The Hockey Boy

Chapter 12

TY

November 28

"There, it's done," Molly said, satisfied, as she set down the curling iron. I turned around to look at myself in the mirror. Not to be self-centered or anything, but I looked great. There was no doubt about it, Molly had transformed me in a way I never thought possible. She had pinned my longish bangs to one side and curled my long, light brown hair, and it looked amazing. Molly had also done my makeup lightly, dusting my eye lids with different shades of brown eyeshadow and putting on a few coats of mascara. I had paired my hair and makeup with a fitted aqua lace dress with long sleeves. To go with my dress, I wore a pair of simple, black heels. Normally, I would've worn flats, but since Jake was so tall, I decided that I could use the extra inches.

Molly looked stunning herself. She had curled her own long, dark brown hair herself. She had also put a gorgeous shade of gold eyeshadow on herself that made her green eyes pop. Molly was wearing a one-strapped, powder blue dress.

"Dang, don't we look good," commented Molly with a smile.

"Yeah, but it was all you. I could never make myself look this good," I replied.

"Ty, you have so much to work with. It wouldn't be hard to make yourself look good," said Molly sincerely.

"I don't know, Molly. I don't really have a talent for fashion and hair. Thanks again for coming over to help me get ready."

"Oh, no problem! I had fun," smiled Molly.

"I did, too. Hopefully Jake and Cal will be here soon," I worried as I glanced at the clock. "Our restaurant reservation is in a half hour. I really don't want to be late."

"We won't be late," assured Molly. "Oh look, here are the boys now." Molly and I left my room and headed out to Jake's silver Audi. I went to sit in the front seat by Jake, while Molly sat in the back with Cal.

When we reached the restaurant, we told the waitress we had a reservation, and she brought us to a booth on one of the sides of the restaurant. A few minutes later, our waitress came and asked for our drink and appetizer orders. The guys were both pretty hungry, so we got the appetizer that the waitress recommended.

While we waited for our food, Jake tried to start a conversation. "So, you guys all play hockey?"

"Yeah," Cal, Molly, and I replied.

"We all play hockey, but I'm the only one that actually plays on the girls team," laughed Molly. "Ty's too good for us."

"Hey, that's not true," I defended.

"Oh, if it's not true, then why do you play on the guys team?" inquired Molly.

"Because I'd rough up all the other girls too much," I muttered as I took a sip of my water.

Molly smirked, "My point exactly. You're a good hockey player, Ty. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yeah, I guess. I just don't want to sound egotistical," I explained. "You're a pretty good hockey player yourself, Molly."

"Thanks, Ty, that means a lot."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Cal burst out. Molly, Jake, and I started laughing. Cal pouted, "It's not funny, guys."

"You're such a baby," I laughed. "So, Jake, I hear you're pretty good at basketball."

"You could say that, I guess," he shrugged.

"Dude, you're like seven feet tall, how could you not be good," emphasized Cal.

"Cal, I think you're just jealous that he's over six feet tall," I laughed.

"Hey now, don't bring my height into this," Cal growled jokingly.

"He's pretty sore that he's an inch under six feet," I explained.

Jake's face light up with understanding. "Oh, that makes sense now."

"Are we really going to talk about my height all night?" asked Cal, annoyed.

"Your height is perfectly fine, Cal. You're still taller than me, and that's all that matters," said Molly as she tried to calm Cal down.

"Thanks, Molly," smiled Cal.

"You guys are too cute, I swear," I smiled. The waitress showed up with our appetizer, and with all of us being athletes, we dug right in. The appetizer was totally gone in five minutes flat.

The waitress returned and said, "Whoa, you guys sure finished that quickly."

"Yeah, we're all pretty fast eaters," joked Cal before we all ordered our food.

The four of us continued to chat as we waited for our food to come. Jake seemed like he was a pretty nice guy with a great sense of humor. He was a gentleman, too.

I was really having a good time when all of a sudden something changed my good mood. I just happened to glance over at the door of the restaurant only to see the entire Wild team and coaching staff walk into the restaurant. Since the entire Wild team was in the restaurant, I knew that Easton had to be here. I tried not to look over in the team's direction, but when they were all seated just two tables in front of mine, I had no choice but to pay a little attention.

"Dude, is that the whole Wild team?" asked Jake.

"Yeah, it is," I replied through gritted teeth. Cal shot me a look that said, 'Don't even start.'

"Well you sound excited to see them. What, are you a Blackhawks fan or something?" Jake said sarcastically.

"No, I'm not a Blackhawks fan. I hate them," I said. "I just have a little bit of an issue with one of the players."

"What kind of a problem?" questioned Jake.

"He just irritates me. It's nothing, really. Don't worry about it," I assured Jake. "Let's just ignore them and enjoy this." With perfect timing, the waitress showed up with our food.

"This is so good!" exclaimed Molly as she chewed her first bite.

"I know," I groaned as I ate my food. "Good restaurant choice, Cal."

"Thank you, thank you very much," jested Cal.

"Really, Cal?" Molly said.

"What? You know I'm a dork," he replied. Molly didn't say anything in return, she just rolled her eyes.

"Cal, just stop talking while you still have the chance," I suggested with a laugh. My best friend could act really stupid sometimes.

Jake, Cal, and Molly started talking about some band that I had never heard of, so without really thinking, I glanced over at the tables that the Wild players were seated at. Almost right away I spotted Easton. He was wearing dress pants with a shirt and tie. I guessed that the team had been required to dress up since they were going to be at a fancy restaurant.

I suddenly realized that I was staring at Easton, so before anyone could notice that I was staring, I turned back to my friends for a few moments. I glanced back at Easton a few seconds later, but this time, a Wild player made eye contact with me. It was Ryan Suter that I made eye contact with, and he was seated right next to Easton. As soon as we made eye contact, I quickly turned back to my friends and didn't look at the Wild players again.

After we were all done eating, Jake asked, "Does anyone want dessert?"

"No way, I'm too full!" I exclaimed. Cal and Molly groaned in agreement.

"Good, because I didn't want dessert. I'm pretty full too. I'll ask the waitress for the bill," stated Jake. The waitress came over and set the bill on the table. Cal and Jake decided to split the bill since they were both "gentlemen".

After the boys paid, we left the restaurant. Jake gently guided me out by putting his hand on my waist. I looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back and said, "I'm just trying to be a gentleman."

"Well, you're succeeding," I replied with a smile. The four of us climbed into the Audi like before. Jake dropped Molly and Cal off first before heading to my house.

"I had a really good time," said Jake, turning towards me.

"I did, too. Thank you for everything," I replied with a smile.

"Maybe we could do this again?" he suggested.

"Yeah," I replied. "Only next time, let's go on a date with just the two of us. I love Molly and Cal to death, but sometimes it's nice to just be alone with a person."

"Yeah, I agree," he said. Then we both went silent for a moment, just looking into each other's eyes. Jake moved his eyes down to look at my lips, and I think we both knew what would happen next. Jake slowly leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was sweet, and it felt... nice.

"Text me later?" I asked as I began to climb out of the car.

"Definitely," Jake smiled back. "Night, Ty."

"Good night, Jake."

I was smiling as I entered my house. I went up to my room and began to get ready for bed. I decided to avoid talking to my family tonight since I knew my dad was still salty about me going on a date with someone other than Easton. I swore that my dad wanted Easton and me to become a thing, but I wasn't taking the bait. I had found a guy that I liked, and that was the way it was going to be. Dad would just have to deal with it.

As I climbed into bed, I couldn't help but think about seeing Easton at the restaurant. I was relieved that he didn't try to come over and talk to me. That might've ruined my date. I hoped that he hadn't seen me at all, but at the same time I hoped that he had seen me. Maybe if he had seen me with another guy, he would leave me alone. I highly doubted it, but I could always dream, couldn't I?

I laid there in my bed thinking about my date for a long time, replaying every moment in my head. When I reached the part with our kiss, I compared it with kissing Easton without even trying to. I didn't want to compare Jake to Easton, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't help but think that while Jake's kiss had been nice, my kiss with Easton had felt almost magical, like it was meant to be.

I need to stop overthinking things, I thought to myself. I didn't want to overthink myself into thinking that I actually liked Easton. No, that would never happen, could never happen. That night at the Excel Energy Center was a mistake. Jake was the one for me, at least for now. Jake was nice, funny, and most importantly, a gentleman, unlike Easton who was rude, arrogant, and just flat-out impossible.

I just needed to stop thinking and go to sleep. Right as I was about to fall asleep, my phone buzzed. Sweet dreams, babe. I'll talk to you tomorrow, the text from Jake read.

Yes, I thought. This proves that Jake is a better guy than Easton. I was too tired to think about boys anymore, so I fell asleep.

***

Easton

While I was talking to Darcy, Ryan nudged my side and jerked his head in the direction of a table. I looked over to where he was looking and saw her. Ty. I looked back over at Ryan, then down at the table. Ty already hated me, so I decided that I wasn't going to go over and talk to her. If she was happy, then I guess I was happy despite the fact that even thinking about her being with another guy broke my heart.

"I think I need some air. I'm not feeling too well," I excused myself. I walked out of the restaurant in the opposite direction Ty was seated. I hoped that she hadn't seen me. When I got outside, I took in a few deep breaths of the cool, almost-winter air. I sat down on the bench outside of Fogo de Chão and ran my hands through my hair. I took a few more deep breaths, and when I finally had calmed myself down, I walked back into the restaurant.

I ordered food like the rest of the guys, but when it came, I just picked at it. I glanced over at Ty and saw that her friends and her date were leaving. My heart fell when I saw her date's hand on her waist. I tried to push her out of my head, but I couldn't. After I was done picking at my food, I told the guys that I really wasn't feeling good, again, and I left.

When I got home, I turned on a basketball game with the hope that it would distract me. Much to my dismay, the game didn't help. I couldn't get Ty out of my head.

"Man, I've got it bad," I said out loud. I decided that it was no use to sit around and think about some girl, so I went to bed. I grabbed my phone a few times, about to text Ty, but every time, I decided against it. I knew that if I was ever going to have a chance with Ty, I was going to have to leave her alone. It would be one of the hardest things I'd ever done in my life, but I knew I would manage. I could handle anything, including an extremely gorgeous, stubborn hockey girl.