Endlessly

We walked into the bar, and four stools magically opened up, and four beers hit the wooden counter top as our asses slid up onto the vinyl seats. Best part of being a hockey player: never having to buy your own drinks.

"Cheers," Sid spoke up, now free from having to watch his language around a lady, one of his many rules. "To Jordan finally fucking getting laid, and hopefully end his goddamn moping. And to this beer, that I'm not supposed to be drinking."

"And to Sidney, who has been, and probably will be, doing enough moping for the whole lot of us," Flower commented. We all clinked glasses, making our own utterances of agreement, trying not to let any of the precious liquid spill over the rims.

The beer was cool as I took several gulps, hoping to calm the nervous thoughts racing through my head. "Mon ami, you need to relax." Kris slapped a hand against my shoulder. "I have watched many girls leave, and I know when they are not planning on a return. Your lady friend, Ms. Rae, has every intention of returning."

"It's true," Sidney added, his speech broken by a quiet belch that only came from a good Canadian beer. "On the way here, he would not shut up about all his 'lady friends' that he left back home."

"Meanwhile, our good ol' Captain here pouted his giant ass off in the backseat 'cause he's been too busy babysitting Taylor to make any lady friends," Flower chided playfully.

"Shut the fuck up, Flower," Sidney growled crankily.

"Someone's on their period." My words surprised me, and I found myself actually relaxing more as the beers kept coming. Something about the familiarity of the being with the guys in the midst of the whirlwind of a summer I was having.

When our stomachs decided beer was no longer enough to hold us over, all of us ordered giant burgers, complete with a basket of fries, a luxury that came with the off-season. Sidney literally moaned out loud as he bit into the burger, causing the rest of us hoot with laughter. Our captain rarely let himself go, and it was quite a sight when he did.

After a little over four hours sitting on a bar stool, we were done with the bar scene. "Any chance there's a good club or something around here?" Sidney asked hopefully.

"Woah, there, big guy," I teased. "Beer, a cheeseburger, and girls? All in one night? I don't know if you can handle it. Baby steps, eh?"

"Fuck off." The rest of us snickered as he slouched on ahead of us to the car.

On cue, my phone buzzed loudly from my pocket. A glancing at my caller ID, and I knew it might be worth answering. "Hold up guys," I said, before picking up.

"Jordan? Hey man. It's Luke Yap. I was wondering if you were up for a party tonight? I heard someone is throwing one out by that pond in between your backyard and Rae's, you the one? Anyways, it's supposed to start around 11, and bring a couple bucks. Chances are they'll let you in for free, but just in case."

"Who did you say was throwing this party?" I questioned suspiciously. Half that pond was technically Staal property, and my dad would flip shit if anything got wrecked.

"I'm not sure. Some ass wipe named Daniel, or Doug, or-"

"David?" I finished darkly.

"Yeah! So, you do know about it. Can you make it?"

I looked up at my teammates, who were all watching me eagerly. I shot them a well-rehearsed, and understood, eyebrow raise, and all three nodded enthusiastically. "Guess so. Mind if I bring a few friends?"

"Go for it. See you there."

"Let's go boys," Sidney whooped, using his pre-game, pump-up, Captain-only voice. "We got ourselves a party to get to."

---

I was already bristling as we climbed out of my car, the hair on the back of my neck standing up, teeth grinding against each other. We had parked amongst at least four dozen other cars on Rae's side of the pond. As Luke had mentioned, there were three guys standing with their hats off, collecting money. But, as Luke had also mentioned, neither Flower, Sid, Tanger, or myself had to even pull out our wallets. "Hockey players drink free," they said with cheeky grins.

Shouts and yells began going around as people started to realize we'd showed up. Luke jogged over, big, goofy smile plastered on his face. "Dude! When you said friends, I was thinking like Rae and maybe some of her hot friends. Not Sidney-fucking-Crosby!"

Sid and Flower quickly took to Luke, who offered each a beer, and they went off to talk to some girls. Tanger was still with me, giving me one of his looks. "What?" I asked crankily.

"You need a compagnon? A wing man? You're planning something," he noted smartly.

"I'm fine. Go have fun. God knows French-Canadians can't throw parties," I sent him a side-ways glance, which he responded to by punching my arm.

"Don't get arrested," was his only advice as he sauntered away.

I'll try.

---

I found David by a beer bong table, clearly demolishing his opponent. I waited quietly amidst the onlookers for the game to finish, with David only having to down one cup. The empties were replaced, and David shouted loudly for a new competitor. I stepped forward, allowing him to notice my challenge. If I wasn't allowed to beat him up with my fists, I might as well get him drunk enough that he'd probably wind up punching himself.

"Who invited you?" he spat, lip quivering in fury.

I shrugged, just taking up position opposite of him. "You scared?"

He snorted in mock humor, but I saw a brief flash of emotion across his eyes. "You can start," he offered. As I was reaching for the ping pong ball, he added, "Want to make it interesting?"

"Depends."

"Winner takes all. And I think you know what I mean."

If I had been a wild animal, my hackles would've rose. As it was, I was immediately set on edge, feeling like an alpha being challenged by a much lesser opponent. "Too late," I tried, smirking at the memory of Rae's lips on mine.

"Yeah, right. Then why the hell did she head for the hills?"

"The only reason you're still standing is because it's illegal to shoot you."

"Why are you avoiding the question? I think it's a fair wager, eh?" He opened up to the group gathered around us, and most muttered some form of agreement with him.

"All of this over a game of beer pong? You're more childish that I thought. No girl should ever have to deal with you, asshole," I snarled, and before he could barter anymore of my life away, tossed the first ball. Plunk. I grinned wickedly at David, who stared in mild astonishment at the ball floating in one of his cups. "You sure about this?"

I'm pretty sure he actually growled at me, mumbling, "Lucky shot," before draining the plastic cup.

The I sunk the next one as well, along with three more after that. David's fave got ruddier and ruddier, a mix of alcohol and anger setting him off. Just to see what would happen, I purposely bounced one wide of the center cup, and watched in roll off the table. Our audience, which had grown considerably at the news of a much larger wager, and the possibility of a real fight, chorused a few "ooohhh"s, surprised at my miss.

I saw Flower and Tanger and the fringes, both grinning like madmen, shaking their heads, understanding my game plan. I always played the same way. David made one, and I fairly drank the contents of the cup, but he missed the next by a mile. Sick of playing around, I made the next four shots, until just one cup was left.

David was a little wobbly at this point, and I could see the uncontrolled anger lurking in his eyes. I raised the ping pong ball slowly, almost painfully slow, hoping to draw something out of him. Sure enough, he exploded suddenly.

"Fuck you! You fucking hustled me! You knew you'd win! You goddamn son-of-a-bitch!" He thrust his arms out, sending the table toppling onto its side. He took shaky strides at me, and I let him. He wound up, and tried to throw a punch. There were a few gasps as his fist sailed through the air, but I easily caught it, and used his forward momentum to send him sprawling to the ground. I went down with him, landing on his back, pinning his hands off to the sides at what I knew to be uncomfortable angles.

"You lose. I win. And if you ever so much as look at Rae again, I can guarentee you will never so much as--"

Two sets of hands hauled me off his back. "Enough," Flower said, as he and Tanger set me on my feet. "This scum bag is not even worth a punch."

"Come on," I hissed, still glaring at David. "Just let us finally settle this like men. Me, him, and our firsts. First one down, or the first one to surrender," I cocked an eyebrow at David as I said the second part, "loses. Winner still takes all."

David wiped a hand across his mouth before extending his arm towards me and motioning me forward with two fingers. "Bring it. The NHL isn't the only place that teaches you how to fight."

I sent a death glare at both Tanger and Flower, who released me immediately. Sid looked on amongst the crowd, but I figured he wouldn't step forward considering he had two girls wrapped around him. I took a step towards David, and couldn't help but smirk at the brief flash of terror across his face that he didn't get a chance to mask.

We circled each other, considering and sizing the other up. I figured David had probably gotten into a few bar fights, and could throw a solid drunken punch. But I also figured he was nothing compared to some of the guys I went head to head with in the League. So, I slowly but surely back him up towards the corner of the crowd, forcing him to make the first move.

He lunged suddenly, and quite quickly for someone who had drank through at least a twelve pack. He threw both hands out, trying to throw me off balance. Which would've probably worked on a guy his size, but it was a fatal mistake in this scenario. His only hope would've been going in for the kill right off the bat.

Now, I was much of a fighter, but I knew the basics. Rule 1: Never knee another man where it counts most. NEVER. Rule 2: Win. So, I went for the next best shot, and threw a solid punch down at his kidneys. My fist connected solidly, enough that I knew it would bruise, but it didn't break anything. It caused David to double over. I counted down in my head, "3...2...1..."

Sure enough, as true as I knew it to be, David quickly began emptying the contents of hi\s wounded abdomen all over the ground between us. He moaned loudly, clutching his torso area. The crowd made a few disgusted noises, but none of sympathy. Carefully sidestepping the vomit, I walked up next to him, grabbing him roughly by the shoulder. "Give up? Or do you want matching bruises? Maybe one on your face?"

He still had the balls to glare at me, mumbling, "I could call the cops."

"And I could kill you right now. But I won't."

"This isn't over. She'll leave. Just wait and see. I'll-"

I never found out what David was going to do, because I shoved his forward, and he toppled down face first into his own puke, and promptly stalked away.

---

I crept in through the back door around 4 AM. I knew that I was an adult and my parents couldn't actually punish me, but it was a habit that had yet to be broken. I had dropped my teammates make off at the Park-and-Ride, making sure one of them was sober enough to operate machinery(Kris), and sending them on their way. Crosby looked happier, like maybe he'd gotten a little something behind a tree from one of the brunettes attached to him earlier. Flower looked ready to get back to the safety of his committed relationship with Vero. Kris looked annoyed that I was leaving his with those buffoons.

Making a beeline for the fridge, I planned on a quick snack and then sleeping straight through until Rae came back. As I was searching through the fridge, a floorboard creaked behind me, and I whirled around. I jumped, surprised to find Jared standing next to the counter top, drinking something.

"You're up awfully early," he commented, "Or late." He shot me a knowing look. He took a gulp of whatever was in the cup. "Rae made it safe. Back to her house. Her brother called the land line. I didn't realize we even had one of those anymore."

"What do you think Mom calls you on every week?" My sharp words were a cover for the relief I felt that Rae had made it that quickly. It meant she hadn't dawdled along the way, just drove straight through. It meant that she didn't really have to clear her head of anything. She just needed a little space. It meant she was coming back

"He wanted me to give you a message. He said, and I quote, 'If she gets hurt on your watch, if she gets so much as a paper cut, he's coming up here and beating you to death with your own hockey stick.' His words, I swear."

"I think you and I both know that won't be a problem."

Jared paused, weighing his words carefully. "Honestly, I didn't think it would've been a problem last time. But we both know how last time played out." I opened my mouth, to reply, but he cut me off. "It's not just Rae that I'm worried about. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I actually care what happens to you. I'm stuck living in the shadows of yours, Marc's, and Eric's life choices. When you broke it off last time, it was an ugly couple of months. I don't even want to imagine what would happen if you two broke it off again."

I gave him a long, steady look, before answering, "I wouldn't survive. Simple as that. I'd turn into one of those 'self-imploding' athletes that destroys their own career." I sighed, shutting the fridge, no longer hungry. "Jared, you can't possibly understand what it's like with Rae." He opened his mouth to object, but I returned the favor from earlier, and cut him off. "You've loved girls, yeah, sure. But have you ever been in love with any of them? It's this indescribable feeling. I know it's cliched, but it's true. Everything is different."

He nodded, setting his glass down. "Fair enough. 'Night." And just like that, all seriousness left the room as he tromped back upstairs.

I followed suit, making my way to my room, and collapsing on my bed. I shut my eyes, not bothering to take any of clothes off, just letting sleep take me where it wanted.