Puck Off!

Chapter 9

The week has dragged on. Maybe because I had something to look forward to? The weekend finished well, with everyone enjoying the Saturday night dinner, getting the art hung and watching a few movies together. Sunday was rough, with Ella heading back home, but at the same time we knew she'd be back soon, so it wasn't the end of the world. She'd left the evening with a lot of hugs, promises to keep in touch with Iryna and Ella excited about staying in touch with both of them.

During the week, I got the home office cleaned out by moving the desk and chair up to my master bedroom and donating the futon that was in there, so we'd have room for a new bed once Ella returned. When I was done, the only thing left in there was a TV on a stand, and even that could be replaced if she found a bedroom set that she liked. I left the walls blank so that Ella could pick her own artwork out.

I'd texted Iryna throughout the week, and we'd made plans to get together on Saturday. I was still terrified, because I'd never been on a date before, let alone had to plan and execute it. The only things I really knew about Iryna were that she played hockey and was an art major that took amazing photographs. I could plan a date around that, though if there were future dates, I'd have to find more!

Work had been boring too. I was busy doing all my reviews, and that just made me feel like I was in a rut. I still got it done, but there wasn't the same sense of accomplishment that I got when I made something new on my own. Whoever was dropping off the flash drives was stepping up their game though. I found a total of five of them throughout the week, including two on Wednesday. The second one was on the way out, so I took it home and then just dropped it off in the morning. It was still a record though!

Iryna had another hockey game, this time on Wednesday, but it was an away game up at the University of New Hampshire, so I couldn't go. I did watch the stream of it online though, and saw Iryna dominate just as much as she did the previous game. She did give up one goal, but it was after she had been knocked down, and she still almost made the save. It was an amazing effort! But even with that goal, the team got the win, 5-1, and that was all they cared about.

Hell, I even watched a few professional games, just to learn a little more about the game. I wanted to support Iryna, and so I started reading the rules, seeing things applied on the ice, and trying to understand how everything fit together. I wasn't going to learn it all in one week, but I'd keep making progress as I could. Luckily, it turned out I liked the game quite a bit, so watching it turned into something I looked forward to and not a chore.

By the time Saturday finally came, I was more than ready for the date. I had a good plan, and I was hoping that it would make Iryna happy. If she was smiling at the end of the night, that was about the best I could hope for. In the meantime, I'd try not to let my nerves get the best of me. Around 4pm I finally headed out. The snow had finally started to melt, but it was still cold, so I stuck to jeans and a pair of boots, with a green button down shirt and my leather jacket. It should work for everything I had planned for the night.

I took the train down over to the campus, and then walked to Iryna's dorm, texting to let her know I was there. She was down soon thereafter, in her own leather jacket over a warm sweater, and then jeans and a pair of wool lined boots. She looked pretty damned amazing, and I couldn't help but smile as I looked up at her when she arrived.

"Hey, you look gorgeous," I was able to say when she got close enough. Yeah, I might have been planning on the opening statement all day, and that was the best I could come up with while not stammering.

"Thank you, Logan. You look pretty dashing yourself!" She was much more comfortable with this social interaction, and I just nodded in reply.

"Are you hungry? Or are you okay walking around?" I asked. My early plans were flexible, though we did have an appointment at 7pm that I couldn't change.