Unsportsmanlike Conduct

by Melody Heck Gatto

  Jay walked over to the jerseys. "Kat dear, which one should I get? Lafleur or Dubois? Don't want anyone to feel left out." He pulled a Lafleur jersey down off the wall.

  "Well Daddy, since I am a Lafleur now, I think you should get Kris's jersey," she said. Then she walked over to the ball caps and picked up a number twelve Renegades hat. "And a Dubois cap?" Jay slid on the number fifty-eight jersey to make sure it fit then Kat put the cap on her Dad's head and smiled.

  "Sounds good to me!" Jay agreed with a smile. "Anything to support my girls. Gianna dear," he called.

  "Yes, Daddy?" She hurried over to him, glancing back at Patrick.

  "How are you feeling? Everything good?" he asked with a smile. "And can I get a jersey down for you?"

  "I'm fine Daddy. Things are good." She put her hand on her belly and smiled. "I actually need to get a Dubois jersey, probably a medium." Jay pulled a medium number twelve jersey off the wall and handed it to her. "Thanks Daddy. By the way, love the hat and jersey!"

  ****

  PATRICK

  Skating out onto the ice, Patrick looked over to see Gia with his number 12 on her cheek. Kat had 58. He chuckled then nudged Kris. "You see the girls?"

  Kris looked over and smirked as Kat and Gia waved at them. "How could I miss them?"

  "We have our own personal fan club right there."

  "Yeah. So Pat, you really going to do it tonight?" Kris asked.

  "That's my plan. You guys are going out after the game, right?" Patrick had a sly smile.

  "Yep. It’ll be nice to go out like old times."

  Patrick had plans for after the game that Gia didn't know about. Originally, he wanted to take her out for a nice night, but decided it would be even better to have some quiet time.

  Coach Walker had gone over the lines before the game. Patrick never played on the same one as Tyler, which was fine with him. He was the third line forward, so he didn't start the game on the ice. Tyler was in the starting line-up with Kris on defense. This might just work out after all.

  ****

  GIA

  Kat stood up and danced to the music, waving like a maniac. She made a sign that said "I Love 58.”

  Gia giggled at her sister. "Hey wild woman, sit down! Get your big head outta the way!"

  A huge smile spread across Gia's face as Patrick skated by. He was busy concentrating on getting control of the puck from the Tampa Bay player.

  "So," Kat asked. "You guys going back to Pat's tonight?"

  They both jumped as Patrick slammed a Tampa Bay player into the boards in front of them. He knocked the guy right off his skates and hurried away with the puck.

  "Yikes. Um, I actually don't know." Gia's eyes stayed on the ice, keeping her attention on the game. She didn't want to miss anything. "Patrick hasn't said exactly."

  The crowd started to roar. Kris was wide open, skating down the ice with the puck. Matt went to the net as Kris passed it to him.

  Score!

  The goal light flashed and the horn sounded. Kat pulled Gia out of her seat, cheering. "Way to go, Matt!" Matt pumped his arm in the air in celebration. Skating by the bench, the team took turns giving him high fives.

  A Tampa Bay forward started to yap at Patrick as they lined up for the faceoff. Patrick didn't seem bothered by it until after the puck dropped. Tanner got control of the puck and skated toward Tampa Bay's net.

  Patrick didn't get far from the blue line before he was crosschecked in the shoulders. He abruptly turned to face Tampa Bay's Mark Simon as he shoved him again. This time Gia heard him yell to Patrick, "Wanna go?"

  Patrick tossed his gloves to the ice as Simon did too. The whistle blew and the play stopped as Patrick and Simon circled around, waiting for one another to throw the first punch. Referees anxiously awaited close by as a linesman tried to pull them apart. Simon grabbed Patrick's helmet, tossed it to the ice and landed a punch on his shoulder.

  "Is that all you got?" Patrick yelled. Laughing, he knocked Simon's helmet to the ice. Patrick grabbed Simon's jersey and kept him at arm’s length.

  Gia covered her eyes, peeking out through her fingers. She didn't want to watch but needed to make sure he wasn't getting hurt.

  "Relax, G," Kat assured her. "Simon doesn’t stand a chance, you'll see."

  Patrick held tight to his jersey as he landed punch after punch to Simon's face. The crowd roared in approval as the two danced. It didn't take long before Patrick dropped Simon to the ice. The referees jumped in and pulled Patrick away and Simon off the ground. The linesman accompanied both men to the penalty boxes.

  "See? Simon never got a good hit in on him." Kat nudged Gia.

  The period ended with the Renegades leading by one.

  During intermission, Gia took a bathroom break and returned to her seat with a tray of nachos in hand.

  "So, you been feeling okay?"

  "Yeah, I guess." She took a bite of her nachos. "Want some?" she asked Kat, handing her the tray.

  "No thanks. No cheese dripping down my chin today," she said, referring to the day she had met Kris with nacho cheese dripping down her chin.

  Gia just laughed. "Suit yourself. Like it would matter to your husband now." She giggled, as she munched on her nachos.

  Kat laughed. "That was so long ago. Feels like it anyway."

  The boys skated back out onto the ice to warm up for the second period. Kris and Patrick skated by Kat and Gia.

  "You know what," Kat started to say, then grabbed a chip from the tray and dipped it in the warm liquid cheese. She put it to her lips as she watched Kris loop around towards their seats again. As luck would have it, a bit dribbled out the side of her mouth. Just as Kris skated by, she wiped it away with her index finger and seductively sucked the cheese off her finger.

  Kris looked up at her and shook his head laughing, which made Kat giggle.

  "You guys," Gia teased and nudged her sister.

  Kat flashed Kris a grin as he spun around and skated backwards watching her, his dark hair flowing. "So," Kat turned to Gia once the boys hopped onto the bench and the horn sounded to start the second period. "Do you think you’ve found your love of a lifetime in Pat?"

  "Huh?" Gia looked confused as she questioned her sister with her mouth full of nachos.

  Kat took a sip of her beer. "You always said Kris and I have a love of a lifetime, that he was my Prince Charming. Is Pat your love of a lifetime?" She grabbed another nacho off the tray.

  "Honestly, I think he is."

  Just then, Tyler smashed into the boards in front of them, while trying to hit number twenty-eight on the other team. He looked up and smiled quickly at Gia. She waved quickly at him and nodded her head. Yeah, pretty sure Patrick is. She quickly scribbled on the back of the sign she brought. Good thing I stuck that marker in my purse.

  She saw Patrick at center ice and held up her sign as he chased a defenseman to the glass in front of her. As he shoved the guy into the boards, he looked up at her; a big grin spread across his face when he saw her sign. “#12 has my” and she drew a big heart.

  CHAPTER 24

  PATRICK

  During the third period, the referees weren't very consistent. Kris had been taken down three times now with no penalty called.

  Kris hit his stick into the boards before lining up for the next face-off.

  "Dude, you need to relax," Patrick called to him.

  Kris didn't need tossed in the first game of the season. A lot of calls had been missed, but Kris seemed to be getting the brunt of it.

  Matt crosschecked the forward as Tampa’s number five hauled Kris down again.

  He quickly pulled himself up off the ice and skated a beeline towards the guy in black and white stripes, "What the fuck?" He got in the ref’s face. "He hauled my ass down not once, not twice but three fucking times! Where's the fucking penalty?" The ref tried to skate away, but Kris followed him still screaming.

  Patrick jumped on the ice as Matt hurried off. He skated over to Kris’s side. "Relax."
He put his hand on his cousin's shoulder. "It’s just the first game, let it go. It's not worth it."

  Kris shook his head and skated back to the bench with Patrick.

  "I guess." Kris skated over and hopped onto the bench. He sat down and grabbed a Gatorade bottle.

  "Pat’s right," Tyler said from the end of the bench. "Let it go. The refs are just being dicks tonight. Let Matt or one of the other guys take care of number five. You don't need to start your season off like that."

  ****

  GIA

  "Thank goodness." Kat let out the breath she was holding. "He was really fired up out there."

  Gia giggled. "Maybe it's the thought of having a date night with you. He's getting pumped and ready to get this game over so he can get on with the night." She was giggling too much to say anything else.

  "Don't be a dork!" Kat playfully pushed her sister.

  "Look, he's already back out there with Tyler." Gia pointed out, taking a long sip of her root beer.

  "He looks intense but not pissed off anymore. It amazes me how he does that," she said as she turned to Gia.

  "He's so passionate about the game. I could always tell that about him, even before yinz guys hooked up."

  As the clock ran down and the third period came to a close, the Renegades shut out Tampa Bay, one to zero.

  "You ready?" Kat asked. “Gia, you look a little green. Too many nachos?"

  "Nah, I think it was the root beer. Well, guess it could've been the nachos." She let out a burp as she put her hand on her stomach. "Heartburn." Gia stood up and both girls started to climb the steps out to the corridor. Gia looked around at all the garbage left in the stands. Seeing a few extra Renegades signs and programs left behind, she grabbed them. "I always wondered why people left all their garbage. Why can't they just carry them to the trash can?" She tucked the programs into her purse.

  "Yeah, I don't get it. And why do they always stop on the steps? Walk people," Kat complained. As soon as the girls reached the top, they hurried down the hall and jumped onto the elevator.

  Stepping out on the ground floor Gia forgot what it was like to be down here. "I missed this," she said quietly to her sister. "There he is," Gia called as Patrick walked out of the locker room.

  "Hey, baby girl!" Patrick ran his hand through his wavy hair as he walked up to her and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into a warm welcoming kiss.

  "Hey, handsome," she cooed, as she curled in to his arms.

  "See ya later, sis!" Kat called as Kris quickly led her to the exit.

  Kris waved and smiled, he mouthed the word ‘bye’ as they left.

  "Hey Pat," someone called from behind them.

  Gia recognized that voice and turned to see Tyler, walking out of the locker room and headed their way.

  "Nice move calming down Kris." Tyler gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Hi Gia, how you feeling?" he asked in a very friendly tone.

  "Um, I'm good, thanks," she stuttered. After everything that happened, he still made her nervous.

  "Thanks, Ty. I had to because like you said, it's only the first game," Patrick said.

  Tyler nodded and shook his hand before walking away.

  "Well, that was interesting," Gia commented softly.

  "Let's not worry too much about it. You hungry?" Patrick asked.

  "Yeah, I guess." Gia seemed to be hungry a lot these days. She assumed it was normal. Since she always had a high metabolism, she just ate what she wanted.

  "How about we grab a pizza and take it back to Kris's? We could take advantage of the fireplace or pool while they’re out."

  "Sure, I guess." Gia hadn’t planned to go back to Kris and Kat's place, but Patrick was right, they had the pool and fireplace.

  Patrick and Gia walked out to his Hummer in the garage, passing the usual security guard. "Have a good night, Don," he called to the guard as they passed.

  "Goodnight, Mr. Dubois."

  "I keep telling you, Don," he replied as he looked over his shoulder at the guard. "Call me Patrick. Please."

  "Alright, Mr. Dubois–I mean, Patrick." Don smiled.

  Patrick walked Gia to his Hummer. "He's a good guy. Last season he asked me to sign a picture for his grandson." Patrick helped Gia into the monstrosity of a truck, closed the door and walked over to his side, hopping in the driver’s seat. He smiled at Gia. "So I brought him in a signed photo, a puck and baseball cap." He chuckled. "He was thrilled and his grandson loved it."

  "Aw, that's so sweet of you." Damn, he looked cute tonight. He needed a shave, but she liked the scruff. "Hey, do you really want pizza?"

  "No, I'll eat anything you want. Why?"

  "I had nachos at the arena," she said as she burped again.

  "I know. I saw the whole nacho cheese thing between Kris and Kat. Wow! Good thing none of the guys were paying attention to that." He laughed. "Not like your sign." He let out a booming laugh. "They saw that and gave me a little bit of a hard time, but it could've been worse."

  "Hell yeah, it could've been. I almost wrote ‘#12 is My Prince Charming.’ Yeah, that one would've got you a lot more harassment, I'm sure." She giggled. "Anyway, I was thinking maybe tacos or chicken wraps from somewhere?"

  "Um, how about chicken wraps from the corner deli? There's a lot of green stuff in the wraps too." He made a face.

  "Yeah, that sounds good. They make those good smoothies there too, don't they? I heard they had a Greenie Smoothie and a mixed berry one that are supposed to be real healthy for you," Gia replied.

  "That's the place. They make chicken wraps in either a lettuce wrap or a tortilla and they are really good." Patrick chuckled. "I'm surprised my cousin hasn't had Kat eating the lettuce wraps."

  "Actually, I’ve seen her eating what I thought was a lettuce wrap, so maybe he has."

  CHAPTER 25

  PATRICK

  Gia unlocked her sister's front door. She went in first and Patrick carried the bag of food. "Those lettuce wraps better be good," Gia complained as she looked back at Patrick. They walked into the kitchen and set the food and smoothies on the counter.

  "They will be." Patrick smiled. "If you don't like them, you can always leave them for Kris."

  "So true," Gia agreed and giggled. "He's going to love this Greenie Smoothie." She looked down at the four smoothies they brought home: a green one was for Kris, orange for Kat, mixed berry for Patrick and strawberry for herself. "You want yours now? I'm going to put Kris’s and Kat's in the fridge." She kept them in the cup holder and set them on a shelf in the fridge.

  "Yeah, I'll have some of mine now." Patrick grabbed his off the counter. His cell phone buzzed. It was a text message from Kris.

  Is it happening tonight?

  That's the plan. Patrick typed nervously.

  Great, we'll stay out as long as we can. Good luck!

  Patrick slipped his phone back in his pocket and checked his other pocket nervously. Yep, it was in there, safe and sound.

  "Who was that?" Gia's voice startled him out of his thoughts. "Babe?"

  "Oh, just Kris. Checking to see if we got home yet."

  "Okay. Hey, how about a fire while we eat?" Gia asked as she put plates on the counter.

  "Actually, I was thinking fire pit on the porch," he suggested.

  "Oh yeah, that sounds nice. I'll go light a few of the torches on the porch." Gia emptied the food out of the bag and onto their plates. The lettuce wraps came with homemade potato chips. She popped one in her mouth as she separated them on the two plates. "Yum," she mumbled as she crunched on the chip.

  "Okay, let’s take dinner outside and I will light the fire pit." He led the way out to the porch, putting his plate and cup down on the little outdoor table. Gia set her plate down next to Pat’s and sat down. "I like these new cushions Kat bought." They were so soft and plush. "Wonder where she got these things at?" Gia pushed on the cushy fabric and rambled on about the chair cushions.

  Patrick shrugged his shoulders and just pretended to listen
. He had no idea what she was talking about, too preoccupied with what he had planned. It was a perfect warm evening with a cool breeze. The guys had played a great season opener. Even Tyler made an effort not to ruin the night for anyone. He basked in the warmth of the fire as she went on and on about those cushions.

  He started to eat a lettuce wrap. His mouth was full, but he was able to say, "These are actually really good, you should try them." He knew what she was thinking, who eats a sandwich wrapped in a lettuce leaf?

  "Well," she said, eyeing the food. "I don't know. All of a sudden, I think the baby could go for a nice, deep-fried chicken sandwich."

  "Oh, just try it," Patrick laughed. "Stop examining it and take a bite. You can't eat fried food every day. It’ll be good for you," he added. He showed her his, now half gone. "It's good. Really."

  "But it needs a bun. Or something." She sighed and begrudgingly took a bite. Making a scrunched up face as she chewed, her expression quickly changed. "Oh, huh. This is pretty good," she mumbled with her mouth full, covering her mouth as she talked.

  "Told you." He grinned as he finished his and drank his smoothie. "I'm saving this other one." Patrick put his plate to the side. It felt like little butterflies were break dancing in his stomach. He’d never been this nervous before. Not even when he played his first professional hockey league game. He was lucky he was able to get that first wrap to stay down. Is this normal? Why am I so nervous?

  "Yeah, me too. I'm fuller from the nachos than I thought." Before she could get up to take her plate inside, Patrick grabbed it for her.

  "Here, let me take it inside for you. I'll be right back. You just sit and relax." He disappeared into the house.

  Patrick stood at the counter for a moment before he searched for a baggie to put the wraps in. He needed to catch his breath. Actually, he needed a beer. He didn't want to drink one in front of Gia, so he grabbed a bottle out of the fridge and flipped off the top. He quickly gulped down half of it. He needed to calm these nerves.