Chapter 10
LUCY
I enterthe chilly hockey stadium and inhale the wintery smell of fresh ice. I came here directly from work, so I’m early, and it’s actually kind of cool to see what the arena looks like before the crowds arrive. It’s so eerily peaceful it’s hard to believe that in forty-five minutes’ time, the place will be packed with fans and all the deafening noise that comes with that.
The only thing I hear right now is the soft roar of the Zamboni machine. It’s making its last few passes to top off the ice before all hell breaks loose and the ferocious sport that is hockey begins to destroy it. My stomach grumbles at the wafting smell of fresh popcorn as food vendors prepare for the night’s crowds, and I realize I’ll be eating my dinner here tonight.
I’m okay with an arena hotdog every once in a while.
Petal, a connoisseur of arena food, would be proud.
I didn’t share this with Tyler, but I felt bad for him, falling asleep on our date. I know he was mortified, and I have no doubt the poor guy was exhausted. In fact, I don’t know how he even lasted through dinner. Petal warned me before he picked me up that the guys had an early morning, and that Rake was headed straight for bed as soon as he finished dinner. She explained that getting in the groove of a new season takes some time, and was amazed Tyler had the stamina to stick out an evening like the one he had planned.
Guess he didn’t have quite the stamina he thought he did.
And then, when he invited me to tonight’s game, he looked so hopeful I’d say yes that I couldn’t turn him down, even though I don’t relish the thought of spending the evening with anyone’s little sister. I do enough babysitting of my sister’s rugrats, thank you. But what the hell, even though I’m far from a hockey lover—in fact, I can barely follow the puck across the ice, that’s how fast it moves—any insights into the person Tyler is will help me understand the alpha playboy type I’m trying to write about.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’ve felt for a moment, here and there, a little badly for encouraging him to keep coming around. I don’t think I’m full-on misleading him, and I have certainly kept my cool during the moments where it seems like he might try to take things to another level. Like when he kissed me on my front steps. Hell, my knees were shaking so hard I thought they might buckle on me, that’s how sexy his lips were on mine. But I held it together and said goodnight. I didn’t invite him in. I wasn’t about to do that.
I’m supposed to be resisting his type, not falling into bed with him.
He’s nice enough, truly, and certainly good-looking with that perfect square jaw, mop of messy brown hair, and sky-high height. What woman wouldn’t throw herself at him? Or should I say under him? If the circumstances were different, I’d probably go for it, myself. No, he’s not the kind of man I’d marry, or even the kind I usually go out with, but who am I to turn away the attentions of a hot dude, at least in the short run?
Anyway, all that’s off the table right now. I have a career-defining project gathering steam, and he’s a big part of it. No catching feelings. Absolutely not.
Although it was cute how, when he fell asleep at the symphony, he had the quietest little snore. And, at one point, when his hand fell into my lap, I brushed the back of it with my thumb as if he were a real boyfriend or something.
It was fun to pretend for a moment.
And when I shook him awake, he was so disoriented, all apologies and such. I wasn’t offended that he dozed off, not in the least. In fact, I kind of liked it. It made him seem more human. Which doesn’t help my story when I’m trying to paint him as a cold-hearted cad.
Good grief. What am I doing?
“Lucy?”
I’m yanked out of my thoughts and turn to find a slight young woman with the same dark eyes and mop of hair Tyler has. She’s considerably smaller, but there’s no doubt they’re related.
“I’m Ruby,” she says, extending a hand.
“Hi,” I say, pulling down the spring-loaded seat for her. “When Tyler said I’d be joining his little sister, I was looking for a kid.”
She laughs the same easy way her brother does. “Oh yeah. He’ll never stop calling me his little sister. I’ll be old and gray and using a walker, and I suppose I’ll still be his little sis.”
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Ruby.”
She’s adorable and she honestly can’t be that much younger than I am.
“Are you in school?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I’ve finished two years at State, but I’m taking time off and working in the main public library. I really like it.”
“Oh, I love that building. It’s not the original library, you know. The first one, built in the 1800’s, was where the Asian Art Museum is now.”
Her eyes widen. “No way. You sound like you’ve been here in SF for a long time.”
I nod. “Grew up here, in fact.”
“Wow. Seems like most everyone I meet has moved here from somewhere else. You’re a unicorn, Lucy,” she laughs. “My dad and I moved here after Tyler did. Dad didn’t want to be too far away from him. The funny thing is that, during the season, we hardly see him anyway, unless we come to a game. He gets so busy. Did you know that they can have up to four games a week sometimes?”
I didn’t know that. I guess I thought it was like football. You know, one game a week or something like that. But come to think of it, Petal has told me on numerous occasions how often Rake has away games. I just never did the math.
Shit, no wonder the man fell asleep on our date.
Which wasn’t a date. Not really.
“How do you know my brother?” Ruby asks.
I shake my jacket off. Now that the arena is filling, it’s warming up. “His teammate Rake married my best friend, Petal.”
She brings her hand to her mouth in recognition of their crazy story. “Ohhh, yeah. I’m familiar with all that. The fake marriage that turned into a real one?”
I laugh. “Yeah, something like that.”
The stadium gets dark, then a crazy light show erupts down on the ice. A master of ceremonies welcomes the San Francisco Aftershocks and introduces each player. As he moves through the roster, one guy at a time, I lean toward Ruby.
“I don’t remember them doing this at last year’s game,” I say.
“Oh. Don’t you know? This is the home opener. The first game of the season.” She turns her attention back to the ice, and I’m grateful she does, because I feel like the biggest dunce in all of dunceville.
How did I not know this?
“Ladies and gentlemen, let’s make some noise for jersey number twenty-seven, the Aftershocks’ fearless six-foot-two left winger, Tyler Brooks,” the MC booms.
People jump to their feet and the crowd goes wild.
What?
Is there something going on that I don’t know about? I mean, aside from that fact that this is the season opener and my lame ass had no freaking idea?
Ruby is on her feet next to me and suddenly starts waving and jumping up and down. I follow her view and realize Tyler is looking up at the two of us, smiling and waving.
“That’s my brother! That’s my brother!” she squeals barely loud enough for me to hear over the roar of the crowd.
Well, shit. I jump to my feet, too, and start frantically waving, not about to be outdone by a little sister. I figure I got a free ticket to the game—jumping up and down and acting like a fan is the least I can do.
When everyone settles down, Lucy leans over. “I take it you don’t know much about hockey.”
“Geez. I thought I had you fooled.”
She laughs. “Okay. I’m happy to point a couple things out to you,” she offers.
I throw my hands up. “Please do. I need all the help I can get.”
She starts by explaining the that puck drop and face off are the same thing, something I didn’t realize, and then moves over to penalties and power plays.
At the couple games I attended with Petal, I wondered why one team or the other was occasionally down one player. It’s all starting to make sense now.
“How do you know so much about hockey?” I ask.
She looks at me like I’m crazy. “Hockey has pretty much ruled our family for as long as I can remember. By the time I was walking, Tyler was already in a kids’ league. I’ve been going to hockey stuff all my life.”
She turns back to the game and, sliding to the edge of her seat, screams at someone or something, and I have no idea why.
“Hey, I’m going to get a hotdog. Want anything?” I get to my feet.
“No!” she says, gesturing for me to sit back down. “Tyler and I are going out for burgers after the game?—”
Then she jumps to her feet, almost knocking me over. “Tyler scored! He fucking scored!”
I don’t know if I’m more surprised at her physical outburst, or the fact that she just screamed fuck at the top of her lungs.
She’s kind of scaring me.
I turn back to the rink to clap and cheer, like I am actually following what’s going on, which I so am not.
We sit back down and Ruby turns to me, completely civilized, unlike sixty seconds ago. I still really want my hotdog, but I might miss something. “Hey,” she says, “if Tyler doesn’t have to do much press stuff, we’ll go out to my favorite burger place on Fillmore Street as soon as he’s done. He said you were coming. You don’t want to spoil your appetite with a hotdog, ya know?”
“He said I was coming? How come I don’t know anything about this?”
She shrugs. “Oh, you know Tyler. He’s not a detail person. He probably thinks he invited you but actually forgot. He’s a pain that way.”
Typical. Guys like him are always expecting people to just fall into line and follow them anywhere they want to go.
The game wraps with a tie, which I’m sure is a disappointment, assuming teams always prefer to win. Since they didn’t exactly lose, though, I don’t have a sense of how good or bad it is—could it be a majorly depressing outcome? Or just kind of a bummer?
I decide to ask Petal later. She might have some insights. If Tyler’s upset about the game, I don’t want to make it worse with dumb questions.
I follow Ruby through a labyrinth of hallways, which she navigates like a pro. I have no idea where we are, aside from somewhere in the arena, and if I had to find my way out on my own, I’d be totally screwed. We finally reach a spot where other family and friends are waiting for players, and take a seat on a bench.
Just as I’m wondering whether Tyler carts around his sister for ‘wing-woman’ cred, he comes out of the players’ area where we are waiting. Ruby runs to him and throws her arms around his neck. They squeeze each other with closed eyes, and it’s impossible to miss how close they are.
Dammit. I’m supposed to be finding fault in this guy. Not appreciating his attributes.
He releases his sister and approaches me with a huge grin that, I have to admit, makes my stomach flip. “Hey, Lucy, did you enjoy the game?” he asks, giving me a little peck on the cheek.
I glance at Ruby for her reaction, but she’s busy ogling the other players leaving the locker room, all cleaned up and dressed nicely after the big game.
“Who’s ready for burgers?” he shouts.
He takes Ruby’s hand and then mine, and with him between the two of us, we make our way out of the arena.