Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Clear as Ice - #HockeyFiction Prompt Seventeen

Note: The top of this post has been updated to correct counting. Also, I do have plans to get the rest of this story out in the world. Newsletter subscribers will get the first update on when that will be.

Previous entries: 

Prompt one - which includes what's happening and a link to the person who started this idea, Prompt two, Prompt three, Prompt four, Prompt five, Prompt six, Prompt seven, Prompt eight, Prompt nine, Prompt ten, Prompt eleven, Prompt twelve, Prompt thirteen, Prompt fourteen, Prompt fifteen, Prompt sixteen.    

Today's prompt is playoffs.  

Al: What's your schedule like?

Sienna looked at the phone.  He had texted her last night when they made it to DC, so it wasn't an idle question. 

Sienna: Why? You gonna whisk me away somewhere? <winky smile>
The junior hockey league was getting ready for their finals - a time-crunched playoffs and finals all in four days.  Sienna had offered to go, but it turned out there were limited seats on the team bus.  Once she had realized the whole team plus coaching staff needed to travel by bus for nine hours together, well, Sienna was happy to watch their games on the livestream.  
With a lot of the stuff for KeKi running well, it meant Sienna's schedule had normalized for a bit.  Although it turned out paying attention to hockey was a real schedule eater. 

But did she have some free time to offer a certain goalie?  Perhaps she did. 

Al was stopping off to do a quick appearance at the children's hospital after doing the media gauntlet. 

Sienna: Way to brag.

Al: Lol.  Yeah, there's no way to be like, oh I have to go smile a children and not sound like you are bragging or lying.  At least not that I've found. 

Al: But seriously, you pick anywhere you want.  Preferably not too fancy, although I own suits. 

Sienna: So all the pressure is on me.  It's cool.  I'm used to this.  
Al: I believe in you.

Sienna felt a little fluttery something.  But he was joking of course.  Gosh.  Sienna was so used to being taken somewhere.  Her one Ex seemed to know people at all these places.  And well, yes, in retrospect, they were mostly women that he knew in all these places.  Sienna was more savvy now.  Knew plenty of people said things just to say them.  Getting caught up in thinking every single one was true was how you ended up sleeping on your brother's couch for a while.
But food.  Sienna wished there was some place she had been secretly dying to go.  She liked food, appreciated food, but didn't track the food scene, mostly just went where other people suggested.  She could ask people of course.  Raven or Marcus might know somewhere.  But she had the whole of the internet available to her. Besides both Raven and Marcus would have questions she didn't want to answer. 

But Kyran.  Kyran wouldn't.  Kyran worked as a concierge at the hotel where her brother worked.  When things had gotten a little tense with Sienna staying with her brother, Kyran had let her stay with him for a bit.

Sienna: Hey, Kyran - gimme a good restaurant.

Kyran: Gonna need more info.  Price range? Group size? Desired ambiance?

Sienna: Two people.  Not noisy but not like Valentine's Day.  And price is not no object, but less of a concern. 

Sienna had googled hockey player salaries.  Not because she wanted a piece of Al's money.  But well, it seemed once you were on a long term contract, you were doing okay.  And while this felt like a date, Sienna was not going to be the one who took a friendly dinner request and pushed it over the line into date territory all by herself.  Nope.

Besides she had a focus on business not dating rule.  If someone else broke it that was one thing.  But she wasn't going to go out there making it happen. 
Kyran helped her settle on something and Sienna made a reservation and texted Al all the details. 

Now she just had to figure out what to wear.  Fortunately she had tons of experience in crafting an image.