August, 1979

Herb continued to work the boys extremely hard. September started our pre-Olympics tour. At times Rizzo almost seemed to struggle on the ice. He was trying really hard; he wanted to make the team more than anything. Herb refused to accept anything less than perfection. The boys were all so tired much of the time.

Meanwhile, I was happier than ever with Rizzo. He was very good to me and we had a lot of fun together. Dad didn't have a clue that we were together and no more of the team had found out either. OC was fun to be around too. Since I spent a good deal of time with Rizzo at his dorm room, I was around OC a lot too.

"Chev, how is it going?" Jimmy Craig asked me one evening after practice. I was waiting for Rizzo to come out of the locker room; he and I were going out for the evening.

"Great, I just can't believe how hard Herb has you all working. And he is keeping me, dad and Doc busy too." I said.

"How are things with Rizzo?"

"I am really crazy about him, Jim. He makes me so happy, he is good to me, and I can't wait to be with him when I am away from him and…"

"WHOA, hold on! Chev, are you listening to yourself?" Jimmy said with a smile. "Sounds like you're really falling for him."

I stopped, Jimmy was right. I had never thought about it because I was so busy being infatuated and happy. But I couldn't imagine not being with Rizzo.

"I am really happy with him, Jimmy." I said.

"That's great, Chev. I am really happy for you; and Rizzo too. He is a really great guy." Jimmy said. I smiled and hugged him.

"Hey Jimmy, what are you doing with my girlfriend?" Rizzo said as he walked out of the locker room.

My heart leapt at being called his girlfriend and when Rizzo would call me his girlfriend, I would positively melt. Rizzo smiled and clapped Jimmy on the arm.

"Are you two going out tonight?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah, we are leaving now." Rizzo said.

"Rizzo, you take care of her. She is like a sister to me." Jimmy said.

"You tell me that all the time. I would never mess up such a good thing." Rizzo said and put his arm around me. My heart just fluttered at Rizzo's last comment.

"We better head out of here before dad or Herb sees us." I said. "Bye Jimmy."

Once we were outside the arena I gave Rizzo a quick kiss and he took my hand as we walked towards the bus stop.

"What did you want to do tonight?" I asked as we waited for the bus.

"I dunno. I am just so happy to have you all to myself." Rizzo said and pulled me closer to him. "When we're out I can hold your hand and kiss you whenever I want."

"Yeah, that is nice. But OC has been nice about giving us time to ourselves too." I said. "Thank goodness for Silky and Coxie letting OC hang out in their room so much."

"Want to go roller-skating?" Rizzo asked as the bus pulled up.

"Haven't you had enough of skating?" I asked as we boarded the bus and stood towards the back. The bus was full.

"Yeah, but you can't skate with me on the ice, we can skate together on a date." He said and I smiled.

"Rizzo, I can't believe you're going to roller-skate." I said as we laced up our skates. "I had to practically drag you onto the dance floor, but you'll roller-skate."

"I know how to roller-skate. I kinda just pretended to dance so I could touch you that night in the bar." Rizzo said. I think my heart stopped beating.

"Really?" I asked and Rizzo nodded.

"Let's go skate for awhile and then we'll get something to eat." Rizzo said taking my hand and pulling me up.

Rizzo and I skated out onto the wood. There were several people out there and music was blaring. I held tight to Rizzo's hand, I hadn't skated in a while and my balance was a bit off. He smiled and skated along side of me.

"We should do this more often?" Rizzo said. "Maybe have some of the team come with us."

"Yeah, I can just see OC on roller-skates. I bet Coxie would have a blast though. He is a big kid at heart." I said.

"Do you trust me?" Rizzo asked.

I looked at him confused. "Of course I trust you. I'd trust you with anything." I tell him.

"Here put your arms around my neck." Rizzo said placing my arms around him. "Now hold on tight."

Rizzo put his arms around my waist. I was about to ask him what he was trying to do when he twisted his body and began spinning us both around. I was so unsure of myself that I just clung to him. He started laughing. After a few spins he stopped.

"Did that scare you?" he asked me.

"Yes, I barely have balance and then you start spinning me around." I said laughing.

He took my hand and we started skating again. "I wouldn't have hurt you."

"Oh I know that, that is what kept me from screaming in fright." I said and leaned against him.

We skated awhile longer before Rizzo decided we should stop and get a snack. I found our booth while he went to order us a few burgers. After awhile he skated back over to our booth.

"You can skate and balance a tray? My aren't we multi-talented?" I joked. He gave me that smile that made me melt.

"I should've been a waitress during the 50's." Rizzo said with a wink. I laughed at his bad joke. "You're so pretty when you do that?"

I blushed and looked down. "Do what?"

"Smile, laugh, make those silly faces when your being silly." Rizzo said.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself." I told him.

"You know what? I am glad you made me dance with you that night." Rizzo said with a smile.

I felt a little choked up. I smiled, "Me too." I said and took a bite of my burger.

After finishing eating, Rizzo and I went back to skating. I was having so much fun and every time he smiled, I just melted. I skated until my legs began to get tired, and I didn't want Rizzo to get too tired because I knew that Herb would be running him ragged at practice the next morning.

"Rizzo, I am starting to get tired." I told him. "Do you wanna head back to the dorms?"

"Yeah, we can do that." Rizzo said and we skated back over to where we had left our things.

"This was so much fun. We should do this again." I said as I pulled off my skates.

"We can do this any time that you want. Anywhere you ever want to go, just tell me." Rizzo said.

We stepped off the bus and began walking back down the street. "Do you have to go home right away?" Rizzo asked me.

"No, dad is used to me staying out. He doesn't worry because he knows I am with the team." I told Rizzo.

"Come on there is somewhere I want to take you." Rizzo said and pulled me towards the dorms.

"You want to show me the dorms?" I ask as we walk in the main door.

"No, will you just trust me?" Rizzo said with a smile.

Rizzo led me up many, many flights of stairs. I had no idea where we were going. I had never walked more than the few flights of stairs it took to get to the boys' rooms. Finally we stopped at the door that led to the roof. Rizzo opened it and motioned for me to follow him. I stepped out onto the roof.

"Rizzo, why did you bring me up here?" I asked. Rizzo guided me over by the boiler room and leaned against the wall; he put his arms around me and pointed out to the city skyline.

"When I was in college back in Boston, I used to love to look at the skyline at night to clear my head. Isn't Minneapolis something else at night?" Rizzo asked.

I looked out at the city all lit up. I had never seen anything like it before. "Rizzo, it's beautiful."

"Not half as beautiful as you." Rizzo said and kissed my cheek.

"You're so sweet." I said and turned around in his arms so that I was facing him. "These past few weeks with you have been wonderful."

Rizzo leaned down and kissed me. It was a gentle kiss that warmed me from the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes. "How was I ever lucky enough to end up with you?" he asked leaning his forehead against mine.

"You're great dancing ability." I said with a laugh. Rizzo chuckled too. "You said earlier tonight that you only danced with me in the bar so you could touch me, what made you want to hold me?" I had often wondered what drew him to me.

"That first night we were all in the bar, I thought you were so cute. Then here you come dragging Silky into his room, and you act like it's an everyday occurrence; no big deal. And then that night we all played truth or dare…by the time I walked you home, I thought you were the cutest, sweetest and funniest girl I had ever met. But I thought you being Coach Craig's daughter that you were out of my league or something. But while we were dancing that night…I can't explain it."

"I know, I know. I can't either, but it felt right." I said.

Rizzo leaned down and kissed me again, deeper this time. I tightened my arms around him and enjoyed the sensation of being so close to him. I moved my hands down to rub his shoulders. Rizzo slid his hand down my side and started to move it up the front of my shirt. I slapped his hand and pulled back.

"I'm sorry, Rizzo. It's just that…" I started but Rizzo cut me off.

"It's okay. Whenever you're ready, we'll just do what you feel comfortable with."

"You're not mad at me?" I asked. Rizzo pulled me back against him.

"No. I am not going to rush you into anything." He said.

"How was I ever so lucky to find you?" I asked him leaning up to briefly kiss him.

"I think I am the lucky one." He said. "You want to stay here and watch the city for awhile?"

"Yeah, that sounds great." I said and snuggled into his arms. I felt him lean his head against mine.