In the Company

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t beyond pissed at Ryleigh when she all but threw Patrick and me out of the booth. But, with the shitty way I’d been feeling that past week, I let it slide. Maybe Patrick would make the dance floor interesting. After all, Jon had told me stories about his ‘Kaner shuffle’. I wondered if he had enough to drink to bust that out.

Over the last five days, I’d spent too much time thinking about David and my dad. How two men could inflict so much chaos on my life, I would never know. And as Patrick and I made our way to the dance floor in the midst of the popular club, they still plagued my thoughts. But apparently, Patrick had gotten it into his mind that he needed to get my mind on other things.

Stepping into the crowd, I heard a popular song that I knew by heart. The Latin beats thumped and Patrick and I bobbed to the music, a little too close for my liking, but we danced nonetheless. I kept his hands at bay and away from my hips with a bit of moving around and keeping his feet busy. Sure, David and I were on a ‘break’ but that didn’t mean I liked Patrick anymore.

We’d talked about the night at Lights and what had happened, a long conversation about everything. I’d explained that I was doing my job and he actually apologized for whatever he might have done. It had been awkward for a day or two after, but we’d sunk back into normalcy eventually.

I sung the words to myself as Patrick and I continued dancing. From our spot, I could see the corner of our table, only letting me see Tyler’s leg that stuck out into the aisle. But soon, I saw Ry coax a few of the other guys out onto the dance floor. Eventually, she, Tyler, Max, and to my surprise, Brayden were next to us. He looked terribly uncomfortable in the crush of people, but I could tell he was trying to put on a good act for Ryleigh.

She could use someone like him, I finally decided. He was calm while she was wild. Brayden was maybe a little shy and Ry was maybe a little over confident at times.

*~*~*~*~*~*

After a few more songs and several more times of slapping Pat’s hands, we all headed off to the bar to join the rest of the guys. Claude and Taylor leaned against the marble with drinks for us all and a surprise for me.

On a plate, there was a delicious looking cupcake with a sparkler in the top, blazing. Next to it, glasses of champagne were lined up for us all.

I listened to a terribly off-key rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ before pausing to think of what to wish for.

“Hurry up!” Tyler urged me.

I closed my eyes and blew some air out of my mouth, wishing for some sort of guidance about David and my dad. Usually, that was something you prayed for, but after the divorce and the amount of talking to God I did then and the bad news I got, I’d kind of given up on that.

“Yay!” Ryleigh hugged me before holding up her glass flute of bubbly. “To my best friend on her 23rd! We’ve had some good times, especially that vacation to Vegas for our 21st,” she winked at me, causing Max and Patrick to roar. “And I think we’ve been there for each other through some pretty rough patches. I love you, Rosaline!”

I blushed as everyone began to sip the drinks, but before I could, my eyes rested on another booth, not far from where we were now.

Two people were nestled close to each other, talking in each other’s ears. There was a tall blonde girl and an even taller guy, holding on to her and occasionally dropping a kiss to her cheek. As a waiter appeared, the guy turned, showing me his face.

David.

David and the blonde from the club.

What the hell happened to not seeing other people and thinking? He’d obviously been thinking with something other than his brain.

Usually, I was mild-tempered and relaxed, only worrying about things when I needed to. But then, something in me almost ignited, just like the sparkler on my cupcake.

“Rose?” Ry questioned, placing a hand on my arm as I passed. “You okay?”

I shrugged her off, continuing on my way to their booth. I wasn’t really even aware of what I was doing, just that I was a woman on a mission.

“Hey there, babe,” I faked a smile. “Funny seeing you here, asshole.”

“Rosaline!” he jerked around. “You-you… what?”

I rolled my eyes, laughing bitterly, before letting my hand tip over, allowing the contents of my full glass to fall into his lap.

And then the fire went out and I turned on me heel and practically ran.

I couldn’t be back to Ryleigh fast enough. Just in the short walk from his booth and back to the bar where Ryleigh was already waiting with my clutch, tears had already begun to trickle down my face.

“That fucking douchebag!” she pulled me into a tight hug, rubbing my back.

“I’ll kick his ass,” Claude offered. “We all will.”

“No,” I sniffled out. “You… don’t need…anymore…trouble.” I tried to talk between gasps.

“I’ll rip him a new one!” Ry scowled. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Rosaline!” I could hear David’s voice getting closer and Ry pushed me to walk in front of her as Patrick and Taylor put themselves in front of David, blocking him.

“I don’t think so,” Patrick said.

“Don’t even try, bud,” Taylor agreed.

“Come on! Let me talk to her!” David pleaded.

“I think your little show with the twig at the booth said enough,” it was Brayden this time, showing some of his on-ice personality by looking down on David, who was practically his height.

I didn’t bother to hear anything else, letting Ryleigh and the rest of the guys usher me out into the New York night. Tyler rushed out into the street, hailing a cab. By then, I was actually crying, tears streaming down my face and sobs wracking my body. It was incredibly embarrassing around these men, our clients, but it felt like we were all friends now, not business associates.

“Rosie, wait!” another voice called out as Ryleigh opened the cab door. This time, it was Patrick.

“Happy birthday,” he handed me a small gift bag and an even smaller smile. “And he’s a dick.”

I choked out a laugh before Ryleigh pushed me into the taxi. Looking out the back window as Ryleigh gave the driver our address; I saw not a group of troublesome hockey players, but a great group of guys.