Page 80 of Hitting the Goal Line
That extra ticket could have gone to one of his friends, so it’s better for me to ask than go down there and come right back up because someone else is in the seat that was meant for me.
Within seconds a text message pops up on the screen and the smile I had on a few seconds ago goes from a small one to a full-blown grin.
Chloe lets out a laugh at my expression and shoos me away as her and Emma continue their way to the suite to catch the start of the game.
Pocketing my phone, I make my way down to the lower level and look for Elijah.
Thankfully I don’t have to look a whole lot, because he meets me at the door to the section him and his friends are sitting in.
When he turns to look at me, a huge smile spreads across his face but for some reason, it slowly starts to fade.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, closing the distance between us and placing a kiss against his lips.
Elijah looks me up and down when I pull away from him, his face and eyes not giving me anything to go off of.
“Do you usually wear a jersey to games?” he asks, his tone unreadable.
I look down at what I’m wearing. This is normal for me when it comes to attending a hockey game, leggings, and a jersey. Sure, sometimes I do dress up, but not all the time. But did Elijah expect me to wear a skirt or something?
“Not all the time,” I say, giving him a small, nervous smile. “Only when I’m too lazy to pick out an outfit or when I’m coming from the hospital. It’s just easier.”
He lets out a hum as he gives me a closed lipped smile, but he doesn’t say anything. He just takes my hand and leads me down to the seats.
As we walk down the stairs of the arena, I can’t help but to feel some tension rolling from Elijah’s body to mine, but I don’t read too much into it. Maybe he wanted to see me in something more formfitting.
Next time we come to a game, I will try to plan better. If I have the time.
That’s the game plan, but as the game starts and Knights are playing like their asses are on fire, the tension coming off Elijah, gets a whole lot more intense. And I feel it directed straight at me.
He doesn’t say more than two words to me during the first period and in the second and third, that word count goes down to zero. He doesn’t even talk to his friends, which I find even more weird.
I guess whatever his issue is, it has very little to do with what I’m wearing. Because who gets this mad over a damn outfit?
I try to give him space most of the game, occasionally trying to make him smile with a peck on the cheek, but that doesn’t help any. He just scoffs.
By the end of the game, which the Knights win three to one, I’m slightly irritated. If I knew he was going to act like this the whole game, I would have stayed up in the suite. At least then, I would have had some baby time with Emma.
As everyone starts making their way out of the arena, I look down at the ice and see Blake looking around. Since he has made it to the NHL, we’ve made it a habit of sorts, win or lose, I will go down to the ice and give him a few non-encouraging words about his game. Long gone are the days where I would yell how much he sucks from the stands. Well, not long gone. I did it all postseason, but a few of the dirty looks that I got, especiallywhen Blake was doing good, made me stop. Now we have this little tradition that I don’t want to put a stop to.
“Do you guys mind if I go down to the ice and say hi to my friend?” I ask Elijah and his friends. I don’t need permission to do things but I rather not be rude and just leave them when they are heading in a different direction.
Elijah makes a face but he doesn’t say anything or even makes sound, but his friends do.
“Would it be okay if we go with you? We would love to meet him,” Marcus, Elijah’s best friend asks, a smile growing on his face.
I guess introducing them to Blake in a public place is better than any.
Ignoring Elijah and yet another one of his scoffs, I give Marcus a smile.
“Yeah, I would love to introduce you guys to him,” I answer and all of them, besides Elijah of course, look excited.
Seriously, what is up with him today? The Knights are his favorite team. I would have thought he would be excited not only because they won but because he’s about to meet one of the players. I must have missed something, but I can’t think of any reason why he should be acting this way. Maybe something happened at work and he was reminded of it? I don’t know.
I’ll ask him when we go back to his place later tonight, but for now I’m going to go make his friends’ night.
As I make my way down the stairs to the ice, Elijah tries to grab my hand, and even though I’m not in the right mind to deal with his moodiness, I let him take it. But when he holds it in a death grip that is almost painful, I pull it away, much to his distaste.
“What is up with you?” I whisper in his direction, stopping stop to a family pass by.
