Him and I

Alex had a great time hanging out with John’s teammates at the party and getting to know some of them and seeing the few she had met in Nashville the season before. Some of the younger guys wanted to know what it was like living in Vegas, and she found that Cal enjoyed teasing John with her. Cal’s wife was super nice and Alex liked her right away. She introduced her to a couple of the other wives and Alex ended up dancing and drinking with them most of the night, save for the four or five times she dragged John out onto the dance floor with her, muttering every time that James was going to kill him.

She had Cal’s wife take a picture of her and John together, with John offering his box of chocolates to the camera and Alex beside him with a huge smile and flashing a peace sign. She sent it to James with a text asking if they could please be Bond and Pussy Galore next year.

Oh my god, John actually looks as boring as he is. James sent back.

Shut up! He looks great.

You both do. I hope you’re having fun.

I am. Thank you for letting me hang with John.

Just as long as you aren’t falling in love with him.

I’m trying real hard.

Call me tomorrow and enjoy the rest of the party.

Love you!

“Are you sexting James?” John asked, leaning down to talk close to Alex’s ear to be heard over the music.

She turned and looked up at him. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a sexy voice?”

John blushed instantly and looked around to make sure no one heard her. “You can’t say things like that. You have a boyfriend.”

“I will do whatever want. Didn’t James tell you that about me? And I’m not sexting him either. I told him that I was trying real hard not to fall in love with you.”

“Oh god,” he groaned. “He’s going to kill me. Tell him you take it back and you think I'm hideous.”

“Seriously, why are you so worried about me teasing James? I always tease James.”

“I know, but he was really sensitive this summer about everything after the expansion draft and I don’t think he likes it when you pick on him about me.”

Alex stared up at him for a beat before her bottom lip quivered. “Oh my god,” she whispered. “James hates me!”

John’s eye widened as he saw tears form in her eyes. “Aw shit,” he muttered as he pulled Alex into a hug. “I didn’t mean anything, and James does not hate you. I just meant that Steven messes with him all the time, and you do it without even realizing and I feel bad and maybe we should all cut him some slack. Shit this isn’t coming out right at all and you’re drunk and this was a bad idea.”

Her face was pressed to his chest so her reply came out slightly muffled but the crack in her voice was unmistakable. “It was a bad idea to be my friend?”

“No, Alex, that’s not what I mean. I meant it’s a bad idea to have this conversation when you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk,” she sniffled into his chest.

John rubbed her back. “You are more than a little tipsy right now and I know this because you’re crying instead of harassing me. But let’s get you a shot anyway so we can forget about this moment, okay?”

She pulled back and looked up at him with a bright smile. “Okay!” she said before bouncing away happily. John followed with a shake of his head. He would never understand the mystery that was a drunk girl.



At the end of the night, John and Alex, along with Cal and his wife, and Jordan Eberle and Nick Leddy and their girlfriends, walked outside to wait for their cars together. The girls all stood huddled together, giggling, while the four hockey players watched over them talking amongst themselves.

“So she’s for real dating James Neal and you and her are just friends?” Jordan asked.

“Yep, just friends,” John answered.

“You did a couples costume with her,” Nick pointed out.

He shrugged. “You don’t argue with Alex.”

“She’s hot,” Jordan added.

“And you’re practically engaged.”

Jordan shrugged. “I can still point out the obvious.”

“She’s known James for almost eight years, and I met her two years ago and we all hang out in the summer now. Trust me, the girl only has eyes for Neal. They’re perfect for each other.”

“So then when is she going to introduce you to a friend or something? I mean, the benefit to having a chick friend is that she introduces you to girls. Case in point, Danni. Without Nuge falling in love with her, she never would have taken on me and my lonely life and introduced me to that amazing woman over there.”

“She’s only here for one more day so I don’t think she’ll be pulling any rabbits out of her hat.”

Just then, a man ran past them and towards the girls. He grabbed for Alex’s purse and she screamed, holding tight. He ripped the strap from her arm and Alex fell to the ground. In an instant, John took off after the man, Jordan, Nick and Cal matching his strides. They tackled him half a block away. One of the girls rushed inside to get security and someone called 9-1-1 as Nick and Cal pinned the guy down to wait for the police.

John crouched in front of Alex where she sat on the sidewalk, still stunned from what had just happened. He held her face in his hands. “Are you okay?”

“I...I think so,” she answered softly.

“Are you hurt?” She shook her head. “Can you stand?” She nodded and John helped her to her feet before pulling her into a tight hug. “Now James is definitely going to hate me.”

Alex giggled. “He’ll be really thankful you were here for me.”

John blew out a breath and kissed the top of her head. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She nodded. “Mm-hmm. Thanks for getting my purse back.”

“You’re welcome.” They heard sirens approach and John looked up to see two police cars pulling closer. “The cops are here, they’ll probably want a statement. Think you’re up for that?”

“You won’t go anywhere, right?”

“I’ll be right here the whole time.”



John was supposed to be at practice the next morning but his coach called to tell him it was okay for him to skip it which he was actually grateful for. It had taken more than an hour to give statements to the police but they had taken the purse thief off to jail. John decided to work out in his home gym, letting Alex sleep in. He had his headphones in and was running on the treadmill when he looked up to see Alex standing in the doorway.

“Hey,” she said quietly.

John stepped off the treadmill and turned it off. “Hey, how are you?”

“I’m fine, John, I promise.”

“Are you sure? You should have let the paramedics take you to the hospital last night.”

“The paramedics checked me out and they said I was good, you heard them.”

“I know but still.”

“You worry too much.”

“Someone has to.”

“Can I bake cookies?”

“Sure. I don’t know if you’ll have everything you need though.”

“Where’s the nearest grocery store?”

“I’ll take you.”

“Thanks, John. For being a friend and you know, well, everything last night.”

“Give me ten minutes to get changed, okay?”

“Okay. I’m gonna call James.”

Alex wandered back to the guest room and picked up her phone to call James. It rang to his voicemail and Alex sighed when she heard his voice.

“Hey, babe, I guess you’re asleep still? Call me when you get this. I wish you were here right now. I miss you. Call me.”

She set the phone aside and got dressed, meeting John downstairs. They drove to the grocery store in silence and Alex grabbed a basket inside the door and headed straight for the baking aisle. From there she went to the dairy section and continued filling her basket. As they made their way to the check out, John noticed a woman watching them. He decided to ignore it and followed Alex to the check out.

“Oh my gosh, I saw you in the newspaper this morning, are you okay?” their cashier asked.

“I’m sorry?” Alex asked.

“There was a story about the robbery in the paper,” a voice piped up from behind them. John turned and saw it was the woman he thought had been watching them before. “You’re so lucky to have a boyfriend like him to take care of you, sweetie.”

Alex smiled politely at the woman. “Yep, very lucky,” she agreed quietly. John swiped his credit card when the cashier gave the total and scooped up the bags before ushering Alex outside. She stopped and doubled back, grabbing a paper and digging some cash from her purse and giving it to the cashier.

“Thank you,” she nodded as she hurried out after John.

In the car, Alex thumbed through the New York Post until she saw it. “Shit, John. We’re splashed all over page six!”

“What?”

“Hockey star and girlfriend robbed after Halloween party. Oh my God.”

John’s phone chirped and he looked down to see Steven’s name. He passed it to Alex. “Answer that; you’re only supposed to be on hands free in New York.”

Alex held the phone in her palm and hit answer, putting it on speaker. “Steven?”

“Alex? Holy shit, are you okay? I just saw the page six post.”

“You saw that? How?”

“It’s all over social media.”

Alex looked over at John with a worried expression. “I tried to call James and he didn’t answer. Do you think he saw?”

“I texted him,” Steven’s voice said.

“What?”

“I was just giving him shit.”

“What did you say Stammer?” John asked through gritted teeth.

“Just that the inevitable finally happened.”

John shook his head. That was exactly what he expected. “Jesus, Steven.”

“What? It’s not a big deal. We all know you two aren’t. I’m sure James is really glad you were there for her last night.”

“Or he’s super pissed I took her out last night and she got mugged. Oh, and you know, because everyone thinks his girlfriend is my girlfriend and those pictures make it look really bad.”

“I’ll call him” Steven offered.

“And make things worse? No. Do not call or text him again.” John glanced at Alex who had gone quiet and found her wiping silent tears away. “I’ll call you later, Stammer,” he said, taking the phone from Alex’s outstretched hand and pushing end. He tossed the phone aside.

“Alex, it’s fine. James is not going to be mad at you for some silly post on page six. He knows you, and he knows whatever they speculated there is far from the truth.”

“He didn’t answer when I called,” she said quietly. “He never ignores my calls.”

“He’s probably at practice. You left him a message?” She nodded. “He’ll call after practice then, guaranteed.”



James did not call. John called him twice while Alex stayed locked in the guest room. John did not know what he should do so he called his mom.

“John, I was just about to call you. I saw the news. You were robbed? And was that James’s girlfriend with you? What's going on?”

“I'm fine, mom, and Alex is too.”

“John, are you two...”

“Mom! No. Alex came up here to see James play and she insisted on going to the team's halloween party with me. We were trying to leave when it happened.”

“The pictures though. They look very intimate.”

“Yeah, I know,” he sighed. “I just had this instinct to protect her though. She's my friend and James trusted me to keep her safe while she was here and she gets robbed. I felt awful, mom.”

“It wasn't your fault, John. They arrested the guy, right?”

“Yeah, because I chased the asshole and tackled him to the ground and a couple of the guys helped keep him until the cops got there.”

“You chased him? John,” she chastised him.

“I know mom, but what else was I supposed to do? She's like a sister to me, and I'd do the same thing if it were Barbara or Laura.”

“I know, hon, I know. How is Alex doing?”

“She's....”

“What?”

“She called James this morning and he hasn't called her back.”

“Do you think he saw?”

“Yeah, Steven texted it to him.”

“How is Steven?”

“He's Stammer, mom. Just living life.”

“Well I'm sure everything is going to be fine. It'll work itself out.”

“I hope so.”

“Keep her mind off it if you can.”

“I'll try. I should go check on her.”

“Okay, John. If you need anything just let us know.”

“I will. Talk to you soon.”

John left his room and knocked on the door to the guest room. “Alex?” He said softly as he opened the door and poked his head inside.

He walked into the room when he saw her sitting in the middle of the bed, knees drawn to her chest, eyes red rimmed and cheeks tear stained. He sat down on the end of the bed.

“Wanna talk about it?” He asked her.

She passed him her phone in response. He saw James’s name on the screen and then a barrage of text messages.

You told me it wasn't like that with John. You told me it was just teasing. You told me that you could never love anyone but me. You lied.

I did not lie to you. John is my friend.

Those pictures are not of two friends. They're intimate.

I just got mugged standing on a street and shoved to the ground. He was being a friend and comforting me.

Of course he was. Like the goddamn noble prince he is.

He's like a brother to me, James.

How twisted of you.

I can't believe you're saying these things.

I don't know what's so hard to believe.

You're acting childish. I'm not cheating on you with John.

You cheated on Pekka.

Oh my god. You think I'm cheating on you.

If the shoe fits. You kissed me on New Year's in my laundry room while your boyfriend was in my living room. Of course you'd fuck my friend behind my back.

I'm not fucking John! We're friends. I was freaked out. He was freaked out. He wanted to make sure I was okay. He felt terrible about what happened on his watch when you had trusted him to take care of me.

Did he make sure you were okay with his dick?

Who are you? I don't know if you've let some dark bit of jealousy twist you up or what but you're not my James.

I’m seeing the truth very clearly.

What truth? You're believing lies and innuendos from Steven. I'm your girlfriend. The only side of the story you should care about is mine and I'm telling you that nothing is going on between John and I. I can't believe you think so little of me that you'd think I'd fuck him while I'm with you. And don't you dare throw Pekka in my face. You pursued me while I had a boyfriend. Yeah, it made me confront my feelings about you but those feelings had always been there. I had just chosen to ignore them. I'm with you, only you, because you're who I want to share my life with. Not John, not Pekka, not anyone else. You. And if you don't believe that then I don't know where that leaves us.

We get back to Vegas on the 8th. Is that enough time for you to get your stuff out?

“Alex...” John started. “I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault.”

“It feels like it. If I hadn't hugged you maybe this would have never happened.”

She shook her head. “Why would he say those things? Why does he think there's something going on when he knows me, and he knows I'd never do that to him?”

“He's just upset. He'll call tomorrow and apologize and grovel and it will be fine.”

“I think you're wrong. I think this is it for us.” She paused and let out a soft sigh. “But I still hope that you're right.”