‹ Prequel: You Never Know
Status: Word in Progress - Will try to update once to twice a week

Flying High

21. All Star Day Four

21. All Star Day Four

(Max’s POV)

I stumbled down the stairs, bleary-eyed, and into the busy kitchen. Most of the guys were already down and had nearly finished their breakfast. The Chef handed me a plate and I walked over to the breakfast nook. After taking a couple of bites, I finally decided to really take in the room.

Stammer and Geno were sitting around the nook also; Sidney had entered the room, only to quickly exit when his phone rang; Jakub was sitting with the majority of the players in the family room; and Nicole was at the island bar with Chara – which I thought was odd, but brushed it aside when she tossed her head back, laughing heartily at something the giant had said.

Sidney soon entered again and informed us that the bus would be arriving in thirty minutes. I scarfed down the rest of the food and rushed upstairs to change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Max’s POV Bus)

The drive to the rink was slow thanks to the heavy traffic. I had grabbed a seat behind Tanger and Nicole, he was showing her his newest family photo’s when I decided to tap her on the head.
“Of course it was you,” she snarks.

I gives her my best innocent look, “What did I do?” Suter was sitting next to me and was trying not to laugh.

She ignored the question with my own, “Did you need something?”

Yeah, actually,” I say, getting serious, “I need to get Breeze on the grounds, but they won’t let me or the guys bring her in….something about no significant others – they are a ‘distraction’ – which is total bull.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” Nicole asks.

“Well…..I thought maybe you could sneak her in as you hair stylist or something?” I say, giving her a sheepish look.

Nicole scoffs, “That’s so sexist,” she says, but the slight upturn at the corners of her mouth lets me know she’s jokingly.

“Please Nic? I told her how beautiful the place is and I would really like to show her so she can take some photos,” the sincerity in my voice must catch her off guard.

Nicole gives me a soft smile, “I’ll see what I can do.”
I return the smile before moving further back to pester Geno.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Max’s POV Practice)

I was running drills with Steven and James when a commotion around the bench caught our attention. Nicole was skating to the blue line as Sidney grabbed Tanger and pointed him in the same direction. Steven, James and I skate over by the bench along with the rest of the guys.

“What’s going on?” I hear Eddie asks – he, Lu and Henrik had been at the far end of the ice.
Perry answers, “They’re going to race.”

“$40 on Nic,” Kane says.
“No way, Tanger’s got her number,” James counters.

Geno says, “Nika win; she best.”

The bets start after that and soon the team is split evenly – half for Nicole and half for Kris.
Sidney skates in front of the pair at center ice, “First to make the circuit wins; on my mark.”

He holds his stick high above his head; Kris and Nicole both crouch, getting ready for the blade to fall,
“Ready.”

The guys shuffle to get a better vantage.

“Set.”

I hear several guys call out but the pair ignore them.

“Go!”

The blade cracks against the ice, sending both Kris and Nic leaping forward. The ice glides smooth under their blades as they race down the first half; I can tell they are close as the first turn quickly approaches. Nicole has to turn left, and Kris has to turn right. They both pass the cones in a smooth glide, Nicole narrowly missing turning one over, as they move into the long straight.

Both Kris and Nicole push as hard as they can against the slick surface; they reach the second turn and are paced equally. They glide out of the turn and I can see Nicole trying to jump ahead; Kris sticks right next to her – his longer legs help him easily keep pace with Nicole’s quick strides. They streak to the finish; everyone is unsure who won because they were that close.

Kris and Nicole both skate to the bench, sucking in air. The guys are chattering, arguing over who won. Sidney had skated to the camera crew that was there to document the practice for the network, and was trying to see who crossed first and fastest. Breeze was standing with the men, checking the footage.

“Glad to see you haven’t lost it yet old man,” Nicole chirps when Kris bumps her side.
Kris scoffs, “You have a lot to learn, little girl.”

Nicole gives him a shove as the guys laugh at their antics.

“Were they always like that?” I hear Jamie Benn ask.
I answer, “Yeah, they are practically family. You should see them gang up on Neal.”

“Its lots of fun,” Geno agrees with a chuckle.
“Jay’s like the little brother we never wanted,” Nic says with a smirk.

“Hey!” James exclaims with a fake pout when he realizes the group was talking about him.

“Not nice, Nika,” Geno scolds, “Hurt Nealsey’s feels.”

Nicole skates over and wrap an arm around him, “I kid; I love this guy; how could I not?”

Sidney skates back over and breaks up our fun, “Alright guys; we have times and a winner,” he pauses to make sure everyone is paying attention, “so…….the winner is……..Tanger with a skate time of 12.123. Nic you skated a 12.124.”

“NO!” Nicole exclaimed.

“Yes!” Kris gives a victory whoop, “Nice try ma belle,” he says as he throws an arm around the small woman, “You are fast; But I am – still – faster.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Breeze’s POV)

I was scanning the photos of the home teams practice; I had several shots of the guys and Nicole goofing off between drills and of the race. I had also caught Max and Jakub making faces behind the towering Boston player – the young Boston player and the guy from Dallas were laughing off to the side.

“Bonjour ma beauté.”

I nearly fell out of my chair, “Jeez, Maxime! Are you trying to kill me?” I exclaim.

Max gives me a charming smile, “Of course not, darling; do you have much more?” he asked – gesturing toward the laptop.

I give him a smile, “Not for you guys; but I have to stay for Claude’s team.”
Max gives me a fake pout, “Damn, I was hoping to take you to lunch.”

I reach out and brush a stray hair away, “You’ll see me at Paul’s.”
“Speaking of; where is your driver?” Max asks.

I give him a gentle shove, “Your friend had a meeting; but he promised to be back by the end of the next practice.”

One of the players, Perry I would find out later, called out saying that the bus was about to leave.
“I must go,” Max says as he pulls me close, “I’ll see you later, yes?”

I give him a soft kiss, “Of course; love you.”
Max smiles softly, “Love you too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Max’s POV)

Later at the compound, after I had retreated upstairs for a nap, I decided to head next door to see a couple of guys; a few of the away teams players had come over to our house. We walk into the mansion without knocking and back to the kitchen. Price and Rinne greet us.

“What’s up guys?” Carey asks while offering a plate of fruit.
“Just looking for some entertainment,” I answer, taking a couple of sliced apples.

Pekka laughs, “Seems like everyone is.”
“If only they had allowed visitors, eh?” I say, giving the guys a cheeky smirk.

The guys and I are laughing at the joke when Claude walks in, “Hey boys, there is a Mario cart tournament about to start down stairs. You in?”

“I’m down,” I agree Pekka and Jake do the same; Carey agrees also but has to call his wife first – they have plans for the evening but he wants to talk to her. He gets chirped lightly but he just smiles and shrugs it off before disappearing up the stairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Regular POV Paulies)

The group had arrived around 5 p.m. Sidney, Geno, James, Kris and Max had gotten to the house first with Nicole, Johnny, and the Staal’s pulling in shortly after – they had to go pick up Jered at the hotel.

Nicole couldn’t leave the young Staal out, especially after receiving a pouty picture and a complaint that she didn’t love him as much as the other three. Johnny had been amused while Jordan complained loudly about favoritism – Eric and Marc hit the younger Staal at the same time; causing a small ruckus in the back of the SUV.

After parking, Max quickly moved through the house and into the kitchen, where he was greeted by Paulie with a bone crushing hug, and by Cat and Breeze with softer hugs.

“Catherine! You look absolutely ravishing,” Max says; while pulling Breeze into his side.
Cat grinned and blushed at the complement, “Oh Maxime, you always had a way with words.”

“Hands off,” Kris growled, as he wrapped his arms around Cat’s waist – the two women giggled.
“Why don’t you two go see of Paul needs any help?” Breeze offered.

Max scoffed, “I know when I’m not welcomed; Kristopher, let’s go see if our dear Paulie needs any help.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Breeze’s POV)

Paul had introduced me to Catherine – Kris’ girlfriend – on the second day of the All Star Week. I had needed to go shopping for a couple of things; I didn’t want to burden Paul with the embarrassment of entering women’s clothing stores and he offered an alternative. This way I wouldn’t be trying to navigate Pittsburgh alone and he could keep his promise to Max.

Cat was a stunner and I was instantly self-conscious; but she turned out to be extremely friendly and more than willing to help. We were quickly becoming fast friends as the afternoon went wore on and by the end of the day we had exchanged numbers with a promise of getting lunch.

Paul, Cat and I were in the kitchen when we heard a car door slam.

“That should be Nicole,” Paul says without looking up.

We hear the front door open and the sound of shoes being kicked off. Footsteps moved quickly through the house and into the kitchen. Nicole rounded the corner and was greeted by Paul with a bone crushing hug, by Cat with a squeal and a hug, and she surprised me with softer, but equally warm hugs – I turned and passed the brunette a glass of wine.

“We may need this tonight,” I state as the players loudly moved around the house.
Nicole gladly accepted the stemmed glass, “I think I may love you,” she said playfully.

James had rounded the corner and heard the comment, “Max! Nicole’s trying to move in on your girl!” he yelled toward the open patio door – Max had retreated outside to watch Paul cook steaks.

The Frenchman poked his head in the door, “I saw her first!”

“I’m not a piece of meat, Maxime,” I sass, causing the girls to laugh at the bemused expression Max had.

Cat clinked her glass against mine, “You’ll do just fine in this lifestyle.”
Nicole nodded in agreement, “So where is the little man?” Nicole asked.

Cat’s features softened, “My mom and Kris’ mom are watching him for us.”
“You have a son?” I ask; we hadn’t covered family in the short outing.

Nicole answered by pulling out her phone, “Yes! She and Kris reproduced possibly the cutest baby ever!”

I studied the professional photo of the trio, “He is a handsome little fellow – he’s going to break a lot of hearts one day.”

Cat smiled, “Thank you; we are both quite proud,” she paused before continuing, “But just wait until Nicole and Jonathan have kids - la perfection!”

Nicole nearly chokes on the fermented grapes, “Whoa! Slow down there; there will be no reproducing for us right now.”

“But you want to?” Catherine asks; lowing her voice so she won’t be overheard.

“One day, yeah. I would love to have a couple of kids; but I’m not ready and I think Johnny would have a heart attack if it happened so soon,” Nicole reasoned.

Catherine nodded, “That is understandable…..What about you?” the question was pointed at me.

I feel myself blush as I answer, “I would love to have kids; and Max is great…I wouldn’t mind but we aren’t rushing anything either.”

Jered and Jordan bustle into the open back door, cutting off our conversation.

“Nic! Tell Jordan to stop picking on me!” Jered whined before slouching onto the bar stool.
“Nicole, tell Jered to stop being such a baby,” Jordan counters – bumping his younger brother in passing.

Nicole sighs as Catherine and I try to hold in our laughter, “Jordan, stop bothering your brother; Jered, stop whining – it’s not very becoming; and both of you take the silverware and plates to the table for me, please.”

Jered grabs the plates and sticks his tongue out at Jordan before leaving the room – Jordan hot on his heels.

Nicole shakes her head at the two. I gently nudge her with the bottle of wine, “You’re going to need more,” I say when I regain her attention.

“Seriously – love,” Nicole states as she pours another glass.
Max shouts, “Hands off!” from the deck; causing the three of us to break into a fit of laughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Regular POV)

After dinner was over, the dishes were washed and put away, the group moved to the living room. Paul lit a fire in the hearth before claiming his spot on the couch; Nicole was tucked into Johnny’s side on the sectional; Max and Breeze were snuggled on the love seat; Sidney had claimed the lounge chair; Geno and James were stretched out on the floor. The Staals had excused themselves after dinner – saying they needed to spend some time with their parents – and Kris and Cat had gone home to relieve their moms of baby duty.

Half way through the conversation, Breeze moved to the kitchen for a refill – Max walks past, gently brushing his hand over her arm, before disappearing upstairs.

Sidney, Geno, and Johnny all join Breeze around the granite counter top and watch as Breeze moved expertly around the kitchen.

“Make seft at home?” Geno chirps the small woman.

Breeze pulls out a bowl and large platter, “Paul’s been on babysitting duty, thanks to Max, so I’ve spent a fair amount of time here this week.”

“He just worries,” Sidney defends.

Breeze gives the young captain a smile before dumping marshmallows into the bowl, “I know; and I love him for it – I just hate to be a burden.”

“Paul no care – he put up with Lazy all the time,” Geno states; the trio laugh at the Russian.

Johnny watches as Breeze lays out gram crackers and pulls out a pack of chocolate.

When it finally clicks what she’s doing he says, “Nicole is going to love you.”

Max enters just as he says that and wraps an arm around Breeze, “Tell her to keep her hands to herself.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Let me know what you guys think!