Chapter 13**edited 9/5!**

The past few months flew by and it was already December.  Winter in the Burgh was my favorite for sure, I had quickly adjusted to the freezing temperatures and all the snow, and so I’ve grown to love it. 

“Hey babe,” James says as him, Jordan and Max sit at the bar top at work.

“Hi!” I say to him and then the boys

“So, we have a surprise for you 2,” Max tells me and Miranda

“Round 2 in Vegas?” Miranda asks

“Close…but no,” Jordan says

“Our last road trip before Christmas is to California,” James says

“And we want you girls to come with us,”

“Really?” I say

“Yeah, we figured we shouldn’t rub it in your face that were getting out of the cold weather, so were bringing you with us,”

“That sounds awesome!” Miranda says

“And don’t worry, it’s been discussed with Joey,”

“Wow, you sure are getting in good with him,”

“So when do we leave?”

“Next Tuesday.  Pack your bathing suits too, if we behave, we’ll get some beach time,” Jordan says, happily

“Is your lady friend coming Jordie?” I ask him

“Heather? No, she's in T-Bay,”

“Ya know, I'm beginning to think she doesn't exist!" I say, joking

"Whatever, she does!"

"Then we look forward to meeting her, sometime in the near future,"

“So did you get us a room too or what’s the plan?” Miranda asks

“Yeah, V and Kels are going out too so you can all room together,” Max says

“And there’s room on the team plane to fly out with us” James adds

“Sweet! This is gonna be amazing!”

Tuesday is here before we know it.  I had packed the night before and stayed with James at his house. 

“Good morning gentlemen…um and ladies,” Coach says as we get situated in the bus to go to the airport,

“Since we had our morning skate, once we land it will be all about relaxing.  We’ll check into the hotel around 2, then your free to do whatever you want until dinner at 6:30 which will probably be somewhere near the hotel. Then it’s lights out at 10. Got it?”

“Yes sir,” the boys respond

“Ladies, you have a room at each stop already?” Dan asks us

“A room? Oh I thought we could share with the boys?” V asks sarcastically

“Very funny V,” He says laughing

“Yes Dan, the 4 of us are sharing rooms at all the stops,” Kels says

“Thank god I don’t have daughters,” he replies still laughing

“Yeah, then we’d all be worried for you,” I say joking back

Our first stop was Anaheim. The hotel we were staying at was way nice, the girls and I had the best view from the balcony.  After we checked in and dropped off luggage, we went walking around the city and mainly enjoyed the dramatic change in weather.  While the guys got bored after a while, the girls and I did what we knew best…shopping.

The boys beat the Ducks then lost to the Kings. Dan held practice before the game against the Sharks while the girls and I went shopping.  I found the most gorgeous Chanel necklace that I fell in love with, so I took a picture of it to send to my mom, and sent it to James on accident…oops.

We beat the Sharks in Logan’s first game against his former team, the fans were still welcoming of him, which was nice, especially since he started his career there. 

Back in Pitt and back to reality.  James family came down for Christmas, they stayed at the hotel at Station Square, because with all 6 of them, James’ house was super crowded.

Christmas with the Neal’s was a great one.  He had been really good at being sneaky, and got me the Chanel necklace that I was looking at in San Jose…I was shocked that he went back to get it, and even more shocked that he kept it a secret. 

It was New Year’s Eve and Mario was throwing his annual party for the team and their families.  Me, Kelsi, Vero and Miranda all went to get our hair and make-up done before going our separate ways before going to Mario's tonight.  I had brought stuff with me to stay at James' house again, which was becoming more frequent.  James and I were talking while we finished getting ready.  We had a glass of wine before heading out when I noticed that James was kind of shaky and a little nervous.

"Babe, are you ok?" I ask him

Chapter 12

***New post! Haha a lot sooner then I thought...hope yall still stick around and keep reading! Im almost positive that this one wont be as long as my Chicago story...but we'll see! :)

~J

“Hey skank, why don’t you find your own man?” I ask, getting between her and James
“Um, no I like this one,” She says like the dumb blonde she is

“Um, THIS ONE, has a name, and he also has a girlfriend,”
“Too bad for her, huh?” she states, trying to act all tough

“No, too bad for you,” I say getting closer to her “Logan doesn’t want you, and guess what, neither does he,” as I point to James

“So, why don’t you do us all a favor and go back to where you belong,” Logan adds, jumping in

“But baby!” She squeals

“Don’t baby me, you gold digging whore, I don’t want you back. EVER.”
“He can find someone who wants him for who he is, not his money OR his last name,” I yell as she gives me dirty looks

“Are you going to let her talk to me like that??” She cries to Logan

“Yes, actually I am. Leave Ashley! I don’t want to see you ever again,”

The bouncers escort the girls out; I’m not even caring at this point, because I was too busy being mad at James for not pushing her away.  So I take more shots.  Sid and Max come up to me to tell me that James drinking so much because he knows I’m mad at him.  They drag him out of the bathroom and back upstairs, but he just sits on the couch

“Jay, he’s a mess,” Max tells me

“Oh, and I’m not? I had to watch that skank shove her tongue down my boyfriend’s throat! God only knows where it’s been,”

“I know, he’s upset because he messed up,”
“He’s also drunk,” I say wiping away tears
“And so are you, people make stupid mistakes when they are drunk,”

I didn’t want to admit it…but Max did have a point, just don’t tell him I said that, his ego is already big enough.

“I knew there was a reason to keep you around,” I say, half smiling

“Because my good looks and charm?” He says with his signature smile

“Because even though you’re such a womanizer, you still know how to help friends out,” I say, looking back at James
“Well I love you both, and I’m just looking out for you guys. Nealer really likes you, and I haven’t seen him this happy in a long time, give him another chance,”

“You know what, not giving him another chance didn’t even cross my mind, I’d regret it if I didn’t, he means so much to me,”
“That’s my girl!” He says, grabbing drinks from Jordan

“Where we going?” James asks as Jordan and Max help him out of the club

“We’re going home,” Max says

“I don’t want to go home with you Max!”

“Your not, your staying at Jay’s tonight,”
“But Jay hates me! Hey wait, where is Jay?” He says stopping, “Jay!!” he yells

“What James? I’m right here,” I say, walking next to Sid

“Do you hate me?” he asks

“No.”
“But some slut kissed me,”
“I know, I took care of her. I’ll deal with you in the morning,” I say as we keep walking

“Jay, do you want me to take him home?” Sid asks

“No, I have to deal with him eventually, but thanks,” I say, glad to have Sid looking after all of us. Any girl would be lucky to have this guy.

“Your good for him, Jay. Any other girl woulda kicked him to the curb,” he tells me

“Thanks Sid,”
“No problem, call me if you need anything,” he says as he gives me a kiss on the cheek and gets in his car to head home.

Jordan and Max get James upstairs with just enough time for him to run to the bathroom to throw up.

“Dan is going to kill him at practice!” I say sitting on my bed

“Practice is optional tomorrow, I have a feeling he’ll skip out on it,” Jordan says

“Good thing then. Shit, did ya’ll see Allie or Mel?” I ask, worried

“Yeah they left with Beau and LC,”

“Oh ok good, I feel horrible leaving them,”

“They saw what happened, I think they will understand,”

“Do you need anymore help?” Max asks

“I don’t think so, I’ll just leave him in here and get rid of all the alcohol, he can come to bed when he decides to stop getting sick,”
“Ok, well call either one of us if you need anything, got it?” Jordan says

“Will do. Good to have you guys around,”

“Absolutely, your family now too, and we always look after the girls especially. Sleep good ok,” Max says

“I will, let me know when ya’ll get home ok?”

“Shit! Sid left…that bastard,” Jordan says, defeated

“You can stay here, that couch is so comfortable,” I tell him

The next morning, Jordan wakes up first and decides to go to practice, since he’s not hungover, and little mister Staal wants to be a little kiss ass today.  James and I worked out our rough patch.  In all honesty, I did see him push her away but I was staying mad because I knew she was out to get one of the boys on the team.  Since getting sick, he had brushed his teeth a million times, so I figured by that time it was ok to kiss him again.  Fighting is always the worst, but in a way I think it makes us stronger.

Tonight was the season opener and we were all beyond excited to be back in the hockey environment (since preseason technically doesn’t count).  Between Vero, Kelsey, they had taken over the first row of glass seats, which gave them 4 open tickets to give to the other girls and I.  So tonight, we decided to wear our men’s jerseys to let EVERYONE know that they are off limits J and to support them of course.

After a strong home opening win against the Canucks, road trip #1 was underway.  The girls and I had met up at the arena to say bye to the guys then decided to do lunch and plan game nights while they were gone.  I was glad to have this close-knit group of girlfriends, especially since we are all in the same boat, and with Kels and Vero being around for so long, they help us new girlfriends adjust.

Break time[[please read!]]

I hate to say it, but I'm going to take a break with this story. The end of summer is nearing and it's getting a little busy and I'm applying around the states for internships. And I hate to be the mean nagging writer but I havent gotten any comments on any of the new posts in over a month so. Let me know if ya'll want me to continue it...because I will, just in a few weeks or so.
Hope ya'll are having a good summer! :)
~J

Chapter 11

***Sorry for the lack of posts! Been super busy and going through some family stuff. Hope ya'll enjoy it & cant wait to read ya'lls comments! :)

~J

"Hey bro! How’s it going?” Mike asks as we walk up to him

“Hey man! Good! Holding down the fort out here?” James asks

“Absolutely, so your girlfriend really does exist?”

“Yeah, she does. This is my girlfriend, Jamie, or Jay. Jay, this is my brother, Mike,”

“Nice to meet you!” he says, giving me a hug

“You too! I’ve heard a lot about you,”

“Yeah, haven’t we all? Well, let’s get going, mom and dad are waiting anxiously,”

“Hey guys!” James says as we walk into his house

“Oh hi honey!” Sharon [idk what his parents names are, so if anyone knows, feel free to correct me!] says, getting up from the table

“How’s it going?”

“Great! This must be your girlfriend,” she says looking at me

“Yeah, this is my girlfriend, Jamie. This is my mom Sharon, and that’s my dad Dave,”

“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you!” I say

“You too! You’re exactly how he described you, and you’re a very beautiful girl!”

“Oh thank you!”

James’ parents were so sweet, I was glad to be in a family environment again, especially with always being away from my parents.  We spent a lot of time together.  James and I even took a few day trips up to Ottawa, and over to Thunder Bay, so I got to see where the Staal boys are from, and also Patrick Sharp and Taylor Pyatt.  Our trip was so fun but it went by too fast, and before we knew it, it was time to go home.

To bring in the month of September, Mario had an end of the summer pool party at his house for the guys, which was really nice of him. Then a few nights after that, it was the team dinner at the Omni Penn, with all the players and their significant others or families.  Logan had settled into a 3-bedroom condo in the same complex as me, and he was getting used to being here and was starting to fall in love with it. 

James, Max and some of the other guys planned to end the summer with a bang, by getting front row seats to Kenny Chesney’s concert at Heinz field, I think there was about 15 of us there, and we took over the entire first two rows.  Along on his tour, he brought Luke Bryan, Easton Corbin, and Steel Magnolia.  It was one of the best concerts I had ever been to.

Preseason flew by, the boys finished with a perfect 5-1 record, with the only loss being to the defending champion Bruins.  The home opener was 2 days away and then the boys would be leaving for a 4 game road trip, split between Canada and California. 

Kelsey, TK’s girlfriend, and I were heading out to the Ross Park mall to do some shopping.  The guys were finishing up at practice, and we all made plans to have dinner at Logan’s, then go to Diesel.  We’re walking around when my phone rings

“Hey Logan!” I say after answering

“Hey Jay, so umm, I kind of need your help,” Logan says

“Ok, what’s up,”
“My crazy ex showed up at the arena today,”
“The one you were telling me about a few weeks ago?”
“Ashley? Yeah, that’s her. I guess she went out to San Jose thinking I was still there, but Seto had to open his big mouth and told her I got traded out here,”
“So she’s pretty much following you around the country?”

“Basically, and I told you what happened when I ended things with her back home, but she won’t leave me alone. She’s the biggest puck slut I know!”

“Ok, so I’m confused as to where you need my help?”

“Well, I know you’re with Nealer, obviously, but maybe you have some girl friends that could help out too?”
“You mean to scare her away? When do you think we would even see her?”
“Oh, you’d be surprised. Apparently she has a friend out here that knows we go to Diesel and stuff, so there’s a good chance she could be there tonight,”
“Shit! Ok, I’ll think of something then I will call you ok,”

“Sweet thanks Jay!”

So after updating Kelsey on what’s going on, I call Allie to invite her and Mel out with us tonight, I know they would love to help get rid of a puck slut hanging around our boys.  And it was an added incentive for Allie to come, because Beau Bennett is coming, and she loves him.  I call Logan back to tell him that Allie & Mel are coming.

“Hey girls!” I say, opening the door to Allie and Mel

“Hey!” They respond, walking in

“This is Kelsey, TK’s girlfriend, this is Allie and Mel, and you know Miranda,”
“Nice to meet you Kelsey!”

“You girls too! You ready to get crazy tonight?” Kelsey asks

“Definitely! Are we pregaming here or what?” Allie asks

“We’re going up to Logan’s for dinner, then we’re going to walk to Diesel, so if ya’ll drink too much, your more then welcome to crash here,” I tell them

“Ok, sweet thanks!” Mel adds

“BUT Ms. Allison, if you want Beau, you might not want to get completely trashed,”

“True, I should probably behave,” She says with a smile,

After dinner and drinks at Logan’s, we’re making our way down to Diesel.  Allie and Beau were getting along great and it seemed that Mel and Logan were in deep conversation about something.

“Are you playing matchmaker again?” James asks, taking my hand in his

“Maybe, Allie has had the biggest crush on Beau!”

“I can see that! I’ve never seen BB act like that, what about LC and Mel?”
“That’s their own doing, I had no part in that, but Logan informed me on his crazy ex, so what’s going on with them could be good,” I say as James shakes his head

“This is going to be an interesting night,” He says

And what an interesting night it was.  Turned out that Ashley, Logan’s ex was there, with one of her friends that were dressed nearly as skanky as she was.  Thankfully we were upstairs in VIP, that didn’t stop her from trying to get up here, but the bouncers at the bottom wouldn’t have it. She and her friend sat at the bar for a while, pouting that they couldn’t get upstairs, she was even texting Logan non stop, she finally gave up…but she gave up on him and attempted to move on to someone else; that someone else happened to be my boyfriend, and I wasn’t having it, especially with 3 shots of tequila in me.

“Code red, Jay, code red!” Logan yells at me as I’m talking to Kelsey and Vero

“What?” I ask, walking over to him, leaning over the balcony

“Slut is moving in on Nealer,” he says, as I follow his eyes to where James is getting drinks

“Not under my watch,” I say, watching her get closer and closer to him

“Push her away, babe,” I’m telling him under my breath.

But he doesn’t, and she gets closer. Not a second later, her mouth is on his. Then he pushes her away, and looks up at the VIP, where his eyes meet mine…and that’s when I start walking away.

Chapter 10

***Im sorry I havent updated in FOREVER. I know I suck at life. I thought I'd at least post a short chapter until I get another one written.

BTW words cant describe how sad I am that Max Talbot is a filthy Flyer...ugh :( but I love him too much, and Im not going to cut him out of the story, because he's a pretty permanent character here...and he's James' best friend(& wingman).

Ill have a full chapter up soon...hope this will hold you over til then! 

~J

“What’s up LC?” James says as we get out of the car

“You know I hate that nickname. Not much though, you?”

“Not much either, this is my girlfriend, Jay. Jay, this is Logan Couture,”
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you!” He says, shaking my hand

“Nice to meet you too! I have to say, your one of my favorite Sharks players,”
“Oh thanks! Well now I’m on your boyfriends team,”
“That’s awesome!”
“So where are we going?” Logan asks as we get in the car

“Well you got choices, there’s Joes, Cheesecake Factory, Hard Rock,”

So we ended up at Cheesecake Factory for dinner, we were showing him the area and East Carson Street as we were driving down there.  He had asked about a few places to look for living, so I mentioned some of the apartment complexes on East Carson Street, and around the area.  After dinner we showed him around town more, he was already getting confused with the streets, so we told him he’d have to invest in a GPS.

It was free agency day, Logan had signed a 3 year, $4.6 million dollar contract, and he was beyond excited to be in a new environment and around new teammates. None of the guys were back yet, so besides knowing James, the only other guys he met were Max, Dupuis & Kunitz, since those were the guys who stuck back at their houses here.

My parents were flying into Pittsburgh today; my sister and her family would be driving up tomorrow.  I had the day off so I was with James at his house before we left for the airport.  I gave him the option to meet up with us later, but he wanted to come with me to pick them up.  I was excited to see my parents, after going from seeing them everyday to not seeing them in almost 2 months was weird.  They were happy to meet James and thought that he was perfect for me.  They settled into the Sheraton hotel at Station Square, where the rest of our family would be joining them tomorrow.  We went to a Pirates game on Forth of July night. 

August was nearing, James wanted to take a trip back home to see his family, and invited me along, so I had to call my mom to send me my passport, and arranged with Joey to get the days off.  This would be my first trip to Canada and I was pretty excited.

“Hey babe, you ready?” James asks as I answer the phone

“Yeah, just have to throw a few things in my suitcase,” I respond

“Ok, I’m outside your apartment,”
“Ok,” I say going to the door

“Hi!” I say, excitedly

“Hey,” he says, giving me a kiss, “We ready?”

“Yep, let’s go!”

Soon after we got to the airport, it was already time to board.  After a short plane ride we had landed at the airport in Oshawa, Ontario.  We grabbed our suitcases and were met on the other side of security by James’ brother, Mike, who could almost pass for his twin. 

Chapter 9

Monday rolls around and I’m behind the bar for the very quiet lunch shift at work.

“Hey baby,” I look up to see James sit down at the bar top

“Hi!” I say meeting him half way for a kiss

“How’s work been?” he asks, flipping through the menu

“Slow,”

“I was thinking you should stay with me tonight,” He says smiling

“Ok,” I say smiling back

“Ok, good. Hold on real quick,” he says answering his phone, so I go make drinks

“That, was Ray, he and Dan are at the arena and want to have a quick meeting with me,” He says, as I walk back over

“Oh?” I ask, kind of concerned

“I doubt it’s anything bad. What time are you off?”
“As soon as Rachel gets here,”

“Ok, because he wants to see me now” he says, thinking

“Ok, well head over there, I’ll be out of here in like 15 minutes, so why don’t you just come to my house when you’re done?”

“Sounds good, wish me luck!”
“Don’t worry me,”

“It’ll be fine, babe, I’ll see you in a while, ok?”

“Hey girl!” my friend Allie says as her and Melissa sit down

“Oh hey girls! How’s it going?” I ask

“Good, just finished class for the summer,” Allie says

“Good job! I need to go back to school already,”

“Girl, you won’t have a life if you do!” Melissa says

“Right? What do ya’ll want to drink?”

“I’ll have the twisted cherry limeade,”
“I’ll try the mason jar margarita,”

“Good choices,” I say, starting to make them

“So how are things with James?” Allie asks

“Great actually, he’s by far one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever been with, he was just in here too a few minutes ago,”
“Good! He seems like a nice guy, but quiet,”
“Yeah, he was quiet and really shy when we first met, but he’s like best friends with Max, so I think Max broke him out of his shell,”
“Haha, that sounds like something he would do,” Melissa says

“Yeah. So any single ones left?” Allie asks, laughing

“Um, Sid and Kris, Geno is too. Don’t even ask about Jordan because I couldn’t tell you on that one,”
“So Geno finally got rid of that gold digger?”

“Yeah, a couple months ago. She actually cheated on him with Ovie…can you believe that?”

“Aw, poor Geno! Ovie is so nasty too,”
“Well, I could make him feel better,” Melissa says matter-of-factly 

“Come out with us one night!”

*

“So we wanted to discuss a contract extension for you,” Ray tells me

“Ok,” I respond

“We like what you’ve been bringing to the game since you came out here,” Dan says

“And we’d like to add you to the core with the rest of the guys,” he adds

“That sounds great,” I say, being able to relax a bit

“Were you nervous about this?” Dan asks, halfway laughing

“I was skeptical about it, I think it was my girlfriend that was more worried,”

“Girlfriend? Nealer found a woman!” Dan says, making me blush a bit

“Yeah, and we figured we wouldn’t wait until free agency, so we’re taking care of it today,” Ray says

“I’m looking forward to staying here,” I say with a smile

“Well, let’s get into the details of your new contract before you sign,”

“Ok,”
“First thing, is that there is a no movement clause in here, so unless you ask to be traded, your stuck here. It’s a 4 year, 6 million dollar deal, how does that sound?”

“Sounds amazing,”
“Ok, sign away then!” Ray says, handing me the pen to sign

“We’ll have the announcement up by the end of the day, ok? So you can reassure your girlfriend that you’ll be a Penguin for 4 more years,”

“I will, I’m sure she’ll be as happy as me,”
“Well we look forward to meeting her at the team dinner in September,”

“Absolutely,”
“Ok, that’s all for today then,”
“Thank you so much,”
“Your very welcome! Go out and celebrate,”

I do as I’m told, and head straight to Jay’s house; on my way I call my parents to share the news with them and my brother. I also happen to mention Jay, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard my mom so happy, and says she can’t wait to meet her.

*

“Hi,” James says as I open the door

“Hi babe!” I say letting him in, “How did the meeting go?” I ask as we sit on the couch

“Great, actually. Ray offered me an extension,”

“And?”

“I’m here for 4 more years!”
“Oh, baby that’s so exciting!”

“I had a feeling it was coming, but as FA came closer, I got a little more nervous,”
“Yeah, I could kind of tell, so your excited to stay here?”
“Absolutely. I love the city and the guys I play with, it’s closer to home. And that means I have all the time I want with you,” He says, kissing me

“Well I’m excited to have you here longer, I couldn’t imagine you leaving,”

“Let’s go celebrate?”

“Yes!” I say as his phone rings again,

“Sorry babe, hold on,” He says

*

“Hey man!” I say

“Hey Nealer! What’s going on?” the voice on the other line says

“Not much, just at my girlfriends house, I was telling her that I signed a 4 year contract extension,”
“That’s awesome, congratulations! Well I was calling with some news too,”

“Oh yeah? What’s that,”
“I’m in Pittsburgh! Wilson didn’t want to resign me, since they got Davidson in the draft, so Shero got a hold of my agent, and I’m going to sign a deal with the Penguins,”

“No shit? That’s great! How long are you here for?”
“A few days, David is coming in tomorrow to meet with Ray and Dan. I have to go back to San Jose next week to clean out my house,”
“Well great! Why don’t you come to dinner with my girlfriend and I?” I ask, getting a questioning look from Jay

“Oh, I don’t want to impose, I was going to order room service,”
“No way, come eat with us, where are you staying? We will come get you, then we can show you around,”

“I’m at the Omni Penn,”
“Ok, be ready at 6:15,”
“Ok, see you soon man,”

*

“Someone joining us for dinner?” I ask

“Yeah, I’m not sure if I can say anything yet, but he’s about to sign a deal with the Pens, we played in juniors together,” He tells me

“Anyone I know of?”
“You might, he played for San Jose,”

“That’ll be tough to guess, I like the Sharks,”

“Well, you’ll just have to wait and see wont you?” he says with a mischievous smile

“Boo! Ok fine,”

About an hour later, we get into James’ car and head to the Omni Penn to pick up this mysterious new teammate that I’m still trying to figure out.  He puts the car in park and calls him to say we’re outside and to look for a black Denali.

As soon as I see the guy who was one of my guesses what out the doors, I immediately know it’s him

“Are you kidding me, babe? He’s such an amazing player!”
“And he plays for the Pens now, which is even better,”

Chapter 8

Being on a plane with my best friend and our boyfriends made it more fun to handle, the joking around and the drinks kept coming; finally, after 5 hours, we landed in Vegas.

“Oh my gosh, look at this room!” I say as we all explore our hotel room

“Pretty sure it’s like 5 times as big as our apartments put together!” Miranda says, laughing

“This is way nice,” James says

“Well, let’s scope out the rooms and see who wants where,”

“Ooh, I like this room!” I say, walking into the 2^nd bedroom

“Yeah? It looks cozy,” James says

“Well, there ya go. Let’s relax for a while then go out?” Max asks,
“By relax, you mean at the pool with margaritas, right?”

“I like the way you think Jay!” Miranda says

“Ok, be ready in 10, we’ll head to the pool,”
“Thata boy!”

10 minutes later, we are all walking down to the pool, we spent nearly 2 hours laying out and drinking.  After showering and getting ready, we decided to start with dinner…and more drinks.   

Dinner was at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, and then it was a night on the strip, which consisted of club and bar hopping. After a few stops, we went to Pure, James and Max were standing near our table while Miranda and I went for another round of drinks.  The bartender surprised me when he mentioned my name, turned out it was my friend Alex who lived in Florida; we talked for a bit while he got our drinks.  I was surprised to see him out here, because I knew how much he loved Florida.

*

“Who’s Jay talking to?” I ask Max

“I don’t know, the bartender, she’s probably just getting drinks,” he tells me
“They look like they know each other,”
“Dude, I think it’s ok, you can chill,”
“But…”
“Nealer, we’re in Vegas. If she starts macking on him, then we’ll have problems,”

“What about a phone number?”

“I don’t know, but I know I’ve never seen you like this, ask her before you blow it out of proportion,”

“Whatever, I’m going out for some air,”
“James!” He yells at me, but I’m already walking outside

*

“Hey Jay, you might want to go get James,” Max tells me as he approaches us

“What? Where did he go?” I ask, looking around

“Outside, I think he got mad when he saw you talking to the bartender, I told him to talk to you first, but he just walked out,”
“Seriously?”

“Yeah, who is this guy?” he says, trying to act all macho

“He’s my friend Alex, I know him from some friends in Florida,”
“And the phone number?”
“It’s his email address, for me and one of my friends to see his wedding website,”
“Oh shit, ok, well go find James, want me to come with you?”
“No, ya’ll stay here, I’ll be right back,”
“Call me if you need anything,”

Thankfully I don’t have to walk far, I see James down the street in front of the fountain at the Bellagio

“James,” I say walking up

“What was that all about?” He asks defensively

“Woah, can you let me explain?”

“Ok,”

“That’s my friend Alex, I know him from some of my other friends in Florida, I hadn’t seen him in years and we were just catching up while he made our drinks,”
“Is that why he gave you his number?” he asks, still defensive

“It’s his email address, and he gave it to me to give to a friend, and so we could look at his wedding website,”

“Oh. Now I feel like an ass. I’m sorry,” He says, wrapping his arms around me

“Did you really get mad?” I ask, before giving him a kiss
“More along the lines of a little jealous,”
“Really?”

“I guess, but I’m over it now,”
“Ok, I just wish you woulda let me tell you before you walk out,”
“Yeah, sorry about that too,”
“It’s ok, I just got worried when Max said you left,”

“Yeah, what do you say we hang out here for a few minutes? The water show is about to start,”
“Ok,” I say, perfectly content in his strong embrace

After everything is worked out, we try to get back into the club, but can’t because of the line, so James calls Max to tell him, and they come out a minute later.  We then decide to go to The Bank, in the Bellagio.  We end the night at an all night restaurant called Fatburger, which was your typical burger place, and it was pretty good.  The guys ate most of the food, Miranda and I were pretty gone to try and eat.

Day 2 was in full affect, and we started it early with breakfast at the hotel before lying out at the pool again.  The environment of being down there was a ton of fun; everyone was nice and friendly, which kind of surprised me since it was packed.  Miranda and I were talking while the guys got a round of drinks when I see a few familiar faces walking towards us,

“Bailey?”

“Hey! What a surprise seeing you here!” she says, giving me a hug

“No kidding! Hey Stephanie!” I say, seeing her walk up

“Hey girl! How are you?” She asks

“Good! Who are you here with?”
“I came with Ben, Taylor, Derek and Kelly,” Stephanie says

“I’m here with Briar, my mom, grandma and Aunt, and we all met up,” Bailey says

“That’s cool! Where are they at?”

“Getting drinks, who are you here with?”

“Oh! This is my friend Miranda, her boyfriend Max, and my boyfriend James,” I say, introducing them

“How long are ya’ll here for? We definitely need to go out!” Bailey asks

“Absolutely! We’re here until Sunday, lets go out tonight?” I say

“Yeah, we’re here until Monday, so I’ll ask mom if she doesn’t mind putting B down,”

“Ok, awesome!”

After spending half the day at the pool, we have lunch then take a nap so we are ready for round 2.  Miranda and I spend time getting ready while the guys do god knows what. Bailey called me and we planned on meeting at the room she was staying at so I could say hi to her family, then we were meeting up with the rest of the group outside of the Bellagio, where they are staying. 

Dinner was at Lavo; it was a pretty nice place, so thankfully we matched the dress code. After dinner we had another night of clubs.  This time we started off the strip to the Palms, and Rio.  The VooDoo Lounge was at Rio and I’m pretty sure it was my favorite club; it was an outdoor club on the 51^st floor.  Dancing, drinking and catching up with my best friends was the best part too,

“So how did you meet James?” Bailey asks as we walk to the bathroom

“Him and the guys came in for lunch one day, Miranda met them before so she introduced me to them,” I say

“They wanted to meet her, so I brought her over,” Miranda adds

“We went out with them to Diesel that night, and yeah,” I say smiling

“Aw, well I gotta give you props, he’s a handsome one!”

“Yeah girl, he’s way hot,” Stephanie says

“Thanks, he’s pretty amazing,”
“What does he do?” Steph asks

“He plays for the Penguins,”
“Oh yeah, duh,”

“You got your hockey player!” Bailey says laughing

“Right? And I hope to keep him,”

“Girl, you will, he’s head over heels for you!” Miranda adds as we walk out

The rest of the night flew by; we went for food again after the clubs before parting ways with everyone again.  Bailey and Steph promised to make a trip out to the Burgh soon.