A/N: Thanks Jad!
Chapter 422: Danny XLIV—Not Ready for Bed
“And again I win!” Dan crowed and he wiped his hands together. “Take that, Alex! Moohaha!” He blinked, his eyes burned, his brain felt obliterated to jelly but the point was well, there wasn’t a point, not really. Well, yeah…
“Mmf!” Alex huffed and then he smiled. “First time you won after twenty games I guess you were kinda due, God delivered with carpal tunnel.” He lifted his hand and wiggled his thumb. “Ouch.”
Laughing, Danny reached into his pocket, “Well, then, now that I have you vulnerable, aw hell.” He felt only a few dimes, and with his game credit card maxed out. Alex maxed his out an hour ago so they’d wrung the last few drops possible from the remaining card. “Looks like we’re outta money, I’m out of cash and I don’t want to use my credit card for anymore, we can’t be that nuts!”
Tanguay nodded. “Yup I agree. I’m all outta cash, and it would just be stupid to use more money from the bank.” He looked at his watch.
Almost
“You’re saying you’re tired!” Alex grinned through narrowed eyes and Dan straightened and withheld a yawn. “What you need a bedtime and Mommy to tuck you in? Awwww poor Danny!”
Challenge tossed to the ground. Dan tightened his fists and straightened. “Hey! I ain’t sleepy Tangs, you’re the one who looks beat, I was just trying to do you a favor.” He crossed his arms, there challenge met. Oh God his knees hurt, and his fingers were sore and his eyes were burning and his head screamed for peace, for God’s sake PEACE but he would be damned if it were at the expense of his image in front of Alex.
“Me a favor!” Tanguay exclaimed. “I never said I was sleepy. Humph!”
Dan tilted his head. “Okay, fine then, we’re not sleepy.”
“Fine!” Damn, Alex’s eyes looked dead, circled, baggy, red. Dan didn’t assume for an instant that he looked any better. Why couldn’t they just not be macho and come to a stupid compromise. Still, he wouldn’t be the first one to admit defeat.
It felt awkward to just stand there, on the third floor of a state of the art game room amusement park. The whole building of Vince and Sal’s was devoted to arcade, bubble hockey, air hockey, sports screens, billiards, bowling and just about every indoor indulgence to entertain and distract the most attention deficit of minds. Rollar blade and skateboard ramps took up the entire top floor of the building and as a result scrawny, lanky teenagers in knee pads and helmets could be found in all corners, laughing and rough housing.
Danny just could not believe that he and Alex had not only eaten again, but gone through four straight floors of games, with three still to go. Divine intervention alone had to be the reason for their sudden stop in cash flow. Yes, higher forces commanded him to go home, to go to bed, to sleep you stupid mortal you have a game tomorrow sleep! “Well we’re outta money then, what should we do Tangs?”
“Well seeing as we’re both not sleepy!” Alex said pointedly, “I got an idea. Unless of course, you just wanna admit defeat and forget about the last three floors and go to bed?”
Dan tilted his head forward, “Bring it on.”
The night air felt damp and cool, but still warm enough to be comfortable without a jacket. Dan wondered how it would be to play hockey in an environment like this. He couldn’t expect that he’d be very productive at all with a world of warmth and beaches and game rooms and golf courses yawning for him year round. Damn he could retire here, he really could.
“To the L---- G---,” Tanguay said to the cab driver.
Dan grinned, “Aw Tangs we’re going back to the hotel, but I’m not sleepy, but that’s okay if you are, I can deal.”
“Ha!” Alex scoffed. “You wish loser eh? Just shut up and follow me.”
Dan laughed again. A second wind of energy had begun in him and he knew that with a drink or a snack he’d be right again, ready to tackle that God forsaken building, an orgy of electronic stimulation and bliss. “You blind yet, Alex?”
“To be honest, I might be close to that,” Alex laughed.
“So show me this master plan of yours,” Dan said, following Alex back into the hotel, up the elevator, to their floor, down their hallway. “Do you have some cash hidden in your pillow or something?”
“Almost as good!” Alex said, “You’ll see.”
Dan shoved his hands in his pocket and shuffled nervously on his feet when he realized whose door they stood before. Asking Alex if he knew what he was doing seemed useless at this point and when he knocked loudly on the door, Danny even thought about dashing away down the hall and leaving him to his own demise. Only someone insane would think about waking up…
“You guys have got to be insane knocking on the captain’s door at this hour!” Joe Sakic growled in a bass vicious roll that Dan had heard only in the dying moments of a playoff upset. “And I have got to be insane to answer it!” He narrowed his eyes and looked over his shoulder. “Keane why the hell are you not answering the door?”
“Cause porn is good, and I appreciate it,” Mike barked back, “And we’re running low on popcorn, gotta order more…”
Dan frowned and peeked into the room seeing that porn did indeed flash on the television set and Keaner sat at the edge of one of the beds, a mostly empty bowl of popcorn on his lap. “Porn corn, Mike?” he said.
“PORN CORN!” Keaner exclaimed with a grin.
“With the captain?” Dan replied, wondering how on Earth Keanes sweet talked Joe into letting him watch porn. Maybe he’d put something in Joe’s drink.
“I’m teaching him how to like it!” Mike replied and he stuffed his mouth full of the last kernels of popcorn.
“Captain!” Alex exclaimed.
“Yeah well it’s none of your business, Tiger,” Sakic muttered, and his face looked stretched and lined at the same time, pale, harried and his eyes, dark. Dan had to admit to a slight chill, wondering what depths Joe Sakic could actually flirt with. “What are you two doing here anyway, get in another fight?”
“Waaait!” Alex exclaimed, and he hopped into the room pointing at the television, “Two medieval chicks ripping at each other’s bodices, I know that, that, it’s Bravehump The story of a young man’s coming of age in Feudal Scotland as he frees repressed virgin’s from their father’s villainous grips."
“You know this?” Dan exclaimed.
“Yup,”
Keaner murmured it came in a package deal alongside Rochelle Rochelle, a young woman’s strange erotic journey across
“Did that come before or after this one?” Alex asked but before Mike could say anything Tanguay held up his hand, “No wait I never want to know ever.”
“Anyway what are you doing here?” Sakic asked.
“Jooooe!” Tanguay said in a perfect whine, “We need money!” And he held out his hand as a small child would to a parent. And to Danny’s ultimate amazement Sakic did not hesitate to reach into his pants and pull out a wad of money. He then gave it to Alex.
“There ya go,” Sakic said. “As long as it keeps you two bonding, have fun boys.” He then slammed the door shut.
“I can’t believe that worked!” Danny gasped.
“And we’re not done,” Alex smirked. “It’s fun being the baby boy pet of the team sometimes Danny, hehehe.”
“I guess!” Dan said in awe and followed Alex to another room.
“Papa!” Tanguay whined to a bemused Pierre Lacroix and Danny really wanted to sink into the carpet. “We need money so we can bond and make the captain happy!”
Lacroix
mumbled something in French and handed over another wad of cash to Alex who
took it triumphantly. “But be wise and don’t get in trouble,”
Dan gulped, “So seeing as you’re a magic charm should we hit up Patty for cash since he’s like your second dad?”
“Nah,” Alex said flipping through the money. “We got eight hundred dollars, come on let’s have loads of fun!”