I glanced out the picture window of my parent's house, waiting anxiously for the arrive of my Fiancee, my parents in the background lecturing me again about being out late and at least calling when i wan't going to be home. Little did they know I was unconscience the night before and sleeping in Fulton Reed's bed of all places. If my Mother had found out that she was be on the roof by now. I really wasn't listening as I waited for Scott to get there but i could imagine the lecture from my Mother if she had any idea where I had been. She would start out with the , you're ruining your future, leacture then process into the he's no good for you speech. I'd heard it too many times to not remember it. My hands were shaking nervously as a cab pulled up to the curb at the front of my house. Scott got out, looking around and little out of place in the suburban area. I smiled at his akwardness.
Scott Evans was a tall man with light hair to match my own and the brightest blue eyes I'd ever seen. He stood awkwardly some of the time because of an injury he sustained during on of our early morning practices last year. We had tried to do a move where I was thrown up in the air and caught and it ended with Scott's knee cut open by my skate and a broken wrist for myself. Overall not a good practice if I might say so myself but it didn't impede us going to the olympics. He was lucky that he could skate after that.
I suppose that's where our friendship grew to love, when I thought I might lose him but I didn't and he proposed a year later, just before we went to the olympics. Win or lose we'd have each other was the way he had put it and i believed him. I smiled to myself as he made his way up the front steps and into the gate. Ingoring the still ranting of my parents, I quickly rushed to the door and swung it open to meet him.
"Scott!" I called as we met on the front steps and he leaned down to kiss me. It was a very awkward kiss and very wet than what we would normally share. I looked down as he hugged me to his chest,
"Oh, I've missed you." He said stroking my hair against my head. "How are you, is everything okay? I'm sorry I couldn't be here." He said all at once. I laughed a little,
"It's okay, you're here now." I said softly, holding his jacket in my hands.
"Well, shall I meet the parents?" He asked, picking up his bag where it had fallen on the steps. I took his hand to lead him into the house.
"Yeah, they're a little agitated right now." I said not really explaining the events of the light before.
We came back in the front door and my parents looked up to start yelling at me again when they saw Scott. My Mother dropped her sewing and my Father looked over his book with suspicious eyes.
"Mom, Dad, This is Scott." I said as they glanced at each other and back at me. I hoped they weren't gonna tell him about what I had been up to the passed couple of days. I bit my lips waiting for an answer and finally Mom picked up her sewing from the floor and stood,
"Scott, it's great to finally meet you..." She said heading into the kitchen without another word. My Father just went back to his book, deciding not to made an comments. I looked back at Scott after the akward introduction and pulled him towards the stairs.
"Well, let's go put your stuff down in the guest room." I said leading him up the stairs. He looked around in surprise at the pictures and decor,
"Wow, very girly." He said at the pink and white bedspread.
"Mom." I said, trying to catch his eye as he settled in, "I'm sorry, my parents..." I started but he came over, kneeling in front of my chair.
"Tammy, I know your family's going through a rough time right now and I didn't expect to come here and be welcomed with hugs and smiles." He said patting my knee and kissing my forehead. I smiled a little.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you...we don't need to go back on Sunday, Coach switched the venues for you." He said with his back to me. I shifted uncomfortable on the chair.
"He did? Where are we performing now?" I asked a little afraid of what I would hear.
"Oh, we're doing that television thing down at the arena in town...Coach figured you would want to be here with your family and all but we couldn't pull the television deal so we have to broadcast live." Scott said putting some stuff in the dresser. My face froze a little,
"Well, don't you think that arena's too small?" I asked. Scott laughed a little,
"No, unless your head's gotten bigger since the Olympics." He joked, "I was gonna go over there later tonight to take a look at it but it looks fine. This way we can invite your old friends." He smiled, coming to stand back in front of me. I tried to smile but it kind of looked like I was grimacing.
"So, we'll go after dinner over to the arena?" He asked. I looked up at him,
"Sure." I silently hoped that hockey practice wasn't today...
I silently sat in the passenger's seat of my car as Scott drove to the arena. The ride was silent and Scott kept looking at me with worried eyes,
"You okay?" He asked as I stared at the people on the sidewalk.
"Yeah." I said acting like everything okay. He took my hand in his and gave it a tight squeeze before returning his hand to the wheel. The arena was coming into view and I looked in the parking lot for signs of a mint green dodge ram. My hopes were lifting as I didn't see the ugly thing but I felt the bottom of my stomach completely drop out as it sat in the very front of the parking lot, windows down and probably unlocked.
"Why is everyone so trusting." I mumbled to myself, silently hoping someone would steal it. But then again, why would anyone want it, I reminded myself.
"What?" Scott asked.
"Nothing, just thinking." I lied, keeping my eyes on that green truck as I got out.
The arena was cold as usual and the bright colors of yellow and green were on the ice, it was worse than I thought, not only was there practice but there was a game tonight. I turned quickly to Scott,
"It looks busy, let's just go." I said ushering him to the door. He laughed a little.
"Tammy, there's hardly fifty people here, besides I never watch hockey anymore..." He said seeing no problem in hanging around to wait for the ice to clear. I nodded, looking like an idiot probably as Scott spotted the owner of the arena,
"There's Mr. Bates." He said, "I'll be back." He headed for the owner as I peered down at the hockey game going on. Portman was standing on the bench in the box yelling at one of the kids on the ice as Fulton was taking care of a young girl's scratched knee. I smiled, as I'd never seen that side of him. An older blonde girl, if I had to guess seventeen maybe, came down out of the stands and was leaning over the glass talking to Fulton as he was bandaging up the knee. He smiled slightly, leaning against the glass and talking as I felt a pang of jealousy hit at my heart with a hammer. My lips tensed and I tried to look away but I couldn't and found myself thinking of ways for her to have an accident. An arm came around my shoulder and I jumped a little,
"Oh!" I said seeing Scott's face.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He said smiling a little.
"No, I was just thinking." I said shaking the feeling and instead thinking of Tommy and how that was the one thing we ended up agreeing on. Hockey was something we could do together and we both liked, even though I wouldn't admit it.
"Oh, okay. I talked to the owner and he said this game will probably be over in like twenty minutes and we can have the ice after that to try it out. He's very pleased that we choose to do the program here." Scott nodded away. I half listened and shook my head in agreement.
"So you wanna get your skates from the car?" He asked that brought me back to reality.
"We're skating?" I asked. He laughed,
"Yeah...have you been listening to me?" He asked.
"Yeah...I just missed that part." I said taking my keys and heading for the car to grab our skates. Scott just looked after me and glanced at the ice, wondering what I was staring at.
Twenty minutes passed in a blur as I changed into one of my skating outfits and my skates and met Scott at the arena entrance where the hockey team was still clearing out. I smoothed the red fabric over my shoulders and stretched a little against the wall. Portman was the first to walk off and see me. I tried to turn away so he wouldn't let Scott know he knew me but my stomach tightened as his laugh filled the air,
"Tammy, babe." He said as I immediately felt like I was being hit on. I turned, unable to ignore him. Scott was at my side and I looked up at him,
"Dean...nice to see you again." I said trying to silently tell him not to mention last night. Portman was, of course, completely oblivious to my facial expressions.
"Yeah, that party was hot last night wasn't it?" He laughed as Scott looked at me; I looked shocked and tried to think of something fast.
"I mean, the music alone...I didn't know they had Metallica." He laughed and threw the sticks he'd been carrying over his shoulder. I laughed trying to make it seem like it was a joke.
"Well, I have to go, Fulton will be off the ice in a minute if you're here to talk to him. Been acting strange all day." He said walking past me and not even acknowledging Scott. He was such an idiot, I'd figured out.
"Hey, your car's a beauty by the way." He called as I smiled and waved.
"Who was that?" Scott asked utterly confused.
"No one...a friend of a friend."
"What party was he talking about?" He questioned. I thought fast,
"Oh, my party...I mean Mom invited a few people over yesterday..." I said fast.
"Your Mom listens to Metallica?" He questioned again.
"Yeah..." I said turning away, "Always has." I said suddenly picturing my Mom rocking to Metallica on the living room couch and I cracked up as Fulton walked off the ice. I stopped when he stopped me,
"Tammy?" He questioned as the kids walked passed him.
"Fulton." I said softly. "This is Scott..." I said pulling Scott to my side in an effort to make myself self assured. Fulton immediately tensed but held out his hand in an akward fashion,
"Scott..." He said shaking his hand. Scott smiled,
"Fulton, was it?" He asked. Fulton nodded and Scott looked at me for a second,
"Oh, you're Tammy's old friend?" Scott asked remembering me talking about him back in the day. Fulton nodded a little.
"It a pleasure to finally meet you." Scott said letting go of his hand. Fulton looked Scott up and down in his skating suit and the ruffles that were around the collar.
"Tammy, there's the owner again, I need to tell him something else that coach wanted for the television program." Scott said heading off towards him. Fulton watched him walk away before opening his mouth again,
"You left me for that?" He asked a little repulsed. I sneered at him,
"Fulton, you're in no place to poke fun at Scott." I said as he smiled a little,
"Guess it doesn't matter, I could never pull off the outfit." He joked, I slapped his arm to get him to stop and he did.
"What are you doing here?" He asked suddenly confused.
"We're gonna be doing a program from here for a television special." I said. He smiled a little,
"What are they gonna call it, the Tammy and Scott hour?" He questioned. I slapped him again.
"Do you think this is funny for me?" I asked getting serious.
"No, look, I figure after this morning a laugh might do us both some good." He said rubbing his arm a little.
"No." I said plainly. I was picturing him with that blonde again and suddenly the words were flying out of my mouth,
"Well, you didn't wait too long did you?" I asked suddenly wishing I could eat my words. His face changed again and his eyes became cold,
"What business of that is yours?" He asked with a kind of bitterness.
"Fulton, she looked like a teenager." I started, trying to make a point.
"She's 18, she's one of my players' sisters." He said as I suddenly felt out of place but I continued,
"Well, that's still two years difference."
"Oh, come off it, you know that's not what this is about." He said looking back at me. I opened my mouth to speak and Scott was back at my side,
"Everything okay?" He asked.
"Fine! Fine, Fulton was just telling me he had to get back to the locker room." I said looking up at him. Fulton sighed a little,
"Yeah, my team needs a talk before their parents come to pick them up." He said nodding at Scott,
"Goodbye, Tammy." He said breezing passed me. I felt a loss in my chest but I brushed it off, getting ready to go out on the ice.
Fulton finished his talk and headed out of the arena, across the top of the stands. He stopped when he saw me in the air and watched from the stands before heading out into the cold night air, an emptiness consuming him.
