Disregard the Lies

Sadie walked into the restaurant, looking around for Jonathan. He had called her earlier, telling her to meet him at Traffic Jam and Snug at noon. She had never been there, and she had to look up directions to the restaurant before leaving. The directions had her going down a street that no longer existed, and she ended up arriving late. Looking around, she finally saw Jonathan sitting at a table by the window. Starting to walk back there, she was stopped by a waitress. “Hi, can I help you?” she asked Sadie.

“No, thanks, I just found who I was looking for,” she told her, pointing towards Jonathan. The waitress nodded her head, and Sadie made her way back to Jonathan. “Hi,” she said, sitting down in the seat across from him.

“Hey,” he smiled. “I’m glad you found the place,” he told her as she picked up a menu.

“Yeah, it took me a while to figure out how to get here, but it wasn’t too bad,” she told him, skimming the menu over.

He waited a few moments and then asked, “Do you see anything that you like?”

“Oh, yeah, there are some things here that I’ll eat,” she smiled as the waitress came up to them. They ordered their food, and the waitress left, telling them it would be about twenty minutes before their meals would be out.

Jonathan looked up at Sadie. “So, what do you like to do? You know, besides skating around and picking up ice as an Ice Girl,” he joked.

Sadie took a deep breath before replying. “I like to write,” she told him, waiting to see if he’d have the same reaction that Amber had had.

“Writing? Really?” he asked in a tone that showed interest, not boredom.

“Yeah,” Sadie said with a nod of her head. “I’ve always written. I think it was always my escape when I was younger. And, I always thought that it would get the attention of my parents,” she explained, trying to make sense. He gave her a confused look, and she continued. “My parents travelled a lot, and so I’d send them letters and different things that I had written. I always thought that they’d read something I had written and it’d impress them and they’d come home,” she told him. “I know, it sounds stupid.”

“No, not at all,” he said quickly. “You said your parents travelled a lot, right?” he asked, and Sadie nodded her head. “Were they businesspeople or diplomats or something?” he inquired.

Sadie laughed a little. “Oh, no,” she told him. “My grandfather was extremely rich. And, when he died, he gave all the money to his only daughter, my mother,” she explained. “My parents took the money and just started travelling the world.”

“You didn’t go with them?” he asked.

“No,” Sadie said shaking her head. “I would get one trip a year for my birthday, where I got to pick to go anywhere I wanted. But, other than that, I would stay at home in Maine. I was practically raised by nannies.”

“Where’s your favorite place that you’ve ever visited?” Jonathan asked.

Sadie thought about it for a moment before answering. “Italy,” she stated.

“And, why is that?” Jonathan questioned as their food arrived. They thanked the waitress, and Sadie dug into her food before answering.

“My parents and I went to Italy for my sixth birthday,” she began. “It was the first trip I took with them after they started travelling. And, we spent the entire trip doing touristy things. It was truly a family vacation. After that one, though, they stopped spending the whole vacation with me. And, by the time I was twelve, they let me go off on my own, while they would do their own thing,” she explained, and Jonathan could see the sadness in her eyes.

“So, have you ever been to Sweden?” he asked.

“No, I can’t say I have,” she admitted. “That’s where you’re from, right?” she asked, taking a bite of her spinach lasagna. Jonathan nodded his head, and Sadie asked, “What’s it like there? Do you like it?”

“I love it,” he said with a smile on his face. “There’s no place in the world like it. Not that I don’t like it here in Detroit. It’s just…different,” he tried to explain.

“I understand,” Sadie told him. “So, what made you decide to become a professional hockey player?” she inquired.

“I’ve been playing my whole life,” he told her. “It just kind of made sense to make it my profession.”

“And, why the NHL? Why not stay in Sweden?” she asked.

“Everyone wants to make it to the NHL,” he told her. “If you get a chance to play over here, you take it and run with it. I was a lucky one. I was drafted really late, and a lot of people didn’t think I’d ever make it to the NHL.”

“Now, it’s kind of hard for a lot of people to imagine you not on the team, though. I mean, you’re an amazing player,” she told him. “Well, I think you are,” she added with a laugh. “Honestly, I don’t really know too much about the sport. But, all the fans seem to love you,” she continued talking.

“Okay, you can stop,” Jonathan told her, laughing. “But, thank you anyways,” he added. “So, what made you decide to become an Ice Girl? I mean, no offense, but you don’t exactly seem like the Ice Girl type.”

Sadie started laughing, knowing how close to the truth he really was. “No, I’m not exactly the type who portrays an Ice Girl, am I?” she asked. “But, I wanted to try something new, and I knew that they paid. And, even though I have enough money to live on from my grandfather, I like to make my own money as well. Plus, I figure skated as a girl, so I figured this would be an easy way to make some extra cash.”

Jonathan stared at her for a while, as if he was trying to figure out if he should believe her or not. “That’s cool of you, not taking your grandfather’s money for granted.”

Sadie let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks,” she smiled, as she finished off her lasagna. She looked over to see that Jonathan was already finished with his food, and he was politely waiting on her to finish hers. He asked her if she wanted dessert, and after she declined, he flagged down their waitress asking for the check.

A few moments later, the waitress dropped off their check, and Sadie pulled her wallet out of her purse, taking enough money out to cover her food and a tip. By the time she had it on the table, Jonathan had already given the waitress his credit card, and she was walking away.

“You didn’t have to pay for mine,” Sadie told him. “I could have paid.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jonathan told her.

“No, I’m going to worry about it,” Sadie said stubbornly. “This was supposed to be two friends having lunch. And, when two friends have lunch, one friend doesn’t pay for the other friend’s meal,” she stated, starting to confuse herself from using the word ‘friend’ so much.

“So, maybe I wasn’t thinking of this meal as lunch between two friends,” Jonathan told her as the waitress brought his credit card back and wished them a good day.

Sadie stood up, and Jonathan followed suit. As she navigated her way out of the restaurant, she turned her head to talk to Jonathan. “And, what exactly do you mean by that?” she questioned.

He stopped her as soon as they had exited the restaurant, pulling on her hand to get her to turn towards him. “I like you,” he stated.

“But, you can’t,” Sadie sputtered, not knowing what else to say.

“I already do,” he told her.

“You know that nothing can happen between us, though. It’s against the rules for us to be anything more than friends,” she told him, looking up into his eyes, knowing that if he pressed the issue any more, that she would surely give into him.

“I thought you said that you didn’t follow the rules?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow, remembering what she had said about Amber and Macy’s rules about claiming a player.

“Yes, but breaking this rule could get me kicked off the squad,” she said.

“As I recall, there’s nothing in either of our contracts saying that we aren’t allowed to date each other. I think it’s just looked down upon,” he told her. Sadie sighed, knowing he was right. “And, we can only get in trouble if anyone finds out,” he pointed out.

“So, you want to have a secret relationship?” she questioned.

“I’m just saying maybe we shouldn’t tell the girls or my teammates,” he told her.

Sadie thought about it for a minute, thinking about Kyra, and how she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep it from her for very long. “I’m going to have to tell one of the girls, Kyra,” she told him. “She’s practically my best friend, and I know I won’t be able to keep it a secret from her,” she admitted.

“Okay,” Jonathan nodded.

“You’re okay with that?”

“Yeah,” he told her. “I mean, if that’s what it’s going to take for you to go out with me, then I’m fine with it. Plus, if we do get caught, you’re going to be the one who’s punished, not me. I mean, they’re not going to bench me or anything,” he joked.

Sadie glared at him. “You know, you’re not helping your case out.”

Without a word, Jonathan wrapped his arms around her, pressing his lips against hers. Sadie intensified the kiss before remembering that they were in the middle of a busy street in Detroit, and there was no telling who could be walking by. “So,” he began after they broke apart. “Does that help my case?”

Sadie broke out in a smile. “Yeah, it does,” she told him. “So, I guess we’re official now?” she asked.

“Yes, we’re official,” Jonathan confirmed, giving her another quick kiss. “I’ll call you later,” he promised as they walked off in different directions, both with a smile on their face.