Chapter Seven

The next morning I didn’t even feel like getting up. It seemed like one of those days where you could just hang out in bed all day without a care in the world. But, my body betrayed me, and my thirst soon overtook my need for the comfort of my blankets. I came downstairs and unfortunately walked right into a conversation when I entered the living room.

“Oh Maddison! I am so sorry!” Bridget said, pulling me into a spine cracking hug. I pushed her away from me and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room as Geno and Kris stared at me.

“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered.

“I honestly was way out of line, that will never, ever happen again, Baby Sis,” she said. Her tone of voice disgusted me and I folded my arms across my chest.

“As mortifyingly embarrassing as this all is,” I started, pointing at my disheveled hair and pajamas, “why is everyone here?”

“Well, I thought I’d make it up to you! We’ll all do a real date, something nice. And here’s the kicker, you can choose whatever you want,” she said with a fake smile plastered to her face.

“Don’t you have practice, or a game, or something like that?” I asked, directing my question at either Kris or Geno.

“Nope, today is an off day,” Geno said, smiling. I couldn’t help but to return his smile, but mine quickly faded as Bridget perched herself on his lap.

“So what are we doing?” she asked eagerly. I racked my brain trying to think of something that she hated and I came up with going to the movies. She always said how pointless it was to sit in the dark for an hour and a half without even being able to talk to the person you were with.

“How about the movies?” I asked, innocently.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Kris answered enthusiastically. I smiled at him, but mostly at my sister’s scowling features and turned towards the stairs. After showering, getting dressed, and putting on make-up, I rejoined the group and we piled into Geno’s car and headed for the movies. I decided on some horror flick only because it’s Bridget’s least favorite genre. After getting popcorn, stopping to let the guys sign some autographs, and more complaining from Bridget, we finally filed into a row, Bridget, Geno, myself, then Kris. Throughout the movie, I let Kris grab my hand when he saw fit and I took great pleasure in the fact that Bridget spent 97% of the time with her head in her lap. It was nearing the end of the movie and all of a sudden some “zombie” jumped out of someone’s closet unexpectedly and I involuntarily grabbed for Geno’s hand. He took it and squeezed mine back with a low chuckle. He held my hand for longer than necessary.

“You know, it’s not real,” he leaned down to whisper in my ear. I got chills from his mouth being that close to me.

“You know, you can let go of my hand,” I retorted without thinking and instantly regretted it after he released his grip. I still felt my hand tingling as we walked out of the movie theater and got back into Geno’s car.

“Where to?” Bridget asked from her place in the front passenger’s seat.

“I don’t know. Are you guys hungry or something?” I asked.

“Primanti’s!” Bridget shrieked excitedly. “I mean, if you want to Maddison.”

“Doesn’t matter to me,” I said. “But can we do takeout? I don’t feel like going in there with two famous hockey players.” Geno and Kris laughed as Geno started the car and headed to the nearest Primanti’s. I opted to go inside in an effort to get away from Bridget for any length of time, no matter how brief. When the food was finally ready and I began to make my way to the door, someone caught my arm.

“Maddison, is that you?” the guy’s voice came from my left-hand side. I looked up to see Jerry Thompson standing there.

“Oh, Jerry, wow. It’s been a while,” I said unenthusiastically. I tried not to let those memories that wanted to come flooding back anywhere near me.

“You look…gorgeous. Are you visiting?” he asked. I thought about lying to him, but I figured he’d probably see me around some other time, since this was now my permanent residence.

“Actually, no. I live here now,” I replied, averting my eyes.

“Oh, no way! That’s awesome, what made you change your mind?” he pressed. God, he was nosey as hell.

“I just needed a change of pace,” I lied easily. He seemed to find this answer sufficient.

“Well what have you been up to?” he questioned. Holy hell. I just wanted to get out of there.

“Oh you know this and that. Just catching up with family,” I said quickly, hoping he’d take the hint.

“You’re living at home?” he asked. One more question and someone was getting a face full of the nearest drink.

“Yup,” I said. One word answers. He had to get that.

“Well, I’ve been pretty busy myself. I’ve got a job at the Penguins organization. You know, the hockey team?” he said, smiling at me. Really? Must everyone I know be connected by some freaky six degrees of separation?

“Oh wow, that’s pretty interesting,” I said, feigning surprise.

“Yeah, I’ve seen your sister, Bridget around quite a lot. She’s dating Malkin, right?” he asked.

“Good news sure does travel slow. She’s been dating Geno for more than a year,” I said.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, I knew that,” he said, looking away from me. “Well it’s been great catching up, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around quite a bit.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you will,” I answered without a bit of excitement and with that, I stalked off towards the car.

“What the hell took you so long?” Bridget asked when I plopped into the back seat.

“I ran into Jerry,” I said as Geno started the drive back to the house.

“Thompson?!” she asked in surprise. “That’s so funny. He works for the Pens now, you know.”

“No actually I didn’t know until he told me just now. He says he’s seen you around quite a bit. You never thought to mention this?” I retorted.

“Nope, didn’t seem important,” she responded with a shrug of her shoulders. I let it go. If she didn’t think it was necessary to tell me that she’s been having contact with the guy who broke my heart into a million pieces was important, she wouldn’t think anything was. I was so concerned about Jerry that I didn’t even notice that we weren’t going back home. Instead we pulled up to an apartment building. Once we were parked, everyone followed Geno into the building, up the elevator, and into a penthouse apartment. The place was absolutely gorgeous. I had no idea why anyone would ever want to move out of a place like this. There was no way you could find anything better.

“Make yourselves at home,” Geno said, invitingly. I placed the bag of food down on the table and gave myself a little tour. It reminded me of what I had back in New York.

“I’m moving in,” I announced, taking a seat at the head of the table.

“I’d be honored,” Geno said with a smile, taking a seat to my left. We ate our late lunch happily, me nibbling on a fry here and there and Geno and Kris shoving ridiculous amounts of food down their throats. We spent the rest of the day and evening watching T.V., playing pool, air hockey, and cards, and just getting to know each other. This day didn’t turn out so bad after all. Around eight o’clock Bridget had some ‘dire work thing’ that she just had to attend and at about eight thirty, Kris took leave from us as well. After cleaning up the bowls of chips and salsa, I made my way out onto the rooftop balcony which did indeed offer a spectacular view. Geno came outside a few minutes later and stood next to me.

“This reminds me so much of home,” I stated, looking towards the city.

“Home? Oh, you mean New York,” he said.

“Yeah, but to me that still is my home,” I replied, looking up at him.

“Well, that’s understandable. I mean you loved it there. When you love something, it’s kind of hard to leave it. Unless of course there’s a good reason,” he said. Just as I was about to nod my head in agreement, he bent down and placed a light kiss on my lips that soon turned to something deeper when I wrapped my hands around his neck. Kissing him was everything that I thought it would be, plus something more amazing. When we finally pulled apart I knew my cheeks were flaming red and he looked flushed.

“I, um, I should go,” I stuttered, making my way towards the front door.

“Maddison, I’m sorry,” he began.

“No, don’t be sorry! I liked it,” I said before I could stop myself. “I mean, it wasn’t bad. It was just wrong. Does that make any sense? Anyway I texted my brother to come pick me up before and he should be here soon and now I’m rambling and--” I wasn’t watching where I was going in my haste to make it to the front door and I backed right into Brett.

Chapter Six

I sat outside for a while longer until the November night grew unbearably cold. When the chill finally became too much to handle, I tucked my cigarettes back into my purse and walked into the house. Bridget was passed out on the couch and I felt my blood begin to boil upon seeing her. I honestly couldn’t stand the sight of her right now. I wondered why Geno didn’t take her home when he drove Kris? I climbed the stairs quickly and laid down on my bed. I wasn’t really in the mood for crying and feeling sorry for myself so I rolled over on my back and stared at the Tom Brady poster. I really wished for the old days where Bridget and I could play Barbies forever in a pretend fort and how we would cry when it was time to go to bed. But why was I getting all sappy and nostalgic? Bridget was a bitch and our jealousy for one another took over any fond feelings long ago. I got up off the bed and made my way to the kitchen. I needed something to make me feel better. Just as I was reaching for the peanut butter, I heard the front door open. I knew it wasn’t my parents because I passed their room to come downstairs and they were tucked in bed. My mind immediately flashed to ‘crazy serial killer’. I jumped into the hallway, brandishing the peanut butter as a shield and was face to face with Geno.

“Jesus Christ you scared the hell out of me!” I whispered loudly. He grinned and looked at the peanut butter.

“Sorry about that, but you’ve got good protection right there,” he said, pointing at the jar.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Wow, this is all strangely déjà vu-y.”

“Yeah I know right? Anyway, I just came back for your sister,” he answered, looking towards the living room.

“Oh, right. Why didn’t you take her when you dropped Kris off?” I asked.

“She tends to say some stupid stuff when she’s drunk and I really didn’t feel like exposing Kris to that,” he said.

“I hear that. By the way, does Kris think I’m a total freak now?” I looked up at him hopefully. Kris really was a sweet guy and I would hate for him to think ill of me.

“Are you kidding me? Not at all! If anything he likes you more now. He feels that your struggle is ‘endearing’,” Geno said, putting air quotes around the word. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Honestly, it’s anything but,” I said. A moment of silence passed between us.

“How are you feeling?” he asked seriously.

“Better. I bounce back easy,” I said, smiling. He gave me a disapproving look.

“Are you sure? I mean she said some pretty messed up things. And if you ever need to talk sometime, you can talk to me. I know we just met, but I know how difficult Bridget can be…,” he continued saying something but I got lost in a daydream. He was leaning up against the wall with one arm, just babbling endlessly and all I could imagine was me running my hands through his hair and pressing my lips roughly against his. I imagined him picking me up and sitting me on the kitchen counter, biting and sucking my neck the whole time. Finally, I imagined him just completely having his way with me on the island. “Can you do that for me, Maddison?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, of course,” I answered quickly, having absolutely no idea what the hell I was supposed to be doing. I stood there as he looked at me expectantly. “You mean right now?”

“Yeah, sort of,” he said smiling. What in the world was I supposed to be doing? If I asked, he would know that I completely spaced out and wasn’t listening to a single word he said.

“Well, uh, how would you like me to do it?” I asked, fishing for a clue.

“Maddison, are you kidding me? There’s only one way to do it,” he said, giving me an odd look.

“So, there’s nothing in particular I should know before I do it?” I questioned.

“No not really, I think all glasses of water are poured the same,” he said. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and walked into the kitchen, retrieving a glass from the cabinet, filling it up, and handing it to him. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” I answered, leaning on the counter. He finished off the glass and I took it back from him. For a brief second, our fingers touched and I wanted to jump out of my skin. I must be absolutely crazy because I thought I saw the beginnings of a smirk on his face as I pulled my hand away. But in a flash it was gone. Yup. I was a dignified crazy. My sister was right in the other room. Nothing was happening tonight. Or probably any other night for that matter. He was with her for a reason, because he wanted to be. But, still.

“I guess I should take Bridget home,” he said looking toward the living room. I wanted to jump on his back and scream ‘No! Stay! Stay with me, in my room, in my bed’ but I restrained myself. Jesus, I was insane.

“Yeah. My parents probably wouldn’t want to come down tomorrow morning and see her drunken self on our couch,” I answered, following him into the living room. I looked at her sleeping form and felt nothing but resentment. Geno was way too good for her. She didn’t deserve him at all. He picked her up, flinging her over one shoulder and turned back to me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Maddison,” he said. “And don’t give what your sister said a second thought. If it makes you feel better, I thought she was a bitch too.” As he said this, he gently held my hand, massaging the back of it with his thumb. When he released it, I was pretty sure that it would fall off from some type of flesh burn. I watched him walk out of the door and down the pathway, with my sister’s dead weight on his shoulder. And at that moment, that’s exactly what I thought of her as. Dead weight. Holding Geno back from being…being with me.

Chapter Five

I won the argument over our outfits and Bridget stopped at her apartment to change before driving us to the arena. When we arrived, most of the other fans were arriving too, so it was pretty crowded. Bridget picked up our tickets and we headed up to our seats. There were four other women sitting right near us.

“Vero!” my sister shrieked in her fake “I’m so pleasant and not a seething bitch at all” voice.

“Hey Bridget,” she replied, smiling pleasantly. I immediately noticed how pretty she was. “You must be Blake.” She quickly enveloped me in a warm hug. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, but actually I go by Maddison,” I said.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry I forgot!” she said hastily.

“Oh no, don’t worry about it,” I said. I felt bad for correcting her in the first place, but I wanted to get it right at the beginning.

“Well let me introduce you to the rest of the girls,” she began, brightening. “This is Kelsey.” She pointed to a girl sitting behind us. “She’s dating Tyler Kennedy. This is Heather.” She pointed to a petite blonde sitting next to Kelsey. “She’s Brooks Orpik’s girlfriend. And this little butterfly sitting next to me is Michelle, Jordan Staal’s girlfriend.” It was clear that Vero and Michelle were the closest. “And, as you already know, I’m Vero. Marc-Andre Fleury is my boyfriend.”

“It’s great to meet you all,” I said taking my seat next to Vero. Bridget moved to the other end and sat next to Michelle. I immediately liked Vero. Everything about her was just more than welcoming.

“You know, you and Bridget look nothing alike,” Vero said quietly after a few minutes.

“Yeah, we get that all the time,” I answered, involuntarily rolling my eyes.

“Oh no! It’s not a bad thing! I think you’re absolutely gorgeous,” she said, putting a hand on my knee. “I know this sounds stupid, but once I saw pictures of you, I was actually a little intimidated. But you seem like such a nice person, I know I was just being silly!” Her smile was stunning. I found it hard to believe that someone with her looks was intimidated by someone like me. It was certainly a confidence booster.

“Wow, I don’t know what to say,” I said. “I’ve never gotten that before. Thank you.” Compliments already? Vero gained even more points in my book. She smiled again at my remark.

“Don’t mention it. So I heard that Kris has a thing for you?” she asked, winking at me.

“Oh yeah, that. Bridget loves to play matchmaker, so we’ll see what happens,” I said, unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice. It was just so frustrating. I did more than alright in the dating field without her help.

“He’s a sweetie. He has a really good heart,” she replied, looking down to the ice.

“Which one is he?” I asked, squinting down in that direction.

“Number 58 with ‘Letang’ on the back,” she answered, pointing him out.

“Oh, okay, I see him,” I lied. They were moving way too fast for me to catch a good glimpse. I settled myself in for a long two and a half hours. Throughout the game, I chit-chatted with Vero about my life and New York and she told me all about herself in between trying to explain what was going on in the game. I think that maybe if I hadn’t been opposed to it, I might have even enjoyed it, but I really wasn’t in the mood. All I kept thinking about was the moment when Bridget would finally tell me about her little surprise date. The game ended uneventfully with the Penguins winning effortlessly over Atlanta. When we got up to go, I felt Vero’s arms around me once again.

“I hope I see you again soon,” she said departing with Michelle. I began to follow Bridget out of the stands when she grabbed my hand.

“I have something so exciting planned!” she squealed. I abruptly pulled my hand away and glared at her.

“Something exciting like what?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” she sing-songed and led me out of the arena. She drove like a bat out of hell back to our parent’s place which I noticed was vacant. Damn them for going along with this idiocy. Bridget summoned me to my room and I was not to go downstairs until I heard the doorbell. Once in my room, I realized that all of my things were unpacked and my mom had ironed a dress for me to wear tonight. It was hanging on the back of my adjoining bathroom door. It wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was nice enough. A black, strapless number. She also put my silver heels underneath the dress. I rolled my eyes, changed my clothes and sat on my window seat. I just stared out of the window down to the street below until I finally saw a car pull up and Kris and Geno emerged, ringing the doorbell seconds later. I slipped on a silver headband before taking the stairway to hell.

“Oh, what’s this?” I asked in mock surprise. Geno suppressed a laugh and Bridget seemed utterly thrilled.

“We’re having a little double date!” she said excitedly.

“Whaaaat? I had no idea! You caught me utterly by surprise,” I said in my continued mocking voice. Geno couldn’t help it and he let out a snort, but Bridget was too wrapped up with herself to pay any attention.

“Wont this be fun?” she asked, clapping her hands together.

“It’s going to be oodles of fun Bridget, just oodles!” I said in a false tone. She turned to the dining room and I rolled my eyes and followed. “Hey Kris.”

“You look beautiful,” he said, handing me flowers. I took them and put them in the vase that Bridget had already set up in the dining room.

“Thanks,” I said smiling at him as he pulled out my chair. Bridget plopped down next to me and all of a sudden Brett emerged from the kitchen.

“I’ll be your waiter tonight,” he said. “If you need anything just ask.” I rolled my eyes again at the corniness of this whole situation.

“You knew about this?” I asked as he poured my water.

“Yeah, but I was sworn to secrecy,” he said apologetically.

“What about your date with Melanie?” I questioned, shooting daggers at him.

“We had it earlier today. So technically I didn’t lie to you,” he said and moved on to my sister’s glass. After the water was poured, he came out about two seconds later with wine, which I declined, and salad, which I also declined but he put it down anyway. The dinner started out awkwardly, but once Bridget became wrapped up in whatever Geno was saying, I was able to talk to Kris without much interruption. Our conversation flowed smoothly through the salad, the dinner (shrimp scampi with linguini) and dessert (cheesecake). I ate around almost everything and every time Brett took a plate back, he gave me a disapproving look to which I just shrugged. To my left though, I noticed that throughout the dinner, Bridget was throwing back glasses of wine like there was no tomorrow. She was annoying as hell when she was drunk. At the end of dinner, I excused myself to the bathroom.

“That’s right, now Maddison has to go throw up everything she just ate!” Bridget exclaimed, laughing hysterically. I stopped dead in my tracks and I heard Brett drop a utensil in the kitchen.

“What the fuck did you just say, Bridget?” I asked, turning to face her.

“Come on Maddison, I was just kidding!” she slurred looking at me with her head tilted.

“Shit like that’s not funny,” I said. She had some stupid superior smirk on her face in her drunken haze and it took everything in my power not to slap her. “Why would you say something like that?”

“Because you used to be a little bulimic,” she said poking me in the stomach. “Or anorexic, or whatever. Everyone knew. You weren’t hiding anything.” I felt the hot tears stinging in my eyes. I looked over to Brett who was now standing in the doorway, fuming. Geno and Kris sat there looking helpless and awkward. I stormed out of the dining room, grabbed my purse, and headed out the sliding glass door in the back. I made my way to the rock wall that my dad built when I was in seventh grade. I sat down, pulled out a cigarette and lit up.

“You smoke?” I heard Geno’s voice behind me.

“Only on nights like this,” I said, puffing into the night air.

“Brett’s in there laying into your sister. That was really uncalled for,” he said, sitting next to me. “Especially in front of Kris.”

“Apologize to him, for me,” I said looking down. “He didn’t need to know how screwed up I am on our first ‘date’. Neither did you for that matter.”

“I’m sure he won’t even give it a second thought. Neither will I for that matter,” he smiled at me.

“I don’t really feel like talking,” I muttered.

“Okay, I should be going anyway,” he put a hand on my cheek and rubbed it softly with his thumb. “You look pretty when you cry.” After he left, I wiped at my face, pissed that I had let him see me that weak.

Chapter Four

The gym turned out to be surprisingly nice. I even bought my own membership since I figured I’d be spending a lot of time there. Brett and I worked out for about four hours and he insisted that we stop at McDonald’s for a late lunch, while I insisted that that would just cancel out the whole workout. In the end, he won the argument, because it was his car after all, and I ordered an Asian salad that I took two bites of and promptly gave to Brett. He frowned, but took it without reprimanding me. I wanted to jog home to work off those bites of salad, but Brett called me crazy and insisted on driving. When we reached my parents’ house, he dropped me off in front and sped down the block. I swear he’s going to end up wrapped around a telephone pole one day. I bounded up the steps, opened the door, and almost ran straight into Geno. My hand immediately flew up to my hair to try and smooth down the fly aways from my high ponytail, but it was to no avail.

“What are you doing here?” I asked quickly, shutting the door behind me.

“Well, I was trying to take my pre-game nap here. There’s construction going on by my apartment and your sister said I couldn’t sleep at hers, so I decided to come here,” he said while walking into my living room and plopping down on the couch like he lived here all his life. “I was going to leave, but since you showed up, I changed my mind.”

“You and Bridget don’t live together?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t catch the eagerness in my voice.

“No, but all of her stuff is at my place. She pretty much lives over there. But we’re looking for houses, so yeah,” he answered. Did I catch a hint of regret?

“Oh okay,” I said quietly, taking a seat on the couch furthest from him. He was dressed completely casual, but it was enticing to me. He wore black gym shorts, a gray t-shirt, and a cap pulled down low. I was suddenly aware of my disgusting “after gym” appearance. “I’m sorry I look like a mess!” The words came out before my idiot brain could stop them.

“Nah, you look cute. Like you just finished a hard workout and now you’re in the best shape of your life,” he said with a smile. I’m sure that my cheeks now had a pinkish tint to them. “So, I heard that you’re going to the game tonight?”

“Unfortunately,” I sighed. “I don’t even like the damn sport, but Bridget’s making me go.” I forgot who I was talking to for a minute. “No offense.”

“None taken,” he said. “But I think once you give it a chance, you’ll really like it.”

“Doubt it,” I muttered. “She’s only doing this to try and set me up with someone."

“Oh, Kris?” he asked. “Yeah, I heard about that. He’s the nicest guy I know. Now, I know I’ve said ‘give it a chance’ about a lot of things, but I really mean it here. He’s just an awesome guy.”

“Yeah, maybe I will. But only because you say so,” I said smiling at him.

“You know what Maddsion? I really like you, so I’m gonna tell you something that your sister would kill me for saying,” he said, leaning forward. For one tiny second my heart leaped, but then reality set in. “Your sister has a double date planned for me and her and you and Kris after the game tonight. But you didn’t hear it from me.” He winked and stood up to go.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I said, ungratefully and headed upstairs to take a shower. I really hated Bridget sometimes. She really must think she’s this awesome matchmaker. When in reality, she just ruins everything. By the time I got out, I heard voices downstairs. I threw my hair up in a towel, slipped on my Lacoste robe and came downstairs. “Where were you guys?”

“We went food shopping,” my mom said, pointing to my dad loading up the fridge. “I didn’t know what you like, so I got some of your old favorites.” I peered inside the fridge at the Hi-C juice boxes and jars of peanut butter. I looked in the pantry at the cases of macaroni and cheese and my favorite fruit roll ups. None of which I could actually eat.

“Thanks mom, you didn’t have to,” I said looking down at my feet.

“Nonsense, Maddison. I want you to feel at home, because, well, this is your home now,” she said, smiling at me. “By the way, you’d better start getting ready to go. Bridget should be here soon.”

“What, why? It’s only 5:00. The game isn’t until 7:00,” I responded.

“Yes, but she wants to be there at 6:00. You know to show you around, introduce you to some people,” my mom answered. When I started to protest, she stopped me. “Don’t fight it, Maddison, it’s happening.” I turned on my heel and stomped up the stairs. What the hell did people wear to hockey games? I finally settled on a lacy, black, short sleeved v-neck, dark skinny jeans, and tall black boots. I blew out my hair, leaving it straight, and put on my make-up. When Bridget showed up, she was dressed nearly identical to me.

“You’re changing!” we both said at the same time.

Chapter Three

I woke up the next morning with Bridget practically on top of me in my bed. She was staring directly at me with a creepy grin plastered to her face. This could only mean two things. One, she was getting ready to bust me for something, or two, she had good news. Thankfully, it was the latter.

“What the hell do you want?” I asked, watching her intently.

“Geno likes you so much! I was worried that you guys wouldn’t get along because, you know, you’re a bitch and all and he’s ridiculously sweet,” my sister said. I rolled my eyes, ignoring her remark. “But he completely raved about you at the club.”

“Oh, you tore yourself away from Jordan long enough to let Geno get a word in edgewise?” I asked, smirking at her. Her face turned bright red and she got out of my bed.

“Mom has breakfast downstairs,” she said, exiting the room. I laid back down and felt oddly buzz-y. Was it all because Geno said he liked me? Pssh, I couldn’t really care that much about what he thought of me. Apparently, though, I did. I hopped out of bed, with a little pep in my step, and ran downstairs. Bridget, Brett, my mom, and my dad were sitting at the table.

“What, do you guys like live here now?” I asked, indicating my siblings.

“They just want to see you, honey,” my mom replied, pouring herself more coffee.

“Yeah, right, I’m really not that interesting,” I muttered, taking my old seat at the table.

“Well, I like having the whole family together again,” my dad said, putting down the paper and beaming at us. “Bridget has a surprise for you, Maddison.”

“Dad! I wanted to wait!” Bridget whined.

“What is it?” I asked while picking the fat off my bacon.

“Well, you know Kris? From the Penguins?” she questioned.

“No, not really,” I said, giving up with the bacon and shoving it onto Brett’s plate.

“Well he’s interested, Maddison! Isn’t that great?!” she practically screamed at me.

“Interested in what?” I asked, now picking the crust off of the toast.

“You! He’s interested in you,” she replied, staring at me, waiting for a reaction. I think she wanted me to say something like ‘Oh my God! I can’t believe this! Let’s go to David’s Bridal this afternoon and start picking out dresses! You’ll have the best one of course because you helped set us up. Oh what the hell, you’ll just be the maid of honor!’. However, she was sadly mistaken.

“Yeah so is Max. What’s your point?” I replied. If her jaw wasn’t attached to her face, it would have been on the floor.

“Are you freaking kidding me?!” she, again, practically screamed.

“No, I am not ‘freaking kidding you’,” I said, giving up on the toast as well and opting for a glass of orange juice.

“Maddison, he’s hot as hell!” she exclaimed. My mom shot her a warning look. “Sorry, Mom.”

“Yeah…and? He’s not my type.” I said, pushing more of my food onto Brett’s plate, who took it wordlessly.

“Since when is ‘hot’ not your type?” she asked.

“’Player’ has never been my type,” I responded.

“Oh yeah? Well what about Jerry Thompson in twelfth grade?” she pressed.

“Oh sorry, I misplaced my crystal ball that month. I had no idea he was going to cheat on me,” I said bitterly, thinking back to how in love I thought I was.

“Well, I really think you should go for it. And if not, there’s always Kris. I kinda already promised him a date,” she said quietly, averting my death glare.

“What the hell Bridget? You’re not my pimp for Christ’s sake!” I shouted at her.

“Maddison,” my mom warned.

“I promise you, you’ll love him!” Bridget spoke quickly.

“Is this the great surprise of which you spoke?” I asked my dad who was desperately trying to hide behind the newspaper.

“No there’s more!” Bridget began.

“What? Did you arrange a marriage between me and Sidney?” I asked, more than annoyed.

“We’re going to the game tonight!” she continued, ignoring my snide remark.

“I hate hockey,” I stated simply.

“Well, you’re going. I already promised Kris that you’d be there,” she said with finality. I turned to my father who gave me a helpless look, then to my mother who gave me a ‘sorry, you’re doing this for your sister’ look.

“What does he care if I show up or not?” I questioned, now piling my eggs onto Brett’s plate.

“He wants you to see him play,” she shrugged.

“Whatever,” I said, getting up from the table. “Great breakfast, Mom.” She didn’t even notice that I didn’t eat a drop. “Where’s the nearest gym?”

“I’ll drive you!” Brett offered, also getting up. He followed me upstairs to my room and took a seat on my squishy chair.

“Thanks for covering for me down there, Bray,” I said, reverting to my old childhood nickname for him. When I was younger I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) pronounce ‘Brett’, so I used ‘Bray’ and it just stuck. I was the only one who was allowed to call him that too.

“Man cannot survive on orange juice alone,” he replied, giving me a serious look.

“It’s not just orange juice! It’s salads and protein shakes and certain other foods,” I said, rifling through my unpacked boxes for some workout clothes.

“It’s not healthy, Maddie,” he said, also reverting back to my childhood nickname. If anyone else tried to call me that, they would be in severe, severe, trouble.

“It’s fine. Really it is. I’ll be alright,” I said, turning to him and resting a hand on his knee. He smiled down at me. “Are you going to this hockey thing tonight?”

“The game? No. I have a date tonight,” he said happily.

“Oh really? That’s nice. What’s her name?” I asked, returning to my search.

“Sadie Winters,” he answered.

“Oh my God! That sounds like a stripper name!” I replied, horrified.

“Exactly,” he said.

“Oh my God, Brett! You’re disgusting!” I shouted, throwing a pillow at him. He started laughing and threw one back at me.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Her name is Melanie Stuart. That good enough for you?” he asked, still laughing.

“Ahh that’s much better. Well, lucky you. You’ll be on a hot date, while I’m stuck in a frozen torture chamber,” I mumbled, sitting down on the floor.

“Relax, will ya? I promise it won’t be that bad. Just give it a chance. For me, okay?” he asked.

“Ugh, fine!” I said. “Now get the hell out so I can change!”

Chapter Two

We walked most of the way in silence and when we finally arrived, I was instantly reminded of why I hated all clubs in the first place. It was way too noisy and way too booze-y.

“We’re going to the VIP section,” Bridget shouted in my ear even though we were literally inches apart. “Join us when you want to!” I nodded and watched Bridget, Brett, and Evgeni disappear into the crowd. I sighed and made my way over to the bar.

“Apple Martini,”I shouted through the throngs of people. The bar tender nodded and after a few minutes he handed me my drink. I paid and looked around at the club. This was not my scene at all. I’d much rather be at the mall or the movies or back in New York.

“Well, hello gorgeous,” I looked to my left and saw who the speaker was. He looked to be about twenty five, fairly tall compared to my 5’4” frame, and quite the looker. If this were any other place and any other time, I probably would have given him the time of day. But since I wasn’t really in the mood to be hit on by bar guys, I decided to decline whatever invitation he was extending.

“Sorry, love, not interested,” I said politely, skirting my way around him. I spotted the VIP section and began to make my way over there. Unfortunately “Bar Guy” was still behind me. The only thing I could hope was that he wouldn’t make it into VIP. When I finally reached the outer perimeter, I spotted Bridget first. She was talking to a cute blonde guy. She turned around, saw me, and motioned for the security guy to let me in.

“Hey Maddison! How do you like the club so far?” Evgeni asked me as I took a seat next to him.

“It’s alright, but I’m more into non-club stuff,” I answered honestly.

“Yeah I know. It can be a little overwhelming at first,” he said and I nodded in agreement. Just then I saw Bar Guy making his way over to us. Oh great. “Hey Max! Where were you?”

“Chasing this beauty around,” Max replied, indicating me. “You two know eachother?”

“Yeah we do. Believe it or not, this is Bridget’s sister, Maddison,” Evgeni said.

“Oh no way! You guys look nothing alike!” Max’s shocked expression was one I’d seen many times on the faces of those who just found out Bridget and I were related.

“Yeah, I get that all the time,” I replied.

“Well, I can clearly see that your gorgeous, but I’d like to get to know you better. Dinner sometime?” he asked.

“Ehh, we’ll see,” I responded, with no real intention of taking him up on that offer. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a business card, and handed it to me. “Oh no! That is so lame!” I laughed at him and took the card. I turned it over and quickly scrawled my number on the back. “You need my number more than I need yours.” I handed it back to him and he smiled and sauntered off, probably to find more prey.

“You know, he’s really not a bad guy,” Evgeni said, as if reading my mind.

“I don’t know, Evgeni. He’s not really my type. A little too ‘player’ for my taste,” I responded.

“Yeah I know, but don’t let that deter you. Once you get to know him, he can be really nice,” he said. I smiled at this. It was really nice of him to defend his friend like that. “So are you into hockey at all?”

“No, not really,” I answered, “I’ve been to a few Ranger games since I used to live in Manhattan, but I only went as someone’s date.” He laughed and took a sip of his beer.

“It’s really not a bad game, if you give it a chance,” he said.

“Just like Max?” I asked.

“Just like Max,” he laughed again.

“So, who is everyone here?” I asked looking around me. The fair share of them had to be hockey players.

“Well, that’s Sidney Crosby,” he said pointing to a handsome guy with dark curly hair. “And that’s Tyler Kennedy.” He pointed to another curly haired guy talking to Sidney. “And that guy who keeps sneaking glances at you is Kris Letang.” I smiled and noted the adorable guy pretending to be interested in whatever Max was saying. Max turned around and waved at me and I nodded my head in return. “That’s Max Talbot, but you already met him. And that guy talking to your sister is Jordan Staal.” I noticed that it was the cute blonde who was talking to Bridget earlier. He was talking animatedly about something and he had a permanent smile on his face. I wondered if Bridget could really be all that funny. “By the way, most people call me Geno.”

“Okay, Geno. That works for me,” I said and downed the rest of my drink. “I’m gonna go see what time we’re going home, I’ve already had enough.” I made my way over to Bridget who didn’t even notice I was there. She was far too consumed with Jordan.

“Hey Bridget, what time do you think we’re leaving?” I asked.

“Maddison hey! Jordan, this is my sister Maddison. Maddison, this is Jordan,” she said. We’d only been here a little while and I could tell that her alcohol consumption was rapidly increasing.

“Hey Jordan,” I said.

“Whoa! You’re sisters? You look nothing alike!” Jordan responded.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah I get that all the time,” I replied, getting exasperated. “Bridget, what time are we leaving?”

“God Maddison! Why do you have to be such a downer?! We’re all having such a good time. If you wanna leave, take a damn cab,” she said.

“I would, but I didn’t know we were going out tonight and I used all the money I had in my pocket for that drink!” I shot back at her. I was beginning to remember just how much of a bitch my sister could be sometimes. “Whatever.” I spun around and started to make my exit until I felt someone grab my arm.

“Hey, where are you going?” Geno asked with a concerned look.

“I’m walking home,” I responded turning back around and fighting with the crowd.

“No you’re not. It’s late. Let me pay for a cab,” he said quickly reaching for his wallet.

“No, I can’t let you do that,” I answered once we were outside.

“Then let me walk you at least, I’ll come back for your sister. You can let me do that,” he said. I sighed and agreed and after he signed some autographs outside of the club, we began the walk home.

“So how long have you and Bridget been together?” I asked.

“Oh, about a year and a half.”

“Wow, I missed a lot.”

“How long have you lived in New York?”

“I moved right after high school, so about three years I guess.”

“Is it really that much better than Pittsburgh?”

“I don’t know. It’s more me though. I feel like I fit in better there.” He nodded and we walked the rest of the way in silence. When we finally arrived at my house he pulled out a key and let me in. “You have a key to my parents’ house?!”

“Well, you know, it’s for emergencies,” he responded with a grin.

“Huh, I guess I missed more than I thought,” I answered.

“Have a good night Maddison,” he said, turning for the door.

“Goodnight, Geno,” I replied, then headed up the stairs. I flopped down on my old bed and stared up at the ceiling. My Tom Brady poster adorned the space above my bed. I remember when I first got it how mad Brett was and he spent the rest of that week not referring to me as Maddison, but Traitor. I didn’t care though, I loved Tom Brady and that was all that mattered to me. That night as I drifted off to sleep, I tried to think of my old daydreams where I was Tom Brady’s wife and I cooked for him and took care of our children, but all my mind was occupied with was images of Geno standing in my kitchen, snaking his arms around my waist as I stood at the stove.

Chapter One

“Blake Maddison Bennett!” My mother’s voice was shrill on the other end of the phone. I literally cringed at hearing my full name. Sometimes I wonder what the hell was going through my parents’ minds when they decided to name me Blake. Did they want me to get hounded for the rest of my life about it? However, through that, a famous introduction was born. “What’s your name?” “Blake Maddison Bennett, but you can call me Maddison.”

“Yes Mother?” I answered. I could almost see her cringing on the other side of the phone. She absolutely hated when I called her mother. Almost as much as I hated Blake.

“What on God’s green earth do you mean you got fired?!”

“I mean that the boss said ‘buh-bye’ and told me to hit the road.”

“I don’t need your smart ass attitude, Blake.”

“It’s Maddison, mother. I haven’t been addressed as Blake since I was six.”

“Nevermind that. You know what this means don’t you?”

“Absolutely not.” I got up off the couch and danced over to the windows in my loft. Floor to ceiling, just like I’d always dreamed of, ever since I was little. The New York City street buzzed below and the line of yellow taxi cabs stretched for miles. I watched the sun hovering low in the sky, ready to set. It was gorgeous. After high school, I moved out of Pittsburgh as soon as possible. The city was where I belonged, I fit in perfectly here.

“You’re not going to be able to afford that little warehouse or factory or whatever it is you call a home.”

“Loft, mother. Loft.”

“Whatever, Blake. Anyway, you’re going to have to come home."

“Home…as in?”

“Pittsburgh! Damnit Blake! I really do not need this from you right now! The rent is too steep on that place and you won’t be able to afford it without a job. I begged you up and down to please go to college in Pittsburgh, that way you’d be near to home in case anything went wrong. But did you listen? No. You just had to go out and ‘experience the world’. And I hope you see where it’s gotten you. All of nowhere.”

“Mom, I don’t need to hear this right now. We have this conversation every other day. What’s done is done.” I sat down and pressed my back against the window. I would miss hearing the city sounds below me.

“Blake…Maddison. This conversation is over, honey. I’m sending your father in two weeks. Give them the notice and start packing. I love you.”

“Goodbye.” I snapped my phone shut and put my head in my hands. I couldn’t dream of leaving here. New York was my absolute favorite place in the world. Just up and leaving it was, to me, a fate worse than death. If only I hadn’t overslept one too many times, I still would be working. I was a counter girl at Sephora. Now, I know you’re thinking that that can’t possibly make me enough money to live here, but they actually pay really well. It also helped that my Dad was sending me a check every month without my mother knowing.

Sure enough, in two weeks, Daddy arrived with a moving truck ready to U-haul me all the way back to Pennsylvania. The seven hour drive seemed like the absolute longest of my life. It didn’t help matters that my dad wouldn’t shut up about how I shouldn’t have moved in the first place. I didn’t need a lecture on top of everything else. When we finally arrived, my mom started crying and scolding me at the same time. And much to my surprise, my brother Brett was there along with my sister Bridget. I hadn’t seen them all in quite a while. After moving to New York, the only connection I had with them was through telephone and internet. None of them ever just stopped by for a visit, except Brett. There was no doubt that we were definitely the closest out of the three of us. Brett was 24, Bridget was 23, and I was the baby at 21. When I looked at Brett, it was almost like looking in the mirror. We had the exact same sandy blonde hair, bright green eyes, and perpetually sun-kissed skin. We even had the same dusting of freckles across the bridge of our noses. Whenever we went anywhere together when we were younger, and sometimes even when we were older, people commented on how much we looked alike. Brett was always popular in high school, with a different girl every week. He wasn’t famous for his long term relationships. He was always in shape too from non-stop hockey practice. Much like myself. I went to the gym religiously, to the point where my mother took me to the doctor because she was “positive” that I had an eating disorder. Anyway, that’s Brett and myself. Fair hair, light eyes, taking directly after both of my parents. Bridget, on the other hand, was a whole different story completely. She had dark brown wavy hair and chocolate colored eyes. Her skin was a creamy white color, very different from my brother and I. We always used to joke about how she must have been adopted, but secretly, I was a little jealous of her. Her beauty was a different kind, a more mysterious one.

“Why is everybody here?” I asked suspiciously as my dad and brother began hauling my boxes upstairs to my old room.

“I thought it’d be nice if we all went out to dinner as sort of a welcome home thing,” my mom answered.

“Um okay?” I was still heavily suspicious of them. They were always pulling stunts like this and then whipping out surprises at the last minute. After the last of the boxes was unloaded, we all piled into the SUV and headed to the same restaurant we’d been going to since I was born. Upon being seated, I looked around at the table. “Why are there six seats here?”

“Maddison, we want to introduce you to someone. Your sister has been pretty serious with a guy for quite a while and we want you to meet him,” my father said. As if on cue, an extremely adorable guy walked over to our table and pecked Bridget on the cheek.

“Hello, you must be Blake,” he said extending his hand towards me.

“Actually, I go by Maddison.” I replied taking his hand.

“Oh sorry, well it’s nice to meet you Maddison.” He smiled pleasantly and I noticed that all eyes were on me. Brett jabbed me in the side with the end of his fork.

“Notice anything?” he asked.

“Um, that he’s clearly Russian?” I asked, breaking off a piece of my roll. My mom sputtered some of her water and looked at me horrified. “What? Isn’t he?”

“Jesus Maddison! Do you not turn on ESPN or Sportscenter…ever?!” my brother cried.

“Um, do you know me at all?” I asked.

“He’s freaking Evgeni Malkin!”

"Should that name mean something to me?” A disgusted look came over my brother’s face.

“I can’t even deal with you!” he dramatically threw down his fork.

“Maddison, he plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins,” my Dad said with a gleam in his eye.

“Oh that’s nice,” I replied. All at once I heard everyone throw down their forks, just as disgusted. Evgeni was laughing though.

“I like her. She’s not easily phased.” I smiled and continued eating the roll while the rest of my family continued to stare. They act as if they haven’t known me for twenty one years.

“So what position do you play?” Brett let out and exasperated sigh at my question. “What? I want to know.”

“Center!” everyone practically screamed at me. After that, every time I opened my mouth, even just to ask for the salt, Brett gave me the death glare. Therefore, I found it best just to shut up. When dinner was over, my parents got up to leave and I began to follow until Brett grabbed my arm, almost ripping it out of the socket.

“Have fun kids! Maddison, not too late,” my mom called as she exited the restaurant with my father in tow.

“Where are we going?” I asked as I followed Brett, Bridget, and Evgeni.

“Diesel!” They all said in unison as we began walking down the block.