Chapter 20
Bailey
Hockey Fan for Life
Levi’s acting like he’s a rep from the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce. My email Inbox is packed with information about the community. He even included a link to businesses that are part of the Chamber and a few of them were bakeries. All I need to do is get up the courage to research them to see whether any of them are hiring. But I can’t seem to get up the gumption to do it. As I mentioned to Nana, what if Levi gets tired of me after I move to California with him? He hasn’t expressed any long-term plans or commitment, and that eats at me, causing me to drag my heels.
Shoving my worries about the future aside, I focus instead on attending Levi’s last home game tonight. I love watching Levi, and I’ve become a rabid hockey fan.
Who knew I’d fall in love with a game played on ice? And that I’d fall in love with the guy who plays the game on ice!
I opt for a super casual look in case I have yet another wardrobe mishap during the game. It would be just my luck to have a guy spill a beer on me, that hasn’t happened yet, but I’m sure that the hockey gods are scheming against me. My faded flannel shirt, underlying T-shirt, and old blue jeans are comfortable and if anything gets spilled on them, I don’t care. I refuse to go to the Golden Stars merchandise booth to buy another replacement garment.
“You’re wearing that to the game?” Mia says when I stroll into the kitchen. She wrinkles her nose as she stares at me from behind her laptop.
“It’s a hockey game! What’s wrong with this?” I huff.
“Isn’t he taking you out for dinner afterwards?” Emma chimes in. She’s unloading takeout containers from a paper bag and setting them on the counter. The tantalizing aromas make my stomach rumble. Loudly.
Both my housemates laugh. “Join us! We’ve got plenty,” Mia says.
“It’s from The Chinese Palace,” Emma adds as she holds up one of the tiny white boxes.
What could it hurt? I’ll eat one less slice of pizza or order a small burger after the game.
“I’m in! Which one is fried rice?” I say as I scroll through the containers.
“You’re always so predictable!” Emma says with a chuckle, bringing the rest of the containers to the table. “Why don’t you ever try anything different?”
“I’m not a risk taker,” I say as I grab the fried rice container and join my housemates at the dining table. It occurs to me that my risk aversion may also be what’s holding me back from being excited about moving to Anaheim.
We all dig in, enjoying the Chinese comfort food. I intend to eat only part of the container, but in minutes I’ve polished off the whole thing. A small pang of guilt hits me, knowing that I won’t be very hungry after the game.
“When are we going to meet Levi?” Mia asks. “He never picks you up, you always meet him at the game.”
“That’s because he needs to be at the stadium a couple hours before game time. But tonight, he’s sending an Uber for me, so we don’t have to deal with my car.”
My housemates exchange pointed looks.
“What?” I ask.
“Don’t you wonder why he did that? Maybe he’s planning to take you out somewhere special,” Emma says.
I roll my eyes. “Unlikely. He’s pretty much a pizza and burgers guy.”
“You two are getting pretty serious, aren’t you?” Mia adds.
“I really like Levi,” I reply, keeping my response vague. I haven’t told them about Levi asking me to move to Anaheim with him. Part of me doesn’t want to tell them because they’ll both try to talk me into doing it. But I need some time and space to process this upheaval to my cozy, little life. I’ve never lived in a big city, plus I’ve never worked for anyone other than Emma. It makes my palms sweat just thinking about that.
My phone pings letting me know the Uber is only a few minutes away. “Thanks for the food! Have a good thought for the Stars. They need to win tonight so they can make the playoffs for the Frozen Four.” I wave good-bye and jog out the door. “We will!” they shout, then the door closes behind me.
~*~
John and Johnny greet me as I take my seat. We’ve become friendly acquaintances after sitting beside each other at every game. I’ve attended every home game since that DoorDash delivery literally changed my life.
As I take my seat, I frown because two hulking men are sitting directly in front of me. I’m going to have to lean from side to side to see the action. Bummer.
“Oh! I’ve got something for Johnny,” I say as I pull out the Golden Stars hockey program that Levi signed and hand it to the kid. My hunky boyfriend’s picture is on the cover. He looks so intimidating in his full pads, holding his stick with a glint in his eye. I plan to purchase one for myself. When Levi moves to California, I’ll have this program to remember him by.
Johnny bounces up and down in his seat, waving the program over his head. “Nyberg! Nyberg!” he yells, oblivious to the attention he’s drawing from the fans around us. His dad speaks to him quietly and calms him down.
“Thanks for getting the autograph for Johnny! I can’t wait to see Nyberg in the pros. Word on the street is that he’s going to get drafted number one by the Anaheim Ducks!” John says. “I can’t believe we know his girlfriend,” he adds, waggling his eyebrows at me.
I nod and smile awkwardly, not quite sure how to respond since I don’t know this guy well enough to confide in him about my dilemma over moving with Levi to Anaheim.
The game starts, stemming anymore questions from John. I’m sucked into the action, yelling and screaming like all the other boisterous fans around me. In such a short time I’ve become a bona fide hockey fan. Even if this relationship with Levi doesn’t last, I’ll still watch all his games and root for him.
The two giants in front of me act as blockers, and with how fast my boyfriend skates around the ice, I doubt he’ll even see me. I lean sideways and strain my neck to watch. Maybe with all this swiveling back and forth I can work up an appetite so I’m hungry when Levi and I go to dinner after the game. Right now, I regret snarfing down that entire box of fried rice.