| �Wow.� Kelsey walked through the doors to the Igloo Section of Mellon Arena, following Lisa. She looked around the arena, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping open. �This place is huge.� Lisa snickered. �You�ll get used to it. Come on, our seats are right behind the bench.� Kelsey followed Lisa to the padded club seats, and sat down next to her. �These are amazing seats,� she said, looking down toward the empty bench. Lisa nodded. �That they are. Matt requested them for me,� she said, smiling. �I�m usually down here with whoever�s scratched for the night; all these seats around me are usually empty because they cost about $200 each.� Kelsey gasped. �They charge that much for one seat to a hockey game?� she asked, amazed. �Yep,� Lisa said. �But thanks to Matthew, I�m paying around $20 for each one. I could always sit in the Suite with all the other girlfriends and wives, but I don�t really get along with many of them, so I�m down here for every game.� Kelsey nodded, watching the other team skate out onto the ice. �Are they starting now?� she asked, looking for Kris and the rest of the team. �Just practice,� Lisa said. �There�s the guys,� she said, pointing to the tunnel where the team was walking to the ice. Kelsey smiled as she saw Kris skating onto the ice. He skated over to the bench to grab a water bottle, and as he was taking a drink from it, he looked up at Kelsey, smiled and waved. Brooks walked out of the tunnel and skated over to the bench to grab his own bottle of water. He glanced at where Kris was waving and was surprised to see Kelsey sitting there, waving back. He forced himself not to display any emotion as he took a quick sip of water from the bottle. Without saying a word to Kris, he immediately skated over to the blue line and began taking shots on the goal, hitting the back of the net with a loud crack with every shot he took. Lisa noticed this, and pointed it out to Kelsey, who was laughing at Kris making faces at her through the glass. �What the hell is up with Brooksey?� she asked, pointing toward where he stood, taking shot after shot. �Who pissed in his cereal this morning?� Kelsey frowned slightly and shrugged. �I dunno, doesn�t he usually play like that?� �Not really,� Lisa snorted. �He�s usually too busy skating around and looking lost. He�s a defensemen, he�s not supposed to be making shots like that, let alone even taking them. He usually stays on the blue line and keeps the puck in that zone. He never takes shots on net, and when he does, he usually misses them.� Lisa glanced at Kelsey, who was sitting back in her seat, biting her bottom lip nervously. �Maybe he�s just having a good night or something.� Kelsey shrugged. �I dunno, maybe.� She began watching Kris take his shots on the goal, most of them finding the back of the net. �Kris is good,� she commented, not being able to help the smile that found its way to her face. �Yeah, he is,� Lisa said. �He played for the Capitols before he got traded for Jagr.� She paused and caught the smile on Kelsey�s face. �What time did he end up leaving last night, anyway?� �I dunno, around two, but that�s just a guess.� Lisa grinned. �So what happened?� she asked, elbowing Kelsey lightly in the ribs. �Nothing,� Kelsey insisted, laughing. �We just talked. We�re going out for drinks after the game. It�s not that big a deal.� �Not that big a deal?� Lisa asked incredulously. �When was the last time you went on a date?� Lisa asked, crossing her arms over her chest. �It�s not a date.� �Okay, not a date. So, when was the last time you went out for drinks with somebody?� �Last weekend with Brooks,� Kelsey replied, smiling smugly. �So ha.� Lisa rolled her eyes. �That doesn�t count,� she said. �He�s just Brooksey.� Kelsey glanced down the ice, where Brooks was talking with Kris. �Yeah. He�s just Brooksey,� she muttered, looking from him to the floor. ~*~*~ �So about you and Kelsey,� Brooks began, skating toward Kris. Kris had been in the middle of a slap shot when Brooks spoke to him. �What about me and Kelsey?� he asked, grabbing a nearby puck with his stick and lining it up for another slap shot. Brooks glanced at where Kelsey and Lisa were sitting, and turned to Kris. �You like her?� Kris shrugged. �She�s cute,� he said. �Nice girl. Really sweet. We were talking until almost two AM last night.� Brooks nodded, chewing on his mouthpiece. �I see. So are you two going out now, or what?� Kris took his shot, and winced as it went wide. �Not yet,� he said, turning to Brooks. �We�re going to Le Mardi Gras after the game. We�ll see what happens after that.� He paused while Brooks nodded. �Why?� he asked, noting that Brooks looked awfully uncomfortable. �You want her or something?� �No,� he said quickly, shaking his head. �It�s just that she�s�� Brooks trailed off, trying to find the right words. �She�s different,� he said after a few seconds, not being able to come up with a better word. �She�s not like every other girl we�ve screwed around with. Here, or down in Wilkes-Barre.� �I know,� Kris said. �I found that out last night. Normally I don�t talk with the girls I fuck but I actually enjoy talking to her. She is different. I like that.� �I know.� The horn sounded for the end of the practice, which was the team�s cue to go back to the locker room before the first period. �Just don�t hurt her, okay?� Brooks asked, skating to the tunnel leading to the locker room. �I have no intentions of it,� Kris replied, smiling at Kelsey on his way through the tunnel door. |
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