Corey Crawford has always kept to himself and struggled on his own, but when his problems start to effect those around him the Blackhawks decide that he either had to change or get out. They turn to a last chance desperate situation and hire a life...
Jess has had a hard time with the whole gift thing her dad left her. She never takes off the tags and she refuses to speak with her mother. I know she just needs time to digest and figure out how she was feeling and I had no problem helping her out. It's not too hard to find something to keep your mind busy, training Freddie was a challenge and it's summer in Chicago so it wasn't too hard to find something to do.
And I think it is time for our second date anyway so I rack my brain for ideas to make her happy. It doesn't take much, she was a pretty positive girl. But I can just tell she was hurting, she didn't smile as bright and her voice stayed monotoned. It was weird, seeing her sad. I didn't know what to do or say so the best thing I could be was a distraction.
So I tell her to dress nice and that we were leaving at 6 for dinner then would get a private boat tour. She seemed really excited but she was excited by a lot of things, its one of the many incredible things about her.
I change into a nice pair of khaki shorts and a light blue top before making sure my hair look good. Once I'm satisfied with how I looked I head out to the living room and wait for Jess to be ready. I mess with Freddie and we play on the floor before a door opens. The dog easily rips the toy out of my hand as I sit in the floor with my mouth open so wide that my jaw nearly hits the ground. I'm not sure if that's my drool or the dogs that my hand was in.
"Holy... Jess" I gasp as she walks over to me. I try my best to spring to my feet but I was afraid my legs were going to give out. She stops when she's right in front of me giving me a chance to really admire her.
She wore a matte navy blue dress that was simple unlike what she usually wore. She always dressed up because she said it made her feel good and I thought she looked so cute when she looked so professional. There was no look that she couldn't pull off but this simple one was perfect for dinner and a boat ride.
"You look incredible" I admit and she smiles big.
"Thanks, you're not looking too shabby yourself" she teases as she brushes off some imaginary dirt off my shoulder.
"Are you ready for a beautiful night out on the town" I ask her.
"More than ready" she assures me.
We take off into this wonderful city that we call ours. She had been with a client today and I spent my afternoon playing with Freddie until we could finally spend some time together. We end up sitting riverside at a nice restaurant sitting outside watching the traffic pass by. The buildings tower over us giving us a beautiful sight for the dinner.
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"How have I never been here before" she gasps.
"Because you're always working" I tease.
"I take my craft seriously" she defends.
"I know. It's really impressive, how you always look good and how you are always doing good. I wish I could be half as great as you are" I admit.
"I'm not great, I just really want to be" she claims.
"You're pretty great to me" I insist and she smiles. For a second time stops as her eyes meets mine, and all I could see was her. Not just her outward beauty, but everything else that made her so beautiful to me.
Once she realizes that I was was sitting there just thinking about her she adverts her eyes as she looks back over the menu. I smile to myself as I continue to stare, just thinking about how incredible my girlfriend is.
"Can I ask you a question" I wonder.
"Careful" she warns.
"I know... it's just I've been thinking about this a lot" I defend.
"What is it" she asks.
"How did you fall for me knowing that I've done some bad things" I ask.
"Doing a bad thing doesn't make you a bad person, people forget that. What makes a person bad isn't what they do but more of why they do it. Sometimes shit happens and we get hurt, but if you're not doing it for the soul purpose to hurt someone or yourself then you're not a bad person" she explains.
"You know, I was engaged not too long ago" I say and she stops.
"I didn't know that" she admits. She sets her menu down and she turns her attentions to me.
"I was. I had a girlfriend for a year or so and I ended up proposing. I liked her a lot, she was incredible and she made me happy, but I didn't propose for the right reasons. She figured that out and we called off the engagement after about a year. It didn't feel right, being with her. Partially because I was a big problem in our relationship and partially because she wanted to help me so bad but she knew she couldn't" I explain.
"You know it's not your partners job to fix you" she says.
"I know that now. But I kept her around because she loved me and I thought I loved her. She made me happy and she never seemed to mind my bad habits until it became a part of her life. She was a good girl, but she wasn't the girl for me" I admit.
"And I am" she asks.
"You're everything I never knew I wanted. With you it was so easy because I never felt like we had to be in a relationship to make each other happy. You showed me you cared even though it wasn't your job to care. It helps that you helped me out a lot and I'm a better person now than I was before you were a part of my life" I explain.
"Do you regret breaking up with her" she asks.
"Not anymore, but at the time it hurt like hell. It made me realize how bad I really was, it was scary. I hurt her and myself and my parents. The guys on the team wouldn't invite me to things because I wasn't fun to be around. It was dark" I admit.
"And look how far you've come" she says and I smile.
"Can you say one negative thing" I question.
"And why would I want to do that" she asks.
"That's just life" I insist.
"That's not life, that's handling life poorly. Of course there's bad here, but there's more good. I can't see the good if I'm constantly looking at the bad, it fogs your mind. When I look at you I don't see the bad, just the good" she claims.
"Damn..." I trail off.
"What" she wonders.
"You're way too good for me" I admit and she giggles.
"I don't believe that for a second and neither should you. You've done bad things Corey, but you're not a bad guy" she says.
"Thanks to you I'm not" I reply.
After a delicious dinner with a view it was time to hop on the boat. We get one all to ourselves before heading to the upper deck. They take us around the city and we just lean against the rail and talk like the good old times. With the summer starting to wind down hockey season was in the back of my mind. But for right now all I was going to do was enjoy my time with the one person who sees me for me
