Trading Places

Chapter Seven

Over the next two days, Patrick was fairly busy with practices and press appearances. Playoffs were getting closer and everyone wanted to know how the Blackhawks were managing to stay on top this season. Amanda talked with him every day whether it was through texts, phone calls, or skype. When Monday morning came, Amanda woke up and had an unexplainable nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach which usually meant an anxiety-filled day. She took a deep breath and tried to distract herself before it got blown out of proportion. She convinced herself that it was just nerves about her first game, and then checked her phone. While she was scrolling through her Facebook feed, Patrick's picture popped up as her phone started to ring. She smiled and cleared her throat before answering.

"Hello?" she said.

"Good morning beautiful." He said softly, a smile evident in his voice. "How did you sleep?" he asked.

"I slept like a baby." Amanda smiled. "How did you sleep?" she asked.

"Well I was a little restless last night because I was excited for today." He smiled.

"Oh yeah? What's today?" she asked joking.

"Well this really amazing girl is going to watch me play live for the first time tonight." Patrick smiled.

Amanda felt herself blush. "Oh yeah?" she smiled. "Well she's excited too."

He smiled. "I'm glad. I gotta get down to practice but I'll text you later, okay?"

"Alright I'll talk to you later." She smiled.

"Bye Manda." He said.

"Bye." She said and hung up.

Interesting. He had never called her Manda before now. Maybe this was a sign that he was getting more comfortable with her? She shook it off and sent a text to Evan and Nicole telling them when to meet her at her house. She got in the shower and got dressed afterwards. As she was making some eggs and toast, she heard her phone ringing. She picked up without checking the screen to see who it was.

"Hello?" she said, making her plate.

"Hey lady, it's Evan." He said. "Do you want us to just come and hangout at your house until we leave? We've got nothing else to do today."

Amanda nodded. "Sure if you guys want to. I'm just eating breakfast now." She said.

"Okay, we'll head over there in an hour or so." He said.

"Awesome." She said.

"Hey I was thinking about our conversation the other night. I think Patrick likes you and is hinting that he wants to move forward with you." Evan said, referring to the text conversation he had with her while she was at Gino's East with Patrick a few nights ago.

"Really?" she asked. "Are you just messing with me?" she asked.

"No I'm not just messing with you, I mean it." He said. "I'll be able to see him interacting with you tonight, and that will just prove that I'm right." Evan smiled.

Amanda smiled and shook her head. "Yeah sure." She said. "I'll see you when you get here." She said.

"Bye." He smiled.

"Bye."

She hung up the phone and ate her breakfast. She couldn't help but think about what Evan had just told her. Evan is a guy, so he would probably know about what guys mean, right? She finished her food and put her plate away before getting ready to entertain Evan and Nicole for the next few hours before the game.