Jonathan
I softly rest my hands on her hips as she wraps her arms around neck. I hold her close to me so I could get a real good look at her. My grip on her tightens a little as I familiarize myself with her body. She was nervous, I could tell. Her touch was soft and she wasn't sure what to do, but I could tell she wanted to be out here with me. She reaches down and starts to mess with my tie and I had to laugh considering how much trouble it gave me earlier. But she easily fixed it so it looked real nice before wrapping her cool fingers around my neck once again. Her fingers dig into my skin as she finally relaxes and pulls me closer.
We slowly sway back and fourth as I stare down into her hazel colored eyes. I've never seen any like that before.
"Why did you want to dance with me Jonathan" she asks and I laugh.
"Can't I just want to make memories with a pretty girl" I ask.
"You can do whatever it is you put your mind to. But why do you want to dance with me" she wonders.
"I come to places like this a lot, I have for a while. I've talked to many guys like your father and they pushed their daughters on me, but I've never met any girl like you. They usually shamelessly try to flirt and show little to no decency to the fact that I'm a stranger and they know nothing about me. They think they do, but they don't" I explain.
"Then who are you" she asks and I kinda stop to smile at her. She looks up at me with so much curiosity and it was the most flattered I have been while I was here.
"I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little lost. Being the third youngest captain ever was a big responsibility handed to me and I'm not sure I can be the guy everyone needs me to be. People look at me and see I'm confident and in control but those only go for my abilities, not for those of my team. I'm not a emotional guy and I drink more than I should, I don't know how to cheer a guy up or handle my problems without a beer. I don't know. I just think it's funny when people know my name and my number and they think they know me and my situation" I shrug.
"I get how you feel" she says and I cock my head to the side. "Not really knowing where you belong" she continues.
"I'm sorry, but doesn't most people who go here have had their life planned out for them since they were a little kid" I insist.
"Maybe so. But I'm not like most people in here. I don't act like them and I certainly don't look like them. People look at me and say I'm not white, for my skin makes that obvious. But when black people look at me they say I don't belong with them either. That I don't act like them, don't talk like them, therefore I will never be one of them. So I'm stuck somewhere between white and black, there's a million other colors in this world and I'm stuck between those two.
If I had dollar for every time I was the only colored person besides my mother at a function such as this one, well I wouldn't need my father's money for anything. I mean my favorite sport is hockey for gods sake.
But the thing is the color of my skin does not define me. It's how other people define me, but not how I define myself. While it's easy to look at me and my parents and think you have it figured out, it's never that easy. So I get what your saying. How people perceive you based off of what they see and how you feel a totally different way" she explains.
"I'm sorry, I had no idea that's what you go through" I admit.
"That's kind of how it goes around here. My dad and his friends try to hook me up with their sons, make me dance with them at these events and try to make something out of nothing. It's like trying to build a house with no supplies, you can't build off of something that isn't there. You see, I'm not like these people. I don't look like them, I don't act like them. I was raised the same but got different results.
Yes I love my parents, yes they pay for most things I do, yes they try to control every aspect of my life. And yes they expect me to comply to what they want because that's who they are. But there's this thing I've learned about life, about how expectations for someone who isn't yourself is inconceivable. Like you said, as a captain there isn't all that much you can do for your teammates. That same is true for me. My future is up in the air, but it's going to be whatever I make it" she says.
"You are a very intelligent young woman" I notice.
"I'm a intellectual" she smirks.
"I would love to hear more. Maybe we can go on a date and you can lay it all on me" I say as I bite my lip and she laughs.
"I'm going to have to ask my dad first. I might be 21 but he's still a over protective father" she insists.
"I thought he liked me" I whine.
"He likes you as a athlete but he's still extremely picky about who I date" she insists.
"I'll take my chances" I smile.
"Ohhhh you must really like me" she smiles back.
"I do Miss Gracie. I've never felt comfortable in places like this, but with you I feel like I'm not alone in this world" I admit.
"You're never alone in anything. We're all different but we still fight the same fights. Whether it be temptation or loss or greed, they're all there every day. We're forced to handle them but never told how to.
Sometimes we just want someone who understand us, to love us regardless of the things we know and the things we don't know" she says softly.
"Yeah, I guess you're right" I admit.
Eventually we stop dancing and I return her to her parents. I grab her number before thanking her for a nice night and heading home.
I get back to the apartment and find Patrick there sitting upside down on the couch. I hit him in the face with a pillow and he nearly flies off the couch.
"You're such an ass hole" he grumbles as he pulls himself together.
"I thought you were going out" I say as I loosen my tie and take off my jacket.
"I was going to. But then I realized we had a actual morning skate tomorrow and if I come hungover again I probably won't make it to the trash can the next time" he claims.
"Ah yes. That was a good night" I admit as I smile at the thought of Patrick rushing off the ice and nearly knocking the trash can over so he can spill his contents.
"It was" he nods. "So how was your night? Did you fondle the rich mans daughter" he asks and scrunch up my face.
"You're a messed up little man, did you know that" I ask.
"Eh" he shrugs and I shake my head.
"No. I did not fondle the rich mans daughter" I cringe. I can't believe I just said that.
"So what did you do all night" he asks.
"I danced with a girl" I say.
"That's all... you just danced with a girl" he asks.
"Yeah. But this girl wasn't like the other girls. This one was different" I insist.
"Was she, was she really" he asks.
"She was. She knew who I was but didn't hang all over me, didn't act like she knew who I really was. She took the time to ask who I really was and I told her that I didn't really know who that was so she opened up and made sure that I knew I wasn't alone" I explain.
"Holy hell... do you have feeling for a daddy's girl" he accuses.
"I think I do. That's not such a bad thing" I insist.
"But it is. You'll never be the man in her life because that will always be her dad. She will never be who she wants to be because she has to be who her parents say she is" he claims.
"That's where you're wrong. She's a product of the system but she has a mind of her own" I insist.
"That's not how these things work" he says.
"She's not like everyone else" I defend.
"So what, you're going to pray her dad gives his blessing for a professional athlete to date his daughter" he asks.
"Well... yeah" I shrug and he lets out a groan.
"That's a bad idea man" he claims.
"I'm not taking love advice from a guy who's own dog doesn't even love him anymore" I scoff.
"That dog had issues" he claims.
"Yeah, and all of them had to do with you."