Chapter 4- Hockey and Homecoming

Karl and I went out for a few more dates after that. We officially became a couple. It was Labor Day and my family was over at the Altenburgs' for a barbeque in their backyard. Our moms wanted to get to know each other better. We were sitting on the couch watching TV, when Karl's younger sister ran over and jumped onto my lap.



"Whoa, hey there Ivy! Where have you been?", I exclaimed.



"I was over at our neighbor's house. They have the cutest dog ever!", she replied with a bright smile.



Ivy was the most adorable little girl. She and Karl looked nothing alike, though. Her birthday was coming up next month and she would be turning eight. Ivy loved it when I came over so that I could play with her. Karl also had a younger brother named, Ian, and he was a freshman this year.



It was getting late so my family decided to leave. I went over to Stacy, Karl's mother, who was busy in the kitchen, and thanked her for having us over.



"No problem. You're always welcomed at our house. I'm so glad that Karl's met someone as wonderful and pretty as you," she said happily.



Karl walked me out to the front door, his sister clinging onto his arm. I bent down to give Ivy a hug, then stood up to face Karl.



"I'll see you in school tomorrow," I told him.



"We better have classes together," he added.



Karl let go of his sister for a moment to hug me, then he kissed me on the lips. He tasted like peppermint, and I could never get enough of it. Once we pulled apart, I looked at Ivy, who was standing there giggling. She waved good-bye to me before heading upstairs to her room.



Ever since school started, I was up to my eyeballs in homework every single night. Karl and I had Spanish together, but that was it. We were in the same lunch, but didn't sit by each other. He sat with the football team and I sat with my friends. Everyone thought that we were the cutest couple, except for a few girls that wished they were with Karl instead.



October couldn't come soon enough. Karl was over at my house that night and we were working on our Spanish homework in the living room. Homecoming was on Friday and also, the NHL season was kicking off. It was delayed for a month because the Winter Olympics were in February. Speaking of homecoming, Karl went above and beyond in coming up with a way to ask me to go with him.



Just two weeks ago, I went into my English class to see a huge cake on my desk. The letters, H-O-M-E-C-O-M-I-N-G-?, were written in crimson and gold frosting. There was even a picture of Karl and I at one of his football games on it. Let me tell you, it was the cutest thing ever. And did I say yes to him? You bet I did.



"You're going to the game on Friday, right?", Karl asked as we were finishing up the last question on our packet.



"Definitely. I can't wait to see you guys play Edina. They're getting their asses kicked, that's for sure," I said. Karl laughed at my comment. I normally never swore, but in this case, it was necessary.



My mom insisted that Karl stayed for dinner, so he did. We were eating spaghetti on the couch and I decided to turn the TV on. The Boston Bruins were playing the Pittsburgh Pens! It was the last period, but at least the game wasn't over yet.



I watched as Bergeron maintain the puck, speeding past an aggressive Pens' foward. He passed it to Seguin, who was standing near the goal. He shot, aiming for the upper right corner, and they scored!



"Yesss!", I shouted. A goal by Tyler Seguin, could it possibly get any better? I swear he got hotter ever since I saw him in the Stanley Cup.



"Oh, so my girlfriend is a Bruins' fan?", Karl remarked with a grin.



"Yup," I replied.



During the commercial break, I went to the kitchen to put our dishes away and then ran back to watch the remaining seven minutes. Karl pulled me onto his lap. It was an intense game, but at the end, the Bruins won 4-3. Once Karl left, I went to bed, and I swore I had a dream about Tyler Seguin...



It was finally Friday. The school halls were buzzing with excitement for the football game tonight. I was at my locker after school when Karl came over. He took off his hoodie and handed it to me.



"Wear this to the game tonight. It'll keep you warmer than my jersey will," he said. He kissed me before heading to his locker.



Karl's hoodie was white and it had the name of our football team on the front in crimson letters and his last name on the back. He must've washed it this morning because it smelled like laundry detergent.



That night, my friends and I were over at my house, getting ready for the game. It was pretty cold, but at least the skies were clear. My brother had already left because he had to get there early, being that he was the captain.



When we got to the stadium, the whole place was packed. I ran onto the football field to look for my brother and Karl. They were probably freezing, since all they had on was their football gear.



"Hey sis! Are mom and dad here?", I heard Aaron call out. I turned around to see my brother, followed by Karl, Jake, and Grant.



"Yeah, they're up in the bleachers. Good luck, you guys will play great," I said to him. I gave him a hug then turned to Karl.



"My sweatshirt looks so good on you," he remarked. I smiled then kissed him on the cheek.



Once the game was about to begin, I headed up to the bleachers with my friends. Aaron was going to have an after-party at our house. Tomorrow was the homecoming dance, and there would be an after-party for that, too. Karl was hosting it. Hayley, Sierra, and I already went dress shopping for the dance last weekend.



Maple Grove dominated the first two quarters, scoring a total of five touchdowns. Edina caught up in the third quarter, but by the end of the fourth quarter, we defeated them. It was all thanks to Aaron's ground-breaking touchdown during the final fifteen seconds. Everyone stood up and cheered for our boys.



I drove my friends back home after the game. They would be sleeping over at my house and tomorrow, we'd all get ready for the dance together. When we arrived, several cars were parked in our driveway and along the streets. The whole team was there with their girlfriends. I invited a ton of people in our grade too, even Lizzy and Dana. They actually weren't that bad once you got to know them.



The party lasted until 2 in the morning and boy was it wild. Even my dad went crazy. My brother shooed everyone out before they could get too drunk and not be able to drive home. My friends and I were too tired to change, so we went to bed in our regular clothes. I still had Karl's sweatshirt on and I didn't even know it. I could just return it to him tomorrow.