Yaaaaaaass, the playoffs!
Thanks for being patient yet again, y'all. I keep thinking I"m going to churn these out faster, because I know it's sooo hard to keep your interest up when chapters are released so far apart. I recently got a new job, and it's just been tough to reshuffle my time. Hang with me though! I'm trying!
For batmanfan12, I granted your wish for a Charlie/Lacey/Adam conversation! It isn't much, but I hope you like it!
I read tons of hockey information to write these scenes, guys, but if you play hockey, I'm sure you'll find a hundred mistakes. But I did the absolute best I could.
Also! For those of you who aren't as interested in the romantic encounters, I assure you that they're typically relevant somehow. I mean, some are to satisfy my romantic appetite, bahaha, but most of the time Adam and Lacey's conversations, etc., there is something that has bearing on later events.
With all that being said… enjoy!
/
"In this jersey, I promise to play for the logo on the front, not the name on the back." – Sidney Crosby
Playoffs week for the Northern Capital Hockey League.
The suspense was brutal.
"You do realize Adam's the one playing hockey, right?" Lacey's mom eyed her over breakfast the third morning in, observing her partially bitten-off acrylics. "And just for the record, there's no need to pay to get your nails done if you're just going to chew them off."
But she couldn't help it. Not only was she invested in the outcome of the games for obvious reasons-her boyfriend's mental health was riding on it-Lacey was sucked into the rush of a hockey competition for the first time in her life.
The Panthers from Garren High in Pennsylvania had been the first to fall. They were a pretty good team all-around, but it was soon obvious that they weren't champion material. They lost to both the Ducks and the Bears, putting them in last place.
The Rangers and the Bears were both formidable, but the Ducks won by a narrow gap in both games. The Bears were full of what Adam called "grinders," not necessarily skilled players but adept at defense, using brute force to keep the opposing team away from the puck. The advantage here was that, due to their very physical style of playing, they continued to earn the team fouls. After one player slashed Guy hard, nearly knocking his right kneecap in, the Ducks earned a penalty shot, which Adam took and scored the final goal needed to break a tie. It was a glorious moment, though Lacey could tell by the way the team dragged themselves off the ice afterward that it had cost them a good portion of their energy and strength to win this game.
Lacey made each and every game, waving to Adam on the occasion that he would look up in the stands toward her, but not expecting him to call at night or come over. That had been their understanding-he would focus all of his efforts on the playoffs. There had been no homework that week, mostly for the sake of the hockey players, but also in order to afford students the chance to go to games. Halen and Ariel still had homework at the middle school, however, and Darlene and Stuart were rigid about them getting it done before attending games with Lacey. She had never seen the twins work harder at getting their homework done the whole time they'd been in school.
The girls were dazzled by the energy and adrenaline that went into the high-stakes games, screaming themselves hoarse and tirelessly holding up the homemade posters they'd made that shouted, "GO DUCKS!" and "BANKS #99!" Lacey knew Adam was flattered by their efforts to cheer him on, and his teammates were, too, Jesse and Connie graciously taking their gloves off before the Bears game long enough to point to them in recognition. Ariel jumped up and down, squealing. Every single night she had insisted upon taking a few minutes before they left to streak green and purple stripes underneath her eyes.
Kristy showed up each night as well, looking rather stylish in her team sweatshirt, her hair swept back in a curly ponytail and her face livened up by the light makeup she had been wearing since the makeovers at the lake house last month. It had afforded Lacey the chance to have a bit of peer conversation, sparing her from the endless prattle of her little sisters.
She spotted Linda, too, who smiled and tossed up a friendly wave from where she sat. If nothing else, the girls' night had apparently caused Charlie's girlfriend to finally break out of her shell.
But the true focal point of the playoffs was, without a doubt, the players. Each and every one of them on all four teams had thrown everything they had into the games, and their passion was palpable. The high school band punctuated each home goal scored with a peppy, infectious tune that had the fans in the stands dancing and swaying, some even singing with the songs if they knew them.
Lacey was glad Fulton seemed back to his old self. Adam had told her that the guy had, indeed, suffered a panic attack. Fulton had been reticent to let anyone know that, but he had confided in Adam, apparently finding him trustworthy since he'd remained at his side during the scary incident at practice. It seemed, though, that Fulton's affliction had had one very good effect: Coach Orion had seen the error in pushing his team so hard, and had backed off a bit at practices, offering as close to an apology as the coach ever would. This caused the team to bounce back to their usual level of performance, which made everyone happy. And it was just in time.
Friday ushered in an entirely new level of enthusiasm, as it was the last game-the showdown between the Ducks and Fitzgerald High's Wind from Michigan, who also had gone undefeated during each of its games. It was on this night that Lacey had decided to break her rule of not bothering Adam and made her way tentatively down rinkside as the team was warming up. She hoped she would discreetly catch his eye in some way, not wanting to wave him over and risk getting him in trouble or distracting him too much.
But he glanced over and saw her pretty quickly, skating over and pulling his helmet off to reveal a smile."Hey."
He slid to a stop in front of her and she handed him a tiny scrap of paper. Taking his gloves off, he unfolded it and read.
"You've got to love what you're doing. If you love it, you can overcome any handicap, or the soreness, or all the aches and pains and continue to play for a long, long time." -Gordie Howe
Adam looked up at her, eyebrows raised. "Where did you come across a Gordie Howe quote?"
"Easy peasy. I searched specifically for Gordie Howe quotes on the internet at the library," Lacey smirked. "Really though, it made me think of you."
Adam chuckled, then read over it again. He looked back up at her with warm, gentle eyes. "Thanks, Lace." He reached up under his jersey and tucked it somewhere among his many pads. "For good luck."
She smiled at him, feeling a surge of affection. "You're doing really great out there."
Returning the smile, he put his gloves back on, but then placed his hands on the boards separating them. "Hey. Come here."
"What?" She glanced around them, hesitantly coming a little closer.
Adam leaned across the barrier as far as he could, giving her a short, but tender kiss on the lips, all to the sound of whooping and cat calls from his team across the rink. As she pulled away, Lacey saw the consternation on Coach Orion's face after he did a double take, walking on the ice toward Adam.
"You'd better go," she warned with a giggle. "Orion's hot on your tail."
"Ask me if I care." Adam backed away, donning his helmet before holding out his arms in apathy.
Sure enough, his coach caught up with him, issuing a look of consternation as they made their way back across the rink.
Lacey shook her head, about to go take her place in the stands when she happened to look up and spot, among the throngs of people spilling in the entrances…
Yvette.
The woman, peering all around her, stood by Phil as he talked animatedly to a man dressed in business attire. At last, Yvette was sacrificing her emotional comfort to come out and support Adam during the last hockey game of his high school-and Ducks-career. Lacey was so proud of her.
"Yvette!" Lacey called out, not that Adam's mom would be able to hear her across the noisy, crowded rink. But she pushed past and wove in and out of people, heading up the bleacher stairs, until she reached the woman before she and Phil were seated.
"Hi!" Lacey bounced up to her, beaming. "You came!"
"Oh, Lacey! How good to see you!" Yvette looked relieved and reached out to embrace her in a hug. "I did," She pulled back and gave a nervous smile. "It hasn't been right for me to stay away for so long. Phil really helped me see it would mean something to Adam if I could overcome this… 'thing' of mine," she used air quotes, rolling her eyes, "and come out to cheer for him. Do you see him out there?" She scanned the ice, then suddenly broke into a smile. "There he is! Look at him!"
"Yup!" Lacey followed Yvette's eyes to Adam's number ninety-nine as he drilled on the ice alongside his teammates. "He'll be glad to see you. Why don't you go rinkside and try to catch his attention?"
Of course, she could only hope Adam wouldn't get in trouble for a second interruption.
"You think I could?" Yvette lit up all over. "Phil, Honey?" She turned to her husband, who was just finishing up his conversation with a "See ya later, Hal."
"Yeah?"
"I'm going down to talk to Adam."
"Hon, I don't think that's such a good idea. See them warming up?"
"Hey. I'm Mom. And even Coach Orion should know, do not mess with a mother." She squeezed Lacey's shoulder with a wink.
Phil sighed. "Alright then. I don't know you, got it?" But he punctuated the statement with a good-humored smile.
"Got it. Lacey, why don't you sit with us?" Yvette inquired as she searched with her eyes for a path to the rink's edge.
"Oh… I would, but my friend and my sisters are both with me. I'd have to uproot everybody. It's okay, I'll just stay put."
"Then do you have enough room for Phil and I to sit with you? I could use a little moral support during the first hockey game I've been to in twelve years," Yvette glanced over at Phil.
The man looked uncertain for a moment. "Well… remember I told Glenn and Charlotte we'd be joining them this evening? Besides, I don't know about sitting..." He trailed off, but Lacey could probably finish the sentence for him: "...sitting with a gaggle of girls."
"Phil, we're sitting there. Now stop arguing with me over everything." Yvette shoved her purse at him. "I don't even like Charlotte, and you know it. I'd rather sit with anybody else. Go ahead and I'll find you all in a minute. I'm going down to talk to Adam."
With that, Yvette had turned and was making her way across the stands, and Phil and Lacey were left staring at one another awkwardly.
"Um...alright then," Phil gave a businesslike smile, holding out a hand for Lacey to lead the way. And she did, introducing him to the suddenly shy twins (who knew him only from their mother's criticisms) and to Kristy. Kristy tried to make conversation with the man as Lacey kept her eyes trained on Yvette. The woman jumped up and down, waving to Adam boisterously, much like a high school girl herself.
When Adam saw his mom, he coasted out of formation, apparently not one bit concerned about another lecture from Coach Orion as he skated over to her, taking off his helmet again, a look of surprise on his face. Whatever Yvette said first made him laugh, and he allowed himself to be wrapped into a brief embrace, though his cheeks were a little red when he was released. The two of them chatted a moment more, and Lacey gave a sideways glance to Phil, who was shaking his head, a corner of his mouth turned up into a half-smile.
A thrilled shudder skittered down Lacey's spine as she watched Adam talk animatedly to his mom, wearing his hockey uniform and outsizing her by almost twice. He had been wanting this, she knew. Even if he'd never said it in so many words.
Soon, Yvette let him rejoin the team, finished with their drills now that it was only minutes before the game was to start. Coach Orion was too busy discussing something with the referee to notice Adam had even left.
"Phil," Yvette began immediately when she returned, sliding into the seat between Lacey and Halen and leaning over to address Phil, who sat on the other side of Kristy at the end of the row. "We should have them all over tonight to celebrate."
"Celebrate what, Yvette? We don't know they're going to win," Phil answered in a measured voice.
"Win or not, they should be celebrated for all the hard work they've put in over the years."
After a moment, Phil gave a little shrug. "We could. Provided they don't have other plans."
"They won't when I offer to get pizza and bake my famous cinnamon sticks," Yvette replied, beginning to stand as everyone was called to do for the playing of the national anthem.
The air was electric as the crowd stood to pay honor to the country, knowing that in moments the game was going to start.
Lacey tried to focus on the moment of respect, but her eyes kept drifting toward Adam, who stood tall and resolute, appearing to possess no fear.
/
What made it hard was that Adam was already hurting.
He'd woken up to feel the giant, cold fist of agony gripping his entire body. He'd taken a hot shower before school, after school, and in the locker room right before hitting the ice in order to ease the discomfort. But it wasn't working.
He took a Percocet and two Tylenol, which his doctor had told him he could combine on rare occasions that he could barely function against the arthritic pain. It barely touched the problem, but no matter-Adam had to do this, pain or no.
The Gordie Howe quote Lacey had given him, however, in addition to her kiss and his mom's unexpected presence had infused him with strength. Hopefully it would be enough to get him through this.
Everybody was pumped up. The positive atmosphere in the locker room had returned as Julie and Goldberg practiced their interception moves in the corner, Portman used his cigarette lighter to heat up his stick blade to bend it into submission, and Wu sat with his head down, focusing on Buddhist meditation. The team's spirits were high when they hit the ice, ready to take it to the top.
Adam's heart pounded during the national anthem, and he couldn't stop mentally rehearsing the moves he'd watched on the VHS tapes Coach Orion had gotten ahold of in which the Fitzgerald High Wind had creamed their opponents. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before for trying to map out exactly what his own moves would be in response to the various tactics the other team was known to use.
Finally the time came, and Adam focused hard as the puck dropped. His reflexes were quick as he shot the puck over to Charlie, seeing the other guy attempt a pass to Fulton, Portman and Connie at the ready to pounce any opposing team member who attempted to intercept it. But the Wind's instincts were lightning quick and before anyone knew what was happening, the team had gained control of the puck and managed to effortlessly knock it into the goal past an ever-vigilant Julie.
Charlie looked over at Adam with alarm in his eyes. A mess-up this early in the game did not bode well. But what this meant to Adam was that they would just have to double down. At that moment, he remembered his dad's words: it was up to him to make a dream come true. And winning his final game as a Duck was a dream he was going to make a reality, no matter what it took.
He gave Charlie a determined nod to communicate, "We've got this."
It was nothing short of grueling. The Wind's defense was much like the Bears', but one couldn't exactly categorize them as simple, meat-headed grinders. These guys were not only strong in defense, but skilled and smooth in the way they executed it.
Coach Orion soon pulled Adam to the side. "Banks, these guys are going to try to take you out. The word's spread throughout the conference about your weak left shoulder. Look out for the 'legal' stuff, the ways they're going to try to hurt you that won't earn them a penalty. Keep your right side to anyone you see gunning for you, all right?"
Adam nodded, pushing down the shield of his helmet and heading back out onto the ice.
By the beginning of second period, the Wind was already slaying them eight to two. They had to turn it around, and quickly. Ignoring the way his joints protested his every move, Adam fought like a lion to keep the Ducks in possession of the puck, having to remind himself constantly to remain a team player when he wanted nothing better than to take control of the entire game. Not out of pride, but out of desperation to get this right. During second period, his grit and determination, fast skating and agile movement scored three goals, and Jesse scored one. The Ducks' defense also redoubled its efforts, managing to keep the Wind from scoring another goal. By the beginning of third period, the score was eight-to-six. Adam believed they could do this if they stayed focused.
The Wind moved in hard for the last period, seeming to possess superhuman strength. True to what Coach Orion had predicted, Adam took a cross-check on his way to score their fifth goal that did earn the Wind a penalty, but almost put him out of commission for the rest of the game. The stick of the opposing team member had come down hard on his left shoulder, and the searing pain of a white hot poker jabbed into him, followed by the swoop of panic. When the whistle was blown, Adam reached up, trying to tell through his padding if his shoulder bones had separated. He made it back to the bench, and Coach Orion wasted no time in pulling the neck of his jersey down to gently prod him to see if everything was still intact. Apparently it was, but the coach changed Adam out with Mendoza for a few minutes to give him a chance to recuperate.
With four minutes left in the game, the Ducks were still one point behind.
"Let me back in there," Adam pleaded with Coach Orion. The coach turned and gave him a stern look. "Adam, it would be a mistake."
"They think they took me out. Their guard's probably dropped now. If you put me back in there, we can take advantage of–"
"Banks, I'm telling you. Wait," the Coach ordered stiffly. "Trust me."
Adam rolled his eyes, reaching up to swipe his soaking wet bangs out of his face.
The battle continued, Mendoza receiving a board and earning the Ducks another penalty shot.
"Hey!" The exasperated Wind coach could be heard grinding down on his players during the next time-out. "What is this?!"
What was it, indeed? In their own desperation, the Wind was apparently losing its cool and doing stupid things that racked up fouls and thereby gave penalty shots the Ducks gladly accepted. But Adam's team was notoriously successful at winning penalty shots, so the game could sway in their favor very quickly.
The penalty shots were given to Charlie and Connie. Charlie used his famous triple deke, which successfully faked out the Wind's goalie, and scored a point. But Connie's shot hit the goal post and bounced off, resulting in crushing disappointment that rippled across the stands. She came back to the bench, her spirit having taken a hit by the defeat. But tough-as-nails Connie held her head high as she sat down amid consolation murmurings. Guy briefly reached over and placed a hand on her knee before giving her the necessary space to be frustrated.
The teams were now tied, and Coach called for Adam to take Mendoza's place again on the ice. During the final thirty seconds of the game, Adam-body on fire-barely snagged control of the puck from a sloppy defense move on the part of the Wind.
He drove the puck hard down the center, ducking in and out of defense's reach, but seriously underestimated his physical limitations, as usual. Just as he approached the opposing goal, his legs finally gave out. He felt it happen and, in a last ditch effort to score the goal, issued a wobbly wrist-shot. He hit the ground and soared into the goal, knocking himself and the goalie back against the boards.
When he heard the final buzzer, he felt scathing mortification wrack his spirit as he knew for certain the puck hadn't gone in before he'd wiped out.
But then…
"AND BANKS SCORES! THE VICTORY GOES TO THE MIGHTY DUCKS OF EDEN HALL!"
/
The crowd erupted into cheers so loud Lacey felt everything vibrate as she tossed her popcorn into the air, grabbing Yvette and screaming as the two jumped up and down. The twins went ballistic, slinging their wild blonde hair back and forth. Kristy was giggling as she clapped, her face shining.
Phil pumped his fist in the air. "YES, BANKS!"
No one in the stands who had family or friends on the team waited until the announcer finished and the trophy was presented. They all ran into one another as they tumbled down the bleacher steps and out onto the ice. Lacey was principal among them.
Her sneakers found footing on the ice that was now slushed over as she took quick, tiny steps toward Adam, who stood next to Orion, holding the trophy the Ducks had just been awarded. The whole team squeezed in together, face shields up, for a few quick pictures by the school's photographer. Lacey managed to stop herself just before reaching them, waiting for the picture-taking to be over with. Then, as soon as she was able, she jogged awkwardly to him. But she no more threw her arms around him than he practically fell into her.
"Adam-!" Lacey stumbled a bit, trying to keep them both on their feet. "Are you okay…?"
"Get me out of here," he whispered pleadingly. Never before had she seen him so desperate; not even after his shoulder had been dislocated.
"You don't think more people are going to want to take your picture-"
"I don't care, I've got to get off the ice."
Lacey looked around for Yvette and Phil, who were just then arriving on the scene, having to go slow due to Yvette's highly impractical heels.
"Son, you're white as a sheet!" Yvette reached out and pulled Adam's helmet the rest of the way off, taking his face in her hands. "And you're burning up…"
"I'll be fine, Mom. But I gotta get these pads off."
"You did a terrific job out there, Sport. I mean a hell of one," Phil clapped Adam on the shoulder, causing his son to cry out.
"He's hurting, Phil! You saw the hit he took from that rotten kid earlier," Yvette scolded.
"Right." Phil quickly withdrew his hand.
"I'm going to help him to the locker room," Lacey told Yvette. "Then I'll be right back out. Do you mind watching after the girls for just a minute?"
"Not at all," Yvette assured her, walking a few steps alongside her and Adam to ensure Lacey could support him on her own.
When the two of them finally reached the edge of the ice, he whimpered. "Where're my skate guards?"
"I don't know, but we'll have to find them later."
He was soaking wet with sweat and shivering non stop as Lacey tried to keep from touching his joints, wrapping her arms around his waist to guide him through the doors to the locker room. She figured she wasn't supposed to be in there, but the most important thing to her right now was taking care of Adam.
She helped ease him down onto a bench close to his locker. He had worked off his gloves and now slowly lifted his arms so she could pull off his jersey, biting his lip against the cry that was trying to escape. It was painful to watch, and even though Lacey had come to appreciate hockey quite a bit this season, she wanted to shout at him, All this for a game? Instead, she stood for a moment, examining his padding and wondering how exactly one went about taking it off.
"Neck guard," he gasped, still trying to catch his breath.
Lacey fumbled around carefully before Adam finally reached up with his good arm to guide her. At last she had it figured out. He gave her one word at a time, which was about the best he could manage, to explain to her which piece of equipment to take off next, and Lacey succeeded in removing his elbow pads, shoulder pads, and skates, which seemed to lighten his load of discomfort. Soon, all that was left was his undershirt and lower body gear.
"Sorry about the smell," Adam murmured, deflecting her eyes as he blushed a bit.
"Hey." She gently placed her hands on his face, turning him to look at her. Then, tilting her head as though she were about to say something sappy, quipped, "I can't tell if what I'm smelling is you or this entire locker room, so you're good."
He chortled before wincing again.
"Next, do I take-"
The locker room door burst open. Averman made an alarm sound as Jesse stopped short, everyone else spilling into the room around him.
"Couldn't even wait to do the nasty til the rest of us got done?"
Lacey felt her face completely ignite. "N-No! I'm trying to help him get out of his pads because he's hurting."
"Adam, my man," Jesse came over and sat next to him, "You were electric dynomite, you know that?"
"Thanks," Adam smiled weakly. "But if she doesn't take off my pads, you'll have to. I gotta get the weight off me and get into the shower."
"No thanks, Dude," Jesse stood up promptly and went to take off his own pads.
The locker room was a flurry of activity as all the players filed in, whooping and giving high fives. Lacey smiled, distracted for the moment from helping Adam with his pads. Once again, the familiar longing resurfaced–to be part of a team. How awesome it looked.
"I think I can get it from here," Adam spoke up tiredly. "The biggest thing was the upper body gear."
"Okay, if you're sure." Lacey was somewhat relieved to be finished with her part as she felt suddenly like an intruder during a sacred moment. "I'll be waiting outside with your parents."
Just as she was about to leave, she heard Russ Tyler call out as he was stripping down to his undershirt, "Hey Guys! Banksie's mom's invited us to their place tonight to celebrate. He's rich and his mom's a dish. I'm goin'!"
Shouts of agreement sounded off all around them as Adam looked over at Lacey with panic in his eyes. She wasn't sure if it was because his mom had just been called a dish, or because he didn't feel up to company. But what could be done about it now?
She knelt in front of him. "You gonna be okay with that?"
"Guess I'll have to be," he snorted softly. "You'll come, right?"
Lacey paused. "Adam, I feel like maybe these are moments you need to share with your team."
"Well you know all the other girlfriends will be there, plus Scooter, so come on. I want you with me." She watched as he leaned down stiffly, wincing as he pulled off his long socks.
"Okay, well if you're sure you've got it from here, I'll go on out and meet you over at your place. I just need to take the girls home." I mean, if other people were going too, why would she pass up an opportunity to finally spend time with her boyfriend for the first time in over a week?
Lacey slipped out of the locker room quietly. Others on the team were far too distracted in their animated commentary of the game to notice she'd been in there, and she'd rather keep it that way.
It had been so gracious for Yvette to offer to host a party for the whole team at her home, but Lacey figured Adam's mom just didn't realize yet exactly how exhausted he was and how badly he was hurting. She would go inform her now, but the plans had already been made and she wasn't sure this train could be stopped.
On the way home, the twins, who were powder kegs of excitement and hyperactivity all throughout the game, had finally erupted and were full of endless chatter, giggles and just all around loudness until Lacey chided, "Guys! Holy cow! Mom's going to kill me for this if you don't calm down. You do realize it'll be bedtime like immediately when we get home, right?"
"But tomorrow's Saturday, so it's okay," Halen supplied.
Of course, Lacey knew it wasn't just the Ducks' victory that had them so wired up. It was partially Lacey's own fault for feeding them all the gummy bears, Mountain Dew, and M&M's they wanted that night.
Oh well. What Mom and Stuart didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Big sister prerogative.
"Wait, you're doing what?!" Ariel sounded as though she was going to cry when Lacey pulled up in front of the house to let her out.
"It's a party at the Bankses, Ariel. And I'm sorry I can't bring you guys along, but it's for high schoolers and I don't know how they would feel about having two kids there." Lacey knew that probably wasn't the best way to explain the situation to two pubescent girls who felt they were as grown up as anybody else. But she wasn't sure how else to put it. At that age, she remembered all too well, things like this didn't seem fair.
"But we're thirteen in three weeks!" Halen butted in, likewise sounding tearful.
"I know, Guys, But this is just how it is. Listen, what about if you run in, take your sweatshirts off, and bring them out for me to get everybody to sign them?"
This quelled the storm just slightly, and she waited out in the car for Halen to return with the two team sweatshirts the girls had proudly worn all week, probably not even washing them.
Lacey took the shirts and was about to drive off when Halen stopped her.
"Can I look at that ring just one more time? It's so pretty."
Lacey chuckled. "Not sure how Adam would feel about you calling it 'pretty,' but sure." She held her hand out, watching as Adam's ring glistened in the moonlight.
Halen stroked the stone in the middle, always one for jewels. "You know what?" She looked at Lacey excitedly.
"What?"
"Maybe you and Adam can date through college, and then get married. Wouldn't that be so cool? I mean, then you'd have another ring." She winked.
Lacey smiled uneasily. She always tried not to think about how long she and Adam might last, because she'd seen so many couples over the last year or so that she thought would be together forever who suddenly weren't. It was for that reason that she did everything she could not to think of the future, for her anxiety's sake.
"We'll see. We never know what'll happen tomorrow, Halen, let alone five years from now. Go to bed, okay?"
Halen beamed, then turned to dash off to the house, long golden hair billowing out behind her.
/
Yvette had pulled out all the stops as best she could for the party to have been as last minute as it was. She did indeed bake cinnamon sticks which were every bit as good as she had presented them as being, and had stopped by the store for a few other things on the way back from the game. Lacey got there in time to help her string together some hastily made pennants of black, white, and green and hang them in the basement game room. When the team arrived, Adam's mom let them play whatever music they wanted as long as it didn't get too loud. It wasn't that they hadn't been to the Bankses before, but the time or so Adam had them over, his parents were gone for the evening. So for most of them, it was their first time meeting his mom, and the comment was passed around for the rest of the evening that they'd had no idea she was going to be so cool, given the impression everyone had of his dad.
"Why didn't you bring us around before, Banksie?" Robertson threw an arm around Adam's shoulders as he plopped next to him on the couch for a moment.
Adam winced.
"Oh, sorry my man," Robertson withdrew his arm. "But seriously. She's dope."
In response, Adam nodded, flashing a tired smile at Dwayne before the other guy jumped back up, in search of more to eat.
The players were ravenous, which was no surprise given how hard they had played that night. Linda and Kristy surprisingly bonded a little more over turkey pinwheels, which assuaged Lacey's guilt over being the one this time to stick close to her boyfriend all night. Adam welcomed the arrangement, but still tried to interact with his team. She had helped him earlier to apply some IcyHot to his shoulders, which felt odd in a way that was not altogether unpleasant. It was as though an entire roost of butterflies had hatched in her gut, bringing color to her cheeks as she touched him. During the time he'd had a dislocated shoulder, her mindset hadn't allowed her to pay much attention to the broadness of his shoulders without hockey padding, but now she was very aware. And she had the feeling he knew she was from the way he looked at her as she did it.
Damn her transparent face.
But she tried to push all thoughts of that out of her mind for now. As the night went on and his pain medicine took effect, Adam livened up slightly, recounting the various plays of the week with his teammates. The hours seemed to pass quickly, and before Lacey knew it it was one in the morning. She was dead on her feet, but still had enough energy to applaud the team's somewhat out-of-key rendition of "We Are the Champions," which Adam had mentioned before being something of a Ducks theme song. Lacey guessed it would be their last time singing it together.
After the song, the adrenaline seemed to have worn off the majority of the room as people began to drift away one by one, some with a sad sort of smile.
"Well Cake-eater…it's been great playing hockey with you," Jesse gave a half-grin to Adam as he pulled out his car keys.
"Yeah? I wasn't all bad after I knocked off your helmet at those old Hawks games, was I?" Adam inquired in a salty tone.
"Nah. You did us proud." Jesse lightly bumped the back of Adam's head, moving away.
At close to two, Adam could barely keep his eyes open. But he was trying, as Charlie was the last person left. Linda, exhausted herself, had decided to take Averman and Kristy's invitation for a ride home a little while earlier.
"It's weird," Charlie commented quietly, sitting on the opposite end of the sofa. "That it's really over."
Lacey, so Adam could talk to his friend, busied herself with stacking up as many serving platters together as she safely could to take upstairs when the night was over. Reminding herself that these were likely Yvette's heirlooms, she was as careful as possible. Did her mom own even a single dish as nice as these were?
"Yeah. It's kind of odd. Like, we've spent years doing this, and just like that, it ended," Adam replied.
"I mean, we can always scrimmage til graduation just for fun. But it's like…'there', you know?" Charlie continued. This was the first time she'd seen the good-natured, positive guy this wistful. "Like, the knowledge that when summer comes, we're all going our separate ways. The guys from out of state, and Julie, are leaving for good I guess. I mean what reason would there be for them to come back to Minneapolis?"
"Hey, don't underestimate Bombay's influence. They seemed pretty pumped up after he lectured us about staying in touch and supporting one another. They might not come back here often, that's true, but I think they'd be open to a reunion every now and then," Adam encouraged.
But Charlie was quiet, and Lacey sensed the guy trying to come to terms with what was going on. Adam loved the Ducks, for sure. But it was more than that for Charlie. Adam had told Lacey this before, but now she was seeing it firsthand. There seemed to be a special significance the team held for him. And it made her a little sad for him knowing that he loved it so much and was also losing it.
"You know," Lacey spoke up. "You guys could still do the lake house, maybe every summer? And you'd at least be reunited with the local people. The others could fly in just for that weekend…?"
The two guys were quiet for a moment before Charlie spoke up. "That would be a great idea, but Lacey, probably none of the non-locals would be able to afford plane tickets here as broke college students. You know?"
The look he gave her betrayed a certain familiarity: Charlie wasn't from money, either. She would be able to understand his words on a level Adam probably couldn't.
"Well…I guess that's true." She came over and plopped down on the floor in front of the couch. Both chivalrous guys moved to stand so she could take their spot, but she waved them off. "What if you guys do the lake house, anyone can come who can, but for those who can't, you make a phone call and let everyone talk? It'll make them feel like they're there, at least a little. The important thing is, don't lose touch."
Adam and Charlie looked at one another.
"It's a thought," Adam shrugged with his good shoulder. "And you do know that when we're home on breaks, we'll do plenty of scrimmaging. Things aren't really over exactly, Charlie, they're just going to be different."
Lacey could tell Charlie wasn't a hundred percent satisfied, but she knew he was going to be okay. Charlie was a resilient guy, she could tell. Finally he got up, sharing a handshake-type gesture with Adam–apparently a boy thing–and left.
And by then, Adam looked half-dead.
"You did great tonight. With everything." Lacey sunk down onto the couch next to him, kissing his cheek. "Do you want to go to bed?"
"I do," Adam replied, eyes closed as his head rested against the back of the couch. "How much trouble might you be in if you come with me? I mean, to sleep," he added quickly, as if Lacey had any doubt.
She laughed. "Nah, really? Anyway, I'm eighteen. Mom and Stuart have gotta get used to it sometime," Lacey shrugged.
"But your Mom's like the Terminator."
"Oh, she'll be fine. I mean they know I'm at a party and probably just passed out over here too late to come home. Come on." She stood and took Adam's hand, pulling him up from the couch. She then went over to collect the platters to go upstairs
"So don't you have pictures of your early days on the Ducks?," she asked as they ascended the steps and headed to the kitchen, setting the empty platters into the sink.
"Yeah, actually. If I'd known we were doing this tonight, I would have brought them down. But the memories are still fresh." He came over and added the stacks of plates he'd grabbed to hers.
She turned around, back pressed against the counter as she hugged him to her carefully. "I'm glad you won your last game. And that you had this party. I think it's going to mean more to you as time goes by."
"Me too." He kissed her forehead and rested his cheek on her head. "I'm really grateful to Coach Bombay for ratting me out about my address. It was probably the best thing that ever happened to me."
"What are talking about?"
"You don't know?" He stood up straight and pulled her around to look at him. "I was playing for the wrong team during Pee Wees because the boundary lines had been redrawn and we didn't know it. That's why I had to leave the Hawks–Bombay found out and informed the league officials."
"Oh…" Lacey stared for a moment. "I always wondered why you stopped playing for Davy's team, but figured maybe you just lost interest. I didn't realize you became a Duck until much later."
"Yeah, well how much would you have known about me at that age?" Adam began walking toward the staircase leading up to the bedrooms.
"Not much. I just knew you were sweet," she smiled. "Despite all appearances to the contrary."
"Oh, I never asked you." Adam whispered as he turned to glance back while they headed up the stairs, keen not to wake his parents. "Whatever happened to my scarf?"
"I still have it. It's hanging in my closet somewhere. I never had the gall to wear it, but I wanted to keep it. It reminded me of kindness," she smiled as they entered Adam's room.
He closed the door softly. "Can I see it then?"
"Can you see it?" Lacey snorted. "I don't know how impressed you're gonna be."
"I just wanna look at a six-year-old scarf to see how in style it still is," he needled her.
"Oh please! It's a scarf."
"Okay, why don't you let me look at it, then? It's my scarf," he argued.
"Nope, mine now. And you will not be taking it away from me, you understand?" She pulled down his bed on one side for him, and opted to sleep on top of the covers on her own side.
He carefully eased himself down onto the right side of the bed, "If I don't understand how you are by now, I never will." He turned off the lamp.
Lacey rolled over onto her side as he snuggled in close behind her. But her eyes refused to close.
"Adam?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm going to open this door." She jumped up before he could protest.
"Why?"
"So your parents don't get the wrong idea. It's awkward." She cracked the door, coming back over to nestle in again.
"We're dating and we're eighteen," he murmured sleepily. "Does it really matter?"
"To me it does. Don't ask me why."
Suddenly he was wide awake. "This isn't because of Max, is it? Because you know I'd never pressure for that. I only meant…" he trailed off.
"No no, that's not it. Just, we haven't been together but a month and a half, and I want people to know we're not taking things too fast. At least our parents."
"Yeah. I know." Sleep was creeping back into Adam's voice. "Seems a lot longer…"
Within minutes, Lacey could tell by the sound of his deep, even breathing that he was asleep.
And she soon followed, lulled into comfort by his warmth and the clean scent of Irish Spring soap.
/
"Do you realize you managed to pull the comforter completely off me and wrap yourself up like a burrito while I woke up frostbitten at 5am?"
"Oh don't be a baby. You're fine."
Lacey and Adam sat in the breakfast nook eating Lynn's eggs benedict–which Lacey knew immediately she would never eat again if at all possible. However, the coffee was amazing.
She had called her house the minute they had woken up, which was close to eleven. Her mom had answered, sounding none too pleased that it was so late before they heard from her. But it sounded like they had assumed, as she'd figured, that she'd slept over at Adam's.
With a promise she'd be home soon, Lacey hung up and padded downstairs in front of Adam, holding his hand. Apparently Yvette was in her art studio and Phil was taking advantage of the increasingly beautiful weather to play golf, so they had the house to themselves all except for Lynn.
"You gonna be okay?" Lacey gave up on her eggs benedict and started on her bagel. "I mean, you'll rest today, right?"
"You'd better believe it. After this, I'm going back to bed and not moving until I have to." He sipped on hot tea, looking out the window. "Can you believe graduation is in a month and a half?"
Lacey felt a familiar knot in her stomach upon thinking about graduation. As if she had any idea whatsoever what life held for her after high school. It scared her to think about it, let alone talk about it.
"I've enjoyed high school," she supplied quietly.
He turned back to her. "Really? You mean people actually say that?" He chuckled.
"Well, I mean most of it was a farce," she reached for the knife beside the little dish Lynn had put the cream cheese in. "Me pretending to be this over-confident fashionista. But something about the routine of it, the events, the…education, quite honestly, as nerdy as that sounds…appealed to me."
"The only thing that ever appealed to me about high school was hockey," Adam replied, taking a sip of his tea. "And sometimes History class."
Lacey set her bagel down suddenly. "Adam, I have a question."
"Yeah?"
"Do you have hobbies or interests outside of hockey? At all?" She had tried to keep her tone light, but Adam blinked as though he'd taken a barb.
"...I mean…" he started.
"And I don't intend for that to sound like I'm not okay with hockey. It's just…you seem to be sort of…" She had to be careful. She wanted to use the phrase hung up. "...Extra focused on it. And I realized that even though we talk about everything, we enjoy doing things together like going to movies and stuff, I still don't know what other things you'd like to do outside of hockey."
Adam set his tea down, staring into it for a moment as though thinking. "I guess there are things I do want to explore, but because hockey's always been my first love, I've not really had time."
"Well, it's going to be summer pretty soon, and that's your chance." She reached over and rubbed his forearm. "I have picked up on the fact that you like old movies."
"Yeah," he smiled sheepishly. "I kind of grew up on them because of my mom. I've also wanted to check out photography: capturing the small moments people don't usually notice. This probably sounds dumb, but when I was running in the park last week I saw this old man playing chess with a little girl, and a balloon was tied to the clock. So I wondered, was it his birthday or hers? And who were they to each other? I mean I know I like to be in the background at social functions, but I do enjoy observing people. And I think rather than talk about what I see, I'd be more comfortable catching it in a photo."
Lacey sat back. "Adam, I never knew that about you. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well it seemed like a moot point," he shrugged, then grimaced and put his hand on his shoulder. "I mean," he continued, "like I say, I've never had time to pursue it."
"Okay, so we have classic movies, which I knew, and photography, which I had no idea about. What else do you like that I don't know?"
Adam was on a roll suddenly. "I like reading about law cases. It's intriguing. You already know I like Metallica and Nirvana, I like to dance, I like puzzles…I don't know. What are we going for here?"
"What about kids? You seem good with the twins."
"Um," he took another bite of his eggs. "The twins are pretty likeable, but generally, I don't know what to do with kids. Well, except…" he trailed off.
"What?" Lacey smiled, resting her chin in her hands.
"I do like babies," he flushed. "All the cousins on my dad's side were a lot younger than me and Travis. At one point, there were like three or four all under the age of two, and I had to babysit a lot at family parties. This was when I was twelve or so. And, I don't know. I just really loved holding the babies. Don't tell Portman this, by the way. He'll never let me live it down."
Lacey giggled. "Hey. I think there could stand to be more men who are willing to babysit. Alright, so why don't we take a photography class together?"
"Right now?" Adam looked alarmed. "Because graduation's coming up, and–"
"No no, we can wait til summer. Wouldn't it be fun to do something like that? I mean, I'd love to learn it too." She pushed her plate back, full, but picked up her coffee mug to finish it off.
Adam studied her for a moment before smiling, a twinkle in his eyes. "You know, in the last couple months, it's like you've blossomed. I don't know, you went from being a girl who seemed sad most of the time to somebody who wants to have girls nights, go to photography class, sit through hockey games…"
Lacey gave a rueful laugh.
"No, seriously. You've changed. And I think this is maybe who you really were all the time."
Lacey absently studied the table cloth before looking back up at him. "You think so?"
"Oh I know so. And the night I came over to your house? You were wearing a Joan Jett tshirt. And I gotta admit, it was kinda sexy."
Lacey nearly choked on her coffee. Adam had always been so proper she was surprised he even used the term. "Did you just say sexy?"
"Well yeah. I mean…" he flushed bright red after she pointed out his words.
"I am so glad I can apparently look sexy wearing a Joan Jett t-shirt I got from Goodwill. Awesome." She gave him a thumbs up.
"Okay so my turn," Adam shifted in anticipation. "Go get more coffee first."
He'd observed how low her mug was getting, even though she'd nearly forgotten. "Yup," she winked, getting up to pour another cupful.
She soon came back and settled in comfortably right next to him on the cushioned bench next to the window. "Go for it. Although wait, you pretty much know everything. I like cats, I like–"
"No no, I don't mean that stuff. I mean, what are you going to do in college? Did you ever figure out your plan?"
Oh my. That topic again.
Lacey sighed. "I don't have any idea, if you want me to be completely honest."
"Are you just going to get a liberal arts associate's degree to give yourself more time to think about it?" He put his arm around her shoulders, nuzzling her ear slightly, and Lacey could tell the talking was about to stop. Which, at this point, relieved her.
"I don't know, I just…" She took another deep breath and let it out quickly. "I can't talk about it right now, Adam. You're distracting me."
"Okay, forget it then. We can always talk about that later." He kissed her cheek, then reached out his other hand to turn her face gently toward him.
He pressed his lips against hers hungrily. His deep desire came at her so quickly it took her by surprise, but she easily matched his fervor, a little thrill racing down her spine.
She loved how, as time went on, Adam had become much bolder with his kisses, no longer as shy and tentative as he was the first month they were dating. Even though he typically saved this sort of affection for when they were behind closed doors, it was a little exciting to be doing it when they knew Lynn or his mom could come around the corner at any second.
Ah, the thrill of nearly being caught. It was delectable.
But even in the midst of their embrace, Lacey's mind was working. There was so much more to Adam than hockey. And she was going to help him see it.