The Sake of the Show

“You’re kind of being treated to your first hockey game, somewhat.” Kaner explained through a mouthful of french toast, a dab of syrup dribbling down his chin. Blair and Abby Sharp both rolled their eyes at his table manners, sharing a pointed look over their glasses of orange juice before pretending to listen intently.

Adam Burish sat on Blair’s left, staring at the younger player in outright amusement as he shook his head. Blair had met the goofy man a few days prior when he’d come back into town as the plans for the “Champs for Charity” game become more finalized. They’d explained to her how he was an ex-Blackhawk and still a very good friend of theirs, sort of a conniving partner-in-crime to Sharpie. He turned to her, rolling his eyes. “What he means is, it’s not going to be like the game we normally play. There won’t be heavy hits or fights, and it’ll be a low-scoring game. It’ll be a lot of fun for your first game.”

“Really? I’m looking forward to it.” Blair mused, busying herself with her plate. Adam nudged her side lightly, pointing at Kaner who now had bits of toast on his shirt. The two burst into laughter, much to their friend’s disdain.

“I fucking hate everyone,” Kaner complained, stabbing his food angrily as a few more people joined the congregation in the Sharp kitchen.

“Glad to see you guys were polite enough to wait for the rest of us,” Viktor barked, herding the Swedes to the island counter where Abby laid out the huge breakfast spread. Hjalmarsson chided Viktor for his manners, as Kruger just shook his head in disdain. Corey plopped down at the table, setting a steaming cup of Starbucks in front of Blair.

Her entire face lit up like a Christmas tree as she took the drink, inhaling deeply. Kaner slapped his palm on the table indignantly. He shouted, “This should be a violation of the bet!”

Blair merely smirked as Kaner continued to rave, “The bet was no Starbucks-”

“No, you said I couldn’t buy Starbucks. That doesn’t mean I can’t drink it, I just can’t get it with my own money.” Blair informed him smugly, giving Corey a grateful smile as she grabbed her latte and took a sip. “On the other hand, I told you your half of the bet was that you couldn’t drink beer. That’s a big difference.”

He let out an angry roar as he turned to Corey, pointing a finger at him accusingly. “Stop fraternizing with the enemy!”

The entire room fell eerily silent. Marcus Kruger, who typically did not get involved in these spats, spoke up for the rest. “You... know that word? That’s a lot of letters...”

“I hate all of you. All of you. Hate you.” Kane glared at the steaming hot coffee, before glowering at Blair. “I hope you burn your mouth.”

“You’re a spiteful little bugger!” She threw her head back, laughing loudly at the butt-hurt expression on his face as he began to pout. “Oh come on Pat, don’t be like that. If it makes you feel better, I didn’t tell him to. He did it out of the kindness of his heart.”

Blair shot Corey a small smile; his returning smile was shy and he ducked his head as Adam began quaking. Adam grabbed Blair’s shoulders, letting out a strange noise as he shook her lightly. “Your accent is driving me crazy, it’s so sexy. I could listen to you talk all day!”

“Oh my god,” Blair laughed bashfully, her fair cheeks turning a certain shade of pink. Adam grinned devilishly at her obvious embarrassment, flashing her a wink that deepened her cheeks to a rosy hue. The girl could be just as shy as she was sassy, and this time was no exception. Adam was quite the charmer, and he’d wasted no time exerting said charms over Blair the moment he’d been introduced to her. Abby was not lying when she told the younger girl that he was a sort of Casanova.

The Swedes and the Patricks all cast Corey a coy side-eye, as the goaltender squirmed uncomfortably at all of the attention the blonde Brit was receiving. Adam was continuing to smother her with compliments, enjoying the cute reactions he was getting in return. Sharpie began to egg him on, having too much of a good time watching Corey squirm. Abby slapped him for this, but it didn’t thwart the behavior.

“Adam, she drinks tea and crumpets. Crumpets, right?”

“Scones, actually. I’m not a fan of crumpets.” Blair confessed, rolling her eyes a tad.

“You drink tea? That’s-”

“She’s British, quit making a big deal about it. You two are acting like you’ve never met someone from across the pond before.” Corey snapped, eliciting a toothy grin from Adam.

The rest of breakfast went on like a tennis match, with Patrick feeding Adam serves in the form of easy ways to compliment Blair, while Corey bit back when Adam would go over the top. Eventually both Abby and Blair had gotten fed up, leaving the boys to their vices to take little baby Madelyn Sharp for a short walk.

When they returned, Corey looked defeated and his friends victorious.



“I can’t believe I lost this stupid bet,” Blair complained, walking the empty concourse of the Allstate Arena clad in a Patrick Kane home jersey with Corey walking by her side. She’d caved and swooped by a Starbucks a ways away from Patrick’s apartment, but both Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith had spotted her and captured the incriminating act on film. Corey glanced over at her and couldn’t help but let out a laugh at her snarky expression. “I can feel the fabric burning my skin already.”

“It always takes me by surprise when you’re... feisty.” Corey remarked, watching as she glanced down again and poked at the giant Indian head on the red sweater. He was used to Blair always looking her best, but today he had to collect himself when he saw her in a pair of dark jeans, the large jersey, and the chunky heels on her feet that made her slim legs look as if they went on for miles.

“Are you saying I have a sweet face?” She teased, bumping her hip against his as she pulled out her phone. Corey was thankful for the phone- it was a distraction from the inevitable blush that was creeping up into his cheeks.

“It’s sweet enough,” Corey shrugged nonchalantly, letting out a chuckle at the appalled look on her face. “I’m joking. You have a very pretty face.”

“Thank you,” She murmured, wrapping her arms around his bicep and pulling him closer. Corey was sure she could hear him swallow nervously as his heart began to beat faster. In the few short months that he’d known Blair, he had learned that she was a very affectionate person. It wasn’t uncommon for her to greet him (or any of the other guys, really) with kisses on their cheeks, or to hug frequently before she was departing. It made him flustered when she did things like this; he worried that somehow and some way she had some superpower that entailed reading minds.

“We should probably head to our seats, since the place is opening in a few minutes. Want a beer?” He asked as she glanced at her phone again.

“Yeah, sure. Abby wants a Coke too, and a bottle of water for little baby Madelyn.”

They grabbed the drinks and headed to their seats, a box that would keep them divided from the general public. Blair couldn’t help but contain her overwhelming excitement. She’d been beyond intrigued by this sport after months of hearing her friends discuss it. She’d watched the Youtube videos, but it was hard to grasp the entire concept of the sport. Blair grew up a huge soccer fan, cheering passionately for the Manchester United thanks to her soccer-loving father. Her new friends had looked at her as if she’d sinned when she asked whether or not the sports were comparable. It wasn't her fault she was never really exposed to hockey.

Corey was enamored with how adorable Blair was behaving, taking photos with everyone (including himself) before the game as she chattered excitedly. She also made an ordeal of taking a photo of her with the ice as a canvas, a two thumbs up and a huge grin completing the photo. He’d sucked in his breath when she’d plopped down on his lap, her perfume smacking him in the face as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He was pretty sure Abby had been chuckling, her lips hidden behind the iPhone as he panicked over where to set his sweaty hands. (He’d settled for one hand on the top of her thigh and the other on her waist, almost unaware if he even smiled or not in the picture because he was too busy getting high off of her perfume.)

Blair had remained perched on his lap before the players came out, listening attentively as Corey explained the layout of the ice and the face-off circles. He had been explaining when and why players took face offs at specific places on the ice when she’d turned to look at him, her dark grey eyes wide as baby worlds as she listened intently.

“... So when a player takes a penalty, the other team takes the face-off-” Corey trailed off, his eyes meeting hers as his insides began to melt. She blinked a few times, waiting for him to continue as he stared at her wordlessly. He could feel himself blushing again as he mentally kicked himself for allowing his brain to turn to mush around Blair. It was something that was happening all too frequently, but thankfully she seemed unaware.

It was Abby that distracted Blair from his loss of speech, tapping her on the shoulder and pointing at the ice where Adam was peering at them with a grin on his face. Blair let out a laugh, jumping up from Corey’s lap to wave at him enthusiastically. He flipped his hair back, sending her a characteristic wink before skating off to go terrorize Sharpie. Corey was glad a great distance separated him from smacking that cocky smirk off of Burish’s face.

Corey shook his head, as if this motion would erase the thoughts from his mind like an etch-a-sketch. He really couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t get a grip on himself. He took a sip of his beer as he surveyed the blonde who was the cause of his innermost turmoils. He didn’t understand what was the matter with him; he became easily friends with her thanks to Patrick, and it was only a matter of weeks before the rest of the guys on the team took a liking to her and started asking her to come around. Now, he often felt jealous when she went and did things with Viktor or partook in shenanigans with Andrew and Nick.

He was thankful when the game began, giving him a topic to discuss and keep him occupied (and it also meant that Adam had zero time to woo Blair from the ice). The game, being for charity and all, was full of hilarity from the planned celebrations to the over-exaggerated goals themselves. He couldn’t help but grin after Jonathan Toews netted one, his linemates assembling a cluster as he used his glove as a bowling ball to knock them all over. Blair got a real kick out of that one.

By the time the game was over, Blair was a proud hockey fan. She was reiterating the facts she was taught earlier like a parrot, bouncing Madelyn on her hip as they walked toward the locker rooms. Abby was telling her the story of Sharpie’s first NHL goal as she watched her daughter grin at the younger woman. Corey wanted to swan dive down the flight of stairs by their seats in attempts to cleanse his thoughts.

“Look at that stunning girl wearing that magnificent jersey!” Patrick Kane crooned as the group entered the locker room, amidst the chaos of a slap-happy team. Blair rolled her eyes, passing Madelyn off to her mother before slapping Patrick’s chest. “Ow!”

“You poor girl,” Jonathan wrapped a sweaty arm around her shoulders, shaking her lightly. “When we go out tonight, your first drink is on me.”

“Thanks Johnny boy,” Blair smirked, letting out a laugh at Kane’s dejected expression.

“Any time, Blair. You are a fresh mind, I don’t want you getting molded into thinking that’s a good hockey player.” Jonathan told her. “I’ll hook you up with one of my jerseys. Or maybe Crow’s...”

“I want one of Corey’s jerseys.” Blair announced, turning to him with a bright smile. “Maybe if I’m lucky, he would even autograph it too!”

“I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem at all, right Crow?” Sharpie smirked as he bent over, making faces at his adorable daughter before placing a kiss on her nose.

“Shove off, Sharpie.” Corey snapped.

Adam conveniently joined the conversation, a teal jersey in his hands with that famous smirk plastered onto his face. “I’m sorry ladies, none of that will be necessary. I got her the jersey of a real player.”

Corey watched with disdain as he dangled the jersey in front of Blair’s smiling face, eliciting a happy giggle from her as she took the jersey and quickly swapped it with the Kane one that she had on. She did a little spin, letting out a laugh as he clapped and cheered at the sight of his name on her back. Corey almost upchucked the contents of his stomach at the sight of the Sharks logo on her chest.

If only it weren’t frowned upon to punch someone in the face for simply being annoying.



“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Adam slid into the booth besides Corey, speaking loudly over the thumping music of the club. Corey cast him a weary look, taking a sip of his beer as Adam followed his eyes. Blair was commanding the dance floor with some of his teammates, laughing loudly with her cheeks flushed from the alcohol intake. Corey nodded quietly, watching as Andrew did some sort of dance in front of her that looked almost like a seizure. It was clear that she was mocking him relentlessly.

“Yeah, she is.” Corey responded quietly, contemplating chugging the rest of his drink as his Captain moved in and stole her for a dance. It was clear that he was now in on the joke, the two outright pointing at Andrew and laughing at this point. The younger player was eating up the attention despite it being negative.

“You better make a move, or the next time I’m out here I’ll snatch her up. She’s cute.” Adam decided. Corey couldn’t help but scoff. “Don’t give me that look, Crow. We all know you want to bone her, just ask her out before someone else does.”

“I-”

“Don’t even try to pull some shit on me, you know I’m right. I’ve only known her a week and I can tell she’s a great girl. A breath of fresh air. Doesn’t hurt that she’s a total babe,” Adam winked at Corey, once again kickstarting the urge to within the goaltender to punch the cocky man in the face.

“I’m not going to creep on her, dude. She doesn’t like me. Unlike you, I know how to respect a woman’s space.” He bit, feeling like a winner as Adam gasped.

“Nice little dig there, asshole. I’m just trying to help you out!” He laughed, gazing over in her direction again. “You’re an idiot.” 


With that, Adam excused himself to go chat up a busty blonde woman who was making quite a show of bending over a table to fetch her drink. Typical.

Once Adam left the noisy drunks rejoined him at the booth, Blair being the loudest as she plopped down besides Corey with a giggle. “Shawzy is so embarrassing, my god! Did you see him dancing out there? He looked like a freak!”

“I definitely saw. I couldn’t miss that disaster if I tried.” Corey sneered playfully as the rookie bent his head over the table in shame.

“Bee, you owe me a drink!” Kane cried, stumbling over to the table and collapsing on the thin girl’s lap. She let out a groan, punching the area where his kidneys were located to no avail. He bounced up and down, surely flattening parts of Blair’s body.

“I don’t owe you a damn thing, you twat!” Blair yelled, letting out a laugh sa Patrick wiggled his butt on her lap. “Get off of me, you’re fat and you’re crushing me!”

“Bet that’s what every lady says to Kaner.” Jonathan smirked. Patrick nearly dove over the table to swat at him for the remark.

Corey couldn’t even concentrate on the argument that unfolded, as strong-willed Blair continued to bicker with Patrick about his weight and the things they owed one another. All he could think about was Adam’s words and how perfect Blair had felt on his lap.