·͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙⁺˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧͙
Monday, December 12th
I sat out on the Elbel field with my airpods in, my coffee next to me, and a book in hand. I read The Love Hypothesis which is funny because it's basically about the same situation I'm in right now but with obviously different motives. I was pretty bundled up in my coat and beanie while sipping on my hot coffee from the same place Ethan and I met yesterday.
I've seen the shadows of people walk by me in the midday sun, but one of them lingered for a little too long. I heard a faint voice say my name which caused my head to perk up. In front of me stood Ethan with his hockey gear in hand.
He was also bundled up in a coat and beanie while smiling. "What are you doing out here?" He asked, his foggy breath floating in the Michigan cold air.
I took one of my airpods, extremely confused for why he was here to begin with. "Reading," I quickly replied. I slammed the book shut and hid the cover from him, an amused smirk plastered on his face as he watched me.
He held up his hockey stick and tilted his head slightly. "Care to walk me to practice?"
Honestly? No, I wanted to continue reading my book. Realistically? Yes, I need to talk to him about my dad and the boundaries we need to set in this fake relationship. "Yeah," I said as I packed my stuff up and threw my bag over my shoulder. As we walked, I decided to just be blunt. "Look. If I'm gonna go to Canada with you, Brooklyn, and Mark, then you have to meet my dad. It's either meet daddy or no girlfriendy."
He let out a laugh, shaking his head. "Never thought you'd say daddy or girlfriendy."
"I'm serious, Ethan! You have to meet my dad for this to continue," I frowned while looking up at him, he was fairly tall.
He nodded his head, his tongue pressed against the wall of his mouth. "Okay..." He shrugged his shoulders. A smile tugged at my cheeks. "Now, do you want to discuss rules?" I nodded my head, letting him come up with the first one. "Rule 1, no falling in love. That one might be hard for you."
Appalled, my mouth opened. "For me?!" I said a little too loud. "What makes you say 'for you'?!"
"Because I'm really charming. I'm lovable. I'm handsome. And my brown eyes." He batted his eyelashes, teasingly.
I rolled mine in return, "okay. Rule 2, flirting only happens in public. You have to remember we're practicing for your parents so this looks more natural."
He nodded, "Okay." He then looked around and said, "Hold my hand." He held out his hand, my face crinkled as I looked up at him. "We're in public, there's people looking, so hold my hand." He sounded demanding. I grabbed onto his hand and held onto it. "Smile." I gave him an exaggerated grin. "Good enough." He shrugged.
My expression immediately dropped at his sarcasm. He just responded with a smile and looked ahead. "I have another rule. Don't be an asshole."
"Sounds easy enough," He replied. I wanted to punch him right in his perfectly structured nose. "Last rule, as of right now," He says, "you have to come to all my games."
I let out a groan, "I know nothing about hockey. I've never been to an ice rink." I complained.
"Get used to it." He must've seen the look on my face because he quickly added, "I'll teach you some of the basics since we play Boston University in the barn tomorrow night. First off, Barn is our arena." He looked down at me.
"That's stupid," I shook my head.
"I didn't complain about your coffee knowledge," he snipped back. I sat there in silence, glaring at him as he continued. "A Bar-down is when the biscuit, puck, goes in the net off the bottom of the crossbar." I stared at him with a blank look on my face while blinking. "A lettuce, salad, or flow is basically really good hair. Mine sticks out of my helmet and makes me look cool, I have a salad."
"You call human hair lettuce and salad?" I said sarcastically.
"Yes, keep up." He glanced down at me before looking ahead again. The rest of the trip to the arena was spent with him explaining terms. I actually learned a couple things, though a couple were too complicated for me to understand.
Like twig is a hockey stick. Bucket or buckee is the helmet. Barn burner is a high scoring game. On the topic of food an apple is an assist in a goal and cheese is the top shelf of the net.
"Those are just the basics," he shrugged. "I don't expect you to be a hockey wizz or anything, I just want you to know a couple things when you see me play."
I let out a scoff while shaking my head, "why did I agree to fake date you?"
"Because I'm irresistible and you love the thrill," he said with a wink.
"Rule number 2."
"There's an old couple over there on the bench." He pointed over at the couple who were minding their business and definitely not us. I knew he'd have a sarcastic comment back so I didn't even try to debate it any further. "Alright, this is it!" He let go of my hand and gestured to the Yost Ice Arena. "You'll be here tomorrow night to cheer me on." Just like that, he began to walk off into the arena where the other players were inside.
"What should I wear?" I yelled at him.
"Be creative!" He yelled back, opening the door and walking in.
I let out a huff and shook my head. "Unbelievable," I muttered. I turned around to head to the parking lot where my car was, but I saw Mark walking toward the arena as well. "Hey!" I yelled out to him and waved.
He looked up from his phone and smiled, "Hey, Esme." He jogged toward me and stopped to talk for a bit. "How's Ethan?"
"Horrible," I responded.
He smirked as a chuckle fell from his lips, "At least he's bearable." He looked up above my head at the arena behind me. "I'll catch up with you later. Maybe you, Ethan, Brooke, and I could go on a double date sometime soon!" He said as he walked off.
"I have a lot on my schedule-"
"Great! I'll talk to Brooke! Thanks, Esme!" He opened the door and ran into the building.
Another thing I have to do? I thought to myself. I seriously needed that calendar. I went back to my car and laid back in my chair, letting the warm air fill the freezing car.
🏒🥅
That night, I looked for outfit inspiration on Pinterest for an hour. A lot of the outfits consisted of ripped jeans, their boyfriend's jersey, and a long sleeve shirt under it. That's a light outfit for an arena filled with fucking ice. I got up from my spot on the bed and looked through my closet and found a pair of jeans with no holes, thick socks, and a white long sleeve shirt. I was missing the jersey which really let everyone know I was "with" Ethan.
I walked out of my room and went downstairs to find Brooklyn. She sat on the couch while watching Netflix. I wasn't familiar with the show she was watching, but it wasn't my main focus anyways. "Hey, Brooklyn?"
She looked over at me, pausing the TV. "Yeah, what's up?" The TV read Never Have I Ever as I did have a bit of curiosity.
"You know Mark's hockey jersey?" I asked, she nodded her head. "Where did you get it?"
"Oh, he gave it to me personally. It was one of his jerseys last year and he grew out of it." She smiled a bit, "why?"
I just nodded my head, "Okay, thanks." I made a bee line upstairs.
"Wait!" She called out. "Why did you need to know?!"
"You'll find out tomorrow!" I yelled back and shut my door. Immediately, I grabbed my phone and pulled up Ethan's number.
ME
Do u have an old jersey I can wear?
Ethan
Yeah
ME
Sweet
Can u drop it off or something?
Ethan
Oh I will
Trust me