Then I Crashed Into You

“Hey Brooks,” he heard someone call from behind him, and Brooks turned around from his seat in front of his locker at the practice arena to see who was talking to him. “Where’s your car at?” Mike Green asked him, going over to his own locker to get ready for practice. “I didn’t see it out there,” he commented as he stripped his shirt off, putting his pads on.

“It’s totaled,” Brooks replied, and Mike’s head snapped up, staring at Brooks.

“It’s totaled?” he questioned. “As in…totaled? Demolished? No longer with us?” he asked, sadness etched across his face. He loved that car about as much as Brooks did.

“I’m getting a new one,” Brooks told him, feeling his pain at having lost his Spyder.

“What happened?” Mike asked.

“Some girl ran a red light and smashed right into the driver’s side of the car. Luckily, I was okay,” he added, a bit of arrogance in his voice.

“And, the girl?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, she was fine, too,” Brooks said nonchalantly.

“No, man!” Mike exclaimed. “The girl? Was she hot?” he asked, not caring if she was injured in the crash or not, only wanting to know what she looked like.

“Eh,” Brooks replied.

“And, what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Mike asked. “Eh?”

“It means she wasn’t the hottest girl. She had on some plain clothes. Maybe if she went somewhere other than Walmart to shop she might be considered kinda hot,” he said, remembering her dirty blonde hair that he wouldn’t have minded running his fingers through, not that he would ever admit that to anyone but himself. She just simply wasn’t the type of girl he went for.

“So, she’s nothing to write home about?” Mike inquired.

“No,” Brooks replied instantly. “And, what do you care anyways? Aren’t you engaged? Why are you worried about how hot some girl that totaled my car is?” he asked.

“Yes, I am engaged,” Mike told him. “Speaking of, you’re still going to come to the engagement party, right?” he asked. “Angela would kill you if you didn’t show up,” he added.

“Yeah, sure,” Brooks said.

“With a date,” Mike added. “Who’s not a one-night stand. Angela will kill you if you bring a whore to her engagement party,” he reminded him.

“Yes, I know,” Brooks groaned, having already heard this lecture from Mike and Angela before. “And, I’ll find someone,” he promised him, and Mike nodded his head. “Now, let’s get out on that ice.”

***

Over the next week and a half, Brooks had gotten used to having Elaine around so much. She would come over to his house for a couple of hours after she got finished with her work at the hotel. He had come to actually look forward to her coming over, something that he still couldn’t wrap his mind around.

She only had two more days left before all of her debts would be paid off, and she would be free to go on her own way. “How was your day?” Brooks asked her as he sat at the table eating dinner, while she cleaned the dishes that were in the sink. He had offered her dinner every single night, but she had always refused.

“Okay,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders. “Same old, same old. Nothing special. What about you?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

“Same as always. Practice was a killer,” he replied.

“What did you expect with how you guys played last night?” she asked him, and Brooks raised an eyebrow at her, wondering how she knew how they had played the previous night. Had she actually watched the game? In the two weeks he had known her, she had never shown any interest in hockey, but maybe he had been wrong about that. “What?” she asked him, seeing the look he was giving her. “I was flipping through channels, and I happened to pass by the game,” she explained, a small smile on her lips, causing Brooks to smile as well.

“So, I have one last request from you before we’re even,” he said suddenly, and Elaine put the dishrag she was holding to dry the dishes down on the counter before she pulled out the seat across from Brooks, sitting down.

“And, what would that be?” she asked him.

“I need you to come to a party with me.”

Elaine instantly began shaking her head. “Oh no,” she told him. “Me and parties do not go together at all,” she told him, biting her bottom lip.

“Please?” he begged, but she continued to shake her head. “Come on,” he continued. “It’s not some crazy party, it’s an engagement party,” he explained.

“Engagement party?” Elaine inquired.

“Yeah, for my teammate, Mike Green, and his fiancée, Angela. They want me to bring someone with me, and I was hoping that you’d say yes.”

“Brooks,” Elaine began.

“Please?” he asked, and Elaine shut her eyes, as a smile spread across Brooks’ face, knowing he had just gotten her to agree. “Thank you!” he told her, leaning across the table and kissing her cheek.

***

When Saturday came and it was time for Elaine to accompany Brooks to the engagement party, she was already having second thoughts about agreeing. It was her last day that she had to work for Brooks before she was no longer indebted to him, and as she cleaned his kitchen, she wondered why on Earth she had agreed to go to some party with him.

Brooks could sense her hesitation, and he hoped to ease some of that as he walked through the front door. “Elaine!” he called out, and Elaine walked out of the kitchen to the living room to see what Brooks needed. “I have something for you,” he told her, and Elaine eyed him as she took a few steps closer to him.

“Please tell me it’s another date for this party,” Elaine begged.

“Come on, you know you’re looking forward to it,” Brooks argued.

“No,” Elaine shook her head. “I’m really not. I don’t get why you’re taking me anyways. Don’t you have anyone better to take? I remember that first day I came here you saying something about you getting as much sex as you needed. Can’t you take one of those girls with you?” she asked, trying to think of any way possible to get out of going with him. It wasn’t necessarily that she didn’t want to go with Brooks, it was more the fact that she got extremely nervous any time she was in a crowd, and that nervousness only got worse when she was with a crowd of people she didn’t know.

Brooks started laughing, pulling her out of her thoughts, and she looked up at him, wondering why exactly he was laughing. “You remember me saying that, eh?” he asked, and Elaine nodded her head. Brooks couldn’t lie; he remembered saying that himself. “Well, for your information, those girls aren’t exactly the type to take to an engagement party.”

“Let me get this straight,” Elaine began. “You’ll sleep with these girls, but you won’t take them to a party? How does that make any sense whatsoever?” she asked.

“Angela,” he stated.

“The bride-to-be?” she asked, and Brooks nodded his head. “I’m so confused right now,” she told him, trying to figure out what Angela had to do with why he couldn’t take one of his other girls to the party tonight.

“Angela made me promise that I wouldn’t bring any of my one night stands as my date. In fact, I believe her words were ‘I don’t want you bringing any whores to my engagement party. If you even think about bringing one of your one night stands, I will kill you,’” he recalled, and Elaine started laughing at him.

“And, you think it’s going to be better by bringing the girl that totaled your car?” Elaine questioned. “Please, can’t you find someone else? I’m begging you.”

“Nope, it’s too late,” Brooks told her, shaking his head.

“Fine,” she sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to be able to get out of it.

“But, I’ve got something for you that might make you feel a little bit better about tonight,” he told her, and she eyed him curiously as he ran back to his bedroom, coming back into the living room with a bag in his hand. He held it out for her to take, which she did slowly, wondering what was inside of it.

She opened the bag, peering inside, before she grabbed the piece of clothing out of it, holding it up by the sleeve to reveal a red dress. “Brooks, you did not buy this for me, did you?” she asked him, but the look on his face made it obvious that he had indeed. “I can’t wear this!” she exclaimed.

“Why not?” he suddenly asked.

“I can’t just accept a present from you like this! Besides, aren’t I supposed to be the one paying you back for wrecking your car?” she asked. “Thank you, but I’ll find something of my own to wear tonight,” she said, putting the dress back into the bag and shoving the bag into his hands.

“No offense, Elaine, but what could you possibly own that would be appropriate for tonight?” he inquired. “You’re a maid, you don’t make that much money, and you never go to parties. I highly doubt you have any sort of clothing that would be appropriate for tonight.”

“How can I not take that as offensive?” she questioned, and Brooks shook his head.

“Not the point I was trying to make,” he muttered. “Really, do you have anything for tonight to wear?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“Why don’t you just take the dress? I can’t return it, and it’s not like I’ve got any use for it. I’m not planning on wearing a red dress anytime soon. So, it’s just going to be sitting here getting no use whatsoever if you don’t wear it,” he argued his point.

“Couldn’t you just give it to one of your one night stands to wear?” she retorted.

“Why are you being so difficult about this?”

“Why are you being so nice about this?” she countered. “In case you forgot, I totaled your car. I’m here to pay you back, and instead, you’re inviting me to parties and buying me dresses. It just doesn’t make sense!”

“Well, in all fairness, I did only buy you one dress.”

“Why?” she asked. “Why are you being so nice?”

“Listen, just wear the dress, go to the party, and everything will be even from the car crash,” he told her, avoiding her question.

“Fine,” she said, snatching the bag out of his hands and heading towards the bathroom to change into it.