Wildest Dreams

The next morning, I was woken by the loud sound of my alarm clock. I pressed the snooze button on my phone so that I could get 5 more minutes of sleep. I didn’t get much sleep the night before, mostly because I was super excited about my internship. I still couldn’t believe that out of all the kids in my graduating class I was the one lucky enough to get the internship of a lifetime. Of course, it wasn’t guaranteed that they would keep me and I wasn’t even getting paid, but having my foot in the door was good enough for me.

My alarm clock finally went off again; I set it to the most annoying ringtone ever so I would be forced to get up and it usually did the trick. I reluctantly put my feet in my slippers and made my way to the bathroom. I rubbed my eyes from tiredness and turned the shower on. While I let the water run for a bit, I picked out my outfit. Just a simple pair of leggings and a white T-shirt was all the diner required. I returned to the bathroom and took my pajamas off stepping into the shower and letting the hot water warm me up and get rid of the sleep.

I got out of the shower and put my hair up in a towel so it would attempt to dry faster. I quickly got dressed and decided I didn’t need makeup this morning. Well, maybe a little mascara and moisturizer never hurt anyone. 7:51. Shit, if I didn’t hurry up I was going to be late. I released my hair from the towel and felt to see if it was getting anywhere with drying. It still felt a little damp, but if I put it in a ponytail no one would even notice.

20 minutes later I was in the diner getting ready for my shift. “Good morning Cara!” My college best friend and coworker said cheerily walking into the kitchen, “You’re late this morning, did the Blackhawks wear you out?”

She smirked and I rolled my eyes, understanding where she was going with this, “You’re so funny Maddy, sometimes I forget to laugh”

I met Maddy freshman year of college, we both had the same classes and always sat next to each other. One day at a party, some guy was hitting on her and wouldn’t leave her alone, so I pretended that we were a couple. We’ve been friends ever since that night.

“Come on!” She bounced up and down excitedly, “Tell me how it was. Tell me everything. Are any of the guys cute, did you get me any numbers like I requested?”

“It was amazing, Erin is great at her job” She looked confused, “Erin’s the girl who’s mentoring me I guess, she’s the reporter for the Blackhawks. She’s so natural in front of the camera, I’m definitely going to learn a lot from her”

“So they’re not making you get coffee or do filing like normal interns do?” I shook my head, “Well that’s good. Anyway, how were the guys?”

“I honestly didn’t get to speak to them that much. They seemed pretty cool though”

“Hey, Cara, I need you to take table 3 if you don’t mind” My boss Annie said breaking up me and Maddy’s conversation.

I nodded and grabbed a pad and pencil so I could write down what the customers wanted. As I was walking to the table I noticed a familiar head of blonde hair. Of course they would be here the day after I start my internship. Okay Cara, don’t embarrass yourself. Be professional. “Good morning gentlemen, welcome to Annie’s diner. Can I get you guys some coffee?”

Patrick was the first one to notice me, “Hey! You’re that girl from last night” Immediately, Jonathan’s head shot up from the menu he was reading. I nodded and nervously tapped my pencil against my pad. “You work here?”

I shrugged, “I have to pay the bills somehow. My internship is unpaid so...” I began to trail off, “Anyways, what are you guys doing here? I’ve never seen you before and the only people who come in here are regulars or tourists”

“We needed some breakfast before Captain over here makes us do our morning practice. Are you going to be at our game tonight?”

“Yeah, I’m basically supposed to be at every single game and event that you guys have, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of me” God I really hope that didn’t sound dumb.

He nodded and looked back down at the menu, “I guess I’ll just have a coffee. I’m sorry, I feel like a complete dick, but what’s your name? Last night was a huge whirlwind of emotions”

Of course today would be the day that I forget to wear my nametag. “Oh it’s.....”

“Cara,” I was cut off by Jonathan finally speaking for the first time. I turned my attention to him and he just smiled, “I remembered unlike some, and I’ll have a coffee and a water please”

Patrick made a face at him and I just smiled, “Sure, no problem. I’ll be right back”

“Tell me that is not Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane” Maddy came up behind me almost scaring me bad enough to the point where I dropped scalding hot coffee on myself.

“He remembered my name,” I tried not to sound excited, “Jonathan Toews actually remembered my name. Me. An intern. Practically a nobody in his world and he remembered who I was”

She smiled and leaned against the wall, “I’ll be sure to let Adam know”

I rolled my eyes and picked up the drinks that were finished. I knew that Maddy was just joking around, but even if she wasn’t, she really didn’t like Adam. When Adam and I first started dating he had just gotten out of a really serious relationship and was fucking anything that walked to get over it. Maddy was convinced that he was just using me to get over his past relationship, but here we are 3 years later as happy as we possibly could be.

Jonathan and Patrick didn’t stay too long after I brought them their food. They said that they really needed to get to practice and that they would see me tonight. They left me a $10 tip which I was super grateful for. The next 4 hours went by pretty fast, Maddy and I split all the tables and I made a decent amount of money in tips.

~~~~~~~~

My shift was finally over and I called Adam as soon as I got into my car, “Hey Cara”

“Hey, listen, I just got out of the diner” I looked at the time: 1:00, “I have to be at the United Center by 5, so I just wanted to ask you if we could do an early dinner. I really need to go get ready”

I heard him sigh through the phone, I knew he was looking forward to us spending the whole day together and so was I, but I really needed to be on time especially since it was only my second day.

“Yeah, I guess that’ll be fine. I’ll meet you at Nino’s at 4 then?”

The pizza place was a couple of blocks away from the United Center so I just told him to pick me up that way after we were done he could just drop me off and go right home. The ride back to my apartment was super slow, it was everyone’s lunch break so there was a ton of traffic and I was catching every single red light. I got ready as fast as I could picking out some white jeans and a blazer along with a pair of simple heels. I put on some light makeup and curled my hair. As I was finishing the last strand Adam texted me that he was outside.

I grabbed my purse and everything else I would need for tonight and made my way to Adam’s car as quick as I could. “Hey” He smiled as I got into the car and gave me a kiss. “Ready?” I nodded and we drove away into the crowded city of Chicago.

Nino’s was usually always packed, but whenever there was a Blackhawks game it was ten times more crowded with people eating before the game or at the bar watching the game. Luckily we got a table in the back which was filled with couples enjoying happy hour.

“So, are you excited for your internship?” Adam asked taking a sip of his beer. I desperately wanted a drink but since it was only my second day I figured it would be best if I stuck to water.

“Yeah, this is the first exciting thing I’ve ever really done with my life. I worked super hard for it and it seems really exciting”

“Do you get to interview anyone? What exactly have you been doing?” It made me happy that he cared enough to actually ask about the internship.

“Well yesterday I just got to watch Erin interview the guys like I told you. I’m not sure what’s in store for me today though, so we’ll see what happens today. I’m just glad I’m not getting coffee” I chuckled remembering the conversation me and Maddy had this morning.

“Cara, I’m happy for you really,” He smiled and grabbed my hand from across the table, “But I don’t want this internship taking priority over our relationship”

My hand gripped his hand harder, “Adam, I love you. You know I do, but this is really important to me” His face fell a little bit, “You’re important to me too, but I need to focus on my career right now”

“I understand. But I don’t want us to break up because you’re too busy to see me”

“I can’t promise you anything, I’m going to be busy. I need this internship, this could potentially secure me a job with the Blackhawks if I do a good job, and if not it could get me a good job somewhere else. I can promise you though that I will make time for you whenever I possibly can”

“Why don’t you move in with me,” He looked hopeful, but he knew I wasn’t going to say yes. Adam lived with three roommates and worked 2 days a week. We couldn’t support both of us, and we definitely couldn’t afford an apartment. My parents already told me that if I moved out before my lease is up they won’t continue paying my rent, and they definitely wouldn’t be happy about me moving in with Adam. They didn’t hate Adam, they just didn’t think he was right for me. Story of my life.

“You know I can’t do that, Adam. There’s no way we would be able to live together. Plus we’ve only been together for a year, I think we need to be a little bit more serious in our relationship before we move in together” Like if you could actually tell me you love me.

He didn’t say anything, and after that the rest of dinner was pretty silent except for some small talk about how his roommate was yelling at his girlfriend at 6 in the morning. Adam quickly hunted down the waiter for the check since I had 20 minutes to get to the United Center. I knew I would be on time but the sooner the better.

15 minutes later we pulled up to the entrance, “Bye Adam, I’ll text you later tonight” I gave him a kiss and decided to skip out on the ‘I love you tonight’ he was already mad at me and the end of dinner was awkward, I didn’t need any more awkwardness.

~~~~~~~~

“Erin,” Joel knocked on the office door and let himself in without any answer, “Can I borrow Cara for a second? I just want to introduce her to the guys”

My heart immediately began beating. I was going to meet all of the Blackhawks today. Right now. “Yeah, sure, I was just going over some strategy with her but I guess you can borrow her for a little bit. Cara, when you’re done I’ll be in here with Mark. I want to talk to you about something” I nodded and followed Joel out of the office.

“Don’t be nervous about meeting the guys. They’re just a bunch of children, really. They’ll warm up to you real quick”

All I could do was nod as we walked down the long hallway to the locker room. When we made it to the door, Joel knocked on the door and turned to me, “Wait here” He walked inside where I heard a bunch of shouting and lockers being closed. Joel appeared a couple of seconds later and motioned for me to follow him. As soon as I entered the room all the guys turned to look at me. Some of them were shirtless, some of them were dressed in their full gear, either way they were all beautiful. Some of them even looked like they’ve never seen a girl before.

“Boys!” Joel yelled and suddenly the whole locker room became quiet, “This is Cara Amelie. She’s the new intern working with Erin. I expect every single one of you to respect her like you would your sisters”

“Yeah but you can’t get with your sister” I heard one of the boys mumble earning a high five from one of his teammates.

Joel cleared his throat, “Keep it up, Seabrook and you’ll be benched for the rest of the season” The boy quickly closed his mouth and mumbled, “Sorry, coach”

“You will be seeing a lot of Cara, and she may even be interviewing her one day so get to know her” Joel went on to introduce me to ever single guy in the room even though I already knew Jonathan and Patrick. I have seen all of these guys on TV before but it was nice to put a face to the name on the back of a jersey. “I want everyone dressed and ready to go on that ice in 15 minutes”

“Bye Cara!” The guys all said in unison as I walked out of the room and I smiled, “Not so bad right?”

I shook my head, “No, they seem like really great guys. A little scary, but I’m sure eventually I’ll be comfortable around them”

“That’s what I like to hear. I need to go get some stuff done before I meet the guys out on the ice. You need to go see Erin, have fun tonight Cara”

“Thank you!” I made my way back to Erin’s office where her and Mark were sitting discussing details of tonight.

“Cara, sit down, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about”

I sat down next to Mark and across from Erin, “Well, since you saw how everything’s done here, and now that you’ve met the guys I need you to get the full experience. So, I’m going to have you interview some of the guys”

My eyes widened and I could feel my face getting hot and my hands starting to sweat, “Before you get all nervous, I’m not going to make you do it in front of a camera. I’d be cruel if I just threw you to the dogs like that. But the next time the guys have a game I want you to get here a little bit earlier so you can practice interview them. I just want to see what kind of skills you have, make you get a little bit more comfortable with them and talking to them”

I nodded and began breathing again, relieved that I wouldn’t have to interview them on camera, especially this soon, “I think I can do that” I have to get the experience sometime right?

~~~~~~~~~

The game resulted in a Blackhawks loss and Erin interviewed only Jonathan tonight since he gets interviewed at the end of almost every single game win or loss. It wasn’t that exciting of a game so it was thought that no one else needed to be interviewed. Jonathan was even more boring than last night, but after a loss it was completely understood.

“What are you doing on Saturday?” Erin asked me as she was going over her work for the day.

“Uh, nothing, probably working in the morning, but I’m free after that”

“Great!” She looked up from her computer, “The guys have the day off so I was thinking we could do lunch and maybe some shopping. Something fun, like a girls day. I don’t know anything about you outside of the fact that you’re smart as hell, an intern here, and that you’re in a relationship which totally sucks because there are some guys I could hook you up with”

“Sounds fun! I definitely need more friends in this place. The only people I hang out with are my boyfriend Adam and my best friend from college Maddy”

“Bring this Maddy along with you! It’ll be a lot of fun” She began to collect all of her stuff and put her jacket on, “So, I’ll see you Saturday then. The guys have an away game tomorrow which I don’t cover so you have the day to yourself”

“Great, thanks Erin, I’ll see you Saturday” She smiled and left the office. I grabbed all my belongings and walked out of the office to the exit of the building. As soon as I got to the door I realized that I didn’t drive myself here and I was stuck unless I called Adam. It was already 12 and I didn’t want to wake him so I figured I’d call a cab.

“Need a ride home?” A voice from behind me asked. I turned around and it was none other than Jonathan Toews dangling his car keys in one hand and carrying his gym bag in the other.

“Oh, no it’s fine. Thanks though. I’m just going to call a cab” I really didn’t want to inconvenience him and I barely even knew him, we just met.

“It’s just a ride home, Cara. Cabs are expensive. Come on, let me drive you. Where do you live?”

I gave him the address of my apartment and he laughed, “That’s a couple of blocks away from me. It’s on my way. Come on, I won’t take no for an answer”

I thought about it for a second. If I waited for a cab I’d be waiting for a good 20 minutes and it was freezing outside. Or I could take a ride from Jonathan who was a complete stranger in my book and it would be completely awkward. But, Quenneville did say to get to know me and I’d probably be interviewing him at one point.

“Okay, let’s go” What's the worst that could happen?