Sixteen

After breakfast, Nathalie's stress-level was incredibly high. She wanted everything to be perfect for her new friends and Nicky's team mates, while he didn't seem to care too much.
   “Nat, will you PLEASE relax?” Nicky begged her when she was running around the house. “Everything is fine. The house is clean and we've got everything we need.” Nathalie sighed.
   “Really? Really?” She raised her voice. “Then why are there bowls all over the table and dirty dish in the sink? I have so much to do!” Nicky turned off the TV and stood up.
   “No, you don't.” He said. “Now go upstairs, take a shower and get ready and I'll take care of this, okay?” Nathalie stared at him. “GO!” Nicky pointed towards the stairs. 

   “I love you.”
   “You too...” Nicky chuckled before heading into the kitchen to do what he had promised.
When Nathalie came down half an hour later, Nicky was still doing the dishes.
   “You know what?” He said when he saw her. “We should get a dishwasher.” Nathalie laughed and dried her forehead with her towel.
   “I've been telling you that for three months.” She wrapped the towel tighter around her body and hugged Nicky from behind. “Now pick up your pace, it's almost 4.” She smiled when he pretended to sigh.
   “You'd better watch it, if you want to keep that towel on!” He said while drying one of the plates.
   “Empty threats!” Nathalie said, but let go of him and ran away before he could actually do something.
   “Then why are you running away?” Nicky finished the last glasses and followed Nathalie into the bedroom. She had taken the towel off and was drying her hair with it, which surprised Nicky when he walked in. Remembering their bet, he cleared his throat and looked at his feet. Nathalie looked over at him.
   “What's wrong?” She asked and started looking through her drawers for underwear.
   “If I look at you, I'm going to lose the bet.” He laughed and turned around. Nathalie rolled her eyes.
   “Oh god, Nick.” She said after putting on her bra. “Control yourself.” Nicky shrugged.
   “I can't.”
   “Good lord, you've been without it for weeks before, surely you can do it.”
   “You obviously think too much of me.” Nathalie walked into the bathroom, hung the towel on one of the hooks and went back to where Nicky was standing. She kissed his neck and whispered:
   “Too bad.” She let one of her hands touch his thigh and when she felt his body stiffen, she felt very powerful. “One month...” She teased and laid down on the bed. “Or you know.” She bit her lip. “You can just give up and everything will be normal again.” Nicky had to close his eyes and count to three before answering.
   “No.” It came out as a whisper. “They will be here in two hours, and I have to...” What did he have to do? Nothing. He had told Nathalie that there was nothing to do.
   “What do you have to do?” Nathalie crossed her legs and held herself up by her elbows.
   “I don't think we have enough snacks.” He lied. “I'll just run to the store.”
   “Liar.” Nathalie grinned when she heard the front door close behind him. She was so going to win this bet.

Half an hour later, Nicky came back with Pringles and Cheetos and even though Nathalie was now fully dressed, he hurried into the bathroom and took a cold shower. He was shaking when he came out, but it was definitely worth it.

Nathalie was standing in the doorway when Nicky turned around, and he jumped at the sight of her.
   “Relax.” She said. “I was just going to ask when I should start dinner. I'm guessing you guys will be in front of the TV, so it's just going to be you and I, right?”
   “Yeah...” Nicky replied, relieved that she wasn't trying to seduce him again. “I was thinking we could eat at five, if that's okay?”
   “Perfect.” Nathalie said and turned to walk away. She paused and turned her head back. “Too bad I can't have that for a month...” She sighed and walked away, a smug smile on her face. She knew he was going to crack sooner or later, and it was hilarious to tease him.
When Nathalie had left, Nicky leaned against the sink and looked at his reflection.
   “You can do this.” He said, staring into his own eyes. “Just ignore whatever she does.”
With these words he managed to get dressed without thinking about it, but he had to focus on something entirely different to keep his mind off it.

After finishing up in the bathroom, Nicky went down to the kitchen, where Nathalie was preparing dinner: pasta carbonara.
   “Hi!” She said with a smile as the pasta water started boiling.
   “Hey.” Nicky looked over her shoulder. “Carbonara? Yum.” He said.
   “Yeah.” Nathalie began frying the bacon. “Could you make a salad? You know what I want in it: lettuce, cucumber and peppers?”
   “Sure.” Nicky moved to the fridge. “Can I put some tomatoes in?”

   “Only of you eat the ones that come on my plate!” Nathalie stirred the pasta. “You know I hate those.”

   “No problem.” Nicky said as he started slicing the tomatoes. “I'll eat yours too.” Nathalie smiled.

   “You better.” Even though they were having a normal conversation, Nicky was on his watch. He never knew what Nathalie could do, especially after the bet.

   “Done!” Nicky said, placed the bowl on the table and sat down on one of the bar stool's.

   “Me too.” Nathalie mixed the pasta with the bacon and sauce and brought it over to the table. “Let's eat.” She said, sitting down at the dinner table.

   “So when is your next game?” Nathalie asked when they had started eating.

   “Tuesday.” He paused. “In Edmonton.” Nathalie sighed.
   “So roadtrip again?” Nicky nodded and drank out of his glass.
   “We leave on Monday, and then we have a back-to-back in Calgary on Wednesday, so I'll be back on Thursday.
   “Aw.” Nathalie said after swallowing. “Well I hope you win. Ew, tomato!” Nicky smiled and finished the last on his plate.
   “So do I, and everyone else. I think we've got a pretty good chance though.”
   “Oh, yeah. I heard Edmonton's had a rough season so far. But don't under estimate them.” She warned.
   “I won't.” Nicky promised, and they went to watch their plates. Doing their dishes was always a battle between Nathalie and Nicky. Both of them wanted to do theirs first, and it usually resulted in them being covered in dish water.
   “Can we be grown-ups with this today?” Nathalie begged. “I don't want to change clothes.” Nicky agreed, and the kitchen was dry after they finished.
   “It's got to be the first time we've done this normally.” Nathalie laughed and checked the time. “25 minutes.” She said. “Want to play NHL?”
   “Why are you so perfect?” Nicky said as they walked into the living room and grabbed the xbox controllers.
   “NHL or Elite League?” Nathalie asked as they were choosing teams.
   “NHL!” Nicky yelled and hurried to choose the Capitals. Nathalie chose to play as the New York Rangers, and before the first period had ended, she had scored two goals on Semyon Varlamov. Nathalie danced sitting down, and Nicky pouted.
   “Don't get too cocky!” He said and started the second period. “I'll get back, just wait!” Nathalie chuckled.
   “Nooo, king Henrik is on the cage! No goals shall pass!” They played through the second period with two power plays: one for the Caps when Brandon Dubinsky hooked Mike Knuble, and one for the Rangers when Alex Ovechkin slashed Mike Del Zotto. The Rangers scored on theirs, making the game 3-0 after the second period. Their guests were arriving just as they started the third period.

   “PAUSE IT!” Nicky said as he ran away to open the door. “Hey guys! Girls.” He greeted them and showed them the way to the living room.
   “Hi!” Nathalie said. “We're playing NHL 11 and Nicky's getting his butt kicked. There's only one period left, so take a seat!”
All of them sat down on various places, and Mike sat down on Nathalie's right.
   “Maaaan, Nick.” He said when Nathalie scored again. “No offense to Varly, but get Neuvy in there.” He watched the replay. “And what the fuck was I doing?” Nathalie laughed.
   “Seriously, Nicky.” Mathieu said. “Losing to the Rangers, come on!”
   “Hey!” Nicky threw his hands in the air. “It's not my fault she practices this game all the time.” Nathalie gasped.

   “I do not!”
   “Oh, I know you do!” The third period was ticking down and Nathalie ended up winning 4-0. “You can't improve this much otherwise. Nathalie rolled her eyes.

   “Fine, but what am I supposed to do when you're away? Just sit here and stare at the wall?”
   “Oh, give it a rest.” Marcus said. “She's good, you're not, get over it.”
   “Yeah!” Mike agreed. “Can we watch the game now?” He reached for the remote and turned on the channel.
   “About that.” Nathalie said when Nicky had left to get snacks and drinks. “You know the hockey starts at seven.” Mike had his eyes fixed on the TV.
   “Mmhm.”
   “Do you think we can zap between them?” Mike looked at her as if she was crazy.
   “Why?”
   “Because all of us don't like football like you do, and everyone likes hockey.”
   “Uh, okay. Fine. Yeah, whatever.”

Nicky came back into the room, raised his eyebrows and received a nod from Nathalie. He smiled and handed out glasses to everyone.
Brooks, Mathieu and Sasha were sitting in one of the sofas, glancing at the three girls sitting opposite them. Marcus had taken a place next to Nicky and was checking Bridget out while Mike's entire focus was on the game.
Brooks and Mathieu were only curious as to who they were, not how they looked, seeing as they had girlfriends. But Sasha, Mike and Marcus were all single and eligible to check the girls out.
Bridget was glancing at Marcus from time to time, Megan was trying to get Mike's attention and Ashley and Sasha were flirting quietly. Their eyes were on each other, and Ashley was starting to blush.
   “YES!” Mike interrupted the awkward silence and everyone turned their heads to the TV.
   “What happened?” Nicky asked.
   “Touchdown!” Mike said and looked around. “Aren't you watching?” A few awkward coughs made Mike realize that he was the only one watching. “Hey, that's not fun...” He slumped back into the sofa. Nathalie looked at Nicky and he at her.
   “Well, let's change that!” Nicky turned up the volume and made himself comfortable next to Marcus, Nathalie and Mike. “Let's watch.”
Nathalie had no idea which team was Mike's, so she stayed silent until she heard him cheer and saw which team scored.

Mike's team ended up winning the game, and he danced around the living room, dragging Megan up with him.
   “Come on guys!” He laughed. “Woo!”

Nathalie giggled and switched over to one of the NHL games: Chicago – Detroit.
   “Swedes!” She said and pointed at the screen as Nicklas Lidstrom brought the puck up ice. Mike and Megan sat down again and Mike laughed quietly.
   “Look at Toews.” He said. “Why is he always pulling faces?”
   “Yeah.” Brooks agreed. “Captain Serious, not really!”
   “Kane is worse.” Marcus said. “It's like he's trying to pull faces whenever the camera is on him.”
   “Here's Zetterberg.” The announcer said. “He... SCORES!” The three Swedes in the room clapped their hands while the others just sat there.
   “What?” Nicky asked and looked around. “It was a nice goal.”
   “Whatever, Nicky.” Sasha sighed.
   “So we're rooting for Chicago? Really?” Nathalie smiled and Marcus shook his head.

   “I don't even care.” They both said.

The game then took a strange turn. It was 2-0 Detroit, then Chicago suddenly woke up and scored three straight goals, only to have Detroit tie it and take it all the way to a shootout.
Patrick Kane ended up winning the game for Chicago after he had fooled Jimmy Howard right out of his pads.
   “What now?” Nicky stretched out and looked around. Without him noticing, Ashley had fallen asleep in Sasha's lap and Mike had his arm around Megan. Nathalie had also switched places so that she was now next to Nicky.
   “What's going on?” He whispered to her and she shrugged.

   “I guess they like each other.”
On Nicky's other side, Marcus was chatting to Bridget about something that they couldn't hear.
   “Guys?” Nicky said and everyone looked at him. “Wanna play a game or something?” Mike looked at his watch.
   “Nah.” He replied. “I should probably head home. Early practice tomorrow, remember?”
   “Damn.” All the guys sighed. “Almost forgot about that.”
   “Well, it was nice meeting you girls.” Marcus blinked at Bridget.

   “Likewise.” Ashley replied, now awake, smiling at Sasha.

   “See you guys tomorrow.” Nicky yawned as he and Nathalie stood by the door, waiving them off.
   “You too.” Nathalie addressed the girls.

   “6 pm tomorrow, Nat.” Megan said and Nathalie nodded. After they had closed and locked the door, Nicky sat down in the sofa and started watching NHL On The Fly. Nathalie decided to let him watch it alone, and headed up to the bedroom.
   “Good night.” She said before climbing the stairs and preparing for a good night's sleep.
She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.