Sweet Disposition

The locker room was filled with the usual lively chatter as the men got ready to head out after practice. Most of them were milling about none, with any intention of heading out right away, instead talking with their teammates or making their way to the showers or trainer’s room to see Claire and Jimmy for injuries and whatnot. Claude, however couldn’t seem to get out of the locker room fast enough as he hurriedly pulled on his sweats and t-shirt.

Scott, Mike, and Jeff watched the 22-year-old throw his gear in his hockey bag in a rush. It was strange to see their young teammate in this kind of state, especially since he usually took his time like the others talking and joking around as they all got ready to leave.

“Hey G,” Mike called, catching his attention. “Hey Richie,” he nodded, glancing up at his captain before he continued stuffing his things into his bag. “What’s up? You not like us anymore?” Mike joked, referring to his blatant attempt of brushing him off and clear rush to get out of the locker room.

Claude shrugged, “I have plans.” A knowing smirk crept onto the brown-haired forward’s handsome features. “Plans, eh?” he asked, directing his question more to the two men behind him. “Yeah, plans,” stated Claude in the calmest voice he could muster, clinging on to the hope that they would leave it at that. “Plans with a lady friend?” Jeff chimed in as he sashayed over to his captain’s side, crushing his weak hopes of escape instantly.

Claude frowned at his friends’ inquiry, hating them for instantly jumping to the correct conclusion and for their incessant need to know every aspect of their teammates’ social and private lives. They were worse than a bunch of teenage girls when it came to gossip, then again, most hockey players were. Locker room talk was one of their outlets from their constant immersion in the world off hockey. It gave them insight into the lives of their teammates and gave them to the opportunity to brag about their conquests and the like.

He sighed, pausing from his hurried packing and looking up at his three teammates who were now looking at him intently, awaiting a response, “Maybe.” He mentally cursed himself for taking the bait as he saw the almost identical sly smirks form on Jeff and Mikes faces. He had to remind himself that they would get it out of him sooner or later. Perhaps, it was for the best that they found out now.

“Maybe?” asked Mike. “You hear that Hartsy?” Jeff called to the curly haired forward who now walked to Mike’s other side with a playful grin on his face, “He said maybe.” Claude found himself once more regretting his decision to cave and answer their questions. “So what’s the plan G? Dinner and a long night of wild, locker-room-talk-worthy sex?” asked the blonde hockey player, continuing his barrage of questions.

Claude couldn’t help but blush a little at the question, the pink tint of his cheeks, evident discomfort on his face, and clear lack of response gave him away almost instantly. “Holy shit!” Jeff exclaimed in shock, “You weren’t planning on fucking this girl, were you?” Claude’s cheeks flushed more as he shook his head, unable to articulate an answer.

“How long have you been seeing this girl?” Scott asked, genuine curiosity reflected in both his voice and his eyes. “Technically a month now… we’ve been on a few dates and we’ve hung out a lot, our busy schedules kind of get in the way,” he replied quietly, not wishing to draw unwanted ears. “Have you slept together?” the older ginger asked, mindful enough to keep his voice low, so as not to further embarrass his teammate. Claude just shook his head ‘no.’

Mike’s eyes nearly bugged out of his skull as Jeff gasped in shock, looking as if he may pass out. “You’ve held out for a month? Christ G! How do you live?” ranted Jeff, “I’m pretty sure I would’ve died by now!” The other two chuckled at his outburst, surprised he had managed to keep it at a fairly low volume. “You must really like this girl,” Mike murmured, looking curiously at his friend. Claude just nodded, “I do.”

“Please tell me you’ve at least had hot make-out sessions, anything!” Jeff continued, still unable to wrap his head around the fact that Claude had managed to keep his sexual needs on the back burner. The younger forward’s silence gave him away once more, earning some strange exasperated noise from Jeff. “Shit G, have you even kissed her yet?” asked an equally shocked Mike. He understood holding off on sex… somewhat, but holding off on kissing… that was just unheard of.

Claude shook his head, his eyes downcast. “It’s not like I don’t want to do anything,” he defended himself, “It’s just that I really like her and I don’t want to rush anything and screw it up.” He murmured the last part, so to be sure no one else heard it.

To say that the three older hockey players were surprised was an understatement. Claude was usually so confident with women, his good looks, quiet demeanour, and French Canadian thing working wonders in his favour. However, it was becoming very clear that the effect that this girl had on him was massive.

“Wow man,” was all Jeff could say, effectively rendered speechless by Claude’s confession. “Can we meet her?” asked Scott, “She has to be a great girl if she’s got you feeling like this.”

Claude couldn’t find it in him to answer his friend’s question, for fear of giving her identity away. He had promised to keep their relationship a secret until they felt comfortable with telling others and bringing it to the organization’s attention.

“We already know her, don’t we G?” Mike asked, carefully watching the young ginger’s reaction to his words. Claude dropped his gaze, unable to look his captain in the eyes. His action was clear enough to confirm Mike’s suspicions. “It’s Claire, isn’t it?” he asked, his voice low so only Claude, Jeff, and Scott could hear.

The Frenchman nodded, looking almost timidly up at his captain, pleading him not to say anything with his eyes. “Who else knows?” Scott asked, fighting the urge to hug his friend and congratulate him on finally getting up the courage to act on his feelings for their assistant athletic trainer. “Just Danny,” mumbled the 22-year-old, “We wanted to keep it as quiet as possible until we’re ready to talk to the organization about us.”

The three of them nodded, understanding their young teammates silent plea, “You’re secret’s safe with us kid.” Claude smiled softly at his friends, grateful that they were planning on keeping their usually loud mouths shut for once.



Claude sat on the couch in Claire’s apartment, his now empty carton of Chinese food sat discarded on the coffee table next to his girlfriend’s. The DVD menu for some film played on a loop on the television screen. She had run into the kitchen to fetch the popcorn from the microwave. Moments after she had left him in the living room, he had grabbed the blanket that was usually draped across the back of the couch. It lay resting on his lap, waiting for her to come back into the room.

The two had opted for a quiet movie night as their date for the evening, both sporting comfortable clothing both in sweats, he in a Flyers t-shirt and she in a tank top. His hands sat on the blanket, poised to throw it over them as he heard the sound of her bare feet padding against the wood floor over to where he sat.

She plopped down beside him, popcorn bowl in one hand, remote in the other. Seemingly in one fluid motion, he swept the blanket over them, his right arm subconsciously finding its way around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

She started the movie, legs curling up onto the couch as she leaned into him and relishing in the warmth that radiated from his body. The popcorn bowl rested semi-in between them, more so on his lap than hers. “You’re gonna make me fat if you keep feeding me things like this,” he pouted as he grabbed a handful of the not-so-nutritious snack and stuffed the buttery kernels into his mouth.

She rolled her eyes, “It’s not like I’m forcing you to eat it, besides, you’ll just work it off in practice tomorrow you big baby.” He gasped, turning his head to look down at her, “Comment pourriez-vous être ma chérie si cruel? Tu es le seul qui l'a fait et il a ici, tout ce que je ne a été causé par vos actions, et non pas par choix!” (How could you be so cruel darling? You’re the one who made it and brought it in here, anything I do was caused by your actions, not by choice!) She scoffed, “Je ne suis pas un accaparement des grosses poignées et les farcir dans ma bouche.” (I’m not the one grabbing large handfuls and stuffing them in my mouth.)

Claude stared at her in mock shock, “Making fun of my eating habits? What kind of girlfriend are you?” She laughed, “Yours.” He chuckled at her smart-ass retort, kissing her forehead before turning his gaze back to the television screen. They were quiet for a little while, both attempting to refocus their attention on the movie.

“Claire.” She didn’t look away from the television, “Yeah?” He sighed, it was now or never, “Richie, Carts, and Hartsy know.” He tensed slightly when he felt her body tense up, hoping to hell she wasn’t pissed with him. She turned her gaze to him, arching her eyebrow, wordlessly telling him to continue.

“They started asking me questions and I was trying not to tell them anything, but you know how they are. I didn’t drop your name once, but Mike figured it out and they swore they wouldn’t say anything to anyone. I know we planned to keep this on the down low but-“ he was silenced by her finger on his lips. “It’s done. We knew they’d find out eventually Claude, just not this soon. I’m not happy about it, but it is what it is and so long as they keep their promise and their mouths shut, it’ll be fine.”

“Are you mad at me?” he murmured, dropping his gaze, unable to look her in the eyes like a child who had misbehaved. “No,” she sighed, “I’m not mad at you Roo.”

They sat in silence once again, neither able to really focus on the movie, becoming nothing more than white noise. Claire shifted slightly, her head resting on his shoulder as her body moved closer to his. It was really impossible for her to stay mad at him, especially when he gave her those sad puppy dog eyes.

Claude gently took one of her hands, absentmindedly playing with her slender fingers, bringing them up to his mouth and planting kisses on her knuckles. She looked up at him to find his face dangerously close to hers. She hoped that he couldn’t feel her heart pounding wildly in her chest at his proximity.

His lips were on hers before she could even react. They were soft and tender on hers and she eagerly melted into his touch as his large hand rested on her cheek. The two separated momentarily, breaths coming raggedly to the pair. He looked at her, trying to gage her reaction before reattaching his lips to hers. Their mouths moved together as her hand found its way into his hair, her fingers entangling themselves in his rust coloured curls.

He pulled away before things began to get too heated, both panting slightly, their faces only inches apart. He placed another tender kiss on her now swollen lips before pulling her closer into his side. She rested her head back on his shoulder with a contented sigh as the two finally refocused on the long-forgotten movie.