Two

“So I think you should ask her out on a date.  Eric said she is new around here, so I’m thinking she doesn’t have many friends here,” Downie said as we drove back to our apartment complex.

“How do you know she didn’t move to the States because she does have friends here?”

Steve thought about this for a moment and said, “Either way, I’m sure she probably likes to make new friends.”

I just flopped my head back against the headrest and rolled my eyes.  “You are really too much,” I mumbled to myself, but loud enough for him to hear.

“I’m just trying to look out for you.  You don’t want to be alone and miserable like Crosby, do you? “

“Crosby is not miserable…”

“Yeah, but you can tell the fame weighs him down.  I bet if he had a girlfriend, he’d probably be a little more laid back.  Hell, you saw that slappy fight he had the other week in Dallas.  You don’t want to end up like that.”

“I think I held my own during my one and only fight of my NHL career,” I pointed out.  “Plus, I did not get into that fight because of my personal life off the ice.”

“Hell, I do.”

“I know,” I said evenly.  However, I knew that he has curbed that tendency more than once over the last season and a half. 

It’s not like I haven’t had a girlfriend in a while.  In fact I have dated a few girls here and there, but no one has really held my interest to make me stay with them longer than a few months.

“Oh, by the way, she’s 21 years old,” Steve announced happily, like he had gotten the biggest information known to man.

“So.”

“Don’t be such a crank ass.  I’m telling you this because you were worried she was a lot older than you…”

“I wasn’t that worried because truthfully I’m not that interested,” I tried to reiterate this to my thick skulled friend.

“Obviously I’m going to have to be the one to get the ball rolling in this relationship…”

“STOP!” I yelled, loud enough to make him slam on the brakes at the stop sign he was already half way through.  Luckily there were no other cars around in the apartment complex.

“What?! Did I run over a bunny or something?!” Downie freaked.

“Ugh, no. Keep driving, just shut your mouth.” I growled.  “I don’t need help with this ‘relationship’ you think that needs to happen.  I don’t want to hear anything more about it!”

“But Christmas is coming,” he whined.  “Don’t you want someone to snuggle by the fire with?”

“Steeeeeeveeee,” I hissed through my teeth.

“Fine, fine.  I won’t say anything more about it,” he said, dejectedly as he pulled into his garage.

I got out of his SUV and began walking, heading back over to my apartment.

“Hey! Not hanging out tonight?” Downie called out as he quickly scrambled out of the driver’s side.

“No, I’m not in the mood.  I’m tired and I just want relax in peace and quiet for a bit,” I said as pleasantly someone can when they are slightly annoyed with their best bud.

“Oh, okay.  See you in the morning for practice.”

“Yup, later,” I mumbled, fumbling for my keys.

“Hallo?” I answered the phone at the nurse’s station by my rooms.

“Olivia?” a deep voice asked anxiously over the phone.

“Yes?”

“Hey! This is Steve Downie…” he paused like he was waiting for some sort of reaction from me.  “Steve Downie, Eric’s hockey player friend?”

“Okay…” I said slowly.

“Are you busy?” he asked like it was an after thought.

“I am at work,” I said evenly.

“Yeah, I know,” he laughed nervously.

“Ist there something I can help you with?” I asked, becoming slightly annoyed that he wasn’t getting to the point.

“Um, yeah.  I was wondering if you would want to come to our practice tomorrow.”

“Practice?”

“Yeah, so you can see what we do…you know?”  He almost sounded like he was fidgeting on the otherside of the phone.  Actually, I could almost picture him rocking back and forth.  I noticed that the guy definitely had some ADD going or something.

I thought a moment.  I found it kind of odd that he was calling and asking me this out of the blue, but I really did want to get out and do something besides sitting at home and reading my many books.  Plus, I didn’t watch much of the sport except for when we’d play in the Olympics.  There is a professional league in Germany, but it’s nothing like what they have over here in North America.

“Olivia?” Steve said over the phone, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Yes, I’d like that.  What time and where?”

“You are going where?” Andreas asked over the phone in our native tongue, sounding surprised that I was going out and doing something besides working.

“To watch the Tampa Bay Lightning practice,” I answered.  “One of my patient’s friends play for the team.”

“Why would you want to go watch an Ice Hockey team practice?”

“It will be nice to get out for a change.  I’ve barely done anything outside of the hospital and the beach since I’ve been here.  The whole point of me coming to the States was to check out the culture and visit places, remember?” I sighed into the phone. 

Truth be told, Andreas was completely against me coming over here.  He did not understand why I would want to move from our motherland and work in a country that he claimed was filled with ‘self centered ingnorants.’  Andreas was in University to become a lawyer and his time was filled with study sessions and tests.  I barely saw him when I was only several blocks away from him, so I just figured it wouldn’t be much different if I was across the ocean while he finished up his schooling. 

The plan was for me to travel around the U.S. for the next 2 years and go back to Deutschland when he graduated so that we could settle down and get married.  Our marriage had been planned by our families since we were born and Andreas had no problem reminding me of this fact often.  I never fought it because I truly felt comfortable with him and knew that it only made sense for us to be together.  He would provide me with the comfortable living had was accustomed with and he had the same family values that I had been raised with.  Sometimes I became very frustrated with his attitude and how he insisted I do ‘what is expected of a woman.’  He could be very old school at times.

“They have professional women’s hockey teams?” Andreas inquired.  I can almost see him raising an eyebrow at this.

“No.”

“Oh, so these friends of your patient are guys.” He recited the question as a statement.

“Yes.”

“I guess you will do what you want, but let it be known that I will not marry a woman who whore’s herself around.”

“Jesus, Andreas.  I am going to watch a hockey practice, not fuck the players,” I spit into the phone.

“You better make sure that is the case.  I don’t want a stretched out cunt when I fuck you in a couple weeks,” he said severely, reminding me that he would soon be visiting me.

I cringed.  I hated when he talked to me like I was his slave or something.  “Please Andreas, I don’t appreciate you talking to me like that.”

“You are mine.  I will talk to you how I want.  Understood?  Don’t let the American independence fill your head with nonsense.”

“Yes, Andreas.  I love you and miss you so very much,” I said softly into the phone; meaning the words.

“Yes, yes.  If you missed me, you wouldn’t have left me here…” he grumbled.  The sentence had been one I had heard ever since the day my plane landed here.  “I have to get to study group.  I will call you tomorrow.”

“Guten Nacht, Andreas.”

“Tschus.”

“Did you eat extra sugared Captain Crunch today?” I asked Steve as he fidgeted back and forth in the passenger seat of my Mercedes.

“Huh? Nah.  My hyper meds just don’t seem to be kicking in today,” he said, obviously focused on something else.

“Hopefully you can put all that energy into a good practice this morning, we play the Bruins tomorrow and it could be a real tough game,” I grimaced.  We were finally back home after being up in the Northeast over the past week, but we would be playing a hot Boston team and a pesky Rangers team over the next three days.  Thankfully we had been 3-0 during our away trip, so everyone’s spirits were up in the locker room.

“Stammer,” Coach Boucher called as I walked by his office.

“Yeah, coach?” I stopped and popped my head into the room.

“The PR guy told me to give you these…” he said with a grin as he handed over the assignment sheets.

More interviews. Ugh. They really are making a big deal about this 50 in 50 thing.

I left out a small sigh and took the sheets of paper out of his hands to look at the times I needed to be near the phone.  Both were for tomorrow before the game.  I guess my pre-game nap is getting cut a little short.

“Hey, if you think it is getting too much, let us know.  We don’t want you to worry about the pressure they insist putting on you,” Guy said meaningfully as he got up from behind his desk to walk over towards me.

“Honestly, it’s fine.  You know that I don’t care about their records and what is said about me.  I’m just here for the team, not for myself,” I said with a smile.

“For such a young guy, you really do have a good head on your shoulders,” Boucher said as he patted me on the shoulder.  “I definitely don’t think I could have handled the pressure you are dealing with at your age.”

“Sometimes I wonder how I do it,” I admitted as we walked into the busy locker room.

I knew something was off kilter when we hit the ice for the open practice and Downie was scanning the crowd like a child looking for their parents at their first school choir performance.

“Hot date, Hammer?” Marty (St. Louis) chirped at him as he elbowed him in the side, almost knocking down the unsuspecting Downie. Marty was definitely the “old man” on our line but he was probably still one of the best in the game.  If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think I’d have even half the goals I’ve had in my career thus far.  He was a funny dude who basically never shut is mouth, always having something witty or important to say.

“What?” Downie chirped back, turning his full attention to Marty and me.

“Did you forget to put your hearing aid in this morning?” Marty joked.  Steve actually is deaf in his left ear due to having a disorder called Otosclerosis, so he is forced to wear a hearing aid in his left ear.  “You don’t finitely scan the stands when you aren’t looking for a specific person.”

I watched as Steve looked over at me and then back to Marty, shrugging his shoulders.  “Yeah, a friend of mine is supposed to be here today; I just hope she found her way.”

“Well if she’s like any of the girls you deal with, I hope you drew a colored picture with the shopping district labeled and stick figures walking on the sidewalk,” I joked, quickly skating away so that he couldn’t hook me with his stick.

“Whatever smart ass, you will be thanking me one day,” he yelled back with a cocky smile that told me maybe I too should be searching the seats.  What did he do now?!

Unfortunately I didn’t have time to do much scanning before the end of practice because I was too busy with the drills Boucher was putting us through.  However, it didn’t take long to figure out Downie’s master plan when I saw him skate over to one of the boards, pointing and waving his visitor to come down to the glass.  I felt my blood begin to boil instantly when I saw her bright smile light up the arena as she walked down the steps towards Steve.  Tough part was I didn’t know if it was boiling because I was furious at Steve or if it was from becoming all hot and bothered by seeing her.  I groaned as Marty skated over to Downie, knowing this was only going to end badly.

“Hallo, Olivia!” Downie grinned at the blushing blonde who obviously seemed to feel a little intimidated by her surroundings.

“Guten Tag, Diggity,” she said answered with a shy smile, looking over at me and then back over at Downie and Marty.

“Go back up to the concourse and follow the signs for the elevator so that you can come down to the locker room,” Steve informed her.  “I’ll make sure the guard lets you into the waiting room.”

She opened her mouth to say something, closed it, and then just nodded her head like she wasn’t 100% sure she wanted to do what he said.

“We’ll see you soon,” Steve winked at her as he punched his fist into the glass and then turned on his skates to glide back over to the bench with a big shit ass grin.  Marty followed suit as I just stood there for a moment watching her cute ass walk up the stairs to the concourse before I too headed over to the bench.

“Hammer!” I growled as I walked over to our respective lockers.

“Yeah?” he asked innocently, even blinking his eyes for added dramatics.  That mustache for Movember just adds to the insanity of this man.

“What the hell is going on?!  Don’t you ever listen?!”

“I can’t understand you because you are sitting on the wrong side of me and I obviously forgot my hearing aid this morning,” he said, speaking louder than normal as he pointed to his left ear that clearly had the molded plastic piece in it.

“Ugh!” I growled as I flopped down on the bench to get undressed and attempt to cool my temper before I had to walk out and meet up with Olivia.  A cold shower will be in order.

The security guard was nice enough to show me to the room.  There were a couple other people milling around, including a woman with 3 boys that looked to be her sons.  I was looking at pictures when one of the boys came over and tugged at my jeans.

“Hallo!” I said, looking down at the little boy.

“Hi!  My name is Luke.  What is your name?” he asked unabashedly.

“My name ist Olivia,” I informed him as kneeled down to his level.

“Lucas St. Louis!” the woman scolded as she walked over with a toddler squirming in her arms.  “What have I told you about bothering people?!”

I looked up and instantly defended the cute little kid who had a look on his face that told me this definitely wasn’t the first time he had been scolded for talking to strangers.  “Oh, it is completely fine,” I exclaimed at the petite brunette.  “He ist quite the polite young man.”

The woman’s face lit up as she walked over to me and my new friend Luke.  She held out her hand and said, “Well thank you for that compliment.  He’s quite the hell raiser like his father,” she smiled and grimaced at the same time.  “I’m Heather, my husband is Marty St. Louis.”

“Oh! Yes, I think he skated over to the glass with Diggity and Stammer,” I said as I stood up.

“Probably, he skates on the same line as the kids, but even though they are a lot younger than him, I think they are the ones that have to be in charge of keeping him in line,” she giggled.  “So are you here for the Steve’s?” she asked politely.

“Um, yes.  Dark haired Steve asked me to come to their practice,” I answered.

Her brown eyes sparkled as she said, “Oh, he is truly a good kid.  He has a bad rap around the league, but he’s one of the most polite guys on the team.  Steven is the same way.  You are a very lucky girl…”

I instantly threw up my hands and began shaking my head back and forth.  “Nein, nein.  I am not seeing Steve,” I protested before she could get the wrong idea.   “I just met them both last night at the hospital…they were visiting one of my patients.”

Heather’s eyebrows raised in understanding as she nodded.  “Oh, I’m sorry, I just assumed.”

“It is fine,” I said with a reassuring smile.

She looked like she was going to ask me another question, but she was interrupted when a couple of the guys began coming out from the locker room.

“Oh yay! Heather, I guess you have met my new friend Olivia!” Diggity said excitedly.  “She takes care of my little buddy, Eric!”

“Yes, she was just explaining that to me,” Heather smiled as handed the little toddler over to Steve.

His attention was quickly taken by the small child and I was left standing there looking on, still unsure what I was doing here.  I soon felt eyes upon me and when I looked up, I found Steven’s bright blue eyes.  He smiled haphazardly as he walked over to the small group that I was now standing with.

“Guten Tag, Olivia.  Wie gehts?” Steven asked.

“Ganz gut,” I answered shyly.  “Your practice was interesting,” I said, switching back to English.

He laughed as Downie’s attention was pulled towards our conversation.  “You will have to come to our game tomorrow and hopefully you can sit with Heather so she can explain it to you,” he said, nudging her as he handed back the now fussy toddler.

“That sounds like a great idea!” Heather said enthusiastically as she tried to calm the child.  The other two boys were chasing each other around the room, but quickly stopped when a man, who I assumed was Marty, walked into the room.  My assumption was correct when he came over and the boys introduced him to me.  He was quite the funny guy and I could tell where his kids got their energy.  Heather definitely had her hands full.

“Lunch?” Steve asked.

“Um, ja.” I said as I left him take my arm and lead me out of the room with Steven following behind us.  What could be the harm in going to lunch?