This story is wrapping up shortly and you should prepare for the unexpected in the chapters to come...Keep the adds/reviews (even anonymous ones) coming...Enjoy :)
After a long day of publicity, Liz was exhausted. She was looking forward to going home to Punk, taking a hot shower and just relaxing for the evening. She only had two days left in Chicago and she wanted to make the most of them and spend as much time with him as possible seeing they wouldn't see each other until the beginning of June when Liz finally wrapped this book tour.
Liz was surprised to find Punk's apartment empty when she got back, but decided to carry on with her plans anyway. She found a note taped to the fridge that he had gone for a bike ride with Colt and he'd be back before dinner. Taking note of the time, Liz realized she had a good 45 minutes to pull herself together. She took her time in the shower letting the jets massage her neck and back. She closed her eyes letting the hot water hit her and was startled when she heard Punk.
"Liz hurry up, other people need to shower too!" Liz rolled her eyes knowing damn well any other time he would've just invaded the shower. She peeked out from the curtain and saw him remove his shirt.
"Why exactly are you rushing me? We don't have anywhere to be."
"Yes we do."
"Since when? I asked you this morning and you said we were free for the evening."
"Yeah about that, I kind of forgot I had an appearance scheduled today." Liz growled to herself and turned off the water, grabbing a towel before she stepped out of the shower and into the bedroom.
"How do you forget about an appearance? You need an assistant!"
"I don't need an assistant, I just need to write things down." Punk smirked at her and disappeared into the bathroom. Liz sat on the edge of the bed and started to brush out her hair.
"So where is this appearance exactly?" Liz turned around to find Punk already finished standing with a towel wrapped around his waist. She never understood how guys showered so fast and Punk was quicker then most.
"Blackhawks game, I am doing the puck shootout. Isn't that fantastic?"
"Great. I'm not much of a hockey fan and I'm exhausted, so why don't you just take Colt and have a good time. I'll be here when you get back."
"You're not a hockey fan?"
"Nope, I never understood the fancy hat tricks and power play stuff. My dad watched it from time to time when I was growing up and it never peeked my interest."
"Well that's an even better reason for you to go! Watching a hockey game live is so much better then watching it on TV, which goes for baseball as well." Liz noticed the excitement on Punk's face and knew that if she stayed home he'd be like a sad kid at Christmas time that didn't get his Red Ryder BB Gun. She let out a sigh and got up to grab clothes from her bag.
"So what does one wear to a hockey game?" Liz looked up just as Punk tackled her onto the bed. Once Liz got her giggling under control, Punk kissed her and then rolled off of her using his elbow to prop himself up.
"I suggest dressing in clothes where you'll stay warm."
"It's 85 degrees out! Forget it, I don't know why I'd ask a guy what to wear."
"Ok fine, but I warned you." Liz grabbed a pair of denim capris and a pink girly shirt. Once she was dressed she noticed Punk looking at her and shaking his head.
"What? Is there an issue with what I'm wearing?"
"Umm, honestly, if we were going to dinner or anywhere but a sporting event then that pink ruffle shirt would be fine, but we're going to a hockey game. Here put this on and hurry up, we need to leave like now." Liz put on the Blackhawks shirt that he'd thrown her way and of course it was two sizes too big. She quickly grabbed a gum band and knotted the shirt so that it fit better and threw her hair into a ponytail knowing there was no way he'd give her any extra time to fix her hair. She slipped on her flip flops and grabbed one of his hats on her way out of the bedroom.
"Is this better? Am I up to hockey game dress code?" Punk smirked and opened the door instructing her to go first.
Punk guided Liz to their seats and she was surprised to see they were so close to the glass, she was also surprised to see Colt. She'd heard a lot about Punk's partner in crime, but hadn't had the opportunity to meet him. Punk sat down in between Colt and Liz and started tweeting on his phone ignoring the whole introduction process, so Liz proceeded to do it herself.
"Colt, I'm Liz, it's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."
"Yeah same here. Hey thanks for letting me have some buddy time with Punkers this week."
"Thanks for taking him off my hands, which you're welcome to do whenever you want." Liz caught site of Punk shaking his head out of the corner of her eye, clearly unamused at what she had said.
"Hey I didn't think to grab a sweatshirt and I didn't take your advice, so I'll be back. Do you need anything?"
"Nope, I'm good to go." Liz raised her eyebrows and started back up the stairs toward the gift shop feeling slightly annoyed with Punk's attitude.
Colt waited until Liz was out of ear shot and turned his attention to his best friend. "Punkers, what's the deal? You didn't tell me you were bringing Liz with you, not like it matters, but you could have at least initiated the introduction."
"You two managed just fine. It was a last minute thing that I finally talked her into coming."
"Well what is the deal with you two? You've told me a lot about her, but you never mentioned what kind of relationship you have."
"I don't know, I guess it's a regular one. Since when are you into girl talk? Here's all you need to know, we've had a good week, I showed her the house and she liked it and after tomorrow we're not going to see each other for like two months, which sucks, but there's not much either of us can do." Colt looked at his buddy and noticed something different about him. Not able to hold in his thoughts he blurted them out.
"Dude you're in love aren't you?" Punk glared at Colt.
"Why don't you get on the loud speaker and let everyone know! Yes I am, she knows it and I know it and we're trying to keep it that way." Colt was in awe of his confession and nudged him getting a slight smile from Punk who felt his hard ass reputation fading.
"Did I miss something?" Liz reappeared with popcorn wearing a new sweatshirt and took notice when both guys sat up in their seats and shook their heads. Liz knew the two were up to something, but chose to ignore it and made herself comfortable.
Once the game started Liz tried her best to learn without asking questions. The one thing she learned from her dad is you never ask a man questions while at a sporting event, especially one that they're into. Despite her original confusions, she was beginning to understand the game and was having a good time. When it was close to intermission, Punk went to do his thing and Liz took the opportunity to get to know Colt better.
"So Colt, what exactly were you two smirking about when I came back?"
"That, that was nothing, just us being goofy, it's pretty typical."
"Would you swear on the torah that it was nothing?" Colt smirked and looked at her.
"Are you going to point out my Jewish pride too? You two have more in common then you know. I'll be honest, he just finally told me how he feels about you. I was kind of surprised because you should know Punk doesn't fall for anyone. He avoids relationships at all costs. With him traveling all the time he avoids any kind of relationship unless it's with a coworker and those have all failed epically." Liz bit her cheek unsure of how to take the information and turned her attention back to center ice where Punk was about to do the intermission shoot out. She had to smile to herself because she knew he had to try really hard to contain his excitement and keep up his public persona. All the goals he shot missed with only one coming close to going in the net.
A few minutes into the next period Punk finally came back to his seat. Liz was surprised when he put his arm around her shoulder pulling her close to whisper in her ear.
"So how bad was I?" Liz grinned as she turned to him.
"I wouldn't shoot for a pro hockey contract anytime soon. You should probably just stick to beating up grown men for a living." Punk smiled chewing on his lip ring.
"I will agree with you on that, but it's your fault that I didn't make any of those shots."
"Come again? You held the stick and guided the puck, I had nothing to do with it."
"Granted I had control over the physical part of it, but you didn't even bother to kiss me for good luck."
"Punk I don't think even my lips could've helped you out there, Colt's might have though." Punk smiled and pressed his lips to hers. Liz was slightly caught off guard at the very public display, but at the same time she felt the usual butterflies flutter. She realized it didn't matter to him who saw that they were together, he was happy with her either way.
"I'm glad I talked you into coming tonight. If you think this is fun, just wait until the Cubs are in town."
"I'm glad I came with you and I must say hockey is much more exciting in person and not that hard to follow. I mean a hat trick is just a player getting three goals in the same game and it's a rare feat. Oh and power plays happen when one team has an extra man on the ice while the other has one in the penalty box." Punk looked at her slightly impressed, but curious where she got all of this information from.
"Were you asking Colt questions during intermission? Honestly I'm surprised you haven't asked me a question all night."
"Colt and I talked about other things, but no I texted Ginger. She loves hockey, dated Malkin for a while before she met Wade. As far as the questions, I learned at a young age not to interrupt a man while the game is on."
"Ging dating Evgeni? I didn't realize she was a Pens fan. How did that end?"
"Long story short Evgeni liked Anna's company more then Ginger's, so she ended things before they really started."
"Who the hell is Anna?"
"Someone you'll never meet, but if you behave yourself I might let you meet Karina later."
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I have absolutely no objections to any of it." Liz shook her head, laughing, and tapped the brim of Punk's hat. He readjusted it shrugging his shoulders and took her hand pressing a kiss to the back of it. Punk held Liz's hand for the rest of the game, which she was beyond happy about because his big hands were warm as usual and they were slowly warming up her cold ones. She hated that she had to get on a plane in two days and she would have to say goodbye. As they left the stadium to head home, she did her best to push the thought out of her mind in an effort to make the most of the time they had.