The Way I Loved You

We made it to the arena just as the doors opened. And that was late for us. We usually grab a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant, but we didn’t have time today.

I went straight to my seat while Angela and Jessica went to get us some food and drinks before the game started.

My seat was smack dab in the middle of the row right behind the visitor’s bench. Where I’m so close to the action that I can hear the chirping, smell the sweat, and almost taste the blood.

I look around at the dim arena, seeing only a handful of fans taking their seats. Its still really early and the players aren’t set to take the ice for warm ups for another forty minutes. But this is one of my favourite parts of going to games.

It’s the calm before the storm. I breathed in the cool air, and watched the lights reflect off the clean sheet of ice. As people start to filter in, you can feel the buzz of excitement. At the MTS Centre, every game is a good game. Even when the home team loses, the crowd is always electric.

Soon enough, my friends were back, ready to scarf down the hotdogs and nachos they brought with them. As the last couple bites were done, the lights came on, and the players filled the ice.

Angela, who was on my left, leaned towards me to talk to Jessica who was on my other side. “Hey Jess. A hundred bucks says James Neal recognizes Gabby.”

Rolling my eyes, I hear Jessica reply, “I’m not betting against that. They’re sitting right in front of us! Of course he’s gonna see her.”

“You know what?” I started. “Since I’m jobless right now, I could use the extra money. A hundred bucks says he doesn’t even notice me.”

“You’re on!” Angela said. After shaking both their hands to seal the deal, I looked out onto the ice, and watched as Geno did his usual stretches.

I couldn’t help but think of the wager I just agreed to. There’s no way that he would notice me, or remember me at all. I know that most players don’t even look beyond the glass during warm up. They tried to stay focused on what’s happening on the ice and keep their heads in the game.

I smiled as Geno finished up his stretches, and skated to James Neal. They were waiting for their turn for the warm up drill they were doing. I watched as Dan Potash, who was behind the bench call Geno for a pregame interview.

I watched as my favourite player gracefully skated towards the bench. He was so close I could almost touch him. Only a couple feet and a measly pane of glass separated us. I know that he was a lot closer during the incident earlier today, but that doesn’t count - I clearly wasn't in the right state of mind.

I must have been staring at him awfully hard, because as his interview wrapped up, he looked up and started right back at me, recognition in his eyes.

“Oh my gosh! Evgeni Malkin is looking right at us,” Jessica exclaimed, as I continued to stare at the Russian. I didn't know if I should look away or not.

He smiled his goofy smile, and gave a small wave right before skating away, right towards James Neal.

“I feel like I’m gonna be a hundred bucks richer after tonight’s game,” Angela smirked.

“Shut the fuck up,” I grumbled as I shrunk into my seat.

This game is definitely going to be interesting.

----

“Nealsy!”

I looked over my shoulder to see Geno skating towards me. I didn’t even get a chance to ask him what he wanted before he started talking again.

“You remember girl earlier? The one bump you?” Geno eagerly asked.

I considered his question. I hadn’t really thought about the incident earlier until now that Geno brought it up. I just went straight back to the hotel with the intention of grabbing lunch and taking a nap. But of course I remembered her.

Truthfully, I wasn’t even all that pissed about her bumping into me, but it was fun to get her all riled up. I could tell that she recognized me, but it didn’t seem to completely register with her, because even beyond her annoyance, I could see the confusion.

I could have easily just said sorry and gone on my merry way. But the more I looked at and listened to her, the more I wanted her to talk. Her voice was downright sexy. It had a lower timbre than most girls I knew, with a slight rasp. Her eyes were pools of chocolate and extremely expressive. I remember watching them shift from apologetic to shock, and then completely pissed.

“Sure,” I said noncommittally. “What about her?”

Geno had this mischievous look on his face. “Go see Potash. You see there,” he said before skating away.

I just shook my head and ignored him. Sometimes it was best to not listen to Geno because he rarely made sense. I continued to skate around and shoot the puck, loosening up before the game started.

As time was winding down, I skated over to the bench to grab a drink, and stared into the crowd. I didn’t usually do this, but the fans in the MTS Centre are on a different level. I played a couple games here years ago before I had a steady job in the NHL. Winnipegers took their hockey seriously. They're glad hockey is back in their city and they're definitely not afraid to let everyone know.

I was looking the crowd over when I felt someone staring at me. I looked over to see three girls sitting side-by-side, directly behind the bench. I noticed one of them trying to shrink away into her seat, when I realized who she was.

I started spluttering as I choked on the water I was trying to drink. Coughing in an attempt to breathe normally again, I heard Potash say, “You ok Neal?”

I looked over to him and said, “Yah. Just the wrong tube.” As I was about to skate off, I turned back to him as an idea popping into my head. It probably wasn’t the best idea, but I went with it anyway.

“Hey Potash,” I began. “Don’t be obvious, but do you see those three girls sitting right behind our bench?” I waited for him to sneak a peak before continuing. “I know the girl in the middle. Can you take a picture of her and post it on your Twitter?”

Maybe I didn't really know her, but still.

“Uh…” Potash said, completely confused. “Sure. What do you want me to say?”

I had to think about that for a second. “Say something about there being a lot of Pens fans in the Peg. And say you hope she pays attention to the game more than where she’s walking.” I saw him look even more confused and said, “Its an inside joke we have.”

Chuckling, he said, “Yah, sure man.”

“Sweet. Thanks Potash.” I cast the Girl one more look before skating away.