Love Is in the Arena
Chapter 1/1
“Laurie! Come on! We’re late!” I heard my friend Jake call. I sighed softly to myself as I frantically ran around my room in search of my jersey. I finally found it, grabbed it off the hook and threw it on over the bright blue tank top I was wearing with my dark wash jeans. I grabbed my poster from the floor, threw on my white flats with the red and blue bows on them (I had colored them with permanent markers in school when I was bored) and ran downstairs to meet Jake.
“Well, look who finally made it!” He joked.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s just go,” I said.
“Awww, don’t want to miss your Ovie?” He teased.
“No, I don’t, actually,” I said, running out to my car and getting in. I wish I’d thought to grab an umbrella, it was pouring rain out. After Jake got into the car, soaking wet, I might add, I put the key in the ignition and drove toward the Verizon Center, home of the Capitals.
We parked close to the entrance; being a season ticket holder had its advantages. We ran inside (It was raining harder now) and shook ourselves dry like dogs. We laughed to ourselves, then found our seats in the first row up from the ice, directly across from where the opponent’s goalie was for two periods. We were early, so Jake went to go get snacks and pop, so I settled in and watched around. Getting bored, I finally got up and left to wander the arena. I accidentally walked into someone while I was wandering.
“Oh! I’m sorry!” I exclaimed. The person I walked into chuckled a bit.
“That’s all right. I wasn’t paying attention either,” The guy said in choppy English. My head snapped up and I found myself looking into the smiling face and beautiful dark brown eyes of Alex Ovechkin. I smiled back somewhat shyly, and he saw my jersey.
“Oh, you’re a fan, huh?” He said.
“The biggest, I’ve been told,” I responded, mentally smacking myself afterward. Jeez, girl, how stupid can you get? He laughed out loud at this.
“How much more would you love me if I autographed your jersey?” He asked. Inside, I was squealing and jumping up and down.
“More than you can ever imagine,” I breathed, my excitement nearly killing me. He laughed again and pulled a Sharpie from his pocket.
“Turn around for a minute,” He said, and I turned to let him sign it. “What’s your name?” He asked.
“Laurie,” I responded. It took a while, but he finally stepped away.
“You can turn around again now,” He said. I debated with myself for a minute, and then I hugged him.
“Thank you so much!” I exclaimed. He laughed again, and I inhaled his scent. It was clean, as though he had just showered. Of course, the game hasn’t started yet, I reminded myself.
“I should get to my seat, my friend’s probably worried,” I said, stepping away. He smiled at me again, and I thought my heart was going to stop.
“See you after the game,” He said, and he walked off toward the locker room. As I was walking away, I heard catcalls from the locker room, followed by scuffling and shouts of “Hey!” and “Ouch!” I laughed to myself as I made my way back to my seat. Jake was there already, and he looked worried.
“There you are! I was worried about you!” He exclaimed, crushing me to him.
“Jake, I’m fine! Let go, I can’t breathe!” I said.
“Where were you?” He asked.
“I ran into Alex Ovechkin! Literally,” I said. He laughed.
“Yeah, sure you did,” He said, rolling his eyes.
“I did, see?” I turned so he could see the autograph and message. I would wait until I got home to read it. The game started shortly after this, and I pressed my sign to the glass. Alex skated by and glanced at it. I saw him smile every time he read it. It was in the way of my face, so he couldn’t see who was holding it. After a while, I took it down so I could actually see the game. I moved it just in time to see Alex score.
As we jumped up and cheered, Alex leapt up into the glass right in front of me. He winked at me, and I giggled. He smiled wide, and mouthed, “See you after the game!” with another wink. I saw Jake’s jaw drop from the corner of my eye and laughed at him. We watched the rest of the game in total awe of the intensely charged atmosphere as the Capitals moved on toward victory against the Blackhawks.
---
After the game, I went down to wait outside of the locker room for Alex when someone came out of the locker room and headed toward me.
“Hey there, are you Laurie?” He asked. I nodded, and he smiled. “I’m Tom Poti. Alex asked me to bring you into the locker room after the game.”
“Oh, all right, then,” I said. I followed him into the locker room. He pointed me toward Alex’s stall. I thanked him and sat in front of it. The guys were staring at me and whispering to each other. “You know, you’re as bad as high school girls with all the whispering,” I stated. Nicklas Backstrom laughed, and soon a couple of other guys joined in. I smiled at them, and Alex walked over toward us, wearing only a towel.
“What’s so funny?” He asked, and I glanced up at him, then looked away, embarrassed. “Oh! Hi,” He said to me, and I saw his face go red. I smiled back, keeping my head down.
“Hi,” I said. “Sorry to be just randomly sitting here,” I said.
“No problem at all,” He said. We chatted a bit, and Nick came over toward us, followed by Mike Green.
“My name’s Laurie,” I said. He shook my hand, then looked at Alex.
“Jeez, you don’t even know her name? Some friend you are,” He joked. We laughed, and I put an arm around Alex’s shoulders.
“I do too know her name! She beat me to it!” He exclaimed, pouting at me.
“Yeah, okay, sure,” Nick said grinning. “C’mon, Green, let’s give them some space.” He and Mike stood up and walked away. Alex sighed in relief.
“I thought they’d never leave,” He muttered to himself. I laughed lightly, and he smiled at me.
“So, what are we doing?” I asked as he finished changing and we left.
“I was thinking we could celebrate the win,” He said.
“Cool, but I’m going to need to catch a ride with you. I gave my friend Jake my car so he could get home,” I said.
“No problem,” He said, and I smiled as I climbed into the passenger side of his car. We drove to a bar near the arena and found that it was almost full to capacity. We eventually found a table and sat down, talking and laughing before he stood up abruptly.
“Dance with me,” He said, and he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the dance floor. We danced for a couple of songs, enjoying ourselves. We left the place around 1:00 am. He drove me home, and I sat in his car for a bit.
“I had a great time,” He said to me.
“So did I,” I said, turning to look at him. He was smiling, I could see. I leaned toward him a bit, and he leaned in to, half closing his eyes. I leaned in farther, and I felt his lips connect with mine. He pulled me closed, wrapping an arm around my waist and putting his free hand on my cheek. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer. After a while, we broke apart to breath. We came together again, kissing each other with gentle passion, and I broke away again.
“Wow,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. He smiled down at me and held my hand as he walked me to my front door.
“Will I see you again?” He asked, his brown eyes staring down into my blue ones. I nodded, unable to find my voice again. He leaned down and kissed me once more before walking away. I went into my house and closed the door shut on a perfect evening.
---
The next morning, I woke up to find my jersey hung carefully on the door handle. I picked it up to read what it said.
Hey there, Laurie!
Glad to meet a fan of mine. Call me if you ever want to hang out ;)
From,
Alexander Ovechkin
I smiled as I put Ovie’s number into my phone’s memory. I debated for a minute before I decided to give him a quick call and see what he was up to. It rang a few times before going to voice mail. I hung up, slightly disappointed, before changing into clean clothes and going to meet Jake for lunch.
---
Ovie called me later that night and asked me out to dinner. Of course, I said yes to him. We met at one of the nicer restaurants in DC. I wore a pretty, light blue strapless dress and silver heels. He was wearing a nice suit and escorted me to his table.
I smiled at him as we sat down. Fans started going up to him, asking for autographs. He smiled and signed them all before dinner arrived. After we ate, he took me out for ice cream before taking me back home.
“I had a great time, Alex,” I said softly. He placed a soft kiss on my lips.
“Me too,” He said. “Good night, my dear.” He walked to his car. I watched until he was out of sight before going inside and falling onto my couch. I loved being with him.
---
It’s been three years since Alex and I started dating, and now his teammate Nicklas Backstrom is the best man at our wedding. Everything’s been perfect since that night. I love Alex so much, and I can tell we’ll have many happy years ahead of us.
“Well, look who finally made it!” He joked.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s just go,” I said.
“Awww, don’t want to miss your Ovie?” He teased.
“No, I don’t, actually,” I said, running out to my car and getting in. I wish I’d thought to grab an umbrella, it was pouring rain out. After Jake got into the car, soaking wet, I might add, I put the key in the ignition and drove toward the Verizon Center, home of the Capitals.
We parked close to the entrance; being a season ticket holder had its advantages. We ran inside (It was raining harder now) and shook ourselves dry like dogs. We laughed to ourselves, then found our seats in the first row up from the ice, directly across from where the opponent’s goalie was for two periods. We were early, so Jake went to go get snacks and pop, so I settled in and watched around. Getting bored, I finally got up and left to wander the arena. I accidentally walked into someone while I was wandering.
“Oh! I’m sorry!” I exclaimed. The person I walked into chuckled a bit.
“That’s all right. I wasn’t paying attention either,” The guy said in choppy English. My head snapped up and I found myself looking into the smiling face and beautiful dark brown eyes of Alex Ovechkin. I smiled back somewhat shyly, and he saw my jersey.
“Oh, you’re a fan, huh?” He said.
“The biggest, I’ve been told,” I responded, mentally smacking myself afterward. Jeez, girl, how stupid can you get? He laughed out loud at this.
“How much more would you love me if I autographed your jersey?” He asked. Inside, I was squealing and jumping up and down.
“More than you can ever imagine,” I breathed, my excitement nearly killing me. He laughed again and pulled a Sharpie from his pocket.
“Turn around for a minute,” He said, and I turned to let him sign it. “What’s your name?” He asked.
“Laurie,” I responded. It took a while, but he finally stepped away.
“You can turn around again now,” He said. I debated with myself for a minute, and then I hugged him.
“Thank you so much!” I exclaimed. He laughed again, and I inhaled his scent. It was clean, as though he had just showered. Of course, the game hasn’t started yet, I reminded myself.
“I should get to my seat, my friend’s probably worried,” I said, stepping away. He smiled at me again, and I thought my heart was going to stop.
“See you after the game,” He said, and he walked off toward the locker room. As I was walking away, I heard catcalls from the locker room, followed by scuffling and shouts of “Hey!” and “Ouch!” I laughed to myself as I made my way back to my seat. Jake was there already, and he looked worried.
“There you are! I was worried about you!” He exclaimed, crushing me to him.
“Jake, I’m fine! Let go, I can’t breathe!” I said.
“Where were you?” He asked.
“I ran into Alex Ovechkin! Literally,” I said. He laughed.
“Yeah, sure you did,” He said, rolling his eyes.
“I did, see?” I turned so he could see the autograph and message. I would wait until I got home to read it. The game started shortly after this, and I pressed my sign to the glass. Alex skated by and glanced at it. I saw him smile every time he read it. It was in the way of my face, so he couldn’t see who was holding it. After a while, I took it down so I could actually see the game. I moved it just in time to see Alex score.
As we jumped up and cheered, Alex leapt up into the glass right in front of me. He winked at me, and I giggled. He smiled wide, and mouthed, “See you after the game!” with another wink. I saw Jake’s jaw drop from the corner of my eye and laughed at him. We watched the rest of the game in total awe of the intensely charged atmosphere as the Capitals moved on toward victory against the Blackhawks.
---
After the game, I went down to wait outside of the locker room for Alex when someone came out of the locker room and headed toward me.
“Hey there, are you Laurie?” He asked. I nodded, and he smiled. “I’m Tom Poti. Alex asked me to bring you into the locker room after the game.”
“Oh, all right, then,” I said. I followed him into the locker room. He pointed me toward Alex’s stall. I thanked him and sat in front of it. The guys were staring at me and whispering to each other. “You know, you’re as bad as high school girls with all the whispering,” I stated. Nicklas Backstrom laughed, and soon a couple of other guys joined in. I smiled at them, and Alex walked over toward us, wearing only a towel.
“What’s so funny?” He asked, and I glanced up at him, then looked away, embarrassed. “Oh! Hi,” He said to me, and I saw his face go red. I smiled back, keeping my head down.
“Hi,” I said. “Sorry to be just randomly sitting here,” I said.
“No problem at all,” He said. We chatted a bit, and Nick came over toward us, followed by Mike Green.
“My name’s Laurie,” I said. He shook my hand, then looked at Alex.
“Jeez, you don’t even know her name? Some friend you are,” He joked. We laughed, and I put an arm around Alex’s shoulders.
“I do too know her name! She beat me to it!” He exclaimed, pouting at me.
“Yeah, okay, sure,” Nick said grinning. “C’mon, Green, let’s give them some space.” He and Mike stood up and walked away. Alex sighed in relief.
“I thought they’d never leave,” He muttered to himself. I laughed lightly, and he smiled at me.
“So, what are we doing?” I asked as he finished changing and we left.
“I was thinking we could celebrate the win,” He said.
“Cool, but I’m going to need to catch a ride with you. I gave my friend Jake my car so he could get home,” I said.
“No problem,” He said, and I smiled as I climbed into the passenger side of his car. We drove to a bar near the arena and found that it was almost full to capacity. We eventually found a table and sat down, talking and laughing before he stood up abruptly.
“Dance with me,” He said, and he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the dance floor. We danced for a couple of songs, enjoying ourselves. We left the place around 1:00 am. He drove me home, and I sat in his car for a bit.
“I had a great time,” He said to me.
“So did I,” I said, turning to look at him. He was smiling, I could see. I leaned toward him a bit, and he leaned in to, half closing his eyes. I leaned in farther, and I felt his lips connect with mine. He pulled me closed, wrapping an arm around my waist and putting his free hand on my cheek. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself closer. After a while, we broke apart to breath. We came together again, kissing each other with gentle passion, and I broke away again.
“Wow,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. He smiled down at me and held my hand as he walked me to my front door.
“Will I see you again?” He asked, his brown eyes staring down into my blue ones. I nodded, unable to find my voice again. He leaned down and kissed me once more before walking away. I went into my house and closed the door shut on a perfect evening.
---
The next morning, I woke up to find my jersey hung carefully on the door handle. I picked it up to read what it said.
Hey there, Laurie!
Glad to meet a fan of mine. Call me if you ever want to hang out ;)
From,
Alexander Ovechkin
I smiled as I put Ovie’s number into my phone’s memory. I debated for a minute before I decided to give him a quick call and see what he was up to. It rang a few times before going to voice mail. I hung up, slightly disappointed, before changing into clean clothes and going to meet Jake for lunch.
---
Ovie called me later that night and asked me out to dinner. Of course, I said yes to him. We met at one of the nicer restaurants in DC. I wore a pretty, light blue strapless dress and silver heels. He was wearing a nice suit and escorted me to his table.
I smiled at him as we sat down. Fans started going up to him, asking for autographs. He smiled and signed them all before dinner arrived. After we ate, he took me out for ice cream before taking me back home.
“I had a great time, Alex,” I said softly. He placed a soft kiss on my lips.
“Me too,” He said. “Good night, my dear.” He walked to his car. I watched until he was out of sight before going inside and falling onto my couch. I loved being with him.
---
It’s been three years since Alex and I started dating, and now his teammate Nicklas Backstrom is the best man at our wedding. Everything’s been perfect since that night. I love Alex so much, and I can tell we’ll have many happy years ahead of us.