Just A Hockey Player

*3 weeks later*

“Davis! In my office,” yelled Tortorella into the locker room. Ryan felt her face go white as she stood up and put on her shoes, but that didn’t impact her hearing.

“I call her room!” Ryan heard Mac yell. She knew he wanted her bathroom

Ryan turned around and said “You will pry that bathroom from my cold, lifeless hands,” before hurrying to the coach’s office. You do not keep John Tortorella waiting, at least you didn’t if you valued your roster spot and your life.

“Alright, Davis,” Tortorella began. Ryan exhaled a little. Even though this was her first one-on-one conversation with Torts, she knew his habits from the guys’ stories. “I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t a big fan of drafting you. I didn’t want this place turning into a media circus. But, you’ve proved me wrong. I’ll put you in the lineup for the pre-season game tomorrow, probably on a line with Stepan and Kreider. Don’t expect to be in the lineup after that.” Ryan almost had a heart attack. “We can’t risk some goon taking a run at you in a game that doesn’t matter. Keep doing what you’re doing and you should be on the roster for opening night.”

“Thanks coach,” Ryan barely squeaked out before bolting from the office. The guys had already left, so she walked back to the apartment by herself, trying to contain her excitement. She was so excited, she ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time, instead of waiting for the elevator. She rounded the corner to her apartment and collided with someone.

“Ryan!” screamed a voice in her ear. The next thing Ryan knew, she was being hugged by a petite girl with long, red hair.

“Tessa! What are you doing here? You look great!” Ryan greeted her childhood friend.

“I got a job! You’re looking at the newest stat girl for MSG!” Ryan could tell Tessa couldn’t maintain her excitement. Even though both girls had a passion for sports, and hockey in general, Tessa had been more active on the social scene. Whereas Ryan had been shy and sporty, Tessa was beautiful, flirty, and not afraid to party. The two polar opposites couldn’t have found a better friend.

Bick stuck his head out the door. “Could you keep it down, Davey? I’m trying to…” He trailed off after he caught sight of the vivacious red head. Ryan hurried to fill in the blossoming silence, knowing how shy Bick could be.

“Tessa, this is Bick, I mean, Stu,” Ryan felt weird calling Bick by his first name. “Bick, this is Tessa, my friend from back home.” The two shook hands, and Tessa flashed a mega-watt smile. Ryan knew all of Tessa’s flirting techniques, and made a mental note to tell her not to mess with any of the guys. The last thing she needed was one of the guys following Tessa around like a lost puppy and asking her for dating advice.

“C’mon, let’s go in my apartment. This hallway’s getting crowded,” said Ryan, leading Tessa through the door marked 13D. She heard Tessa’s sharp intake of breath as she saw the window overlooking what Ryan now knew was 5th Avenue.

“I guess you’re not paying for this, Ryan?” joked Tessa. She knew that, if it were up to her, Ryan would have chosen an apartment a little off the beaten path. Ryan liked to be part of a large crowd, but not the center of attention. Step walked into the room, glanced at Tessa, then continued to the kitchen.

“Ry, who’s the ginger midget ogling our window?” asked Step as he searched through the fridge and cabinets. “And can you tell Bick he owes me about $300 in groceries?”

“It’s not my fault!” said Bick, defending himself as he opened the front door and was followed into the apartment by the rest of the guys who lived in the building. “Mac doesn’t buy us any groceries.”

“That’s because you hog the bathroom. For someone who smells so bad, you sure take your time in the morning,” retorted Mac. Ryan could see Tessa was shell socked, having just wandered into a lush apartment in the heart of Manhattan that had suddenly just been filled with loud, bickering, but insanely attractive hockey players. She shot a wide eyed glance at Ryan, hoping to see her friend was just as surprised as she was, but was disappointed. Ryan was chatting with Kreids, working hard to get in a word as her fellow first round draft pick spoke a mile a minute. Tessa smiled to herself. If anyone could ever be comfortable around these guys, it was Ryan. Tessa guessed that the attractiveness of Ryan’s new teammates hadn’t occurred to her.

“Hey, Ry, what did Torts say to you?” asked Step. Knowing it would be impossible to hear her over the shouts and laughter filling the room, Step made his way to the large window. Finding his path blocked by the massive figures of Boyler and Bick, he hoped over the couch, and nearly fell as the area rug slide under his feet.

“Smooth,” said Ryan as she watched Step’s face grow redder. She grinned as she remembered her meeting with her coach, which had been driven from her mind by the sudden appearance of Tessa. “Oh, you know, nothing much,” trying to play it cool. “Just the usual. I’ll be in the game tomorrow on a line with you and Kreids. Oh yeah, I’ll be on the opening night roster.” She let her smile spread across her face, before the breath was knocked out of her. Step had scooped her into a hug, lifting her off her feet.

“Congrats!” he yelled, right in her ear. When she was released, and had regained some of her breath, she found her hair tousled, back pounded, and hand shook as the news spread and the guys congratulated her. It was times like this, Ryan reflected, that five guys seemed a lot more like fifteen.

“Hey, let’s go celebrate,” suggested Boyler.

“It’s the middle of the day!” laughed Ryan. “You guys can go, if you want. I’m gonna go have lunch with Tessa." With that, she grabbed her friends hand and walked out the door, followed by a chorus of “We can’t go without you!” and “Don’t be such a loser, Davey!” Ryan slammed the door resolutely, blocking out the noise.

“We’re lucky these apartments have such thick walls and doors,” said Ryan, turning to her friend.

“What?” she asked, seeing the bemused look on Tessa’s face.

“We have a lot to talk about,” she said with a wide eyed smile as the elevator doors closed.