Whatever It Takes

“Sorry, excuse me,” Arianna said as she made her way through the row and around those who were already seated. David followed closely behind her, thanking everyone as they made room for them to get to their seats.

She sighed with content as she finally sat down in her seat, her heart racing as she was overcome with the scent of the arena. The familiar smell always made her heart race with excitement.

“This should be a really good game. I’m so pumped to finally see the Hawks play in person,” David told her as he sat down in his seat beside her. He leaned slightly down in his seat, his leg carelessly falling to the side to connect with hers. She turned and gave him a warm smile although her insides bubbled with nerves.

“Yeah, definitely going to be a game worth remembering,” she responded as she glanced at the empty ice. As much as she was angry with Patrick this probably wasn’t the best situation to be in.

Sitting with your ex-boyfriend while you’re mad at your current boyfriend and neither one of them know about the other wasn’t ideal. Arianna turned her head and looked at David who had just bought a beer from the walking vendor.

“Want anything?” he asked as he turned and looked at her before the vendor walked off.

“Nope, I’m good. Thanks,” she replied as she began to play with the ends of her hair.

“You ok?” he asked curiously as he watched her fidget in her chair. She opened her mouth to respond when she heard the familiar sound of skates on ice. Her head turned to look at the ice as she heard the crowd erupt in a mix of boos and cheers.

There came the boys in a rush of black and red, exiting from behind the bench and jumping out onto the ice to warm up. The coaching staff made their way behind the bench as they geared up with their plays and extra hockey sticks.

She could see some of the guys stop and pass by the bench to talk to the coaches, nodding seriously before skating off to continue to warm up. Her eyes focused on each one of them, looking for the one face she wanted to see the most.

Almost as if he sensed her looking for him, he appeared in front of her. Patrick skated toward the bench asking the coach a question. He nodded in response to whatever the coach said as his eyes glazed over the crowd and finally landed on hers.

A smile spread across his lips, as he looked at her, his excitement evident in his eyes. Arianna smiled back in response, her nerves spreading quicker than fire on gasoline.

“Why is Patrick Kane smiling at you?” David leaned in and asked her, his voice filled with interest. She broke her eye contact with Patrick to turn and look at David.

“There’s something you should know…remember I said I was seeing someone in Chicago?” she told his quickly as she glanced back to Patrick.

Just as she expected, Patrick’s eyes immediately fell onto David when he had moved in to speak to her.

She could see the curiosity build up in his eyes as his smile vanished, his body tensing up underneath his equipment. He made no effort to shield his emotions on his face, which depicted his distaste for this handsome guy sitting so close to his girlfriend.

He glanced back at her one last time, his eyes confused and jealous. She could do nothing else but shrug her shoulders and give him a small smile. He shook his head in response and skated away before she could do anything else.

“Oh God Anna...don’t tell me…”David said as he finally put two and two together. He leaned back in his seat and rubbed his face with one of his hands.

She turned her body to face David more, crossing one of her legs underneath the other. Her face turned once more to glance at the ice to see Patrick shoot the puck at the net. As the puck went in he glanced back up to where they sat, his face blank.

“David, please, no one knows…please don’t tell anyone,” she pleaded with him as she reached out and touched his arm.

He glanced at her and shook his head, almost as if he was confused and shocked.

“Don’t you know how much better you can do?” he asked her, disbelief on his face.

“Don’t say that,” she replied simply, not finding it in her to fight to defend Patrick more. She could feel her stomach flip as it immediately thought back to the pictures and stories of before.

“Anna, I’ve heard stories about him. I just don’t see you with someone like that…can you honestly tell me that you think this is the best decision?” he asked her concerned as he glanced back to the ice.

She followed David’s gaze onto the ice where the players continued to practice. Patrick now stood alongside Sharpie as they shuffled the puck around but were in the midst of what seemed like a serious conversation.

“I don’t know…” she replied as she continued to stare at Patrick. She suddenly wasn’t so excited for the game anymore

***

The final buzzer rang signaling the end of the game as the crowd at the Air Canada Center dispersed quickly. The Hawks jumped over the bench and crowded around each other on the ice, congratulating each other on a job well done for their win.

The game had been one of the most uncomfortable 3 hours of Arianna’s life. David had been acting weird the entire game, their conversation having come to a screeching halt. Neither one of them knew what to say to the other. Patrick was playing messy and kept glancing back at her. He did pass one amazing assist to Jon but that was only after he yelled at him to snap out of it.

They stood up out of their seats and made their way into the aisle with the rest of the crowd. Arianna turned to see the boys leaving the ice one by one and escape into the locker room.

“So…do I get a chance to meet him?” David broke the silence as they walked up the stairs. Arianna turned and gave him a curious glance.

“You want to? I thought you didn’t really like him…” she replied as she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

“I can’t judge someone I don’t know right?” he said, “I’m sorry for my reaction before…it just really caught me off guard” he tried to explain.

“It’s ok,” Arianna told him as she touched his hand, “I understand in a way. He sometimes makes it hard for strangers to like him,” she tried to joke as she laugh lightly. David gave her a small smile in return as they took off in the direction of the locker room

***

Arianna and David stood around in the spare room that visiting team’s families waited in. She recognized a few of the other girlfriends and wives in the room and smiled at them brightly even though she felt nauseous inside.

Before she could change her mind and leave the boys began to pile in through the adjoining door. She spotted him immediately through the crowd as he found her instantly as well. He moved through everyone effortless as he approached them.

There would always be something about him that made her feel butterflies. Maybe it was his confidence or maybe it was his charm. Whatever it was it always left her momentarily struck in a trance. She memorized him in his dark suit and baby blue dress shirt that he left unbuttoned at the top.

“Hi babe,” he said softly as he reached over and place his hand on her waist, leaning down to give her lips a warm kiss. It was almost instinctive how she fell into him so perfectly, her mind forgetting that she was mad at him.

“Great game!” she said as she tried to convince him it wasn’t as bad as he probably knew it had been. “Yeah, I guess, thanks. We both know I’ve played better though,” he commented, almost as if he could read her mind.

She scrunched her nose up in agreement as she rubbed her hand against his forearm. For a moment they were silent and just stood there, that close and personal. Although it seemed on the outside like everything was fine, they both could feel this uneasy tension between them.

David coughed loudly from beside them, reminding them both that he stood right there. Arianna pulled away from Patrick and turned to face David, a small blush appearing on her face.

“I’m Patrick. You must be Samuel’s son,” Patrick said in a polite and friendly tone, as he stuck his hand out. As much as he didn’t trust this guy he would be on his best behavior.

After all, this guy knew Arianna’s family and more than anything he wanted them to like him. Didn’t change the fact though that Patrick could spot from a mile away this guy trying to hit on his girlfriend.

“Yeah, I’m David. Nice to meet you,” David said back as he extending his hand and shook Patrick’s. Arianna studied Patrick’s face, waiting for the realization to hit him of who this was. If Patrick had figured it out though, he didn’t show it as he took back his hand.

“Same. So you guys up to come out with the guys? We were planning on checking out a local bar since our flight’s not until tomorrow morning,” Patrick explained as he shrugged his bag higher up on his shoulder. Before Arianna could object David spoke up quickly.

“Yeah that sounds chill. Which bar were you think of?” he asked as he crossed his arms across his chest. Patrick gave him a weird look, his eyebrows furrowed together slightly.

“Well we were kind of hoping Ari and you could suggest to us a good one…”Patrick responded like it was obvious. Arianna took this as her cue to jump in before it got worse.

“Sounds like a plan! Go back to your hotel and change and I’ll pass by with Marissa and pick up you and whoever else is ready by then,” she told him as she reached out and touched his arm.

He looked at her and for the first time that night she could see some happiness come from behind his small smile. A piece inside of her broke because she knew everything was still a huge mess. And for the first time in a long time she wasn’t sure if things could fix themselves.

***

The bar was packed from wall to wall with people drinking and having a great night. Thankfully Arianna’s uncle knew the owner to the bar and got them all a secluded table in the back after she made a quick phone call. It wasn’t the custom to reserve tables but once the owner heard it was for the Blackhawks he quickly made an exception. He wasn’t stupid; he knew it would give him great publicity.

Arianna thanked the bartender for her glass of water and carefully weaved her way through the crowd of people to get back to her table. So far the night was going fine and everyone seemed to be having fun.

It was obvious though that Patrick knew something was wrong with her but he hadn’t asked her about it yet. She knew it was only a matter of time before he did though.

Her head was spinning with thoughts; did she even have a right to be mad? This all seemed so dragged out to her. Was it really a lie if he just never mentioned it? It baffled her because as the day went by she felt so betrayed and yet she doubted if she had a reason to be.

As she approached the table she could see Marissa and Jon flirting heavily at one end of the table together, their legs touching as Marissa kept inching closer. Across from them in a huddle sat Sharpie, Seabrook and Patrick who were talking to David.

She felt nervous as she approached the gang, smiling at the others who were scattered around the table. The boys erupted into a fit of laughter and her heart calmed for a second as she saw Patrick’s face light up. Everything seemed to be fine so far.

“There’s my girl,” Patrick said with a smile as he wrapped his arm around her waist as she stood beside him. She couldn’t help herself as she smiled down at him, her free arm going around his shoulders. His hand gave her a light squeeze as it traveled down the side of her leg.

“How come you never told us you took horse back riding lessons?” Sharpie questioned as a wicked smile spread across his lips. Arianna turned to stare at David in horror, her mouth hanging open.

“Please don’t tell me you told them about my incident with the fence and the mud!” she cried out in embarrassment as David gave her an apologetic look.

“It’s too good of a story not to share! And you were 17, it’s not that bad…you were still a kid,” he tried to reason with her.

“I was not 17! You’re such a liar! I was 15 max,” she replied, convinced he was mistaken. Patrick beside her laughed at her protest, his head titling slightly so it grazed her toned stomach.

“No you were 17. I remember it perfectly because it was a year before I asked you out. And when I did you complained that ever since I made you fall it hurts you to dance in heels. Which was a total lie by the way. You danced fine every time we went out,” David rebutted as he took a sip from his drink casually.

Arianna froze as she heard the words leave his mouth. Maybe Patrick hadn’t caught on? No such luck though. She could feel Patrick’s hand go tense and loosely fall away from her hips. His head shifted away from her body as he cleared his throat.

“Wait, you two dated?” Seabrook asked as he starred between the two of them curiously.

“Yeah…we dated for two years. Didn’t you guys know that?” David asked skeptically, almost as if it was an obvious fact.

“No…didn’t get the memo,” was all Patrick said before he shot up out of his chair and charged his way through the crowd in a fit of rage.

“Fuck,” Arianna said under her breath as she shot after him. “Patrick!” she yelled as she grabbed his arm and tugged on it. “Stop it,” she said to him as he finally turned back to face her.

“You fucking knew this whole time that it was him coming, and you didn’t tell me. Why the fuck not Ari?” he yelled at her as he pulled his arm out of her grasp. “What did you think I would do? Was honesty too hard for you?”.

“That’s a really hilarious comment coming out of your mouth,” she challenged him back as she narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re the number one person who can’t seem to be honest,” she continued as she raised her voice. Although the music was playing, all the guys and Marissa at the other end of the table could hear them.

“What’s that suppose to be mean?” he asked her confused, as he tried to keep his temper in check. His pulse was racing as he felt himself grow angrier every time he saw David’s face.

No wonder he picked up an uneasy vibe from the guy. It was her ex-boyfriend. Her first love, like she had told him. He wouldn’t have cared if she had been honest. It might have bothered him a bit and he might have been jealous, but all of this could have been avoided.

“It means I know all about your sleazy past. Did you really think you could hide it? That I wouldn’t find out? There’s such a thing as the internet you know,” she told him as she took a step toward him.

“I asked you once if what Jamie had said was true. And you brushed it off as nothing more than just a jealous ex fling spreading shit. I’m not dumb Pat, I know you had plenty of girls before me. I just didn’t realize it was to that extent…”she said more calmly as she looked him in the eyes.

“Ari…how can you blame a guy for trying to hide something he wasn’t proud of from the one girl he cares about so much?” he asked her back, his anger subdued as he realized he was screwed. They both had messed up that night; that was for sure. But her dishonesty came from his choice to not be honest in the first place.

“You know what hurts the most Patrick?” she asked him, her voice just low enough for only him to hear. “It’s not that you had all those other girls and you were a player and you behaved like that…it’s that you didn’t trust me enough to be honest…I told you from the first time I met you that trust meant everything to me…”.

She could feel a tear slid down her cheek as she quickly reached up and whipped it away. Her eyes looked back into his as she shook her head in confusion.

“It may not be something you’re proud of, but after everything we’ve been through you should have known better. You should of known that if you had trusted me and been honest I would have never judged you”.

Arianna turned and glanced back at David and Marissa, who sat amongst the rest of the gang in silence. They all looked at each other uncomfortably as they were unsure what to do or say.

“I want to go home now if you guys don’t mind,” she told the two of them as they nodded in response. They both got up and began to collect their belongings.

“Ari, wait. Please don’t leave like this,” Patrick begged her as he grabbed her hands. “It’s not like you were honest tonight either,” he began as he caught her eyes with his.

“How do you think it makes me feel to know you kept your ex-boyfriend a secret from me tonight? Why would you even do that? Is it because you still have something for him?” Patrick asked her as she pulled her hands away from him.

His statement was ridiculous; he knew that. But he couldn’t help the jealousy he felt inside and couldn’t help but try to make her feel some sympathy for him.

“Grow up Patrick,” was all she said before she pushed past him and emerged herself into the crowd. He wanted to run after her but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see David standing there beside him.

“You should know that she’s crazy about you,” David began as he put his hands in his pockets. “It might not mean much to you coming from me. But trust me when I say that she’s in over her head for you. I know her better than most people and even though she didn’t say it me…I can just tell”.

“I just wish you knew how lucky you were…because if you did you would know not to let a girl like her go. She’s not in love with me anymore…” David finished as he gave him a sympathetic head nod and followed the path she had taken through the crowd towards the door.

Patrick watched as his body disappeared amidst the crowd. His brain raced with the comments David had said. What the hell was he going to do now?