I tigten the grip on my crossed arms, and hang my head to avoid getting December raindrops in my eyes. I step up my pace from walking to jogging. As I enter the now quiet United Center, I smiled. I gave the special pass to the bodyguard and he nodded and gave it back. He opened the doors to the hallway, and I felt chills walking through the hallway that so many legends did. They had timelines across the walls, and glass frames of the stars on the team. I would stand there and look at the artwork. Its was honestly cool. I felt a pair of hands grab my waist and pick me up. His brown eyes. I smiled as Jon pecked my cheek. He put me down.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready for your game?" I said, pushing him lightly in the chest. He was wearing an Under Armour shirt,shorts, and Adidas sandals with socks. I cracked up.
"What?" He asked.
"I cannot take you seriously with socks and sandals on.." I said, looking down at his feet and cracking up again. He looked down at himself and laughed.
"I embarass myself to easily," He laughed. I pat his shoulder sympathetically.
"Anywayy, Since I don't have to get ready in an hour, I am going to give you a tour. Le Jonathan Toews style," Jon said, grabbing my hand. He lead me down the hallway, to the fitness room.
"Ze fitness room," He used a fake French accent.
"You definately can speak French," I mumbled.
"Embrasse moi," Jon spoke in French, which gave me tingles throughout my whole body. It sounded a lot more attractive than English did.
"What does that mean?" I asked, sitting down next to him on the weight bench. His face neared me, and he whispered, "Kiss me." I wrapped my arms around his neck and pecked him on the lips. He smiled.
I stood up, and walked around the huge training room.
"I gotta show you the locker room!" He grabbed my wrist once more, and we ran down the carpeted hallway, to a wooden door.
"Are you ready?" He whispered too seriously. I rolled my eyes.
"Of course I am, you dork!" I huffed, punching his large arm. Jon opened the door. My mouth was agape. Here it was. Round shape, huge Blackhawks' Indian in the middle of the black carpet, and the jerseys hanging up.
"This is so cool!" I squealed, running over to Jon's locker.
"You might not want to go over there, the equipment stinks," He warned. I breathed through my nose, and smelled the stank. I held my nose with my fingers.
"God it does," I said, walking over to Jon. I held his hand and squeezed it.
"This is too amazing, thank you for the best tours of tours," I said, kissing his nose.
"Its not over yet. Follow me," He said, going through a white brick hallway, then out to the entrance of the rink. He grabbed my hand and led me out on the ice.
"Is this legal?" I asked, hearing my voice echo.
"Mhmm," He said, leading me to the center of the rink. I looked around, seeing the empty seats.
"Oh my gosh," I breathed out. It was amazing, just the two of us, in the middle of one of the greatest Centers in the U.S.
"Jon get off the ice!" A voice echoed. I looked at Jon.
"So it isnt legal, hm?" I said, crossing my arms.
"Nothing is legal with you babe,' He winked.
______________________________________________________________________________
I sat down in my seat and set my drink on the table. I was sitting with other players' girlfriends and family, so it was cool talking to them. Chicago was once leading, but Boston tied it up. Of course no one scored in OT, so it had to go to a shootout.
"Are you kidding me?" I mumbled. Patrick Kane's father was sitting next to me, and heard me.
"They should've scored," He agreed. I nodded.
"Don't worry, Pat will win the game for us right here," I pointed to the ice, seeing Kane skating towards the middle.
"C'mon, C'mon," We said in unison, seeing Patrick skating up. He dangled the goalie, and shot it top shelf.
"Yeah!" Everyone jumped out of their seats. We all sat down, little bit louder then before, and waited to see what Zdeno Chara was going to do. Of course he slapshotted and it flew in the net. We all slumped our shoulders. Jon was next, and he skated toward the middle.
"Come on Jon!" I shouted. He dangled it then went backhand and shot it. Perfectly went in. Everyone stood up and I jumped up and down. Brad Marchand was next, and slid the puck. Crawford robbed it, easily. We all screamed and yelled, and the Chicago Goal horn went off.
After most people left, I snuck down towards the entrance of the locker room. The guard nodded to me and I waited i the hallways off the locker room. I waited there for a good hour, realizing he was probably stuck doing post game interviews. I yawned, blinking my eyes to keep me from falling asleep. I leaned my head against the cold, brick wall and shut my eyes. A couple minutes went by when I heard a door open. I blinked open my eyes, and saw Jon.
"You did so good!" I squealed, running into his arms. He was wearing a black suit with a dark green tie. He wrapped his arms around me and stifled a deep laugh. I pulled away, but his hands were on my waist.
"Seriously though. You won for the team!" I said, punching his arm. He looked down and smiled at the ground. "You're too humble." I whined, linking my arm with him. I could tell he was tired; He barely talked. We walked down the hallway quietly, and out the door. The rain had let off, but there were still puddles on the pavement. The air was more cold and misty, and it was more calm then before.
__________________________________________________________________________________
I woke up on the couch. I rubbed my eyes open, and saw the beautiful Chicago sun. I smiled and stretched my arms. I sat up and rested my toes on the wood floors. I walked up to the kitchen counter and saw a note, scribbled with handwriting:
Em-
I am at morning practice, then I am going out with the boys for a couple hours. Text me or call me if you need anything.
Love,
J :)
I smiled, and set the note on the counter. I opened the refrigerator and took out the milk and vanilla yogurt. I grabbed a banana, the blender and vanilla flavoring. I blended the food together, and poured it in a cup. I took a sip, but spat it out almost immediatly. I was trying to eat healthy, which never worked out for me. I always had to have some sort of junk food around, like Oreos per say. I dumped the drink in the sink, still gagging. I wiped my mouth and skipped to the bedroom. I slipped on yoga pants, a turquoise sweater, and Nike running shoes. I grabbed my wallet from my purse. I buttoned up my black pea coat, and wrapped an infinity scarf around my neck. I stuffed my phone and wallet in the pockets. I bounced out the door and locked it. Why not walk around Chicago while I still can?
|A few hours later|
After a long ride to Chicago's North Side, I rested my tired legs underneath the cold, Lincoln Park grass. I snuck out my blue compsition book out of my brown leather satchet. I clicked my pen on the crisp white lined paper and began writing about my experience in Chicago. I had always promised myself to write about anything; a promise I had been gratefully able to keep. As I crossed a 't', I felt a tap on my back. I turned around and saw a brown haired girl, with emerald eyes, freckled face and a dotted red scarf. She must've been 10 or 11.
"What'cha doing?" She bubbily asked.
"Writing," I replied, looking down at my messy handwriting.
"About what?" She asked, squinting at my notebook.
"Um, my 'Chicago Experience,'" I read from the title of the page. She nodded and sat down beside me.
"I'm Haley," She held out a small hand. I took her offer and shook it.
"I'm Emma," I said smiling. We began talking, as if we were old best friends meeting eachother after high school. She was 11 years old, just moved to Chicago from Canada and loved sock monkeys and spots. We both knew what it was like to move to a new place, and both loved hockey. Her Irish Setter had come to her and started licking her face. We both laughed.
"I guess its time for me to go," She sighed. Haley stood up and shook my hand.
"It was nice to meet you. Good luck!" She said, walking away and waving.
"You too!" I yelled, waving. I laughed under my breath. I looked at my phones time and saw it was four o'clock.
"Oh shoot," I mumbled. Jon would probably be home soon. I stuffed all my stuff in my bag and ran as fast as I could to the exit of the park. I sighed for a moment. I wiped the drops of sweat forming on my forehead, and felt a chilling wind whip through my clothing. I grabbed the nearest taxi and hoped to get home as soon as I could.
*_____________*_______________*_______________*______________*_______________*
I shoveled through my bag and thankfully found the gold key. I shoved it through the lock and turned the door open. It creaked open quietly, and Jon's and other male voices' laughter rang through the apartment. I closed the door behind me and I sighed quietly. I dropped my purse on the hardwood floor. I walked to the kitchen and open the fridge. I grabbed a bottle of sparkling water. I closed my eyes and downed it, feeking the carbonated water burn the sides of my throat. I set the bottle down on the counter, and walked to the living room, seeing the basement door open. They must've been down there playing pool.
"NOOO!" They all chorused together. I laughed and heard Corey Crawford's voice yell, "Ha Tazer you wish!"
I giggled and shook my head. Little did they know there was someone actually listening to them. I heard their voices sounding closer, and feet shuffling up the stairs. I grabbed the TV remote and jumped on the couch.
"Em?" Jon called.
"Yep!" I said, sitting up. He grinned, and I walked towards him. I heard the other guys shuffling up the stairs. I wrapped my arms around Jon's neck and hugged him. He rested his hands on my hips and leaned in for a kiss. I heard some whistles from behind me and I pulled away from his lips. I turned around, seeing a bunch of goofballs in snapbacks or baseball hats. I crossed my arms.
"Yall are so weird sometimes." I mumbled, going to the cabinets to get a glass.
"Haha, 'Yall'," They all laughed. I lifted my fists.
"Oh We are so scared," Dan mocked me.
"You better not mess with her, she's got some of Zac's genes." Jon said, showing a bruise on his arm from me punching it. I turned beet red and looked down at the floor. I felt Jon's arm wrap around my shoulder. "And if you do, you're dead meat," Jon said, grinning like an idiot.
"You just gotta learn to punch first Cap'n," Dan said, grabbing a Coke out of the fridge. There was a 'Ooh' erupting from the guys. Jon glared at Dan and I laughed.
"All of you, gedd outta here," Jon said, pointing to the door. All of the guys shuffled out the door, shouting insults to Jonathan.
"They are insane! How can you play with them?" I laughed, filling up my glass with water. Jon shrugged.
"Eh, They're my boys," Jon smiled slightly. I smiled sympathetically at him.
"Soo, what are we gonna do?" I asked, wrapping my arms around him. He inched his face closer to mine.
"I've got some ideas," Jon said, wrapping a tight embrace around my back. He leaned into me, and pushed me close against the wall. His hands moved up and down, which gave me the shivers. I knew I shouldn't do this, I've only really started trusting him.
"Jon," I whispered as he kissed my jawline.
"Mhmm," He muffled.
"Stop, seriously," I said, pushing him off me. He had a confused look on his face.
"I just, I can't do this okay," I explained, fixing my shirt. Jon had a deathly stare, and the doorbell suddenly rang.
"I, um, got i, " I croaked, brushing past Jon's fixed stares. I looked through the peephole and saw Patrick and his blonde hair sticking up underneath his hat. I opened the door, and his blue eyes suddenly looked down at me.
"Hey Emma," He smiled, warming my heart.
"Hi Kaner," I said, poking at his chest. He chuckled.
"Come in," I said. "Do you need anything?" I asked, crossing my arms.
"Yeah, there some media things me and Jon need to do. Can you get him?" He smiled. I nodded. I called Jon's name and he walked out of the kitchen. He knew Patrick was there to get him, so he was all ready.
"Have fun, and I'm sorry about before," I whispered quickly to Jon before he left. He understood that we should wait. I saw his tall figure disappear into the long hallways of the apartment doors.