Date Night

 

This is a 3-shot, but I make the rules around here anyway!

CHAPTER I

“Bring a date.”

“What? Why?”

“Max, If I see one more picture of you kissing some half-naked drunk girl in a club I’m making your curfew 8 PM for the rest of the season. Put a whole dress on someone and bring her as your date. Try to make it look respectable.”

I have to concentrate on not slamming the door as I leave Coach Bylsma’s office. I broke another curfew, missed another bus and did not play well in last night’s 3-1 preseason loss to Chicago. It was just a little hangover, a little exhaustion. Nothing a couple good nights’ sleep wouldn’t fix.

Jesus, to hear Dan talk you’d think I was tearing it up every night. It was just Chicago. And Toronto. Well, Columbus too but what the hell else is there to do in Columbus?

Now I need to find a date for this new Consol Energy Power Play dinner dance charity nonsense. This shit was not a problem last year when we played at the Mellon.

Okay, it should not be that hard to find a date. Someone respectable. Well, there goes half the list. Still, I page through my phone. Rebecca, nope I never called her back. Angie… the blond. Or is that Andrea? Shit, I called one of them by the other one’s name at an inopportune moment. Pass. Brandi looks like a hooker. Jessica, she’s smart. Jessica, Jessica – wait. She’s the married one. Paulette? Moved away. Kimberly? Is she the one with the tattoos?

Ugh, most of these girls hate me. The rest would be like wolves lose among sheep, possibly more trouble than I can cause myself. Guess I’ll have to find a new one.

____

“Oh no.”

“Yes.”

“Not at all. Not even a little.”

“I thought you were a big hockey fan! You should love meeting all these players. But you need to bring a date – this is a corporate event, not a bachelor auction. What’s the worst that could happen? You dance with someone, eat a rubber chicken and get to meet your idols. Another work dinner. Big deal. You’re coming and you’re bringing a date.”

Sophie goes back to her office and puts her head down on the desk. Shoulder length waves of brown hair fall around her face. So what if she hasn’t been on a date in a while? She’s been busy looking forward to this event for weeks instead.

I’m only 25, for Christ’s sake! Just because Alice was married with a kid by now doesn’t mean I should be. You’d think she was my mother instead of my boss. Why would I bring a date to an event full of hot hockey players? It’s been a long time and I don’t want to completely ruin my chances of getting laid.

She had better get a move on with this date since the dinner is only a week away. She thinks of guys she knows. Alex, Dave, Rusty… nope, they’re all friends with Connor too. Sophie is not asking one of the ex-boyfriend’s frat brothers to this event. The rest of the list gets vetoed quickly: Spencer is too annoying to spend three hours with, Neil talks with his mouth full. She needs someone fun who was just a friend, in case any of these guys look half as good up close as they do from the stands. But he also needs to be impressive, so maybe Alice will leave her alone for a while.
____

I walk through the shops downtown, stop for coffee, browse the bookstore. Nothing. I go to the mall – past the shoe stores and the handbag departments.

Where the hell to the respectable girls hang out? If I’m not supposed to go out, how am I supposed to find a date?

Four days later, I still haven’t asked anyone. I start thinking about the guys’ friends, their girlfriends’ friends. That’s dangerous territory – what if I hook up with them? I haven’t fished off the company pier before and I do not intend to start now. I cannot be that desperate.
____

“Find a date yet?” Alice asks before I’m even buckled into the front seat of her car.

“No, but I have three days left. I will,” Sophie wonders if it sounds confident. It certainly doesn’t feel that way.

“Maybe you’ll get inspired when you see these guys,” she says, pulling out of the lot and heading for the shiny new Consol Energy Center.

I don’t think that’s going to be the problem, Sophie does a mental eye roll.

They sit in the stands for the closed practice. It’s an optional Consol event, but the company put a ton of money into this arena and a lot of the office has turned out to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins in action. Sophie loves hockey and was excited when, during her second year with Consol, they put up the money to fund the new stadium. Free tickets and lots of perks, she imagined. Not yet, though. The season doesn’t start for another week and first she is going to have to find a date for their inaugural event.

Christ on a bike these guys are good looking. My date won’t have to ugly to look bad in this company. Focus, Soph.

“What about him?” Alice points openly at #87. She doesn’t have the faintest idea about hockey, but like most of the executives at Consol has quickly become a burgeoning fan. If only she knew anything about sports.

“Imagine if Superman were Canadian. And hotter. Then he might be as big a deal as Sid the Kid,” Sophie says.

Alice nods seriously, like she is filing away facts to use in conversation. Probably at this dinner. Sophie hopes she does, it would sound great coming from the mouth of her married, 45-year old, mother-of-two boss. And it would still be true.

“What about that one?” Alice picks #58 this time.

“Kris Letang. Yes, he is gorgeous. How can he skate with all that hair in his face?” Sophie can’t even eat without pulling her hair back.

Alice rolls her eyes. “The big guy?”

“Jordan Staal is about 15 years old. You don’t want me getting arrested, do you? Will you bail me out of jail?”

Alice laughs. She’ll probably use that line too. Good luck. The team breaks from their drill and the goalie comes over to the bench, near where they are sitting. He flips off his mask and Alice sucks in a breath.

“Ooh, he’s cute. Why is the cutest one wearing something over his face?”

“So he can keep his face looking like that,” Sophie suggests. “That’s Marc-Andre Fleury. If you like French accents, he is the man for you.”

“Will you point him out to me at the dinner?” Alice is completely serious. Bless her heart, Sophie thinks. I hope her husband knows he’s bringing a horny teenager to this event.

The practice lasts an hour and Sophie really enjoys it despite Alice’s endless dating invectives. She’s fascinated by the precision of the drills, doing the same moves over and over. It’s so quiet in the cavernous arena with only the shouts and whistles from the ice. A totally different, almost eerie experience compared to all the games she’d been to. She can hear the guys’ voices, hear the coaches instructions and corrections. When Crosby hits the post with a wrist shot the sound is magnified a hundredfold.

The players start wrapping up, hanging around the bench talking. Sophie watches them unabashedly – they must be used to being stared at. Alice’s running commentary fades away as Sophie window-shopped her way through the roster.

“Alice, Sophie, would you like to come on the tour?” Joe Benson, head of the Corporate Communications Department at Consul and Alice’s boss’s boss, asks. “Sophie I hear you’re quite the Penguins fan.”

“I am,” she says, standing.

“Then you’ll have a lot to teach us all this season. And I expect you’ll be the belle of the ball at this dinner on Friday.” He waits to usher them up the steps.

Maybe this hockey thing will get me a promotion, Sophie thinks as she takes a last look at the guys grouped around the bench. One of them is Max Talbot, the Pens resident personality player and ladies’ man. His on and off-ice antics in the media have made Sophie laugh many a time. She smiles to herself.

Well, there’s always Max, she thinks as she looks at him again. He’d probably sleep with anybody. Not such a bad backup plan.
____

Did she just smile at me?

I did my best to focus on practice and not even notice the people watching. Just suits from the sponsor, nothing to see. And I knew I needed to shape up or Coach would have me on the bus to Wilkes-Barre by nightfall. At least that would solve this date problem.

I stop at the bench for a water bottle and notice a younger face among the spectators. Definitely younger and very pretty. She has wavy dark hair and wears a cream colored sweater against the chill of the empty building. Next to her, an older woman in a power suit points from one player to the next. I rejoin the drill, then another. But every time I circle past, I sneak a look at the girl.

Get your head in the game! This is the kind of thing that always gets you in trouble!

So I don’t look anymore, though thinking about not looking was just as distracting as actually doing it. When we are finishing up, I make sure to work right till the end. Then I skate to the bench where everyone is doing their usual bullshitting. And that’s when she smiles.

Did she smile at me?
____

“Coach, I’d like you to meet Joe Benson from Consol’s communications department. His team will be working with us this season on a lot of initiatives that Consol’s doing with the team and the building.”

Bill, Penguins’ Community Services Director, introduces Joe to Dan Bylsma.

“Nice to meet you. Beautiful place you’ve put us in here,” Dan says, shaking his hand.

“Glad to be working together,” Joe says. “This is Alice McKeon, director of our community services division, and Sophie Baxter, a manager in the department. Sophie is a big Penguins fan.”

Dan’s smile widens a notch. “Nice to meet you, Sophie. You teaching these guys about the game?”

“She’s trying,” Alice says honestly. “But she only seems to know the really good looking players.”

Sophie blushes, but cannot escape the slightly manic laugh that bubbled up inside. “She thinks I knew some big secret about Fleury because she couldn’t see his face under the mask. He doesn’t wear it all the time, Alice.”

Dan laughs too, and looks at his watch. “Well then, I think you should meet some of the guys. You know, in the interest of community relations and stuff. ”

Sophie puts a hand to her ever-reddening face. Great, he’s just like Alice. This is not going to go well. But no way is she passing up a chance to meet the Penguins. With a nod of defeat, Sophie agrees and Dan leads them down the hallway. When he gets to the locker room door, he puts his hand out for them to wait and sticks his head in.

“Civilians on deck. Everybody dressed?” A chorus of mostly unintelligible shouts come back. Dan pushes the door open. “Welcome.”

The first thing Sophie notices is that “dressed” means “wearing pants.” Or just shorts. At least half the guys are shirtless. There is also gear everywhere, piled indiscriminately in corners and heaped in the middle of the floor. And it smells like a locker room – sweat, hormones and Axe body spray.

Holy mother of Matt Damon, it is not safe for me to be in here. Sophie’s heart rate signaled impeding medical emergency.

“Guy, this is Joe from the Consol communications department, and Alice and Sophie from community relations.” If nothing else, the Pens pay attention when Dan speaks. And they are now realizing that he has a pretty girl in tow.

“Hi,” Jordan Staal crosses the room in two strides of his giant legs. Mercifully he is wearing a t-shirt – Sophie doesn’t want to faint before she gets a word out. He shakes Joe’s hand, then Alice’s. When he gets to Sophie’s, he takes his time.

“Easy killer,” Dan says. “Sophie is already a big fan. No need to smother her.”

“I like fans,” Jordan says, making Sophie blush. “Look I made her blush!” He puts his arm around her shoulders and shows her off like a trophy. Which makes her laugh harder.

The guys start coming over to introduce themselves. Jordan stands next to her and shakes their hands like it’s the receiving line at their wedding. He even thanks them for the beautiful gifts. When Crosby comes up, Alice not-so-subtlely elbows Sophie in the side.

“Superman?” she asks.

Sophie nods and rolls her eyes. Crosby gives her a look that says ‘tell me later.’ Tell you later? Am I going to be seeing you later? Sophie’s brain is clearly on overload. Bad news since Kris is next in line.

“Ooh, Sophie, you were right. He is gorgeous.” Alice says right to his face while holding his hand.

“Oh. My. God.” Sophie looks quickly away, blinking furiously.

Jordan makes a huffing sound and puts his hands on his hips. “Already? We’ve been married like 6 minutes.” He pretends to storm off.

‘Sorry,’ Sophie mouths to Kris as he steps in front of her. He is even better looking than I thought. Kris shakes his head, silky hair falling over his face, and blushes himself away.

“That one’s Fleury,” Sophie says loudly and points toward the goalie, who is tying his shoe on a nearby bench. He turns his head, hat on backwards, and gives them a million dollar smile. Alice giggles, giving Sophie a moment’s distraction.
____

What?!

I hear a lot of talking and laughing when I come out of the shower, but that isn’t too unusual. Media, visiting players, it could be anyone in the locker room. Maybe it’s just Flower playing a joke or Crosby being a nerd. So I walk right out in my towel.

And there she is. The girl who smiled at me.

She’s with two other suits, probably her bosses by the differences in age. I see her eyes flick down my body – bare chest, slice of thigh where the ends of the towel meet. She wears dark gray suit pants over slender, strong legs and the off-white sweater I’d seen from the ice. She is nearly as tall as me so I sneak a look at her feet: at least two inch heels. Everyone is looking at me like I just walked naked into a school.

“Didn’t hear me ask if everyone was dressed?” Coach says, smiling.

“I… uh… no, sorry.” I turn to go back and get dressed in private, but the older suit stops me.

“Don’t worry about it, we’re all embarrassing Sophie anyway. I’m Joe and we’ve got to get going.” He shakes my hand then the other lady does too. That just leaves the girl: Sophie.

“I’m Max.”

“Hi,” she says, carefully not looking anywhere I’m naked. A smile twitches at the corners of her mouth – she’s embarrassed and I’m embarrassed, it’s taking a lot for her not to laugh.

“You smiled at me during practice,” I say. Because she had.

“Did I? ” She asks, but she smiles now. Hadn’t she?

Dan ushers them from the room in chorus of goodbyes and nice-to-meet-yous. The door is barely closed before everyone is talking about her, of course.

“Not bad, boys. I’m beginning to like this new Consol gig,” Jordan says.

“Uh, I think she liked Tanger,” Billy G chimes in. “She looked like she wanted to lick him.”

“Fucking Frenchies!” Jordan throws a shirt at Kris, who makes a what-did-I-do? gesture and tosses a pair of socks back. Before it can descend into a complete mess, Sidney cuts the flying objects with his voice.

“Smiled at ya, did she Talbs? You sure about that?”

That gets a howl from the boys. I mentally curse Crosby and hope there are a lot of long, lonely nights in his near future.
____

Bill and Dan take them through the weight room and sauna, trainer’s room, equipment room and even the lounge. Sophie is thrilled with the behind-the-scenes tour, but she will have to process that later. She’s still thinking about Max.

WOAH. No wonder women all over town lose their skirts around him. Has he always been that hot?

Sophie has never been into bad boys and Max’s reputation had never appealed to her. But his half-nakedness certainly did. So did his signature scruffy facial hair and those eyes. What color was that? And the half-smile that played on his lips, like he’d been caught undressed on purpose because he was completely aware that it worked like a charm.

I didn’t smile at him, but I wish I had.

“It was nice to meet you, I hope we’ll see you all at the dinner Friday night,” Dan is saying as Sophie comes back into the present.

Alice thanks them both and says, “We’ll be there Friday. And Sophie, if she can find herself a date.”

Sophie’s eyes go wide at the same time as Dan’s. Then he gives her a pat on the back. She’s had enough embarrassment for one day. When they are back in the car, Alice can’t help herself.

“Now you want to go to that dinner. Better find a date you really don’t like so you can have your pick of those boys!”

Sophie sinks into her seat, thinking exactly the same thing.
____

The next morning, Sophie hears Joe’s assistant shout into his office. “Dan Bylsma’s on the phone for you.”

Hi Dan! Sophie wants to yell. Because now she knows him. Cue fangirl freakout. She is thinking about the locker room again so she doesn’t hear Alice’s phone ring a minute later.
____

“Yes, just a second,” Alice closes her door. In the privacy of her office, she laughs as Dan lays out his evil plan. Ten minutes later, Alice knocks on the wall outside Sophie’s office.

“Sophie, I’ve decided you can go tomorrow night without a date. I wouldn’t want you to miss it, you’ll obviously have a great time. And now that I’ve seen those boys, I think I’m even a little jealous.”

Yahtzee! Sophie yells inside. Now I just have to figure out how to behave myself for a whole night, unchaperoned.
____

After the morning skate, Coach sticks an arm out as I am about to leave the ice.

Shit, now what? I haven’t been out in 4 nights. Didn’t know there was so much bad fucking television. I’d even cleaned my house and done laundry, both of which I considered crimes against humanity when done after the fall of darkness. I was turning into Crosby. Soon I’d be making needlepoint pillows with slogans like “Grandma Loves Bingo.”

“Max, you’ve been working hard lately. I appreciate it. Have you found a date for tomorrow night?”

I shake my head. I am pretty much out of options.

“Don’t worry about it, just come by yourself. As long as you behave.”
____

CHAPTER II

Everyone in the department leaves early to get ready. They are due at the dinner venue at 7 PM and a company car is making the rounds to pick up Sophie at 6:45 PM. By 5 PM she’s drying her hair and dancing around the house in her underwear with the music up loud: “I gotta feeling, that tonight’s gonna be a good night….”

Behave, behave, she hums to herself. At least while the bosses are around.

At 6:45 PM her cell phone rings as she is putting in her last earring. A quick spritz of perfume and she’s out the door.
____

I tie my tie three times and it still looks crooked. Maybe I’ll start a trend. It’s my favorite suit, just in case this turns out not to be a total disaster; charcoal grey with pinstripes and a bright blue tie – a classic. Tanger picks me up just in time to be ten minutes later to the dinner.

It’s warm for the beginning of October and French doors along one side of the ballroom are open to the breeze. We grab place cards from the check-in table – Kris and I are not sitting together. We’ll be placed with random people from Consul whose dinners were included in the price of the arena. No wonder they wanted us to bring dates – they are probably ten top tables meant for five couples. Maybe Kris and I are paired with other players, or we’ll just sit next to empty seats.

We decide to find our tables before hitting the bar. The most prominent table at front and center is occupied and the only thinking being hit on is Sophie, the girl who smiled. Being hit on by Crosby.


Of course she would be here.

He’s leaning over the empty seat between them – he must have sat down first and felt too awkward to move or he’d have been next to her. They are laughing and I know he’s working the full wattage of the Sidney Crosby package: bright smile, big arm up on the chair back and that laugh he still doesn’t know kind of sounds like a girl. Sophie moves her hands a lot like she’s telling a story, but stops when we reach them.

“Hi,” she says, standing up. I don’t know why she stands, but I am instantly very glad. She wears a tricolor dress – white on top, a bright blue band around the middle and a black skirt. It‘s strapless and the colored band at the waist draws my eye to her most slender part, then leads it over the gentle curves of her body. Her hair falls just to her shoulders, curlier than yesterday. By her height, her shoes are higher too.

“Hi,” Kris and I both say in unison.

“This isn’t my seat. Are you sitting here?”

We check our cards and both say no. Distracted by Sophie, I suggest we all go to the bar before splitting up. She orders wine, Kris and I have whisky. Crosby orders a soda in a can so everyone will know he isn’t drinking alcohol. They give him the can with a bendy straw in it and Sophie grabs it first.

“What, no Gatorade in this place?” Then she takes a sip through the straw before handing it to him. He smiles and uses the straw too just to put his mouth where hers’ has been.

We see a few of the other guys and they all recognize Sophie. Jordan gives her a big hug hello, and Marc introduces her to his girlfriend Vero. Her boss Alice comes by, then the bartenders start calling for people to take their seats. I go in behind Sophie so I’ll know which table she’s at when the dancing starts… and follow her right to my table. Her table. Four older couples are looking at me and the only empty chair is the seat right next to Sophie.

Coach, I think with a growl. Mad for a second, then completely thrilled.

“Guess this is me.” I drop into the chair, so close to Sophie that our legs touch under the table.
____

HOT DAMN, Sophie thinks. Alice, you are some piece of work. She scans the room and spots her boss three tables away. With Marc and Vero. Sophie rolls her eyes and Alice gives a big thumbs-up. Marc and Vero both turn, see the seating arrangement and laugh.

Sophie had gotten so nervous when she saw Max that she stood. Like a baby giraffe or an awkward teenager. Then she tried to cover it by pointing out it wasn’t her table. She never thought her table would be Max’s table. She tries to study his profile without ogling him. His five o’clock shadow is more like an 11 PM, which makes him look rugged and dangerous. The blue of his tie compliments his stormy eyes. And his smile, the one she caught a glimpse of when they met, now it lights up the room. She pretends their legs aren’t touching so she won’t feel like she has to move away. A tiny current of kinetic energy passes between their bodies, like a magnetic field.

“My boss told me I needed a date or I could come tonight. Then yesterday, she suddenly changed her mind,” Sophie says nonchalantly.

“Mine too.” Max gives her that bright-as-the-sun smile. “Hello, date.”

“Hello yourself.”

Then Max cranes his head around. Kris had been solo too and he is sitting… with someone’s twelve year old kids. Max almost feels bad, then Sophie turns her head and releases a faint whiff of warm, decadent perfume and he loses his train of thought. They sit through welcome remarks and a couple of speeches, legs still touching, before the salad course is served. The other people at the table are Consol employees or clients, but don’t know Sophie. They assume she is Max’s date. Even when she tells them she too is an employee they still think she and Max are a couple. She lets it slide, so he does too.

“Good thing we went to the bar,” Sophie whispers.

A presentation of some plaque for the arena is made, then a surprisingly good chicken dish is passed around and drinks are refilled by cocktail waiters. Their tablemates make small talk and ask Max a lot of hockey-related questions. Sophie chips in a few that make it obvious she knows the game. It is pleasant enough but Max can’t wait for it to end. When dishes are cleared, a band takes the stage for the dancing portion of the evening.
____

Coach comes around and squats between our chairs. “Sophie, nice to see you again.”

“Where do you find the time to moonlights as a dating service?” she teases.

Coach laughs and slaps me on the back. “You guys have to dance, it’s part of the gig.”

Yessir, I think. I wait until at least one other couple – Billy G and his wife – are on the dance floor before I stand and, like the perfect gentleman, help Sophie to her feet. I hope Coach is watching. We pass the table where Crosby is sitting with the big money guys and their wives. They’ve paired him with a couple of older women who look like they were cougars 20 years ago. Sophie puts one hand in mine and the other on my hip. Up this close, she is even more beautiful. Her dark eyes are not brown, but rather a mossy green color. Her smooth, clear skin has a few freckles dusted across her nose and one side of her lips curls higher than the other when she smiles. That smell that had distracted me before is something like blackberries and vanilla.

“There are about 80 women all waiting to cut in on me,” Sophie looks over my shoulder. “Some of them are quite scary. You shouldn’t be such a ladies’ man.”

Ouch, but I deserve that. And at least she knows. I’d hate for someone to Google me, turn up all that unsavory stuff and be surprised. I am watching the scene over her shoulder.

“You may have to rescue Tanger in a minute. That woman is old enough to be his grandmother.”

She turns us around until she can see him, pressing one side of her body against mine. Her eyes go wide. A round, shorter woman in a leopard print caftan has her arms around Kris’ middle and her head to his chest. He stares off into the distance while his hands barely rest on her shoulders. Sophie laughs silently, hiding her face in my neck. I feel her body rock as she fights to hold it in. Without thinking, I slip both my hands down to her waist. Her arm goes around my neck, the way high school kids and married couples dance. It is very comfortable. To cover my rising nerves, I give her some more running commentary.

“Jordan has the only other viable dance partner, and he’s giving everyone the stink eye to scare them away. Crosby… Crosby is not dancing. He’s talking with someone who looks very rich. Even richer than Crosby. I suppose he can get out of dancing for that. Plus he sucks at it.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“The words ‘pretty fly for a white guy’ come to mind. It may be the only thing he cannot do.”

Sophie promises to take him for a spin around the floor later. When the song ends, I really don’t want to let her go. She gives me a little squeeze before scampering off to pry Kris from the leopard woman. One of the women from our table taps my shoulder and I oblige my duty.
____

Swoooooon, Sophie thinks. Max was very warm and snuggly, especially when his hands moved lower and he actually held her body. She shakes her head a little to get it back on straight as she taps Kris’ octopus lady on the shoulder.

“May I?” she asks. The woman does not look happy but can’t think of an excuse to say no.

“Merci,” Kris breathes into Sophie’s ear as he turns her away. “I thought for sure I would never escape.”

His hair brushes the side of her face as they dance. She’s always thought he was the best looking Penguin, and she may have been right. But there is some kind of spark with Max that she hadn’t expected. Standing this close to Kris is like winning the lottery, but doesn’t produce the same result as being so close to Max. Sophie relaxes a little and Kris makes her promise to keep an eye on him in case another rescue is needed.

“You guys could wear those emergency buttons to call me when someone gets too hands-y,” she laughs.

“Max would just press his all night.”
____

I count six songs before I can dance with Sophie again. I’d like to think I charm each woman into being my #1 fan before the end of the number, but when Sophie comes back I know I really want to do exactly that with her.

“So your boss thought you needed a date for tonight?” I say.

“She worries about me because she’s recently started watching Sex and the City. I tried telling her that is not real life, but she doesn’t care. Alice probably thinks I own 200 pairs of shoes,” she pauses. “Your boss thought you needed a date too. It seems to me that a shortage of dates is not exactly your problem.”

She’s bold, I like that. “He thought I needed a respectable date. I may have been a bit too… irresponsible lately.”

“And maybe I’ve been a little boring. Alice wants to live vicariously through me and I haven’t been giving her much to work with.”

“Sounds like we’re perfect for each other.” I’m holding her close and speaking into her hair.

She slides her hand farther across my shoulders, her arm all the way around me now. “I think Alice was hoping for Fleury, really, but since he’s taken…,” she leans back to look in my face. “Just don’t get too respectable on me.”

I smile and cannot resist the moment. I dip her, low, almost to the floor. All the dancers around us turn to look. Then Sophie laughs loudly as I draw her upright and step into her. Perfect, I think. I can be pretty classy when I want to.
____

Around 10 PM Kris’ cougars find their coats and invent a reason to hug him goodbye. Crosby shakes hands with the top tier moneymakers. Jordan tries to convince the girl he wouldn’t let anyone else dance with to continue the fun elsewhere.

“You boys heading out after this?” Coach asks as TK and I claim our coats.

“I will make sure everyone’s in early, Coach.” Sophie appears behind us. No one had yet talked about going somewhere else, but now there’s no way I’m missing it.

Dan smiles graciously at her. “Curfew is midnight please, the season starts in two days.”

“I turn into a pumpkin anyway,” she promises.
____

I’ll be damned if I’m going home right now. Sophie’s determined to keep this night rolling. Her boss leaves, her boss’s boss leaves and everyone else who gossips at the water cooler files out the door.
____

“Where are we going?” Jordan asks, his dance partner in tow. She looks a little nervous, but Sophie introduces herself. The girl’s name is Abigail and she works in HR. Sophie makes her laugh with the story of meeting Jordan in the locker room. Abigail relaxes a bit to know that Jordan is this exuberant around everyone. We choose a nearby Irish bar and everyone heads for their cars.

“Can I ride with you?” Sophie asks me, her look all innocence. “I took the company shuttle here.”

I slide my arm into hers like we’re in The Great Gatsby and lead her formally from the room. To myself, I smile: She wants me.
____

We follow Crosby into the bar, right behind Kris and Jordan. That are pretty unmissable and every head in the bar turns to see the pride of the Pittsburgh Penguins walking through the door. Sophie takes half a step behind my shoulder, almost hiding, and I see Abigail do the same to Jordan. On instinct, I take her hand in mine. She squeezes it appreciatively and I’m almost disappointed when people stop watching.

Kris hands a drink across the table to Sophie. “I owe you more than that for cougar patrol.”

“When I’m 50, I’m totally coming to these dinners and dancing with all the hot guys!”

Abigail agrees. “My mom was there, I think you danced with her. My dad works in the accounting department, we were at the table with Matt Cook. I’m pretty sure my mom danced with all of you.”

“And you didn’t get to dance with anyone but Jordan. How tragic,” Sidney said. Jordan throws peanuts at the Kid and Sid blocks them with his pint glass. Abigail claims ignorance of hockey and admits she doesn’t even know what position everyone plays. For some reason, we look at Sophie to explain.

“Ummm, well Sidney’s like Justin Timberlake. Big time superstar. Kris plays defense, which is decidedly unsexy – sorry Kris – but look at him and you can see that’s clearly no problem. Jordan has three brothers that all look that good and also play in the NHL, so they’re a bit of a cult. Max is what you call a ‘personality player,’ which means he is more fun than everyone else. He’s also the team Casanova and a seriously clutch goal-scorer. Like Stanley Cup game-winning goal.”

Abigail is nodding along, but still looks a bit lost. Sophie continues: “The Stanley Cup is the big prize, like the World Series or the NBA Championship. Only much more awesome.” Now Abigail seems like she’s got at least a working knowledge of what’s going on.

“Three brothers?” she slides her chair a little closer to Jordan.

Almost two hours fly by and I hardly even realize until Sophie’s looking at her watch.

“I’m not getting in trouble with your coach,” Sophie says, standing. Crosby’s up too – he’s too serious to mess with anything, even a curfew. We reluctantly collect ourselves and Jordan offers to drive Abigail home.

“May I?” I ask, taking Sophie’s arm again.

She leans into me, squeezing my bicep against her chest. It’s a cheap feel, but I still get a tingle all the way through my body. We’re halfway across the parking lot, nearly to my car, when Crosby shouts to us. We both twist to face him without letting go, and he makes her promise to come to the season opener on Sunday. As if I wasn’t going to ask her. We’re still walking and when she turns back, it’s a little too far. Right into my lips.

ZING. A whole moment passes before the kiss registers with my brain. We both stop in surprise and pull away, she gasps quietly, eyes closed. Before she can even open them, I am kissing her again. I pull her in like when we danced and press my lips to hers. To my surprise, she goes for it – hands on my waist, tongue in my mouth. Crosby lays on the horn as he pulls out of the lot.

Sophie laughs. “Oops.”

“I was at least going to wait until I got you home,” I say.

She lets me lead her to the car and help her into the passenger seat. I can’t help but appreciate the way her bare thighs look against the leather seat as she swings her legs inside. I’m a little giddy as I climb behind the wheel – the kiss was not completely expected, but her enthusiastic response was a nice bonus. I wonder how much she really wanted to kiss me.

“Where am I taking you?” I ask nicely.

She tilts her head slightly, like she’s considering. Yes? No? Hell. Her silence is not a question, not a suggestion. I raise my eyebrows.

“You’re not getting all respectable on me, are you Max?”

I laugh out loud, genuinely. She’s hit it on the head – I want to take her home with me, but I feel like that makes me exactly the kind of sleaze that Coach warned me about.

“Help me out here, Sophie. I’m trying to clean up my act and I really want to have a good season. Almost as much as I want to keep kissing you.” I reach over the center console and run my hand up her neck, into her hair. She leans into it.

“And I need to have more fun, but I suppose it could wait a few days,” Sophie smiles.

To hell with that I will never make it a few days! What has come over me?! Her brain replies.

She kisses me gently, lingering like she’d rather make it last all night. My resolve wavers… then tips all the way over like a glass of spilled milk. I hold her arms and kiss her deeply. My blood pressure rises and for a moment I worry that I won’t get even her home. I know the backseat of this car can do the job. But that’s what makes me stop – I’ve done this before, and I’ve got to start making some changes.

“Okay, Superstar, take me home,” she says softly, her forehead pressed to mine and our lips almost touching.

She lives fifteen minutes away. At least three times I nearly tap the brakes to turn around – the thought of touching her skin, breathing in her delicious scent, running my fingers through her hair as I kiss her neck… stop. Stopstopstop. I’ll never make it to her house if I let that thought run itself out.
____

Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The sound of sexual tension and the desire to slide her dress off right there in the front seat ring in Sophie’s ears.
____

“Max,” she says, and the same time I say, “Sophie.” We both laugh.

“Can I see you after the game Sunday? Once I’ve got the opener in the bag I’ll feel better about this season starting.”

“Plus Dan will be very impressed when I tell him about tonight,” she smiles.

“He would never believe it.” And he wouldn’t. I pull into her driveway and get out of the car. If I’m going to leave her here, I need to make sure she knows that I really, really don’t want to. She takes my hand as she stands up, and then she presses me back against the side of the car. Sophie slides her thigh between my legs and she kisses me hard and fast.

A few days, I can wait a few days, she repeats to herself, trying to make it true.

“See you Sunday, Max,” she peels herself off and he watches her go.
____

CHAPTER III

“Good night?” Coach comes into the locker room, right past my stall. He hands me a slip of paper as he passes: Sophie’s number. I dial it right away – it’s almost lunchtime.

“This is Sophie,” her voice comes on the line. I must be calling her at work.

“This is Max Talbot,” I say in a serious tone.

“Stalker, how’d you get my number?”

“Disco Dan’s Dating Service to the rescue.” She laughs and I tell her I’ve put two tickets at will call for the game tomorrow night. They’re really good seats too, because I want to be able to see her.

“Bring a cute friend,” I tell her. “Kris gets lonely.”
____

Sophie stands in front of the mirror behind a pile of clothes. Too dressy, too boxy, too boring. She finally settles on a clingy black turtleneck sweater, very svelte. She’s got a going out shirt underneath for later. Brooke honks outside at exactly 6:15 PM.

There’s a note in the envelope with her tickets: Text me your cell number. XO, Max

Brooke presses the paper to her nose. “It smells like him.”

“How do you know what he smells like?! You’re psycho. No sugar during the game.” Sophie sends him a text: Go get ‘em, Superstar.

Their seats are really good. Like six rows from the ice right behind the Pens’ bench good. Sophie’s only sat this close before on business outings. When she’s on her own, she’s in the nosebleeds and even those aren’t cheap. Brooke digs her nails into Sophie’s arm as the Pens stream out onto the ice for warm up. Max does half a lap and immediately looks up for her. She waves and he waves back. Ten people between her and the ice turn to see who he knows.

Wow, she thinks. It feels more than a little special being the one he waved to.
____

Focus, Max.

I get my fill of looking at her during practice, knowing I’ll have to focus when the puck drops. Having her here is an added incentive to play well. Jordan gives her a wave of his own, points to her friend and pretends to take an arrow to the heart. I peek again as the National Anthem is ending – she flashes me an A-OK sign and a smile.

The new arena is rocking, music blasting and fans going nuts. Everyone’s energy is surging and I cannot wait to get out there. When I clear the boards for the first time, the new ice feels like glass beneath my feet. It’s pure bliss. The game goes quickly – no scoring in the first, then a goal each in the second. By the intermission, we are synching up as a team and chomping at the bit of a new season.

During the third period, Crosby gets a goal and Geno follows two minutes later. The entire place can feel the game tilting in our favor. A huge hit by Gonch tests the glass, which flexes and doesn’t shatter. Flower makes two head-standing stops and before we can even get tired, the final buzzer sounds. We float off the ice, high on adrenaline and hope.

I immediately go for my phone and text: Sending someone out to get you.

I give one of the operations interns her seat numbers and quickly shower. This time I get dressed before coming outside. The room is packed with people – media everywhere, God knows who else these people are. First night in a new house and it’s a free-for-all. The intern brings Sophie and her friend right through the pack.

“Most exciting game I’ve ever been to!” she strides right into me and tosses her arms around my neck. I pick her up with a squeeze. She introduces Brooke, who is cute and blond and smiling hugely. They watch a few of the interview huddles, since we’re waiting for the guys anyway. Jordan makes his way over, Kris hot on his heels. TK joins us, his girlfriend in tow. Geno and Oksana appear, and we all wait for Crosby. A lifetime of waiting for Crosby would be worth it to have him on your side.

“Brooke drove, so we’ll meet you there,” Sophie says. When I pretend to look hurt she squeezes my butt in front of everyone, then laughs and runs from the room.
____

“You love him. You want to have like 10,000 of his babies,” Brooke teases as they head across the parking lot.

“Mwahahahahaha,” Sophie does her best villain impression.

Once in the car, she pulls of her sweater and adjusts the deep v-neck Kelly green top she wore underneath. A delicate flower pattern in bright multicolor snakes down the neck and across one side of her chest. She pulls high heels onto her feet. Brooke works her way down to a red top with sequin straps and heads for the bar.

It’s Sunday, but quite a few fans are lingering from the watching party. The guys want to celebrate the start of the new season, and that’s best done with a hundred or so hockey fans. Brooke pulls in right behind Jordan and Kris. Max waits outside to take Sophie by the hand. They pile into a nearby sports bar, decline the VIP area and instead take a few hastily cleared tables in the back section. Two waitresses follow them, pitchers of beer already poured. Every head in the place watches them pass and someone cues Gary Giltter on the jukebox.
____

Whew! We are raring to go tonight. You can train all summer, scrimmage all through camp but nothing, nothing in the world even comes close to actually playing. Last season ended in early May and it feels like decades since we’ve gone head to head for actual points. We could play another 3 periods right now we are so amped.

I take a seat and pull Sophie right down onto my lap. She and Brooke have the buzz too – it was deafening in the stands and the energy from the crowd poured into the team. Sophie laughs and leans forward to pour drinks. Before she can do a third, Kris is handing Brooke a full glass and pulling up a chair. Jordan claims the rest of the pitcher and sits on the edge of the table. The entire clientele of the bar is trying to get back here and it won’t be long till they succeed. Sophie jumps up – my phone is ringing and she was sitting on it.

“It’s Crosby,” I read. “He’s stuck outside.”

Sophie goes right out the back door, dragging a chair into the jamb behind her. Two minutes later, she leads Sidney in.

“Sophie’s Search and Rescue,” she announces, giving Sidney the chair and sitting back down on my lap. She’s warm and very strong – every part of her body feels solid and healthy. Her hair swings and releases the clean scent of shampoo. When she laughs, my whole body feels it. Sophie leans down to speak in my ear.

“Nice game tonight,” she says just for me. “Was it as exciting as it looked?”

I nod.

“Feel better about having this season started?”

I nod again.

“Still feeling respectable?” And she goes right back to the group conversation, not missing a beat.

Now I want to leave immediately. I look at my watch and she slaps my wrist down without turning her head. Sidney refills our glasses. People are all around us, some trying to peel a guy off or catch his eye. The closer Kris gets to Brooke, the more Jordan surveys the crowd. A bold girl with a blond ponytail squeezes through and starts talking to Geno and Oksana. That lasts about as long as it takes Oksana to threaten his life in Russian. I motion for Jordan to take our seat and pull Sophie through the crowd toward the makeshift dance floor.
____

At least fifteen girls look at Max as they pass through the crowd. Well everyone looks. But fifteen look like they know what they’re looking at.


Should I be worried about that? Sophie thought until Max pulled her into his arms, wrapping around until it seemed like everyone else on the floor was a million miles away. This is probably how he got those girls too. Well it works! And she danced.

Max wore a collared shirt and very expensive-smelling cologne. His stubble brushed her cheek as they moved close together. Sophie’s head reeled a little – he was stronger than she was used to, holding her tightly without seeming to realize it. She put one arm across the back of his neck and a completely gratuitous hand on the smooth skin of his bicep.

“Nice tattoo,” she said.

“I have another,” he said. “You’ll see it later.”

“And you’ll see mine,” she smiles.
____

Game over. From this moment on, it’s a race and the finish line is breakfast, tomorrow, in my kitchen.
After a few songs that could have all been the same one, a big hand closes on my shoulder. I am surprised to see Crosby on the dance floor. Everyone’s looking at him, ten people deep. My heart breaks a little for the guy – all pressure, all the time. I cut my eyes and see that our table is nearly empty of friends, they’re all dancing. Sid gives me a ‘help a guy out’ look but before I can, Sophie does.

“Yes! I love being the envy of everyone woman for a hundred miles!” she cheers as she takes Crosby’s hand.
____

“Max said you can’t dance,” Sophie says. She probably doesn’t need to stand so close or speak right into his ear, but it’s Sidney Crosby. And a hundred people are watching.

“I can’t,” he smiles that boyish grin. But he’s holding onto her waist. It’s too crowded to really dance anyway, so they just move to the music. “Thanks for the rescue. Tanger ditched me for your friend.” He nods across the floor where Kris and Brooke aren’t having any trouble really dancing.

“I saved him once, I can save you too.”
___

I take the opportunity to find Kris and Brooke. They’re getting along just fine, and Brooke drove herself here. Excellent. I get a water and start planning our departure.

Sophie’s laughing with Crosby, who looks as relaxed as he ever gets in public. I swear, find him a non-threatening girl to talk to and he’s a different person. I make a mental note to ask Sophie if she’s got a friend who knows hockey that we can fix him up with. Because I’m thinking about later, down the road, after tonight. Thinking about tonight is more than I can handle.

But she’s thinking about it. She catches my eye and the look on her face says it all: hey baby.

Don’t screw this up, I tell myself. Dan warned you about behaving. Try to be a little respectable.

At the end of the song, I watch as Sophie and Sidney make their way through the crowd. Every single head turns as they pass and Sid looks straight ahead like it’s target practice and I’m the mark. When they finally get to me, Sophie takes a sip of my water.

“That was intense,” she passes the bottle to Crosby. “Is it always like that?”

He nods. “Makes me want to stay home most days.”

“Pffffttt. Makes me want to kiss you! Give them something to look at!” she laughs. Sid looks at me like, a little alarmed though she’s clearly joking.

“I am right here!” I feign indignity.

She doesn’t hesitate, she just kisses me. When she pulls away, I’m a little winded. Sophie looks around.

“Hmmmm, nothing they haven’t seen before.” But she slides her arm around my waist, coming in close to my body and puts her hand in my back pocket. That’s our cue.
____

Sophie pulls the door of Max’s car shut and waves as Crosby crosses in front of them.

“You’re making me jealous with the Kid,” he jokes.

“Think I’d be here with you if I wanted to be with him?” she says, arching an eyebrow. “He’s Girl Scout cookies, Max.”

“And what am I?”

“Breakfast.”
____

I break the sound barrier driving home. Stop signs are suggestions. When we reach the house, she walks so slowly from the car to the porch that I have a glass of wine poured before she reaches the kitchen.

“Nice place,” she says.

I set the wine right on the table. And then I kiss her.

We are alone, our intentions are clear – there’s nothing better than being so close to something and knowing you’re going to get it. It makes the journey enjoyable when the destination is no surprise. I take my time to learn her, kissing her softly and slowly then ramping up the tempo. Sophie lets me drive, responding to my steering like a car hugging the curves. Her hands run up my sides, under my jacket, pressed hard against the outline of my abs. My stomach is favorite part of my body and I think it’s a good sign that Sophie goes right for it.

She peels back my jacket and manages to drape it over a chair without looking. We’re still kissing as she works the crooked knot in my tie loose, then she leans back and pulls on it, bringing me to her. She does it again and again, until I’m laughing and we’re at the bottom of the staircase.

“How’s that respectability holding up?” she says with my earlobe between her teeth.

I’ve got my mouth on her neck. “Can I see you tomorrow night?”

A deep, throaty giggle rises from her body. I appreciate that she gets my joke, but even more that she’s saying yes in not so many words.

“So now we’re dating?” Her lips are touching mine.

“Good enough?” I open my eyes to find her looking back at me. “I could propose.”

She tilts her head back, laying the soft, scented skin of her throat bare beneath. I kiss her so hard I’m practically a vampire.

“I hear you’re supposed to propose on the third date.” She’s got my tie between her fingers again.

I let her pull me upstairs. “Okay, day after tomorrow then.”
____