Just Bent

Hadley sighed as she entered her apartment on a Friday afternoon, setting down yet another vase of flowers that had been delivered to her office. She had gotten a few bouquets from friends in college for her birthday, but that was two weeks ago now and she was still getting flowers from the captain of the Penguins.

“Those are nice.” She leapt in her skin when she saw Luke Schenn lazing on her couch, reading a Cosmo and icing his ankle from with her freezer pack.

“Jesus, Luke.” She sighed, reaching into the fridge and grabbing a bottle of wine she had opened the night before. “Was that necessary?” She asked.

“Well you won’t answer my calls, texts, or Brayden, so yes, I think that breaking in was the next most logical step.” He explained, flipping the page of the magazine. “I mean I know I’m not Claude Giroux, but I’m worth an answer on the telephone.” He said, setting the magazine down. “I apologized, I’m sorry, I thought you would like to see your family on your birthday, and I was wrong.” He sat up from the couch. “Now can we please be friends again?” He asked.

“Yes, I know, I meant to call you back earlier and invite you over but I’ve been working overtime, I have a few other things I’m dealing with at the moment and I didn’t know when I’d have time to hash this out with you.” She walked over and sat on the couch beside him, setting down two glasses of wine on the coffee table in front of them.

“Your personal life is your personal life, Hadley, I know that, but I really didn’t think it would be that big of a deal if I invited your brothers.” Luke shrugged. “Danny seemed excited to be there, you were happy to see him, right?” He asked.

“Yes, I was.” She nodded, “but how did you even get ahold of them anyway? Especially Tanner?” She asked.

“Creeped through your phone to find Danny and he had a recent number for Tanner.” He explained, his face covered in guilt. Hadley wondered how Danny had gotten a number for Tanner, but shrugged nonetheless.

“It’s not my business, Had, but… Tanner was there one second and gone another… Is everything okay there? I mean, you don’t have to tell me, I was just kinda surprised.” He finished.

“Tanner and I… our relationship is nonexistent.” She shrugged. “The longest and saddest story you’ll ever hear ends with the fact that he abandoned us.” She finished with a look in her eye that screamed she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

“I’m sorry, Hadley, really I am. If I would have known, I never would have invited him.” Luke put a hand on her knee. “The last thing I wanted to do on your birthday was upset you.” He explained.

“I know, Duke.” She smiled, taking her hand in his. “You’re probably the best friend I’ve ever had, I know you didn’t do it on purpose.” She finished.

“I also notice in my absence that you’ve started gardening.” He nodded his head towards her small kitchen counter that was overflowing with flowers. Lillies, roses, tulips and alstomerias were crammed between jars and covered containers.

“That is another story.” She sighed.

“Is this about Crosby?” Luke asked, taking a drink of the wine she had poured for him. “Come on, Had, at least let me get some back story on this.” He insisted. “How did you two even meet? And doesn’t he understand that you’re not interested anymore?”

“When I was graduating from Pitt one of the things we have to do is do an outside internship for credit. I got placed by my professors in an internship with Pittsburgh Magazine and even though I mostly did grunt work, I got to watch interviews and photo shoots for the covers,” she paused to take a drink of her wine. “Sidney game in to be on the cover and I didn’t really know about hockey, I knew he played it and he was the captain, but I never knew it was as big of a deal as it really is there.” She explained, making Luke grin at her naïveté.

“So when the reporter went to the restroom, we chatted a bit and he was… so sweet.” She blushed. “He called the office the next day and asked me if he could take me to dinner that night.” She explained. “From there, it was dinner dates, move nights at my apartment and sometimes we’d go to the movies on week days that he was in town.”

“Eventually, though, I opened up to him a bit and at times when I needed him, he made him self scarce. I started noticing that we never went out on the weekends, I never met any of his friends or he – mine.” There was a sad look in her eye. “I had gotten myself in deep with him and he had never even invited me come to a hockey game.” She laughed at herself. “I didn’t want to seem clingy, so I just kind of went along with it.”

“You are not clingy.” Luke shook his head.

“I only just recently came to terms with the fact that it really was him and not me.” She offered a sad smile. “But then I disappeared and there wasn’t a big reaction.” She shrugged. “And then I just kind of saw how much I was really worth to him.” She finished. “I think I text him the week I was moving and that was the last I ever talked to him before he showed up here.” She explained. “I have no idea how he even found out where I lived or anything like that. I don’t even know why he came.” She shrugged. “Mysteries of the world.”

“The real mystery in all of this is how he could ever let you go.” Luke smiled, making Hadley roll her eyes so badly she was sure she could see the back of her brain, making Luke laugh.

“Okay there, Casanova.” She laughed.

“Speaking of Casanova.” He said, picking up the Cosmo he had flipped through while she was gone. “Did you know that there are like ten articles here that all talk about blow jobs? Do you really read this?” He asked, watching as her cheeks flashed bright pink.

“I like the perfume samples!” She squealed, grabbing the magazine from him.

And just like that, everything was back to normal with she and Duke.

- - -

Hadley stretched and uncurled herself on the lounge chair next to the pool, reveling in the warm, Florida sun. The Flyers were visiting the Tampa Bay Lightning and as a gift from Brayden for her birthday, she was tagging along on the trip. She was a different hotel than the Flyers, but they were there for a total of three days and she was not going to let any time in the sun go to waste.

It was warm in Tampa Bay and she was waiting for the boys to be done with their morning skate. Their game wasn’t until the next night and they were going to have ample free time in the sunshine state to hang out.

Changing songs in the iPhone she could barely afford, she turned to lay on her stomach and untied the strings of her top. The last time she got a good tan she had a pure white line across her back from the string of her top.

Twenty minutes later, she was pulled out of her zone, feeling like she was being watched. She pulled her head up from the lounge chair and let her eyes adjust to see Brayden standing over her, holding a bottle of suntan lotion.

“I can see that my services are needed here.” He simply stated before straddling Hadley in his board shorts, making himself comfortable as he sat on her butt.

“Hi Brayden.” She huffed out, feeling her lungs working a little bit harder with the extra weight. Claude took a seat in the lounge chair beside Hadley, eyeing up his friend as he rubbed suntan lotion all over Hadley’s back. “How was practice?” She asked, looking at Claude who was still eyeing up the way Brayden’s hands moved across her back.

“It was good.” Claude nodded, “how has your morning been?” He asked with a smile.

“Oh you know, slept in, someone had breakfast delivered to my room, took a long shower, read some of my book.” She smiled, shielding her eyes from the sun. He took the opportunity to let his eyes dart to where her breasts were pressed against the lounge chair.

“Yeah, well, you look pretty well oiled up to me.” Claude pinched Brayden who jumped up and off of Hadley. “You needed the break.” He smiled, making her grin as well as she settled her head back down on her folded over town, exhaling quietly. She held up one ear bud of her headset.

“Share?” She offered. He scooted his chair closer so their loungers touched and reclined the back, laying down beside her as he took the little ear bud. She smiled at him, slightly squinty from the sun, but beautiful nonetheless.

“I like this.” He approved, “who is it?” He asked.

“Imagine Dragons,” she replied. “They’re my new favorite.”

“They’re good, I’ve heard of them.” The both closed their eyes and enjoyed the sun. Hadley had dozed off and was being shaken awake before she even knew she was asleep. Tying up the strings of her top, she sat up and slid on her sunglasses. Luke nodded over to Claude who was dead asleep and bright red on his back.

“This is why gingers don’t go in the sun.” Luke shook his head at the painful looking burn.

“Claude, babe.” She gently shook his arm. “Don’t move, okay?” She whispered gently.

“Fuck, I’m hot.” He groaned.

“I’m going to take you upstairs and put some aloe on your back, okay? You’re a little pink.” She added, making Luke and Brayden snicker seeing as he was redder than a stop sign. Claude treid not to let out a girly whimper when he realized to the extent that he was burned and how much it hurt to get off of the chair. Hadley took his hand in hers and lead him back into the hotel lobby, steering him into an elevator that was lined with mirrors.

“Ho-ly fuck.” He groaned, “how am I going to get my equipment on tomorrow?” He asked, his pink neck disappearing into his rust colored hair.

“We’ll figure it out, babe.” Hadley smiled sadly. “Come on, I have some aloe in the mini fridge in my room.” She said, using a trick that one of her teachers from high school had taught her class. “Down, over on the bed.” She instructed, Claude wasn’t going to argue with the woman.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” He stuttered, contracting his arms and squeezing his eyes shut when she carefully rubbed the cold aloe onto his back. He could practically hear his skin snapping in contraction of the cold gel.

“I know, G, I’m sorry.” Hadley sounded genuinely upset that he was in such discomfort. A few moments passed and so did the pain. How, the cooling sensation was much needed. “You’re gonna peel really bad.” She sighed. “I mean, come on, you’re so fair skinned and you didn’t think to put on any sunblock?” She scolded. “Use your brain, captain.” She pinched his arm where he wasn’t burned.

“Hey, be nice to me.” He whined, “I’m a lobster.” He groaned.

“Yeah,” Hadley laughed, “but you’re a cute lobster.”