The Road to the Cup ~ Wattys 2015

James Neal

I opened my eyes and looked at the clock under my TV. It was 8:30 PM. I felt Sid stir next to me, but he wasn't awake. I liked being in his arms. It was warm and safe, and I felt happy. There was nothing that I knew of that felt better than being in his embrace. I would have been content to stay there, but I was starving. I wriggled out of his arms and walked into my room. Picking up the phone, I called a pizza place not too far from my apartment and asked for delivery. I got two pizzas because I didn't know how much Sidney would put away, but I was guessing it would be a lot.

The delivery guy came and I paid him, taking the pizza inside and locking the door behind me. I set it on the counter and got out plates, then went to wake Sidney. "Hey," I poked him, "Wake up lazybones, it's time for dinner."

"What?" He blinked a few times.

"I got pizza," I smiled.

"What? Really? Are you kidding?" He took a deep breath and clearly could smell it. "Oh my gosh, you weren't kidding! Yes! I love you so much!" That was the first time that he told me that he loved me.

We ate our pizza. I was right to get two; Sidney ate an entire one himself. I was laughing my ass off as we just sat at my kitchen table at 9 o'clock at night, eating pizza. It seemed so bizarre to me. A few months ago, I would have laughed if someone had told me that in a short time I would be best friends with a professional hockey player and that I would be helping to coach him and his team. I would have laughed even more if I had been told that I'd be a Penguins fan, but here I was.

The rest of the week passed quickly. The boys practiced, getting ready for our season opener which would be at home. We were getting nervous as well. It's not like they hadn't played before, but a home opener was a big deal. Hell, any home game was a big deal. I was incredibly nervous because the beginning of the regular season was when people all across the league started paying attention. The boys would be scrutinized, and through them, I would be scrutinized because I was a coach. I would be mostly shielded because I was an assistant, but I was still part of this program.

Sidney and I hung out almost every day, usually reading or watching movies. It was very laid back, and we learned more about each other. But he never learned what my middle name was. We did not kiss again. I had the feeling that when we had said, "one last time," we had meant it.

The home opener was going to be against the Nashville Predators. The boys were excited to see former teammate, James Neal; that was all they could talk about as the game approached.

"Can't wait to see Neal. I'm going to block all of his shots."

"Neal is not score. I am score."

"Watch him start a fight, just watch."

"You and I could so take him, Bortz."

"Would y'all shut up and focus, please?" I asked finally, sick of hearing about James Neal.

"What's wrong, Coach? Are you the only girl on the planet who doesn't like James Neal?" Olli teased.

"Shut it, Maatta. I'm just sick of hearing about him. Don't you people have anything better to talk about?"

Olli came back with, "Your ass looks nice in those jeans," and I regretted asking.

I sighed, "Get back to work. Next one to say 'James Neal' is sitting on the bench for the entire game; I don't care if we're down 7 to 1."

"Someone doesn't like Ames-Jay Eal-Nay," Beau said. I gave him a dirty look. "I didn't say it!" He held up his hands defensively. Sweet lord, sometimes I couldn't handle these boys.

I woke up the next morning and it was game day. I went to the arena early to skate, as I had a tendency to do, and found I wasn't the only one here. The Predators had gotten in last night and were there for their morning skate when I arrived. I sighed, I guess I wouldn't be skating this morning. I sat in the bench, watching the guys skate. I wrote things down as sneakily as I could, and hoped none of them would notice me there. They noticed. I could feel their gazes on me before anyone approached me. First, only a few of them noticed. Then, I heard them discussing me. I put my clipboard under the bench so that they wouldn't see my notes. I sat up straight, waiting to be interrogated or criticized. No one came up to me. I watched the time go by as they practiced for tonight. They had fifteen minutes left, then the zamboni would come through, and then it would be our turn.