The Tales of a Future Hockey Wife

Chapter 9: Too Bad

~Eleanor~

The Spits is the bar players usually end up at after a local game. It looks like an old bar with its wooden walls and floors. There are hockey jerseys everywhere with names I don't recognize. On the wall behind the bar, there are pictures of old players on the ice or the official pictures they take once a year before the start of the season. Those pictures are often signed by the player. We are sitting at the back of the bar in a section reserved for the players on game night. This place's brand is really based on hockey. Ever since we got here, about twenty minutes ago, people haven't stopped coming to congratulate them on the first win of the season. We also haven't paid for a single drink since people keep sending us free ones. I am sitting between Ben and some girl whose name I don't know. I sip on my mojito once in a while because I want to make it last, so I don't have to refuse another drink. I cannot get drunk tonight with school early tomorrow. Ben's arm rests on my chair, but he faces away from me to talk to the player on his left. I learn from listening to the conversation between the girl beside me and the guy in front of her that her name is Brittany, she is our age, but she is still a senior in high school since she decided to stop going to her math classes last year. She has the reputation of sleeping with a lot of the players, especially the new ones.

"Who would you bang this year, Brit?" She looks deep in thought. Ben's arm has moved from the chair to around my shoulders. I interlock my fingers through his just to make a point. I don't know how I would react if she named him. When she sees me move my arm, she shifts her focus from the other guy to me for just a second. Good, she saw me.

"Logan is hot and strong. I bet he is a badass in bed. The French guy is fuckable, but I don't know how I feel about the accent. And it's too bad that Benji is taken cause I would have totally fucked him." When he hears his name, Ben turns around and she has the audacity to wink at him. My hold on his hand tightens and I hear him chuckle. I am not the jealous type, but when someone makes such a blunt move on my boyfriend, I can't help but have a burst of anger in my chest.

"How long have you two been together?" It's the guy's voice. I don't know if this question was for me or for Ben, so I stay quiet, hoping he would answer, but he turned again to finish his conversation. The guy raises his eyebrows at me, waiting for an answer.

"Two years, almost three." Brittany seems surprised. I force a smile before taking a sip of my mojito. My glass is almost empty, I made it last for as long as possible.

"And you followed him here from where? I know it's far, but I forgot." I answer her, and her eyes widen even more.

"I would have never done that. You're good or crazy, depends how you see it." Crazy? Maybe it was crazy to move across the country, but it's what you do for love, right? This is what we call a sacrifice. Compromise would be a better word. I can already tell that I won't like this girl. We are so different. She wears fake fur coats over short leather dresses and I wear wool vests and pale pink dresses. She has about four layers of eyeliner while I only have a small coat of mascara. She wears high heels and I wear suede boots. I know that she is what most hockey players, hell what most guys want, but it's not who I am, and I don't understand girls who live to get attention from boys and that's obviously what she's doing. I just shrug to answer her and, suddenly, she gets up and claps her hands together. Everyone turns their attention towards her and she seems awfully pleased by it.

"Here in Windsor, we have a tradition. The newbies have to buy me a drink after their first game. So, everyone, follow me. Even you Benji, you can get your girl a new drink, she's been drinking the same mojito for over an hour." Ben looks at me and I shake my head, I don't want another drink, I want to go home. Before he has a chance to take his arm from around me, I grab his wrist to check the time. It's eleven thirty and I have to get up at seven tomorrow. I make eyes at him, trying to get my point across.

"You tired?" I nod, but I don't have a chance to ask him to leave. Brittany almost screamed his name from across the bar. He lets go of my hand and heads towards her without another glance at me. I lean my chin on the palm of my hand on our table, sighing. Can I leave without him? I would feel bad, but it looks like my last option. I don't want to look unsupportive, but I'll be in the worst mood tomorrow if I don't at least get seven hours of sleep and I'll empty our coffee reserves. When he comes back, he is holding another mojito. I raise my hands and give him a questioning look. What didn't he get? Me shaking my head wasn't enough for him to understand that I didn't want another drink? He seems taken aback by my reaction. He scrunches his brows as he places the glass in front of me.

"I told you I didn't want another one, why did you order me a mojito?" My tone is harsher than I intended. I see my sleeping time reducing and it makes me angry.

"I'll drink it if you don't want it. It's no big deal, El. Calm down." Those two words end me. I get up without another word and grab my vest on the armchair. He turns around on his chair, a worried look on his face.

"I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'll grab a cab and go home." I soften my tone, the last thing I want is to cause a scene the first time I meet his teammates. I lean down to kiss him. He only took two shooters, but his lips taste like tequila. He places his hands on my hips.

"I'll go with you. Just give me a minute." I put my hands on his cheek and shake them at the same time as I shake my head. My fingers brush the soft strands of his hair behind his neck and, at this contact, I want to tell him to come home. I want to have him all to myself, celebrating his victory, but I remind myself that it's important for him stay here.

"Stay, celebrate with your friends. I'll see you tomorrow, I don't have a class in the afternoon. I love you." I kiss him once more. When I pull away, I feel him utter the words on my lips. I smile at him and wave a small goodbye to the others. The second she thinks I am far away, Brittany sits at my place besides Ben. I shake my head as I open the bar's door to exit. I have to remind myself that I trust Ben or I would have walked right back in that bar. This girl will be trouble, I can feel it.

***

I can hear footsteps and two different laughs. A man and a woman's. I look at the alarm clock next to me, it's past two am. The man tells the woman to shush. I know they're in my apartment, I just don't know where. The place next to me is empty, so I assume that the man's voice belongs to Ben. I hear keys dropping to the floor followed by another laugh from the masculine voice. The laughs transform into words. I listen carefully, trying to make as many words out as possible.

"Thank you for the lift. I owe you." That's definitely Ben's voice. The boy wouldn't be able to whisper even if his life depended on it. I roll my eyes.

"You're most welcome and I'll remember that. Good night Benji." Brittany. Even if I only met her tonight, I would recognize her squeaky voice anywhere. I had a doubt it might be her, but I was hoping it was the building's owner who came to help him after she saw him struggling to get up the stairs in his drunken state. The front door opens and closes. She must have left. When I hear his footsteps getting closer to the bedroom, I close my eyes and pretend to sleep. I hear him sigh in relief. A few minutes later, I feel the bed shift next to me and two arms encircle me. He buries his nose in my hair and takes a deep breath. He kisses my hair. He must fall asleep quickly, I don't feel him move all night. His hold on me doesn't loosen either. On my end, it takes me quite some time to quiet the noises in my head who kept imagining all the worse possible scenarios.