Turbulence

“All my exes live in Texas,” I intoned as I brushed mascara to my eyelashes. It had been a long time since I had gone out, and putting on makeup to do so was completely different from the norm. Picking up the deep plum lipstick I had packed, I let out a sigh and started to apply the tube smoothly to my lips. As I finished up, smacking my lips together, the buzzer sounded.

“Carey! Come meet your babysitter.”

I quickly stuffed my makeup back into the bag I had brought it in and decided to do my hair once I met the person that Sean had decided to call. Poking my head around the doorway, I opened my mouth to tell Sean I would be right out, but in an awestruck moment, nothing came from my gaping jaw.

“Carey, this is Marc Staal, but judging by your reaction, you already knew that.”

Shaking myself from my minor freak out, I scooted around the corner and stuck my hand out for the red haired man to shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Marc.”

“Likewise,” he grinned, shaking my outstretched hand. “Sean said you hang around hockey players a lot, so I didn’t really expect that reaction though.”

“I do,” I confessed. “I just never expected Avery’s babysitter friend to be a defenseman for the New York Rangers. If you look at it from my perspective, you would see how shocking it is to see you standing here ready to look after my son.”

“Go finish getting ready,” Sean chuckled. “I’ll take him to meet the kid, then we have to go. Don’t want to be late for our reservations.”

“You’re taking me somewhere that has reservations?” I asked, turning to make my way back to the bathroom. “This must be a dream. You never take me anywhere nice.”

“That’s not true,” Sean argued.

“It is so,” I hollered back, running my waxed fingers through my hair. After making a few adjustments, I entered the guest room Sean had me staying in and quickly changed into the deep blue cocktail dress I had packed. “You always take me to those slutty bars, and try to drown me in whiskey sours.” I strolled back into the main living space, and picked up my pair of heels. “This is going to be a painful night.”

Marc and Sean chuckled as I slipped into my shoes, before double checking that I had everything that I needed.

“Let’s get out of here.”

It didn’t take long for us to get to the restaurant, or be seated for that matter. Sean didn’t skip a beat, ordering two glasses of red wine, and an appetizer.

“It’s really nice to see you again, Carey.”

I smiled kindly, and continued to stare at the menu. “Thanks, for having me, Sean. It’s nice that I could get away during this hectic time back home.”

“So, tell me about this teammate of Kane’s you are seeing.”

“I don’t know, Sean. I feel like that isn’t a great idea, considering no one really knows that Pat and I aren’t together.”

“You mean, your parents don’t know, and you think that I am going to tell them.”

I didn’t even try to hide the guilt that spread across my face. “What can I say? You don’t have the greatest track record.”

“I don’t know what you might be referring to,” he smirked, feigning innocence.

I rolled my eyes as the waiter approached with our wine and appetizer. I placed my order, and took a sip of the alcohol as Sean spoke to the man.

“I’ll drop the subject about your love life, for now, but I will get it out of you by the end of your trip,” Sean said, after finishing with the waiter. “Are you ready to party hard tonight? If I remember correctly, you don’t go out much in Chicago.”

“What can I say? I’m a bit of a home body.”

Our small talk continued through the meal, and into the cab ride to our next destination.

“Here we are, Carey.”

I took in the appearance of the club, and inwardly groaned. I knew I was going to regret going out with the ginger man next to me, but also knew that it was much too late to back out.

Approaching the bar, Sean ordered drinks, and handed me the pale drink. I watched as he leaned against the bar, and took in the mixed population of the room. “Let’s hit the dance floor.”

Taken aback, I stumbled slightly to follow behind him. “Since when did you dance?”

He shrugged, and swayed back and forth. “You never know who you might find out here.”

Unsure what to say, I started swaying, awkwardly, in an attempt to fit in with the other dancers around me.

For the next hour, I attempted to dance, while Sean swayed, and bought drinks. I didn’t even try to interact with people, since the club wasn’t really my scene. I was about to excuse myself to the bathroom, when a set of skinny, freckled arms wrapped around me from the side.

“Carey!”

I looked at the woman who had just been hugging me, and wracked my brain for a name to associate with her.

“How have you been? And Patrick? I haven’t seen you two in ages! Is he here tonight?”

“Uh, no,” I shook my head, still trying to figure out her name. “Pat has a few games this week.”

“How are you two doing? Still going strong, I assume.”

I opened my mouth to tell her that we had split, but was surprised by my response. “We are better than ever.”

“That’s great!” She exclaimed, hugging me again. “Who are you here with?”

“Um, just a friend,” I told her, trying to wrap up the conversation as quickly as possible.

“That’s awesome! You’ll have to say hi to Patrick for me.”

“Will do,” I mumbled, turning my head to find Sean. “If you’ll excuse me.” I slipped away, and manoeuvred my way through the crowd to the bar, where Sean was standing. “There you are. Thanks for leaving me.”

“You looked like you were having a lovely conversation with Red.”

I glared at him, and ordered another drink. “I don’t remember what her name is.”

“Who cares? How do you even know someone like that?”

“She is friends with Pat, I think.”

“So, her name is completely irrelevant.”

“It would be, but I might have lied to her. If she says anything to Pat, he is going to be extremely confused, and probably think there is more between us than there actually is.”

“The drama,” Sean muttered, rolling his eyes. “I’m going back to the dance floor.”

I watched him wonder off, and sipped my drink. I had no desire to go back out, but knew that if I didn’t return after my drink was finished, Sean would drag me out anyway. Downing the last few drops, I sighed, and made a bee line for the ginger man who had brought me out. “Sean, are we going to be much longer?”

He looked down at me with drunken eyes, and grinned. “We can get out of here whenever you would like, Sugar.”

I didn’t even have time to frown before Sean’s lips were on mine. It took a second for my brain to realise what was happening. I pushed him away, with a look of disgust written across my features. “What the fuck? I’m out of here.” Ignoring his voice calling after me, I stormed out of the club, holding back tears. I wasn’t really sure why I was crying, but was fully aware that if I didn’t leave, Sean would try to start something.

Throwing my hand in the air, I tried to hail a cab. Eventually, a taxi stopped in front of me, and I hopped in. I quickly gave the driver the address, and stared out the window as silent tears continued to roll down my face.

It didn’t seem like a great deal of time had passed before I was stopped at the front doors of Sean’s apartment building. Handing the cabbie the fare, I clambered out of the vehicle and into the foyer of the building. I didn’t bother stopping at the front desk to say hello, but instead rushed to the elevator, and jammed my finger into the button several times. “Come on,” I mumbled, bouncing lightly on the balls of my feet.

The moment the doors slid open, I rushed in, and slammed my finger into the appropriate floor. Within seconds, I was hurrying down the hall and knocking on the door, hoping that Marc hadn’t fallen asleep.

“Carey?” The tall man asked, groggily. “Are you okay? You’ve been crying.” He pulled me into his arms, and rubbed my back. “Where’s Sean?”

“I-I,” I stopped speaking, seemingly choking on my words. “I can’t stay here.”

“Okay,” Marc nodded, not pushing me to tell him what was going on. “Let’s pack up your stuff, grab Cameron and you can spend the night at my place.”

“Thanks,” I whispered.