This is more of an intro/set-up chapter for the rest of the story. I promise it gets more entertaining after this : ) I'll work on the next update sometime tomorrow hopefully!

Camyrn paced anxiously back and forth in the tiny apartment. She chewed absently on the end of her fingernail as she glanced around at her three best friends sitting in various positions in the cramped room. They all looked exhausted, angry, hurt and upset about what had happened less than twenty-four hours ago. It was just too impossible to wrap their minds around it…they couldn't even comprehend what had just occurred.

"I just…I just don't see how the hell it went down like that," muttered MoJo as he slammed his fist down on the armrest of the recliner for the fifth time that hour, "I just don't get it. What the hell…I mean really…what the hell happened!"

Carlson stared out the window absently, not reacting to his friend's latest outburst. Marcus Johansson had been snapping randomly the past several hours. It was his way of dealing with this shit. John Carlson's way was to stay incredibly quiet and retreat into himself to try and find an answer to the question they were all asking.

Camyrn felt a pang in her heart as she glanced around at her best friends. It was never supposed to end like this. Hell she was the "promised one" who was supposed to deliver the Washington Capitals to the "promised land" of the Stanley Cup finals. And yet here they were…all piled in Mathieu Perreault's apartment moping and venting after being blanked in round two by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Camyrn cursed herself silently. How the hell could she have let this happen?

Camyrn came into the Capitals locker room about a quarter of the way into the season right when the boys were in a major slump and picked the team up off their feet. Her enthusiasm and absolute refusal to allow the critics to get her down pumped the team up night after night. They clawed their way back up to the top of the Eastern Conference and were soon chosen by all the so-called "experts" to be the next Stanley Cup contenders…but then the shit hit the fan. After shutting down the Rangers in round one, the Capitals lost their edge and never regained it. Their momentum was gone and no matter what Camyrn or the other leaders of the Caps team tried to do, they just couldn't get it back. The Lightning were on a roll and steamrolled right passed the Capitals and onto the third round.

"So…what now?" asked MoJo after a while, "What the hell do we do now?"

Carlson again didn't react. Camyrn gave him a concerned look before she glanced over at Perreault. He looked like he was about to break into tears and didn't offer any quick responses to MoJo's question either.

"Well we sure as hell can't stay here," said Camyrn after a moment, "Moping and dwelling on this isn't going to change a thing…it's only going to make us feel that much worse. "

"I agree," said Perreault, finally looking up from his spot on the sofa, "But…where do we go? Back to our homes?"

Carlson looked up quickly at that and glanced around the room, his eyes panicked, "What? Who said anything about going home? We can't go home! Hell we all just started getting to know each other!"

Camyrn, Perreault and MoJo all nodded in silent agreement. For the past three months the four friends had literally been inseparable. Whether it was at the rink, practice, after-parties or just hanging out on the weekends, they always stuck together. The very thought of going their separate ways made them all edgy.

"No I don't want to go home yet," said Camyrn, quickly easing Carlson's fears with a reassuring look.

Carlson sighed in relief and gave Camyrn a little quirky smile. She rolled her eyes at the sight and tried to hide a smirk of amusement. Perreault and MoJo gave each other knowing looks and tried to not laugh out loud at the sight. It was no secret that Carlson had a thing for Camyrn, what with her long, dark brown hair and hazel eyes and perfect body, there wasn't much not to like. The only person who was oblivious to all of this was Camyrn herself.

"So…why don't we all go on a vacation or something?" suggested Perreault, "I mean, you know, take a few weeks off and just get outta D.C….go have some fun, you know?"

"I'm game!" said MoJo as he fist-bumped with Perreault, "Where we going?"

Camyrn bit her lower lip and thought for a moment, "Why not Florida? It's getting warmer…and a few weeks at the beach could fix this whole pasty-white problem I've got going on."

"Hell yeah!" shouted MoJo excitedly, "Florida equals good booze, good beaches and even better women, eh?"

MoJo and Perreault fist-bumped again and Camyrn rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Guys this is supposed to be a vacation for us to all hang out…not go trolling for hook-up partners."

"The downsides of having a girl as a best friend," muttered Perreault under his breath, making MoJo laugh.

"Guys, seriously," said Carlson, trying to be the voice of reason between the three men in the room, "I think it's a great idea…"

"Of course he would," muttered MoJo in Perreault's ear, "If Camyrn said let's all go jump off a cliff he'd smile and say okay then jump first."

"What are they saying?" asked Camyrn in annoyance.

"I don't even wanna know," grumbled Carlson, "Alright, guys for real, knock the shit off alright? Let's do this…let's go to Florida and kick back for a few weeks…forget about the shit in D.C. and just move on with our lives, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah okay," said MoJo with a sigh, "Where in Florida?"

Camyrn paused for a long moment before she replied, "Well…the Tampa Bay area is nice…"

Instantly all three guys in the room started protesting loudly at just the mention of "Tampa Bay."

"Oh, hell no," said MoJo, "I thought the point of this was to get away from all that shit, not go to Tampa fucking Bay! Hell no!"

"Oh come on!" said Camyrn, giving MoJo an exasperated look, "Tampa Bay has amazing beaches, great resorts, and great places to eat and hang out! Who gives a shit what hockey team is there? It's not like we're gonna see them anyway."

"Yeah cause they're still in the playoffs," growled Perreault, "Thanks for the reminder, Camyrn."

Camyrn threw her hands up in the air in frustration, "I swear to God you are the most frustrating human beings on the planet!"

Carlson stood up from his chair and gave Camyrn a long look, "Easy, calm down," he said, holding her shoulders, "They're just kids…you know how they can be."

"Oh please," sneered Perreault, "You're no different than us! Hell you're the same age as us you asshole!"

"Pleasant isn't he?" muttered Carlson, "Alright guys come on…Camyrn's right. Who gives a shit about their hockey team that's not why we're going down there. Let's just hit up Tampa Bay, get wasted, lay on the beach and enjoy our lives, alright? None of this drama shit about the damn Bolts, got it?"

Perreault and MoJo exchanged a look, "Fine, whatever," muttered MoJo with an eye roll, "Whatever Camyrn says goes anyway around here."

"Duh," said Camyrn with a feigned smug look on her face, "I am the only girl around here and we all know that the man is the head but the girl is the neck that turns it."

Carlson smirked at that while Perreault and MoJo muttered about them under their breaths.

"Fine, so let's just order the plane tickets and get the hell outta here, what you guy say?" asked Carlson.

"Ah, hell, why not?" said MoJo, "Booze, beaches and babes, let's do it!"

"Dear Lord," muttered Camyrn while Perreault and MoJo high-fived each other.

Carlson just smirked as he slung an arm over Camyrn's shoulders, "Don't worry about them…I promise I won't troll for girls or get wasted…well okay I'll get wasted once in awhile."

Camyrn laughed, "Do whatever makes you happy, John…I'm just glad we're getting away from the city for awhile. I don't think I could stand being here much longer after what just happened."

"That makes two of us," said Carlson with a sigh, "Come on…we'd better go order all four plane tickets. Those jokers over there are too busy worrying about how many women and how much booze they'll pick up to figure out how to get to Tampa."

Camyrn smirked and nodded in agreement as she and Carlson went to the other room and sat down at a computer to order the plane tickets. They were about to go on an adventure that none of them would ever be able to forget…some for better…and some…for considerably worse…

…

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