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Beth
Sitting in the front row of a hockey game was one heck of an experience. The thunderous clash of sticks, the crisp slice of skates on ice, and the deafening roar of the crowd enveloped me as I followed the dark puck across the playing surface. And when one opposing player checked a member of the St. Louis Blues into the glass two feet next to me, I could practically feel my own bones rattle from the hit.
“Oh yeah!” my boyfriend Trip exclaimed next to me. “These seats are amazing, aren’t they, Beth?”
“They are,” I agreed. It was the third time he had brought up how nice the seats were. I wasn’t a hockey fan, but I had to admit it was a fun sport to watch live. There was lots of action, especially when the players threw down their gloves and got into an impromptu boxing match on the ice. It was only the first period, and we had already seen two such fights.
The woman to my right leaned over and asked, “First time sitting so close to the action?”
“Was it that obvious?”
“You’ve been wide-eyed all period!” she replied. “I thought you were going to scream when Logan got checked into the glass.”
“It’s my first time going to a hockey game at all, actually.”
The woman on the other side of her leaned over to look at me. “Seriously? You’re a hockey virgin?”
“Sitting on the ice is a hell of a way to experience your first game!” the first woman said.
Trip cleared his throat. “The tickets were expensive, but totally worth it.”
“We’re lucky enough to know one of the players. So our tickets were free.” She pointed to one of the Blues players, a grizzled looking man who was casually skating across the ice. “That left wing is my brother, Logan.”
“Your brother is Logan Landry? The Toronto Terror?” Trip asked. “Woah.”
Right about that time, Logan raised his stick in both hands and used it to hit an opposing player in the chest. He fell to the ground, and Logan loomed over him like he wanted to start a fight. One of the other players came flying into view, shoving Logan and then tossing off his gloves. Logan threw his equipment down and raised his fists to fight, which drew an excited roar from the crowd.
“He learned that right hook from me,” the first woman said proudly.
“It must be so cool being the sister of a professional hockey player,” Trip said.
“Mostly, he’s a pain in my ass,” she said with a laugh. “But yeah, it has its perks. I’m Emily, and this is Leslie. What do you two do?”
“We’re business analysts for Anheuser-Busch,” Trip replied.
“I betthathas nice perks,” the second woman, Leslie, said.
“Plenty of free beer,” Trip said with a grin.
I cleared my throat. “Iusedto be a business analyst for them. I actually just quit my job to start my own business.”
Even though I was looking at Emily, I could feel Trip rolling his eyes behind me.
“Exciting!” said Leslie. “What kind of business?”
“My grandmother left me her house in her will. It’s on a sizable piece of land, several acres actually, so I turned it into a dog boarding service. There’s a big fenced-in field where the dogs get to run and play all day.”
“It’s a big risk,” Trip said casually.
“I’ve always wanted to take care of animals,” I explained, giving Trip a sideways glare. “And my desk job was soul-sucking.”
Emily and Leslie exchanged an excited look. “I don’t believe in fate, but that’s hard to deny,” Emily said.
“We werejusttalking about this!” Leslie agreed.
I frowned at them. “What am I missing?”
