“Hi. I’m Maya, Easton’s girlfriend.”
He hums and nods as if this is intriguing information. “Ah, so it’s you.”
“What do you mean?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing. He said things turned out right when he paid me a visit to invite me for tonight’s game.”
I’m still not sure what he’s talking about, but my phone vibrates with a notification. Pulling it out, I grin at Easton’s name on the screen.
Easton:We’ll be out on that ice soon.
Maya:I can’t wait.
Easton:Eyes on me. I’m going to score a hat trick for you.
Maya:This is the NHL, you can’t keep dedicating your goals to me!
Easton:I can and I will, baby. I’ll score all my goals for you. And then later I’m going to *score* you [wink emoji]
Maya:You’re so ridiculous [laughing emoji]
Easton:You love me.
Maya:Yeah I do. How do you feel?
Easton:Hype as fuck.
Maya:We’re cheering our favorite player on.
I send him a selfie of us in our seats, managing to squeeze in Mr. Cannon.
Easton:Love you guys.
Maya:Good luck tonight [green heart]
Easton:I need to go. Really quick though. You saw it when we picked it out, but I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the official moment.
He sends a photo of him in his suit from when he arrived earlier at the arena. I bite my lip because he looks incredibly attractive when he’s dressed up.
The lights flash and an announcer booms over the speaker system to kick things off. The players spill onto the ice one by one as their names are introduced.
“Welcome to Boston, Easton Blake.”
“There he is,” I say warmly.
He scans the crowd with an awed expression as he skates to the blue line.
When the players start their warm-ups, he looks up at our section. He spots us, grinning big enough to light up the entire arena. We wave when he lifts a gloved hand.
“Mom, you’ve taken a million photos of him already,” Asher says. “Are you watching?”
“I know. Don’t worry, I’m watching. I’m a proud, Mom, okay?” She winks at me and ruffles his hair, turning the camera to capture a shot of them together. “Of both my boys.”
At puck drop, I’m taken back to all the times I went to Bruins games growing up. It’s even more exciting now.
Me and Easton’s family get excited when he swings his legs over the boards to join the game near the end of second period. We weren’t sure if he would get play time as a rookie, but I’m not surprised to see him meshing with his teammates and seamlessly finding his place amongst them.
He’s more focused and driven than I’ve ever seen him in a game, not hesitating for a second to play right alongside seasoned pros. He knows he belongs on that ice just as much as they do.
