Fire & Ice

twentytwo

Waking up in my own bed alone was a bit weird. After sleeping next to Cassie for so long I had to adjust to sleeping alone again. Well I did have Frank keep me company all night but it wasn't the same. I sighed and got up to get moving. I needed to get to the hotel before the buses leave for BC. It did take me a few minutes to get all my stuff together. For the game today I wanted to dress up a bit for the walk in. So I had to grab everything now because I was going to stay with the team after practice before the game. I said bye to mom and Frank and grabbed Travis' car keys before taking off for the hotel.

            When I got there I took the side entrance up to my room with Toni. When I got there I saw she was still getting ready for practice.

            "You have a good day?" Toni asked slipping on her track pants.

            "I did, I got to surprise my mom, see my dog, have some good food I was missing and sleep in my own bed. It was nice." I answered and dropped the garment bag on the bed.

            "And what is that?" Toni asked.

            "That is for walk ins later." I said and grabbed my backpack.

            "You are getting dressed up?" Toni asked curious.

            "Yes, you do realize basically my whole home town is going to be at these games right? I want to look good. You ready?" I answered.

            Toni and I left the room together and walked down to the lobby to get some food for breakfast before we had to leave for practice. Coach was surprised to see me when I walked in the room. The surprise was written right on his face as Toni let me know he did come around last night checking in on everyone. Toni covered for me like she said she was going to and I thanked her greatly for it.

            We ate something light for breakfast and then we were off for practice. When we pulled up to the rink I saw some people milling around the front of the building and I just pulled my hat down. I do know that Ohio State was off this weekend and wouldn't put it past Tatiana to show up at the game if she came home for Thanksgiving.

            It took a few minutes to get everyone off the bus and I turned my head to look at the people waiting around. Turns out I was right, Tatiana was standing there with a few of her friends. I quickly turned my head back around and rushed inside the arena. I didn't want her to see me. I know she is going to cause problems and I don't want to start anything this weekend.

            Practice was good, it felt nice to go full speed with the team again. My ribs were aching after practice was over but I knew with Marissa wrapping my mid-section with ice packs they would be good to go for game time. We made our way back to the hotel to rest and relax before game one. As we got there mom was waiting in the lobby for me with Frank and I couldn't help but smile. She looked a bit alarmed when she saw the ice but it was all forgotten when my team filtered into the hotel and wanted to pet Frank. He was soaking in all the attention while I just sat and relaxed a bit with mom. But finally I went back up to the room and mom left with Frank saying she'll be at the game with Dawn and Malcolm.

            I took a shower when I got up to the room and then laid out on the bed for a while. Toni much like myself was just relaxing for a while before we had to start and get ready for the afternoon game. I unzipped the garment bag and pulled out the suit jacket and pants along with the crisp white button down shirt and tie. My black dress shoes were waiting for me on the floor of the room.

            "Going all out I see." Toni said from over my shoulder as I pulled on a tank top.

            "Yup" I answered and slipped on the dress shirt next. The pants followed the shirt and once that was all on, I pull on my socks and shoes. I buttoned up my shirt and made sure the it was tucked in right then grabbed my tie. I stood in front of the mirror and flipped my collar up and pulled the tie into place. It took me a few minutes but I finally got it tied right and pulled my collar down.