The Games We Play

The next day proved to be even warmer than the last, and Pittsburgh saw its first 70-degree day of the new year. James and Ali had the same exact idea when they woke up, and that was to go for a run together. They both wore shorts, James in red mesh shorts and a white Under Armour long sleeve, and Ali in sky blue Nike shorts, a bright pink tank top, and a blue sports bra, which just a hint peeked out the neck of her tank top.

They splurged and drove to their favorite running spot, opting to take the somewhat longer drive since it was such a beautiful day out instead of running near the house. They were all laughes and lighthearted talk the entire drive, with James doing most of the talking as he recounted some of the better moments of the trip.

Once on the trail, talking somewhat ceased as they got their workout in. It would likely be the last day James would have where he would have leisurely workout. It was back to the grind in two days and it wouldn’t end until the playoffs were over, or until the Pens were knocked out, whichever came first. The couple didn’t talk of it though…both were doing what they could to do anything but talk about hockey.

James kept his usual pace, but since Ali hadn’t been running as often or as hard as when she was training for the marathon, he slowed himself so she could keep up. He was pleasantly surprised at how fast she still was. At one point, James nudged her with his elbow and gave her a nod, which brought out a tired smile on her flushed face. It was funny because it was a similar tired smile to the one he got to see whenever he’d finished giving her an orgasm. Two totally different instances, but James enjoyed one just as much as the other.

Ali raised her hand as they came around a corner, signaling she needed a break. They both were out of breath, and took a second to rest and breathe through it. James wiped his forehead from beneath his hat, replacing it over hair that was now officially long, even for his standards.

“Water.” He stuck his hand out for one of the two bottles Ali kept on her waistpack. She turned her butt towards him so he could help himself while she caught her breath. Grabbing his bottle, he gave her ass a tap as he squirted water into his mouth.

“Handsy” Ali exhaled, smiling through her heavy breathing. “Save it for later.”

James squirted water at her. “Can’t stop, won’t stop.”

Ali simply squirted him back.

And so they continued on after a short break with the goal of 10 miles in mind for when they would finish. That would bring them almost all the way back to the car, and they’d walk the last quarter of a mile to cool down. It was 11 in the morning and was already starting to feel much warmer than days prior. Neither remembered to bring their sunglasses, which left them both squinting in high angle of the sun. James gave up his hat, letting Ali wear it the rest of the run so she wouldn’t have to deal with it.

If it was one thing James enjoyed, it was working out with Ali. She was such a trooper, not to mention no matter how little make-up she wore or how pink her face got or how sweaty she was, he thought her stunning at times like these. Something about a girl in a sports bra and tiny shorts and a ponytail damp with sweat…especially this girl.

Ali felt the same about James. It took her a while, but she’d gotten more comfortable at knowing James kept a slower pace for her. His height, his strength, and his conditioning all intimidated her the first time they ever ran together; a year later she was pretty used to it, and she knew James didn’t care. Whenever she looked over at him, he’d look back with those blue eyes, so alert and alive, and a smile that made her want to collapse into a puddle of mush every time she saw it. She hoped that no matter what, she’d never lose those butterflies for him.

Although the more he squirted her with his water bottle, the more she wanted to attack him back.

“The only reason you get away with half the shit you do” Ali said, peeking over the hood of her SUV. “Is because you’re hot.” A stream of water flew over the roof of the tall vehicle, nailing Ali in the head. “DAMN YOU.”

James came around the back of the car, staring at the sky. “Who knew it could rain with no clouds in the sky?”

“Loser.” She smiled and pinched him in the side with both hands. “I love you.”

“You think I’m gonna say it back after you call me such things?” James feigned shock, but had a hard time keeping a straight face. “Come here.” He wrapped his sweaty arms around Ali and pressed her head into his chest.

“You stink.”

“I’m trying to have a moment here, Als.”

Ali could tease him all day long, and James would match her tease for tease. She settled into his chest, damp with sweat but not actually smelly at all. His arms squeezed her once, then let go.

“You in the mood for al fresco?” He gave her that sideways grin of his, which was all the persuasion Ali needed.

“You drive?”

James held up an open hand and Ali tossed him the keys. Together, they climbed into the car and headed back into the city. They decided on a quiet little Italian place on the south side of town, away from the heart of the city so they could actually sit outside without a lot of noise. Given what a warm and beautiful day it was, downtown Pittsburgh would likely be crowded even more than usual as people and tourists took to the streets and packed into any restaurant that offered outdoor seating.

Having eaten at this Italian place before, James and Ali knew they could get away with eating there in their workout clothes. It was casual and comfortable bistro that offered a limited menu but was consistently changing to offer the freshest ingredients on hand that day.

Taking a small, round at the far end of the patio area, James and Ali sat close and James showed her some pictures on his phone from the trip. In return, Ali filled him in on some of the final wedding details she’d taken care of while he was gone. Before they knew it, their food arrived. They split their dishes so each could try the other’s, happy with each of their choices.

“So I was thinking” James said, mouth half full. “How about Italy?”

“What do you mean?” Ali took a sip of diet Coke.

“For our honeymoon.”

Ali’s eyebrows rose. “For real?”

“Well yeah! Think about it…” He set his fork down and raised both his hands. “A private villa somewhere on the coast, infinity pool that looks out over the ocean, a bedroom with three walls…”

Laughing, Ali held her hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t choke. “Wait, time out – A bedroom with three walls?”

James stared at her blankly. “Don’t they have open bedrooms there?”

“I don’t know, silly!”

“Well….I’ll find one if it exists” James said. “Because I’m fucking my wife for all of Italy to see, if I can—“

“—Good God, James.” Ali was giggling, but the entire thought sounded beyond romantic, especially for a honeymoon. “It would be kinda cool to sleep under the stars and not even be the slightest bit cold.”

“Yeeeaaaah, see?” James was grinning and nodding, excitement glinting in his eyes. “You got it now, babe!”

Ali thought about it for a second, pushing the last of her lunch around in the dish. She tried to picture them together in their own private house somewhere on the coast of Italy. It seemed odd…but it seemed right somehow as well.

“It was just a thought” James said, worried Ali wasn’t digging the idea.

“Oh I know” Ali replied. “And I think it’s a great idea.”

He lifted his eyes. “Really?”

“Did you always want to go there or something? Did you tell me this before?” Ali was racking her brain to remember this detail, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember James telling her this.

James shrugged one shoulder, eyes going to his food. “Seemed like the perfect place, ya know? Far away…you’re Italian...maybe we could take a cooking class or rent a boat or something, too, if you wanted…”

Ali could tell right then that James had been thinking about this for a while. It also came across like he was a little embarrassed to suggest something like that; which neither had ever talked about before or even thought about….that is, until now.

“Babe.”

James looked up.

“I say we do it.” Ali reached beside her and fingered James’ beard, tickling him beneath the chin. “And we’ll rent the boat, too. I just need a white bikini.”

He laughed. “Why white?”

“Seems like the place to wear white.” Ali smiled bashfully. “White suit, bronze skin, ginger beard…”

“Leave my beard out of this” he said, smirking at her. “Besides, I won’t even have it by then.”

“Oh you’ll have stubble if I say so!” Ali teased.

James slid a hand over to her bare thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Best honeymoon ever, you wait and see. Nothing but sun and sex and sailing.”

Ali raised her Coke and smiled. “I’ll drink to that.”

James raised his glass of water and they clinked to their honeymoon.

* * *

The RSVPs were coming in by the dozens. Whenever either one of them grabbed the mail, there was always a stack waiting inside the mailbox.

As Ali came in holding the latest cluster of envelopes, she flipped through them casually as James came into the hallway.

“Who do we have today?” He reached for half of the stack excitedly, flipping through the names. “SWEET. Tavares!”

Ali watched him rip open the envelope and scan over the card. He laughed out loud and slapped the white card against his hand.

“He’s in!”

Looking over, Ali scanned the card. She shook her head. “Every one of your friends writes back with some witty joke, and mine just write ‘yes’ or ‘no’…what does that tell you?”

James tapped the card on the top of her head. “That my friends are cooler than yours?”

She rolled her eyes. “Hardly.”

They proceeded to take the stack into the living room and go through them one by one, not a single person saying they couldn’t make it. James went through all the members on his side who’d RSVP’d, and he noticed Ali was right – every one of his friends had written a chirp of some sort onto their cards. It made him happy, but whenever he looked over at Ali, her cards were always neatly filled out.

“Did you invite anyone fun?” He knew he would get slapped for that one, and he was right.

“Shut up!” Ali laughed. “They ARE fun, you’ll see!”

“Are they bringing people?” James flipped back through the list they were making of who was coming and who their guests were. “So far….looks like most of my guys are bringing someone.”

“On the team?”

“And off, too.” James pointed at the tablet where his messy writing outlined his side of the invites. “Staalsy and his brothers…Stammer….Del Zotto…Peters…Talbo…”

“Alright, you don’t need to rattle off the entire NHL” Ali said, kneeing his leg with hers.

He bent to kiss her cheek. “My friends are cooler than yours.” When Ali turned her head to protest, he kissed her lips.

“Bragger.”

“Hottie.”

Ali gave him a side eye and proceeded to open more envelopes. It looked like college friend after college friend responded with a ‘yes’, and most were bringing guests as well.

“Here!” She held out a card for James to see. “SHE is cool.”

James snapped it out of her hand, his eyes slowly trailing down the writing. “Piper Lake. Why don’t I recognize this name?”

“You don’t? She was my roommate freshman year…soooo much fun.”

He tried to remember back, but Ali had too many people from college she told stories of. Sadly, not a lot of them still lived in Pittsburgh, so James hadn’t met a lot of them.

“She’s the one from Maine?” Ali said. “Her parents were kind of hippie-ish?”

“Ohhhh, HER!” James laughed. “Okay yeah, I remember stories about her. Do you even talk to her anymore? You don’t seem to mention her often.”

“Nah, we lost touch after a few years. I actually didn’t even think she’d come.” Ali stared down at the RSVP. “Nothing like a wedding to bring old friends back together, right?”

In the kitchen, they both heard James’ cell phone ring. With a quick hop, he was off the couch and hustling towards the kitchen. Ali could hear him yelling a happy greeting at someone, then lots of laughter. She simply shook her head and carried on with envelope opening.

“Babe” James whispered from the doorway. He waved his hand and then disappeared again.

When Ali joined him in the kitchen, James quietly put his phone on speaker while someone’s voice on the other line proceeded to excitedly talk. She looked at James with a bent brow.

“Who?”

“Stamkos.”

“Ohh…” Ali couldn’t even tell on the phone that it was him.

James laughed loudly. “I hear ya man. Thanks for calling. I literally just got your RSVP. How’s that for timing?”

“It’s what I’m known for, after all” Steven said on the line.

James nodded at Ali, a guilty smirk on his face. “So uh…Stam…what’s this? You’re bringing a guest? Your mom got her own invite, dude, you don’t need to bring her yourself.”

“Very funny.” Even on the phone, his cheerful smile was evident. “You know who it is I’m bringing.”

“Yeah? You two still together?”

Ali listened as Steven caught James up briefly on whatever was going on in his personal life with whatever girl they apparently both knew. She waited for why James was forcing her to listen.

“Yeah, so definitely not my mother” Steven said, finishing. “No offense to her. I love them both.”

James made a gagging noise and Steven laughed.

“You’re the one getting married.”

Ali cleared her throat and smiled.

“Hey guess who’s here?” James said to Steven.

“Who?”

“Allison. Say hi, baaabby.” He emphasized this as if to tease her.

“Hi Steven” she said, ignoring him.

“Hey! Ali! I didn’t realize I was on speaker?”

“James is a loser and thinks he’s tricky.” She shot James a smirk beside her. “He also thinks his friends are cooler than mine because they give him shit on their RSVPs and mine don’t. What do YOU say?”

“Ummm….”

“You can’t put him on the spot like that, babe” James added with a laugh.

“Yes she can, Neal – shut up.” Steven sighed heavily. “Does it count that I didn’t chirp in the RSVP?”

Ali giggled. “Sure, sure.”

“So this is why you drug her on the line?” he asked James.

“Yuuup.”

“No help whatsoever, by the way” Ali added, listening as Steven laughed.

“Glad you brought me into your first domestic dispute. I feel…..special.” He faked a sniffle sound.

“I’m gonna leave you two alone now to talk about whatever earth shattering topics you normally talk about.” Ali stood, but bent to make sure her voice was still heard over the line. “I look forward to meeting your guest at the wedding.”

“You’ll love her, I promise. Later, Allison.”

Ali ruffled James hair before she left him and his buddy on the phone, which was now taken off speaker. It was becoming very clear to her that, after where she began in this tale of their lives, she was officially accepted into James’ NHL family. It was one of the best feelings she ever had.

* * *

“So what do we do?” James looked over at Ali, and she almost blurted out the laugh she’d been holding since they left the house.

“We make sure they don’t die, and we feed them.” She bit her lip to force her to look more serious. “It’s really kind of like taking care of ourselves.” When she looked over at James now, his brow was pinched and his mouth tense.

“For how long?”

“5 hours.”

“FIVE?” He looked over, alarmed. The amount of white around the blueish-green color of his eyes caused Ali to have to bite her lip even harder. “What if they don’t like me?”

“James – they requested you! You’re like a hero to these kids!”

He mulled this over, turning the wheel of Ali’s car as they weaved through highway traffic. “You’re in charge of the meal, right?”

“I’m sure peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will do.” She thought about this one a little longer. “Actually, I bet Becky will have something prepared, so all we have to do is heat it up.”

“That I can do.”

“I know.”

She looked over at him and couldn’t help but smile. James had been fretting over their babysitting commitment since the moment she told him. She couldn’t figure out how a guy who did charity events and children’s hospital visits and autograph signing after autograph signing could possibly be nervous about babysitting.

“You did babysit your brothers and your sister in the past, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” He kept his eyes on the road, one arm resting on the wheel. The sleeves of his buttondown shirt were rolled to the elbows, the vibrant design of his tattoo visible to the wrist. When he glanced over, he noticed Ali was smiling at him. “What?”

“You got dressed up for this, didn’t you.”

“Pffft….No.”

“Liar!” She started laughing when she saw James trying to hold back his smile. “Why are you so nervous, babe?”

James shifted his gaze over and readjusted his sitting position, changing from one arm on the wheel to the other. With his now-free hand, he clasped it around Ali’s. “Promise not to laugh?”

“You mean more than I already have?” Ali saw James was actually serious, so she drew a hand in front of her face as if to wipe her smile off, changing it to a serious face. “Sorry. Go on.”

James kept his eyes between the road and Ali, his hand staying locked in hers. “Well…” His sharp gaze shifted towards her again. “I was hoping to impress you more than anything.”

“Me!?!?”

Laughing sofly, he nodded. “Yeah, you. Future Mrs. Neal. Potential future mother of our children.”

“Child.”

“Whatever.” His eyes dance when he looked at her now. “I thought maybe you’d be…I don’t know….grading me, or something. Like if I’d be a good dad.”

“Oh, babe…” Ali rubbed his hand, already sensing her hormones soaring into orbit. “I’m not going to grade you; I already know how great you are with kids.” She watched his eyes go serious again, his smile softening.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Look at the little Duper kids. They love you!” She turned in her seat to face him. “What about Fleury’s new baby? I never saw you gush so much! Or Letang’s little son!”

“But I wasn’t babysitting them with the girl I’m marrying in a month.”

Their eyes met, and Ali gave James as reassuring of a smile as she could. “I love you, you know that? I love you. I think I’ve done all the grading I could with you, otherwise I wouldn’t be wearing your ring….riiiiiight?”

“Riiiiight.”

“So let’s just make sure they don’t die and we’ll feed them, and we’ll both call it a success.”

“I like that plan.” James flipped the turn signal on as they came to a halt at a red light. He turned in his seat as far as he could, keeping his foot on the break. “Can I just be out with it?”

Ali blinked. “Sure…?”

James cupped her face. “I want to be a great dad.”

Hormones. Hormones. Hormones. Ali exhaled, trying to steady herself. Kids weren’t even in the periphery of their life together, but James continued to surprise her with how far out he was thinking. He’s in this, Allison. He’s always been in this.

“I already know you will be, James.”

The light turned green, and James gave her a quick kiss before turning his attention back to the road. He pulled onto one of the last few streets that would take them to Becky’s house. Ali remained staring at him, visions of a little Neal running around the house, playing hockey with his dad, their matching mussed up hair and bright eyes.

It was a vision Ali could get used to.

* * *

Notes