Goodnight, Beautiful.

“Please be nice, Bristol.” Kris leaned against the door frame of her bedroom. “For the first time in your life, please be nice. Just for tonight, then you can go back to hating her.”

Bristol carefully dusted her eyelids with a dark shadow before dropping the brush and picking up her eyeliner. She refused to look at him as she lined her eyes and put mascara on her lashes. “I don’t hate her,” Bristol proclaimed. “I dislike her is all.”

Kris rolled his eyes. He had just about had it with her sarcastic attitude since his girlfriend had arrived early that morning. Since Allison’s arrival had been unbeknownst to Bristol, she was just the slightest bit irked. It wasn’t often that the two opposing females found common ground and Kris hated it. At times he felt like he was choosing between the two and both girls played important roles in his life.

“Remember your first night here? You were nervous about being at the arena and I’m sure you wished you had a friend to sit with you.” His hearing was in bionic mode; the last thing he wanted was for Allison to over hear the conversation.

Bristol zipped up her cosmetic bag and tucked it into its proper spot on her desk. She ran her fingers through her straightened hair before standing up and approaching the door. “I hate you.”

“I know you do.” Kris smiled and stepped back preparing for the door which was about to be slammed in his face. “You won’t though, come Wednesday morning.”

It was her turn to roll her eyes as Bristol closed and locked her bedroom door. Her was fuming with anger and she had to tell herself to stop and take a few soothing breaths to calm her nerves. Bristol really didn’t hate Kris’s girlfriend; she just misunderstood the relationship the two had. With her personal morals and beliefs, Bristol couldn’t wrap her head around the fact Allison stayed with Kris no matter how many times he fooled around behind her back. She was too naïve and weak—in Bristol’s mind—for the lifestyle and even with the huge set of balls she, herself had, Bristol was scared shit-less of her own developing relationship. The unknown scared her; not knowing Daniel’s track record of picking girls up on the road often brought sever anxiety whenever the team headed out of town.

Tonight would be the second night she draped Daniel’s name and number on her back. It gave her a sense of pride, wearing it and for once she didn’t mind looking like a cream-sicle. Bristol annoyingly blew her bangs out of her eye as she untied her black satin robe and let it slip off her skin. It pooled around her feet as she moved about her room in only her bra and panties.

She wiggled her wide and rounded hips in to a pair of black pants before slipping on the jersey over a cotton v-neck. With the walls thin in their apartment, Bristol could slightly hear the conversation that was going on in Kris’s room. She wasn’t straining her hearing, but she didn’t have to be to hear the nasty words Allison was slandering her name with. All she could do was shake her head and laugh as she spritzed on some of her favorite perfume. Bristol found it quite funny that Allison had a problem with she and Kris living together, but it didn’t bother her that Kris often brought girls back late on Saturday nights. But, it wasn’t Bristol’s place to let Allison know what her boyfriend was up to.

From her wallet, she grabbed her ID, debit card and a few twenties. She hated bringing her purse along to arenas but, Bristol knew she had a much better chance of having her valuables picked from her pocket than she did her bag. She shrugged the possibility off and stuffed the items into the front pocket anyway.

While exiting her room, she did almost run straight into Allison in the hall. Her short, blonde hair was pinned back out of her face with a pretty barrette and she too sported an orange and white sweater. The only difference between the two was that Bristol wore Daniel’s unconditionally and Allison wore Kris’s because she felt like she had to.

Bristol genuinely smiled. “You look nice.”

Allison smoothed out her sweater. Her petite figure was something Bristol had always been envious of. She blamed her grandmother for all the extra meat she packed around her bones. It was impossible to have just one serving of spaghetti during the family dinner on Sunday’s and when it came time to dessert; you didn't have just one cannoli.

Dressed sharply in his suit, Kris stopped behind Allison. “You girls ready?”

“Yeah.” Bristol bit her lip and gestured toward Allison for her go first. Kris did the same to Bristol. In the kitchen she slipped on her shoes, which were strategically placed under the coffee table. It was a three o’clock game on a Sunday afternoon which traditionally meant the team would head out to dinner after. Instead of taking separate cars, the three would drive to the arena together.

Surprisingly the weather was enjoyable. The light breeze blew through Bristol’s hair as she followed behind Kris on their trek to the car. It had been a long time since anyone in Philly had seen sunlight, and as the summer months neared, she geared up for long summer days at the beach. Briere promised Bristol a trip to the Jersey Shore with the boys and she was holding him to it.

Pushing her bitch impulse to the side, Bristol decided against calling out “shot gun” and just let Allison have the front seat. It wasn’t like she was taller than Allison and needed the leg room which the front seat offered.

Rolling down the window, Bristol put her sunglasses on and continued to enjoy the feeling of the wind on her skin. “Are you excited about playing against Dustin?”

Kris looked at Bristol through the rearview mirror and offered a big smile. “Hell yeah. It should be interesting. Kind of sucks that Eager and Sopel aren’t on the team anymore. But, it’ll still be nice to throw Ladd around while trying not to get hit by Buff.”

It was Kris’s first game against Atlanta. As much as he wished he still played with them back in Chicago, the fact he now wore the Flyer insignia on his chest only made it more exciting to be playing against his former teammates. He knew damn well the guys in the locker room would give him hell about tonight’s game.

“It’ll be different being on the other end of Byfuglien’s hit. At least you’ve got Boyton.”

When they arrived at the arena, Bristol exited the car quick to spare herself form witnessing Allison kiss Kris good luck. She was met in the parking lot by Daniel Briere as he tried to round up the boys. Each of them were wearing small versions of their fathers sweaters and the second they saw Bristol, their adrenaline levels just about maxed out. She had watched the boys a total of six times over the duration of twelve days. With Sylvie being back in town and a six day road trip coming up, it would be almost a week a half until the Briere boys could be around their found friend.

“Are you sitting in the box with us?” Cameron asked.

Bristol game each of them a hug before answering. “Not tonight. Kris’s girlfriend and I are sitting down by the ice tonight because a few of our friends play for the other team.”

It broke her heart to watch their faces drop. But, once she assured them she’d be at dinner they once again perked up. Danny loosened the tie around his neck as he approached the small group. His face dropped too—but it wasn’t as evident—when he saw the sweater Bristol had draped on her body. He made a point to give her one of his game worn sweaters. Preferably after scoring the game winning goal.

“Who’s that?” Danny pointed to Allison as she and Kris walked over to join them.

“His girlfriend.”

Bristol could see the confusion that washed over his face. Danny had witnessed Kris’s smooth talk with the ladies more than once at the bar and often considered him a god for the number of times he had scored digits.

After Kris had introduced Allison to Danny and the boys, Bristol and Allison went their separate ways into the arena as Danny and Kris went theirs. The boys had gone with Danny; they usually liked to head into the locker room before hand and wish the guys good luck before heading up to the box.

As they wove their way through the crowd, no one could have guessed Bristol and Allison were together. Bristol stayed at least five paces in front of Allison and only slowed down when she heard tired pleas. Slowly Bristol felt her mood lighten as they got sodas and popcorn before heading to find their seats. She could see Allison was intimidated by the Flyers fans that flocked them. Bristol couldn’t blame her really, seeing at to how she had felt the same way four weeks ago.

They sat three rows behind the visitor’s bench. Bristol was tempted to wear her old Byfuglien sweater, but she didn’t feel like having stuff thrown at her. “It’s kind of scary, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Allison popped a few kernels in her mouth. “Hard to believe less than a year ago we were sitting in this arena booing everything orange. Now we’re cheering them on, this time hoping they win and not chock.”

“A year ago, I was more likely to burn a Carcillo jersey, but now instead, I’m wearing one.” Bristol laughed at herself.

It had been a sore loss, it was never fun to lose in over time especially after blowing a 4-0 lead in the third period. In her mind, Bristol though it was an impressive comeback. Atlanta had scored four goals in less than fifteen minutes with Ladd getting the GWG a few minutes into OT. In a crowd of nearly 20,000, Bristol and Allison were the only two who weren’t bothered by Ladd’s goal. Bristol had always liked Andrew. He was the only one who could kick her ass in poker.

The two girls nervously waited outside the dressing room waiting for the men to start exiting. They weren’t quite sure what kind of moods the guys would be in, and as the first place spot in the Eastern Conference seemed to b e slowly slipping away Bristol knew it probably wouldn’t be too jolly.

Kris, Daniel and Mike walked out with smiles plastered to their faces. It left Bristol and Allison confused, their attitudes didn’t match what had happened during the game. The girls looked at each other briefly before turning their attention to their men.

Daniel wrapped an arm around Bristol’s shoulders as he planted a kiss firmly on her lips. She could sense Mike was snickering behind her. “What are you laughing about?”

“Nothing.” Mike tried to turn off the laughter. “I believe you lost a bet and now owe me twenty dollars.”

Bristol playfully hit Dan in the chest. “You told them?”

“I had to. They threatened to do some very horrible shit that included Icy-Hot and certain parts of my body.”

The morning after they had slept together, both Danny and Bristol had agreed to play as if it had never happened. They wanted the money and show the guys they were more than capable of practicing self-control. Which, apparently they were not. Rolling her eyes, Bristol dug into the pocket of her pants and pulled out a folded twenty dollar bill. Mike grabbed it and slid it into his own wallet with a grin.

At the restaurant, Bristol found herself seated between Kris and Claude with Daniel, Briere and the three boys across from her. She and Caelan occasionally passed a Nintendo DS back and forth as they battled epically at Mario Kart. The Briere child was determined to break the records Bristol had set throughout the game. No one could beat her at the game she had grown up playing…no one.

All of her dues had been paid off and five other men at the table sat happily with their wallets now forty dollars richer. Daniel had paid up his end of the bet too. She was still slightly pissed that he had given in to such threats, but now at least they could stop sneaking around.

Briere peered across the table, realizing Bristol had the face for candlelight. She was elegant, and not cold—unless she wanted to be. Sexy, for sure. Then there was her voice, as she turned her attention to the oldest of the Briere boys. It was low register, almost like a small wisp of smoke but could change on a dime from warm to ice. Dinner ran long, loud and involved lots of cross-talk. Danny didn’t mind that, it meant he didn’t have to say much himself and he always learned more about people that way. If you just let them take control of the conversation and go.

“You look good in my jersey.” Carcillo leaned back in his chair and gazed at Bristol. She too settled back and crossed her arms over her chest.

“It would look even better if it—“

Dan interjected. “If it were lying on my bedroom floor.”

A few conversations around them stopped and eyes fell on them. Bristol was sure her cheeks were now glowing red thanks to Daniel’s comment.

“No,” she tried to laugh off her embarrassment. “It would look better if it were in white. I feel like a criminal.”

Mike leaned over Claude and put in his two-cents. “Most people would assume you are a criminal just by pulling on a jersey with his name on the back.”

Daniel mouthed a fuck you to his captain and road roommate.

Bristol tried to control the smile that toyed on her lips, but failed. “Every time I put it on, I have this sudden urge to punch anyone who crosses me.”

“That’s my girl.” Bristol stuck her tongue out at Daniel before looking at her phone for the time. It was late and she was tired. “You wanna get outta here?”

She nodded as a yawn escaped. Bristol had already planned on heading home with Dan. She wanted to be as far away as possible from her apartment now that Allison was in town. Standing up, Bristol made her way down the table saying her goodbyes and wishing them all good luck on their four road games.

Once outside and out of sight of his teammates, Daniel moved quick, giving her a quick yank that made her body collide with his. The way she said, excuse me like a schoolteacher to an unruly student only made him grin as he took her mouth with his.

Her lips were soft, tasty and sweet. He felt her fingers dig into his shoulders that could have been from either shock or pleasure. Danny guessed pleasure. The taste of her mouth could never get old to Daniel. He wasn’t as gentle as he’s been in the past. He imagined she’s had the smooth type plenty of times before, the polite type and Daniel Carcillo wasn’t inclined to be at the moment. He ran his hands down her body and enjoyed her slow melt into his arms. After hearing the low purr in her throat and tasted it on his tongue, Danny let her go and smiled. It was the first time he had seen Bristol speechless.