A Hockey Tutor (3 page)

Chapter 3 – Katie

I gently banged my head against the steering wheel when I got back to my apartment. What the hell am I doing? Then I remembered the twenty thousand dollars, and it came back to me. I could do this. I could handle this hockey player.

When I went to the bank to deposit the check, my hands shook as I handed it to the clerk. I’d never had that much money in my hand. Then I called the diner and told my boss this would be my last weekend. He told me it was fine, he was overstaffed anyway, and I didn’t need to come in anymore. I was thankful, because I had a lot of stuff to do if I wanted to get these schedules synced by Monday. Plus, I could party a little bit, too.

After I mentally reassured myself that this was a good idea, I got out of the car. A freaking BMW. I almost fainted when I hit the unlock button and realized that was the car I’d be driving.

I walked into the apartment, and didn’t stop until I was in my bedroom. I flopped on the bed and stared at my ceiling. I thought about Andrew’s eyes. All day, every time he looked at me, my knees went weak.

Stupid blue eyes.

“Katie, you here?” I heard Lindsay yell from the living room.

“No, I’m not,” I said, hoping she would take the hint I wanted to be alone for a moment.

She came into my bedroom and dropped down next to me on the bed.

“I went by the diner, to get a grilled cheese, and one of the waitresses told me you quit. Then I come home to find a black BMW in your parking spot, behind your other car. What gives?”

I rolled over on my side and looked at her. I told her everything that had happened since I’d left that morning, and she stared at me, open-mouthed.

“Let me get this straight. You deposited twenty thousand dollars into your checking account, you‘re cruising around in a BMW,
and
you get to spend time with Andrew Moore, the star goalie for the North Maple University Hockey Team.
All the time?
”

I nodded.

“You lucky bitch,” Lindsay quipped.

“I’m tutoring him and keeping his mind on school. It’s not like we’re going to the movies, or dating.” I got up and strolled into the kitchen.

“So, I guess this means we’re going to the game tonight?” Lindsay said, handing me a bottle of water as I grabbed a bag of chips.

“Why?”

“Well, Franks asked me to go, and since you’re Andrew’s new
friend
, you’ll go too.”

“Nah, I might stay home for a little bit, find out who’s partying tonight. I need to do some dancing.” I crunched on a chip, hoping that weak excuse worked.

“Nope, you’re coming with me.” Lindsay grabbed a chip from the bag.

“Should I even try to argue with you?” I looked at her, and she just gave me her sweet smile which meant ‘not a chance’.

“Let me get some work done, then yell at me when you’re ready.” I grabbed a couple more chips and went back into my bedroom.

I emptied my bag and started looking over Andrew’s schedule. Damn, he was busy. No wonder his grades were slipping. I plotted out the next two weeks for classes, studying, practice, and games. Midterms weren’t that far away, and I needed to make sure Andrew’s grades were good by then. I wasn’t sure why that deadline was so important, but I was going to try my best to hit it.

I looked in the file his dad gave me at the meeting this morning. It contained Andrew’s address, cell phone number, emails, and social media links. It included a copy of his transcripts from college and high school, as well as prospect letters from several NHL teams. According to his transcripts, Andrew was an average student, but she didn’t know how much help had he had gotten from previous tutors to make those grades. He seemed smart, if uninspired, when it came to school work. After finally getting his schedule organized, I realized Andrew was right; he wouldn’t be sleeping much.

My phone ringing brought me out of my thoughts. I looked at the display and saw that it was Brandon. I hit ignore. I didn’t want to talk to him right now. I stared at my phone, and waited. I heard a beep, letting me know I had a voicemail. I’d listen to it later.

“Ready?” Lindsay popped her head in my bedroom.

I checked the clock and realized I’d been in my room longer than I thought. “I guess,” I huffed. I grabbed my purse and followed her out of the apartment. Lindsay stood by the company car and stared at me.

“What?”

“Technically, this is a work event—you promised you’d keep an eye on Andrew, right?—so you
could
take the Beemer.” Lindsay lovingly patted the hood of the car.

I laughed. I
did
like driving the Beemer. “All right.” I grabbed the keys from my purse and hit the unlock button. Lindsay slid into the black leather seat and caressed the dashboard. “Don’t you dare drool on anything. This has to be returned,” I said sternly.

“I’m not drooling, but I am totally jealous right now.” She winked at me.

I buckled up and started the car. The traffic to the rink was insane. It was only an exhibition game, but there was a ton of people. We finally found a parking spot,, but because there were so many people, we had to walk several blocks. We showed our college ID cards and followed the crowd towards the student section.

“Franks!” Lindsay yelled, and he popped his head up, smiling at her. I sat down next to Lindsay, and she chatting with Franks. I admired the view of the ice, while the student section filled up. The rink was packed with people, and everyone was wearing red or green, the team colors of the North Maple Bears.

“Katie, are you a hockey fan?” Franks leaned over and asked.

“We came to several games last season, but I’m not a huge fan,” I explained.

“Well, now that you’re with Andrew, you’ll be a huge fan.” He winked at me.

I shook my head. “I’m not
with
Andrew. I’m his tutor.”

Franks laughed. “Yeah, whatever.”

The crowd began to cheer as the team came out onto the ice. I stood up with everyone else, clapping, and searched for Andrew. I didn’t see him.

“Where is he?” I asked Franks.

“Right there,” Franks pointed in front of me, to the goalie.

“He’s a goalie?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you know that already?”

I shook my head. “I thought he was a hockey player. You know, one of the
other
guys on the ice.” I waved my hand to the other members of the team.

“Don’t let him hear you say that.”

“I didn’t mean to say that he wasn’t a hockey player.” I tried to correct myself, but Franks just laughed at me again. I gave up and looked back out at the ice.

A few players were skating around, warming up, and I looked over to Lindsay as she stared at the players who were stretching on the ice. I nudged her, and she blushed slightly. She knew I caught her staring.

The announcer asked us to stand for the national anthem, and when it was over, it was time for the game. I watched Andrew adjust his helmet and get into position as the other members of the team lined up for the face-off.

Shot after shot, Andrew dived and weaved to protect the goal. Nothing went past him. I was mesmerized, watching him in the net. He really was remarkable.

At the end of the first period, no one had scored. I spent intermission watching the Zamboni clean the ice, while Lindsay and Franks flirted with each other.

The second period was just as intense as the first. This was only a pre-season game; I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen in the regular season. Wait, when did I care about hockey? I couldn’t take my eyes off of Andrew, and I held my breath each time a shot was coming towards him. The other team tried everything to get a puck past him, but they didn’t succeed.

After another intermission of flirting between the lovebirds, the third period was underway. With just a few minutes left, we scored twice. Andrew held tough in the net, and when the final buzzer sounded, the other team remained scoreless.

The whole crowd stood up and cheered as the team congratulated Andrew. He did such an incredible job, and I understood why the NHL wanted him. We began to shuffle outside with the rest of the crowd as Franks was telling us about a party at Andrew’s house to celebrate. Even though I was tired, and it had been a long day, I needed to unwind.

Lindsay grabbed my hand, and we followed Franks to the backside of the rink. I had never been on this side before, but I knew it was the players’ entrance. We all stood by the door as the players began to exit. I knew a couple of them from classes and around campus. We were part of a huge crowd of people that had lined up on either side of the players’ entrance, and when the players came out, we all started clapping. I saw Andrew, and my heart fluttered. His hair was damp and he was in dress clothes, like the other players. He had a big smile on his face, his blue eyes sparkled, and my breath caught. God, he was good looking.

“I think you might want to pick your jaw up from the ground,” Lindsay whispered in my ear.

I shot her a pointed look. She giggled.

“Katie, you’re coming to the party, right?” Andrew asked. He was standing really close, and he had that yummy, fresh-out-of-the-shower smell.

My mouth went dry and I couldn't speak. I just stood there, mute, looking into his sea blue eyes.

He didn’t say anything, only stared at me, with his lips pursed.

“Andrew!”

He broke eye contact to look in the direction of the voice. It was the no-name blonde from earlier that day.

“Andrew, baby,” the girl wrapped herself around him, like a leech. I could see that he’s still searching for the girl’s name.

“Hey . . . you,” he said awkwardly.

Part of me wanted to help him out, and part of me wanted to see him squirm. What the heck. I tapped her shoulder. “Excuse me; I don’t think we met earlier. I’m Katie.” I extended my hand to her.

“I’m Amber.” She looked at me, confused, and shook my hand.

I glanced at Andrew and saw the relief on his face. Our eyes met and he winked. He knew what I had done.

“Are you going to the party tonight?” Amber asked me.

“Of course she is,” Lindsay interjected. “We were about to go over there.”

“Me, too,” Amber said as she bounced up and down on her toes, reminding me of a peppy cheerleader.

Lindsay grabbed my arm and guided me down the sidewalk. I looked over my shoulder to see Amber still clinging to Andrew. He clearly wasn’t interested in her if he couldn’t even remember her name. Why didn’t he just peel her off him? My face felt hot. My fists were clenched. Why did I care? I was Andrew’s tutor; his personal life was not my concern.

I drove the BMW to our apartment, and we walked the four blocks to Andrew’s house. There were so many people there, the party was in full swing, but Andrew hadn’t arrived yet..

“Franks is over there,” Lindsay said, pointing, and I followed her into the kitchen.

As soon as they were close enough, they were locked at the lips, so I went to the bar and fixed myself a drink. Since I didn’t have anything to do until one tomorrow, I could get my drink on tonight. At least, for a little while.

I moved to the wall of the living room to avoid all the gyrating bodies, being careful not to spill my drink, but it was no use. I was getting bounced around like a ping pong ball.

Hmph.

“Sorry,” I said to whoever belonged to the toes I just stepped on.

“Please don’t apologize,” answered a deep voice. “It’s a bit crowded, huh?”

I turned around to see tall, nice-looking guy, with dark eyes and thick black hair.

“Yes, it seems to be.” I replied, observing his high cheekbones and tussled hair.

“I’m Wes,” he said, introducing himself.

“Katie,” I said.

“Nice to meet you. What are you drinking?”

I looked down at my drink. “Cherry LifeSaver,” I informed him.

“That’s definitely a girl drink.” He chuckled.

“It’s very yummy,” I said as I took another drink. “So, do you know the host, or are you a party crasher?” I asked.

“No, I’m not a party crasher. I’m Andrew’s backup.”

“Oh.” He wasn’t as big as Andrew, and his shoulders weren’t as broad.

Wes nodded. “I’ve been playing most of my life. Now I’m here on scholarship, focusing on school.”

“Interesting. No dreams for the NHL?” I figured if you played college hockey, then that was the next step.

Wes’ eyes darkened, and he shook his head. “Not really. I played for a while in Juniors, but my goal’s to be a doctor. I grew up in Minnesota, and I wanted to remain close to home, help out the community.”

“That’s nice.” Usually when I say that, I don’t mean it, but I meant it this time. It was sweet that he wanted give back to his community.

“So, what about you? Are you a party crasher?”

“Nah, I know Andrew,” I explained.

“Oh.” Wes’ face fell. “Lots of girls know Andrew.”

“No, no, no, I’m not like that. I’m just tutoring him.”