Sequel: Run the Show ›
Somebody Needs You
Chapter 3
Despite being employed to work solely at the information desk and in one of three different snack bars on the concourse of the arena, Katie often found herself doing an array of other things. Like that one trip down to the locker rooms and the times she’d been called in to help with the selling of tickets before the season started, or even at the release of particularly sought after concert tickets.
And this day wasn't that much different as she found herself walking down one of the many halls of the arena, carrying a bunch of refilled water bottles, with actually contained Gatorade. One of the girls had called in sick very late and she’d been called in to fill in for her.
Walking out into the same arena she’d vacated just some 12 or so hours earlier and which now looked completely different once again, she made her way down to the benches and smiled at one of the equipment managers who was standing there. “I’ve been ordered to deliver these,” she said, handing over one of the two cases with eight refilled plastic bottles in each.
“Oh, great,” the man smiled, taking the bottles from her and noticing the way she was looking at the light scrimmage taking place on the ice. “Want to stay and watch?”
“Yeah,” she smiled widely. “But I don’t know if…”
“Just stay for a few minutes, clam that you're helping us out,” he insisted and her Canadian, hockey loving side prevented her from refusing. Easily climbing into the bench area, she sat down on the bench that reminded her of another time and another place, causing her to slowly drift into her own little world as she was watching the built men skate around on the ice.
“Spying for the enemy?”
Looking up, she broke out in a wide smile as her eyes landed on a pair of blue ones she was afraid of getting lost in if she didn’t watch herself. “Not really,” she smiled. “But I can offer you some Gatorade,” she added, holding out one of the many bottled to him and he gladly accepted it.
“So why are you here?” he asked curiously, watching her closely.
“Working, I was called in when someone was sick,” she shrugged slightly. “And I'm not actually supposed to be here, but trust me when I say that watching you guys are a heck of a lot more fun than stacking shelves and doing inventory,” she smiled widely, noticing that she was fidgeting slightly and clicking her nails, both signs that she was feeling antsy around someone…
“I bet,” he nodded smiling. “So are you coming to the game tonight?” he wondered.
“I wasn't planning on it,” she admitted sheepishly. “I have a few things I need to finish before Christmas so…” she trailed off, glancing down at her hands before looking back up at the eyes she knew was a pitfall for every girl who looked into them.
“Come on,” he smiled, showing off the perfectly straight, white teeth that were a rare sight around most hockey players. “I need some sincere support out in the stands.”
“How do you know I'm not a Habs fan and would like nothing than for you guys to lose tonight?” she arched her eyebrow at him.
“I can see the outline of the Maple Leaf tattooed on your wrist, it’s peeking out from under your watch,” he stated, nodding towards her left arm where the small, less than half an inch in height, tattoo could be seen, just below the heel of her hand.
“I am Canadian,” she pointed out.
“Then why is it blue and white?” he retorted, a confident smirk across his lips.
“Busted,” she admitted. “It was the Leafs or the Senators,” she shrugged slightly. “It wasn't that much of a choice really,” she smiled faintly.
“Will you be here?” he asked once again.
“I’ll…” she began, looking into his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll be here,” she nodded.
“Great,” he smiled widely as the coach called them all back again. “I’ll see you then,” he announced before handing the bottle back to her and turning around, heading towards the centre circle where the rest of the team was gathering.
Slowly licking her lips, she watched them for a second longer before jumping up from the bench and thanking the equipment guy still standing there, before she hurried back down the hall she’d previously come from. It might not have been her shift, but it was extra money…
Reaching for the phone laying on the coffee table, Drew hit speed dial and waited for the person on the other end to pick up as he ran his fingers through his messy hair. The whole thing was like a tradition every game day, and you don’t break those…
“Hola?” Katie smiled amused as she answered, wedging the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she was in the middle of folding laundry in the middle of the living room. “You should be napping,” she commented as she glanced down at her watch, his call was about two hours too early.
“Instead I'm calling you,” he retorted, smiling as he heard the slight laugh coming from her end. “Actually, I couldn’t seem to fall asleep so I called you now instead of later,” he admitted.
“Talk about flattering a girl,” she rolled her eyes at him as she folded yet another pair of jeans, which only served as another reminded that she really needed to lay off shopping.
“So are you coming to the game tonight?” he asked just like he had every other home game of the season. He’d asked the first game of the season and after that they just fell into a natural pattern of him calling before every game to see if she’d be there. More time than not, she turned him down, she had school, sometimes she was working on game nights and other times she was busy with other thing. But there were a few times she had accepted the offer and this time he was going to resort to begging if she tried turning him down.
“I was thinking about it,” she replied evenly, adding another t-shirt to the rapidly growing pile on the coffee table.
“But come on, can’t you just…” he stopped himself. “What did you just say?” he asked frowning.
“I said I was thinking about it,” she rolled her eyes. She had almost expected that response. “I'm not doing anything tonight so I kind of thought why not,” she admitted, not delving further into exactly how she’d been convinced she should go, he really didn’t need to know that.
“So you're coming to the game?” he asked excitedly, pushing himself into a sitting position in the middle of the large couch.
“I'm coming to the game,” she nodded. “So this time you can actually put my name on one of those tickets of yours that always seem to go unused,” she ribbed him, smiling widely as she heard him chuckle slightly. “Just kidding.”
“You better be,” he was already planning on how to get her to come to the rest of the games during the season. They were barely half into it yet so there were just a few left, take note of the sarcasm.
“I am,” she stated, picking up as much of her clothes as she could before carrying them into her bedroom where all her closets were located. “So now I guess you have to take that nap so that you can dazzle me with all those hockey skills you claim to have,” she smirked slightly, she’d seen him play before and he was good. Still a bit rough around the edges, but then again he only had a few months in the NHL and it was much different, a lot tougher than junior hockey back in up Canada.
“I’ll leave a ticket in your name,” he promised, not bothering to acknowledge her comment. “And you have to stop by the locker-rooms after the game,” he added as an afterthought.
“Sure,” she nodded slowly, she hadn’t planned on doing that, but she didn’t have anything to do so…why not, it wasn't every day you got to wander into a locker-room full of half naked men and not get yelled at for it.
And this day wasn't that much different as she found herself walking down one of the many halls of the arena, carrying a bunch of refilled water bottles, with actually contained Gatorade. One of the girls had called in sick very late and she’d been called in to fill in for her.
Walking out into the same arena she’d vacated just some 12 or so hours earlier and which now looked completely different once again, she made her way down to the benches and smiled at one of the equipment managers who was standing there. “I’ve been ordered to deliver these,” she said, handing over one of the two cases with eight refilled plastic bottles in each.
“Oh, great,” the man smiled, taking the bottles from her and noticing the way she was looking at the light scrimmage taking place on the ice. “Want to stay and watch?”
“Yeah,” she smiled widely. “But I don’t know if…”
“Just stay for a few minutes, clam that you're helping us out,” he insisted and her Canadian, hockey loving side prevented her from refusing. Easily climbing into the bench area, she sat down on the bench that reminded her of another time and another place, causing her to slowly drift into her own little world as she was watching the built men skate around on the ice.
“Spying for the enemy?”
Looking up, she broke out in a wide smile as her eyes landed on a pair of blue ones she was afraid of getting lost in if she didn’t watch herself. “Not really,” she smiled. “But I can offer you some Gatorade,” she added, holding out one of the many bottled to him and he gladly accepted it.
“So why are you here?” he asked curiously, watching her closely.
“Working, I was called in when someone was sick,” she shrugged slightly. “And I'm not actually supposed to be here, but trust me when I say that watching you guys are a heck of a lot more fun than stacking shelves and doing inventory,” she smiled widely, noticing that she was fidgeting slightly and clicking her nails, both signs that she was feeling antsy around someone…
“I bet,” he nodded smiling. “So are you coming to the game tonight?” he wondered.
“I wasn't planning on it,” she admitted sheepishly. “I have a few things I need to finish before Christmas so…” she trailed off, glancing down at her hands before looking back up at the eyes she knew was a pitfall for every girl who looked into them.
“Come on,” he smiled, showing off the perfectly straight, white teeth that were a rare sight around most hockey players. “I need some sincere support out in the stands.”
“How do you know I'm not a Habs fan and would like nothing than for you guys to lose tonight?” she arched her eyebrow at him.
“I can see the outline of the Maple Leaf tattooed on your wrist, it’s peeking out from under your watch,” he stated, nodding towards her left arm where the small, less than half an inch in height, tattoo could be seen, just below the heel of her hand.
“I am Canadian,” she pointed out.
“Then why is it blue and white?” he retorted, a confident smirk across his lips.
“Busted,” she admitted. “It was the Leafs or the Senators,” she shrugged slightly. “It wasn't that much of a choice really,” she smiled faintly.
“Will you be here?” he asked once again.
“I’ll…” she began, looking into his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll be here,” she nodded.
“Great,” he smiled widely as the coach called them all back again. “I’ll see you then,” he announced before handing the bottle back to her and turning around, heading towards the centre circle where the rest of the team was gathering.
Slowly licking her lips, she watched them for a second longer before jumping up from the bench and thanking the equipment guy still standing there, before she hurried back down the hall she’d previously come from. It might not have been her shift, but it was extra money…
Reaching for the phone laying on the coffee table, Drew hit speed dial and waited for the person on the other end to pick up as he ran his fingers through his messy hair. The whole thing was like a tradition every game day, and you don’t break those…
“Hola?” Katie smiled amused as she answered, wedging the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she was in the middle of folding laundry in the middle of the living room. “You should be napping,” she commented as she glanced down at her watch, his call was about two hours too early.
“Instead I'm calling you,” he retorted, smiling as he heard the slight laugh coming from her end. “Actually, I couldn’t seem to fall asleep so I called you now instead of later,” he admitted.
“Talk about flattering a girl,” she rolled her eyes at him as she folded yet another pair of jeans, which only served as another reminded that she really needed to lay off shopping.
“So are you coming to the game tonight?” he asked just like he had every other home game of the season. He’d asked the first game of the season and after that they just fell into a natural pattern of him calling before every game to see if she’d be there. More time than not, she turned him down, she had school, sometimes she was working on game nights and other times she was busy with other thing. But there were a few times she had accepted the offer and this time he was going to resort to begging if she tried turning him down.
“I was thinking about it,” she replied evenly, adding another t-shirt to the rapidly growing pile on the coffee table.
“But come on, can’t you just…” he stopped himself. “What did you just say?” he asked frowning.
“I said I was thinking about it,” she rolled her eyes. She had almost expected that response. “I'm not doing anything tonight so I kind of thought why not,” she admitted, not delving further into exactly how she’d been convinced she should go, he really didn’t need to know that.
“So you're coming to the game?” he asked excitedly, pushing himself into a sitting position in the middle of the large couch.
“I'm coming to the game,” she nodded. “So this time you can actually put my name on one of those tickets of yours that always seem to go unused,” she ribbed him, smiling widely as she heard him chuckle slightly. “Just kidding.”
“You better be,” he was already planning on how to get her to come to the rest of the games during the season. They were barely half into it yet so there were just a few left, take note of the sarcasm.
“I am,” she stated, picking up as much of her clothes as she could before carrying them into her bedroom where all her closets were located. “So now I guess you have to take that nap so that you can dazzle me with all those hockey skills you claim to have,” she smirked slightly, she’d seen him play before and he was good. Still a bit rough around the edges, but then again he only had a few months in the NHL and it was much different, a lot tougher than junior hockey back in up Canada.
“I’ll leave a ticket in your name,” he promised, not bothering to acknowledge her comment. “And you have to stop by the locker-rooms after the game,” he added as an afterthought.
“Sure,” she nodded slowly, she hadn’t planned on doing that, but she didn’t have anything to do so…why not, it wasn't every day you got to wander into a locker-room full of half naked men and not get yelled at for it.