Ch. 15

I'm all dressed up tonight
I've waited all night long
When will they finally play your song
I'm in the mood to dance

Can I have the last chance
To be your little romance
Can I have the last dance
I'm in the mood for love

Ingrid Michaelson - Little Romance

a/n: this is Henry Cavill... he is relevant to the chapter and just something pretty to look out. lol. enjoy.

Ch. 15

“Gabby?” I heard a deep voice with a thick English accent ask behind me.  I slowly turned in the busy lobby to find a tall, dark haired man that looked to be an identical twin of Henry Cavill from The Tudors.  His dark hair was cut short, but it curled enough to show that he would have thick, unruly hair if he didn’t keep it tamed.  His pale blue eyes somehow complimented his strong looking jaw that he was clenching and unclenching as he looked at me curiously, waiting for me to say something.  For some stupid reason I thought he would still be in blue scrubs and a white lab coat, when actually he was sporting a pair of dark khaki colored cords and a plain white dress shirt with a black t-shirt underneath.  The way his pants fit, made me think they had to have been sewed onto him and his broad shoulders filled out the shirt in a way that made even the most independent woman want to lay on the railroad tracks and wave a white flag of surrender so that he could come and take you away to the far away castle and do things you only dreamed about.  I felt the color rising in my cheeks as I squeaked out, “That’s me.”  Holy Mother of God.

“The picture that Kristy showed me does you no justice,” he smiled easily as he closed the gap between us, reached for my hand and kissed it.  “I’m Jackson and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Gabby.”

Any chance of speaking was officially gone when he looked down at me with his blue eyes.  I’m fairly sure I left out a sigh that wasn’t meant to be heard in the lobby of a hospital.  Luckily for me, Jackson didn’t seem to be deterred by my sudden mute disorder because he just laughed lightly and pulled on his black leather coat.  He then took my hand once again, but this time he tucked it into the crook of his arm and led me out the door.

By the time we got to his car, my brain was at least starting to function again.  Hmm, imagine that, a BMW cross-over, functionable yet classy.  I should take a picture for Kris.

“Do you like Italian?” Jackson asked as he assisted me into the vehicle.

I smiled and nodded my head, afraid my voice would just come out squeaky again.  I felt that if I played the silent card right now I would have more of a chance not to make a complete ass out of myself.  He smiled back as he closed my door and walked around to his side and climbed in.

To keep myself from staring awkwardly at him, I kept my eyes fixed out the windshield in front of me.  I was having such the crazy mental conversation with myself that I didn’t even notice he hadn’t turned on the car until he cleared his throat, finally making me look over at him.

“Are you okay?” he asked with an amused look on his face.

“MmmHmm,” I nodded my head.

“Kristy said that you like to talk, but I’m afraid she might have been thinking about another person,” he mused.

I took a deep breath before finally taking a chance to say more than three words.  “I’m sorry.  Kristy did not tell you wrong, I usually have no problems talking, but for some reason I’m totally feeling at a disadvantage here.”

“A disadvantage?  I would say since this is the first time we are meeting we should probably be at the most level playing field we will ever be at,” he said sincerely.

“Well let’s just say that Kristy did not even being to explain how attractive you were and she never said one word about that accent of yours,” I began blushing again after the total honest words were out of my mouth.

“As much as I appreciate at the compliment, don’t let the accent or looks give you false hope.  I’m definitely no prince from England,” he laughed easily, causing the tension to begin to dissipate. 

I held up my hands and said, “All expectations are out the window.”

“Well, I will admit that I have one,” he said slowly in a low voice that made me want to get on my knees and beg him to make me his life-long slave.  Bloody hell.

“What’s that?” I whispered back.

“That expectation would be to have a good time tonight.”

“I think I can handle that.”

He took me to Dante and Luigi’s, Philly’s oldest Italian Restaurant.  It was small, and we had a table for two in the back corner of the restaurant.  The atmosphere was perfect and it was probably one of the most romantic dinners I had ever had.  After our initial conversation in his car, I found myself unable to shut-up, but he didn’t seem to mind because he was talking just as much as I was. 

“Kristy said you play Rugby?” I asked before taking another bite into the most delicious lasagna to ever grace my taste buds.

“Mmm, I do.  I was actually offered to play professionally, but I was afraid I’d lose my passion for the game if I would have played for a living.”

“I totally know what you mean.  I think I enjoy playing hockey now more than ever because I’m not being pressured to play in hopes of a scout seeing me…” I confessed.

“You play field hockey?” he asked, sounding surprised.

“Ice hockey,” I corrected him with a smile.

“I never knew much about ice hockey until I came over here and even now I can’t say I understand the game at all except for getting that black thing in the net,” he laughed.

“Oh, it’s an awesome sport!” I exclaimed.  The people who play the game for a living are top notch athletes.  It’s fast paced, lots of action and hitting and I am a sucker some fancy stick handling of the puck…”

Jackson almost choked on his wine as he laughed at my comment about the fancy stick handling.  I forgot how an “outsider” that didn’t understand the game would more than likely take some of the hockey terminology as dirty sounding.

“Sorry, I guess that did sound a little out of line,” I said, cursing myself while I looked down at my plate.

He reached over and took my hand, making me look at him.  “Never say sorry for talking about something you are obviously passionate about.  The way your eyes just lit up while you were talking about the sport really gave me awesome insight into who you are.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, mainly because it sounded like it was from a movie or something, so I just looked up and smiled at him.  I was sure that after dinner we would hit that awkward point in the date where you don’t know what to do next, but he pleasantly surprised me by heading over to the Art Museum.  Even though I had been in the city for a little over 2 months now, I still hadn’t gotten to any of the museums.

“Do you mind walking around in here for a little bit?  I wouldn’t mind going for a walk outside, but its a little cold for that and I figured we could just browse the exhibits and still talk.”

“I would really enjoy that,” I smiled sincerely thinking about how none of my boyfriends would have been caught dead in an Art Museum.  I guess this is what happens when you go on a date with a non-hockey player.

It was so hard not to be pumped up after scoring two goals against your old team but I had to keep my emotions in check because the rest of the locker room was basically seething after losing.  It was the first time the team had lost back to back games since Christmas break and like any team that is on the cusp of heading into the playoffs they wanted answers on why certain things just didn’t seem to be working out.

I was going to head out for a drink, but with a couple of the guys already coming down with the flu, I thought it might be in my best interest to just have a beer at home and go to bed so that I kept myself healthy.  I pulled into the parking lot with some Drake pumping through the speakers and a big smile on my face.  I parked next to a black BMW cross-over that didn’t catch my attention until I was walking around to the back of my car to grab my something out of my trunk.  I heard a giggle and then a heels clicking on the cold macadam.  I took my grand-old time to retrieve the things from the trunk as I listened to Gabby and an English accent speak.

“I think I can walk myself up to my apartment,” she giggled in a flirty tone I never remembered hearing before.

“But what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t escort you,” the thick English accent retorted.

“Next time,” she said gently but in a tone that said she was not going to argue this point.

“Very well, next time.  Maybe Saturday?”

“Saturday afternoon…?”

“Saturday afternoon would work well if you don’t mind coming over to my rugby game.  We could grab a bite to eat afterward.”

“That sounds perfect,” she said, and I could just imagine her smiling broadly at the Englishman, who probably ugly teeth and looked like fat Henry VIII.

“I’ll pick you up at 11:30?”

“I’ll meet you here in the parking lot.”

“I can’t wait,” I heard him say.  It didn’t matter how thick his accent was, I could still hear the want in his voice and it instantly made my blood boil, mainly because he was saying the things I should have been allowed to say to her. 

Then things got really quiet except for a faint sigh from Gabby.  I took this as my cue to slam the trunk closed on my car and high tail it into the apartment building before she knew I was eavesdropping.

I was still waiting for the elevator when I heard her heels come clicking into the lobby.

“Hey Kris!” she said breathlessly.  I turned around with a fake, surprised smile on my face to find her looking quite flushed with her green eyes sparkling.  I looked down at my watch and then back up at her.

“Early night?”

“Well, considering our date started at 5, I would say this is a normal time,” she giggled like a girl who was floating on cloud 9.

“Ah, I see.  So how is Dr. Jackson?”

“Dreamy,” she sighed as she let herself fall back against the wall in the elevator.  “Wow.”

“Heh, well that’s good,” I chewed.

Unfortunately, she must have heard the annoyance in my voice because her head snapped up and looked at me with open eyes for the first time since she had stepped foot into the apartment building.

“Your game.  How did it go?” she asked, as if she knew it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to keep talking about her date with Mr. Lord of the Isle.

“I scored the only two goals of the game, but we still lost,” I informed her.

“Oh,” she said.  After a pause I watched as a small smile began curling up her lips.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“It has to be something,” I grumbled as we walked off the elevator and down the hall.

“You showed them up,” she smiled with a wink.

I looked at her and left out a laugh.  “Yeah, yeah, I did.”

She held up her hand for me to give her a high-5 which I immediately obliged her.  “Awesome job, Versteeg.”

“Thanks,” I smiled proudly, letting go of the sulky mood she had originally put me in.

“Why aren’t you out celebrating?” she suddenly asked.

“No one was really in a celebrating mood after losing and a couple of the guys already have the flu…” I said.  After she made a disapproving face I continued, “Well, I figured I’d have a beer by myself to celebrate.”

“Drinking alone is the first sign of alcoholism.”

“Well then get out of that high-maintenance dress and come over and have a drink with me,” I chirped.

“I am the last person who would be considered high-maintenance,” she scoffed.  Right before she closed the door to her apartment behind her she stopped and said, “See you in 10 minutes.”

“10 minutes?! That completely confirms my thought of you being high-maintenance,” I yelled back at the closed door, knowing she could probably hear me anyway.  As soon as I closed my own door, I reenacted the fist pump I had done twice on the ice tonight and ripped off my tie while picking up some things around the apartment so that she didn’t think I was a complete slob.

I didn’t even have time to think about my pleasant date with Jackson.  6 minutes later I was knocking on Kris’s door, feeling a lot more comfortable in my jeans and t-shirt.

“I’m so glad to see you put on only the best to come hang out with me.  Slipper socks with ducks on them?  You are definitely pulling out all the stops for me tonight,” Kris laughed while critiquing my outfit.  Not that he was any better.  He was already out of his sleek suit and was now clad in a pair of gym shorts, plain white t-shirt, and bare feet.

“Well, I didn’t want to make you think that I suddenly felt the need to be any difference around you since you scored to goals tonight…” I poked at him as I waltzed myself into his apartment, taking in the surroundings for the first time.  Everything was simple; you could tell his mom put some of her own touches around the place because men never really had pictures hanging on the walls.

“Is everything to your liking?” Kris chirped as he brushed by me and headed towards the fridge.

“It will do,” I laughed lightly as I leaned on the counter, awaiting my beer.

“Is beer okay with you too?”

“Just because I serve snooty drinks does not mean that I am above enjoying a good beer,” I informed him as he handed me a Landshark Lager.  I took a long sip and smacked my lips as I pulled the bottle away from my mouth.  “Mmm, makes me think of summer,” I commented.

“Yeah, same here.”  I looked up to find Kris watching me with a thoughtful look on his face.  A small smile graced his face before he took a sip out of his own bottle.  “Movie?”

“Sure, why not?” I said, following him into his living room and plopping myself down on his oversized wrap around couch.  I laughed as I sank deep into it, allowing myself to be swallowed up by it.  “Ohmygod this is soooo comfortable,” I moaned.

“Yeah, I’ve had that couch since Chicago, I refuse to part with the thing,” he laughed at me as he grabbed the remote and plopped down next to me, spilling a little of his beer on himself.

“Way to go!  Looks like I already have to flag you with alcohol abuse,” I giggled as he licked at the alcohol on his t-shirt.  When he looked over at me with his tongue still touching his shirt I lost it.

“What?” he asked, acting like he had no clue why I would be laughing at him.

“You.”

“Me what?”

“You are totally pathetic.”

“I’m making sure I don’t waste anything,” he said in a total serious voice.

I just kept laughing until the pain in my stomach forced me to stop.  I was hiccuping when I looked up and found Kris pretending to glare at me.  “I’m so glad you find it kosher to come into my apartment, make rude comments and make fun of me.”

“It’s just pay back for you doing it to me,” I threw back before sticking out my tongue like a child.

“Fair enough, okay, since you’ve had more than your fair share of laughter already, we are going to watch an action flick.  I don’t think you can handle a comedy while drinking alcohol, you would probably get out of control and I can’t take the chance of having the cops show up,” he continued seriously.  “So what will it be, The Tourist or The Fighter?”

“The Tourist.”

“Is it because Johnny Depp is in it?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about…” I played as I got up from the couch.

“Sssuurrrreee,” he laughed as he ordered the movie.  “Where are you going?”

“Popcorn,” I yelled back as I began rummaging through his cabinets.

“The cabinet next to the microwave,” he yelled back, not seeming to mind a bit that I was making myself comfortable in his place.

When I came back I stopped in front of him and dangled the big bowl of hot popcorn in front of him.  He reached out to grab it, but completely caught me off guard when he reached farther and wrapped an arm around my waist, leaving me completely helpless in defending myself with a full bowl of popcorn in my hands.  I couldn’t help but leave out a yell of protest as he threw me playfully on the couch, causing some of the kernels to fly out of the bowl onto the couch and floor.  He pinned me down with one arm and grabbed the bowl out of my hands, setting it on the end table.  After he secured the bowl, he came back and focused on keeping me at a disadvantage as I wiggled underneath him to get free.

“Get off of meeee,” I whined.

“Nope,” he said simply.  “You have been a completely pistol since you came over here tonight…”

“I don’t know what you are talking about!” I giggled.

“You are a complete liar.  You realize that liars are punished, right?”

“Nooooo,” I squeaked, having a clue what he was about to do.  My fears were confirmed as he began tickling my mercilessly.  “You are evil!” I cried.

“Ssssh, What did I tell you earlier about being too loud?” he laughed.

“If you stop I won’t be so loud,” I continued to yell.

“I’m warning you,” he growled, his warm breath caressing my face since he was now only a few inches away from me.

“Stooooop!”

I noticed a change in his blue eyes, something that put me on warning.  I was going to say something but something inside of me actually was telling me to go with it.  I took in a sharp breath in anticipation and as he moved within centimeters from my kissing me my phone vibrated in my jeans pocket, making us both yelp and jump apart.

It all started out in fun but with her warm body moving underneath me, her happy laughter coupled with the most beautiful smile, and then the way her green eyes glimmered in the dim light of my apartment I couldn’t help myself.  I felt her take in a breath, possibly in anticipation of what was going to happen next and right before I pressed my lips to hers, her phone vibrated against my stomach.

“Shit!” I breathed as I jumped up off of her and she clambered backwards, quickly to making space between us.

Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.  After tapping on the phone and swishing something away on the screen she looked up sheepishly and said quietly, “text message.”

“Oh,” I mouthed, leaving me in a difficult position.  I wanted to finish what I started but something in her body language told me that I didn’t have that option any longer.  She bit her lip and broke eye contact with me, looking over at the TV in anticipation for me to start the movie.  “Um, before I hit play, do you need another beer?”

“Sounds like a great idea!” she said, glancing at her almost empty bottle and obviously feeling the same tension in the room that I was also beginning to notice.

I crawled off the couch and grabbed two more Landshark’s a minute later I was back on the couch with a beer in my hand and the popcorn bowl setting between us.  She scooted closer to me and the bowl and smiled apologetically.  “Ready?”

“Yup,” she said happily while popping a piece of popcorn into the mouth I had been so close to tasting.  Luckily the tension easily melted away and by the halfway point in the movie, we were back to busting on each other.

“Eeew! Get your gross feet away from me!” She complained as I took the liberty of stretching out on my couch.

“Those are the feet of a hard working hockey player,” I informed her.

“They are disgusting.  I’m sure you get enough money for a pedicure.”

“And if I got pedicures, I wouldn’t have calluses which would give me blisters and I wouldn’t be able to play right.”

“Well, please don’t feel the need to share them with meeeee…” she whined as she scrunched up her nose and pushed my legs off the couch.

I stood up, grabbed the pillow I was using to relax and plopped it down next to her, grabbed her legs that she had tucked under her and straightened them out.

“What are you doing?!” she asked loudly, squeaking out the last word when I pulled her down so that she was basically laying on the couch.  She was looking at me with a mixture of confusion and curiosity as I stepped up onto the couch so that I was standing between her and the back of it, rolled her on her side to face the TV and placed myself behind her.  I smiled to myself as I fluffed the pillow for my head and sighed as I stretched completely out like I had been trying to do on the opposite side of the couch.  “Are you kidding me?” she squawked, grabbing the remote and pausing the movie before she attempted to sit up.

“You don’t want my stinky feet.  I want to stretch out on my couch.  So it’s either this or you can sit on the floor.”

“You wouldn’t put me on the floor,” she challenged.  I politely put my hand on her back and began to push her forward so that she would land on the floor but she pushed back against me and grumbled, “Fine. Just don’t get any strange ideas.”

I just laughed, reached over and took back the remote so that we could resume watching the movie.   The next thing I remember is waking up, my right arm sound asleep under her head, her face buried in my neck, our arms wrapped around each other’s waists and our legs intertwined.