Goodnight, beautiful

The vibration of her iPhone woke Bristol at an ungodly hour Friday morning. She had begun regretting her decision to stay up and wait for Dan to come over after the plane landed from Toronto. Slipping her glasses on so she could read the text, surprised was the only word to describe Bristol when she saw Briere’s name.

Hey, Bristol - it’s Briere. I got your number from Kris, hope you don’t mind. My ex-wife changed plans on me so can you watch the boys this afternoon?

Bristol felt honored to know Danny trusted her enough to watch his boys. However, she figured she shouldn’t feel too special, as it was late minute and he probably exhausted all other options. The entire team had been summoned for an afternoon practice even though they had won the previous nights game.

“Holy shit,” she exclaimed.

Dan groaned with his face shoved into the pillow, that was his way of asking, ‘what?’

“It’s Danny.” At the mere mention of his name, Dan rolled over on to his back and snatched Bristol’s phone to read the message. Why was Briere texting [i]his[/i] girl at 8 in the morning?

“Don’t do it. You do it once for him and then he’ll be asking all the time.”

After the way Danny had acted around Bristol weeks ago when they went clubbing, Dan wasn’t sure if he could trust him around her. It also didn’t help that Danny had become privy to the on-going bet he had and Dan was worried he would tell Bristol about it. Danny was quick to jump to Bristol’s defense when he overheard the details being spilled about every naked curve of her body. Just because there was no sex being had, didn’t mean there wasn’t any other fooling around.

Bristol responded back that she would do it; there was no way she could leave Danny hanging high and dry like that. If it turned out to be a bad experience she would ignore all other requests in the future. He answered back quickly with the time and his address.

“Don’t worry,” Bristol kissed his nose as she straddled his lap. “We can still go ice skating after practice.”

Dan gripped her hips as he caught her mouth in a fiery kiss. She could feel his fingers begin to wonder below the waistband of her Adidas sweatpants and when she remembered their proposition, Bristol grabbed his wrists.

“How about instead of ice skating you come over to my place tonight? Dinner, wine, a movie?”

She didn’t have to think about it for very long. Even though she had wanted to go ice-skating for the last week, a warm night-in sounded just as perfect.

“Can I pick the movie?”

He was well aware that allowing her free reign over the movie choice meant he would be spending an hour and a half watching a chick-flick. Somehow Dan would figure out how to use that to his advantage. A sappy love story with flashes of sex here and there was bound to turn her on. He quickly began to regret the deal he had made with her. It had only been a week and one day since they shook on it and Dan was dying.

Three days ago, he had to stop himself from pinning her down on his kitchen table and having his way with her. Bristol had been fixing breakfast fashioned only in a pair of powder pink cheeky panties and a “USA Hockey” t-shirt. Something as little as watching a woman pour orange juice had never turned him on like that before.

However, it wasn’t just the way she poured orange juice, it was her smile and laugh too. The way she laughed wholeheartedly never failed to make Dan laugh along with her. Her smile always managed to brighten his day.

Cupping her cheeks in his hands, Dan kissed her unsuspectedly. “Of course you can pick the movie.”

- - -

Bristol counted to fifty before uncovering her eyes. They needed a second to adjust to the almost pitch black room. Somehow the Briere boys had managed to convince Bristol to play hide-and-seek with zero lights on in the house. Even Bristol was having her fun; the four of them had been playing for the last hour and the hiding spaces were becoming more creative.

The poor girl nearly stubbed her toe again on a barstool in the kitchen as she looked in cabinets that were easily accessible. She could have sworn she heard one of them slam closed. When it became obvious none of the boys were on the first floor, she tiptoed her way up the stairs. By being as quiet as possible, Bristol concentrated so she could hear if there was any giggling.

When she reached the top of the steps a devilish smile spread across Bristol’s face. Finally, she heard the infectious sounds of laughter coming from one small boy.

Cameron.

She was drawn to Danny’s bedroom even though she felt a bit uneasy about invading his personal space. The sound of Cameron’s snickering growing louder told Bristol she was on the right track. She crouched down on the side of Danny’s bed. Reaching under the bed, Bristol swiped her hand back and forth until she grabbed Cameron’s wrist.

“I found you!” Bristol snorted.

“Oh, man!” Cameron rolled out of from his hiding spot and jumped on Bristol’s back as she stood up. Tossing the lights on, he called out to his brothers. “She found me, guys.”

Caelen and Carson came slinking out of the closet with Caelan pointing a finger at his youngest brother. “I told you she would find you there first.”

Hopping off Bristol’s back, Cameron shrugged his shoulders and turned the light off before heading downstairs to count to fifty.

- - -

Juggling his keys, Danny Briere set his gym down so he could unlock the front door. His muscles were tired and all he wanted was a hot shower and a chocolate protein shake. He hadn’t expected all the lights in the house to be turned off and it worried him slightly when no one responded to his calls. Bristol’s car was still parked on the street so he knew they hadn’t gone anywhere. He figured they were upstairs watching a movie.

He rammed into a solid object at the bottom of the stairs. Cursing, Danny fell forward as he reached out to try and stop Bristol from falling backward. In an attempt to catch her own fall, she reached out grabbing the first thing her fingers felt. That happened to be Danny’s hair and they both fell like a ton of bricks. The whole accident had left Bristol winded along with a slight throb on the back of her head where she smacked it on the edge of the step. Even in pitch black, Bristol recognized Danny by his shape and scent.

“Damn it. Bristol, are you okay?”

She drew in a breath although it was hard considering Danny’s weight was constricting. Or, it may have been because a certain part of his weight was pressed intimately between her legs.

“I’m fine.” Bristol tried to keep herself from laughing, as she brain was short-circuiting.

Danny pushed himself up only halfway so their eyes met in the moonlight glow. He placed a soft hand on her hip and fought every urge to lower his mouth onto hers. For some reason, Danny had a feeling her tongue tasted sweet. Because his movement had increased the pressure between Bristol’s legs, more than just her head began to throb.

“Off me now, please.”

Jumping to his feet, Danny flipped the light switch. Bristol stayed put for a few moments as she tried to get her breath back. She closed her eyes when the foyer light beamed. When Danny looked at her, all he wanted to look at were her feet. Anything to distract him from those curves in yoga pants or the cleavage he could see down her v-neck shirt.

“Let me help you up.” He reached his hand for Bristol, which she took and hoisted herself up. “What were you doing sneaking around in the dark? Where the boys?”

Bristol rubbed the back of her head and pointed up the stairs as she laughed. Danny looked up and sure enough at the top stood his three boys. She figured she owed him an explanation.

“We were playing hide-and-seek in the dark. I was trying to sneak down the stairs so Cameron couldn’t find me.”

“Oh, you play dirty!” Cameron gasped.

Upon hearing her explanation, Danny rolled his eyes. It was nice to see he had found a babysitter the boys seemed to be happy with. Normally when he left them with a sitter he would come home and find them spaced out on the couch playing video games.

As Bristol reached for her coat, Danny thought about asking her if she wanted to stay for dinner. A woman like her could be persuaded with pizza and wine. He knew full well Carcillo made plans for him and Bristol and Danny’s efforts to derail said plans were somewhat personal. During practice, Carcillo made sure that Briere knew tonight was the night he would really try to score with Bristol. Danny knew Carcillo would back off if told no but he didn’t want Bristol in that position to begin with.

“I had an absolute blast with them,” she motioned towards the three Briere boys. Her next confession was genuine. “Seriously, if you ever need help with them, let me know.”

It joyed Danny’s heart to see she had a great time with them—three rambunctious boys could be tough to handle at times. She assured him that next time she wouldn’t be sneaking around in the dark. Bristol refused to accept the fifty-dollar bill Danny tried shoving in her hand. She helped out a friend in need. Nothing more and nothing less.

Before heading out the door, Bristol wrapped her arms around Danny for a goodbye hug. His senses went into overdrive with her in his arms. Bristol fit perfectly against his frame, her head rested right on his chest which would allow him to easily place a kiss or two on the top of her head. The sexy scent of her perfume sent his mind swimming. When he finally let her go, Danny wished Bristol would stay as he genuinely enjoyed her company. He wanted to get to know her emotionally…physically.

A gentleman, he walked her out to her car, thanked her close to a million times, and he wasn’t lying when he said he would be looking forward to seeing her tomorrow after the game. Once he was back in the house he noticed his boys were smiling.

“I like her.” Cameron proclaimed.

“Yeah,” Carson jabbed his little brother in the ribs, “only because you think she’s cute.”

Cameron’s ears reddened and he didn’t even bother to defend himself against his brothers. Danny lightly laughed at his boys as he shook his head and took the steps upstairs two at a time. He instructed them to pick out a movie for them to watch after he finished his shower.

Finally alone in his bathroom, Danny tossed his wallet and keys on the vanity. He was unable to shake the thought of Bristol from his mind as he turned on the water taps. Specifically he couldn’t stop reimagining the feeling of being on top of her when they had fallen on the stairs.

Stripping from his clothes he stepped under the scalding spray of water, closing his eyes as it cascaded down his worn out body. The only visions his brain allowed him to see was that of a naked Bristol standing behind him, her soapy hands exploring his chest and diving lower down his abdomen. Danny didn’t want to dwell over the reel his imagination was creating. He tried to go over the plays for tomorrow’s game but that became difficult with a painful erection.

“Fuck it,” Danny spit into his hand.

After all, a man had the right to dwell on whatever he wanted when alone in the shower.

Notes