Page 102 of Hockey Player Seeking Fan

“Oh, honey,” he cuts in gently, “I'm not going to Minnesota.”

“But what if they transfer you?”

“I don't care if they trade me. I’d quit playing hockey. I got other things I can do—like my art.”

“True. But… do you hate me? I'm meant to be this supportive girlfriend and?—”

“I could never hate you. At all. You gotta know that I love you.”

“And I love you, too. And that’s why I was so nervous that?—”

“Come to the locker room. You have your ID on you, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Great. Just tell security who you are, and they'll let you through. I'll be waiting. I've got a surprise for you.”

“You’ve got a surprise for me? What’s the surprise?”

“If I tell you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, my darling.”

“True… but I want to know. And I don’t even know where the locker room is.”

“Wes and Miles know. They can show you the way.”

“Okay. So you don’t hate me?”

“I could never hate you, my darling.”

“Oh, that makes me feel so great. And congratulations. You must be elated.”

“I’m happy for the team. I’m happy for the guys. I’m happy for Coach. But me? I don’t care. It’s not my life. I mean—it is, but it’s not. I have more important things going on now.”

“Oh, you do?”

“Yeah. I have you. And I have surprises that I want to show you when—anyway, get down here.”

“Okay. Okay. I’m coming.”

I hang up and look at Sabrina. “He’s not mad.”

“I told you he wouldn’t be mad.”

“He should be mad, though. I suck. We haven’t even been dating that long, and I already missed the most important game of his life.”

“Girlfriend. It’s okay, right? He said it was okay.”

“But what if he was just saying that because?—”

“Does he seem like the sort of guy to just say anything?”

“No,” I admit. “He would tell me off if he was upset. Or at least jokingly. So… you think he was okay?”

“Yeah. I think he was okay.”

“I just feel like a shitty girlfriend. I shouldn’t have let the stress get the better of me.”

“That’s okay. You’re human. You do what you can do.”