The Hockey Boy

Chapter 11

TY

November 24

"Okay, team, that's enough for today!" I called. "But come over here first, I need to talk to you guys." All the other varsity guys skated over to me where I was at center ice. "I think that we all did really well on Thursday night. I would've told you guys that on Friday, but we didn't have practice, you know. Even though we beat Osseo, we need to keep grinding. We can't start to relax. It was one game, we've still got a lot to go. If we let our guard down, someone's gonna sneak up on us, and we'll find ourselves with a bad seed for the playoffs. Okay, shower up and get home. It's gonna be a long week, boys."

"Hey, Brady, come over here," Coach called as the other guys left the arena.

"Yeah, Coach?" I asked once I was next to him.

"Did you see Easton West at the game on Thursday?" he asked.

"Yes," I said through that gritted teeth. The nerve of that guy, I swear, I thought to myself. First, he showes up to my hockey game. Next, he gets my own father to give him my phone number. Then, he decideds to bother me all weekend with his stupid texts. The guy should just mind his own business. Doesn't he have his stupid defense to be practicing? Or at least something. Don't NHL players have better things to do than bother innocent teenage girls?

"What do you think he was doing here?" asked Coach. I pondered the question for a moment, trying to decided whether or not I wanted to tell Coach the truth. Finally, I decided that I could trust him. I had been on his team forever, and I had gotten pretty close to him over the years.

"Do you want the truth?" I asked. Coach nodded his head. "Well, Easton was here to see me."

"What!" yelled Coach. "Why on earth was a professional hockey player here to see you? Do you think he's spying on us for Andover?" That thought had never occured to me before. Maybe Easton was just trying to get close to me so his school could beat mine.

No, I thought. Someone as self-absorbed as him wouldn't go through all that trouble for his old school. He cares too much about himself. "No," I said out loud. "He's not spying."

"Well, how does he even know you, well, other than from playing against him when he was a junior and senior?" asked Coach, confused.

"Funny story actually," I grimaced. "I met him in Total Hockey the other day, and he made me mad so I hit him in the face with a hockey stick."

"You did what! That's who you hit in the face?" gasped Coach, recalling our conversation from a while ago.

"Yeah, he was being a jerk when I was trying to buy new hockey sticks, so I lost my temper and hit him in the face. I ended up giving him a black eye. I felt bad, so Cal and I went to the Wild game the other day and I apologized to him. He ended up forgiving me, and that's how we know each other. I guess he just decided to show up to the game because he wanted to. I mean, he can do what he wants since it is a free country," I explained.

"I suppose," replied Coach. "I still find it weird that an NHL player would take time out of his day to watch a high school hockey game, no offense. To be honest, I think you could become an NHL player one day. You definitely have the potential."

"Thanks, Coach, that really means a lot," I said as I started to leave. "See you tomorrow." I got off the ice and immediately took off my skates. I headed into the girls locker room to shower and change. The girls hockey team had just gotten done with practice as well, so the locker room was pretty crowded.

After I was done showering, I changed into basketball shorts and a Wild hoodie. I was just about to leave when I almost ran into Molly. "Hey, Molly," I said. "How's it going?"

"Oh, hey, Ty. I'm good," Molly replied with a smile.

"How was your date with Cal?" I asked as I wiggled my eyebrows.

Molly whacked my arm and scolded, "Oh, stop it! It was really good, though. I like him. You're fine with us dating, right?"

"First of all, you don't need my permission to date my best friend. I'm not possessive or anything like that," I laughed. "Secondly, I've been waiting for this to happen for a long time, so you have no idea how happy I am for you guys."

"Aww, thanks, Ty. I'm glad you're okay with us."

"So when's your next date?" I asked.

"Friday," Molly replied with a giggle. "Cal and I are going to that fancy restaurant, Fogo de Chão."

"Ooo, that sounds good," I said. "Well, I'd better be heading home. I'm about ready to go to sleep."

"Ha, if you're that tired, you should probably get going," Molly laughed. "See you at lunch tomorrow."

"See ya," I replied as I exited the locker room.

As soon as I was in the hallway, I pulled out my phone to see if I had gotten any text messages from anybody. There was one message and it was from you-know-who. I rolled my eyes and was about to open the text, but all of a sudden I ran into something very solid and found myself sprawled on the ground with my stuff spread around me.

"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed a guy with a deep, hot voice. I looked up to see one of the hottest guys I had ever seen in my life. This guy had blond hair and green eyes, and he looked like Troy Bolton from High School Musical only much, much taller. This guy had to be at least 6'10". "Here, let me help you up," the guy said as he held out his hand. I recognized who this guy was. He was Jake Herrington, Blaine's star basketball player. Jake was a center, and he had been recruited by many, many Division I colleges to play basketball. Jake was a senior like me, but we only shared one or two classes. I didn't recognize Jake at first because I don't normally go to basketball games since they are usually the same nights as hockey games.

"Thanks," I said gratefully as Jake pulled me up and handed me my phone and duffel bag. "Sorry I ran into you."

"It's not your fault. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, either," replied Jake with a smile as he held up his own phone. "Hey, you're Ty Brady, aren't you."

"Yep, that's me. You're Jake Herrington, aren't you," I mimicked.

"Yep, that's me," Jake replied and we both laughed.

"Well, I should be going. I'm pretty tired from practice and everything, and I'm sure you are, too," I commented and turned to leave.

"Wait," Jake called as he chased me down the hall. "Would you maybe want to go out with me on Friday?"

I was pretty surprised. I had never been asked out on a date before, other than when all the hockey guys have tried to set me up. Sure, I was what some people would call 'pretty', but personally, I think guys are too afraid to ask me out. "Yeah, I'm free. What were you thinking?"

"Maybe we could go to that restaurant Fogo de Chão. How does that sound?" asked Jake.

"That sounds great," I smiled. "Hey, would you be okay with maybe going on a double date? My friend and his girlfriend are going to Fogo de Chão on Friday, too."

"Yeah, that'd be cool," smiled Jake.

"Okay, I'll text Cal and ask him if it's all right. I'll let you know what he says," I said.

"Hey, do you want my phone number? Then you could text me as soon as you find out what's up," suggested Jake.

"Yeah, that'd probably be a good thing," I replied, and we swapped phones. When we were done typing our numbers in the other's phone, we handed them back.

"I'll see you tomorrow in Trig, Ty," smiled Jake.

Oh, that's the class we have together, I thought to myself. "Bye, Jake," I smiled before walking out the door to my truck. Wow, I was finally going on a date. I'm sure Cal would be thrilled. Then I remembered that I had to ask him if a double date would be okay. Even if it wasn't okay, Jake and I would still probably go to the same restaurant as Molly and Cal. We would just sit somewhere away from them, but I'm sure Cal wouldn't have a problem with going on a double date.

Then a strange thought hit me. What am I going to tell Easton? Wait, why am I worried about Easton? I don't even like him anymore... I just need to get ready for my date on Friday.

I decided that since we were going to a fancy restaurant on Friday, I should get a fancy outfit. I knew I was going to need some help with this, but I didn't think that this would be a job for Cal. I took out my phone and scrolled throught my contacts until I found the person I wanted to call. I dialed the number and the person at the other end said, "Hello, Ty?"

"Hey, Molly, I need your help with something..."