As Fate Would Have It
Speed
I didn't want to make him do this, even though I wasn't making him do anything. Ellie was making him do this, though Kris had tried to convinced me the entire way to the car that he was more than happy to take this girl home because nobody else would. The first time I meet the player of my dreams and he probably thinks I'm a complete loser. At least if I had taken a taxi I could have silently wept the entire way home about my foolish encounter with Kris Letang, and four other members of the Penguins team, and stayed as far away from CEC as possible.
I didn't live far from Consol, though the drive was a good fifteen minutes, on a good day. The game traffic was almost gone, but that didn't mean the streets were free and clear. By the looks of it, this car ride was going to take longer than I would have hoped. Sitting in silence through the streets of Pittsburgh seemed like a terrible idea. Kris was going out of his way to help me out. The least I could do was try to offer up some sort of stimulating conversations, but about what?
"Beautiful night," was the first and only phrase that popped into my head. The filter that blocked my thoughts from becoming words seemed to be out of order tonight, and I would say just about anything that came to mind. This was just the beginning of what could be a long, long car ride.
At first, Kris said nothing. Just looked straight ahead with the hint of a grin on his face. I felt my eyes narrow on the grin as I adjusted myself in the passenger's seat of his lavish sports car. If I hate it my way, I would just look at this man's face and study it until I knew everything about it. Ever scar, every freckly, even every whisker. It took every ounce of restraint I had to keep my hands in my lap and not reach out to touch him. Part of me still believe this was a dream, but that quickly vanished when he spoke, "Not nearly as beautiful as you."
Blinking. That was it. The only response my body to even come close to managing. Blinking. I must look like an idiot just sitting there blinking in his general direction. We must have been at a stop light because the car had ceased all movement, and he was now waving his hand in front of my face, "Did you zone out again?" He asked, making me feel like an even bigger loser than I was before.
"What did you say?"
"I asked if you zoned out aga..."
"No, no. Before that. What did you say before that?" I kept hoping that I had heard him wrong and he had said something else. Maybe that the night wasn't nearly as beautiful as an ewe. Why he would be comparing the night to a female sheep, God only knows, but it would make more sense than tell me I was beautiful.
Don't get me wrong. My self-esteem has never been low. I've gotten a fair share of compliments, had my share of boyfriends and what not. Not once had I believed I was ugly or undesirable. Like any other female in the world, I would sit down and pick apart my flaws, but it was usually during my period while I sat on the couch with a pint of Ben & Jerry's, crying my eyes out over some sappy love story. Hearing a professional hockey player call you beautiful though just couldn't be true.
"I said the night isn't nearly as beautiful as you," Kris answered, as we pulled through the stop light.
"Why would you say that?" I blurted out. Shock was still the only feeling I had, and it didn't appear to go away.
Kris' eyes fell on me as he drove down the street, looking confused by my question. That's when the awkwardness returned to the scene and I felt terrible. 'Normal girls just say thank you,' I thought to myself. Letting my head fall slightly, I turned back in my seat before sinking down in it. What had I done? Just blown every single chance I had ever had with Kris. "I said it because it's true," he started, glancing from the road to me periodically. From the glimpses of his expression I could gather with my peripheral vision, he looked confused, and even a little hurt. However, not even that was enough to stop my next words.
"If you're saying that to just sleep with me, you can drop me off right here and I'll find a taxi to take me the rest of the way. I'm not going to just be some...some puck bunny that goes around sleeping with the players just to flaunt that I have," I stop to take a breath, not sure where I'm going with this, "It might not look like it, but I have a boyfriend who cares about me a lot. I wouldn't have even been at that game without him. He means everything to me, so...so...," I felt myself getting so flustered that I didn't even know what else to say.
Now he really did look hurt. Did I really think so little about Kris that I would just assume he's out to sleep with me? Did I really believe that he wasn't a genuine guy who was just trying to help me out? Was I just scared of the whole situation? That wasn't even a question. I was scared. Scared of making a huge fool of myself, and look what I had just done. Turning my head back to the man next to me, I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. "Kris, I...I didn't mean that. I'm sorry. I just...this is all kind of weird for me."
Still, he didn't say a word. I found myself looking at my hands that were running slowly over the leather of the seat. It felt an eternity before I broke the silence again, feeling terrible about my outburst. And as my luck would have it, we stopped at a light right as I decided to speak. Slowly, I reached my arm over and put it on his arm, which cause him to look right in my eyes.
"Look, Kris, I am truly sorry. That was uncalled for," I heard myself start, that filter of mine lost again, "you're really sweet for taking me home. And Ian was a prick for straight up leaving me for business." My eyes search his for any signs of forgiveness, though I didn't know why I was trying so hard. I might not ever see him again. I had always hated leaving things on a sour note though. "Forgive me?" I flashed my best smile, which probably turned into one of the weirdest expressions I have, but it did the trick.
Kris smiled, and even let out a small laugh before he pulled through the light, taking a right turn onto my street, as instructed by his GPS. "I forgive you," he admitted, "but only on two conditions."
I felt my eyebrows raise at this. What on earth could he possibly need or want from me? I had already told him he was getting no sex out of me tonight. He didn't need money, which was pretty obvious from the car we were currently sitting in. So, what could it be?
"First, you come to our next home game," Kris started as he pulled in front of my building slowly, "And second, you get a drink with me afterwards."
My face must have been displaying a very confused look by the laugh he had just given me. A game and a drink? That's what he wanted? The demands didn't seem too farfetched, and I could easily comply to them both, assuming I could get off of the night shift of work. Processing these requests was almost too much for me to comprehend because the only response I could muster up was a nod of my head and a faint smile.
"Great. I'll mail the tickets to you," the light seemed to return to his face after that. Leaning over the center console, Kris gave me a soft peck on the cheek before the doorman opened the passenger's side door. "Goodnight, Savannah. I'll see you in a few days."
I didn't live far from Consol, though the drive was a good fifteen minutes, on a good day. The game traffic was almost gone, but that didn't mean the streets were free and clear. By the looks of it, this car ride was going to take longer than I would have hoped. Sitting in silence through the streets of Pittsburgh seemed like a terrible idea. Kris was going out of his way to help me out. The least I could do was try to offer up some sort of stimulating conversations, but about what?
"Beautiful night," was the first and only phrase that popped into my head. The filter that blocked my thoughts from becoming words seemed to be out of order tonight, and I would say just about anything that came to mind. This was just the beginning of what could be a long, long car ride.
At first, Kris said nothing. Just looked straight ahead with the hint of a grin on his face. I felt my eyes narrow on the grin as I adjusted myself in the passenger's seat of his lavish sports car. If I hate it my way, I would just look at this man's face and study it until I knew everything about it. Ever scar, every freckly, even every whisker. It took every ounce of restraint I had to keep my hands in my lap and not reach out to touch him. Part of me still believe this was a dream, but that quickly vanished when he spoke, "Not nearly as beautiful as you."
Blinking. That was it. The only response my body to even come close to managing. Blinking. I must look like an idiot just sitting there blinking in his general direction. We must have been at a stop light because the car had ceased all movement, and he was now waving his hand in front of my face, "Did you zone out again?" He asked, making me feel like an even bigger loser than I was before.
"What did you say?"
"I asked if you zoned out aga..."
"No, no. Before that. What did you say before that?" I kept hoping that I had heard him wrong and he had said something else. Maybe that the night wasn't nearly as beautiful as an ewe. Why he would be comparing the night to a female sheep, God only knows, but it would make more sense than tell me I was beautiful.
Don't get me wrong. My self-esteem has never been low. I've gotten a fair share of compliments, had my share of boyfriends and what not. Not once had I believed I was ugly or undesirable. Like any other female in the world, I would sit down and pick apart my flaws, but it was usually during my period while I sat on the couch with a pint of Ben & Jerry's, crying my eyes out over some sappy love story. Hearing a professional hockey player call you beautiful though just couldn't be true.
"I said the night isn't nearly as beautiful as you," Kris answered, as we pulled through the stop light.
"Why would you say that?" I blurted out. Shock was still the only feeling I had, and it didn't appear to go away.
Kris' eyes fell on me as he drove down the street, looking confused by my question. That's when the awkwardness returned to the scene and I felt terrible. 'Normal girls just say thank you,' I thought to myself. Letting my head fall slightly, I turned back in my seat before sinking down in it. What had I done? Just blown every single chance I had ever had with Kris. "I said it because it's true," he started, glancing from the road to me periodically. From the glimpses of his expression I could gather with my peripheral vision, he looked confused, and even a little hurt. However, not even that was enough to stop my next words.
"If you're saying that to just sleep with me, you can drop me off right here and I'll find a taxi to take me the rest of the way. I'm not going to just be some...some puck bunny that goes around sleeping with the players just to flaunt that I have," I stop to take a breath, not sure where I'm going with this, "It might not look like it, but I have a boyfriend who cares about me a lot. I wouldn't have even been at that game without him. He means everything to me, so...so...," I felt myself getting so flustered that I didn't even know what else to say.
Now he really did look hurt. Did I really think so little about Kris that I would just assume he's out to sleep with me? Did I really believe that he wasn't a genuine guy who was just trying to help me out? Was I just scared of the whole situation? That wasn't even a question. I was scared. Scared of making a huge fool of myself, and look what I had just done. Turning my head back to the man next to me, I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. "Kris, I...I didn't mean that. I'm sorry. I just...this is all kind of weird for me."
Still, he didn't say a word. I found myself looking at my hands that were running slowly over the leather of the seat. It felt an eternity before I broke the silence again, feeling terrible about my outburst. And as my luck would have it, we stopped at a light right as I decided to speak. Slowly, I reached my arm over and put it on his arm, which cause him to look right in my eyes.
"Look, Kris, I am truly sorry. That was uncalled for," I heard myself start, that filter of mine lost again, "you're really sweet for taking me home. And Ian was a prick for straight up leaving me for business." My eyes search his for any signs of forgiveness, though I didn't know why I was trying so hard. I might not ever see him again. I had always hated leaving things on a sour note though. "Forgive me?" I flashed my best smile, which probably turned into one of the weirdest expressions I have, but it did the trick.
Kris smiled, and even let out a small laugh before he pulled through the light, taking a right turn onto my street, as instructed by his GPS. "I forgive you," he admitted, "but only on two conditions."
I felt my eyebrows raise at this. What on earth could he possibly need or want from me? I had already told him he was getting no sex out of me tonight. He didn't need money, which was pretty obvious from the car we were currently sitting in. So, what could it be?
"First, you come to our next home game," Kris started as he pulled in front of my building slowly, "And second, you get a drink with me afterwards."
My face must have been displaying a very confused look by the laugh he had just given me. A game and a drink? That's what he wanted? The demands didn't seem too farfetched, and I could easily comply to them both, assuming I could get off of the night shift of work. Processing these requests was almost too much for me to comprehend because the only response I could muster up was a nod of my head and a faint smile.
"Great. I'll mail the tickets to you," the light seemed to return to his face after that. Leaning over the center console, Kris gave me a soft peck on the cheek before the doorman opened the passenger's side door. "Goodnight, Savannah. I'll see you in a few days."