Lightweight

The next morning Whitney called me to take up my offer on going to lunch because she figured we could get to know each other at least before we started working together so it wouldn’t be awkward, and I agreed with her completely. Things were never awkward between us, I felt like I knew her my whole life. She told me all about where she grew up, her family, and all about working for Anna. I told her all about my parents, making the move to Chicago and how me and Pat have been friends since we were little kids, working for Nancy, and of course I had to throw in there what happened yesterday with Jonathan which she got a kick out of. The whole time I was telling her the story she tried so hard not to laugh until I was done. Then she let it all out and was laughing for a good 5 minutes.

“So let me get this straight” Whitney said in between laughs during lunch, “Your best friend is Patrick Kane who’s best friends with Jonathan Toews” I nodded and she continued, “yesterday when you were going to meet his teammates you rain into Jonathan resulting in iced tea ending up on the both of you?”

To make matters worse, after we hung out with the guys, Jonathan asked Patrick for a ride home which ended up being one of the most awkward car rides I’ve ever experienced. After Pat dropped Jonathan off, he pretty much figured out that I was the one who caused the iced tea accident and gave me shit for it all the way home. Thank God Viktor and Brent were clueless, and Pat promised not to tell them, because between the 3 of them, I felt like I would never live it down.

“You forgot the part where he randomly showed up at our table and I had no idea who he was” I put my head in my hands, “I can’t believe I didn’t realize who he was sooner. I’m such an idiot”

She took a sip of her water and smirked, “I don’t know how you didn’t notice it either. If I bumped into Jonathan Toews-” She shook her head, “He’s basically one of Chicago’s biggest bachelors next to Patrick, not to mention the boy is absolutely gorgeous. Millions of other girls would have killed to be in your place”

“It was horrifying! I wish they were in my place” I shouted with my head still in my hands, “I’m sure several people saw and are now talking about it in places everywhere. Pat’s been giving me hell about it since he found out, I’m pretty sure he realized it since Jonathan came back and I turned red like a tomato and couldn’t even look at the guy”

“It’s really not that big of a deal, Mia” She laughed and I looked up at her. I didn’t see how she thought this was so funny when I was so embarrassed, “It could be worse. If it makes headlines in the newspaper, I’ll allow you to freak out as much as you want”

“You should have seen his face though Whit! The guy was pissed, you would have thought the shirt he was wearing cost him his entire salary”

“He probably has a million of the same shirts in his closet. He’s a superstar hockey player, I doubt that shirt meant that much to him. And if it did, I’d be a little concerned, he’d be worse than any other girls I know”

I smiled, “You’re probably right. I just don’t want to have to deal with being embarrassed around him. If we ever have drinks around each other I’m going to make sure I stay far away from him” I looked down at my phone and saw that I had a text from Patrick: ‘Won’t be able to shop today, another team meeting. Buy me some good stuff, I’ll pay you back and you know I won’t take no for an answer’

I looked up at Whitney who had a confused look on her face and shook my head, “Patrick. We were supposed to go food shopping today since the boy literally has no food in his house, and also to get some things for the house but now he cancelled on me because I guess Jonathan or the coach called another team meeting. Do you want to tag along?” I figured since Patrick couldn’t come along, I could have some much needed girl time and not have Pat complaining about what I was buying or picking out useless items that would do us no good.

She shrugged, “Sure I have no where to be, do you want to drive?” I shrugged and she tossed me her keys. As we were walking to the car, I asked her a question that I was dying to get off my mind all day, “Hey, Whit, are you single? I think I need to play matchmaker”

“No, no, no, no, no” She protested as we were driving to the nearest grocery store, “I am not letting you hook me up with Chicago’s player Patrick Kane, no offense Mia, but you don’t know what half those girls say about him”

“Come on! Give him a chance. Who are you going to trust? Me or those other girls who are probably saying anything they could for their fifteen minutes of fame?” Out of the corner of my eyes I saw her thinking about my comment, and before she could protest I continued my quest of persuasion, “Pat’s actually a really great guy, I would know, I’ve been his best friend for like a billion years. I’m convinced he hasn’t found the right girl yet, and I wouldn’t trust him with anyone else besides you at this point”

She looked over at me in surprise, “No offense, Mia. But we just met yesterday, we don’t really know each other that well”

She was right, but I knew she wasn’t like other girls Pat had dated, she was a sweet down to earth girl, “Yes, but 45 minutes was enough time for me to realize that you’re not a puck bunny like he’s recently dated. Trust me, I’ve seen him date some pretty bad ones” I shivered thinking about the many girls I’ve seen Patrick with in pictures, they were either too stupid to function or they used him as arm candy and because he was rich and famous, “You don’t think he’s the least bit attractive?”

She blushed and I knew I had won, “Of course I think he’s attractive” I smiled in triumph and she crossed her arms over her chest, “Okay okay, I’ll meet him and then make a judgement on my own. You win, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think he was a looker”

I’ve only been here for 2 and a half days and I managed to land a dream job and find a girl to hook my best friend up with. I think I was doing pretty well for myself. First, Whitney and I stopped at the grocery store where I picked up every possible food essential Pat would need for his house plus a coupe of extra things we’d be able to snack on. After a successful food shopping trip, I decided to stop at Ikea to pick up a rug for the living room, and some pillows for the couch to add some color to the room, as well as some things for my room and bathroom. After a long day, Whitney decided to spend some time at the house and I told her she only wanted to spend time there in hopes of meeting Patrick which caused her to blush. I was just winning this battle even more.

When we pulled up to the house, Whitney’s reaction was similar to mine the first day I got here, pure shock and amazement, “Do you mind if I move in with you? This house is absolutely amazing. I wish I had a hockey playing best friend, I need to invest in one of them, where can I find one?”

I laughed and led her through the house to show her around. Every step she took throughout the house, her amazement kept growing more. After i gave her a grand tour of the house, we decided to start putting all the food away and all the new things I bought around the house so when Pat came home he’d be surprised. By the time we were done, we were in the kitchen snacking on some chips and gossiping like teenagers and we’ve known each other forever. I heard the door open and I smiled over at Whitney and watched her eyes grow wide realizing that Patrick Kane was 30 feet from her.

“Honey, I’m home!” I heard Patrick shout which caused me to laugh, “Mia? Where are you?”

“In the kitchen Pat!” I shouted back. I heard 2 sets of footsteps heading towards the kitchen and I figured he brought home another teammate for me to meet. Maybe I’d spill something on him too and really have to hide my face forever. When he walked in the kitchen and Jonathan trailed behind him, Whitney and I were wearing matching looks. When she saw Jonathan she looked over and gave me a ‘now-we’re-both-fucked’ look.

“Hey, Mi-” Patrick stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes landed on Whitney which caused a blush to creep on her cheeks, “Who is this?”

I laughed, “Pat, this is my coworker, assistant, and new friend Whitney. Whit, this is my best friend in the whole entire world, Patrick”

Patrick being the charming bastard he was took his hand in hers and kissed the back of it, “It’s nice to meet you, Whitney” I almost threw up from how corny he was being, and laughed at the same time because Whitney kept getting redder and redder.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Patrick. Mia has told me a lot about you” Pat shot me a look and I put my hands up in defense, “I never said anything bad, all good things. Don’t worry I didn’t tell her about the time when you were a kid and thought that-” Before I could say anything else, he put a hand over my mouth. Jonathan and Whitney both had amused expressions on their face, Pat sporting a horrified one.

“Now’s not the time to relive old memories, especially in front of guests” He turned to Jonathan, “Tazer, you remember Mia”

He nodded and smiled at me, “Yeah, sure. Nice to see you again, Mia. And it’s nice to meet you Whitney”

Whitney flashed her best smile, “It’s nice to meet you too, Jonathan. I’ve heard a lot about you” I slammed my head onto the counter, Patrick was smirking, and Jonathan was surprised that she’s heard things about him. Thanks Whit, you’re a real pal. I picked my head back up off the counter and sighed, “Alright, well this is becoming awkward. So, who’s hungry? I went food shopping, so Jonathan if you want to stay you’re more than welcome too”

He smiled again, “If you don’t mind, I don’t want to be a bother and impose” I shook my head and got up to get some pasta from the cabinet, “It’s not a big deal, you’re more than welcome. Whitney’s staying” When Pat heard that his ears perked up and he smiled over at Whitney, “Really? Good, it’ll give us all more of a chance to get to know each other” I swore I saw him wink which caused Whitney to go into a fit of giggles, poor girl, she didn’t even realize the effect Pat had on a girl until she experienced it for herself.

“Is pasta and salad okay for everyone? I figured it would be the easiest thing to make” Everyone nodded and I smiled, “Alright, you guys can go hang out and watch TV, leave it to the girls”

When the guys left, Whitney turned to me and whispered, “You were right, Patrick is....something”

I smirked and began to boil the water, “You and Pat seemed to be hitting it off pretty well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone blush so much before, and I don’t think i’ve ever seen him look at a girl like the way he looks at you” I rolled my eyes, “He looks at you like you’re a Victoria’s Secret model and the most beautiful thing on this planet. In his eyes, I’m probably looking as attractive to him as Jonathan does, which I hope is not at all”

“Speaking of Jonathan,” I whipped my head around and raised my eyebrows, “Oh come on, Mia. The guy was totally checking you out”

I shook my head, “No he wasn’t, he was probably looking at me just in case I had a drink in my hand and he had to move out of my way” She shot me a look and I sighed, “Okay okay, maybe he wasn’t. But he was not checking me out”

“But you wanted him to”

“No, not really. The whole relationship thing isn’t for me,” I shrugged and put the pasta in the boiling water, “Not after my last relationship, I can’t let myself get hurt again or get too close to a guy, it always comes back to haunt me”

“What happened with your last relationship?” When I didn’t respond away she spoke again, “I’m sorry, that’s really not my business. I shouldn’t be asking. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to”

I shook my head, “It’s fine, it uh actually happened before I moved to Chicago. Long story short, I was dating a guy for a year, found out he was talking to his ex girlfriend for 6 months behind my back talking about getting back together. Before him, I never fell in love, never let my guard down, and he changed that. After him, well, I refuse to let that happen to me again”

She frowned and walked over to me to give me a hug, “I’m so sorry Mia, he’s a douchebag and obviously didn’t deserve you. I’m sorry, I had no idea, if you want I could personally go kick his ass for you”

I forced a weak smile, “It’s fine, I’m okay now, I even flipped him off when I passed his house on the way to the airport,” I laughed a little, “You and Pat have something in common, when I told him he wanted to fly to Buffalo and run him over with his car”

“Good, we’ll get along just fine then” She winked and I laughed, I could tell she was going to be one of the best friends I made in Chicago. My eyes traveled to the door where Jonathan was leaning up against the frame and Whitney turned to face him and smiled, “Well then, Mia, I think you have this whole situation under control. I think I’m going to go hang out with Pat for a bit. Okay, yeah” She ran out of the kitchen as fast as she can and left me alone with Jonathan great, time for another awkward moment featuring Toews. I decided to keep myself busy with stirring the sauce so I wouldn’t have to look at him.

“So,” He casually said moving to the counter to sit on one of the stools, “Trying to play matchmaker?”

I turned around to find him smirking, “What are you talking about? Does Pat know?”

He shook his head and laughed, “No, he doesn’t. He thinks this girl is girl he randomly stumbled upon by good luck thanks to his best friend” I let out a sigh of relief, if Pat knew he was being set up I know it would never work because it would probably hurt his pride since he thought he was playing the field pretty well and here was his best friend trying to set him up, “But since I’m so smart I was able to catch on. Good plan, it’s about time Pat settled down and found himself a good girl”

I shot him a confused look, “How’d you know she was a good girl?”

“I think you’re forgetting who I am, Mia” I rolled my eyes, I didn’t need to be dealing with a cocky hockey player, “Alright that came out completely wrong,” Nice going Toews, you’re a real Einstein. “What I meant was, I’ve been around long enough to determine right off the bat if a girl’s a puck bunny or a genuine girl. Since she blushed every time Pat looked her way and smiled at every word that came out of his mouth, I figured she was an okay girl”

I nodded and made an ‘o’ shape with my mouth, signaling that I understood where he was coming from, “Plus if Patrick’s best friends with you and always speaks so highly of you, I came to a conclusion that you’re not a puck bunny” Gee, thanks “And if you’re hanging out around her and working with her, I figured she wasn’t either and wouldn’t just use him for his money and fame”

I nodded and it became quiet for a moment as I waited for the pasta to be finished cooking. In the mean time I started making the salad, “Do you want any help? I mean I’m not exactly the best cook in the world since I live by myself and eat take out or frozen food every night, but I wouldn’t mind helping, I feel bad just sitting here”

I had to smile at how adorable and generous he was being, he didn’t have to offer to help me, he could’ve just sat there in the awkward silence like I expected him to, but he didn’t, “If you really want to, that would be great, just cut the tomatoes for me while I chop up the lettuce and cucumbers”

He nodded and washed his hands before grabbing a knife and getting to work. We were working in silence for a few moments before the tomato went slipping out of his hand and slid across the counter. I laughed and he turned pink, “I told you I wasn’t good in the kitchen”

I grabbed a paper towel and cleaned up the mess, “Alright, how about I put the salad together and you can put the dressing on and toss it while I set the table and get the pasta ready?” He nodded in agreement, and when I was done, I gave him the dressing and a spoon to mix the salad together.

As I was stirring the pasta and the sauce together, I decided to say something, “Hey, Jon?” I think that was the first time I called him Jon since the time that I met him but I thought it sounded nice coming from me.

“Hmm?” He asked, still engrossed in the work he was doing on the salad.

“I’m really sorry, about yesterday, you know, bumping into you and you spilling iced tea on your shirt” I silently thanked God in my head for letting us be doing our own things and not facing each other because I was turning as read as the sauce I was now stirring.

I heard him let out a soft chuckle, “Honestly, Mia. It’s not a big deal. I was just a little frustrated yesterday, and that kind of drove me over the edge a little bit. Looking back on it, it was pretty funny. I was worried about you, Patrick told me you told him what happened. I wasn’t going to say anything until he brought it up and told me he got it out of you”

That little sneaking Kane, if I didn’t say anything to him he never would’ve found out and I wouldn’t have gotten teased about it. As if reading my mind, Jon spoke, “I know, Kaner’s an asshole. But he means well, you’re his best friend and like his little sister, any opportunity to embarrass you, he’s going to take it”

“You have a point” I turned around expecting him to still have his back turned to me but he was looking down at me with a smile on his face and I couldn’t help but to smile back at him, he was too sweet, “Thanks Jon, I appreciate it”

“Hey guys oh-” Patrick walked in the kitchen caused Jon and I to snap out of it and look over at him. Jon rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and I was examining my nails trying not to look over at the stupid smirk of Patrick’s face.

“What do you want, Pat?” I asked as calmly as possible.

“Oh nothing” He smirked and tried not to laugh, “I was just wondering when dinner would be ready. I’m a growing boy Mia, I need food”

I rolled my eyes, “It’s ready. Quit being an idiot and go set the table for me”

The smirk never left his face, “Why? Were you too busy doing something else?” He laughed and grabbed the plates and silverware off the counter. He ran out of the room before I could successfully throw the wad of of paper towel I used to wipe Jonathan’s mess up with at him. Just another mess I’d have to clean up later.

“So, Mia, what do you and Whitney do?” Jonathan asked at dinner, I gave him credit for trying to start a conversation, it helped make the awkward silences a lot less awkward.

“Well, I’m a wedding planner, and Whitney’s my assistant basically, she helps me plan and stuff” I shot Whitney a smile which she returned, “I start my first day tomorrow”

“Hey, Mi,” Patrick interrupted through a mouth full of food, “Can you cook every night? This food is way too good”

Whitney nodded, “It really is, I think I’m going to start coming here for dinner every night” Jonathan nodded in agreement and Patrick smiled over at Whitney, “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

I shrugged and blushed a little bit, “I used to spend a lot of time with my mom and grandma in the kitchen so I guess I learned quite a bit from them”

Patrick nodded, “She’s right, it’s true. When I wanted to practice hockey and needed a goalie, she’d always be in the kitchen and it’d take forever to get her out of there”

I rolled my eyes, “That’s not true. I have the scars to prove it, it’d take me forever to get out of there because I didn’t want to have to play goalie for a ridiculous 5 hours and come out with battle wounds”

I could tell Jon and Whitney were getting amusement out of this because they were watching us back and forth like a tennis match. Patrick rolled his eyes and I knew I won the argument, “So, Mia, you haven’t met the rest of the team yet. So Jon and I were thinking about having a party here tomorrow, Whitney of course you’re invited” He winked at her and she blushed for the hundredth time that night, maybe, I don’t even know I lost count after the 50th time.

I nodded in agreement, “Okay, sure, that sounds like a lot of fun” I saw Jon smile and I smiled back. Tomorrow was my first day of work, and this big party with Pat, Jon all of their teammates, and Whitney. I was really in for it.