd like to think so" he admits.

I start to rub my arms to get these goosebumps to go away and he looks at me with a smirk on his lips.

"Are you cold" he asks.

"A little. I didn't think it would be this cool" I admit.

"You're in a ice arena" he reminds me and I giggle.

"Yeah, and I thought the long sleeves would be enough" I admit.

"Sit tight for a second" he says before disappearing into the concourse. I look around for a while before he eventually returns with something in his hands. He gives it to me and I hold it up so I can see what it was.

And what it was is his jersey with his name and number on it and I had to laugh.

"You couldn't have gotten me a sweatshirt or anything" I tease as he starts to blush.

"I mean if you want that instead I can do that. I just thought-" he starts.

"Corey" I stop him. "I'm just kidding. I love this, thank you" I smile and he smiles back. And a real smile this time.

"Right. Well I better be going... I'll see you after the game" he says.

"I'll be waiting" I tell him.

He disappears once again and I take my seat. The jersey sat in my lap because I'm not sure I want to put it on yet. I don't want him to think that this is anything more than a business relationship, even though I'm starting to question my theory.

"Hey you" someone says and I look up. I see some of the girls I met when I went to Corey's friends house to watch football and hung out with them for a little. I smile as they come over and reintroduce themselves to me even though I remembered who they were. My brain was wired where I could remember most anyone after one meeting.

"Okay, you look so cute, but aren't you cold" Jonathan's girlfriend Lindsey asks.

"A little bit" I admit.

"Well you got a sweater in your hand, put it on" she insists.

"You mean the jersey" I ask and she laughs.

"In hockey the jerseys are called sweaters" she explains and I nod. Odd but it makes sense if you think about it.

After much, much, contemplation I finally pull it on and I smile to myself. I have to admit this was pretty cool.

"So how did you and Corey meet" Patrick's girlfriend Amanda wonders.

"Uhhh... through the organization" I say slowly.

"But I thought you said you know nothing about hockey" she says.

"I don't. My job connected me to here which connected me to Corey" I say.

"What's your job" she wonders.

"I'm a life coach, so I help people find their happiness and understand things that don't always make sense" I explain.

"That's so cool. I think Patrick could use someone like you" Amanda claims.

"Jonny too" Lindsey agrees.

"Really" I question. We're all theses athletes the same?

"Well yeah, you know how they can be since you're with Corey" Amanda says.

"Wait wait... I'm not with Corey. We're just friends" I explain.

"Are you sure? Because you're all he talks about" she claims and and my face heats up as my lips pull into a smile. Why does that keep happening?

"Corey is wonderful, but our relationship is just as friends" I explain.

"Too bad, you guys look good together" she claims and I laugh.

"Thank you... I guess."

The game comes and goes and I have to admit, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought. It was physical and tense but it was also beautiful and technical. I kinda loved it. Lindsey explained everything to me and I admit, I would come back to one of these games of given the chance.

Finally Corey comes out from the locker room and he easily finds me waiting for him in the hallway. I run up to him and pull him into a hug. He freezes for a second before he finally wraps his arms around me too. I couldn't help it, I was a hugger and I was super happy for him because he played a great game, I'm pretty sure.

"Oh Corey, you were incredible" I say and I feel his chest vibrate as he laughs.

"Thank you. It looks like you enjoyed yourself" he claims as we break apart.

"I did" I smile.

"You know how I said you looked good earlier" he asks and I start to blush again. I really need to get this under control.

"Yeah" I say softly.

"I think you look even better now" he insist as he checks me out in his jersey and I start to giggle. I must be losing it.

"I should probably get to my car..." I trail off.

"I should probably get you to your car then" he admits.