Ice Dreams

Disclaimer: Characters in this story are my creation, as is the city of Bannen,(as far as I know, Canada doesn’t have a city named Bannen in it), and the hockey team is fictional as well. California doesn’t have a team named the Demon Dogs, that is my creation. The characters in this story are not based on any specific person, so any similarities are purely coincidental. I do not own any rights to the Stanley Cup, and I don’t make any money off my stories.

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I tried to keep the hockey facts as truthful as possible, so please excuse any slip-ups. While this is a story based on a sports team, it’s not my intention to focus completely on it, but instead on the romantic story. I also don’t bash hockey players in real life, as I’ve met a few and they are lovely people. It just works in my story for now. I was inspired from the recent playoff games, when this plot bunny jumped into my head. Please enjoy.

Warnings: angst, lemon, oral, death, fluff, language, m/f


** Asterisks indicate thoughts
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Chapter Twenty-Three



Denise sat on one end of a long, polished conference table, trying her best not to zone out the conversation around her. She had taken an early flight to New York to pitch her designs to her company, and surprisingly enough, things were going smoothly. Although she wasn’t entirely pleased with the sketches she had created, her colleagues were loving them. All she could hear was praise. It was a nice boost to her ego, since she had not been feeling too good about her work.

“And the colours – fabulous. How on earth do you do it? I can see women everywhere on the streets wearing this jacket. With the faux-fur trim, it definitely makes a fashion statement.”

Denise was thinking about postponing the finishing date of her next clothing line. As of lately, she wasn’t feeling inspired about her work in the least. All she wanted to do was relax and not think about clothes at all. She would need to inform her boss of that though, and it was something she was not looking forward to. How would he react?

“Well, what can I say? You did it again Denise. The designs are magnificent.” Denise raised her ocean blue eyes to regard her boss, Mr. Dax Weatherington. He was a truly creative and inspiring man, and had helped Denise get started on her career almost a decade ago. He smiled at her, straight white teeth gleaming in the overhead lights, and turned to the men and women sitting at the conference table.

“Okay ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our meeting for today. We have to let Miss Woods collect her thoughts before she hops a flight back to Bannen. God knows she’s already exhausted.” A chorus of laughter filled the room. As they stood to leave, several men and women stopped to shake Denise’s hand and compliment her work. When the room had cleared, Dax came to take a seat beside Denise.

“Okay honey. I know you’re probably tired from creating such gorgeous masterpieces, but I’m also not blind. What’s going on?” Dax had switched from being premier businessman to concerned friend in a matter of seconds. Denise had always liked him, and he had a comforting presence. She decided that confiding in him might not be such a bad thing after all.

“Dax, I just don’t think I will be able to complete the new line on time.” She said, clasping her hands in front of her. That was the hardest piece of information to share. She hated that she had to let him down like that. He always looked forward to her upcoming fashion lines. He was very good though, trying hard to mask his disappointment.

“Why dear? Is something wrong? Are you ill? Bad times?” Denise stopped to think of an answer. The designs were just not coming, and what was worse, she didn’t seem to give a damn. Shrugging her shoulders, she looked him steadily in the eye.

“Work is just not going well for me right now. I don’t have any motivation. The ideas aren’t there. It makes me somewhat sad to say this, but I think that I need to take a break from work for awhile. I need to collect my thoughts, clear my mind, and then I will feel ready to start creating again.” There was a long moment of silence. Denise tried desperately not to squirm in her chair. Finally, Dax took a long breath.

“You know what? As much as I hate to hear that, it makes perfect sense. You’ve never really taken a break in your whole life – well, as long as you’ve been working for me that is. I can see that maybe it’s the right time to put away the paper for awhile and do something else. Okay honey, I think that sounds good. Go home, rest, do whatever it is that you need to do, and when you’re feeling better give me a call. Perhaps I can help you get back some of that inspiration again.”

Denise felt a strong urge to let out the breath she had been holding. She hadn’t expected Dax to be truly angry, but his response was far more easygoing than she had anticipated. Now she felt silly for dreading this conversation. Smiling, she shook Dax’s hand and stood.

“Thanks so much, Dax. You don’t know how much I need this.” Relief flooded Denise’s senses. Now she could take a proper break, and not worry about the fashion industry at all. She could concentrate fully on her job as the events coordinator for the Bannen Warriors. The banquet and the Christmas social was coming up fast, and that was all she wanted to think about.

“My dear, I think I do know. You’re starting to get that over-worked look. You know, tired eyes, drained energy, stress ball?”

“Thanks…” Dax grinned mischievously.

“But you also have a special glow about you too. Is there a man involved?”

“…”

“Uh huh. I thought so. You go enjoy dinner, and catch some sleep on your flight home. You don’t want to go back to him looking haggard.”

“Thanks. I think I will. Talk to you later, Dax.”

“I look forward to it. Thank you, my dear, for the beautiful designs. This new line is going to be a hit.”


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Dinner had been a corporate thing, where Denise had met Dax’s business partners, as well as some old associates of his. She also had the opportunity to meet up with some designer friends of hers, and catch up on old times. All in all, it was a fulfilling and exhausting day, and when she finally boarded the airplane, she was beyond exhausted. Graham had called once, during her lunch break, where they had talked briefly about their day so far. Like usual, Graham had informed her of practice and the hard work that was to come, and she talked about how the meetings were going and what the responses were to her creations so far.

Their conversation had been cut short by Dax, who had abruptly ended her lunch to resume with the conference. Graham had been a good sport, letting her go, but not before telling her he loved her and missed her. When she recalled the conversation, she was filled with a sense of warmth and love. Jon had never made her feel the way she did with Graham, and Graham gave her the kind of security she hadn’t ever felt with her family. Her parents were a disaster, and it was something she never desired to go back to again.

Leaning her head against the small, circular window, Denise peered out. The sky was pitch-black, and if she squinted, she could make out the form of the wing. In a few hours, the sun would be rising, and she would be driving home to take a short nap before meeting Graham for lunch. As much as sleepiness was rapidly invading her senses, she was overcome with a calmness she hadn’t felt for a long time. There were no pressures on her, and she didn’t need to dread over her clothing line. All she needed to do was relax and fully enjoy her job as events coordinator. She had been meeting with Bob a lot, and now they were nearly ready to start preparing the actual venues for the Christmas celebrations.

With clothes out of the way, she was also able to focus her attention on Hilary more. The woman would not get the best of her, and she would not allow Hilary to see that she was annoying her. That would make her too pleased, to see how easily she could piss Denise off. Graham’s plan, although very risqué, could do the job of repelling Hilary. It was definitely a risk, but a risk she was willing to take. Maybe it would drive Hilary so far away that she would quit her job with the Bannen Warriors altogether. Wouldn’t that be a blessing!

Deciding to save those thoughts for when she was well-rested, Denise let her eyes drift shut. Everything was going to turn out fine. The banquet was going to be wonderful, and the kids at the children’s hospital were going to love the Bannen Warriors. It was sure to be the best Christmas she had ever experienced in her life.


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Neil’s mother had told him many years ago not to leave Christmas shopping until the last minute. Unfortunately, she never specified what exactly last minute was. It was already nearing the end of November, but Neil hadn’t anticipated there to be so many shoppers in the mall. Squeezing his way through the crowds, he felt like a kid in the bleachers at the Bannen Hawks baseball game. It was hard to maneuver his body through the surging shoppers.

Finally coming to a clear spot, he paused to inhale a deep breath. He vowed that next year he would start shopping in June, like his mother, in order to avoid the rest of the last-minute rushers. He hadn’t thought it through though, and that was why he was in the mall, on a Saturday, looking for suitable gifts to buy Amanda. Since it was clear to them both that she was going to be in his life for a long time to come, he wanted to get her something meaningful, something she would appreciate and wouldn’t leave on a shelf to collect dust.

Shopping for women was hard. He had heard Amanda complaining about having no clue what she was going to get for him, but she had absolutely no idea the hell he was going through trying to figure out what to buy for her. What did women want? He couldn’t buy her perfume, since each woman had their own scent. It was a personal thing – she would need to pick it out herself. Lingerie is not exactly the gift you give for Christmas – it’s more of a gift for men than women anyway. She would think that he expected her to model it for him (which was true).

Clothes might be nice. He knew that Denise was a famous fashion designer, and that Amanda admired her work. Maybe that would be something good to purchase – something from the Denise Woods collection. Neil set forward, determination in his step. He didn’t know what the hell he was going to get, but he felt good.


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Graham and Denise had gone out for lunch once she had finished with her nap, and she had no idea how much she missed him until she saw his face again. Although it had only been a day, Graham was a man she didn’t want to be parted from for too long. He made her feel exactly the way she imagined a man would make a woman feel – sexy, admired, cherished, and loved. She was also mad about him. His grin, his eyes, his personality…and of course, she couldn’t ignore his beautiful body. Every time he laughed, she held onto it like it was music.

When lunch was finished, she had no idea what she was going to do for the rest of the day. As far as she knew, Graham was finished with practice and there wasn’t a game that night. She did have some work concerning the banquet, but it wasn’t urgent.

“What are your plans for today?” She asked, her fingers linked with his. He smiled, squeezing her hand.

“Spending them with you, of course. I’m not doing anything, and I can bet all my money that you don’t have any plans either.”

“Yup, you’re right. What shall we do then?” Graham shrugged, pulling Denise close against his tall frame.

“I don’t know. We could take a walk, though it’s a bit cold outside. We could watch a movie, play video games…”

“Seriously?”

“Have sex, finish up your work on the banquet and Christmas social, plan out what’s happening with Hilary- ” Denise held up her hand, cutting Graham off. He smirked, leaning down to place a quick kiss on her palm.

“What is happening with Hilary anyway?” She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. Graham grinned wolfishly.

“Devils game, three days from now. Neil knows what’s going on with Hilary, seeing as he’s been around when she’s tried to force herself on me these last couple of times. I gave him a bit of a back story there, and told him what we were planning to do. He’ll stand guard a little away from the door, so as not to scare her off, but keep everyone else away. We’ll be fine to do our business then.” Graham pressed his lips against Denise’s, the heat from his body transferring into hers. She could feel a fire starting to burn low in her stomach as Graham’s lips moved against her own.

He pulled away before she could lose herself completely in his touch. He was mindful that they were still in public, and didn’t want to get carried away. The media were always quick to get a shot, but more than that, fans were everywhere. The last thing anyone wanted to see was the star forward of the Bannen Warriors practically humping his girlfriend in the street. Talk about not being suitable for children.

“Okay. Devils game, three days. I can do that.” Denise reiterated, giving Graham a devilish grin of her own. He wasn’t the only one that could be bad. Since Hilary was going to witness the most private thing she and Graham could ever do, she would have to make every second count.

“Yeah. Neil will take care of everything else, so don’t worry about anything.”

“Good.” Graham watched Denise out of the corner of his eye as they walked up the busy streets of downtown Bannen. Since she had come home from her conference, she seemed to be a lot more easygoing and stress-free. Although he rarely got to see her work, it seemed as of lately her job was weighing down on her more. He made a mental note to talk to her about it later. As much as they were in a very physical relationship, they were also in love. When you love somebody, you concern yourself with many aspects of the other person’s life. Denise was doing a good job of that so far – he was more than pleased to see her take such a keen interest in his career. It was about time he did the same thing.

“So, how is the children’s social coming?” Graham finally asked, genuinely interested with what she had to say. He had been playing with the Bannen Warriors for 3 years now, and there were certain things the team did that were a long-standing tradition. Visiting the children’s hospital at Christmas was one of them. Every year had gone smoothly, and he had no doubt that this year would be the same thing. The kids were always excited to see the players, and loved receiving the gift packages and personal autographs. That, and they went crazy at the chance to talk to their favourite player.

There were also certain things that the Bannen Warriors did during their visit. The veteran players would arrange for the rookies to do something embarrassing, all in the name of entertainment. He recalled his first year with the team, where he, as well as all the other new guys had to wear antlers and pretend to be Santa’s reindeer. The kids ate it up, and the veterans wouldn’t let them live it down for a long time after.

He remembered having to do a little dance and parade around the lobby of the hospital to the sounds of children’s laughter. Although it was fun for the kids, for a big, strong guy like him who made a living out of playing hockey, it was a tad embarrassing. While he wasn’t quite a ‘veteran’ on the team just yet, he definitely didn’t fit into the category of ‘rookie’. The guys on the team were still figuring out what the rookies should do this year. It was bound to be hilarious, now that he was on the outside looking in.

“Everything is going well, we’re pretty much ready for the day. December 15th. Bob will be sending out an email, so nobody forgets. I hear that you guys pretty much have it under control anyway. Some of you make speeches, right?”

“Speeches, skits, entertaining…that’s what we do. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”

“I guess I will.” Denise had remembered Bob telling her when she first got the job that the guys were pretty mischievous, especially when it came time for the Christmas social. She wondered how bad it could be.

“What about the banquet? Is that all done?”

“All done, ready to go. The menu has been figured out, as well as any decorations needed.”

“That’s always a fun party. You’ll love it. I’ll have to kidnap you and put you under the mistletoe for the whole evening.” Graham joked. Denise rolled her eyes.

“As if you need mistletoe. You do whatever you want, whenever you want.”

“Damn right.”

“Well,” She started. “It better be a good evening. It’s my birthday.”

“Really? The banquet’s your birthday?”

“Uh huh.” Graham blinked, then smiled, kissing her lightly on the forehead. As they walked further up the street, Graham was hit by a sudden thought.

*Shit. What the hell am I going to buy for her?*

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A/N: So sorry for the extra long wait. I just got back to school, and the internet wasn't installed in my dorm until today. Same goes for my other stories as well. There will be updates soon, I just haven't been able to get online to do it. Thanks for reading, more to come soon. Please review!

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