Bringing the Devil Out of Me

Much to my surprise, Sidney was perfectly prepared for the beach. He had a blanket, sunscreen, some water and light snacks, and towels. He spread out the blanket on the warm sand and pinned it down with our shoes before stripping off his shirt. I couldn't help but drool a little at his chest (men with hot chests really are a big turn on) and he laughed when he saw me staring.

"Like what you see?" he smirked. I rolled my eyes and laughed, blushing.

"I'm not complaining," I said quickly.

"Good, cause I worked hard for this," he smiled, rolling his shirt into a ball and tossing it on the blanket before lathering sunscreen all over his shoulders. I peeled off my teeshirt and it was his turn to stare.

"Like what you see?" I said, teasing him.

"Definitely," he grinned, placing two lotiony hands on my hips and kissing me lightly. I let him put sunscreen on my back and then without a second word darted off towards the water. Sidney let out a laugh and chased me into the chilly waves. I squealed slightly as the cold water lapped my thighs through the swim shorts I was wearing, and Sidney let out a little yelp of his own.

"Damn its cold!" I laughed, rocking from side to side as I stopped in the water about waist high.

"You're not afraid to go any further are you?" Sidney teased.

"No, but let me get used to it first!" I said, sticking out my tongue.

"Is that attitude you're giving me?" Sidney growled jokingly.

"You bet your life it's attitude!" I smirked. Sidney lunged forward and scooped me out of the water before tossing me gently back into the waves. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath as I plunged beneath the water and emerged with a scream.

"COLD!" I yelled, pushing my now dripping hair out of my face. Sidney let out his usual adorable giggle. I scooped up water with my hands and splashed him mercilessly. He laughed and tried to dodge the water before running up to me and grabbing my wrists.

"That's not very nice Alice," he said, his curly hair now plastered to his head and water running down his face.

"Neither was throwing me," I smirked. He pulled me to his incredibly warm chest and kissed me, a little more roughly than usual. Salty water trickled into my mouth as I opened my lips to his tongue and I could feel him grin slightly as I twined my arms around him. Suddenly a huge wave came crashing down on the both of us and as we were swept under the water his head smacked into my face. We both emerged to the surface coughing and sputtering, and I clutched my nose as it began to throb.

"Are you okay?" Sidney asked, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"My nose hurts," I muttered, still clutching my nose.

"Let me see it..." Sidney said, gently taking my hands away from my face. He blanched and immediately dragged me towards shore.

"Shit!" he muttered. I felt my heart skip a beat.

"What's wrong?!" I asked, immediately throwing my hands to my face again. I felt a warm, sticky fluid gush onto my hands and pulled them away. I felt my eyes widen as I saw crimson blood gleaming against my pale skin.

"Don't freak out, I've dealt with broken noses before!" Sidney said, his voice strained. I bit my lip as he led me to the blanket and sat me down.

"You broke my nose?!" I yelped.

"It was an accident!" he cried, obviously distraught.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just a little freaked right now," I whimpered, pain surging through my entire head.

"Now this is going to hurt...a lot. Just don't move. Okay?" he said quietly, straddling my legs and placing his hands gently on my nose.

"Okay," I managed to whimper as blood filled my mouth as well. He took a deep breath, and I did as well, and then he quickly moved his hands, snapping my nose back into place. I let out a yowl and tears immediately gushed out of my eyes. His face paled once more and he grabbed the sides of my face.

"It's okay, I fixed it. It's all done!" Sidney said weakly before yanking the black bag open. He whipped out his phone and pressed it to his ear.

"Yeah Marc...Alice kind of broke her nose...it's a long story...alright, thanks bro." Sidney said into the phone before handing me a towel. I wrapped it around my shoulders and leaned over so that the blood streaming from my nose would drip into the sand.

"Marc is going to come pick us up and take you to the hospital," Sidney said, a sense of calm coming over him.

"The hospital?! I thought you fixed it!" I moaned.

"Hey, it's just to get it x-rayed and stuff. The doctor will probably wrap it up and all too," Sidney explained calmly. I glanced at him, and knew that he had either had his nose broken before or he had seen it happen.

"So how exactly do you know all of this?" I asked him weakly.

"I play hockey...do you know how many broken noses I've seen? I'm just fortunate enough to have never been the recipient of one," Sidney laughed quietly.
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"Damn Alice, I know you're used to hanging out with us NHLers and all, but do you have to look like one of us too?" Cookie teased as I opened the door the next morning.

"Hello to you too jackass," I muttered. My head ached, and the medication I was given at the hospital just took the edge off of it.

"So this is Michelle..." Matt said, pulling a beautiful, willowy blonde int the house.

"Oh...it's nice to meet you," I said, smiling and offering her my hand. She shook my hand and smiled back.

"Yeah, Matt has been telling me all about you. Right?" She said, asking Matt at the last part.

"Yep," Matt nodded before releasing her and pulling two suitcases into the house.

The next few hours were full of a surge of people arriving. After Matt arrived, Max Talbot, Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy, Kris Letang, Matt Niskanen and of course Geno, showed up. I sighed with relief when Geno finally showed up, knowing that he was usually the last of the group to arrive.

"You're lucky you have so many rooms!" he smiled, walking in carrying a cooler.

"You've got that right! There are five downstairs, six upstairs, four bathrooms, and the family room and living room both have couch beds," I explained, noting that ten of the eleven available rooms were already taken. I milled around the house, slightly irritated with the uncomfortable bandaging that I had to wear thanks to Sidney's rock solid head.

"We're only expecting a few more people, so that'll be fine!" Marc chimed from the hallway, where he was helping everyone move their stuff and find rooms.

"A few more people?! Did you invite the entire NHL?" I cried, running my hands through my hair.

"No, only the eastern conference," Marc teased before disappearing into a bedroom. The doorbell rang again and I ran to the door, yanking it open. I found myself face to face with none other than Ilya Kovalchuk. I felt my jaw drop as he smiled.

"Hello, I take it you are Alice?" he said as his wife wrapped her arm around his waist. She was stunningly beautiful.

"I...uh...yeah...GENO MALKIN GET YOUR ASS IN HER NOW!" I said, turning away as I screamed the last half of my sentence. Geno ran to the door with a maniacal laugh and hugged Ilya roughly.

"Kovy!" He said happily before the pair began to speak in rapid Russian. I stepped away from the door and allowed them to walk in, offering to help his wife carry in her bag.

"Thank you very much! I'm Nicole!" she said, smiling as I grabbed the handle of one bag.

"It's not a problem. I wasn't aware that you were coming," I said, walking down the hall to the last free room.

"Oh yes, Evgeni said that he wanted it to be a surprise. I take it that Ilya and I are the first ones to show up then?" Nicole said. I raised my eyebrows.

"First ones?" I asked. She clapped her hand to her mouth and shook her head.

"Oops!" She giggled as I placed the bag next to the large bed.

"I'm going to absolutely murder Geno..." I muttered as I walked back into the hallway.