"I'm already head minion," Maddy told me, giggling. "You'll have to get in line."

The second period was more wide open. Jimmy scored twice. One goal was the result of a brutal battle for position in front of the net. He was going to have some brand new bruises tomorrow. The other goal was a thing of beauty-he sniped it at the end of a rush.

"I'm surprised you're not having a big 'O' right on the spot," Cherie remarked to me.

As usual, I blushed at the mention of sex, and Cherie cackled. "Our baby-captain may have the face of an cherub, but he's got the body of a full-grown man. Lucky you."

At the end of the second period, Cherie announced, "I'm gonna go make the rounds. Anyone want to come?"

I shook my head. I was worried about all the politics she mentioned and not up to meeting a big horde of people. Maddy kept me company. "Everyone wants to meet you. James is sort of shy and hard to read. He's so into hockey, I didn't think he even knew what a girl was."

"I'm sure everyone is expecting someone more glamourous than me."

"Not me. He's a small town guy, and he needs someone real. How long have you been dating?"

"Unnnh..." That was kind of a hard question. The answer was actually two months, plus our complicated past. "A while?"

Maddy laughed. "I assumed you guys were high school sweethearts-like me and Mac. It's the way he raves about you."

"So, you two have been going out all this time?"

"Yes, Mac played in the States on a hockey scholarship while I went to S.F.U. in Vancouver. Things were tough long distance, but we managed-probably because we were both so busy with our sports."

Maddy was so straightforward about everything; it felt like I had known her for years already. I guess it was because we had a lot in common: our B.C. backgrounds, varsity sports, and now the Blackhawks.

Maddy spoke quietly, "I love Cherie, but I'm positive that J.J. is not as serious about her as she is about him. She flies here a ton." She shook her head. "I hope she doesn't get hurt."

Since I had only met Cherie tonight, and only seen J.J. Simard play for two periods, I had nothing to add to this conversation. "Why would she get hurt?"

"J.J. is not the kind of guy to settle down. There's so much temptation out there."

Was she implying that he was cheating? That seemed incredible given that Cherie was the kind of woman guys would kill to date.

After the game, Cherie and Maddy guided me to the family room. There were tons of hugs and squeals as everyone saw each other after the summer. After a while, the players started to drift in. Ty came in with another player and made a beeline for me.

"Hey, Kelly." He gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. I noticed Danielle watching us. "Freeze asked me to keep an eye on you until he got here. He's got lots of postgame interviews because he had such a good game. Were you responsible for that?"

"Sure, I taught him everything he knows."

"Ha, that's right, you're quite the hockey player, aren't you?" Ty laughed and turned towards the other player, who had his arm around Maddy. "Ian MacEwan, Kelly Tanaka. Remember, she and Freeze were supposed to visit back in July-until they came down with something. Horny-itis, was it?"

"Ty!" I punched him in the arm. He protested that it was his shooting arm.

"From what I saw, it's already injured," I told him. Ty had a good game, but he was more of a stay-at-home defenceman.

"Clearly, women knowing too much about hockey is not a good thing," Ty replied with a laugh. It was great to have a friend among so many strangers.

We chatted a bit about the game, and Maddy invited me to come with them for a post-game meal.

"Sounds fun to me, but maybe I shouldn't make plans. Jimmy may have something in mind."

Ty laughed. "I'm sure he does, but you can't spend all your time in bed."

I blushed, and Mac scolded him. Ty replied, "I fixed them up, so I get to say whatever I want."

Maddy looked quizzical, so I explained, "I met Ty in Vancouver, and he put Jimmy back in touch with me."

"Freeze will be forever in my debt for that." Ty laughed some more.

By the time Jimmy finally came in, most of the lounge had cleared out. He walked in talking with another player, a rangy blonde who I guessed was Leo Axelsson. Jimmy strode over and gave me a big, off-the-ground hug. I could tell he was flying after the win.

"Hi, Kelly. Sorry I took so long." He grinned and draped his arm over me, looking pretty proud of himself and possibly me.

The other guy came up and shook my hand, "I am Leo." He had a big grin and a slight Swedish accent. Then all the guys discussed which steakhouse they wanted to go to.

As we got in the car, Jimmy asked me how everything had gone.

"Great," I replied. "Maddy and Cherie are sooo nice."

He leaned over and put his arms around me. "I told you not to worry. Everyone's going to love you-as much as I do."

I kissed him. "Awww, you're so sweet." This whole life was so new and different, but being with Jimmy was my constant.

30.

Sweetness

It was scary that within a few months I was living this incredibly glamourous life and taking it for granted. We lived in a gorgeous place, I had a new ride, and we went out to expensive restaurants and nightclubs where we got V.I.P. treatment.

My favourite part was going to the games. I loved the excitement of the United Center, seeing all my girlfriends, and of course the games themselves. Jimmy was having a great season. All the jerks who had criticized the team for choosing such a young captain were eating their words now.

"We're so lucky," I said to Jimmy as we drove to a nightclub after dinner out.

"Why?"

"Everyone treats us so well. It's kind of ironic that when you're rich, people always want to comp things for you." Dinner had been on the house tonight. When I was a poor student, I would have killed for a free meal like that.

"They benefit too. If people find out the Blackhawks go there, it's good for business."

"I know, but we're still lucky," I insisted. "I'm sure there are some NHL cities where the teams don't get all the perks like you do."

"It has nothing to do with luck. None of this stuff was happening when the team was losing. A couple of years ago, we weren't selling out either. Winning makes the big difference." He sounded almost pissed off as he explained this to me.

Jimmy worried a lot about his games. I hadn't realized was how hard he took every loss. He felt responsible every time and was in a terrible mood afterwards. It reminded me of how upset he was that night in Toronto, and that stressed me out. I tried my best to cheer him up, but sometimes it was impossible. I suggested that he speak to the team's sports psychologist, but Jimmy blew me off. He didn't like the idea that he had any weaknesses, especially psychological ones.

The team insulated the players to keep them safe from distractions or problems that might affect their games. And that became my job at home. We functioned around his schedule and, since he was making all the money, that seemed only fair. Of course, for someone who had nearly flunked Home Ec, maintaining a nice home was a bit of challenge, but I was learning.

We pulled up to the club, and Jimmy handed off his keys to the valet. There was a big line-up outside, despite the light snow falling. Jimmy grabbed my hand and walked us to the very front.

The bouncer at the door looked stern but broke into a smile when he recognized Jimmy. "Hey, James, great game tonight. I think your friends are already in the lounge upstairs." He swung the door open for us, and in we went.

It was dark and loud inside, and completely jammed. The guys liked to frequent certain bars and always got the celebrity treatment with as much privacy as they wanted.

Most of the team were single. Ty turned out to be quite the ladies man, and had new girlfriends regularly. Leo Axelsson was the same age as Jimmy, but he had blond good looks and a European sophistication that had women swarming around him. Since I wasn't a huge drinker, I spent a lot of time watching those guys operate.

"You want to dance with me, Kelly?" Ty asked. Jimmy didn't like fast dancing, so Ty always took pity on me. He had also discovered that being on the dance floor gave him a better view of the available women.

"Am I your wingman again?" I asked, as we got on the dance floor.

"Depends. You still dating Freeze?" His running gag was pretending he liked me.

"Yup."

"Then I guess I'll have to settle. Have you got any tips for avoiding psychos?"

"Are we talking about Candy?" His latest girlfriend had been scary dumb and kept showing up long after it was over. "My suggestion would be to spend five minutes talking to them first."

"Five minutes. That's a big investment."

"Yes, but think of all the time you save at the end when you don't have to get the restraining order."

"Hmm. You make sense, wise one. What do you think of the redhead at two o'clock?"

"She's beautiful."

"You didn't even look," he protested.

"Ty, they're always beautiful. Your girlfriends are always tens on the outside. It's the inside you need to work on. Maybe you should go for a nine, with a mind."

The music switched to something softer, and Ty pulled me into his arms for a slow dance. He started whispering in my ear, "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three-"

"Unhand my woman there, Baller." Jimmy loomed over us.

Ty and I both started laughing.

"What is it?" Jimmy asked. He put an arm around me and held me tight against his chest.

"Nothing," Ty said. "You're a lucky guy, you know."

"I do know." Jimmy smiled down at me, and we moved further onto the dance floor.

"Does it bug you when I dance with Ty?" Jimmy wasn't the jealous type, but I didn't want to cause any trouble.

He shook his head. "I trust both of you. But what are you guys laughing about all the time?"

"Mainly his failures with women."

"That is a joke," he agreed. "Hey, J.J. was telling me about this place you'd really like."

"Really, what is it?"

"There's a hotel with this chocolate buffet. Dozens of different desserts like brownies, cakes, puddings, dipped strawberries, and even hot chocolate to drink."

"Oh my gosh, I'm salivating already. That sounds incredible. Can we go sometime?"

"How about tomorrow night? I have a practice at noon, but that's it."

"Great! And let's do all the Chicago tourist things we keep saying we're going to do."

As soon as Jimmy got home the next day, we bundled up and headed out. We ate an early dinner in anticipation of the dessert pig-out. Then we went for a walk in Millennium Park. It was cold out and snowing a little, but we were wearing down jackets, jeans and boots. The park was really pretty with all the lights of downtown keeping things cheerily bright. I loved the Bean. It was a gigantic silver sculpture in the shape of a big kidney bean. We got someone to take our picture in front of it.

"Now, we own the ultimate Chicago tourist photo," I informed Jimmy.

"I can't believe you, you always want to do the corniest stuff." He laughed and hugged me. When he went out with the team, they did sophisticated things. But I wanted to explore all of Chicago, not only the nightclubs and expensive stores.

We walked by an outdoor rink and it was so pretty, surrounded with little trees covered in white lights, and the big office buildings twinkling above. Some people were out skating, but not too many.

I tugged on Jimmy's hand.

"Let's go skating."

"What? No way, we don't have our skates." He shook his head.

"Oh c'mon. We can rent skates." I pointed to the rental place.

"Rental skates suck, we won't be able to skate as well."

"It's not a race, it's just skating-for fun. Please, please?"

He looked down at me and smiled. "Okay. You're kinda like a little kid."

"Ohhhh, that makes you a pervert then." I laughed, and we went to get skates.

Jimmy was right: the rental skates did suck, but it was just so nice to be skating outside at night with all the sparkling lights. We skated a few really fast circuits, probably to show off, or perhaps because skating is like flying. It was always an amazing feeling to glide over the ice. Eventually we slowed down, held hands, and talked.

I was reminiscing. "This feels so nice. Skating outside always reminds me of growing up in Ottawa. There was this rink about ten minutes from our house, where you could play hockey as long as you wanted. Well, until the big boys came and took over the rink. Sometimes, I played with them at the beginning, but they'd shoo me away eventually. Maybe that's why I always wanted to play hockey with boys, because they never wanted me to."