"Is that everything?" He looked bored as he rang up the sale.
Kip nodded and handed over his credit card. He signed the receipt and they exited the store. He helped Colton take off his coat and put on the shirt. "Red looks good on you," Kip told him.
Colton was grinning so hard, Kip wondered if his face hurt. "Thanks Kip."
"Your welcome. We better go find your Mom."
"She's probably worried," Colton said.
"She only worries because she loves you."
"I know."
They found Mandy near the entrance, leaning against a wall. "There you guys are," she said when they came up to her. "What? Hey. Nice shirt," she told Colton. Then she turned her smile on Kip.
He melted. He couldn't help it. He loved making her smile. If he was interrogated he would confess it to be his favorite thing in the whole world.
"Now we can look like real Calgary fans," Colton said.
"Just you," Mandy said.
Colton shook his head. Kip thought his face was going to hurt from the way he was smiling. He handed her the bag from the shop. Then he grabbed her and kissed her. "I gotta go get dressed. I'll show you were you can watch on the way. Sorry Colton."
"For what?"
"Kissing in front of you."
"It's okay. I think I have to get used to it." He wrinkled his nose. Mandy and Kip laughed. He pulled them double time to seating and then he went down to get dressed.
He didn't realize he had a ridiculous smile on his face until he got into the dressing room. Someone made a smart ass comment, which he barely noticed. Mandy was going to watch him again. Not that she didn't watch him already, but she was really here.
He recalled the first game she watched a few months after they started dating. It was the first game of the season. He hadn't let her come to any practices, but there was in the bleachers with her new friend, Anne. She waved at Kip when he came out and he lifted his hand back.
The guys in the dressing room gave him a hard time about dating the loner geek for the first month. But, despite his young age, he refused to give up Mandy. From the moment he saw her, she was the girl of his dreams. He couldn't explain it.
He couldn't remember the final score of that game, how many saves he made. He couldn't remember most of the players that were on his team. What shone through was how it felt to have her sitting in the crowd rooting for him.