Ch. 21

I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you
Yes, there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you
I've seen the paths that your eyes wander down, I wanna come too
I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you

No one understands me quite like you do
Through all of the shadowy corners of me

I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you
Yes, there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you
I've seen the waters that make your eyes shine, now I'm shining too
Because, oh, because I've fallen quite hard over over you

If I didn't know you, I'd rather not know
If I couldn't have you, I'd rather be alone

Landon Pigg – Falling in Love At a Coffee Shop

Ch. 21

“It seems as if we’re both walking around a little uncomfortable tonight,” Kristy smirked as she purposefully bumped into me while I stood at the bar tallying up a customer’s paycheck.

“I have no clue what you are talking about,” I giggled at my best friend.  “But seriously, I do not want to hear anything about you and my brother, unless it’s rated G.”

“Well then I guess there is nothing to tell you,” Kristy winked as I gagged out loud.  “So I’d ask you how it feels to be dating a professional hockey player, but I guess you already know how that is…” Kristy sighed, like it was the best thing in the planet.

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Kristy, they all put their pants on one leg at a time.”

“Well, I have to admit, dating an NHL scout has its perks…I don’t have to worry about the pucks, yet he keeps himself in shape…”

I covered my ears with my hands and cut her off before she could go into more comparisons, “Stop right there.”

“Oh don’t tell me you were an angel with Kris last night,” she called me out.

“I never said that I was,” I laughed.

“You are glowing,” she suddenly spoke seriously, causing me to look over and make eye contact for the first time since she came over to bother me.

I placed my hands on my cheeks.  “Do you think so?”

“Most definitely.”

“This is going to be interesting to say the least,” I sighed.  “Plus, I still need to talk with Jackson…”

“Has he called you yet?” Kristy asked as my pager vibrated, letting me know I had customers to wait on.

“Nope not yet,” I said, leaning over her to grab some place settings.

“Well, I wouldn’t worry about anything until he calls you,” Kristy said simply.  “Maybe you will be lucky and he won’t call.”

“Gee, that would just do wonders for my self esteem,” I chided before walking away from the bar.

“Hello?! You have the hot hockey player,” Kristy called after me.

Funny how a couple weeks ago I didn’t find him that hot. Good grief.

“So what’s the deal with Gabby, or Abby?” Richards asked as we sat our hang-out bar on Friday night.  I had gone out with the guys for dinner and we decided to have a few drinks before calling it a night.

“Yeah, what the hell is going there?  Have you to finally moved passed the ‘just friends’ stage or is she still available?” Carcillo piped up with his big toothless grin.

I laughed when the whole table looked at me with wide, questioning eyes.  “Well, her real name is Abby,” I announced, adding the emphasis on the A of Abby.  “And I’m fairly sure we moved past the ‘just friends’ stage last night.” I winked as I received a couple hoots and hollers from Carter, G and Richie.  I took a long sip of my beer and continued to tell clue them in on the situation.

“I don’t know how I would have handled the whole lying situation,” Carcillo said, surprisingly serious.  “I mean, I feel kind of cheated that she lied to us, but then again I can’t even begin to imagine what she has been through.”

“It takes guts to move away from basically all of your family and start over again,” Mike commented.  “Plus, I don’t think she meant any harm to anyone.  She really is a sweet girl.”

“Yeah, I think if it was anyone else I would have just moved on,” I said quietly.

“Steeger’s got it bad for her!” Carter called out as he clapped me on the shoulder while heading over to the bar for another round of drinks.

“I can’t blame Steeger,” Leino winked and bumped fists with me across the table.

I couldn’t ask for a better bunch of teammates to join up with half way through the season.  In reality, they could have really made it hard for me to fit in.  Most of them had been playing together for at least 2 or more seasons and that was evident from the way they interacted with one another on and off the ice.  So I considered myself lucky to be welcomed into the “click.”   After what I received in the mail today, I was happy to get out and keep my mind off of it.

My mouth about hit the floor when I found a wedding invitation with Dawn’s parent’s return address in the left corner, when I got home from dropping Abby off at work.  I don’t care who you are, but I would have to bet that anyone would feel a little down when they found out their ex was getting married before they were, especially when she is marrying your best buddy.  Maybe I think too much, but suddenly I found myself sitting on the couch looking through some old pictures on my computer.  They were the pictures of me and Dawn from over the years and every time I flipped to one with Dawn, Trevor and me, I instantly critiqued each picture, as if I was going to find Trevor staring at Dawn or clues that should have told me that there might have been something going on between the two of them while we were still together.  Dude, you really need to get a grip.  I was in the middle of staring at one such picture when my cell phone began blaring out All My Life, by the Foo Fighters, the ringtone for all my boys back home.

“Trevorrrrr,” I bellowed into the phone.  Ironic timing, eh?

“Steeeeeeeger,” he mimicked me before laughing at our adolescent name calls.  “How’s it going in Philly?”

“Awesome city.  Awesome team.  I can’t complain.”

“Here I figured you’d be contributing like crazy down there…”

“Oh, don’t you even start, asshole,” I chuckled.  My friends never stopped razzing me about my playing.  I knew the whole ‘I can come down and show you a few things,’ comment was totally coming next.

“I think I need to make a trip down there to show you how things are done,” Trevor chirped, not missing a beat.

“You do need to come down here and visit…” I hinted, knowing his work schedule would probably never allow it, but I did miss him and the rest of the guys.

“Dude, you know I’d love to, but…”

“You have a wedding to plan,” I interjected, knowing this was probably the main reason for his phone call.

“Yeah,” he said, suddenly sounding nervous.

“Congratulations,” I said earnestly, making sure it came through over the phone.  “It is totally great news.”

“You aren’t mad?”

“Are you seriously asking me this?  Trevor, I told you this past summer to have it at…”

“Yeah, but that was just for a date.”

“Well, are you treating her well?”

“Of course, besides, if I wasn’t I don’t think she would have said yes,” he laughed into the phone and I could here a genuine smile beginning to form.  He really was happy and in turn that made me really happy.  “So I guess the invite got there?”

I chuckled as I realized how much of a dumbass I was being just a few minutes before he called.  “Yeah, today actually.”

“Well then, I guess you saw that we scheduled it for the summer in hopes that you would grace us with your presence.”

“Grace you with my presence?!  Shut up ya dick,” I laughed. To the guys I wasn’t the high paid NHL hockey player, I was just the kid they grew up playing street hockey with.  Of course they had no problems busting my ass about my job.  “Of course I will be there.”

“Good, I want you to be my best man.”

As much as I shouldn’t have been surprised at this request, I still was.  “The best man?”

“Yup.”

“Heh, wow.”

“If it’s too awkward for you, I understand, but Kris, you know you are my best friend.  Plus, Dawn is asking this of you also,” Trevor said seriously.

“Well you know damn well that you’ll be the best man in my gig, so of course.  Besides, that means I get top dibs on planning your bachelor party!” I clapped my hands together and laughed hysterically as Trevor groaned into the phone.  “I’m thinking Vegas…”

“You do realize I would like to have a bride to walk down the aisle with…”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we could force Bryce into a dress,” I lost it.  “Seriously man, we will need to have one last big blow-out; especially since you will be the first to take the plunge.”

“I realize this,” he conceded.  “I was thinking more along the lines of a long weekend at the lake house…”

“That could definitely be arranged,” I smiled, already picturing a relaxing get-away with the guys.

“Awesome.  The other guys are obviously Freddy, Jeff and Mitch.  Dawn and I figured that Bryce could be a reader or something…”

“You might have to pay for hooked-on-phonics for some tutor help for him,” I snorted.

“That’s what I told Dawn,” Trevor laughed.  “Oh, I’m supposed to tell you that if you want, you are to bring a date…”

“Did Dawn say this?”

“Maybe.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed.  “That’s her way of finding out if I’m seeing anyone.”

“Probably,” Trevor easily agreed.  “So are you seeing anyone?”

“Nosey.”

“Well, it’s not like I can come over to your house and find this shit out,” he pointed out.  “Besides that stupid Talk-Sports site is just a bunch of fucked up pucks, so you can never believe anything on that site...”

“This is true,” I laughed.  “Actually, I am just starting to see someone,” I spoke honestly.  “I’ve basically been chasing her since I got down here, but she’s a little stubborn.”

“It wouldn’t be that chick that lives across the hall from you, would it?  Bryce was talking about that…saying that you took her along to meet Mitch when he played in Reading.”

Figures Mitch wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut, and I definitely didn’t expect Bryce to shut-up.  “Yeah, that would be her.”

“You must really have a thing for this chick if you were the one chasing after her…”

I sighed and smiled as I thought of waking up with her in my arms this morning, her content smile as she still slept soundly.  “I would say she’s something more than a conquest.”

“Understood,” Trevor piped back.  We were guys; we didn’t talk about our mushy feelings with each other.

After a few more minutes of shooting the shit, we hung up and I was left with my mind mulling over the new information along with thoughts of seeing Abby again.

“You don’t need to feel like you have to pick me up and drop me off every time I have to work,” I threw a playful look at Kris as he stood outside of my work, leaning up against the brick wall looking like a blonde haired James Dean.

“And you don’t have to be so happy to see me,” he threw back as he pushed himself off the wall and fell into step with me.  “Would it kill you to actually accept my kindness?”

“Bad day?  You seem a little on edge with those comments,” I furrowed my brow, knowing that he was semi-joking but I could instantly tell something was gnawing at him.  He just shrugged and stayed quiet until we walked up to the passenger side of the Audi.  I was caught off guard when instead of opening my door for me; he pushed me up against the door and kissed me fully on the mouth.  I could taste a mixture of alcohol and breath mint when I flicked my tongue across his lips.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered before pulling back.  Something truly was bothering him because I could see it in his eyes.

I cupped his face with my hand and held his gaze.  “Kris, what’s bothering you?”

He sighed as he finally opened the door of the car and motioned for me to get inside.  Once he was also inside and buckled in, he began talking.  “I got a wedding invitation in the mail today.”  Some sort of quirky remark was on my tongue, but I knew that now was not the time, so I just stayed quiet and left him continue.  “My best friend Trevor is getting married this summer.”

“Well, that’s good, right?” I asked, laying a hesitant hand on his thigh.

“Definitely.  I mean I told him it was fine and I honestly don’t have feelings for her anymore, but it still hurts for some stupid reason.”

Whoa. Now I’m completely lost.

I watched him run his hand through his hair and then look over at me with a sorrowful look.  “I guess this isn’t the coolest thing to be talking about with your new girlfriend, but I made a promise to myself that I would always be honest with the next woman I was serious about…”

“I’m totally lost, Kris,” I said quietly.

“Trevor is marrying my ex, Dawn.”

The light bulb went off in my head and all I could do was breathe out a big “Oh.”

“Yah.  You’ve got to believe me that I’m totally over her…”

“I do,” I said simply, meaning each word.  I knew exactly where he was coming from; I had the same feelings when an ex-boyfriend of mine got married.  You are always left wondering if things had been different, even if you knew you were better off without the person.

“Trevor asked me to be the best man.”

“Oh, wow,” was all I could say to that one.  “Are you?”

“Of course, he is basically a brother to me, we grew up next to each other and I know he’ll always have my back just like I have his,” Kris said passionately.  “I’m sorry for just throwing this on you.  I’d normally just call my mom but…for some reason I feel like I can just talk to you about anything.”

“I’m fairly sure good communication is a key to a successful relationship,” I giggled, unable to stop myself from reverting back to our normal banter.

I heard him begin laughing at himself as he took my hand that was on his lap, lifted it up to his lips and kissed it.  “So how was your evening?” he asked with a wink, announcing he was back to his normal happy self.

“My feet definitely didn’t miss the place,” I groaned, knowing that my ankles were swollen and that I would be propping my feet up as soon as I got in the door.

“Do you really need to work there?” Kris asked curiously.

“I’m taking that question as, ‘Couldn’t you just live of your Daddy’s money?’ And my answer to that is, I’m a grown ass woman who can fend for herself,” I smiled broadly as he laughed and shook his head.

“Should have figured you’d come up with some sort of response like that.”

“Yah.”

“So for my next question, I was wondering if my grown ass woman was planning on staying in her own bed or her boyfriend’s bed tonight?”

“Boyfriend?” I raised an eyebrow and looked over at him with a curious smile.

“Well, if you want me to give you a note that asks, ‘Will you be my girlfriend? Check yes or no,’ When we get home I can write it down for you.”

My laugh rang out in the car as I shook my head back and forth, “No, I don’t think that’s necessary…”

“Good, because I don’t think I’ve ever had to put so much effort into getting a girlfriend, and truthfully that would just be icing on the cake,” he chirped.

“Shut-up Mr. Hotshot.  This is exactly the reason I was not going to date anymore hockey players; their egos are completely out of control,” I continued laughing.  “Especially yours, which I’m pretty sure is from all the media attention you get for your terrible rapping skills.”

“Ouch.”

“I just like keeping it real.”  I was still laughing when he quickly pulled into the parking spot at our building and slammed it in park.  I screeched when he quickly undid his seatbelt and climbed over the gearshift to straddle himself overtop of me, effectively pinning me to the seat.  I left out another squeak when he hit the recline button, throwing me backwards.  “What the hell?” I breathed out.

“I’m just keeping it real,” Kris growled as he began making quick work of the buttons on my work shirt and laid kisses down my neck.  I was instantly turned on and quickly joined in on the game by undoing his belt and the zipper of his jeans.  I laughed inside my head at the absurdity of having sex in the Almighty Audi, but also silently thanked the gods for the dark tinted windows that would hide us from any passer-bys.  “Lift up your hips,” he ordered gently when his hands connected with my waist.  I pushed my feet down on the floor boards of the car for some leverage and lifted up, allowing him to push up my skirt and begin rolling my panties down my thighs.  I finished rolling them down as he somehow held himself up on the console; I then pulled his pants and boxers down below his knees.  “Now comes the fun part,” he mused.  “I need to be sitting where you are for this to work.”

I looked up at him like he was crazy before scootching myself onto the console, careful to not hit the gear shift as Kris smoothly slipped himself into my spot.  “Condom?” I asked.

“In my wallet,” he answered while situating himself in the seat then reached down between his knees and grabbed his wallet from his jeans pocket.  I pulled the little square out of his fingers with my teeth while he waved it in front of me like $1 bill.  As soon as he was set, he immediately pulled at my hips, coaxing me down overtop of him.  I straddled him and as I rolled the latex over his long erection I kissed him deeply.  His hands were all over me, twisted up in my hair one moment and pinching my nipple the next.  I cried out as he dipped a finger into me, finding that I was more than ready for him, he pulled me down and screwed himself deep into me, causing us both to exhale out in pleasure.

Everything could have been considered to be rushed, but it didn’t really matter at that point because everything we did felt fucking amazing.  Sure it would have been a little more comfortable if I would have just waited until we got upstairs into my apartment, but there is always something incredibly hot about having sex in a place that you could probably easily be caught in.

“Kriiiissss,” she whined out as I reached down between us and tweaked her clit with my fingers.  I was glad to find she was just as much into the spontaneity as me.  She looked amazing with her tits bouncing out of her half unbuttoned work-shirt and her skirt hiked up, baring her ass and the black lacy thigh highs she was sporting.  Every thought and worry from today quickly floated out of my brain as I fucked Abby in the Audi.

I probably should have been slightly embarrassed by how quickly I came, but it didn’t matter with how rough and fast paced the whole act was.  Luckily, Abby was right there with me.  “That was hot,” she breathed heavily into my ear as we both tried to catch our breaths.

“Mmm,” I moaned as I nipped lightly at her neck, making her giggle and squirm.  “Now we just need to get you upstairs to the apartment without looking like the hooker you look like right now.

“I look like a hooker?!” she exclaimed with a slight frown as she immediately began smoothing out her hair.

“Believe me babe, you look fucking amazing.”

“You think I look like a hooker.”

“But you’re my hooker?”

“You are not winning any brownie points,” she snarled while buttoning up her shirt to my dismay.

“I’m pretty sure it’s these thigh-highs,” I informed her with my fingers tracing the top lacy part along with a big cheesey grin.

She just rolled her eyes dramatically as she maneuvered herself easily over the console and gear shift, back over to my seat to finish putting herself back together.  I laughed as she balled up her panties and shoved them deep into her purse.  Soon we found ourselves in the elevator on our way up to my apartment, grinning like we had just won the lottery.

“Abby?” Kris purred as the sun poured into his room the next morning.  I was never one to fall asleep on another person, but for some reason everytime I was with Kris, I’d always wake up to find myself wrapped around him with my head on his chest.  Thankfully he didn’t seem to mind.

“Hmm?”

“Would you be my date for the wedding?  I know it’s a few months away and…well, our relationship is still obviously new, but I’d really like to have you there with me.”

“You don’t think it would be awkward for me to be there?”

“Nah, I actually think Dawn and Trevor would be a little happier if I showed up with a date.  Besides, Mitch will be there for you to harass and I know the rest of the crew is going to love you.  In fact if you hit it off with them like you did with Mitch, I might need to use those handcuffs to keep you with me all night.”  I smiled as I felt him laughing.  My heart actually skipped a couple beats when he asked me, probably from the fact that I finally left myself realize that this was definitely something serious.  “So, can I put 2 on the RSVP?” he asked.

“That should be fine.”

I felt him sigh and even relax a bit.  I was starting to doze again when he spoke again.  “Are you going to go back to your normal hair color?” he asked quietly, running his hands gently through it.

“Do you like it this color?” I asked curiously, reveling in the feel of his fingers in my hair.  I always felt it comforting when someone played with my hair.

He thought about it for a moment and said, “I think both looks have their pros.  The blonde hair makes me think you are totally independent but the dark hair makes me think of dark and sexy things.  The good news is your eyes still capture my attention, no matter what color your hair is.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at how sincere he sounded.  “Well it definitely seems like you’ve put a lot of thought into this.”

“I have, mainly because I don’t usually date blondes so I found it kind of funny at first on how I found you so attractive right away.”  I propped my chin up on his chest and raised an eyebrow as I looked into his bright blue eyes.  “What?  I’m just being honest…” I pulled myself up and shush his words with a light kiss.

“I’ve never had a thing for a blonde haired guy, ever,” I said evenly.  “They always seems like pretty boys to me.”

“You are being serious, aren’t you?”

“Yup.”

“So, does that mean you changed your mind on your stereotype?”

“Nah, you’re definitely a pretty boy,” I giggled before leaving out a yelp when he suddenly flipped me underneath him, trapping me between him and the bed.

“You’re going to pay for that,” he growled playfully.

“Nope, I’m not because it’s a game day and sex right before you morning skate is probably a huge no-no,” I cried out as his mouth came down over my breast, sucking at my nipple.

“Since when have you known me to follow the rules?!” he asked, his question coming out muffled from speaking against my skin.

“Then I guess I’m definitely going to pay,” I said with my voice going up an octave when I felt a finger slide into me.