Lonely No More

A week had passed since Bortz’s Steelers party and Beau had barely gotten to see Jocelyn. They had three away games in a row as preseason finished and that meant mostly away practices, too, as they traveled from city to city.

He really missed her, and he was thankful he had jacked her phone number from Bailey.

To: Josie Cell
Hey it’s Beau. You going to be in the office today? He sent it off, thinking it was good enough for a first text.

He dropped his cell on his bed in his fairly empty bedroom tomorrow and walked into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Skate was at ten that morning to compensate for all of their road games and he was hoping to take Josie to lunch if she had the time. He figured by the time he was finished and had showered, it would be close to noon and they could sneak out for something to eat.

After scrubbing down, he grabbed his phone to see a reply text.

From: Josie Cell
Hi! Yes, I’ve been here since seven-thirty. What time are you in? He let he know that he would be in shortly seeing as skate was at 10.

To: Josie Cell
Any chance you can grab some lunch around noon? He could feel the muscles in his shoulders seizing up as he drove to the arena, he hadn’t gotten a response yet from Josie about lunch and he was worried she was just saying nothing instead of rejecting him.

When he pulled into the parking lot, he checked his eyebrows and his breath before getting out of the car. He could never remember a time when he was so concerned about what a girl thought about him. He also couldn’t remember a time when he had gone so long without getting laid.

“Hi Josie.” He smiled. He wasn’t sure there could be a better way to arrive at work than to see her face.

“Hi Beau!” She greeted, donning her same glasses and bun. He’d give anything to tug her hair right out of that bun. “I would love to get something to eat, by the way. Sorry, I forgot to text back. I also didn’t want you to text and drive.” She laughed. “And it’s good timing, I forgot to pack a lunch last night.”

“Awesome, I will be out as quick as I can after skate.” He grinned.

“And a shower.” She said pointedly, making him laugh.

“And a shower.” He nodded. Beau was fucking pumped, finally a little time he could get her alone again. The closer he got to her, the better. He couldn’t wait to get his hands tangled in that hair and his lips on hers.

The next two hours went by quickly for Jocelyn. She had a forty-five minute meeting with Jim and some of the front office staff for operations and organization of flight and travel accommodations for the games following the All Star Break. Jocelyn was surprised to hear Jim praise her work thus far in front of the office members and had asked her to take on a little bit more responsibility with the organizational side of things for upcoming outdoor game the Penguins would be participating in that winter.

“Hey sweetheart.” Bailey always made Jocelyn feel comfortable to matter where they were. She acted very much like a mother to Jocelyn, and it was something she admired about Mrs. Crosby.

“Hi Bails.” She smiled happily, excited to see her friend. “What brings you around?” She asked.

“Sid left his cell at home, thought he would want it just in case.” She shrugged, “and Sadie is at a play date, I have no classes today and I was a little bored…” She laughed, making Jocelyn grin.

“We just need to have another baby already so I have something to do.” She sighed, making Jocelyn laugh softly before her phone rang.

“Gimme just one minute.” She said, seeing that it was Mario Lemieux on the line. “Hello, Mr. Lemieux.” She greeted, making Bailey laugh, occupying herself with the candy dish that now held tootsie pops. Bailey walked around to the back of the high-tiered desk. Jocelyn didn’t have much in the way of personal affects on her desk, likely because it was far from a private arena, but she did have a small, framed photo of her darling nephew, a Kate Spade tumbler that Bailey often saw her sipping water from, and a Kate Spade paper weight on a small stack of notes.

“Sorry about that.” She blushed.

“Oh my gosh, don’t apologize, you’re just doing your job.” Bailey flapped her hand at the brunette.

“Hey, do you want to get lunch?” She invited.

“I love lunch!” Bailey smiled. “Do you mind if Sid comes? If he hears about food, he’ll want to be involved.”

“Yes, of course he can come.” She insisted. “I think we were planning on leaving soon after their skate ended.

“Who else?” Bailey asked.

“Beau, he asked me if I wanted to get something to eat. I mean, I can’t be gone too long, I only get an hour, but sometimes I can stretch it to an hour-fifteen.” She smiled. Bailey smiled in return, but instantly regretted saying yes. If she would have known it was just going to be Jocelyn and Beau otherwise, she would have said no right away, not wanting to steal Beau’s thunder. She knew how infatuated Beau was with Jocelyn and desperately wanted to see them together.

A few minutes later, Beau arrived, freshly showered, a spring in his step and a wide smile on his face. He had even stolen some of Paul Martin’s cologne when he saw that his own stash was empty.

“Hi Bails.” He greeted.

“Hey baby Beau.” She smiled, “my hubby almost out?” She asked.

“On his way.” He nodded.

“Bailey and Sidney are going to join us for lunch.” Jocelyn said happily. Beau looked over at Bailey with a tight smile.

“Awesome.” He said, trying his hardest to at least look like he was excited. If Bailey hadn’t already told Jocelyn she had Sidney’s phone, she would have pretended to text Sid and make up an excuse as to why they couldn’t be there.

Beau offered to drive Josie to lunch and bring her back afterwards. They picked an American-style restaurant not too far from the arena, Sidney and Bailey on his side of the booth and Beau and Josie on the other side. Beau was thankful for the tight fit of the booth, the two of them budded up tightly in the small area.

“What looks good?” She asked, glancing over her menu.

“Their burgers are good.” Beau said, having dined her previously.

“Do you want to get two things and split them?” She asked from behind the little fortress of their menus in hand.

“Nothing spicy.’” He said quickly, making Bailey snort from behind her own menu.

“Okay, nothing spicy.” Jocelyn agreed, bumping her shoulder into his. Even sitting down, she was so much more petite than him. Jocelyn and Beau settled on a burger and a chicken sandwich – the server didn’t argue when Sidney let them know that they could not stay long.

Besides the lack of physical contact, Beau almost felt like he was on a double date. He knew he would have a good time with all of them together, but Jocelyn only recently started feeling comfortable enough to hang out with the team in social situations and he wanted to spend time with her alone.

“Joss, you’re not from, Pitt, right? You went to school where again?” Sidney asked as he dipped into their appetizer of artichoke dip.

“I went to Slippery Rock for my undergrad, but I’m originally from Hamilton, Ontario.” She smiled, taking a sip of her lemonade.

“You’re Canadian?!” Both Sidney and Beau asked at the same time. She jumped a bit at their surprise.

“Yes.” She laughed, “is that okay?” Beau sighed, dropping his head back against the booth dramatically. “I actually am Canadian-American. I have dual citizenship.” She explained. “My Dad was from Detroit and my Mom was from Hamilton.” She finished.

“Okay, that’s better,” Beau sighed.

“Do your parents still live up there?” Bailey asked.

“No, they don’t.” She replied, “but my sister doesn’t live too far away with my nephew, so I visit with them pretty often.” There was a lingering sense of information withheld, but no one pressed the matter.

“So then who do you cheer for during the Olympics?” Beau asked, “and make sure you say the right thing.” He added, dropping his chin to look her in the eye.

“Yes, Joss, make sure you say the right thing.” Sidney said from across the table, causing Bailey roll her eyes.

“Play nice, boys.” She insisted.

“You know, I love those Swedes, so talented, so skilled, it’s hard not to cheer for Sweden.” She opted out of the questions, making Bailey laugh. She had expertly avoided the question.

Much to Jocelyn’s protests, Sidney paid the lunch bill – as if anyone at that table was going to let her pay for anything that day.

“I cheer for the Americans.” Jocelyn admitted with a shy smile when they got back into the car. “How can you not?” She asked.

“Good choice.”

- - -

“Auntie Jo!” Joss braced herself as Mikey leaped into her arms in the front yard of her sister’s house about thirty miles out of the city.

“Hi baby boy, did you miss me?” She asked.

“No.” He shook his head, giggling as she tickled his sides. “Come in, come see my dinosaurs.” He said excitedly, taking her by the hand and leading her into the charming two-bedroom home.

“Hey sis.” Amanda McDermott greeted her little sister with a hug.

“Hey mama.” She hugged her in return. “I went to the farmer’s market and brought some squash over.” She raised up the reusable bag from Whole Foods, she knew how much her big sister loved squash in the fall.

“Stayin’ for dinner?” Amanda asked. “Mikey and I picked up a few things to make homemade pizza.” She said, knowing that her little sister loved homemade pizza. The two of them were always trying to show the other how much love and admiration they shared for one another.

“I can stay.” She smiled, “did you finally get that alarm clock fixed?” She asked with a raised brow.

“Yes!” She groaned, “literally the most embarrassing thing ever.” She shook her head, pulling the little gourds from the bag to pile into the decorative bowl on her kitchen island. Amanda was a financial advisor and made great money, but that also came with endless hours of work, and oftentimes, meant that Mikey spent many afternoons with his nanny, Lisa. “But before we get too deep into my life and times with an alarm clock, how’s the city? How’s the job, how’s the apartment? It’s been forever since we’ve caught up!” She insisted, laying out three pizza crusts over the counter and grabbing various toppings from the fridge.

“The city is… the city.” Jocelyn smiled, “work is getting better, they’re trusting me with a lot of new things, but it never feels like anything I have to work overtime on. I’m getting to meet a lot more people and I’m getting a lot more comfortable in the office. You two need to pick a night that you can come into the city and come to a game.” She insisted, “Mikey would love it.”

“I know, that is a good idea. I’ll look up their schedule and email you a few dates.” She agreed. “So now that you’re meeting more people… meeting any cute boys?” She wiggled her eyebrows at her little sister.

“Boys? Really, Amanda?” She asked with a deadpan look.

“Come on, you need someone to get all up on that librarian butt.” She said, swatting Joss’s behind with her spatula.

“Hello! Mikey!” She hushed her sister. “And for your information, there is this guy on the team… he is literally a Disney prince.” She sighed, “Like actual perfection in a human being.” She explained.

“Google! Google!” She insisted, “you have a smart phone, use it!” She said. Joss quickly searched for the Pittsburgh Penguins roster, bringing up Kris Letang’s headshot.

“Look.” She held up the phone.

“Holy shit.” Amanda’s jaw dropped.

“Mama!” She heard Mikey’s accusatory tone from the family room.

“Sorry baby!” She called back, “remind me to put a dollar in the jar.” She said to her sister. “You know him? You talk to him?” She said, eyebrows raised.

“Well… we’ve talked.” She shrugged bashfully. “Like twice.” She added quietly.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just creeping your team…” She said, scrolling through the headshots. “Cute, cute, cute… meh, cute, scary, cute.” She listed off. “Hello captain.” She laughed, “hello Bennett.” She added.

“Beau’s actually a friend of mine, I think.” She said confidently. “He’s the one that always invites me to things.”

“He does? Same age as you… six-two? Damn.” She laughed. “He’s hot, Joss, what’s wrong with that one?” She asked.

“Nothing’s wrong with him.” She insisted, “Beau’s wonderful.” She smiled at the thought.

“Come on, this pizza ain’t gonna top itself.” She said, sliding a crust over to her sister. “Mikey! Dinner! Come make your pizza!” She called. Mikey created his masterpiece as he kneeled on a kitchen stool, Amanda standing behind him to make sure he stayed upright.

“Auntie Jojo, when are you going to take me to the zoo?” Mikey asked, looking up at his aunt as he constructed a smiley face out of pineapple pieces atop his pie.

“When do you wanna go, Mike? We need to get going before it gets too cold and the animals bundle up for the winter.” She said,

“Next weekend?” He asked. She looked up at Amanda who nodded with a thoughtful expression.

“Yeah, babe, I can do next weekend. It’s a date.” She kissed his head.

“Jojo!” He whined. It wasn’t cool to get kisses from your auntie anymore.

“Sorry, sorry.” She laughed. She loved spending time with her family, especially since Amanda and Mikey were the biggest part of her remaining family.