Lonely No More

Jocelyn McDermott was late – very late. She hoped that the backlash would be minimal seeing as it was her first time being late since starting with the Penguins three months ago, but she prided herself on being a punctual person.

The problem was, her sister decided not to wake up in time to bring her nephew, Mikey, to preschool on time, and he called his Auntie Jo to see if she could get him there. Just another conversation she needed to have with the older of the two McDermott sisters.

While being the concierge receptionist for the Pittsburgh Penguins had never been the plan after earning her degree in library sciences from Slippery Rock, it was enough money to keep her from drowning in her student loans and then some. In fact, the position paid surprisingly well for a job that didn’t require a degree. But Jocelyn was extremely organized, quick-witted, was able to work in a high-stress environment. That, and she had absolutely aced her interview. She didn’t mind to do menial work during the day as long as it allowed to her indulge in more cerebral pursuits outside of work.

“Ohh, Joss-baby, you’re late.” She waved off the brunette as he teased her.

“Six minutes.” She insisted. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked from the double doors of the players entrance straight to her desk. She was the first person to greet the players and staff of the Penguins as they entered the arena.

Robert Bortuzzo’s eyes scanned their receptionist. She was definitely a step up from 65-year-old Roz they had last season. Jocelyn wasn’t tall – maybe five foot seven, but she was all leg. She had pert breasts and a round ass with toned calves she often showcased in pencil skirts. She sometimes wore smart, black-rimmed glasses over her dark blue eyes and more often than not, her dark brunette hair was pulled into a knot at the base of her neck. She looked like a hot librarian.

“Didn’t see you out last night.” He winked, leaning up against the reception desk as she unpacked her tote, including her trusty pink Camelbak waterbottle.

“I had better things to do.” She said airily. He, along with his teammates, were always trying to get her out on the town.

“Yeah, like what?” He asked, grinning.

“Like washing my hair.” She countered with a smile, picking up her phone and calling into Jim Rutherford’s office to see if he needed anything. She shooed Robert away with a flick of her wrist, making him laugh as he walked away, donning a pair of ridiculous Crocs and sweatpants.

As she prioritized emails from the previous afternoon, she got to work, rerouting calls, working on various spreadsheets and also doing a little side-work, a project she had put together of her own initiative for Jim.

“Good morning, Joss.” She looked up, smiling and tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she greeted Kris Letang who entered the arena shortly before Beau Bennett.

“Good morning, Kris.” She hoped the heat she could feel taking over her cheeks wasn’t too visible. “How was your weekend?” She asked softly, wishing she had touched up her lipstick before entering the office that morning.

“Very relaxing.” He answered in his French purr. “And yours?” He asked.

“It was pleasant.” She nodded, smiling more as he rapped his knuckles across the top of the desk before passing by to the locker room just beyond another set of double doors.

“Josie,” Beau greeted with his big, California smile and blonde floppy hair. “What kind of trouble did you get into this weekend?” He asked, hoping to divert her attention away from the defenseman with the flawless face.

“Hi Beau.” She greeted, much more comfortably and with much more familiarity. She did, after all, see him as a friend. Beau, however, saw Jocelyn as much more than a friend. At least, he wanted to. As amateur as it sounded, his heart really did skip a beat whenever he saw her. He loved her long legs, her charming smile and often wondered what she’d be like if he got her to let down that hair. He’d love to help her with just that.

She looked especially beautiful that Monday morning, wearing a crisp white blouse, black skirt and black pumps. She was also wearing those kittenish glasses – black with leopard print on the inside of the frames that complimented her red lipstick. He’d love to see that lipstick on his neck and chest.

“Let’s see… the trouble I got into this weekend was the new season of Orange is the New Black and I tried a new recipe from Pinterest.” She said, “my exciting life.” She added with a sarcastic roll of her eyes.

“Should have called me, I’m only two episodes in.” He hoped he was coming off as cute and not creepy. “Spend any time with Mr. Mike?” He asked, referring to her little nephew she had brought into the office once before.

“I did, actually.” She was flattered he remembered her favorite little guy. “We went to go see that new Pixar movie with the bears.” She nodded. “Thanks for asking.” She added just before her desk phone rang. “One minute.” She held a finger as Jim’s name flashed on the screen on her Avaya phone. “Hi Jim.” She answered.

Beau pretended to occupy himself with a few small knick knacks of hers on the desk, including the bowl of starbursts that was frequently visited by players and coaches alike. He stole a glance at her office-appropriate cleavage as she turned to face her computer screen, still on the phone.

Hearing the door open behind him, he turned to see his captain walking through the door, flanked by his partner in crime, Sadie Crosby.

“Morning, cap.” He greeted Sidney with a nod. Sidney looked at the youngster and gave him a knowing look as he glanced past his teammate to the receptionist. He had known about Beau’s infatuation with Jocelyn for weeks, and actively encouraged him to ask her to dinner. That, and Sidney’s wife Bailey was always asking for an update on the Beau and Jocelyn saga – he at least wanted to have something to tell her.

“Hi Sidney.” Jocelyn smiled as she hung up her call with Jim.

“Jim giving you hell? Tell him to go easy on Monday mornings.” Sidney teased, making her laugh and tuck that same errant lock of hair behind her ear.

“His bark is worse than his bite.” She assured. “Hi here, Sadie.” She greeted the little girl who demanded attention from Beau. The Californian propped the toddler onto his hip and she immediately reached for a Starburst, demanding Beau open it for her.

“Hi Joz-lyn.” Sadie replied with her best attempt at pronouncing her name.

“I like your sweater.” Jocelyn said, looking at Sadie’s pink cashmere sweater with a red sequin strawberry on the front.

“I luh strawberries.” She reached down to touch the fruit in question.

“Sadie got to spend all day Saturday with Beau, didn’t you, babe?” Sidney asked. “This guy,” he jammed a thumb in Beau’s direction. “So good with kids.” Beau’s ears immediately flamed red at his teammate’s attempt at talking him up to Jocelyn. He shrugged with a bashful smile, something he hoped she found endearing.

But for Beau, the only thing worse than being embarrassed by Sidney’s remark, was the idea that it didn’t phase her in the least. Like she didn’t even see him as an option. He wished she looked at him the same way she looked at Kris Letang.

- - -

Another great perk of working for the Penguins organization was that Jocelyn was able to watch each home game if she chose to stick around. Sometimes she would lend a hand in the GM suite as per Jim’s request, but seeing as it was only the second pre-season game of the year, she was free to sit in the Penguins suite without too much bother.

Jocelyn had quickly learned to keep a spare set of clothes in her work tote. Shortly after five o’clock, she disappeared into the executive restrooms area and changed into a pair of fitted-to-the-ankle dark wash jeans and a long-sleeve Penguins tee. She kept her work heels on before storing her tote in her desk, tucking her phone in her pocket and moving to the suite level. It was ten to seven and she could still make it up in time for puck drop.

“Joss! Over here!” She turned at the sound of her name to see Bailey Crosby waving with a smile. The captain’s wife had always been sweet to her and they weren’t too far off in age, so they had gotten along well. Many of the wives were a few years older than Jocelyn and saw her as another revolving door within the organization – probably someone who wouldn’t be sticking around long. While Jocelyn didn’t know how long she’d choose to stay with the Penguins, she at least tried to be as polite as possible to all those she came in contact with.

“Hi Bailey.” The brunette smiled as she took her seat beside the little blonde wearing an ‘87’ jersey.

“Ready for some puck? I didn’t see you at the game on Thursday.” She pointed out.

“No, I didn’t stick around, I was so wiped at the end of the day, the idea of staying at work for another four hours was totally unappealing.” She laughed. “The amount of work to do since hockey has started has pretty much doubled during the day.” She explained. “Especially for the players who will taxi between here and Wilkes-Barre, they’re a lot of paperwork.” She sighed.

“Here, you need this.” Bailey handed Jocelyn her beer. He brunette laughed, gratefully taking a drink before setting it down in the cup holder between them.

“Where’s Sadie? No hockey for her tonight?” She asked.

“No, she’s at home with the sitter, she’s been super fussy all day since she came home from practice this morning and she threw an absolute fit when I tried to get her to come to the game.” She rolled her eyes. “Too much like her Daddy.” Bailey explained, making Jocelyn laugh. “I know you’ve had a long day, but you should come out with us tonight after the game, some of the guys will be there.” She encouraged. Bailey remembered that Jocelyn was a little bit of a small-town girl and was from the surrounding area, but was new to the city. Before she met Missy, Bailey never went out with people her own age – even if Joss was three years younger than her.

“Oh yeah? Who all is going?” She asked, pushing up her glasses.

“Me, Sid, Missy, James, probably not Marc and Vero but Beau will probably come with…” Jocelyn spaced a bit, really only hoping she’d hear a certain French-Canadian defenseman’s name. “Bortz will tag along if Beau comes.” She finished. “Super laid back, some margaritas and chips.” She explained.

“Yeah, let me get back to you at the end of the game.” Jocelyn laughed. She and Bailey ended up splitting two beers before the end of the second period as the Penguins led the Panthers 3-1. After learning that Jocelyn had yet to actually eat dinner, Bailey immediately ordered some food from catering, insisting Jocelyn finish her plate. Joss felt a bit like a kid as Bailey eyed her, making sure her plate of fries and a pulled pork sandwich was clean – but she did think it was rather endearing as well.

“Come on, let’s go wrangle up some men.” Bailey said at the end of the game, her husband scoring twice in the 5-2 final.

“I have to grab my tote.” Jocelyn remarked, “I’m just going to swing by my desk.” The two walked together down to the lower level, splitting past the double doors into the family lounge so that Jocelyn could grab her bag. She was surprised to see players already ducking out of the arena as soon as possible. As she bent over to stuff her iPad into her tote where it sat on the floor leaned against the side of her desk, she felt a pair of eyes on her. Turning, she saw Kris Letang slowly making his way from one set of doors to the other.

“Did you stay for the game?” He asked in that French purr that instantly sent tingles down Jocelyn’s spine and made her skin feel over sensitized in her cotton t-shirt.

“I did.” She replied with a smile, “Bailey talked me into it.”

“Hope you enjoyed it.” He said with a wink. Her mind almost let her believe he had checked her out, but her brain knew better.

“Have a good night.” She said pathetically as he exited the building. She fanned her face as soon as he was out of sight, tossing her tote bag over her shoulder and setting off to find Bailey, maybe she would need a drink and an enchilada after all.

Greeting the various patrons of the family lounge politely, she found Bailey standing with Missy Neal, James’ wife.

“Hello.” She said quietly, feeling less confident as she didn’t know Missy that well.

“Hi Joss.” She beamed with enthusiasm. “Sorry I couldn’t meet you ladies at the game, had a doctor’s appointment.” She winked. Very few people knew that Missy Neal was newly pregnant, so Jocelyn felt a little special to be included in on that information. In all honesty, pregnancy really freaked Jocelyn out, but she kept that information to herself. “You’re coming for drinks, right, Joss?” Missy asked, to which Jocelyn nodded.

A few eyes looked to the dressing room doors as they opened as Jocelyn watched as a half-dressed Beau Bennett walked right up to them, still naked from his breezers up – donning his skates, socks and shorts, but nothing else.

“Bails, if I come with you tonight, can you give me a ride home?” He asked, face flushing a bit as he stood by Jocelyn who didn’t give his body a second look. He slowly felt his confidence shrinking.

“Yeah of course, babe.” She nodded, “hurry up, and tell that goon I married to hurry up, too.” She swatted him on the butt. Beau nodded, giving Jocelyn an awkward smile before turning back to the dressing room. “Joss, will you need a ride? We can drive you.” Bailey turned her attention back to the young brunette who she was slowly attempting to take under her wing.

“Oh no, I don’t plan on drinking much and I live just in middle hill.” She explained.

“Okay, well, the offer always stands.” She insisted.

Soon enough, the group that was going to the Mexican restaurant a few blocks down had finally congregated in the lounge before moving out to the parking lot. Jocelyn cast one last look at her desk to make sure she didn’t forget anything before letting herself relax.

“Bortz, you’re with us.” Missy claimed, “we only have room for one.” She explained.

“Ugh, you know what? Our car is totally packed with Sadie stuff from her weekend up north.” Bailey lied, knowing full well that the only thing in their back seat was a booster seat and a few empty bottles of Powerade. “Joss, can you give Beau a ride? We can rearrange when we get there so we can take him home after.” She explained.

“Sure, no problem.” Jocelyn hit the unlock button for her little white Ford Focus. It was going to be fun to watch the tall blonde fold his legs into the contraption.

“Don’t meddle, Mrs. Crosby.” Sidney warned his wife with a whisper.

“I’ll meddle as I please, Mr. Crosby.” She countered confidently as he opened her door for her. She couldn’t pass up an opportunity to kiss her handsome husband. Jocelyn and Beau both noticed the captain as he all but pinned his wife to their car. They both blushed, immediately getting into the little car.

“Sorry.” Jocelyn apologized. “Little car.” She laughed at Beau’s attempt to get settled in her passenger seat. “There’s a handle…” She trailed, reaching down between his seat and the center console, flicking it up and sending the chair back so his long legs would fit.

“Perfect.” He smiled. The ride to the Mexican restaurant was quiet, a little too quiet for Beau’s taste as he stole glances to his left of Jocelyn’s profile. He really wanted to kiss the lipstick right off of her.

“That’s a new shirt, right? Do you get to go down to the storage store?” He asked of the retail room in the basement of the arena that the players and front office staff were able to pick up a few items of Penguins gear for free.

“Yeah, I got this last week.” She nodded, “it’s soft, and it’s nice to change into after work. That was my main criteria.” She grinned, making him smile as well.

“Hopefully you stick around for more games during the season, the atmosphere is different, much more exciting.” He felt like a complete idiot trying to force conversation.

“Yeah, I plan to.” She nodded, “It totally depends on the day. You couldn’t have paid me to stay for the game last Thursday. I wanted to crawl out of the building and into my car, it was such a long day.” She sighed, “but today was better.” She explained. Beau wished they were together, he wanted to rub her feet at the end of a long day, hop in a shower with her and massage her naked back – lay her up against the pillows of his bed as he slowly undressed her and –

“Beau? We’re here.” She laughed at her passenger as he sat prone in his seat while she was already out of the car and looking down at him through her window.

“Sorry, spaced out.” He flushed a bright red, hoping a drink or two would ease his nerves.

Bailey watched with raised brows as she took in the color of Beau’s face. She would have killed to be a fly on the wall in that Ford Focus.

“Reign it in, babe.” Sidney said, squeezing her butt in the back pocket of her jeans. It didn’t go unnoticed that she picked the restaurant where they had one of their first dates.

“Missy totally set us up, they are my new project.” She said insistently. “Stay out of my way, Crosby.” She warned him with a wag of her finger. Sidney rolled his eyes. When Bailey really wanted something, it was pointless to try and deter her.

Soon, they group was seated around a big, round table, margaritas for the women, a beer for Beau and Robert, and waters for James and Sidney.

“So Joss, now that the season’s started, are you enjoying the job a little bit more?” Missy asked.

“Yeah, I would say so. It’s more exciting, and it’s regulating out a bit every day – I know who to expect in the morning, Jim’s schedule has regulated a bit more.” She nodded.

“Who’s the first person to come in every morning?” Bailey asked with a grin.

“Fleury.” Jocelyn answered right away.

“That used to be me pre-Sadie.” Sidney huffed, making the table laugh.

“Then it’s usually Dupuis, maybe Crosby, then Kris and these two.” She looked over at Beau and Bortz. “The rest is totally a grab bag.” She listed off.

“And who is the last to come in?” Missy asked.

“Malkin.” Jocelyn replied without missing a beat, making the table laugh again. She crossed her legs, leaning forward a bit and taking a drink of her margarita. Beau looked her over, the air conditioning was strong and she might have been a little chilly. He wished he had a jacket to offer her. He wondered if her nipples were hard.

“But you like living in Pitt?” Missy asked with a warm smile.

“It gets better every day.” She nodded, “I think if I knew the arena better, I wouldn’t have moved to middle hill, but I can always change that when my lease is up.” She explained.

“Isn’t that a bad neighborhood?” Beau asked, frowning.

“It’s not the best.” Sidney agreed, knowing it was actually one of the worst, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud and embarrass the poor girl.

Soon, their dinners came and Jocelyn ordered a water instead of a second margarita. She did have to drive home that night and be back at work by eight the next morning.

“Woo.” She whispered, exhaling before taking a big sip of water.

“Spicy?” Beau asked, looking down at her meal.

“Yeah.” She laughed, “I didn’t expect it to be this intense.” She grinned, embarrassed.

“Trade with me.” Beau insisted, “mine’s not spicy at all and I like spicy food.” He added.

“No, I couldn’t, that’s your dinner.” She replied, “besides, this is really spicy.”

“I’m from California, we have real Mexican food there. Trust me.” He didn’t wait any longer swap plates. Beau lied, he couldn’t handle spicy food, and after the first bite of her enchiladas, he thought his ears were going to emit smoke.

“Yours is much better than mine.” She laughed after taking a bite of his burrito. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Beau was proud his voice didn’t come out in a squeak. He tried to be as discreet as possible as he sipped his beer and subsequent waters throughout dinner. He didn’t want to give away that his mouth was on fire. Bortz grinned as his teammate and what a clown he looked like. He very obviously wanted to impress Jocelyn.

Dinner ended all too soon for Beau’s liking. From his seat beside the brunette, he could occasionally catch a whiff of her floral perfume.

“Thanks for inviting me out.” Jocelyn smiled as Bailey gave her a squeeze.

“You’re always invited, babe.” Bailey insisted, “I know what it’s like to not know a lot of people in the city.” She grinned, “and now I’m married to this lug, so you know, things went well.” She shrugged, laughing as Sidney gave her an unamused look. “Text me when you’re home, okay?” She asked. The two had exchanged numbers earlier that evening in the suite.

“Okay.” She nodded, walking backwards toward her car. “Bye everyone,” she waved. Beau lifted his hand with a big smile, eyes a little red from the generous use of jalapeno in his dinner that night.

“I tried, babe.” Bailey bumped into his shoulder.

“Can we just not talk about it?” He asked, getting into the Crosby car, noticing how empty the backseat was. After dropping the blonde at his apartment, Bailey sighed.

“I mean, did you think they were going to get engaged tonight?” Sidney asked his obviously disappointed wife.

“It’s not that.” She frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. “Did you notice what she said at dinner when we asked her about who came in first and last to practice?” She pressed.

“Yeah, that I wasn’t first.” He gave her an unamused look again.

“No.” She rolled her eyes. “That she said each player by last name except Kris Letang.”

“You don’t think?” His head turned on a swivel to look at his wife.

“No, I don’t think so.” She shook her head. “But having a big fat crush on the hottest guy on the team certainly isn’t going to help Beau at all.” She sighed. Sidney nodded.

“Wait, hottest guy?”