Taking Strides

Adam's perspective:

The tour didn't take nearly as long as Adam thought. If he was just rushing through it, in order to take her to dinner faster, he didn't know. What he did know, however, was that he was thankful there was a game tomorrow night, as opposed to tonight, because otherwise they wouldn't have gotten to go everywhere that they did. After all, in any other situation, Jack Edwards would have been in the booth, instead of them.

"I think that's about it, besides the locker room, and the ice itself, but that's not really important to your work." Adam started to talk as they walked towards the parking lot. "Plus, I don't know if I'm even allowed to show you around those areas." He reached up and scratched his head.
"I'll have to hold it against you if I'm told to go down there and I get lost." She joked, letting loose her smile for what seemed like the thousandth time that afternoon.
"Or you can just give me a call." He grinned.

'Did I just say that? She's going to think I'm a freak, she'd never call me.' He thought, figuring he'd already shot himself in the foot before he'd even gotten the chance to take her to dinner.

She didn't get a chance to respond, because as if on cue, an obnoxious ringtone started playing. He groaned. "I have to kill Brad for setting Dougie's ringtone to that, as if we didn't hear it enough." She laughed a little, and they stopped to let him answer the phone.

"Dude, are you ever coming home? Because otherwise I'm totally not cooking dinner tonight." Dougie spoke as soon as he answered.
"Ah, I made plans already." Adam tried not to say too much.
"Wait, with who? Most of the guys are spending time with their kids tonight, remember?" He clearly wasn't going to drop it that quickly.
"With a new friend I made, I promised to show her the best Italian in the city." Adam regretted it immediately, he didn't mean to mention that he was taking a girl out, but it just slipped out anyways. He mouthed that he was sorry to Sarah. She looked a little confused.
"YOU HAVE A DATE?" Dougie boomed from the phone. The rookie, well, if he could call him that still, tended to get a little excited about things. Her face turned to amusement, as Adam's turned a shade of red, embarrassed that she had heard his boisterous roommate.
"I'll see you at home later, no wild parties, no strippers." Adam prodded his roommate.
"Hey, that wasn't my fault, that was totally all Brad's idea! I mean --" Dougie got cut off by Adam ending the call.

Sarah burst into laughter after he did. 'I guess she thought I was amusing. I'll have to chirp him more often around her.' He thought. 'Am I already making plans to see her again? I don't even know if tonight will go well, let alone..'
Sarah pushed open the door and looked back at him. "Are you coming? I'm starving, I haven't eaten since early this morning."
"Ah, yeah, sorry." He caught up with her. "My car's over this way."

-- An hour later --

"You're kidding, I can't believe you guys would do something like that!" She laughed uncontrollably. He thought she might start crying, she was laughing so hard.
"What, you can't imagine big Zdeno Chara in a bunny suit?" He laughed along with her. It wasn't hard to admit, the story was far fetched.
"No, Marchand as a prince," She struggled to explain herself over her laughter, "I'm more of a prince than he is!"
The two of them started laughing more. The food was great, but the company and the stories to be told was much better. He found himself struggling to pay attention though, caught up with the waves of her amber hair rippling as she moved, or counting the freckles across her nose. She had that sort of beauty that some people might overlook, but if anyone paid really looked at her, they would find themselves drowning in it.

"Seriously though, I've told you stories about some of my adventures, I think it's only fair you tell me about yourself." He flashed one of his signature grins.

Sarah's perspective:

'Dammit, why's he gotta have that smile? Don't hockey players lose teeth or something? Can't he look like a goofball with missing teeth or something?' She thought to herself, then took a deep breath.

"Well, what do you want to know?" She stopped and looked at him.
"How about we start off with where you're from, I mean I know you're not from Boston." He replied.
"Fair enough. I've spent the last four years at Penn State getting my degree, but before that, I've been pretty much everywhere." She took a second and gathered her thoughts. "I was born in Michigan, but then we've traveled along several states, with my dad trying to find stable work. Other than when I was at school, the longest we ever stayed somewhere was three years, over in Kansas."
"Kansas, really? No exotic countries, or tropical paradises, just Kansas?" He remarked.
"Kansas, really. Do you know what there is to do in Kansas? Nothing. Zip, zero. Other than ice storms and tornadoes, real highlights of my childhood, right there. And no, I didn't have a dog named Toto." She smiled a little, knowing that's the first thought people get when they think of the state.
"Fair enough. What made you want to come to Boston, though? Other than the job, I guess." He leaned forward across the table more, attentively.
"I've been a hockey fan for quite a few years, especially of the Bruins. While my first thought for after college was to find a paying job close to where my dad lives, I couldn't exactly give up this chance." She admitted. "I mean, at least here I can go to a bar and cheer on you guys without getting ridiculed."
"Or you could come to some games yourself." He replied.
She laughed out loud. "I doubt I'd be able to afford to go to nearly as many games as I'd want."
He paused and stroked his chin for a minute. "You might not believe me, but I have some sway with the team."
"Like I'm going to let you give me tickets!"
"Consider them an investment, I mean, you do need to get to know the team and the organization better." He grinned.
"Do you mean I need to get to know you better?" She raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
He threw his hands up. "So sue a guy."
"Hmm, I'll consider it. It'll give me a chance to wear my Marchand jersey out." She put on her most serious face.
"Marchand, really?" He looked at his disappointingly. "I thought we were just talking about how un-princely he is!"
"And your point?" She remarked.
He shook his head a little, before staring her in the eyes. "Princesses deserve princes."

Sarah felt her heart stop for what seemed like ages, then she sank her head down in the realization. She looked up at him and softly spoke. "I'm no princess." With that, she turned and stepped out the door. His gaze seemed to follow her, but he seemed to dumbstruck to chase after her.