The Intern

I was exhausted. Michelle might've implied that this was some sort of reward, but I knew better now. The entire two days we'd spent in Montreal and the day and a half in Toronto were filled with me running ridiculous errands, and typing up even more ridiculous amounts of paperwork. I wouldn't be surprised if she was giving excerpts from the phone book to type up, but at this point I was too tired to notice.

Today we'd taken a mid-morning flight to Edmonton and I spent the entirety of it a drooling, and unconscious mess. Thankfully one of the equipment guys shook me awake and saved me the embarrassment of being left behind.

"You have the day off," Michelle said as we drove towards the hotel.

"Really?" I asked in astonishment.

"The team has an optional skate and no media today so I won't need you until tomorrow." Michelle explained barely glancing up from her phone. "So enjoy your day off I guess," She added after a moment.

"Thanks," I mumbled, trying to not outwardly display my excitement and give Michelle the satisfaction.

Michelle checked us both in, surprising me by saying I'd get my own room for the night. In both Montreal and Toronto I'd had to share a room with the she-devil herself.

My room had a single queen bed with a neutral beige duvet, a desk in the corner, and a large flat-screen TV that sat atop a wide black dresser. The ensuite bathroom had a marble topped vanity and huge soaker tub that was practically screaming my name.

I quickly chucked my bag in the corner, not having the patience to hang any of my stuff up after having to unpack and repack twice in the past 3 days. I knew I'd be kicking myself later when everything was a horribly wrinkled, but at the moment I couldn't be bothered to care.

After showering I changed into my comfiest pair of jeans, a worn black cashmere sweater and an old pair of converse. I quickly braided my still damp hair into a loose braid and swept a light coat of mascara over my lashes.

Somewhat satisfied that I was presentable, I grabbed my keycard and purse before leaving the room. I knew if I spent the entire day in my room I'd start to go stir-crazy.

"Kennedy," I swivelled around to see John Klingberg coming down the hall.

"John," I greeted as I pressed the button for the elevator.

"You headed to skate?"

"No," He said as he shook his head. "My legs feel like jello. I'm going to grab lunch downstairs."

"I'm going out to explore a bit, I'm starting to feel like all I ever see are ice rinks and hotels."

"Yes you have to get out a bit or you'll lose your mind," He agreed.

We stepped into the elevator and rode it down to the lobby in silence. I fidgeted with my purse, never having been good with long stretches of silence.

"Good luck on your adventure Kennedy," John said as he strode off the elevator towards the hotel's restaurant.

I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around downtown Edmonton, having never been to the city before. There wasn't much to see, but it felt good to stretch my legs after being mostly indoors for four days.

I came back to the hotel around dinner, a little cold from the late October Edmonton weather. I'd zig-zagged all around the downtown core, grabbing a sandwich at a cafe for lunch, before continuing to explore.

"Kennedy!" Tyler nearly yelled, drawing a couple disgruntled looks from an older couple sitting in a corner of the lobby.

"Tyler," I greeted as I pushed the button for the elevator, I was looking forward to curling up in front of the tv and raiding the vending machine on my floor.

"Where're you headed off to?" He inquired, leaning up against wall to the left of the elevators.

"I have a date with my tv and some junk food is going to make it a threesome." I joked, getting a snort from Tyler in return.

"Cancel. Come have dinner with me and the boys," He said, pointing towards a bunch of the players who were standing near the restaurant's entrance.

I bit my lip, I'd been trying to avoid spending anymore money having not even received my first pay check yet and having spent a good chunk at Target on work appropriate clothing. I knew that with this being the Four Seasons the restaurant wasn't going to exactly be bargain prices either.

"C'mon, it'll be fun," Tyler insisted, misinterpreting the reason for my silence.

"I guess," I agreed with a shrug. I could always order an appetizer and forgo any drinks.

"Come along Ken," I scrunched my nose up in distaste at the nickname. Tyler laughed before adding "So Ken is a no go,"

"Right in one, Seguin," The boys led the way to the hostess stand, quickly getting us seated at a long table near the back of the restaurant.

There ended up being eight of us, me being crammed in between John and Tyler, the only two members of the team I'd had any real interaction with.

"How were your adventures?" John asked from beside me, drawing the team's attention away from their menus to focus on me.

"Adventuresome,"

"As adventures should be," John replied, a smile playing at his lips.

"Boring," Patrick Sharp sing songed, "we don't want to hear about Edmonton, we want to get to know you Kennedy"

I cringed internally, cursing myself for accepting Tyler's dinner invitation. I hated talking about myself, if I went with the truth I was immediately written off as a spoiled brat and if I lied, well those usually caught up with me in the end.

"I'm really not that interesting," I mumbled, hoping they'd sense my discomfort and back off.

"We'll be the judge of that," Patrick announced cheerily. "Where're you from? I don't hear a Texas twang to your voice,"

"Washington, D.C!" Tyler announced before I could answer.

I could see Patrick was on the verge of asking another question when a waitress came to take our drink orders. Saved by the waitress

"Just a water's fine for me," I answered when it was my turn.

"Actually she'll have a beer," Patrick corrected, smirking from across the table. At my confused expression he added "we have to loosen that tongue of yours somehow."

"So, any siblings?" Jamie Benn asked, addressing me for the first time.

"Nope. I'm an only child," I answered truthfully.

"Any boyfriend or girlfriend?" Patrick asked.

"Yes," I said before I could stop myself. Why had I said that? Stupid, stupid Kennedy! "A boyfriend." Just dig yourself a bigger hole why don't you?

"What's his name?" Tyler asked as he took a long sip from the glass of red wine the waitress had just set down.

"A-Aaron," I stuttered, a deep blush settling on my cheeks.

"How long have you been together?" John asked from beside me. Why were they interested? Didn't they have plays to go over or, or sports to talk about?

"A year," I was really on a roll here, next thing I know I'd be telling them about our first date.

"We'll have to meet him sometime," Patrick said. "Bring him to a game"

"He doesn't like hockey," Are you going to tell them his hobbies next, Kennedy? Tell them he's allergic to peanuts?

"Can I take your orders?" The waitress interrupted causing me to fumble open my menu, scanning it to try to find the cheapest option.

The guys mostly ordered steak, a few ordered salmon, and Tyler ordered a chicken. I continued to scan the menu until the waitress cleared her throat, obviously waiting for my selection.

"Can I get the..." I blanked and read the first thing off the appetizer's menu "clam chowder." I hated clams! Why did I order that? I mentally berated myself for being such an idiot.

"As a starter?" The waitress questioned.

"Uh- no. As a main," I hastened to add "please."

"I'll get your orders in and be back to check on drinks in a bit," The waitress said before heading off towards the open kitchen.

"A five star restaurant and you order a chowder?" Tyler questioned, obviously confused by my dinner choice.

"Uh yeah, you can totally tell how good a restaurant is by its chowder," I answered lamely.

"Riiight," He said in clear disbelief before turning away from me to talk to Jordie Benn.

I took a deep breath accompanied by a huge gulp of my beer, glad to have the attention off me for a bit.

"Enjoy your meals," The waitress said after she'd delivered all our entrees.

Looking down at the clam chowder in front of me my stomach churned. I didn't know how I was going to stomach this and couldn't believe I'd be paying fifteen dollars for it! I took a tentative sip of the thick soup, all but throwing my spoon back into the bowl. I swallowed it reluctantly, hating the way the thick liquid slid down my throat.

"So is the restaurant a winner?" Tyler asked, causing me to choke a little on my next bite.

"It's," I forced myself to swallow "great." I said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

"Good, glad you're enjoying it."

The rest of the dinner passed by quickly, the boys not bothering to ask me any more questions for which I was thankful. Instead I got to observe the relationships between them and see how obviously close the were.

The bill came and before I could whip out any money Patrick had handed his credit card over to the waitress.

"You fuckers cheated at Mario Kart, I swear," He muttered before scrawling a loopy signature and handsome tip onto the bill.

"You guys have a nice evening," The hostess said as we exited the restaurant.

"Mario Kart in my room? I have a score to settle with these assholes," Patrick asked me, much to my surprise.

"Sure,"

Notes

I'm not completely happy with this chapter but so it goes. Expect an update by Friday. Rate, comment, & subscribe :)