Anna
Thankfully the power came back on sometime during the night and we've been running ever since. On top of our usual job, preparing our players and managing the scrum after practice, we also have a lot to do to prepare for the event this evening. There are a million things to do that we couldn't without power.
Currently, Adam and I are preparing the name tags for visitors. I'm so glad that we're working together again. I don't know if Jen realizes that we're friends but she puts us together a lot which makes work that much more fun.
"Ok, we're missing Thomson's" Adam tells me.
"I printed it" I reply.
"It's not here."
"It has to be."
We stare at each other for a moment and then, quickly and immediately, be both break out in laughter. I don't know what is so funny but we are all but rolling with our laughter.
"Ok, ok, we need to find Thomson's tag" I tell Adam.
"Eh, he won't even miss it" Adam says tongue in cheek.
"He might" I tell him. "He's the president of Consol Energy."
Of course, that starts us both giggling again. When we wind down, I print another tag for Thomson and we finish our work.
This completed, we check in with Jen and there is nothing left to do until a few hours before the event. That gives us two hours to ourselves.
"Let's go eat" Adam says to me.
I desperately want to but I didn't work out yesterday, even though I did walk up twenty two flights of stairs, so I have to today. If I go two days without working out then I know I'll gain weight.
"Sorry" I tell Adam. "I'm going to take advantage of the players being gone to work out."
"Seriously? Wouldn't you rather have a drink and dinner?"
"Definitely, but I will resist your temptation" I wink and then continue to my desk before Adam can convince me to go with him.
I hear him talking to some of the other interns and they all leave together.
I head to the elevator after grabbing my gym bag. We really are lucky that they let us use the player's gym. Most sports teams won't let anyone but players or coaches use the players' equipment. The Pens want to encourage the staff to be healthy, another reason that they feed us too, so we are encouraged to use the equipment when the players are gone.
It's eerily quiet in the halls outside the locker room and lounge. I'm used to the buzzing of the past three days but it's nice to be alone and quiet.
I duck into the visitor's room to change and leave my things there. The lights are still on in the gym and there are fresh towels available. I'm getting spoiled with this equipment. The physical trainer has even offered to create a program for me although I'm too nervous to accept his offer. He's used to athletes and I'm definitely not one.
I plug my phone into the treadmill and my buds into my ears. After walking for a minute, I speed up to a run and lose myself in the music. I hate exercising, hate it so much, but it's the only way I can maintain my weight. Damn these slow genes I inherited from my father.
My heart rate picks up, I feel the sweat pool at my lower back, between my breasts and at my temples. When I get into my groove, I put all thoughts out of my head and focus on each step that I run and the music.
Losing all track of time, I almost fall off the treadmill when Sid walks in front of me and waves his hand. I trip but manage to catch myself so that I don't fall, barely.
I see his lips move and I think he's saying 'are you ok' but I'm not sure. Oh yeah, my ear buds.
After pulling them out, I say to Sid "sorry about that. When I run I tend to shut out everything else."
"I'm sorry to startle you."
"It's ok. What are you still doing here?" I ask.
I immediately regret my question. It's none of my business why he's here right now. This is the player's gym and this building is, essentially, his as the star player and captain. Thankfully Sid laughs rather than being pissed off.
"I'm probably doing what you're doing and taking advantage of an empty gym to work out. I'll shower and change here for the event."
"I'll leave you to it than" I tell him.
Sid is quick to say "no. Don't leave because I'm here."
I feel torn. We are not supposed to be here if the players are but Sid says it's ok to stay. He's smiling at me so I decide to stay. I haven't finished my run yet anyway.
"Ok" I reply. "If you're sure."
"Yeah, no problem."
I start up my treadmill again and put my ear buds back in. Sid puts on his own earphones and gets on the treadmill beside me. Great, now I'm running beside the best hockey player in the world. Since he's a hockey player, he's probably is in the best shape of any athlete too.
It's hard to shut my mind off with Sid running beside me now. Thankfully I don't have to do so for long. Sid was only using the treadmill to warm up and he moves to the weight equipment next.
I can see his reflection in the mirror as he works out. I don't know enough about gym equipment to know what he's using or what muscles he's working; but, I watch him anyway. It's impossible to look away as his muscles strain, occasionally his shirt rides up and shows off his incredible abs and his hair starting to curl as he sweats.
I don't know how long I'm watching him but suddenly I can't catch my breath. The treadmill tells me that I've been running at full speed for forty-five minutes. That's why I can't breathe. I slow it down to a walk and gulp in as much air as I can.
"Are you ok?" Sid asks me.
He's standing in front of me now wiping his face with a towel and drinking water.
"Yeah" I tell him. "I lost track of time and ran longer than usual."
I look at the clock and I'm very late. Shit. At this point I'll have to make my shower really quick and won't get any time to eat.
"Sorry" I tell him while I stop the treadmill and grab my things. As I run out of the room, I shout back to Sid "I'm running very late."
I don't wait for a response. I have ten minutes to shower, dress and get my ass upstairs. It's going to be close.
Sidney
I'm not sure how long I stood and watched Anna run. Time gets away from me as I watch her long and lean legs take every step with confidence. Her shorts aren't inappropriate but they are definitely short. Even in her skirt I didn't realize how great her legs are. Now, I'm almost hypnotized by them. Of course my eyes do run up the rest of her body, over her curves and pause at her breasts. No one would mistake her for anything but a woman with those beautiful breasts. My mind wanders as I imagine my hands filled as I take her lips. Shit, where did that thought come from?
I walk to Anna, calling her name, but she doesn't see me until I'm right in front of her, startling her.
Anna almost trips but catchers herself in time and pulls out her ear buds before saying "sorry about that. When I run I tend to shut out everything else."
"I'm sorry to startle you" I tell her.
"It's ok. What are you still doing here?" I ask.
She looks like she regrets the question but I don't know why.
I tell her "I'm probably doing what you're doing and taking advantage of an empty gym to work out. I'll shower and change here for the event."
"I'll leave you to it than" she says.
I realize that she intends to leave the gym. It might technically be against the rules but there is no one around and I don't care if she's here while I'm working out.
I quickly tell her "no. Don't leave because I'm here."
While her face gives nothing away although I can almost hear her brain working. She's most likely weighing the rules against my saying that it's ok. In the end, she must decide that it's ok.
"Ok" she replies. "If you're sure."
"Yeah, no problem."
She starts up her treadmill again and I get on the one beside her putting in my own ear buds. I quickly find the beat and my running rhythm. I'm close to her, close enough to smell her perfume or maybe it's her shampoo or soap. Yeah, it's not perfume. Maybe it's a uniquely Anna smell.
My warm-up ends, thankfully, and I move to the weights. I came into this camp in the exact shape that I wanted but it continually takes tweaking to stay in this condition. Periodically my mind strays back to Anna running. She is incredibly focused and must have been at it for a while. The sweat around her forehead has the hair that escaped her pony tail curling. She's breathing heavy, very heavy, and it gives me ideas for other ways to help her breath heavy.
I shake my head out of my thoughts and see her stop suddenly. She leans over, resting her hands on her thighs, and tries to catch her breath. I rush over to her.
"Are you ok?" I ask her.
I try to appear nonchalant by wiping my face with a towel and drinking water. I'm not sure that I pull it off.
"Yeah" she tells me. "I lost track of time and ran longer than usual."
Before I can say anything else, Anna looks at the clock and grabs her towel, phone and water.
As she runs out of the room, she yells over her shoulder "sorry. I'm really late."
At least I get a great view of her ass while she runs out. Fuck, it's been way too long if I'm letting an intern get me going like this in only three days.
I push all thoughts out of my head and continue my workout. Some guys use their workout to think. I like to blank my mind, get rid of everything, and focus solely on muscle, stretch and sweat. I lose myself until I'm done and wonder where the time went.
I shower and dress. We'll be wearing our jerseys so I put on a tee-shirt with my dress pants.
When I come out of the dressing room, I hear chatter and laughter of the guys; it is a distinctive sound. I find them in the lounge. A group of guys are surrounding Flower and I know he's either showing them pictures or video of Stella. I have to admit that she's a really cute kid.
"Hey Sid" Geno calls me.
"Hey G" I say back and walk to him.
He looks around as if to see if anyone is near us and then leans in.
"You talk to my intern right?" he asks me.
"When?"
"Elevator" he says.
"Oh, yeah, we were stuck in the elevator together" I tell him.
"You like her?" he asks.
"What do you mean?" I ask and, to my ears, I'm too quick and my voice is too high.
"You talked to her. She's nice, no? Good at her job?"
Oh, that's what he's getting at. He's looking for reassurance about trusting her. I have no facts to share with him, no reason that he should trust her, but I find myself agreeing with him.
"Yeah, she's nice G. She seems really good at her job too. Jen must trust her to assign her to you" I tell him.
Geno visible relaxes and smiles his off-centre, goofy smile.
"Yeah, she good" he tells me. "Hey, Anna" he calls across the room.
I look over my shoulder in the direction Geno was talking and I see her. She may have been running late but she put herself together perfectly.
She's not wearing her usual skirt and shirt. This time she has a dress on that is equally tailored and conservative. I wonder if she dresses that way so that she doesn't draw attention to herself. She looks good of course but she doesn't take advantage of her, um, assets like other girls around here do. I immediately think back to our conversation in the elevator and remember what she said about the media going after her family. Maybe this is what she learned to do out of self-preservation.
"Hi Geno" she says and then turns to me. "Hi Sid, how was your workout?"
"You work out? After practice and workout?" Geno asks me. I look at him and shrug. "You try make me look bad?"
"I can't help it if you don't have discipline G" I tease him.
We both look at Anna when a short, soft giggle escapes her. She smooths her expression quickly and it makes me wonder if I imagined it.
"Gentlemen" she says encompassing us both. "Jen has asked that I work with you both this evening." She turns to me and says "Jen sends her apologies but her daughter has spiked a fever and she has gone to meet her husband at the hospital. They think it's because she's teething but the fever isn't coming down so they're worried."
"Of course" I tell her. "I hope she's ok."
Anna gives me a small smile.
"Jen teased that she's just being an overly worrying mom but I'm sure she'll feel much better, and so will her daughter, if she's there. She was very apologetic to leave so suddenly Sid."
"Yeah, no worries" I reply.
"If you would both follow me, I have your jerseys and some last minute details for you."
Geno and I nod at her and follow her out of the lounge and to the trainer's room.
"Here are your jerseys" she says and hands one to each of us.
"Sweaters" I tell her. When she looks at me quizzically, I say "we call them sweaters rather than jerseys."
"Oh" she replies. "I didn't realize that, thanks."
Anna hands us each a sheet of paper. It has pictures and names on it.
"There are six people on that sheet" she begins. "You will meet many more people than these six, but these people are the key sponsors, company presidents etcetera, and we'll make sure that you spend time with each of them. I'll be sure to highlight who they are when you're introduced."
She continues talking and is really doing the 'last minute' repeat of key things to remember. She really is good at her job. I don't usually have a lot, if any, interaction with the interns but I can tell that she's different than the rest. There is a calm, self-assurance when she talks that presents a competence you immediately trust. I guess when I told Geno to trust her; I was really telling him the truth.
Tom, the VP of Communications, walks down hall and Anna says "oh, we need to go."
Geno and I follow her out of the room and to the locker room. All the guys gather and quiet down while Tom talks to us about the schedule for the evening. Not all of the guys have the one on one attention from the communication's team so this is their last minute directions.
It doesn't take long and then we're ushered to the large room where the party is and wait for each of us to be announced and walk in the room. Even though Geno goes on the ice last, I'm always last off the ice because I'm the captain. It wouldn't bother me if I wasn't but that's just the way it is and Geno doesn't seem to mind.
After we're all in the room, and the official greetings are over, we start the circus. Anna is quickly at my side and directs me to the president of Consol Energy, Thomson I think. Anna fades back after we start talking and, from the corner of my eye, I see her move to Geno and guide him to the president of First Niagara Bank.
Some of the people here I know, well with some, because they've been sponsors for years and I see them a few times every season. It's easy to talk to everyone. They want to ask how the summer was, if I feel ready for the new season and what I think of this group of players, especially the new guys. The only thing that's hard is having the same conversation over and over again. Feigning interest as I hear the same compliments and listen to how much they love the team.
There are a couple of bright spots. A few people brought their kids and they're a lot of fun. One of the boys is dumbstruck and just stares at me with big eyes after we're introduced. Even when I crouch down to his level, he still doesn't speak.
I feel something nudge my shoulder. When I look up, it's Anna holding a Pen's puck and a Sharpie marker. I take them both and turn back to the boy.
"Would you like a signed puck Ryan?" I ask him.
This time he responds even if he only nods and grins. I sign the puck and then hand it to him which he takes and holds it close to his chest. It is the cutest thing.
I say goodbye to the group and follow Anna. She nods slightly with her head and I know that she wants me to follow her into the hall. We're alone out there.
"I thought you might need a quick break" she tells me. "Geno just went to the bathroom. Do you need to as well?"
Of all the things I've thought of talking with her about, peeing really isn't one of them. This feels surreal. She isn't my mother.
"Ah, no, I'm good thanks" I tell her.
She gives me that small, professional smile and hands me a fresh bottle of water.
"Do you need anything Sid? Is everything going well?" she asks.
I feel very uncomfortable. I've been in the NHL for ten years and it still feels weird to be 'taken care of' this way. I swear that if I asked for a pizza to be delivered she would only ask me what I wanted on it and then she would make it happen.
"Hey Sid, you talk to Ryan?" Geno asks as he walks up to me.
Geno loves the little kids; maybe because he's just a big on.
"Yeah, he's a cute bugger" I tell him.
"He no talk to me" Geno says.
"Me neither" I say and chuckle.
"Ok gentlemen" Anna begins. "Are we ready to go back in?"
We both nod and start following her to the door.
"Oh, wait" she says and turns around suddenly holding out a small bottle.
I look down and it's Purell an antibacterial gel.
"Use some of this please" she says. "We need to keep you both healthy."
Geno frowns and says "but I just washed in the bathroom."
"Did you wash well Geno?" she asks like a mom.
I have to chuckle when Geno looks sheepish and takes the gel from her. As we walk back into the room, I'm still laughing.