Goodnight, beautiful

A morning skate after a hard practice was the last thing the guys wanted. But there they were 8 am sharp, dressed and on the ice. Laviolette stood with his team at the glass, writing out a play in white marker. Danny Briere nor Dan Carcillo could focus on the x’s and o’s on the Plexiglas

For Danny, his thoughts were on Bristol, trying to wrap his mind around how a girl like her could fall so easily into bed with a man like Carcillo.

It became public knowledge that the two had slept together when he came into the changing room, smile plastered on his face as he willingly handed one hundred bills to Jeff Carter and Mike Richards.

Dan couldn’t stop staring daggers at Briere’s back still in shock at what he had texted her last night. It did, however, give him the satisfaction that Danny knew about him and Bristol’s long night of orgasm after orgasm. When Giroux pressed for details, Dan didn’t spare any. Nonetheless, it wasn’t just Danny whom Dan had upset with the session of kiss and tell, Kris was near fuming. Kris knew he had to let it go and not get involved in the changing room drama but that didn’t stop him from wanting to drop gloves with Dan for having made Bristol a joke.

“Any questions?” Laviolette capped the marker as he was met with silence. “Let’s try this play again.”

Briere and Giroux took their positions at center with Carcillo to Claude’s left. The offensive play was simple; Briere would win the faceoff, pass it off to Hartnell as Timonen would fan out. Leino and Briere were to stake to the net and wait for Timonen to shoot after being passed the puck.

However, that’s not how it happened as Carcillo had his own play in mind. When the puck was passed off to Hartnell, Dan skated towards Briere before dropping his shoulder and hitting Danny square in the chest which sent him down. Danny had the wind knocked out of him as his visor prevented his face from smacking the ice.

“What the fuck, Carbomb?” Seven voices called out at once.

The rest of the team stood up from the bench wondering why Dan would unleash a cheap shot on his own teammate.

“Text her again and there’ll be more where that came from.”

His words were venom, only causing Danny’s blood to boil over. Standing to his feet, he dropped his gloves only to be held back by Versteeg. “Let it go, man.”

A blank expression washed over Dan’s face as he skated back to the bench while ignoring not only his teammates but also his rightfully angered coach. He knew he was done skating for the morning and half expected to be scratched from the game. The gratification that came from laying Danny on his ass was well worth missing a game in his opinion.

- - -


“Please be nice. Just for the night and then you can go back to hating her.”

Kris leaned against the doorframe of Bristol’s bedroom as she sat at her makeshift vanity. Her mouth was hanging open as she applied her mascara.

“I don’t hate her. It’s more along the lines of a strong dislike.”

The blond man rolled his eyes. He had just about had it with Bristol’s sarcastic attitude that had started the moment she came home and saw Kris’s girlfriend fixing a pot of coffee. Since Allison’s arrival had been unbeknownst to Bristol, she was irked with her best friend. It wasn’t often that Bristol and Allison found common ground and Kris hated that. At times he felt as though he was being put in the position to choose between the two and both girls played an important role in his life.

“Remember your first night here? You were so nervous about being at the arena alone and I’m sure you wished you had a friend to sit with.” He looked over his shoulder to make sure Allison wasn’t listening in on their conversation.

Bristol zipped her cosmetics bag closed and ran her fingers through her straightened hair before standing up and approaching the door. “I hate you.”

“I know you do,” Kris smiled and stepped back in preparation for the door to be closed in his face. “She’ll be gone in two days.”

She was fuming as she closed the door so she could get dressed. No amount of soothing breaths could relax her shot nerves. Bristol really didn’t hate Allison, she just couldn’t wrap her mind around the relationship she and Kris had. She never understood why Allison stuck around even though it was common knowledge that Kris had a taste for puck sluts and had regulars in several cities. Bristol knew the lifestyle, knew Allison and chalked it up to her being too insecure to leave him. Not knowing Dan’s own record of picking girls up on the road scared Bristol. Her anxiety ran into overdrive whenever the team headed out of town. She recognized that Dan was a wild card and for the first time in her life that excited her. Mostly because her safe choice didn’t seem the slightest bit interested. Maybe Danny wasn’t into girls like her, Bristol assumed.

Tonight would be the first night she draped Dan’s name and number on her back. It gave her a sense of pride and she didn’t mind looking like a Creamsicle. Her black, satin robe pooled around her feet as she wiggled her wide hips into a pair of skinny jeans. The jersey followed over a cotton tee. Now it was Bristol’s turn to roll her eyes as she spritzed on perfume having overheard Allison slandering her name from the family room. If it weren’t for the fact she still had her head in the clouds from the five orgasms Dan had blessed her body with last night, she may have cared. Bristol wondered why it bothered Allison so much that she and Kris lived together when she didn’t care how many girls parade in and out of his hotel rooms.

Exiting her bedroom, Bristol almost ran into Allison. Her short blonde hair was pinned back and she too sported an orange jersey.

Bristol spoke genuinely. “You look nice.”

Allison smoothed out her jersey and didn’t respond to Bristol’s compliment. The blonde’s petite figure was something Bristol had always envied. No matter how many hours she put in at the gym she could never get rid of those hip-dips and love handles.

Dressed sharply in his suit, Kris appeared behind Allison and never before had Bristol been so thankful for his presence. He asked his girls if they were ready to go, leading the two to answer in unison.

Normally on game days, Bristol would leave a few hours after Kris but as their game against Atlanta was scheduled unusually early for a Saturday night a bunch of them planned on going out for pizza afterward. This way, the three of them could drive together and not worry about two separate cars. Instead of having Bristol and Allison hang around at the family suite for two hours with nothing to do, Kris made his plans known. He would drop them off at a bar where they could drink and hopefully finally open up to one another.

“Drinks on me,” Kris handed Allison his debit car after pulling up to a bar close to the arena. “Have fun”

The ladies got out of the car and stood at the curb for several seconds after he left.

This is going to be a blast, Bristol thought to herself.

- - -


It was a sore loss for the guys. They had blown a 4-0 lead in the third period and it was an extra knife to Kris’s gut to know that his former teammate Andrew Ladd had scored the winning goal in overtime. Allison and Bristol waited in the suite for the guys to finish with interviews and change and the Briere boys hadn’t left Bristol’s side all night. She loved their company as they had kept her laughing for the most part with their silly antics. While the brothers were all distinctly different in their ways she could tell where Danny’s own personality had rubbed off and it only made Bristol adore them more.

When Danny made his appearance in the suite she instinctively got up when Caelan, Carson, and Cameron did. They jumped on their father, assuring him he played great despite the loss and told him they’d beat them next time. The way Danny interacted with his sons never ceased to warm Bristol’s heart. Yesterday was the first time they had been left in her care but she could count on two hands how many times she’s seen the boys after games and in general. It made Bristol realize how much she wanted a family of her own.

“A diving penalty?” Bristol crossed her arms over her chest as she smirked. “I honestly expect better from you, Danny.”

A matching smirk grew on Danny’s mouth. He wanted to rip that damn Carcillo jersey off her.

“What? Enstrom really knocked me off balance!”

They both knew it had been a bullshit call but she had to give him hell.

At the restaurant, Bristol seated herself between Dan and Claude with Briere, the boys, Kris, and Allison across from her. They ordered enough pizza to feed a small army but that was expected with half the team seated around six tables pushed together. The mood was light even after the disaster of a game.

Dan would wrap his arm defensively around Bristol’s shoulders whenever he caught Danny take a glance in her direction. It was suddenly becoming clear to several Flyers as to why Dan had acted the way he did during the morning practice. Before the game, Mike had asked Dan why he even bothered showing dominance with Briere. There was nothing for him to worry about for there was no competition. Dan brushed off Mike’s comment, as he didn’t have the guts to confess that he did have something to worry about. The more he and Bristol got to know each other the more they realized they didn’t have much in common outside of hockey, musical tastes, and the bedroom.

Danny peered across the table frequently during dinner where he realized Bristol had the face for candlelight. Her delicate features accentuated under the soft glow. She was elegant and only cold when she wanted to be. Sexy, for sure, she moved with a grace he had seen in very few women. Then there was her voice, as she turned her attention to the oldest Briere boy. It was light, sweet, and wispy but could change on a dime and be hot enough to melt ice. But it was her intellect that he found her be her best attribute. He knew if given the chance they could take for hours and never run out of topics.

“You look good in my jersey,” Carcillo had caught Danny’s eye as he ran his fingers through Bristol’s red hair. Danny could feel his chest tighten as he imagined what that felt like.

“It would look even better if it—“

Dan interjected. “If it were on my bedroom floor.”

A few conversations around them stopped and eyes fell on them. Bristol playfully smacked Dan’s bicep.

“No,” she tried to laugh off her embarrassment. “It would look better if it were white. I feel like a criminal in orange.”

Mike learned over Claude to put in his two-cents. “Most people would assume you are a criminal just by putting a jersey with his name on.”

Bristol tried to control the smile that toyed with her lips but she failed.

“When I put it on, I had this sudden urge to punch anyone who crosses me.”

“That’s my girl.”

Bristol wasn’t sure if she wanted to be his girl. Her eyes filled with sadness that no one caught as she reached for her drink, wishing she were on the other side of the table. She daydreamed about holding Danny’s hand as they walked out of the arena, taking the boys home and curling up on the couch with them as they fell asleep to a movie.

Briere chose to pretend he didn’t hear Dan’s comments as he reached for more pizza with Cameron whispering in his ear. If he really wanted to get back at Dan for the cheap hit on him at practice, he knew he didn’t have to drop the gloves. It was easier than that and even more of a cheap shot. Danny thought about the comment that Cameron had quietly said to him, deciding his son was right.

“Bristol,” Danny reached across the table and placed his hand on hers to get her attention. The expression on her face told him he wasn’t the only one who had left the spark from skin-to-skin contact. “Do you want to come ice-skating with me and the boys tomorrow?”

Her face lit up. Her answer came without a moment of hesitation. “I’d love to!”

Notes