#9 - Strange

Good Morning - Chamillionaire

I turned around just in time to see Jespin walking through the locker-room doors. She was wearing the regular medical staff uniform - red jacket, white caps-t and black pants - but she looked different in it than the other girls.
Maybe it was because she wasn’t a stick figure or maybe it was the way her crow black hair fanned out around her shoulders; outlining her face and framing her chest. Whatever it was, I had to look.

Georgia came in after her, flashing me a grin. The girl was completely covered from shoulders to toes and she still managed to look like a whore; at least she was easy - that was the only thing she had going for her.
What was it, five… maybe ten minutes to get her out of those black sweats? Whatever it was, it wasn’t hard to do; then again it never was - I was just that kind of guy.
I never really had to try for anything, it all came naturally; women, money, fame, talent…

Jespin disappeared around a corner and I stared after her; she was such a strange girl. Really though, what kind of chick applies to the Washington Capitals because they want to work? Girls watch hockey, read about hockey and work with hockey because they want to bag a hockey player - not because they have ambitions.
Women with ambitions… I suppressed a snort as I shook my head; my eyes following Jespin as she came back into the room. “Hey you.” I shouted, snapping my fingers at her as she walked past.

“Are you talking to me?” Feisty. This girl should be crawling at my feet, not giving me attitude; although it was appealing - she was probably a biter. Screamer for sure. I grinned to myself as I thought about whether or not it‘d be worth the trouble to hit it.
Yes… I decided finally once she bent down in front of me; low enough that I had a clear view of her cleavage.

Without my prompting she went to work, her nimble fingers making quick movements around my knee, tugging the wrap in place. She didn’t look up at me once.

This whole situation was making no sense to me, I was Alex Ovechkin. The Alex Ovechkin; she should be foaming at the mouth just from being this close to me. Maybe she likes pretty boys? I grimaced, glancing away from her tits to Greener who was sitting on the opposite side of the room. At least that’d explain why they’d been talking so much today.
Of course Shannon, from upstairs, liked pretty boys too; and she put out on the first night.
That was the way it usually worked. The greedy ones wanted me; cause I had the name and the money. The pretty ones wanted the ’attractive’ guys, or so they thought; but they all came around to me eventually - sooner rather than later.

“Done.” She said, her voice edging towards relief as she stood up, moving across the room without a backwards glance.


“Hey Greener… what’s up with the strange chick?” I asked, walking up behind him as we lined up in the hallway that lead towards the ice.

“Strange chick?” He asked, eyeing me suspiciously. “What strange chick?”

I nodded over at where Jespin was standing; just out of earshot. “The new girl.”

“Jespin?” He asked incredulity. “Jespin’s not strange, and what do you mean ’what’s up with her’?” I signalled at myself, raising my eyebrows; he laughed. “She’s not trying to get your goods so there’s something up with her? Dude, she just wants to do a good job at her internship… nothings up.”

He rolled his eyes before moving past me. “You hitting it or something?”

“No Ovie… I’m not ’hitting it’… neither will you, if you keep that talk up. She’s not some puck slut that’s gonna get wet just because you cash a cheque.” I furrowed my brow in confusion; if she didn’t want the money and she didn’t want the name… then what the hell did she want?
“Oh my god Ovie…” Mike laughed, turning around to face me. “Just forget about her man… go back to your easy girlfriends, they won’t confuse you so much.”

He was mad about something; that was the only reason he was being so bitchy at me. Normally Mike and I got along great, but for whatever reason, he was getting pissed off over this girl.
He didn’t seem like he wanted her, otherwise he’d just say so; there was something else.

I turned around to where Jespin was standing with Georgia. Greener’s probably right… just forget it, too much work.
And if there was one thing I hated, it was work.


Two goals and two assists… not bad, but I wish it had of been a hat-trick. I sighed, pulling off my skates one at a time; trying to get as much off as I could, before the media came in.
I was shirtless - with nothing on but my hockey pants - when they finally came in. Swarming my stall the microphones were shoved into my face as the questions starting flowing.
I tried to answer them as quickly as I could, all the while watching Jespin go about her duties in the locker-room. I was antsy, even though I knew that the staff always had to stay late after the games.



“Hey, Jespin.” I saw her stop walking, her shoulders slumping slightly as she turned around the face me.

“Yes?” She asked, trying to sound civil as her eyes shot darts at me.

I teetered forwards, taking a few large steps to close the distance as she watched me. “It’s raining again… you want a drive home?”

Her face softened somewhat as she tilted her head to the side. “That’s alright, I’ll be a while longer anyway… thanks though…”

I shrugged, keeping my head high as I moved past her. A drive offer and she was already buttering up… this might be easier than I thought.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Taxi Homes - Ian Foster

I watched him move past me, his swagger matching the smug look on his face. I rolled my eyes at his back, my grimace returning. Cocky little bugger… I thought to myself as I continued down the hallway; making sure to move at a slow pace so that I didn’t catch up to Alex.

He’d been like that all day; and I could only assume that this was the way he was everyday - a dick. Sighing I turned into the intern offices, taking a seat behind the desk and preparing to finish up the task sheets I was given.
I mean who does he think he is? I understood that he was a hockey player and I understood that the people in this organization bowed down to him; that didn’t give him the right to stare down my shirt all night.

I didn’t realize how flustered I was until I began to slam the papers around on my desk. I tried to finish my paperwork as fast as possible; I needed to go home soon - it was late and I had class in the morning.
Once I finally finished I dropped everything off in the box on Ben’s door; sighing with relief that it was only midnight. I hurried down the deserted corridor, the sound of my footsteps echoing off the white walls caused me to speed up; I hated being alone. I especially hated being alone at night - maybe it was paranoia or maybe it was too many horror movies…

“Hey.” A man’s voice sounded from behind me. I jumped, screaming as I spun around.

“Jesus, Alex! You scared the crap out of me…” I shivered slightly, clutching my thin jacket around me tighter. “What are you still doing here? I thought everyone was gone.”

“Yah well, it started to down pour; figured I’d wait around for you.”

“That’s slightly creepy…” I mumbled under my breath as I started walking again. “Umm, you didn’t have to do that… I can a taxi or something.” I added louder, cursing myself for not taking my car with me this morning.

He didn’t bother answering me, instead he fell in step beside me. We moved towards the lobby, stopping once we reached the front doors. “I had them move my car to the front…” He explained, pushing the door open.
I took a step towards him, glancing up at the darkened sky that was pouring down on the sidewalk in front of me. “Ah, just wait here.” Alex said after a minute, letting go of the door and sprinting off into the night.

A minute later a large rumble sounded and something large lunged around the corner; hopping the curb and rolling to a stop in front of me, on the sidewalk. I rolled my eyes as I glanced at the SUV when the side door popped open.

I took a glance back at the Verizon Center, sighing as I climbed up into the cab. We rode in silence until I realized he had no idea where he was suppose to be taking me. “I’m on the other side of town…”

“I’m not taking you home… yet.” He smirked, his eyes reflecting the traffic lights as he stared at the road ahead of us.

“Oh.” I said, glancing away from him. “Well, where are we going then?”

He didn‘t even acknowledge that I‘d spoken. I pursed my lips and stared out the window. I wanted to say something to him, argue with him and tell him to take me home; but something told me it would be hopeless. “Here.” He grunted, pulling into two parking spots, and throwing the Hummer into park.

I glanced around, recognizing the restaurant at once; having been here a few times with dad. “Citronelle!? I can’t go in there!” I gasped, causing Alex to stop with his hand on the door, turning around to appraise me.

“Why not?”

“Look at me! I’m wearing sweat pants and a tacky red jacket! They have a dress code here…” I fumed.

He furrowed his brow; like the idea of rules didn’t apply to him, and it was foolish to even think about attempting to conform. “They’ll let us in…”

“That’s not the point. Even if they do… I’m gonna stick out like a soar thumb… look at me.” I glanced away, shaking my head in annoyance.

“I am.” He said softly, so softly I hardly heard him. I looked over at the driver’s seat, catching his eyes as he gazed at me, his expression one of dawning comprehension.
It was the deepest look I’d seen on his face since I met him; one that caused my face to flush fervently. He cleared his throat, like he was embarrassed, before saying anything else. “Where do you want to go then?”

I sighed and looked at the dashboard. “It’s getting late… I should probably just go home.”

He nodded, looking slightly put out. “Are you sure you don’t want to go in?” He asked hopefully, nodding towards the expensive, up-scale restaurant.

“That’s fine… I’m tired anyway… and I have class tomorrow…“ He nodded again, and I tried to figure out why I was coming up with so many excuses to go home.

I gave him the directions, allowing him to drive me closer to my house than the last time. He pulled up to the curb a block and a half away, glancing around at the houses along the street. “See ya.” He said, giving me a small smile as I pushed the door open.

“See ya.” I echoed, jumping down onto the pavement and glancing up the street. I inhaled sharply as my body went ridged. Black cat… I whimpered, catching sight of the dark feline sitting in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Problem?” Alex asked. I realized then that I was still standing in the opened door.

“Umm… no…” I said softly, my voice shaking as I gently closed the door. Without the huge armoured door in front of me I felt exposed and vulnerable.

I was so focused on the yellow eyes that were staring into me, I didn’t even notice Alex had joined me on the sidewalk. “Superstitious?”

I sighed, tearing my eyes away from the bad luck omen to glance at him. Great… I get enough jibes from Sidney… Sure, it was ok for him to have his hockey superstitions, but mine were just plain foolish… “Yah… a bit…”

“Me too… here watch.” Alex squatted down, placing his hand out in front of him; rubbing his fingers together.
I stifled slightly as the cat stood up, trotting towards us quietly. Alex gave it a gently pat on the head before reaching out with both hands to stroke the feline; earning a purr in the process.
The cat laid down and Alex smiled up at me. “You’re good now.” I stared at him, confusion clouding my face. “The superstition of black cats being bad luck isn’t true, they’re actually lucky. See, if a black cat walks towards you, it means he’s bringing you good luck… if he walks away from you, then he’s taking it back. He walked towards you, so you’re fine.”

A smile played at the edge of my lips as Alex looked down at the cat. I tilted my head, mulling over what he’d just said. “Umm… thanks for that… and for not laughing.” I said, biting my lip; unsure of what else to say. “I guess I’ll see you in a couple days.”

He looked back up and nodded as I walked past him, heading down the sidewalk towards my loft. We’ll… that was strange.