There Are Still Rules To Break

When Amanda was finally ready to head to Fenway Park , Patrice had been long gone. He had been at the baseball field with his teammates since early that morning, leaving Amanda to get dressed, ready, and out the door on her own. He couldn’t lie and say he wasn’t worried she would end up missing the game, knowing how often she second guessed her outfits, always wanting to look her best, and now that there was minimal opportunity to look cute while bundled in layers and layers of clothes to stay warm, he had no idea what she would do.

And at first, neither did she. She knew jeans would not keep her legs warm, but what else did she have? She was driving herself crazy when she saw finally saw the loose, fleece sweat pants, the Boston Bruins logo on the hip. She grinned, and pulled them off of the hook, looking down on her jean-clad legs. She had leggings on underneath the jeans, too. Shrugging, she slipped the sweats on, and tucked them into her black Uggs, along with the jeans underneath. A long sleeve shirt was thrown on next, followed by a hooded sweatshirt, and a black, down coat, another piece of clothing adorning the Bruins’ logo. Smiling at her appearance, she slipped her beanie on over her head, her braided pig tails hanging down on her shoulders.

Not only was she physically ready for the Winter Classic, but she was mentally ready too. As both a huge Bruins and Red Sox fan, she wasn’t sure if there was anything more exciting than seeing a hockey game at her favorite (of course) ballpark. Fenway was legendary already, and now that it was hosting a hockey game, it would be even more so. It was just another thing to add to her list of memories she’d cherish forever.

She met Olivia at the entrance, glad she had someone to sit and watch the game with, even if the girl didn’t know much about the sport. It was nice to have a familiar face when Amanda was such a ball of nerves already. As a fan, she wanted her team to win, but more importantly, as a girlfriend, she wanted her man to win. Olivia had joked that Amanda looked like she was freezing the way she was bouncing, but they both knew it was because of her excitement, not the chill. (Amanda was too bundled up to feel it, anyway).

The pregame festivities did nothing to calm her nerves. Though, she did herself perfectly able to dance and sing with the rest of the people at Fenway when the Dropkick Murphys performed. How could she not? And then when it was time for the game to start, the teams had made their entrance, and Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke were on hand to do the ceremonial puck drop, it was like every moment of her life as a Bruins fan flashed before her eyes.

It didn’t matter that she was now a hockey girlfriend, Amanda was first and foremost a fan. She had been afraid she would lose the excitement over the games and for the team now that she was with Patrice, but she was relieved to find that didn’t happen. She turned to Olivia, tears in her eyes, and a wide smile on her face.

“What the hell, Amanda?”

But she shook her head, settling for telling her best friend (well, before Patrice had come along, anyway) that she had just had and was still having a very surreal moment. She lived her life dedicated to sports, dedicated to the city of Boston , and no matter what happened at the end of the day, she was witnessing history that others could only be lucky to. She and the rest of the nearly thirty nine thousand people crammed into Fenway Park that were there as spectators, forever joined by the love they shared for hockey, sports, and hopefully the Bruins. (Though, she could see some Flyers fans around her, but thankfully none of them were in earshot of her insults).

When the game finally started, Amanda was able to calm herself down and enjoy it. She watched the players – specifically the number thirty seven – race up and down the ice as the snow fell onto everyone and everything. She got into the game like she usually did despite the cold, yelling insults, making calls that the refs had missed, and just generally being way too caught up in the game. But hey, she was a Boston fan. What did people really expect? They were fucking passionate.

There was no scoring in the first, and in the second the Flyers struck first, increasing Amanda’s nerves. Though, the scoreless first period was highly enjoyable because Shawn Thornton kicked Daniel Carcillo’s ass. Amanda would never tire of seeing that man get punched in the teeth. It wasn’t until there was a little over two minutes left in the game that the Bruins scored, Mark Recchi being the hero. And just like that, the game went into overtime, sending everyone in attendance into a frenzy.

It was two minutes into the overtime when Marco Sturm redirected a shot from none other than Patrice, ending the game and getting the Bruins the win. As a fan, she was just simply excited for the win, screaming and cheering along with the other fans. As a girlfriend, she hoped that this win would turn the season around like Patrice had thought and hoped it would. It had to.

It was when Amanda and Olivia made their way to the locker rooms that they realized exactly where they were; somehow forgetting they were at the historic ballpark while they had been watching the game. Just like the first time Amanda had gone down to the Bruins’ locker room at the Garden and just like when she had brought Olivia with her for the first time, the girls stared at everything they passed in awe. When she walked in, finally, after having celebrated with the rest of the Boston faithful, Patrice was already dressed in his suit and his interviews were done.

“I’m glad you won,” she said quietly, as she stood in front of him.

“I’m glad we won, too, and I’m glad that you were here. It wouldn’t mean anything if you weren’t.”

“Like I would miss an opportunity to bad mouth Philadelphia ...”

“That’s my girl,” he added, pressing his lips to hers. When he pulled away, he looked down at her outfit, raising an eyebrow at how adorable she looked all bundled up with her pig tails and pink cheeks and nose, tinged that way from the cold. “You look like a snow bunny,” Patrice laughed, his deep voice sounding in Amanda’s ears as he wrapped his arms around her shivering body, something she hadn’t noticed before. Whether it was from the weather, where she was, or a combination of the both, she loved the feeling of Patrice’s arms around her, keeping her warm. She always did.

“I cannot believe I’m on the Red Sox locker room…” She said into his chest.

Patrice laughed, “Want to take pictures?”

Amanda laughed too and nodded, as Patrice took his camera out of his bag. Most of the team had left, but the ones that were still there, like Krejci, Lucic, Recchi, and Savard all posed in the pictures with Amanda and Olivia as the two girls climbed into locker spaces and kissed nameplates. Finally, they were kicked out and Amanda pouted, wanting to stay in the room for as long as possible, but Patrice only ushered her out.

She was confused, though, when the group reached an intersection of hallways and other guys and Olivia all turned to the left in order to exit, but Patrice ushered her to the right, back toward the field. She looked back to see Olivia smiling at her over her shoulder as she kept walking with the four other players. Amanda shook her head and looked up at her Patrice, confused, but he only shook his head and held onto her hand tightly as he walked out to the seats. It was when they turned into an aisle that Amanda realized what her boyfriend was doing.

“This is where we met,” she said, staring down at the seats with a smile on her face.

Patrice grinned and sat down in the seat he had been sitting in at the Red Sox game, eight months before. Amanda did the same and sat in the seat she had occupied back in April, keeping her fingers laced with his. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other’s company, despite how cold it was. They watched the crew begin to take down the ice rink, not wasting any time.

“I love you,” he said, breaking the silence, making her grin. “I can’t believe it’s already been eight months.”

“I can’t believe it’s only been eight months,” she countered. “The way I feel about you… it seems like I should have known you my whole life.”

“I know what you mean,” he said. “We shouldn’t work out, considering how fast we jumped into everything.”

She thought about his words, smiling as she did so. It was true. She and Patrice had moved super fast in their relationship. After less than a month of knowing each other, they were a couple.

You weren’t supposed to go all in when you barely knew someone, but Amanda and Patrice had.

Couples weren’t supposed to ‘I love you’ only a few weeks in, but Amanda and Patrice had.

Couples weren’t supposed to move in together after only a few months, but Amanda and Patrice had.

She didn’t regret one thing about her relationship with the man next to her, and she knew he didn’t either. Being overly critical had been something that had plagued both of them their entire lives. When they met each other, they were changed for the better. They went with the flow, they took risks, and they just knew; although still incredibly young, Amanda and Patrice were in it for the long haul.

“I love you, too,” she finally said, looking toward him and letting his lips connect with hers. There, in that spot where they had first met, Amanda came to a simple conclusion.

Breaking the rules had been something they’d done together since the very beginning. Why stop now?