It was Saturday before Coach Orion finally gave us a day off.
"You have off for tomorrow, but Monday morning you guys better be ready to work. Remember, the choices you make can effect your entire team," Coach warned.
I rolled my eyes. Coaches always try to spoil the fun by telling us to watch what we do. I'm a teenager; let me have some fun.
"You guys wanna head over to the Baron tonight?" Connie asked us all as we walked out of the laundry room after practice.
"What's the Baron?" I asked interestedly.
I was told the Baron was like a dance club. In Chino, I had spent many a night dancing into the wee hours of the night with my friends. To be honest, I was really excited for tonight.
"Anyone trying to have a little more fun before?" Russ questioned, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
Drinking had never been a topic brought up in front of me before at Eden Hall. In truth, I didn't know who on my team drank and who didn't. Obviously some of us were going to drink; we are young after all! Most of my teammates raised their hands in agreement, while some didn't. Whether they wanted to be drunk or sober didn't matter much to me; it's a personal choice.
"Well if you're interested, my room at ten o'clock. If you're not, my room eleven o'clock," Russ reasoned simply.
This seemed like a very normal thing, as everyone nodded in agreement and didn't make it a big deal. I really liked that this team was so close; hopefully I'll become a part of them as well. Connie, Julie, and I bid the boys farewell as we headed into our room to get ready. It was already eight thirty, so we needed to take showers and get ready. By around nine, we had all showered and blown our hair dry. Now was the fun part: doing hair and makeup and picking out the perfect outfit. To my surprise, neither Julie nor Connie had a hair straightener.
"I don't need one," Julie said with a shrug, while Connie explained that she would be curling her hair tonight.
My long blonde hair cascaded around my shoulders as I ran the hot iron through it. My hair was naturally straight, but whenever I went out I spent a little bit more time on it. I situated my side bangs and made sure my part looked alright. Makeup was next and I lightly brushed foundation on my face, followed by a little bronzer to even it out. Next, I lightly brushed golden eye shadow along my eyelids and then applied mascara; I'm not a big fan of eyeliner. When I turned to face my roommates, we all gushed at how each other looked. Hey, it's not everyday you see three tough hockey players going all out on their appearance.
"The boys are always shocked when they see us all dolled up," Connie laughed.
For wardrobe, Julie decided on a denim miniskirt and a polo, while Connie was wearing a pair of "daisy dukes" and a cute top.
"You're gunna be driving Guy crazy!" I teased.
My outfit consisted on a pair of low-rise, tight fitting jeans and a tanktop topped with a belt. The three of us crowded into the view of our full length mirror.
"Damn girls, we look good," Julie said, causing the three of us to burst out in laughter.
The ringing of Connie's cell phone lurched us out of our laughter and we heard her telling Russ that we would be right up.
"You drinking?" Connie asked me offhandedly.
"Hell yeah," I responded.
I have been drinking since I was about fourteen. It's not too much of a big deal for me or my friends; just as long as we don't end up like our parents. On our way up, Julie explained to me who usually drank and who didn't.
"Guy and Connie switch off and on. Averman hardly touches the stuff; says he has no taste for it. Goldberg won't; his grandfather had problems with it so he swore it off. The rest, though, normally will."
I nodded at the information, and we knocked on Russ and Dwayne's door.
"Ladies," Dwayne welcomed us as we stepped in.
We all gave him a greeting and I couldn't help but laugh at the scene that unfolded in front of me. Two full bottles of vodka, a bunch of shot glasses, sodas for chasers, two six-packs, and a bunch of eager looking Ducks sat in front of me.
"Well you all sure know how to do it," I said, nodding in my head in approval.
"Who wants first?" Russ questioned, wanting to get it started.
"Zane gets to do the first one, alone; new member initiation," Charlie stated.
The team grinned and I casually walked over to the bottle and poured myself a shot and grabbed a soda. Raising it into the air, I told the group that this was to a good season. Amid their hollers, I took the shot. A few seconds after, I popped open the soda and chased it easily. I hadn't drank since the night before I'd left for Eden Hall and it felt good to be back at it. After that, it was pretty much open drinks; you stepped up whenever you wanted in for a round. Guy came into the room after about twenty minutes to make sure Connie didn't drink too much. By eleven, everybody had reached their desired state, and we headed off to the Baron. Luckily, it was only a few blocks away, for we were walking and some better than others. Personally, I had gotten drunk; it's the best way to have fun at a dance club. Fulton was plastered as well; the two of us were walking arm in arm and talking nonsense. Alcohol really does help out with the team bonding.
"We're here. Welcome to the Baron, Zane," Adam told me, patting me on the back.
The club had a pretty nice set-up: a big dance floor, a few sections of couches, a good DJ, and a lot of people. Tonight was going to be good. Julie grabbed both mine and Connie's hands and we descended to the dance floor; girls ALWAYS dance together at clubs. I don't know if it's because of where I'm from, but I noticed I got down a lot more than Connie or Julie. Don't get me wrong, they weren't bad dancers, but I guess you could say I was a little more risqué. The boys walked over to us after the first song and Luis grabbed my hand.
"You got some moves, Zane, wanna dance?" He asked confidently.
I smiled and nodded; Luis and I both have some Columbian in us so I knew he would be a good dancer. We moved together to the music and I could hear people in the crowd cheering for us. Luis' hands were on my waist and we were grinding.
"Tu mueve realmente bien," He shouted over the music, saying that I move really well.
"¿Si? Gracias, papi," I thanked him, using my Spanish tongue.
Both of our mothers were from Spanish parentage, and we sometimes spoke in Spanish, as we were used to it at home.
"What the hell are you guys saying?" Guy asked us from where he was dancing with Connie.
I smiled devilishly and refused to tell him. Dean grabbed me and we both swayed to the music while he tried to convince me. All I could do was smile at his antics.
"I said I loved her!" Luis finally yelled, giving me a kiss on the cheek.
Giving him a little look, Luis winked at me and the two of us cracked up laughing. The rest of the night was spent dancing and just having a good time. A few times, my protective male teammates allowed me to dance with a guy that wasn't a part of our team. Around two, some of the team left to go home. A four, all that remained were Julie, Luis, Charlie, Fulton, Portman, and I; at home we usually didn't go home till dawn. Most of us were ready to go, but I noticed that Julie was talking to a guy that she had met here a couple of weeks ago and I offered to stay with her; Portman and Fulton agreed to stay with us to make sure we were alright.
"Be safe," Charlie slurred, giving me a drunken hug as he and Luis left out into the night.
A girl asked Fulton to dance and Dean gave me a questioning look.
"Sure," I responded.
Grabbing Dean's hand I led him out onto the dance floor. I put my arms around my neck and we got into rhythm with the reggaeton song that was playing. It was a song I recognized, so I mouthed the words.
"I didn't know you could actually speak Spanish," Dean remarked and I explained that my mother often spoke it to me.
"I like it," Dean told me, flashing me his trademark smile.
It was pretty obvious that most of the girls at Eden Hall found Dean Portman good looking. Hell, he was. His confidence and slight swagger made it apparent that girls often threw themselves at him. His bad boy image was also something that I found appealing. Then again, this could just be the booze talking. Dean placed his hand under my chin and made me look up at him. For a few moments, we stared at each other, until we were interrupted by Fulton.
"Hey, I think it might be time to get Julie home," Fulton explained, pointing over at a very drunk Cat-Lady.
I quickly released myself from Dean's grasp and ran over to Julie. She wasn't in the best state, but it's not like I was fearing for her life or anything either. What she needed was a warm bed to pass out in.
"Let's get you home, huh sweetheart?" I gently coaxed.
Julie nodded and I looked over at the Bash Brothers for help; Julie's no heavyweight, but I sure as hell couldn't lug her home. Fulton took the job and linked his arm with the girl to keep her steady. Dean then offered me his and I took it while rolling my eyes. It only took a couple of minutes to make the walk to Eden Hall and Julie was giggling incessantly over something Fulton had said. All I could was laugh at her antics; after all, I'd been there too. On the way home, Dean had subtly linked his hand with mine. I'd let it happen; holding hands never killed anybody. The boys helped me get Julie up to our room and into bed.
"I'm sure she'll be thanking you guys in the morning," I said to the two.
Fulton shot me his catlike grin, "She better! I lugged her ass home five blocks."
We laughed at this and Fulton gave me a burly hug goodnight. Next, Dean hugged me as well and also placed a kiss on my cheek. A slight tint rose to my cheeks and I prayed it wasn't visible in the light or that Dean was too far gone to realize it.
"Love the blush," Dean said smirking.
"Asshole," I replied before stepping back into my room.
Tomorrow would bring on a heavy hangover and I couldn't help but hate myself a little bit for it. Still, this night had been worth it; I felt closer to the Ducks and more like a member of their team. There had been chemistry there with Dean too.
'Stop it. You're not here to meet anyone, you're here to play hockey. Besides, you promised yourself no more bad boys with a lady killer reputation.'
Dean had made it to his dorm and was drunkenly telling Fulton that he has a thing for Zane.
"Do you think she liked me?" Dean asked.
"Seemed like it," Fulton responded, "But let's see how the two of you feel tomorrow."
END OF CHAPTER.
Hope you guys liked it. Not sure how you guys feel about teenage drinking, but I am sick of the Ducks being portrayed as Saints. They are TEENAGERS after all. As for the Spanish influence of this chapter; I am half Columbian and while I am not entirely fluent have grown up with it my entire life. Most of my stories have at least some mention of my culture. Hopefully, there's no problem with that. Review and let me know what you think.