Chicago City Lights

All around him, his teammates were laughing and enjoying themselves, but Ben Eager could not get into the festivities of the Labor Day BBQ. As he looked around the yard of the new house Patrick Sharp had just bought, he saw Adam Burish manning the grill, a pair of tongs in one hand and a beer in the other. The ever present Burish smile was on his face as he flipped burgers and roasted hot dogs.

He looked up from the grill to see Ben’s sullen expression and he laughed to himself, “Cheer up, Eags! Enjoy the day, and remember the season is just a few weeks away.”

Ben nodded his head, taking a sip of the already lukewarm beer in his hand; it was nearly eighty five degrees still. And what Adam had said was true. The start of the 2008-2009 season was just a three weeks away, and he’d be damned if he was going into the season in a funk. He vowed that this season would be better, more productive. No injuries, he swore. And besides, he had Evelyn to turn to, you know, incase anything did go wrong like it had last season.

If she ever forgave him and talked to him, that was.

As if she knew what he was thinking, Samantha - Patrick Sharp’s girlfriend, sat down next to him and put a hand on his forearm.

“She’ll forgive you. Just give her a few days.”

Ben nodded, but still a little unsure, he couldn’t smile. It wasn’t like forgot her birthday or their six month anniversary; he had remembered those just fine, actually. He had lied to her, and what was worse was that he hadn’t gotten the chance to admit his lie. She had caught him and had thrown him out of her apartment.

Samantha gave him a sad smile and returned to the kitchen where she and Andrew Ladd’s girlfriend, Troy Brouwer’s girlfriend, and Kris Versteeg’s girlfriend were preparing sides and salads while their boyfriends were supposed to be helping with grilling. Instead, they were playing Frisbee in the vast yard.

A few minutes of deep thought later, a plate filled with potato salad, a burger, and an ear of corn was set in front of him. The food looked delicious and he wondered, as he took a huge bite of burger, why he wasn’t one of those people who couldn’t eat when they were upset.

His small laugh made heads turn toward him.

“Eags..?” Sharpie asked, a curious look on his face.

Ben’s blue eyes widened when he realized how big of a creep he must have looked like.

“Sorry,” He mumbled, shrugging.

As he ate, he couldn’t help but look around at his teammates and their girls, wondering why he had chosen to lie to Evelyn. If he hadn’t, she would be there, enjoying the day, preparing for the water fight that they all knew was soon to come.

Forty minutes later, everyone had cleared the table and gone into the house to change into their swimsuits, wanting to take a dip in the large in-ground swimming pool that came with the house. Ben took his things into a spare bedroom and quickly changed into his swim trunks.

When he stepped back outside, he saw the other couples already jumping into the pool with each other, while Adam was romancing one of the girlfriends’ friends. He sighed and shook his head.

Feeling stupid for sitting at a BBQ and sulking, he said his goodbye to his friends and walked out to his Navigator, not bothering to change out of his swim trunks or put a shirt on. With nothing to do for the rest of the evening, he just drove home, but when he got to his parking garage, he couldn’t bring himself to get out of the car.

He took his phone out of the pocket of his jeans that sat on the passenger seat, sending Evelyn a quick text.

I need to see you.
Please?

He sat in his car, drumming his fingers on his legs, listening to the soft hum of the radio. What felt like an hour later, but really it had been thirty seconds, his phone beeped.

Sure.
I’m home now if you’re free.

Ben sped out of the parking garage, texting an “I’m on my way,” as he did so. Luckily for him and his sanity, the usually heavy Chicago traffic was light. Driving through the still busy streets, he caught sight of the one building that had always captured his attention. To him, it was the one building that was Chicago. The Sears Tower loomed high above every other building. And even though he’d been living in Chicago for a little under a year, he’d never visited the landmark.

Pulling up to Evelyn’s building, he jogged up to her door, not having to buzz in. He had a spare key. When he reached her apartment, he softly knocked before opening the door slowly.

He didn’t see her at first, but she soon walked out of her bedroom wearing only a pair of underwear and a bra. She smiled lightly at him, avoiding eye contact.

“The air’s not working right,” She told him, sighing.

Ben nodded, finally realizing that it was unusually hot in her apartment, his eyes roaming all over her body. (It had been a week since he’d seen her last.)

“Ben, did you come here to talk to me or stare at me?”

He smiled sheepishly, “Both?”

She rolled her eyes, walking into the kitchen and pulling two water bottles out of the fridge, offering one to Ben, which he gladly took.

After taking a sip of the cold water, he said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”

“I can’t believe you’d lie to me.”

“I know. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Ben, you went to lunch with your ex girlfriend…”

“She called and said she was in town.”

“And you broke plans with me to hang out with her? Are you going to do that every time one of your exes call?” She spat, bitterly.

Ben sighed, “No, Lyn I’m - ”

Evelyn cut him off, “So you broke plans with me… Told me she was your cousin and she was only in town for one day and you wanted to see her. Naturally, I believed you.”

Ben dropped his head, nodding, as he wrung his hands together, trying to think of what to say, but he came up with nothing.

Evelyn continued, “And when your mother called me while you were out with… her, she asked what you were up to. Of course I told her that your cousin, Brianna, was in town and you were out with her. And what does she tell me? You don’t have a cousin Brianna! But you dated a Brianna in Philly!”

“Lyn, I didn’t go to lunch with her thinking it was something deceitful. When she called she told me she had something to tell me. I wanted to hear what she had to say.”

“And what did she have to say?”

“That she heard from the guys I still talk with on the Flyers that I was in a serious relationship, and she felt that I should ditch the girl I was with and be with her instead, because she could offer me more than you could.”

Evelyn nodded and stayed quiet.

“She kissed me,” Ben said quietly.

He glanced to Evelyn to see her wince and shake her head.

“And I pushed her away and told her that I love you and she would have to deal with that.”

Evelyn smiled lightly, stepping closer to Ben, “Don’t lie to me anymore, okay?”

“Never again.”

Evelyn smiled fully and wrapped her arms around Ben, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” He told her, squeezing her tightly, kissing her softly.

They stood that way for a few minutes before Ben suddenly pulled away, confusing Evelyn.

“Put some clothes on.”

She raised an eyebrow, wondering if her boyfriend had really asked her that. Ben laughed and nodded, offering an I’m serious before shoving her into her room.

She came back out ten minutes later wearing a short jean skirt, a pair of grey flip flops and a grey Blackhawks tee shirt. Ben grabbed her hand and pulled her from the apartment.

“I’m taking you somewhere.”

She turned to look at him, curiously, but he only shook his head, silently telling her that he wasn’t going to tell her.

“And what about you, mister only wearing swim trunks and flip flops..?”

“I have a shirt in the car,” He laughed, as they walked from the building.

As he drove, he saw Evelyn’s legs practically bouncing in anticipation. He laughed and only fifteen minutes later, he pulled into a parking garage. After paying the ridiculous fee to park there (Got to love downtown Chicago) he finally told her where they were going.

“There,” He said, pointing across the street.

He watched with a smile on his face as Evelyn’s eyes went wide as she realized where they were. An identical smile broke out on her face, as she pulled him across the street and into the main entrance.

After going through security and paying their (also ridiculous) fourteen dollars a person fee, they were on an elevator, heading up 1,353 feet above street level to the Sears Tower Skydeck.

Neither one knew how long they were up there, but after they had walked around the entire floor, pointing out things like the home of the best baseball team in Chicago (The Chicago White Sox), U.S. Cellular Field. When they had seen all they needed to see, the sun was setting and one by one the buildings were being lit up.

Evelyn rested the back of her head against Ben’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. The sight was beautiful and he couldn’t help but think back to the past ten months. He went from being a tough-guy hockey player on and off the ice to being a tough-guy hockey player on the ice and a sappy and romantic boyfriend off the ice, not that he could complain.

His move to Chicago had made him happier than he had ever been in his NHL career, and the small and beautiful brunette in his arms was a big part of that. By now the sky was completely black and the city was completely illuminated, practically glowing and reflecting itself off of Lake Michigan.

But when Evelyn turned around in his arms and smiled up at him, the look in her eyes - the look that told him she was in their relationship and there was no backing out - was more beautiful than all of the lights in Chicago put together and that… that was right where Ben Eager wanted to be.