SF Chapter 111: Last Day in New York
A week had passed, and it was Dani's last night in New York. He would be flying back to L.A. the next morning. Lexi had already returned a few days earlier because she had filming.
"Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven," Joey counted the steps as he headed down to Central Perk with Dani and Chandler.
He turned to his roommate. "See? I told you. Less than a hundred steps from our place to here."
"You have way too much free time, man," Chandler said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Hey, there's the birthday boy." Dani dropped onto the couch beside his cousin. "Ross, check it out. We got hockey tickets."
"Rangers-Penguins tonight at the Garden. We're taking you with us!"
Chandler also congratulated him, "Happy birthday, pal."
"We love you, man," Joey added.
"It's funny," Ross chuckled, looking at the three of them. "My birthday was seven months ago."
His cousin frowned. "So?"
"So I'm guessing you had an extra ticket... and couldn't decide which one of you got to bring a date, huh?"
"Well, aren't we Mr. The-Glass-Is-Half-Empty?" Chandler said with his usual sarcasm.
Ross glanced at the ticket. "Oh my God. Is today the 20th? October 20th?"
"What's wrong with the 20th?" Chandler asked. "Eleven days before Halloween? All the good costumes are gone?"
"Today's the day Carol and I..." Ross paused, then revealed, "...first consummated... our physical relationship."
"We had sex," he clarified to Joey, who was staring back at him blankly.
Ross stood up and said, "You know what? I better pass on the game. I think I'm just gonna go home and think about my ex-wife and her lesbian lover."
"The hell with hockey. Let's all do that," Joey said with a smile, earning a glare from Ross.
"I have a question," Dani raised a finger. "Is sex with a future lesbian the same as normal sex?"
Now Ross was glaring at his cousin too.
"Oh, come on, Ross. It's boys' night," Dani said, putting a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Nothing good can come from you sitting at home thinking about your lesbian ex-wife."
He tried to persuade him further. "We'll buy you a big foam finger, a cap, and all the food you can eat there. And it's my last day in New York."
"All right, all right. Maybe it'll take my mind off it," Ross finally agreed.
The four of them headed to the hockey arena.
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At the arena, Ross let out a sigh. "Oh."
"What now?" Chandler asked, a little annoyed.
"Carol was wearing boots just like those the night we first... you know." Ross said, pointing at a woman wearing boots nearby.
"In fact, she... never took them off. Ha, ha."
"Ross, that's like the fourth thing you've pointed out about your first night with her," Chandler groaned.
Joey nudged his friends and pointed at a woman who had just walked past them. "Hey, that woman's got an ass like Carol's."
"What? I was trying to help," he defended himself after seeing the looks Ross and Chandler gave him.
"Ha, look," Dani said, nodding toward the tray he was carrying.
Chandler gave him a questioning look. "What now?"
"These remind me of my first time," he revealed.
"Chocolate, whipped cream, and strawberries?"
"Yeah, great night," Dani smirked. "Two years ago, on a trip I took. We ended up spending the entire vacation like little rabbits."
"Funny thing is, her name was Prudence. Ironically enough. Hope she's doing okay," he added with a smile.
"You don't talk to her anymore?" Joey asked.
"No, I lost her number. The number I still have doesn't belong to her anymore," he replied. "Besides, it was such a great memory, I might as well not mess with it."
"That reminds me of mine," Joey said, thinking about his own. "I was thirteen."
"Of course you were," Chandler said dryly. "Ok, let's go to our seats."
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"Uh-oh," Ross said.
"What? There was ice there that night with Carol? Plastic seats? Four thousand angry Pittsburgh fans?" Chandler mocked.
"No," Ross denied. "Actually, I was just noticing that it looks like we're not sitting together."
"But now that you mention it, there was ice that night too. It was the first frost."
"Okay," Dani said, placing the cap on Ross's head, "here's your big foam finger. Now, we talked about hockey. No more Carol."
Then he looked at the girl who was completely decked out in hockey gear, including a helmet. She was sitting in the seat next to Chandler.
"Hey, would you mind switching seats with me so I can sit with my friends? I'll give you a hundred bucks," Dani offered.
"Really?" she asked, surprised. "Sure," the girl agreed.
She switched seats with him, moving farther down the row.
Chandler turned to him. "You gave a hundred dollars just for that?"
Dani shrugged. "I only carry hundreds."
"Oh, the problems of a rich kid," Chandler mocked.
"Besides, she seems like a pretty cute chick," Dani smirked. "Hey, Ross, want me to find out if she's legal for you?"
Ross just made a face.
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After a while, Dani went to buy beers for everyone, and got a phone call on his way back to his seat.
"Hey, Chandler, what do you mean Ross got hit by the puck? Is he okay?"
"He's complaining about life and groaning. He's just fine. We're on our way to the hospital," Chandler replied from the other end of the line.
"Okay, I'm just gonna drink a beer first, then I'll head over there," Dani said.
He sat back down for a moment, then looked farther down the row at the girl he had switched seats with earlier.
"Hey, hockey girl, want another beer?" he asked, noticing she still had a cup in her hand. "Looks like my friends got into some trouble, so I'm not gonna drink all of these."
"A hundred bucks and beer? You can call me buddy," she joked. "And I saw your friend. Pretty bad luck. He got hit right in the face," she added with a wince.
"Dani," he introduced himself, raising one of the cup in a toast.
She lifted hers and clinked it lightly against his. "Robin."
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