Chapter Six; Renoncez Jamais, Ne cédez jamais

Hey guys!!! I know that it's been forever since I posted but I was experiencing a serious case of writer's block. I have been cured and here is the newest chapter about our beloved goalie, Marc-Andre.



Chapter Six

Saturday morning Kailey was lacing up as Marc and the rest of the team was preparing to leave for Philly where they would be playing that night. “Good morning my love,” Jared said sitting down next to Kay.

“Hey,” she said, pulling her laces tight and quickly kissed him.

“One week, one week until our first game. Scrimmage!”

***

Kailey was at the point for the opening face-off one week later. Jared stood in net and ready to stop all the shots that came his way. Kay looked up to the starting line of the other team and their stood Jacob. Jacob was the six foot winger who she had fought the season before and for some reason there was still some tension between them, at least on Jacob’s end. He was just upset that he had been beaten by a girl.

The puck hit the ice and was pushed into the Mustangs’ zone as Ronnie; their top center pulled it back to the defense. Kay received the pass and passed to her defensive partner, Mark. Play moved into the Jet’s zone and Kailey held the point when the puck came back to her. She sent the puck up behind the net with a pinch and the next thing she knew she was down on the ice. “Fuck!” She thought to herself.

Play stopped and the Mustangs crowded around Kailey who was down on all fours in the offensive zone. “You alright special Kay?” The top line asked.

All she knew was that she had been checked after keeping the puck in. She wasn’t sure who had hit her, she had been blind-sided, but she had a gut feeling that it had been Jacob. She tired getting up, using the support of boards and the officials she got to her feet.

She took a stride or what was supposed to be a stride and when she put her weight on her left leg she winced in pain. “Fuck!” The two guys who were helping her off the ice looked on with concern. Kailey let her left leg glide along the ice until she got to the door. Stumbling to the locker room she sat down and was met by the trainer, or what the team called their trainer. Amy’s mom was a nurse and helped out with the team when she could.

“The first shift of the game,” Kailey said, upset with herself.

“First shift of the season,” Amy’s mom said with a laugh.

Mrs. Cooper helped Kailey remove her left skate, sock, and shin pad to reveal a badly bruised knee. “Definitely not from the check.”

Mrs. Cooper felt Kailey’s knee to find that it was out of place. By the time the first period was over Kailey’s knee was back in place and wrapped.

Jared waddled in to the locker room and over to Kailey, “You okay baby?”

“Fucked up my knee pretty bad.”

“Special Kay!” Bob said walking in to the locker room.

“I’m sorry Bob.”

“It’s not your fault; you were playing your game. When do you think you’ll be able to play again?”

“I don’t know, I’m definitely out for today but I’ll let you know.”

Bob smiled and went to talk to the rest of the team. Jared kissed her before heading out for the second period.

Kailey had twisted her ankle a few years earlier and it had been bad enough that she had needed to use crutches for a week. Luckily she still had those crutches at home and when her mom arrived with them at the rink she quickly made her way to the bleachers to watch what was left of the game.

It was worse than when she had been suspended the year before; then she knew that she wasn’t allowed to take the ice, now, today she had started the game and wasn’t allowing herself to take the ice. Following a whistle her eyes made their way from the ice to her leg that sat extended in front of her. Her Converse rested on the metal bench and her eyes made their way to the tan bandage that covered her knee causing her to sigh, that was the reason that she couldn’t take the ice anymore.

She hoped that Jacob was now over the fact that he had been beaten by a girl. Even if he wasn’t Kailey decided that it would be best to handle things maturely. As he skated past where she sat she stuck het tongue out at him, very maturely.

As the final buzzer rang the Mustangs crowded around Jared to celebrate the win. Kailey smiled but was upset that she had nothing to do with her team winning. She made her way outside and waited for Jared who was bringing her bag out, she was also his ride home. “Baby you really shouldn’t drive with your knee like that,” Jared said before getting into the car.

“I’ll be fine,” she carefully got into the car and as she extended her leg to push down on the clutch a look of pain appeared on her face. “Okay, you drive,” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt and opening her door simultaneously. Since her crutches were in the backseat she stumbled to the other side of the car were she was met by Jared whose hand was extended to help her.

“I told you, you shouldn’t drive,” he said with a smile and kissed her cheek as she was sitting down.

“Yeah, just get in.”

***

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Jared asked Sunday morning as he walked into Blade Runners with Kailey.

She was still using crutches and had let Jared drive her to the rink. AS she walked the skates that were draped over her shoulder bumped against the crutches, only making her more determined to take the ice.

She winced in pain as she pushed her foot into her skate, but went on to pull her laces tight. “Okay,” she said standing up when both of her skates were tied.

“You don’t have to skate today,” Jared said, grabbing her hand as she took her first step.

“I already had to call off work tonight and I can’t miss the game tomorrow. I need to strengthen my knee,” she paused and opened the door to the rink that was currently holding public skate. “I’m skating.”

An hour passed, Kailey had skated almost flawlessly the entire time, but an hour was where she drew the line. She leaned up against the boards with all of her weight on her right leg. She told Jared to keep skating; she was fine and just needed to rest her knee for a while. A few minutes before public skate ended Kailey and Jared abandoned the ice so that she could take her time removing her skates and replacing them with her tennis shoes.

Placing her skates back over her shoulder she started towards the parking lot, walking without her crutches. After an hour of skating and walking to the door she winced as the pain returned to her knee.

“Alright I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” Jared said once they made it back to Kailey’s house.

“I’ll be at practice tomorrow morning, Bob’s counting on me.”

Just as Jared walked off the porch Kailey’s phone began to vibrate as she was stumbling into the house. Since she was on crutches she couldn’t get her phone out easily and decided to wait to pick it up. It stopped ringing though just as she made it to the couch when she could put her crutches down and pull the phone from her pocket.

“Hey it Marc. I haven’t talked to you in a couple days and just wanted to know how your game went yesterday. Well knowing you you’re probably at the rink skating. So give me a call when you can.”

His voice brought a smile to her face; she had a soft spot for men with accents. As the message ended she deleted it and went to call him back. Both Marc and Kailey had had practice for most of the preceding week and Marc along with the rest of the Guins had taken on the Detroit Red Wings the night before leaving him unavailable to talk with his best friend.

“Allo,” Marc said after two quick rings.

“Bonjour Marc,” she smiled. “Great game last night.”

“Thanks, how was your game yesterday?”

“We won but I only got to play one shift.” She went on to tell what had happened to her and how she was absolutely determined to play in the game the next day and be strong enough to be back at work on Tuesday night.

Yet another one shot.

Hey guys, I just posted a one shot that I'm very proud of and would greatly appreciate if you guys would check it out and let me know what you think.

Thank you very much.


A New Beginning

Chapter Five; Réunion

Hey guys, I know I haven't been updating much lately, but I haven't gotten any writing done on any of my three stories since school ended. I have however been working on two one shots. One is about Andrew Orpik, the brother of Penguins' defenseman Brooks Orpik. That one shot is currently posted and it would mean a great deal if you guys checked it out and commented. The other one shot is about Eric Godard and should be posted in the next few days. In the mean time please enjoy this chapter, comments are greatly appreciated.


Chapter Five

September came to an end and the Penguins won two of their pre-season games, losing their other two. The first win had come in their first game against Columbus at home, on the road the Blue Jackets took a win for themselves. The Pens second series was played against the Islanders, the Pens again won the game that was played at Mellon Arena.

AS October began the final Penguins’ roster was announced at camp. “Hello?” Kailey said excitedly after school, hoping that Marc had good news.

“Hello Kailey, we’re still on for tonight, right?”

It was Friday night and for the last few weeks the ‘group’ had been meeting for movie night. “Of course, can you tell me about camp today?”

“When I come over, okay?” he said in a tone that scared Kailey.

“Yeah sure, I’ll see you in a little bit.” Kailey was rightfully worried, she didn’t want her best friend to go back to Canada. She felt that he deserved to live his dream, to play in the NHL. They talked for a few more moments and upon hanging up Kailey thought happy thoughts while tidying up the family room a bit.

Her room was in basement so it was normally her responsibility to keep the rest of the basement clean. Most of the mess came from her two younger brothers who spent most of their time in the room adjacent to hers, but she cleaned it anyway.

Just as she was fixing the pillows on the couch there was a knock on the door, Marc she thought. Kailey quickly made her way to the door, opening it to find Nikki, Amy, Jared, and Marc. “What movie are we watching today?” Marc asked.

“Lord of the Rings, but news first,” Kailey said anxiously.

Marc remained standing, “Alright, I made the team,” he said with a smile.

“Oh my god Marc that’s great!” Kailey wrapped her arms around the tall French-Canadian, now professional goaltender. “Congrats!” Jared, Amy, and Nikki also congratulated Marc but Kailey seemed to be the most excited. “Do you know if you’re starting the opener?”

“It’s not for another week so I’m not sure, who knows Salmon or Seabass could get the start.”

Discussion ended here and the movie was started. As always Kailey and Jared shared a cushion leaving plenty of room on the large wrap-around couch for their friends. Mid-way through the long three hour movie Marc’s phone vibrated causing him to jump a little as it broke his concentration. Standing and walking to the hallway he answered the phone with a smile. “Bonjour mon cherie.”

“Bonjour, I’m sorry I missed your call, you have news?”

“Baby I made the team.”

“Marc I’m so happy for you! I’m going to come down and visit you, when’s the first game?”

“Friday, it would be great to see you, I miss you.”

*

Friday Kailey left school excited that she was attending the Penguins’ home opener that night. As she dropped her book bag to the floor he cell phone rang and she was pleased when she saw that it was Marc. Upon hearing his voice a smile came to her face, as much as she tried to push the feelings she had for him away, his accent got her every time.

“So what’s up Marc?”

“I’ve got the start tonight.”

“Oh Marc,” she said excitedly. “I’m gonna be there, I get to watch you play. Are you nervous?”

They talked a while longer until Marc got to the arena and Kailey had to get ready to go to the game. “Good luck tonight Marc, I’ll see you there.”

“Thanks, bye Kailey.”

Kailey began to get ready, pulling her jeans from the laundry pile. Along with the light wash jeans with the eagle patch on the knee she also grabbed her cameo tank top and pulled it over her head. Her white nineties jersey and Penguins’ chain were the final additions to her outfit and she grabbed her purse before going outside to wait for everyone who was going to the game with her. Amy, Chuck, Kailey’s brother, and Kailey’s dad got into the car and left for the arena.

“It feels so good to be back,” Kailey said stepping on to Mellon Arena property. She had been there in April for fan appreciation night but she really loved being at the arena. Upon finding their seats Kay and Amy sat anxiously awaiting the start of the game. During the pre-game skate they pointed Marc out and were excited to get to see him play. The lights went down causing all of the excited fans to cheer. As the players were announced and skated out from the runway the fans continued to cheer, Kailey and Amy cheered especially loudly when number twenty-nine was announced.

The game was exciting and Marc played well, stopping a penalty shot in the first period. Though he played well the team in front of him struggled and lost three to nothing. Marc was the first star of the game though and seemed to be relieved after playing his first NHL game, although it was a loss.

Shortly after the three stars were announced Kailey’s phone vibrated, he face lighting up when she thought that if could be Jared. She didn’t bother to look at the caller id and answered to find that it wasn’t Jared, but Marc and certainly wasn’t upset. “Hello Marc-Andre, good game tonight.”

“Thanks, you and Amy have to go straight home?”

“I’m not sure, I don’t know how I’ll get home if I don’t go with my dad though.”

“I’ll take you don’t worry, I want you two to meet someone.”

Kailey asked her dad if she could meet up with Marc and after filling Amy in she hugged her dad to thank him and went to the Marriott to meet Marc. The two girls had to wait a while but soon Marc walked in with a beautiful girl on his arm. She was tall and thin with an amazing figure that caused all of the remaining guys in the hotel to stare. She had a soft, beautiful face and her long, perfectly straight hair rested on her shoulders. She was perfect for Marc, she was perfect.

“Kailey, Amy, this is my girlfriend Veronique Larose. V this is Kailey and Amy, the girls I told you about.”

Veronique shook hands with both girls saying, “Nice to meet you, thank you for keeping Marc company,” in a sweet French-Canadian accent. They stayed in the lobby talking for a while until it got closer to midnight and Veronique yawned.

Marc pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek, but closer to her ear than her lips. “Go get some sleep baby, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He whispered in French.

She nodded. “It was nice meeting you two,” she said smiling sweetly and placed a kiss on Marc’s cheek before walking towards the elevator.

Marc and the two girls walked back to the arena where his car was and started off towards Kailey’s house. The conversation was about the game until Kailey decided that it was time to change the topic. “Marc, you and Veronique are so cute together.”

He smiled, “Thank you.”

The ride was soon over and after saying good-bye Kailey and Amy went inside dreading hockey practice the next day. Kailey sat down on her bed, finally calling Jared to say goodnight. It went to voicemail, obviously he was already sleeping. “Hey baby sorry I didn’t call earlier. I was at the Pens’ game and then I met Marc’s girlfriend and we hung out for a while. I’ll see you at practice. Goodnight Jay, I love you.”

One shot?

Hey guys, I just posted a one shot that I'm very proud of and would greatly appreciate if you guys would check it out and let me know what you think.

Thank you very much.

She Said Yes

Chapter Four; Arret

The first hockey practice was on a Saturday afternoon and was spent doing the basics. Introductions took place, mostly for the new players, and jersey numbers were assigned. Kailey quickly claimed number six; she didn't know why she always picked that number, she had been given it when she was about ten and just stuck with it. When practice ended she quickly went home to shower before returning to the rink for work.

Marc, who's first Penguin training camp would be starting the next day came in for one last practice. "You know if you make the team you won't be able to skate here anymore."

"I see how it is, once I'm big and famous you won't want to be friends with me anymore."

"That's not what I said, it's just when you're famous you'll get attacked the second you walk in here. I hope that when you're famous you'll still want to be friend with me. I want to be able to say that I knew you before you were famous."

"Making the NHL won't change me, I promise. Even if I can’t skate here anymore we'll still have to hang out."

Kailey smiled. Though they had only been friends for a month they had become good friends and Kailey was glad that they would remain friends. They both knew that things would be different once both of their seasons started, that they wouldn't see each other anywhere near as much, but they could still be friends and that's what mattered.

Worked ended and Kailey returned home to find Jared sitting on the swing on her front porch. "Hello my love," she said sitting down next to him and resting her head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his arm around her, her head sliding onto his chest. "Hey baby, I didn't get to talk to you much at practice, what do you think about this year's team?"

They sat on the porch discussing matters such as hockey, school, and their love for each other until midnight when Kailey yawned and decided that a goodnight's sleep was what she needed. Saying good-bye to Jared she waited at the door until he disappeared and to the blackness and could no longer be seen. She lay down and quickly slipped into sleep only to be awoken when she dreamt of Marc telling her that he had been assigned back to his junior team in Canada. 'Training camp hasn’t even started yet, he's not going anywhere,' she thought to herself before again falling asleep.

She woke the next morning and got ready to go to work. The day went as usual, sitting behind the counter until just before one when she laced up to take the ice. When the public skate had ended she quickly went home and showered before calling Marc. "Hello?"

"Hey, I just wanted to know how camp went today."

"Pretty well; I had fun, and all of the guys were pretty cool. It was only the first day though and they don't start making cuts until the end of the week."

***

The week went quickly; Kailey went to school and worked everyday with hockey practices on Monday and Wednesday before and after school. Marc went to the Mellon every morning for training camp and called Kailey every night to let her know how it went. Friday brought the first cuts and when Kailey was walking out of school her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Bonjour Kailey, the first cuts were made today."

"She froze in her tracks, "I completely forgot that was today."

"Don't worry, so far I'm still on the team."

She could hear that he was smiling; she sighed and began to breathe again. "I haven't seen you all week, we should do something tonight." They talked for a while longer and decided that the group, Jared, Amy, Marc, Nikki, and Kailey would meet at her house for a movie night. It couldn't be too late though because Marc had training camp in the morning and would be the starting goalie at the first preseason game that night. Amy, Jared, and Kailey also had hockey practice, but that wasn't until eleven.

Kay got off the bus with Nikki and since it was still very warm out they decided to go for a quick swim. Throwing on a clean outfit Nikki crossed the street with Kay and soon Jared was coming down the stairs into the family room. Lord of the Rings was the movie of choice, the first one that is.

Everyone sat on the large wrap-around couch and enjoyed the work directed by Peter Jackson. Kailey and Jared shared one cushion while everyone else had one to themselves, but neither of them minded. The lights were out so that there was no glare on the TV but the light from the screen was just enough for Marc-Andre to be able to see Kailey when he would steal glances every few minutes. He only did so when he was sure that Jared was focused on the TV and every time that he caught himself looking at her he was forced to scold himself in his head.

'Vero,' he would think. As much as he loved his beautiful girlfriend of three years there was something about Kailey that held his attention. He was almost convinced that it was because she was relatively new to him and in a way resembled his beloved girlfriend back home. He knew that she would never have feelings for him and that he would never in a million years leave his precious Veronique.

When the movie ended Nikki and Amy said good-bye to everyone and walked out together. Jared was next to leave, pulling Kailey into a hug before he did so. "I'll see you at practice in the morning, I love you."

"I love you too, see you in morning." He kissed her lips and then her cheek before letting go of her hand and leaving for his house.

Kailey sat back down on the couch, this time next to Marc. "Hey best friend," she said with a smile.

"Hello," a smile also forming on his face. "So how's hockey been going for you?"

"Pretty well; the three new guys are catching on quickly and Amy and I are still the only girls on the team," she paused and saw the look on Marc's face. "Of course we're both okay with that. The new guys played for different teams in our league last year and know how we play, so they don't treat us weird." She said before Marc could ask.

"Good."

They talked for a while longer before both standing from the couch and walking to the drive-way. Marc pulled Kailey into a hug, holding her tightly before saying good-bye.

"Good morning," Amy said spraying snow up to Kailey's knees.

"You're rather cheery this morning."

"I'm always this happy at Saturday morning practices." She said causing Kailey to laugh. "Okay, I'm hanging out with Rob today."

"Oh, you'll have to let me know how that goes." They talked for a few more minutes before Bob took the ice and everyone gathered around him at center ice for instructions. When the Mustang's practice was stating Pens' training camp was an hour from ending. Since Marc was the starting goalie for that night his practice ended at ten and he returned "home" for a pre-game nap. That night the Pens would take on the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first of four preseason games.

Practice ended at one and Kailey would have to be back at the arena at six for her shortened shift. Throwing all of their equipment into their bags Kailey and Jared made their way to her car and then her house. "I'll see you in a bit," Kay said getting out of the car.

"Kay, meet you on the porch?"

"Yep, love you."

"I love you too," he gently kissed her lips before they went their separate ways.

Kailey put her keys in the dish by the door before going into her room to get her work clothes from the floor. Her shower was quickly finished and when she had her work clothes on and the clothes she had worn to practice were in the dirty laundry pile she went out to the porch. Only a few minutes later Jared was making his way across the street and soon he was sitting on the swing next to her. He placed a kiss on her check before asking, "So what are we going to do before you have to go to work?"

"Would you mid taking shots?" she asked with a smiled.

"All you think about is hockey," he said with a smile. "Alright, let's go take shots." He took her hand and led her to the backyard where they picked up their sticks and started firing shots at the twine. They took shots until five when Kay went inside to grab dinner before having to leave for work.

As always with a shortened shift she was assigned to restock the shelves in the store until just before seven when she laced up for public skate. More people started coming as it got closer to the start of local hockey seasons. Kailey loved seeing that people were preparing for their seasons, especially the smaller kids, but it made it so that she had to pay attention to them and not do her own thing.

Marc was just taking the ice as well; his situation was more intense though. The fans had taken their seats and awaited the drop of the puck. The opening face-off was won by the Jackets and taken up into the Pens zone, a blocker save by Marc that was soon cleared out of the zone. 'Good start,' he thought to himself. The game continued to go the Guins' way and in the end they won three to two. Following the game he showered and called Kailey before going home.

"Hello?" Kailey said walking through the front door after work.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that the game just ended and we won," he said excitedly.

"Congrats!"

"Thanks, it was fun to play in front of a crowd again. How was work?"

She told him about work and how they wouldn't be able to see each other for most of the week because of the Pens' away game in two days, and then the second home game two days after that.

"Is that Journey?"

"Yes," Kailey said with a smile. "I love Journey. It upsets me that the people who actually know who they are only know one song." They talked about their favorite Journey songs and then just their favorite songs in general. Soon they looked at the time, almost midnight. "Oh shit, you have camp in the morning, don't you?"

"Yeah, it was good to talk to you though."

"You too, goodnight Marc."

"Goodnight Kailey."

They hung up at the same time , laid back in bed and thought the same thing; how they should not be thinking of each other but of Jared and Vero.

Meeting Young Sidney

So this is where you're going to want to kill me. *sheilds face* Sidney Crosby pulled out of the parking lot and decided that he was going to sign. We were told to get in an orderly line and that he would sign for all of us. We all got in line, I was either the third or fourth. My friend had my jersey down at the light and was trying to get Geno to sign for me, the attempt was unsuccessful. So I thought to myself, "What am I going to have him sign." I looked down at the Guins shirt I was wearing and said, "Okay he's going to sign my shirt." I got up to his car, handed him the sharpie and he signed my shirt, on the stomach of the Penguin and I'm sure you know where that falls. Yes Sidney Crosby touched me! Sorry I'm okay again. My camera which was hanging on my wrist accidently bumped his car and I apologized at least three times, he was a sweet heart and said, "Don't worry about it." I thanked him for signing my shirt at least three times. The funny thing was the whole time I was standing less than a foot from the man, when he touched me, when I touched his car, I wasn't thinking "Oh my God it's Sidney Crosby," No, I was thinking, "Wow his beard looks good in person." I know I am such a lame and probably the only female Penguins' fan who would be thinking that while that close to Sidney Patrick Crosby. After I walked away there was about a three second span that I turned into a puck bunny, jumped up and in a little kid voice said, quietly, "Sidney." Overall it was a good time.

Chapter Three ; Je t'amour.

Hey guys, I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I updated. I've just been so busy with school and hockey. But now school is almost over and I'm getting more and more time. Oh, how about our boys? Kicking some Canes ass, I must say that I enjoy it. Well now to the story... I hope that you enjoy it and comments are greatly appreciated.



Chapter Three

“So, how was hanging out with Marc yesterday?” Amy asked the next day as they laced up their skates.

“It was a lot of fun. We went all over the city, stopped at the point, ate dinner, came here, and went skating. He wants to teach me how to play goalie.”

“Didn’t Jared want to teach you?”

“Yeah, in front of the entire team. Sorry that I didn’t want to make an ass out of myself in front of all of the guys. Alright, let’s go watch like six people skate.” Kailey liked being rink guard during the summer because there were never a lot of people to worry about which meant that she got to do her own thing most of the time.

The end of the week came and soon it was time to register for hockey. Kailey would be playing for Bob again which meant that she would be on the top defensive line, playing against the other team’s top lines and inflicting pain upon star centers. Practices would be starting in mid-September, the same time as the Penguins’ training camp.

For the remainder of August Kay spent most of her time at the rink, whether it was for work or just to skate with Amy, Jared, and Marc. The last day of summer vacation came and it was spent in Kay’s backyard. The concrete slab off to the side is where the three friends stood. Jared had a pair of his old pads on in net and Kay and Amy took shots on him for over an hour. When they were done taking shots they changed into their bathing suits and crossed the street to get to their friends’ house. ‘Hey Nik!” Nik or Nikki had been friends with Kailey and Amy since they all were in fifth grade. She lived across the street from Kailey and was also like a sister.

“Hey guys,” she said from the swing in the backyard. “I take it you want to swim?”

“One more before we go back to school,” Jared said.

“You guys ready for senior year?” Nikki asked as they got into the pool.

“I guess, I’m more excited for hockey season to start,” Kailey said pulling her goggles down over her eyes.

“Ours or the Pens?” Amy asked.

“Both, I can never get enough hockey, you guys know that.”

After swimming Jared decided that he should do home so that he could get ready for school the next day. “Good-bye Jared, I love you.”

“Love you too Kay, see you tomorrow.” He kissed her before walking down the street to his house. Kailey went inside, showered, and threw a few notebooks into her book bag before sitting down in front of her computer. Looking through pictures of Jared she couldn’t help but think about Marc and just then her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey Kailey it’s Marc, I was just wondering if you work tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I have to go in right after school. I’m hoping that I can be rink guard so that I can work on my skating some more.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Kailey you are an amazing skater, seriously defensemen are the best skaters. But, I wan planning on skating tomorrow too since camp starts next week.”

“Thanks and I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hung up and tried to wipe the smile off of her face. ‘I’m not allowed to have these feelings,’ she thought. ‘I can’t get attached to him, what happens if he doesn’t make the team and has to go back to Canada?” To push these thoughts from her mind she pulled out her cell phone and held two.

“Hey baby, what’s up?”

“I know that you just went home like an hour ago, but would you want to come over and take shots for a while?”

“Sure, I’ll see you in a couple minutes.”

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you too.” They hung up at the same time and Kay threw on a pair of flip flops before walking out the back door and picking up her old Easton stick. A few slap shots hit the back of the net before Jared stepped onto the concrete slab, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to spend some time with you, and just you.”

He picked up a stick and kissed her cheek, “That’s fine with me.”

They spent about an hour taking shots before saying good-bye with a hug and kiss. After Jared left Kay continued to take shots to prepare for practices that would be starting soon.

“GOOD MORNING!” Kailey’s mom said cheerfully the next morning.

“Eh,” she said still half asleep putting her lunch into her bag. “I have work after school so I’ll see you at like nine thirty.”

“Have fun.”

“Yeah sure mom, bye.” She walked outside and waited a few minutes for before the big yellow school bus pulled up. She made her way to the back of the bus where she found Jared and sat down next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Neither said anything and just sat hand in hand for the ten minute ride to school. Upon arriving to school they received their schedules and went to the lounge to wait for the bell.

Amy, Nikki, Jared, and Kailey had most of their classes together though not all. French was Kailey’s first class of the day and she had it with Amy while Jared and Nikki had Elementary Functions. Having the same French teacher for three years the two girls knew that nothing would get done on the first day, but they would learn a lot over the course of the year.

“So glad I don’t have to take math this year,” Kailey said.

“Lucky, I have it next.”

“History, it should be fun, I have it with Nikki.”

The rest of the day went as Kailey though it would, slowly. Each class was spent with teachers explaining what would be learned over the course of the year and what supplies would be needed. The bell rang and Kailey waited for her bus, going home she changed for work.

Starting work at four Kailey had a break for dinner at six and worked in the store until quarter to seven came. “Kailey, lace up!”

She grabbed her skates from the back room and soon hit the ice. Since it was the first day back to school there were only three skaters, at least until seven-thirty.

Marc hit the ice and his eyes lit up when he saw who was rink guard. “Hello Kailey,” he said spraying snow up onto the boards.

“Marc.”

“How was school?”

“Boring,” she said with a smile. “Though work hasn’t been too exciting either.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay, you’re here now so it’s better.”

He smiled as she grabbed his hand and pulled him with her as she skated backwards. “And you think that you need to work on your skating,” he said with a smile.

“I never said that. I said that I wanted to skate, it’s like walking for me.”

They skated together until the public skate ended and as usual slowly removed their skates. After saying good-bye in the parking lot they went their separates way, both trying to push thoughts of the other from their mind.

Only being the first day of school there was no homework so when Kailey got home from the rink she showered and threw on a pair of shorts and t-shirt before sitting down in the family room. After a while she got bored of watching her bother play a video game and decided to go to her room. Just as she was entering her room her phone rang and the called id displayed ‘Jared’.
“Hello?”

“Hey baby, how was work?”

“Good, there were only four skaters and one of them was Marc.”

“That’s good, at least you had someone to talk to.” She was so glad that he saw it this way and didn’t see it as her spending time, lots of time with a very attractive foreign man.

They talked for a little longer until they both decided that it was time to go to bed. “Goodnight Kailey, I love you. See you in the morning.”

“Yep. Goodnight Jared, I love you too.”