Ellie puts her hand up, silencing me. She’s shaking her head and I know the look she’s giving me. It’s the same one she had when we went on our first trip to Vegas together. She’s got a plan, and just like the male-stripper to the hotel room shenanigans at Planet Hollywood, I don’t think I’m going to like it.
“After the game tonight, you’re coming to the locker room with me,” Ellie says. I open my mouth to speak, but again I’m left gaping as Ellie interrupts me. “I saw the way you were looking at those guys. Trust me, once you see them in the locker room, shirtless, battered and bruised…” Ellie shakes her body like a jolt of electricity has just flowed right through her. Her eyes are wild with excitement and lust, and I can’t help but laugh. “Wow! Trust me bitch, you’ll be clambering all over them.”
It's completely normal for Ellie to insult me mid-sentence, so it’s nice to see nothing has changed there.
“Can’t I just come to the game and watch like a normal person?”
“Tell me, Hazel… Do ‘normal’ fans get to hook up with sexy hockey players?” I shake my head and Ellie’s glossy lips curl. “That’s right. This weekend… This is the weekend you lose your virginity.”
I smile, and when Old Geoff calls out for Ellie to finish her impromptu break, she leaves me sipping at my coffee by myself. I stare out of the window, and my eyes drift to a poster across the street.
‘Vancouver’s Favourite Viking’ is styled in bright yellow typography on the bottom of the poster. After a group of teenagers pass the poster on the wall, I’m left staring across at an image of Noah Edwards, my best friend’s brother, gripping a hockey stick with no shirt on. His muscles are cut deep into his stomach, and the low-riding jeans expose the v-shape running diagonally from his hips, pointing me exactly where every woman in this town wants to go.
One weekend to lose my virginity, hey?