Page 20 of Fear of Love
Don’t even think about it, Lydia.
6
LYDIA
“Ilove game days.” Tasha practically bounced on her toes as we waited in the security line leading into the arena the next day.
“No wonder the guys get a rush when they play,” Josie said with a bright grin.
Even I agreed that coming to hockey games was exciting. There was something about being here with the fans and the energy that made it such a fun time. I didn’t get the appeal at first, only tagging along with Josie, but now that I’d been to enough games, I could say I was a hockey fan. Hard not to be when a third of my friend group were hockey players.
All around us, fans chatted loudly, some even pulled random strangers into conversation as we slowly shuffled in line. The group behind us talked about the Knights’ seven game winning streak and how the team was favored to be the Cup Championsagain. Which they could very well be with how well they were playing.
It only took us another five minutes to get through security. When we walked toward the arena doors, I noticed multiple people staring at Josie, Tasha, and Mila. Aside from the fact they were wearing their boyfriend’s jerseys, everyone knew who theywere. There were enough pictures and articles online about all three of them. They weren’t necessarily famous, but they were definitely known in the hockey world. Dating the star players for the best hockey team in the league did that.
As Josie and Mila walked ahead, Tasha came up to my side. Hooking my arm with hers, her lips pulled back into a smile.
“I got us tickets and seats for Josie’s bachelorette party in three weeks,” Tasha whispered, even though Josie couldn’t hear us over the crowd.
“Perfect.” Josie was in for a big surprise. Yesterday, Tasha texted me saying she was going to set it up and try to get one of the Magic Mike dancers to bring Josie on stage.
“She’s gonna kill us,” I said with a shake of my head. Once she got over the embarrassing part of it, I knew she’d have a blast.
“She’s gonna love it.” Our eyes met before we both laughed.
Arm in arm, we skirted past the fans to our seats. Another perk of knowing Wyatt, Trevor, and Bryton were the incredible tickets they got us. Josie mentioned before there was a family suite up higher that we could watch from, but there was nothing like being in the stands near the ice during a game.
Terry, our favorite and usual security guard, greeted us. “Hello, ladies.”
“Terry, how are you? Is the baby here yet?” Josie asked.
“Not yet but any day now.” His excitement was infectious.
“That’s fantastic! Still betting it’s a girl,” Josie said, bringing her hands to her chest.
“I hope so, too.” The proud smile on Terry’s face was adorable. “Tonight’s gonna be a great game.”
“They’ll win,” Mila said with absolute confidence.
“In case we don’t see you at the next game, we hope your wife’s labor and delivery goes well,” Josie said as we all waved before walking down the steps to where we’d be sitting.
As soon as we stepped down into the actual arena, the noise from all the fans immediately hit my ears. Sound echoed in this place like no other, making it seem ten times louder. The first time I came to a game, my ears rang for hours afterward. I couldn’t imagine how the guys played with the deafening noise surrounding them.
We finally made it to our seats a few minutes later, the plexiglass literally only inches away from us. Because it was so close, any time someone got hit into it, you could practically feel it in your bones.
Once we got settled, Mila leaned around Josie and Tasha on my right, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
“What was that about with you and Landon at our place?” she asked. I knew they were going to question what happened with Landon since we didn’t get a chance to talk since Sunday.
“Landon is typically an ass, but what was his deal?” Tasha added.
“Honestly, I have no clue what crawled up his ass last Sunday.” I shook my head. “I guess he was just trying to protect Mateo, which I do understand.”
“Still. It was a bit harsh,” Mila pointed out.
“He did apologize, though.” All three paused and stared at me like I had snakes coming out of my ears.
“Landon? Apologize?” Josie looked beyond baffled. “When? Where? How?”
