(Black and) Gold Heart

8. The Good, The Bad, and The Hungry

        When I finally close the door behind me and slide onto the floor after my few hours with Jess, I realize how exhausted I actually am. After Jess had sped away from my great escape as fast as she could, we spent the afternoon shopping to fully stock everything in the kitchen. We had shopped til we dropped, literally, I drove back in her car to the apartment she shared with her sister and watched Shawshank Redemption. The movie night Thursdays of our college years lives on! 

        The reason why I am currently so exhausted is that her sister needed to take the car to pick up a colleague, so we had to walk the groceries back to the apartment. However, we neglected to remember that I had just bought foods that are sensitive to heat such as meat, milk, and ice cream, it was the usual blistering hot summer day in Boston, and that we needed to get them inside really fast! So Jess and I ran with arm fulls of groceries all three miles of uphill twists and turns back to my apartment building.

        I hugged Jess one last time before she left, and asked her to leave the bags outside the door. I haven't told her this, but I'm not ready for her to meet the boys yet, especially Brad, because if a relationship bloomed between her and a player on my account, the Bruins staff would probably not be too thrilled with me. It could happen, everyone who get's to know her realizes that she is a catch! She left with a wink, and whispered a good bye before her strawberry blonde ponytail disapeared back down the stairs.

        With the reminiscing over, I look up from my spot on the floor and immediately wish I didn't. All of my new roomates are standing over me, some with their arms crossed, and looking intimidating.  "I thought you were afraid of heights" Dougie says first.

        "She's fricken' spiderman!" Marchand exclaims throwing his hands up in the air.

         "You could've just walked out the front door" Tuukka says tossing me a small smile.

        Woah! A sign of affection! It's a miracle! Torey smiles too, "That would've been just too easy"

         "No! That's the thing, I wanted to be able to leave the house without having to ask permission from Torey, my self-appointed body gurad! No offense, I love you bro. Or even, without a single dirty joke from Brad" I say as I brush past, or at least try to. I now understand why they call Tuukka a wall, he let's nothing get past him!

         "So what did you do" he asks while subtly putting an arm out to block me.

        In response, I hold up the bags of food and duck under his blockade on my way to the kitchen.

         "How did you find the store? You just got here this morning!" Patrice asks.

         "I have my ways" I respond while opening the cabinet door to block myself from their questions as I slowly empty the bags.

         "Why were you breathing so hard? Not even one day in Boston and already working up a sweat are we?" Brad winks at me.

        Ugh, do they ever grow up?  But, this situation does have some serious possibility. I walk over to his back with a fresh egg carton in my hand. Slowly, I reach my fist above his head and drop it, letting my fingers expand through his hair. "What was that?" he asks.

        To answer his question I show him the egg carton, and he flips out. "It'sinmyhairit'sinmyhairIT'SINMYHAIR!"  he screams.

        This is too good, I can't hold back the laugh anymore. "There's no egg. I haven't even- opened the carton yet. It was all- my- hand" I try to say between my gross, seal-like laughing.

        The onlookers are laughing too. "Your face though!" Dougie spits out.

        "The expression on your face-"  I can't finish what I'm trying to say because I am shaking too hard.