Shaving had most definitely been the right decision.
The two girls walked through the stainless steel double doors and entered the room they were in. Tyler gave each of them a good look up and down. They both wore bruins shirts; the one on the left in Lucic, the one on the right in his. Maybe that was a good sign. He wondered which girl was the one they were there for.
Claude, Jeremy, and Cam approached them and shook their hands. Claude spoke to them, but Tyler was just out of earshot. He hoped the girl in his shirt was Lisa. Her friend was pretty, but her dyed black hair and pale skin turned him off. He wondered if she was emo or something. If she was, she was probably the one whose boyfriend died. Right?
"Hey guys, listen up," Claude said, "This is Lisa Taures and Nicki Westmoore. Give them the good old Bruins welcome, alright?" He turned to the girls again, "It's a pleasure to have you here, really. I'm glad your friend reached out to us, Nicki. I hope you enjoy yourselves."
The girls nodded at him. So now he knew, Nicki was the girl in his shirt. Tyler watched Nathan, Chara, and Patrice Bergeron approach them and shake their hands. Patrice gave Nicki a hug, and the expression on her face gave tell to her awe. That was when Tyler remembered she had absolutely no idea that she was going there.
"Should we go over there?" Dougie asked.
"I don't see why not," Tyler responded, "Should we bring her shirt?"
Dougie nodded and grabbed the jersey with her last name on it. When they got up, everyone else in the room did, too.
Dougie was the first one to speak.
He stuck out his hand and said, "Hey, I'm Dougie. Nicki, I'm really sorry for your loss. But you have one really amazing friend here. And I think that you should consider all of us your friends too. I haven't been here long, but I know how strong bonds are between people from around here. We got somethin' for ya."
He pulled up the jersey designed for Nicki. She looked it over, at first not realizing what it was. As soon as she did, she cupped a hand over her mouth and Tyler watched the tears brim her eyes.
"I'm so sorry! Please don't cry!"
Poor Dougie. He always thought everything was his fault.
Instead of answering, Nicki locked Dougie in a tight hug. She whispered something in his ear, which earned some skeptical glances from the rest of the team. Tyler didn't think she was trying to flirt with him, he figured she whispered because she was crying too much to speak at a normal level.
Nicki pulled away, only to hug her friend Lisa the same way. Finally, she stopped crying.
"I'm sorry, this has just been the most amazing day. The best I've had in months. This might have been the nicest thing that anyone's ever done for me." She paused. "Thank you. So much."
The team started clapping for her. Marchy let out a "woo", as was his custom. Once it died down, Tyler decided to introduce himself. It was a funny thing, introducing yourself when the person already knew who you were. He stepped closer to her, for the first time noticing the soft fragrance coming off of her skin and hair.
"Hey, I'm Tyler. It's really nice to meet you both." He shook their hands. "I hope you like the jersey. You should wear it for the game tonight. Not many people have shirts like this, ya know."
Tyler made the effort to smile at her. Girls always went nuts when he smiled at them, and he'd learned how to use it to his advantage. Sometimes, all it took was a stupid grin to get them out of their clothes and into his bed.
She smiled back at him; she had one of those smiles that lit up her entire face. Tyler found himself looking at her for a little too long, long enough that Lisa had to clear her throat to bring him back down to earth.
"So Tyler, you know you're Nicki's favorite player?"
Lisa was obviously trying to set up her friend. He liked Lisa.
Nicki's already rosy cheeks turned a deep red and she shot her friend a look. Tyler couldn't help but notice the way her hair fell gently across his jersey every time she moved.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that right now?" He asked, watching her blush even deeper, if it was even possible. "Well that's cool. It really never gets old hearing that. Hey, why don't you meet the rest of the team? We got a lot of guys here and not a lot of time. I'll introduce you two to everyone."
Tyler took them around the room, hanging closely to Nicki's side the entire time. All too soon their half hour was up. Claude rounded up the team and told them it was time to start warm ups. Everyone said their goodbyes to Nicki and Lisa, and Tyler had to think on his toes, trying to find a way to seal the deal.
When it was his turn to say goodbye he said, "You should come out with us tonight after the game. Win or lose, we usually go out. I think tonight we're just going to some bar Marchy likes. I know you aren't twenty one, but when you're with us things like that seem to get overlooked."
Nicki and Lisa looked at eachother, somehow communicating without words. One of Tyler's main goals in life was to figure out how the hell they did it, and how to understand what they were saying.
Lisa answered for the both of them. "We would love to! But where do we go?"
"Come back here after the game. Sit in the stands for a while and let them clear out. I'll have coach put you on the security clearance list, then I'll come up here to get you. Sound good?"
"Perfect," Lisa said. Nicki smiled shyly. She seemed timid about going to a bar with an entire hockey team. He didn't blame her, but he would make sure to take good care of her.
"Jesus Segs, come on! You wanna get benched again?!" Claude's voice boomed from down the hallway.
"Gotta go. See you girls after the game," Tyler said as he turned to run out the door.
Nicki called out to him, "Good luck!"
He couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face. This was way too easy.
* * * * * * * * * *
Nicki and Lisa found their seats, which were incredibly right behind the Bruin's bench. Nicki looked through the thick pane of glass that would be separating her from the team. From Tyler.
He had left a lasting impression on her. The way he looked at her, that smile. Thinking about it sent a single chill down her spine. It was completely unfair how beautiful some people were.
"Girl, aren't you gonna put on that jersey?" Lisa asked, breaking Nicki's train of thought.
"I don't know, I think I'll just keep this one on."
"Oh my God, you are so into him. Don't deny it. How could you not be? The way he was flirting with you? Damn," she said, throwing an elbow into Nicki's ribs.
"No way, Lis. Even if he did like me, I've heard all about him. If he is into me, he just wants to get in my pants. They're all the same." Her chest constricted as she realized the painful truth behind her words. She would never find anyone like Mark.
"Maybe you're right. I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Lisa said. She looked like she was going to explode with excitement.
Nicki was excited herself. She was about to say something, but her words soon became lost forever. To her right she caught a glimpse of Tyler as he followed his team out onto the fresh ice.
* * * * * * * *
Tyler skated one full circle around the rink, letting himself get caught up in the moment. Every game he played still felt surreal. Once he finished his lap, Brad skated over to him, punching him lightly on the arm.
"Dude, what the hell? Are you actually trying to get laid by a girl whose boyfriend of like a million years just died?"
"I don't know man. It's not like I'm gonna try anything. I just figured I'd put myself out there and see what she does. Maybe she wants it," he said, casually shrugging his shoulders.
"You're an idiot," Brad snapped as he went over to the other side of the ice.
Tyler realized afterwards that he never found out why more than half of the team was late for practice. Guess it didn't really matter.
He skated towards a puck and ripped it in to the net. He felt good.
* * * * * * * * *
There were only three minutes left in the third period, and Nicki watched anxiously as the Capitals offense attacked Tuukka Rask. Hockey made her more nervous than the SATs. She looked down and saw her legs shaking. When she looked back up, Tyler was standing directly in front of her, facing the ice. She had tried not to stare at him the entire game, but it was nearly impossible, as he usually ended up right in her line of vision.
Within a few seconds he was out on the ice, skating fiercly towards the puck. Nicki was mesmerized by him. Brad, Patrice, Johnny Boychuk, Chara, and Tyler had the puck by the Caps goalie. They were relentless. Brad tapped the puck to Tyler and he took a powerful slapshot. The puck went a little wide, but hit the post at just the right angle and it went in. The buzzer sounded and the crowd erupted. Nicki and Lisa stood up, screaming and hugging eachother.
What an amazing day it had been, and she had the feeling that it was only getting started.
* * * * * * * * * *
Tyler took his time showering. His muscles ached, and the scalding hot water burned his chin where he had gotten clipped by a stick in the second period.
As he stood under the water, he couldn't help but think of Nicki. When he scored, the first place he looked was at her. She jumped out of her seat, screaming. She had been so excited. It made him feel incredible. He just couldn't seem to put his finger on why.
He turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around his lower half. Since he scored the winning goal, he was obligated to answer questions from the media. He was going to have to send someone else up to get the girls.
"Hey, Looch!" Tyler called, "Want to do me a huge favor?"
"Depends on what it is," Milan said hesitantly. He never seemed eager to do anything.
"Can you go back up to the meeting room? That's where I told the girls to wait. They're coming out with us tonight."
Milan gave Tyler a strange look. "Uh, yeah. I can do that. They coming in the limo?"
Tyler said yes and thanked him. He normally loved talking to the press. Tonight he just wanted to get out of there.
* * * * * * * * *
Nicki heard footsteps coming towards the room they were in. Her heart started beating faster and faster until it felt like it was coming up out of her throat. She couldn't stop her nerves from going utterly haywire.
The person who walked into the room was not who she had been expecting.
"Hey guys," Milan said, "Tyler's doing interviews right now so he sent me up here to get ya. Ready to go?"
She could tell instantly that he wasn't thrilled about them going out with the team, and wondered just how many girls Tyler had invited out before them.
Lisa gave him a nod and he led them down a long hallway that eventually brought them to a back exit of the building. When they got outside, the first thing that Nicki saw was a black Hummer limo big enough to hold an entire high school football team.
Nicki looked open mouthed at Milan. "Is this how you guys get around?"
He flashed her a smile. She should have expected nothing less. It was going to be her first time in a limousine. Mark had convinced her to skip their senior prom, and since then she had never had a reason to ride in one. Nicki's excitement began to brew as the driver opened the door for them. Half of the Bruins were already seated inside, drinking and laughing.
Dougie, who was the same age as Nicki and Lisa, was the only one on the team who wasn't old enough to drink. Even he was chugging down a beer. It was clearly not his first, made obvious when he shouted, "Hey guys! Look, it's Nicki and Laura! Lisa!"
Everybody inside the limo went hysterical. Apparantly, Dougie didn't hold his alcohol very well. Nicki and Lisa took two seats next to one another. To their right sat Chara, Patrice, and Tuukka. You would never know that they had just played a two and a half hour hockey game. The two seats to their left were vacant.
Johnny offered them a drink. Nicki refused, she didn't drink much. Lisa, always the party animal, accepted a shot of tequila graciously.
After Lisa finished her second shot and received cheers and chants from the entire team, the door to their right opened up. Nicki found herself holding her breath. She watched intently as Tyler climbed in. He was wearing dark jeans and a grey tee shirt that drew attention to his perfectly sculpted arms, and the tattoo that ran all the way down his left one. She had seen the tattoo earlier, and was desperate to find out what it meant.
He got some high fives and pats on the back as he walked down towards the end of the limo where Nicki sat. He took the seat next to her.
"Congrats Tyler, you had an awesome game. You must feel so good right now," Nicki said.
"Thanks. I do feel great. I needed that, I think. It might have helped that I had the two of you going crazy cheering me on, too," he responded.
At first she thought he was joking, but the expression on his face indicated otherwise.
Brad walked over to them and took the last seat next to Tyler. He had two shots in his hand, and passed one to his teammate. Before they drank, Brad said something too low for Nicki to understand. Tyler threw his head back laughing, and Nicki couldn't peel her eyes away from him. There was something so innocent about it, all she could think of was how badly she wanted to be with him.
None of it was making any sense to her. She barely knew Tyler, and the little that she did know about him all told her to turn and run the other way. But there was something about him, something she got the feeling that other people couldn't see. Undearneath his unclean reputation and cocky personality, there was a boy just begging to be showed how to be man. Maybe he didn't know it yet. And maybe he would be reluctant to see it. Deep down, Nicki knew that a part of her wouldn't give up until she was able to show him what he could be; to inspire him to drop the act and be the person hiding below his arrogant exterior.
Nicki could feel the horrible shadows of guilt and shame creeping up on her. She had been so in love with Mark. She was still in love with him. There was no denying, however, that she had never been so enticed by another person. Never had she been so curious, so determined to know everything about someone. She knew that it wasn't right.
But she also knew that it didn't matter. Tyler had already drawn her in, and she didn't see any way out.