Chicago City Lights

Evelyn stood on top of her bed, staring at Ben with wide eyes, as he crept through the room, tissue in hand. He looked at his girlfriend and could only laugh.

“Ben, this isn’t funny,” She whined, glaring at him. “Just kill it!”

He shook his head and quickly picked up the centipede that had been crawling around Evelyn’s apartment for hours. She had called him while he was taking his pre-game nap, and as soon as he woke up he heard her frantic message.

“I still can’t believe you called me near tears because their was a bug in your apartment.”

“Not just a bug, Ben! A centipede! I can handle spiders, flies, moths, but centipedes…”

She shivered involuntarily.

After he came back from the bathroom, flushing the bug down the toilet, and washing his hands on Evelyn’s insistence, he wrapped his arms around her.

“My knight in smelly hockey gear!” She laughed, wrapping one arm around him and putting the back of her other hand to her forehead.

He laughed, “You are such a drama queen, my little damsel in distress.”

She pouted, but nodded, “I know.”

“Now, if you don’t mind, I have to go eat something and head over to the arena.”

“I can make you something..?”

“I usually eat pasta and chicken,” He told her, hopeful she had those things in her kitchen.

She grabbed his hand and dragged him to her living room, setting him down on her couch, thrusting the remote into his hand.

“I’ll cook for you.”

Ben grinned, “A guy can get used to this.”

“Don’t,” She laughed, sticking her tongue out.

Evelyn walked into the kitchen and pulled the food out of her pantry and refrigerator. As she cooked, she turned to look at Ben, whose back was to her. She smiled to herself, realizing just how close her and Ben had become. When he was down, she was too. And now, he was playing his first game since February 10th, just days before their big Valentine’s Day date. The effects of his concussion had finally wore off, and he was one hundred percent again.

As she put the pasta into the boiling water her eyes caught site of the latest note she had received from Ryan. Ever since Valentine’s Day, two weeks before, she had received a letter from Ryan every couple of days, always slipped under her apartment door.

They all said roughly the same thing; he missed her, he wanted to see her, and to please give him a call. Evelyn didn’t want to bother Ben with them, so she kept them hidden in one of her kitchen drawers. She didn’t want to bother him with her petty ex-boyfriend problem while he was dealing with recovering and being healthy to play. Besides, he didn’t seem too bothered by the first note he had left. He had just blown it off.

Evelyn frowned, watching the pasta boil. She had been so deep in her thoughts; she hadn’t heard Ben come up behind her. She jumped when he wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Evelyn smiled and strained the pasta, dumping it onto two plates, covering it in sauce and the grilled chicken. Ben gave her another kiss before digging into his food, finishing it in ten minutes, while Evelyn was barely half done. He grinned at her.

“I got to get over to the arena. I’ll see you afterwards?”

Evelyn nodded, “Of course. Be careful.”

He laughed, “Always. I love you.”

Evelyn made a promise to herself that she was going to hit Ben after the game. Seeing him flying all over the ice, checking people, being checked, starting scrums… She was nervous. She was sure she looked crazy to the people sitting next to her, since Sam wasn’t with her at this game. Her friends had insisted on a girls’ night out, something she never did.

So, Evelyn sat in her seat, wincing and screaming at players through the glass. When Ben took a shot on net and missed, Evelyn groaned, until she watched Pat Kane pick up the rebound and get it behind the goalie. She jumped up and screamed with the other fans at the UC, as she watched her boyfriend celebrate on the ice with his teammates.

The Hawks had a four to one lead over the Canucks, but they were playing just as hard, as to not give up the lead. With two minutes left in the game, Evelyn had to bury her head in her hands. Ben was fighting, shoving, and yelling with the Canucks’ Jeff Cowan.

“Oh, jeez, Ben,” She mumbled, as the people around her screamed and cheered.

She watched as the referees pulled them apart and they were ushered to their respective benches, heading to the locker room. Evelyn shook her head and stood with the rest of the fans, cheering the last minutes of the game.

She sat at her seat for a while, waiting for the fans to clear out before she wandered to the locker room and into the lounge. She lay down on the black leather couch, waiting for Ben. She was so exhausted and didn’t know why.

She didn’t realize she had fallen asleep, but when she awoke from something heavy falling on top of her, she knew she had. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up into familiar blue eyes; not those of Ben but of Patrick Kane.

“Kaner!” She squealed, throwing her arms around him as he lied on top of her.

“Hey, Evelyn!” He squealed back, kissing her cheek.

He sat up and pulled the small girl with him.

“Ben!” He yelled.

“What?” He laughed, walking into the lounge.

He raised his eyebrows at the sight of his girlfriend on Pat’s lap, her arms wrapped around his middle and her head on his shoulder.

“I’m stealing her from you.”

“Oh?” Ben asked.

Pat nodded, but Ben shook his head, moving closer to the younger man. He lifted Evelyn from Pat’s lap and hoisted her over his shoulder, earning a giggle from his girlfriend.

“Ben!”

“Bye, guys,” He yelled, grabbing his bag and leaving the locker room.

His teammates laughed and Ben and Evelyn joined in when they heard Pat mumble lucky bastard as the door closed. Ben put Evelyn down when they reached his car, only to have her wrap her arms around him.

“What’s this for?” He asked.

“Because you are a lucky bastard.”

“Oh, nice,” He laughed, shoving her off of him.

They laughed with each other the whole ride back to Evelyn’s apartment. She had asked him if he wanted to spend the night, and of course, he agreed. When Evelyn put her key into the lock and stepped into the apartment, she immediately knew something didn’t feel right.

Ben was oblivious, as he walked in and threw his bag on the floor.

“Evelyn?” She heard, coming from her kitchen.

She turned her head to see Ryan walking toward her and Ben, a sour look on his face as he glanced at Ben.

“Ryan, what are you doing here?” She asked, earning a growl from Ben.

“This is Ryan?” Ben asked, turning toward Evelyn and wrapping an arm around her.

“Yes, he is. And I think he should leave,” She said, sternly, shooting Ryan a look.

“Eva, I came here to talk to you. You’ve been ignoring me.”

Ben looked down at Evelyn, and she sighed, “He’s been leaving me notes telling me to call him.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think you would care.”

“Of course I care! You’re my girlfriend, and I love you.”

Evelyn smiled and kissed Ben, but their kiss cut short when Ryan cleared his throat.

“What do you want?” Ben growled again.

“I want Eva.”