Rich Man

Estimated Time Elapsed: 37 Days
Estimated Time To Completion At Current Rate: 148 Days

Awesome.

It took a few hours of flipping between written journal pages to realize something. “Wow, I was confused back then,” I whispered to myself, pressing my index finger on a paragraph where I apparently thought that Blake and Avery were the ones secretly going at it. Obviously that’s not the case.

Well, it’s easy for me to say that I’m losing my touch. It’s time I maybe changed my methods a bit anyway. This direct approach, I fear, has me on a working track, yes, but one that may result in me emotionally compromising myself. Maybe as I let Patrice cool down a bit, I should observe Milan from afar and begin building closeness with Blake. Avery and Matt won’t be of use unless their names pop up in talk of vital information… So the plan is set.

Blake, prepare to meet your new best friend.

“So, I’m thinking that I haven’t had a good game night in a long-ass time,” I dropped simply, propelling myself over the side of the couch and next to the scruffy blonde.

He glanced at me with a neutral stare, skeptical at first, but harmless nonetheless. “What kind of games are we talkin’?” was all he asked.

“Poker, spades, that kind of stuff. Or video games. Used to love playing Rockband every now and then. Ooh, Mythbusters?” I motioned toward the TV, watching cards being flung against a dummy and bouncing off every which way.

At everything leaving my mouth, Blake seemed to lighten up a bit. “Yeah, I love this episode… And I haven’t had a good game night in awhile either. Considering we’re going on another road trip, I doubt we’ll have another for awhile more.”

“Yeah, a real shame. I bet you guys are decent competition, too.”

Chuckling, he replied, “Yeah, I’m known to be a magnet for great hands.” From there, conversation faded out quickly with the ending of the commercials. A small, comfortable amount of time passed before Blake began to speak again. “I thought I heard that Avery and Lex were talking about you guys tagging along for the ride. At least, that’s what Munch told me anyway.”

That doesn’t sound half bad to me. I could use a mini getaway from the house. “Really? Well I haven’t been around either of the girls for the last couple of days, so I wouldn’t know. Wouldn’t put it past ‘em though.”

“It would be kinda cool if you guys came. Like, I’m all for it. Partying together sounds like a good time to me.”

“Yeah, agreed. Give me a chance to scope out some new territory. Think we still have time to get tickets and stuff for a flight and to the games?” I inquired, taking into account the very real fact that there may not be enough time to get these things squared away. The road trip was in only three days. It wasn’t like we had a few weeks to work with. Our chances were looking slim.

Blake pondered for a moment. “Well I’m positive you’ll be able to get game tickets if all of us band together. You won’t necessarily have seats all together at this point. That’s nearly impossible, but you’ll definitely be able to get into the game. If it’s sold out, I know Patrice and Milan have killer connections. They could probably get you guys into a box.”

My ears perked slightly. It would almost be like the first time I met Looch, back when he was injured. Hearing his words got me to rip out my phone and crank out a text to Lex. “Sounds fair enough. I wouldn’t mind sitting alone. Maybe then I’ll feel like more of a fan, submersed in a bunch of jerseys that hate my guts.”

Blake laughed. “Yeah, you can work on your trash talk.”

Road trip? Let’s do it.

-

“Okay, so here’re your tickets,” blurted Avery in a fit of excitement. She handed me an envelope with my name on it, thick with papers. I removed all of them in the seat of the cab, onto my lap and sorted through them to put them in chronological order. The first game would be tonight, against the Penguins, who I was apparently supposed to hate or something. I would be sitting alone for this one, but it was a row six seat so I wasn’t complaining.

I was happy to know that we booked rooms in the same hotels as the boys, so we’d be able to come and go with them easily. My first stop after unpacking all of my crap was up a few flights of stairs to room 2031, to be exact. The first thing that greeted me after a few knocks was a white jersey, kind of beaten up I suspected from use, and Milan’s almost stupidly happy mug on the other side of it. “Seeing as I saw you first, you’re wearing my jersey,” he stated matter-of-factly.

Shrugging, I pulled it on over my loose black tank top. It fit like a dress and was pretty worn down, but it was beat up with love and made me feel, well, special. “Thanks, kiddo. Wow, this definitely smells the part of authenticity. Not as bad as Bergeron’s, though. Speaking of which, where is the little bugger?” I asked with a humorous nonchalance that earned me a small laugh. I slipped into the room, half expecting to see Blake or another immediate part of the gang causing mayhem.

Instead, I got a face full of handsome male. Unlike jailbait Lucic over my right shoulder, he looked around my age. Oh yeah, I’m going to be hanging around this room a lot over the course of this trip. He shot me a warm smile, the kind that was just a little more inviting than it was friendly, and extended his hand to meet mine. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met. It’s Ray, right?” The words seemed to slide easily from his tongue as his tight grip cut off mine.

I half smiled and replied, “Correct. Mark, is it?” To his nod, I found myself subconsciously checking to see if there was a way to get the jersey tighter around my body. I felt pretty bag-lady in the huge thing, anyway. The subtle way his eyes traveled up and down my face and body let off the hint that he could already imagine what was under the layers of fabric.

I smirked.

Obviously he didn’t mind.

Milan cleared his throat, setting fire to a rather cruel idea in my mind. I knew I could torture him using this rather tempting male, but it wasn’t Milan who I aimed to effect. It was a certain other male whom I intended on moving to action all for the sake of fulfilling my goals. Patrice wasn’t pushing me toward Milan and he hadn’t told said man about our run-ins with one another, so my only objective now was to make him react.

A reaction out of him would tell me more about his character than what I’ve learned thus far… He’s still got time. I’ll observe a little more before doing anything to drastic. Milan’s eyes, steady and cautious, weighed down on me now. They drew me over to him, but only after I unleashed a small flirtatious smile on the other man.

“What’s wrong?” I asked Looch, walking with him down the hall to go relax in the lounge. According to him, the guest lounge was one of the coolest features of this hotel. I didn’t question him. JW Marriotts were the shit for a reason.

Jealousy was rather apparent in his eyes, which clawed at my heart strings. “I think you know,” he replied simply and watched me with saddened eyes, defiant to his usual headstrong actions. “You’re kind of tweaking everything that I know about the opposite sex. Give me time to catch up before you decide to cash in with one of my teammates, alright?” Now this, he pretty much blurted out in the quiet of the stairwell.

I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at him. “Catch… up. Are you saying you want a chance with me?”

He nodded. “Well, duh. I thought it was kind of obvious by now.”

Inhaling deeply, I sat on the bottom stair and patted the spot beside me. “That’s not a good idea,” I warned with a breathy, low tone.

“And why not? Everybody says you have some kind of magical influence on me. I used to deny it, but it’s kind of difficult to ignore it when I go to a club with guys and reject like fifty girls because they’re not close enough to you.”

“So I made your standards higher. That just means I’m a good influence and-“

“Why not? Why not give me a chance?”

My voice lowered and with all honesty I replied, “You remind me of my ex too much, alright?”

After widening, his eyes deadened slightly. I could tell he was almost embarrassed with himself and maybe a bit confused. “Well I’m better, I swear. I’ll be better. He fucked up, but that’s just it. I won’t.”

I could only shake my head weakly, staring at my lap. The decision in my mind was made swiftly and without much contemplation on the possible repercussions. Without hesitation, I stated, “I’m manipulating you, Milan.”

Obviously he didn’t get it. “Huh?”

“On purpose. I’m training you to change.”

Those eyes of his, once clouded by determination and defiance, swelled with a bitterness of confusion and anger that I had never known until watching him then. He stood up and placed himself in front of me, towering over me. However, his gaze floated around us and dodged my own. “So that’d the only reason you became my friend; to change me?” It sounded so much more fucked up when it came out of his mouth, hurt and angered.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Why?”

“Because you were hurting your friends.”

He knelt down in front of me now, blazing eyes staring into mine. I stared back without fear. I had never been one to show any. The only challenge was that he had rarely shown any himself. “How was I hurting them? I never did anything-“

“One night stands, your fist fight with Patrice, your over competitive nature, it was all getting to them. It created unnecessary tension that’s not healthy for your guys to function as a team or as a whole.” I could see it in his soured expression. My words were like venom, but he needed to hear them. “I’m sure they’ve already hinted at you, telling you to ‘cool it’ and whatnot. I care about you, that’s why I decided to-“

“To train me. Like some kind of animal. Sure.” He turned to leave me, but my mind and guilty heart fought for control over my impulses. You can guess which side won. My hand shot out, wrapping around as much of his massive bicep as I could grip, and provoked his impulse to turn into me. “What?”

His eyes were dangerous, like he could tear me apart with the least bit of effort. His malicious gaze only backed what should have been fear instilled in my head, but no. It was nothing but guilt and the hatred of the idea that he was angry with me. “Before you get angry with me, think about it. I don’t give a rat’s ass if it seems clichéd. I care about you, genuinely, and probably a lot more than I should. Just… Think before you revert just to spite me.” And with that, I gave his arm a small, shallow squeeze and turned my back to him.

There was work to be done.

-

“Wait-he knows?” Lex asked, walking through the lobby with me.

“He just knows that I manipulated him. Don’t worry, it’s all part of the plan,” I reassured her. “He’s going to be a bit angry, but he’s a passionate guy. More so than he wants to be. I’m just hoping he gets carried away and tells the right guy what I said.”

“What are you planning?”

I grinned, waving Avery over to us and replied with haste, “It’s kind of a two-way thing. One part, mine, you’ll see later once it kicks in. The other part, is, well, he plays really well when pissed off.”

Laughing, she welcomed Avery to our little twosome and we headed off to the town for some good shopping therapy.

I could have been easier on you
I could have been all you held onto
I know I wasn’t fair
I tried my best to care
About you

I knew very well what kind of risk I was taking in letting him know what I was doing. And yeah, he’d probably never trust me again, seeing as he already had hardcore trust issues in the first place, but did I really care?

Yeah, maybe a little.

Actually, I cared a lot more than I knew I should. At the same time, he was my best tool to get a rise out of Patrice. Yet, the same question kept stopping me. Why am I obsessing so hardcore about Bergeron? Does he really matter in the end?

No, no he doesn’t.

Yet I was determined to learn him inside and out anyway.

So really now all I could ask myself was this: Is it smart I even continue? But before I doubted myself and the motives I feared I was losing sight of, I stopped myself to breathe. Milan will be okay. I have complete confidence in what I know of him, anyway. There’s still time to gain back his trust again. Things will not be the same, but he will be stronger… Relax and let the pieces of your puzzle fall into place. You had confidence in it all along. Don’t start doubting your plans now.

I knew I could have been a better man
But I always had to have the upper hand
I’m struggling to see
The better side of me
But I can’t