Blue Paint & Red Lights

The Chicago streets blurred together with the presence of Antti's hand on my knee while he drove, and Karolina kicking my seat.
"Are we there yet?" She asked and I glanced over at Antti for the answer.
He chuckled at answered, "Almost."

I had introduced the two only three days earlier, asking him if I could bring her with to the party after the home opener. Antti had been incredibly amused by her straightforward nature and habit to change subjects quickly. I knew Angelina and Troy were most likely already at the banquet hall that the organization had rented for the party. I rubbed the side of my neck and cringed a bit. It was difficult to get all of the players together for one thing if it wasn't for a charity, game, or practice, and I didn't envy the team that handed out press passes and worked their butts off to get not only the players there, but their significant others.
We had finally gotten to the spot and I slid out of the SUV, smoothing the skirt of my dress. It was a formal occasion and Karolina had grumbled about it the whole way, picking at the hem of her dress.
"You look fine." I had told her, "It could always be worse."
Which had elicited a special glare from her that was directed solely at me.
Antti came around to my side of the car and took my hand in his large one. I smiled at him and Karolina fell into step behind us, her wedge heels almost soundless compared to the clicking of my thinner heels.

We weaved our way inside and found where most of the guys were concentrated.
"Hey!" Angelina had waved, her gold band still new and bright against her tan hand. I smiled and waved back, then pointed my thumb at Karolina.
"Have fun!" She called, turning back into her conversation with Troy, Ben, and his girlfriend Lyss.
Antti quickly directed us towards Marian, Tomas and his wife.
"Hey Maria!" I greeted her with a warm smile and she greeted me with just as much warmth. Having husbands as close as ours, we had begun to talk more and Maria began to overcome the language barrier as a native Slovakian.
Pleasantries were exchanged nicely before Marian had spoke up, noticing Karolina.
He picked up her hand and kissed it, his eyes leaving hers to look at me and ask, "And who have you brought tonight, Doc?"
I suppressed a laugh, knowing how Karolina felt about Hossa, and it was less than friendly.
She lightly took her hand back and answered for me. "I'm Karolina."
"Are you familiar with this franchise?" He asked politely and tilted his head.
"Very." Karolina answered, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"Then you know who I am, but nonetheless, I'm Marian. Pleasure to meet you."
I decided to diffuse the situation and put a hand on Marian's shoulder.
"Why don't you play the perfect gentleman and introduce her to the rest of the team?" I smiled at him, a knowing look in my eyes. Hossa was trying to be charming, and when he tried to be charming, he spoke like he was straight out of a romance novel.
I spotted Kane's curly hair not far from us and knew that Karolina had seen it too.
"Good idea, Doc. Come, Karolina." He took her arm and literally led her away.
"It's like something from Gone With the Wind." Maria noted, taking a sip of the water she held in her hand. Tomas and Maria had already had two children, but she was pregnant with their third, and had wisely chosen not to drink wine tonight. Whenever we were near the happy parents, I always thought of my age. My biological clock wasn't exactly ticking, but at 30- I could hear the hour hands move on said clock. I knew that Antti thought about it too, but being the gentleman he was, hadn't brought it up yet.

A loud whoop came from the other side of the room and we all turned our heads to see Adam walking away from a lady journalist, no doubt had just gotten her number.
I shook my head and smiled at the childish behavior before turning back to the conversation about the first home game of the season.

When Antti and I had been prepared to leave, I left him momentarily to find Karolina and ask if she needed a ride home.
My black dress hugged my hips and I made sure to sway them a little more, knowing that Antti would be watching. Tomorrow afternoon they would be off on a small two-game road trip, but after spending the short summer enjoying each other's company, I fully intended for this night to not be wasted.
I found Karolina and Patrick sitting at the bar together and I smiled to myself. She was determined and damn- I didn't expect it to happen so fast. I wondered what happened to Hossa, the jilted lover. I approached them and called, "Karolina!"
The two turned towards me and I told Kane, "I only called her."
"Hardy har." Karolina said as Kane added, "Don't be so mean, Doc."
I smiled at the two and asked her, "Do you need a ride home or is PK going to be nice for once?"
"I'll drive Karolina home." Patrick said in a slightly eager voice. I just chuckled and nodded, telling them, "Be safe, kids."

"No ride?" Antti asked me once I reentered the group and he slid his arm around my waist, the slick fabric of the dress allowing his arm to literally slide.
"Nope."
"Drive well, you two!" Maria told us, her English not translating perfectly. I smiled at her and told the same to Tomas and her.
Antti led me out of the building, his arm still around my waist. I leaned my head into his neck and breathed him in. "So Antti..." I let my sentence trail and he unlocked the door and I got in.
He went around to the other side and started the car.
"So Samantha..." Antti returned the trailing sentence and before buckling my seat belt, I leaned over and nibbled lightly on his earlobe.
"Oh." Was all he could manage before I settled back into my seat and he started the drive back to the apartment.
I smiled slyly at him and scooted closer. This time when he put his hand on my leg, it was higher up and his fingers rested on the inner side of my thigh.

This time, Antti was slower, and I was glad for it- it allowed me to savor the feeling and be able to hold onto it while he won't be at home.

Life was on the fast track again for me. Work was becoming steady with the hockey season starting, and now I had a plethora of high school hockey players coming to the practice, wanting to get treated in the same building that their idols have been treated in- and by the same woman. There was something very wrong with being hit on by high school teens who had the same acne that Patrick seemed plagued by. Dr. Orfner had finally made me a full partner in the business and Suzy was becoming more grandmotherly by the day.
I had to mentally prepare for the hockey season- Antti would be away and work would get hard, and whenever I wanted to just leave work and drive to my parent's house to take the ATV out for a spin through the mud, Antti would call me and tell me all about his day and ask how mine was. My father was recovering nicely, too, already back to yelling at the dog and growing out a beard.

I threw my pen across the room, frustrated with the workload. I picked up a form and stormed out to Suzy's desk.
"How the hell do you fill this out?" I asked her, shoving my hair back into a quick ponytail.
She took her time explaining it to me and I almost pitched another fit when I didn't understand it for the thousandth time. Finally she managed to get me to understand- I breathed deeply, frustrated that I couldn't figure it out on my own.

Games had passed. Wins, but mostly losses. It was heart wrenching whenever Antti would come home- mentally tired from the multiple goals he let through. I would be the first one to point out that it wasn't Antti's loss. Our offense was hurting, and the defense looked lost. Antti bit the bullet for the team night after night, and when he was too tired, Joe Fallon would step in, and as solid as he can be, he left a weak glove hand that the league knew about.

"Sam?" Antti called from the kitchen and I stepped into the room, finding him in the pantry, looking up at the shelves. I walked up behind him and stood on my tiptoes, resting my chin on his shoulder.
"Hey." I said softly near his ear. He turned with a smile on his face and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Do you know where the flour is?" I raised my hands around his neck and massaged the back of his scalp.
"I think it's in the cabinet above the coffee maker." He just nodded, his eyes closing with my ministrations on his scalp. I stilled my hand and placed a light kiss against his lips before leaving his embrace.
"What are you making?" I walked over to the cabinet and pulled out the full bag of flour.
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to know what we needed- I was going to go grocery shopping." He scratched the back of his neck and moved over to the refrigerator.
"I just went shopping last week, Antti." I told him, sitting up on the counter. I think he was trying to return to normalcy that was impossible for him during the season. Antti would rarely be at the apartment, so I made sure that everything ran smoothly in his absence.
He closed the door of the fridge and leaned his forehead against it.
"What's wrong?" I hopped off the counter top and went to him, rubbing his back and allowing him to lean against me instead.
"It's just a rough season so far. We're not even thirty games in, Samantha." I could hear the pain in his voice and I led us into the bedroom.
Antti just laid down with me and I raised my hands to his face, cupping his rounded jaw. "You're not even thirty games in- that's good. The team has plenty time to change and improve." I knew that as a goaltender, Antti would feel as guilty as any for losses.
"But-" I quickly cut him off, "No buts, Antti. You may be the goalie, but you are not the sole reason for these losses. Step back and look at the games. Defense leaves you out on your own, offense can't find the back of the net- it's not just your loss. It's a team loss."
"Rehellisesti sanottuna en tiedä mitä tekisin ilman teitä." Antti mumbled in Finnish and added as an afterthought in English, "You can't possibly know how much I love you."
A blush was present on my face, I knew it, but I replied, "Love you more."
Antti looked at me and brushed hair back from my face. "Impossible."