Page 1 of Ice, Ice… Maybe?

CHAPTER 1

BECCA

Live lifeon the wild side and take a chance, Becca – it’s free tickets.

Those words stuck in her mind as she made her way gingerly down the steep stairs into the arena, trying to keep up with her friend from work. Winning a pair of front row tickets to an event was a miracle in her books, so who was she to complain if it happened to be hockey?

“Maddie, hang on…”

Becca was struggling to keep up with her coworker as the two women weaved into the crowds at the arena. The steep incline of the steps was tougher than any set of high school bleachers and dangerously narrow. It was like they were trying to pack as many people as possible in the seats for whatever event was happening at the time.

Would a music concert, rodeo, or festival tickets have been better? Yes – a thousand times ‘yes’ because at the farm where she grew up, she listened to music all day long. Pop, R & B, Swing, Jazz, Electronica, Alternative… just anything at all.

But tonight, it was…hockey?

She knew nothing about hockey except there was ice skating, sticks, a bunch of fighting, helmets, and some weird ice machinecalled a ‘macaroni’ that drove during the halftime show. Yup. She had no idea who was playing during halftime or if there would be some epic commercials like they did during the Superbowl, but she recorded it on her DVR at home just in case… because, let’s face it?

Guys watched the Superbowl for the game and tailgating parties held at home by those who couldn’t get tickets, while women watched for an entirely different set of reasons: the hot football players and the funny, puppy commercials.

“Maddie?”

“C’mon, Becca…” her friend waved happily about fifteen feet down the steep steps from her as people walked past them, bumping and shoving their way through the crowds.This is what people did here?Just bumped, nudged, and pushed their way through? It was like a mosh pit but on stairs, above something that resembled a basketball court from hell, or they were about to see Disney on Ice – but with an abundance of testosterone!

Making her way gingerly, hanging onto the railing, Becca hated the looks she was getting. So maybe this wasn’t her thing; perhaps she wasn’t the ‘type’ that normally came to a hockey game, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have a good time. No, this was just expanding her ‘tree of knowledge’ into something more.

Getting to the front row, she saw the two seats blocked off behind the clear plexiglass and hesitated. They really meant ‘front row’… because their tickets nearly put them on the ice.

“Dang, is it cold in here, or is it just me?”

“You need a jersey or a jacket, girl,” Maddie laughed easily, pointing. “Why do you think I’m in a Toronto Canadiens jersey? I’m here to cheer on ma’ boys!”

“Well, my goose bumps are mountains and, I don’t think I can feel my fingertips anymore…” Becca muttered under her breath, cursing her short-sleeved T-shirt, grumbling as the lights dimmed and the music started. Beams of light began to illuminate as a fog machine filled the rink and everything sounded like a garbled mess onthe speakers, jarring her teeth as a slow-moving vehicle was creeping across the ice.

“Is that the macaroni?” Becca asked excitedly, only to hear several people behind them begin laughing uproariously, as Maddie rolled her eyes.

“Zamboni,” she corrected, making Becca feel like a fool. “They are starting the three-minute warmup, and… here we go!”

The National Hockey league, in accordance with governmental rules and regulations, has embraced a Zero Tolerance policy for fan behavior at all games. Anyone using foul language, throwing things, and…

Becca looked at Maddie in shock.

“Do people really do that?”

“You better believe it… Hockey games can get really wild – really fast.”

Staring at the ice, she saw several men gilding around the ice, some taking shots with a hockey stick while others were skating quickly, coming to a stop, then practically running across the ice once again in sprints before gliding. Shocked, she saw the goalies were on the ice, their legs spread like what she would imagine a frog could do, and nearly grinding themselves indecently before everyone. Her mouth dropped open as the goalies were thrusting, lifting, then thrusting down again, nearly emulating things that happened in the bedroom while doing their stretches.

“Is that not the hottest thing you’ve ever seen…?” Maddie hollered over the loud rush of announcements that hadn’t stopped yet. “Just gimme twenty-four hours alone with Dustin Lafrenière, and I’ll pull every muscle that he’s currently stretching before crying for mercy!”

“Oh my gosh…Maddie!For heaven’s sake, dial it back a notch.” Becca laughed loudly as her friend pointed at the goalie, made a few suggestive hand signals, and then blew him a kiss – which he ignored. “Maddie, I don’t think your guy is interested.”

“Darn it,” Maddie grumbled – and then elbowed her quickly several times on her side, causing her to look at the woman. The elbowing and nudging were still continuing, but there was a furious rush of words that came almost in pattern with the excited hits. “But you definitely caught someone’s attention.”

“Eh?”

“Yes! Just like that – say ‘Eh’ a lot, and one of the players will just gobble you up, if you ditch that stupid Transformers T-shirt. We are nearly in our thirties and do not watch cartoons anymore. Oh my gosh, Bec… he’s looking at you again!”

“Who? Who are you talking about?”

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