everyone is dismissed and so eleanor and I walk out to our cars. kevin gave her their address. i get into my car and sit for a moment.
what is happening.
i text matt and tell him everything that's going on.
—-
as Eleanor and i walk up, i feel fluttery in my chest. nervous. Eleanor and i give each other one last look. she knocks on the door and the smell of cooking hits my nose. Kevin greets us and walks us into the apartment, it's much cleaner than i was expecting. the dinner table is set, i thought this was just going to be a chill time. kevin interrupts my thoughts
"so we're working on our cooking skills, tonight for dinner we're having spaghetti and meatballs. all by chef conor" he says laughing
"hey guys, no promises on how good this is going to be" conor says while dumping the sauce into the pan.
"wow you guys even made the table for us" Eleanor exclaims
"conor insisted we do to try to take away from his cooking" Kevin tells us "okay how about a quick tour?" he asks
"we would love that" Eleanor tells him
Kevin walks us around the apartment, it's quite nice, clean. he doesn't show us into either of their rooms but he does show us their gorgeous balcony. it overlooks chicago from a safe space.
"this is gorgeous" i tell Kevin, he nods in agreement
"food is ready" conor yells to us
somehow i end up sat next to him, across from Eleanor who is next to Kevin. dinner goes well, small talk about our pasts and how we got here. the food itself isn't bad, could use some more seasoning but it's edible. i feel my phone buzz, as i look down i see a text on our family group chat. a text reads from matt miss you guys, and emme ill see you in two weeks when we play the blackhawks. i nearly fall out of my seat im so excited. i look at conor first
"you guys play the wild in two weeks?" i ask him
"yeah, you didn't know?" he says smiling at me
"now i do, oh my gosh this is so exciting!" i say, knowing matt is coming soon makes me feel good. it re assures me that everything will be okay. because right now i'm still not feeling hopeful about chicago.
conor smiles at me and continues eating his food. after we finish dinner we all sit on the couch, im starting to feel really tired. my eyes are so heavy. it's only 10pm.
"i should get going im really tired" i tell eleanor since the boys are cleaning up from dinner- we watched a bit of the penguins scrimmage and they decided to get the dishes done.
"just stay a little longer" she asks, i can tell she really wants me to stay.
"im genuinely about to fall asleep, sorry elle." i would stay if i had it in me. i go to the kitchen and say goodbye to the boys and thank them for dinner. kevin smiles and waves goodbye. conor looks at me and says
"do you want me to walk you down to your car?"
"oh no you don't have to. it's fine. it's literally right down the street" i tell him
"are you sure? i need some fresh air after all this smoke from my cooking" he tells me
"okay but only if you say so." i say giving in.
conor walks me to my car and closes the door for me. i've known him for maybe a day and he already has me blushing. on the drive home i listen to a couple upbeat songs. i get ready for bed and am asleep by 11.
——
my alarm going off is like a bomb threat, warning me for the day ahead. today we have practice and then leave late tonight for Pennsylvania. we're taking a coach bus and should be there by 8am. they play at 8pm that night. first game of the season.
after getting ready and packing my bags for tonight i leave for the facility. i still need to pack my trainer bag.
——
my trainer bag is packed and practice is going well, Eleanor did the mini mic with most of the guys. the question of the day being what's your favorite taylor swift song. all is well until Lukas reichel goes in for a shot and doesn't pull his leg away from the net fast enough. his ankle catching the edge of the pipe. a couple of the players wave me onto the ice. i go out and take off his skate. lord these people have big feet.
"okay, lukas i'm emme. it looks like it should be all okay. i just need you to ice it before the bus tonight and before the game tomorrow. we will do a couple treatments too." i smile at him. he looks almost unfazed.
"okay, thank you emme." he smiles at me
——
practice ends well, the players shower at the rink then we all get on the bus. i'm seeing lukas in the training area when i get a call from eleanor. almost everyone is already on the bus and she needs a picture of his game day outfit. i hang up and unwire him. i grab my things and go to the bus. i sent the family group chat a text saying that im heading off.
—————
A/N
time for me to end this chapter, i get a little carried away and struggle to know when its time to end.
