| "I'll be fine Colby, I promise..." Brielle tried unsuccessfully to not roll her eyes at Colby's concern for her. Good thing he didn't notice. It was cute how protective he was of her. He had always been protective of her, especially when they were dating� But that was in the past. Now Colby being protective was getting to be rather annoying. "I just don't want to see you sick or anything... We need you..." Colby muttered, standing in the doorway, not sure if he should come in or not. He wanted to, and as much as Mac was obviously trying like hell to throw them together, just for the sake of feeding the Team Drama Mill, he wanted Brielle happy. And Eric was what made her happy. His conscience nagged at him, reminding him of the beating he was sure to succumb to if Eric ever found out that Colby had hit on Brielle. Brielle laughed slightly. "I'm not sick. I'm just tired." "You need sleep." "I do sleep... Just in the office..." Brielle muttered, turning away from the door and heading for the couch, not bothering to tell Colby goodbye or shut the door. Colby took this as an invitation to walk in. "At least you get sleep. Shane's been up all night acting like a paranoid nutcase because of Calista. He thinks she�s always over Murley�s house. One minute they're dating, the next they're not... It's aggravating." "Understandably so," Brielle frowned. "At least it's not affecting his playing. If it was, I'd be having a talk with him right now." She paused for a minute, looking up at Colby. "I'm gonna try and get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow. I guess I'll call someone for a ride to the rink, being that my car is still there..." "Just call me, I'll pick you up," Colby tossed over his shoulder. Guess Mac was wrong about Ellie wanting someone while Eric�s up in Pittsburgh... "Goodnight, Ellie." "Night Army." ~*~*~ Fifteen minutes after Brielle had tried unsuccessfully to go to sleep, her phone rang. She picked it up and glanced at the caller ID before answering. �I miss you so much, I wish I were in Pittsburgh with you.� �But Brielle, we hardly know each other, wouldn�t Eric be mad?� Brielle sat up in bed, listening to the unfamiliar French accent. She tried like hell to place it for a few seconds, but couldn�t. �Who is this and why are you on my boyfriend�s cell phone?� There was a small commotion on the other end of the line, and within seconds, Eric was on the phone. �That was Gee. He decided that he wanted to play with my phone. How are you baby, what�s up?� �Who�s Gee?� Brielle asked, making herself comfortable in the sitting position she was in on her bed. �And it�s late, don�t you have a game tomorrow?� �Gee is Guillaume Lefebvre,� Eric said, talking over the shouting in the background. �He�s my new roommate. And he decided that we were gonna throw a party. He had a couple to drink, and well, he�s kinda like Army.� �Lightweight,� Brielle commented with a grin. Colby would have three beers and he would be completely trashed by the time he had his first sip of the fourth. It probably stemmed directly from being only 20 years old, and weighing 160 pounds soaking wet. �Pretty much. But how are you? I miss you. How�s the team? Winning, I hope.� �I�m alright. Resting at the moment. I�ve been so busy lately; head coach is an exhausting job. I think I�ve seen maybe an hour of my apartment in the past week.� Brielle paused. �But we�re winning. Third in the conference.� �Awe honey, you need an assistant if you�re that busy,� Eric said. �I know, and I�m calling my friend from Long Beach about it tomorrow. She�ll be great for the team, she�s just what they need and it�ll take some of the work load off me.� �Another girl?� Eric laughed. �The boys had a hell of a time adjusting to you� This should be a fun rest of the season down in Wilkes-Barre.� Brielle laughed. �And I wish you were here to share it with. But I hear you�re doing well up in Pitt,� she said, the smile on her face obvious through the tone of her voice. �I�m proud of you.� She could practically see Eric�s grin, just as she was sure that he could practically see hers. �Thank you sweetie. But I better go, Gee�s getting into the mini-bar, and he really doesn�t need to drink the whole little bottle of Vodka at one time, he�s gonna puke and there�s no way in hell that I�m cleaning it up. Take care baby, and tell everyone I said hello. I love you, bye.� �I love you too, bye.� Brielle flipped the phone shut, and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. She missed Eric like crazy, and hearing his voice didn�t make her feelings go away. Hearing him say that he loved her made her miss him even more. Hearing his voice wasn�t the same as feeling his arms around her. ~*~*~ Colby had just turned on his car when his cell phone rang. He didn�t bother to look at the caller ID, only flipped the phone open and muttered, ��Lo?� �Get to Murley�s house right now! We�re having a party, and you better get your ass here!� came a familiar but somewhat unidentifiable voice from the other end of the line. There was too much noise in the background for Colby to really figure out who was calling him. Colby scrunched his brows in confusion, took the phone away from his ear and looked at the caller ID. It was Huss�s cell number, but it didn�t sound like him. �Who is this?� �It�s Mac, stupid, now get your skinny ass over here!� Before he could ask why Mac was using Huss�s cell, the line went dead. Colby mentally shrugged and thought What the hell before pulling out of Brielle�s driveway and heading toward Murley and Huss�s apartment. ~*~*~ Calista had been driving around aimlessly for almost an hour before Murley called her cell phone. He had sounded drunk, as well as he held his alcohol, and had asked her why she wasn�t home. After explaining to him that she was driving around out of pure boredom and lack of anything else to do, he invited her to a party at his apartment. �Call Brielle,� she had heard Mac yelling in the background. �Army�s here.� Calista almost didn�t want to call Brielle because of the simple fact that Army was there, and she was tempted to say that she had called her and was sleeping when she got to the party. But she decided that having another girl there would be a benefit to her. She had gotten into yet another argument with Shane, and she needed the support of one of her female friends, and Chrissy was at home with Toby at the moment, and Lisa had gone back to New York the weekend prior because she had exhausted her vacation time for work. When Brielle answered her cell phone, she had sounded slightly groggy, but she said she was up for a party. Mentioned something about not being able to sleep well since Eric had left. Calista felt sorry for her, what with breaking up with Colby and then having Eric taken away within a matter of a few weeks, and now the extra workload of being the first female head coach in AHL history� That was also a reason Calista decided to call her; she wanted Brielle to get out of the melancholy mood she had been in since Eric�s departure. Calista beeped the horn for Brielle once she got to her apartment, and within a few minutes, they were on their way up the stairs to Murley and Huss�s apartment. They didn�t even have to knock, the door was opening and Darcy Robinson was almost falling out of it when they walked down the hallway. They had missed quite a bit of the party, and most of the guys there were drunk already. �Robo, you okay?� Brielle asked, grabbing onto his arm to steady him. Made quite the amusing picture, five foot five Brielle trying to keep six foot five Robo on his feet without being crushed by him. �Yeah,� he slurred. He turned to Brielle. �Hey, didya hear? I�m starting tomorrow!� he said happily, walking back into the apartment with Brielle and Calista. �Are you?� she asked, raising her brows and trying to ignore his snickering teammates. �Yeah! The guys said so!� Brielle nodded. �That�s great, Robo.� She watched Darcy walk away and turned to Brendan Buckley, who seemed to be the most sober in the room at the time. �What have you done to the poor kid?� Bucky grinned. �He�s so drunk, we convinced him that he�s gonna start.� He paused while Brielle shook her head in disapproval. He frowned at the look crossing her face. �Have a beer, you look like you need it,� he said after a moment of studying her, walking over to the fridge, grabbing a bottle Miller Light, opening it and handing it to her. �Thanks Bucky,� she said gratefully, taking a long swig from it. �I do need this.� �Eric call?� he asked, knowing the answer. He paused while Brielle shook her head. �Yeah, he and Gee called here not too long ago. Sounded like Gee was piss drunk.� Brielle laughed a little. �Yeah he was.� She paused, surveying the room. �I miss him.� �Gee? You don�t even know him.� �Everyone has to be a smartass on this team,� Brielle muttered, shaking her head while Brendan laughed at his own joke. He was clearly well on his way to becoming plastered. �Wait and see� I will start Robo tomorrow, instead of you, then you�ll see who�s laughing.� ~*~*~ Brielle sat on the couch next to Colby. He was slightly drunk, and was trying like hell to either sober up or at least pretend he was sober. Brielle, on the other hand, was drunk and didn�t care. She was well aware that she was more than likely spending the night on Murley�s couch, because no one would be driving her home. All Calista had to do was stumble back to her apartment, and she didn�t trust anyone in attendance behind the wheel of anything motor-driven, let alone the huge SUV�s they had in the parking lot. They were parked crooked to begin with, some parked sideways, and some taking up two parking spaces; the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were not exactly the best drivers on the road. �I miss you.� Brielle glanced at Colby, who was looking to his feet. �Huh?� she asked. Colby had said whatever he had said softly, so Brielle, in her drunken state of mind, barely understood him. He looked over at her. �Can we talk somewhere?� he asked, glancing around the room. �We really haven�t talked in a while, and there�s some stuff I should tell you and now that I�m half drunk, I might actually be able to do it.� Brielle frowned. She glanced around the room, trying to figure out if she should go with Colby somewhere and talk; what harm could it do? But then again, it could do quite a bit of harm, with her in her drunken stupor and Colby just admitting that he was half drunk. Brielle�s curiosity got the better of her, and her drunken side took over. �Alright,� she said, standing up. She had to grab onto Colby�s arm so she wouldn�t fall over. She caught a glance of Calista going into a room with Huss out of the corner of her eye; but wasn�t she with Shane? But if she were, then wouldn�t he be here? It was getting tough to tell when they were and weren�t together anymore, like Colby had said earlier, one minute they were dating, the next� Colby lead her to the balcony, and sat down next to her on a reclining lawn chair that Huss had put there. �I miss you,� he said, turning toward Brielle after no more than a half a second�s hesitation. �I know you love Eric, and I know he makes you happy, but I miss you. I don�t know what you want to do with this information, I don�t know what I even want you to do with this information, all I know is that if I didn�t tell you, then I would probably burst. And Brielle, I finally figured it out, I finally figured out why I can�t get over you � I love you.� Brielle sat stupified, staring at Colby open-mouthed. She knew he still had feelings for her, but love� �Colby� I� Damnit, this is not a fun thing to try and think about when I�m this drunk,� she muttered, looking away from Colby and putting a hand to her head, which suddenly felt like it was spinning. �I�m not asking for anything,� Colby said quickly. �I just� I guess I just wanted you to know.� Brielle bit her lip hard enough to hurt, almost hard enough to draw blood. She looked over at Colby, and immediately knew that looking at him was a mistake. He had the puppy dog face on without even realizing that he had put it there, and the look in his eyes gave her a flashback to the first time she had really looked into them. Without realizing what was happening, they slowly leaned in toward each other. Suddenly, Colby backed away. Brielle looked up in confusion, wondering what the hell Colby was doing. Colby looked toward the glass sliding doors, and finding no one�s face pressed to the glass, he quickly leaned over and captured Brielle�s lips in a kiss that was only reserved for someone he truly loved. Brielle was so wrapped up in the moment, she didn�t realize that her arms had snaked their way around Colby�s neck, and that his were circling her body, pulling her closer. Brielle�s hands made their way to his hair, his short curly hair, so different from Eric�s long straight cut � and with that thought, she suddenly stopped. She pulled away from him and stood up. �I�m gonna get going, I�m sleeping in Murls�s room, he�s taking the couch. I�ll see you tomorrow, Army, goodnight.� With her last word, she went back into the house. She stopped to talk to Murley, who nodded his head and pointed down the hallway toward his room. Matt gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead before she walked down the hall, closing what Colby assumed was Matt�s bedroom door behind her. Without even looking at the doorknob, he knew that it was locked. Well that was a big mistake, he thought, hanging his head. A Huge mistake. How could I have been so stupid? She�s drunk, why would I ever do that? God help me if she tells Eric� I�ll be a dead man before noon tomorrow. ~*~*~ Brielle watched the team stretch for warm-ups from the bench. She was exhausted, and hoped that her hangover would go away soon. Instead of her usual bottle of water, she had been sipping from a large styrofoam cup from Duncan Donuts filled with black coffee. The two Aspirin she had taken a few hours prior at Murley�s house had not kicked in yet, and her ears were ringing with an almost full-blown migraine. The team looked horrible; there was no way in hell that they would win tonight looking like this. She should have known better than to let them have a party on a game night, hell, she should have known better than to go to a party on a game night. Let alone with them. This was one of the times she should have put her foot down and stopped being their friend and started being their coach. She put her fingers to her temples, making small circles to try and get rid of the pain shooting through her eyes. Yeah, just keep rubbing your head, she thought. That�ll erase the past. She stopped rubbing her temples and examined the team. Colby looked okay enough. He was one of the few who had attended the party who didn�t look too absolutely horrible. He usually couldn�t hold his alcohol, but he had stopped drinking for a few hours last night before starting up again, thus sobering himself up a bit. Even though he physically looked alright, she could tell that he was hurting. She shouldn�t have kissed him last night, but she missed Eric and Colby was there, telling her that he loved her, and she was drunk. There was no way that Eric would find out about it, it meant nothing. She was just in pain and Colby was there. She would have to make that crystal clear to Colby later on. But right now, she had to concentrate on trying to get the boys through their morning skate unscathed. She began studying the playbook Glenn had given her when he had left, trying to figure out how to improve on a few plays Glenn had drawn up, and by the time she got through a page and a half, she heard shouting coming from the ice. She looked up in surprise as two of her best forwards were lashing out at each other. �You always start shit,� Murley was shouting at Mac. �What the fuck is your problem?� �I don�t have a goddamn problem,� MacDonald was yelling, getting in Murley�s face. �I just think people should be honest to each other about who�s been in their beds, especially if it�s someone else�s girlfriend.� Good Lord, Brielle thought frantically. Is this about me? It couldn't be, Matt slept on the couch and Mac was gone by then... �Calista and I broke up long before Shane even got here!� Matt yelled, trying to calm himself, to no avail. Oh. Team Drama Mill strikes again, thought Brielle. �Then why the hell is she always at your house, huh?� Mac yelled. �That�s none of your damn business! If she had gone out with you, then you wouldn�t be all pissy about me being her friend in the first place!� Fists began flying almost instantly after Murley�s comment. Brielle sighed. Toby stared in horror at the display, along with the rest of the team. He turned to Brielle and asked, �Aren�t you gonna do something?� Brielle watched Mac get Murley in a headlock. She sat down on the bench before answering. �Nope.� Toby�s mouth dropped. �Let them settle it, I�m not about to get in between those two. They won�t listen to me anyway, not right now.� She grabbed her cell phone from the small shelf that formed where the boards behind the bench met the Plexiglas. She dialed a long distance number, and held the phone to her ear, still watching Mac and Matt fight. �Siena? Hey, it�s Brielle. I was wondering, would you want to be my assistant coach?� She paused while Siena spoke, looking up as Matt knocked Mac ass-down on the ice and jumped on him. �For the Baby Penguins� They�re one hell of a team, I�ll say that much.� She looked up to see Murley punching Mac in the face, aiming for his eyes and nose. �They�re pretty decent fighters.� �Think about it. I better go,� Brielle said after Siena spoke for a few moments. �The team needs me. I�ll call you later, bye.� She clicked the phone shut, and without bothering to get up from her spot on the bench, she yelled to Matt and Mac, who had finally exhausted themselves and were sitting on the ice next to each other, throwing each other dirty looks. �You two are benched for the next three games, starting tonight. Matt, I want you here every night, suit and tie on. You, my friend, are gonna sit as a Healthy Scratch. Mac, don�t bother showing up, stay the hell home and away from Murley. You have a pulled groin, because I said you do. Which means you're going on the injured reserve for the next three games. And since I think I know what this is about, something tells me that if I don�t tell Shane to mind his business and stay away from Murls and Mac, there�s gonna be more blood on the ice and more bodies sitting in the stands than playing in games.� She paused. �You two,� she said, pointing to Matt and Mac, �get the hell off the ice. Mac, get changed first and go home. Murls, bench, now.� She sighed, watching Mac skate to the tunnel next to where she was sitting. Murley took a seat next to her while Mac walked down the hallway toward the dressing room. She turned to Matt. �I need an assistant. You guys are driving me crazy.� |
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