Hockey Is My Boyfriend: Part Three

by Ting, Melanie

  I breathed out. “And see you come, you mean?”

  “That’s my girl.” He reached under my t-shirt and ran his palm over my stomach. “And you know the first thing I’d like you to buy with your new card?”

  “Um, alcohol?” Despite his six-figure salary, he wasn’t legally allowed to buy booze in the States.

  “Nope. Lingerie. I think those t-shirts you’ve been wearing to bed aren’t very healthy. Your skin needs to breathe. Like here.” He stroked my back. “And here.” He ran his hand over the tops of my breasts. I let out a moan. “J.J. told me about this store—it has private rooms for couples. You can try on everything and show me. I’d get my own private show.” He pulled my bra down and began sucking on my nipple until it peaked in his mouth. Then he worked on the other one.

  I pulled off my t-shirt so I could see. I loved to watch him. Loved every part of him, but especially his arms and chest.

  “Wanna do it here or in the bedroom?” he asked as he unzipped my jeans.

  “Both,” I said, lifting his t-shirt, and spreading my legs.

  “You ready already?”

  “Mmmm, not quite.” It was amazing to me how quickly we had gotten to know each other’s bodies again. He ran his hands up my thighs and hooked a finger into my thong and pulled it to the side. Then he touched me.

  “You feel ready to me,” he said.

  “Well, that extra thirty seconds of you touching me did it,” I laughed. And then we christened the kitchen counter.

  Afterwards, I fell away from Jimmy. It was cool in the condo, but our bodies were shiny with sweat.

  “God, that was amazing. I don’t even know what fucking time it is—I barely know what planet I’m on.” I knew it was evening, but I had no clue otherwise. I had just ridden him to this incredible orgasm, and my brain seemed to be switched to neutral.

  “I think it’s about 8:00,” Jimmy murmured. He ran a hand over my stomach and let it rest there. “Hey, Kelly.”

  “Yes?” I rested my elbow over my face. This was the first time I’d ever been naked in the kitchen. Having all this privacy was going to be awesome.

  “Do you think you could cut back on your swearing?”

  “Oh yeah, sure. I guess it comes from hockey.” I never swore in front of his mom or anything, but when I was stressed or after physical exertion, it came out.

  “Well, you’re not playing hockey now.”

  “No, I’m not.” That made me feel sad. I reminded myself to sign up for beer league.

  “You want to go out for dinner?”

  “Oh, yes. Eating good food and having great sex. This is the life.”

  Jimmy laughed. “You’re so cute. Get dressed and let’s go. I’m starved.”

  29

  Kelly and the Gang

  We’d been living in a cocoon all summer. The two of us had kept to ourselves a lot, other than a trip back to Fredericton. It was intimate and wonderful, but it wasn’t real life. Now that September was here, real life hit with a bang. My classes at the Illinois College of Media Broadcasting were beginning, and Jimmy was gearing up for training camp and then the preseason.

  The college was as easy as Ruby had predicted. The classes were small, everyone was nice, and there was hardly any homework. One assignment included watching three hours of news programming. The best part was getting hands-on experience with all kinds of equipment. Renée, one of the girls in my class, told me that we were practically guaranteed to get a production assistant position when we graduated.

  “You start out as a work-term student for free, but if you’re half-decent they offer you a job. It pays crap, but it’s a start.”

  “That’s great news.”

  “Yeah, tuition’s not cheap here, but they’re really well-connected to the industry. That’s the big draw.”

  I was lucky that Jimmy had found this program since this career path sounded perfect for me. He was happy too, since I had oodles of free time and we could spend it together. He came home from training camp with huge news.

  “Kelly, guess what?” He was the most excited I’d ever seen him.

  “What?”

  “They’re announcing it tomorrow, but I’m being named the new captain.”

  “Are you serious?”

  Jimmy had mentioned that the previous captain was traded during the summer, but he had never told me he was in the running. I did some quick mental calculations and figured he must be one of the youngest captains ever. But I wasn’t sure if he was the youngest, so I didn’t mention it. I hugged him. “Congratulations!”

  He had a smile a mile-wide. “It was one of my goals,” he confessed.

  I laughed. “You’re going to have to tell me about all these goals sometime.” I knew he wanted to win a Cup and be the top player, but it sounded like he had a whole host of others.

  He shook his head. “I’m not superstitious, but I feel like it’s too egotistical to say everything. You might think it’s ridiculous.”

  “I don’t think I would.” We had talked about them that white night in Toronto, but now he seemed hesitant.

  “I’ll tell you gradually.” He slung an arm around me. “Don’t want to scare you off too early.”

  What was scarier was meeting all the various wives and girlfriends. The first game of the preseason was going to be my introduction to them. Jimmy had already made all the arrangements and explained before he left for the game.

  “Cherie is J.J.’s girlfriend, and Maddy, Mac’s girlfriend, is coming too. You’ll really like them.”

  I tried to make my smile a natural one. I sensed that I was going to be a fish out of water. They were going to be glamourous and gorgeous. I spent way too long trying to figure out what to wear. I was tempted to call April, but I needed to do this stuff on my own. Were jeans too casual? I knew I didn’t need to get really dressed up, but I couldn’t be a slob either. Jimmy was so proud of me, and I wanted to live up to his image. I wasn’t a hag, but NHL girlfriends were on another level. I ended up in a pretty top, black jeans, and my trusty jean jacket. Even with all the indecision, I was still early enough to start sweating through my shirt. I decided to go down and wait in the lobby. The concierge was there, and he was very friendly and wanted to know all about where I was from and what I was doing tonight.

  Finally, a big black SUV pulled up in the driveway, and I ran out and slipped into the back seat.

  The driver turned around. “Hello, you must be Kelly. I’m Cherie.” She spoke with a slight Southern accent, and she was absolutely beautiful. Her blonde hair fell in thick waves around her face. Her skin was pale perfection, and she had long, thick eyelashes and purple eyes. Purple. She was wearing a leather jacket and high leather boots.

  “Hi, nice to meet you,” I replied. Then I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I’ve never met anyone with purple eyes before.”

  “You still haven’t, honey.” Cherie’s laugh was a low purr. “These are contact lenses.”

  “Hey, I’m Maddy.” A sunny smile greeted me from the passenger seat. “Well, I finally get to meet you.” Maddy and Mac were the people we were supposed to meet on the day we cancelled our trip to have sex.

  Maddy was a pretty blonde too, but in a completely different way. She was tall with long curly hair and dark lashes. I was happy to see that she was casually dressed too, although I suspected that everything was designer.

  Cherie watched me in the rear view mirror as she drove. “Everyone’s been dying to lay eyes on you. Our baby-captain is sure smitten.”

  “Baby-captain? Is that what you call him?”

  “I’m the only one who calls him that,” Cherie replied. “But he is pretty young. And now I can see that you two are a couple of babes in toyland. I’m gonna to have to protect you.”

  “From what?” I wondered.

  Maddy interrupted. “Stop that, Cherie. Kelly’s already nervous, and you’re making things worse. All the girlfriends are really nice, so don’t worry.”

 
I was worried though, since girl politics were not my strength. But it sounded like I already had two great allies. Maddy and Cherie pointed out their recommended attractions as we drove to the arena. Cherie’s favourites all seemed to be shops or beautifying places. Or perhaps she was hinting something to me.

  Our seats were good ones, and the atmosphere in the arena was pretty electric for a preseason game. Lots of people in jerseys, and the place was packed.

  I commented on the good crowd, and Maddy agreed.

  “Yes, the team is supposed to have a great season. James is huge, there were some big trades in the summer, and Leo Axelsson plays his first game tonight. He’s so fast that he already has a nickname—Wheels. And there’s a brand new marketing department. When Mac first started, the arena was only half-full. But look at it now.” Tonight looked like a sell-out.

  “Kelly, I hear you’re an athlete,” Maddy said.

  “Yes, I played hockey at university. Why, do you play hockey too?”

  “No, but I played college basketball. You were varsity, right?”

  I nodded, and Cherie interrupted. “I’m surrounded by jocks. Y’all are going to watch the game all night, aren’t you?”

  “What else would we do?” I asked, astonished.

  “Well, you could gossip with me. I’ll give you the scoop on all the players and their girlfriends.” She smiled as she said this, so I knew she was probably kidding.

  We ended up doing a combination of both things. The first period was unreal. The crowd here was so loud, and Jimmy was having a fantastic game. He had been a standout in college hockey, and he was already a top six forward in the NHL. It struck me that his plan to stay in school an extra year had really paid off. Jimmy was so good at long-range planning.

  Watching live, I could see Jimmy’s complete game. The television broadcast followed the puck, but now I could see the little things I loved about his game. The way he came right back to defend. A subtle pick play that resulted in a great scoring chance. And his hockey vision allowed him to be in the right places at the right time.

  I let out a little sigh of pleasure after Jimmy set up a gorgeous goal from behind the net.

  Despite all the cheering around us, Cherie heard me. “Did you just make a sex noise, Kelly?”

  I blushed. “No, of course not.” But she was right; watching Jimmy play was making me hot for him.

  “That was a beautiful goal. This is going to be great season,” Maddy predicted.

  Once the period was over, Cherie started giving me a crash course on who was who. “See Danielle and Kaitlin, up there.” She motioned ever so subtly and I saw two more pretty blondes. Everyone here seemed to be blonde except me. Kaitlin gave me a little finger wave.

  “You know her?” Cherie asked.

  “I met her at the NHL awards,” I explained. I remembered how she had tried to warn me off coming to Chicago. Damn, was it going to be all Mean Girls around here?

  Cherie fake-smiled up at them while saying to me, “Watch out for Danielle.”

  “Why?”

  “She wants to be the Queen Bee. When Dom got traded in the summer, lots of people thought Alec, her fiancé, might be the next captain. He’s been around a while, and he’s our top defenceman.”

  Maddy made a huffy noise. Mac was also a defenceman, but he was on the second pairing.

  “Ian’s really good,” I said. “I think he’s the smoothest skater on the team.” Maddy beamed.

  Cherie continued, “So James getting the captaincy instead was a bit of surprise.”

  “I guess. But there is a trend in the NHL of giving younger players the C,” I replied. I didn’t know the whole team yet, but there was nobody who would work harder or care more than Jimmy.

  Cherie kept on explaining the WAG anthropology to me. “There’s a hierarchy. Depends how big a star your man is, and how serious about you he is. First are wives, then fiancées, girlfriends, and if it’s a casual thing—forget it. They’re not even going to let you in the room.”

  Maddy giggled. “Cherie’s used to being the Queen Bee. This is a new experience for her.”

  “Well, it was the way I was raised. My daddy told me, ‘Princess, don’t you take a backseat to a single soul.’ And I never have. Got my own house and my own P.R. firm back in Atlanta. Only time I was a runner-up was the Miss America pageant.”

  “No wonder you’re so gorgeous,” I said.

  “Gosh, Maddy, I think we’re going to have to keep this one around. I like her. Anyway, when I met J.J., he was playing for the Thrashers, and he was so different from all the boys I’d dated. I decided I wasn’t giving up even when he got traded. Now, here I am stuck in a ridiculous long-distance relationship. Lord, it’s my punishment for all the sinning I did when I was young.”

  Cherie was exaggerating, because she wasn’t that old. I liked her a lot; she was spirited and funny. But Maddy, with her athletic background and natural looks, seemed to be my kindred spirit.

  “By the way, Kelly honey,” Cherie said. “As the captain’s girlfriend, you will have to step to the plate.”

  “Sure,” I said. “I’d be happy to volunteer here.” Maybe they needed someone to help with a skating event or something. I liked working with kids.

  “We have an organization called the Blackhawks Better Halves,” Maddy explained.

  Cherie tossed back her thick hair with a dramatic motion, which attracted attention from every man in the vicinity. “Yes, but all we do is itty-bitty stuff. Last year, I proposed we do a big fundraising event like a charity fashion show. And the Blackhawks Charities board was interested. You can help me with that, Kelly.”

  “Uh, that’s not really my area of expertise,” I protested. In fact, it sounded like my personal hell.

  “I have all the expertise we need—just throw your support behind me during meetings. And you’ll have to assist me later.”

  “I’m already head minion,” Maddy told me, giggling. “You’ll have to get in line.”

  The second period was more wide open. Jimmy scored twice. One goal was the result of a brutal battle for position in front of the net. He was going to have some brand new bruises tomorrow. The other goal was a thing of beauty—he sniped it at the end of a rush.

  “I’m surprised you’re not having a big ‘O’ right on the spot,” Cherie remarked to me.

  As usual, I blushed at the mention of sex, and Cherie cackled. “Our baby-captain may have the face of an cherub, but he’s got the body of a full-grown man. Lucky you.”

  At the end of the second period, Cherie announced, “I’m gonna go make the rounds. Anyone want to come?”

  I shook my head. I was worried about all the politics she mentioned and not up to meeting a big horde of people. Maddy kept me company. “Everyone wants to meet you. James is sort of shy and hard to read. He’s so into hockey, I didn’t think he even knew what a girl was.”

  “I’m sure everyone is expecting someone more glamourous than me.”

  “Not me. He’s a small town guy, and he needs someone real. How long have you been dating?”

  “Unnnh…” That was kind of a hard question. The answer was actually two months, plus our complicated past. “A while?”

  Maddy laughed. “I assumed you guys were high school sweethearts—like me and Mac. It’s the way he raves about you.”

  “So, you two have been going out all this time?”

  “Yes, Mac played in the States on a hockey scholarship while I went to S.F.U. in Vancouver. Things were tough long distance, but we managed—probably because we were both so busy with our sports.”

  Maddy was so straightforward about everything; it felt like I had known her for years already. I guess it was because we had a lot in common: our B.C. backgrounds, varsity sports, and now the Blackhawks.

  Maddy spoke quietly, “I love Cherie, but I’m positive that J.J. is not as serious about her as she is about him. She flies here a ton.” She shook her head. “I hope she doesn’t get hurt.”

 
Since I had only met Cherie tonight, and only seen J.J. Simard play for two periods, I had nothing to add to this conversation. “Why would she get hurt?”

  “J.J. is not the kind of guy to settle down. There’s so much temptation out there.”

  Was she implying that he was cheating? That seemed incredible given that Cherie was the kind of woman guys would kill to date.

  After the game, Cherie and Maddy guided me to the family room. There were tons of hugs and squeals as everyone saw each other after the summer. After a while, the players started to drift in. Ty came in with another player and made a beeline for me.

  “Hey, Kelly.” He gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. I noticed Danielle watching us. “Freeze asked me to keep an eye on you until he got here. He’s got lots of postgame interviews because he had such a good game. Were you responsible for that?”

  “Sure, I taught him everything he knows.”

  “Ha, that’s right, you’re quite the hockey player, aren’t you?” Ty laughed and turned towards the other player, who had his arm around Maddy. “Ian MacEwan, Kelly Tanaka. Remember, she and Freeze were supposed to visit back in July—until they came down with something. Horny-itis, was it?”

  “Ty!” I punched him in the arm. He protested that it was his shooting arm.

  “From what I saw, it’s already injured,” I told him. Ty had a good game, but he was more of a stay-at-home defenceman.

  “Clearly, women knowing too much about hockey is not a good thing,” Ty replied with a laugh. It was great to have a friend among so many strangers.

  We chatted a bit about the game, and Maddy invited me to come with them for a post-game meal.

  “Sounds fun to me, but maybe I shouldn’t make plans. Jimmy may have something in mind.”

  Ty laughed. “I’m sure he does, but you can’t spend all your time in bed.”

  I blushed, and Mac scolded him. Ty replied, “I fixed them up, so I get to say whatever I want.”