Chapter 32 – Rangers

Lily met her date for the night at one of the gates of the MSG.

'Hey,' she smiled.

'Hi.'

'Shall we go in?' she asked with a raised eyebrow.

'Yeah, sure.'

'You're not an Islanders fan, are ya?'

'What? No,' he said awkwardly as they found their seats. 'Why?'

'Because you don't look comfortable.'

'You make me nervous,' he admitted with a blush. 'And I don't know much about hockey ...'

'Oh, you don't have to be nervous; it's okay. And hockey's not a difficult sport to follow,' she started explaining the basic rules.

When the first quarter ended he left his seat to get some food and he did it again in the middle of the second one.

'I'm sorry, is this game boring you?' she asked when he came back from the concession stand for the third time.

'No, it's okay.'

'You sure?'

'Yes.'

'Well, then you were really hungry,' she spoke with disbelief in her voice.

'Kind of. You want anything?' he laughed nervously.

'I'm good, thanks. You just don't eat during games, y'know?'

'Why not?' he bit half of the hot dog in his hand.

'Outta respect of the game and the shirt. I take hockey very seriously.'

'It's just a game ...'

'You know what, Mick? If you don't wanna be here just leave ...'

'I'm fine.'

'Just leave ...'

'Whatever,' he stood up. The girl selling slushees was hot, he was going to try chatting her up.

The game ended with a loss for the Rangers and the blueshirts fans left the Garden totally disappointed.

'Lily! You here alone?' Flack was surprised at seeing his ex.

'I had a date,' she raised her eyebrows and waited for him to get to where she was.

'Where is he?'

''He thought hockey was "just a game".'

He scoffed.

'Baseball is just a game. Chess is just a game; hockey is a sport.'

'Total moron,' Flack shook his head before taking off his leather jacket and putting it over her shoulders.

'I'm fine, thanks,' she tried to take it off but he stopped her.

'You just shivered,' he gave her a sharp look. 'You can give it back to me later.'

'Thanks,' she blushed. 'Heard what happened with that kid, I'm sorry.'

'Umm, thanks,' he was uneasy.

'It was preposterous; you'd never do that.'

'Yeah, well ...'

'You did a good thing today,' she nodded for emphasis.

'The human trafficking case? Thanks.'

'I mean it, I'm proud of you,' she smiled.

'How do you know all this stuff?' he was confused.

'Danny told me about your ordeal. And today's case reached every precinct, y'know? It was big.'

'It was horrible,' he corrected.

'Yeah, but you guys were good. You did a great job.'

'Doesn't make it feel better, but thanks.'

'You helped many girls, Don. Don't forget that.'

'This type of case is like a train wreck. You see all the damage but not everything that was saved ahead on the tracks.'

'That doesn't mean it isn't there,' she shrugged.

'You're right. So what's up with you?'

'Nothin' much; just surviving.'

'Are you still in the firm?'

'Yeah, we're doing great. Seems like rich people are getting in a lot of trouble and that's good for the business.'

'Of course. Do you still have a TO?'

'Yeahp.'

'That sucks.'

'Nah, Steve's a great guy. I like him as my partner but my year's coming up.'

'Really? So fast?' he was surprised.

'Time flies ...'

'Yeah. I'll walk you to your station.'

'It's Herald Sq., you don't have to walk me.'

'Yeah, I do.'

'Whatever! Good thing the D, F and N trains are quick, I really want to get home.'

'Only the F train takes you to the Upper East Side.'

'I moved out.'

'Oh. Why's that?'

'I'm earning less money now. And I don't know, guess I didn't want to live there anymore.'

'Right. So where are you now?'

'Mulberry and Prince.'

'Well that's a change of neighborhood!'

'Yeah, but it's really nice. I thought it was gonna be awful but it's quite nice with all the stores and everything. I like NoLita.'

'I'm sure it is.'

'Well, this is me,' they were standing next to the stairs that led to the station.

'I'll wait till you get on the train,' he started descending the steps.

'You really don't have to do that, I'll be fine.'

'No problem.'

'Seriously, you must be tired. Go home.'

'I can wait a coupla minutes,' he shrugged it off.

They were silent for a few minutes until Flack broke it.

'You should find better dates.'

'Beg your pardon?'

'A man would've made sure you got home safe even if he believed hockey was just a game.'

'I'm a cop. Besides, I always get home safe. Don't need a man for that,' she pointed out.

'Doesn't matter if you can kick his ass, the guy has to be a gentleman.'

'Like you?' she said with a raised eyebrow.

'Yeah, like me,' he said proudly.

'Right,' she laughed. 'And does a gentleman kiss other women when he's in a relationship?'

He had the decency to blush.

'Guess not. I'd rather walk home alone than be cheated on.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Stop with the apologies; it's useless. What's done is done.'

'But you've never forgiven me.'

'Forgive but not forget. I can't pretend it's okay but I've moved on,' she mentally cursed the MTA. The trains that could get her home were nowhere in sight.

'Is there anything I can say or do to make it right?'

'Just take your stupid jacket and leave ...' she took the leather item off her shoulders.

'Nah, you can't do that to me. I know your game and you can't push me away,' he sentenced firmly.

'It's not a fuckin' game, a'right? Just leave,' she seemed to be saying that a lot lately.

'Yeah, well, I said I was gonna stay till your train came, so ...'

'You can't leave me alone, can you?'

'Nope. You know me, I'm restless.'

'And annoying.'

'You never cared before ...'

'Because I loved you and I found everything you did charming.'

'You don't now?'

'I kinda discovered you're an asshole,' she said pointedly. 'Sorry 'bout the language.'

'Seriously?' he was deeply hurt.

'I mean, don't get me wrong; you're a great guy. But you're a jerk sometimes and I honestly believed you'd put that behind you.'

'Whaddya mean? Put that behind me?' he was confused.

'The "being a jerk thing", thought it was only of your high school days.'

'Is this the part where you blame for everythin' I did as a kid?' he tried not to raise his voice.

'Nah, this is the part where I blame myself for lovin' somebody who didn't change that much,' there was sadness in her voice. 'Here's my train,' she pushed his leather jacket into his chest softly and muttered a soft 'thanks' before getting in.

Flack watched her go, cursing the MTA and their awful timing. He just needed a few more minutes to finish that conversation ... A few more minutes to tell her that he was a good man, that he didn't want to disappoint her and that he loved her. Woah, Flack! You're with Jess, remember? You can't say you love Lily. Not even if it's true. 'Cause she clearly hates you right now, so it's pointless. Besides, with Jess it's a clean start. You don't have any extra baggage with her; she's not gonna judge you for what you did as a teenager 'cause she doesn't know anything about those times. Yeah, it's better to stay with her.

Wow, that'd been perfect timing! She should send the MTA a fruit basket or something. 'Cause that had been simply perfect. The D train gave me the chance to escape a very awkward conversation that I simply didn't want to have. It was like out of a movie: the train appearing right on cue, avoiding me the trouble of telling Don that I still love him. Really great. If I'd planned it, it wouldn't have gone that well. Can't believe I was so lucky! She spent the whole ride with a smile plastered on her face, the sign of her total relief after escaping an uncomfortable situation.

Sorry for the delay, guys. I was on vacation. You know the drill; leave a review with comments, suggestions, opinions, etc. I'd like to thank sparkyCSI for being a wonderful beta and to all of you who have been reviewing lately; thank you.