What's The Name Of The Game

“Kaner, you up for going to the Edge later?”

“Nah man, I can’t,” he replied to his captain and best friend.

“Why not? Hot date?” Jonathan teased. Pat glared at him.

“I’m meeting my cousin to hang out,” he corrected.

“Lame,” Jon remarked.

“For your information, my cousin is the shit. Cooler than you, anyways. I’m actually pretty stoked,” Patrick informed him.

“Really?”

“Hell yeah. Come to think of it, we might actually go skating, so we can all still meet up at the Edge if you want,” Patrick offered. Before Jon could answer, Pat’s phone began to ring. “Sup homie?” Pat answered. Jon smiled and shook his head at his teammate. “Uh yeah that’s cool. I’ve got a friend who can tag along too. Alright, catch you later.” Pat hung up and Jon looked at him quizzically. “My cousin’s bringing a friend so I said I’d bring you. It’ll even things up if we end up playing.”

Jon nodded and the two men left the UC and headed to their apartment. A few hours later they were sitting on their couch playing video games when there was a knock on their door. Pat immediately paused the game and hopped off the couch. Jon had to admit, he was kind of nervous to meet this dude. The way Pat hyped him up made him seem kind of intimidating, and he felt like he needed to make a good impression. Just as Jon stood up from the couch a shrill shriek was heard throughout the apartment. Jon approached the door and saw a brunette, tan girl engulf Pat in a hug.

“Patty Cake!” She exclaimed. Jon smirked and walked over to them.

“I told you not to call me that,” Patrick groaned, pulling away. Jon wondered who this girl was and why she was here. It’s not like she could stay long; Pat’s cousin was coming. The girl laughed, and much to Jonathan’s dismay he really liked it. He wanted her to laugh again, smile again.

He immediately scolded himself. This was obviously Kaner’s girl, and he couldn’t be having thoughts like that. Suddenly the girl’s gaze was on Jon and he felt his heart speed up. She nudged Pat.

“PK you gonna introduce us or what?” She pointed out.

“Oh, yeah,” Pat laughed. “T-Bag, this is Jon, my teammate. Jon, this is T-Bag, my cousin.” Upon reflex, Jon stuck out his hand for her to shake. It wasn’t until her hand was in his that he jolted to reality.

Cousin??

This was Patrick’s cousin?? That’s when he noticed the other tell-tale signs. The overnight bag, the hockey gear, and the friend in the doorway who Jon just noticed.

“The name’s Tianna,” Patrick’s cousin said, glaring at Pat. “It’s nice to meet you,” she finished, pulling her hand away. Jon just nodded politely. Tianna turned and grabbed her friend’s arm, yanking her into the apartment. “This is Kara,” she introduced. Kara waved shyly and Jon waved back nicely. Patrick, intrigued by this girl, shoved Tianna aside and took the girl’s hand.

“I’m Pat,” he said, kissing her hand. Tianna rolled her eyes and shoved Pat back, then picked up her bags.

“You can also just call him Short-Shit,” Tianna told her friend. Patrick glared and Jon couldn’t help but laugh. Kara reached for her bags, but Pat beat her to it. Tianna rolled her eyes again, but looked mildly amused none the less.

Jon, who had been nervous before, was now totally calm. In fact, he was excited. See, Pat’s cousin was no longer an ominous, intimidating figure. No, he was not a he at all. He was a she, and a hot one at that.

And, she was available.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“You girls up for a pick up game?” Pat asked them.

“Hell yeah where at?” Tianna asked, going to her bag and grabbing some gear.

“The Edge,” Patrick answered her.

“What’s that? A Reservoir?” She inquired, sifting through some things. Without warning she stripped off her t-shirt, and Jon nearly choked. She had a tank top on underneath, but still it surprised him.

“Uh, no,” Pat replied in his best ‘duhh’ tone. “The Edge ice arena. It’s where we practice.”

“Ice arena?” She echoed. Pat nodded. “Oh.” She nodded as well, but in a different way.

“What?” Patrick ventured, knowing there was something hidden in her actions. She pulled on the sweatshirt she grabbed out of her bag and then turned back toward Pat.

“Nothing,” she smiled sweetly, turning toward Kara, who was rifling through her own bag. “Are you gonna change or what?”

“Yeah,” Kara said. “Where’s the bathroom?” She directed at Jon and Pat. Tianna gave her a questioning look. “What? First of all, I have to pee. Second of all, I think Jon’s still recovering from the show you gave him.” Tianna glanced at Jon, whose cheeks were a little pink. Pat just laughed and pointed toward the bathroom.

“I’m gonna go grab some water,” Pat said, walking away toward the kitchen. Tianna approached Jon slowly, but she did it on purpose. Once Jon saw her coming towards him, his eyes snapped up at her and went wide.

“Look, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything-”

“Did you enjoy the show?” She asked sultrily, standing close to him. He swallowed hard, and felt himself nodding against his better judgment. “Good, because it’s the only one you’re gonna get,” she finished icily, pulling back. Jon just blinked, confused, and stared at her. When he finally realized what happened, he let a slow smirk spread across his face.

“We’ll see,” he said. Tianna whipped around to face him again, not believing what he just said. Kara and Pat both emerged at that moment, and then exchanged a glance upon feeling the tension in the room. Tianna and Jon were staring each other down.

“So uh…let’s go,” Pat said, placing a hand on Kara’s back and ushering her out of the apartment. Tianna followed soon after, leaving Jon in her dust. The ride to the arena was silent, save for Kara and Pat trying to start conversations. Eventually they gave up and just talked amongst themselves. Once they pulled up to the rink Tianna let out a low whistle.

“So, this the glorified pond you practice on huh?” She quipped.

“Is that what that was all about? Back at the apartment?” Pat accused.

“It was just a question,” Tianna retorted. “Won’t there be a bunch of people in there?” She asked, trying to change the subject.

“It’s closed to the public today,” Patrick answered, allowing the impending argument to remain impending. Tianna snorted. “What?” Pat asked, annoyed.

“Nothing,” she sang, getting out of the car with Kara.

Jon turned from the drivers seat to Pat, who was sitting shotgun.

“Oh yeah, she’s the coolest,” Jon smirked.

“Shut up,” Pat replied. Jon laughed and they both got out of the truck. The foursome entered the rink and got set up. “So…we how we playing?” Pat asked as they skated onto the ice.

“I think you three should play without me,” Kara said, clutching onto Tianna’s arm. It was obvious she wasn’t a skater.

“We’ll play easy, it’s okay,” Jon told her.

“Boys against girls?” Pat asked.

“Nah we should mix it up, you know?” Jon answered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tianna inquired.

“Well, I just thought it’d be more fair. I mean, well on top of everything Kara doesn’t even play,” he said. Pat tried giving him a look that told him to stop, but Jon didn’t see it.

“On top of everything? On top of what?” She dug. He gave her a look like it was obvious. “On top of the fact that we’re girls?”

“No, on top of the fact that me and Kaner are in the NHL. But if you want it to be about gender then fine, that too,” Jon replied, glaring at her. Tianna just narrowed her eyes at him, returning the glare.

“Okay then, mixed teams,” Patrick intervened. “I pick Kara,” he said purposefully. “Let’s go discuss strategy.” He hooked his arm around her and led her away from Tianna and Jon.

“It was good, putting them together,” Kara told him truthfully.

“Yeah, but somehow I don’t think it’s gonna help,” he smiled. Tianna and Jon watched them skate towards their end and they just stood awkwardly with one another. They were already near their own goal, so they couldn’t even distract themselves with skating. They watched Kara skate, or attempt to skate toward the goal, which meant Pat was going to be handling the puck.

“So…how do you wanna do this?” Jon asked shortly, like he didn’t want to waste time hearing her answer. She noticed, and suddenly felt very insecure.

“Um, you go ahead,” she answered softly, heading towards the goal. Jon finally tore his gaze away from the other side of the ice and looked at her, expression softening. Did he upset her that bad?

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Sure thing, Mr. NHL,” she answered cheekily. He just rolled his eyes and skated toward center ice by Pat.

“Your cousin’s a piece of work, you know that?” He threw at Pat. Patrick just chuckled.

“Oh yeah,” he nodded. “I know.” They put the puck down and started playing around with it. Tianna and Jon switched places a few times, and Jon had to admit she was pretty good. He winced when Pat checked her, and felt annoyance at the relief that coursed through him when she got right up. Heck, she even checked him right back. They weren’t really keeping track of goals, especially since Kara flinched every time a shot was fired off at her and didn’t block anything. No one was mad at her though, they all actually thought it was pretty amusing.

“I’m glad you all think firing harmful projectiles at an innocent person is funny!” She had yelled when they laughed at her. A while later, Pat had taken Jon’s place in goal and Jon squared off in front of Tianna.

“Just shaking things up a little,” he told her with a smirk. She was disappointed to realize she was starting to really like his smirk. “You ready to go down?”

“I dunno,” she said innocently, with her own devious smirk. Jon narrowed his eyes, awaiting her next statement. “Are you ready for me to go down?” Jonathan felt his whole body get hot, and Tianna took this opportunity to grab the puck and skate off.

“Sneaky bitch,” he muttered, racing after her. They skated around for a while, playing keep away, and they both started to really get in to it. Jon momentarily forgot who he was playing against, and he checked Tianna into the boards, hard. He was about to steal the puck away when he heard her groan.

“Shit,” she muttered, attempting to get up.

“Jesus,” Jon said, helping her up. “Tia, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-” Suddenly she was off with the puck, racing towards Pat. Jon stared after her confused, realizing he had been played. He clenched his jaw and skated off the ice, fed up with this bullshit. Tianna skated lazily over to Patrick, and Kara who had joined him.

“What’s his problem?” Kara asked.

“He’s a sore loser,” Tianna replied.

“No, he thought he hurt you,” Pat rebutted at her. “He probably went to the locker room to clear his head.” Patrick skated away toward the locker room area, leaving Kara and Tianna on the ice.

“Clear his head? From what?” Tianna asked her best friend. Kara shrugged.

“Maybe he feels bad. Maybe he’s angry. I dunno,” she answered.

“They’re both acting like 5 year olds,” Tianna noted as the two of them just skated freely around the rink. Tianna had to steady Kara most of the time.

“You’re not exactly acting maturely either,” Kara observed. Tianna glared at her as they continued to skate. Pat found Jon soon after, but not in the locker room. He was just sitting on a bench and looking out at the ice where the two girls were.

“Hey,” Patrick offered.

“Hey,” Jon replied gruffly.

“Look, I’m sorry about her. She’s a cool girl, honest. She just takes some getting used to,” Patrick told him.

“Yeah? That why you two are always at each other's throats? Because you’re ‘used’ to each other?” Jonathan remarked. Patrick sighed and took a seat next to his captain.

“Look, that whole thing, that’s my fault. She’s ripping on me for a promise I haven’t kept up with. But other than that, you can tell we get along,” Patrick explained.

“Yeah,” Jonathan agreed even though he didn’t want to. It was true though. He continued to just watch the girls, but his mind was elsewhere.

“She’s got a tough exterior,” Patrick stated, breaking Jon from his thoughts.

“You don’t say,” he quipped. Patrick glared, which caused Jon to chuckle.

“She’s had a rough past; she doesn’t let people in easy. Just be patient with her. Don’t take anything she says too personally,” Pat instructed. Jon nodded.

“Wait, what do you mean, ‘be patient’? How long is she staying?” Jon inquired.

“Well, uh…heh, funny story,” Patrick started. Jon glared at him to continue. “We were thinking like, forever.”