Nineteen:

To be honest, I don’t know what kept me sitting there. Maybe it was the way he looked at me when I spoke, or maybe it was the attention being received that I had been striving for. Either way I ended making up some bullshit story about my ‘sort of ex-boyfriend’ that he seemed to buy… for the time being at least.

Throughout the night, he really seemed to buy the lonely card that I had been playing as he placed a gentle hand on the small of my back, pulling me closer to him. I took in his scent, Old Spice body wash with a slight hint of some sort of delicious smelling cologne. Before casually glancing around me to make sure that Jon was still wrapped up in his crowd of sluts, I slid my arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. This guy was truly gorgeous. But… as much as I was digging this guy, part of me wished that Jon would come over and pull me away from him, while claiming that I was ‘his girl’ or something like that.

I don’t know what came over me, but I shot another look at Jon who was standing on the side of the dance floor, and noticed the goofy smile he had plastered on his face as he was in the middle of a conversation with Kris and a few random girls, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself.

I looked back over at Ericsson, and sent him a sensitive smile as I gently unwrapped my arms from around his neck, grabbed my glass off of the bar table, and took a long swig. I think he could sense my sudden change of behavior as he slowly took his hand off of my lower back. I wanted this guy, and bad… but I couldn’t hold that on my conscience.

“What’s wrong?” he asked in the sweetest tone of curiosity.

“Umm… I just- just don’t feel well,” I stuttered while grabbing a pen and a napkin off of the table. While jotting my number down, I looked up at him once more. His face shown of a hint of suspicion mixed with disappointment. “Here’s my number. Call me sometime, alright?”

“Will do,” he replied simply as I began walking away and onto the dance floor. I glanced around, noticing the majority of the Hawks, but no Jon in sight. Seeing as the last person I saw him with was Kris, I pushed through the sweaty bodies and made my way over to him.

“Where’s Jon?!” I shouted over the pulsating music.

“Uh, he’s… well, he’s not here right now… but dance with me!” he said in an attempt to change the subject while grabbing my hips and pulling me into him.

“Well where is he?!” I asked with anger apparent in my tone.

“Umm…” I didn’t even let him finish before I interrupted.

“You’re no help, you asshole. I’m going to ask someone else.” I pulled away from him and began making my way over to Patrick Sharp when he grabbed my by the wrist.

“No, no, no, no, you can’t do that… don’t go talk to them.”

“Then tell me where my boyfriend is, before I embarrass you in public.”

“Okay, okay, he left with another girl…”

Anger surged through my veins, as I grabbed Kris by the collar on his shirt. “And you let him?!”

“I’m sorry Cole! I really am!” he shouted.

“Ugh you disgust me Kris, walk away now before you regret it.”

“Sorry Hun I didn’t mean to.”

“Whatever,” I replied while walking over to Sharpie who was standing with Burish, Sopel, and Seabrook.

“Since my boyfriends a cock-sucking douche bag, which one of you guys is taking me home tonight!?” I asked in a somewhat sarcastic matter.

After receiving four wide-eyed stares, Patrick offered to take me back to the hotel, since the Limo driver left… probably with Jon and his one-night stand.

We hailed a taxi and made our way to the hotel. While standing in the elevator with him, I glanced over at him. His shirt was pretty tight to his ripped body and his hair looked perfectly gelled back. I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into me. “You know… it’s been a while…” I said, while he placed his lips against mine.

“Indeed it has,” he replied while sliding his hands to my ass and picking me up. We began making out until we heard the ding of the elevator. He put me down and walked me to my room. Hoping and praying that when I walked in I wouldn’t see something I didn’t want to, I reluctantly slid the key through the slot and quietly opened the door.

“Well,” Patrick said while clearing his throat, “I guess I’ll see you later?”

“Sure,” I replied while placing another lengthy kiss on his lips.

I quietly made my way through the living room, nobody. Bathroom, nobody. Kitchen, nobody. And lastly, the bedroom… I walked over to the door, adrenaline pumping and quickly opened it…

Eighteen:

Yayyy, finally an update guys! Sorry I have been soooo busy with school and a bunch of other things. I hope you enjoy, don't hesitate to leave me some comments[:


One month later:

“You have reached your destination of Detroit, Michigan.” The voice boomed from the loudspeaker, shaking me from my dreams. I attempted to rub the sleep away from my eyes as I stood up and began exiting the plane.

Once I stepped off, I took in the area around me. Sunny, mildly warm, cramped buildings and busy streets, billboards filling my every sight. Midway through my inspection, I was taken by the hand and led to the bus that was awaiting the `Hawks and I.

About a half hour later, the bus had pulled up to a hotel. I was once again taken by the hand and led inside. Jon and I quickly found our room, which, of course, was shared with my brother. As we opened the door, we saw that our luggage was already placed inside our room. How convenient.

“How many games?” Patrick asked Jon, as we began giving ourselves mini-tours of the room that we would become very familiar within the next couple of days.

“Hm, probably six.”

“Six? Really, come on. I think we got it in five.” Patrick replied smugly.

I rolled my eyes at their predictions as I plopped down on the couch and turned on the 36” plasma stationed in front of me.


A few hours later:

“Cole, come on…” my brother complained from outside the bathroom door, “if you want to come with us, you need to learn how to actually be ready on time.”

I added the finishing touches to my makeup as I did a 360 in the mirror. My favorite dark skinny jeans complimented with a low-cut black blouse and a pair of red pumps. Yup, I looked amazing. “I’m ready; I’m ready, calm yourself.” I opened the bathroom door and saw the look of relief flash over Patrick’s face as I followed him into the living room where Jon was waiting for us. I practically saw his jaw hit the floor when he took a look at what I was wearing. He swiftly wrapped his arm around me as we headed downstairs to where the Limo was stationed.

A few minutes later, we pulled up to some club downtown. I eagerly hopped out behind Patrick and Brent Seabrook, practically feeling the taste of beer on my lips. Us five, being Patrick, Brent, Kris, Jon and I made a grand entrance and coolly made our way to the bar. Jon bought two beers and slyly placed a cool glass in my hand. I confidently turned around and noticed about half of the party-goers whose eyes were burning holes into my skin. Ah, the jealousy. I loved it. I mean it’s not every day that you’re seen in public as the only girl with four absolutely gorgeous hockey playing guys.

Jon and I soon found ourselves on the dance floor, grinding to whatever the DJ was mixing. I took a look around myself for the first time and my eyes caught sight of a pair of deep brown ones. I blushed furiously as I attempted to take my eyes away, but it was easier said than done. I studied the guy’s face; perfect jaw structure accompanied with slicked back jet-black hair and the start of something that looked like a… playoff beard? He shot me a wink before heading to the bar to get himself a drink.

Damn it, what am I thinking…? I’m here with Jon.

Before I could even think about what I was doing… I blurted out, “I need a refill, I’m gonna go up to the bar real quick. Do you need anything?”

“Oh, yeah sure. Sounds good,” he replied simply as he placed his glass in my hands.

I confidently strutted over to the bar, and took a seat next to this guy. I had to know more about him.

I casually shot a glance in his direction, and noticed that his eyes were roaming my body.

“Like what you see?” I asked with a slight laugh.

“Yeah, you could say that,” he replied smugly with a slight Swedish accent.

This guy looked familiar to me; I could have sworn that I had seen him before. “Do I know you from somewhere?” I asked.

“Nope, I don’t think so,” he replied as the bartender slid him his glass of alcohol.

“Are you sure? You look awfully familiar to me,” I said as I watched as the bartender began filling my two empty glasses.

He took a quick sip from his glass and gently set it down on the bar. “You’ve probably seen me out on the ice.” He paused for a moment while he took another sip from his glass. “I’m Jonathan Ericsson.”

“Oh, the rookie defenseman from the Wings… that’s right.”

I couldn’t help but notice how adorable he looked with a slight tint of pink to his cheeks, “so… you gotta name?”

“Cole Kane,” I replied simply.

“Are you…?” he began to ask.

I cut him off, “related to Patrick Kane? Yup, his sister.”

He began to chuckle.

“What?” I asked with a laugh.

“I was actually going to ask if you were single…”

I sat there for a minute, my mind wandering back to Jon. I couldn’t do this to him. I shot a glance to the dance floor and saw about seven girls surrounding him. He wasn’t inviting them, yet he wasn’t exactly pushing them away. “Umm it’s a complicated story actually…” I began. One night of fun wasn’t going to kill me, besides its not like I was ever going to see this guy again and it’s not like Jon even cared that I wasn’t back on the dance floor anyway.

“Well, tell me about it babe, I’ve got all night.” He replied smoothly.

Seventeen:

Sorry guys, it’s really short. But I didn’t really know what to do with this chapter.
Enjoy!

With my now empty plastic red cup in hand, I stumbled into the kitchen for a refill that I most likely didn’t need all too much. Since the Hawks had left two days ago for their season ending three game road trip, I had been doing a lot of partying with my friends that I had met in back in the day before I stopped going to college …quite possibly a little too much partying for my own good.

I grabbed a bottle of Captain Morgan off of the counter and immediately began filling my cup with it and an addition of Dr. Pepper. “Hey, can I help you with that?” Before I realized what was going on I felt an arm wrap around my waist and a muscular body press against my back as the smell of Axe filled my nostrils. I knew that voice. I hoped to God that I was wrong, but when I turned around all of my suspicions were confirmed. Standing in front of me was my ex-boyfriend, Will. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to show up at my house and crash my party.

“Nah, I think I’ve got it from here, thanks,” I slurred as I set the Morgan on the counter and attempted to walk away without looking him in the eye. I couldn’t.

“Cole, you can’t avoid me all night, you know that right?” he asked with a slight laugh in his voice.

“Well, I can always try,” I replied as I stepped into the living room. “And besides, who invited you into my house anyway?”

“Well, actually, I invited myself.”

“Haha, I should have known,” I said with an eye roll. “You’re too much of a pussy to talk to me when we’re actually sober.”

“Hey, hey, easy now.” He grabbed me by the hand and pulled me into my brother’s vacant room.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” I shouted as I attempted to open the door and leave.

“Wait, just talk to me,” he pleaded as he grabbed my hand. I looked into his green eyes that were now filled with some sort of sincerity and I sat down on Patrick’s bed and began sipping on my drink, knowing that if I didn’t deal with it now, I would have to eventually.

“Well, talk…” I began in an annoyed tone. I really didn’t have the patience for this.

“I’m really sorry for what I put you through, Cole. Honestly. I haven’t stopped thinking about what a dick I am since the day it happened.”

I wanted to believe him, I really did. But I couldn’t. Walking in on him and my best friend, Alexis, having sex was probably one of the hardest things to watch. Alexis craved the male attention more than anything, and when Will gave it to her, she turned on me, and convinced Will to turn on me as well.

That’s when I decided that I was over the immature drama that college, and the people in it brought, so I dropped out and moved in with my brother.

When I didn’t reply right away, I could tell that Will was becoming more and more uneasy as he began fidgeting with the buttons on his shirt. “Haha funny that you wait a year and a half to come and tell me how sorry you are. What? Did the girls stop giving it up to you because you gave yourself a bad rep? Too bad sweetie, `cuz you’re little desperate act isn’t going to phase me.”

“I-I’ll never do it again. I’m not like that anymore, babe.” he replied desperately.

“Save your cliché lines for the next girl that you plan on ruining `cuz I’m over you. I have a boyfriend now. So if you don’t mind, I’d like you to leave.” I replied coldy.

“You… you mean you are dating someone?” he asked.

“Yeah, never thought I would have gotten over you now would you?”

“Well… umm-”

“Will, honestly. Just go, please.” I begged.

“One day I will make this up to you Cole. I still love you.”

“We’ll see about that when you’re actually sober, sweetie. Now leave.” I stood up from my brother’s bed and sloppily followed him out of his bedroom door, into the living room, and watched him exit through the front door. I released a sigh.

What a night, eh?

Time for another drink, cheers!

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.

Thirteen:

Yay for an update:D

My phone began obnoxiously ringing on my bedside table. I picked it up and looked at the caller-ID. Jon.

“Hello?”

“Hey babe, I just got outta practice. Do you want me to come over?”

“I do… but what about Pat?”

“Oh right…” he paused for a minute, “well do you want to come over here then?”

“Yeah sure. I’ll leave in a couple minutes.”

“Okay, I’ll see you in a few.”

I then hung up, took a quick shower, and after briefly readying myself, I headed out of my house and into the driveway, where Patrick had just pulled in. “Hey,” he greeted me, “where are you going?”

“Uh, I’m going to meet some friends for lunch…” I lied.

“Oh okay.” He replied.

I then hopped in my car. After a quick fifteen-minute ride, I pulled into Jon’s driveway. I got out of my car and headed up to his door and invited myself in. “Hey, I’m here.” I called from the doorway. He then stepped into the foyer where I was taking my shoes off. Shirtless, I might add.

“Hey,” he greeted me before coming over and placing a kiss on my lips. “Hey sexy. No shirt, eh? I’m liking it.”

“Yeah, new look I thought I’d try it out… I’m glad you approve,” he joked. He then grabbed me by the hand and led me into his living room. After sitting on his couch for a few minutes silently, I decided to speak up.

“So… what’s going on between us?”

He let out a slight sigh, before placing his hand on my thigh. “Honestly Cole, I don’t really know. All I know is that I want to be with you.”

“And I want to be with you.” I replied simply.

“Then it’s as easy as that…”

“Not exactly,” I replied.

“Why?” he asked me.

“My brother…”
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him...”

“Yeah, well won’t it be weird when you’re not going out and getting laid every other night with him?”

“Who said I can’t still do that?” he joked.

I punched him in the arm. “Excuse me?”

“Kidding babe, kidding.”

I let out a slight laugh, “so, what are you going to do about that?”

“Well…” he sat there for a minute; “I guess I’ll just cross that bridge when it comes…”

“Good luck with that.”

“Thanks,” he replied.

After sitting around for a few hours and watching TV, we decided to go get some lunch. Once we walked into the restaurant, I noticed it was packed and everyone was eyeing Jon and I. I noticed as groups of people… mainly girls, would shoot a look in our direction and began whispering to their friends, and glare at me with looks of jealousy. Ugh, the joys of going out in public with a hockey player. The hostess led us to a secluded table in the far back of the restaurant. And right as we sat down, a group of fifteen-year-old girls came over to us. “Oh my God, can we get your autograph?!” they asked excitedly.

“Uh… sure.” He replied kindly.

“Who’s she?” one of the group asked, pointing to me.

“My girlfriend. Why?”

“Oh… just wondering…” she replied, while staring at me with a look of envy.

After the irritating group disappeared, we placed our orders. A few moments later, the front door opened. I glanced toward the doorway and immediately recognized who stepped through the door. Patrick Sharp, Adam Burish, …and my brother. Just my luck that they would show up at the time that I would be out to lunch with Jon, right?

“You’re not going to believe this…” I began.

“What?” he asked.

“My brother, Adam, and Patrick just walked in the door…”

“What?!” he asked quizzically while whipping his head around to catch a glimpse of them talking with the hostess.

“Yeah…”

“Oh my Gawd girls… Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Sharp in one day! This is too good to be true!” One of the annoying fifteen year olds exclaimed as she noticed who had stepped through the doorway.

Sharpie overheard what the girls were saying “Jonathan Toews? Uh, you mean Adam Burish?” he asked while pointing to Adam.

“No, Jonny is sitting over there,” another one of the girls said, and pointed over to where we were sitting.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. “Busted.” I whispered.

“Uh, lets make up a story here… uh, we met to, uhm, talk about…” Jon rambled on anxiously as Patrick, Patrick and Adam approached us. “Shut up,” I whispered, “they’re here.” I looked up at Patrick who was glaring at me.

“Oh hey guys…” I greeted them weakly.

“Cole, come here for a second.” Patrick demanded.

I stood up from booth and walked over to where he was standing. He grabbed me by the wrist and began leading me to the opposite side of the restaurant. “What are you doing here with him?” he spat.

“He called me and asked me to meet him up here because he needed to talk to me, but thanks to you guys showing up, I don’t know what he wanted to talk to me about.”

“Cole, seriously, if he’s trying to get back with you… I’m going to kick his ass.”

“I doubt it Patrick, come on.”

“Whatever, I don’t want to be here anymore anyway, I lost my appetite.”

“Wow, don’t get all pissy about it.”

He rolled his eyes, “Patrick, Adam, let’s go. I don’t wanna eat here anymore.” He called over to them.

They both had confused looks on their faces as they stood up from the booth and made their way over to my brother, and out the front door.

I then made my way back over to Jon and told him the conversation that I had just had with my brother.

“Fuck, I’m going to get an earful the next time I see him…” he said.

“Oh well… lets not worry about him right now.” I replied.

Jon’s phone vibrated on the table signaling that he had a text message. He opened his phone and read it. He then looked up at me with a look of concern.

“What?” I asked.

He held out his phone for me to grab. I took it out of his hand and read the message.

If I catch you with my sister again, I will send her back to Buffalo… for good.