Higher Than Hope

Nail followed his teammates out of the locker room and onto the bus which was going to take them to the airport, still feeling alert and awake even after the loss. The sun had finished setting and the sky was the blue and orange and pink of dusk, the wisps of light from the setting sun barely illuminating the mountains in the distance. "We'll be in Denver in about three hours, let's see if we can get something there. We're going to meet the guys on the Avalanche tomorrow", said Ryan as they waited to board the charter.

"We are all flying on the same plane?", asked Nail.

"Yeah, otherwise we'd have to use two planes and that's kind of pointless. The guys on the Avalanche are good dudes, especially Stastny and Duchene. Maybe they can show us around Denver a bit", said Taylor.

"Actually, we are taking the charter to Denver. From there, we are taking a Delta flight to New York, then a British Airways flight to Heathrow and then an SAS flight to Copenhagen", said Nikolai as he glanced up fro his book, giving his younger teammates a look.

"Wow, that's a lot of planes", exclaimed Jordan.

"But when we land in Copenhagen, I can show you around a bit. I grew up in Malmo nearby and I used to go there all the time for clubbing. And my cousin lives in Stockholm, that's the first game", said Magnus.

"Awesome, dude. But isn't Copenhagen where they have the big theme park?", asked Ryan.

"Nej, that's Liseborg in Goteborg. Copenhagen has Tivoli Gardens but that is for children, it's nice but you wouldn't like it. But it's also the one place in Scandinavia where you can buy cheap alcohol, perhaps we can tour the Carlsberg Brewery", said Magnus.

"Dude, sweet", said Taylor eagerly.

The plane landed in Denver three hours later as the team boarded a bus to the city, their equipment being loaded onto the plane headed to Stockholm ahead of them. It was now totally dark as the bus went west towards the city, the jagged peaks of the Rockies black shapes against the purplish-black sky. Nail put the headphones on and turned on his Ipod as he found an empty seat, frowning when he felt himself a bit short of breath.

"It's the altitude, we're over a mile above sea level", said Ryan.

"Da, I see. How long is this supposed to last?", he asked.

"You'll be fine tomorrow, but if you drink you are really going to feel it", said Ryan with a chuckle.

"I'm still feeling pretty good, let's grab something to eat", said Taylor after they checked in to their hotel in downtown Denver.

"Yeah, I'm starving bro. What about you guys?", Jordan asked Magnus and Nail.

"Okay, but what is good around here?", he asked.

"Trio Enoteca is just down the street, that place is awesome. It's an Italian place with great pizzas and live jazz, it looks like something out of the Godfather. Too bad we can't have actual wine, US drinking laws suck", said Jordan as they all nodded in agreement.

Half an hour later, the group found themselves sitting at a table in Trio Enoteca down the street from their hotel. The cavernous interior was dimly lit with chandeliers and the candles inside wine bottles that appeared at every table, the decor all dark wood and earth tones with reproductions of Vargas pin-ups and Art Deco posters on the walls. A jazz quartet consisting of a clarinet, acoustic guitar, bassist and pianist played softly on a small stage in the corner as waiters in black jackets and red carnations pinned to their lapels carried trays and drinks to the tables.

"One round of lemonades and the bruschetta for starters", said Taylor to the waiter.

"Hey, you guys must be having a head start onus", said a voice from two tables over.

"Dude, what a surprise. We just got in and we were hungry so we just stopped by", exclaimed Jordan as Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene of the Avalanche came over to their table.

"Then you picked a great place, they make the best pizza in town. Since we're going to be stuck together for the next two weeks, we ought to be friendly with each other. I'm Matt Duchene and this is my bro Paul Stastny", said Matt as they all shook hands. He was tall and broad-shouldered with wavy brown hair and merry hazel eyes, a lopsided on his grin on his face as though he was planning mischief.

The waiter brought over two more chairs and Matt palmed him a fifty, the waiter coming by with a bottle of red Chianti just as the other waiter came by with their lemonades and bruschetta. "I know, US drinking laws suck ass. I got an idea", he said. The waiter came over again and Matt said something and handed him another fifty, the waiter arriving with a bottle of Absolut. "Just add a shot to the lemonade", he said with a smirk.

"Dude, you are awful", laughed Jordan as he unscrewed the top and added a shot to his lemonade, the others following suit.

"Normally I wouldn't drink Absolut like this, but c'est la vie", said Magnus with a shrug as he added the vodka to his lemonade.

"Je sais, monsieur Paajarvi. Tres estupide vous non pourvouir boire l'alcohol", said Paul as he poured himself a glass of wine.

"Wow, you speak French?", asked Jordan in awe.

"Oui, monsieur Eberle. I was born and raised in Quebec and went to French school as a kid until I moved to St. Louis when Dad got traded. It's not very useful here in Colorado, but it's good to know", said Paul modestly.

Matt poured himself some wine and laughed good-naturedly, an amused look in his hazel eyes. "Dude, you're really good with that shit. He also knows Slovakian and Czech", he said.

"My parents are from Slovakia, mon petit frere du Ontario. That's my first language and pretty much everyone in Slovakia speaks Czech, they're very similar. And it's called Slovak, Slovakian is a person with Slovakian citizenship", teased Paul, a slight smile on his otherwise stoic Slavic face.

"Dude, I'm just a dumb Canuck, I don't know crap. Anyways, you would get laid more often if you spoke foreign stuff to the girls, chicks dig that", teased Matt.

"Quelle cochon, mon petit frere", retorted Paul, a twinkle in his pale blue eyes.

"Looks like you two have quite the bromance going on", teased Jordan.

"Yeah, he's like my brother from another mother. Paul showed me the ropes when I first got here, we're roommates on the road too", said Matt.

Nail sipped his lemonade with vodka and was started at how the two other men teased each other, the familiarity and affection between them not unlike that between Taylor and Jordan. "Nail, are you okay?", asked Magnus.

"You two are just like brothers, I have never seen that before. Maybe it is not a Russian thing", he mused aloud.

"You have any brothers, then? I noticed that with the Russian guys", said Paul.

"Nyet, I have younger sister named Irina. But I do have male cousins, but we never played around like that", said Nail thoughtfully.

"Awesome, is your sister hot?", asked Taylor with a laugh.

Nail gave his teammate a baleful look, his dark eyes narrowed and his black brows furrowed together like twin caterpillars. "If you were not my teammate, I would kick your ass", he retorted, biting his lip to keep from laughing.

"Dude, I gotcha, it's the big brother thing. I got two little sisters", said Jordan in understanding.

"So is your sister hot or not?", repeated Taylor.

Nail sighed and took out his phone, opening the picture folder and scrolling through them. "This is my sister Irina, she is sixteen", he said. The picture was taken at her sixteenth birthday party, Nail with an arm around her shoulders and kissing her cheek. Irina had the same straight black hair as her brother, her almond-shaped green eyes and tan skin giving her a vaguely exotic look. She wore a denim skirt and a sleeveless black tank top and fishnet stockings, simple gold hoops in her ears and a thin gold chain around her slim neck.

"Nice, your little sis is hot", said Taylor approvingly.

"And if you go near her, I will chop off your balls", he deadpanned.