Let me show you how I see

Geno was single?
This took a moment to process in my mind.
“Just wondering. He came to my office and left pretty quickly after something I said, so, I figured I might as well find out what was up.” I replied to Max, half-truthfully.
“Mhmm. Sure. Well, I gotta get going. I still need to pack all my shit for tomorrow. Remember a big coat, it is New York, after all.” He said, the suspicion still clear in his voice.
“Ahh. Alright. Je vous verrai demain.” I replied, trying to sound a little more collected.
“Demain, puis.”
I pressed the end call button on my phone and leaned back in my chair. This was a lot to register in a few minutes. Geno was single. He wasn’t heartbroken. He came to visit me. My heart fluttered at the thought that he was visiting just to see me, not necessarily just to check to see if I was okay. And, I knew that Dan would have texted Marc-Andre that I was alright, because he asked. And knowing Marc-Andre, he would tell the rest of the group that I was fine. Part of the group was Geno.

I drove home, thinking deeply about what had happened in the past hour and a half. And I continued thinking as I ate my dinner, packed for the trip, took a shower, readied myself for bed, and up until the moments before I fell asleep.
I made sure the next morning to do get up early to have a safe time frame to get ready. I went through my usual routine- breakfast, hair, makeup, and the news. I was trying to keep my mind clear of Evgeni, but, failed. My curiosity was still overwhelming me, and, by that point, I wanted to talk to him, not the other team members.
Once at the airport, I shuffled quickly through the lines and crowds, then down to the hanger where our plane was. TK greeted me first, a big smile on his face.
“Look who it is! Hugs for the new AM.” He said, squeezing me awkwardly and laughing.
“I can see straight up your nose from this angle.” I giggled. I had always thought of his piggy-like nose as adorable, contraire to my mother’s beliefs. “Oh, thanks Maddy.” He snorted, letting go and patting me on the back. I said my “good mornings” to the rest of the team, and had a short conversation with Gologoski before sitting down next to Adams. We chatted for a bit about a book he had just read on the Byzantines’ architectural and historical effects on the modern world. But, not before long, I heard a familiar voice.
“Hey, man. Real sorry about what happened. Hope you’re okay.” I heard Sidney say. I looked up. Geno was standing in the aisle, smiling and nodding.
“Is good. I’m fine.” He replied, shaking Sid’s hand and laughing. He looked up, and then, his eyes met mine. He tipped his head and grinned at me. I felt my cheeks flame up as I smiled back and waved a little. Flower was suddenly in my face, his huge smile taking up all of my sight.
“Oh, mon amour, why so red in the face?” He asked, wagging his eyebrows.
“Fuck off, Marc-Andre. I will fight you, you know.” I replied with a glare. I silently thanked god for making Craig put his earphones in before seeing Marc tease me so openly.
“Just keep it in your panties for now, sweetheart.” Max whispered in my ear before taking his seat. I huffed out an angry breath and crossed my arms,
“This is why I don’t talk to fellow Frenchmen.” I growled, putting on my noise proof headset. I didn’t want to deal with any more of the emotions that were bugging me. I didn’t want to feel the urge to pounce on Geno right then and there. He had just ended a relationship, and, I knew I needed to back off. No one likes the girls who jumps as soon as she knows a guy is single.
The flight to New York wasn’t long. Even with my headphones on I could hear the team laughing and joking around, and the endless spew of Marc-Andre swearing each time Sid or Max beat him playing video games.
Being in the plane gave me their family-like closeness first hand once again.

We arrived at our hotel in the city about an hour after landing. Snow had just started falling, gripping to our coats as we hurried ourselves to the floor we had rented for the duration of our stay. As I headed to my room, which I would be occupying alone, Goddard called me from down the hall.
“Maddie!”
“Oui, monsieur?” I called back, turning away from my door and luggage.
“We’re going down stairs for lunch before the pre-game practice. You wanna join?” He asked, holding the door of the elevator.
“Sure! I’ll be down in a few.” I replied, grinning.
“Cool. See ya then.” He shouted just as the elevators doors closed. I gave a late wave and unlocked the door to my room. The view from the windows was spectacular. I could see all of New York in its snow covered glory. I couldn’t imagine how beautiful the Madison Square Garden arena would be in those conditions. I changed from my air-plane get up into yet another dress and blazer outfit, hoping it would be okay for the lunch and game.
When I got to the lobby, I suddenly regretted going by myself. A huge crowd of press was suddenly piling my way, notebooks in hand. I basically ran to the restaurant, glad it had a door to close behind me. Letang smiled awkwardly from across the room and gestured for me to sit across from him.
“Max, Flower, Engell, and Geno’ll be o’re in a minute.” He said shyly, taking a sip of his drink.
“Sounds good. You think you guys’ll do well tonight?” I asked, trying to start some kind of conversation. The poor man looked so uncomfortable.
“Oh yeah. D’ lineup is perfect. I’m sure d’ practice will go well too.” He replied, looking a little less tense.
“No thanks to me. I have a lot to work on. I notice completely different things. Dan and Ray work so effortlessly together.” I frowned, handing the waitress that had just arrived my menu and ordered a drink and salad.
“It’ll get better as you go along. We all ‘ave to work to get better, no?” He chuckled, giving me a reassuring look.
“That is true.” I smiled, stealing his soda and taking a sip. Apparently, this cause the awkwardness to return. We sat in silence for about two minutes before Max sat next to him, followed by Fleury.
“You won’t mind Geno sitting next to you, right? This side is crowded.” Marc-Andre asked with a naughty grin. I felt the blood drain from my face, giving He and Max death glares. Part of me wanted to laugh at how absolutely squished they were in the one side of the booth, while the other part of me wanted to kill them slowly and painfully.
“Nope. I won’t mind at all.” I replied, forcing a grin. A shadow took up my peripheral vision, then weight next to me.
“Hallo.” Evgeni said, smiling as he sat down.
“Hey!” I croaked cheerily, taking a gulp from Kris’s soda. Things stayed pretty awkward from there. Marc-Andre and Max talked a lot, of course, but, the rest of us stayed pretty quiet besides the casual “hey, how’s your night?” the guys sitting across and behind us.
And that’s when Doucher one (Max), Doucher two (Flower), and Innocent Bystander (Kris) decided it was time to hit the bar.

“You ready for first game?” Evgeni asked after a minute of silence. I’m pretty sure I had been asked this question by everyone, including him, at least twice, but I was glad to break the quiet.
“Of course. I can’t wait to see you guys close up in action, too.” I replied, almost instantly regretting it. My mind, being in the gutter, immediately thought of “close up in action” in a inappropriate manner.
“I’m glad you excited. You look pretty, by the way. Very good.” He said, smiling the same, charming smile as before. I turned bright red, looking down.
“Merci beaucoup.” I replied quietly, trying my best to cover my embarrassment. A strand of my hair fell out of its bun as I did so. I tried to ignore it, brushing it out of my face a little as I looked up.
“Well, I guess I look nice minus that.” I said, laughing. It sounded more like I wanted to cry.
“No. look perfect.” He said gently, tucking the messy little strand behind my ear. I stood up abruptly, making him jump.
“Um. I have to use the restroom. Excuse me.” I nearly squealed, my voice ten octave higher than it should have been. He looked at me in surprise as I wobbled away, stumbling into the bathroom.
“You are a huge, huge fuck up. You’re a fucking idiot. You fucking dumb bitch.” I whined, slamming my head against the mirror in the tiny restroom. I stared at my bright red face for a minute, trying to get a hold of what I had just done.
“Okay. Alright, bitch. Focus. Work. You are here to work.” I muttered to myself, blotting my skin with a wet paper towel and re-fixing my hair. I could do this. I was going to win. I would think only about work.
I glanced at the mirror one last time before walking out. And, I had to admit, I did look decent. And I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“Fuck. You’re a loser.” I sighed, slamming the door.
This day was not going as planned.