Chapter Thirty Three;

Emily’s eyes moved back and forth, following the rubber puck as it was passed from Penguin to Penguin on the ice. The score was tied at two at the mid-way point of the third period. The third line consisting of Jordan, TK, and Matt Cooke, was on the ice. Jordan took a shot but it was gloved and held by the Panthers’ goalie. The ref blew the whistle and the lines switched during the TV timeout.
Emily adjusted her position in her seat, right behind the Panthers’ net. Ashley was on her left and Lauren on her right. They were in their own conversations with Ashlen and Leah, though. Emily looked out to the ice and saw Evgeni skating her way. His line, including Pascal Dupuis, Ruslan Fedotenko, and himself, was making their way to the circle for the face off. The defensive pairing was Kris and Mark Eaton.
Geno smiled and waved at her. She did the same back. But stopped when she saw Kris glaring at Geno when he noticed them. He said something to him, but she couldn’t hear what. Geno looked mad and said something back. Kris responded, and that’s when things got bad.
Geno yelled at him and gave him a cross check to the chest. Emily could hear the confusion from some of the people in the crowd around her. Kris cross checked him back, and more people were paying attention now. The rest of the Penguins and the Panthers gave each other confused glances. The refs didn’t do anything to stop them.
After a few more shoves and foul words, they threw their sticks on the ground and dropped the gloves.
“Oh my god!” Emily stood up from her seat, her hand over her mouth in shock.
Kris got in a quick left, but Geno shot back and got him square in the jaw. He shook it off and the two of them continued to go at it. Neither of them showed signs of stopping.
Some people in the crowd cheered, for lack of knowing what else to do. Emily could almost hear the announcer saying, “Never in all my years have I seen something like this!” She couldn’t believe no one was trying to stop them. She pounded her fists on the glass and yelled, in effort to get their attention. She didn’t want them to fight. Especially like this and because of her.
“Stop!” She yelled again in desperation. But whether they heard her or not, they continued their brawl. “Stop! Stop! Stop!…”

“Stop!”
Emily shot up in her bed, awaking from her nap and getting out of that dream. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. Ashley wasn’t in her bed, but she could tell she once was by the way the covers were strewn about. She could hear the sound of the shower running in the bathroom and assumed that’s where Ashley was. Although she had already showered before breakfast, you could never be too clean.
Not moving from her spot in her bed, Emily heard the front door open and moments later Ashlen appeared.
“Hey, how was your nap?” She asked seeing that Emily was awake.
“It was alright.” She replied, remembering her dream. She wanted to change the subject, “Where were you?”
“Oh, I just went to get a smoothie.” Ashlen said, holding up the pink drink in her hand with a smile. “Want some?”
“No thanks.” She passed. “Were you here when she got up?” Emily asked, referring to Ashley.
“Yeah, she seemed to be feeling better. She said she wanted to take another shower to refresh herself after her nap though.” Ashlen replied with an amused tone as she explained what she had said.
“That’s Ashley for ya.”
“Yeah, well once she gets outta there we better get ready to go. Don’t wanna be late for the game. I’m personally looking forward to seeing Geno and Jordan owning everyone. Sid texted me and told me they’ve been practicing some secret plays together.” Ashlen said and took a sip of her smoothie.
“Figures they would be.” Emily chuckled, “You think they’re actually gonna score a bunch?”
Ashlen shrugged, “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”



“You know, his birthday’s only a couple weeks away.” Lauren said to Leah, speaking about Max. “If you two are dating by then, what do you think you’d get him?”
The two of them were just hanging out in their room, watching TV and talking while they waited until it was time to go to the game. They were both already dressed and ready. Leah had on a white skirt and a colorfully stripped polo. Lauren had on light blue shorts with a loose white tank from Forever21 that read 'Drunk with Love'.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. What do you think he’d want?” Leah asked as she tried to think of something herself.
“I’m sure having you would be all he could ever ask for.” Lauren replied cheesily and Leah laughed.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” She replied sarcastically.
“Don’t doubt it.” Lauren smiled, “I’ve got a feeling that if things go well tonight between you two, you’ll be a couple in no time at all.”
“I hope we’re as cute a couple as you and TK.” Leah said with a grin.
Lauren smiled and shrugged, “Well it takes time and a lot of love to be as cute as we are, ya know. It won’t be easy, but you two might be able to match us someday.”
“If you say so, Laur.” Leah laughed.
Lauren smirked, “Oh, I do.”




Emily looked in the mirror. Her hair had a soft waviness to it, and she took a couple of bobby pins and used them to clip some of the hair on the left side of her head back and out of her face. She was wearing a strapless navy tank from Hollister with a purple, orange and light green flowery design on it paired with light yellow short shorts. Her and the other girls were dressed not only for the game, but also the festival afterwards since they were planning on going straight there from the arena after the game.
“You almost ready?” Ashley asked as she walked into the bathroom, her reflection appearing in the mirror. She had on a short denim skirt paired with a purple and light blue racerback tank from Victoria’s secret. She was looking and feeling better after having taken a nap and shower and relaxing for a bit before she got ready. Plus she was excited for the game that Jordan insisted he was going to do wonderfully in.
“Yeah, pretty much.” Emily replied just before she swiped a thin layer of gloss over her lips.
“Ooh, gimme some.” Ashley held her hand out for the sparkly pink tube. Emily laughed and handed it to her.
“Hey, you guys coming?” Ashlen asked as she stepped inside the room. She was wearing a cute pair of white shorts and a baby blue cami.
“Acourse!” Ashley replied with a smile and tossed the lip gloss back on the sink counter.
“Sounds like someone’s feeling better.” Ashlen laughed.
“Well, that second shower helped.”
“I’ll remember that for the next time I get trashed.” Ashlen joked and the other two laughed.
Emily heard her phone vibrate on the table in the other room. She went to go check it while the other two continued to chat about the game and such.
Em picked up her phone and saw it was a text from Lauren.

From: Laurennn(:
me and leah are in the lobby. u guys ready?

She typed up a quick response and hit send.

To: Laurennn(:
yeah. we’ll be right down.

“Laur and Leah are waiting for us.” She called to her friends as they stepped out of the bathroom.
“Alright! Game time!” Ashley exclaimed, obviously excited.
“Who do you think’s gonna have more points today? Sid, Geno or Jordy?” Ashlen asked either of them, also sounding excited for the game.
Emily, not as enthusiastic due to her dream, thought about the question.
“I’m gonna have to go with my boy, J.” Ashley replied without hesitating, “He’s so determined to get out of paying Dan. He’s probably gonna be a goal monster out there today.”
“Honestly, I’d say Geno for sure.” Emily answered after thinking about it. Sid was currently the top point getter on the team, but today he didn’t have the same motivation that Geno and Jordan would cause of the rule breaking incident. And when Geno has real motivation like that, he plays the best games of his career. “He’s gonna turn it up quite a few notches today. I can feel it.”
“What do you say we make a bet out of this?” Ashlen smirked, obviously on Team Sidney. “Whose ever boyfriend gets the most points today wins full bragging rights for the next month?”
“Sounds good to me!” Ashley agreed.
“Okay, I’m in.” Emily decided. “But we can’t tell the guys about it until the games over.”
“Deal.”
“Deal!”
“Kay, deal.”

Chapter Thirty Two;

Kris and Philippe finally entered the restaurant, where the rest of the team was now. But Kris immediately noticed someone missing. After further inspection, he realized that four someone’s were missing. He didn’t know whether that was a good or bad sign. Though he wanted to see Emily, he didn’t want to see her with Geno.
“Yo, Tanger.” Max called to him from his seat at his table with Sid, TK, Marc, and the other three girls.
Kris looked to Boucher, who told him to go ahead. He’d be over with Billy G. Kris walked over and took a temporary seat next to Max.
“What’s up?” He asked as he sat down, hoping at least some one’s response would be the explanation as to where Emily was.
“Dude you missed it,” Tyler began with a smile, “Danny B found out about Jordy and them sneakin out last night. He’s back in some room probably still yellin at them bout it now.”
“Oh, well that sucks.” Kris replied, not really sure if it did or not.
“For them.” TK said and laughed.
“How long they been back there?” Kris asked, assuming they’d be coming back out soon and he’d have to leave.
“A while.” Sid said. “They probably got fined and knowing Jordan, he’s most likely trying to talk his way out of it.”
“Oh, here they come now.” Ashlen said and they turned to see the four of them coming back into the restaurant. Ashley and Emily first, followed by Geno and Jordan.
“Uh, I’m gonna go get some food.” Kris said and got up from his seat.
“Kay, dude.” Max said, giving him a sympathetic smile. Kris gave a quick wave and walked over to where Philippe was.
Tyler, Lauren, Sid, and Marc immediately began hassling Jordan and the rest of them the second they made it back to the table. Emily sat down next to Max and Geno, but ignored the conversation going on around her and turned to Max.
“Did you talk to him?” She asked quietly and in French. She had seen Kris get up from the exact seat she was sitting in now and go to a different table just before she came back. It hurt her a bit inside, but she understood why he left.
Max shook his head, “Barely. Just hi and bye.”
“Oh, okay.” She sighed, wanting to speak to him herself. But she remembered what he said, he didn’t want to talk to her. Not today or the next day or the day after that. That hurt too.
“Sorry.” Max tried, not wanting her to be sad. She gave him a half smile to show him that it was alright, even though it wasn’t.
“Fifteen thousand dollars?!” Ashlen sounded shocked when Jordan told them the amount they owed.
“Yeah for a bunch of bull shit rules we broke.” He made a face.
“But they’re gonna score a bunch of goals today so Dan will have to lower it.” Ashley explained, obviously confident in Jordan and Geno’s abilities.
“Ha, good luck with that.” Tyler laughed, not as convinced as Ashley was.
“I’m on your line, dumbass.” Jordy stuck his tongue out at TK. “So if I don’t get any points, you most likely won’t either.”
TK scowled at him, “Whatever.”
“So how’d he catch you anyway?” Sidney asked, changing the subject.
“He had the surveillance videos from the elevator.” Emily replied.
“Ha, did he have any from the halls?” Marc-Andre asked.
“He didn’t show us them if he did.” Geno said.
“That’s lucky for you then, huh?” Marc said to Sidney and Ashlen.
Sid shrugged, “Yeah I guess so.”
“Wait, you guys broke the rules too?” Jordan asked, unaware.
They nodded.
“What the hell?! How did you get away with it?”
“I guess we’re just smarter than you.” Ashlen laughed.
“And apparently more bad ass.” Ashley added, raising an eyebrow at her boyfriend.
“Curse you, Crosby.” Jordan shook his head slowly, looking at Sidney with a narrowed eyes.
Sid laughed, “Sorry, Staal.”




After everyone was done with breakfast the guys had to head to the arena for their morning skate. So the girls had to stay at the hotel. Lauren, Leah, and Ashlen went out by the pool while Emily and Ashley opted to stay in their room.
“Think I should take a nap? My head’s killing me.” Ashley said as she laid down on her bed as soon as her and Emily walked in the room.
“Sounds like a good idea. There’s not much else to do till five.” She shrugged, “I might take one too. I’m not feeling very good either.”
“You think last night was even worth it?” Ash asked, her eyes were already closed as she laid there.
“Not at all.” Emily couldn’t help letting out a chuckle as she replied, shaking her head. She was laying on her bed now, too.
“I’m sorry I made you go.” Ash said, laughing a bit as she spoke as well.
“It’s okay.” Emily forgave her.
“What did you and Geno do when you guys left us?”
“Just walked and talked and, kissed a little.” Emily replied, remembering what Geno told her and decided to tell her friend, “He told me he loves me.”
Despite how tired she was, Ashley opened her eyes at Emily’s last comment and turned on her side to face her, “What did you say back?”
“Nothing.” She admitted, “That man started chasing us before I had time to even think of what to say.”
“So your feelings for him didn’t change? You still like Kris?”
Emily shook her head, let out a sigh, and stared straight up at the ceiling, “I still love Kris.” She said, “And those feelings will never change.”


“I’m so glad the guys brought us down here.” Lauren said to Leah and Ashlen. The three of them were sitting in the hot tub relaxing and drinking fruit smoothies.
“Tell me about it. This is a perfect break from all the snow back home.” Leah agreed.
“It doesn’t even feel like January here.” Ashlen took a drink and continued, “It’s so beautiful.”
There were a few other people out by the pool, but not many. It was quiet and peaceful and they could hear the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the shore.
“It’s just too bad the guys have practice.” Lauren sighed, thinking about Tyler.
Ashlen nodded, thinking about Sidney, “I know. It’d be nice to have Sid and TK with us right about now.”
“And Max.” Lauren added with a smirk, looking at Leah through her oversized sunglasses.
Leah blushed, “Lauren!” She exclaimed, but couldn’t help but smile. She knew she was right.
“You like Max?” Ashlen asked, intrigued with this new information.
“Well, sort of.” Leah replied.
“By sort of, she means yes very much so.” Lauren explained with a laugh.
“Awe, that’s too cute!” Ashlen smiled, “Are you two gonna date?”
“Well, I don’t know. I mean, I thought he might like me, but it seems like he lost interest. He didn’t really talk to me much last night or today.” She told her, looking a little upset as she spoke. Leah then turned to Lauren, “He seems more interested in your sister.”
“Em? No way. She’s got Geno.” Lauren assured her.
“Well,” Ashlen began, not as sure as Lauren seemed, “Her and Max are together a lot. And they speak in French sometimes, like they don’t want anyone to know what they’re talking about. And before we got down here even Geno thought something was going on between them.”
“Yeah, remember when Max got mad at him when Geno kissed her before we got on the bus at your place?” Leah said, reminding her.
Lauren scrunched her eyebrows, thinking about what they said and what she knew, “You know, he did call me asking for girl advice the other day. I thought he might have meant you, but maybe he meant…” She paused, thinking to herself. The two of them had gotten noticeably closer over the course of the past week. They had been friends for a while, but suddenly they seemed like more, “You don’t think there’s something going on between Max and Em, do you?”
“I don’t know, but if there is Geno’s gonna be pissed. He likes her so much.” Ashlen said.
“He won’t be the only upset one.” Leah admitted, stirring her drink with her straw.
“Awe, Leah don’t worry. I don’t think Em would do that to Geno anyway. She wouldn’t cheat on him. Her and Max are probably just becoming better friends since her and Kris haven’t been talking much recently.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” Ashlen agreed, mostly for Leah’s sake but she also could see what Lauren meant, “It’s almost as if her and Kris are avoiding each other. Like today at breakfast when he left when she came back. They must of gotten in a fight or something, and she just needed another guy friend to talk to.”
“You think so?” Leah wasn’t fully convinced yet, but she was considering.
“Yeah, I do.” Lauren told her, “Tonight at the festival you should hang out with him. Em will probably be with Geno, Ashley, and Jordan. Once you two get to talking more you’ll be a couple in no time!”
“Alright, I’ll try.” Leah said, feeling a bit better about the situation after hearing their explanations.
Ashlen smiled, “Good. You guys would make a mega cute couple.”


The team was out on the ice of the Bank Atlantic Center, going over some plays and practicing things they needed to work on for the game later that day. Geno and Jordan were working together to perfect their shots and scoring techniques so that they could prove themselves and make Dan cut their bill in half. After a while of working on it, the two of them took a break over at the bench to re-hydrate and talk.
“So I figure we ought a score a bunch today so we can score with our women later tonight.” Jordan smirked at Geno as he squirted some water in his own face and down his back, “I know Ash loves it when I have two plus goal games. Get a hat trick and I guarantee Em will be all over you. Then you can finally get some.”
Geno rolled his eyes, but laughed, “We’ll see.”
“I’m serious, dude. You say you’re taking it slow, but I know you, man. That’s not what you really want.” Jordan smiled watching Geno’s expressions. He knew he was right, “You oughta get on that tonight. It’s the perfect timing.”
“Oh, and why’s that?” Evgeni asked, trying to hide the fact that what Jordan was saying was actually appealing to him.
“Cause, dude,” Jordy replied like it was obvious, “You got that Festival tonight. Everyone’s gonna be there. You tell her you wanna go back to the hotel for something, tell her she looks real pretty, turn down the lights, and get it on. Coach can’t complain cause he’ll be partying it up back at the fest. And your roomie won’t be there either. You’ll pretty much have the place to yourselves. Then if you finish up there you’ll even have time to come back to party before curfew.”
Geno thought about what Jordan had said. It did sound like a foolproof plan, in a sense. “Maybe.” He finally said after considering the idea.
“Ah, you know you like the sound of it, don’t cha?” Jordan shot him a grin and a playful punch in the arm.
“Yeah, yeah.” Geno laughed, as Max skated over next to them.
“What’s so funny?” He asked with a smile as he got a drink. “Is Jordy trying to convince you he’s a hardcore bad ass again?”
“No,” Jordan sneered at him, “We were just talking about how Geno’s getting laid tonight.”
“So he says.” Geno added with another laugh.
Max didn’t like the sound of this. “By who? You?” He raised his eyebrow at Jordan.
“He wishes.” Jordy scoffed. “Obviously we mean Emily. You know, his girlfriend? Duh.”
“Don’t be a bitter little bitch.” Max smirked at him, ignoring the seriousness of this for the time being.
“Who’s bitter? I’m not bitter.” Jordan replied sassily, “How bout you, Geno? Are you bitter?”
Geno shook his head, “No, I’m not bitter.”
“That’s what I thought. Maybe you’re the bitter one here, eh Talbot?” Jordan returned Max’s smirk with one of his own.
“Maybe I am the bitter one, Staal. But at least I’m not the one that owes Coach fifteen grand.” He stuck his tongue out at him, then squirted some water in his mouth, and skated away.

Chapter Thirty One;

“You about ready?” Emily asked her friend who was in the process of scrunching her hair. They were both showered and dressed now, but still a bit out of it. They both had on short pairs of shorts and tank tops. Emily’s being purple and Ashley’s blue.
“As ready as I’m gonna get.” Ashley shrugged, giving her hair a final spray to keep the waves just right. Emily on the other hand just put her hair into a messy bun. She didn’t have time to dry it yet so she figured the lazy up do was good enough for now. The guys’ game wasn’t until five, she would have time to freshen up before then.
The two girls slipped on their flip flops, turned out the lights and left the room. They walked towards the elevator, and found Max waiting for the door to slide open.
“Mornin’ ladies.” He smiled warmly when he noticed them.
“Hey Max.” Ashley nodded, giving a grin.
“Late night wit yo boys?” Max chuckled.
“Uh-huh.” Ash mumbled as she yawned. She was not a morning person.
“Is everybody else already down there?” Emily asked, changing the subject.
“I don’t think everyone is but I know your sister and Leah are. And so are Geno, Jordy, and Sid, so I’m assuming Ashlen is too. Those are the only ones I know for sure.” He replied and Emily nodded.
The elevator doors slid open and their conversation died off as they stepped inside.
Max studied Em’s face as she stood, leaning against the handrail on the wall of the small elevator. She looked tired, but still pretty. He could tell she hadn’t put on any makeup, but it wasn’t necessary anyway. Her eyes held a look of pain in them as she stared off into space. He could tell what she was thinking by reading her expression.
“He told me he meant it. Geno, loving you, that is.” Max told her, in French, answering the question she chose not to ask.
Ashley raised an eyebrow, confused.
“Do you think he’s completely serious?” Emily asked calmly in response, “Do you honestly think he’s in love with me?”
“I don’t know. He says he is, but he can’t know for sure. You two haven’t even been dating two weeks yet.”
With her arms folded and a scowl on her face, Ashley sighed. She knew they spoke French when they were hiding something, and she felt completely left out. But, the fact that she had a massive headache already kept her from objecting to their use of the foreign language.
“Max, were you being serious when you told me not to drink anything last night? Did Geno really tell you he was going to try to have sex with me?” Emily looked at him with a solemn expression. Her eyes were wide, reminding him of a sad puppy. He had prayed she wouldn’t bring this conversation up again, but now she had and he had to come up with an answer fast.
“Well, not in so many words…”
“Max, you basically told me he was going to get me drunk and rape me.”
“Whoa, whoa. I never said that!” He protested, though as he thought back that probably is what he made it sound like.
“Then why did you tell me not to drink anything?” Emily asked, not quite angry at him, but confused.
Max shrugged a bit, his hands in his pockets, “It was just precautionary.” He said, “I’m a guy, I know how guys think. I know what we want and do when we’ve got some booze in our system and its late at night and we’re alone with a hot girl. I figured if you were sober, he wouldn’t be able to take advantage of you if it came to that. Plus, look at Ash. She obviously got trashed last night. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t wanna feel that today, right?”
Emily nodded, considering what he was saying, “It’s not like I feel much better anyway, though. You had me worried sick the whole night, emphasis on the sick.” Her hand rested on her upset stomach, “But, I mean, thanks for looking out for me I guess.”
The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open, revealing the lobby area of the hotel. Ashley walked out ahead of the other two towards the restaurant. Max placed a hand on Emily’s shoulder as they followed.
“You’re not mad at me, are you?” He asked, returning to using English.
Emily turned to meet his gaze. He was smiling innocently, and even if she actually was mad at him, it’d be impossible not to forgive that face. “No, Max. I’m not mad.”


All seven heads turned to look in the direction Leah was looking, an uneasy expression covering her face. When they all saw what she had, they knew why.
Dan Bylsma was staring directly at Jordan from across the room, his arms folded across his chest and an eyebrow raised up high, accenting the displeased look the rest of his face showed. He was slowly shaking his head, making whatever disapproval he was feeling more apparent.
“Shit.” Jordan cursed only loud enough for his table to hear. He quickly looked away from Dan and down at his coffee.
Lauren, Tyler, Sidney, Ashlen, and Marc-Andre cracked up.
“I knew you weren’t gonna get away with it! I just knew it!” Tyler exclaimed, still laughing out loud.
“Oh, shut the hell up.” Jordan demanded, but no one listened. “You don’t know if that’s why he was looking at me like that. Maybe he’s mad cause I took the last hash brown.”
“Oh, yeah. That must be it.” Lauren agreed sarcastically. Her and TK just kept laughing.
“Face it, Jordy.” Sidney smiled, “You’re in trouble and you know it.”
“First of all, if I’m in trouble so is my boy Geno, here.” Jordan stated, Geno just shrugged, “Second of all, if we were in trouble, wouldn’t Coach be coming over here and saying something to us bout it?”
“That’s true.” Geno agreed, though he wasn’t so sure.
Marc-Andre laughed, “All I have to say is I hope you guys brought cash. A lot of cash.”


Ashley was the first of the three to enter the restaurant. She immediately spotted Jordan and went over to him and the rest of his table, Max and Emily following close behind.
“Morning baby.” Ashley greeted her boyfriend with a kiss. He motioned for her to sit on his lap, so she did.
Max took a seat by Sid and Geno, leaving Emily with her own boyfriend’s lap. Before she could sit down, however, she was called from a voice across the room.
“Jordan, Geno, Ashley and Emily.” Dan Bylsma’s voice yelled sternly, “I need to speak with you four, now.”
“Shit.” Jordan swore for the second time.
“What’s going on?” Ashley asked as she stood up.
“You guys are screwed!” Lauren sang with a grin.
The two girls and their boyfriends stood from their seats, looked at each other without speaking, but didn’t make an attempt to follow Dan. That is until he yelled, “Now!” again.
Their table, along with the others occupied by Penguins, didn’t try to hide their amusement as the four of them walked past and towards the room Dan had just entered. Emily could guess what this was all about. Dan was probably going to say he knew about them sneaking out last night, that broke the rules and Evgeni and Jordan would each owe him a thousand dollars. For a couple of million dollar making hockey players, one grand wasn’t going to kill them. She figured this wouldn’t take long, and then she would be able to get some breakfast.
“I told ya the kiddos were gonna break the rules.” She heard Billy Guerin chuckle right before they left the restaurant and were in a small, dimly lit room. It had a desk, some chairs, a television set and some plants. Dan was seated at the desk when they walked in.
“Have a seat.” He said calmly, and they did as they were told. “I expect you know why I called you in here?” Dan continued.
Jordan, not ready to be convicted just yet, tried a last ditch effort to get out of it before it began, “I’m sorry, Sir. I haven’t eaten my hash brown yet, you’re welcome to have it if you’d like.”
“Excuse me?” Dan asked, not having a clue as to what Jordan was speaking of. The looks on the girl’s faces showed that they didn’t either.
Jordan looked around innocently, “Oh, you mean this isn’t about the hash browns?”
“What? No. No, this isn’t about hash browns.” Coach was still confused, but he tried to stay serious, “I have reason to believe that the four of you snuck out of the hotel late last night and went to the beach.” He said, looking each one of them in the eyes as he spoke with confidence.
Emily and Ashley looked at each other and then at their boyfriends, who were looking back at them. There was no way to get out of it now. But leave it to Jordan to try.
“The beach? Late last night? Snuck out? Us?” He sounded utterly shocked with the accusation. “You must be mistaken, Coach. I assure you we did not partake in any such activities.”
It was tough to hold back the grin that was making its way to Emily’s face as Jordan spoke. There was no possible way anyone would buy a word the boy was saying.
“Oh, I apologize then. It’s my mistake. Of course you guys didn’t do that.” Dan said, a hint of sarcasm stood out in his voice, “But before I let you guys go, maybe you could help identify these people for me so I can figure out who really snuck out.”
With the click of a button on Dan’s remote, the TV set turned on and a black and white overhead video of the inside of an elevator was on the screen.
“Let me fast forward. Maybe you can identify these faces.” Coach fast forwarded to when a familiar group of four people stepped inside the elevator. Two boys and two girls.
“Going down.” Ashley said on the screen and she pressed the button. Dan paused the tape then. The shot gave a relatively clear picture of each one of their faces. It was obvious it was them.
When none of them said a word, Dan spoke up, “So doesn’t ring a bell?” He asked, “Here, how about I fast forward it to a little later. Maybe you’ll be able to make out the faces better.”
The images on the screen sped up until Dan finally pressed play right before the part where the four of them got back in the elevator to go back up to their rooms. “This is my favorite part.” Dan whispered while on-screen Ashley exclaimed, “That was fun!”.
“And we made it back without getting caught!” Jordan cringed, watching as he shot himself in the foot, “Suck on that, Danny B!”
Dan turned the volume down but left it play as he stood up. “So enough with the games, kids.” He stated calmly, “You didn’t take me seriously when I said I’d fine you if you broke the rules. But here we are, doing just that.”
“You want it in cash?” Jordan asked, done messing around. He reached for his back pocket to get his wallet.
“I didn’t even tell you how much you owe yet.” Dan smirked.
“Yeah, you said a thousand dollars, right?” Ashley said, though the look on his face made her unsure.
“Ashley, Ashley, Ashley. I did say a thousand dollars, that is correct.” He was pacing back and forth now, still smirking as he talked, “But I said a thousand dollars per rule that is broken.”
Emily and Evgeni looked at each other, unaware of the number of rules they could have possibly broken. As they recalled, Dan hadn’t even told them all of the rules he had. Geno took her hand in his as they sat there waiting for Coach to continue.
“Do any of you want to take a guess at how many rules the four of you broke last night? Any one? Geno, how bout you. Take a guess.”
Geno’s eyes moved from Emily to Dan. He shrugged, “Four?”
“Oooh, good guess, but no.” Coach was quite obviously amused with himself, “How bout you, Em. Take a guess.”
“Um, I don’t know. Five?” She guessed. All she really wanted to do was go eat and get out of this cramped room. She was beginning to feel claustrophobic.
“Noooo. Not five. Ashley?”
Ashley shrugged, “Seven?”
“Wrong again.” Dan chuckled, “Jordan, what do you think? How many rules did you four break?”
“How bout you just tell us, Coach.” He replied.
“Fifteen. You somehow managed to break fifteen rules in one night. Fifteen.” Dan looked and sounded serious again. He picked up a piece of paper from his desk and read its contents aloud, “Sneaking out of the hotel. Staying out past curfew. Disturbing the peace. Male and female contact after hours. Drinking an excess amount of alcohol. Drinking that alcohol on an alcohol free beach. Littering. Lying. Insulting the coach. Insulting the coach’s intelligence. Public display of affection. Breaking and entering. Trespassing on private property. Breaking the rules. And thinking you weren’t going to get caught.”
“I object!” Jordan exclaimed when all fifteen ‘rules’ were stated.
“Overruled!” Dan shot back.
“Coach, come on.” Geno said, his voice pleading for him to say he was kidding. None of them thought all of those rules were legit. Obviously sneaking out and trespassing were a couple ones they couldn’t argue with, but Dan’s last two sounded like ones he pulled out of his ass.
“I assume none of you have fifteen thousand dollars on hand at the moment,” Dan continued, ignoring Geno’s last comment, “But Jordan, Geno, you guys owe me the money by next week. Got it?”
Jordan sighed, “Coach, you’re being a bit unreasonable..”
“Got it?” Dan repeated, not caring about Jordan’s protesting.
“Got it, Coach. We’re sorry. Not happen again.” Geno said for everyone. He could tell Emily and Ashley weren’t comfortable being stuck in the situation. He didn’t think the money was that big of a deal, especially for the two of them. They had enough that it wouldn’t hurt them much at all. But Jordan wasn’t worried about the money, he was more concerned with his pride. Jordy knew the guys would mess with him about the whole thing. It wouldn’t be the first time he did something he shouldn’t have and got caught in the process. This would hurt his non existing bad-ass reputation.
“Thank you, Geno. This ought to be the last time you boys defy me. I’m not afraid to add on to that list and your bill. Don’t try anything funny tonight. You can still go to that festival and enjoy yourselves, just don’t do anything that you know will cost you.” Dan said, seriously, “We’re here to play hockey. I said it once and I’ll say it again. You guys need to focus if you wanna repeat this year.”
“Dan,” Ashley began, her voice quiet, “Are you mad at us?”
By us, Dan knew she meant her and Emily. She felt bad, thinking that she was responsible for the lack of focus Jordan was showing. She didn’t want to be the reason for the Pens to lose the cup this year. And she didn’t want Dan to think she was.
He shook his head, “No Ashley, I’m not mad. But I don’t want it to happen again. Okay?”
“It won’t. I promise.” She swore.
“Good. Now go get some breakfast.” Dan smiled, “As for you boys, let’s make a deal. For every goal either one of you score today, I’ll take a thousand dollars off of your total.”
“What about assists?” Jordan asked, liking the sound of Dan’s proposition so far.
“Five hundred. Sound good?” He replied.
“Sounds very good.” Jordy smiled. He was getting a good feeling about this game.
Dan nodded, “Alright then. It’s a deal. Now get outta here.”
“Thank you, Coach.” Geno said as he stood up to leave.
“No, thank you.” Dan smiled, hoping that some good would come out of this. Preferably in the form of a win.

Chapter Thirty;

Day Eight ;


Morning came early, much too early. Emily awoke to the sound of a hairdryer blowing at its full power from the other side of the bathroom door. She sat up in her bed, feeling like she had been punched in the stomach. She rubbed her eyes and pushed the covers off of her legs, getting ready to get up despite the ache in her gut that told her not to.
“Ashley.” Emily said to her sleeping friend, her voice sounding tired.
Ashley didn’t even flinch. She was laying face down on her bed, her head tilted just enough to give her room to breathe. She was still wearing the outfit she wore to the beach the night before and wasn’t even under the covers. It was apparent that she wasn’t planning on waking up any time soon.
“Ashley!” Emily tried again, this time tossing a pillow her way to help. It landed on her back and interrupted her sleeping. She moved but didn’t awaken, mumbling something to herself subconsciously. Emily tossed another pillow at her, not feeling up to getting off her own bed yet. This time the impact caused Ashley to open her eyes slowly, groaning as she did so.
“I don’t want to get up.” Ashley whined, shoving her face in her pillow.
“You think I do?” Em sighed. Going back to sleep sounded like the perfect idea in her mind, too, but she knew they’d have to meet up with the guys soon and they needed to get ready.
“I feel like I got hit by a truck.” Ashley complained as she made a weak attempt to sit up.
“How much did you drink?”
Ashley thought for a moment, “I don’t remember.”
“I’ll take that as a lot.” Emily smirked. Ashley just shrugged, running a hand through her hair as she yawned.
The door to the bathroom swung open and out walked Ashlen, smiling and ready for the day. She had on a cute, red Hollister cami, shorts, and a grin on her face that made it obvious she was having a good day already.
“Oh, good. You guys are up.” Ashlen said, “I was gonna wake you earlier, but I figured it’d be better to let you sleep a little longer. I’m gonna go meet up with Sid. He said him and some of the other guys were headed down to get some breakfast. You guys can come down when you’re ready.”
“Okay, thanks.” Emily replied, still sounding groggy.
“Late night, huh?” Ashlen smirked and Emily nodded. “I figured. You guys don’t look too good. No offence.”
“None taken. I don’t feel too good either.” Emily said, her hand on her forehead. She felt slightly nauseous and considerably tired. Looking to her left, she spotted Ashley passed out on her bed again. This time she was snoring.
Ashlen chuckled when she noticed her. “Alcohol does that to ya.” She stated with a laugh.
“Yeah.” Emily agreed, not bothering to mention that she hadn’t even had anything to drink.
“Well, I’ll leave you guys to get ready.” She smiled and slipped on a pair of brightly colored flip flops. “You want me to tell Geno you’ll be down soon?”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Emily replied. The sound of Geno’s name made her sigh, bringing thoughts of the drama back into her head.
“No problem. See ya down there.” Ashlen waved and was on her way.
Emily took a deep breath and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Despite her lack of alcohol consumption, she was feeling the aftereffects of having drank her fair share. Why she felt queasy, she was unsure. It was possible it was due to something she had eaten at the seafood restaurant the previous evening. That wouldn’t surprise her, she wasn’t the biggest fan of food from the ocean. Or maybe it was just from being out so late and running around so much. That could have made her sick. Then again it could be due to the lack of food in her system, which could easily be fixed by going down to get some breakfast.
Deciding upon the last explanation, she got up and headed towards the bathroom to take a quick shower. She left Ashley to rest a little longer. Sleep would be the best thing for her right now.


“Yo, Tanger? You almost done in there?” Philippe called, knocking on the hotel’s bathroom door. Kris barely heard him over the sound of the shower running, the hot water hitting his skin as he stood with his eyes closed.
Taking a nice, hot shower was something he liked to do to relax, and although he had pretty much just woken up, he was in desperate need of some relaxation time. His sleep was filled with dreams of Emily and now that he was awake, reality was setting in. She was still with Geno. And he was going to have to see them together and deal with it. It was hard enough knowing they were together when he wasn’t around, but watching them, seeing the way he touched and kissed her, was a whole other story. The only thing that gave him the hope to go on was the thing that was hurting him the most. He could see her face in his mind and hear her voice telling him she was in love with him. He knew she was sincere each time she had said it. And he wanted to hear her say it again. But all he could hear now was Boucher’s fist hitting against the door.
“Yeah, I’m coming.” He called out to silence him as he turned off the water. He shook his head to shake off some of the excess water from his dark, shaggy hair. He grabbed a towel off of the hook and wrapped it around his waist. Kris took a look in the mirror, his gloomy looking face staring back at him. He hadn’t bothered to shave or feel like doing anything special to improve his appearance. There wasn’t much of a point. Not until Monday, at least.


“Good morning, beautiful.” Sidney greeted Ashlen with a kiss when she made it down to the hotel’s restaurant. They had a breakfast buffet that was open to anyone staying there. About half of the team including Lauren and Leah were already down at it and eating.
Ash smiled, “It is a very good morning.”
“I’m glad you think so, too.” Sid put his arm around her. “You hungry?”
“Very.” Ashlen nodded. Sidney had waited for her before he ate anything himself, so he was in agreement.
The two of them got themselves some food and went to sit down at the table with Jordan, Tyler, Lauren, Leah, Geno, and Marc-Andre.
“There they are!” Marc smirked at the two of them playfully as they sat down.
“Here we are.” Sid responded, shooting him a funny look. Marc just laughed.
“Oh, Geno. Em said she’d be down soon.” Ashlen told Evgeni. He smiled.
“Okay, good.” He replied.
Jordan set down his mug of coffee. “What about my lady?”
“Well, she was still sleeping pretty soundly when I left. But I would assume she’ll come down when Emily does.” Ash told him.
“Was she alright?” Jordan asked.
“They both seemed a bit hung-over.”
“What were you guys even doing last night?” Tyler asked Jordan, who shrugged.
“Chillen. Partying it up. You know.” He replied with a smile.
“If you say so.” TK threw his hands up with a chuckle.
Lauren sighed, “I really don’t know how you guys got away with it. I was sure you’d end up getting caught.”
“Well, when you’re as awesome as the four of us are, you can accomplish a lot of things that people wouldn’t expect.” Jordan told her, smirking and trying to sound cool. “Right, Geno?”
“Yeah. Right.” He agreed.
Leah shook her head, noticing something that the rest of them had overlooked. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Chapter Twenty Nine;

Ashley giggled as Jordan’s fingers slid down her back, tickling her in the process. He kissed her neck and she moaned.
“I love you, Jordy.” Ash’s drunken voice proclaimed. Her breath was the scent of the booze.
“I love you too, babe.” Jordan said into her skin.
The night around them was quiet other than the occasional crash of the waves against the shore. At least it was quiet. In the distance the two of them heard the faint sound of laughter and it was getting closer and closer.
“Do you hear that?” Ashley asked, making sure she wasn’t the only one.
“Uh-huh.”
They both sat up and looked out in the direction it was coming from. Seeing something moving, they squinted their eyes, trying to make out what it was.
Once they got close enough, Jordan had a thought, “Is that…”
“Em and Geno.” Ashley cut him off, realizing for herself. Neither of them had even noticed that they had left until now. “What are they doing?”
Emily and Evgeni were trying to quietly signal for Jordan and Ashley to get up and run, failing in the process. Although they seemed to had lost the man who was following them, they weren’t taking any chances.
“I think they want us to get up.” Jordan said, sounding more like a question than a statement. He stood up from the sand, wobbling slightly as he first got to his feet. He then offered his hand to Ash, who took it and nearly fell over when she tried to stand. Giggling, she held onto Jordan for support.
Emily was falling slightly behind Geno as they approached their friends. They had been running nonstop for quite a while. She hadn’t realized how far they had strayed from their initial spot until now. Figuring they were close enough for them to hear without being too loud, she called out to them in a whisper-yell.
“Go back to the hotel!” She tried to tell them, but they didn’t move. Instead, they looked at each other, confused and giggly.
Geno chuckled and helped her out, “Run!” He called out and they got the hint, tripping over themselves as they slipped their shoes back on. Although they were still confused at why they had to run back to the hotel, they didn’t question it.
Emily smirked at Geno who was laughing as he looked back at her.
“What?” She asked as they jogged.
“You tired?” He responded, still smirking at her. She wrinkled her nose at him.
“No.” She lied and he could tell.
“Come here.” Geno slowed his pace and held his arm out to her.
She wasn’t sure what he was trying to do, but before she could ask he lifted her up and carried her over his shoulder. The sound of her laughter filled the silence of the night around them.
“Geno!” Emily exclaimed though her laughs as he carried her to where Ashley and Jordan still were. She wasn’t expecting him to pick her up, but couldn’t complain. She didn’t feel like running anymore.
It didn’t take long for them to catch up with Jordan and Ashley, even after stopping to grab their sandals they had taken off there earlier. Jordy was carrying his girlfriend now, too, since he wasn’t as drunk as she was.
“Sooo,” Ashley began, drawing out her words, “why is it that we’re running?”
“Some guy was chasing us for being on private property.” Emily told her, still hanging over Geno’s shoulder.
“Oh.” Ash said simply and giggled.
Once the four of them got back to their hotel, they slowed down and let their girls down outside the doors. They walked into the lobby as casually as they could manage, quietly strolling past the young woman at the front desk and pressing the up button for the elevator. The doors slid open and they stepped inside, still staying silent. It wasn’t until the doors closed that sound came out of any of their mouths in the form of laughter.
“That was fun!” Ashley exclaimed. She held onto Jordan’s arms for support.
“And we made it back without getting caught!” He boasted with a smile, “Suck on that, Danny B!”
“Oh, what a night.” Geno laughed, his gaze falling upon Emily’s soft smile.
“Yeah.” She nodded in agreement, just happy that she made it out without regrets. Even though Geno had dropped the L word.
“Shhh, guys. Shhh!” Jordan shushed them all just before the doors slid open revealing the seventh floor. They fell silent again as they walked out and the couples went in opposite directions. Ash to Jordan’s room, and Em to Evgeni’s.
Geno stopped in front of the door and turned to face his girl. He smiled at her automatically.
“I had fun tonight.” He said.
“Me too.” Em gave him a smile, looking up at him, just wanting to go to her room and go to sleep. It had to have been pretty late by now.
Geno’s hand brushed the side of her cheek as he looked into her eyes. He leaned in and kissed her lips softly.
“And I meant what I said. I love you.”
Before Emily could even think of something to say in response, the door opened behind them and Max’s head peaked out.
“Oh, hey guys!” He pretended to be shocked to see them there. Geno was fooled but Em knew better. She thanked him with a small smile when Geno wasn’t looking. Max nodded to show he recognized her appreciation.
“Hey, Max.” Geno’s voice had a slight hint of annoyance in it.
“So, you guys have fun out there?” He asked with an insincere smile on his face.
“We sure did.” Emily returned his smile with a similar one.
“Not too much, I hope.” Max said, really referring to what he told Emily earlier.
She shook her head no, “Just the right amount.”
Geno looked from Emily to Max and back again. He sensed by the way they were talking that their words had some other implied meaning to them, but he wasn’t about to question them. Max had made it very clear earlier that the two of them were just friends. So whatever it was that they were talking about couldn’t have been that big of a deal.
“Okay, well it was nice seeing you. Me and Geno are going to bed now. Right, Geno?” Max said, ready to pull him in the room and lock the door.
Geno raised an eyebrow at him, “Uhh…”
“Okay. Goodnight, then.” Emily said.
“Goodnight,” Max smiled, “Geno, say goodnight.”
Geno did as he was told, “Night.” He said, getting confused with what Max was trying to do. He questioned him once they were back in their room and the door shut, while Emily went back to her own.
“Why’d you do that?” Evgeni asked. Max walked over to his bed and got ready to get under the covers.
“Do what?” He feigned obliviousness.
“One, cut into our conversation and two, make her leave.”
Max knew the answer to both of his questions. He cut in because he was listening to their conversation through the door and when he heard Geno tell her he loved her, he wanted to help a friend out so she wouldn’t have to answer him. He made Em leave because he knew she wanted to and she was too nice to say that to Geno’s face. But he wasn’t about to tell him that, that’s for sure.
Instead he lied, “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to cut in. But I did want to talk to you. I‘ve got a couple questions, actually.”
“Okay,” Geno sighed, “Shoot.”
“Alright, here it goes.” Max stalled momentarily while he thought of something to ask. He wasn’t as prepared as he made it seem. His plan ended at getting Geno into the room without Emily. “Um, did you have a good time?”
Geno looked at Max as if asking if he was serious, “Yes, Max.”
“Good, good.” Max looked around. He figured he might as well just ask everything that was on his mind. It was the only way he’d find out the answers. “Did you kiss her?”
“Yes, Max.” Geno replied as he changed into some sleep clothes.
“Did you, um, get much further than that?”
“No, Max.”
Max breathed a sigh of relief on that one, even though Emily had already hinted that they hadn’t. “Did you drink a lot?”
“No, Max.”
“Did you tell her you love her?”
Geno looked at Max this time, not answering without thinking much like the previous questions. “Yeah,” He said, “I did.”
“And do you?” Max studied his expression and knew the answer before he even opened his mouth, “Are you really in love with her?”
Geno’s lips formed a genuine smile and he nodded, “I am, Max. I really am.”



Emily was back in her room. She changed into some pajama shorts and a t shirt and got ready to go to bed. Ashley came back in the room while she was washing her face, and crashed onto her bed, falling asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow. Ashlen had been asleep too. Whatever her and Sidney had done must have left her happy because she had a peaceful smile on her face as she slept.
Suddenly feeling exhausted, Em got under the covers of her bed and grabbed her iPod from the bedside table. Listening to music helped her fall asleep when she had a lot on her mind. She put in the earphones, laid back, put the music on shuffle and turned off the lamp.
A song by A Rocket to the Moon came on as she stared at the dark ceiling. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess of the events of the day. It felt like weeks since she’d last talked to Kris, even though it had only been this morning that they last spoke. She pictured his face in her head. His crooked smile, his glowing brown eyes, she loved everything about it. As she remembered their special night together, all she wanted was to be with him now and relive the every moment of it. From their first kiss, to when they told each other they were in love, to sleeping together. It all made up what she considered the best day of her life.
But then there was Geno. In her head she heard his voice telling her that he loved her. So sincere, so romantic. She felt awful knowing that he truly meant it when she couldn’t bare to say it back. She knew what it felt like to be in love. But she couldn’t imagine the feeling of not being loved back. She didn’t want to imagine it, and she certainly didn’t want to make anyone have to experience it. Her and Geno had been such good friends before the night at the club. Before then she never really considered him liking her as anything more than a friend, let alone being in love with her. She could only imagine how things would have been different had Kris showed up in the first place. Or if she hadn’t spotted Geno in her moment of desperation. It was unclear as to what would’ve happened, but there was no point dwelling on something that was unchangeable now. The only thing she could do was consider her options. One, break up with Geno on Monday and be with Kris. Or two, stay with Geno and just be friends with Kris.
As the song came to an end, the next random one came on, only to further convince her that her choice was the right one. While We The Kings serenaded her and put her thoughts to rest, Emily drifted to sleep, dreaming of the man she loved. Her secret valentine.

Chapter Twenty Eight;

A couple of laughs and a few drinks later, Ashley and Jordan were all over each other. Jordan was laying on his back in the sand with Ash on top of him. They had been making out like this for a while now, making it a bit awkward for Emily and Geno who were seated not too far away. The two of them were just talking and looking at the stars. Although it seemed completely harmless, Em still worried if Geno would make a move.
 “Do you wanna go for a walk?” Evgeni asked her, not wanting to stick around and find out what would happen next between their friends to their left.
 “Okay.” Emily agreed. If they were walking, they couldn’t possibly be doing anything she’d regret. Right?
Geno stood up and offered his hand to help her up. She took it and got to her feet, but their hands didn’t part. Their fingers laced together as they began to walk along the shore. Holding hands was harmless.



The credits were rolling down the screen of the hotel television, but neither Sidney nor Ashlen cared to take notice that the movie had finished. They had been too busy with each other to watch anymore of it.
 “I love you, Ash.” Sidney’s voice was quiet, yet alluring. His big lips caressed her skin.
 “I love you too.” Ashlen managed to respond.
Everything had been perfect. No interruptions from Marc-Andre. Just the two of them. Just the way they wanted it.
They were just laying in each other’s arms, enjoying the time they spent together, when Ashlen spoke up.
 “I should probably get back to my room.” She said, knowing it was the right thing to do even if she didn’t want to.
 “Don’t go.” Sidney pleaded, not wanting to be apart from her.
 “I have to. You need your sleep for tomorrow.” Ash told him. She knew if she stayed neither of them would get much rest.
 “You can sleep here.” Sidney tried with a smile, not giving up just yet.
 “And have Dan find me here in the morning and fine you for breaking the rules?” She sat up but Sidney’s arms were still around her.
 “Oh, please,” Sid chuckled, “Being with you is worth the thousand dollars.”
 “But I’d feel bad if you had to pay that much because of me.”
 “Ash,” Sid smiled and sat up a bit to get closer to her, “It’s really not that much.”
 “It is to me.”
Sid looked her in the eyes, “Even a million dollars wouldn’t be a lot compared to how much you mean to me.”
He leaned in and pressed his lips on hers. She kissed him back and smiled when they parted.
 “I still have to go.” She said. Sidney pouted dramatically, making Ash giggle.
 “Fine.” He gave in. It was for the best anyway. “I love you, you know that?”
Ashlen smiled at him and nodded. Never had she felt the way he made her feel before. “Yeah, I know.”
 “Good.” He replied smiling. They stood up from the couch and walked over towards the door hand-in-hand.
They stood silently for a moment, just admiring each other. Sort of stalling the goodbye process.
 “I love you, Sid.” Ashlen finally said.
 “I love you too, Ash.” He replied.
The couple gave each other a final kiss for the long night that neither of them really wanted to end.
 “Goodnight.” Sid told her quietly as he did his best to open the door without making a sound.
 “Night.” She smiled back at him and walked out of his room. He watched her make her way down the hall back to her room and open the door. Before she went inside, she looked back at him and smiled. He smiled back, as she entered her room and slowly shut the door behind her. Sid waited a few seconds and then did the same. He did need to get some sleep, whether he wanted to or not.



After walking what seemed like a mile, Emily and Geno stopped for a bit. They had made it to the part of the beach where the lights from the hotels and streets was no longer visible. The only light came from the sky. The moon and stars, shining down on them. It was even more beautiful than the area of the beach they were at before.
 “Wanna sit?” Geno asked and Emily nodded.
He led her over to a good spot and they sat down. He put his arm around her and she hesitantly rested her head on his shoulder. He hadn’t tried anything with her yet tonight, and Emily was beginning to have doubts that he was going to.
They were quiet for a bit, just staring out onto the water, until Emily spoke up.
 “So what were you and Jordy talking about earlier?” She asked, trying to make conversation and also wanting to know the answer.
Geno smiled and said, “You.”
 “Me?” Emily asked, “What about me?”
 “Just how you’re special.” Geno replied, looking at her now as he spoke.
 “Special?” She was looking at him now too. And god, did he look incredible under the moonlight, “Like stop eating the paste, special?”
 “No,” He chuckled. He gently took her hand in his. Emily could hear her heart beating in her chest, “Like you’re the only one for me, special.’
If she didn’t know better, Emily would have thought she was in a movie. The scenery, the dialog, everything was perfect. Everything, except for the main character.
Geno leaned in closer to her and kissed her lips. Her eyes naturally closed and she kissed him back.
Despite the fact that Evgeni wasn’t her Prince Charming, Emily was finding it hard to stop herself. He was saying all the right things. He really did make her feel special.
Geno’s fingers brushed Emily’s cheek as they made out. Everything about it was terribly romantic. When their mouths separated, they kept close and looked into each others eyes. Geno smiled.
 “I love you, Em.” He confessed.
Emily couldn’t find the words to speak. Her mouth was dry and her head was spinning. What was she suppose to say to that?
She swallowed, trying to find a response. “Geno,” She paused, “I…”
 “Hey! Who’s down there?” A man with a flashlight shining on the two of them from atop the hill that hid the beach from the outside world yelled. “This is a private beach! Trespassers are prohibited and will be fined!”
Geno and Emily stood up quickly, wide eyed. The big man that had bellowed to them was making his way down the hill.
 “Come on, run!” Evgeni whispered to her, taking her hand and leading her back in the direction they came from.
 “Hey! Get back here!” The man yelled to them. The light from his flashlight bounced around, shining on them as he tried to run after them.
 “Don’t stop.” Geno told her as they ran. Their feet kicking up sand as they did so. Both of them started to laugh, though not exactly for the same reasons. Emily laughed because of the sheer surprise and luck that the guy interrupted her from having to say anything back to Geno. She was saved from that pressure for the time being. Geno, on the other hand, just plain found the situation funny. Plus the fact that Emily was laughing and it made him happy enough to laugh too. He loved her laugh. Heck, he loved her.

Chapter Twenty Seven;

It was dark as midnight as Kris looked around the room. Everything was black. He was sitting up on the hotel room bed, eyes squinted, trying to make out some sort of figure in the room that appeared to be a black hole of nothing.
 “Bouch?” Kris called out. No reply. He must have fallen asleep. It had to have been late, he thought. The clock that had been sitting on the bedside table wasn’t lit up like normally. Had the power gone out? Kris reached out in the direction he thought the clock was and hit something. Suddenly, the room came into focus as the lights raised slightly, the way they do at the movie theater once the movie is over.
The first and only thing Kris noticed once he could see again, was her.
 “Hi.” Emily smiled at him from across the room. The blue in her eyes was glowing and her white smile made the room look even brighter. She was wearing a skimpy, loose fitting dress with her wavy brown hair resting on her shoulders. Kris’s heart beat loud at the sight of her and a smile naturally made its way to his face.
He couldn’t find the words to speak. He was so glad to see her. And it wasn’t even Monday yet, was it?
 “How’d you get in here?” Kris finally asked and motioned for her to come closer.
She took a few steps and replied, “Philippe let me in.”
Kris turned to look at where Boucher had been laying before. He wasn’t there.
 “Where is he?” Kris asked, although he didn’t really care. Being alone with Emily would be better anyway.
 “I asked him to leave.” She replied with a coy grin playing on her face as she came closer to Kris, “You know, to give us some privacy.”
 “Oh, good idea.” He said, liking what she seemed to be implying.
 “Uh-huh.” Emily nodded and got up onto his bed, kneeling on it in front of where he was sitting. Kris couldn’t help but smile as she got closer and closer to him, until she was nearly on top of him. “I broke up with Geno.” She told him and before he could even think of something to say, she kissed his lips. “And I love you with all my heart.” She said and kissed him again. “I only want you. I want every part of you.” She continued, kissing him again and again. “One night wasn’t near enough. And now it doesn’t have to be,” She was saying everything Kris wanted her to as she began undressing him, “I love you, Kristopher Letang. I want to be with you forever.” The light seemed to be dimming again as her hands explored his body.
Suddenly, all was black again.
  “I love you, too.” Kris said to no one, “I love you, too.”


Kris opened his eyes. The room was dark, but not black. The lamp on the table between his and Philippe’s bed was on, and still reading his book, Philippe was there. But Emily was not.
 “Fuck.” He cursed, upset. It had been a dream. Emily hadn’t come here. She didn’t kiss him over and over and over again. And worst of all, she hadn’t broken up with Geno.
 “Bad dream?” Philippe asked, not looking up from his book.
 “No.” Kris said dourly. “What are you still doing up anyway?”
 “Ha, Kris you were only asleep about a half an hour.” Boucher pointed out, looking at the digital clock next to him. “And don’t give me attitude just cause you had a nightmare.”
Kris narrowed his eyes at him, “I told you I didn’t have a nightmare. It was probably the best dream I ever had.”
 “Ahh, I see.” Philippe understood now, “You were having a great dream, I’m guessing about Emily. And then you woke up and realized it was just a dream, eh?”
Kris just nodded, not wanting to talk about it. He laid back, his head on the big pillow and rolled on his side, facing the wall.
 “G’night, Tanger.” Boucher said with a grin. Kris squeezed his eyes shut and tried to fall back asleep so he could return to his perfect dream.



 “You are fast, Ricky Bobby,” Marc-Andre Fleury and Jean Girard said simultaneously, “But I am faster.”
Ashlen and Sidney cracked up at the resemblance between the two.
 “Only you, Flower.” Sid shook his head, still chuckling, “Only you.”
Marc smiled one of his giant smiles, “Well I’m beat.” He said, standing up from the couch with a dramatic yawn although it really wasn’t too late yet, “See you two in the AM.”
 “Night, Marc.” Ash said smiling, wrapped in Sidney’s arms on the other couch.
 “Yeah. You guys get some sleep, ya hear? I don’t wanna wake up in the middle of the night to any crazy sounds or bedrockin’. Clear?” Flower asked. It was impossible to cover his joking smile.
 “Yeah, yeah. We’re clear, man.” Sid was blushing a bit. Ash noticed and smiled, looking up at his face with lust in her eyes.
 “Okay, okay.” Fleury laughed, “I don’t trust you at all, but okay. Goodnight for real.” He waved a last goodbye and went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
 “It’s about time.” Sid said with a small, seductive grin playing on his lips.
 “I heard that!” Marc called through the closed door.
Ashlen laughed, “Obviously we’re going to have to be quieter.”
 “Unfortunately.” Sid sighed but didn’t lose his smirk. “You wanna finish watching the movie or something else?”
 “Well, this is pretty nice.” Ashlen said, referring to the way they were situated together. In each other’s arms. Faces close enough to kiss.
 “It could be nicer.” Sid suggested. The small gap between their faces closed as they kissed.
 “Not too nice, I hope!” Marc’s voice yelled out again.
Ash giggled and Sid turned to look towards the door, “I think it’s in everyone’s best interest that you stop listening to us and go to sleep, Flower. Now.”
The door opened, just a crack and Marc’s face appeared, “Aye aye Captain.” He said then shut the door and supposedly went to bed.
 “Now, where were we?” Sidney refocused on his girl after the brief and hopefully final interruption.
 “I think we were right here.” Ashlen said just before she pressed her lips against his.



 “God, it’s beautiful out here.” Ashley said, looking out onto the ocean. The night sky was full of stars that reflected off the water with a beautiful glimmer. She was sitting on a big rock situated on the beach, laying back in Jordan’s arms.
 “It sure is.” Emily, who was sitting on the rock next to them with Geno, agreed.
Jordan handed a small glass to each of them, including himself, and poured in whatever liquor was in the first bottle he grabbed, “I’d like to propose a toast,” He said with a smile, “To a beautiful night, on this beautiful beach, with two very beautiful girls.”
 “I’ll drink to that.” Geno smiled at Emily, raising his glass as Jordan had.
 “Cheers!” Ashley exclaimed and lifted her glass to join them.
Emily smiled and did the same, “Cheers.” She sighed. What Max had told her was making her nervous.
While Jordan, Ash, and Geno all drank their drinks, Emily merely pressed the cup up to her lips as if she were about to take a sip.
 “How bout we go down to the water?” Em suggested and placed the untouched drink on the rock behind her before they could notice she hadn’t drank anything. Explaining why she didn’t would be a bad idea.
 “Kay!” Ashley instantly agreed and hopped down off the rock. “Come on, Jordy!”
 “I’m coming, I’m coming. Give me a sec.” He told her and she nodded. Emily and her took off their flip-flops and started off towards the oceans edge while Geno stayed back with Jordan for a moment.
 “So,” Jordy’s voice was hushed as he spoke to Geno, although it was very unlikely that their girlfriends could hear them, “You planning on hittin’ that tonight?” He asked with a smirk on his face. Both of their eyes were focused out on the girls.
 “I wouldn’t say planning.” Geno said, “But, you know, whatever happens, happens.”
 “Ahhh, yeah man. I hear ya, I hear ya.” Jordan replied with a sort of jump in his voice. “You guys get that far yet?”
 “Naw, not yet.” Geno told him, “We’re kind of taking things slower. One step at a time.”
Jordan gave him a look like he didn’t believe what he was hearing, “You? Evgeni Malkin, taking things slow? One step at a time? No way.” He joked with him. He knew very well that that wasn’t how some of his past relationships went.
 “It’s different with her, man.” Geno chuckled at his tone but was being honest, “It’s not about the sex. It’s more than that. I really like her. She’s special.”
 “She is quite the catch.” Jordan admitted, watching her and Ashley spin around in the inch deep water, laughing as the waves crashed against their feet. “You’re a lucky man.”
 “Yeah,” Evgeni smiled, eyes focused on Emily, “I am.”

 “What do you think they’re talking about?” Emily asked Ashley after they had stopped spinning around.
Ashley was still laughing, “My guess would be us.”
 “And what makes you think that?” Em asked. She was taking it a bit too seriously, worrying about what Geno had planned.
 “Well, they are, like, watching us.” She replied with a smile still on her face, “And plus, what else would they be talking about? I mean, hello!” Whatever Jordan had given all of them to drink must have been strong. It didn’t take much to get Ashley sounding rather crazy. Emily was glad she opted not to have any of whatever it was.
 “True.” She sighed.
 “What’s the matter?” Even being tipsy, Ash could tell there was something wrong.
 “It’s nothing. I’m just pretty tired.” Emily wasn’t totally lying. Sleeping sounded like a great idea right now.
 “You just need another drink.” Ash said smiling.
That’s the last thing I need. Emily thought to herself.
 “JORDAN! GENO! COME ON!” Ashley yelled up to the guys, easily catching their attention. They hopped down off the rocks and hurried over to their girls.
 “Miss me, babe?” Jordan asked as he wrapped his arms around Ashley.
 “Uh-huh.” She nodded and kissed him, slinging her arms around his neck.
Evgeni took Emily’s hand in his. The space in between them was very little. He looked down into her eyes and she looked up into his. Without saying a word, he kissed her forehead softly.
 “You look beautiful tonight.” He told her.
 “Thanks.” She smiled, but silently worried what his intensions were.

Chapter Twenty Six;

Back at the hotel everyone was in their assigned rooms. Bylsma and the assistant coaches were checking all of their rooms to make sure they were where they were supposed to be and looked like they were getting ready for bed. Everyone seemed to be following all the rules. The guys were in their rooms while the girls were in their own. More than half of them were already in their beds and the rest were getting ready to do the same. Dan was pleased.
He made his final walk down the hallway of the seventh floor, came to the elevator and pressed the button. The doors opened and he stepped inside, pressing the black number nine to go up to his room’s floor. Slowly the doors slid shut with a ding as the elevator went up.

Ashley’s phone vibrated in her hand, “Jordan says the coast’s clear.”
 “I can’t believe we’re gonna do this.” Emily sighed. Though Ashley’s always been one to sneak out and break the rules, Emily never really was. Tonight would be different.
 “It’s gonna be fun! Dan won’t know, don’t worry.” Ashley assured her.
 “What won’t Dan know?” Ashlen, who just walked into the room after ending her phone call with Sidney, asked curiously.
 “Me, Em, Jordy and Geno are sneaking out and gonna go walk on the beach.” Ashley told her with an excited smile, “You and Sid are welcome to join us if you wanna.”
 “Thanks, but I think we’re just gonna hang out in his room.” Ashlen said with a smile, “You guys have fun though.”
 “You too.” Ashley said suggestively. Ashlen laughed and left for Sid’s room.
Emily crossed her arms over the grey Pens hoodie she had on and sighed.
 “Em, please. I know you don’t want to, but for me. It will be fun, I promise you.” Ashley told her with a pleading look in her brown eyes, “You’re my best friend, you gotta trust me.”
 “I do trust you, I guess. But it’s just, Geno…” Emily’s voice trailed off.
 “I know, I know. But it was Jordan’s idea and I was trying to be a good friend and keep your love for Tanger a secret. If I told him you didn’t want Geno to go, he’d know you were hiding something. And if you didn’t come at all, I would be alone and that wouldn’t be good.” Ashley half smiled as she spoke.
 “I guess that’s true.” Emily forced a smile. “The last thing we need on this trip is you and Jordy having a run in with the cops for doing some illegal shit while you’re off on your own.”
 “Ha, you know it.” Ashley laughed, “So you’ll come?”
Emily took a breath and nodded, “Yeah, I suppose I will.”


Ashlen knocked lightly on the door of room 715, being careful not to make too much noise. A mere three seconds passed before the handle turned and the door was opened, revealing Sidney standing in the doorway with a smile on his face.
 “Hello, beautiful.” Sid said and made way for her to come inside.
 “Hey there, handsome.” Ashlen responded and gave him a quick kiss.
 “Not you again!” Marc-Andre sighed, but was smiling. He liked joking around with them.
 “Nice to see you too, Flower.” Ashlen smirked at him. Sid’s arm was around her as they walked further into the room and towards where Marc was sitting on the couch.
 “Whatcha watching?” Sid asked him.
 “Well, I was going to watch a movie.” Flower replied, looking up at the couple standing in front of him.
 “What movie?” Ashlen asked.
Fleury smiled, looking kind of like he didn’t want to answer but he did anyway, “Talladega Nights.”
 “I should’ve known!” Sid laughed, “You just like watching it and pretending you’re Jean Girard and reciting all of his lines when he says them.”
 “Shut up.” Marc-Andre said, not denying it. Ashlen and Sidney laughed some more.
 “Can we watch it with you?” Ashlen asked, half wanting to actually watch it and half just wanting to hear Flower make a fool of himself.
Marc shrugged, “Be my guest.”



 “I’ll go get Jordan, you go get Geno.” Ashley directed Emily once they were out in the dim hall way. Em nodded in agreement and the two went their separate ways. Jordan and Tyler’s room was at one end of the hall, while Geno and Max’s was at the other.
Emily walked to their room in silence. She didn’t have a lot on her mind. She was tired and was just going to have to deal. She figured that once she had a drink or two she would loosen up a bit. She knocked on the door in front of her and waited. Maybe Ash was right, and this would be fun. Maybe.
Oh, how she wished it was Monday.
After a few seconds of waiting she heard the door being unlocked and then it opened. Though she expected to see Evgeni on the other side, the face she saw belonged to Max.
 “What are you doing here?” He asked her, obviously unaware of their plan.
 “I’m here to get Geno. Us and Ash and Jordy are gonna go down to the beach.” She explained with no excitement in her voice whatsoever.
Max opened the door enough for her to come in, and she did.
 “Oh, what are you guys gonna do down there?” Max asked her, sounding rather curious. Geno wasn’t in the room, otherwise he might not have asked.
Emily shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess just walk around. Maybe have a few drinks. Just chill.”
 “No,” Max said quickly, “I mean, that’s a bad idea.”
 “What? Why?” Emily’s expression showed her confusion. Max looked around. Geno was in the other room, changing, so he wasn’t in hearing proximity. Despite that, Max continued the conversation in French, just in case.
 “Don’t drink anything.” He said, looking her right in her eyes.
 “Why not?” She was still confused.
 “Well, you love Kris, right?”
 “Yeah…”
 “And you wouldn’t wanna do anything with Geno that you’d be ashamed to tell him about, right?”
 “Where are you going with this?” Emily asked, though the answer to his question was yes.
Max was quiet for a few seconds, almost as if he were thinking, but finally replied, “Geno wants to get in your pants. Bad.”
 “What?” Emily said in English, not expecting that response.
 “He would do anything to get you in bed. Anything.” Max, in French, said seriously, “Even if it means getting you drunk in order to do it. I wouldn’t risk a single sip if I were you. You’re pretty thin, it probably doesn’t take much to get you real tipsy.”
 “You’re kidding, right?” Emily asked, almost laughing. She couldn’t see Evgeni being like that. Especially with her.
 “No, I swear. He told me.” Max said, sounding just as serious as he looked, if not more. “I’m just looking out for you. I figured, if I didn’t tell you and something happened I would feel like shit. No, worse than shit, I’d feel like a terrible friend that’s covered in shit. So I told you. Don’t be mad and don’t say anything to him, but it’s totally true. Geno wants to get it on tonight. Please, for me and you and Kris’s sake, don’t let that happen.”
Emily nodded, a concerned expression on her face, “Okay, I won’t. I promise.”
 “You won’t what?” Evgeni’s voice asked. Emily turned around to face him. Listening so intently to what Max was saying and with all the new thoughts on her mind, she hadn’t noticed him come into the room. He had on a hoodie and some swim-trunk looking shorts. As cute as he looked standing there with his signature Geno-grin on his face, Emily couldn’t quite look at him the same way.
 “I won’t, uh, tell Jordan that Max thought, um, that Marc beat him in that fight. Yeah, I won’t do that.” She lied poorly, but Geno showed know sign of disbelief.
 “Oh, okay. Well, you ready?” He asked her. She could tell that he was excited and she worried that it was because of what Max had said.
 “Yeah, I think so.” Emily let out a sigh.
 “Okay, let’s go.” He smiled and took her hand.
 “See you guys later.” Max called to them as they walked away. Emily turned to look at him with worried eyes. He shrugged, not able to do anything and mouthed, “Don’t forget.”
Emily nodded and said, “See ya.” Then the door shut behind her. Jordan and Ashley were already waiting down by the elevator, so Geno and Em hurried quietly to where they were.
 “Looky what I got.” Jordan smiled, Ashley holding onto his arm. He pulled out of his hoodie pocket a couple bottles of different kinds of alcohol, “Hotel fridges never fail.”
 “Nice.” Geno chuckled and Ashley grabbed one of the bottles with a grin. Emily faked a smile to fit in. Max’s words were haunting her.
The elevator doors slid open and the four of them stepped in.
 “Going down.” Ashley said and pressed the button for the lobby. The doors dinged and slid shut. Within seconds, they were indeed, going down.


 “They’re so gonna get caught.”
 “Honestly, I’m gonna be surprised if they don’t. I mean, I could hear Ash and Jordan laughing from in my room.”
 “Plus Jordy totally cleaned out the mini fridge before he left,” Tyler said into his phone. He and Lauren were talking on their cells rather than breaking the rules and getting in trouble, which they were both sure Ashley, Emily, Jordan, and Geno were going to do. “I don’t see how they think they can just leave the hotel, get drunk, and come back without someone noticing, ya know? Like, there are cameras and people working here that could easily say something to Bylsma and they’d be done.”
 “It’s whatever, I guess.” Lauren sighed, “There’s no stopping them now. If they wanna pay a couple thousand dollars to go to the beach, that’s fine by me.”
 “Yeah. Speaking of you,” Tyler smiled, picturing her face, “What are you up to over there?”
Lauren grinned, “Just sitting here on the couch, watching TV with Leah. How about you?”
 “Laying here in bed talking to you.” He replied.
 “Sounds like fun.” Laur giggled.
TK loved the sound of her laugh, “It sure is.”



 “I can hear them.” Kris said bitterly. His and Philippe’s room was next door to Max and Geno’s, so when Emily and Geno left their room, he heard.
 “Kris,” Philippe said, looking up from the book he was reading. He was sitting on his bed and Kris was on his own. “Don’t get yourself all worked up. I know I heard Jordan’s laugh out in the hallway too. I bet he and Ashley are gonna be with them. They’re not gonna do anything with them around.”
 “Yeah, like that would stop him from having his way with her.” Kris hated thinking about it.
 “Okay, so maybe Jordan and Ashley won’t stop him, but I know Emily would.” Philippe said, “She told you she loves you. She’s not the kind of girl who would go behind your back and do stuff with another guy.”
Kris sighed. As much as he wanted to believe that Boucher was right about Emily, he knew he wasn’t entirely. Yeah, she wasn’t the kind of girl to do that all the time, but she had done it before. With him. Thinking about all this made Kris get a better picture of why Emily was so worried about Evgeni finding out about their night together. If Kris was this upset and angry just thinking about her going out and doing stuff with someone else, imagine how Geno would feel if he found out she actually had done that to him. Kris decided upon that being one of the worst feelings in the world. He didn’t want to have to feel it first hand.
 “Listen, kid.” Bouch said, noticing the distressed look on Kris’s face, “Why don’t you go to sleep. There’s no use you staying up thinking about all this and stressing yourself out. We got a game tomorrow, you need your rest.”
 “Yeah, I guess your right.” Kris agreed, not wanting to stay up any longer anyway. He was worrying too much. Sleep would help. He hoped, at least.

Chapter Twenty Five;

The rest of their dinner went smoothly. After she had talked with Ashley, Emily felt a little better and composed herself and tried to enjoy her time with Geno and her friends. Ashley also derived something from their conversation, feeling a renewed sense of happiness to have Jordan and the love that they both had for each other. Lauren was also feeling like her and Tyler’s relationship was growing stronger after the waitress incident, and she liked it.
Kris continued to steal glances in Emily’s direction. Occasionally he would catch her eye, making her cheeks turn a rosy shade of pink at the realization that he was looking at her. Her lips would form a subtle grin, but she wouldn’t look directly at him. That’s all it took to lift his mood and improve his attitude a bit. Max noticed.
Although he was with Leah and had a golden opportunity to get closer with her, Max couldn’t seem to concentrate on that right now. The only thought on his mind was actually about Emily and it completely consumed any and all other thoughts on his mind. He looked over at her, she was laughing about something Ashley had said. He shook his head, thinking how ridiculous he was for even considering what was on his mind. Max then looked across the table at Kris, then back over at Emily and sighed. Maybe his theory wasn’t that crazy.
Sidney and Ashlen were acting very flirty with each other, much to Marc-Andre’s dismay. They were giggling and kissing and, according to Flower, being rather obnoxious as they flaunted their newfound love. He didn’t know if they were acting that way to purposely mess with him or if they were honestly like that. He laughed about it as they did things like feeding each other their dinner and kissing each other where they got a little food on their face. Their cutesiness was intense, but he couldn’t deny that they made a near perfect couple.

By the time everyone had finished eating, it was approaching nine o’clock. They were all still seated and talking when Dan Bylsma stood up to make a quick announcement.
 “Okay guys, when we get back to the hotel I want you all to go pretty much straight to your rooms. That means the rooms you were assigned,” He paused and gave a stern, but at the same time friendly look at the girls. It was kind of hard to take Dan too seriously, “We’ve got back to back afternoon games tomorrow and Saturday, plus if you want to check out that festival tomorrow night, so you need to get as much rest as you can tonight. So I suggest you go to sleep a little early. And like I said before, no girls in the guys’ rooms and vice versa. Got that?”
 “Got it, Coach.” Jordan winked with a grin. Bylsma chuckled.
 “I’m being serious, Jordy. I’ll break out the fines if you guys make me.” He said, speaking of the fines the players sometimes have to pay for doing certain things. Like not leaving the arena when practice is long over and other silly things.
 “Might as well make the kids pay up now. Ya know they’re just gonna break the rules anyway.” Billy Guerin joked, referring to the guys whose girlfriends were with them.
 “I’ll tell you what, I’ll just throw the numbers out right now,” Dan proposed, “One thousand dollars cash for each rule broken. So don’t break any.”
 “Well, what are all the rules?” Max asked.
 “You should know the basics. The rest are for me to know and you to hope you don’t have to pay for.” Dan smirked.
As the team continued discussing the fines with their coach, Emily looked over at Ashley and Jordan. The couple both had devious grins on their faces and were holding hands.
 “You’re planning on breaking the rules, aren’t you?” She whispered so only they could hear.
Ashley smiled and Jordan chuckled, “Most definitely.”

Chapter Twenty Four;

After a long day of fun in the sun, the sun was finally setting and everyone was hungry for dinner. They decided to put on some nice clothes and go out to eat at a local seafood restaurant. Calamari Mike’s was the name. Max claimed he heard some good reviews on the place and rounded up the whole team and their ladies to give it a go.
“So since this was your idea, does that mean you’re paying, Maxy?” Marc-Andre asked his teammate as the group walked into the restaurant. They were following a short, red-headed waitress back to banquet room where it was more private.
“Ha, no actually. I was thinking mister a billion million dollars over here could cover it.” Max replied, giving Sidney a love tap on his ass as he spoke.
“Whoa there.” Sid said, startled by the random ass smack. “I’ll pay as long as you stop doing that, man.”
Max laughed, “Deal.”
“Besides,” Ashlen added with a joking smile, “No one touches my boy’s huge ass but me.”
Sid chuckled in agreement. Max placed his hand on Ashlen’s shoulder, “You’re one lucky girl, let me tell you,” He told her, glancing back and forth from her eyes and Sid’s bottom, “An ass like this guy’s is one in a billion.”
“Okay, okay!” Sidney protested, trying to keep from drawing attention to himself. Max, Ashlen, and Flower were laughing. “Enough with the ass jokes, please.” Though he wasn’t really mad, he was getting annoyed.
“Sorry, Sid.” Ashlen smiled at him. He smiled back and kissed her to show that he had forgiven her.
“Yeah, sorry Sid.” Max imitated Ashlen’s voice, or at least tried to, and then puckered his lips for a kiss of his own. Sid wasn’t having that.
“No thanks, dude.” He put his hand up in front of Max’s face.
Max just chuckled, “Your loss.”

Everyone sat down at one of two long tables. The left consisted of Sidney, Max, Evgeni, Jordan, Tyler, Marc-Andre, Brooks, Chris, Eric, Philippe, Kris, Emily, Ashley, Lauren, Leah, and Ashlen. While at the right table were some of the coaching staff and the rest of the team.
At the left table, seated left to right on one side was Brooks, Chris, Eric, Kris, Philippe, Marc-Andre, Sidney, and then Ashlen. On the opposite side went Tyler, Lauren, Leah, Max, Geno, Emily, Ashley, and then Jordan. Everyone was talking casually as the waitress came around and took the drink orders.
Kris looked mildly depressed sitting there looking lost and bored. Max, who was sitting across from him, noticed. He watched as he looked down at his lap and every once in a while stole a glance up at where Emily and Geno were sitting, next to Max. It must have been hard for him to see them together.
Geno was telling her, Ashley and Jordan a story about back at his home in Russia involving his brother, Denis, himself and some of their friends. The four of them laughed as he concluded his reminiscence.
“Wow, Geno,” Jordan laughed, “Maybe I was wrong about you. You and your Russian buddies sound like you know how to have yourselves some fun.”
“You’d be surprised.” Geno just smiled. He was holding Emily’s hand and had them resting on the table. His thumb made circles over her skin as she smiled at him. “You’ll have to come with me to Magnitogorsk sometime.” He said.
Emily nodded, not sure how to respond. “That’d be fun.” She decided upon.
“Yeah,” Geno smiled again, “I told my parents about you. They really want to meet you.”
Oh god. Emily thought, hoping that the slight panic she was feeling didn’t show. She had nothing against his parents, but if Geno told them about her then he had to be serious about their relationship. That comment made what she was planning on doing on Monday that much harder.
“I’ll be right back.” Emily told him, standing up from her seat. She grabbed Ashley’s arm to bring her with her to the restroom. Ash didn’t fight it, easily agreeing to accompany her. It’s just what girls do.
“Do you want me to order your drink?” Geno asked her before she could walk away. The waitress was down at the other end of the table now but would soon make her way to theirs to take their drink orders.
“Uh, yeah. Water’s fine.” Emily replied.
“You know what I like.” Ashley smiled at Jordan who winked back at her as her and Emily hurried back to the bathroom.


“You think she’s alright?” Kris whisper-asked Philippe after seeing Emily suddenly jump up from her seat and leave the table.
“Yeah, her and Ashley are probably just gonna go fix their makeup or something. Girls do that a lot.” Philippe shrugged.
“It’s not like she needs to.” Kris sighed, picturing her face smiling at him in his head, “She’s already beautiful.”


“And what can I get for you, Mr. Kennedy?” The redheaded waitress smiled at Tyler, throwing a flirty wink his way. Lauren’s eyes narrowed at the tiny woman. She had taken Brooks and Chris’s drink orders without a problem. Who did she think she was flirting it up with her boyfriend?
“I’ll just have a Pepsi.” TK replied, as if he hadn’t noticed her looking at him as if he were a piece of meat.
“Alrighty.” She smiled big at him and took her time writing it down on her tablet. How long could it possibly take to write Pepsi? When she finished her masterpiece she looked up from the paper at Lauren with a sour look on her face, “And you?”
“This beautiful girl of mine would like some lemonade,” Tyler spoke for her, smiling, before Lauren could get a word out, “Right, babe?”
Lauren smiled back at him, knowing what he was doing. “That’s right, Teek.” She said, glancing up at the waitress with a smirk. Ginger scowled at her and quickly scribbled it down on the tablet, avoiding looking at the couple as they shared a kiss.
Lauren and Tyler chuckled as the waitress moved further down the table without looking back.
“I think she’s jealous.” Lauren whispered with a grin on her face.
“She should be. You’re insanely beautiful and amazing and I wouldn’t trade you for anything. How could she not be jealous?” Tyler said.
“I love you.” Lauren blushed at his complement.
He smiled and kissed her again, “I love you too.”


“What’s the matter, Em?” Ashley asked her friend once the door labeled ‘Women’ shut behind them. Emily was standing in front of the long row of seashell encrusted sinks, just staring straight ahead at her reflection in the mirror.
“I-I don’t know.” She replied. There was little emotion in her voice or expression. She felt tired. Like she hadn’t slept in days. And her head hurt. Not to mention the nauseous feeling that was stuck in her stomach.
“Is it Geno?” Ashley asked, concerned with what was going on with her.
Emily sighed, “Kind of.”
“Did he do something wrong?” Ash wasn’t sure what to say to help. Normally she was the one that needed the advice that Emily had to give. Now that she was put in that position, she felt she was obligated to do what she could to help, even if she was no good at it.
“No, not him.” Emily replied simply.
“Did you do something?” Ashley tried. Emily turned away from the mirror to face her friend.
“Sort of.” She told her. She wanted to talk about her and Kris without letting any details slip out about what they did.
“Well, what’d you do?”
“Kris.” Emily said, but then quickly added, “I mean, I still have feelings for him.”
“Oh,” Ashley looked at her sympathetically, “Are they strong feelings? Like, more than you feel for Geno?”
Emily bit her bottom lip and nodded, yes. “I mean, I like Geno. He’s really sweet and a great, great friend. But I love Kris. I really do. So much.”
“But you don’t want to hurt Geno because you know how much he likes you, maybe even loves you, and you’d feel awful if you broke his heart since you’re such good friends.” Ashley said, knowing just what to say as if she were speaking Emily’s actual feelings.
“Yeah,” Emily said, surprised at how accurate her response was, “How’d you know that?”
“Remember Mitchell?” She shrugged, and Emily immediately knew the answer to her question. “He was one of the best guy friends I had. When we dated, yeah I liked him, but for him it was so much more. He told me he loved me. I couldn’t bare to break his heart, but I couldn’t go on being with him when I didn’t feel the same way.” She paused and took a deep breath, “It was hard, but he eventually understood it wasn’t meant to be. If we would’ve stayed together we may never have found our true soul mates. Now, I don’t know about him, but mine’s right out there.” Ashley smiled a small smile and pointed to the door, where Jordan was in the room on the other side. “The question is, where’s yours?”
“First of all, thank you.” Emily smiled at Ashley, who smiled back happy she was able to help, “Second of all, I’m gonna have to wait till we get back to the Burgh until I do anything about this. But the answer to your question is the same as yours. He’s right out there. And his name is Kristopher Allen Letang. And I’m madly in love with him.”