Chapter Ten

Once I was safely secure in the passenger’s seat, Max took off out of the parking lot and made his way to my house. I had given him the directions and now we drove in silence. I replaced my sunglasses and sat back with my window cracked a little. After a little while, I felt the car begin to slow but I kept my eyes shut.

“Oh. My. God,” I heard Max breathe incrediously.

“What?” I said finally opening my eyes. I saw him staring in the direction of my house. We were parked outside on the curb and I turned to my right to get a better look. There were dozens and dozens of flowers of every kind. All of which adorned my steps and the path leading up to them. There were balloons bearing the phrase “I’m sorry” tied to the banisters and the railings. And finally, there were stuffed animals of every size scattered throughout the floral mess.

“Wow,” Max stated simply.

“Keep driving,” I said, not wanting to face all of that nonsense in front of my house.

“Where to?” he asked me, pulling out from the curb.

“Anywhere,” I answered, fully meaning it. I resumed my former position. Eyes closed, with my head resting on the back of the seat. I’m not sure if I dozed off or not, but before I knew it, the car was stopped and the engine was off. I opened my eyes to see this adorable house. It was brick-faced with a cute little well kept flowerbed in front.

“I’m renting,” Max grumbled as he got out of my car. He came over to my side and opened the door for me, helping me out of the car. He led me up the steps and into the house. The inside was just as adorable as the outside.

“This is so cute!” I squealed as I walked around the spacious living room.

“Again, I’m renting,” Max countered.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” I responded. “I wish my house looked like this!” At this remark, Max gave a small smile, clearly more comfortable than before.

“It could,” he said wrapping his arms around my waist. “Marry me.” I laughed and stepped away from him.

“Okay, one, you’re renting, so you most likely wouldn’t be living here forever and two, no,” I said to him. “And you say Geno’s infatuated? Take a look in the mirror buddy.” I shoved past him and walked into the kitchen. The granite countertops glistened from the overhead lights. I ran my hand all along the counter until Max pulled it away.

“Such lovely hands,” he said, grabbing the other one as well. I pulled them both away from him and continued into the living room. Finally, I plopped down on the couch.

“I like it,” I said, giving my seal of approval.

“My offer still stands,” Max said smiling at me.

“I think I’ll pass,” I returned. He looked at me amused.

“Hungry?” he asked making his way back to the kitchen.

“Starving,” I said as I took a seat at the island. “What do you have?”

“Everything,” Max said as he opened the fridge. And it did indeed seem as if he could have everything. It was massive.

“I think I’ll have Chinese,” I said, pulling a menu out from underneath a bowl of fake fruit.

“Ah, good choice,” Max said, looking over my shoulder to read the menu.

“You don’t have to stand so far away,” I said sarcastically. However, he took this as a cue to move even closer. His lips grazed my neck as he read off his potential wants from the menu. I ducked away and walked to the other side of the kitchen and perched myself on a countertop. “Wow, so much more spacious.” I let my legs swing back and forth.

“Even from over there, you still attract me,” Max spoke, leaning on the counter.

“You know that made no sense, right?” I asked him. “Just order.”

“Fine, what are you having?” he looked down at the menu and tried to decide for himself.

“Um, I’ll have the General Tso’s Chicken. Not spicy,” I recited the same order I always had.

“Freak,” he replied.

“What’s wrong with my order?” I asked turning around to look through his cabinets.

“The whole point of that is for the spiciness,” he said, still staring down at the menu. He finally made up his mind because within the next few minutes he was calling in the order. “It’ll be about half an hour. And I know exactly what we can do in that time.”

“And I know exactly what we won’t be doing,” I replied, moving back to the living room. I laid down on the couch and stretched across the whole thing. Max came over and laid on top of me.

“This is quite cozy, dontcha think?” he asked, nuzzling his face into my neck.

“Um, no,” I pushed him off of me and he made a thud upon hitting the floor.

“You like it rough?” he asked me.

“Yes, but in this case, no,” I responded grabbing the remote. I turned on the television and began a boring game of channel surfing. By the time I got to 1024, the doorbell rang.

“A delivery for Max?” I heard the man say.
“Yup,” Max returned. I heard the rustling of the bag and the exchange of money. In a moment, Max walked back into the kitchen. I followed and watched as he sat the food down and opened a cabinet.

“Whatcha getting?” I asked as he continued to search.

“Plates,” he said matter-of-factly.

“You don’t need to impress me, to tell you the truth, I actually love eating out of the cartons,” I said smiling at him as he turned around.

“Thank God,” he sighed, “me too.” Max ended his search and came back to the bag. We each grabbed a carton, then switched when we realized we grabbed the wrong ones. Max then made his way over to the table.

“Nope,” I said pulling him away, “we’re eating on the couch, in front of the T.V. where all Chinese food should be eaten.” Max looked absolutely relieved and grabbed his container as he followed me to the living room. I grabbed the remote and found a hockey game as we settled in to eat our food. It was Dallas against San Jose. I was definitely rooting for Dallas. I couldn’t help it. Loui Eriksson was a hottie. Now I know how that makes me sound like a severe puck bunny. However, I actually do love the sport. I just also appreciate that the men playing it happen to be quite attractive. We ate our food and talked animatedly about the game while I tried to convince him to admit that he’d fuck Loui.

“You know he’s a fine piece of ass,” I said as they showed a close up on him. “Plus he has that gorgeous accent. And those gorgeous eyes. And that gorgeous nose.”

“I would not fuck him!” Max protested.

“You don’t wanna do him even a little bit?” I asked. He contemplated this for a moment before sighing.

“Ugh fine, I guess I would,” Max said, “but I’m only agreeing with you because you’re hot.”

“I’ll take that,” I answered smiling. “I love me some Loui.” I closed my eyes and sunk into the couch. It was one of the most comfortable couches I had ever been on.

“Now what?” Max asked, clicking off the T.V.

“Actually, do you mind if I take a shower?” I asked, starting to get up.

“Be my guest,” he said. With this I scampered out to my car, grabbed my gym bag, and ran back inside. I knew keeping the bag in my car would come in handy someday.

“I have shampoo and shorts,” I said, rifling through the bag. “I just need a shirt.”

“That can be taken care of,” Max said as he led me upstairs and into the master bathroom. The shower was immense, with a rainhead showerhead. After I put my stuff down in the bathroom, Max went into the bedroom and looked through some drawers. He eventually came back into the bathroom with a t-shirt yielding “Talbot” on the back in bold letters, the number 25 beneath it. It was his Penguin’s shirt.

“A little full of ourselves are we?” I asked as I put the shirt down and began to close the door. “Be out in a few.”

Max’s Point of View:
I watched her walk into the bathroom and shut the door behind herself. I heard the door click and the water begin to pound. I closed my eyes and imagined her in the shower, the water glistening over her perfect figure. I had to shake my head clear and keep myself under control. It took so much energy not to bust down the door and run in there. I leaned my head against the door and sighed, dying to be in that room. As soon as I did this, as if on command, I heard her let out a moan and I lost control. I banged my hand on the door without even knowing it and made a grab for the knob. I twisted it sharply and much to my dismay, it was locked. Thank God it was though because I don’t know what I would have done if I was granted access through the door. This gave me time to back up and I took a few deep breaths and headed downstairs. Fresh air was what I needed.

I headed towards the back door and on my way walked through the kitchen. As I walked through, I heard Riley’s cell vibrate on the counter. I looked over to see that it was Ryan.

“Hey Ryan,” I answered.

“Max?” he asked uncertain of who it was.

“Yeah that’s right,” I replied, leaning on the counter.

“Why the fuck are you answering Riley’s phone?” he asked angrily.

“Because she’s in the shower and can’t get to it right now,” I said coolly.

“What?!” he shouted.

“Yeah, so can I take a message?” I asked in a mocking tone. I heard him take a deep breath on the other end of the line.

“Tell her to call me,” he said quickly before hanging up.

“Yeah right,” I said aloud as I shut the phone. I replaced it to its original spot on the counter then walked to the back door. I stepped outside and looked up into the sky. It was a clear night and the moon was full. All I could think about was Riley. She was so perfect and all I wanted was her. I never felt like this about any girl before. She was different than any other girl I’d been with. She was so comfortable being herself with anyone. That quality alone made her so attractive. Well, not to mention that she was super hot. She had a body to die for. She was gorgeous. Thinking about her made me crazy. I let myself daydream for a while as I stared up into the sky.

Chapter Nine

I looked up to see that it was Max. I reached up to grab my sunglasses in a desperate attempt to make it appear that I was fine. Then, I turned on the ignition, rolled down the window, then clicked the car off again.

“Hey,” he said softly, leaning against my window.

“Hey Max,” I replied a little too cheerily. Even to me my voice sounded fake.

“Are you okay?” he asked with genuine concern filling his face.

“Um, yeah,” I lied, “I’m fine.” I forced a small giggle and choked back a sob. Max didn’t buy it one bit. He leaned forward, through the window, and took off my sunglasses. I guess he must have seen that I looked like a wreck because he quickly stepped back, opened the door, and pulled me to him. This gesture of kindness made me lose it again. I cried hard into his shoulder. I felt myself being pulled and I saw him open the door of the backseat. He ushered me in, sat me down, then followed. He closed the door gently and I put my head down on his chest. I cried and cried until I thought I couldn’t cry anymore. Eventually, I couldn’t keep myself awake anymore. I let myself fall asleep in his arms.

When I opened my eyes again, the sun was in a different position in the sky. It poured in the back windows as opposed to the front. I slowly lifted my head from Max’s chest and instantly put it back down. It was throbbing.

“Sleeping Beauty,” Max cooed. I looked up at him and he smiled down. I could only imagine just how awful I looked.

“I am so sorry,” I began, but he cut me off.

“If I didn’t want to stay, I wouldn’t have,” he said and I thought about this for a moment. Just then, I heard my phone vibrating from the passenger’s seat. “It’s been going on that way ever since you fell asleep.”

“Ugh, I’m sorry,” I said, “How did you sleep through that?”

“I managed,” he replied, helping me sit up. Once I was in an upright position, I reached over to grab my phone.

“Seventy-three missed calls,” I read aloud, “and thirty-two texts.” I sighed as I opened my phone. Every single missed call was from Ryan and out of the thirty-two texts, only two were from Geno. The rest belonged to Ryan as well. I skipped past all of Ryan’s and looked at Geno’s. The first one read “i talk to sarge. he explain it to me. i’m sorry. is not true.” The second one said “we talk later when you ready.” I then briefly scrolled through Ryan’s, all of which consisted of some form of “i’m sorry”, “i didn’t mean it”, or “i love you”. I rolled my eyes as I breezed through those messages and threw the phone down.

“Ryan?” Max asked apologetically.

“Unfortunately,” I replied. I looked over at Max who was sitting in the silence, not uncomfortably. He just smiled at me and that gesture made me want to hop in the driver’s seat and just keep driving until I was away from here. “Well, I’m sure you have to go.” I said looking down.

“I have nowhere to be,” Max replied. I was surprisingly grateful for this and relaxed into the cushions of the back seat.

“Thank you,” I said to him as I shut my eyes. I could hear his methodical breathing on my left.

“Can I get you anything? Do you want to go somewhere?” he asked me.

“Um, not right now,” I replied laughing a little. Actually all I wanted to do was sit in my car and never go back home again. A Range Rover. Daddy’s gift. It was so comfortable and I always thought that if I ever needed to live out of my car, it might not be so bad.

“Okay,” he said, “we’ll sit. Sitting’s good.”

“Sitting is indeed good,” I replied taking a deep breath. I caught a whiff of his cologne and it was divine. I breathed in deeply a few more times, making sure to breathe through my nose with extra precision.

“It’s Dolce & Gabbana,” Max remarked. He had caught me and I looked away embarrassed. I could see that my face had turned red from the reflection in the window.

“Good to know,” I mumbled into the glass.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asked me suddenly serious.

“Your cologne?” I questioned confused.

“No,” he laughed, “what happened. With Ryan.” He was serious again.

“Oh, I…,” I trailed off. I continued staring out the window watching the sun bounce off of other cars.

“It was me, you know,” Max stated, “I hit him.”

“I figured as much,” I answered.

“That son of a bitch deserved it,” he went on, “seeing you cry was horrible. All of the guys felt awful. It was so wrong of him to say that in front of all of us. The way he talked to you was so…so disrespectful. I couldn’t help but to hit him.”

“He made me feel worthless,” I spoke. I surprised myself with my casualty in discussing the matter. If this had been three hours earlier, I would have been a teary mess.

“You’re not,” Max comforted me, “you’re far from worthless. You’re spectacular. You’re not afraid to be yourself around anyone. You’re not afraid to have a good time. And more importantly, you’re not afraid of your feelings.” For a supposed womanizer, Max was pretty deep. “Geno cares about you. He really does. I haven’t seen him act this way with a girl before. It’s almost as if he’s infatuated. And to tell you the truth, I’m a little jealous. I thought for sure that you would have gone for me, as cocky as that sounds. But Geno is one of the nicest guys I know. I’m glad he has you. And I’ve only known you for a little while, but I already know that you’re great. And as much as it pains me, I’ll back off…for now.” He smiled at me as he finished his speech. Then he grabbed my hand and kissed each finger. “So tempting though.” He spoke into my fingers. He released my hand and I looked back at him.

“You’re great at giving pep talks,” I said smiling, this time actually feeling the smile.

“I’m great at giving other things too,” he said deviously.

“I thought you said you were gonna back off?” I asked giving him a playful shove.

“Yeah, I said it, but believe me, it’s easier said than done,” he looked at me as if he was inspecting me.

“Enough,” I said, pushing his face away.

“One kiss?” he asked me looking pitifully at me.

“I cannot believe you right now!” I laughed at him, “You just finished this whole long sweet talk and here you are acting like a womanizer.”

“One?” he pleaded.

“What happened to respecting your teammate’s girls?” I asked him.

“Um, uh, I don’t know,” he said backing off. “You drive me crazy. I mean, who can say no to me?”

“Apparently me,” I was laughing so hard it was difficult to catch my breath.

“Well, not for long,” he said again drawing nearer to me.

“You’re incredible,” I sighed.

“And is incredible good?” he questioned. My answer was another laugh and he resented that.

“Oh Max,” I said resting my head on his shoulder. He brushed my hair back from my forehead in rhythmic motion. “See! Why can’t you be like this all the time?”

“I guess I have to learn,” he sighed continuing to brush my hair. “Should I take you home?”

“As long as you’re driving,” I replied, handing him the keys.

Chapter Eight

“STRIP HOCKEY!” Max’s voice echoed all throughout the arena. My ears immediately perked up and I sat up from my previous horizontal position. I was pretty sure that Max had said that purposely to catch my ear and it worked. I looked over quick enough to see him looking at me. Our eyes locked for a moment, then he looked away swiftly.

‘This could be fun,’ I thought to myself as I hopped over the wall and skated over to the boys.

“How does this work?” I whispered in Kris’ ear as I leaned on his shoulder.

“Um…well…you take a shot and if you miss, you take off something and if you make it, you put something back on,” he explained to me. “Normally we just take off our pads and jerseys….but…um…for you?? I don’t know. Maybe the sweatshirt and skates…I’m not sure.” His stammering was so cute I could hardly stop myself from pinching his cheek.

“Thanks Kris,” I said smiling at him. He returned the smile and began to skate away. “Um, I’m gonna need a stick.” He laughed nervously clearly upset at himself that he had forgotten about that.

“Take mine,” he said handing his stick to me.

“Aw, you’re too sweet,” I said before hugging him and skating over to Geno.

“You play?” Geno asked almost incredulously.

“Absolutely,” I said looking up to him and challenging him with my eyes.

“Well, good luck,” he said, a smile playing on his mouth.

“I don’t need luck,” I returned as I hopped in line behind him. Max was not playing, but standing off to the side giving a play by play of each person shooting. He was leaning against his stick with his helmet off and he looked like he was having so much fun. One by one each player went and then returned to the back of the line. Finally it was Geno’s turn and of course he made the shot. He smiled as he skated past me and I got ready to go. I had never ever shot a puck before and was pretty sure that I looked ridiculous. My result was even worse. The puck missed the net by a mile and I could hear Max snickering to my left.

“That’s a tough break,” he said with mock sympathy.

“Yeah yeah yeah,” I said taking off my Northface and placing it on the bench.

We continued this way for several rounds and at the end of the game, I was the clear loser. On my last shot, I was standing up there barefoot, with only my jeans and bra on. I was shivering so badly that the charm on my belly button ring made the loudest clatter ever. I stepped up to take a shot and missed. Not a surprise.

“And with that, we crown the winner and the loser,” Max bellowed in a “game show host” sort of voice. “Our winner for today is none other than our very own captain, Mr. Sidney Crosby!!” The team clapped for him as he did a little victory skate. “And sadly, our loser would have to be Riley Malone.” To my surprise, there was more applause for me than there was for Sid. I guess being half naked in front of a bunch of hockey players would merit that kind of response. “How about a victory…walk?” Max asked. I sighed and began a small walk around one half of the rink. More whistles and applause. I looked over to find Kris almost salivating and I saw Ryan glaring fiercely at the ground. After I finished, I walked over to the bench to retrieve my clothing.

“You did good,” Geno said skating up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. I felt his hands graze my bare stomach and it made me jump with excitement.

“Yeah right,” I said as I stood there happy to be warmed by him.

“Well, you look good,” he said, spinning me around and bringing me into a hug.

“I’m so cold,” I spoke into his chest as my teeth began to chatter on cue.

“I know,” he replied, “get dressed.” He lifted me up and placed me onto the bench. I sat down and replaced each article of clothing, saving my skates for last. “Ready to go?” he asked me as I picked up the skates.

“Yup,” I answered, not wanting to tie them up again. I grabbed his hand and let him lead me to the entryway.

“Where are you going?” Ryan’s voice bounced off the empty seats of the arena. I heard them echo back harshly.

“Geno said he was done and we’re leaving,” I replied with my back still to him. We inched closer to the exit.

“Do you think he really cares about you?” Ryan continued. The edge in his voice picking up.

“What?” I asked, this time turning around to look at him. He skated over so that he was right in front of us.

“There’s no way he cares anything about you. He doesn’t,” Ryan looked over at Geno who was trying hard to process what Ryan was saying. He could tell from the circumstances that whatever Ryan was saying was upsetting me.

“I care,” he said, choosing the words carefully as if trying to think about their meaning. At this Ryan rolled his eyes.

“Riley, let’s be realistic. Do you think you’re any different? Geno has a different girl every night. It’s all part of the job description. You’re just another one. A common whore,” Ryan finished. He looked at me with a face that expressed almost triumph. I inhaled sharply to stop myself from crying. This effort was useless. I felt the hot tears drip down my face. I looked down to see them fall onto the ice. Mortifyingly embarrassed, I looked up at Geno who stared at me in confusion. I looked back down and all I heard was my breath in the awkward silence.

“You’re such a dick,” I heard Jordan speak first. Then after that I heard and felt a multitude of things. Someone skated over to me and made an attempt to put their arm around me, but I brushed it off. My blurry vision didn’t allow me to make out their face. I turned to go and I heard the sound of fist to face contact. I didn’t stick around to see who was the assaulter, although I was pretty sure I could guess who the assaultee was. I darted from the rink, making my way, blindly, down the hallway and eventually to the parking lot. Once I was outside, the air hit my face and it felt good. However, I didn’t slow down until I got to my car. I unlocked it and slid into the driver’s seat. I made a pathetic attempt to put the key in the ignition, but failed. Frustrated, I dropped the keys into the center console, rested my head on the steering wheel and cried. I continued on that way until I heard a knock on my window.

Chapter Seven

I awoke the next morning to the buzzing of my phone. In my rush to go to bed last night I had forgotten to take it off vibrate. It was now vibrating to no end on my dresser. I opened my eyes to the sunlight pouring in and reached over for the phone. Seven missed calls and one new text. I opened the phone and leafed through the seven calls, all of which were from Ryan. I sighed heavily and read the text next, which was from Geno. It read “bring skates to practice (:” I had planned on spending all day in bed, but it seemed that life had other plans for me. So, a bit unwillingly, I hopped out of bed and into the shower. When I got out, my phone was ringing. I looked down to see that it was Ryan and I pressed ignore before going downstairs and making breakfast. I sat in my robe reading the paper while my water boiled for tea. It was not only until I was on the forth page that I noticed it was yesterday’s paper. Going outside seemed like such a chore, but I wanted to find out what was happening in the world. I opened the door to hear some birds singing. It sounded so fake even to my ears. As I walked down the driveway I saw a little girl and her mother to my left and I saw a man with a golden retriever to my right. I grabbed the paper and headed for the house. When I stepped up onto the threshold, something caught my eye. On the railing was a single rose. I picked it up, examined it, then looked around for a note. However, I knew who it was from without it. Back inside, my phone was ringing again. This time, I answered it.

“I got your rose,” I said stiffly.

“I’m sorry,” Ryan’s voice was on the other end.

“Okay,” I said.

“Please don’t be like that,” he pleaded with me.

“Be like what? Angry that you even thought to hold above my head the fact that you have a wife? When you supposedly ‘don’t care’?” I asked bitterly.

“I didn’t, meant to. I’m sorry. I love you,” he said. I heard his words but didn’t quite believe my ears.

“You…what?” I asked shocked.

“I love you,” he repeated, more sweetly than the first. I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to this. Did I love him? Would saying it anyway be wrong? He sensed my hesitation because the next words out of his mouth were, “Don’t feel obligated to say it back to me. I just wanted you to know how I feel.”

“Oh, uh, okay,” I stammered into the phone.

“Are you coming to practice?” he asked.

“Uh-huh,” was all I managed.

“Am I forgiven?” he asked. I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Yeah, you are,” I answered.

“Thank you. I’ll see you in a bit,” he finished before he hung up. I closed my phone and stared at it for a moment before shaking off what just happened. I ran upstairs to finish dressing, grabbed my skates, and was out the door in minutes.

When I arrived at the Igloo, “my” security guard was there.

“Hey, its’ you,” he said, smiling as I entered. “I guess you really did know him.”

“See, I told you,” I said, smiling back.

“You need to get in to see Ryan?” he asked me. I didn’t feel like explaining the whole story so I just agreed and he let me enter. I made my way to the lounge area and proceeded to tie the skates myself. It actually wasn’t so hard when there wasn’t a hot guy next to me watching me tie them. I finished lacing them and stood, a little wobbly at first, then made my way out onto the ice. I assumed my usual position on the bench and waited for the guys to skate in. After around ten minutes or so, they did. They skated out one by one. Kris Letang was the first one I saw. I caught his eye and gave him a wink. He was so distracted by this that he crashed right into the net. It was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. While the guys laughed at him, Geno helped him up, then skated over to me. At the same exact time, my cousin also skated over.

“Hey,” they both started. The boys looked at each other, then back at me.

“Um, I’ll come back,” Ryan said gruffly before skating away. I was now left with just Geno, which I was grateful for.

“Hey Geno,” I said to him before putting my hand over his. He had removed his glove before skating over, therefore, we had skin to skin contact. His hand felt warm beneath my chilly fingers. His warmth made me feel warm and before I knew it, I was smiling to myself, utterly contented. He picked up on my body language and put his other hand (now glove free as well) on my right cheek. I felt the same warmth, but now on a larger scale, radiating throughout me. It made me happy, genuinely happy. We stayed like that for a moment and I was beginning to realize how perceptive he was, even if his English wasn’t 100 percent there. I breathed deeply making no effort to move. His fingers traced gentle patterns on my face and it made me feel like a school girl. I felt giddy and silly.

“What the fuck?” I heard Ryan speak aloud as he skated past. Only then did I realize my eyes had been closed and I opened them to find Ryan brooding in a corner of the rink.

‘Jealous son of a bitch,’ I thought to myself. I tried to put myself back in that intimate moment we just shared, but I couldn’t and I was mad that we lost it. However, before I even knew what was happening, Geno leaned over to kiss me. I felt his mouth on mine and every nerve ending lit up. He kissed me deeply and my mouth moved with his. I reached out to grab anything I could and finally caught a hold of his practice jersey. I used this as a grip and pulled him, wanting him closer to me. He willingly obliged and leaned further over the barrier that separated us. With his hands on either side of my face, he kissed me harder until I was dizzied with only thoughts of him. I could feel his tongue on my bottom lip, seeking entrance and I happily allowed it. While our battle for dominance began, I moved hands up to his hair and intertwined my fingers in it. I could feel him slowing his pace and I knew that he would want to break apart soon. With one final rush, he separated himself from me, only to find that he was leaning halfway over the wall. He looked down, laughed, then righted himself. I broke my gaze away from him to take in the boys and see what their reaction was. Everyone seemed amused except Ryan, Max, Kris, and surprisingly Sid. Those four were just looking at us with blank expressions. After a moment of silence, life came back to the foursome. Ryan seemed bewildered, Max seemed pissed, Kris seemed devastated, and Sid seemed confused. Geno must have seen me looking at the boys.

“I don’t care what they think,” he started, “they the guys…just the guys.” This statement made me even more fond of him. He didn’t care about kissing me in front of his friends. He wasn’t embarrassed and that fact thrilled me. “I be back,” he said before kissing me on the forehead. He skated over to the guys and was greeted by a high five from Marc-Andre Fleury and a slap on the back by Jordan Staal. I rolled my eyes and wondered why all guys were the same. As I contemplated this thought, my mind drifted through various daydreams involving myself and Geno. All of which ended in some sultry sex scenario. I could only imagine how pleasurable having sex with him would be. He was so strong and I wondered what it would feel like if he held me. I also wondered what it would be like to be handled by those massive hands. I sighed to myself and continued to let my mind wander. About an hour later, when I was not mentally there at all, something brought me back to attention.

Chapter Six

I pulled up to the Igloo at 6:58. ‘Two minutes to spare,’ I thought to myself, ‘damn I’m good.’ I got out of the car and approached the area where the players make their entrance. I was happy that Geno was there to greet me.

“Hello,” he said, smiling at me.

“Hey,” I replied, hugging him. His cologne smelled heavenly. He led me through the doors and into the building. I followed him all the way down the hall until we reached the area that served as the player’s lounge.

“Take seat,” he said to me and I did so. I pulled the skates out of my bag and proceeded an attempt to tie them myself. He laughed at me, then leaned over to do it himself. I watched him tie my skates and he looked so cute. His dark hair was a little too long at the back, but adorably so. His hands were also a bonus. So immense. It was ridiculous. After tying mine, he leaned down to do his own. I waited patiently for him and when he was done, he rose and I rose with him. He led me out into the arena. He opened the door and stepped out onto the ice. I started to follow but he stopped me.

“You watch first okay?” he asked me.

“Okay,” I laughed and he proceeded to skate about for a few minutes. I tried to pay attention to what his feet were doing, but I couldn’t. He was just too cute. Watching him skate was enough for me. I could have watched him the whole date. However, it was my turn.

“Come on,” he said. “Now you try.” I stepped onto the ice and immediately lost my balance. However, he was quick. He reached out and grabbed my hand before I had a chance to fall. I thanked him and we proceeded. He showed me the movements with his feet and I mimicked them. Eventually, I was able to do it without holding his hand and I realized that I was skating.

“Good job!” he said, hugging me. We stayed like that for a moment, until he broke away and continued skating. I caught up to him and held his hand. We skated like that for over an hour, just talking (as simply as I could) about him, Russia, hockey, me, America, Pittsburgh and stuff like that. Only when they were basically kicking us out did we finally leave. As we stepped back off the ice, we stood for a moment at the entryway. We were both looking out over the arena. I don’t know what he was thinking, but I was thinking about the wonderful time I had. I looked down and noticed that we were still holding hands. He must have seen me look down because he quickly pulled his hand away.

“No, it’s okay,” I said to him as I reached for his hand. He smiled and gave it willingly. I turned to face him, looking up into his eyes.

“I like you,” he said to me.

“I like you too,” I answered. Then he leaned down and kissed me. It was different than when Ryan kissed me. Ryan’s was almost expectant and knowing. While Geno’s was curious and tentative. We kissed for a while before finally breaking apart. He led me back to the “lounge” and we removed our skates. After that, he walked me back out to my car.

“You want to eat?” he asked me. I saw in his face that he was hoping for a yes. I was more than willing to give him one.

“Yes!” I answered enthusiastically.

“Okay, you follow me,” he said. He got into his car and I followed him turn for turn until we reached a little restaurant on a quiet street. When we walked inside, the place was nearly empty except for one couple eating in a far corner. For the most part, we had the place to ourselves. A man came out from the kitchen and walked over to us. He began speaking fluent Russian to Geno and I figured that that must be the reason he loved this place.

“Hello,” he said to me, having finished his conversation with Geno. “I hope this table is okay.” His Russian accent wasn’t as thick as I thought it would have been.

“Oh, this is fine,” I smiled at him. He pulled my chair out for me and brought us two menus. Russian on the top and the English translations underneath.

“I’ll be back in a moment to take your drink orders,” he left us sitting alone. Dinner wasn’t as awkward as I would have first thought. We managed to understand each other surprisingly well through all three courses of the meal. When we got up to leave, I thanked the man who had been so nice to us and left the restaurant while Geno stayed behind for a moment to have a few more words with him. When he finally emerged, he grabbed my hand and led me to the parking lot.

“I had fun,” I said to him.

“I had good time too,” he replied. He kissed me again sweetly. “You mine?” I understood his meaning and decided that being his girlfriend might not be so bad.

“I’m yours,” I said kissing him again. He opened my car door for me and with one more goodnight kiss, disappeared into his own vehicle. I rested my head momentarily on the seat back, feeling quite content. Geno was so cute and he did make me happy, so we’ll see how it works. I threw the car in reverse, backed out of the lot, and was on my way home.

When I pulled up to my house, I noticed that the light from the living room was on. I suspected that Ryan, lazy as he was, forgot to turn it off. I parked the car and made my way to the door. I almost jumped three feet in the air when I saw that Ryan was sitting in my armchair.

“You’re back late,” he said nonchalantly as if I should have been expecting him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him.

“Oh, well I was waiting to hear all about your little ‘date’,” he said with a mocking tone.

“I really don’t think that’s any of your concern,” I said throwing my Northface on the back of the couch.

“But I’m dying to know,” he pretended to plead, getting up and walking over to me. “How was my girl’s date with another man?”

“Whoa, okay one, I’m not your girl and two, like I said none of your business,” I walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water.

“Just give me a little something,” he pleaded. I couldn’t tell if his mocking continued or if he was being serious.

“Well, we’re a couple now,” I started, “and I’m only telling you this so you’re not surprised tomorrow.” He stared at me disbelieving.

“I thought it was only a date,” he said more to himself than to me.

“Well, I really like him and he likes me,” I said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“I see,” he said. I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost one in the morning.

“Don’t you have a wife to get home to?” I asked him.

“At least I have someone to go home to,” he retorted. The words stung and hurt me.

“Get out.” I said, staring at him. I meant it and he could tell. He made a motion as if he was going to apologize, but thought better of it and left. He closed the door gently and it angered me that he didn’t slam it. I wanted him to be mad and the fact that he wasn’t, or at least didn’t appear to be, only made me more angry at him. I cursed his name all the way up the stairs. I hated him right now. When I got to my room, it seemed like it took me a lifetime to undress, but finally I was in my shorts and Ovechkin shirt (my guilty pleasure) and off to sleep.

Chapter Five

“Bugsy tell me to come wake you,” Geno said almost apologetically. “Sorry.”

“No, that’s okay. Thank you.” I said, lifting myself into an upright position. It took a moment for my head to clear and I realized that all of the players had left the ice and now Geno was left standing over me. I stood, picked up my sweatshirt, and noticed the staggering height difference between myself and him. This was due in part to the skates. He headed towards the door and stepped out onto the ice, expecting me to follow. When I didn’t, he turned around.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Um, I need help,” I said, slightly embarrassed. He smiled and came back for me, this time, grabbing my hand.

“You don’t skate?” he asked, stepping out onto the ice with me. I wobbled and he quickly helped me regain my balance.

“Not so much,” I said as I dug my fingers tighter into his arm. When we finally reached the exit, he stopped and looked down at me.

“I teach you sometime,” he smiled.

“I’d like that,” I responded, returning his smile.

“Tonight?” he asked me. I slowly picked up on the fact that he was asking me out. I admired him for that. He barely spoke any English and here he was asking me for a date, a girl who spoke absolutely no Russian.

“Alright,” I agreed, “tonight. That’d be really nice.” His smile broadened.

“Uh, you meet here at seven,” he said. I nodded in agreement and followed him back to the locker room. Geno seemed cute and getting out of the house would be nice. Just as we approached the door, Ryan was coming out.

“See you later,” Geno said as he disappeared behind the door.

“I see he got you here in one piece,” Ryan smiled at me, taking my hand. I let him and his fingers intertwined around mind. I was mad at myself for the electric charge I felt in my hand. I was mad that I let him do that to me. It was that damn power he had over me. I couldn’t help myself. I promised myself though. I was not, I repeat, was not, going to get emotionally attached to him. I couldn’t. It wasn’t healthy. He was my cousin. And he was married. While these thoughts created a tidal wave in my head, Ryan led me to his car. Before I knew it, I was seated in the passenger seat and he was driving me home. When we arrived at my house, I got out of the car and opened the door, only noticing Ryan once I was inside.

“You’re staying?” I asked him, surprised by my own surprise.

“Um, yeah?” he said, “If that’s okay?” He looked at me and I could see worry in his eyes. He knew something wasn’t right.

“Yeah that’s fine,” I smiled, shaking things off. I would take it one step at a time.

“Are you okay?” he asked me as we walked into the living room.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I responded, taking a seat next to him on the couch. I rested my head on his shoulder, physically tired from all the thinking I had been doing about where I wanted things to be right now.

“You’re so tense,” he remarked, running a hand down my back. “I think what you really need is a massage.” I couldn’t tell if he was being sexual or not, but at that point I really didn’t care. I did need a massage and was grateful to get one. I felt him run his huge hands up and down my back, finally resting on my shoulders and going to work. I was seated next to him and began to relax under his touch. Every inch of me relaxed as he worked his magic hands, relieving the tension that had built up. I began to grow tired, but forced myself to stay awake so I could enjoy this massage. However I was immediately re-energized as I felt his mouth on my neck. Oh Ryan, couldn’t keep his hands off me. Not for a second. He kissed my neck with such great intensity that there was an actual pain, but that was overshadowed by the immense pleasure that the pain caused. Biting and sucking on my neck, I could already feel a hickey coming into place. I didn’t know if I felt like fooling around, but my mind was soon made up for me as he slipped his hand inside my waistband and began tugging at my jeans. I couldn’t take it anymore and leaned back to find his mouth. I kissed him hard, sending him the message that I wanted to continue. He then undid the buttons on my jeans and toyed around with the lace on my underwear. Soon though, his hand was inside of me and I could feel my breathing increase. I kissed him harder, which only propelled his hand. I broke away from his mouth, allowing myself to let out a moan of pleasure and in this time, his mouth moved back to my neck. Working both places at once allowed for me to orgasm faster, which is exactly what happened. I contemplated being selfish and ending things there, but one look at his face made me change my mind. So, we ended up having sex. I wondered how much of my house would be tainted by him.

Afterwards, I looked at the clock and noticed that it was a quarter to five and I still had so much to do. I got up to go upstairs.

“Where are you going?” Ryan asked as I headed for the stairs.

“Just to take a shower,” I said, taking the first stair.

“Wait,” he called after me. “Can I join you?” He looked at me longingly. Therefore, against my better judgment, I walked back out to the living room, grabbed his hand, and led him upstairs to the master bathroom. When we finally got out of the shower, it was approaching a quarter to six and I really had to get moving. So as we made our way into my bedroom, Ryan headed for the bed, while I headed for the closet.

“Come lay down with me,” he said, clad in only a green towel.

“As much as I’d love to,” I said, “I have a date in about an hour.” I heard him gasp for air behind me.

“What?!” he asked, a little too harshly for my taste.

“A date,” I repeated, “You know, we are allowed to see other people. I mean, you do have a wife.” This statement put him in his place.

“You’re right I guess,” he half-heartedly agreed.

“Glad that’s all settled,” I said, continuing to rifle through my closet. I crawled all the way to the back to search through some of the boxes that were still unpacked. I backed out, having retrieved what I was looking for. I threw the skates on the bed and got to my feet.

“Skates?” Ryan asked, picking one up.

“Yes skates,” I replied. “I happen to be going skating for this date.”

“You don’t skate,” he returned, still examining the skates.

“Exactly,” I said, “he’s going to teach me.” I lifted up the other skate and placed it onto my right foot. “Thank God they still fit.” I breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed the other one from Ryan, and put them both in a tote bag. Ryan just continued to stare as I resumed getting dressed. I put on another pair of dark jeans, a white cami, and a blue Hollister sweater. Very casual. Then I sat down in front of my vanity and proceeded to curl my hair slightly, leaving loose waves. It billowed down my back exactly the way I liked it. I did light make up and was ready to go.

“You look really nice,” Ryan said as we made our way down the stairs.

“Thanks,” I replied. While I was getting ready, Ryan dressed himself too. He was wearing his white t-shirt and jeans of earlier in the day. Once downstairs, I grabbed my white Northface and keys and stood in front of the door. “Um, you can let yourself out, I guess.” Ryan nodded and I made my way out the door. I heard him call a “Have fun” but I was too far gone for it to merit a response.

Chapter Four

After Ryan parked his car in the lot, we made our way up to the Igloo. Along the way, we passed several members of the team and eventually I was walking with Sid.

“Canadians are so much better!” I was not about to change my mind for anything.

“What?” he was utterly confused, “I’ve never heard an American speak the way you do about Canadians before.” He smiled at me and instantly my heart rate picked up.

“It’s just that they…I don’t know,” I stammered, then looked back up at him. “They’re just so great. With they’re accents and their overall cuteness.” I quickly regained my former confidence. “Don’t worry; you gained major points with me just for being Canadian.” I smiled back at him and reached out to touch his arm. He laughed as we walked along to the locker room.

“We’ll continue this later,” he said as he pushed through the door. “I have got to find out just what kind of un-patriotic girl you are!” He winked at me then disappeared. I waited outside of the locker room as Ryan approached. He was talking on his cell phone.

“I told you where I was last night,” there was an exasperated tone to his voice. “Yes….I know…I did call! Yes…of course….I’ll see you later babe. I love you.” He snapped his phone shut and came over to me.

“Sounds like someone’s worried,” I said nonchalantly as he approached.

“Yeah, she’s being a bitch. Whatever,” was his reply. He led me out into the arena. It looked so different without the thousands of fans filling it to the brim. He then opened the door and led me onto the ice.

“Uh, what are you doing?” I asked as he held his hand out for me to follow. “I can’t skate to save my life, and I don’t even have skates on.”

“I’m walking you to the bench,” he said, clearly walking me in that direction. “That way you can get an up close view of the practice.” I held onto his hand for dear life until I was firmly seated. “Be back in a second.” He leaned in to kiss me and I swiftly turned my head, allowing him to only graze my cheek. “What?”

“Nothing ,” I said as I looked up at him.

“Are you sure?” he asked me, seeming worried.

“I said its nothing and its nothing,” I answered.

“Okay babe, whatever you say. I’ll see you out here.” He tried a smile that fell flat when I only stared blankly at him. Ryan was frustrating. I never knew quite where he was. He was the same way from when we were younger. One minute he was giving his all, everything he had. Then the next, he was just there. It was something that bothered me and I’m not sure it even had much to do with the fact that he had a wife. He was with someone else and I was the thing on the side. I accepted that, but I knew it wasn’t something built to last forever. A relationship built on lies never works. It’s fun for the time being, but someone normally ends up getting hurt in the end. Even after only spending one day with him, I decided that that person was not going to be me. We would keep it fun and casual. Just like we used to. We could never date normally anyway, so this is what it would have to be and I would tell him later. Just then the boys came out of the door, ready to go.

The skated around, warming up first. I watched them intently. Even though I had been in the locker room a day earlier and was even closer to them at that time, this was still surreal. Watching my favorite team skate while sitting on their bench. I had to remember to thank Ryan for this later. Just then, Max interrupted my thoughts.

“You know cutie,” he began, “I’d love to take you out sometime.” I smiled at him and reminded myself that I’m not tied to Ryan and I could do whatever I wanted.

“I’d love to go out sometime,” I replied. He smiled broadly and leaned over to say more, but was cut off by Ryan.

“What are you doing?” he asked. I couldn’t tell if the question was directed at me or Max. Thankfully, Max decided to answer.

“I’m just asking this beauty out,” he said, looking at me, then to Ryan. “And before you interrupted, she was just agreeing.” Disbelief sprouted in Ryan’s eyes. He looked to me, but I didn’t look down or away. I challenged him. Daring him to object and risk having his teammates find out about us.

“That’s nice,” he said and skated away.

“He’s such a little bitch lately,” Max said more to himself than me. “Well, we’ll continue this conversation later.” He put his hand over mine before skating away. As he was leaving, I heard him mutter something under his breath.

I stared after Max as he skated away, wondering to myself if we could ever have a real relationship. Sure, he’d be fun to hook-up with, but who knows? As I contemplated this thought I could feel myself growing weary. The night had been long, after all. I took off my sweatshirt and balled it up, placing it on the bench. Then I proceeded to lie down on top of it. It was not the most comfortable of surfaces, but it would do. As I drifted off to sleep I thought of Ryan and if he would be hurt if I did go out with Max. I also thought about if I really did wanna go out with him. Soon though I wasn’t thinking anything as I was deep asleep. I guess I must have slept the entire practice, because I was woken up by a gentle tap on the shoulder. I brushed the hand away wanting “five more minutes” but whoever it was persisted. I opened my eyes slightly, squinting in the harsh light. My vision was still blurry so I couldn’t quite make out who it was. Well, not until he spoke of course.