Not Like The Movies

They walked in silence, not really knowing where they were headed to. Jonathan decided to speak up and ask the girl next to him where she would like to eat for her break. She merely shrugged, not really sure what she wanted at the moment. She was still feeling the butterflies in her stomach and his large hand on her arm. She looked at him with his cap hung low and memorized the features of his face; he was handsome and had a youthful appearance. She almost wanted to ask him how old he was but decided against it for she did not want to come off as rude.

As they kept walking, Denise saw a small café shop that only had about two customers having a cup of coffee and a sandwich.

“Wanna eat here?” Jonathan asked after noticing her looking through the café’s window. She nodded and walked towards the door with a bunch of window paint, letting their customers know that they are open twenty-four hours with great deals every day.

Jonathan beat her to the door and opened it for her. She blushed and walked ahead, quickly mumbling a ‘thanks’ to him. A bell rang, indicating that new customers had walked in and the middle aged lady behind the counter smiled at both of them. Denise looked at the variety of sandwiches the café offered, oblivious to the customers who went up to Jonathan to ask for an autograph and a photo. Smiling back at the cashier, she ordered a grilled chicken with sundried tomato sandwich. She paid for it and turned to find Jonathan signing a napkin and handed it back to the man who was so excited to see the recent Stanley Cup champion. The man went back to his seat, sharing the napkin with the Blackhawks’ captain signature on it to the woman sitting at the table next to him.

Jonathan turned and looked down at the brown paper bag in Denise’s hand. He frowned and said, “I’m sorry. I should’ve paid for that.”

She shook her head with a shy smile.

“No really. I invited myself to your break so the least I could do is pay for your food.”

“It’s fine, really. You can pay for the food next time.” Denise wanted to smack herself or maybe go as far as jumping off a cliff, wishing she had not said that. It was like inviting herself to another lunch date with the captain—a man who she did not even know.

Jonathan had the urge to bite his lip to try and fight the feeling of smiling too much. He did not want to look too excited at her unintentional invitation to another date…if that is what is happening right now.

“Next time, definitely.” He said.

--

Jonathan took a bite of Denise’s left over sandwich while listening to her talk about moving to Chicago when she was just ten years old. She explained how her family was evicted from their apartment in New York and had to move to Chicago to live with her grandparents until she moved out when she went to college in Pennsylvania.

“Must’ve been tough moving so much,” Jonathan said with a mouth full of the sandwich followed by an apology for talking with his mouth full. “It must’ve been hard to adjust.”

“At first it was,” she started, “but once I really settled in, it was smooth sailing from there.”

She, then, went on to talk about how she graduated with a degree in nursing. She claimed that it was not the path that she wanted to take but went for it in order to please her parents. Jonathan had to bite his tongue from telling her that she should have studied what she wanted to study instead of studying what her parents wanted her to study. Who was he to judge and tell her that anyway? He was still a teenager when he was drafted in the NHL and hockey was the only thing he was genuinely good at.

After thirty minutes, their stomachs full of the sandwich; they walked back to the movie theater. They continued to share stories and laugh together until Jonathan checked his cell phone. He had put it on silent on the way to the café and forgot all about it. He looked down at the screen and saw that Patrick had been texting him, asking him where he was. He had five missed calls, two were from Lindsey.

“Are you okay?” Denise asked, noticing that he had gone quiet when he read his phone.

Jonathan snapped back to reality, “Y-yeah…I’m fine. Just a couple missed calls.”

“Any of them important?” She asked, worry evident in her voice.

He thought for a second and then shook his head ‘no.’

--

“That’s really fucked up man. You completely ditched us!” Patrick cursed over the phone when Jonathan got home. “I fucking paid for the tickets too. What a waste.”

“Calm down, it’s just a movie.” The captain tried to tell him calmly but his patience was running short so he hoped that Kaner would just shut his mouth.

“Just a movie? JUST A MOVIE?” His friend yelled over the phone. “How about I just say that the girl at the movie theater is just a girl? How about I just tell Lindsey that you’ve been fucking around behind her back?”

“I’m not fucking around behind her back! I just talked to a girl for crying out loud! It’s nothing!” He argued. How dare his own teammate, one of his closest friends, tell him that? He knew Patrick would never tell Lindsey because he believed in ‘bros before hoes.’ He believed in not getting in the way of his friends’ relationship so Jonathan believed that he would not start now.

“Whatever,” his friend gave up, “but when you fuck up somehow, don’t expect me to have your back on this one. Whatever it is you’re planning to do with that girl, I’m telling you now it’s not worth losing Lindsey over.”

It went quiet over the line for a minute before Patrick spoke again.

“You okay, Jon?”

“She’s just a friend,” Jonathan defended himself, “I’m not gonna cheat on my girlfriend and you know that.”

Patrick sighed on the other line.

“I know…it’s just…” He drawled on.

“What? What is it?” Jonathan pressed.

“I saw the way you looked at her,” Patrick pointed out, “You really seemed taken with her. That’s not good. Looks like that can get you in trouble. It’s how I get in trouble all the time.”

Jonathan wanted to laugh at his friend’s honesty. Patrick continued.

“Just be smart, Jon.”

With that, the captain agreed and hung up the phone. He leaned back on his couch, looking straight out of the large windows in his living room. From inside his place, everything seemed peaceful. He knew the world out of those windows. Everyone was always rushing, always talking, and always had to do something. In the comfort of his own home, he would lounge around or do nothing all day. He could go a day or two without talking to anybody and be alright the following day. Maybe that is what he needed in his life; peace and quiet. He had his friends and his girlfriend but they always expected so much out of him. He wanted to have someone he could just sit around with and have no problem doing nothing all day.

He shook his head.

He was talking crazy now.

He knew the life he was signing up for. He knew that once he got into the NHL that life would just become hectic from there. But he loved every minute of it. Hockey was his passion. He lived and breathed the sport.

He shook his head again.

”Maybe it’s too quiet.” He thought. Maybe he was thinking those things because he was too bored and alone in the place he called home.

Thinking quickly, he grabbed his phone that he placed right next to him and composed a text message.

”Linds, we need to talk. See you when you get back.”

--

It was nearing closing time and Denise took extra shifts for her co-worker, Julianne, who had to leave early for an emergency. She was turning off the food and drink machines and wiping down the counters when Ronnie gave her a quick hip bump and begged her to tell him how her date with the Blackhawks’ captain went.

“It wasn’t a date.” She stated but the blonde haired fan did not believe her for one second.

“It was a date! I bet he wants to bone you.” Her co-worker wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and she hit him on his arm.

“I’m sure you’d like that. I’m sure you wanna hear all about your precious captain and his bedroom adventures.” He rolled his eyes and helped her out with the cleaning process. Normally, he would already be on his couch, eating chips, and watching television but he wanted to hear about his friend’s date with Jonathan Toews so bad that he stayed until it was closing time.

“Like the whole city of Chicago didn’t already know of his rendezvous. Have you seen his girlfriend? She’s a total babe.”

That caught Denise’s attention. Girlfriend? Jonathan had not mentioned that he had a girlfriend to her during their short time together earlier in the day. Had he forgotten to mention about his relationship?

”It really wasn’t a date after all.” She thought sadly.

Ronnie noticed her sudden quietness.

“He didn’t tell you he has a girlfriend huh?” Denise nodded. She suddenly felt really stupid for thinking that Jonathan was actually interested in her. Why did he even bother to ask for her number and set up another lunch meeting?

”He probably just needs a friend.” She sighed out loud, feeling absolutely confused about the situation.

“Is he some sort of a player?” She blurted out.

Her friend laughed.

“You know what, I’m not really sure. That Patrick Kane though…yeah, he seems like the player on the team.”

She sighed out loud once more.

“Did he ask you out again or something?” Ronnie asked curiously. She nodded, not bothering to deny the fact.

“Maybe he just wants a new friend or something.” She quietly said.

“Orrrrrrr…” Ronnie drawled on, “…maybe he really likes you. I don’t even know if he’s still together with his girlfriend. I’ve seen pictures of them together during the Cup celebration but maybe that relationship ended. I don’t think Toews is a bad guy, Denny.”

It was her turn to roll her eyes.

“You’re only saying that because he’s like your favorite player of all time.”

He thought for a second before breaking out into laughter.

“You’re right. But I don’t think he’s an asshole, Denny. He seems like a nice guy, never hurt a fly. Maybe he really likes you. Give the guy a chance.”

“I don’t know Ron…”

“C’mon! Just one more date and if that goes down the toilet then you can forget about him and I promise never to mention him ever again.”

“I don’t know…” She contemplated. She looked at Ronnie, looking extremely desperate for her to give the captain a chance. “Fine. I’ll give it another shot. But if he’s still with his girlfriend, I’m done with him. No more Mr. Stanley Cup champ for me.”

Ronnie suddenly hugged her and lifted her off the ground, spinning them both behind the counter. She laughed and playfully pounded her fists against his shoulder, begging him to put her down.

“You’re the best, Denny! Oh God, this is gonna be great. Imagine if you guys actually do start dating and then you guys will get married…”

“Calm down, Ron. I’m not even sure about the guy and you’re already thinking as far as marriage here.”

Ronnie shrugged and said, “Just don’t forget to invite me to your wedding.”