by Misty Wright
She curled up on the sofa beside her brother Glen and tucked her legs under her. He put an arm around her. Their neighbor, Theresa, who was in her fifties, sat on the other side of her. Her husband, Hal, sat in the loveseat next to Tito. Various other people sat on kitchen chairs brought into the living room and on the floor around them. Evangeline liked this kind of ambience. She liked her neighbors, and in her neighborhood, they all knew each other and looked out for one another like family. It was a middle-class, mostly Italian, neighborhood.
CHAPTER 4 - Team Captain.
"Hell, I forgot how much I hate that guy," Mark said under his breath to Janine, who was standing next to him during the singing of the American national anthem.
Janine lifted his eyes to watch Marcus Lando, the center for the opposing team. For three years, their lines were matched together on the ice, and for three years, Janine's team had beaten his. Marcus was looking back at him and he could see the challenge there. He resisted giving him a sarcastic grin because they were supposedly respecting the anthems.
"Don't start anything. I want this win more than I want to have you beat the shit out of him," Janine mumbled back.
"Don't ruin my fun."
This time Janine did smile, but he returned his eyes to the ice as if he was just thinking about something else.
There were cameramen everywhere, their cameras panning the players during those few minutes before the start of the game and he, like the opposing players, would look terrible to the fans if he started showing unsportsmanlike behavior. It was supposed to be a game. A game with hidden undercurrents and emotions that kept the passion for it alive in the players.
"Did the game start?" Evangeline called from the kitchen.
"Just about. They showed your boyfriend," Julie called.
"He's not my boyfriend!" she shouted from the other room before appearing with three bowls of snacks. Thank god Glen had bought the large flat screen television last summer, because the neighbors came over to watch after her father bragged about the neighborhood that she was dating Mark Hartley, though he really didn't have to. Most of them had seen the game that Evangeline was at and the media attention she had gotten. There must've been fifteen people in there, including her family.
She curled up on the sofa beside her brother Glen and tucked her legs under her. He put an arm around her. Their neighbor, Theresa, who was in her fifties, sat on the other side of her. Her husband, Hal, sat in the loveseat next to Tito. Various other people sat on kitchen chairs brought into the living room and on the floor around them. Evangeline liked this kind of ambience. She liked her neighbors, and around her neighborhood, they all knew each other and looked out for one another like family. It was a middle-class, mostly Italian, neighborhood.
She perked up when the camera focused on Mark. More and more she liked seeing him in his uniform. He just seemed so tough and virile. He had his helmet balanced on his hockey stick and his hair was messed up as he stood in line with the other starting players during the national anthem. If she didn't know better, she would think he was sporting a bit of a smirk.
"He looks intense," Glen said, obviously not noticing the same.
"Well, don't they take this game seriously?" she asked.
"They're playing against a team that had a high rivalry for years. That big guy there," he said as he pointed to a man who looked like he towered over Mark as they matched up for a faceoff, "hit Janine Rush hard a few years ago, gave him a concussion. Mark jumped on him and beat the living tar out of him."
"What? That huge guy?" she said with wide eyes. "Mark beat him up?"
"He's a tough guy, that fellow of yours, and he's fearless, too. Lando has about five inches on him. He's the biggest guy in the league."
First of all, Mark was over six feet. She couldn't possibly imagine the size of the other guy. And what had possessed him to take on someone that size?
"He was retaliating for Janine, the team captain. Lando hit him hard against the boards. Knocked him flat. He was pissed because he couldn't catch him before he scored a goal."
Inside, she was smiling to hear that kind of admiration from her brother. In fact, she didn't even deny that he was hers this time. To Glen, the fact that Mark wasn't a wimp meant a lot to him. It meant that Mark could protect his baby sister. Evangeline had dated an accountant and another man who was a computer geek. It was Glen who took it upon himself to speak to them, not Tito, and they never asked her out again.
"Where is Janine?"
"He's the one with the "C" on the left side of his chest next to Mark. He's the captain. Whenever you see Mark, Janine's not far behind."
"Wow, really? Mark never mentioned that. I mean he said he was his best friend, but I didn't know he was the captain."
"Rumor had it that he actually owned the team, but he's publicly denied that. The truth is that his wife took ownership of it after the death of her father, but she gave control to Dutch, Janine's father. Apparently, his father is one of the general managers ever. He's a legend in himself. Used to play years ago."
Evangeline knew about Janine's father because Jennifer told her. He'd gone home that night she was at the house to be with his wife.
"Hey, you two, keep it down." Tito turned up the volume. "Puck dropped. It's game time."
Mark plunked himself beside Janine on the player's bench. "That bloody goalie is an acrobatic monkey." They had delivered three shots on goal in the first five minutes of the game and their goalie had stopped them all.
"Yeah, it just makes him harder to crack." Janine let a smile pull at the corner of his mouth.
Mark gave a short laugh and looked up at the screen that just so happened to have focused on him and Janine. He gave a wink and returned his attention to the game. Evangeline couldn't help but feel her heart leap when he did that. Like he was winking at her.
"He's very handsome, Evangeline," Theresa said while patting her knee. Evangeline didn't deny it because he was.
The first period seemed quick-paced, but there was no goal from either team. The second period was a different story. The teams started hitting each other hard out of frustration, and the penalties started. Mark was a big man so when he hit, it was brutal. Then Janine Rush got a breakaway and Mark was right with him as they approached the goalie. Everyone in the room leaped to their feet and cheered.
He was ready for a center pass to Mark, when Janine got tripped by the stick of another player from behind. At the same time, the two of them plowed into the goalie at full tilt. Mark barely escaped doing the same. The net flew off, the goalie was buried beneath the two big men, and the other players took offense to Janine landing on him.
The big guy Glen had pointed out crosschecked Lando with a hockey stick as he was trying to get up, violently throwing him back onto the ice. Tito jumped up and cheered as Mark threw his gloves down and grabbed him by the jersey, delivering blows to his head that sent his helmet flying off.
"Oh, gosh!" Evangeline buried her face in her hands.
"Oh, Evangeline, isn't he magnificent?" her sister said.
"I can't watch. That man is going to hurt him."
"Which man?" Glen said with a chuckle. "The one he's got by the scruff of the neck? So far, I think he only got two punches in. Mark has him over a barrel. He's got a right fist like a steel piston."
The referees started to get them under control, but Mark ended up in the penalty box and so did Lando for the crosscheck. Mark got an extra two minutes for being rough. According to Glen, both of them got off easy.
After that, the players actually seemed to settle down. Janine scored the winning goal five minutes into overtime. Mark assisted.
"Wow, he is fast," Julie said, referring to Janine's skating ability.
"With legs that long, he would be. That's why he makes the big bucks," Tito said, standing up. "Anyone want a beer?"
Everyone was still there an hour later when the phone rang. Unfortunately, it was Julie who answered it.
"Evangeline!"
she shouted. "It's Mark." Everyone started clapping, and Evangeline could have crawled under the table. She took the phone and walked down to her room.
"I see you guys watched the game," Mark said with a chuckle.
"I might have glanced at it briefly," she lied, smiling.
"Sure you did, honey. Julie told me you did already."
"I disown her," she said, shutting the door of her room and sitting on her bed. He laughed. It was really noisy in the background on his end. "Where are you?"
"We're just leaving the dressing room."
"Hartley, let's go," came a male voice in the background. "Bus is waiting."
"Yeah yeah, give me a second," said Mark.
"Is she hot?" came the same voice.
"Shut the hell up, Eric," he said angrily. Evangeline laughed.
"Ah hell, see what I have to deal with," he said to her.
"If that's the babe that you brought to the barbeque last week, give her my number."
Mark said something that Evangeline would never repeat, but it did make her smile. From the muffled sound, he had tried covering the mouthpiece of his phone, but it really wasn't effective. It wasn't as if she wasn't used to that language; her brothers were terrible. A moment later, his voice was clear again.
"Look, I'm calling because I won't be back this weekend. Janine's dad gave us a few days before the next series so we can unwind. Janine and I are flying home and won't be back until Wednesday. It's been a while since I've seen my family, so I've got to go. Our next game is the following Friday." He paused. "Tell me you'll miss me."
"I won't," she said.
He chuckled. "I've got to go. I'll miss you, babe." He hung up.
Evangeline stared at the phone, feeling completely hopeless. How could a man do that to a woman, especially when she hadn't known him that long? Her heart was thumping rapidly in her chest at the endearment he had used.
*
The following week was horrible. She hadn't heard from him. Of course, he made no promise to call her, but she still wish he had. She was thankful for her job at the shop because it helped pass the time. Her sister, on the other hand, didn't help at all. She kept reminding her that Mark hadn't phoned, and that if he was at home, maybe he got caught up with an old girlfriend.
"Why do you do those things?" she said roughly, arranging flowers in a crystal vase.
"I'm just saying that you should look at all sides. I mean, he's famous, rich, and handsome. I know for a fact that you haven't put out."
"Oh my god!" She turned to face her sister with a look of astonishment. "Julie, my personal life is not open for discussion."
Julie placed her hands on her hips. "It would make a difference in how he treats you. I mean, what is wrong with you? My god, look at him! He's hard everywhere, and I'm sure he knows how to please a woman."
"He treats me like a gentleman should," Evangeline interrupted, appalled at her sister's lack of personal privacy. "I like it that way. Mama would have loved him."
"He treats you like a prized trophy, Evangeline, because you are beautiful and he likes having you on his arm. Also, he's a virile man in his prime, he has women all over him, and men like that have needs. I'm sure he-"
"That's a lie," she said, not wanting to hear any more. She knew that Julie was probably giving her a reality check, but it bothered-no, hurt her-to think that he was with another woman. Though, she really shouldn't be upset if he had, because she had never agreed to anything with him.
"That's how they are," said her sister.
"And you know this because you dated so many famous men?" It was a low blow and Evangeline knew it as soon as the words left her lips. She knew that Julie didn't think she was pretty or that she could ever measure up to her, which was ridiculous. Actually, she didn't mean it that way in the least, but she knew Julie would take it that way, and she did. Her face fell. "Oh, Julie, I'm sorry," she said.
"Save it! It's too bad all of us women don't have your angelic looks, Evangeline."
"That's not what I meant."
"Well, why does it matter? You know you're beautiful and I'm not. Of course you would have someone like Mark Hartley chase you just for a glimpse off the street. Everything gets handed to you."
"You know that's not true."
"No? Then why do Papa, Tito and Glen treat you like a precious princess?"
"I'm a prisoner in my own home!" she argued. "Is that what you want to be like? Tito scares the crap out of any man that tries to date me. I'll be a virgin until I'm fifty!"
Someone clearing their throat made them both spin around, and they saw Mark standing in the doorway. He was wearing a tan suit with a mauve shirt, and his hands were in the pockets of his slacks. Evangeline put her face in her hands and could feel her eyes filling with tears. This couldn't possibly get any more embarrassing. Julie, on the other hand, seemed to think it was funny and actually laughed.
"I'll leave you two alone," she said. Julie walked out of the back room thinking revenge was sweet. Even though Glen had basically spelled it out before, now there was no doubt. Mark knew that Evangeline was a virgin, and now he would surely dump her. There's no way a stallion like Mark would want someone as inexperienced as her. Men like him liked women who knew how to please them. She was done with her friends and family going on about Evangeline and her new famous boyfriend. If she had felt left out before, she felt invisible now.
Mark waited until Julie was out of earshot before approaching Evangeline and wrapping his large hands around her wrists to pull her hands away from her face. He spoke gently.
"Hey, is this all about me?" He already knew it was. He'd stood in the doorway and heard everything. Finally, he'd had enough of Julie's cynicism and had cleared his throat.
She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Now you know some of what I deal with. Oh god, I'm so embarrassed!"
He smiled and saw that her eyes were moist but no tears fell. He was thankful because he really couldn't handle a woman's tears. Even worse, he doubted very much he could handle Evangeline's. Chances are, it would bring him to his knees.
"I couldn't help but overhear; you guys were loud."
"I thought the 'closed' sign was up," she countered, not wanting to talk about it. But he wasn't as willing to let it go.
"You might want to remember to lock the door, then."
She could kill her sister. Julie had said it was locked.
"Mark, what do you want?"
"Besides taking the brunt of your anger because of your sister?" He grinned as she pursed her lips without denying it. "I want to take you to dinner."
He lifted his arm and looked at his watch. "My plane landed just over an hour ago and I'm starved." He'd spent an extra few days at home with Dutch's permission and had neglected to call Evangeline. It was done purposely. He was hoping she'd finally cave and tell him that she had missed him, but he wasn't going to push her now, especially after the fight she'd just gotten in with her sister. If she thought he didn't know she was a virgin, she was wrong. He knew. Even if Glen didn't tell him, she acted as though she'd never been kissed.
"I can't," she finally said.
"Why?"
She took another deep breath and looked away. "I can't see you. Julie's right. You are a famous athlete, and I-"
"Evangeline," he interrupted, nudging her chin so she'd look at him. "I'm a man, plain and simple. Money and fame are just words. Don't let anyone change your mind about me, except me. I like you."
"As I said before, you have women hanging over you all the time. They scream your name. I saw one woman throw her underwear at you when you left the rink on your last game."
"Actually, that was for Eric," he said. Eric had picked them up, too, and got the woman's number.
"It makes no difference," she said, frustrated. "I know it happens to you, too, but you aren't admitting it."
"It does." He shrugged. "I don't care about them, though."
"I do," she said.
"Why?"
He was going to make her say it. Well, what did she have to lose?
"You heard Julie. I have no experience. I don't know how to handle you, or the numerous female fans you have. I drove by the TD building today and there's this massive banner with you and Janine's face on it hanging a hundred floors up." She waved her arm. "Mark, that isn't normal. The attention is so overwhelming."
"That doesn't matter. The thing I like most about you is that you are yourself. You don't try and pretend to be someone you're not. The women and the fame bother you, but none of it really matters."
"It does matter to me. It makes me feel vulnerable. I don't like it."
"I find it appealing. You may not believe that, Evangeline, but I don't think I've ever dated a woman as sweet as you. Usually, they can be demanding with my time, my money, or other things," he said, not elaborating, but by her blush he knew she understood. She started shaking her head, but he wasn't deterred.
"Come here." He reached for her arm and pulled her against him. "You haven't even given us a chance," he said, smoothing his hands over her back. Christ, she did smell like lilies. He bet her skin smelled like that all over. What an amazing thought. As for his embrace, she was tense against him, but soon he could feel her relax as he rubbed her back with his hands. "You need to be fair to me."
"I don't want to get hurt," said Evangeline.
"No one does, but that's a risk we all take."
She pulled back from him so she could meet his eyes to see if he was telling the truth, but he still kept his hands on her. To her, it seemed as though he was serious. It was just so hard to believe. This unbelievably handsome, famous athlete wanted to date her.
"Have I pushed you at all?" he asked, looking down at her.