It's a usual Monday afternoon, and today I decided to meet Maddie after our lectures. We both finished at 6 p.m., so we were thinking about grabbing some dinner after, along with Mark, and checking up on each other. We were all craving Thai food, so we didn't have to fight about the choice of restaurant. I was waiting for her just in front of the university library. After a few minutes, she finally arrived. "Oh, there you are, finally! Everything alright? Where's Mark?" I asked immediately. "Yeah, all good. Mark's just going to join us in a few minutes." She replies as she hugs me before we head to the main entrance of the campus with the intention of waiting for Mark. We're having a usual chat as always, until we reach the main entrance and we're interrupted by the revving engine from the black SUV that has parked just in front of us. It wouldn't be weird at all if it didn't seem awfully familiar. But when the pretty short shadow steps out of the car, I put two and two together.
"What are you doing here?" I asked in shock. "Did you not miss me?" he shoots a question back. "Well, no. Yes, what?!" I panic in shock. "Oh, she very much did indeed. You forgot to mention how she watched you play on Friday. She was all goggly-eyed and stuck to that laptop screen, ain't that right?" Maddie humbles me once again. "Maddison, for the love of God, please, just shut up." I give her a hateful stare. "Oh, is that so?" he asks with a smirk. "Hey, there..." I hear a familiar voice belonging to a more than confused Mark, who has no idea what's going on. "Man, that can't be right. What is Cole Caufield himself doing here?" Mark says this in shock.
"Well, I was hoping to catch up with my girl." He responds casually. "And you are?" Cole asks in confusion. "Nice to meet you, man. I'm Mark, Maddie's boyfriend." He immediately introduces himself. "Hey, good to meet you, man. ." Cole shakes his hand. "So, we were just headed for dinner all together. Would you like to join us by any chance?" Maddie suggests it eagerly. "Well, I wouldn't like to interrupt." Cole says it humbly. "Oh, c'mon, we'll be more than happy to have you; it'll be fun." She tries to persuade him with her infamous puppy eyes, and it seems to work once again.
"Okay then, I'll gladly join you." He puts on a smile as he looks at me. "Is that fine with you?" He poses a question at me directly. "Absolutely, as long as you're willing to listen to bullshit all evening." I attempt to joke. "Sounds like exactly my kind of fun." He plays along. "Okay, double date it is then." Maddie announces it happily. "Well, what are you waiting for? I'm driving." Cole says this as he's on his way to open the passenger door for me. "Perfect." Maddie and Mark say this at the same time. "Thanks." I give him a soft smile while Maddie and Mark climb into the back of his SUV. It only takes a few minutes until we arrive at the Thai restaurant, or, better said, the place of our so-called double date. God, I hate that word so much. But I guess here we are; this is gonna be interesting.
We walk in and find a spare table just in the corner of the restaurant. Just perfect for tonight; at least like this, there's a better chance of Cole not being recognized in public. We ordered Thai food, and the awkward as hell evening could begin. I've had no idea how this may end up, so just in case, I made sure to have enough alcohol in my system to survive. "So, when did you guys become a thing?" Marks starts to inquire, and instead of responding, I shoot the glass of gin and tonic down my throat. When Cole becomes aware of the fact that I ain't going to talk, he does me a favor and does it himself. "Well, no longer than two months, but I'm sure it's long enough, right?" he says, looking at me in the hope I'll support him. "Yeah, plenty of time. Plenty." I add, nodding like a psychopath. This is making me slightly uncomfortable, in case you haven't noticed by now.
"You make such a good couple for real." Maddie states with a smile from ear to ear. "Thank you." Cole says politely as he reaches for my hand and squeezes it in order to calm me down a little bit. "And what about you, guys? How long have you been together? You seem like a very steady and compatible couple indeed. " Cole inquires in return, and I'm very thankful for the fact that attention is slightly diverted from us, at least for a moment. "Oh man, for ages. It's gonna our five-year anniversary in the spring." Mark responds gladly. "Wow, that's long. But amazing, for real." Cole states this in amazement. "They were the high school sweethearts, indeed." I added to make it sound more cringe-worthy. "Yeah, at least we had each other. You've never even dated anyone." Maddie remarks on nothing but the truthful facts. "Yeah, Maddie, because all of the guys were assholes and they still are, apart from him." I point directly at Cole. "And your man, of course." I add.
"Whatever, but I still love you to death." She wraps her arm around me, and I manage to only smile. "Guys, I have only one question. Was she always this fucking stubborn?" Cole says this in amusement, in an attempt to tease me. "God, totally. But I must admit, there's been some improvement since she started messing around with you. I really have to thank you for that." Maddie jokes. "Haha, very funny, Madison." I shake my head. Maybe this whole double-date wasn't such a bad idea after all. In a few minutes, our food arrives, and we can finally devour what we've all been craving.
"Anyways, Cole, you've buried a nice one in the net during the last game; it was pretty sick for real. And recently, you've been on fire. Great plays, man; you're literally the GOAT." Mark attempts to get into the hockey sphere. "Oh, thanks, man, I appreciate it, but to be honest, sometimes there's just more luck than anything." Cole laughs humbly, dismissing the credit he deserves. "Aw, so humble, girl, I've told you from the start he's the one for you." Maddie remarks proudly. "Yeah, Maddie, you've said a lot of things. It's a pure coincidence that you were right this time." I try to joke.
"Okay girls, please don't start fighting now; I'm really not in the mood for MMA and a trip to the ER right after." Cole tries to ease the dispute as we all laugh. "Speaking of fights, what was your most brutal fight, Cole? Spill the tea; we're all curious." Mark enquires. "I'm not a big of a fighting guy, but I recall one time. Man, it must've been back at Uni in Wisconsin. Some dude from our rival team was talking some pretty messed-up shit about my brother, so I didn't hesitate to throw hands. I ended up with a couple stitches on my forehead and a three-game suspension, however, the other guy wasn't so lucky. His number of teeth rapidly decreased after our encounter, and I bet I still haunt him to this day. But let me tell you, it was worth it. I can't stand when someone talks shit about the people that are close to me." Cole elaborates on his experience. "That's the word of a man, for real." Mark agrees, obviously impressed.
"Shit, man, and what about Arber? He's wild; honestly, I've never seen anyone like him before. He's a real spectacle to watch. Is he that tough off the ice as well?" Man, believe me, he's on another level; neither of us can compare; he's unstoppable when it comes to fights and all the stuff on ice. But believe me or not, as soon as he gets off the ice, he's like the biggest teddy bear. No one really believes it, but man, it's true." Cole shakes his head, as he himself couldn't quite process it. "No way, man, are you kidding?" Mark is completely thrown off. "Yeah, I'm telling you, he's a completely different guy in real life." Cole says. "Yeah, he's right, I have to agree." I decided to support Cole.
"Man, that's hilarious; I wouldn't have expected that at all." Mark shakes his head in disbelief, and we all take a bite of our food in the meantime. "Wait a minute." Maddie suddenly blurts out. "Didn't just Slaf take down some dude recently? I was shocked when I saw that. That boy has some guts. He's a beast." Maddie continues. "Yeah, it was wild; we were in shock too. He isn't that much of a fighting guy, and he's pretty patient, but when his cup overflows, he's unstoppable." Cole admits. "God, but he's funny. That guy has a great sense of humor, he's probably the funniest guy on the whole team." I elaborate. "Uhm, thanks a lot, really. So, I'm not funny enough; good to know." Cole gives me that look, pretending to be offended, but his only intention is to tease me. "I have to be honest; there's still room for some improvement." I tease him back. "Guys, you have to tell her that she's totally wrong here; I mean, c'mon." He turns his gaze to Maddie and Mark, hoping for some sort of support. "Oh, I have a better idea. You're gonna find out for yourselves on Wednesday. What do you say to a nice evening at Bell Centre with VIP tickets and a meet and greet with all the players afterwards? You can be the judges and really see who's funnier. Are you down?" Cole makes a very appealing proposal. "Man, are you serious?" Mark asks in disbelief, and Maddie joins him. "That would be really amazing." Maddie says eagerly, smiling like a child that's just otten a toy she's been raving about forever.
"Well, thanks a lot, man; we appreciate it. We love the Habs." Mark says this as he shakes Cole's hand in appreciation. "No problem, I'll do anything to please my girl and her friends." Cole states generously. God, he's a man with a good heart. "Thank you so much." Maddie gets up and hugs Cole so tightly that he almost loses his balance. "No worries, I'm glad I could make you happy." He responds politely with a slight smile. "Well guys, I've had a blast, but I should really get some rest before the morning practice tomorrow." Cole adds, before he calls on the waiter and pays for the dinner generously, dismissing all of our attempts to pay ourselves.
We all get up, put on our coats, and walk out of the restaurant. Cole gives us a ride back to the campus, where he drops us off. While Maddie and Mark get out of his car, I still remain in the passenger seat. "Thanks for a nice evening, and I'm glad you survived. Not everyone does in the company of my insane friends." I say it in amusement. "As I said, I'd do anything for my girl. And I've had a really good time." He responds. "I've really missed you, you know." I said it out of the blue. "Well, I was able to figure that out when I heard you watch that game." He teases me. "Were you really that googly-eyed, though?" he teases me once again. "Shut up." I cuss at him.
"Well, that's a yes." He makes up his own mind about my answer. I open my mouth in an attempt to defend myself, but I don't have a chance to say a single word before he cuts me off. "Oh, come here." He leans closer to me and kisses me passionately. I've missed that. His lips are on mine, and he is close to me. I missed his cologne and his touch. I really did. I missed everything about him, but right now I'm a coward to admit all of this. After a while, he breaks the kiss. We're both out of breath and, at this point, also out of words. And as much as I'd like to stay close to him, we have to say goodbye. I have to prepare for my lecture, and he has to rest before his practice. We're both busy, so I decided to make a move. "See you on Wednesday, I guess." I say this as I open the passenger door. "I can't wait. See you at the game." He says this back before I close that door and watch his car disappear into the dark. Those are gonna be the longest two days of my life.