I'm Addicted to the Thrill

We drove out of the parking lot only stopping briefly so that Patrick could sign autographs for the few fans waiting for any players left as they cleared out for lunch. The fans all smiled, but a few of the girls who were standing there glared at me once they noticed I was sitting there in his passenger seat. The look they gave me made me think of the death threats that Selena Gomez had gotten over Twitter because of her relationship with Justin Beiber, but the idea of me dating Patrick Kane and somehow comparing ourselves to Beiber-Gomez like romance was ridiculous. I laughed at that out loud and realized that Patrick had rolled up his window only to stare at me like I was a lunatic.

“Something funny?” asked Patrick. I shrugged, and he drove on out of the United Center.

He and I made small chat. He asked where the accent I had was from, and I told him the whole story about how I lived in New Hampshire until I was twelve then moved to Tennessee before going to school in Illinois. He nodded along listening only interrupting to ask a few more questions. I ended talking about my major then we sat in silence.

“So, do you like Greek food?” Patrick wondered as he pulled into the parking lot of the Parthenon. He raised an eyebrow and stared at me waiting for an answer.

“Sure. I’ve never had it before. My family never really did ethnic foods, and my friends all just like eating hamburgers,” I answered. He laughed at me then got out. I followed suit and just hoped that there would be something here I would recognize or even like eating.

Patrick led the way into the restaurant. The smell made me actually hungry. The hostess led the way to a table and told Patrick how she couldn’t wait until the game tomorrow night. I could feel the glare she gave me in the back of the head without even turning to watch her walk away. If this was going to be recurring thing, I may just have to cut my losses now and spend time with different Blackhawks just to make sure I wouldn’t get daggers stared into me.

I sat there only talking to order gyros and a glass of water. As Patrick ordered, I let my mind wander. It wasn’t until I realized that he was kicking me under the table that I remembered where I was and who I was with. He smiled at me and then leaned forward with his elbows on the table.

“Are you going to the game tomorrow?” asked Patrick. He seemed to be annoyed as though he was asking the question for the third time. I shrugged then shook my head. His eyebrows furrowed, and the corners of his mouth turned down. “Well, do you want to? Niki and Madi will probably accept you and let you sit with them in their box. I’ll text Jonny to ask Niki.”

I raised an eyebrow. Something about him telling me that he could get me to sit with two girls that I didn’t know was a good sign. As far as I could pick up from what he said was that Niki was close to Jonathan Toews, and that Madi was either a friend of hers or someone who was close to a different player. I was being accepted, and I hadn’t even lived here for a week. My life was looking up. Now if only I had someone I could brag about this to. Well, that was what my roommate was going to be for.

Patrick sat there texting still. He grinned triumphantly once his phone vibrated once again. He looked at me then laughed. I wondered what Mr. Kane was planning or thinking. I opened my mouth to say something when a waiter placed the plates of food in front of us. He walked off without a word, but Nolan, or at least that’s what he said his name was, came off with a red shirt asking for an autograph. Pat complied and smiled as the boy left our table again.

“So do you want me to go to the game?” I asked him. His cheeks became a little flushed as he looked down at his plate. Patrick raised his gaze as he forked some of his food to his mouth and nodded. I rolled my eyes and pushed the food on my plate around a little bit. I stabbed a piece of the meat and held it up to inspect it.

“Eat it. You’ll like it,” grinned Pat. “Oh, and Niki texted me to say that she’d love to meet you.”

I took a bite as was instructed then slowly chewed and swallowed. He was right. I did like it, but I wasn’t focusing so much on the food than what he said. Niki wanted to meet me. Who was she? The idea of him setting me up with friends was almost upsetting. I had always liked making my friends the old fashion way: different connections that I made. Patrick Kane setting me up with a friend was like my parents trying to get me to date the son of one of their colleagues. I felt pathetic and just ate quietly.

“Niki is Jonny’s girl if you were curious. She and Madi want you to join them at the game tomorrow. Anna’s gonna kill me, but I want you to hang out with them there, ok?” said Patrick. I looked up at him and laughed.

“I don’t want my supervisor to murder me and you on my second day,” I grinned at him.

He finished his food as I put mine into a to go box. Nolan thanked him again for the autograph and told us how excited he was about opening night. There was something about the fans that we had run into so far that made me feel good about who I was with in public.

We pulled up in front of the United Center. Patrick told me to go get my ID badge and come back out. I ran up to the door, and the security guard let me in without having to check with anyone about my clearance. He nodded and opened the door. I could feel my spirits soaring. This was the best first day of work any girl could have possibly dreamed of.

“Danielle! Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you!” yelled Anna when she saw me sitting in front of the camera. They took the picture right as I looked startled prompting me to need a new picture. She waited to approach this time until I had an acceptable picture.

Anna walked over to me quickly. My gut told me to turn and run. Never before had I had such fear of a girl who was barely my height. She put a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye. She was waiting for an answer to where I had been.

“I was at lunch with P. Kane. He’s waiting to show me around the city,” answered I. She rolled her eyes and took her hand off of my shoulder.

“Honey, he’s just trying to get in your pants. Don’t fall for it,” said Anna. With that she walked away from me. I stared after her and bit my lip. I didn’t want to believe her, but what if she was right? I couldn’t allow myself to get close to him or be as vulnerable as a girl who liked him was now. I stood where I was and wondered if I really should go back outside and get in his car.