And I Thought I Loved You Then

xxxx

Kris Letang issued a loud curse, the profanity echoing throughout the condominium apartment he shared with his girlfriend of a year and a half. Intensely wrapped up in Halo 3 on the Xbox 360, he'd been so startled by the sudden, ferocious pounding on his front door that he'd nearly jumped out of skin. One of his feet that were propped on the cluttered coffee table upsetting an overflowing bowl of Doritos, sending some of the chips tumbling onto the cream coloured carpeting. The bottle of Samuel Adams beer sandwiched between his thighs swaying uncontrollably, amber liquid cascading onto his sweats.

"This better be good," he mumbled, as he paused the game, and tossing the controller aside, leaned over the couch to scoop Doritos up and toss them into the bowl. Frowning at the noticeable orange stains left behind on the carpet. He was a dead man when Michelle saw that. Or he was riding the couch for an indefinite amount of time. "ENTER!" he bellowed, as the hammering continued.

There was a horrific squeak as door was pushed open, followed by Sid's voice as he stepped into the foyer.

"Please tell me the coast is clear," he pleaded.

"Crazy Girl isn't here," Kris assured him. "Michelle and her took off about a couple hours ago."

"I need to get my cell number changed," Sid said, as he toed off his Reebok sneakers and journeyed into the spacious living room. "She keeps calling. And she will not give up or take no for an answer. I got up this morning and she'd left seventeen messages. That's just not normal, man."

"The girl herself is just not normal," Kris concluded. "But I can't tell Chelle who she can and can't be friends with, so..."

"So at least tell her to tell her stalker friend to back off. I'm not interested, okay? That girl is insane. And that's putting it nicely. She freaks me out. It's like that movie Fatal Attraction. You know, Glenn Close going all psycho on Michael Douglas."

"Well just be thankful you don't have a pet rabbit," Kris told him. "And be a man and tell her yourself to fuck off."

"I have. Tons of times. And you know what? She laughs at me and tells me to quit playing so hard to get and to give in already. And trust me...." Sid plopped down on the couch alongside of his friend. "...there's not enough illegal substances in the world to get me to give in to that."

"Come on, she's not that bad."

Sid arched both eyebrows and stared at his friend pointedly.

"Okay....so she is. But beggars can't be choosers right? I don't see you getting any action from anyone else. Unless you've come here to tell me the complete opposite. That the girl you've been waiting on pins and needles for as finally got her head out of her ass and has called you."

"Only a week and a half later," Sid said. "Apparently that's how long it takes women these days to decide that while they'll go out for coffee with you, they just want to be friends. Nothing more. Ever."

"Ouch..." Kris whistled lowly and shook his head. "I think you need this more than I do," he declared, and picking up his beer bottle, held it out to his friend.

"I ain’t touching anything that's been between your legs," Sid declared, and jumping to his feet, headed for the kitchen.

"That isn't what you told me when I was the only love interest in your life," Kris teased.

"In your wildest and wettest Tanger," Sid responded, as he opened the fridge and helped himself to a bottle of beer.

"Oh I forgot, you prefer the big and burly guys."

"Funny....considering I've heard the rumours about you and Gill and the soap dropping incident in the shower," Sid shot back as he returned to the living room.

"I knew you'd be all jealous when you found out about that," Kris said. "So? What's up? What's going on with you and Summer?"

"Autumn," Sid corrected as he took a seat on the couch once again. "Her name is Autumn."

"Alright....so what's the story with you two? You've been walking around moping like a dejected school girl without a date for the prom for the last week and a half. You've been bitchy and moody and PMSing something fierce. She just call you out of nowhere or..."

"She left a message with Pat."

"She left a message saying she'd met you for coffee and that she just wanted to be friends with your agent?"

"No...she left a message with him asking if he'd get me to call her."

"How come you never made use of that business card you showed me? The one you poached when she wasn't looking?"

"You mean the one you made me show you to prove I'd actually met her and I wasn't making it up to get away from psycho stalker?"

Kris nodded and swigged his beer.

"I never got around to using it," Sid said, and twisted the cap off of his own drink.

"You mean you never stopped being a pussy long enough to use it," his friend corrected. "So you two are going out for coffee?"

"Tomorrow. She's meeting me after practice."

Kris' eyebrow shot up. "At the arena?"

Sid nodded.

"Talk about throwing the poor girl to the wolves already!" Kris exclaimed. "What is wrong with you? Letting her come to the arena with all of your team mates around? You really want her running into Max? King Pervert Extraordinaire? 'Cause if she's as hot as you're saying she is, he's going to be all over that. And the next thing you know? He'll be banging the girl you're jonesin' for."

"Trust me, he is definitely not her type."

"And judging by her just friends thing, you're not her type either," Kris pointed out. "What's up with that? How come she's jerking you around?"

"Apparently, I'm too young for her," Sid said with a roll of his eyes. "She thinks that four and a half years is too much. I mean, I can understand that if I was twenty two with the mentality of a twelve year old. But I'm pretty mature, right?"

"You have your moments," Kris told him.

"I mean, I just don't get it. I thought that we really clicked at the hospital. I was talking to her like I'd known her forever. Telling her things about myself that I've never, ever told anyone else. I thought that there was something there. I felt something there. And now she's telling me that she just wants us to be friends? What kind of shit is that?"

"The kind of shit that a girl who's either a lesbian or already has a boyfriend dishes out," Kris concluded.

"She doesn't have a boyfriend and she's not a lesbian," Sid said. "Those two things I know for sure. What I don't know is why this age thing is such a massive deal to her. It's only four years. It's not like ten or anything. And I already told her that it doesn't bother me that she has a kid."

Kris nearly spit out a mouthful of beer. "Whoa...whoa...whoa....slow your row...she has a kid?"

"Ryan. He's seven."

"Seven? That's halfway to a teenager for Christ sakes! Where's the dad? She's not suddenly going to appear on Maury Povich looking for the baby daddy seven years later is she?"

"She knows who the father is numb nuts. She was married and he died and..."

"Sacre le Bleu!" Kris muttered in French. "A kid and a husband?!"

"Deceased husband," Sid corrected, as he leaned forward to hit the reset button on the game console. "So it's not like he's going to be coming back into the picture anytime soon. He was a state trooper in New Jersey."

"Jesus H Christ..." Kris downed the last of his beer. "I'm going to need an entire two four to get through this conversation. Why didn't you tell me all of this before? All you told me was that you'd met this amazing girl. You left out the parts about a husband and a kid."

"Only person I told all of that to was Mario," Sid said, as he picked up the extra controller and set the game to two player mode.

"And what did he say? Did he tell you what a moron you are and to just move along and find some girl without so much...baggage?"

"He told me that it was ultimately my decision what I wanted to do with my life. That it was up to me who I wanted to date and that if it was her, he would support me a hundred percent. He just said that he wanted me to be careful. That I was getting mixed up in some real adult stuff and he was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"In other words, he found a nice way to tell you what a tool you are," Kris concluded. "So maybe this is all a blessing in disguise. Her telling you she just wants to be friends. Friends is cool. 'Cause do you honestly want to be getting mixed up with someone that's been married and has a kid?"

"I want to get mixed up with her 'cause she's totally different than anyone I've ever known," Sid informed him. "Because she doesn't treat me differently. She just treats me like I'm some normal guy. She doesn't care how well I play hockey or how much money I make. And she's beautiful and smart and she's..."

"And she's someone's mother and someone's ex wife!" Kris exclaimed. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Sid frowned, and snatching up the other controller, tossed it at his friend. "Are we going to play or not?" he asked. "'Cause I didn't come here to listen to you shit all over me, okay?"

"I am not shitting all over you," Kris told him. "I am just saying that maybe it's a good thing she just wants to be friends. I'm sure she's a really nice girl and all of that and that you..."

"Would you drop it already? I get it. You think I'm a moron for wanting to be with her and that Autumn would be the biggest mistake of my life. Alright. Drop it. You got what you want. She just wants to be friends. Happy?"

xxxx

"You're not happy," Kris pointed out, after severel minutes of silence.

"Let's just shut up and play, okay? I don't want to talk about. I came here for a little sympathy and what do I get? You wagging your big mouth off. We can't all have the perfect life like you. The perfect girlfriend. The one whose prettier than everyone else and more popular than everyone else. We should just all bow to you and kiss your ass because you're life is just so damn fucking perfect."

Kris' eyes widened. "You need to get laid," he declared.

"And you need to shut your goddamn gate before I shut it for you."

"You wouldn't be this crabby if you just gave in to Meghan already," Kris pointed out.

"Dude. I wouldn't touch that girl with someone else's equipment, alright? I know who I want. Only thing I don't know is how I'm going to get her. I mean, I managed to talk her boss into giving me her home number and address and..."

"And you call Crazy Girl a psycho stalker?!" Kris laughed hysterically. "Next thing you know you'll be sitting out front of her house watching her every move. You'll know her schedule off by heart and what colour underwear she prefers and you'll be sifting through her garbage looking for some little memento to see you through your lonely nights."

Sid frowned, then drew back his right arm. Forming a fist, he punched his friend square in the shoulder.

"Sonofabitch!" Kris roared, tears springing to his eyes as he dropped the game controlling and clasped a hand over his injured shoulder. "I don't care what anyone says..." he managed. "You are definitely a lot tougher than people give you credit for."

"Lay off of Autumn alright," Sid said. "Or it'll be your face that I mess up next time."

"Spoken like a man in love," Kris chuckled. "Unrequited love at that."

"Tanger..." Sid gave an exasperated sigh and glared at him. "I will totally fuck you up."

"What are you even doing here?" Kris asked. "Why are you even here bitching and moaning to me? Why aren't you going to see this girl you're hopelessly in love with and..."

"I am not hopelessly in love with her. I like her, okay? A lot. And I'd like to try and have something with her and see if I can't fall hopelessly in love with her."

"You're a sappy bastard!" Kris yanked the controller out of his friend's hands. "Get the hell out of here and go and bear your soul to her! Go to her house and tell her all of this! Why are you waxing poetic to me when you could be spilling your guts to her and trying to change her mind? Why must you come here and ruin my 'me time'?"

"Me time? Shouldn't you and your left hand be doing that kind of thing in the bathroom?"

"Unlike you, I have someone to do that for me," Kris shot back. "Seriously though. Why are you here telling me all of this when you could be telling her? I'm not the one who needs to hear this!"

"I can't just show up at her house," Sid said. "I mean, how would that look if I just showed up out of nowhere when she doesn't even know I know where she lives?"

"Desperate and pathetic," Kris concluded. "But sometimes desperate and pathetic is a necessity."

"Which definitely explains why Michelle is with you," Sid deadpanned.

"You know, I much preferred you when you were the shy, quiet kid that never said too much," Kris mused. "When you used to just let us ride your ass about every little thing and you'd just take it. Now? Well now you're just too damn mouthy for your own good."

"I can't just go over to her house," Sid grumbled. "I can't just knock on her front door and tell her all of this."

"Why the hell not? If you just suck it up and tell her how you feel...how you really feel...maybe she'll realize how stupid her whole 'I only want to be friends' thing really is. I mean, isn't it better to try and crash and burn? Or would you rather just spend the rest of your life wondering about what could have been?"

"I'd rather not make a complete ass of myself," Sid said.

"What could possibly be worse than what's already happened? What could be worse than hearing some girl you're nuts about telling you that she just wants to be your friend?"

"Her telling me she wants nothing to do with me?" Sid suggested. "At all?"

"So you'd rather just go alone with this whole, 'let's be friends and hang out' crap then pull up your big boy pats and just tell the girl exactly how you feel?" Kris asked incredulously. "You'd rather be buddies with her then take a chance at having something more?"

"No...I'd rather keep my dignity and not completely embarass myself," Sid replied. "She told me she just wanted to be friends so I..."

"And you're just going to accept that?"

Sid sipped his beer and nodded.

"Okay...let me get this straight. You haven't had a girlfriend once since you came here and..."

"Because I haven't met anyone that's been girlfriend material and I haven't exactly had the time to really look," Sid interjected.

"...and you finally meet someone that you obviously want to be with and you're just going to sit back and take it when she tells you she just wants to be friends?" Kris couldn't wrap his head around that logic.

Sid gave another nod.

Frowning, Kris gave his friend an aggressive shrug that nearly sent him toppling off the sofa. "What in the hell is wrong with you?!" he bellowed. "Get the hell out of here! Get off my couch and get out of my apartment and go and grovel to your girl."

"She is not my girl," Sid reminded him, and polished off his beer in one large gulp. "Not that I don't want her to be, but..."

"But you're too much of a chicken shit to do anything about it!" Kris finished. "Now go! Get the hell out of here and go and see her and get down on your hands and knees and beg and plead for her to reconsider. Buy her flowers. Buy her jewellery. Buy her a car with your millions upon millions! But do something! Make a total fool out of yourself if you have to!"

"Sorry...but grovelling bitch is more your style," Sid retorted, and used the back of his hand to swat the ball cap off of Kris' head. "I'm out of here," he announced, then jumping to his feet, journeyed out of the living room. "If you don't hear from me for a couple of days, I've curled up somewhere to die from embarrassment. A slow, painful, agonizing death at that."

"We have a game in two days! If you're sorry ass isn't there or you let some girl send your skills down the toilet..."

"Unlike you Tanger, I can multitask. I am capable of having a girlfriend and functioning in all other aspects of my life."

"We'll see about that," he snorted, as he slipped off the couch and joined his friend in the foyer. "And I expect some x-rated details of your visit at practice tomorrow," he said.

"Are you kidding me?" Sid laughed dryly as he shoved his feet into his sneakers. "Way things are going I'll be lucky if I get past PG-13. How am I supposed to explain why I'm at her house? And how I even know where she lives?"

"Tell her you're stalking her 'cause you're a pathetic bastard," Kris suggested.

Sid frowned.

"Okay...so leave the stalking part out so you don't scare her. But you are a pathetic bastard when it comes to women. I mean you're twenty two and you've been with how many girls?"

"None of your business."

"Half a dozen, if that. Maybe on your way over there you should stop at Barnes and Noble and see if they've got some self help guide. Something like, A Dummies Guide to Scoring a Hot Cougar."

"Four and half years,Tanger! Not fourteen! She's not a cougar."

"Maybe you should stop at Toys R Us, too. Buy the kid something to get him on your good side."

"How about you stop being a wise ass before you find my fist in your face?"

"I am just having some fun with you," Kris tousled his friend's hair playfully. "I'm just yanking your chain 'cause I love seeing your cheeks go all red like you're some virginal Catholic school boy. Seriously though, tell her the truth. About how you know where she lives. 'Cause nothing is going sink this faster then you bullshitting your way through stuff. Just be honest. About everything."

"You've been watching Doctor Phil again, haven't you," Sid stated with a smirk.

"Tyra Banks show, actually. Girl's crazy hot. It's my guilty pleasure. Trust me about this. Open your mouth and speak the truth. Or else you're going to crap out before anything even gets off the ground. Better yet, find an excuse to go over there. Find a logical reason to why you'd just show up. Bring her some tickets for the game or something. That way it looks like you're there for legit reasons and then you can drop the bomb on her."

Sid nodded as he considered his options. "I'm out," he announced, then reached for the door handle. Having to jump back to avoid being smacked in the face as the heavy wooden door swung open unexpectedly. "Or maybe I'm in," he said, as Michelle, her hands loaded down with shopping bags, stepped into the apartment, giving a small shriek as she nearly collided face first with him. "Please tell me you're alone!" he pleaded, then sticking his head out into the hallway, peered left down the hallway, then right.

"Meghan's down in the lobby flirting with one of the maintenance guys," Michelle told him. "But she noticed your SUV in the outdoor lot and..."

"Tons of people drive silver Range Rovers," Kris said.

"She knows his licence plate number," Michelle informed her boyfriend. "In fact, she took a pic of it with the phone on her camera and keeps it stored in there."

"You just may need to go into the Witness Protection Program," Kris told Sid. "Girl's insane."

"She's a very, very, very sweet girl," Michelle argued. "And you!" she slapped Sid in the stomach with one of her bags. "Are being a tool for not returning her calls!"

"I don't want to return her calls!" he exclaimed. "How much plainer do I have to be! I already told her I don't want to go out with her! What more does she want from me? Does she want me to be mean? 'Cause if she wants mean I can do mean."

"Probably turn her on even more," Kris said. "She's all sorts of sick and twisted."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "One date," she pleaded with Sid. "I'm not asking for a miracle here. I'm not asking you to part the Red Sea. I'm just asking you to take her out and show her a nice time and..."

"A nice time for her is slipping E into his drink or knocking him unconscious to do her thing with him!" Kris cried. "And then informing him nine months later she's suing him for millions in child support. And then he'll pay faithfully for eighteen years and you know what will happen? On the kid's eighteenth birthday?"

"He'll find out it isn't his," Sid and Kris finished in unison, then executed a fist pound before Kris erupted into the chorus of Kanye West's Gold Digger.

"If you ain't no punk holler we want pre-nup!" Kris sang at the top of his lungs. "'Cause when she leave your ass, she gonna leave with half..."

"You're both morons," Michelle declared, dropping her bags at her boyfriend's feet before heading into the kitchen.

"This is exactly why everything is in my name and my name only," Kris whispered to Sid.

"What was that?" Michelle called from the next room.

"Just telling my boy how much I love you, honey!" Kris yelled. Then rolled his eyes. "Anyway, remember what I said. Honesty all the way. And do yourself a favour and take the back exit and double back to the lot to avoid Drucilla."

"I'll give you a call later," Sid said, then stepped out into the hallway.

"Details!" Kris stood in the doorway and watched his friend begin walking towards the elevator, then change his mind and decide to take the stairs instead. "Smart boy!" he praised. "Have fun exploring the four seasons!"

Sid just smirked and shook his head and pulling open the door to the stairwell, gave a wave before disappearing from sight.

"What was that about?" Michelle asked, as she joined her boyfriend at the door. "The four seasons?"

"Sid's going for a booty call," Kris told her. "Got himself some hot thing. We call her Calendar Girl 'cause she's named after three of the four seasons."

Michelle frowned. "How come he's never told me any of this? And how come he's stringing Meghan along? Telling her how he's into her and all of that. How come..."

Taking Michelle's face in his hands, Kris pressed a soft kiss to her lips to silence it. "First, Meghan? Drucilla? Cruella Deville? Whatever it is all the guys call her? She's delusional. And she's full of shit."

"But she..."

Kris kissed her again. "And what goes on with Sid and this girl he's into?"

Michelle waited for her boyfriend to continue.

"Is none of your business," Kris finished, and pecked her forehead before heading back into the apartment.