The Games We Play

Weeks flew by and things between Lacey and Jonathan were still going strong. The Blackhawks had entered their second series against Vancouver in the Western Conference Semi-finals and Lacey and Derek were both getting into their own playoffs.

Lacey’s team had won their first series with four wins to two, and Derek’s team had swept their first opponents in four games. Lacey was getting ready to play her first game of their second series just as Jonathan was getting ready for Game Five against the Canucks.

“Are you nervous for your first game?” Jonathan asked her over Skype. He was in his apartment, just having woken up from his pre-game nap.

“Yes and no,” she shrugged, still in her normal clothes. “All I can really do is hope it goes well. I feel good and so do the other girls on the team. We’ve been working really hard to get to where we are.”

“What place are you in again?” Jonathan asked as Lacey gathered her jersey and shorts from her closet.

“Third during the regular season,” she replied. “Can you still see me?”

“Why?” Jonathan grinned. “I’m not allowed to watch you change?”

Lacey stuck her face in front of the camera and frowned. “You know, when I met you, I thought you were such a shy, innocent man.”

Jonathan laughed. “Go change. I’ll close my eyes and wait.”

“That’s more like it,” she mused, gathering her things and walking off-camera to change. “Shouldn’t you be leaving for the arena soon for the pre-game skate?”

“Probably,” he shrugged. “I just wanted to talk to you as long as I could before having to go to the arena. I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling about tonight.”

“You do?” Lacey questioned. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Jonathan responded. “It’s Game Five. If we win this game, then we eliminate the Canucks. But no team is gonna go down that easily.

“I guess it depends on whether or not Luongo’s got his head in the game,” she noted.

Jonathan smirked. “For a girl who claims she knows nothing about hockey and who says she could care less about it, you certainly know your facts.”

“Well, I’m trying to share my boyfriend’s interests,” she noted with a grin. “That word still sounds so foreign to me.”

“What, boyfriend?” he asked. “You can’t tell me you never dated anyone before.”

“No, I have,” she replied. “It’s just...those relationships didn’t really work out.”

“Mhm,” Jonathan mumbled to himself as Lacey returned in front of the camera, changed into her uniform. “Are you leaving now?”

“I have to,” she said with a small smile. “And you have to go, too. Go get ready for the game. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

“We’ll see,” Jonathan sighed. “Bye, Lacey. Good luck tonight.”

“You too,” she waved before closing Skype, grabbing her windbreaker and heading for the school.

Lacey got to the campus and was greeted by her teammates. She quickly laced up her shoes and she and the rest of the team went to warm up before their game, taking practice shots on their goalie and stretching out their muscles. They took turns passing the ball around to get their legs warmed up, and before they knew it, the referee blew the whistle and it was time to start the game.

They were playing a team from Michigan State University, one that a few girls on the team had a personal hatred for. Becky was one of them, since the last time they played MSU one of the defenders slide-tackled her and nearly took out her ankle. College soccer playoffs were a little different than hockey playoffs; all the games against MSU were going to be played at Loyola since bus rides and airfare to and from the two campuses would cost too much money.

“Let’s kick some ass!” Becky shouted out as everyone took their positions. Lacey grinned and adjusted her headband ever so slightly.

MSU had the first ball. Their center forward took it and passed it to the wing who in turn passed it back to their midfielder. The MSU forwards ran up as the girl kicked the ball, lofting it up in the air. Lacey backed up and anticipated for it to fall. It hit her in the chest and landed on the ground. Lacey quickly gained possession of it and ran up the line, looking for one of her teammates to pass to.

She caught a glimpse of Andrea just barely onside and kicked the ball to her over her opponent’s heads. Andrea got the ball and Farah was right there with her for support. As one of the MSU defensemen came at her, Andrea passed off the ball and Farah took it, reared back slightly and took a shot. The ball curled over the keeper’s gloves and landed in the back of the net.

Lacey and her teammates screamed, high-fiving each other and giving each other quick hugs and words of encouragement.

“Let’s keep this going, ladies,” Lacey yelled out to her team, clapping her hands. “Let’s get another one!”

The game kept going in their favour. Right after Farah’s goal, Andrea got one of her own and another forward, Katelyn, got one too. MSU got a goal later in the second half, but the final score ended up staying at 3-1 for Loyola.

“Great job, girls!” Lacey said to her teammates after the game was over. Everyone gathered around their Gatorade and water bottles so they could listen to Lacey’s post-game speech. “You all played great, awesome passing, good control with the ball--but MSU’s a tough team and you know that they’re not going to back down when we play them again on Tuesday. Get some rest and I’ll see you here for practice tomorrow morning.”

The team cleared out and Lacey went back to her apartment. She immediately got into the shower to wash away all the sweat and dirt (she had collided with someone and got sent rolling around on the ground) before checking what time it was and how Jonathan’s game was going.

It was ten forty-five when she called Jonathan. The game had ended not too long before. He picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Jon,” she greeted. “How’d it go?”

“Pretty shitty, we lost,”he sighed. “I had a pretty bad feeling about the game. I mean, I got a goal, but it was still pretty brutal.”

“I’m sorry,” Lacey said, sounding sincere. “You’ll do well in Game Six though, I know it. That’s Tuesday, right?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “How was your game?”

“We won 3-1,” she said. “We’re playing our second game against MSU on Tuesday, too.”

“Hey, congrats,” Jonathan grinned. “I hope we win Game Six so I can go see one of your games.”

“Are you sure you’d want to come?” Lacey questioned. “I mean, having the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks at a college soccer tournament might cause a bit of a stir.”

“You’re my girlfriend,” he said simply. “I want to be there for you.”

Lacey felt her heart melt into one big, gooey mess. “You’re too good to me, Jon.”

“Well, I care about you. I just want you to know it.”

“And I do,” she smiled, biting her lip slightly. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem,” he replied. “I’m going to sleep now, though. We’ve got to head out to Vancouver in a few hours so we can have all day tomorrow to practice and finish this up.”

“Okay,” Lacey nodded. “Bye, Jon. Have a safe trip and good luck on Tuesday.”

“Bye, Lacey,” he said. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

They both hung up the phone and Lacey laid in her bed staring up at the ceiling. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm the rapid beating of her heart. She had never met a guy like Jonathan who had made her feel so weak in the knees from just hearing the sound of his voice.

Lacey got up and turned off all the lights and made sure the front door was locked before heading back to her room. She pulled the covers up to her chin and sighed loudly, contented with everything. For once in a long time, it felt like everything was going right. From outside her window, the distant sound of an airplane taking flight lulled her to sleep.