Jump Then Fall

Arriving in Pittsburgh I realized the beauty of the city; players on my ahl team that had been called up to the NHL had told me how beautiful it was; but I never really believed everything they had told me. I didn't want to be disappointed when it wasn't what I expected. But driving through the city on my way to my new home; the Mellon arena, I fell in love with Pittsburgh. I was hoping my stay here would be longer than expected. I was being called up from the wilkes barre baby penguins. I was a 22 year old defenseman born and raised in the wonderful city of Montreal. Hockey is the most important thing in Montreal, I grew up playing; but I think everyone grew up either playing or loving hockey. The penguins defenseman Brooks orpik was out the rest of the season with a broken leg; so I was finally getting my shot at the pros. The penguins organization was impressed with my ability to score goals being a defenseman. This whole thing was a bit rushed; I got a phone call late last night, after playing a game that went into OT with the baby pens. The penguins General manager Ray Shero called me telling me everything from what happened to where I would be staying. As I neared the arena I got a phone call from the coach Dan Bylsma; I knew what the phone call was about. I was late for my first day on the job. Not very assuring that I was ready to work my hardest. But it wasn't my fault; there were a billion delays at the airport; holiday travelers. I pulled into the players parking area and saw a ton of fans standing around; it was like nothing I've seen before. I got out of my rental car which was the latest BMW as fast I could, rushing to get into the arena before I could get into any more trouble than I already was. Walking in i was stopped by an older lady.

" You must be Kris Letang.". The lady spoke.

"Yes that would be me, how did you know?" I asked curiously how did she know who I was, I wasn't the most popular person.

"Your a lot cuter than they led on" she laughed jingling her keys .I didn't have time for this I had to get to the locker room.

"I'm sorry I have to go I'm extremely late." I yelled running up the steps to my right.

"wait" I heard the lady yell in the distance but I was already to far away to hear the rest.

I had no clue where I was going I made my way through the opening for sections a and b 20. I was hoping someone would see me and direct me in the right direction; but nothing. I
walked down a few stairs and saw a women down by the glass. She had her hand with her nails painted black placed on the glass. On the other side was Max Talbot. Max was my best friend we went way back, we played in Canada together for years, and we played together in
wilkes barre for a while until he got called up. We still talked on a daily basis. This must have been the girl he was talking about. She was a gorgeous girl with dirty blonde hair about shoulder length. He told me he'd been dating this girl Jessica for about a year and things
were pretty serious; but on the other hand he told me that there were a ton of sexy girls in Pittsburgh. It was hard for me to see him as the relationship type; his longest previous relationship was about a month. He was one of the guys that got bored fast. I made my way down the rest of the stairs to the glass; standing next to her. Max noticed me and skated over.

" Hey buddy, you finally made it" Max loudly said through the glass.

" Yeah there were a ton of delays at the airport." I said turning my head to glance at the stunning girl standing next to me.

"Hi I'm Jessica; Max's girlfriend, it is really nice to meet you; I have seriously heard so much about you." Jessica introduced herself pulling me in for a welcoming hug, she smelt so good, like vanilla. While hugging her I gave Max a thumbs up, approving of Jessica. I pulled away from her embrace smiling from ear to ear.

"You better get down to the locker room and out on the ice" Max shouted skating away quickly.

"I would if I knew where I was going." I mumbled under my breath, obviously loud enough for Jessica to hear cause she grabbed my hand giving me a shock of electricity. She looked at me laughing."Sorry about that." she smiled.

"It's okay." I said as she dragged me up the many stairs to the top, and released my hand. we walked for what seemed like forever

"so you grew up in Montreal with Max." Jess looked at me; walking past the Mellon arena store, Pen Station.

"Sure did, we played hockey together forever" I laughed looking at her and her beautiful blue eyes.

"That's really cool; I think you will fit right in with the boys here." she smiled teeth and all. We walked down a flight of stairs and past an entrance onto the ice until we got to a door that clearly said locker room.

"What entrance did you come in?" Jess asked me checking the time on her phone.

"Um the one by the players parking lot." I said kinda unsure.

"Well that entrance is right there." she said pointing to the left. I looked and saw the entrance, the older lady, and the steps I ran up.

"Well how about that." I said laughing, I should have just listened to the lady.

"Yeah, it was really nice to meet you Kris, have a good practice and I will probably see you later at the game." Jess said turning and starting to walk away.

"Thanks Jess" I said pretty loud the older lady looking strangely at me.

"Your welcome Kris" She turned around. All seductively; how could anyone resist her? I opened the door to the locker room and walked in shutting the door slowly behind me.