Timing Is Everything
Birthday Boy
A sea of bodies swayed to the music as I sat in the VIP area with some of the Boston Bruins. I formally met most players of the team tonight and got to know them pretty well. I spent most of the night talking with Chloe, Olivia, Tyler’s roommate Freddy Bender, and a few of the Bruins. I barely saw Tyler, and any time spent with him lasted only a few minutes. He was either busy taking shots with fans, dancing like a fool with Brad on top of something that was questionably stable, or flirting with all the girls that came his way.
He asked me to visit and spend time with him for his birthday weekend and I’ve seen him for a total of 10-15 minutes tonight. Here I was: in a club in Boston, my makeup and hair done to accentuate my features, wearing a fitted dress that flattered my figure, sitting on my ass and trying my best not to drown my sorrows in alcohol.
Chloe nudged my shoulder as Olivia was lost in conversation with Freddy. “You okay Aud?”
Taking a deep breath, I shake my head. “This isn’t anything like I expected Chloe. I thought it would be like the last time I visited, with the two of us so wrapped up in each other. I mean we’ve been talking non-stop since October and this is a complete 180.”
“He’s just going a little crazy for his birthday, I’m sure that’s all.” I shrug my shoulders at her comment and my gaze lands on Tyler and Brad dancing on a table. With my eyes still on him, I downed the rest of my Jack and Coke and grabbed Chloe's hand. "Where are we going?"
"To get more alcohol." I bobbed and weaved through the crowd with Chloe close behind me. “I severely underestimated my feelings for him, Clo. And this, this is not how I wanna spend my weekend. If he’s not ready for a relationship, that’s fine. I didn’t know I was really ready until now. But I’ll just have to move on, and I’m gonna start with this next drink.”
As I placed my order with the bartender, she told me, “You can’t just drown out your feelings with whiskey Aud.”
“I’m not drowning them out, I’ve accepted them like a smack to the face and I’m using this drink to kickstart my moving on phase. Even if he doesn’t see me in that way, I still wanna be friends with him. I’ve gotten really close with him the last few months and I don’t wanna lose that connection with him.” I shrugged my shoulders at her confused face. “I’m gonna have to get used to the idea that he's not ready for a relationship. Sitting on my ass in the corner isn’t gonna help with anything. Walk around and mingle with me?”
She gave me a look. “Just mingle?”
“I promise, I’m not gonna try and get with one of his friends to get back at him in any way or something. I just need to be up and moving around, talking to people and not dwelling on this. That’s the ‘Kalani’ family way remember?”
Chloe rolled her eyes but smiled. “Damn the Kalani way. I don’t understand how your family is so forward with moving on. Like you got over your ex Derek in like a week, I took a good few months to get over my last ex.”
“A part of the Kalani way involves complete and utter release of all emotions, so sometime later tonight or early tomorrow, I’m going to be a sobbing, snotty mess.”
“Oh, I can’t wait…”
-----------------
The night was drawing to an end and the club was beginning to clear out. I was having a conversation with Adam McQuaid and Patrice Bergeron when Tyler came over.
“Hey! Where have you been, I haven’t seen you all night!” Tyler tossed an arm around my shoulders. Adam and Patrice wander off to talk with other people.
“I’ve been around. I spent part of the night just hanging out in the VIP section with your team then I walked around and danced with Chloe. Liv and Freddy were a little preoccupied with each other the entire night. How was your night though, Birthday Boy? Did you have fun?”
“I had a fantastic time! I can’t believe I’m 20 already! I’m glad you came to celebrate with me!” He pulled me into his embrace and laughed. “You coming to the after party?”
“After party?” I stared at him with wide eyes. “You’re having an after party after all of this? That’s insane!" I laughed. "I’m tired Ty, it’s been a long day and I didn’t get too much rest on the train ride over. I don’t think I’ll be joining the after party.”
He pouted and held me at arm’s distance. “But you have to go! I didn’t see you all night!”
‘And who’s fault is that?’ I wanted to ask but held my tongue. “As much as I would really love to, I’m not feeling up for it. And maybe you should get some rest for your game tomorrow. I’ll see you tomorrow for the game! I’ll be cheering for you and I’ll even wear the jersey that you got me.”
“Promise?” He held out his pinky and gave me the most serious face that his drunk self could muster.
I laughed and linked my pinky with his. “I promise Ty.”
-------------------
The game ended not too long ago and I was standing in the lounge area with Chloe. Olivia was out with Freddy on their "not a date" date. They've been dating since November but neither of them made a move to make things 'official;' they were 'exclusive' but not 'official.'
As we waited for Tyler to come out, Chloe and I spoke with a few of the players and their significant others. When we met some of them, they referred to me as 'Tyler's girl' which surprised me. I knew Tyler talked about me to his teammates but I didn't think their wives or girlfriends would know about me.
"There you two are!" Tyler exclaimed when he walked into the lounge. "Nice jersey." He smirked, looking at his name and number on the back.
"Yeah? It's some newer player's number, I think he's alright." I joked, smiling back at him.
“Oh yeah? Well, what do you say to grabbing some food with that ‘alright’ player? I’m starving and I’m kinda craving diner food.”
I slightly pursed my lips as I pretended to think about. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” I went to Chloe to see if she wanted to join but she came up with some excuse about having to help a classmate with some work. I threw her a look and she cleared her throat and subtly nodded her head towards Tyler. She wanted me to talk to him about last night while I just wanted to move on from it. I sighed deeply and nodded my head before walking over to Tyler and telling him I was ready to go.
-----------------
~Tyler~
“This burger is hitting the spot right now!” I moaned, halfway done with my burger. “I still can’t get over how you got chicken fingers.”
“Hey! Chicken fingers are amazing, don’t hate!”
I chuckled then asked, “Did you have fun at the game?” She nodded in response as she chewed on some fries. “Everything okay? You’ve been kinda quiet since like last night.”
“Just a lot on my mind, second semester has started off a little rough.” She looked down and pushed a few fries around.
I nodded my head and continued to eat. The remainder of dinner consisted of small talk and her scolding me on talking too much when I have food in my mouth. We finished our food and left the diner. The car ride to Chloe's dorm was quiet, only the soft sounds of the radio and my fingers tapping the steering wheel filled the car.
I glanced over to see Audrey staring out the window, lost in her own little world. I wonder what she's thinking, she's been awfully quiet tonight. Is she tired? I wonder what classes are giving her difficulty, it's only been like 2 weeks into the semester. Can 2 weeks in really be that stressful? Maybe it's a combination of her classes and stuff outside of her classwork, yeah that must be it! But what stuff outside of her classwork is bothering her? All these thoughts ran through my head as we slowly pulled up to Olivia and Chloe's dorm.
She unbuckled her seatbelt as I put the car in park. We turned to each other and our eyes met. I stared at her as her eyes bore into my soul. I couldn't look away, and I couldn't stop the words that were leaving my mouth.
"Aud, will you be my girlfriend?"
------------------
"Wait!" I yell, stopping Tyler from continuing. He turns to look at me, his mouth open ready to continue as I cut him off. "Marshall and Cash have to go outside."
"Why?"
"They've been standing and walking around the back door for some time now and I'm pretty sure they have to go to the bathroom."
"But it's just getting good!" He whines.
"Would you rather them have an accident in here then? Cause if they do, you're gonna be the one to clean it up."
He pouts. Drunk him can be such an impatient child sometimes. "Fine."
He asked me to visit and spend time with him for his birthday weekend and I’ve seen him for a total of 10-15 minutes tonight. Here I was: in a club in Boston, my makeup and hair done to accentuate my features, wearing a fitted dress that flattered my figure, sitting on my ass and trying my best not to drown my sorrows in alcohol.
Chloe nudged my shoulder as Olivia was lost in conversation with Freddy. “You okay Aud?”
Taking a deep breath, I shake my head. “This isn’t anything like I expected Chloe. I thought it would be like the last time I visited, with the two of us so wrapped up in each other. I mean we’ve been talking non-stop since October and this is a complete 180.”
“He’s just going a little crazy for his birthday, I’m sure that’s all.” I shrug my shoulders at her comment and my gaze lands on Tyler and Brad dancing on a table. With my eyes still on him, I downed the rest of my Jack and Coke and grabbed Chloe's hand. "Where are we going?"
"To get more alcohol." I bobbed and weaved through the crowd with Chloe close behind me. “I severely underestimated my feelings for him, Clo. And this, this is not how I wanna spend my weekend. If he’s not ready for a relationship, that’s fine. I didn’t know I was really ready until now. But I’ll just have to move on, and I’m gonna start with this next drink.”
As I placed my order with the bartender, she told me, “You can’t just drown out your feelings with whiskey Aud.”
“I’m not drowning them out, I’ve accepted them like a smack to the face and I’m using this drink to kickstart my moving on phase. Even if he doesn’t see me in that way, I still wanna be friends with him. I’ve gotten really close with him the last few months and I don’t wanna lose that connection with him.” I shrugged my shoulders at her confused face. “I’m gonna have to get used to the idea that he's not ready for a relationship. Sitting on my ass in the corner isn’t gonna help with anything. Walk around and mingle with me?”
She gave me a look. “Just mingle?”
“I promise, I’m not gonna try and get with one of his friends to get back at him in any way or something. I just need to be up and moving around, talking to people and not dwelling on this. That’s the ‘Kalani’ family way remember?”
Chloe rolled her eyes but smiled. “Damn the Kalani way. I don’t understand how your family is so forward with moving on. Like you got over your ex Derek in like a week, I took a good few months to get over my last ex.”
“A part of the Kalani way involves complete and utter release of all emotions, so sometime later tonight or early tomorrow, I’m going to be a sobbing, snotty mess.”
“Oh, I can’t wait…”
-----------------
The night was drawing to an end and the club was beginning to clear out. I was having a conversation with Adam McQuaid and Patrice Bergeron when Tyler came over.
“Hey! Where have you been, I haven’t seen you all night!” Tyler tossed an arm around my shoulders. Adam and Patrice wander off to talk with other people.
“I’ve been around. I spent part of the night just hanging out in the VIP section with your team then I walked around and danced with Chloe. Liv and Freddy were a little preoccupied with each other the entire night. How was your night though, Birthday Boy? Did you have fun?”
“I had a fantastic time! I can’t believe I’m 20 already! I’m glad you came to celebrate with me!” He pulled me into his embrace and laughed. “You coming to the after party?”
“After party?” I stared at him with wide eyes. “You’re having an after party after all of this? That’s insane!" I laughed. "I’m tired Ty, it’s been a long day and I didn’t get too much rest on the train ride over. I don’t think I’ll be joining the after party.”
He pouted and held me at arm’s distance. “But you have to go! I didn’t see you all night!”
‘And who’s fault is that?’ I wanted to ask but held my tongue. “As much as I would really love to, I’m not feeling up for it. And maybe you should get some rest for your game tomorrow. I’ll see you tomorrow for the game! I’ll be cheering for you and I’ll even wear the jersey that you got me.”
“Promise?” He held out his pinky and gave me the most serious face that his drunk self could muster.
I laughed and linked my pinky with his. “I promise Ty.”
-------------------
The game ended not too long ago and I was standing in the lounge area with Chloe. Olivia was out with Freddy on their "not a date" date. They've been dating since November but neither of them made a move to make things 'official;' they were 'exclusive' but not 'official.'
As we waited for Tyler to come out, Chloe and I spoke with a few of the players and their significant others. When we met some of them, they referred to me as 'Tyler's girl' which surprised me. I knew Tyler talked about me to his teammates but I didn't think their wives or girlfriends would know about me.
"There you two are!" Tyler exclaimed when he walked into the lounge. "Nice jersey." He smirked, looking at his name and number on the back.
"Yeah? It's some newer player's number, I think he's alright." I joked, smiling back at him.
“Oh yeah? Well, what do you say to grabbing some food with that ‘alright’ player? I’m starving and I’m kinda craving diner food.”
I slightly pursed my lips as I pretended to think about. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” I went to Chloe to see if she wanted to join but she came up with some excuse about having to help a classmate with some work. I threw her a look and she cleared her throat and subtly nodded her head towards Tyler. She wanted me to talk to him about last night while I just wanted to move on from it. I sighed deeply and nodded my head before walking over to Tyler and telling him I was ready to go.
-----------------
~Tyler~
“This burger is hitting the spot right now!” I moaned, halfway done with my burger. “I still can’t get over how you got chicken fingers.”
“Hey! Chicken fingers are amazing, don’t hate!”
I chuckled then asked, “Did you have fun at the game?” She nodded in response as she chewed on some fries. “Everything okay? You’ve been kinda quiet since like last night.”
“Just a lot on my mind, second semester has started off a little rough.” She looked down and pushed a few fries around.
I nodded my head and continued to eat. The remainder of dinner consisted of small talk and her scolding me on talking too much when I have food in my mouth. We finished our food and left the diner. The car ride to Chloe's dorm was quiet, only the soft sounds of the radio and my fingers tapping the steering wheel filled the car.
I glanced over to see Audrey staring out the window, lost in her own little world. I wonder what she's thinking, she's been awfully quiet tonight. Is she tired? I wonder what classes are giving her difficulty, it's only been like 2 weeks into the semester. Can 2 weeks in really be that stressful? Maybe it's a combination of her classes and stuff outside of her classwork, yeah that must be it! But what stuff outside of her classwork is bothering her? All these thoughts ran through my head as we slowly pulled up to Olivia and Chloe's dorm.
She unbuckled her seatbelt as I put the car in park. We turned to each other and our eyes met. I stared at her as her eyes bore into my soul. I couldn't look away, and I couldn't stop the words that were leaving my mouth.
"Aud, will you be my girlfriend?"
------------------
"Wait!" I yell, stopping Tyler from continuing. He turns to look at me, his mouth open ready to continue as I cut him off. "Marshall and Cash have to go outside."
"Why?"
"They've been standing and walking around the back door for some time now and I'm pretty sure they have to go to the bathroom."
"But it's just getting good!" He whines.
"Would you rather them have an accident in here then? Cause if they do, you're gonna be the one to clean it up."
He pouts. Drunk him can be such an impatient child sometimes. "Fine."