"This is gonna be epic," said a very excited-looking John Carlson as he practically skipped down the streets of Washington D.C.

Mike Green rolled his eyes in exasperation at the younger Capitals' defenseman, "I cannot believe you dragged me into this," he grumbled irritably, trying to pull his hood over his fohawk while scowling at the rain.

John sneered, "Dude your 'hawk is fine, man…it's just sprinkling out, stop being such a girl. And besides, what else would you have done tonight? Hang out with that stick in the mud, Brooks Laich? Or sit and watch chic-flicks with your boyfriend, Nicklas?"

Mike glared daggers at Carlson as he stomped irritably through the puddles on the sidewalk, "Brooks isn't a stick in the mud…well he used to not be…it's his stupid new girlfriend," seethed Mike, narrowing his eyes as he thought about Brooks' new female. She took over every free moment his once-best-friend had so they hadn't hung out with one another in months. Needless to say, Mike was a tad bitter about the whole situation, "And for your information, Nicky and I do more than watch movies."

John rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Green…you used to be so chill, man, come on...loosen up! It's time to get your ass back on the scene!"

Mike gave Carlson a doubtful look, "By hitting the largest, most popular club in D.C. and watching you troll for women?"

"You realize you can pick up a girl too, right?" asked Carlson with a laugh as he gave Mike a playful punch.

"Sorry…I like being disease-free," said Mike as he playfully pushed Carlson back, "You have fun picking up STD's and god-knows what else."

"God you sound like Brooks!" said Carlson, his eyes flashing in amusement, knowing the reaction that would incite from Mike.

Since Brooks' girlfriend took over his life, Mike had been angry, sad, lonely and bitter and even the mention of his ex-best friend usually pissed him off. Carlson had been on thin ice so far that day with all the Brooks jokes and comments but this was just too far.

"Don't you dare compare me to that asshole," snapped Mike, "I'm nothing like him."

Carlson sighed in frustration and looked up at the sky, silently praying that Mike could keep his drama to a minimum tonight. Maybe he should have invited Alex Semin to come with him…the man didn't speak much English and all he wanted to do was hook up with chicks and get drunk like he did. But the good side of Carlson, however small that side was, told him to pick Mike. The dude had been down in the dumps for so long…he needed to get out and have a good time.

"You're right, you're not," John conceded after awhile, "Brooks would have lectured me for like an hour about clubbing then would have run off to the gym and then back to his apartment so he could be in bed by eight."

That elicited a small grin of amusement from Mike. Carlson laughed and shoved Mike playfully, "Come on…forget about him and let's go get wasted, what do you say?"

"I say you're an ass…but yeah getting wasted sounds pretty damn good right about now," said Mike with a sigh as he looked up and saw a huge flashing neon sign, "Alright…let's hit it!"

…

Anna-Marie wiped the sweat from her brow as she finished cleaning up the kitchen at the end of another long day in Georgetown. She was one of the head bakers of Georgetown Cupcakes and absolutely loved her job. She hadn't gone to college…school wasn't really her thing…and instead decided to learn how to cook. She had a natural talent, especially for baking, and right after high school sent in her resume to several prestigious bakeries. Georgetown Cupcakes picked her up right away and for the past few months Anna-Marie found her niche in the world. The only thing missing in her life…was a man.

Although she had always been the independent type, Anna-Marie had always longed for romance. She wanted to fall desperately in love with a man who would provide for her and protect her, but being a hopeless romantic at heart had its downsides. She'd dated a series of guys who'd used her and left her or asked for one-night stands. When it came to finding a man who would stick around for more than a few weeks or months, Anna-Marie was hopeless.

She sighed as she wiped down the front counter and glanced up at the clock. It was already nearing midnight…an hour longer than she was normally in the store. She grabbed the keys, picked up the last trash bag, and headed out the door. No more dwelling on her lonely life…it was time to go home and get some sleep. Maybe tomorrow a hottie would walk into the shop and flirt with her. She sneered at her own thoughts as she climbed into her little Civic. Yeah right…like some hot, rich, sexy, romantic man would come waltzing into Georgetown Cup Cakes and sweep her off her feet…right…

…

Carlson moaned in complaint the next morning as sunlight filtered in through his blinds. The light sent a piercing pain that seemed to encompass his whole head and trickled down to his stomach, making him feel nauseous. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember what had happened last night.

Obviously he had gotten hammered…he felt like shit that part was pretty clear. He remembered convincing Green to go downtown with him…then they went to that new club…after that things got a little fuzzy. He remembered heading to the bar right away and ordering drinks for him and Mike. After a while he began trolling around the club, sliding in and out between gyrating bodies moving to the pulsating beat, as he searched for his latest conquest. He found her, swaying to the beat all by herself. Her gorgeous, long blonde hair and killer body practically screamed his name. He remembered sidling up to her, his eyes roaming over her body as his hands lightly touched her hips. She looked up at him, her clear blue eyes shining with excitement as she moved against him. After that, all he could remember was buying her drinks and dancing against her all night.

Carlson rolled over and nearly jumped out of the bed in surprise. The sexy blonde girl was in his bed. His mind whirled painfully as he tried to remember what happened the rest of the night. Ah, that's right…he had brought her home. He smiled a little to himself as he thought about what had happened shortly after that. She was a good life choice…a very good life choice.

Suddenly, loud knocking at his door jolted Carlson from his little fantasy. He cursed whoever was pounding on the door as he scrambled out of bed, grabbing his boxers laying on the floor and pulled them on as he hopped toward the door.

"What the fuck are you doing?" hissed Carlson as he rubbed his temples and glared up at Mike Green.

"Dude, come on," said Mike in annoyance, "Did you really get that wasted last night?"

Carlson smirked at that, "What's the point of going out if you don't get wasted?"

Mike rolled his eyes, "Whatever, come on, get your clothes on. Nicky, Karl and Mattie want to hit up Georgetown Cup Cakes."

"Wow you really can't get anymore gay can you?" asked Carlson as he shook his head in bewilderment, "Why the hell do you want to go there?"

Mike sneered, "Because the cup cakes are good, asshole. And it's better than lying in bed and looking like shit all day. Hurry up…we're just gonna hang out in Georgetown all day since Boudreau gave us the day off."

"Fine," grumbled Carlson, "Let me kick the chick out and I'll meet you at your car, okay?"

"You brought another one home?" asked Mike, giving Carlson a disapproving look, "Really, John? Come on."

"Fuck off…I'll be out soon."

Mike just sneered as he turned and walked back out of the apartment complex to wait for John in his white Lamborghini.

…

"Anyone wanna take bets on whether or not Carlson's gonna be trashed when he gets here?" asked Mathieu Perreault sarcastically as he tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. They had all been waiting for Mike and John for half an hour already and were growing impatient.

Karl Alzner shook his head, "That kid's an alchy," he said with a frown, "I'm dead serious…no one parties that hard that often if they're not addicted to alcohol."

"Or sex," added Backstrom in annoyance, "The kid hooks up with more girls than everyone on our team combined."

"I'm just worried about him," said Karl quietly as he leaned back in his seat, "He's gonna get himself in serious trouble if he's not careful."

"That's just it…he's not," said Perreault in annoyance, "He's an idiot. He wasn't like this when we played for Hershey…back then all he cared about was scoring goals and making it to the NHL, now all he wants to do is get wasted. It sucks…we used to be best friends."

"Between him and Brooks going MIA on Mike I'm about sick of this shit," said Backstrom with a sneer.

Alzner nodded in agreement just as the door to Georgetown Cup Cakes opened and Mike Green and John Carlson walked in.

"It's about time," grumbled Perreault as he studied John's pale face and the dark circles under his eyes, "Guess it takes awhile to get up when you're dead drunk."

"Fuck you," growled Carlson as he shot a glare in Perreault's direction.

"Easy you two," warned Mike as he put a hand up to keep Carlson at bay, "Let's just relax and enjoy life for a bit, alright?"

Carlson shrugged, "Whatever…I'm gonna go order a cupcake," he muttered as he walked away from the group.

"How bad was he?" asked Alzner as he gave Mike a concerned look.

Mike frowned, "Bad…I lost track of him last night. I tried to stay close to him but he literally disappeared. Found him this morning at his place with some girl in his bed."

"Surprise, surprise," muttered Backstrom as he shook his head in disgust.

While the four friends discussed their concerns for the young defenseman, John Carlson sauntered coolly over to the counter and began to browse through the cupcake selection. He mentally cursed Green and his other teammates for bringing him here. This was so gay…he'd rather be in bed with that hot blonde, whatever her name was. He glanced up to look at the menu and froze when he saw a beautiful brunette washing some dishes in the sink.

Anna-Marie heard feet shuffling behind her and turned around. She about had a heart attack when she saw a handsome, young man standing there…and he was staring at her. She wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist and cleared her throat as she took a step toward the counter.

"Um, hello," she said nervously, "Can I get you something?"

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah uh…yeah…I'll…I'll take…um," stammered Carlson, suddenly having a hard time talking.

Anna-Marie smirked at his obvious anxiety and covered for him, "How about a chocolate ganache? If you like chocolate, trust me…it's the best."

Carlson nodded numbly, "Uh, yeah, yeah that'd…that'd be good, thank you."

Anna-Marie flashed him a dazzling smile and Carlson felt his insides turn to mush. Was he still intoxicated? Why the hell was this girl making his heart flutter and causing him to lose the ability to speak? No girl ever flustered him…he was the epitome of cool, collected and cocky, arrogant American hockey player who could get whoever he wanted whenever he wanted them…so why was this girl making him act like a college freshman who had never had a girl before? What the hell?

Anna-Marie gave him his cupcake and Carlson handed her his card. She gave him another smile and wished him a good day as she turned around to head into the back section of the bakery. Carlson stood their dumbly for another moment before he wandered back over to the table. Backstrom stood up the second Carlson returned and went to go order the cupcakes for the rest of the guys. Alzner and Green were in a deep conversation about the Flyers' offensive line and the best way that they, the defensemen, could stop them. Carlson, on the other hand, was too busy staring at Anna-Marie as she walked back out to help Backstrom get his cupcakes.

"So what do you think about that, John?" prompted Green.

"Huh? About what?" asked John as he glanced briefly at Mike.

Mike sighed in annoyance, "Did you not hear a word of what we said?"

"Um, no…no sorry," said Carlson as he turned to look over at Anna-Marie again.

"Oh my god," muttered Perreault, "Really, John, really? Didn't you just have a girl in bed with you? Come on, man."

John ignored Perreault and kept staring at the amazingly beautiful, heart-stopping girl at the counter. As he took a bite of his cupcake, John Carlson knew that this would definitely not be the last time he'd come to Georgetown Cup Cakes…

…

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