Sequel: Run the Show ›
Somebody Needs You
Chapter 8
“…and I was thinking that maybe you wanted to come out and watch one of our open practices,” Luke continued as he walked down the familiar halls of the rink where they were currently training.
“Today?” Katie wondered, her iPhone wedged between her cheek and her shoulder as she was sitting at her desk in the open planned office where she was working. She’d begun just a week earlier and was looking to make a good impression, even if she’d learned early on that they thought of themselves as lucky of having been the ones to hire her. Nothing like some expectations to make a girl work her butt off...
“We have open practice today, yes,” he replied. He wanted her to come by the same day, but he also knew how much her job meant to her and just how seriously she took it, meaning that he wasn't about to ask her to come to one.
Nibbling slightly on her lower lip as she was walking down the hall in direction of the large room where all the fabric swatches for inspiration was stored, she thought her day over. It did sound rather nice to watch some hockey; it had been a while considering it was mid August.
“Alright,” she said slowly, pushing the heavy door open. “I’ll come out to practice, if you buy me some lunch,” she bargained, heading straight for the shelves at the back. She was known back at FIDM for being the one to use the unwanted fabrics and patterns, and still making it work in the words of Tim Gunn.
“I can buy you lunch,” he agreed, it wasn't like it would put a large dent in his bank account. “I might even take you to that Indian place you like,” he baited her.
“Don’t tease,” she closed her eyes for a second, reminding herself that she’d had breakfast less than an hour earlier, there was no way she was having lunch for several hours. She had a very large weak spot for the restaurant that made genuine Indian cuisine, and he knew all about it.
“I'm not,” he replied, putting down his large bag on the floor in the locker-room and nodding hi to the few teammates of his that were already there. “If you come by, I’ll take you there,” he promised.
“I’ll be there,” she stated before hanging up on him, not letting him get another word in, which was normal between them. Glancing down at the watch on her arm, she knew that she had time for some of the work she had to do before leaving to get to the arena so she pulled out a few of the long rolls of fabrics and carried them over to the cutting boards, ready to be inspired.
Parking her steel grey Volvo outside of the rink, Katie grabbed her purse as she stepped out and locked the car behind herself as she crossed the parking lot, heading straight for the large doors where a guard was stationed. Not that it was necessary considering the number of empty spots in the lot.
Smiling up at him as she passed, she soon found herself inside the large building where the inside temperature was much too cool for an average August day in the middle of Toronto.
Quickly finding her way out in the stands, she smiled slightly at the sight that greeted her. She had really missed hockey… Walking down the stairs in the stands, she took a seat in a rather empty row in the middle of the stands, crossing her legs as she leaned back in the hard plastic seat and placed her bag beside her.
Getting comfortable – or as comfortable as could be – she let her eyes scan the ice in front of her and it didn’t take more than a few moments to locate the man she was looking for, even without their numbers on their backs. She did recognize that it was slightly worrying that she could recognize him that easily. But she wasted no time on it and simply watched the informal game that was being organized as she arrived.
Having grown up in London with a family that was truly Canadian, she’d been obsessed with the sport ever since she learned how to skate. She’d followed the Knights religiously since she was five and the Leafs since she was around twelve-fifteen; she’d even played the game for a couple of years. Till she learned that she wasn't really that big of a fan of getting hurt, of course, getting your wrist sliced open during a simple skating class in junior high could have had something to do with that decision...she still had the scar to show for it.
But it didn’t lessen her love for the game, and watching a hockey team like the Leafs in action – especially as it was her favorite team – was amazing. And as she was sitting there, watching them fool around in-between shift-changes, she silently vowed to go to at least a few game that season. She did after all know one of their players so getting tickets wouldn’t be that hard…
Not moving till the practice was clearly over, she stood up and stretched slightly as her joints got a little stiff in the cool air and straightened out her skinny jeans before she continued down the rest of the stairs and waving slightly as Luke searched for her.
“You came,” he greeted her as he skated across the rink and reached the other side, where she was waiting for him.
“I said I would,” she smiled at him. “And you did promise me food,” she reminded him as a few guys she didn’t know made a beeline for where they were standing. Or where she was standing on the concrete outside the rink and Luke was slowly moving back and forth across the ice inside it.
“True,” he nodded, twitching slightly as one of his teammates slapped him on the shoulder. Apparently hard enough to hurt him at least a little even as he had all his gear on.
“Now how does someone like you know someone like Schenner here?” one of the guys asked, looking appreciatively at Katie, not at all bothered by letting her know he was checking her out.
“We go way back,” Luke replied, rolling his eyes as he took the lead, knowing that she got a rather quiet around new people.
“Oh really?” the still unnamed guy asked interestedly, his arms slung around Luke’s shoulders.
“Yeah,” Luke nodded, silently praying that his teammates would leave them alone.
“Well then, any friend of Schenner’s is a friend of mine,” the guy smiled widely, pulling off his glove and holding out his hand to her. “The name’s Tyler, Tyler Bozak,” he introduced himself, the same grin plastered across his features.
“Katie,” she replied, just glancing down at his extended hand. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I like the way my hands smell at the moment,” she stated, looking back up at him. “And I really don't want them smelling like the inside of a glove.”
“Right,” Tyler actually blushed a little. Any friend of Schenner’s would be a hockey fan…
“Don’t mind him, he’s a ladies’ man, I'm Viktor Stålberg,” the second guy introduced himself and instead of wanting to shake her hand, he held out his gloved hand and gently bumped knuckles with her, which caused her to smile. He was really cute…
“Katie,” she repeated. “Well, it’s actually Katelyn, but no one calls me that,” she added as she felt herself blush slightly. That was never a good sign, she always ended up saying embarrassing things when she was…well, embarrassed, which she always was around good looking boys she might end up fancying.
“It’s nice meeting you,” Viktor smiled over at her before grabbing the collar of Tyler’s jersey. “We’ll probably see you around,” he added before he began towing the other guy away, leaving Luke feeling slightly embarrassed.
“They are…” she trailed off slightly, looking over at Luke.
“Idiots, they’re idiots,” he stated frankly, trust his teammates and supposed to be friends to embarrass him out of his mind…
“They’re one of a kind,” she offered. “You need to take a shower and probably get yelled at by your coach for being out here with me for so long,” she smiled softly at him. “I have my car too, so I’ll wait for you in the parking lot,” she suggested.
“Sounds good,” he nodded, lingering for a second before he turned around and quickly skated back across the ice.
Watching him, she smiled softly before also turning around and heading back up the stairs. She really needed some sunlight and soon, her body was freezing cold.
Luke turned up just a short while after Katie had made out to the parking lot where she was standing, leaning against the front of her car and soaking up the warm sunrays. Talking for a moment, they decided to drive to the restaurant separately so that she could get back to work as quickly as possible without Luke having to drive across town and then back before heading back home to his apartment in the center of Toronto.
Getting to the restaurant at almost the same time, they quickly found a table and ordered their ‘regulars’, yes they had actually managed to go there that many times already and as usual it didn’t take long for the food to be served.
“I cannot believe that you did that,” Luke said amazed, looking at the woman across the table with a newfound appreciation.
“He put his hands on my boobs, in the middle of a concert,” Katie pointed out frankly, a smile across her lips. “I didn’t even know the guy.”
“So you just decided to put your knee where it hurts?” he frowned slightly, no matter who it happened to, every guy felt a twinge of sympathy for something like that.
“Well, it was that or punching him and if you haven't noticed, I don’t think that would have worked,” she smiled knowingly.
“I give you that,” he nodded; there was no way she would even deck his younger cousins, who hadn’t yet passed sixteen.
“What was I going to do?” she questioned. “Let some strange guy I’d never seen before grope my boobs like there was no tomorrow in the middle of a Nickleback concert?”
“Well…maybe not quite so…” he tried to find a way out of that one.
“I did the only thing I could think of as there was no security guards within yelling distance considering that we were in the middle of a packed arena during a rock-concert,” she smiled slightly, moving what was left of her food around her plate. “And you really shouldn’t feel sorry for him, what I saw afterwards, he got tended to,” she still shuddered at the memory of such public display of want, horny-ness, whatever you wanted to call it.
“Remind me to never go to a concert with you,” he commented. They’d been comparing the concerts they’d been to during the years and it was clear that Luke was the calmer of the two when attending them. Or fewer things had happened to him during the concerts at least. Which wasn't saying much as Katie had admitted to kneeing a guy, getting removed for drunken behavior – she still claimed the cough medicine defense for that – and getting hit on by the opening act as she was standing at the very front when he got off the stage.
“Who knows, maybe you’d have fun,” she shrugged smiling. She didn’t search for trouble when she went out; it just seemed to always find her…
“Today?” Katie wondered, her iPhone wedged between her cheek and her shoulder as she was sitting at her desk in the open planned office where she was working. She’d begun just a week earlier and was looking to make a good impression, even if she’d learned early on that they thought of themselves as lucky of having been the ones to hire her. Nothing like some expectations to make a girl work her butt off...
“We have open practice today, yes,” he replied. He wanted her to come by the same day, but he also knew how much her job meant to her and just how seriously she took it, meaning that he wasn't about to ask her to come to one.
Nibbling slightly on her lower lip as she was walking down the hall in direction of the large room where all the fabric swatches for inspiration was stored, she thought her day over. It did sound rather nice to watch some hockey; it had been a while considering it was mid August.
“Alright,” she said slowly, pushing the heavy door open. “I’ll come out to practice, if you buy me some lunch,” she bargained, heading straight for the shelves at the back. She was known back at FIDM for being the one to use the unwanted fabrics and patterns, and still making it work in the words of Tim Gunn.
“I can buy you lunch,” he agreed, it wasn't like it would put a large dent in his bank account. “I might even take you to that Indian place you like,” he baited her.
“Don’t tease,” she closed her eyes for a second, reminding herself that she’d had breakfast less than an hour earlier, there was no way she was having lunch for several hours. She had a very large weak spot for the restaurant that made genuine Indian cuisine, and he knew all about it.
“I'm not,” he replied, putting down his large bag on the floor in the locker-room and nodding hi to the few teammates of his that were already there. “If you come by, I’ll take you there,” he promised.
“I’ll be there,” she stated before hanging up on him, not letting him get another word in, which was normal between them. Glancing down at the watch on her arm, she knew that she had time for some of the work she had to do before leaving to get to the arena so she pulled out a few of the long rolls of fabrics and carried them over to the cutting boards, ready to be inspired.
Parking her steel grey Volvo outside of the rink, Katie grabbed her purse as she stepped out and locked the car behind herself as she crossed the parking lot, heading straight for the large doors where a guard was stationed. Not that it was necessary considering the number of empty spots in the lot.
Smiling up at him as she passed, she soon found herself inside the large building where the inside temperature was much too cool for an average August day in the middle of Toronto.
Quickly finding her way out in the stands, she smiled slightly at the sight that greeted her. She had really missed hockey… Walking down the stairs in the stands, she took a seat in a rather empty row in the middle of the stands, crossing her legs as she leaned back in the hard plastic seat and placed her bag beside her.
Getting comfortable – or as comfortable as could be – she let her eyes scan the ice in front of her and it didn’t take more than a few moments to locate the man she was looking for, even without their numbers on their backs. She did recognize that it was slightly worrying that she could recognize him that easily. But she wasted no time on it and simply watched the informal game that was being organized as she arrived.
Having grown up in London with a family that was truly Canadian, she’d been obsessed with the sport ever since she learned how to skate. She’d followed the Knights religiously since she was five and the Leafs since she was around twelve-fifteen; she’d even played the game for a couple of years. Till she learned that she wasn't really that big of a fan of getting hurt, of course, getting your wrist sliced open during a simple skating class in junior high could have had something to do with that decision...she still had the scar to show for it.
But it didn’t lessen her love for the game, and watching a hockey team like the Leafs in action – especially as it was her favorite team – was amazing. And as she was sitting there, watching them fool around in-between shift-changes, she silently vowed to go to at least a few game that season. She did after all know one of their players so getting tickets wouldn’t be that hard…
Not moving till the practice was clearly over, she stood up and stretched slightly as her joints got a little stiff in the cool air and straightened out her skinny jeans before she continued down the rest of the stairs and waving slightly as Luke searched for her.
“You came,” he greeted her as he skated across the rink and reached the other side, where she was waiting for him.
“I said I would,” she smiled at him. “And you did promise me food,” she reminded him as a few guys she didn’t know made a beeline for where they were standing. Or where she was standing on the concrete outside the rink and Luke was slowly moving back and forth across the ice inside it.
“True,” he nodded, twitching slightly as one of his teammates slapped him on the shoulder. Apparently hard enough to hurt him at least a little even as he had all his gear on.
“Now how does someone like you know someone like Schenner here?” one of the guys asked, looking appreciatively at Katie, not at all bothered by letting her know he was checking her out.
“We go way back,” Luke replied, rolling his eyes as he took the lead, knowing that she got a rather quiet around new people.
“Oh really?” the still unnamed guy asked interestedly, his arms slung around Luke’s shoulders.
“Yeah,” Luke nodded, silently praying that his teammates would leave them alone.
“Well then, any friend of Schenner’s is a friend of mine,” the guy smiled widely, pulling off his glove and holding out his hand to her. “The name’s Tyler, Tyler Bozak,” he introduced himself, the same grin plastered across his features.
“Katie,” she replied, just glancing down at his extended hand. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I like the way my hands smell at the moment,” she stated, looking back up at him. “And I really don't want them smelling like the inside of a glove.”
“Right,” Tyler actually blushed a little. Any friend of Schenner’s would be a hockey fan…
“Don’t mind him, he’s a ladies’ man, I'm Viktor Stålberg,” the second guy introduced himself and instead of wanting to shake her hand, he held out his gloved hand and gently bumped knuckles with her, which caused her to smile. He was really cute…
“Katie,” she repeated. “Well, it’s actually Katelyn, but no one calls me that,” she added as she felt herself blush slightly. That was never a good sign, she always ended up saying embarrassing things when she was…well, embarrassed, which she always was around good looking boys she might end up fancying.
“It’s nice meeting you,” Viktor smiled over at her before grabbing the collar of Tyler’s jersey. “We’ll probably see you around,” he added before he began towing the other guy away, leaving Luke feeling slightly embarrassed.
“They are…” she trailed off slightly, looking over at Luke.
“Idiots, they’re idiots,” he stated frankly, trust his teammates and supposed to be friends to embarrass him out of his mind…
“They’re one of a kind,” she offered. “You need to take a shower and probably get yelled at by your coach for being out here with me for so long,” she smiled softly at him. “I have my car too, so I’ll wait for you in the parking lot,” she suggested.
“Sounds good,” he nodded, lingering for a second before he turned around and quickly skated back across the ice.
Watching him, she smiled softly before also turning around and heading back up the stairs. She really needed some sunlight and soon, her body was freezing cold.
Luke turned up just a short while after Katie had made out to the parking lot where she was standing, leaning against the front of her car and soaking up the warm sunrays. Talking for a moment, they decided to drive to the restaurant separately so that she could get back to work as quickly as possible without Luke having to drive across town and then back before heading back home to his apartment in the center of Toronto.
Getting to the restaurant at almost the same time, they quickly found a table and ordered their ‘regulars’, yes they had actually managed to go there that many times already and as usual it didn’t take long for the food to be served.
“I cannot believe that you did that,” Luke said amazed, looking at the woman across the table with a newfound appreciation.
“He put his hands on my boobs, in the middle of a concert,” Katie pointed out frankly, a smile across her lips. “I didn’t even know the guy.”
“So you just decided to put your knee where it hurts?” he frowned slightly, no matter who it happened to, every guy felt a twinge of sympathy for something like that.
“Well, it was that or punching him and if you haven't noticed, I don’t think that would have worked,” she smiled knowingly.
“I give you that,” he nodded; there was no way she would even deck his younger cousins, who hadn’t yet passed sixteen.
“What was I going to do?” she questioned. “Let some strange guy I’d never seen before grope my boobs like there was no tomorrow in the middle of a Nickleback concert?”
“Well…maybe not quite so…” he tried to find a way out of that one.
“I did the only thing I could think of as there was no security guards within yelling distance considering that we were in the middle of a packed arena during a rock-concert,” she smiled slightly, moving what was left of her food around her plate. “And you really shouldn’t feel sorry for him, what I saw afterwards, he got tended to,” she still shuddered at the memory of such public display of want, horny-ness, whatever you wanted to call it.
“Remind me to never go to a concert with you,” he commented. They’d been comparing the concerts they’d been to during the years and it was clear that Luke was the calmer of the two when attending them. Or fewer things had happened to him during the concerts at least. Which wasn't saying much as Katie had admitted to kneeing a guy, getting removed for drunken behavior – she still claimed the cough medicine defense for that – and getting hit on by the opening act as she was standing at the very front when he got off the stage.
“Who knows, maybe you’d have fun,” she shrugged smiling. She didn’t search for trouble when she went out; it just seemed to always find her…