Had she known that Connie arrived with a few of the guys it would have really avoided this incredibly awkward situation. Yes, and if Connie had the presence of mind to realize the shower was running in the bathroom this whole thing could have been evaded. But no, she did not and Julie was not a mind reader. Though she had a pretty good idea exactly what was currently going on through the minds of Germaine, Averman, Reed, and Goldberg.
After all, she was in only a towel and she just knew her face was fire engine red. As soon as she noticed them sitting and standing about her room she stopped moving, as though frozen in place. Connie's eyes widened considerably and the boys each took their turn of looking up and down her still wet body. At least Guy and Fulton had the decency to cover their eyes afterwards.
But eventually Julie did what any sensible girl would do in this rather embarrassing situation. She screamed.
Connie immediately stood and ushered her back into the bathroom and helped to calm her down, apologizing profusely in the process.
"Really Cat, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were here yet!"
Julie blinked at her friend, "Didn't you notice my luggage?"
"I'm sorry!"
Julie shook it off and asked her to get some clothes for her. Connie was quick to return with a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt, tucking a pair of undies and a bra in between to keep the boys from seeing her unmentionables. Soon her only other female teammate rejoined the others out in their room while she got dressed. Her blush was slowly dying down the more she thought about it and was actually beginning to find the humor in what happened. At least they didn't really didn't see anything to inappropriate.
Les Averman full on whistled at her when she found the courage to leave the bathroom again. Fulton hit him upside the head and offered her an apologetic smile. Julie nodded towards him and made her way quickly to her bed and sat with a huff.
Connie crossed her arms under her chest and glared at them each one by one, "Boys…"
"Sorry."
"Sorry."
"Sorry."
"So not sorry."
"Averman!" Connie complained even as Goldberg, Reed, and Germaine all hit the troublesome red-head.
Julie couldn't help the laugh that escaped as Les defended himself, "What, she's a pretty girl and I don't remember her legs being that long before." She knew he was giving her a hard time when his eyebrows started to wiggle. "Fine," Averman groaned aloud, "I'm sorry."
Really it wasn't even their fault, but she accepted their apologies anyway. And now at least the awkward tension in the room was gone. Connie was the first to come over and hug her tight; their friendship really grew in the past year. Julie was the pretty brunette's confidante when it came to her longtime feelings for Guy. In fact it was her that encouraged to finally accept a real date with him.
The other boys were quick to give her welcoming hugs as well and she managed to keep Les at a fair distance. The familiar banter between the old friends soon filled the room again and they remained there until a knock came to the door.
If Adam and Charlie were surprised to see so many of their teammates gathered in one area, they didn't show it. The two old friends glanced at each other and shrugged. Charlie seemed to fall right back into the jokes that always came when around Goldberg and Averman. Adam made his way towards Julie and ended up sprawled across her bed.
Connie playfully threw a pillow at him and he tossed it back only to hit Fulton. He threw it back their way and ended up hitting Julie who grinned and managed a direct hit at Averman's head. And then a pillow-war started in earnest. Charlie ended up joining sides with Adam and Julie against the others. They had fun trying to catch each other off guard for another fifteen minutes before Goldberg shushed them all and looked at his watch.
"Guys, we gotta get going!" They all glanced at each other and with grins they each pelted the rotund goalie with their pillows. "Oh come on! As if I don't have enough crap being thrown at me by you guys!"
"Goldberg," Connie giggled, "they're pillows!"
And despite their teasing of Goldberg, he was right. Loudly they made their way to the elevator to join the rest of their team in the lobby. Coach Bombay and Ms. McKay were there standing with Robertson, Portman, Tyler, Wu, and Mendoza. Hugs were all shared with the new arrivals and the companionship of the team was right back to where it was a year prior. The only one missing was Jesse Hall, and they all now knew that he decided against playing. Only a few knew the real reason as to why, but they respected the decision. It also meant there were no more problems with someone not being able to play.
A bus had been rented and the team was shuttled off to a pretty fancy restaurant where they met up with Mr. Tibbles. Julie sat between Connie and Adam and enjoyed the lively conversation going on around her. She'd missed this. The Ducks just had a special connection and she was happy to be part of their bond.
Once they all returned back to the hotel it was decided to make use of the 24/7 indoor pool access. Connie and Julie were last to arrive as they had some private girl-talk before joining the rest of the team. They watched as some jumped for cannonballs and even they got a little wet with Goldberg performing a perfect belly flop.
Guy hurriedly pulled his girlfriend into the pool and splashed at her. Reed and Portman grabbed both of Julie's sides and launched her into the deep end, with her laughing the whole way. Robertson teased her about holding her nose but she felt better when Mendoza pulled him under and winked at her. It was during times like that the Ducks really bonded as a team and as friends. Teasing one another just came with the territory, they all knew that the teasing stopped when they hit the ice, then it was all about production and protection.
It was really late by the time they returned to their rooms. Julie was laying in her bed after changing into pajamas; she checked the time and realized she forgot to call her parents and some of her friends to let her know she made it to Minnesota okay. Connie was currently still in the hallway in the middle of a serious make-out session with her boyfriend.
Julie tried to close her eyes only to see the hurting steel-grey gaze of one Gunnar Stahl. Letting out a deep sigh and rolling on her side to peer out of the window, Julie tightened her fist in an effort to ward off the memory. She wished she could just get his sorrowful eyes out of her mind. After all, the Ducks won that game fair and square. Never before had it bothered her to see the utter defeat on the face of an opponent. If he was going to be at the tournament then she knew she would have to watch her back.
Connie came in looking far too happy with herself. Julie turned over and watched as she didn't even bother to change and lay on her bed haphazardly. She was happy, and that made Julie happy. They stayed up for a while longer talking about the boys on their team, both agreeing on the hotties and the notties. It was typical girl-talk that was absolutely necessary despite them speaking on the phone almost everyday the past year being apart. It didn't matter that they had already debated on the boys they were close to, it was just different when in the same room and giggling throuout the night.
By the time the two girls fell asleep it was nearly dawn. Julie was so exhausted she actually fell right to sleep without any memories of a pair of haunted eyes gazing back at her. Seeing Gunnar Stahl's face almost every night in her mind was something she had shared with absolutely no one. She and Connie had briefly discussed the captain of the Vikings and the rest of his teammates after the championship ended last year. Both had been a little surprised at their show of sportsmanship after such a heartbreaking loss. Connie made the innocent comment that 'though some of them are certifiable hotties they are still the enemy and will go down just like they did last year!'. And Gunnar could definitely be considered one the "hotties". Julie would know; she'd been forced to study his face and those deep grey eyes almost every night. She really, really wished he would just get out of her head. Hopefully he would get his revenge on her quickly and she would stop thinking about what he would do to her.
Or if she could just stop thinking about him period, that would be just fabulous.