Too Blind to See It!

“Oh my God Jenna. He was soooo good.” Phoebe said laying on my couch with her feet up over the arm. Her head was in my lap and, I was playing with her long pretty black curls.

“No details please. You know you’re going to get a disease one of these days, or pregnant. Imagine you with a kid.” We both broke into a fit of giggles. Phoebe with a kid, there were not many things funnier than that.

“Give me some credit. We used protection.”

“Well thank God for that. Seriously though Pheebs. Someday you’re going to find out that sex in a relationship is so much better than hopping from bed to bed.”

“Look at you. Talking from experience there Jenna? I mean come on saving yourself for mister right. How do you know it’s going to be better? You might just wait for that perfect night with the man you just married, and it might just suck. Sex sucks sometimes. Sometimes you aren’t compatible with someone. You’ve got to try it before you buy it.”

“PHOEBE! I don’t know if I’ll wait till I’m married, but I’m not going to give it away to some dude at a bar that’s for sure. No, the first person I make love to needs to be someone I know intimately. Someone I’m so close with that there’s nothing left for us to discover about each other, we just have to take that final step. Maybe it won’t be magical, but it will honest and deep and passionate, and if I’m lucky magical too.”

“Hey, me and the cowboy, that was honest. He knew what I wanted, and he gave it to me… again and again." That was my Phoebe; I rolled on the couch laughing. She loved having an audience so she continued. "It was passionate too, look here,” she pulled her shirt down and showed me the hickey that was on her left boob, “now that’s passion. And deep well…”

“STOP! I told you I don’t want details,” and just as she was about to give them to me anyway like she always did, there was a knock on my door.

“Expecting someone Snow White? Maybe Prince Charming has arrived to sweep you off your feet and give you the night of your life, after you get to know him of course.” She teased.

“Shut up!” I yelled at her as I opened the door. “Zach.”

“Hey. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Phoebe’s head poked up over the couch. “You’re not interrupting anything at all.” She said in a sexy voice. “Jenna, you didn’t tell me you made nice with a vampire.”

“It turns out the vampire lives in my building.”

“Of course he does,” she replied, and I could sense that she knew there was more to the story.

“Zach you remember Phoebe from last night.”

“Of course. How could I forget. I see you’re horns have gone away.”

“No they’re still there. You just can’t see them.” She hit the nail on the head with that statement.

Zach laughed and turned toward me. “I just wanted to stop by and see if you wanted to come to my game tomorrow night. I can leave tickets for you.”

“Tickets to what game?” Phoebe asked, butting in to the conversation and not giving me a chance to answer.

“Oh, I play for the Devils.”

“You play hockey?” she asked sounding shocked.

“Yeah. Do you follow hockey?”

“Only the Pittsburgh Penguins. No offence.”

“None taken.”

“Do you know Jordan Staal?”she asked.

“PHOEBE!” I scolded. Phoebe had a huge crush on Jordan Staal and would tell me all her crazy little fantasies. I was certain she wouldn’t hesitate to share them with Zach.

Zach laughed. “Sure I know him a little, but when people like the Pens, they usually ask me about Sidney Crosby.”

“No. Sid’s good and all, but too perfect. I’m more of a Staal fan. I love the way he plays. I wonder if he has sex like he plays hockey.”

“PHOEBE!” I was sure she was just trying to embarrass me, and it was working.

Zach laughed. “Well we don’t play the Penguins tomorrow, but I know another Staal. It just so happens that we play his team tomorrow.”

“Wait! Another Staal?”

“Jordan’s brother Marc plays for the Rangers. He’s a good friend of mine. I can introduce you, but you’ll have to come to the game.” He was talking to Phoebe, but he turned toward me waiting for my answer.

“Oh thanks Zach, but I don’t think…”

“We’ll come!” Phoebe interjected.

Zach stayed focused on me knowing that wasn’t my answer but it’s the one he obviously wanted to hear. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll leave the tickets for you. If you use them great. If not, well maybe another game.”

Zach left, and the look on Phoebe's face told me she wanted more information. And the questions began…

“So you found out the vampire lived in your building? How’d you find out? After he kissed you good night?”

“No. I just had a lot to drink, and I didn’t recognize him at first.”

“Oh so when he smashed you against your front door with his hands on your boobs, was that when you realized it was him?”

“Get control of yourself. I’ve known Zach for awhile. Sex has nothing to do with it.” Well it was kind of sexual with the whole leg thing, but I wasn’t about to go into that with Phoebe.

“Oh right, so how many games did he invite you to before he saw your long legs in a French maid costume?”

“None.” I rolled my eyes at her knowing where this was going.

“And you don’t think it was sexual?”

“It wasn’t. Let it go Pheebs!”

“So he see’s you in your little French maid outfit, and shows up the next day with tickets to a game which he’s never offered you before. And you still don’t think it’s sexual?”

“He has a girlfriend.” I stated matter-of-factly.

Like that would shut her up. “Did you see yourself last night? You were so hot. You were enough to make any man cheat.”

That’s not who I wanted to be. I preferred being Jenna the college student or Jenna the smart girl or Jenna the good writer. Never did I want to be referred to as Jenna the girl who makes boyfriends want to cheat. “He’s a good guy, and he’s not like that.”

“He’s a hot guy and all guys are like that.”

“Nothing happened and nothing is going to happen that is one thing I am completely sure of.” And it was a depressing thought really.

“Then you won’t mind if I take a stab at him.”

“What!? No. Phoebe No!”

“Why Jenna? Do you have a little crush?” Phoebe nestled her head on my shoulder teasing me..

“No, yes, no. I’d NEVER try to break up a relationship. Zach’s a nice guy, kind of perfect actually, and he deserves to be in a good relationship. He doesn’t need me or YOU trying to break that up.”

“Well if he’s so perfect then maybe he does belong with youmy beautiful friend. It sounds like you’d be a great couple.”

“Stop Phoebe. Please!”

“OK. I’ll stop on one condition.”

“Anything.”

“We go to the game tomorrow night.”

“AHHHH.”

**** The Game

Standing outside of the arena I had little butterflies. I had to hide my excitement from Phoebe who would have had a field day with this little piece of information. I’d been to plenty of Devils games. This was different. Today I was invited to the game by Zach Parise. Sure Zach and I were friends, and if we weren't talking about hockey, which we rarely did, he was just my neighbor Zach, but the flutter in my stomach brought back memories of the first time I met Zach.

He introduced himself to me after I bumped into him in the storage area in the basement of our building. No introduction was needed, the second I saw him I recognized him. I was incredibly excited, but didn’t want to come off all crazy fan girl.

“Are you Zach Parise that plays for the Devils,” I asked trying to have the appearance of calm, but jumping up and down like a little kid inside.

He blushed immediately, and I knew right away that he was a good guy. Zach is an amazingly talented hockey player, and he has every right to be a conceited asshole. I could tell Zach was a normal guy, who just happened to play for MY NEW JERSEY DEVILS!

“Yep, the one and only," he replied looking to the floor slightly embarrassed by his stardom.

I can’t lie, my stomach did little flips, “You had a great season.”

“Thanks,” he said almost shyly.

“But I’d really like to see you break the Devil’s fifty goal record this year.”

“I’d like that too.” He blushed again.

After that conversation flowed between us. Zach seemed remarkably comfortable with me despite the fact that I clearly knew who he was. Maybe the connection came because I knew what I was talking about when it came to hockey, yet I wasn’t asking him out or offering him sexual favors. After that meeting in the basement of our building we became friends. Not call you on the phone friends or text all the time friends, but I did have his number in my cell phone. “Just in case you need something,” he said as he gave it to me. “You do live alone.” Yes, Zach was the perfect guy. No question.

I sat in the stands next to Phoebe explaining little nuances of the game. She'd watched hockey, well the Penguins before, but she admittedly liked looking at the guys more than following the game itself. It was just another way we were polar opposites. When she searched the ice for Zach, she recognized one of the other players. "Holy shit Jenna!" she said standing up and pointing, "That's my cowboy."

I grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "Shhh. Everyone's looking at you."

"Do you see him? That's him. Looks like this night just got even better." I rolled my eyes, and she jabbed me with her elbow. She made me tell her everything I knew about number 19, Travis Zajac, which wasn't anything other than hockey stats.

It didn't take long for her to recognize the Rangers D-man, Marc Staal. She practically drooled as he slammed Zubrus into the glass in front of us. "Oh it does run in the family," she practically moaned out, and I understood her reference to Jordan without further explanation. "Hey Jenna what do you think the chances are that I can get Marc andTravis to..."

"Ahhh! Stop." Nothing she could have said would have been good.

"Sorry Snow White," she said giggling at me.

She could watch Marc Staal or Travis Zajac all she wanted. She could drool or pant over them, but my sites were set on different player. I loved to watch Zach Parise play hockey. Even before I met him, there was always something about him that hypnotized me when he split the D to go in for a goal. Zach was amazing, and I couldn't tear my eyes from him.

Zach Parise is a gentleman; he's great looking; and he's a sick hockey player. He is perfect in every sense of the word, and to match his perfection he has a perfect girlfriend, Allison.

What can I say about Allison. She was tall, taller than Zach when she wore heals which was every time I’d ever seen her. Her hair was long and red, my mother would call it auburn, it fell to her shoulder in waves that can only be achieved with hours of work. Her eyes were like icicles, I could see how someone might find them attractive, but I found them cold. Her eyelashes were a mile long; blonds do not come by eyelashes like that naturally. Her lips were perfect, too perfect, too pouty, but the kicker were her boobs. They weren’t super big but they were perfectly round. You couldn’t miss how round they were, like two balloons tucked under her tight sweater. She hugged me once when she was drunk at a party she threw for Zach, I thought she was going to put holes in my chest they were so hard. I wondered what Zach saw in her, and it took everything in me not to judge her. Was she a puck bunny he picked up after a game one day? Was she after his money? Yes every time I saw her or thought about her, I had to force myself not to judge her. That’s not who I am. I love everyone, give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but with Allison doing that was really hard. She seemed nice enough really, and if she makes Zach happy that's all that matters.

So as the final seconds of the game ticked down and the Devils were about to beat the Rangers 4-2. I fumbled with the envelope that held two locker room passes. Zach had left them for us at will-call with the tickets. I did not want Phoebe to meet Allison. I didn't know if Allison was even at the game, but I knew Phoebe would hate her, and at very least she'd go on and on about how I'd be better suited for Zach. I thought briefly about not telling her I had the passes and just going home, but I couldn't. Zach had promised to introduce her to Marc Staal, and truthfully, I was so excited to go to the locker room. These guys were my heros. I'd been watching Marty Brodeur in net since I was a child.

"Phoebe," I said as we sat waiting for the general public to clear out. "Zach left us passes to go down to the locker room."

Her eyes lit up. "He's a good man that Zach. I need to meet that other Staal. Let's Go!"

"First please promise me you wont embarrass me. Zach's girlfriend is probably going to be there, and I don't want to cause any problems."

"Wait! Zach has a girlfriend?"

"Yes, I told you that."

"I thought you were just trying to get me to shut up. "

"No, he really has a girlfriend. Please don't say anything embarrassing. Ok? No sexual references and no comments about how I should be his girlfriend."

"Ok no comments about you being Zach's girlfriend."

"What about sexual references?" I asked reminding her of that stipulation.

"We're going into a locker room full of hot men. No sexual references would be like cruel and unusual punishment. Besides, without sex talk how am I going to get Marc Staal and my cowboy to..."

"PHOEBE!"

We walked down the hallway where the usher had pointed us to go. As we came upon a large security guard, I showed him the passes.

"Who are you here to see miss?" he asked.

"Zach Parise gave us the passes, but if it's a problem..." I started to say, but was cut off.

"No, it's no problem. Are you Jenna?" He looked back and forth between Phoebe and I.

"I'm Jenna." I said puzzled at how he'd know my name.

"Mr. Parise told me to have you knock on the locker room door if you came down. It's that door over there."

It was obvious which door he meant. It had a big NJ logo on it.

I thanked the man for his help, and saw that Phoebe was already outside the doors looking in through a small crack. I elbowed her, telling her to stop and knocked on the door. When we were greeted by a shirtless sweaty Jamie Langenbrunner, I gasped for a second. Jamie Langenbrunner was standing in front of me almost naked. "I...I..." I stuttered.

"We're looking for Zach," Phoebe said, obviously not affected my half naked men like I was.

I felt like a complete idiot when Jamie let out a laugh that was clearly targeted toward me, and turned to yell, "Parise! You have visitors."

I saw Zach look up from his bench seat and when his eyes fell on mine they lit up and a smile came on his face that I wish I could have kept in my pocket for safe keeping. I'd seen him smile before plenty of times, but I never saw his face light up and his eyes sparkle quite like they did at that moment. I convinced myself that I had just seen in his face what I wanted to see and brought myself back to earth as Zach made his way toward us. My face reddened the closer he got, as this was the first time I'd ever seen Zach without a shirt, and I liked what I saw way more than I should. I felt like I was doing something dirty just standing next to the shirtless specimen.

"Jenna! you came." His voice held a sincere excited tone. He leaned over and gave me an innocent kiss on the cheek, and this small contact made my body temperature rise. "I would have hugged you," he said explaining the kiss, "but..." he pointed to the his chest area which was covered with little beads of perspiration as his explanation. The fact that he was practically instructing me to look at his naked chest sent tingles through my body.

With his hand on the small of my back he lead us into the locker room and started introducing us around. The smell of sweat and testosterone filled the thick air between the partially clothed men. Phoebe could call me Snow White all she wanted, but I was overwhelmed by how extremely turned on it made me.

I watched as Travis recognized Phoebe and a smirk grew on his face. "Phoebe?" he questioned like it might be a dream .

"Hey cowboy!" she purred out. Only Phoebe could get away with using a tone like that, and it drew the attention of most of the locker room. Phoebe was pretty enough with strikingly large brown eyes long wavy brown hair and a great body, but she always told me that there are a million girls out there more attractive than her. No, Phoebe believed she had a secret weapon, a weapon that scared the crap out of me, her confidence. It oozed from her pores and the odorless scent would infiltrate the senses of any unsuspecting man (or woman for that matter), render them powerless and suck them in. This was a big part of the reason that her little lingerie shop did so well. Phoebe was impossible to resist; she knew it and knew how to use this superpower of hers.

I was the only one in the room that understood this about Phoebe, and I watched the scene unfold. When she didn't make a move toward Travis, he was rendered powerless and looked confused. He couldn't wait for her, sucked in, so he moved toward her, grabbing her hand and pulling her gently over to his locker offering her the seat in front of him on the bench. He looked at his teammates who were obviously interested in knowing more about this sex kitten, then knelt in front of her where he obviously felt he could keep her away from his competition. Oh, poor Travis. I hoped he wasn't falling for her.

The one man that didn't seem phased by Phoebe's charms was Zach. This was the third time they'd met, and he never once gave her one of those lust filled glances that she gets from almost every man. He even saw her corseted up at Halloween. I chalked it up to him being completely in love with Allison, which warmed my heart, yet broke it a little at the same time. I could only hope I would find a guy like that, someone who loved me enough to not take a second look at women like Phoebe. (No Offense Pheebs.)

With my best friend entertained, Zach finished the introductions. That's when I met HIM, all showered and in a perfectly tailored suit, Marty Brodeur. He is not only the best goalie ever; he's an icon, the epitome of everything that is Devils' hockey. I know we talked, I'm sure Zach was polite and did the introductions, but I zoned out in total shock, completely wrapped up in meeting my all time favorite goalie.

As Marty walked away toward his waiting family, Zach sat me down at his locker. "Oh my God Zach. Did I just make the biggest ass out of myself?"

He laughed at me. "No. You were fine I assure you." His face still held the smile that his laugh brought. "Hey, why don't you get like that over me?" he asked jokingly.

"Oh come on! He's Mary Brodeur."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty good." Zach now feigned hurt.

"But he's MARTY BRODEUR."

"Oh forget it. If you knew all the weird stuff he did before a game, you wouldn't be so impressed."

"Weird stuff? Tell me Zach." Desperate for knowledge I tugged on his hockey pants like a four year old.

"I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you. You know Devils rules."

"Right." I said smiling up at him.

All heads in the locker room turned as the perfect girlfriend entered throwing her Louis bag over her shoulder yelling "Zach!" He leaned in to kiss her, but she waved him off with a disgusted face. "No Zach. You stink!" My eyes flew to Zach's face wondering if he'd be hurt by the rejection, but he seemed unfazed. I silently took a deep breath trying to see if Zach actually smelled the way Allison had proclaimed. I guess he did, but did she not see him standing there without a shirt. If he was my boyfriend, I would have kissed him; I would have, well never mind. 'She's crazy,' I thought and that's when I realized they were both looking at me.

"Well?" Allison asked seemingly out of nowhere.

Again it was time to pay the price for getting lost in my thoughts. Though I was not paying attention, I was pretty sure her 'Well' was directed toward me, and I was also pretty sure that it was the first time she acknowledged my presence. "Sorry, I zoned out."

"Will you keep my Zachy company at dinner? I really want to go out with my girlfriends." Allison whined out her words as she sprang up and down in her heals. I noticed Zach roll his eyes.

I looked over my shoulder where Phoebe sat. She had her tongue out and her finger thrusting inside her mouth to silently tell me how gross Allison was, and how repulsed she was by the use of the name 'Zachy'. I giggled quickly, then looked back at the couple who were still waiting for my answer. "Oh, I don't think so. I have a lot of writing to do."

"Come on Jenna. Don't make me eat by myself."

Damn those eyes, it was a good thing Zach wasn't my boyfriend, I could never resist him. I looked back at Allison for confirmation that she was OK with me going to dinner with her boyfriend, but she was already walking out of the room.

"Bye baby," she said waving to him, and just as she didn't greet me as she came, she didn't say good bye to me either. Not that I cared, but it's just the polite thing to do. Without caring if her boyfriend would be alone for dinner, she was gone in all her fake glory. (Oh that was judgmental wasn't it?)

"So... Will you come to dinner? My treat." He looked so hopeful. I wondered how in the world his girlfriend had the strength to blow him off and go out with her friends.

"Ok," I breathed out, and I noticed Phoebe wink and give me a thumbs up on the other side of the room.

"Great. I'm going to get showered and then we'll go. I'll treat Phoebe too, if she wants to go."

I looked behind me to see her stroking the muscle of Travis's bare arm. "Something tells me she's going to have other plans."

Zach turned around to view Travis and Phoebe and laughed a little. "Hey Phoebe, when I get out of the shower I'll take you to meet Staal."

Phoebe smiled and nodded, but I heard Travis say, "Staal? Why do you want to meet him?"

****

The visitors dressing room was smaller than the Devils', and I was relieved that all the guys were dressed and most had already left. I assumed they were headed for the bus that was waiting to take them through the tunnel on the short drive back to Manhattan.

It didn't matter to me one way or the other if we met Marc Staal, though Zach described him as a really nice guy. It's just that he played for the Rangers. I wan't sure how Zach could be friends with someone on the Rangers. As a die hard lifetime Devils fan I found it hard to like anything Rangers, though I had nothing personal against Marc Staal.

Marc was just fixing up his tie as we entered, and I saw Phoebe's eyes get big, the first obvious reaction she'd had of any of the events that had taken place tonight. She didn't wait to be introduced, and I notice Zach laugh as Phoebe sauntered up and introduced herself. Zach held me back by my arm for a second. I think he wanted to see what would happen.

"Hi I'm Phoebe." Her hand was out stretched.

He politely put his hand in hers and shook it while looking over her shoulder at Zach. "Well hello there Phoebe. It's nice to meet you. Am I to understand you have a thing for one of my brothers?"

"Brothers?" she asked. "As in more than one?"

"Jordan plays for the Pens, Eric for the Hurricanes and Jared, the youngest was signed by Phoenix."

"Wait really? Four... of you?" She said pointing up and down at him.

I was afraid where her dirty mind would take her. Her eyes drifted toward me, and she bit her lip to keep from saying what she was thinking.

Marc laughed, "Yep, so which one is it, because you know Eric's married. His wife just had a baby."

"Jordan," she replied.

He shook his head at her. "I should have known. All the beautiful girls like Jordan." While you'd think that Marc was totally hitting on her, it didn't come across that way. It was more like he was stating a fact than making a move, and for some strange reason this instantly made him seem more attractive.

He just called her beautiful to her face, but she didn't flinch, her color stayed the same, though I blushed a little for her.

"This is Jenna." Zach said now guiding me forward.

"So this is Jenna. It's nice to meet you."

What did that mean? 'So this is Jenna?' I could tell Phoebe wanted to know the same thing by the way she looked at me. "Hi. Nice to meet you Marc."

"So which one of my brothers do you have a crush on?" he asked.

"None," I said matter-of-factly.

"Well that's encouraging," he replied obviously flirting.

"Nevermind Marc!" Zach said protectively stopping our flirting before it started and causing both Phoebe and I to turn and look at him.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment until I spoke up. "Sorry, I'm a Devils fan and ONLY a Devils fan. My biggest crush is on Marty Brodeur."

"I see," he said stroking his chin. "So you don't like the Rangers at all?"

"Nope, sorry."

"I can't win Parise," he said.

"Maybe you should see about getting traded we could always use a third line D-man," Zach replied.