Unsportsmanlike Conduct

by Melody Heck Gatto

  Patrick chuckled, cut into his steak and took a bite. "Best steak around."

  It amused her how much he enjoyed good food too. They were so much alike. She sat back and thought about that for a second as she watched him. They really were just right for each other. She put her hand on her belly. She really hoped this baby was his, and then things would really be perfect.

  Baby. It was still weird to think she was carrying a little bundle in there. Her stomach was still so flat and you wouldn’t know to look at her. But it was in there and she was amazed every time she thought of her baby.

  As they finished their food, Patrick stacked some of the empty plates at the end of the table. "Did you enjoy your birthday dinner, baby girl?"

  "I did. It was wonderful. Thank you. You were right about this place."

  As the waitress cleared the plates from the table, Patrick's phone buzzed. "Oh no," Patrick said after reading the text message. "See why I hate social media? Looks like someone put on Twitter that we’re here." He pulled up the tweet and showed Gia his phone. “So much for a quiet, private night out.”

  "So?" She asked, not really understanding the big deal.

  "Wow. Look how many times it’s been retweeted. It's all over the internet now. Well, fans may start lining up out front." He looked at Gia for a moment, tilting his head and squinting his eyes in thought he asked, "Just a thought, but if they do, would you want to go out the front exit? Valet service would bring the Hummer around for us and you, birthday girl, would be all over social media. With your handsome date, of course."

  "Me, all over social media on my birthday, arm in arm with my Patrick Dubois? Sure!" I look fabulous tonight, so why not?

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the waitress head toward their table with a tray and something that looked scrumptious. "I hear it's someone's birthday?" She smiled at Gia. She set down a square, beautifully decorated birthday cake.

  "Patrick," she gushed. "It’s beautiful. You really didn't have to." The eight-inch cake had two tiers, covered in light pink icing with purple butterflies cascading down the side. "It really is amazing." She loved cake and could not wait to dig into this. "The butterflies look so real."

  "Yeah, I know. But don't ask me how they do it." He grabbed a little one off the cake and popped it in his mouth. "Mmm. Apparently, they can make anything out of sugar."

  The waitress set a silver server on the table beside the cake and two small plates before she walked away. Gia reached to cut a piece, but Patrick grabbed the knife instead. "I can do that for you." He cut a slice and laid it on a plate then handed it to Gia.

  She giggled when she saw that the cake batter was light pink and each slice was two layers with white icing in the middle. "Pink cake?" She looked at him and smiled. “Strawberry maybe?”

  "Nope, it’s actually white cake but colored pink, just for you." He smiled at his bride-to-be. "Go ahead, eat."

  He smiled as she dug in.

  "Patrick, this is really good." She smiled.

  "I knew you’d like it." He finished his piece and watched her scrape the extra icing off of her plate and lick it off her fork. Then he handed Gia a white box tied closed with a little pink ribbon. "Happy birthday, baby girl." He kissed her lips lightly.

  "You shouldn't have." She looked at the box and wondered if it was some kind of jewelry. With him, it could be anything. She untied the little ribbon and pulled open the box. When the lid was lifted, she let out a small gasp. "Oh, it's beautiful." She pulled it out to look at it closer. It was a necklace with a diamond heart pendant.

  "You like it? It sparkles just like your ring."

  "Babe, I love it. Thank you!" Gia hugged Patrick.

  "Here." He took the necklace and draped it around her neck, closing the clasp in the back. "It looks great. Just perfect. But you already looked stunning."

  Gia's cheeks warmed. "Thanks for such a nice evening."

  "Well, do you think you’re ready to face the crowds?" He flagged down the waitress. "Could you box up the cake please and put it with our leftovers? Also, can the valet bring my Hummer around front for us? Thank you," he said to her as he handed her his keys.

  "No problem, Mr. Dubois."

  Gia looked at him. "Do you think people actually showed up to see you here?" She couldn’t believe this was as big of a deal as he was making it out to be. Kat never mentioned anything like this happening to Kris.

  "C'mon, let's go find out." He scooted over and stepped up and out from the booth. Then turned and held his hand out for her.

  She paused in the booth for a second, staring at him.

  "You didn't change your mind, did you?" he asked.

  "No, I just don't believe there’s a crowd out there. Not that many people stalk your Twitter, do they?"

  "You would be surprised." He helped her out of the booth. They walked to the front door and stopped at the hostess stand. "Just making sure the Hummer is out front before we go out there." He nodded. "Look," he said to Gia, pointing outside. People lined the sidewalk. About ninety percent of them had Renegades shirts or jerseys on.

  "Seriously?" She was amazed. This is a thing? People really do this?

  "Ready?" he asked as he took her arm.

  They stepped out onto the sidewalk. Gia giggled at the fact that it had a red carpet on it. Fans lined the walkway. Patrick paused, leaned over to Gia and took her lips with his.

  "Happy Birthday, baby girl." He smiled and whispered against her lips.

  Then holding her tight, they walked down the sidewalk between screaming fans. Patrick took a minute to sign a few autographs as Gia watched over his shoulder, smiling proudly. She could hear cameras and was blinded by the flashes. She laughed aloud. This is completely insane! It's not like he is a movie star.

  Still in disbelief over all this madness and blinking away the spots in her eyes, they walked towards Patrick's Hummer. Reaching the end of the sidewalk, the valet opened the passenger door for Gia.

  He whispered to Patrick that the leftovers and the cake were packed into the backseat. "Thanks," Patrick answered and slipped the valet a tip.

  "Shall we?" He smiled at Gia and kissed her again before helping her into the SUV. Waving at the crowd, he walked around the front and got into the driver's seat.

  Putting it into drive, they headed home. "Believe it now?"

  Gia let out a chuckle. "That was insane. Do you really think those people are going to post pictures of us on the internet now?"

  "They always do." He smiled at her.

  CHAPTER 30

  GIA

  Gia woke to an empty bed. She’d forgotten he had an early morning practice today. She replayed the previous night in her head: the amazing restaurant, the wonderful food, that beautiful cake, the insane fans and all the autograph seekers. Now that was fun. Cake, that sounds good, she thought as she slid out of bed and headed towards the stairs. But when she reached the stairway, a wave of nausea hit her hard. She detoured into the hall bathroom, praying she’d make it in time.

  After emptying whatever was in her stomach, she felt a little better. “This has got to get better, right?" she moaned to herself. She splashed her face with cool water, dried it off then headed back downstairs.

  She poured herself a cup of decaf coffee and sat down at the table. Her phone rang; it was her sister.

  "Hey, Kat," she answered.

  "Looks like someone had her fifteen minutes of fame. Happy Birthday!" Kat giggled into the phone.

  "Huh?" she questioned as she sipped her coffee.

  "You haven't seen Twitter or Facebook? I could go on, but I doubt you even know what most of them are."

  True, Gia wasn’t very internet savvy. "I know what Twitter is and I’ve seen your Facebook page, thank you." She shook her head, still feeling confused. "Anyway, what are you talking about? Who has fame? Where?"

  "Sis, your photo is all over social media. No one knows your name, but they all know you're with Patrick. You should check it out, and damn, you look amaz
ing!" Kat giggled.

  "All right, all right. Let me pull it up on my tablet." She pulled up Twitter and started to search. "Oh," she said as she found tweet after tweet of her and Patrick at the restaurant. "This is ridiculous" There were snapshots of Patrick and her kissing, of him signing autographs and them posing for a few pictures. "I really didn't think people would do this."

  "Oh yeah. They love Pat. I don't know if it was his stardom in Los Angeles or what, but his fans are nuts.”

  Gia got up and walked over to the refrigerator as her sister talked. She pulled out the cake and put a little piece on a plate. After putting the rest away, she sat back down, sipped her coffee then took a bite.

  "So, what are you eating for breakfast? I assume there’s fruit involved?"

  Gia looked around the kitchen for something to tell her. After all, she couldn't tell her she was eating cake. "Well, I have my decaf coffee, and …" Suddenly, she remembered there was some kiwi in the refrigerator. "Some kiwi. I'm picking at an oatmeal bar right now," she lied, but it was her damn cake.

  "Okay," Kat replied. "Well, I’ll let you eat. What are you guys doing later?"

  "Don’t know. Patrick staying after practice to use the gym. Maybe it will be a nice relaxing afternoon once he finally gets home. Whenever that is."

  "Okay. Well, give me a call if you get bored. I gotta go anyway. Someone sounds hungry," she said as Ian started to cry in the background. "Happy birthday, sis."

  "Thanks." Gia set the phone down on the table. "Damn her. Now I feel guilty for not having fruit." She opened the refrigerator and looked around. Before grabbing the kiwi, she spotted grapes. They would be less work. "Grapes are good enough." She took her grapes, cake and coffee into the living room and lay on the couch. She turned on the television and channel surfed as she finished her food.

  Settling back against the comfy, plush pillows, she dozed off.

  ****

  PATRICK

  Patrick got out of his Hummer and unlocked the front door. Juggling his bag of hockey gear and a couple bags of groceries, he tried to enter quietly. There weren’t too many lights on, so he assumed Gia was napping. Once he got into the hall and saw her on the couch, he knew she was. She yawned and wiped her eyes.

  "Sorry, baby girl. I didn't mean to wake you," he said, putting down his hockey bag.

  "Oh, hey," she said sleepily. "No, it's okay. What time is it?" She looked around.

  "It's almost four." Walking over to her, he kissed her forehead. His arms were still full with the grocery bags. "I'm going to go put these away." He headed to the kitchen.

  "Four?" she said sleepily as she followed him. "I slept all afternoon! Shit." She shook her head. "Groceries? What did you get?" She felt terribly foggy and confused from her long nap.

  "Yeah, I tried to call you to tell you I was going to stop and pick up a few things. I left you a message," he said as he started to put the stuff away.

  She shook her head trying to clear the sleepiness. "Okay. So what's all this?"

  "I got us chicken dinners from the supermarket. They should still be warm. It's a full meal with two sides."

  Gia lifted the lid of the one containers full of chicken, potatoes and broccoli. "Looks pretty good." She sat down as Patrick brought over silverware and napkins.

  "Here, I bought a fruit salad too." He set the container on the table with two bowls. "You want a plate for that?" he asked.

  Gia nodded.

  "Yeah, something about eating dinner out of a plastic container just doesn't seem right." He chuckled as he brought them each a plate. "So you slept all day, huh?"

  "Yeah, I’ve heard pregnancy makes you tired but this is ridiculous, don't you think?"

  "You must've needed the rest. Don't stress on it, baby girl. You have to take care of yourself." He wiped his mouth with a napkin.

  "Yeah, I guess. So, you went to the gym then?" She took a big bite of her chicken.

  "Kris, Matt and I stayed after and worked out, so it was a good day for you to rest. I needed the exercise. It’s been a while."

  CHAPTER 31

  GIA

  Gia cleaned up after dinner. They had printed out some houses to look at and had them spread out on the kitchen table. Patrick was in the living room getting the laptop so they could take virtual tours of the houses as well. They had it narrowed down to four houses. They all had pools and beautiful backyards. Plenty of room for swing sets, tree houses and hockey nets.

  She carried the plates and bowls to the sink, set them down and turned on the water to rinse them off. "You know," she called to Patrick in the other room. "We’ll have to start narrowing our choices down." She giggled to herself. They were having a tough time deciding which house they liked the best. "I know we have like seven months, but …" her voice trailed off with a sudden stab of pain in her middle. She clutched at her stomach. The pain quickly got worse, causing her to let out a sharp breath. She immediately thought it was the baby. It wasn't like any cramps she ever felt before. It just didn't feel right. She doubled over in pain, grabbed onto the sink as she dropped to the floor and clutched at the cramping muscles in her abdomen. "Patrick …" She sat crouched on the floor in front of the sink, the water still running.

  Patrick ran into the kitchen. "Gia, are you okay? What's wrong?" He rushed over to her and knelt down at her side.

  "Bad cramping. It really hurts," she said, taking in small quick breaths as the pain increased. "Patrick … Something's wrong," she whimpered. This can't be happening.

  "Okay, baby girl, let's get you to the doctor, okay?" Patrick said as he dialed the number for her obstetrician. "Hello, I am calling for Gia Torella ... My name is Patrick Dubois." He covered the phone. "It's the answering service." He tried to quickly explain the situation. "Gia is about eight weeks pregnant and doubled over in pain. She says it’s bad cramping." Patrick listened for a moment then hung up the phone. "Gia, we need to get you to the hospital."

  "What did they say?" Gia asked. It was impossible to stand up straight from the pain.

  "The answering service is calling the doctor but said you need to get to the ER. So let's go." He picked her up and carried her out to the car. "Gia, I don't want to scare you, but there's some blood." He pointed down at her shorts. "Baby, it'll be okay. Let's just get you to the hospital."

  Hot tears rolled down her face and her eyes stung. She knew she was losing the baby. She watched as Patrick laid a towel on the passenger’s seat. He helped her up into the Hummer and quickly placed a soft kiss on her lips before closing the door.

  "You're going to be okay, baby girl," he said again after he jumped behind the wheel. Patrick kissed her hand and started the truck. He hit the gas and sped to the closest hospital. He did his best to obey every traffic law, but she could tell he was impatient. They didn't have time for delays. He looked over at Gia, terror in his eyes.

  Gia held her stomach, rocking from the pain. Her breaths were short and her heart pounded against her chest.

  He pulled the Hummer into the hospital parking lot, right up to the emergency entrance. A man in scrubs waved his hands to get Patrick's attention.

  "Hey, buddy! Buddy!" he called. "You can't park there! You need to pull over here." He pointed to the parking spots along the side. Patrick nodded and moved his Hummer, then jumped out and helped Gia into the hospital. He held her arm and walked her right up to the sign-in desk.

  "Excuse me, she needs help," he said loudly to anyone who would listen. There were three ladies behind the desk, all busy working on something. A thin, older lady put down the paperwork she had in her hand and rushed over to Patrick.

  "What seems to be the problem?" the older lady asked. She had curly silver hair and her glasses sat up on her head.

  "Ma'am, she is about eight weeks pregnant and is cramping severely," he said, pointing at Gia. Then lowered his voice and added, "And she’s bleeding. I don't know how badly."

  "Okay. Miss, come with me." She rolled out a wheelchair and helped Gia into it. "Ta
ke these papers." She handed Patrick a clipboard with papers on it and a pen. "Bring them back with you and fill them out. Follow me." She rolled Gia back immediately to a room. She set her up in a bed, making her as comfortable as she could. "Here honey, you need to put on this gown."

  "I can help her with that if you want," Patrick said.

  The nurse nodded and left the room.

  "G, it's going to be okay," he tried to reassure her but was interrupted as another lady wheeled a cart in the room.

  "Hi, ma'am. Have you filled out the paperwork yet?" She held her hand out for it.

  "No, we just got in here. I’ll do it now." Frantically, he filled out the forms. "I called her doctor and the answering service told me to bring her in here. I guess they were calling her doctor ... " Patrick rambled, staring blankly at the paperwork.

  "It's okay. Just fill out the papers and I’ll take them when you’re done." She turned her attention to Gia. "Ma'am, I'm Jenny. What's your name?"

  "Gia," she answered through her tears.

  "Gia, nice to meet you, dear. I’ll be performing an ultrasound, okay? We have to see what’s going on." She helped Gia with her gown. "Honey, this is an ultrasound. Do you know what those are?" She paused and waited for her to answer.

  Gia nodded, she didn't need an explanation, and honestly just wanted it over with. Gia looked up at the ceiling, trying to stay calm as the nurse started the machine.

  The nurse smiled and worked in silence. Patrick watched in confusion. There were blurs on the portable monitor. He tilted his head and squinted at it. When she was done, she packed all the equipment up and looked at Patrick. "Paperwork all done?" she asked.

  "Yep." He handed her the clipboard. "When will we know what’s going on?"

  "The on-call doctor will be right in. I’m sure your obstetrician will be here shortly too." She wheeled her cart out of the room.

  As she left, Patrick walked over to Gia's side. He grabbed her hand and smiled at her. Before he could say anything, a male doctor walked into the room.