Shirts and Skins

Chapter Nine

Lindsay's POV

Oh my gosh, what have I just done? I just promised Jeff that if he scored tonight, I'd go out to Raleigh with him. My parents would never approve of that! But then again, I was 19, and could handle and take care of myself. And besides, Jeff would treat me right, I know it. I just had to convince my parents of that. But how was I supposed to do that? They didn't know Jeff, except for what they had seen of him on TV, and they were quite protective of me. Maybe I could find a way to convince them. I hoped I could.

The game was televised on TSN tonight, which means I had to watch. What was my option really? I had to know what was going to happen. The game wasn't until 6:00 pm though, another forty-five minutes to go.

Mom was just serving dinner. I know she'd never let me just watch hockey at 6:00 pm. The news was on, and we always watch the news. Thankfully, I had a TV with cable in my room, so I'd just go to my room after dinner.

I finished my dinner first, rinsed my place, put it in the dishwasher and began to head downstairs to my room.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" my Dad asked me.

"Hockey is on in 5 minutes." I answered.

"Jets hockey?" he asked.

"No, Sens and Canes."

"Oh, okay."

I continued down the stairs to my room. I opened my bedroom door, jumped onto my bed and turned on my TV, turning it to TSN HD. I loved watching hockey in high definition. It was almost as good as watching it live.

The first period, there was no scoring. Jeff had a close goal, but it was no goal.

Six and a half minutes into the second, Ottawa scored. Twelve minutes later, they scored again. I wanted Carolina to win, and in a way, I wanted Jeff to score. I wanted to see him again, I really did. And I had never been on a plane before, and never been to North Carolina, so it would be a lot of fun. But, I was nervous as to what my parents were going to think or say. Would they think I was completely irresponsible for making a deal with last seasons Calder Trophy winner about scoring a goal, something he is amazing at? Most likely.

The third period started, and I was getting nervous. With five minutes to go in the game, and the Canes still down two goals, I figured I'd be staying here in Winnipeg, not worrying about how to tell my parents. Suddenly, Tuomo Ruutu scored, and Carolina was only down 2-1.

"C'mon Carolina, c'mon Carolina." I continued to whisper to myself.

Jamie McBain received a pass and took a shot. It deflected off someone in front of the net and went in! Carolina had tied it up! I was thrilled! Then I realized the Hurricanes players were all patting Jeff on the helmet. Had Jeff deflected the puck? Then, like he knew it was on him, he looked into the camera, smiled, and winked.

Shit. I had to find a way to tell my parents.

Carolina went on to lose the game in a shootout, but after Jeff's goal, I didn't really pay much attention. I was thinking of how I was supposed to tell my parents that I was going to Raleigh, North Carolina with a very attractive professional hockey player that they didn't know personally. That should go over great.

I slowly walked up the stairs from my bedroom and into our family room, where my whole family was sitting. I sat down on my chair and leaned back.

"So how'd the game go?" my Dad asked.

"Carolina lost." I said.

"That's too bad." my Mom replied.

"Yeah. I actually have to talk to you about that." I said.