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Waking up to pounding on my door was not how I wanted to start my day. Who the hell is here?

I drag myself out of bed and make my way to the front door. This had better be important. I was having the best dream. One guess who was in it... Yeah, Jenna was telling me she had feelings for me, and we were about to get frisky. If this is Rob or Damien coming to fuck with me, I'm going to punch them in the dick.

I open my door to see a fireman standing there. "Sir, we need everyone to evacuate the building. There have been reports of a gas leak. We're asking everyone to leave until we give the all-clear."

Well, this is great!

I grab what I need for the day and head to the hockey complex early. I guess since I can't be home, I'll get an extra workout in before practice.

~

I'm the last to leave the locker room that night. While I'm getting ready to head home, I check my voicemail. I have a message from the landlord saying there was a massive problem with the gas lines. When they went to fix it, they found black mold, and it will be at least a week until everything is sorted out. The gas to the building was shut off, so it was safe to enter to grab personal belongings, but they highly recommended finding somewhere to stay until repairs were completed.

Seriously? Fuck! This blows! I wonder if one of the boys will let me crash on their couch until this shit is sorted out. I'll check with them tomorrow.

When I get to the apartment, I grab what I'll need for a week or two, then head down the street to a hotel. This really sucks. I hate staying in hotels. You never know if the cleaning crew has actually cleaned everything, and I've heard horror stories about people finding used glasses in their bathrooms or dirty sheets as soon as they check-in.

The thought of that makes me cringe. It's unavoidable when we travel, so I suck it up. But when we aren't traveling, I just want to sleep in my bed in my apartment, or at least somewhere that I know is clean.

I get settled in my hotel room for the night after obsessively checking the bed, bathroom, and kitchenette for signs of filth. When I'm satisfied that the room was properly cleaned, I take a hot shower and lay down, trying to relax.

~

I catch Rob, Drew, and Damien in the locker room before practice the next day. I figure they'll be my best bet for finding a place to crash. "Hey, do any of you have a couch or spare bed I can crash on for a week or two? There's a busted gas pipe in my building, and I need a place to stay til it's fixed."

Drew shoots me a sympathetic look. "That sucks, man, but Rob's cousin is visiting this week. So, he's taking our couch already. Sorry, man."

Rob adds, "Yeah, sorry buddy, if my cuz weren't in town, you know we'd give you the couch."

Shit, that sucks. They have a nice place, too; I was really hoping to crash with them.

I turn to Damien. He has a sheepish look on his face. "I'm in a studio right now, man, til I close on my house, otherwise I would. But ya know, no separation between the bed and couch. Don't wanna give you any free shows."

Really, dude? For one week, you can't keep it in your pants?

They walk off, still giving me pitiful looks. I ask a couple of the other guys and get similar answers. Looks like I'll be stuck in a hotel until this shit is fixed. Fuck, this sucks!

I'm frustrated and throwing stuff into my locker when Chase walks in. "Everything okay?"

Awesome, just what I need- my captain seeing me throw a fucking tantrum.

I try to calm down before answering. "Not really. I just got kicked out of my place because there is a problem with the gas lines, apparently. I guess they found a bunch of black mold when they went to fix everything. I have to stay out for at least a week."

Chase grimaces. "Damn, man, that sucks. I take it you haven't found somewhere to crash yet?"

I shake my head. "Nope. All these assholes claim they don't have space and can't give up their couch for some bullshit reason. They just don't want me in the way when they want to hook up with randos. And I'd rather not stay in a hotel all that time. It's bad enough when we have to stay in hotels when we travel."

Jeeze, I sound like a spoiled brat right now.

He nods as the expression on his face turns thoughtful. After a few seconds, he offers to let me crash on his couch. He's got to run it by his roomies first, but he seems confident that they'll be okay with it.

Oh, thank God! I won't have to stay in a hotel for two weeks.

"Thanks, Chase. You're a lifesaver, man!" I'm not exaggerating when I tell him this. I really hate staying in hotels.

~

After practice, Chase tells me he got the okay from his roomies for me to crash with them until my apartment is safe to move back to. Once we're all cleaned up, I head over to Chase's place with him and Liam.

Lindsey has the living room set up for me and tells me she put extra toiletries in the bathroom and has more pillows and blankets if I need them. I thank her and tell her again how grateful I am that she agreed to let me stay with them.

Maybe the next couple of weeks won't be so bad, after all.

She goes back to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner while the guys show me around the apartment. They have a great place. It's spacious and has a huge living room and kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a dining room. I know they have another roommate who stays in the third bedroom. I just don't know who it is. I know it's not anyone from the team.

I'm about to ask them who it is when Lindsey lets us know dinner is ready. Everything looks fantastic, and suddenly I'm less interested in the other roommate and more interested in this food. Lindsey really knows how to cook! Not gonna lie; I'm impressed.

I learn at dinner that the third roommate is out of town for work for the week. So, I won't be meeting them until later on.

As we eat, we discuss what's going on with the team and how we think the rest of the season will go. I keep noticing how Chase and Lindsey are eyeing each other and can't help but comment. "I still can't believe you two are together."

They share a smile, and I start thinking about my own romantic life. Jenna and I haven't talked much since our night at the bar. I get the feeling she's avoiding me. I've hardly seen her since that night, and when I do get the balls to text her, she keeps it short and sweet. I thought we were making progress, but I have no idea where to go from here.

~

The rest of the week goes by quickly. I've fallen into a groove at the apartment. And I have to say; I don't think I've ever enjoyed crashing on a couch more. The boys gave me the code to use the apartment building's gym, so I've been taking advantage of that when I get bored. Lindsey has cooked dinner for us every night, and it's incredible. It's so much better than staying in a hotel.

When Friday rolls around, my agent reminds me that I have a dinner meeting with a potential sponsor later. I let Liam and Chase know that I won't be back for dinner tonight. The guy made a reservation at some upscale steakhouse for us to discuss me potentially signing a contract with them. I don't really need another sponsor. I make plenty from my contract with Jenna's company, but this guy was relentless. He kept hounding my agent until I finally agreed to meet with him. I'm just planning on going, eating his fancy dinner, and leaving.

After practice, I stay at the complex and get some extra reps in before going to the restaurant. By the time I'm done, I'm starving. The reservations are later than I'm used to eating because the guy was supposedly flying in from out of town. I have half a mind to order one of everything on the menu when I get there for this jerk hounding me so hard about meeting him.

~

I get to the restaurant a little before the meeting time was set. When I get to the hostess station, I give the woman the name of the guy I'm meeting with. "Reservation under Max Beckham."