Chapter 378: Foppa XXIII—Broke a Nail

“Ow, Michele that hurts, OW!”

Forsberg leaned over the boards grinning and gnawing on his mouthpiece watching Alex Tanguay squirming under Michele’s death grip on his ear. Man, that little housewife really had some spit in her today didn’t she? He didn’t realize she had a temper that bad; his thigh still throbbed from where she’d slugged it. It actually felt kind of nice though, in a dirty little way, he liked the way a woman could hit. “Oh stop it Alex, she’s not killing you.” He taunted.

“Oof!” Alex replied, still squirming. “Well at least I’m not the one who got annihilated by a girl! You try to live that one down sissy!”

“Hey all I know is I’m not the one squiggling under a woman’s pinch, kiddo, try to show some dignity.” Peter replied, and he made a kissy face at Alex who scowled, and reddened, his ear a vivid pink under Michele’s pinch. Peter admired that woman’s tiny little hand, peachy and pink, and a little careworn as an older woman’s hand would be, hanging onto that ear. He wondered if it was damp and warm, and he liked that tiny wrist, free of glove and wiry under her billowing jersey.

Heh, he thought, she hit me.

“What are you goofy about?” Jo asked and he could hear a curious annoyance in her voice. He looked at her pretty dark eyes and grinned.

“Goofy?”

Jo lifted a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “Yeah, goofy, you like Tanguay that much, hmmmm?” She grinned with perfect teeth, and her mouth piece hung from one corner. Yeah she had a dirty mouth, he could smell her now too, all of these women, they had different scents, perfumes, sweats, angers, oh God he wanted every last one of them all to himself in a sweaty dimly lit room.

“As long as I get you girls in the package, I’ll like Tanguay anyway you want,” Peter replied, he just wanted to see her reaction and her eyes flashed deliciously.

“You pig,” she said, with the ghost of a grin on her lips. “She shoulda punched something other than your thigh you horny bastard.”

“Naw he woulda liked it too much,” Keaner barked. “I’ll guarantee it.”

“You know something I don’t?” Josefina asked.

“Sure, and I’ll tell ya for a price sweet pepper.” Keaner leered.

Peter raised his eyebrows.

“You cheeky bastard,” Josefina replied. “As if you had a shot.”

“C’mon honey tell me I don’t right now…”

Jo laughed and Peter leaned over her. “Hey I’ll tell you right now you don’t have a shot troll!”

Keane laughed. “Then why are ya breaking a sweat sweet stuff?”

Josefina laughed even harder and Peter grunted as she kissed his cheek. “You’re the only sure shot honey, but hey I’ll like Mimi anyway you want if you throw yourself into the deal.” Her hand patted his thigh and Peter felt his cheeks grow cold thinking about Josefina with Michele, soft flesh and breasts and moans and then the blood left his face and caused a painful swelling under his cup.

“Oh you bitch!” He whispered his throat choking.

“Deal with it now honey, and I’ll deal with you after the game.”

“So is it a deal?” Kerry Fraser asked through the microphone with a laugh in his voice. “Want to make a trade?”

Peter stood up and shook his leg a little, trying to ignore his goddamn erection. Parker still had Debbie over his shoulder and Joe had a huge smile on his face, his mouth moved as he said things that obviously enraged his wife as she kept on swinging at him and yelling. Peter smiled, now there’s a sight he never thought he would see, or even imagine could happen. He really hoped Joe would go for the trade, though, because he sure as hell didn’t want to get stuck on the same team as Alex and hearing him whine to everyone about how much his ear hurt.

Sakic hopped over the boards and skated to center ice with his hands on his hips. He shrugged. “I don’t know,” he called out. “I think we like Debbie a lot, I mean what do we need with Alex?”

“She’s hurting me Joe!” Alex called out.

Joe laughed. “Eh alright, she’s mad enough at me as it is.” He turned around and waved at Parker. “Scott come on, bring her over. We’re making the trade.”

Parker swung Debbie from his shoulder to her feet on the ice, but he still kept his arm around her waist as he brought her back to center. Michele for her part didn’t relinquish her hold on Alex as she dragged him to center.

“Looks like we’re getting Debbie back, Jo,” Peter said nudging Josefina, “You better behave now.”

“Aw shit,” Josefina replied. “Shut up Peter.”

Peter laughed.

At center ice Michele released Alex and the kid scampered back to his side of the bench like a baby animal finding his burrow. Ah he was too cute to exist; really, Peter thought with bemusement, he’d been spoiled so much since his arrival on the team, now it was like living with a fussy old lady, when it came to him. Before Scott let go of Debbie, Joe made sure to whisper something to her and she laughed and they kissed to the approval of the crowd.

Peter rolled his eyes. “Aw come on,” he muttered.

Debbie shrugged off Joe and returned to the bench.

“Hit Scott Parker huh?” Josefina said good naturedly, “Hit Scott Parker?”

“Oh you could do it,” Debbie snapped, but she didn’t sound as angry as she had earlier, “You’re like eight feet tall gigantor you could take him out, you shoulda done it when I told you to aye?”

“Whatever you say string bean,” Jo replied.

Debbie giggled however, and she patted Jo on the shoulder and she then accepted a kiss from Mimi on the cheek. “Thanks, hon, seeing as you’re the only one who lifted a finger to rescue me.”

“Ooo is nothing!” Mimi replied in a breathy voice. “I couldn’t stand to see you prisoner with Satan’s legions yes?”

Debbie laughed and made a fist. “Game on folks! Let’s win this!”

As soon as the words left Debbie’s lips, however, Brandi Blake allowed yet another goal and they now trailed by one goal. Peter scowled and looked up at the scoreboard, with about half a period left still, the damage could only get a whole lot worse if Brandi didn’t get much better. And he couldn’t imagine her getting much better.

“Should you talk to Brandi or something?” Peter asked Debbie.

“Eh?” Debbie said loudly over the noise of the crowd.

“Brandi,” Peter said, “She’s not trying to make a save here, should you talk to her about that?”

Debbie billowed her cheeks with air and blew out slowly, her eyes scowled. She stood up and hollered. “Hey Mikey MO!”

“Huh?” Modano replied, his eyes seeming vacant and bored.

“Go talk to Brandi.”

Peter grinned at Modano who squinted. “And tell her what?”

“I dunno,” Debbie said, “Talk inspirational and stuff, convince her to actually make a save before the periods over, tell her we’ll treat her to a spa weekend or something okay?”

Modano didn’t looked reluctant, just a little worried and he dutifully went over to Brandi’s side of the ice. The coach requested a time out during which Patty and his daughter chattered some crowd pleasing dialogue that sounded a bit staged but nonetheless amusing. Brandi at first looked flustered talking with Modano, she waved her arms around a little and Peter could just imagine she was declaring her inability to do this job and why was she even there to begin with. Modano put his hand on her shoulder and soon Brandi nodded and then went back to her net.

“So did ya get through to her?” Debbie asked.

“I hope so,” Mike replied. He then grinned showing perfect teeth. “I told her I’d get her a new Louis Vitton purse if we left this period only trailing by one or tied.”

Debbie laughed.

Peter grinned and looked at Modano whose chocolate eyes sparkled. “Is that what you need to get a girl to impress her? A purse?”

Modano nodded. “Mmhmm, those purses cost more than most diamonds. Women love em.”

“Heh.”

The dangled carrot of the purse seemed to work well for Brandi too. As Peter skated on his shift with Jo and Keaner they fumbled a play that ended up going down the ice. His breath caught as he tried to catch up with Drury, and he even wriggled free of the D-men, Peter saw him crank a shot and at the point where Brandi would have normally screamed and ran from it, she screamed and reached for it. The puck disappeared into her catching glove and Peter was delighted to see her open her mitt after the whistle to see the puck nestled in her glove.

“I got it!” She squealed and she held her hand up to show it off and ended up coming off with a statue a liberty pose, not unlike the kind Patty was known to make from time to time.

“Aw we love ya babe!” Josefina exclaimed, hugging Brandi who tossed the puck back to the referee.

“Oh it’s not that hard,” Brandi giggled. She wiggled her hand in her catching glove. “Actually it stings, ow… ow… I better not have broke a nail, Jo if he broke my nail…”

Josefina patted her on the back, “I’m sure you didn’t break a nail.”

For the rest of the period, Peter enjoyed watching Brandi’s little display of goaltending, obviously she didn’t know what she was doing out there but she showed some heart rolling around on the ice to scramble after loose pucks. She allowed two more goals but Peter scored one, Modano scored another, and Danny chipped one in leaving them trailing only by one goal. In fact, as Peter watched from his shifts on the bench, it looked like the guys were kinda going soft on her, as were the other better halves. Perhaps Robbie had told them to go easy on his sweetie pie.

During the last seconds of the period however, Hejduk’s line set up a really nice sequence of passing and the puck went to the point. Now, Peter figured it had to be a force of habit or something but when the puck came to Robbie’s stick, he cranked and blasted a slap shot that zeroed in on the net and struck Brandi with a sickening thud on her shoulder. Brandi’s hands closed over it and she froze in position and the whistle blew.

“Ow!” Brandi squeaked in a voice that sounded like a small child’s and she crumpled to the ice holding onto it and curled into a ball.

` “Brandi omigosh,” Josefina gasped and she went to her side.

“BRANDI!” Rob howled in horror. “What have I done baby?” He also went to her side.

“That really hurt,” Brandi squeaked, “Really hurt.”

Peter shook his head as he watched them skate with the medical trainer to the locker room. The period only had mere fractions of a second left on it so in effect was over with. His gut boiled with worry though. He’d hoped they’d get through the day without a woman getting hurt and, well, it happened. The audience didn’t seem to notice it that much, if at all, but Peter suddenly felt sobered.