Sid had two points. Geno had one. James had nothing.

But he did have an attitude.

He should’ve felt better than he did, but shit from earlier that morning kept seeping back into his mind. Not only that, but the Islanders were throwing it in their faces all night. James already logged 12 minutes on the ice in just a period and a half, and adrenaline kept him busting his ass on the ice. He hated playing the Islanders. Sure, he had some friends on the team, but he hated playing them nonetheless.

Six minutes to go in the second period, and James found himself slamming John Tavares up against the boards. The impact radiated through his body, but energized him all the more. All night, he felt himself losing patience. It was a high scoring game, but wasn’t in the Pens’ favor at the moment. He wasn't about to let that stop him.

James skated past Tavares to take the puck back into possession, sending it down the boards and dumping it into the Islanders zone. At that moment, he felt himself being pushed from behind. He turned on a heel and got another shove from Tavares before he skitted past James and headed down the ice.

James kept his head down and followed as fast as he could to help Geno out with the puck. He was surrounded by two other Islanders, neither of which were giving him much breathing room. Jokinen switched with Sutter, who came flying from the bench to help the scuffle. James made it just in time as one of the Islanders retrieved the puck and sent a blind pass back towards center ice, which James captured. He fired the puck, one leg bent to put his power behind his shot. It went wide, bouncing off the glass.

Fuck.

Still watching the puck being played, James skated over to the bench and switched out with Bennett. He slid onto the bench and watched the play as it went to penalty. On the ice, Geno was back-checked by Bouchard. When the two of them got in each other’s faces, James stood up to get a better view. It's gonna be like this all night James was thinking. He wasn't happy.

...Across town, Ali watched as the referee separated Geno and Bouchard from one another. She could see James and a few others standing up from the bench, sticks in hand and frowns on their faces. The penalty went to Geno.

“You’re fucking kidding me!” Ali squeezed the pillow angrily. “What the fuck!?!?”

The crowd in the Consol Energy Center was not happy. Even over the announcers’ voices, Ali could hear boo’s being yelled. The camera panned to Coach Bylsma, who was standing almost directly behind James, yelling something towards the ref on the ice. Ali could very plainly see James was pissed off. When he sat down, he bent forward with his arms over his knees, shaking his head in irritation. He chewed his mouth guard with a new fury.

When the game went to commercial, Ali went to the bathroom and grabbed another glass of wine. She’d been kicking back most of the night, hoping maybe she could have the slightest buzz on for whenever James came back. It’d only enhance the antics she was looking forward to…but the game was a 4-3 score late in the second period, and she wasn’t sure of the outcome or what it meant for later.

Hence, the second glass of wine.

She debated a third glass when the final period began and the Islanders scored again. The point made it a 5-3 game, and the Pens were starting to look sloppy.

So this can go one of two ways tonight, Ali thought to herself. The boys come back and win this, and James fucks me. Or…the boys lose this, and James comes home pissed, but fucks me anyways.

Smiling to herself, Ali took another sip of her red wine. She was in it for the next 11:36 minutes of this game, and wouldn’t leave until the clock wound down to zero.

When it hit 0:00, the Pens ended up losing….with a final score of 5-3.

Each and every Penguin left the ice without looking at any of the cameras. They hung their heads as they headed into the tunnel that took them back to the locker room. Ali waited to see if there would be any worthwhile interviews. The only one shown was of Sid, who looked more pissed than the rest of them. She watched as he stared mostly at the ground instead of at the cameras, which he was normally pretty good at doing. His face was covered with sweat, and he sniffled in between every other word of his responses.

Whether it was the wine or what, Ali felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She had gotten several text messages from Sid, wishing her a happy New Year and good luck at her race. Ali never responded to them. It wasn’t out of malice, she'd just been too busy. The whole week of Christmas was something out of a dream, and the following week she was too nervous and self-absorbed to think about anything other than the marathon. Now, though?

She groaned.

On the screen, Sid reluctantly smiled at the camera as they thanked him for his time. He tried to hide his eyes with his hat, but Ali knew better. That was one thing about Sid – nothing could hide those eyes.

Rolling on her wave of guilt, Ali picked up her phone and finally sent Sidney a reply text…three days late:

Hey, hopefully you don’t hate me. :-( Didn’t mean to ignore ya, just super busy. Hope you had a great New Years. Good game tonight & an awesome shot…as usual!

Somehow it didn’t seem good enough. It also sounded half-assed, which it kind of was. Ali had been purposely keeping her distance from Sid, but she questioned if she owed him more than she was giving. He’d helped her and James wade through some pretty thick muck a few months back.

“Oh whatever” Ali said aloud. Maybe Sid would repay her with the same silence she had been dealing him lately. If he did, she wouldn’t care one way or the other.

* * *

In the Pens locker room, hardly anyone was talking. Interviews with the media were over, and only the team remained in the room now. Some were in the shower, some were slowly peeling out of their sweaty gear, others were trying to break up the awkward silence but were failing.

James was exhausted, but he tried to stay focused on just going home and having fun and forgetting the whole game.Fucking Islanders. He looked around the room, grateful that at least the others weren’t trying to fake it. They were as disappointed as he was.

When he let his eyes drift over to where Sid stood, he watched him lift his phone and very subtly smile. His thumb rolled through something on the screen, which caused his smile to widen further. Whether he sensed James looking at him or not, Sid lifted his eyes from the phone to James. The two men held one another’s gaze for a moment, then both looked away.

James didn’t want to be there anymore.

He showered as quickly as he could, not bothering to do anything with his hair. He tossed on his suit, wondering if Ali even still wanted him to do all the things they’d said earlier in the day.

Ali.

Looking towards Sid’s stall again, James’ brow bent a little as a thought occurred to him. He studied his captain, noticing a little change in his previously doomy-gloomy demeanor. He was now in some sort of light-hearted discussion with Joe Vitale.

“Hey Crosby.”

Sid turned his attention from Vitale to James. “Yeah?”

Something in James made him stop. New year. New us. He hesitated, both Sid and Joe's eyes on him, waiting.

“Nothing, man." James smiled. "Good job tonight…we’ll get ‘em next time around.” He lifted the strap of his bag over his shoulder.

“What about me?” Vitale joked.

“You too……I guess.” James flashed them his grin and then left the locker room. The grin was fake, but he’d done his best. All the way back to his car, James slowly became angered all over again. It was just one game. It was just one piss poor performance. It was just one look from Sid. None of it even mattered. I need to calm the fuck down.

….Except his anger followed him all the way home. James realized just how angry he was when he slammed the car doorand the door that led into the kitchen area. Ali was in the living room, and he heard her jump a little, even from in the kitchen.

“Holy crap, talk about feisty!” Her voice sounded cheerful as it came from the living room. She walked around the corner, a large smile on her face. “Sooooo glad you’re home.” Although when Ali said this, she noticed James wasn’t looking at her. He was taking his shoes off one by one, a frown on his face.

“Babe?”

“Yeah, what.” His sharp gaze lifted.

A look of confusion spread over Ali’s face. “Is everything okay?”

“No. Does it look okay?”

She stood there like a deer in headlights. James walked past her, loosening his tie rather aggressively and dumping his bag near the table.

Ali watched after him, unsure of what to do. It certainly wasn’t the outcome she was expecting. “Hey, I know the game didn’t go the way--”

“--Don’t want to talk about it, Ali.” James shut her down just like that. He walked up the stairs, leaving her in the kitchen.

Blinking, Ali looked down at her hands. Well now what? She thought about following him, but then immediately thought against it. Should I just stay in the living room? Should I go up and try to help?

She heard the bedroom door slam shut and that made her decision pretty easy. Going back to her spot on the couch, she tried to find something to watch on tv that would occupy her mind. She sat through ten minutes of mindless television, but it wasn’t working. Upstairs, her boyfriend was upset, and she couldn’t let that go.

Clicking the tv off, Ali went upstairs and opened the bedroom door. James was laying on the bed, face up, eyes staring at the ceiling. He was still in his suit, minus the jacket, which lay on the floor near the door.

His eyes shifted sideways. “What?”

Ali sighed, picking up his coat. “I don’t know what to say, so I’m just going to wait for you to say something.” She went into the closet and hung his jacket up on one of the hangers. As she reappeared in the room, James felt twice as shitty.Why the fuck am I taking it out on her? He actually thought Ali looked scared. Scared? Dammit, snap out of it.

“Uggghhh.” James put both hands on his face, rubbing his eyes and mouth. “Come here, please.”

Ali slowly approached the bed. James looked through his fingers to see her bottom lip was pushed out ever-so-slightly, making her face appear even more dejected.

“All the way” he instructed.

Ali got up onto the bed next to him.

He rolled onto his side, supporting his head with one hand. “I’m sorry.” Ali shrugged, so he took her hand in his. “Not exactly the homecoming we discussed earlier, eh?”

She shook her head. Bringing her deep brown eyes up to meet his gaze, a small smile appeared. “There’s still time….”

James chuckled. “I know, babe.” He lifted a hand and caressed the side of her face. “Just a fucking shitty ass game. And some of my teammates suck the life out of me.”

“Teammates?” Her face bent in concern.

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Nothing I really should worry about either. Beneath his fingers, Ali’s face felt so soft and smooth. It was a nice feeling.

“We can hit the refresh button, if you want?”

She was trying, and James appreciated it. “Yeah, we could do that.”

“Only if you want to.”

“I do.”

Ali lifted his hand that was still grasping hers, kissing along his knuckles. Her lips may have been the softest thing James had felt all day.

“I suppose you don’t want to talk at all?” she asked, voice soft.

James shook his head. “The last thing I want to do is talk.” He saw the glimmer in Ali’s eyes when he said this. “What?”

“There are other ways of talking.”

“What is it you want to say?” James teased.

“That you turned me on today and you’re not allowed to leave me hanging.”

Ali’s voice sounded more like a purr, and James was very slowly beginning to want to pet any part of her to keep it going.

“…you can take whatever anger you have about the game out on me…” she continued, and James watched his index finger disappear into her warm mouth. She never took her eyes off his as she wrapped her lips tightly around him, slowly withdrawing his finger. The sensation when straight to his dick.

“Babe….”

“Hmm?”

His finger slipped from her mouth and he felt his dick twitch. Cool air played at the skin that was now damp, and James craved more. When he first got home, he was too upset to even think about sex. He’d been too deep in his own mind, wrapped up in what he left back at the arena. Now he couldn’t even remember what pissed him off in the first place.

“Take your tie off.”

Again, her words came out sounding like a purr. With a yank, James pulled the silk fabric of his tie loose and Ali unwound it from his collar. She held it out in front of her, dangling it from one finger.

“Now tie me up.”

James stared at her. “Really?”

She nodded. “Didn’t you tell me you were going to treat me like the bad girl I am if I wasn’t on all fours when you got home?”

James swallowed hard. “I did.”

Ali flung the tie at him gently. “So tie me up and punish me.”

“But—“

“—No buts.” Ali leaned back onto the pillows, holding her hands above her head. She crossed one wrist over the other. “You’re pissed at the Islanders, right?”

James rolled onto his stomach, facing her. “Yes.”

“You didn’t even score.”

Those words stung. “Right.”

“No assists.”

He crawled on top of her, his tie balled up in a clenched fist.

“And after all that, your teammates pissed you off.”

James jaw now clenched. Crosby.

Ali looked up as James hovered above her. There was the faintest hint of a snarl on his face, and it pleased her to see it. If she was going to work this anger out of him, she needed to see it.

“So what’s it gonna be, Nealer” she whispered.

James lifted himself up, spreading his knees so that Ali was between his legs. With some amount of force, he rolled her onto her stomach, pulling both her hands behind her back. With his tie, he secured her wrists together. Lying down on top of her, he pressed his mouth to her ear so she heard him loud and clear.

“Lift your ass in the air, babe. The next hour is all about me.”

Below, Ali smiled into the pillow.

* * *

“So when does your plane land?” James took a bite of his omelet.

"6-something."

“Okay, I can get you then, shouldn’t be a problem. Pack a bikini?”

Rebecca laughed. “For the hot tub?”

“Well you’re not going in naked.”

“Ew! I would NEVER.”

James chuckled. “You’re too easy, Becca.”

“Whatever.”

He smiled and took a drink of his orange juice. “Do you want tickets to Tuesday’s game?”

“Who’s it against again?”

“Canucks.”

“YES.”

“You’re not rooting for them, are you?” he asked, clearly teasing her. “Because if so….”

“Shut up, you know I’m not.”

“Good.” James swallowed another bite of his breakfast.

“Will I be sitting with Ali?” Rebecca asked.

“Do you want to?” James almost had to hold the receiver away from his ear when his sister yelled at him. “Sorry! Just thought I’d ask!”

“Half the reason I’m even coming down there is to hang out with her, dumbass.”

James’ jaw dropped. “Who taught you to talk like that?” he joked.

“YOU.”

He loved getting a rise out of her. “See? Aren’t you so much more excited now to come visit your big brother?”

There was a pause.

“….yes.”

“Knew it!”

“I am pretty excited, though” Rebecca admitted. “Do you think Ali will, like….spend some girl time with me? We don’t know one another that well…”

“No better time than now to get to know one another.” James got up off his chair and went over to the foyer where the stairway was. He listened for a second, and he heard Ali’s shower water still running.

“Hey, Becca….I have one small request for when you’re here” he said, keeping his voice low as he went back into the kitchen. “Care to hear me out?”

“Sure!”

He set his shoulders and took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m going to need your help with something…and it’s kinda big. You still in?”

“Yeeesss….?” Rebecca sounded apprehensive.

“Good. Because you’re about the only one here who can help me.”

“Just say it, James!”

“Okay!” He breathed in. “I want to buy Ali a ring.”

Silence.

“And I don’t have the slightest clue as to what I’m doing.”

Silence.

James blinked. “Becca?”

“OH MY GOD ARE YOU GOING TO PROPOSE TO HER?!!?!?!”

He actually laughed. He laughed because his sister was screaming, and somewhere in the background away in his home in Whitby, he thought he heard his father yelling at her.

“James. JAMES.”

“What!?!” He was grinning so hard, his cheeks hurt.

“Are you for real? Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m for real, Rebecca.” James heard his sister squeal again. “So will you PLEASE help me?”

“YES YES YES YES.” She was clapping on the other line, squealing in pure happiness. “Oh, James! I can’t believe it. Oh my god, can I tell mom and—“

“—No! Not yet.” He had so much to do before he could tell his parents, and one thing was talking to Ali’s parents first…specifically her dad. “Just between us, okay? Can I trust you?”

“Of course you can! OH MY GOD.”

James sat down heavily onto his chair, feeling as though a weight had been lifted. At the very least, maybe this would distract his sister from her douchebag boyfriend dumping her. She could get to know Ali, figure out her ring size for him, and then go to the jeweler with him.

“So I’ll see you in a few hours then?” he asked her.

“Yes! I seriously cannot wait!” she said. “I promise – the secret is safe with me. I won’t show it on my face either; Ali will never know.”

“I’m counting on ya, Becca.” He smiled. “Let me know when you land, I'll be outside waiting for ya.”

James heard his sister scream a final time. If Ali had as good of a response as his own sibling did, proposing would be the easiest thing he’d ever done in his life.

* * *

Ali had just gotten back from work that evening, so she couldn’t join James to go pick his sister up from the airport. She was, however, very present for when the two Neals arrived home. Rebecca came into the house first, dressed in a light pink sweatshirt and jeans. Her hair was pulled into a braid that hung over one shoulder.

“Becca!” Ali threw her arms around the blonde and hugged her tight. “So glad you could come stay with us for a while.”

“I know! It is SO good to see you again.” Rebecca replied. “Oh my God, and your hair just keeps getting longer and longer, too. So pretty!” She lifted a bit of Ali’s long locks and let it flow through her fingers.

“I’m trying to get it as close to my ass as possible” Ali said with a smile. “Then I’ll finally quit.”

James came in from the garage, carrying Rebecca’s luggage. Ali noticed that he’d gotten a little dressed up for his sister, which she thought was adorable. He had on the cashmere sweater she bought him for Christmas, a dark undershirt, and dark jeans.

The minute he set the bags down, he drew Ali in for a kiss. “Hey babe.”

“Mmmm, hiii.”

Rebecca wrinkled her nose as she watched the two of them kiss. “Awwwwwwwwwww.”

Ali and James looked over, both smiling. “Get used to this…he’s kind of touchy-feely” Ali teased. She pushed James away gently.

“Lies, all lies” he said, smirking. “You want your stuff upstairs, Bec?”

“Yeah, where am I staying? Same room as always?”

“Here, I’ll show you” Ali said, waving her towards the stairs. “It looks ten times better since the last time you stayed here, if I do say so myself.”

James caught Ali looking at him over her shoulder. He saw the little wink she gave him, then the pair disappeared upstairs. He thought about the conversation he and his sister had the whole way home from the airport. It centered on the revelation he made to Rebecca about an engagement ring. He was also surprised his right eardrum hadn’t blown out thanks to Rebecca being so loud and excited the entire drive.

All of it made him smile.

They made plans in the car, since it was safe to talk about it. After practice, James would pick his sister up and they were going to the jewelry store, which James agreed to let Becca choose. Whichever store she picked, they would begin the search. Her only job tonight was to find out Ali’s ring size.

…Upstairs, Rebecca was already on it.

“So wait, whoa. My brother bought you this?” She was holding the diamond pendant up close to her face for a better inspection.

Ali nodded. “He sure did. Not bad for James, huh?”

The girls smiled at one another. Rebecca thought the diamond was way bigger than anything she’d ever seen, and was way nicer than anything she’d expect James to pick out. Wonder what he’ll end up picking out for the ring…

“I’m actually super proud of him” Becca said, letting go of the pendant. “He was such a slob and a weirdo his whole life; I’m really surprised he nabbed you.”

Ali felt bad laughing, but she couldn’t help it. “He might still be a bit of a slob, actually…” she said, chuckling. “Care to see our bedroom for proof?”

“Anything to give me something to make fun of him for!” Rebecca followed Ali into the hall and then beyond the door leading into her and James’ bedroom. The minute she saw the scene, she busted out laughing. “UM….ohmigod.”

Ali nodded, folding her arms over her chest. “Told ya.”

“It looks like his room back home!” Becca put a hand over her mouth to stifle any further laughter. “I’ll be talking to him about this.”

“It’s not worth it, trust me.” Ali looked around at the various Nike, Reebok, Under Armour, 412, and #CAMP clothing strewn here and there in small piles. For some reason, she’d come to enjoy the way James was unabashedly messy.

“Do you see why I have a hard time believing this is the same guy who bought you that necklace?”

Ali smiled at her. Rebecca had the same cadence in her speech that James did, as well as the same perfectly shaped nose. It may have been their two most obvious traits that they shared, but Ali had a feeling the more she got to know James’ sister, the more similarities she would end up recognizing.

“Ever wonder why he chose a necklace?” Rebecca asked Ali. “Instead of like…earrings, or a ring…”

“Pfft, a ring?” Ali asked, her eyebrows rising.

“Yeah sure! Why not?” Becca was getting closer. She saw a small glimmer of light shine in Ali’s eyes when she mentioned it.

Ali shrugged. “Well, I don’t own too many rings, but I own a bunch of necklaces. None like this, though.” Her hand touched the pendant. “He probably got it because necklaces don’t require a size.”

Rebecca laughed. “That may be true.” She took one of Ali’s hands and looked at it. “You weren’t kidding. No rings! What is your size, anyway?”

“Uhh…I think it’s a seven?” Ali replied. “God, it’s been so long, though.”

Slipping one of her own rings off, Becca placed a thin sterling silver band over Ali’s ring finger, seeing quickly it was way too loose around. “Yeah, you’re definitely smaller than me, and I’m between an 8 and a 9.”

“That’s a really pretty ring, though” Ali said, admiring the etched detailing in the silver. She handed it back to her. “Where did you get it?”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Adam.”

“Oh.” Ali felt bad for asking. “I’m sorry—“

“No. No apologies.” Rebecca rolled her bright eyes and attempted a smile. “I’m here to forget about all that, right? I guess I should just leave this off.”

“Not if you’re not ready to” Ali said, shrugging. “There’s no harm in going through the whole closure process…and I’m sure you’ll take it off when you’re ready, right?”

James absolutely has to marry her. Becca nodded. “You’re right. Thanks, Ali.” She slipped the band back over her middle finger where it had been. With a heavy exhale, she smiled. “Well, want to go see what the loser is doing?”

Ali giggled. “Sure, let’s go.”

As they headed downstairs, James could already tell Rebecca had made progress. He was sitting in the living room watching tv when they came into the living room, Ali leading the way. He made eyes with his sister, who had a closed-lip grin that stretched from ear to ear, just as Ali sat down next to him.

“Nice sweater!” Ali snuggled up to him and rubbed the soft fabric that covered his arm. “The person who got you this must be awe-some.”

James had his legs tucked under him, but when Ali cuddled close, he straightened them so she could get closer. He wrapped an arm around her, kissing the top of her head. “Awesome doesn’t begin to cover it.”

Rebecca sat down next to Ali, all three of them taking up space on the roomy couch. James looked over and she mouthed the word seven to him. He nodded once, then glanced down to see if Ali had seen him. She didn’t; her focus was on the television.

“Get all settled in?” he asked them.

“For now, yeah. Just wondering what we’re going do tonight?” Rebecca looked from her brother to Ali.

“That’s up to you” James replied. “The whole week is about you and whatever you want to do to get your mind off things.”

She thought for a second. “Can we go to Crosby’s?”

Ali snorted. She lifted her eyes to James, whose mouth was hanging open.

“Really” he said flatly.

“Well!?” Rebecca was laughing as she watched James’ face go from surprise to disgust.

“You are not using anyone on the team as a rebound.”

“Who said anything about a rebound?!?”

Lifting her head off James’ chest, Ali looked a little like a spectator in a tennis match. Her eyes moved back and forth as the two argued playfully. They also have the same sideways grin when they’re joking around with one another she noticed.

“I say we just stay here and I watch you two argue” Ali suggested. James tapped her on the head lightly with his hand.

“Stay out of this, Diserelli.”

“Yes sir.” Ali put her head back on his chest.

“What about Geno?” Rebecca asked.

“BEC, NO.” James chuffed at the very thought. “Fucking sick. You’re not hooking up with Geno. I’ll let you hook up with Sid before Geno.”

Ali had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

Rebecca stared at James. “Why? Because you’d get all jealous?”

James looked at the television. “I didn’t hear that.”

“I wiiiinnn.”

Turning her head to face Rebecca, Ali gave her a proud smile. Both of the girls then laughed, and James was reminded it would be like this all week since he was officially outnumbered.

* * *