Whatever It Takes

Bryan and Corey rolled their eyes as they listened to Andrew talk about Emilia for what seemed like the 10th time that day. They were happy that he found a girl that he was so infatuated with, they just wished that he’d shut up about her. They weren’t sure what was worse, Andrew obsessing over her or him obsessing over the fact that he hasn’t called her yet.

“If you don’t call her, she’s going to think that you’re not interested in her at all,” Corey explained as he and Bryan were playing an intense game of Black Ops. “And by the way you can’t shut up about her, we can tell you like this girl a lot.”

Andrew sighed heavily from his position on the floor. He sat next to Bryan’s dog, Carmen, as he scratched the top of her head. She let out a yawn, making Andrew laugh as he waited for his turn to play. While waiting, Bryan’s fiancé Amanda, and Corey’s girlfriend Sylvie, bought over some snacks for the guys to munch on while the girls were getting ready to head out.

“Thank you baby,” Bryan smiled as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“You’re welcome. We’re going to go shopping now. We’ll call you when we’re done and we’ll pick dinner up or something,” Amanda said, slipping her coat on. “Andrew, you want to invite that girlfriend of yours?”

Bryan laughed, “He’s too much of a bitch to call her.”

Amanda hit Bryan with her glove as Corey paused the game to kiss Sylvie goodbye. “Don’t make fun of him like that,” she scolded at Bryan. “Andrew, you can invite her over anytime you want.”

“Thanks Manda,” Andrew chuckled as Bryan rubbed the spot where he had gotten hit.

Corey and Bryan continued their game as the girls left. Andrew ate some of the snacks that the girls had bought over, occasionally sneaking a pretzel or two over to Carmen as he found himself thinking about Emilia again. It had been four days since his date with her and he had to admit that it was the best first date that he’s ever been on. After leaving the Skydeck, they walked around the city as he showed her some of his favorite spots in town. While they walked the streets of Chicago, she placed a hand on his bicep. He wanted to impress her, but resisted his sudden urge to flex his muscles. He didn’t want to become one of those guys.

One of his favorite parts of the night had to be dinner. Bryan recommended an Irish pub for them to go to. It wasn’t an English Pub or anything, but it was closest thing you could get in Chicago. Being away from home for almost a year, Andrew figured that she was homesick and hoped that the Irish Pub reminded her somewhat of Nottingham. The place was warm, crazy, loud, and packed with people. This gave them the excuse to sit close to each other in their booth. He sat with his arm across her shoulders, almost creating some sort of barrier around her to let everyone else know that she was with him. As the night drew on, they got to know each other better and they were comfortable with talking closely in each other ears.

Towards the end of their meal, Emilia was snuggled between Andrew’s chest and his arm. Whenever she would talk, she’d turn her head so the tip of her nose brushed ever so slightly against his cheek. She’d get so close to his ear that her breath tickled him and would send chills down his spine. And don’t even get him started on their kiss goodnight.

“Shawzer! Are you even listening to us?” Bryan shouted after he tossed a pillow at Andrew’s head.

Andrew sat up from his position and picked up the pillow to throw it back at Bryan. “Sorry man, what were you saying?”

“I was telling you that you better ask her out again soon.”

“Or what?” Andrew scoffed.

A devilish smirk appeared on Bryan’s face, giving Andrew an uneasy feeling. “Or else you’re going to look like a dumbass for calling her.”

He tossed Andrew his cell phone that Corey had stolen while he was in his little day dream about Emilia. When he had caught the phone in his hands, he saw that Bryan had called her and that she had picked up the phone. “Uh, hello? Emilia?” He quickly spoke into the phone.

“Are you alright, Andrew? You called me and wouldn’t answer me,” Emilia questioned, sounding worried.

He quickly stood up from his seat and punched Bryan in the arm, who was busy laughing with Corey. “Yeah, sorry. I’m fine, my friends were just messing with me. How are you?”

“I’m good, just busy with work.” Emilia answered as he entered the bathroom for some privacy. “I’m surprised you called me.”

Andrew let out a nervous chuckle. “Sorry about that. I’ve been busy with work for the past couple of days.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. He and his teammates had two games within four days and they were all exhausted. He knew he could have at least sent a text message or something, but he just never got around to it.

“It’s alright, I understand how busy work can be. I was just starting to think you weren’t interested anymore.”

He felt guilty for not calling at least a day sooner because as much as he liked this girl, he didn’t want to seem too eager. “How could I not be interested when you left me with that goodnight kiss?” He asked with a smirk on his face.

Emilia’s laughter filled his ears. It was almost as beautiful as when she would say his name. “How do you think I keep guys interested in me? I guess I didn’t do all that great of a job if it’s taken you four days to call back.”

“I could give you another chance if you want,” he flirted, “and if you really need it I could practice with you.”

“Oh you’re such a sweetheart,” she said mockingly.

He laughed at her sarcasm. “So what do you say about us hanging out at my place this Friday night?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I have to see if I have plans or not. I think I might have another date to attend to,” she said teasingly. “You know I’m a very busy woman.”

“Another date, eh? Is there anything I can do to convince you to go out with me instead?”

“I’m yours if you don’t take me to that God awful Skydeck,” she groaned. “Did you know that I’m still terrified to look outside the window of my apartment? I’m getting sick now just thinking about it.”

“You’re pretty cute, you know that?” Andrew chuckled, “I’ll call you sometime this week and we’ll figure out a time and everything.”

“You better keep that promise. You know I don’t like being let down.” He could tell she was smirking. “I have to get back to work. I’ll be expecting your call. Goodbye Andrew.”

“Bye Emilia, I’ll see you soon.” Andrew hung up his phone and exited the bathroom. Bryan and Corey both had a smug look on their face when he joined his friends on the recliner. “Fuck off, you guys.”

Corey laughed as he placed a hand on his stomach, “So did you get in trouble with your girl?”

“No, I just wish you guys didn’t do that to me!” Andrew scolded, “I feel like an asshole for waiting so long to call her.”

“That’s your own fault. And you know that if we didn’t call her for you then you’d never ask her back out.” Corey said as he handed the controller to his younger teammate, “I mean you do like her, right?”

Andrew tried to focus his mind on the game and on Corey’s question. “No, I like her a lot. She’s gorgeous and she was laughing and smiling at me all night long.

“She’s that big of a deal, huh?”

“Dude, I swear I faint every time she says my mine,” he sighed dreamily. “I don’t know what I’d do if she actually became my girlfriend. And on the plus side, I’m pretty sure she knows nothing about hockey. It felt so nice being on a normal date for once.”

He knew that he wasn’t a huge player in the NHL yet, so couldn’t even imagine how hard it was for players like Jonathan Toews to have a normal life. As thankful as he was for his fans, he was happy that no one had interrupted his date with Emilia. There was something about her that comforted him. He had no idea if it was her personality, her charms, or her maturity. She was a change in his life that he needed. A good change.


Emilia sat on her couch with her daughter curled up to her side. They had gotten back from their neighbor’s apartment, who watched Ellie after school, and were now waiting for the pizza they ordered for dinner. She was exhausted from her day at work and couldn’t imagine anything better than enjoying an evening in with her daughter. Tomorrow was her date with Andrew, and Ellie would be back at their neighbors’ apartment to spend the evening.

She was thankful that her neighbors, Rob and his pregnant wife Lydia, were a married couple with two boys that were very close to Ellie’s age. She became quick friends with the couple and the two families would often go out with each other. Lydia was a fiery red head, with a playful spirit and was the perfect person for Emilia to trust her child with. Their youngest son, Jackson and Ellie were the same age and went to the same daycare while the eldest, Dylan was in kindergarten.

“Are you excited to be spending the night with Dylan and Jackson tomorrow?” Emilia asked, pushing Ellie’s hair out of her face.

Ellie nodded as she looked up at her mother with her big brown eyes. “Yeah. Jackson and I are gonna play house,” she giggled. She had an accent as well and Emilia prayed it wouldn’t fade as she got older.

The front door knocked ten minutes later and Emilia went to go and grab the money out of her wallet. She paid for the pizza as Ellie eagerly stood up from the sofa and began to jump up and down. She rushed over to the kitchen, wanting to help her mother set up for dinner. She was only able to carry paper plates, a few napkins, and two juice boxes for them to drink out of while Emilia carried the pizza and cheese fries. As soon as she opened the lid up for the cheese fries, Ellie quickly dug in to eat her favorite food.

“You’re such a little pig,” Emilia giggled, wiping some of the cheese off of Ellie’s cheeks. “Don’t just eat the fries, eat the pizza too,” she ordered in her motherly tone. Ellie just nodded as her eyes focused on the movie they were watching. On her left side, Emilia’s phone made a dinging noise, letting her know that she received a text message.

Andrew: I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Are you sure I can’t pick you up?

Emilia: Positive. I’m a big girl, so I can drive myself.

A smile always appeared on her face whenever she thought about Andrew. They had texted each other throughout the day, which only made her more excited for their date. She felt guilty for dumping Ellie on her neighbors on such short notice, but none of them seemed to mind. She was going to make it up to everyone by taking the boys off of Rob and Lydia’s hand for a night and have them sleep over. Pizza for dinner was a way to make it up to Ellie. She was a very easy 3 year old to please.

“Are you going to be a good girl for mummy while she’s out with her friend?” Emilia asked, watching her daughter drink out of her juice box. “Are you mad at mummy for going out with her friend?”

Ellie shook her head, “mummy needs friends too.”

She kissed Ellie’s cheek before biting down on her own pizza. Ellie had eaten more than expected and fell asleep on a full stomach. She was passed out on the couch as Emilia quietly cleaned up their dinner. After picking Ellie up carefully, Emilia turned off the television and changed her into her favorite pair of cheetah print pajamas. While tucking her in bed, she pulled Ellie’s jungle themed blanket over her tiny body before flicking the lights off and crawling into bed herself.

Since it was only a little after eight o’clock at night, she turned on her small television and found something mindless to watch. When she went to go check her Facebook to reply to some of the messages her friend’s from back home left, she saw how Andrew left her another message.

Andrew: I hope that you’re still up for practice.

Emilia: Only if you play your cards right. Is there anything I can bring for tomorrow?

Andrew: Just you and that cute accent of yours.

She didn’t understand what Andrew was doing to her, but she liked it. Ellie’s father was the last man to easily swoon her off her feet and it was obvious how that evening turned out. She made a promise to herself and to Ellie to be careful with Andrew. She really liked him and didn’t want things to end badly between the two. As much as she missed dating, nothing would come in between her and her daughter. No man or job would ever tear the two apart and Emilia would make sure of it.