Netting Crow (Blackhawks Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 21

"Dinner's ready." Corey called from the kitchen.  I hadn't gone back into the kitchen after I told him that I loved him.  I was too nervous.  Why did I say it?  I should have waited.  I mean it's been nineteen days that we have known each.  I am so dumb.

Corey walks into the living room with two plates.  "Here ya go."  He says handing me a plate.  I look at the plate:  two beef tacos with only cheese and tomatoes.  How did he know that I only liked tomatoes; he had lettuce and tomatoes on his.

"How did you know I wouldn't want lettuce?" I ask him.

"You've said before that you don't like lettuce unless it's in a salad." He states matter-of-factly.

"When did I say that?"

"On your birthday, I brought home those sandwiches and you mentioned it."  I stare at him while he begins to eat.  I can't believe he remembered that.  It took my husband like a year to remember that I only ate ketchup on my hamburger.  Again, I am blown away and overwhelmed by him all at the same time.

"Are you going to try it?" He asks after noticing that I have yet to begin eating.

"Of course...now that you have taken a bite and apparently are not getting sick nor dying."

"Hey! I'm offended; I can cook."

"Sorry.  It's just not something that I picture you doing, kinda like taking out the garbage.  It's weird."

"Why would it be weird?  Everyone has to take out their garbage."

"Nevermind. The tacos look delicious.  Thank you again for making dinner."

"Well, don't thank me until you've tried them."

But like everything else Corey does, the tacos were awesome.

We spent the remainder of the night watching a movie on the couch with Nathan.  As the evening winded down, I put Nathan to bed while Corey went up to bed to watch some hockey highlights from the evening.  I was nervous to join him because although he hadn't addressed the fact that I told him I loved him; it still felt like it hung in the air between us.

Corey was engrossed in one of the games as I wandered into the room and climbed into bed next to him.  He pulled me into him and I laid my head on his chest while he rubbed my back.  When the second period ended, Corey turned off the television.

"You know you beat me to it; I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I screwed it up." He said.

"I beat you to what? What are you talking about?"

"Remember yesterday after the game, we got into that fight, and then I asked you to stop being mad because I wanted to tell you something."

"Yes, I remember.  You were yelling at me for no reason." I said as I sat up, so I could look at him.

"I wanted you to stop being mad, so I could tell you that,"  he paused and swallowed.  "I wanted to tell you that...I love you, but I guess now it would be I love you, too, since you said it first."

Everything around me stopped.  Did Corey Crawford just tell me that he loved me?  This can't be happening.  How is this possible?  Stuff like this doesn't happen...at least not to me.

"You love me?  How is that even possible?" I ask him in a voice that's more like a shrill.

"What do you mean how is that possible?  You love me, so.."

I interrupt him.  "Of course, I love you.  Have you met you? But I mean have you even looked at me, I'm not Corey Crawford girlfriend material or Blackhawks WAGs material."

"Stop it." Corey says quietly.

"Stop what?  It's the truth.  I've seen pictures of your fiancee and of course, I've met Dom.  I don't hold a candle to either of them nor with the other girls like Amanda and Elina."

"Are you finished bashing yourself?" He asks, and he looks angry.

"Are you mad?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because I hate that you think so little of yourself.  First of all, she is my ex-fiancee.  Secondly, Dom was never anything to me like you are.  Third, you are beautiful.  In my eyes even more so than Amanda and Elina, and I'm sorry you don't see it.  And lastly, I would appreciate if you would stop talking so negatively about the girl I love."

"Wow.  Okay, I will try.  Thank you, Corey."  I kiss him and it's not some sweet, innocent kiss.  I put every emotion from the day into that kiss, and it's amazing.

"I love you." Corey says.

"I love you too."

I wake up the next morning to Nathan climbing into the bed between Corey and I.  He snuggles in next to me; he still feels warm, but definitely not as warm as the day before.  We sleep until Corey's phone goes off.  There's a winter storm warning for the Chicagoland area.  We look outside, and it is already snowing pretty heavily.  

"I better get up and get dressed.  We have morning skate and who knows how long it'll take me to get into the city with this weather."  Nathan is still sleeping, so I quietly follow Corey into the bathroom where he is getting dressed.

"I'm sorry, Corey.  We should have thought to check the weather, so you could have headed back into the city last night."

"It doesn't matter because I wouldn't have gone either way.  I'm going to be gone for nearly four weeks, so I was going to spend the time with you no matter the weather."

"Dang.  That's a really long time.  It didn't seem like that long, but I guess it's because you don't actually get an AllStar break because you ARE an AllStar and will be in Columbus."

"Yea, and we fly out of Columbus on Monday and land in Chicago long enough to get on the team plane and head to LA."

"Man, that sucks.  I'm going to miss you." I say trying to keep the whine out of my voice.

"I will miss you too, but we will talk, text and FaceTime often, and on the bright side when we get back, we will be home for almost three weeks.  Also, I will have Valentine's day off, so make sure you clear your schedule to spend the day and evening with me."

"I look forward to it since you're missing our one-month anniversary." I say jokingly.

"I'll make it up to you.  I promise."

"I was just kidding, Corey.  I don't expect you to celebrate our one-month anniversary."

"Well then, you better raise your expectations." He says as he kisses me.  We hug for a few more minutes until I realize he needs to go to get safely to Chicago for morning skate.

"Go and be careful, please.  Good luck and have a great time at the AllStar game. Text me when you get to the UC, so I know you made it safely."

"Thank you.  I will.  I love you."

"I love you too, Corey."

He grabs his travel bag and heads downstairs.  I head back to bed to lay with Nathan.  I am both happy and sad.  Happy because he loves me, but sad because he has to go...and if I'm truthful, I am also a little nervous.  What if after four weeks away, he doesn't feel the same about me?  What if he meets someone while on the road and they hook up?

"Ugh.  It's going to be a long four weeks." I think as I collapse onto my pillow.