by Dana Burkey
As expected, Blake easily completed the quiz on Wednesday. He gave me a thumbs up on the way out of school, as well as a few Instagram messages about how he was certain he had aced it. On Thursday he met me at my locker with a grin covering his whole face.
“I passed,” Blake announced, holding up his quiz for me to see.
“I knew you could do it.” I had a smile on my face, and tried not to let it waver when I realized that his grade was only a C. It was passing still, but I instantly was determined to help him get an even better grade on the final test.
“Good job Blake,” Lilly also chimed in. “Looks like Torri is your good luck charm. Good thing she’s coming to your game this weekend.”
“Exactly,” he agreed before I could remind Lilly that I never said I was for sure going to the game. “Well, I need to get to practice. See you later Torri.”
Hearing Blake call me by the nickname very few people knew, let alone used, was odd to say the least. I was a little annoyed that Lilly had used it in front of him in the first place. But, more than that, I was concerned that thanks to Lilly, I was going to have to actually go and watch Blake play hockey.
“You’re welcome,” Lilly laughed before I could say anything. “Now you can finally have your moment with him.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, keeping my voice low in case anyone was listening.
“He was so happy to show you his quiz, and you were just as happy the second you saw it,” she explained. “Just don’t forget about me once you’re hanging with the popular kids and your hockey boyfriend.”
“Stop it,” I sighed, throwing in an eye roll for good measure.
I closed my locker and turned to walk outside, making Lilly run after me to catch up. She continued her comments for most of the walk home, but that seemed to help her get it all out of her system. On Friday she only mentioned Blake a few times, thankfully none of which occurred when he stopped by my locker at the end of the day. He made sure I knew where to go for the game, and had me add Emily on Instagram. It helped me to know who I was looking for once I arrived at the rink Saturday morning.
“Victoria?”
Turning towards my name, I was surprised to see the polar opposite of the girl I had seen on Instagram the day before. Emily was standing in front of me wearing black UGG boots, jeans, and a Red Wings jersey over a hoodie. Through the rips her in jeans I could see she had on red leggings underneath, which matched her jersey. Her black hair was pulled up in a messy bun with a sparkly gold headband. She looked much sportier than I was expecting. Although her makeup was done as fancy as in all her photos I had seen, drawing attention to her flawless smile and bright blue eyes, she didn’t look how I anticipated at all.
In every one of her Instagram photos she was wearing dresses and other fashionable items that looked like nothing in my closet. Seeing her in the pictures made me worry my usual shirt and jeans would make me stand out next to her. So, wanting to fit in with my hockey buddy for the day, I was wearing my nicest pair of jeans, a white long sleeve polo and a grey cardigan. Knowing it was going to be cold both outside as well as in the ice rink, I threw on a light jacket, worried my massive puffy brown coat would be a bad idea. But standing there shivering in the early morning wind, I regretted my outfit entirely.
“You must be Emily,” I said with a smile, trying not to show my mental struggle over my outfit choice.
“Yup,” she replied. “Nice to meet you. We better get inside and get good seats near the ice before they all fill up.”
I nodded then followed her towards the entrance. In doing so I noticed she had a few blankets under her arm, and desperately hoped she was willing to share. My wish was granted as soon as we got to our seats right up against the glass. Emily laid one blanket out on the seats so we had a barrier between us and the cold steel, then handed me one and kept another for herself. As I enjoyed the warmth of the blanket, I listened closely as Emily began giving me a rundown of the game.
“So JV is going first,” she began. “That will give you a lot of time to learn more about the game before the varsity game. I know Blake might play some of JV, but from what Greg was saying their coach is trying to save him for the varsity game. After last week, it’s not a surprise really.”
“Is Greg on both teams?” I asked, knowing that trying to understand the game just yet was pointless.
“Nope, just varsity,” Emily explained. “When he was a freshman he was on JV, but he’s amazing at goalie so they moved him to varsity this season.”
“That’s really cool,” I said honestly. “How long have you known him?”
“We’ve known each other since the summer before eighth grade, but didn’t start dating until last Christmas.” She paused, then asked the question I should have seen coming. “How long have you and Blake been together?”
“Together?” I repeated, stalling for time. “Oh no. We’re not dating. I’m just helping him in English for a bit. Before I started tutoring him we never even hung out.”
“Wait, really?” When I nodded, she continued. “So, you aren’t dating him, and kind of don’t even know him super well, but you’re here.” I nodded again. “Well, you like him, right?”
I could feel my cheeks warming up despite the cold weather in the area. Listening to Lilly tease me about Blake was one thing, but hearing it from Emily was totally different. Knowing my face was likely giving away the fact that I was a little confused on just how I was feeling about Blake, I simply shrugged in response to her question. When she gave me a big smile and moved on to ask me what we were studying in English, I was beyond thankful. Then, when the team finally took the ice for warm ups a few minutes later, I was more than happy to move on from any discussions about the feelings I may or may not have for a certain hockey player.
9
Hockey is confusing. Plain and simple. Even with Emily by my side, there were a lot of things that had me gasping in shock or left me extremely confused. The confusion came first when the players could go behind the net, and then a few more times when it looked like the two teams were all but fist fighting on the rink. The fights were also the moments that made me gasp, as well as when people would slam up against the glass. It was a miracle all the glass didn't shatter by the end of the first game.
Knowing I was new to the sport, Emily did her best to explain what was happening throughout the game. I understood some of it, but eventually just tried to copy her. When she cheered, I cheered. When she booed, I booed. And when she used a few colorful words after a call the ref made near the end of the game I tried to join in, despite not knowing what there was to be so upset about. Or rather I wasn’t sure of the reason until a penalty shot meant that Allendale lost, beating Blake and his teammates by one goal.
“That sucks,” I said simply.
“You can say that again,” Emily sighed.
“So now what?” I asked, keeping a close eye on Blake as him and his teammates shook hands with the players on the other team before skating off the ice.
“Now we wait a bit, and then we cheer on varsity,” she shrugged. “The game should start pretty soon.”
Emily was right, and before I knew it Blake was once again back on the ice to warm up. I watched him closely, rarely losing sight of his number 8 jersey. Once Emily pointed out Greg I kept an eye on him as well, but always seemed to end up looking towards Blake. It was mostly since he was the only person on the team I knew well enough to show up and cheer for, but also because I wanted to see how he would play for the second game. Now that I knew a little bit more about the game, I was hoping it would be easier to follow along. And thankfully, it was.
Cheering along with Emily once again, I was able to clap or shout or boo once or twice without needing her prompting. Instead, I could decipher the action on the ice, or at least more often than during the JV game. It was mostly since the movement and general game play was similar to the earlier game. The big difference being that the body checks and “fights” seemed m
uch more intense, and that, thanks to a goal by Blake and a lot of good saves from Greg, Allendale came out on top.
"We won, right?" I asked Emily, wanting to make sure the game was actually over.
"Yes," she confirmed between cheers.
I joined her in celebrating, but was shocked when I looked back to the ice and saw that Blake was skating my way. He had removed his helmet, showing off his hair which was sticking out in all directions and covered in sweat. That was the second thing I noticed though. The first thing that caught my eye was the massive smile on his face. As he got closer he pulled off a glove to give me a thumbs up, making a confused face while he did so. Somehow I instantly knew it was his way of asking if I had a good time. I instantly give him a big grin and two thumbs up in reply. I wanted to tell him great job on the goal and game in general, but the cheering around me was too loud to make that possible.
"You two are adorable,” Emily said to me as Blake turned and skated back to his team that was slowly leaving the ice.
"Should we wait here for them?" I asked her in reply, completely ignoring her comment.
"No, we can wait inside the front entrance where it’s a little warmer," she explained. "They usually take a while since they have to shower and then have a team meeting and all that."
Helping Emily pick up the blankets, we chatted as we walked towards the doors we had first walked through at the start of the games. When we weren't cheering on the athletes on the ice, Emily and I spent some time getting to know one another. Surprisingly, we had a lot in common. Emily was on her school's student council, was in mostly all honors classes, and, as Blake mentioned, also competed in speech and debate competitions on the weekends. I never would have guessed it from her fashionable photos on Instagram, but Emily was about as nerdy as I was. It gave us a lot to talk about, and we easily passed the time until Greg and Blake left the locker room to come and find us.
"So, what did you think?" Blake asked once he was standing by my side.
Out of the corner of my eye I was aware of Emily giving Greg a congratulatory kiss. I wondered for a second if I should try to hug Blake or anything, but thankfully he had a gym bag and coat in his hands so I had a good reason to skip over the greeting.
"It was awesome," I said in reply to his question. "I think by the end of the varsity game I actually understood what was going on."
"You know, you might need to start coming to more of my games," he began. "Between the varsity game and our English quiz, you really are my good luck charm like Lilly said."
"I agree," Emily chimed in immediately. "The game was much more fun when I had someone to watch it with."
"I don't know," I said slowly. "I didn't prove to be much luck in the JV game."
"I didn't play in that game a lot so it doesn't really count," Blake explained like it was the most logical thing in the world. "Your luck came through when it really mattered."
"Maybe I can make it to a few more then, just in case," I offered. I could feel my cheeks getting red thanks to the conversation, but tried to ignore it.
“Okay, we need to get going,” Emily finally said with a bit of a frown. “See you next week Torri?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll let you know,” I replied.
That seemed to be good enough for Emily who actually gave me a hug before she and Greg walked out of the arena and into the cold. The wind blowing in from outside instantly had me freezing and wishing I still had one of Emily’s blankets to keep me warm. Likely seeing my shiver, Blake turned to me with a rather concerned look on his face.
“Do you have another coat?”
“No,” I said slowly. “It’s only a few blocks to the coffee shop. I’ll be fine.”
“Not like that you won't be,” Blake said in reply then immediately got to work.
Before I even knew what he was doing, Blake set his gym bag on the ground and stepped behind me as he held open his coat for me to slip into. I tried to resist, but hearing the wind outside made me give in very quickly. His coat was lined with fleece, and I could instantly feel how much warmer I was with it surrounding me.
“Won’t you get cold?” I asked as I finished slipping my arms into the sleeves.
“I just played hockey all morning,” he reminded me. “If I can skate around on ice and feel hot the whole time, I think I’ll be okay for the walk.”
I nodded, then moved my arms to zip up the coat. It was then, as I tried to pull up the sleeves that I realized that the coat was a lot bigger than I expected. I should have thought about it sooner since it was loose on Blake as it was. Considering he was so much taller than me, it made sense that I was practically swimming in the extra fabric.
“Here, let me,” Blake said with a laugh, coming to my rescue yet again.
While I stood in the oversized but extra warm coat, Blake went to work helping me zip and button up the coat. He made sure to get each and every one of the black toggle buttons in place before pulling the hood up around my head. Once it was in place it was clear that it was also too big, so Blake took the time to fold it back a little so I could see around the red flannel material. Tucking back a strand of my hair as he finished getting the hood in place, we both seemed to freeze when his fingers lightly brushed my neck.
Looking up into his eyes in that moment, I found it impossible to read his expression. Sure, I hadn’t known him well for a particularly long time. But, even more than that, he was making a face I hadn’t seen before from him. I knew I was likely making a similarly interesting face as my heart deciding to pick up its pace as we stood there and stared at one another. It was like even if my mind couldn’t process things, my heart was well aware of the fact that Blake was standing very close to me all of a sudden.
The moment likely lasted only a few seconds, but when Blake finally dropped his eyes from mine I could feel my cheeks all but burst into flames. Thankfully he was now focused on the final part of helping me fit into his coat. Being extra careful not to brush his fingers against mine, Blake rolled each sleeve a few times so I could use my hands as needed. When both sleeves were finished, he took a step back, cleared his throat, and then finally looked at me as he spoke.
“Ready to go?”
In reply I simply nodded, not trusting my voice in that moment. It felt silly to be reacting to Blake like that, but it made me feel at least a little better that he looked as shaken up by all of it as I was. Walking outside as he held the door for me, I was thankful for the cool air on my cheeks and also that the coat was doing its job of keeping me warm. I only hoped that once we got to the coffee shop I would be able to concentrate on Shakespeare.
10
By some miracle, the moment with Blake didn’t affect our study time that day. But, as I laid in bed that night it was all I could think about. Over and over again I replayed the way it felt when his fingers brushed against my skin, and the way he looked at me with an expression like he was finally seeing me for the first time. I found myself thinking about it constantly as I sat to read for fun or work on homework, making progress very slow. Without meaning to, and seemingly out of nowhere, Blake was all I could focus on.
It didn’t help that we knew the test was fast approaching, making studying the rest of the play even more important. But with the end of the play also came the end of my study time with Blake. So, as we sat down to study on Wednesday afternoon, I found myself even more distracted than usual. I decided that I wanted to get to know Blake more, and also let him get to know me. I figured it was a good way to find out what our moment outside the ice rink was really all about. The only problem was it was a fine line to walk, asking personal questions while also attempting to make progress on Macbeth.
“You really never went to any of the roller skating nights?” Blake asked me in shock. The topic came up during Wednesday’s study session after we had spent some time reminiscing about our favorite middle school teacher.
“Never,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m not really that great on skates.”
“I guess I’ll need to take you out for some practice then,” he said with a grin. “Although I have to admit, roller skates are not as easy as ice skates.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I laughed. “There are four wheels instead of just a blade. I mean I’ve gone ice skating even less than I’ve gone roller skating, but it has to be way easier being on the wheels.”
“Hold on,” he said, holding up his hand to stop me. “You haven’t gone ice skating much either?”
Shaking my head in reply, I listened as Blake began planning a trip to the ice rink as well as the roller skating rink. He even pulled out his phone to check open skate times and compared those to his practice and game schedule. I found myself watching him, caught up in the excitement on his face. The only thing I wasn’t sure of was if his excitement was because he was talking about going skating, or because he was talking about going skating with me. Either way, when he finally looked up and saw I was just staring at him, the moment ended.
“What?” he asked, a confused look on his face.
“Nothing,” I said immediately, then looked back down at the paper in front of me. “We should get back to studying. I’m not being a good tutor always distracting you like this.”
“You’re right that we should get back to work,” he agreed. “But I think the distractions make you a good tutor. If I focus too much on the play, then it’s not as fun. Hanging out with you is making all of this a lot less painful, so I don’t want to stop the interruptions altogether. As long as I’m still ready to go for the test then I’ll welcome distractions from you any time.”
Feeling a blush creeping into my face, I gave Blake a quick smile of agreement, then got back to work. In class on Monday, Mr. Dennen had mentioned that the test was likely going to have a few essay questions, so I was working hard to make sure Blake was ready for not only the multiple-choice questions but also the harder elements of the test. Having the play to focus on in that moment was a nice distraction for me, and before I knew it, we were packing up to leave for the evening.