Chapter 394: Danny XXXIX—From All Sides
Ah he couldn’t believe he kissed her like that. Anyone could have caught them, anyone could have seen them, and there was no good reason for him to have done that. He knew it had to be because the liquor and his weird mood, and he knew he could never do that again, he shouldn’t. And Dan could still feel her on his lips and he knew unconditionally that there had been something in that kiss that he remembered with that first kiss he had with Cecile.
Michele had been tense, but hadn’t struggled, she’d gone soft in his arms, but he felt her trembling, heated nervousness and he knew right then the sweet, forbidden potent little fire he could have with her. But to take it, he had to think of Cecile first, right? He had to consider her and everything he had, because God dammit he loved Cecile and he knew they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. How did Michele suddenly fit into the picture?
She didn’t and what’s more she didn’t belong there and he kept on encouraging the poor woman. Like a drug he couldn’t stay away from, Danny knew he had to just cut that shit out. So he would. As Dan sat on the bench in the practice facility locker room waiting for everyone to make their appearance and the Coach to make his speech about how well they were or weren’t doing, Dan knew for a certainty that he would just have to stay away from Michele forever and concentrate on Cecile.
He wished he could call Cecile up, maybe he could ask her if they could just go downtown and get a license and just get married. He could move her into his apartment, buy a bigger one and once the season was over he’d take her to a honeymoon worth having. He wanted to talk it all over with her, he was sure that if she loved him madly, like he did her, she wouldn’t want a silly big wedding to show off to everyone, wouldn’t she just want to get this waiting over with and exchange her vows with him? Things would be so much easier that way.
At that point, Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy came into the locker room and confronted Scott Parker about his indiscretion with Debbie Sakic. A massage? Damn if Cecile told him a story like that he’d take a crowbar if he had to and whack Parker senseless, of course if the Sheriff didn’t get his fist blow in. Danny grimaced, well that wouldn’t be pretty.
What Dan didn’t expect, however, was the way the situation turned into an impromptu sex education course. He frowned as Sakic and Parker walked away from the room.
“Only seven?” Patrick Roy said wiping a tear, “Has he never been with a French woman? As far as I know there are thirteen basic ones.”
All of the
guys laughed heartily at that of course and Dan crossed his arms, how would
Michele appreciate Patrick insinuating that sort of thing to all these
buffoons. As long as Dan could remember, as soon as boys were getting their
first wet dreams, in junior hockey to
“Try twenty seven,” Drury said in a glum voice, as if spooked and exhausted at the same time.
Patrick’s grin was slow and with narrowed eyes, “And you’ve had experience?”
“Hey you know it Patty, some women are just insatiable.” Drury replied.
Patrick winked. “Or just passionate yes?”
“Sure, just passionate,” Drury replied. “That’s a better way of putting it.”
Dan thought to himself, he had to wonder. What sort of woman would Cecile be? He knew the rest of the guys would just as soon assume she’d be a scared, timid sort, and Dan supposed that would probably be true. But considering her zest for religion and the way she approached things she felt passionate about, he wondered if perhaps she’d be like that once in the bedroom.
“Well since almost everyone is in here,” Coach Hartley sighed, “We can discuss actually shooting on the powerplay eh? None of this pass and pass shit eh?” Hartley then took a marker and went to the dry erase board and proceeded to map out exactly how they could be doing things different on the powerplay.
Dan found it hard not to sigh, not that Hartley didn’t have a point, but he felt a little bit tired of being instructed from a dry erase boards as if they were kids in prep school. Hartley’s style at first amused Dan, he liked the novelty of re-learning the game and feeling the coach’s overwhelming zest for it but sometimes, eh sometimes it just tired him out.
“Alright I’m going to look at some gametape and in five minutes we take to the ice, yes?” Hartley said, didn’t wait for a reply and he left the room to the video room.
Moments later Joe and Scott returned, both of them laughing heartily, Danny could only compare it to the laughter of sailors who’d just shared a dirty joke or something like that. “So you get it Captain?” Parker grinned, clapping Joe on the back so hard that the captain teetered forward somewhat.
“Yeah!” Joe bellowed in a low voice, his
Parker laughed again, “Glad to be of help, now I gotta go take a shit, clear steer of the bathroom boys.” He grabbed a newspaper from one of the tables and disappeared into the bathroom.
As soon as he left Joe’s smile disappeared and he pressed his hand over his stomach and almost collapsed. Patrick Roy stood up and helped him stand. “Oh my God!” Joe gasped. “That’s the most disgusting thing; you just can’t do that to women! Adam, quick, HOLD ME!”
Not even containing his laughter, Footer stood up and grabbed Joe in a bear hug, patting him heartily on the back. “Aw Captain its okay, you’re okay.”
“No, no I will never be okay, that’s just unholy, no it can’t happen argh!” Joe gasped. “I need something pure, God I need something pure, Alex quick talk to me!”
Some of the room laughed as Tanguay scowled in protest, “Ooof why are you picking on me Joe, Danny’s the virgin!”
“Yeah but aren’t you too?” Joe asked, licking his lips as if he were about to vomit.
“Nooo!” Alex protested, “I’ve had the sex.” He crossed his arms.
“Kid,” Joe said, his face and lips pale, “If you call it “The Sex” then you’re still pure enough for me, c’mon and talk to me about the weather or something, I’m gonna sit out this practice guys, and Alex is coming with me.”
Alex grinned and went with Joe and the two of them left the room. Coach Hartley returned at that moment, “Hey guys, let’s go, who are we missing?”
“Um Joe scratched himself and Alex from the team skate, is that okay Coach?” Morris asked.
Hartley shrugged, “As long as we got bodies on the ice, there’s news cameras here today.”
At first during the skate, Dan felt okay, loosening up and playing around with the puck, but then, the taunts started. Half heartedly, Dan had skimmed the puck towards the net, half heartedly David Aebischer swatted it away, but then Mike Keane barked, “Aw come on Dan, your fiancé has more balls on her shot.”
A smattering of laughs echoed off the walls of the arena and Dan glared at Mike who grinned like the Devil. “Shut up Keaner!” Dan snapped.
“Hey guys who can’t even check like their girlfriends don’t have a say,” Adam Foote taunted and Dan whirled around and glared at Footer who winked at him and made a kissy face. There were times in practice, not all the time or every day, but there were times when there was a designated goat, someone who had either fucked up a game the night before or had shirked a practice with an injury. At times like those the goat got taunted, teased, needled, picked on and driven to insanity on the ice and as soon as they got to the locker room, everyone acted as if nothing at all had happened.
Dan knew, because he had participated in a ton of those types of things. Borderline hazing really, but real fun when you were the one dumping pucks for them to clean up. Now with a sick feeling in his gut, he realized that with something as simple as being out shadowed by his girlfriend, he was the designated goat today.
Dan grit his teeth and decided to just let it slide. Ignoring it wouldn’t make it go away, but lashing out just gave more guys permission to join the feeding frenzy. Someone nudged him from behind, not exactly a check but enough to tell him that Keaner and Foote weren’t the only ones teasing. Dan glared over his shoulder, saw Morris and Drury skate from him, either ones could have done it.
Dan leaned against the boards as a group of guys scrimmaged and he waited for the coach to call him back on the ice. “Hey Danny-babe come on, or are you waiting for your chick to do your work for you?” Drury laughed.
“Shut up,” Dan barked, “Lard-ass.” He couldn’t help that one.
Dan yelped feeling a whack over the back of his calves. “Hey no chirping in a serious practice,” Foote said skating briskly by.
Dan
narrowed his eyes and charged at the puck, once he had it he cracked it hard
but
“Maybe you should try fucking the girl, you’d get some of her talent eh Daniel?” Patrick said with obvious glee.
“Didn’t Joe say something about drafting her?” Morris said. “Heh, piece of ass like that in the locker room, yeah would make it real good after a long hard night game.”
“Fuck you!” Dan roared and he lowered his body a little and drove into Morris, taking the defenseman by surprise and sprawling on the ground. Morris maintained a grin and Dan wanted to pound the shit out of him. The Coach, however, blew the whistle.
“Hey,” Hartley yelled, “No hitting like that right now, this is just scrimmage skate, you’re cleaning up pucks Dan.”
A bunch of guys laughed. Hinote rolled his eyes. He didn’t know whether Hartley was in on the scapegoating plan but it still pissed him off. After all, he couldn’t do anything about it.
“Hey if you can get a scrimmage hat trick maybe you can avoid getting….”
Dammit
Cecile, Dan thought as the barrage of taunts began to rain from all sides, why
do you have to be good at everything you do? Pretty soon Peter began to join in
the teasing, and even
All he kept thinking of was how Joe had held onto Cecile after the goals scored, and how he monopolized her at the restaurant, even slept on her lap. Dammit and Joe wouldn’t shut up about wanting to draft Cecile and putting him down and taunting him. Of course Joe had just green-lighted to the guys this treatment. Just having a bit of fun, they guys were just bull shitting him but it continued, from all sides they laughed and nudged and checked and swatted him and Danny could feel his eyeballs frying with frustration.
All he could see in his head was Cecile squealing in happiness and wrapping her arms around Joe, and him picking her up. Goddammit Cecile! He kept thinking it over and over again. No he couldn’t be mad at her, he couldn’t blame her but bottom line, Dan was embarrassed. His cheeks kept reddening and his throat burned and he didn’t want to look anyone in the eye.
After practice, in the lockers, after Dan had cleaned up the pucks and found everyone dressed and cleaned before him. He smiled with them when they laughed and congratulated him on being able to take a “bullshitting” and he grinned and he pointed at them as if to say he would get revenge sooner or later. But Dan didn’t feel too much better. He kept hearing Joe’s taunts in his brain and the team’s and he kept wondering why they hadn’t picked on Forsberg, he was the one Cecile leveled for Crissakes!
“Hey Dan why so red?” Sakic asked catching up to him in the parking lot.
Dan couldn’t help it, Joe looked so happy and smug, he scowled. “Oh wouldn’t you know.” He muttered.
Joe smiled but his eyes frowned. “What?”
“Oh Ha I get it, right draft Cecile, Ha Ha get the team to bullshit me.” Dan snipped. Sure he sounded a bit surly but there was no law against being in a bad mood sometimes was there?
Joe lifted an eyebrow. “They did that to ya?”
“Yeah,” Dan said and he unlocked his car.
“Hey, Dan, that’s life,” Joe said calmly, “You know I don’t condone that behavior but it happens, I’m sure your feelings aren’t that delicate.”
Dan shrugged.
“Hey something’s still wrong,” Joe pointed out sounding like an almighty advisor.
“It don’t matter,” Dan replied. “I just wanna go home.”
“You still pissed about Cecile or something?” Joe asked as Dan sat down in his car and was about to close the door.
Dan sighed. “Sure I’m pissed, first you just drape yourself all over her during the game and then you’re all over her at the restaurant, Christ she couldn’t even remember my name after all that! And then you get all pissed about Parker giving Debbie a massage, hey it comes around right?”
“Comes around?” Joe said grimly and he leaned into the car, one hand on the door. The dead straight look in his eye surpassed even the one he’d given to Parker and chilled Danny’s chest. “Dan are you implying something? Are you calling me some sort of predator or something? If you are just tell me right now, kiddo. Cause I don’t want to be dealing with an insecure mope for the next two weeks just cause you think you can’t make your fiancé happy.”
“No,” Dan said slowly.
“What?” Joe barked.
“No I’m not implying anything, I’m just tired, sorry Captain,” Dan replied.
“That’s what I thought,” Joe growled and he slammed the door shut.
Dan took a deep breath. He thought of Cecile, and felt annoyed suddenly. Damn, he had to call her, he just needed to calm down. He just needed to forget this and let it go. She would tell him not to be so freaked out over the guys, they were just teasing, she would tell him to let it go and he would feel better and everything would be all right again.
He dialed the number on his cell phone and started his car.