The Hockey Player (Matt Sturniolo)

Cheap Seats

"I'll get up because my ass is asleep. I think I see Ryan" she looked down and smiled.

"Under the bleachers?"

"We're not the half time show" she groaned, but stayed smiling. "I'd like to introduce you two, if you can hold your pee in that long"

"Of course!" We stood up and scooted our way to the end of the row, then waited behind a sea of people climbing the stairs. Getting up at halftime was the worst part of where we sat.

"There he is!" She pulled my arm and pointed to a tall guy, with glasses that hid his brown eyes. He didn't look like Raine's 'type'.

Dan could probably snap him like a twig. Who am I kidding? Raine could snap him like a twig.

On contact, Ryan smiled. The one Raine returned wasn't a scowl or a smirk, it was a real smile. That was all I needed to know. "I'm happy to meet you, Ryan"

"Hi, Aurora" His hand was warm, but his smile to Raine melted me. There was no one else here in his eyes.

I was the happiest third wheel until my bladder threatened me with public humiliation. I said goodbye and rushed to the bathroom. I cringed at the long line for the girls bathroom and walked to the visitors side.

I stepped in line behind two cheerleaders. One had short blonde hair and the other had shiny, black hair, both in high ponytails. I looked down and sighed at their perfect legs.

The girl with black hair turned around and glared at me. "Hey, wrong side"

How did she know that? "I just have to pee" I said, rolling my eyes.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You passed the puck to Matt before the game"

After he hit me with it. "Yeah" I squirmed against my full bladder.

"I hope you don't get any wrong ideas" her voice was cold and she glared at me. "He has a girlfriend"

Her cold eyes gave away her lie. Where did I know her? Oh...the blood drive. "Does he know that?"

"Ask him" she threw her arm over her friend's shoulder, but it looked like they weren't even friends. "Rumours are that Olive here, is his girlfriend now. But everyone knows I'm Matt's trifecta. Whatever you think you are, Aurora. You aren't"

My jaw dropped. Trifecta? How could she know? I looked at Olive, she was no older than a sophomore.

Play dumb to see what she means, Aurora. "Trifecta?"

"Face, boobs, ass" she spat, walking away before pausing at a stall. She smirked at me and slammed the door shut.

Nice to know they were charming. Thankfully, they were gone by my turn. I washed my hands and left the bathroom.

While I walked to the bleachers, voices filled my ears.

"Think Dan is as cute as Matt under that helmet?"

"Bad boys aren't cute. They're hot"

"Their captain is so good"

"But we have Matt"

"Is he injured?"

"No. Why is Nate on the opposite side?"

Finally, I spotted Mary Lou. Her small frame sat in the corner seat alone. I waved both arms In animated flaps. Her eyes shifted to me for a second, before she smiled and waved. I approached her with a smile.

"Aurora!" She gave me a hug and pulled my hands to sit with her. "I didn't know if I'd see you"

"Hi, MaryLou" I smiled. "My attendance is mandatory, like yours. How are you?"

"I only yelled at him twice so far" she shook her head. "First time was when he hit you with that puck"

"You saw that?" His attention grab was....cute. If I saw that exchange between someone else, maybe I'd have swooned.

"I let him know that's not a nice way to get a girls attention" her eyes sparkled. "I'm sorry about him"

"Don't be" I sighed, rubbing her arm. "I appreciate you telling him off"

Marylou's smile faded. "It's the least I could do. He and I had a painful talk a few days ago. I didn't know about the things he did to girls. Hopefully, nothing with you"

"He might have had bad moments" I reassured her. "I'm willing to let him pull through. With me, he still has a lot of time to screw up"

"He probably will" she tutted, smiling again. "You'll need patience with him. Don't give up on him, Aurora. I like you two together"

"I won't unless he gives me a reason"

"Some game, huh? Your brother is number seven, right?" I wasn't in the best place to talk about Dan, so I just nodded. "I'm sure you can relate. I'm rooting for boys on both sides tonight, it's turning my hair grey"

"Yeah" I smiled at my Mom's pale face.

"I'm heading to your side now. Their dad is on Chris' side, so we're going to swap. Easy for us to split the cheering"

People went back to their seats, slowing our exit. "Chris is doing great too"

"Your brother is too" she noted as we walked down the stairs.

"Careful" I winked at her. "I'm in enemy territory here"

"I understand"

"Do you want to sit with us?" I asked, pointing to my parent's seats.

Marylou shook her head. "I'm not allowed to sit anywhere other than a particular spot. Otherwise, they don't know where I am"

Tonight, Matt was a giant question mark. I hoped this wasn't the last I saw of Marylou. Texting her would be weird. "I understand. I'm glad I was able to come over and say hi" I smiled. "I'm sure you'll get mobbed by recruiters after"

"Not tonight" she smiled. "Matt didn't tell you?"

"No" I shook my head. "I haven't heard much from me, but I'm having issues with my phone"

"He turned them down" she said. "He instructed his coaches to tell the recruiters he was considering other places"

Other places? He mentioned what schools he was interested in, but I didn't know he acted on them. "I'm sure he'll have a lot of options" I said, with uncertainty in my voice. "He's an amazing player"

"Don't say anything please" she lowered her voice and pulled me closer. "Yale or Harvard. He even considered not playing hockey, but at those prices, he'll have to"

Interesting. "Those aren't big football schools"

"Again, you didn't hear it" Her voice was full of concern. "Those letters came in the mail today. I don't know what they said, but I put them on his desk. Don't give up on him yet"

I smiled. "I won't"

Strapped down, I would see this ride to the end. If it meant falling in love, being heartbroken from rejection or puking my guts up, I knew one thing for sure.

I was all in for whatever came after the game. Hopefully, Chris was too.