Trading Places

Chapter Two

Amanda looked at Patrick for a moment to gather her thoughts. It seemed like she had been staring at him for an hour, but it was only a moment. She shook out of her thoughts and answered.

"No, it's empty." She replied to him.

Patrick smiled down at her. "Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked politely.

"No, not at all, it's yours." She smiled up at him.

Patrick sat down and smiled over at her. "How come you're not wearing your hat anymore?" he asked.

She looked at him and then the hat and smiled softly. "Oh, I just got a little warm." She said

He nodded and held his hand out. "I'm Patrick by the way." He said.

She looked up and smiled, shaking his hand gently. "I know; I'm Amanda." She said.

He smirked and nodded. "I figured you might know who I was, but I didn't want to just assume." He said and let go of her hand gently.

Amanda smiled and nodded, resting her hands in her lap. "Yeah, it was probably a little obvious." She said.

"Well the hat kind of gave you away." He joked, smiling.

Evan walked over and smiled. "Back again? What can I get for you?" he asked Patrick.

Patrick looked up and smiled. "I'll have a Bud Light please." He said.

Evan nodded and grabbed a bottle, opening it for him and handing it to him. "I'll start your tab up for you." he said.

Patrick nodded and took a sip of his beer. "So what brought you in tonight?" he asked, looking over at Amanda.

She looked over and answered. "My friend Nicole and I try to go out once a week just to catch up. What about you?"

"I was here celebrating my friend's birthday. Do you guys watch the games here?" he asked.

Amanda nodded and smiled. "Yeah this is our favorite spot to watch them. I mean, ideally we'd like to watch a game at the United Center, but we haven't been able to get tickets yet."

Patrick smiled and took another sip of his beer. "Well maybe I can help you out with that." He said.

She looked over at him and smiled. "Patrick, that's sweet but I couldn't ask you to do that. We'll get there sometime." She said.

He smiled and nodded. "Alright well if you ever need a hand, just let me know." He said.

Amanda smiled over at him and nodded. "I will."

Patrick smiled back at her and the two started talking more and more. They talked about what they liked to do for fun, their favorite movies and shows, and they of course talked about hockey. Amanda's nerves gradually went away the more she talked with Patrick. Even though he was her favorite player, something about talking to him made her feel like she was just chatting with a friend. She felt comfortable with him and felt comfortable opening up to him. Patrick opened up to her just the same, and before they knew it, it was closing time.

Evan walked over and smirked at Amanda and Patrick who were both laughing at something Patrick had said, probably a story about a prank he had pulled. "Alright you two, as much as I love seeing the laughs and smiles, I gotta kick you guys out." He said, setting the two tabs on the bar in front of them.