by Kat Obie
He loved the day thus far. The ability to snag cans of beer being tossed at him and tried to spot their jerseys being worn by fans was just awesome. It was just a ball of a day. It really was. The speeches by Dykstman, Scotty and Lager were fun but drunken. At some point, before Scotty’s speech, Corey got left in charge of holding the Cup during the speeches. It was just a pure day of celebration with his best buddies. It was one of the best moments in his life, just like when they got to hoist the Lord Stanley for the first time as a team since they left the ice a couple days ago.
Walking off the stage, he spotted Jenna and Alice right away. He went toward them. “Hey, Al. Hold this.” He passed the Stanley Cup to Alice. He knew that would make Al happy and it freed his hands so he could lift up Jenna. “How was the parade, beautiful?”
“Good. But I think somebody enjoyed themselves a little too much today.”
He snorted as he laughed. He was true. He was definitely buzzed. He pulled the keys from his shorts and said, “Fine, you get to drive. Are you sure that you have to go to the airport tonight?”
“Yup. You are going to have to spend a whole day without me. What’s a big strong hockey player to do?” she teased. It was just too cute for words and he kissed her right then.
“Fine. Let’s go home and have some fun for a little bit.”
Jenna
She couldn’t believe the last week. It was literally insane. First she witnessed her best friend get engaged in quite possibly the sweetest way possible. Then she got to watch her boyfriend win the Stanley Cup in Game 7 of the playoffs. Then there were the parties and the parade. If she was being completely honest with herself, she was glad to get away from everything, if only to recharge after it all.
Corey was driving to visit her home for the first time. She was nervous. She didn’t really have much time to clean up the place. Hell before going to Cleveland, she had no idea he was going to come to Philly. Well, it wasn’t a visit, he was moving in. She just hoped that he liked her place.
After not hearing from Corey most of the day, she called. He picked up right away. “Hey, beautiful!”
She loved how he seemed to enjoy calling her beautiful. It was great for her morale. “How’s the drive?”
“Slow going.”
“Traffic or did you have a slow start?” She knew full well that he hadn’t been packed up when she left yesterday. Not that there was really any time to get packed between the hockey and the parties. Then he was a bit drunk after the parade. She wasn’t even sure he would come out today.
“Both,” he said quickly.
“Are you on the Schuylkill yet?”
He started laughing and said, “Is that how you say that?”
“Yup. We got lots of fun words around here. But it’s the Schuylkill. Not the Sure Kill.”
“It’s a parking lot though.”
“Probably an accident. But if you are on the Schuylkill, you’re in the city limits. What do you want to eat for dinner?”
“You.”
That made her giggle. “You can’t eat me. That’s not a real meal.”
“But it’s hella fun.”
“Yes, it’s hella fun. Not denying that. But I need real food too.”
“I don’t know. Surprise me.”
“Alright. See you soon.”
“Yeah. If we ever start to get moving again.”
She hung up the phone and thought about what she wanted to have for dinner. She knew that she should actually cook something for Corey but she was feeling rather lazy. So she decided to get a Honeygrow delivery. She just hoped that she ordered enough for Corey.
About twenty minutes later, her doorbell rang. She looked out the door and immediately smiled. Instead of it being her delivery order, it was her favorite professional hockey player. She immediately opened up the door and let him in. In one simultaneous move, the door was shut, she was swept off her feet and was both in his arms and pinned against the wall with her legs wrapped around his waist. It was a hot, steamy kiss.
“I missed you too.”
One of the craziest things to her was how Corey took her drunken suggestion of buying a bed for her place seriously. She said it more as a joke knowing that if he was serious about training in Philly, they would probably be sharing a bed. But she sure as hell wouldn’t complain about sharing a king mattress once it arrived.
14
Corey
It had been wonderful training in Philly. He felt like he was getting stronger and it was just fun working with a different set of guys than normal. The best part—living with Jenna had been wonderful. It was domestic bliss and it was great. The only time he really annoyed Jenna was when he would leave his sweaty stuff all over the place.
He was sweaty from the CrossFit work and drinking some water while leaning against the counter when Jenna got home. She had a fantastic smile on her face, clearly enjoying the view of his abs that were on display since he took off his shirt as soon as he got back to the rowhome. “Looks like someone had a good day at work.”
“Nah, more a good view right now and ready for the weekend.”
He smiled. He was looking forward to the trip as well. They were going to be driving up to Scotty’s place for the big day. Besides his own Cup day celebration, he was looking forward to Scotty’s day with the Cup, since he was interested to see what a Stanley Cup wedding with a month to throw it together would look like.
“You and me both, beautiful. Sorry, I’m not ready to go,” he said as he pushed off the counter. He started to head upstairs to take a shower to get all the sweat off.
As he walked by, he started to go in for a hug but then thought better of it as he knew he was smelly. It was too hysterical since at first Jenna was so calm and collected saying, “Oh, it’s fine,” then her face contorted: “Oh, dear God, you reek. For the love of all things holy, get in the shower.”
He just started to belly laugh but continued to go up the stairs. “I am guessing you don’t want to join me in the shower then.”
“I hate to say it, babe, but no. At least not right away. I mean seriously, did you forget to use deodorant today? That’s rancid.”
He smiled and was tempted to go in for another hug just to watch her run away, but that would be a tad bit mean. As it was, he knew his chances of getting laid before the wedding would be a long shot between the long drive up to Canada and the fact they would be staying at Scotty’s place. He sniffed his armpit and said, “Come on, beautiful, it’s not that bad.” But even he had to admit it was pretty bad, and he couldn’t hide the fluttering of his eyelids trying to keep from tearing up from the stench, which only seemed to crack Jenna up rather than convince her to join him.
He turned on the shower and hopped into the cold water. He was scrubbing up his arms and torso when he heard the bathroom door click open. He immediately turned up the water so Jenna could be more comfortable, while he didn’t care if the water was ice cold. Hell it felt good on his muscles after a day of conditioning, but it wouldn’t be good for shower sex. He just wished he had a little time to get used to the water since it almost felt like it was searing his skin.
Then Jenna got into the shower with him. Seeing her naked made him instantly hard, but that was practically a state of being. She wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “Hmm. Much better, babe.”
He immediately started to lather her up. “You don’t smell too bad yourself.” Then he started to kiss at her neck while cupping her perfect ass.
She gasped for air and said, “Come on, babe. I don’t have all day.”
While he knew in the back of his mind that they really only had time for a quickie, he didn’t want to think of it like that. Instead he took the opportunity to take things a little rougher and a lot harder than usual. They were going at a quick pace and he knew he needed to steady himself if he was going to see her come. So he used a few tricks up his sleeve to help increase the pleasure since he wanted to make sure he wasn’t the only one who got off. His mom d
id raise him not to be a complete asshole to women. When he saw her eyes start to roll back, he knew he could let it out himself. They let the water flow over them for a little bit. He grabbed some shampoo and got it worked into a lather. First, he pushed some through his hair and then he started to lather up Jenna’s hair. The way she started to purr, he knew that was the right decision other than the fact that was so incredibly sexy and such a turn-on, he wished they had time to do more. As he moved out of the water flow so Jenna could rinse the shampoo off better, he asked, “Ugh, remind me again why we have to leave tonight?”
“’Cause I have to help Alice set up a few things around the house tomorrow before the bachelorette party. But the real reason is you guys decided to play a hockey game before the bachelor party.”
“Hey, can you blame me for wanting to join that? I grew up loving and emulating some of the guys that are playing the game.”
The way Jenna’s body stiffened, he realized he made her uncomfortable. More than 90% of the time, their age difference never bothered her but everyone once in a while with statements like that, it was a reminder she was nervous about the fact she was ten years older than him. He didn’t care about her age. Not ever. When Scotty said that Bruce McCallister and Eric LeCroy were going to be playing, it was like a dream coming true since both McCallister and LeCroy were his idols and had retired about four years ago. He immediately pulled Jenna close and said, “Hey, hey. I didn’t mean it like that. You are perfect exactly the way you are. It’s not your fault that McCally and LeCroy are old farts and Scotty is friends with them.”
“True. LeCroy did have that killer year back in high school,” she said thoughtfully and started to relax again. He was careful not to mention how he was only in elementary school that year. She turned off the water.
He hopped out of the shower and grabbed towels for both of them. He quickly wrapped his towel around his waist and then held out one for her. “See, they’re the old farts. Not you.”
Jenna
It was a long drive up to Scotty’s place in Canada but it was nice. Corey had the music pumping the entire time, which wasn’t surprising since she knew he was the team DJ. They also just talked a lot on the drive.
It was crazy to see the changes to the place since they visited a couple weeks ago for wedding dress shopping. It seemed so isolated and secluded before but thanks to a bunch more cars and an outdoor wedding setup of a tent, tables and other stuff, it seemed so much busier. Yet, somehow it was still cozy.
As they were getting out of the SUV, they were greeted by both of Alice and Scotty’s dogs. Fortunately the calmer of their dogs, Chloe, was approaching her while the wild child, Backup, approached Corey. Alice was coming up to greet them and she immediately shouted out, “Backup, don’t you dare think about going into the water!”
Jenna laughed. She knew that the pup loved the lake and they were struggling to keep him from jumping into the water at any opportunity. Corey immediately gave the pup some attention and helped to guide him away from the water.
Alice hugged them. “I’m glad you’re here. Come on inside.”
“I hope we didn’t keep you up.” It was now approaching 3:00 a.m. It was such a long drive.
“Not at all. There’s still so much to do,” she said with a forced smile. Weddings always seemed so stressful on the bride and groom. She couldn’t imagine the level of stress they felt doing it all in a few weeks. At least Scotty was doing so much of the work himself.
“I would say put me to work but we all need sleep.”
When they got into the house, it was actually quite alive. Jenna assumed that people would be asleep but from the noise, it was clear that there was a gathering going on and everyone was talking and drinking. Scotty was waiting for them and handed out both beers and hugs. He immediately said, “Bonjour, mes amis.”
Alice just shook her head and said, “Anglais.” Jenna always forgot that Scotty was French Canadian. It wasn’t until the Stanley Cup parties that she learned that when he got drunk, he would slip into French super easily.
It wasn’t until Scotty said, “It was,” that Corey and herself busted out laughing.
“Not quite, mon capitaine, but we knew what you said,” said Corey with the most outrageous French pronunciation. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”
The four of them headed into the living room. She was surprised to see that there were only a handful of people in there. There was Alice’s dad, Scotty’s parents, Lager, and she was pretty sure it was Bruce McCallister (but she wasn’t 100% sure). Scotty started to say, “Okay, je pense,” and Alice elbowed him. “I think you should know everyone but McCally. McCally, this is Alice’s best friend, Jenna, and her boyfriend, Corey Curiso.”
“Like the drink?” Bruce teased as he stood up to shake both of their hands.
“No. It’s Corso. But apparently, mon capitaine can’t keep anything straight tonight,” he said with a laugh. It was clear Corey was enjoying seeing Scotty drunk. He definitely didn’t seem fazed or insulted by the fact that Scotty messed up his name.
“Ah. So you play with Scotty. Been having as much fun as him?” asked Bruce.
“Oh, yeah. It’s been great.”
“Don’t let him fool you,” piped in Lager. “He’s been training like a madman in Philly. It’s been all work and no play.”
“Yeah. ’Cause I’m going after Dykstman’s spot in the lineup. Keep the freak line going. Besides, I didn’t have a problem outdrinking you just last week at Petey’s place.”
Alice pulled Jenna into the workout room that was next to the kitchen. She flipped on the light and took up residence on the floor by a ton of favors. “Sorry. I figured it would be easier to catch up in here and escape the guys.”
Jenna sat down next to her. “Okay, what do I need to do? Are you going to be able to handle Scotty like this?”
“Scotty will be okay. He will hate everyone in the morning but it’s nice seeing him let off some steam. He’s been so stressed with trying to make sure everything is perfect. But it seemed like once McCally and Lager arrived, he just relaxed and did several rounds of shots. Which is good ’cause he’s been fighting with his mom,” Alice said as she handed Jenna a page. “Can you just help to make sure there are favors for everyone at these tables?
Jenna immediately started to line up the bags to the names to match the ones on the paper. “That doesn’t sound good. What’s going on with him and his mom?”
“Difference of opinion. She thinks we’re rushing things way too much and hates that it’s not a traditional wedding at a church.”
“You are rushing things,” Jenna gently reminded her. “If you guys didn’t make each other so blissfully happy and were stupidly romantic all the time, I would be saying the same thing. You guys have only been engaged a month. Let’s not remind you that you moved in with him after what, a month? What’s next, a baby?”
“I already told Scotty that’s the one thing I refuse to rush into. He wants a family but I want to take some time before starting. Besides, I want to make sure he would be around for the first few months. So we will plan to have a baby in the off-season. But what about you and Cor? Everything still good at home?”
“Things are great. I actually can’t believe how easy he is to live with. Except for one thing.”
“What?” asked Alice. Jenna knew that would get her attention. “Don’t tell me you’re still worried about being older than him.”
“Nah. I almost never think about that, although hearing how he grew up idolizing McCally and LeCroy made me feel a little old…”
“Then what?” asked Alice.
“My sweaty clothes,” he said from the doorway.
Jenna smiled widely. She was surprised that he interrupted but he was dead right about the one issue. She hated how he would leave sweaty, smelly shirts tossed on a chair in the living room. He was pretty neat and easy to live with except for those. “Hey, what are you doing here? I would have thought you’d enjoy catching
up with everyone.”
He sat beside her and said, “I can’t keep up. They’re all speaking in French.”
“Even my dad?” asked Alice.
“He and Scotty’s parents decided to turn in for the night. But yeah, McCally, Lager and Scotty keep talking in French and my French skills are from hockey, which isn’t super helpful right now. I figured as long as you didn’t mind me interrupting girl time, I could help.”
“I don’t mind. But you have to ask Alice.”
“I was enjoying girl time with my maid of honor,” said Alice with a smile on her face. Jenna could tell that Alice was teasing him and wasn’t actually going to say no. “We were about ready to do each other’s makeup.”
“Well, I can do a really good French tip but I’m shit at falsies,” he said with a wink.
Jenna knew that he was probably telling them the truth about the makeup application. He used to help LeAnn get ready for photo shoots or parties before he thought she was out of control.
“Seriously. You know what falsies are?” asked Alice. “It’s fine to stay. Just to try to keep an eye on the kitchen. The fridge is closed off to Scotty. Also what we say in here is private.”
“No problem. I promise, you can say anything and it won’t leave the room. And yes, I know all about falsies. It’s hard not to since all of LeAnn’s slumber parties always ended up in makeup sessions.”
“Why were you with her and her friends?” asked Jenna. One guy and several girls. Then the reason was clear and she cursed herself for even asking.
“Trying to get laid,” he said with a smile on his face. He never denied when he was a bit of a horndog prior to them dating. She was just glad he never once flirted with another girl in front of her and how he seemed to hang out with a group of guys who were really settled now.
“Seriously? Your sister’s friends? Wait, isn’t your sister younger?”
