Break Myself

Marty sat on his couch, tapping his foot while watching some old hockey game that they were re-showing on television. He was anxious for his date with Natalia, and he wished that it would just already be seven.

He had made reservations at a small, little-known restaurant, hoping that it wouldn’t be too crowded, and that Natalia would feel more comfortable. Since her telling him that she was somewhat claustrophobic, he had tried to be more considerate when it came to how many people were around her. He figured the small restaurant would put her at ease.

He glanced over at the clock, and he realized he still had another hour until he was supposed to pick her up. He leaned back against the couch, sighing. He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table that sat in front of him, trying to get more comfortable.

An hour later, he walked up the stairs to Natalia’s apartment, ringing her doorbell. A few moments later, she opened the door, smiling. “Hey, how are you doing?” she asked, moving aside to let him walk into her apartment.

“Good,” he replied, watching as she grabbed her coat. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” she said smiling. “You ready to go?” she asked, and when he nodded his head, she grabbed her keys, walking out the door, locking it behind them.

Once on the road, Natalia looked over to Marty. “So, where are you taking me tonight?” she asked him.

“It’s a surprise,” he said with a smile.

“Yeah, I don’t know how I feel about surprises,” she said jokingly with a small laugh. “Can’t I just get a little hint?” she pleaded, sticking her bottom lip out. Marty started laughing, happy to see that she had become comfortable around him.

“We’re almost there,” Marty stated.

“Please?” she begged, but Marty shook his head. “Fine!” she exclaimed. “I’ll just have to wait. My mind will continue racing, trying to figure out where we’re going,” she said dramatically.

Marty let out another laugh. “Wait two minutes, and we’ll be there,” he promised her, and she nodded her head, looking out the window, trying to figure out where he was taking her to.

Natalia hadn’t ever been to the part of the town they were currently driving around. She kept trying to look around, seeing if she recognized anything around her, but it was hopeless. Just as Marty had said, he parked the car two minutes later. “You ready?” he asked, getting out of the car and walking around to her side, holding out his hand to help her out.

“Thank you,” she smiled. “So, where exactly are you taking me? I’ve never been anywhere around here, so I don’t know any of the restaurants or anything,” she explained as they began walking down the sidewalk. Natalia was surprised that they hadn’t been stopped with anyone recognizing Marty. But, she had to admit that she kind of liked it that way. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the fact that Marty had fans, but she enjoyed having him to herself.

“Here,” Marty replied, stopping front of a small building that was tucked away. It seemed to Natalia that if she weren’t told about the restaurant, she never would have even known that it was there. “I hope you enjoy Italian food,” Marty commented as he pulled her inside the small restaurant.

“It’s my favorite,” she admitted, as she and Marty were seated by the window. She looked down at the menu, thinking that every single item sounded delicious.

After the waitress had taken their orders, the two of them sat there making small talk, when all of a sudden, they heard a large crowd enter the restaurant. Marty looked over at the door curiously. He had specifically chosen this restaurant, thinking that it would be quiet and that there wouldn’t be a large crowd.

Natalia watched as about five people walked into the door, and as the waitress was seating them, one of them suddenly asked, “Can we get seated next to them?” Natalia looked up, and saw the person was pointing towards Marty and herself. She heard Marty groan, and she looked back to the group of people, instantly recognizing them as some of Marty’s teammates.

She started laughing as the group quickly began rearranging tables so they were all sitting at one big table, promising the waitress that they would put the tables back when they were finished.

Natalia looked over at Marty, who had his head in his hands, wishing that his teammates would just leave. He loved them like brothers, but he really just wanted to be left alone with Natalia. Plus, he didn’t want her to become uncomfortable with all the people and have her run off again.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Adam Burish asked with a smile as he sat down next to Marty.

“Everyone, this is Natalia McDonough,” he said, while introducing all of his teammates to Natalia.

All of a sudden, they heard a voice say, “Why are you taking me here?” Both Natalia and Marty turned around to see Summer and Patrick walking through the entrance of the restaurant. Summer quickly saw everyone and ran over to them. “Why are you guys here?” she asked them.

“Well, I was out on a date, and I don’t know why everyone else decided to choose this restaurant, too,” Marty muttered.

Summer looked around the table and then back at Patrick, her eyes growing wide. “I am going to kill each and every one of you,” she told them.

“What?” Patrick questioned in an innocent voice.

“You guys are doing this on purpose! How could you do this to Natalia? She probably just wanted a normal date, and instead, she gets six extra hockey players showing up, too! Get up,” Summer ordered, looking around the table.

“What?” Dusting Byfuglien questioned.

“Get up!” she said more forcefully. “Levez! Et sortez ce restaurant maintenant. Ou, je jure..." Summer said, telling them, Get up! And get out of this restaurant right now. Or I swear…

“What?” Adam asked, not understanding her French.

“I don’t know, but I’m thinking we should leave,” Patrick told his teammates, knowing from experience that Summer switched to speaking French when she was extremely angry. All of the men quickly stood up, giving Summer a quick apology as they did so.

“You better apologize to Marty and Natalia,” she ordered.

“Sorry,” all six men mumbled as they exited the restaurant.

Natalia and Marty laughed as Summer turned around to them. “I’m sorry!” she apologized herself. “I hope everything’s going okay!”

“Everything’s going great,” Natalia admitted with a smile as the waitress arrived with their food.

“Well, I’ll let you two enjoy the rest of your date. Have fun,” she told them, walking towards the door.

“Well, that’s something you don’t get on every first date,” Natalia joked. “Six hockey players getting scared off by a girl!”

“You have obviously not been on the other side of Summer’s screaming,” Marty laughed. “She may be small, but I’m pretty sure she could hurt just about every single one of us.”

“She is officially my new hero,” Natalia smiled, as she changed the topic of their conversation.

The rest of the night flew by, and soon, Marty was dropping Natalia off at her apartment. “I had a great time,” Natalia told him. “I’m hoping we can do this again?” she said, it coming out as more of a question as she bit her lower lip.

“I’d love that,” Marty smiled, looking down at her lips. He slowly leaned forward, and their lips touched lightly.

Natalia immediately pulled away, looking up at Marty. “I’m sorry,” she told him. “I’m so sorry. I just…I can’t…I’m not ready yet,” she sputtered out. “It really has nothing to do with you,” she began, finally getting her voice, as Marty looked at her. “I really like you, Marty, I do. And, I’d love to go out with you again. It’s just, I’m not ready for the physical part of a relationship yet. And, I completely understand if you don’t want to go out with me again or see me again or whatever,” she began ranting.

“Natalia,” Marty interrupted.

“I mean, I’m sure there’s a million girls out there that you would be better off with, that would be okay with the physical part of a relationship,” she continued, ignoring Marty.

“Natalia,” he called again.

“And, if you want to go out with them instead of me, that’s fine. I would completely understand,” she repeated.

“Natalia!” he said, raising his voice. Natalia quickly went quiet, looking over at him. “Natalia, it’s okay with me that you’re not ready for the physical part of a relationship. I love spending time with you, and I want to continue dating you. That is, if you want to,” he added.

A smile instantly spread across Natalia’s face. “Of course I want to continue dating you,” she told him. “Thank you for understanding,” she told him.

Marty nodded his head. “It’s no problem,” he said. “So, I’ll see you at the game tomorrow?” he asked her.

“Of course,” she smiled. “I can’t wait.”