Love on Top

The two brunettes were sitting three rows off the glass behind the goal. He had first noticed them as he skated to the circle for a face off. He could tell from their smiles that they were laughing about something, some shared secret between the two of them. Then he noticed their jerseys. Rangers for one, Penguins for the other. The next time they took a face off near them, he skated out of his way so he could circle closer to the glass to see them. A third girl joined them, also a brunette. He lined up for the face off but not before his teammate nudged him with a sly smile.

From the bench, he looked in their direction a few times. He could just make the three of them out. When they skated off at the end of the period, he glanced their direction again. They were standing and clapping enthusiastically along with the rest of the crowd and it made him grin.

“Who are you watching out there?” Zach Boychuk asked as he elbowed Zac Dalpe in the side as they sat in the locker room between periods.

He shook his head and flushed. “There are some girls over by the faceoff circle Dalps thinks are cute,” Riley Nash piped up. The boys started making kissy faces and Zac blushed deeper.

“Where are they sitting?” Justin Peters yelled out.

“Third row off the glass, at the faceoff circle that’s to your right next period,” Riley called back. “Two brunettes.”

“Three,” Zac said quietly. “Their friend is very pretty.”

Riley laughed. “Someone’s been paying attention.”

Jordyn, Quinn, and Piper sat back in their seats during intermission, chatting about work. They owned and worked together at a funky little cupcake shop in Uptown Charlotte. Jordyn was the brains, managing the business and the money. Quinn was the baker, trying out fun new recipes alongside everyone’s favorite vanilla, chocolate, and red velvets. Piper worked the front, with a warm and genuine smile that kept the customers coming back day after day.

Quinn, having grown up with season tickets for the Checkers, had been the one to first suggest they go to a game together. Jordyn and Piper had both been hooked from the drop of the first puck and they came to weekend games with regularity. They were all in their twenties: Piper was the youngest of the three, then Quinn, and Jordyn the oldest. As the Checkers took the ice for the second period, Piper giggled at Jordyn and Quinn who let their eyes follow Justin Peters as he took his place in goal and began to stretch. Jordyn sighed.

“Fucking perfect,” she muttered.

“No doubt,” Quinn agreed.

“You two are crazy,” Piper said. Peters went into a split and Jordyn clutched her heart.

“I’m done,” she said. Quinn laughed loudly as Jordyn fanned herself. Zac skated by then, glancing over to the three girls. He skated by the glass near them and looked over. Quinn looked up and caught him looking in their direction. He looked away quickly but when he looked back, Quinn smiled at him. He blushed but offered back a small smile and then skated to center ice.

“Shut up that did not just happen,” Jordyn whispered furiously to Quinn as the puck dropped and action resumed on the ice. Quinn shrugged her shoulders.

"I think he was giving Piper a looksie," she replied as she continued to watch the game. Jordyn nudged her as she and Quinn giggled when Piper turned bright red.

Play was whistled off and a penalty shot awarded to the visitors. When Peters made the save, the arena exploded and Jordyn, Piper, and Quinn stood and cheered with everyone else. Justin turned towards his net, pushing his mask to the top of his head and taking a swig of gatorade. His eyes glanced in the direction Zac had said the girls were sitting and he spotted them right away. Three brunettes, one with long hair pulled into a braid over one shoulder, the second with curls falling past her shoulders, and the third with pin straight hair just skimming her shoulders. The next time Zac skated by, Justin tapped him with his stick and he looked back at his goaltender.

“Good eye,” Justin said. “They’re cute. I like the middle one. Those curls are begging to be pulled.”

Zac shook his head at him and lined up for the face off. He looked over to Riley who stared straight ahead at the three girls. They were talking with the older couple in front of them and hadn’t seen him. The girl with the curls looked up then and caught Riley watching them. She smirked, pointed at him, and mouthed the words pay attention. Riley stared back at her dumbfounded as she waved her hand, dismissing him.

As play resumed, Jordyn leaned over to Quinn and whispered in her ear. “Riley Nash may or may not have been checking you out but he was definitely looking at you.”

“I’m pretty sure Peters keeps skating over to get a look at you,” Quinn replied, staring straight ahead. Jordyn's jaw dropped and her eyes flicked to the goaltender. With play at the other end, he looked over his shoulder. He smiled and she smiled back. The next time he skated their direction, he winked and he was certain she blushed as her two friends giggled.

During second intermission, Jordyn and Quinn made their way to the bathroom. When they exited, they filed into the crush of people walking the concourse and headed back for their seats. Stepping around a pair of kids that were playing, Quinn crashed into the person to her left.

“I am so sorry,” she immediately apologized. The man turned to face her, looking down at her and smiling.

“I’m not,” he grinned. Quinn looked up to meet his eye. "I'm Justin," he introduced himself.

“If you're going to be built like a brick wall, at least pay attention to where you're going," Jordyn said to him

Quinn swatted at her friend. "I ran into him."

Jordyn shrugged. "Always blame the boy. I need you in one piece for dancing later."

"Where are we going?" Justin asked.

"We are going to The Roxbury for my birthday," Jordyn informed him. "I don't remember you being invited."

Justin laughed. "You're sassy..." He trailed off, waiting for her to give her name.

"Jordyn," she supplied.

"Happy birthday, Jordyn."

"Thank you." They heard the crowd come to life, signaling that the period was about to start.

"Sorry again," Quinn apologized to him. "Come on," She grabbed Jordyn's arm.

"I didn't catch your name!" Justin called out as she pulled Jordyn away.

"Her name is Quinn!" Jordyn yelled back to him.

Quinn and Jordyn dropped into their seats and Quinn turned on Jordyn. "Oh my god!"

"What happened?" Piper asked.

"She ran into Soryal," Jordyn told her.

"What?!"

"I was trying to avoid crashing into some kids and I crashed into him instead," Quinn explained. "Didn't know it was him until he turned around."

"Then he undressed her with his eyes," Jordyn threw in.

"He did not! Jordyn told him where we're going after the game."

"Think he'll show up?" Piper asked hopefully, glancing to the ice.

"Yeah right. They'll hit up the bars at EpiCenter where the slutty coeds will be."