Hockey Is My Boyfriend: Part Three (29 page)

J
immy was waiting
for me at O’Hare Airport.

“Jimmy!” I went running over and jumped up on him. It was always so great to see him after we’d been apart.

“Hey, Kelly.” He held me up with one arm and then kissed me. Then he put me down and produced flowers from behind his back. “Welcome to Chicago.”

“Aww, how sweet,” I said. His expression was sunny and stress-free. I felt a pang of guilt for everything I had put him through all summer. But he was happy now.

We picked up my two suitcases and then headed to the car. He smiled happily and unlocked the doors of a black Mercedes sedan.

“Is this your car?” He nodded. I was surprised, because it looked like a dad car.

Jimmy pointed out things as we drove home: the way to Wrigley Field and the zoo. Then we cruised around downtown. He showed me the United Center, but you couldn’t tell much about an arena from the outside. He showed me Millennium Park, Navy Pier, and shopping on the Magnificent Mile.

“Wow, it’s so incredible. The city’s huge and so busy. I wonder if I’ll be able to find my way around.”

“It was overwhelming at first. But you find neighbourhoods and places you like, and stay in them. Things are pretty familiar now.” He reached across and put his hand over mine. “It’ll be even better now that you’re here.”

I smiled up at him. My heart felt full. I had been nervous from the moment my parents took me to the airport, but now I could exhale.

“Home, sweet home,” Jimmy announced, as we pulled into the underground parking lot of a big condo tower. As we rode two sets of elevators, he sounded like a real estate agent, telling me all about the construction of the building and the quality of the finishings.

He swung open a wide door, and the apartment was full of light. It was a gorgeous place—all new and totally decorated. The colours were muted, and the furniture was modern and oversized.

I walked by a couple of bedrooms and headed towards the sunlight in the living room. Jimmy continued the tour and pointed out more places in the expansive view of the city, the Chicago River, and Lake Michigan. All of Chicago was laid out on one side, with the lake and the pier on the other.

“Wow, this is an amazing view. I bet it looks unreal at night as well.”

Jimmy smiled. “I knew you’d like it. It’s a big change from Freddie Beach, right?”

I laughed, but I knew what he meant. When he went from a small town to an even smaller college town, and then to such a big city, that must have been a real adjustment.

“C’mon, I want to show you the rest.”

He eagerly pulled me through two bedrooms, all done up in dark wood, leather, suede and neutral tones. The kitchen had dark wood cabinets, granite, and stainless appliances. There was a balcony as well, but when we went outside, the winds whipping around the tall buildings were almost frightening. There was a games room, with yet another TV, and a pool/ping pong table. The whole place was as impersonal as a hotel, except for Jimmy’s hockey memorabilia everywhere. He had sure won a lot of stuff for a guy who was only twenty.

My jaw kept dropping farther at every new detail. “I cannot believe this place. It’s like a something from TV—you know, Lives of the Rich and sort of Famous,” I joked.

“Gee, Kelly, I showed you photos of everything.”

“I know, but you can’t tell how big everything is in pictures. And it’s so nice, did you use an interior designer?”

“My mom helped. I knew how I wanted things to look, so it was just a matter of ordering stuff.” He acted casual, but I could tell he was really proud. He had way better taste than I did.

“It does look like you here: big and masculine.”

“Not too masculine for you, right?”

“I’ll add some feminine touches, like leaving my sports bras on the table or maybe my hockey jills on the floor.”

He laughed and tackled me onto the couch. “I knew you’d bring fun into my place.”

I was giggling as he lay on top of me. I could feel a very firm part of him of nudging into me.

“You know, I think there’s one room you haven’t shown me yet....”

He raised one eyebrow. “Oh really? What room would that be?”

“The bedroom—you know, the master bedroom.”

“Oh, so you’re calling me your master now?”

“No way,” I protested. Jimmy scooped me up in his arms and carried me down the hallway. We walked into the master bedroom. It was decorated in more browns and taupes and not much furniture except one gigantic bed and yet another TV.

“Why do you have so many TV’s?”

“I won’t need one in the bedroom now that you’re here.”

He deposited me gently on the bed and sat beside me. It was so big that I could lie across it and not touch the edges. I laughed and started bouncing gently on the bed.

“This thing is enormous!”

Jimmy laughed. “You’re such a kid sometimes. I love you, Kelly.”

“I love you too!” He started kissing me again and pushed me down onto the bed, kissing my face, my throat and the bare V where my t-shirt was open. He eased my t-shirt up from my jeans, kissing my stomach. I felt all melty inside.

“I think we need to christen this bed,” Jimmy said. I nodded with half-closed eyes.

“And I saw two other beds as well,” I said reaching up for him. “Plus maybe the couch in the living room.”

“Don’t forget the kitchen counter,” Jimmy added.

“The possibilities are really endless here.” I kissed his neck and his ears.

“I knew this place was a good investment.” And he pulled off his jacket and then my t-shirt. We started pulling off each other’s clothes and were naked in no time. Jimmy pulled back the bedspread, and we lay down on sheets that felt soft, cool and smooth. We were kissing and touching each other everywhere, like we were in a great rush to make love.

We did end up christening pretty much every surface in the apartment, and then some. In fact, the first week I was in Chicago, we stayed home a lot. Jimmy had to train, and I sometimes tagged along. Mostly, I ran outside and did my weight work in the deserted gym in our building. We got a bunch of groceries, ordered food in, and basically had sex like two people who had just gotten out of long-term incarceration.

I was in the kitchen eating an apple and yogurt, when he came home from the gym. He laid some papers in front of me.

“Okay, I went to the bank and arranged everything. Here’s a credit card for you. It’s got a $4000 limit on it, but if you need more I can get it raised.”

I looked at the shiny black card in my hand and felt instantly guilty. “Why would I need more than that? Outside of rent, that’s more money then I spent all last year at school.”

“Kelly, it’s different now. You’re going to need new clothes and stuff for all the events we have to go to. Don’t forget, you’re the one managing the household while I’m working. Having a stocked fridge when I get back from road trips and being able to entertain more—that’s what makes this place a home. I’m really looking forward to living together.” He snaked an arm around my waist. “Of course, having you waiting in my bed when I get home will be the best part.”

“Yeah, okay.” I automatically kissed him, but I was still worried. “You’ll tell me what you want in the stocked fridge, right?”

He nodded. “I’ll give you a list. We’ve got enough storage space that we can stock up. And that reminds me, what kind of car do you want?”

“A car? I don’t want a car. This is all insane.” How could he be so casual about all this? I was feeling guiltier by the second. He was already paying my tuition, and now offering me all this other stuff.

“Calm down, baby.” Jimmy lifted me onto the kitchen countertop and stood between my legs with his hands on my thighs. He leaned his forehead against mine. “We talked about all this already. You had to give up your job and move to a place where you don’t know anyone—all for me. The least I can do is make your life here nicer. And if we don’t get you a car, you’ll have to drive the Mercedes all the time.”

“I could take transit.”

His hands ran up and down my thighs in a very distracting way. “With your own car, you can get to school faster and get back faster.” He kissed me and cupped my breast. “You want to come right home and see me, don’t you?”

I breathed out. “And see you come, you mean?”

“That’s my girl.” He reached under my t-shirt and ran his palm over my stomach. “And you know the first thing I’d like you to buy with your new card?”

“Um, alcohol?” Despite his six-figure salary, he wasn’t legally allowed to buy booze in the States.

“Nope. Lingerie. I think those t-shirts you’ve been wearing to bed aren’t very healthy. Your skin needs to breathe. Like here.” He stroked my back. “And here.” He ran his hand over the tops of my breasts. I let out a moan. “J.J. told me about this store—it has private rooms for couples. You can try on everything and show me. I’d get my own private show.” He pulled my bra down and began sucking on my nipple until it peaked in his mouth. Then he worked on the other one.

I pulled off my t-shirt so I could see. I loved to watch him. Loved every part of him, but especially his arms and chest.

“Wanna do it here or in the bedroom?” he asked as he unzipped my jeans.

“Both,” I said, lifting his t-shirt, and spreading my legs.

“You ready already?”

“Mmmm, not quite.” It was amazing to me how quickly we had gotten to know each other’s bodies again. He ran his hands up my thighs and hooked a finger into my thong and pulled it to the side. Then he touched me.

“You feel ready to me,” he said.

“Well, that extra thirty seconds of you touching me did it,” I laughed. And then we christened the kitchen counter.

Afterwards, I fell away from Jimmy. It was cool in the condo, but our bodies were shiny with sweat.

“God, that was amazing. I don’t even know what fucking time it is—I barely know what planet I’m on.” I knew it was evening, but I had no clue otherwise. I had just ridden him to this incredible orgasm, and my brain seemed to be switched to neutral.

“I think it’s about 8:00,” Jimmy murmured. He ran a hand over my stomach and let it rest there. “Hey, Kelly.”

“Yes?” I rested my elbow over my face. This was the first time I’d ever been naked in the kitchen. Having all this privacy was going to be awesome.

“Do you think you could cut back on your swearing?”

“Oh yeah, sure. I guess it comes from hockey.” I never swore in front of his mom or anything, but when I was stressed or after physical exertion, it came out.

“Well, you’re not playing hockey now.”

“No, I’m not.” That made me feel sad. I reminded myself to sign up for beer league.

“You want to go out for dinner?”

“Oh, yes. Eating good food and having great sex. This is the life.”

Jimmy laughed. “You’re so cute. Get dressed and let’s go. I’m starved.”

W
e’d been living
in a cocoon all summer. The two of us had kept to ourselves a lot, other than a trip back to Fredericton. It was intimate and wonderful, but it wasn’t real life. Now that September was here, real life hit with a bang. My classes at the Illinois College of Media Broadcasting were beginning, and Jimmy was gearing up for training camp and then the preseason.

The college was as easy as Ruby had predicted. The classes were small, everyone was nice, and there was hardly any homework. One assignment included watching three hours of news programming. The best part was getting hands-on experience with all kinds of equipment. Renée, one of the girls in my class, told me that we were practically guaranteed to get a production assistant position when we graduated.

“You start out as a work-term student for free, but if you’re half-decent they offer you a job. It pays crap, but it’s a start.”

“That’s great news.”

“Yeah, tuition’s not cheap here, but they’re really well-connected to the industry. That’s the big draw.”

I was lucky that Jimmy had found this program since this career path sounded perfect for me. He was happy too, since I had oodles of free time and we could spend it together. He came home from training camp with huge news.

“Kelly, guess what?” He was the most excited I’d ever seen him.

“What?”

“They’re announcing it tomorrow, but I’m being named the new captain.”

“Are you serious?”

Jimmy had mentioned that the previous captain was traded during the summer, but he had never told me he was in the running. I did some quick mental calculations and figured he must be one of the youngest captains ever. But I wasn’t sure if he was the youngest, so I didn’t mention it. I hugged him. “Congratulations!”

He had a smile a mile-wide. “It was one of my goals,” he confessed.

I laughed. “You’re going to have to tell me about all these goals sometime.” I knew he wanted to win a Cup and be the top player, but it sounded like he had a whole host of others.

He shook his head. “I’m not superstitious, but I feel like it’s too egotistical to say everything. You might think it’s ridiculous.”

“I don’t think I would.” We had talked about them that white night in Toronto, but now he seemed hesitant.

“I’ll tell you gradually.” He slung an arm around me. “Don’t want to scare you off too early.”

What was scarier was meeting all the various wives and girlfriends. The first game of the preseason was going to be my introduction to them. Jimmy had already made all the arrangements and explained before he left for the game.

“Cherie is J.J.’s girlfriend, and Maddy, Mac’s girlfriend, is coming too. You’ll really like them.”

I tried to make my smile a natural one. I sensed that I was going to be a fish out of water. They were going to be glamourous and gorgeous. I spent way too long trying to figure out what to wear. I was tempted to call April, but I needed to do this stuff on my own. Were jeans too casual? I knew I didn’t need to get really dressed up, but I couldn’t be a slob either. Jimmy was so proud of me, and I wanted to live up to his image. I wasn’t a hag, but NHL girlfriends were on another level. I ended up in a pretty top, black jeans, and my trusty jean jacket. Even with all the indecision, I was still early enough to start sweating through my shirt. I decided to go down and wait in the lobby. The concierge was there, and he was very friendly and wanted to know all about where I was from and what I was doing tonight.

Finally, a big black SUV pulled up in the driveway, and I ran out and slipped into the back seat.

The driver turned around. “Hello, you must be Kelly. I’m Cherie.” She spoke with a slight Southern accent, and she was absolutely beautiful. Her blonde hair fell in thick waves around her face. Her skin was pale perfection, and she had long, thick eyelashes and purple eyes. Purple. She was wearing a leather jacket and high leather boots.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” I replied. Then I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I’ve never met anyone with purple eyes before.”

“You still haven’t, honey.” Cherie’s laugh was a low purr. “These are contact lenses.”

“Hey, I’m Maddy.” A sunny smile greeted me from the passenger seat. “Well, I finally get to meet you.” Maddy and Mac were the people we were supposed to meet on the day we cancelled our trip to have sex.

Maddy was a pretty blonde too, but in a completely different way. She was tall with long curly hair and dark lashes. I was happy to see that she was casually dressed too, although I suspected that everything was designer.

Cherie watched me in the rear view mirror as she drove. “Everyone’s been dying to lay eyes on you. Our baby-captain is sure smitten.”

“Baby-captain? Is that what you call him?”

“I’m the only one who calls him that,” Cherie replied. “But he is pretty young. And now I can see that you two are a couple of babes in toyland. I’m gonna to have to protect you.”

“From what?” I wondered.

Maddy interrupted. “Stop that, Cherie. Kelly’s already nervous, and you’re making things worse. All the girlfriends are really nice, so don’t worry.”

I was worried though, since girl politics were not my strength. But it sounded like I already had two great allies. Maddy and Cherie pointed out their recommended attractions as we drove to the arena. Cherie’s favourites all seemed to be shops or beautifying places. Or perhaps she was hinting something to me.

Our seats were good ones, and the atmosphere in the arena was pretty electric for a preseason game. Lots of people in jerseys, and the place was packed.

I commented on the good crowd, and Maddy agreed.

“Yes, the team is supposed to have a great season. James is huge, there were some big trades in the summer, and Leo Axelsson plays his first game tonight. He’s so fast that he already has a nickname—Wheels. And there’s a brand new marketing department. When Mac first started, the arena was only half-full. But look at it now.” Tonight looked like a sell-out.

“Kelly, I hear you’re an athlete,” Maddy said.

“Yes, I played hockey at university. Why, do you play hockey too?”

“No, but I played college basketball. You were varsity, right?”

I nodded, and Cherie interrupted. “I’m surrounded by jocks. Y’all are going to watch the game all night, aren’t you?”

“What else would we do?” I asked, astonished.

“Well, you could gossip with me. I’ll give you the scoop on all the players and their girlfriends.” She smiled as she said this, so I knew she was probably kidding.

We ended up doing a combination of both things. The first period was unreal. The crowd here was so loud, and Jimmy was having a fantastic game. He had been a standout in college hockey, and he was already a top six forward in the NHL. It struck me that his plan to stay in school an extra year had really paid off. Jimmy was so good at long-range planning.

Watching live, I could see Jimmy’s complete game. The television broadcast followed the puck, but now I could see the little things I loved about his game. The way he came right back to defend. A subtle pick play that resulted in a great scoring chance. And his hockey vision allowed him to be in the right places at the right time.

I let out a little sigh of pleasure after Jimmy set up a gorgeous goal from behind the net.

Despite all the cheering around us, Cherie heard me. “Did you just make a sex noise, Kelly?”

I blushed. “No, of course not.” But she was right; watching Jimmy play was making me hot for him.

“That was a beautiful goal. This is going to be great season,” Maddy predicted.

Once the period was over, Cherie started giving me a crash course on who was who. “See Danielle and Kaitlin, up there.” She motioned ever so subtly and I saw two more pretty blondes. Everyone here seemed to be blonde except me. Kaitlin gave me a little finger wave.

“You know her?” Cherie asked.

“I met her at the NHL awards,” I explained. I remembered how she had tried to warn me off coming to Chicago. Damn, was it going to be all
Mean Girls
around here?

Cherie fake-smiled up at them while saying to me, “Watch out for Danielle.”

“Why?”

“She wants to be the Queen Bee. When Dom got traded in the summer, lots of people thought Alec, her fiancé, might be the next captain. He’s been around a while, and he’s our top defenceman.”

Maddy made a huffy noise. Mac was also a defenceman, but he was on the second pairing.

“Ian’s really good,” I said. “I think he’s the smoothest skater on the team.” Maddy beamed.

Cherie continued, “So James getting the captaincy instead was a bit of surprise.”

“I guess. But there is a trend in the NHL of giving younger players the C,” I replied. I didn’t know the whole team yet, but there was nobody who would work harder or care more than Jimmy.

Cherie kept on explaining the WAG anthropology to me. “There’s a hierarchy. Depends how big a star your man is, and how serious about you he is. First are wives, then fiancées, girlfriends, and if it’s a casual thing—forget it. They’re not even going to let you in the room.”

Maddy giggled. “Cherie’s used to being the Queen Bee. This is a new experience for her.”

“Well, it was the way I was raised. My daddy told me, ‘Princess, don’t you take a backseat to a single soul.’ And I never have. Got my own house and my own P.R. firm back in Atlanta. Only time I was a runner-up was the Miss America pageant.”

“No wonder you’re so gorgeous,” I said.

“Gosh, Maddy, I think we’re going to have to keep this one around. I like her. Anyway, when I met J.J., he was playing for the Thrashers, and he was so different from all the boys I’d dated. I decided I wasn’t giving up even when he got traded. Now, here I am stuck in a ridiculous long-distance relationship. Lord, it’s my punishment for all the sinning I did when I was young.”

Cherie was exaggerating, because she wasn’t that old. I liked her a lot; she was spirited and funny. But Maddy, with her athletic background and natural looks, seemed to be my kindred spirit.

“By the way, Kelly honey,” Cherie said. “As the captain’s girlfriend, you will have to step to the plate.”

“Sure,” I said. “I’d be happy to volunteer here.” Maybe they needed someone to help with a skating event or something. I liked working with kids.

“We have an organization called the Blackhawks Better Halves,” Maddy explained.

Cherie tossed back her thick hair with a dramatic motion, which attracted attention from every man in the vicinity. “Yes, but all we do is itty-bitty stuff. Last year, I proposed we do a big fundraising event like a charity fashion show. And the Blackhawks Charities board was interested. You can help me with that, Kelly.”

“Uh, that’s not really my area of expertise,” I protested. In fact, it sounded like my personal hell.

“I have all the expertise we need—just throw your support behind me during meetings. And you’ll have to assist me later.”

“I’m already head minion,” Maddy told me, giggling. “You’ll have to get in line.”

The second period was more wide open. Jimmy scored twice. One goal was the result of a brutal battle for position in front of the net. He was going to have some brand new bruises tomorrow. The other goal was a thing of beauty—he sniped it at the end of a rush.

“I’m surprised you’re not having a big ‘O’ right on the spot,” Cherie remarked to me.

As usual, I blushed at the mention of sex, and Cherie cackled. “Our baby-captain may have the face of an cherub, but he’s got the body of a full-grown man. Lucky you.”

At the end of the second period, Cherie announced, “I’m gonna go make the rounds. Anyone want to come?”

I shook my head. I was worried about all the politics she mentioned and not up to meeting a big horde of people. Maddy kept me company. “Everyone wants to meet you. James is sort of shy and hard to read. He’s so into hockey, I didn’t think he even knew what a girl was.”

“I’m sure everyone is expecting someone more glamourous than me.”

“Not me. He’s a small town guy, and he needs someone real. How long have you been dating?”

“Unnnh…” That was kind of a hard question. The answer was actually two months, plus our complicated past. “A while?”

Maddy laughed. “I assumed you guys were high school sweethearts—like me and Mac. It’s the way he raves about you.”

“So, you two have been going out all this time?”

“Yes, Mac played in the States on a hockey scholarship while I went to S.F.U. in Vancouver. Things were tough long distance, but we managed—probably because we were both so busy with our sports.”

Maddy was so straightforward about everything; it felt like I had known her for years already. I guess it was because we had a lot in common: our B.C. backgrounds, varsity sports, and now the Blackhawks.

Maddy spoke quietly, “I love Cherie, but I’m positive that J.J. is not as serious about her as she is about him. She flies here a ton.” She shook her head. “I hope she doesn’t get hurt.”

Since I had only met Cherie tonight, and only seen J.J. Simard play for two periods, I had nothing to add to this conversation. “Why would she get hurt?”

“J.J. is not the kind of guy to settle down. There’s so much temptation out there.”

Was she implying that he was cheating? That seemed incredible given that Cherie was the kind of woman guys would kill to date.

After the game, Cherie and Maddy guided me to the family room. There were tons of hugs and squeals as everyone saw each other after the summer. After a while, the players started to drift in. Ty came in with another player and made a beeline for me.

“Hey, Kelly.” He gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. I noticed Danielle watching us. “Freeze asked me to keep an eye on you until he got here. He’s got lots of postgame interviews because he had such a good game. Were you responsible for that?”

“Sure, I taught him everything he knows.”

“Ha, that’s right, you’re quite the hockey player, aren’t you?” Ty laughed and turned towards the other player, who had his arm around Maddy. “Ian MacEwan, Kelly Tanaka. Remember, she and Freeze were supposed to visit back in July—until they came down with something. Horny-itis, was it?”