The Lonely Hour

Chapter 22: On My Mind

When Patrick walked into the rink the next morning he was happier than he could ever imagine. Images of Ella swirled through his head as he sat in the back room cutting his new sticks.

Patrick admitted that the fancy restaurant was a little to much once he realized how much fun the two of them had just getting lost in the city.

As her face continued to flash in his mind, Jonathan walked in with a stick of his own.

"Morning Bud" He said but Patrick did not respond. "Pat? Patrick?"

"Huh?" He mumbles, snapping out of his daze.

"I'm going to guess things went well last night" Laughed Jonathan as he began to unroll the white tape.

"I don't know what it is about her but it's like she's a drug and I'm addicted. I could've spent the whole night with her" Patrick says dreamily, his blue eyes now soft with a touch of grey.

"Jesus Pat, I've never heard you speak like that" Jonathan suddenly got serious. It was becoming real to him how much Patrick actually, genuinely liked Ella. From his brief encounter with her he knew she was pretty but it seemed like she had a love spell over Patrick.

"How's it gonna feel leaving her for 14 days" Jonathan crushes Patrick's smile.

"Fuck, I forgot all about our road games" Patrick sighs

"We have a game tomorrow and than we leave right after, come on Pat" Jonathan shakes his head.

"Yea come on Pat!" Patrick Sharp mocks as he enters the room in search of a new roll of tape

"Stay out of it Sharpy" Patrick says sternly. No one on the team, besides Jonathan, knew of Pat's breakup with Melanie.

"Calm down" Sharp rolled his eyes. "The fuck is his problem?" He mumbles under his breath to Jonathan as Patrick leaves the room.

Practice went by slower than ever, well at least that's how Patrick felt. Ella's touch was still causing his skin to have goosebumps and he couldn't seem to shake her out of his head. He tried to clear his head and focus on practice but he just couldn't.

"Pat you're not injured are you?" Coach Q questions Patrick as he enters the locker room.

"No! no!" he answers quickly "Just a bit of an off day" He explains.

"You don't get it together during tomorrow's game, I'm scratching you for some road games" Q warns

"I'll be fine, I promise" Patrick says quickly for he's in a rush. In the locker room he quickly showers and changes before sprinting to his car and driving to the ice house. This time, he wears a black trench coat and beanie that covers his blonde curls.

Patrick manages to sneak all the way to the back of the rink where he can see the game perfectly. Twenty one caught his eye immediately and when they did, they didn't seem to leave. His eyes were glued to her as he watched her move. Some of her skills mimicked his own.

She had scored such an amazing goal late in the second. Coming up the right side she receives a pass in the middle of a spin-o-rama and finishes it with a backhander into the net. It was honestly one of the niftiest goals Patrick had ever seen scored. Maybe he would use it one day.

Just from watching her play, Patrick could tell she had such an impact on the ice. She was well respected amongst her teammates, especially because she dawned the special 'C' on her chest.

The game ended with a score of 4-1, the other team got smacked. They were completely outplayed. Patrick didn't see the last five minutes of the game because he had snuck out before the crowd could identify him.

He patiently waited in the hallway next to the locker room. In hiding he watching the girls file into their respective locker rooms. From outside he could here Ella screaming "Fuck Yea!" on the top of her lungs, followed by the cheers of her teammates. He chuckled at the sound of her, she was so cute without ever trying to be.

Time seemed to slow down as Patrick waited patiently against the concrete wall, and just when he was just about done waiting the locker room door swung open. Out of walked Ella in sweats and a hoodie. Her hair tied up in a messy bun and her face stripped of any makeup.

And even all natural, she was still beautiful.

Catching her by surprise, she jumps back.

"The fuck, Patrick!" She yells at him as she try's to catch her breath.

"Shhh! Shhh!" He try's to quiet her before attention is drawn to the of them.

"What are you doing here?" She says in a whisper.

"I wanted to come see you before I leave tomorrow"

"Leave?" Ella questions, her face showing distraught.

"Road trip" He reminds her. It was times like these that being a professional athlete wasn't fun. "That was one hell of a goal"

"I know! But what a fucking pass from my liney" Her whole face lights up and it's like she's glowing. Patrick can tell this is her passion in life and she was good, really good.

"Why didn't you ever try to make the U.S national team? You could play at the Olympics!"

"Patrick I'm not that good" She shakes her head. "When do you come home?" She quickly changes the subject.

"Two weeks" Patrick frowns.

"You'll be away on thanksgiving?"

Patrick hadn't even thought of thanksgiving. Last season he had spent it with his three sisters here in Chicago. This season he would spend the holiday with his team of brothers, which wasn't bad. At least he would be home for Christmas and New Years.... New Years

"Ella, you aren't doing anything for New Years are you?"

"That's so far, I- I don't know" She shakes her head.

"Now you are, you're coming to a party with me, as my date" He beams

"You're something" She laughs. "But I'm taking you on a date when you get home"