Page 39

Eliana

M y mom arrived on Tuesday to pick Josie up after putting her mom to rest two days before.

Unsurprisingly, my mom didn’t speak much.

She just held onto me tight, and when Josie went inside my room to pack her things, my mom finally let a few tears fall.

I offered to let them stay the night, but my mom had to get back to work the next day for a double shift.

She said her boss had been relatively understanding about her missing work.

She got a coworker to cover her shift, and in exchange, my mom was taking her Christmas shift.

A bit of a bummer, but I’d try to find a way to make it up to Josie.

“Why do you look like you’re in the middle of getting a root canal?” Jake’s voice snaps me back to reality. We were curled up on his bed, a Bruins game playing on the TV.

“Just thinking about my mom and Josie.”

“That kid has an impressive set of lungs on her.” A smirk comes over his face.

Josie had been in full fangirl mode the night of the concert, dressed head to toe in merch courtesy of Sienna, who had deeply undersold the tickets she had gotten.

These tickets included backstage passes where we got to see IZTY practice for dress rehearsal and even take selfies with them.

After that, we got personally escorted to our front row seats where she spent the entire opener teaching Jake different dance moves.

The lock screen of my phone was now an image of the two of them dancing along to one of Josie’s favorite songs.

“I can’t thank you enough for all you did for her, for us, that night.”

“The only thanks I require is seeing you happy.” He presses a kiss to my temple.

“Wow, looks like the romcoms we’ve been watching have been rubbing off on you. That was a solid line.”

“One day, my sweet Ellie, you'll learn how to accept a compliment or term of endearment without following it up with a sarcastic quip.”

“I’ve already been talking to my therapist about that. It’s a work in progress.”

“Aren’t we all?” Jake winks, likely remembering our first few encounters.

“Some more than others.” I laugh as he rolls his eyes and gives my hip a gentle squeeze. “Any updates from the Bruins on your contract?”

“They’re sending me and my lawyers a draft of my standard player contract, which is like an entry-level NHL contract, in the next week or so.” The excitement in his eyes makes my heart squeeze.

“That’s so amazing. I’m so freaking proud of you.” I give him a soft kiss. “So, what are the next steps?”

“My lawyers will look it over and consult with me. Sometimes, people decide to go into negotiations, but I’m hoping I won’t need to. My plan is to sign it at the end of our season, and this time next year, I’ll officially be in the NHL.”

“So you won’t get to finish your senior year at Westchester?”

“No. At least not on the hockey team, per NCAA rules. I can remain a student, but I’m going to try to take some extra courses next semester and in the summer, so I can graduate early.”

“Is that why you’re putting so much pressure on yourself this season?”

Jake lets out a long sigh. “I just want to leave on top. Want to be able to say I won the Final Four in my last year of college hockey before I went professional. That probably sounds dramatic given I have a contract lined up and have nothing left to prove really?—”

I shake my head. “It doesn’t sound dramatic. It makes sense to me. You’re one of the best and you want your last season to reflect that.”

He places a soft kiss on my forehead, and we turn our attention back to the TV.

“Fair warning. Emotional Christmas commercials always hit me in the feels, so if any of those pop on, you may see me shed a tear or two,” I joke.

“Speaking of Christmas, what do you and the fam usually do?” Jake asks.

“Nothing too special. Usually we get takeout, put on a Christmas movie, and have some hot cocoa. I want to do something more this Christmas since my mom has to work, and I know that’s really gonna bum Josie out.”

“Damn, are you serious? Working on Christmas blows.” Jake groans in frustration.

“Agreed. Josie and I will figure something out.” I assure him.

Jake shakes his head, not having it. “Isn’t Christmas your favorite holiday? ”

“Technically I said I wanted it to be my favorite holiday,” I correct. “I love everything about it, the snow, the gingerbread houses, the lights and decorations. But I’ve never gotten to experience any of those things myself.”

“Well I think it’s time we fix that.” Jake pulls his phone from his pocket, shoots off a quick text, and then takes my hand in his.

“Pack your bags. You and Josie are spending Christmas at my family's cabin. Your mom can also come if she can make it. We’ll be there for a whole week starting on the 23 rd .”

“What? No. I can’t. I don’t want to impose on your trip?—”

“First, you could never impose, and second, I already texted the family group chat, which means I’ll have to deal with the wrath of my mom and sisters if you don’t come. And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

“Jake, this is your family trip.”

“Well I love you, so I think that means you’ve more than earned your right to crash,” he teases.

“I don’t know…” The last thing I wanted to be was a clingy girlfriend who dumped all her problems onto her partner.

“Would it make you feel better if I told you Ollie was also going to be there, so you’re not the only non-Keeley present?”

“Ollie’s coming?”

“Yeah, his Christmas plans fell through, so I invited him to tag along.”

In that case…”Okay count me and Josie in then.”

“Done. Now I have a homework assignment for you.”

“Oh?”

“Make a bucket list of all the Christmas things you want to do. I plan on checking them all off.”

Josie was over the moon when I updated her on our Christmas cabin trip.

I also extended the offer to my mom, but she couldn’t get any of the days off.

A large part of me felt guilty for going out and having fun while my mom was so tied up with work, but she insisted that I go and enjoy myself for once.

The alarm on my phone goes off, letting me know that I have an hour until I need to head out.

I groan at the half-finished report on my screen, let out a deep breath, and start typing away.

It's definitely not my best work, but I repeat, “It’s just a draft; you can always edit it later” in my head a dozen times.

My brain feels like absolute mush by the time I finish typing the final sentence, and I nearly jump out of my seat when Nicole knocks on my door, signaling me to get dressed.

Tonight was our big rivalry game against Bolton University, and nothing would keep me from attending this game.

With the semester coming to an end, I no longer felt like I had to keep my relationship with Jake hidden.

I threw on my Westchester U Wolves jersey that Jake surprised me with last week that had his last name on my back.

The jersey and the sweet glass seats he scored for Nicole and I had me dying to announce to the world that I was his girlfriend.

Being shown off was another thing I’d never experienced before but could get used to.

“Ellie, we gotta head out or we’ll be late. It’s going to be crazy getting insi—” Nicole pauses, a smirk on her face as she notices my outfit. “That’s new.”

“It’s from Jake.”

“Yeah, I figured. It looks good on you.”

“Thanks. It’s a little big, but honestly it makes it easier to layer on top of my sweater.”

“I meant the happiness looks good on you, but I guess the jersey’s nice too.” Her smirk turns into a genuine smile.

Her words warm my heart, especially given all the highs and many, many lows she’s seen me through. I return her smile and grab my bag as we head out.

We follow the sea of blue jerseys heading towards the hockey arena. I make a mental note to thank Jake again for getting us tickets because the student section was already filling up.

“Damn, it’s freezing down here.” Nicole wraps an arm around herself as we take our seats right next to Westchester’s bench.

“Yeah, I guess we’ve never sat this close to the ice before.”

On the other side of the rink, Bolton students decked out in maroon start filing in and the tension starts building in the arena.

The aggressive nature of hockey definitely rubbed off on its fans.

While a century-long rivalry between the two oldest universities in the city would normally increase the odds of a fight breaking out, I hoped Jake would stay out of it.

The NCAA had a very strict anti-fighting policy that would be met with an immediate game ejection and likely suspension to follow.

Normally seeing a fight would excite me (two men on ice skates throwing punches itched a part of my brain I didn’t want to admit I had), but now that I imagined Jake getting hurt, I couldn’t get it out of my head.

All I could do was picture the hundreds of ways in which something could go wrong tonight, and I hated how my anxious mind always found a way to taint even the happiest of moments.

A knock on the plexiglass in front of us brings me back to the moment.

Jake licks his lips as he notices me wearing his jersey. “Looking good, Ellie.”

“Make sure to score some goals tonight or else. We can’t have these Bolton players thinking they run this place.”

“One hat trick just for you coming u—” Jake’s shoulders tense and he snaps his head back.

Following his gaze, I notice a Bolton player standing behind him, running his mouth with mocking laughter.

Though I can’t hear what’s being said, I don’t miss the Bolton player pointing at me and then back at Jake.

“Jake, don’t—” He skates away before I can talk some sense into him.

Mercifully Adam intercepts Jake before he can reach the Bolton player and convinces him to warm up.

While I’m grateful for the distraction, I know once Jake gets started, he won’t stop.

And it’s only a matter of time before he explodes.