How The Cookie Crumbles (47 page)

I plunked down on the couch. “Okay Debbie Downer, what is it?”

“Frankie, what time is it?”

I looked down at my watch, “It’s 2:30, why?”

“Because the party is starting around 4:00 pm, no exciting party has ever started in the afternoon. It’s starting early so that all the guys with families, like Mally or Roady, can bring their kids. This will be as exciting as a party at Chuck E. Cheese or something like that.”

“Oh.” That was kind of disappointing. I just thought we were starting early because it would be a pool party with outdoor activities before dinner. I stuck my lower lip out. “Rats.”

“Sorry, Frankie.” Jake was staring at my mouth, and I wondered if my lipstick was smeared. “Didn’t want you getting your hopes up. So how come Roady’s picking you up?”

“Oh, he had to come this way anyway, to pick up a big cake. I said I’d come early and help out Anne. When are you guys going?”

“Uh, Aspen really wanted to come, so she’s driving over here first. We’ll go once she gets here.”

I smiled tightly. She sure seemed to have him wrapped around her little finger. Do not get involved, Frankie. Ever since our showdown, I could hardly stand the sight of that phony, but I could act as sweet as she did. Her threesome suggestion made me realize that she was very nervous about Jake and me, no matter what she might claim. Sometimes Jake could be so clueless, but I figured he would eventually catch on. And in the meantime, I was getting along fine with him; we could hang out and I could totally imagine getting over him. Soon.

I saw Billy pull up outside, so I went out to meet him. He was a big, stocky guy with reddish hair. Initially, I was a little scared of him. I had seen him get into a huge, bloody fight during one game I attended. But it turned out he was a beast on the ice and a pussycat at home, and now I quite liked him. I think he was a good captain for the team because of his work ethic. “I’m not the most talented guy,” he had told me, “So I work my ass off to make up for it.” That wasn’t entirely true, he was very talented and he had size too, but he wasn’t as naturally gifted as Jake.

Their home was in Manhattan Beach, close geographically to our place but miles away in style. It was all grown up, like the kind of home your parents would have, with dark hardwood floors and built-in storage units and granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms. And it was big enough so that the various Kings, their wives, girlfriends, and kids were quickly absorbed into different rooms.

When Jake walked in with BV, more than a few heads turned. I guess he had never brought her anywhere before. She had dressed up for the occasion, in a diaphanous cotton sundress and the first heels I had ever seen her wear, so she was the same height as Jake. I lost sight of both of them quickly, and the next time I saw her was out by the pool.

I was sitting outside and chatting with Anne, who was pregnant and relaxing as much as a hostess could, when BV walked out to the edge of the pool. I don’t know where Jake was, but BV stood there, seeming to admire the turquoise water of the pool and then reached down and slowly pulled up her dress and took it off. She had the shocked attention of everyone around, but it turned out she had a very tiny white bikini underneath. She posed artfully by the pool, and even I had to admit she was stacked. Well, I had seen her naked, but the straining bits of cloth made her look even better. Every pants zipper in the vicinity ran the risk of bursting until she finally kicked off her heels and dove in. Then she executed a few perfect laps while all the guys waited for her to emerge all shiny and dripping, so they could find out if the white bikini was see-through when wet.

“Hello, earth to Frankie!”

I don’t know how long Anne had been talking to me, but I turned to see her looking very irritated. “Just ignore her for heaven’s sake,” she muttered at me, as she poked a straw into an organic juice box and handed it off to her younger son, who then toddled off happily.

“Billy!” she called across the pool. He was the only one wisely not ogling BV, and he came over and sat beside us. “Talk to her,” Anne commanded. It was clearly something they had discussed already, and he and Anne both sat on the lounger and looked at me with serious faces. Billy looked kind of uncomfortable, like Anne was making him lecture me. Possibly she had told him exactly what to say, since I clearly hadn’t been listening to her advice.

“Are you a loyal person, Frankie?” Billy asked kindly. He was a nice dad to his kids, and the tone he was using made me feel like I was his wayward daughter.

“To a fault,” I sighed. Then I looked at him, “But what are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Cookie, you and Cookie. It’s nice to be loyal, but sometimes, y’know, maybe it’s wasted. Don’t get me wrong, I think Cookie’s a great guy, but he’s young and he’s nowhere near ready to settle down.”

Anne interjected, “There’s lots of other guys who would like to go out with you, if you gave them a little encouragement.”

“You mean around here?” I looked around, but to be honest I didn’t really see anyone I liked. “But isn’t it weird to date another guy on the team? I think that would be very awkward. Plus it can’t be good for team harmony.”

Billy nodded, while Anne shook her head. “True,” he said, “It doesn’t have to be a player, there’s some guys here who are friends or relatives. But it’s not like you guys were married or anything. How long did you go out for?”

Okay, the answer to that was pretty embarrassing. Either not at all, or maybe about three weeks. “Not long,” I replied softly.

Billy shrugged. “So, not a big deal, right?” I think maybe he was trying to tell me it wasn’t a big deal for Jake. Anne added, “Just be open to meeting new people, Frankie.” His duty done, Billy happily escaped. Anne muttered something about hostess responsibilities, patted me on the head, and took off as well.

I wandered around the house a little and ended up talking to Dean Jones about university. He was finishing his degree both in the summertime and during the season on-line. That was pretty impressive, as playing hockey was a fulltime job. He told me that his college coach took education really seriously and insisted on players studying hard. I explained I’d be finishing up my degree this summer as well.

“Summer session is kind of nice, more concentrated and yet more relaxed,” I commented, since I’d done intercession courses before. “But in Vancouver, the weather is so nice that you want to be outside.”

“That’s what it’s like all the time living in L.A., I’m either going to the rink or studying when it feels like I should be going to the beach.” He laughed, but he struck me as a pretty intense person and not a beach bum.

“Are you the only one on the team finishing up your degree?” I figured you’d have to be determined to spend your off time studying, especially once you were making good money.

“No, I’m not sure how many guys are doing it, but it’s more common now among the younger guys. People think more about life after hockey. Bear’s doing his as well,” He motioned over to a big, blondish guy across the room who was talking to Jake. They were both looking at us, and when they noticed us looking at them, the blonde guy came over. He was definitely cute, with wavy hair, twinkly grey eyes and a wide smile. With these hockey players, I could never tell if their teeth were real or not.

“Hi, I’m Christian Bauer,” he said. “You’re Frankie, right?”

Jake

Aspen was almost as excited as Frankie about the party. I guess I had never actually taken her to any team functions, even though we met at one. I preferred it that way, but she had insisted on this because she really wanted to meet “my connected friends.” I got a big reaction when I walked in with her, but I didn’t know if it was her or the fact I showed up with a chick at all. I introduced Aspen to Lovey and Amanda right off since I knew she wouldn’t leave me alone otherwise, and then I went to get a beer.

“Cookie, what’s a girl like that doing with you?” D.J. wondered.

“Smiling,” I told him, grinning, “because I know how to make women happy.”

“But can you keep them happy?” Duper wondered, looking over at Frankie. She was talking to some of the wives.

Lurch was staring at Aspen’s rack. “Wow. Is she your girlfriend?”

“Naw, just a friend.” That sounded like fucking preschool, but the whole reason I was hanging with Aspen was because I didn’t want to have a girlfriend.

“Why don’t you just say she’s your girlfriend?” Domer asked me as we went to check out the gaming room.

“She’s not. We’re not into that commitment stuff.”

“You’re just fooling yourself. You see her all the time. What’s the difference?”

I didn’t like hearing that. It kind of put me on the defensive. “Me? What about you and Theresa? I don’t hear you calling her your girlfriend.”

“We’re taking a break.” Domer looked down, embarrassed. No wonder; he sounded like a chick when he said that.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, when I got injured, she was so into taking care of me. It started to feel kind of suffocating. And then when we watched the Dallas game, she wouldn’t stop talking. I got bugged, we ended up arguing, and she got mad.”

This was sounding familiar. I nodded, “Yeah, it was like that with Frankie, sort of.”

“Really? Because when I watched the St. Louis game with her, she was fun. And she knows when to shut up.”

“No, I don’t mean that part, she’s always great to hang out with. More like the suffocating part, like whatever you do, chicks always want more.”

We both shook our heads, and drank some beer. “We’re too young for this shit,” I concluded and Domer nodded.

Bear was only the millionth person to come up to ask about Aspen, but he did it backwards.

“I don’t get this,” he motioned to Frankie, who was talking to D.J. across the room. “Is she not living with you?”

“Yeah,” I told him.

“Then, what about her?” he motioned to Aspen who was busy talking to Clarkie and Duper, now that Lovey had left. Her hair was damp, so I guess she had been swimming.

“She’s my, um, special friend.” Fuck, this was just getting worse. I should have never brought Aspen.

Bear started laughing, “Your special friend? That’s what my grandmother used to call a woman’s period, she’d ask my sisters, ‘Are you having a visit from your special friend?’”

“Shut up!” Now I officially was a total idiot.

He stopped laughing and started eyeing Frankie again.

“So then… Frankie, right?” he asked, and I nodded. “Wasn’t she your girlfriend before?”

I shrugged, “She’s a friend. Just doing her a favour and letting her crash at our place for a few months while she works here.”

“Is she dating anyone?” Bear asked, checking out Frankie’s body in her sundress. Yeah, good luck with that, buddy. Frankie seemed to have resisted the charms of everyone she had met in L.A. so far. She was pretty picky. Of course, most of the guys had figured we had something going on, but now that I walked in with Aspen, it was tough to pretend that anymore. I guess it was kind of unfair that I didn’t want her dating anyone else. Just then Frankie looked up and smiled at me. She was too far away to hear anything, but I still felt guilty.

“Nope. Knock yourself out, dude.”

“Really, you don’t mind?”

“Naw. Good luck.” He’d need it, and I was pretty sure she’d shoot him down.

57. Possibilities

Once the boys left on their three-week road trip, my life changed completely. I didn’t have to cook much, I hardly had to grocery shop, and cleaning the house was a snap. But more importantly, Jake had been taking up a lot of psychic space in my brain, and now that he was gone, I felt happier and more energetic. Of course, I felt lonelier too, since not having anyone around made the house seem big and empty. I decided to have my museum friends over for a dinner party.

“So,” Franco declared, “We finally get to see the famous beach house, but sadly we don’t get to see the hunky athletes you live with.” He looked around expectantly, as if Luke and Jake might pop out wearing only jockstraps.

Leon was busy checking out the décor, which was not up to his aesthetic standards. Good thing he didn’t see it before I redecorated a bit. “You do get how ironic it is that you work at an art museum and there is no original art in your home?” Jake had rented the place fully furnished, and the factory-made abstractions came with it.

“Stop insulting Frankie after she kindly invited us over!” Sofia declared. “I’m still living at home, so I envy you, darling.”

Franco wasn’t finished with his athlete fantasies. “You know, Frankie, there has been some very interesting discussion around the fact that you live with two professional athletes. It’s definitely got an air of kink.”

“How nice to know I have a reputation, when I’m living a life of perfect chastity,” I replied. “More appies?” I had made up a platter of grilled bruschetta with tomato and basil, olive tapenade, or truffled goat cheese.

“How can that possibly be?” Franco wondered, “You’re so lush, Frankie! You’re like sex on a stick! With that thick hair, that hourglass figure, and those tight dresses, you mean you just sashay through here and those hockey jockeys treat you with utter respect? I call bull on that!”