Round 1 Game 2.5

I rested my head back on the headrest. The shaking and rattling of the train soothed me somehow, and the further I got from New Jersey and Eric the more I felt a weight lifting off me. I guess it was the guilt leaving me little by little. I was not used to having these feelings. Until last night everything was so simple, complicated but simple. Now everything was just complicated.

My phone buzzed; it was Jared.

"Hi Jared," I said. "I hope you're not mad about earlier."

"No, Eric's always a jackass. I can't blame you for that. I was calling to make sure you were OK."

"Me? Why wouldn't I be?" I asked sincerely confused by the question.

"Well, I just got off the phone with mom, and she told me Tanya went to New Jersey to meet Eric. I would have warned you if I had known sooner."

"It's fine Jared. That's his wife she should be with him. If I were married to Eric or one of you other Staals, I would have been there."

Jared laughed.

"What's so funny J, me getting married or me getting married to one of you idiots?"

"You're never going to get married Caitlin. There isn't a guy alive that could tame you."

"That could be."

"Not unless his last name is Staal. I bet one of my brothers could handle you. I bet someday you'll actually be a Staal."

"I see Nostradamus, which one of you will I marry since you seem to know the future?"

"I think Jordan," he replied.

"Really? Why?"

"Well I figure you'll both party until your so old nobody wants you, then you'll end up together."

"Nice J. Thanks a lot for that." I don't know why but what he said upset me.

I think he could tell. "Hey Caitlin, I'm just fooling around. I'd marry you."

I smiled at that comment. "You know what Jared. I believe you. That's why I love you."

"Eric really got to you didn't he?"

I thought about it for a second before I answered. "Not Eric, the situation. I feel like it's probably time that we stop what's been going on between us," I said, hating the words as they came out of my mouth.

"Finally, I've been telling you that for years."

"Ya, but now I finally believe you. I mean Maybe. I don't know. Listen I can't talk about it any more Jared. I should be in DC soon. I think I'm going to try to get some sleep."

"Hey Caitlin, just have a good time with Marc. Forget about Eric you won't even have to see him until this summer."

"Thanks J." I hung up the phone and actually found myself hoping that he was right, and I wouldn't have to see Eric until this summer. This is the first time I ever actually wanted to avoid the Staal boys.
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I must have fallen asleep, cuz when I opened my eyes I heard the announcement for my stop. I looked at my watch, 2AM. I couldn't wait to see Marc. I grabbed my bag from under the seat and stepped off the train. As I looked up my eyes met Marc's, and he was like a breath of fresh air. He ran over to me and threw his arms around me holding me close. This is exactly what I needed. I held on to him as if my life depended on it. I wondered how many people around us thought we were lovers. That's what I would have thought if I were one of the people on the platform.

At that moment I saw the irony in the fact that Jared, Jordan, and Marc all held me like we were lovers when were in fact not. Eric on the other hand who was my lover, never held me.

Marc broke me out of my thoughts as he said, "Caity I missed you!" He had still not let go. I could tell he was smelling my hair and it made me smile.

"I missed you too."

We let go a little, and he looked at me. "Are you Ok?" Of all the Staal boys, Marc was the most intuitive. He usually could sense if something was wrong with me.

I on the other hand was not the type of person to talk about it, if something was bothering me, not with Marc. I guess I liked keeping up that front with him. I didn't want him to think of me as the weak little girl that used to cry because I couldn't keep up with the boys. "I'm great Marc," I lied. "Come on, lets get out of here."

He grabbed my bag, put it over his shoulder and laced his hand with mine. He walked ahead of me pulling me along. "I want to show you something." He looked like he was going to explode all of a sudden.

I hurried along willingly, but certainly less enthusiastically. We walked up the steps of the dark train station. We were across from the Mall in DC, and I could already tell what he wanted me to see.

"Wait until you see this." He pulled me across the street and into the middle of the mall. He grabbed my shoulders and turned me so we were facing the Capital Building. Now this is a scene I'd seen many times before, but not like it was at this moment. The orange of the lights bounced off the pink cherry tree blossoms giving everything in their wake a glow against the darkness. And the fragrance of the cherry trees wrapped around me like a blanket of spring bringing a huge smile to my face. Marc wrapped his arms around me from behind and took in the same view. I could tell he was smiling.

"I walked through here to meet you at the train station. As soon as I saw this, I thought of you."

That was one of the sweetest things Marc has ever said to me, and I could feel the blush coming to my cheeks. I was thankful he couldn't see my face.

We ended up sitting in the cool grass for awhile. I sat between Marc's legs, and he had his arms wrapped around me. We sat quietly for a long time until Marc broke the silence. "Are you sure you're OK Caity. You're so quiet."

I wanted him to stop asking me that question. "I'm just tired. I've had a busy couple of days." On that note Marc stood up and pulled me up with him. He wrapped his arm around me, and we walked back to the hotel.

We crawled into bed that night, and I snuggled into Marc. My head fit right under his chin which I thought was really cool. "Hey Marc, are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"Not now that you're here." I smiled and figured he actually meant that.

"Can I ask you something? And can you give me an honest answer without making a joke?" Marc asked.

"Ooo Marc, so serious."

"Come on Caitlin." I knew he was serious cuz he almost never called me Caitlin.

"OK sure, I'm an open book ask me anything." I said, but I knew that wasn't totally true.

"Do you think you'll ever fall in love?"

That came out of left field. "I don't know. Maybe I could fall in love with Hank." I always teased Marc about Henrik Lundqvist.

"Come on Caity. Seriously."

I wanted to answer his question. "I don't know Marc. Maybe that's something that just wont happen for me. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." I could feel the heat rush to Marc's cheeks.

"I know you better than that. What aren't you telling me? Marc are you in love?" I asked pinching his warm cheek.

"I've been in love for awhile actually."

My heart dropped a little with his words. "Who's the lucky girl, cuz I have yet to meet one that deserves you."

"Well that's the thing I haven't told her; I mean I just can't."

I looked up at him wanting to be supportive, but not wanting to lose him. I got lucky with Eric (no pun intended), that Tanya and I get along so well, but what were the chances that this new woman would accept Marc's relationship with me? I think the thing in life I feared the most was loosing the 4 guys that meant the most to me. "Why haven't you told her?" I asked.

"Well, she's not exactly the type of girl that wants to settle down."

"Oh God Marc, please tell me it's not some puck bunny."

He laughed, "No she just strong willed I guess."

"Oh like me." I said smiling at him.

"Ya, like you," Marc said laughing slightly.
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Round 1 Game 2 (Rangers/Caps - 1PM)
Marc and I ordered room service instead of having breakfast with the team. He kind of insisted on it. I was excited to see everyone, but I assumed eating by himself was part of his playoff routine, so I didn't want to push it.

The game was awesome and Marc and the rest of the Rangers were all over Alex Ovechkin. It wasn't a high scoring game, but it was a nail biter. The Rangers took an early 1-0 lead, and that's how the score stayed, despite the Capital's best efforts. It was really nice to only have to pay attention to one game. (Jordan and Eric both had off days.)

After the game, when the guys were mostly dressed I flew into the locker room over to Marc's locker and landed on his lap. I grabbed his face and gave him a kiss right on the lips. This is the type of kiss that wouldn't phase Jordan a bit, but Marc's face took on a red glow. "You were awesome!" I yelled, despite being practically connected to him. Marc didn't say anything but his smile grew.

"What about me?" Sean Avery asked from across the locker room.

"You were OK." I replied and I caught Marc glaring at Sean. While the rest of the team laughed.

I looked around the room and caught Brandon Dubinsky staring at me. I winked back but kept looking around. When I didn't find what I was looking for, I decided to ask. "Hey Marc, where's Hank?"

"Interviews."

Right interviews. That made sense he played like a mad man today. God I love goalies, especially when they play like that.

We ate dinner at some club, but even before dinner came I started drinking. I was finally having real fun, my trip to NJ had drained some of the life out of me. Now I was letting loose and drinking way too much. Marc kept trying to slow me down, but I figured that's because Sean Avery flirted from across the table and Brandon Dubinsky couldn't seem to take his eyes off me. All I wanted to do was get to Hank, but he was way at the end of the table. Once the dance floor started getting crowded and I had just the right amount alcohol in my system, I made my way to Hank.

I sat myself on his lap and whispered into his ear, "Hey you wanna dance?"

"Mmm Hmm." he whispered back and lifted me to my feet.

He took my hand in his, and I noticed Brandon first who looked upset, but that was just Brandon. Then my eyes fell to Marc. I guess I was expecting a "Go Get Him" look, but instead I found something else.

Hank was an amazing dancer. Not the kind everyone stands back and watches, but the kind that dances so close and does all the right things to makes a girl want more. After we'd been dancing for awhile, I felt like I needed to say something. "You were amazing today." I said loudly enough for him to hear.

"Thank you," he said politely, but it came out sexy because of his accent. He slid his hands around my waist, and I felt butterflies race through my body. His lips moved to my ear “My god you are beautiful,” he said into my ear. I looked up at him and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me, and boy would I have kissed him back, but instead we were interrupted by Sean Avery.

I rolled my eyes as he cut in. I noticed Hank’s gaze stay on me as he walked away, and I wanted to kill Sean. I was a little less angry when he handed me a shot glass full of unidentified liquid. I downed it and handed him the empty glass which he promptly tossed on a nearby table pissing off the people sitting there. I didn’t want to be dancing with Sean Avery, and I hoped Hank would come back or Marc or even Brandon. As the song switched, I tried to walk off the dance floor, but Sean wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me into him. Now I had my back to him, and he held me tight up against him. He put his lips to my neck, and I wanted so badly to get off the dance floor, but I was so drunk that his kisses started feeling good. My body temperature was rising from the alcohol and Sean, so I pulled off my Jersey and wrapped it around my waist. Sean went back to kissing my neck, but he stopped suddenly. “What’s this?” he asked slyly. I didn’t know what he meant at first, but then I realized that taking off my jersey partially revealed the Hickey Eric had given me. I wanted to kill Eric at that moment.

“Nothing.” I yelled back at him and put my Jersey back on. Drunk or not, I wanted Sean Avery away from me. As I turned around, Marc stood there with an angry look on his face.

“Don’t worry man, I wasn’t the one that gave her the hickey.” Sean said. He turned and walked away from us as he understood Marc meant business with his look.

I looped my arms around Marc. “Thank you.” I said.

Marc didn’t move, he wasn’t there to dance with me. He was back to the big brother role. “It looked like you were having a pretty good time to me.” His tone was harsh.

“Ya, well I wasn’t, and if you thought I was having fun then why did you even bother coming out here?” I was slurring my words a little.

“Sean Avery, Caitlin? Come on.”

“Look, I just wanted to dance with Hank.” I started explaining but then I decided it wasn’t worth it. “Never mind Marc!” I spat back. I turned and tried to walk away from him, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me off the dance floor. He didn’t let go of me until we were back in his hotel room.

He sat me down on the bed and kneeled between my knees. I was so tired and having trouble focusing. I just stared downward not looking him in the eyes. I tried as best as I could to prepare myself for the speech that was certain to follow.

“Caity, why do you do this to yourself? Why can’t you just see what’s right in front of you? Why can’t you want someone who actually cares about you and loves you?”

This was certainly not the speech I was expecting. I didn’t say anything. Marc pulled my Jersey over my head. He went to his bag and pulled out a t-shirt handed it to me and turned around. I took off my tank top and bra and slid his shirt on. I kicked off my shoes and pulled my jeans off. “You can turn around now.” I said sitting on the edge of the bed. Marc laid me back and covered me up. He crawled in beside me and leaned on one elbow looking down at me through the darkness. His eyes seemed like they wanted to say something but no words came out. He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips, but I pulled his face back and kissed him just a little harder. I don’t know if it was my imagination, or the liquor but he kissed me back. What the hell was I doing kissing him like this, but I liked it and I was drunk and …he was kissing me back. Marc was the one that pulled away, and he just looked at me sweetly.
“Why did you stop?” I asked him. Knowing full well Eric wouldn’t have stopped. I wasn’t even sure if Jordan would have, but I’d never been in that situation with him.
“I liked it too much,” he said, which made me giggle. He pulled me in close to him and I tucked my head back under his chin.
“You are nothing like your brother,” I said and fell asleep in his arms.
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I woke up with a splitting headache. The room was dark except rays of sunlight beaming in from the cracks in the curtains. I could feel the breeze, and heard Marc talking on the balcony. He was probably trying to let me sleep off my hang over. I closed my eyes, but couldn’t help hearing Marc talking. He was clearly talking about me, but I could only hear his side of the conversation.

“Yes Sean Avery. I wanted to rip him apart,” he said (Oh god he’s talking about me.)
“I don’t know what she was thinking. She probably wasn’t.”
“I did the only thing I could, I pulled her out of there.”
“Well that’s when it happened. I just leaned over and kissed her goodnight, and she pulled me back and kissed me, you know like a real kiss.” (Oh crap, did I really?)
“I know she was drunk.”
“Of course I behaved myself, don’t be ridiculous. But when I pulled away from her, she said I was nothing like my brother.” (Oh No!)
“Ya, that’s what she said. Do you think she and Jordan are sleeping together?” (How am I going to explain that?)
“I’m just going to call him and ask him.”
“Ya, I think he’ll tell me, you know he likes to show off his conquests.”
“OK Eric. Good luck tonight.” (Fuck me, he’s talking to Eric about this. I am so totally screwed.)

My head was pounding, and my hangover was preventing me from thinking quickly. What am I going to do?
I could hear Marc start up another conversation. This one I guessed was Jordan.
“Listen, I’m going to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth. Are you sleeping with Caity?” (I can’t believe he’s doing this.)
“I know Jord, but I also know how you are.”
“Do you swear Jordan? Because if I find out your lying I will kill you.” (Damn, he sounded like he really meant that. Why is this such a big deal.)
“It’s just something she said to me last night. It’s a long story man, just forget it.”
“No nothing to worry about.”
“Yes she’s still here with me. She’s sleeping.”
“No I won’t wake her up for you. You get her all the time, she fucking lives with you.”
“Whatever Jordan.”

He hung up the phone, and I closed my eyes trying to figure out how I could explain the events of the prior evening.

A couple minutes later the curtains moved, and Marc walked back in. He sat down on the side of the bed. He just sat there for a moment, I guessed he was looking at me. His hand moved to my face and moved a stray curl from my face. I slowly opened my eyes.

“Good Morning,” he said smiling at me.

“Oh my head.”

“Here’s some advil and water.” He grabbed them off the nightstand and handed them to me.

This was a serious headache. “I guess I over did it last night, huh?”
“Ya, you did. Do you remember anything about last night?” he asked and I knew it was coming.

“I remember dancing with Hank…Oh and then Sean cut in, and I remember wishing you’d come save me from him. Wait, but you did, didn’t you? But you were mad.”

Even in the darkened room I could tell he was blushing. “So you weren’t planning to leave with Avery?”

“Oh God No! I’m pretty sure I tried to get away from him a couple times, but he kept holding on to me.”

“I’m sorry Caity. I didn’t know. I thought you were into him.”

“No, not even a little bit.” I replied.

“Do you remember anything else? Anything after we left?”

“No, why did I do something stupid?” I asked giving him the ‘I’m just a girl’ look.

“Not stupid, no nothing really.”

I felt relief come over me. Could I really avoid this conversation so easily?

“Go get dressed, and I’ll buy you lunch.”

“Lunch? What time is it?”

“1:30.”

“Holy Shit, didn’t you have to catch a plane back to NY?”

“Ya, I called the Coach and told him I’d find my own way back.”

“Marc, Why didn’t you just wake me up?”

“I guess I just wanted to spend more time with you before you headed off to be with Jordan or Eric. You’re probably going to go see Jordan next huh?”

“I don’t know, my head hurts, but I think so.” That’s when it dawned on me. “Oh Shit, there’s no way I can make it now. Jordan plays today in Philly at 3. He's going to be so pissed."