January 14, 2012
Gia Boveri. A name so beautiful you’d think she was a goddess. And in a way, she is to me.

At first, I was ridiculously embarrassed that my nineteen year old teammate caught the two of us the morning after the charity event. But as the weeks passed and I didn’t hear back from Gia more than a couple times, I became grateful for the young winger catching us. Because with my teammates, it helps to have someone who can give some credit to your story when the girl suddenly drops out of your life.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say that her vague absence is hurting my game. I’m a professional. I’ve been in the league a really long time. I know how to separate my emotions from what goes on once I step foot on the ice.

But I think it’s pretty obvious that something is going on when I’m not on the ice. I catch my teammates occasionally sending me worried glances when I refuse to go out with them after big wins. And they all know I wasn’t myself during the Winter Classic. While I enjoyed having my boys on the ice with me during the family skate, it still felt like something was missing.

Fortunately my rambunctious group of offspring haven’t really noticed anything different. Well, I think Cameron has an idea that something is wrong with me lately. My youngest is the most perceptive to other people’s feelings. But he certainly has no idea that his father is hung up on a woman. And especially not one who is so much younger.

Unfortunately, my newest adopted son knows more than my boys or the rest of the team. He knows exactly what’s going on with me and why I’ve been the way that I have been. He knows about the multiple times I’ve tried to call or text Gia, only to be either ignored or for her to text back hours later telling me that she’s super busy with school and work.

As I’m pulling out the ingredients for tonight’s dinner, I realize that one of the little monsters in my house used up the last of the milk. Which wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t absolutely necessary for dinner.

“Hey Couts!” I call up the stairs.
“Yeah?”
“Would you mind running to the store and getting some more milk for me? I have to start on some of the other stuff.”
“Sure.” He responds.

A minute later the kid is coming down the steps, pulling on his shoes.

“You just want one?” He asks.
“Nah, get two. There’s room in the refrigerator and we go through one in a couple days.” I respond.

He takes off and I turn back to the food in front of me. It shouldn’t take me too long to cook, and should be just about ready by the time he comes back.

Ten minutes later, I hear the front door open and the sound of my three boys running through the hallway. The dreaded sound of heels click on the hardwoods behind them and I internally groan.

“Qu'est-ce que je vous ai dit avant? Ne pas courir dans la maison!” I scold my children. (What have I told you before? No running in the house!)

“Sorry.” All three boys echo each other as they enter the kitchen.
“How was school?” I ask.
“Good.” They all vaguely reply.
I sigh, knowing I’m not going to get much more out of them right now.
“Go take your stuff to your room. Dinner will be ready soon.”

“Where’s Sean?” My oldest, Caelan, asks.
“He went to the store for some milk.” I respond. “He should be back in a couple minutes.”

My boys each turn to run up the stairs, but I stop them.
“Dites adieu à votre mère.” (Say goodbye to your mother)

They turn back and each give my ex-wife a hug before running to their rooms. When they’re gone, she turns to give me a stern look.

“I don’t know how I feel about that kid living with them.” She says.
I sigh, knowing this conversation was going to come up eventually.
“Sylvie-” I start.
“No, Danny.” She butts in. “He’s nineteen. And a rising NHL superstar. I don’t trust him. How do you know you won’t come home one day and find that he’s thrown a gigantic party in your house? That he’s let complete strangers in? And what about if he suddenly decides he wants to start sleeping around with the entire city of Philadelphia? I don’t want my three young, impressionable sons to see that.”

“Sylvie if you would just listen to me.” I growl. “Sean Couturier has been nothing but humble and respectful since I invited him to live with me. He is young, yes. But he is not immature like most boys his age. I can’t imagine him ever even going to a wild party that wasn’t with the team, let alone throwing one. And as for women, we’ve made a deal that he will not bring any girl here who isn’t serious. No one night stands. No random girls. Especially not when the boys are here. He understands the importance of setting a good example for them, and he’s agreed to the rules.”

Just then, I hear the front door shut.

“You know, if you got to know the kid you might not have such an issue with him.” I sigh, already regretting what I’m about to do. “Why don’t you stay for dinner?”

“Hey, Dan. Look who I ran into at the store. She looked like she needed some company tonight so I invited her for dinner.” Couts says, turning the corner.

His body immediately stops when he sees Sylvie’s and my positions. From behind him, I see a mess of brown hair that looks so familiar.

“Hi Danny.” Gia says in a small voice, stepping out from behind my young teammate.
“Gia.” I respond, trying to keep my sudden raging emotions in control.
“I’m sorry if I’m intruding. I saw Sean at the store and he practically forced me to agree to come for dinner tonight.” She says, taking in the scene in front of her.
“Oh, no worries. I always make enough food for a small army, so that I have leftovers for later.”

Sylvie clears her throat and my attention snaps back to her.
“Actually, Dan. I think I will accept your offer.” She says with a look in her eye that I’m really not excited about. “I would love to have dinner with you all tonight.”

Fuck.

Is this serious right now? My ex-wife and the woman I’ve been pining over for the last couple weeks are both going to be spending the evening here, eating dinner with my family? This is officially the most fucked up thing.

“Here’s the milk.” Couts says, suddenly realizing just how messed up this is.
“Thanks, man. Can you go ahead and let the boys know they’ve got five minutes to get down here?”

He takes off awkwardly to the stairs and calls up, letting them know.

“So...” Sylvie says, staring at Gia.
“Oh, please forgive my manners.” I say. “Sylvie, this is Gia. We met her at the charity event before Christmas. Gia, this is my ex-wife Sylvie.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Gia says, shifting uncomfortably.
“Oh, so you’re a fan.” Sylvie says.
“Um, you could say that.” Gia responds.
“Of course. And how old are you?”
“I’ll be twenty two in February.”

Sylvie scoffs.

“Don’t you think a nineteen year old is a little young for you?” She asks.
Gia blanks.
“I’m sorry?”
“You do know that Couturier is only nineteen, right? He’s practically a baby. Taking advantage of a boy that young is inappropriate.”
“I-I’m not- I’ve never...” Gia stumbles.
“Sylvie, Gia and Sean aren’t sleeping together.” I butt in, feeling horrible for the younger woman. “She’s just a new friend of ours.”

I see Gia’s mouth pull into a tight line. I probably shouldn’t have said that. She’s not just a friend. She’s so much more than that to me. But I can’t let Sylvie know that I fucked a woman so much younger than me. She’ll never let me live it down, and will go on and on about how I’m a bad influence on the boys.

“Your chicken is starting to burn.” Is Sylvie’s only response.

I realize she’s right and scramble to get it out of the oven. Couts comes back in with the boys and introduces them to Gia. I grab the milk from the bag to finish making the mac and cheese while Sylvie starts getting plates out.

“I thought you said you have a rule against bringing puck sluts to the house while the boys are here.” She says with an edge in her tone.
“We do. You can’t honestly think that she’s a puck slut.” I respond. “Just look at her. She’s in ripped jeans and an old hoodie. She’s go no makeup on and her hair is pulled back. Have you ever seen a bunny dressed like that?”
“Women these days will put on a front like nothing just to get into an NHLer’s pants. You should know that, Dan.”

Her words cut me. She’s referencing the rumors that I slept around while on the road during our marriage. Rumors that were nothing more than false accusations. Those rumors were what caused her to admit that she’d been cheating on me with her boss, which eventually led to our divorce.

I simply glare as I start making plates for everyone. The boys generously let their mother and Gia get theirs before, and I can tell that they have all taken an interest in the new woman in the house.

“Did you know that Gia has a Briere jersey?” Carson asks as we sit down to the table.
Sylvie’s eyebrows shoot up, and I want to shove her in a closet or something.
“I did know that.” I respond. “She told me the last time we saw each other.”
“Wait, you know Gia already?” Cameron asks.
“Yes. We met at the charity event before Christmas.”
“Oh. We thought she was just Sean’s friend.” Caelan says.
“No, she’s a friend of both of us.” My teammate steps in.

The next couple of minutes are spent listening as the boys go back and forth about tonight’s games. They all agree that they want to watch the Sharks destroy the Penguins. But the rest of the games are split. Cameron and Carson want the Hawks to beat the Blues, but Caelan wants the Blues to win. Caelan and Cameron want the Leafs to beat the Stars, but Carson wants the Stars to win.

They know not to ask me or Couts, since we don’t like to talk about our own game and standings during dinner. And if we were to get into the conversation, it would eventually end up that way. But they do manage to pull Gia into their nonsense a couple of times.

Gia is explaining exactly why she wants the Bruins to beat the Wild when I take a look over at my ex-wife. It’s obvious she hasn’t warmed up to the younger woman quite yet, but it looks like she doesn’t completely hate her either. She probably won’t make a huge deal out of the puck slut thing anymore, at least.

"You know, you don't have to encourage them to talk about hockey at dinner. They talk about hockey all the time. It's nice for them to think about something else for a change." Sylvie says.
"Oh, I don't mind." Gia responds with a smile. "They remind me of my three brothers growing up. It was always Flyers, Phillies, and Eagles. In that order."

When the dinner from Hell finally ends, Sylvie decides to make her grand departure. The boys bid her goodbye before pulling Couts towards the game room to play whatever it is that they’ve decided for the night.

“You can go with them.” I offer to Gia.
“It’s okay. I’ll help you clean up first.” She responds, grabbing a couple dishes from the table and carrying them into the kitchen.

I sigh, knowing that this is going to probably be the toughest and most awkward part of the night.

“I owe you an apology.” She says when I join her with a handful of dishes myself. “Danny, I- I got freaked out. You’re ten years older than me. You’re an NHL star. And a dad. Meanwhile I’m a college senior, thousands of dollars in debt, with no intentions of having kids for at least a couple of years.

I guess I’m just confused as to why you’d want to be with me in the first place. And I got stuck in my head wondering why a great guy like you would ever want to be with me. At least, for more than just my body.”

“-Which I don’t think you are.” She adds quickly.

“I’m not.” I promise. “While that night was by far the best sex I’ve had in a really long time, there’s something else about you that has been drawing me in.”

“But Dan, how would this even work? We’re two completely different people, leading lives that couldn’t be more opposite.”

“It doesn’t matter to me.” I cross the short distance between us, resting my hand on her cheek. “Gia, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since I dropped you off that day. I don’t know how it’s going to work, but I want it to.”

“I do too.” She whispers.

“You have to talk to me about these kinds of things, though. You can’t just cut me out.”
“Okay.”

I lean down and press my lips to hers, finally getting that feeling I’ve been desiring for so long. She tastes like mint chap stick, despite just having dinner. My hand snakes into her hair and I grip tight. She moans into my mouth and I take the opportunity to explore with my tongue. I press my body fully against hers, feeling her curves respond to me. My own body is humming with pleasure and I slip one thigh between her legs, allowing my hips to grind into hers.

My skin feels overheated and I can feel my breath and heart rate starting to increase. I want to feel her skin against mine so badly. My hand takes the idea, and slips up her shirt, feeling her smooth stomach. Her muscles twitch underneath my touch and it drives me crazy.

“Woah there. Might want to chill on the PDA with your kids here.” I hear.

Gia and I pull back from each other quickly, only to see a smug Couts staring at us from the doorway.

“Shit.” I curse.
“And to think Sylvie thought I was the one who would be setting a bad example for the boys.” He chuckles.
“Sorry.” Gia says, looking down at her feet.
“Oh, don’t be. It’s nice to finally see that smile on Danny’s face again.”
“Shut up.” I say, throwing the closest towel at the rookie.

But he’s right. It’s nice to finally be smiling again.

Notes

THE WELL-REQUESTED PART 2!!!!!

I had to make this as awkward as humanly possible. Because it just had to be.

I just watched the HBO 24/7 when they showed Danny and Sean living together earlier today. It makes me smile so much.

Much love to everyone who has read these. You make me smile so hard. 53,000 views!!!!!