Ride (Reposted)

January 2014

"From Victoria, B.C and of the Dallas Stars; Jamie Benn." Emily heard.

The whole team was watching the roster announcements for the men's team. There were rumblings around the entire building about whether or not Jamie was getting named.

And he was.

She was so proud.

"Guys, let's pretend he didn't make the team." Tyler decided.

Everyone agreed as Jamie had just ran to go get something out of the his Escalade and completely missed the announcement. It was a sick joke but Jamie couldn't wait a minute longer.

They heard the door open and they all put on their best sullen faces.

Lindy was the associate coach of the Olympic team and knew fully well in advanced that Jamie was named to the team. Rich also knew and had Jamie secure his visa before the announcement just incase. But they all wanted to keep it a surprise for him.

"What's wrong?" Jamie asked as he came into the room seeing everyone look sad.

"Well Jamie. You missed the announcement." Tyler said sadly.

"And?" His eyes shifted around the room.

Literally the whole Stars front office, team and a few of the wives and girlfriends along with kids were in the conference space.

"Honey. I'm sorry." Emily walked up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

The look on his face was heartbreaking. She felt bad immediately.

"we aren't going to Turks and Caicos with the rest of the team." She said calmly.

"What?" She loved his confused look, it was cute.

"You guys are going to Russia!" Jordie yelled.

"No." Jamie shook his head.

"Yeah we are. You got named to the team!" Emily jumped up and down in excitement.

"Here's your jersey kid." Lindy came over, holding the red and white jersey in his hand.

Jamie opened it up, it had BENN on the back with the number 22 on the back. With a grin so wide on his face he was like a kid that caught his first big bass, immediately putting it on.
She was so proud.

"Go celebrate baby." She said quietly as he pulled her into a hug.

She watched him walk around the room, enjoying everyone's presence as well as pats on the back in congratulations.

Valeri Nichushkin was going to play for Russia as well as Kari was going to be representing Finland. She was proud of the whole team. And the whole team was proud of their captain.

"How come your not getting yourself involved in that?" Jess asked.

"I'll congratulate him later, in bed, wearing that jersey." Emily grinned, giving her a wink.

"Since we're sister-in-laws now should I be disgusted? Because I'm not."

Jess and Jordie had been officially dating since before Christmas. And she loved them together. They were adorable. Jamie chirped Jordie for all he could but he welcomed Jess in with open arms just as Jordie welcomed Emily.

"I have no idea. Just don't repeat that to Jordie. He might be." Emily winked.

Jess threw back her head, laughing. "Deal."

"I'm proud of you Jamie." She smiled as they walked back to his apartment.

"I'm excited. You have your visa right?" He asked for the 8th time that night.

"Yes baby. I had my visa two months before you got yours." She reminded him.

"We need to get our flights booked. And your hotel booked. And tickets to my games. And to other events." He started rambling.

"Hotel is booked. I'm shacking up with Angie. That's already taken care of."

"You two shacking up scares the shit out of me." Jamie laughed.

"I don't know anyone else! I know Angie through PK. Abbe isn't going."

"You'll meet lots of the girls once your over there."

"I know I'm excited to meet the girls. I'm excited to go to Russia. Your carrying your own bags though. I might bring my board with me."

"Your what?"

"My snowboard. I might be able to get in some shred time in." She reminded him.

"Will you though?" He asked.

"You never know! Depending on what your schedule is and what events we go too I might have time!"

"We need to get flights and stuff figured out too."

She was impressed. This boy was on it.

***

The thoughts in Jamie's head were running a million miles a minute. There was so much to get prepared for; Packing, medical exams, vaccinations.

Sitting in bed with his laptop going over a checklist that Rich had sent him he was focusing
hard. He didn't even hear Emily clear her throat. She had to close his laptop for him to snap out of it. He wasn't expecting to see her wearing his Team Canada jersey, and nothing else. He liked it, a lot.

"It's a little big." She smiled sheepishly as she pulled the laptop from his hand and placing it on the nightstand table.

"Why haven't you done this in my Stars Jersey?" He asked intrigued, pulling her onto his bed.

"Because this is big for you baby." She said quietly as she straddled him.

"And getting named captain wasn't big either?"

"That was pretty big too." She smiled sheepishly.

"And it's not my first time being named to the national team either."

"No?"

"2009 World Juniors baby. You know this."

"That's right! I don't remember you though. I was at every game and every party."

"I never went to the parties."

"So we could have actually met 5 years ago. Pretty much the whole team was at my 19th birthday."

"Except for me. Cause I was a square." He rolled them over so she was almost entirely underneath him.

"You're still a square." She laughed.

"Hey now."

"I had a boyfriend back then anyways. And you lived in BC and I lived in Montreal." She shrugged.

"Well if you had of met me then. I would have changed that in a heart beat."

"Oh yeah?"

"No. Because I could barely utter five words to pretty girls." He laughed.

"I remember seeing a picture at your parents house of you biting a gold metal. You were a little cutie back then. I would have taught you so many things."

"Oh I'm sure. Now what do you say, we make love and you don't take that jersey off."

"I think I can agree to that."

A few weeks later

Sitting in her safe haven of Montreal, Emily turned down the umpteenth call from Jamie. She needed to get away, after what she had witnessed in the nightclub.

Jamie and his buddies were having a guys night out while Emily had been having a girls night out, and coincidentally ended up in the same nightclub. He was in one VIP area, she was on the balcony across in her own VIP area.

She saw the girls in their booth, Tyler and a few of the other single guys had invited them up.
She thought trusted Jamie. She didn't definitely trust the gold diggers, puckbunnies and Dallas socialites though.

After about an hour, she saw it happen. One bottle blonde slid her way on to Jamie's lap. The girl was wearing practically next to nothing.

And then she kissed Jamie. She knew he was drunk but not that drunk. She felt her heart shatter as he didn't push the blonde away immediately. She snapped a picture and sent it too him as he finally pushed her off of him. He was pissed. Emily was furious, among the 8 million other emotions she was feeling. She left the club just as she felt her phone in her hand start to vibrate.

A few hours later she was on a plane to Chicago for a quick layover and then to Montreal. And now she was sitting in her newly renovated apartment she had lived in all through college, she had had a few days to cool off, but she was still refusing to speak to Jamie.

The first thing she did was call her old dealer. She needed to get a good high to get a good sleep. He would always come through. Providing fresh Purple BC Kush, her favourite for when she wanted to get really baked.

Jamie broke his promise to stay loyal. She broke her promise to stay drug free. She warned him, she could be a spiteful bitch.

He was now in New York for a few games. With a three day break between his games against the Islanders and the New Jersey Devils. That made it scary close that he could nip up to Montreal for a day. Just as she had finished her hit off of her bong when she heard her buzzer go off.
I
f it was anyone she knew in Montreal, they all knew the code to get in. She checked the camera outside to see and she didn't recognize who it was so she left it. And it wasn't the pizza she ordered.

Sitting down to open her MacBook up she heard her phone vibrate again, it was Jamie calling again. Amused she decided to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Babe. It's me. Where are you? Your not at home. And you aren't at your parents." He sounded upset, frantic.

"Your right. I'm not in Dallas and I'm not at their Ontario house.."

"Please baby."

"I'm not your baby if your kissing other girls."

"Emily, she came on to me."

"And you didn't do anything about it."

"Do you know how fucking drunk I was. And I was in shock! It's not like we keep our relationship private or anything."

"That's not an excuse Jamie, you know that better then anyone after Kacie."

"Where are you?"

"I can tell you I'm half baked and waiting for a pizza." She laughed.

"That's not funny. You promised."

"As did you."

"If your in Montreal I'm on the next plane there."

"Don't. I need some space before we can sit down and have a talk. Montreal is my safe place."

"I'm sorry I fucked up. You saw how pissed I was when I got her off of me though."

"It doesn't matter. You shouldn't have let her even sit on your lap."

He let out a frustrated groan over the other end.

"Babe. I'm so, so sorry. Please be home when I get back. Or come to New York."

"Jamie! Coming back does not fix what happened! We were planning on going to Russia in a month and now you are going by yourself."

"I'll give you some space to calm down. But trust me Babe. You know I would never, ever do that to you. I love you so, so much. I can't lose you." She heard his voice crack.

And now he was going to start crying. She hoped for his sake he was alone in his hotel room.

"I gotta go. Pizza's here." She hung up the phone before he could beg and she gave him her forgiveness.

Letting out a big huff she texted a few girlfriends to see if they wanted to go out. She never partied anymore unless it was with the Dallas Stars wives, she never did drugs anymore, she wanted to punish Jamie.

Hearing her phone vibrate the tone for Jordie she picked her phone up, finding a text letting her know that Jamie was losing it in his room.

She didn't want him to get arrested for causing a disturbance but she was to high to really care.

***

After he cooled down he bundled up in winter running gear. He never ran unless he had too. It was also extremely fucking cold. He headed straight for Central Park. He got out unnoticed taking the emergency exits, and in New York no one knew who he was. Running helped him think things properly without getting too worked up.

He fucked up. He knew he fucked up the moment it happened. He knew she was in the same nightclub through Tyler and this girl Ali he was seeing.

Jamie didn't realize they were literally on the other side of the nightclub.

It hurt even more now that she was getting high to spite him. Smoking weed wasn't that bad, he still didn't like it. But if she started snorting coke again he would be having a big issue with it.

Feeling his phone vibrate on his arm band, he didn't know what to expect, or who it could be. He thought he put it on do not disturb but apparently not.

Stopping to check he saw it was a text from Lindy.

"Meeting. Now. No excuses." It read.

Huffing he turned on his heel, finishing his run by the time he got to the hotel lobby. He wasn't going to shower and change into something decent. And the sting in his lungs from the cold crisp air was satisfying.

Making his way to the boardroom they had reserved he found just Jim and Lindy sitting in it, arms crossed and with a very disappointed look on their face.

"Have a seat." Jim said calmly.

Jamie took a seat across from them, now nervous. He could lose his captaincy and his spot on the Olympic roster. At the time it never crossed his mind. Now he was terrified, he probably lost Emily, the he'd lose the two things he's really worked his whole life for.

"We're scratching you tomorrow." Lindy said.

"What?" He blinked, pulling his hand away from his face, he had been subconsciously chewing on a nail.

"After your little outburst. What the fuck happened?" Jim asked.

"Emily took off for Montreal."

"She travels for work all the time, and a lot of her life is still in Montreal Jamie. Everyone knows this. You know this more then anyone." Lindy stated.

"No. I fucked up when the guys and I went out the other day and she took off. Now she is getting high to spite me."

"Does she have a drug problem? And we know you fucked up. Tyler informed us."

"She was a heavy user in university, especially with the concussions from rugby and stress. Usually she just smoked weed. But she used to snort too. I'm just scared she's going to fall back into that again."

After a short pause to regain his composure he continued,

"I didn't mean to lose it in my room. I understand if you want to take my captaincy."

"I think scratching you is a good enough punishment." Jim stated, closing his book, before looking Jamie square in the eye, "because we know you won't do it again. Keep that temper in check and save it for the ice."

"Yes sir."

He got up and headed to his room with his head low. Now he had to try to work things out with Emily but she wouldn't even listen to Jordie.

Notes