Sixteen:

“Hello Jonathan,” she greeted him. She then noticed that I was standing next to him and shot a glance down to our hands, when I realized my fingers were still laced with Jon’s. “And Cole,” she added in a tone of hatred. I just stood there, not really knowing what to say.

“You never answered my question,” Jon replied quickly. He noticed my edginess, so he wrapped a secure arm around my waist.

“Oh,” she said sarcastically with a laugh, “why am I here?” she paused for a second, and directed her attention out of the opened front door. I decided to take a casual glance out the door as well. I noticed a guy approaching. Unruly blonde curls tucked under a hat, and a pair of sunglasses shielding his eyes. If I had known better, I would have thought it was my brother. He stepped through the doorway and shut the door behind him. What the fuck? It was my brother.

“Patrick,” I mumbled angrily, “I should have fucking known.”

“Patrick…? What the hell is this?” Jon asked, annoyance obvious in his tone.

I watched as my brother grabbed Marie by the hand, and placed a kiss on her cheek. If my jaw wasn’t on the floor beforehand, it definitely was now. “This is what I’d like to call, a ‘coming clean’ party,” He said with a slight edge of smugness in his voice.

“Oh, so there was no like, call, you just decided to show up, eh?” Jon asked.

“Pretty much,” Patrick replied.

Jon let out a sigh, “alright, well sit down.” He pointed over to the couches in his living room.

Right as I positioned myself on the couch, I spoke up. “So, what is this, Patrick? You and Marie?” I asked rudely.

“It’s called dating, Cole…” Marie replied smartly.

“Marie, here’s a tip for you… shut the fuck up and realize that I wasn’t talking to you in the first place, so we won’t have any future problems.”

“Oh you think you’re all tough, don’t you?” She asked.

“Honey, please. You should be scared of me if you know what’s good for you.”

“Excuse me?!” she exclaimed.

“You heard me,” I replied.

“Hey, hey,” Jon butted in, “easy now.”

We all sat in silence for a few minutes until Jon spoke up, “alright, since nobody’s going to say anything… I guess I will,” he paused and looked over at Marie, “soo… how can I put this…” he trailed off for a few more moments, “Marie… Cole and I, well, we had been having sex behind your back for… I don’t know… three months, before we broke up...”

“Three months?!” Patrick and Marie exclaimed at the same time.

Jon nodded and we all sat there for a few more moments in silence. “Well you know what Jonathan?” Marie asked. “Patrick and I had been fucking each other behind your back for a good three weeks before we broke up.”

I stared at Patrick in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?! Patrick, you fucking flipped out on me, when you were doing the exact same thing.”

He just sat there and smiled at me meekly.

“Wait… whoa, you knew Patrick… and you didn’t even tell me?” Marie asked exasperatedly.

Now it was Patrick’s turn to be the bad guy. “Uh… uhm, yeah… sorry baby.” He replied.

“Sorry? That’s all you have to say to me?!”

I honestly had to hold back a chuckle while watching this.

“Not right now, Marie,” he said through clenched teeth.

“No Patrick, go ahead. This is a coming clean party, remember?” I said smugly.

He just glared at me. “Okay, well I didn’t know about it the whole time. I caught them about a week or so before you guys broke up.”

“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me, babe,” she pouted.

“Marie?” I asked.

“What?” she spat.

“Would you like me to wipe your tears away now or later?”

She just sat there glaring at me. I looked over at Jon who was chuckling to himself.

“Stop laughing, Jonathan!” she shouted.

“Sorry, it’s just… kind of funny...” he replied between chuckles.

“Oh and Marie…” I added.

“What?!” she shouted.

“You remember that one day that my parents had that little party at my house that you came to with Jon?”

“Yeah…” she replied with an eye roll.

“Well I fucked him upstairs in my bedroom during that party.”

“I hate you, Cole.”

“Good,” I replied with a smile. “You know what else?”

She sat there glaring at me.

“I don’t regret any of it. Hell, if you guys were still dating, I’d probably still be fucking him.”

She got up and furiously stomped her way over to me. I stood up. “You don’t scare me, Marie,” I said with a laugh.

“Okay Cole, lay off.” Patrick said.

“What? I’m just being honest, Patrick. After all, this was your idea.”

He rolled his eyes at me.

“So are you done trying to sabotage my life now? Or do you have any other ideas, Patty?” I asked.

“No. I’m done with you, Cole.” He stood up and grabbed Marie by the hand. “Let’s go.”

“Good.” I replied as I watched them walk out the front door.

“You know how much I love you?” Jon asked with a laugh as he stood up and wrapped me in a hug.

“No, how about you show me.” I hinted suggestively.

“Okay, follow me.” he grabbed me by the hand and led us back into his bedroom.

Fifteen:

I stood there watching him pace the kitchen, occasionally running a hand through his hair. “Pat, you know that you can talk to me,” I said in an attempt to soothe him. He looked over at me before releasing a sigh. I stood there for a moment before walking over to him and placing my hands on his shoulders, “what’s wrong?”

He lightly wrapped his hands around my waist, “Cole,” he hesitated for a minute, “your brother is threatening to send you home… which I’m guessing you probably already know that…”

“Yes, I do.” I replied.

“An-and, too many people here don’t want to see you leave… including me.”

“So…” I paused, “what are you getting at?”

He exhaled heavily, “you should break up with Jon.”

I shook from his grasp, “I can’t do that. I finally have the chance to actually be with him and now my brother has to ruin everything by telling everyone he knows to get us to break up. No. Sorry Patrick, he can go ahead and try to send me home, because I’m not going to do it.”

“You really like him that much?” he asked.

“Yeah I do.”

We stood there in silence for a moment, “well I’m only looking out for your best interest Cole, I don’t want to see him hurt you again.” He said as he snaked an arm around my waist.

“Well thanks for that, but I think everything is okay now.”

“Okay, well know that I am always here… even if you do end up moving…”

It looked like the still had more to say to me, but I didn’t push it. “Thanks Pat.” His grip around my waist tightened so I laced my arms around his neck. And after a minute or two, we broke apart and re-entered the living room. Adam was sitting up on the couch, his eyes glued to the TV screen. “Hey,” I greeted him as Patrick and I sat on either side of him. “Hello,” he replied.

“So, how are you feeling this morning?” I joked.

“Just lovely,” He said sarcastically.

“Oh I bet,” I said with a laugh.

When I heard footsteps on the stairs, I knew that my brother was making his way down. He entered the living room, “hey boys,” he said, making it obvious that he was still pissed at me. I rolled my eyes before standing up and heading upstairs into my room. I grabbed my cell phone off of my bedside table.

1 new text message.

Hey babe, the teams leaving on a road trip tonight, so I wanted to see you before I leave. Call me.

“Hey,” he greeted me on the second ring.

“Hey babe.”

“What are you doing?”

“Just about to hop in the shower to come see you.” I replied.

“Hey that’s what I was about to do, why don’t you just come over and join me. It’ll save water.” He joked.

“Haha funny.”

“Aw, come on babe, you don’t wanna shower with me?”

“Not really.” I joked.

“Oh, you’ll be making up for that when you come over.”

“Really? How is that?” I asked with a laugh.

“You’ll just have to see…”

“Alright, well the sooner I can get ready, the sooner you get to punish me.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll see you in a few.”

“Alright,” I laughed. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

Fifteen minutes later, I stepped out of the shower and quickly readied myself. I grabbed my phone and purse before heading downstairs, telling Adam and Sharpie goodbye, and getting into my car.

When I pulled into Jon’s driveway, I got out of my car, and invited myself inside his apartment. “Hey,” I called from the doorway. No reply. I stepped out of my shoes and entered his living room. I looked around and I noticed that his bedroom door was closed; I walked over and opened it. “Jon?” I questioned from the doorway. He stepped out of his closet with just a towel wrapped snugly around his waist. He smiled smugly as he watched my eyes roaming over his muscular chest. “Hey,” he greeted me before making his way over to me and placing a quick kiss on my lips. “Hey,” I replied. He grabbed me by the hand and pulled me into his closet with him while he finished picking out an outfit to put on. “So… what did you do last night?” He asked me.

“Well Pat had a bunch of people over… so I just hung out with them all night.”

“Haha figures he wouldn’t invite me.”

“Yeah, whatever. What did you do?”

“I spent the majority of the night at the gym, but I came home, showered, watched some TV, and went to bed.” He replied while grabbing a pair of jeans out of a drawer and leading me out into his bedroom.

“Ah, building up that stamina I hope.” I joked.

“Please…” he said sarcastically, ”I could go all night.”

“Haha right.” I said with a laugh.

“You really want to test me right now?” he asked.

“It’s a possibility.” I replied with a smirk.

He just shook his head at me, while attempting a ‘disappointed face.’

I sat down on his bed and watched him as put his clothes on. Enjoying the view, I might add. Once finished, he grabbed me by the hand and pulled me off of his bed. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he asked: “So… what’s the plan for today?”

“Well that depends on what your in the mood for…” I replied with a wink.

“Hm… I am going to be gone for five days…”

“What are you hinting at here?” I teased as I slowly pressed my lips to his.

“Oh I’m not hinting at anything,” he said, running a hand along my thigh.

I slowly backed up, the backs of my legs quickly finding the edge of his mattress. I fell back and pulled him on top of me. I began pulling his shirt off when I heard his front door open. We stopped what we were doing, recomposed ourselves, and Jon grabbed my hand as I cautiously followed him out into his living room. I gazed in shock when I realized who was standing in the doorway.

“Marie… what are you doing here?” Jon asked.

Fourteen:

I hastily handed Jon his phone back and pulled out my own. I really don’t know who the fuck my brother thought he was trying to boss me around like that, but all I knew was that he wasn’t getting away with it. I scrolled through my contact list and clicked ‘call’ when my brother’s name showed on the screen. “What Cole?” he snapped as he answered the phone.

“Wow, uh that’s a nice greeting…” I began.

“Well honestly, I don’t really want to talk to you right now,” he replied rudely.

“Well honestly,” I imitated in a mimicking tone, “I don’t really give a fuck. Who the hell do you think you are? I can do whatever the fuck I want without your permission.”

“Oh are you all pissed because you and Jon can’t be together?” he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Says who?” I asked smugly.

“Me.”

“Haha, that’s funny. I’m nineteen, a legal adult. Who are you to tell me what to fucking do? You’re my brother… not my dad, remember that Patrick.”

“Uh I can, if you want a roof over your head.”

“You’re honestly gonna hold that over my head?”

“You bet.” He replied simply.

“And you don’t think that I have other friends that I can live with?”

“Haha, I’d love to see that happen. Have fun paying bills and actually getting a job.”

“Fuck you.” I then heard the dial tone. That fucking dick hung up on me. I sighed and set my phone on the table. “Well that was successful...” I said sarcastically.

A few moments later, my phone began to annoyingly vibrate on the table. I rolled my eyes when I noticed the message was from Patrick.

You think I’m fucking bluffing Cole? Break things off with Jon, or I really will send you back home.

“Jon…” I paused for a moment, “are you 110% positive that you want to be with me?”

“Of course… why?”

“Because things are about to get ugly…” I replied.

Haha, funny joke Patty. What? Are you gonna force me on the damn plane?

If that’s what it takes…

Here’s a tip for you: stop constantly hovering over me, and take things for what their worth. Or in simpler words: get the fuck over yourself.

No.

Whatever dude, I’m done talking to you.

And to think that everything was going to finally be okay.

I guess I was wrong.

“Jon, can you do me a favor?” I asked.

“Yeah sure babe, what?”

“Take me home.”

He nodded as we both got to our feet. We paid and tipped the waitress before heading out of the restaurant and into his car. I sat down in the passengers seat as I heard him start his car. He placed his hand on my thigh and I watched him pull out of the parking lot and into the street.

Within fifteen minutes, we had pulled into my driveway. I began getting out of his car, when he grabbed me by the hand and pulled me into a quick kiss. “Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be okay.” I nodded and forced a weak smile before heading inside and straight up to my room, knowing that Patrick would probably be walking in the door at any minute. I laid down on my bed and quickly fell asleep.

*

I woke up a few hours later when I heard a commotion downstairs. I reluctantly stumbled out of bed and made my way downstairs and into the kitchen where the loud banging continued. “What the fuck are you doing?” I asked while attempting to rub the remainder of sleep from my eyes.

“I’m making food… what does it look like?”

“Well sorry,” I paused and rolled my eyes, “asshole.” I added almost silently as I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room to watch TV.

“Hey, I’m having some friends over tonight. So either go upstairs and put some clothes on, or leave.” He called to me from the kitchen. I looked down at my apparel, a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top.

I rolled my eyes once more before heading upstairs, straight to the bathroom, and into the shower. Soon after, I hopped out and readied myself for the guests that Pat was having over. I wasn’t exactly sure who was all going to show up, but I assumed the majority would be his teammates and their girlfriends.

An hour or so later, I headed downstairs and noticed that quite a few people had already arrived. I scanned the room for a familiar face, and immediately noticed Kris Versteeg stationed in the corner with a plastic cup in his hand. “Hey Kris,” I said when I made my way over to him.

“Hey Cole, how are you?”

“Great,” I lied, “and you?”

“I’m doing good.”

“Well that’s good. So, do you know whose all coming tonight?” I asked, hoping to hear Jon’s name.

“Uhm, no… actually I don’t,” he said with a slight chuckle.

“Haha oh okay.”

We made small-talk for the next half hour or so, until I decided to head into the kitchen to get a drink and see who was all hanging out in there. When I stepped through the door, I saw Adam Burish, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook all lined around the counter filling their cups with alcohol that they probably didn’t need all that much. “Hey boys,” I announced, as I joined them around the counter.

They all greeted me, and we all talked for a few minutes until Brent and Duncan headed into the living room to talk to some other guys. Adam, Patrick and I remained in the kitchen for the next hour or so, as the alcohol kept flowing.

“Alright guys, I think I’m going to head back into the living room…” I said as I stumbled my way over to the doorway.

“Cole, don’t even bother looking for him, cuz he’s not here.” Sharpie called from behind me. I immediately stopped and turned around. “I didn’t plan on looking for him anyway, I figured he wouldn’t show up.”

“Okay, just letting you know.” He said innocently as I stepped out of the doorway and into the living room. The floor had transformed into a dance floor, full of intoxicated bodies like my own, and so I decided to make my way into the middle of it. As soon as I did, I felt a pair of arms around my waist. I looked up to see Kris standing behind me with a grin on his face. I figured he was probably intoxicated, so I didn’t really bother pushing him off of me. We danced to a few songs before heading up into my room and talking for a few hours, before passing out.

I woke up the next morning with a pounding headache. I looked to the opposite side of the bed to see Kris was still passed out. I chuckled to myself as I rolled out of bed and grabbed the Motrin from the cupboard in the bathroom. I headed downstairs to see who was still here from the night previous. The usual, Sharp, Burish, and Seabrook passed out on the couches in the living room, like I figured. I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and took the Motrin before heading back out into the living room and watching some TV.

An hour or two later, Sharpie began groaning on the couch. I looked over in his direction, his eyes were shut, and he was rubbing his temples. “Rough night?” I joked.

“Oh, don’t even get me started…” he said as he sat up.

I let out a slight laugh, “I feel you, don’t worry.” I then focused my attention back to the TV.

“Hey, uh, do you think I could talk to you for a minute, Cole?” Sharpie asked me a few moments later.

“Yeah sure.” I said as I shot him a quizzical look, before standing up and following him into the kitchen.