Page 99 of Hockey Player Seeking Fan

“I hope this goes well,” Wes says.

“I’m sure it will,” Miles says, looking at his phone. “I may have to leave early.”

“Why do you have to leave early?” I ask him. “This is a really important match?—”

“It’s a game,” Sabrina corrects me.

“Oh my gosh.” I hit my hand to my forehead. “Why do I keep saying that?”

“Because you don’t really know hockey,” Wes says, rolling his eyes. “Like, you’ve never known hockey. And you’re only into it now because your boyfriend is on the team. Which is kind of crazy, if you ask me.”

“What’s kind of crazy?”

“The fact that you’re dating Tyler and you can’t stand sports.”

“I can stand sports. I like sports!”

“Name one sport you’ve played.”

“I used to play tennis.”

“That was, like, when you were in fifth grade,” he says. “But we should pay attention. Let’s see how it goes.”

“I really want him to win,” I say.

I watch the game. It’s fast—really fast—and much more one-on-one than I thought.

“Did that guy just hit that guy on purpose?” I whisper to Sabrina.

“I think so,” she nods. “You’re allowed contact in hockey.”

Wes puts his fingers to his lips. “We will tell you more about the game when it’s done.”

“Okay. This is a really close one. I didn’t realize it was going to be this close.” He looks nervous. “I hope for your sake, Erica, that it goes well for your man.”

“What do you mean by ‘for my sake’? What does this have to do with me?”

“Because he could get traded,” Miles says. “And if he gets traded, that means he might not be in New York. And if he’s not in New York, your relationship is kaput.”

I press my lips together. “You mean… he could be moved somewhere else just because he loses this game?”

“If they don’t think he’s valuable to the team.” Miles shrugs. “Happens all the time.”

“Shit. What if he gets sent to Minnesota or something? He’s from the Midwest, right?”

“He’s from Iowa.”

“And Iowa’s not Minnesota.”

“Close enough. Maybe he wants to be back home.”

“I don’t want him to go to Minnesota. I don’t want him to…” I say, and all of a sudden, my good, happy, excited mood is diminished.

If he loses, could he have to move? I mean, I know he says he loves me, and I love him, but this is a new relationship. It’s not like he would ask me to move with him. It’s not like I’d even want to move to Minnesota. I’ve never had any desire to live there. I mean, if he asked me, I would go, because I love him. I just want to be with him. But there are so many other things I want to accomplish.

I close my eyes and cross my fingers. I’m scared to watch the game now. I can hear the screaming and the shouting. I can hear the announcer talking, but I don’t even really know what he’s saying.

I open my eyes and see the score.