Goodbye Girl

James polished off another rum and coke. It wasn't even eleven at night and he could feel the buzz. He walked around the club, smiling at people. He had no idea who half of them were, but it was a party. He made it to the bar where Geno and Paul had made their spot for the night.

"You want shot, Lazy?" Geno asked. James nodded. "Three shot of strongest you have." Geno called to the bartender.

Three shot glasses of brown liquid went down in front of the guys. They all picked one up. James took a deep breath, preparing for his sixth drunken speech of the night.

"You wanna know why I love you guys?" He started.

"Uh, tell us after you go see who just walked in." Paul pointed to the club entrance.

Emily stood in front of Tyler and Jamie. Her hair was in loose waves and her eyes were done into the perfect smokey eye. The dress she was in was a leopard print bodycon dress with a polo neckline and long sleeves. The dress helped show her curves and long legs. She paired it with ankle boots and a plain, black clutch.

James took his shot, slamming the glass on the bar. His eyes never left Emily as he made his prowl towards her. He brushed past all the bodies, in need of getting to her.

She spotted James charging towards her. A smile broke out on both of their faces. He finally reached her, lifting her in the air. Emily's feet kicked her bum while she was in the air. James put her down before he kissed the side of her mouth.

"It's so good to see you." Em cooed.

All the Penguins spotted James talking to Emily. They knew who she was but they all wanted to meet her. They swarmed around James. Emily stared at all of them, confused to no end.

"You look so good, Emily. Really great." James took a deep breath, eyeing her.

She smiled before Jamie nudged her a bit. She looked back at him and he gestured to Tyler. Tyler had his head down and looked flat out uncomfortable. She nodded at Jamie before turning to look at James.

"This is Tyler!" She said, stepping to her side so she could shove Tyler towards him.

"Thanks for letting me come." Tyler extended his hand.

"The NHL is a family, man!" James exclaimed, shaking his hand. "Plus, you're an ex-Whaler so you must be cool."

Tyler chuckled nervously. James looked from Tyler to Emily. She was smiling up at Tyler before she looked to James. Her eyes shifted to behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Geno and Beau hovering. Sid was off to the side, pretending to be a part of a conversation. Flower was leaning against the wall and looking around to avoid being obvious, which made him more obvious.

Paul walked over, squeezing James's shoulder before looking at the three in front of them. "Who are these lovely people?" He grinned.

He knew the five goofs he called teammates had a plan. James rolled his eyes, looking to Pauly. "This is the infamous, Emily," James held out a hand to her.

"Ah, yes. I've heard lots about you." Paul smiled.

"Emphasis on lots." Beau added, earning a giggle from Emily.

James shot him a glare. "That's Jamie Benn, my old teammate," Jamie waved. "And this is Tyler." He pointed to the guy on Emily's left.

"Nice to meet you all." Pauly said, raising his beer to them. "I'm Paul."

"It's a pleasure, Paul." Emily replied. "So who's the mob around you? Are we in the middle of a watch out, or something? Are they your muscle?"

"More like my muscle." Flower stepped forward. "Hi, Marc-Andre Fleury." He held his hand out.

Emily took it and he kissed the top of her hand. "You're the crazy goalie I've heard stories about!" She pieced it together.

"I'm not crazy. I'm pretty normal." He argued.

"Flower, go find Vero and shut up." Beau hissed.

"Sunshine stormy today." Geno stated.

"Shut your mouth or I'll get you deported." Beau warned him.

James shot them looks before he turned to Emily. "That's Geno, the big Russian bastard, and Beau, the Californian princess." He pointed to them with his thumb.

"I give hug!" Geno cried before pulling Emily into an embrace.

She hugged him back. "It's nice to meet you!" They broke apart.

"Well I need in on this." Beau spoke as he stepped over to give Emily a hug. "You're a very pretty girl."

They separated. "Thanks! You are too." She smirked.

"What if I took that to heart?" Beau argued.

"James told me you're a little asshole. I knew you could handle it." She crossed her arms.

"One more guy I'd like you to meet." James said, turning to Sid. "Emily, this is,"

"Sidney Crosby." Emily handed her hand out. "Pleasure to finally meet you."

Sid took her tiny hand in his. "The pleasure is all mine, Emily." He grinned, shaking her hand.

She pulled her hand away from his, keeping her eyes locked with his. "These are my roommates, Tyler and Jamie. They also play on some NHL team." She pointed at each as she said their name.

The three broad shouldered men began chatting. Emily watched before she turned back to James. He was smiling at her.

"Now, let's go catch up." He said, grabbing her hand.

The pair walked towards the back of the club where James's reserved table was. He slid in and Emily slid in across from him. James ordered a beer for himself and a double vodka for Emily. She laughed at him.

"What?" He smiled at her.

"The fact that you still know my drink order is really sweet." She explained.

"I know everything about you, Em." James rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah?" She challenged him. He nodded. "Did you know that I've been deemed an honourable Canadian?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I saw the video you posted. You didn't seem to fond of poutine."

Emily laughed. "I warmed up to it though!" She exclaimed, pulling her phone out.

She titled the screen towards James as she unlocked it. He felt a pang of jealousy when he saw that her background was her, Jamie, and Tyler. She opened Instagram and went to Tyler's video.

"See." She said and James listened closely. "I wouldn't even share."

He smiled at her as she sat back. She slid her phone back into her clutch before reaching for her drink. She took a small sip and placed it back down. James watched her every move.

"Emily Vellucci!" A voice called.

She looked to her left. James's head shot up. Matt Niskanen stood to the side of the booth, grinning. Emily gasped before she shot up and wrapped her arms around him. His arms found her lower back.

Once they broke apart, they began catching up. It was understandable since they hadn't talked in almost three years. James sat, silently, waiting for Matt to leave. When he didn't, James decided he'd go mingle. He slid out of the booth and Emily noticed his movement.

"I'll come find you in a bit, okay?" She suggested.

James nodded and kissed the side of her mouth, like always. He ventured over to the guys around the bar.

"I need a shot, and stat." He sighed.

A lot of shots and a lot of random girls on his lap later, James was loaded. He was singing along to "Cruise" with Geno and Tanner. Geno hardly knew the words which added to the laughter already amongst the group. James took a breather to grab his beer for a drink. He surveyed the club and nearly smashed his beer at what he saw.

Emily was leaning into Tyler. His arm was around her waist. He was whispering into her ear. She made a face before bursting into laughter and placing her hand on his chest. She buried her face in his chest and that was the final straw.
James slammed his bottle down and made a b-line for Emily and Tyler. When he reached them, she turned grinning.

"Hey!"

"We need to talk." He said, his voice hard.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her along. Once they got to a secluded area near the bathrooms, Emily yanked her arm away.

"Can you relax? You're hurting me." She rubbed her wrist.

James frowned at it before looking up to her. "I'm sorry. I'm just," He stopped, letting out a sigh and looking down.

"James," She grabbed his face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm crazy, Em."

"Well no shit." She laughed.

James shook his head. "No, you don't understand."

She watched him walk away, staring at the wall. She took a deep breath before walking over.

"So explain it to me."

James spun around quickly. He looked at Emily's face. Her eyebrows were furrowed and worry was spread across her face. He sat on one of the couches near the bathrooms. Emily sat down beside him, grabbing his hand with both of hers.

"I saw you with Tyler earlier." James breathed out.

"You mean before you came over when he was telling me a joke."

"I saw his arm around you and you leaning into him, and I, I felt so angry." He explained.

Emily took a silent breath, understanding where James was going with this. "James, it's been over two years." She sighed.

"I decided on you, don't you get that?" He shot at her. "I decided on you. I don't want to go fucking other people and then walk around feeling thrilled and then sad, or empty, or whatever. I like the smell of your hair, and I like the sound of your voice, and I fucking decided on you."

"You decided on me when you were seventeen, James! That's a big difference in age and character between the years!" She yelled back. "When you got drafted, it all changed. I could handle you constantly being away when you were in Dallas, because I knew you'd always come home to me. The second I knew you were going to a different city, I lost it all. I started having doubts right away because I know you, James, and I know the way you flirt. Yeah, I trusted you to not cheat, but that was when you were coming home to me. Not home to some empty house in a city that I was no where near."

"Then why didn't you come with me?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"Because that was when I knew it was the end." She stated. James swallowed hard. "It wasn't fair to me to just forget my life in Dallas for you. I'd been doing that all my life and it was time to do something for myself for once."

James sat silently before he laughed a bit. "I've always been a selfish asshole, huh?"

"Yeah." Emily nodded, smiling at him. "But that's why I loved you, and I still love you, just in a different way." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Are you happy with where your life is right now?" James rested his head on hers.

She sat and thought for a moment. She began to nod. "Yeah, yeah I am. I'm really happy. Are you?"

"Not entirely, but having this closure may help." He said, kissing the top of Emily's head.

"Good. I want you happy."

James smiled. They sat in silence for a while. He sat up straight. Emily could tell he had more to say. She bumped her knee against his to get him to talk.

"Promise you won't rip my head off for the next thing I'm about to ask? It's pretty asshole-ish of me for assuming." He chuckled nervously.

"I promise." She smiled.

"Are you into Tyler?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "He's just a really close friend, James."

"Are you interested in him whatsoever?" James edged on.

"I guess there's potential, I mean, I could even end up with Jamie with my luck," She said, causing James to laugh. "But right now, no. I don't have any interest in Tyler, other than seeing his playing abilities."

"Good. You're too good for me, you're too good for anyone." James pulled her into him for a hug.

Notes