Sacrifices

Two weeks later the Bruins held a charity event for the local children’s hospital. It was mandatory for everyone to attend. Livia woke up at 4:30am for skating practice, then had to coach the younger girls, then worked a shift at the restaurant, then had to get all dolled up for the event. She was exhausted. The entire team and staff were in attendance as well as all the ice girls. Livia liked the ice girls well enough but some of them where obsessed with their job. For Livia it was just a way to make money and watch a game she enjoyed.

Tyler spotted her from across the room. While all the other ice girls were huddled together in the corner staring at the players, the girl he saw a few weeks ago on the ice was helping a little girl twirl on the dance floor so her dress spun. She was so beautiful in her dark blue dress. She was dressed perfectly. Not like the other girls in scantily clad clothing. She was sexy but still appropriate. She had makeup on but didn’t need it. Tyler didn’t like all the girls that threw themselves at the players. He could be like a lot of the guys in the NHL and be a playboy, but majority of his team were family men and most of them had steady faithful relationships. After he watched her spend time with the children he found himself making his way over to her. He wasn’t normally a forward guy. Being in the public eye gave him a little bit of confidence, but he was still a bit shy. As he walked up she was bent down talking to a little boy and girl about hockey. They wanted to talk to some hockey players but where nervous and scared. She was explaining that they were just regular people who were very good at a sport they loved doing and it just happened to be their job. He never thought to explain it that way. “Why are they all dressed up like penguins?” the little boy asked. “It’s because we love being around ice and penguins love ice.” Tyler said as he bent down to meet the little boy. The little boy was in shock. “Oh wow! You’re Tyler Seguin! You are one of my favorite players! I play Right Wing just like you!”

“Thanks buddy! I’m sure when you get older you’ll be better at it than me.” Tyler said. He took the program the boy was holding out to him and signed it. Livia watched the exchange between the two of them while Tyler pointed something out in the program to him. She’d always loved the Bruins growing up and followed them throughout the years. She knew most of the players, but not him. Although his name sounded familiar, she wasn’t paying close attention in the past year because of her crazy schedule. Was he new to the team? This is the time she wished the other ice girls were around to help her out so she didn’t look stupid. He was certainly handsome. He had short brown hair with light brown eyes to match. She didn’t realize the whole time she was standing there, he was staring at her.

“So do you normally just hang out with the little kids at these events?” He asked her as the little boy ran off to show his dad the signature he got. He straightened himself up and shifted his feet. He was tall. Livia didn’t realize how tall until they were face to face. She was 5’6 normally but had huge heels on and he still had a good two inches on her. She smiled “It’s better than hanging out with some people during these things.” He looked around briefly and saw all the other girls huddled in a corner worried about what they looked like and who was looking at them. Tyler hated that. He instantly knew what she meant. He wasn’t sure what to say next.
“Well what about hanging out with me?” Tyler realized how cheesy it sounded the second it left his lips. It sounded like a pick up line, but she didn’t miss a beat. “Hmmm. I’m not sure. I don’t know you. You could be like the rest of them. You said your name was Tyler right?” She raised one eyebrow at him as he shook his head yes. “What was your name? You never mentioned it.” He asked her. “My name is Livia.” She said as she stuck out her right hand for him to shake. She felt silly doing so but he responded warmly to it and firmly shook her hand a little longer than normal. They stood there awkwardly for a moment in silence. Not knowing what should come next. Finally Tyler spoke.

“You work at the garden right? I think I’ve seen you around a few times.” “Yea I work as one of the ice girls for extra money and when it is available I practice there. My coach is good friends with the owner.” Tyler’s face lit up. “Practice?” She smiled and said “yea I am a competitive figure skater. I’ve been practicing for the last year for the Olympics.” As she said this she made a slight face and cringed inside. She always gets mixed reactions to figure skating, especially from people involved in hockey organizations. Being called an ice princess made her skin crawl. Tyler had a huge grin on his face. She knew what was coming, but she couldn’t help but stare at his lips instead of preparing to defend her sport.

“OH WOW! That is so cool! Figure skating is one of my favorite Olympic sports to watch, besides hockey of course.” Livia tried to pay attention to the way he said it. She detected no sarcasm. “Seriously?” She said. “I don’t usually get that response from hockey players. Ever” He chuckled. “Yes seriously. Hockey players are just jealous because they know they could never move that gracefully on the ice. That’s why they hate on the sport.” She found herself blushing at his words. “You just made me day.” She said. They just stood and stared at each other for a moment. Tyler’s cheeks turned a red shade as well. Just in time, the Organizer for the event took the stage and asked everyone to be seated. They both stood there for a moment not knowing what to say to one another. Tyler finally spoke up. “So you’ll be around later? Maybe I’ll come and steal you for a dance.” She outwardly giggled at him and said maybe as they both walked back to their tables.