A Hockey Tutor

by Smith, Mary

  How did you know my costume?

  I have eyes everywhere.

  Creep

  Laughing at the text, I grabbed another beer and waited for my Katie to show.

  The music was loud already, and the drinks were flowing. Every girl in the room was in a skimpy outfit, but I still didn’t see the one that I wanted to see the most.

  Then she appeared.

  Thankfully, the counter was holding me up. She had a dark wig on, and the dress was just at the top of her thighs. The hardly buttoned corset made her breasts perkier than they usually were.

  “Hey, Andrew,” Franks said as he slapped my shoulder. “You’re drooling on your scrubs.”

  I pinned him with a look, but he just laughed. I left him standing there as I hurried over to my girl.

  “Wanna play doctor?” I whispered in her ear.

  She turned around, pursing her lips. “That’s the best line you’ve got?”

  “Well, it was either that or: hi, ho, hi, ho. It’s off to my bedroom, we go.”

  Katie closed her mouth tight and covered it with her hand. I could see her shoulders shaking, trying to hold back the laughter.

  “What? You didn’t like it?” I said in mock insult.

  “I’ve missed you.” She pressed her body up against mine. “Wanna play trick or treat in your room?”

  “Damn that was a cheesy line, but my answer is, hell yeah.” I grabbed her hand and weaved through the crowd up to my room.

  I shut and locked my door to ensure that we wouldn’t be disturbed. When I turned around, Katie was pacing my room. She seemed to be nervous.

  “Um, Katie, you okay?”

  She stopped. “Could we talk for a moment?”

  “Sure.” I sat down on my bed.

  Katie took off her wig and shook out her brown hair. “Okay, I need to prepare you for something, and you need to let me get it all out before you say anything. I’m about to have a ‘girl’ moment.”

  “A girl moment?”

  “Yes.” She shook out her whole body and took a deep breath.

  “Katie, I’m concerned that you’re about to have seizure.” I was only half kidding.

  “I had lunch with Brandon today. He’s—”

  I cut her off. “Brandon? As in a guy?”

  “Don’t interrupt,” she reminded him, putting her hands on her hips. “Let me finish.”

  I nodded.

  “As I was saying, Brandon is a friend from Malden. We dated in high school, but we are just friends now. Anyway, we got to talking and I figured something out. I’m not one to express my feelings a lot.”

  The chuckle escaped me before I could stop it. She glared at me. “Sorry, go on.”

  “You’re not making this easy.” She crossed her arms.

  “It won’t happen again,” I promised her, putting up my hands.

  “What I’m trying to say is . . .” She paused and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she bored them right into me. “I trust you, and that is something that I don’t do with everyone, especially after only a month.”

  “Katie, you told me this already.”

  “I did?”

  I stood up and put my arms around her waist. “You told me the night you almost polished off a bottle of tequila . Besides, I see it in you.” I brushed her hair away from her cheek.”

  “Well, that didn’t count. This does.” She kissed me hard.

  I moaned against her lips. She opened her wider, and I drove my tongue in. I cupped her ass and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around me, and I laid her on the bed.

  “Andrew,” she broke from my lips.

  “Yes,” I panted.

  “Your stethoscope is poking me.” We both burst into laughter.

  I rolled over and took it off. Katie curled up next to me, and without saying anything, kissed me on the cheek. The sweet moment meant a lot to me. She trusted me, and I knew that was a big deal.

  Sex was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to hold my girl. My Katie.

  **

  It was Sunday. I left Katie in my bed and went to church. Unfortunately, Uncle Mike wasn’t there. He was at another church, but I still went.

  When mass was over, I headed back home. Katie was still in my bed, but this time she was reading a textbook. She had showered and was wearing one of my shirts. There was nothing sexier.

  “Another appointment?” she asked, shutting the book.

  “Yep.” I took off my suit jacket and laid it on the chair. I knew the game was going to start in a couple hours, so there was no reason to change. I crawled into bed with her, and she rested her head on my chest.

  “Going to tell me where you go on Sundays?” Katie asked.

  “You might be shocked if I told you.” I played with a strand of her hair.

  We remained on the bed, listening to the silence. I felt like there was something else that she wanted to say last night, but didn’t do it.

  “Hey Katie,” I said, continuing to play with her hair.

  “Mmm,” she moaned against me.

  “I trust you, too,” I said aloud.

  She smiled up at me. “Thank you,” she said, and leaned up to kiss me. Katie brought her hand up to my neck, guiding me over to her.

  I rolled her onto her back and settled between her legs. Our tongues danced with each other, and Katie moaned, and I pushed my hips into her.

  I knew things were beginning to heat up, but it came to a screeching halt when Lindsay pounded on my door.

  “Breakfast is on the table. Stop having sex, and let’s eat,” she shouted from the other side.

  Andrew grumbled in complaint.

  “Come on, you need to eat before the game.” Katie pushed me off of her and slipped into a pair of my sweatpants.

  We went downstairs and enjoyed the delicious breakfast Lindsay had made. Honestly, I didn’t even know the girl could cook. We were all quiet as we inhaled our food. Then we began to talk about midterms, classes, and next term. For the first time since I had started college, I was looking forward to the new semester. I was going to have Katie with me, and when hockey season was over, we’d have more time together. That’s what I wanted most. I craved being around her more.

  When all the food was gone, mostly by Franks and myself, I knew I had to get down to the rink. The game was going to be starting in a few hours, and it was against our biggest rivals. If we won this game, we would be in first place in our conference, and that’s where we all wanted to be.

  “I'll see you after the game,” I said, giving Katie a kiss.

  “Good luck!” she shouted as I walked out the door.

  Driving to the rink, I had my music blasting, trying to get pumped for the game. When I reached the locker room, it was strangely silent. The team was in the same mood as I was: determined.

  We hit the ice for warm-ups. The team shot a few pucks at me, and then I left the net to stretch at center ice. I watched the other team warming up. They looked like they were ready to play, and so was I.

  Back in the locker room, Coach fired us up with his pregame speech, and I was all set for the game to start. I led the team back out onto the ice, and it was time. I took a deep breath, squirted some water in my mouth, and got into position, right before the face-off.

  They shot puck after puck at me. Head, shoulders, chest, even my legs, there wasn’t a spot on my body that didn’t block the hammering they were giving me. But nothing got past me.

  Period by period, the battle raged on, with both teams scoreless. Thankfully, the adrenaline pulsing through me kept me going. Finally, in the last minute, we scored. I threw my hands up, cheering for my team. I took another drink of water, and as I did, I saw Katie. She had her face covered with her hands, only peeking out through her fingers. Poor girl, she was actually nervous for me.

  When my eyes scanned next to her, my heart stopped. It was my dad. He hadn’t been to one of my games yet this season. Now here he was, sitting next to Katie. He gave me a thumbs-up and a
small smile.

  My dad. He was someone that I had always looked up to. Growing up, I relied on him as much as my mom. He taught me how to skate, how to put on my equipment, and how to be the goalie I am now. I always wanted to make him proud, but after Mom died, we stopped talking. I drank more, slept around, and didn’t care about anything but hockey.

  Now I had Katie, and things were different. I felt alive again, because of her. It was her trust in me, and the way she cared for me, that made me feel worthy of a better life. I looked at her again; she was still in the same position. I could see her golden brown eyes, and my stomach flipped. She was mine, and I was hers. I loved her. The ref blew the whistle, and it brought me out of my trance. I instantly tuned back into the game, and I was ready to win this. I glanced at the clock. Only thirty seconds to go. I could do it. My dad was here, and so was my Katie.

  The other team won the face-off and came straight for me. Luckily, my defensemen were there to block the shots. The rivals got it back from behind the net, and I knew that they were going for the wraparound. I planted my leg firmly to the ice as they tried to push through. I covered the puck, and the refs whistled the play dead. I got back up and saw there were only twenty seconds left.

  I readied myself as the players went to the circle to my left. I focused on one thing: the puck. I wasn’t going to let it get past me. This time we won the face-off, but it was intercepted and brought back to me. I blocked two quick shots in succession. Then, just as the game clock wound down, a one timer was shot from the red line. I caught it in my glove as the buzzer sounded.

  My team jumped up in celebration with me. We had won. We were number one, and I had my second shutout. I heard the roar of the crowd, I saw Katie cheering for me, and I saw my dad was standing and clapping. I felt as if I had just won the biggest game of my career.

  It wasn’t just the jubilation of winning the game; it was who was with me right now. After the celebration, we went back into the locker room, showered, and changed. I just wanted to find Katie.

  As I opened the door, the cold air washed over me. There at the end of the walk path was my dad, Franks, Lindsay, and the person I loved the most, Katie. Her eyes lit up as I walked towards to her.

  “I’m so proud of you.” She hugged so hard she almost knocked me over.

  “Great job, son,” my dad, said, patting me on my shoulder. “How about we all go to dinner? My treat.”

  “Actually, we have plans. Thank you, though.” Franks shook Dad’s hand, and he and Lindsay left.

  “Just the three of us then?” Dad looked at me and Katie.

  “Um, I have a lot of homework for a project. Why don’t you two have a great dinner together.” Katie said.

  “Are you sure you can’t join us?” I asked.

  “How about a rain check?” Katie said, smiling.

  “Okay”

  I was going to kiss her, but she spun on her heels too fast, and took off towards the parking garage. She was keeping things “professional” in front of my dad.

  “You played a really great game, Andrew.”

  ”Thanks, Dad, but I’m surprised you came.”

  A sad small smile came across his face. “Let’s go eat. You can ride with me.”

  We drove into the city in silence. I thought about Katie and wished she was here with me. At least then I would have someone to talk to.

  Dad valeted the car, and we quickly strolled into the restaurant. .

  “He’s over there.” My dad tapped on my shoulder and pointed. I looked over and saw my Uncle Mike sitting at a table.

  “Hey.” When I reached the table, he stood and I hugged him. Then he hugged my dad.

  We sat down and ordered our drinks.

  “What are you doing here, Uncle Mike?” I asked when the waiter left.

  “Your dad invited me. I’m sorry I missed your game,” he said sincerely.

  I shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal. I wished he had been there, but I knew that he had other, more important things to do.

  “It was a great game, Mike.” Dad relayed every detail of the game. I was surprised to hear him go on and on about what a great job I had done. It had been a long time since I'd heard him talk about me like that. Like he was proud of me.

  “Wow, it sounds like it was a nail-biter,” Uncle Mike chuckled.

  “Why are you here, Dad? I mean, I’m just surprised, that's all,” I corrected myself.

  “Well,” Dad began, shifting in his seat, and looking at Uncle Mike. “We’ve been talking, and I think it’s high time that we get back to our normal lives.”

  I glanced between the two most important men of my life, and thought about what they meant to me. Mom was the one that was always bringing us together. She was the reason that we were so close.

  “Andrew, have you’ve been partying more? Before you jump down my throat, I was in college once too. I know what it’s like. But I’m worried, and I . . .” He trailed off, thinking of what to say next. “I miss my son.”

  I didn’t say anything as the waiter set our drinks in front of us. When he left, I didn’t look at my dad. I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “I miss you, too, Dad.” I had to be honest. “Don’t worry about the partying so much. I promise you it’s not as bad as you think.” I saw my father’s face relax a bit.

  “I loved your mother, more than anything in this world. She was my best friend, and losing her was like a piece of my soul being taken from me. It took me a long time to get out of bed, and function. Because of that, our relationship suffered. I wasn’t being the dad I should have been. I’m sorry, Andrew.”

  I felt the tears building as let my father’s words sink in. Even though I knew that it was hard on him when Mom died, I hadn't realized how bad it had become. Nothing was said between the three of us, but I knew deep down that my mother wouldn't want Dad and me to grow apart because she was gone.

  “I’m sorry, too, Dad. I shouldn’t have caused you so much trouble, or money, trying to be some bad-ass hockey player.” A small smile appeared on my dad’s face.

  It was silent for a few minutes as our confessions hung in the air. Uncle Mike was the one who broke the tension. “I’m very glad that I was here to witness this. I know that Michelle would be very happy about this.”

  I glanced at Dad, and I could that hearing Mom’s name was still hard for him. However, I knew that we could be a family again.

  “Now, I would really like a steak, since Brian is paying.” Uncle Mike shook the menu.

  The three of us busted into laughter.

  Chapter 21 – Katie

  I had over thirty photos spread out on my bed. My project was coming up quicker than I wanted and I needed to focus on it. I had been spending so much time with Andrew that I was losing track of my photography class. But I didn’t want to give up a moment of time with Andrew.

  Thanksgiving was one week away, and the end of the term wasn’t far behind that. The North Maple Bears were still number one in the conference, and Andrew had another shutout. The NHL scouts were watching him closely, and I knew he was growing more nervous about it.

  I kept up with our study sessions, and he was continuing to do well in his classes. The weekly progress reports to Mr. Moore became a little mundane because there wasn’t much to say, but I kept sending them.

  My mom had called more and more this past week, making sure that I was going to be home for Thanksgiving. They hadn’t seen me since I left in August, and I knew she was missing me. I was actually looking forward to going home. Maybe it was because it was the first time I would get to tell my mom I was in love.

  “You look hot in those shorts.” I looked up to see Andrew leaning on my doorframe.

  “Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to have a long practice.”

  “Well,” he said, coming into my room and kneeling beside my bed, “we were, but Coach let us go early. More importantly, why haven’t you worn these more often?” He tugged at the hem of my s
horts, and kissed my knee.

  “Don’t distract me. I need to get some work done.” I pushed his hot lips away from my leg.

  “No you don’t,” he said, jumping to his feet. “Come on, we’re celebrating tonight.”

  “And what are we celebrating?” I asked.

  “The semester is close to being over, hockey is in full swing, and I’ve had three shutouts. Plus . . . I want you to spend some time with my dad.”

  “I’m sorry, could you repeat that last part?” I crossed my arms.

  “My dad’s in town for tomorrow night’s game, and I would like for us to have dinner with him,” he explained.

  I bit down on my lip, unsure of what to do. “I don’t know, Andrew. I mean, technically, he’s my boss and I’m not supposed to be dating you, remember?”

  Andrew tugged me off the bed and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You know, my dad never said anything about a relationship between you and me.”

  I thought for a moment about the meeting, so long ago. “Okay, so he didn’t exactly say the words, but there is a moral code.”

  “There is?” Andrew’s face scrunched up in mock confusion.

  “Shut up,” I said, slapping his shoulder. “You know there is.”

  Andrew chuckled. “Okay, come on and just be my girlfriend tonight.” My heart fluttered at the word. “No tutoring, no nothing. Just come and be Katie.”

  I thought it over. I wasn’t sure this was the brightest idea, but I conceded. “Fine, but if I get fired—”

  “You won’t,” he cut me off.

  “Well,” I continued, “if I do, and I have to pay back that money, I’m making you pay it.” I poked my finger into his chest.

  “Deal.” He leaned in and kissed me. “Now get ready. We’re going to the Capital Grille. I’ll be back in an hour to pick you up.” He winked as he walked out of my bedroom.

  I gathered my photos and put them back in the folder. I stood in front of my closet and began to panic. The Capital Grille? I had nothing nice enough to wear to the Capital Grille.

  “Lindsay!” I yelled through the apartment.

  “Yeah!” she yelled back to me.

  I went to her bedroom. She was at her desk, working on some homework. “What’s up?”