tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9620564595185449672024-03-06T00:30:17.657-08:00You Started Itjuliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125truetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-22166190966463149402012-02-04T16:26:00.001-08:002012-02-04T16:26:11.569-08:00Another New Story - Forget to Remind Me<br />
I cannot believe I'm writing a Claude Giroux story...<br />
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<a href="http://forgettoremindme28.blogspot.com/"><b>Forget to Remind Me</b></a><br />
_<br />juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-56827408172233182242012-02-02T18:57:00.001-08:002012-02-02T18:57:55.466-08:00New Story - Stalberg spin-off!As promised, Viktor gets his very own story.<br />
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<b><a href="http://absolutelystill25.blogspot.com/">Absolutely Still</a></b><br />
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xoxo,<br />
Julietjuliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-70122898722719045182012-01-20T18:46:00.001-08:002012-01-20T18:46:10.938-08:00sixteen<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />I posted this ages ago but a few people have told me it never popped up on their dashboards. What a bummer! I don't want anyone to miss the big finale!! Hope you enjoy (and check the bottom for a bonus).</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon was pretty damned impressed with himself. It had been three days since Fiona had left him standing outside her Miami hotel without so much as a kiss. No promises, no agreements. He didn’t even know what to expect. But he hasn’t called her. The phone had been in his hand two million times, and he’d checked her Facebook more than once, but Jon had resisted and respected. </span><br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.7376212850213051"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He smiled as he pressed this thumb to the piece of tape, hanging the note on her door.</span></span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.7376212850213051"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Didn’t even break in.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.7376212850213051"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona braced herself, but the first blast of frigid cold outside O’Hare went right through her. No amount of sunlight stored up could compete against the Chicago winter. She hurried to the taxi stand. The car’s heat had her warm and cozy again, only to turn her out at the curb.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She’s spent the days after Jon left dozing in the same spot he’d left her. A few movies, a few dinners, but she’d kept to herself and her thoughts. After the way she’d sent him home and a few days apart, Fiona felt more confident. And it was New Year’s Eve, she had to work tonight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taped to her front door was a note.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She pulled it down and opened the flap.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Will you by my girlfriend?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the corner was a small arrow. She turned it over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Just checking.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite herself, she laughed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He didn’t even break in.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Let’s get em, boys!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon slapped his teammates on the back as they headed for the ice. The Madhouse was rocking, even more than the usual deafening din. New Years Eve games were always fun but full of pressure - the Hawks didn’t want to spoil everyone’s party by taking a loss at home. Jon felt the adrenaline running through them and hoped tonight would start out the way he wanted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By game time the bar was packed. New Years Eve on a Saturday night meant everyone could go doubly-big because the had two days to sleep it off. They were getting an early start just in case. In everything from jeans to party dresses, the were throwing back drinks to the tune of the National Anthem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The camera stopped on Jon’s face, bareheaded and bend over his hand, which rested on the nob of his stick. His eyes were closed but his lips moved like he was talking to himself. Fiona </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">smiled at the idea of Jon’s pep talk, and the idea of his lips.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the puck dropped, she knew whatever he’d said had worked. The Hawks had twice the speed and it seemed twice the size and skill of the San Jose team. They threw bodies at the boards, shots at the net and halfway through, Jon put one under the Sharks’ goalie. In the bar, the crowd yelled like the boys in red could hear them across town. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona dropped ten shot glasses on the bar, flipped a bottle of whisky over and poured each glass full. Then she pushed them at the nine people sitting closest and picked up one for herself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“These are on Toews!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some nights were magic. Jon had been there before, even if he refuse to admit it to himself until after, as if acknowledging it threatened to break the spell. This was one of those nights. The Blackhawks couldn’t lose. In the second, Seabrook and Frolik each scored. They started the third period up by three, but it felt like ten.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two minutes into the third, Viktor took a hooking penalty. He’d hoped to get away with it - everything else was tilting toward the Hawks tonight. No such luck. He watched as the Sharks got a few shots through, but nothing Emery couldn’t handle. With three left on his penalty, he stood at the door. Keith knocked Ryane Clowe off the puck at the hash marks. At the far end, Niemi was banging his stick to warn the Sharks. Duncan heard to too. He put the puck off the near boards, slowing it down, as Viktor hopped onto the ice right behind it. Dan Boyle was close, but not close enough. Momentum carried him past as Viktor stepped left and got clear, right down the middle. Left, right and the puck was over Niemi’s shoulder into the net.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona had stopped mid-pour to watch Viktor break out of the box. You’d think the puck was magnetized the way it found his stick. The beer at her side overflowed and ran down the drain while she watched him dance in and score.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes!” she threw her arms up, almost taking out the pint glass anyway. She shut the tap, tossed another few shot glasses onto the table and poured round two for anyone lucky enough to be nearby.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Toews is paying for these too,” she said as she drained hers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The game was a like a party that started on the ice. Jon rolled into the locker room after being announced second star to find all the guys hurrying to get dressed. The media closed in around him, he tried to speak quickly and get one question per person. At the first possible moment he turned to the stall next to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey Vik. Want to come to the bar? I think Fiona would like it if you were there.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor smiled, looking up at Jon from where he was tying his dress shoe. “Thanks, but I’m gonna go with Hammer to some place where he’s got a crush on the bartender.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stalberg stood up straight and gave Jon a shot to the shoulder. They both pretended not to notice that it was pretty hard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Good luck,” he said. “Tell her I said hi.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks. I’ll need it.” Jon watched his teammate and friend walk away, knowing Stalberg had set the bar really high.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazer,” Seabrook howled like he was already drunk. “Let’s go, you pussy. It’s not a fashion show.” He reached over and yanked the knot loose on Jon’s tie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keith pulled a hat down over his bushy hair. “Yeah, even Seabs is gonna get laid tonight so we’d better hurry before the ugly chicks turn back into pumpkins.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon unbuttoned his collar and followed the out the door.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was a line outside the bar, which they passed. There was a crowd inside, which they forced their way through in wedge formation like trying to penetrate a team’s defense. At the bar it was tougher, people leaning over people, waving money.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eleven thirty</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Jon noted. Then he started grabbing shoulders, politely asking to get through. They all moved the moment they realized it was Jon. A few slapped him on the back, some “good game’s” were called out. He heard it roll back toward his teammates who tried to follow through the scrum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sorry, sorry,” he said as he stepped over and around people until his hands touched the hardwood bar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona was ten feet away, making a drink with each hand. She watched the clear glass fill with vodka to the right level, added another second’s worth, then racked the bottle with surprising speed for someone who wasn’t left-handed. Jon thought she’d be wicked with a hockey stick. Her dark hair fell loose from a low ponytail she probably hadn’t had a chance to fix in hours. Jon was busy watching the way she bit her lip while counting bills when the guy she was serving noticed him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Toews!” the dude roared, holding up his drink as if he’d toss it down the bar. All the heads in hearing snapped toward him. Including Fiona’s. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There he is!” Jenny shouted, pushing through behind her. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona was grateful. That first moment when she didn’t expect to see Jon always hit her like a train. The slightly disheveled suit look didn’t make it easier, nor did the fact he’d played so well that night. It took a few slow blinks to get her brain back online.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Second stars drink free!” Jenny slid a Molson across the bar. It was what Jon always drank when the night promised to be too long for scotch.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What about first stars?!” Seabrook pushed Jon out of the way and leaned way over. Jenny didn’t miss a beat, she stepped in and kissed him full on the mouth. If Brent was surprised, he didn’t show it. Just shoved his tongue in her mouth. The whole place hollered. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Whew!” Jenny said, getting her footing back. “You can high stick me anytime you want!”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona gave Jon a smile before he disappeared back into the crowd.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keith kept looking at his watch, then scanning the room.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What’s wrong with you?” Jon asked.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How many girls you think I can kiss in one minute?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They both looked at Kane, who would know. Pat just smiled. “Tongue or no tongue?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ten minutes to midnight. I gotta have a plan of attack.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t recommend calling your first kiss with some girl an ‘attack,’ tends to give them the wrong idea,” Brent said. He knew where he’d be when the clock ticked down.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keith burped in Seabrook’s direction. “You always take the easy way out.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jealous!” Brent said, starting toward the bar. Jon watched him go and a second later felt an elbow in his ribs.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’d better go,” Kane nodded in that direction.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If Jon was going, it had to be now. The girls were pouring champagne for the toast, waitresses were hauling trays of it around the room. It would take a while to break that fortress of bodies and get close enough to celebrate the moment. But would there be anything to celebrate?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m not sure if she wants me to,” Jon admitted.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pat made a face. “Yeah but what if she does? And you’re not there?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon hurried to catch up to Brent.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona had put a plastic champagne flute in every hand that reached out toward her. Someone shouted a two minute warning but she was too busy to look up until she heard Jenny yell.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey, my date’s here!”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Down the bar, Seabrook poked his head in and wiggled his shoulders until they followed. Jenny picked up two glasses. Fiona had one for herself and an extra already poured, just in case. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“One minute!”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few people in the back started counting down from sixty, but lost interest in five seconds when no one joined in. As they fell quiet, someone yelled, “Fiona!” She turned back - it was Brent, Jenny and Jon, all shouting in her direction. Jon had a mile wide smile on his face. Hers felt like it matched. Someone tried to order a drink, she ignored them.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Cheers!” She handed Jon the glass. Everyone around them was watching, for at least the next thirty seconds. Jon was wedged in with his shoulders sideways, angling for more room. Finally he reached an arm through.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He felt confident. And happy. Her smile at the sight of his face at nearly midnight on New Year’s Eve gave him the little boost he needed to play this the way he saw the game.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Did you get my note?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She nodded.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona narrowed her eyes a little. “No.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but it was expected. He was really asking though and would really ask again soon. And again after that till she changed her mind or sent him away, whichever came first.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Just checking.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona laughed out loud, caught off guard by his candid casualness. Maybe he really had figured out a thing or two.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Maybe next year,” she said.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“TEN!” The entire crowd began screaming at once. Fiona moved a step closer, but Jon was way ahead of her. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He shoved Brent to the side, pushed two glasses out of the way and heaved himself up onto the bar. A lifetime of jumping over the boards had made that perfectly possible. A second later his feet were clear, dropping down next of Fiona’s. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Four, three....”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was right there in front of her, in front of a few hundred other people too. Jon didn’t say a word. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Two, one!”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then he kissed her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">EPILOGUE</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona pulled up next to Abby’s car in the dark parking lot, hopped out and got into the passenger side.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey!” Her breath was visible just from the two seconds outside.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi sweetie,” Abby said, adjusting the heater. In the back, the baby cooed a hello.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Hawks team plane was due back any second. They’d played one home game after New Year’s before leaving for a twelve day road trip.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And thank God.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona resistance had been severely compromised by the kiss Jon delivered at midnight. His lips were soft and warm as they pushed against hers - not demanding, but asking. Those big hands touched lightly on her lower back - not grabbing, but holding. In the ten seconds they’d kissed in front of a packed house, it had made hundreds of people around them disappear.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then he stopped. A crooked little smile told Fiona that Jon knew he’d be turned down for anything more that night. So instead of asking a question he knew the answer to, he chose not to ask at all. He’d waited for her and gotten them a cab home, delivered her to her door. Fiona escaped without a second kiss because she didn’t want to compromise herself. No one could be expected to think clearly on New Year’s Eve.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By the next day she had a better grasp. Maybe Jon was good for his word and was really going to do this. He called and they talked, only five floors apart, instead of seeing each other. She went to the game on January 3 and sat with Abby, who hadn’t been to a game in weeks. It was just like before everything, except Fiona felt different.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She went to the locker room early. Jon saw her coming and left, leaving his seat next to Viktor’s open. She was sitting there when he came in.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey, Fi.” His step slowed when he realized.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Happy New Year,” she said. “We missed you at the bar.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was heart-breakingly beautiful. His features seemed even more defined, like he didn’t need a movie screen to be larger than life. And when he smiled, an angry little spark flared and pouted in her stomach.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I heard you had a good party.” He sat down next to her. “I won’t miss the next one. I promise.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona bumped against his shoulder, grateful for that. “How’s Hammer do with his bartender?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He’s waiting for the right time to make his move.” Viktor smirked. “I told him not to go too fast.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next day, Fiona made sure to be at the bar when Jon was leaving for the road trip. That way he had to say goodbye in semi-public. They ducked into the back during a fairly quiet happy hour.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll call you.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Good luck, Captain. I’ll miss you,” she admitted.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taking her own words, Jon said, “You know right where I’ll be.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He called her every night, around the time he would have otherwise been unzipping a girl’s pants. They talked, watched a TV show or two together by starting their computer feeds at the same time. Kaner even joined them, so they put Fiona on speaker phone and watched three different screens. It was so absurdly normal that Jon wondered why he’d never thought of it before.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some of the nights Jon was alone. He’d Skype her just to see her face, then spend most of the conversation wishing she’d take off her shirt. His best judgement reluctantly admitted that suggesting cyber sex was not the best next move. He’d have to wait a few more days.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now those days were up and she watched the jet taxi toward the hangar. The guys would grab only their suitcases and be outside in moments. She and Abby didn’t get out of the car. As players filed out of the small building, it was impossible tell them apart with their long coats and hats until they started walking toward their cars.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Patrick opened the passenger side door. “Hey Fi.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wanna trade?” she asked, as Jon came up behind him.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ugh, one Patrick is enough!” Toews climbed into the driver’s seat of his car. Fiona hugged Sharp and went around the SUV.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon had pulled his toque off, messing up his hair. “Hi.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh what the hell?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Fiona thought as she stretched across and kissed him. Jon smiled against her lips.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Welcome home,” he said.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon led the way into his apartment without even pretending to stop on Fiona’s floor. She was right behind him, shucking off her heavy sweatshirt and kicking off her boots. He waited till she was in her socks because she’d be less likely to run. With no warning, Jon picked her up and set her on the kitchen counter, planting himself between her knees. She had to spread her legs wide to fit around his hips. Then he tugged her a little closer.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her mouth came to his and they kissed each other, maybe for the first time ever. He tugged her hair tie lose and dark waves fell around her shoulders. Fiona reached around his waist and held on to the sheer size of his body.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I missed you too,” he said.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They stayed there, in the perfect position for kissing, a long time. She ran her fingers through his short hair, his mouth traced the curve of her neck. Fiona felt Jon’s chest rise and fall with calm, even breathing. His tongue was velvety against hers. It wasn’t until she pulled his dress shirt free of his belt and touched her hands to his bare skin that Jon stepped in closer.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He focused on the soft sweetness of her mouth to keep from moving too fast. Once she was undressing him, he was undressing her. Fiona worked at his tie, then buttons, Jon cheated underneath her t-shirt till he unsnapped her bra.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come on,” he hoisted her down from the counter. Jon had promised himself their first time together - first new time, his do-over - would be a good, old-fashioned time. He already knew they would both enjoy it but he wanted to show he could control himself, even when it came to sex.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plenty of time to get crazy later.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still it wasn’t going to be easy. Fiona wanted to rip seams until he was shirtless at least, then do a topographical survey of his upper body with her tongue. Every night after hanging up the phone, she taken the sound of his voice and the sight of him in white hotel sheets with her after lights-out.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now he was here, all warm skin and round corners and she was following him into the bedroom. The wide open curtains let in the light of the cityscape. They went right down on his new blue bed clothes. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona’s shirt was off immediately and Jon lifted her breast gently to this mouth. The nipple stiffened as he flicked his tongue slowly across it, earning a tug on his hair. He moved to the other and made a matching set, then helped himself to the spot where the supple curve met her ribcage. She pulled at the back of his shirt, tugging him off target.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay, baby,” he laughed, lifting his chest enough to shove the shirt back from his shoulders. Fiona bit her lip at the sight of all that bare skin. Jon dropped down, plating one below on either side of her head.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re so beautiful,” he said. “I always told you that, right?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona smoothed the cowlick at the crown of his head, enjoying having her arms around him. “I told you too.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah, but you say that to Kaner.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He looks good!” Fiona protested, Jon giving her a raspberry against the collarbone. His hands slipped down to her hips, tugging at the waistband of her jeans.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay, you’re gorgeous, Jonathan,” she rolled helplessly against him.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Eh,” he said against her breast, “I’m alright.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But he kept moving south, not so much as a slow down before flicking open the button on her jeans and undoing the zipper. The tiny pink panties revealed made him groan out loud. Jon didn’t stop till he’d dropped her pants to the floor. He reached for her panties.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nope,” she bent her knees up and pointed to his pants. “You first.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With his best come hither stare, which made them both laugh instead, Jon unbuckled his belt. He slowly dragged it out through all the belt loops and let it fall on top of her jeans. Then he opened his own fly. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona ran one fingertip across her lower lip, giving his eyes something to follow while she devoured the sight of him. His abs were flat but not sculpted - they were nothing but strong, useful muscle. The sheer size of his ass made his waist look small, but the hard indents of his directionals were anything but dainty. He looked like he could storm through a wall, or a bed, or a girl.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He unzipped his pants and slipped them off his hips. Fiona sighed in appreciation.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Stop looking at me like that,” Jon joked. He’d pay good money for her to do nothing else for the rest of her life.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He carefully stripped his boxer briefs off, grimacing as the elastic touched his ranging hard-on, and watched Fiona fight it, fight it so hard, but she blushed. It rose high into her pale cheeks and she covered her face with one hand, giggling.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What?” he crawled on top of her, pulling at her hand. “You shy now?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona kept her eyes closed. Jon just hitched his fingers into the waistband of her panties and slipped them down her thighs. Once they were around her knees, he used his foot to push them all the way off.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was looking at him now. They lay tangled on top of the blankets, not a scrap of clothing between them. Jon pressed his erection hard and high into her thigh, settling all his weight on top of her, before he asked.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you sure about this?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her eyes were bright. “Maybe.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You can’t maybe be sure.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She ran her fingers along the small scars near his mouth. “I’m sure I want to be here, Jon. The rest we’re just going to have to take as it comes. Okay?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He wanted Fiona to say she loved him. He was sure she did, somewhere inside, or she never would have taken such a chance on him. But at least she was here and they were taking the next step in their relationship. A do-over, really. A mulligan.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon moved himself into place, flinching at the heaviness of his hard-on. Fiona opened herself for him. She lifted her mouth and kissed him with her eyes open. He pushed inside her, slowly and strongly, keeping his eyes open only until he saw hers close.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona drew in a long breath as Jon screwed himself deep into her. She needed air, her brain wasn’t getting any oxygen as it tried to process just how something could feel so fucking good. It was entirely different than the last time she’d felt the thickness of his cock splitting her body.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like the first time all over again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He groaned and moved his face to her neck, pulling around her shoulders to hold her still while he claimed the last possible inch of her pussy. Fiona let that air go right out of her lungs.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi,” he said quietly. She kissed him again. Jon began to move.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A single flex of his huge thighs pulled him out to the tip, then pushed him in to the hilt again. Fiona moaned. Jon went slowly, testing himself and concentrating on the hot, soft sink of her body. She lifted her hips, Jon took one cheek of her ass in each hand and slid back out, then in again. Fiona arched her back, planting her ass in his hands and letting him steer. When he’d felt her out and began to move more forcefully, she rolled her hips up to meet every stroke. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes,” she said. Jon mimicked his exact movements four, five, six times; until she was panting. He chuckled softly and changed his rhythm.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon moved his grip to push her thighs around his waist. He sat up straight and looked down over her body as he thrust into her at a new angle. Her dark hair was tossed out and she gave him an arched eyebrow.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What?” he challenged.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona liked this. Not only did it feel like her pussy had won the lottery but they were having fun. They were more than just fucking, they were friends. Friends who had sex were boyfriend and girlfriend. That was a relationship, and that’s what she wanted.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She slipped the tip of one finger into her mouth, then let him watch that hand move down her body. Her taut nipple rolled beneath it like a pebble, her stomach fell away beneath her ribs. And her clit was a little pearl of pleasure.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mmmm,” she purred, touching herself just above where Jon’s cock was plunging. He made the same noise of appreciation.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona didn’t hesitate. She rubbed her little button swiftly, harder and harder, letting Jon ramp up his own pace until she was getting it from inside and out in equal measure. Her breathing shortened. In truth, she’d been ready to come since Jon kissed her in the kitchen.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh God,” she breathed. He encouraged her, groping her breast and pinching her nipple. Jon paid close attention to the way her fingers moved so he could do it next time, and any other time she wanted after that. Fiona let her eyes roll back, let herself get close.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Touch me,” she said suddenly. A little test. Jon’s eyes locked on hers and by the wicked smile that curled his lips she knew he’d pas with flying colors. His fingers were so big and he rubbed her right over the edge.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jon!” It didn’t take much. Her pussy quivered, fireworks twisting in the pit of her stomach, then popped like a bottle of champagne. Sensation bubbled over, she rocked and twisted against his hand until short, sharp cries were tearing from her throat.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He’d made her come before. He’s made her scream. But he’d never heard Fiona sound grateful, sound like she was begging him to fuck her again so she could keep feeling that good. It made him... proud.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her new slick heat greased the wheels between them, allowing Jon to go even deeper, harder. His dick was pounding. Even knowing he’d get more chances to take her breath away Jon didn’t want to stop.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Roll over, baby.” He didn’t wait for her permission, just flipped her onto her stomach. Lifting her hips to raise her ass into the air, Jon slipped right back inside her pussy.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Unf,” she groaned, face down in the duvet.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon held onto one of her hips, using her perfect ass like a target and hitting a bulls-eye every time. His other hand ranged over the snow white skin of her back, tracing the delicate furrows along her spine, the flare of her waist. She lifted onto her elbow and looked back at him.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sweet Jesus</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she thought. The sight of him, naked and having his way with her, was almost too much. His brow furrowed in concentration. Jon closed his eyes and bit his lip as she rocked back into his lap, his huge thighs bouncing her off like a diving board. She wanted to make him come, not just let him come. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona pushed her hands out in front of her, bending her knees and forcing them both back until she was face-down, ass-up and Jon was panting. Jon pushed the hair from her eyes, then twisted it in his hand and held. He wanted her to see.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her skin was so smooth beneath his hand, and he could tell her eyes were green even in the darkness. She bucked against him as he moved, hard and fast, taking each sob of her breath as if she were asking for more. In minutes, stars were popping behind his eyes.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come here,” she gave up and reached back for him, grabbing one wrist and pulling him down. He landed on her back, flattening her out, and they both exhaled hard.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay,” he laughed, catching the soft skin of her neck between his lips. He kissed her hard, across the top of her shoulder and onto her back. All his weight was angled to force his cock as far into her as she could take. Fiona moaned loudly.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“One more time, Fi.” But he knew she was already on the way. Jon had power in his core that most men didn’t, and he knew how to use it. He moved like a predator. Holding her down hard with his chest, he squeezed his abs hard to pull his hips up. Then he pushed with his knees until there was nothing left.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come on.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona didn’t want to give in so easily, but she was losing the fight. Jon’s mouth on her skin, his weight against her back, his thighs not even trying to force her into two pieces with the sweetest death in history. She rolled her hips as best she could under two hundred and ten pounds of muscle.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fuck,” he panted. She almost laughed. It was a race. Jon pushed her hips deep into the mattress, Fiona squeezed as hard as she could against both push and pull. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I love you,” he said.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona slipped right off the edge. Her body arched and lifted and tried to fight it’s way free but it wasn’t enough. She came hard, pressing her face into the blanket and letting herself scream.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thank God.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon came before she was finished. The deep, hot burst of her body ripped it right out of him; he poured into her, breathless. It burned so hot he nearly blacked out and when it was over, his huge frame collapsed on top of her.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This will be a problem</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Fiona knew. Buried under Jon, sweaty and stuck together, as his huge chest forced her deeper into the bed on every breath. She could keep her wits in normal situations, but the things he did to her body would make it hard not to fall in love.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well I don’t have to tell him</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she reminder herself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From somewhere near her ear, muffled by blankets and skin, Jon repeated himself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Love you.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona laughed weakly. “Shut up, Jon.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>Author's Note</b>: You guys have been amazing on this story. All your comments definitely affected the ending. I will confess that I wrote myself into a corner by making Viktor so perfect. But so many of you wanted Jon to win, and I found it a fun challenge to (hopefully) write him into an ending you would still like.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I'll be honest - in the first draft of this story Viktor won. I really liked the idea of an unexpected twist in which the nice guy doesn't get the shaft. He wins because he deserves it for being a better person - not just better than the other guy, but maybe even better than our heroine. I like the idea of choosing someone who inspires you to be better.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>So for those who want... here's the original ending: <a href="http://theonewhereviktorwins.blogspot.com/">The One Where Viktor Wins</a></b></i></span></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I don't like one ending better than the other, and I meant for this to be a Toews story from the beginning. Viktor came into it almost by accident then ran away with the whole thing. My next story will be a Stalberg story, because I owe it to him now.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Thanks to all who read and commented - it's huge for writers, and I enjoyed every single one of them. Happy New Year!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">_</span></div>
</span></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-59986076398396500262012-01-09T20:15:00.000-08:002012-01-09T20:17:44.476-08:00sixteen (+ bonus)<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon was pretty damned impressed with himself. It had been three days since Fiona had left him standing outside her Miami hotel without so much as a kiss. No promises, no agreements. He didn’t even know what to expect. But he hasn’t called her. The phone had been in his hand two million times, and he’d checked her Facebook more than once, but Jon had resisted and respected. </span><br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.7376212850213051"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He smiled as he pressed this thumb to the piece of tape, hanging the note on her door.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Didn’t even break in.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona braced herself, but the first blast of frigid cold outside O’Hare went right through her. No amount of sunlight stored up could compete against the Chicago winter. She hurried to the taxi stand. The car’s heat had her warm and cozy again, only to turn her out at the curb.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She’s spent the days after Jon left dozing in the same spot he’d left her. A few movies, a few dinners, but she’d kept to herself and her thoughts. After the way she’d sent him home and a few days apart, Fiona felt more confident. And it was New Year’s Eve, she had to work tonight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taped to her front door was a note.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She pulled it down and opened the flap.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Will you by my girlfriend?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the corner was a small arrow. She turned it over.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Just checking.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite herself, she laughed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He didn’t even break in.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Let’s get em, boys!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon slapped his teammates on the back as they headed for the ice. The Madhouse was rocking, even more than the usual deafening din. New Years Eve games were always fun but full of pressure - the Hawks didn’t want to spoil everyone’s party by taking a loss at home. Jon felt the adrenaline running through them and hoped tonight would start out the way he wanted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By game time the bar was packed. New Years Eve on a Saturday night meant everyone could go doubly-big because the had two days to sleep it off. They were getting an early start just in case. In everything from jeans to party dresses, the were throwing back drinks to the tune of the National Anthem.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The camera stopped on Jon’s face, bareheaded and bend over his hand, which rested on the nob of his stick. His eyes were closed but his lips moved like he was talking to himself. Fiona </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">smiled at the idea of Jon’s pep talk, and the idea of his lips.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the puck dropped, she knew whatever he’d said had worked. The Hawks had twice the speed and it seemed twice the size and skill of the San Jose team. They threw bodies at the boards, shots at the net and halfway through, Jon put one under the Sharks’ goalie. In the bar, the crowd yelled like the boys in red could hear them across town. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona dropped ten shot glasses on the bar, flipped a bottle of whisky over and poured each glass full. Then she pushed them at the nine people sitting closest and picked up one for herself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“These are on Toews!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some nights were magic. Jon had been there before, even if he refuse to admit it to himself until after, as if acknowledging it threatened to break the spell. This was one of those nights. The Blackhawks couldn’t lose. In the second, Seabrook and Frolik each scored. They started the third period up by three, but it felt like ten.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Two minutes into the third, Viktor took a hooking penalty. He’d hoped to get away with it - everything else was tilting toward the Hawks tonight. No such luck. He watched as the Sharks got a few shots through, but nothing Emery couldn’t handle. With three left on his penalty, he stood at the door. Keith knocked Ryane Clowe off the puck at the hash marks. At the far end, Niemi was banging his stick to warn the Sharks. Duncan heard to too. He put the puck off the near boards, slowing it down, as Viktor hopped onto the ice right behind it. Dan Boyle was close, but not close enough. Momentum carried him past as Viktor stepped left and got clear, right down the middle. Left, right and the puck was over Niemi’s shoulder into the net.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona had stopped mid-pour to watch Viktor break out of the box. You’d think the puck was magnetized the way it found his stick. The beer at her side overflowed and ran down the drain while she watched him dance in and score.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes!” she threw her arms up, almost taking out the pint glass anyway. She shut the tap, tossed another few shot glasses onto the table and poured round two for anyone lucky enough to be nearby.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Toews is paying for these too,” she said as she drained hers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The game was a like a party that started on the ice. Jon rolled into the locker room after being announced second star to find all the guys hurrying to get dressed. The media closed in around him, he tried to speak quickly and get one question per person. At the first possible moment he turned to the stall next to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey Vik. Want to come to the bar? I think Fiona would like it if you were there.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor smiled, looking up at Jon from where he was tying his dress shoe. “Thanks, but I’m gonna go with Hammer to some place where he’s got a crush on the bartender.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stalberg stood up straight and gave Jon a shot to the shoulder. They both pretended not to notice that it was pretty hard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Good luck,” he said. “Tell her I said hi.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks. I’ll need it.” Jon watched his teammate and friend walk away, knowing Stalberg had set the bar really high.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazer,” Seabrook howled like he was already drunk. “Let’s go, you pussy. It’s not a fashion show.” He reached over and yanked the knot loose on Jon’s tie.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keith pulled a hat down over his bushy hair. “Yeah, even Seabs is gonna get laid tonight so we’d better hurry before the ugly chicks turn back into pumpkins.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon unbuttoned his collar and followed the out the door.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was a line outside the bar, which they passed. There was a crowd inside, which they forced their way through in wedge formation like trying to penetrate a team’s defense. At the bar it was tougher, people leaning over people, waving money.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eleven thirty</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Jon noted. Then he started grabbing shoulders, politely asking to get through. They all moved the moment they realized it was Jon. A few slapped him on the back, some “good game’s” were called out. He heard it roll back toward his teammates who tried to follow through the scrum.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sorry, sorry,” he said as he stepped over and around people until his hands touched the hardwood bar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona was ten feet away, making a drink with each hand. She watched the clear glass fill with vodka to the right level, added another second’s worth, then racked the bottle with surprising speed for someone who wasn’t left-handed. Jon thought she’d be wicked with a hockey stick. Her dark hair fell loose from a low ponytail she probably hadn’t had a chance to fix in hours. Jon was busy watching the way she bit her lip while counting bills when the guy she was serving noticed him.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Toews!” the dude roared, holding up his drink as if he’d toss it down the bar. All the heads in hearing snapped toward him. Including Fiona’s. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There he is!” Jenny shouted, pushing through behind her. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona was grateful. That first moment when she didn’t expect to see Jon always hit her like a train. The slightly disheveled suit look didn’t make it easier, nor did the fact he’d played so well that night. It took a few slow blinks to get her brain back online.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Second stars drink free!” Jenny slid a Molson across the bar. It was what Jon always drank when the night promised to be too long for scotch.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What about first stars?!” Seabrook pushed Jon out of the way and leaned way over. Jenny didn’t miss a beat, she stepped in and kissed him full on the mouth. If Brent was surprised, he didn’t show it. Just shoved his tongue in her mouth. The whole place hollered. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Whew!” Jenny said, getting her footing back. “You can high stick me anytime you want!”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona gave Jon a smile before he disappeared back into the crowd.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keith kept looking at his watch, then scanning the room.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What’s wrong with you?” Jon asked.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How many girls you think I can kiss in one minute?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They both looked at Kane, who would know. Pat just smiled. “Tongue or no tongue?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ten minutes to midnight. I gotta have a plan of attack.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t recommend calling your first kiss with some girl an ‘attack,’ tends to give them the wrong idea,” Brent said. He knew where he’d be when the clock ticked down.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keith burped in Seabrook’s direction. “You always take the easy way out.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jealous!” Brent said, starting toward the bar. Jon watched him go and a second later felt an elbow in his ribs.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’d better go,” Kane nodded in that direction.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If Jon was going, it had to be now. The girls were pouring champagne for the toast, waitresses were hauling trays of it around the room. It would take a while to break that fortress of bodies and get close enough to celebrate the moment. But would there be anything to celebrate?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m not sure if she wants me to,” Jon admitted.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pat made a face. “Yeah but what if she does? And you’re not there?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon hurried to catch up to Brent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona had put a plastic champagne flute in every hand that reached out toward her. Someone shouted a two minute warning but she was too busy to look up until she heard Jenny yell.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey, my date’s here!”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Down the bar, Seabrook poked his head in and wiggled his shoulders until they followed. Jenny picked up two glasses. Fiona had one for herself and an extra already poured, just in case. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“One minute!”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few people in the back started counting down from sixty, but lost interest in five seconds when no one joined in. As they fell quiet, someone yelled, “Fiona!” She turned back - it was Brent, Jenny and Jon, all shouting in her direction. Jon had a mile wide smile on his face. Hers felt like it matched. Someone tried to order a drink, she ignored them.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Cheers!” She handed Jon the glass. Everyone around them was watching, for at least the next thirty seconds. Jon was wedged in with his shoulders sideways, angling for more room. Finally he reached an arm through.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He felt confident. And happy. Her smile at the sight of his face at nearly midnight on New Year’s Eve gave him the little boost he needed to play this the way he saw the game.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Did you get my note?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She nodded.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona narrowed her eyes a little. “No.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but it was expected. He was really asking though and would really ask again soon. And again after that till she changed her mind or sent him away, whichever came first.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Just checking.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona laughed out loud, caught off guard by his candid casualness. Maybe he really had figured out a thing or two.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Maybe next year,” she said.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“TEN!” The entire crowd began screaming at once. Fiona moved a step closer, but Jon was way ahead of her. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He shoved Brent to the side, pushed two glasses out of the way and heaved himself up onto the bar. A lifetime of jumping over the boards had made that perfectly possible. A second later his feet were clear, dropping down next of Fiona’s. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Four, three....”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was right there in front of her, in front of a few hundred other people too. Jon didn’t say a word. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Two, one!”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then he kissed her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">EPILOGUE</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona pulled up next to Abby’s car in the dark parking lot, hopped out and got into the passenger side.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey!” Her breath was visible just from the two seconds outside.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi sweetie,” Abby said, adjusting the heater. In the back, the baby cooed a hello.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Hawks team plane was due back any second. They’d played one home game after New Year’s before leaving for a twelve day road trip.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And thank God.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona resistance had been severely compromised by the kiss Jon delivered at midnight. His lips were soft and warm as they pushed against hers - not demanding, but asking. Those big hands touched lightly on her lower back - not grabbing, but holding. In the ten seconds they’d kissed in front of a packed house, it had made hundreds of people around them disappear.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then he stopped. A crooked little smile told Fiona that Jon knew he’d be turned down for anything more that night. So instead of asking a question he knew the answer to, he chose not to ask at all. He’d waited for her and gotten them a cab home, delivered her to her door. Fiona escaped without a second kiss because she didn’t want to compromise herself. No one could be expected to think clearly on New Year’s Eve.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By the next day she had a better grasp. Maybe Jon was good for his word and was really going to do this. He called and they talked, only five floors apart, instead of seeing each other. She went to the game on January 3 and sat with Abby, who hadn’t been to a game in weeks. It was just like before everything, except Fiona felt different.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She went to the locker room early. Jon saw her coming and left, leaving his seat next to Viktor’s open. She was sitting there when he came in.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey, Fi.” His step slowed when he realized.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Happy New Year,” she said. “We missed you at the bar.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was heart-breakingly beautiful. His features seemed even more defined, like he didn’t need a movie screen to be larger than life. And when he smiled, an angry little spark flared and pouted in her stomach.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I heard you had a good party.” He sat down next to her. “I won’t miss the next one. I promise.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona bumped against his shoulder, grateful for that. “How’s Hammer do with his bartender?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He’s waiting for the right time to make his move.” Viktor smirked. “I told him not to go too fast.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next day, Fiona made sure to be at the bar when Jon was leaving for the road trip. That way he had to say goodbye in semi-public. They ducked into the back during a fairly quiet happy hour.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll call you.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Good luck, Captain. I’ll miss you,” she admitted.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taking her own words, Jon said, “You know right where I’ll be.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He called her every night, around the time he would have otherwise been unzipping a girl’s pants. They talked, watched a TV show or two together by starting their computer feeds at the same time. Kaner even joined them, so they put Fiona on speaker phone and watched three different screens. It was so absurdly normal that Jon wondered why he’d never thought of it before.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some of the nights Jon was alone. He’d Skype her just to see her face, then spend most of the conversation wishing she’d take off her shirt. His best judgement reluctantly admitted that suggesting cyber sex was not the best next move. He’d have to wait a few more days.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now those days were up and she watched the jet taxi toward the hangar. The guys would grab only their suitcases and be outside in moments. She and Abby didn’t get out of the car. As players filed out of the small building, it was impossible tell them apart with their long coats and hats until they started walking toward their cars.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Patrick opened the passenger side door. “Hey Fi.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wanna trade?” she asked, as Jon came up behind him.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ugh, one Patrick is enough!” Toews climbed into the driver’s seat of his car. Fiona hugged Sharp and went around the SUV.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon had pulled his toque off, messing up his hair. “Hi.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh what the hell?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Fiona thought as she stretched across and kissed him. Jon smiled against her lips.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Welcome home,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon led the way into his apartment without even pretending to stop on Fiona’s floor. She was right behind him, shucking off her heavy sweatshirt and kicking off her boots. He waited till she was in her socks because she’d be less likely to run. With no warning, Jon picked her up and set her on the kitchen counter, planting himself between her knees. She had to spread her legs wide to fit around his hips. Then he tugged her a little closer.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her mouth came to his and they kissed each other, maybe for the first time ever. He tugged her hair tie lose and dark waves fell around her shoulders. Fiona reached around his waist and held on to the sheer size of his body.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I missed you too,” he said.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They stayed there, in the perfect position for kissing, a long time. She ran her fingers through his short hair, his mouth traced the curve of her neck. Fiona felt Jon’s chest rise and fall with calm, even breathing. His tongue was velvety against hers. It wasn’t until she pulled his dress shirt free of his belt and touched her hands to his bare skin that Jon stepped in closer.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He focused on the soft sweetness of her mouth to keep from moving too fast. Once she was undressing him, he was undressing her. Fiona worked at his tie, then buttons, Jon cheated underneath her t-shirt till he unsnapped her bra.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come on,” he hoisted her down from the counter. Jon had promised himself their first time together - first new time, his do-over - would be a good, old-fashioned time. He already knew they would both enjoy it but he wanted to show he could control himself, even when it came to sex.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plenty of time to get crazy later.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still it wasn’t going to be easy. Fiona wanted to rip seams until he was shirtless at least, then do a topographical survey of his upper body with her tongue. Every night after hanging up the phone, she taken the sound of his voice and the sight of him in white hotel sheets with her after lights-out.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now he was here, all warm skin and round corners and she was following him into the bedroom. The wide open curtains let in the light of the cityscape. They went right down on his new blue bed clothes. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona’s shirt was off immediately and Jon lifted her breast gently to this mouth. The nipple stiffened as he flicked his tongue slowly across it, earning a tug on his hair. He moved to the other and made a matching set, then helped himself to the spot where the supple curve met her ribcage. She pulled at the back of his shirt, tugging him off target.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay, baby,” he laughed, lifting his chest enough to shove the shirt back from his shoulders. Fiona bit her lip at the sight of all that bare skin. Jon dropped down, plating one below on either side of her head.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re so beautiful,” he said. “I always told you that, right?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona smoothed the cowlick at the crown of his head, enjoying having her arms around him. “I told you too.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah, but you say that to Kaner.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He looks good!” Fiona protested, Jon giving her a raspberry against the collarbone. His hands slipped down to her hips, tugging at the waistband of her jeans.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay, you’re gorgeous, Jonathan,” she rolled helplessly against him.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Eh,” he said against her breast, “I’m alright.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But he kept moving south, not so much as a slow down before flicking open the button on her jeans and undoing the zipper. The tiny pink panties revealed made him groan out loud. Jon didn’t stop till he’d dropped her pants to the floor. He reached for her panties.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nope,” she bent her knees up and pointed to his pants. “You first.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With his best come hither stare, which made them both laugh instead, Jon unbuckled his belt. He slowly dragged it out through all the belt loops and let it fall on top of her jeans. Then he opened his own fly. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona ran one fingertip across her lower lip, giving his eyes something to follow while she devoured the sight of him. His abs were flat but not sculpted - they were nothing but strong, useful muscle. The sheer size of his ass made his waist look small, but the hard indents of his directionals were anything but dainty. He looked like he could storm through a wall, or a bed, or a girl.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He unzipped his pants and slipped them off his hips. Fiona sighed in appreciation.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Stop looking at me like that,” Jon joked. He’d pay good money for her to do nothing else for the rest of her life.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He carefully stripped his boxer briefs off, grimacing as the elastic touched his ranging hard-on, and watched Fiona fight it, fight it so hard, but she blushed. It rose high into her pale cheeks and she covered her face with one hand, giggling.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What?” he crawled on top of her, pulling at her hand. “You shy now?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona kept her eyes closed. Jon just hitched his fingers into the waistband of her panties and slipped them down her thighs. Once they were around her knees, he used his foot to push them all the way off.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was looking at him now. They lay tangled on top of the blankets, not a scrap of clothing between them. Jon pressed his erection hard and high into her thigh, settling all his weight on top of her, before he asked.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you sure about this?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her eyes were bright. “Maybe.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You can’t maybe be sure.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She ran her fingers along the small scars near his mouth. “I’m sure I want to be here, Jon. The rest we’re just going to have to take as it comes. Okay?”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He wanted Fiona to say she loved him. He was sure she did, somewhere inside, or she never would have taken such a chance on him. But at least she was here and they were taking the next step in their relationship. A do-over, really. A mulligan.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon moved himself into place, flinching at the heaviness of his hard-on. Fiona opened herself for him. She lifted her mouth and kissed him with her eyes open. He pushed inside her, slowly and strongly, keeping his eyes open only until he saw hers close.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona drew in a long breath as Jon screwed himself deep into her. She needed air, her brain wasn’t getting any oxygen as it tried to process just how something could feel so fucking good. It was entirely different than the last time she’d felt the thickness of his cock splitting her body.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like the first time all over again.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He groaned and moved his face to her neck, pulling around her shoulders to hold her still while he claimed the last possible inch of her pussy. Fiona let that air go right out of her lungs.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi,” he said quietly. She kissed him again. Jon began to move.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A single flex of his huge thighs pulled him out to the tip, then pushed him in to the hilt again. Fiona moaned. Jon went slowly, testing himself and concentrating on the hot, soft sink of her body. She lifted her hips, Jon took one cheek of her ass in each hand and slid back out, then in again. Fiona arched her back, planting her ass in his hands and letting him steer. When he’d felt her out and began to move more forcefully, she rolled her hips up to meet every stroke. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes,” she said. Jon mimicked his exact movements four, five, six times; until she was panting. He chuckled softly and changed his rhythm.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon moved his grip to push her thighs around his waist. He sat up straight and looked down over her body as he thrust into her at a new angle. Her dark hair was tossed out and she gave him an arched eyebrow.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What?” he challenged.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona liked this. Not only did it feel like her pussy had won the lottery but they were having fun. They were more than just fucking, they were friends. Friends who had sex were boyfriend and girlfriend. That was a relationship, and that’s what she wanted.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She slipped the tip of one finger into her mouth, then let him watch that hand move down her body. Her taut nipple rolled beneath it like a pebble, her stomach fell away beneath her ribs. And her clit was a little pearl of pleasure.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mmmm,” she purred, touching herself just above where Jon’s cock was plunging. He made the same noise of appreciation.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona didn’t hesitate. She rubbed her little button swiftly, harder and harder, letting Jon ramp up his own pace until she was getting it from inside and out in equal measure. Her breathing shortened. In truth, she’d been ready to come since Jon kissed her in the kitchen.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh God,” she breathed. He encouraged her, groping her breast and pinching her nipple. Jon paid close attention to the way her fingers moved so he could do it next time, and any other time she wanted after that. Fiona let her eyes roll back, let herself get close.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Touch me,” she said suddenly. A little test. Jon’s eyes locked on hers and by the wicked smile that curled his lips she knew he’d pas with flying colors. His fingers were so big and he rubbed her right over the edge.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jon!” It didn’t take much. Her pussy quivered, fireworks twisting in the pit of her stomach, then popped like a bottle of champagne. Sensation bubbled over, she rocked and twisted against his hand until short, sharp cries were tearing from her throat.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He’d made her come before. He’s made her scream. But he’d never heard Fiona sound grateful, sound like she was begging him to fuck her again so she could keep feeling that good. It made him... proud.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her new slick heat greased the wheels between them, allowing Jon to go even deeper, harder. His dick was pounding. Even knowing he’d get more chances to take her breath away Jon didn’t want to stop.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Roll over, baby.” He didn’t wait for her permission, just flipped her onto her stomach. Lifting her hips to raise her ass into the air, Jon slipped right back inside her pussy.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Unf,” she groaned, face down in the duvet.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon held onto one of her hips, using her perfect ass like a target and hitting a bulls-eye every time. His other hand ranged over the snow white skin of her back, tracing the delicate furrows along her spine, the flare of her waist. She lifted onto her elbow and looked back at him.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sweet Jesus</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she thought. The sight of him, naked and having his way with her, was almost too much. His brow furrowed in concentration. Jon closed his eyes and bit his lip as she rocked back into his lap, his huge thighs bouncing her off like a diving board. She wanted to make him come, not just let him come. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona pushed her hands out in front of her, bending her knees and forcing them both back until she was face-down, ass-up and Jon was panting. Jon pushed the hair from her eyes, then twisted it in his hand and held. He wanted her to see.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her skin was so smooth beneath his hand, and he could tell her eyes were green even in the darkness. She bucked against him as he moved, hard and fast, taking each sob of her breath as if she were asking for more. In minutes, stars were popping behind his eyes.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come here,” she gave up and reached back for him, grabbing one wrist and pulling him down. He landed on her back, flattening her out, and they both exhaled hard.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay,” he laughed, catching the soft skin of her neck between his lips. He kissed her hard, across the top of her shoulder and onto her back. All his weight was angled to force his cock as far into her as she could take. Fiona moaned loudly.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“One more time, Fi.” But he knew she was already on the way. Jon had power in his core that most men didn’t, and he knew how to use it. He moved like a predator. Holding her down hard with his chest, he squeezed his abs hard to pull his hips up. Then he pushed with his knees until there was nothing left.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come on.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona didn’t want to give in so easily, but she was losing the fight. Jon’s mouth on her skin, his weight against her back, his thighs not even trying to force her into two pieces with the sweetest death in history. She rolled her hips as best she could under two hundred and ten pounds of muscle.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fuck,” he panted. She almost laughed. It was a race. Jon pushed her hips deep into the mattress, Fiona squeezed as hard as she could against both push and pull. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I love you,” he said.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona slipped right off the edge. Her body arched and lifted and tried to fight it’s way free but it wasn’t enough. She came hard, pressing her face into the blanket and letting herself scream.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thank God.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon came before she was finished. The deep, hot burst of her body ripped it right out of him; he poured into her, breathless. It burned so hot he nearly blacked out and when it was over, his huge frame collapsed on top of her.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This will be a problem</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Fiona knew. Buried under Jon, sweaty and stuck together, as his huge chest forced her deeper into the bed on every breath. She could keep her wits in normal situations, but the things he did to her body would make it hard not to fall in love.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well I don’t have to tell him</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she reminder herself.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From somewhere near her ear, muffled by blankets and skin, Jon repeated himself.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Love you.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona laughed weakly. “Shut up, Jon.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>Author's Note</b>: You guys have been amazing on this story. All your comments definitely affected the ending. I will confess that I wrote myself into a corner by making Viktor so perfect. But so many of you wanted Jon to win, and I found it a fun challenge to (hopefully) write him into an ending you would still like.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I'll be honest - in the first draft of this story Viktor won. I really liked the idea of an unexpected twist in which the nice guy doesn't get the shaft. He wins because he deserves it for being a better person - not just better than the other guy, but maybe even better than our heroine. I like the idea of choosing someone who inspires you to be better.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><b>So for those who want... here's the original ending: <a href="http://theonewhereviktorwins.blogspot.com/">The One Where Viktor Wins</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I don't like one ending better than the other, and I meant for this to be a Toews story from the beginning. Viktor came into it almost by accident then ran away with the whole thing. My next story will be a Stalberg story, because I owe it to him now.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Thanks to all who read and commented - it's huge for writers, and I enjoyed every single one of them. Happy New Year!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">_</span></div>
</span></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-34788781243239371002012-01-07T18:41:00.001-08:002012-01-07T18:41:17.926-08:00fifteen<div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.7301680226810277"><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona drained her beer and signalled for the check. She’d found a sports bar near her hotel advertising all the games, and true to their word the Blackhawks game was on above the bar. With no one to talk to and nothing to distract her, Fiona watched the game more closely than she had in a long time, maybe ever. Viktor had a few good hits, two shots and a penalty. The camera loved to look at him. But it seemed half the broadcast was Jon’s face, or at least his name. He’d played well - focused, determined, smart, generous. He always did. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If only he could really be like that.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She slipped off the stool and walked outside, no change in temperature because the floor-to-ceiling windows were open to the balmy Miami night. She’d chosen the lowest price “Last Minute Deal” on the travel site, complete with hotel included. It was mid-week, post-Christmas and she was leaving before New Years. Not the smartest financial decision ever, but neither did she want to pay the doctor bills for a nervous breakdown.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was no thinking straight. Fiona knew only that she had done the right thing, the kind thing. It was not the easy thing. She couldn’t force herself to stop liking Jon. But she couldn’t risk doing harm to someone that had been only good to her. And she’d already hurt Viktor with her indecision.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon, however... he’d put them both through the wringer. She could let him try, make him earn every inch and if it didn’t work out, Fiona would not feel bad. Disappointed, yes. Lonely too. But Jon could choose to be the person he promised or he could fail. It was up to him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Across the street, she could see the beach between the buildings. The Atlantic was a few hundred yards of white sand away. Music and light and laughter spilled from every open restaurant. She felt better, calmer.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And she had 34 missed calls.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in her room - not really fancy, but not bad for one day’s notice - Fiona ran a bath and slipped in. The last time she’d been in a bathtub, it had been with Jonathan, the night she’d first worn Viktor’s jersey to the game</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So stupid</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she told herself. A little piece of her had known he was jealous that night. But instead of figuring out the real reason, she’d played with it - enjoyed it even. Jonathan Toews, jealous over her. It was their game. But then it changed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She fell asleep with the windows of her eighth story room wide open to the cool ocean breeze.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Round trip?” the desk agent asked.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Just one,” he said.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon didn’t hear or care about the price. His credit card swiped, his passport vetted, his small bag in the overhead compartment and the wheels of the first flight from Chicago to Miami were off the ground by 7 AM. He took a cab straight to her hotel. It was only a block off South Beach, a little white art deco boutique affair where he knew his feet would stick off the end of the bed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fiona Larkin’s room, please,” he asked the receptionist a little after 10 AM. She put the call through, waited and then shook her head. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sorry sir, she’s not answering.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon grabbed a newspaper from the display and sat down to wait.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona reveled in the temperature, already warm at mid-morning. While Chicago was in the deep freeze, Miami acted as if nothing could be easier than the week between Christmas and New Year. The bar was already open and an older couple sipped fruity drinks from fancy glasses. She caught the husband pretending not to watch her swim; her stomach growled at the chunk of pineapple wedged onto the rim of his daiquiri. She smiled at him as she climbed the steps out of the pool in her black bikini.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona wrung the water from her hair, wrapped a towel around herself and pushed her feet into flip-flops. She left her book and extra towel to hold her deck chair and headed inside to get the rest of the fruit plate from her room service breakfast.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her wet shoe squeaked loudly on the fake marble floor. She slipped the sandals off, embarrassed, and picked them up in one hand. As Fiona stood back up, she looked right at Jon. Who was looking right at her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She froze. He got to his feet.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For fuck’s sake.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did he have to look so good? He was nearly as pale as she, in a dark blue polo and white shorts, but he glowed with good health. Strong and tall and fit and... </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi,” he said.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What are you doing here?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He shrugged. “Waiting.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her blood pressure began to stabilize. “Couldn’t get a key to my room?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon’s heart was pounding. All at once she’d arrived and everything he’d practiced saying to her evaporated from his tongue. Her dark hair was twisted over one shoulder, leaking drops of water down her bare arm. A fluffy white pool towel stopped just past what he imagined to be a very small bathing suit. With her sandals in hand she was dripping a small puddle on the lobby floor.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thought about the balcony, but my contract has an no-climbing clause.” He tried a smile. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona’s face stayed stony for a second, then she cracked a grin and looked away, shaking her head. “Nice game last night.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You watched?” He didn’t dare move any closer.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I always watch.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona felt other eyes on her, passersby and employees, wondering what was happening between the drowned rat of a girl and the extremely handsome young man who was not staying in this hotel. She briefly considered her options.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m hungry,” she said. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon walked two big steps behind as he followed Fiona out to the hotel restaurant patio. No one seemed to care if she was shirtless, but she put her flip-flops back on. They were seated at the back corner, under a large shade tree, at a table for four. He sat across. Without looking at the menu, Fiona ordered a spinach and tomato omelet and a bowl of fruit.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The same,” he told the waiter.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Maybe he’d hoped for a screaming, jumping into his arms reception when he surprised her. But neither had Fiona ignored him, or called the cops. A seat across from her at brunch was the best he could really get.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why are you here, Jon?” she finally asked.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I missed you.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona pulled the tassels of the table runner absently between her fingers.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Okay, not going to get any help</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he knew.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And I talked to Viktor. He told me that you turned him down. I came because I have a lot to make up to you, if you’ll let me, and I didn’t want to wait to get started.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I like him, Jon. I wanted to want to be with him,” she said quietly. “It felt awful, doing that.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I feel awful too, for what I did to you. I should have gotten my head together and just told you a long time ago. But I didn’t think you’d...,” he took a deep breath. “I didn’t think you would want me, after.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She brought her gaze around to him. His broad shoulders were rounded and his posture terrible - it looked painful, and she thought it should. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s one thing for you to say all this, Jon, but it’s been only two weeks since I kicked another girl out of your bed. And I don’t know what you’ve done since....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He cut in, “Nothing.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona shrugged. “I meant what I said yesterday, about too little, too late. I said no to Viktor because I can’t drag him through all that. I’m not sure I want to do it to myself.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi,” he reached over the table for her hand. She didn’t pull away, just let him hold it. “I don’t need any time. I can wait if that’s what you need but there is nothing else that I want.” He forced himself to look right at her and admit the worst part. “I know Viktor is a great guy, and he really likes you. If you gave him up because you had to then I respect that. But if you gave him up for me, for this, I promise to be worth it. I want to get this right.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She sighed softly, like she might start to cry. “I don’t know.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Please believe me. I love you. Even that was me being afraid the other night - I know I love you. I’m sorry I had to come so close to losing you to see it.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona squeezed his hand. Jon’s heart jumped, so happy for the slightest positive reinforcement he felt like a puppy scratching at the door. He lifted her hand and rubbed his thumbs into her palm.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How did you know where I was?” she asked playfully, breaking a bit of the tension.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He blushed. “Uh... I saw your computer? It was an accident, I swear!”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You accidentally broke into my apartment, followed me across half the country and staked out my hotel?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Uh...,” he blushed. “I also called you a hundred times.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Stalker.” She shook her head, caught between disbelief and laughter. “You don’t know how to give up, do you?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon tilted his head slightly, letting those melted chocolate-colored eyes go soft. As if she should know better than to ask such a question.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Told Coach I had a family emergency.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona pulled her hand free and gave herself a facepalm. “Family emergency?! Sounds like I’m pregnant.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon’s eyes went wide. “Shit. I hope he didn’t tell my mom, she’ll be redecorating my place right now.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You left your parents in Chicago?!”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He blushed, grinning like a kid who’d snuck an extra cookie. Fiona just shook her head. But the food came and they ate in silence; every quiet second Jon felt the tension and hesitation flowing back between them. He chewed each bite thirty times, counting carefully, so he wouldn’t run out of things to do before she was ready to talk again.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona kept her eyes on her plate. Jon had made the big gesture and here he was, halfway through eggs and toast, like she’d agreed to everything just because she didn’t pull the fire alarm. Slowly sipping her juice, she tried not to feel him watching her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When their dishes were scraped so clean all that was left to eat was ceramic, they finally pushed them away. Jon gave his credit card to the waiter without asking for the bill, as if he had someplace to be. It made her nervous, so she waited till he’d signed the slip and they stood up. Only then did Jon realize he had nowhere to go. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona’s heart squeezed. She didn’t want to be mean, not when he was trying so hard to be nice. But she wasn’t sure how much to give and what to hold back. They stood there silently, taking turns looking at each other and the floor. Her arms and legs felt too long, like Jon was everywhere and she was always too close. Sliding her sunglasses on, she headed back toward her pool chair. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The simple act of Fiona draping a towel over the chaise lounge made Jon’s hands flex. He’d seen her in far less clothing and far more intimate settings but it seemed like forever since they’d been alone together, even in public. He tried not to watch her bathing suit cheat up her backside as she leaned over to secure the edge before dropping into the seat.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona looked up at Jon. “You’re blocking my sun.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If that wasn’t an invitation... Jon whipped his shirt off took the place next to her. The chairs were very close together. Immediately the warm sun began soaking into his overdeveloped, overworked muscles. He reclined and tilted his face toward the sky. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do you hate me?” he asked quietly, after a minute. It seemed the most all encompassing-question, as if he might only get to ask one.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No, Jon,” Fiona sighed. “But I hate that it took you so long to do this. And I don’t entirely trust your motives. If all you are is jealous then I’ve just made a huge mistake.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He rolled onto his side. There was no way to keep from rolling his eyes slowly up the sight of her laid out in the dazzling sun. Her bikini bottom stretched taut across her hips, leaving a little space between the elastic and the fair skin of her stomach. That little gap, like the one Jon thought she might have in her heart, was all he wanted right now.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Were you ever jealous? Those girls?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You never gave any of them a chance. And stop looking at me like that.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Like what?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She shielded her face and opened her eyes. “You really have no idea, do you? You’re like a lion at the zoo, sometimes I can’t tell if you want to lick me or kill me.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well,” he laughed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t think you know how your intensity effects other people. They don’t just call you Captain Serious because you’re boring.” She let that hang for a second, Jon didn’t defend himself. “The way you look at people... it makes them think you mean what you’re saying, what you’re doing. That’s why I never envied those girls. They believed you.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon wished Fiona would stop looking at him now, because there was judgement in her eyes. And he knew he deserved it.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But I didn’t have to help you, Jon; I didn’t have to come running every time you called. I did that part to myself.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A waitress came by and Fiona ordered a cocktail. Jon ordered a beer. It wasn’t even lunchtime. When the frosty beverages arrived in dripping glasses, Jon tapped his against Fiona’s.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“To not having me arrested.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“To interrupting my vacation.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona closed her eyes and lay still, focusing on her breathing and the weight the air carried when Jon was around. It was like his gaze, heavy and immovable, only now it seemed charged with whatever he was going to say next. But he stayed quiet for a long time, rolling onto his stomach. She heard him cross those huge arms and rest his head on his hands - she didn’t look, didn’t need to feel any weaker.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Across the pool deck, new people were arriving. By the giggles and loud voices they were obviously young women, probably scantily clad and ready to start their day of partying. Fiona cracked one eye toward Jon.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m not watching,” he said. Sure enough his face was down, eyes covered with a heavy bicep.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona just laughed. But now that she was looking, she figured it was okay to enjoy the view. Huge shoulders and a wide back whittled down to a tight waist. His ass was huge but all muscle and made Fiona bite her lip at the thought of all the things he was capable of doing. His shorts were more equipped to hide his thighs, but his legs were fantastic until they reached his feet. Hockey player feet were a wreck.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Stop looking at me like that.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her eyes snapped back up to where he was watching her, watching him. She’d gotten distracted. He’d caught her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh shut up,” she swatted him with her book.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another hour passed in mostly companionable silence. Before the last two weeks, they might have spent a vacation together doing exactly this. But somewhere in the back of each of their minds a clock was ticking.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For all his flailing around and making mistakes lately, plus the rigors of the reason, Jon was not surprised to find he was exhausted. After an hour in the pool chair he thought he might never get up. Sometime shortly after, he fell asleep.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona was reading and half-listening to his breathing change. When it was shallow and even for some time, she knew he was out. She draped a towel over his bare back and another over his calves. It wouldn’t do for the family emergency to come back to Chicago with a sunburn.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She’d thought through every angle of their scenario so many times it felt as if it had already happened. She would wait him out, make him go slowly and grovel just a bit, but not too much. After all, he’d already done a few things that surprised her - missed hockey time, followed her, risked his pride. Mostly it was the part where he told her everything: how he felt, how sorry he was, all that. She would not have thought him capable of being so candid. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona had laid next to his sleeping body so many times, tangled together alone in bed, but this somehow felt more intimate than any of those.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He woke about an hour later. Blinking, the first thing he saw was her face. “Hey.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Morning.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“My flight’s at four.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She checked his phone. “It’s ten after two.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon rolled, freeing himself from the towel blanket, and sat up with his feet on the small patch of floor beneath their chairs. He rested elbows on knees and leaned over her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come with me,” he said. “Come home.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No,” she shook her head. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well, I... I have to go back today. I can’t stay.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona shaded her face with one hand. “I haven’t asked you to.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Right,” His voice dropped as he felt clumsy, not choosing his words carefully enough. There were a million things he wanted to say. “Sorry.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But I’ll be back soon. For New Year’s.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He wanted to command her to come home almost as much as he wanted to say right there with her, in a place where no one knew them and no one was watching. Fiona waved a hand around the pool deck. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You know right where I’ll be.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But when he got up, so did she. Jon pulled on his shirt and shoes, Fiona left her things in the chair. It was an unsubtle reminder of how soon she’d be back there, without him. In the hotel lobby, he gave her a shy look as he approached the concierge.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Picking up a bag,” and he passed his ticket along. Fiona looked at him as if it ask, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">are you serious?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The bellhop came back with a small overnight gym bag. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon quickly lowered it to his side. “Just in case.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She laughed out loud. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A short line of cabs waited at the curb. Before the doorman could wave one around, Jon shook him off and pulled Fiona to the side. She was so small. He knew she was tough but he’d been careless with her and she’d gotten hurt. She’d hurt someone else on his behalf - that wasn’t right. That wasn’t the Fiona he knew.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m sorry,” he said for what seemed like the millionth time.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona was beginning to feel that her options were not only stand or fall, fight or flight. There might be some room in there for a little bend after all. “I’m sorry too, Jon. I should have made you have this fight with me before Viktor got involved. It should have been between us.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He chanced moving a step closer, she didn’t back away.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I do love you, Fi.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I know.” Fiona put a hand on Jon’s arm and lifted onto her toes. Her lips brushed his cheek softly as he tried to turn into her kiss. But she was already back on her feet.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Bye, Jon.” And then she was gone.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_</span></div></b></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-68621009812202790992012-01-04T18:28:00.001-08:002012-01-04T18:28:35.054-08:00fourteen<div><span id="internal-source-marker_0.2784671252593398"><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She left.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon’s brain processed nothing besides the exhaust puffing white as the car pulled away.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even as the words passed her lips, Jon had not truly believed that Fiona would say no. They were surely meant for each other, in the end. Fiona was the one, the only one, who knew - she knew him, knew everything, the best and worst and what he needed when he was alone, in the dark, not famous or wealthy or talented at all. He was just Jon, nothing special, but she had always stayed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She left.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blankness, blackness as the car turned out of sight.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He went upstairs, past the doorman without a word, long jacket swirling behind. In his kitchen he poured two fingers of scotch, drained it and poured another. Everything his eyes touched on, from the toaster that made breakfast for no one to the view of the city skyline blurring before no ones eyes but his own....</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Worthless. All worthless.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was true what everyone said: Jon was a hockey player. They saw him as nothing else, because there was nothing else to see.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nothing good anyway.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The phone in his pocket rang. Jon fumbled it free, heart jumping in blind and foolish hope, until he saw his mother’s number. His fingers twitched to reject the call, but he knew he couldn’t afford to be any lonelier right now.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jonathan, she was lovely,” Andree said, wasting no time. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah.” He closed his eyes.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Now, I know you said she’s just a friend but I can tell how much you like her.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mom....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Have you told her how you feel?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Uhh.....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Andree tutted. “Someone else is going to snap her up, Jon! I can’t imagine what you’re waiting for.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The pause was endless. She knew exactly what, it was impossible to miss the way all types of women looked at Jon. And Jon knew that she knew....</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m sorry!” she laughed. “I don’t mean to interfere, I just... it’s nice, is all. To see a girl who doesn’t look at you like you’re on the Jumbotron.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon leaned his forehead against the window. “Yeah, it is. But she’s too good for me, Mom.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”All women are too good for their men, Jonathan. The ones you want, anyway.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona stared out the window, counting closed doors until she saw a store that was open on Christmas, then started at zero again. The driver seemed to know she was watching and never doubled back on the same block. She’d seen half of downtown before she spoke.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay, I’m ready.” And she gave her destination.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was walking through the kitchen with a bag of pretzels when he heard the knock. Thinking it a strange hour for the building maintenance or cleaning staff to need something, he went to the key hole. What he saw made him whip the door open.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi,” Fiona said, voice shaky.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you okay?” Viktor stepped into the hallway, pulling the door behind him until it rested barely closed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh my God....</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bile rose in Fiona’s throat like she might be sick. She took a half-step backward, horrified at her own presumption. He wasn’t alone. She’d turned up uninvited, talked her way past the doorman, only to interrupt a Christmas that Viktor was spending with someone else. Just like she had.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am Jon. I am that bad.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey, hey.” Viktor reached for her. His arms slipped around her as he whispered, brushing his free hand over her hair. Her eyes filled with tears. “Fi, what’s wrong, honey?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I... I’m sorry...,” she tried to step back. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s okay, shhhhh.” He squeezed, as if there were any way she could get free against his will. “Hammer’s here, is it okay if he knows? I can kick him out.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t know what Nik would be knowing exactly, but if she’s here in this state in that dress then it’s something</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he thought.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona let her entire body drop against his chest. Nicklas was there. Not a date. Not a girl. Just Fiona painting the world with Jon’s brush. Viktor took her hand.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come on.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hjalmarsson was sprawled out on the chaise, long legs dangling off the foot rest. He did a double-take at the sight of Fiona and scrambled up.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey, hi. Fiona.” With zero stealth, he looked at Viktor. Viktor just nodded.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Be right back.” And he tugged Fiona down the hallway.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This room....</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona walked toward the window. Viktor closed the door behind himself and stood there, waiting. He wanted to follow her, hold her, but something in her posture told him this wasn’t the right move. She’d been in that bed just hours ago. She’d laid there the night before, wishing today would never come. Maybe she had known all along what it would bring.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I can’t do this,” she said quietly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When she turned, Viktor was looking at her. He slipped his hands into his pockets and didn’t try to fill the silence.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m so sorry,” she breathed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona’s eyes blurred with tears, but she heard his footsteps. His hands settled on her shoulders.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What happened?” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She drew a slow breath, trying not to cry. It wasn’t fair to cry for herself while she was hurting someone else. And if she were crying for Viktor...</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I should have been more careful. I’m going to do all this and end up with nothing.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I was out with Jon. He asked me before....” She glanced toward the bed. “We had a fight.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor tilted his head slightly, unsure of what he was hearing. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I came here because last night because I wanted to be with you, Viktor, because I really like you. And it was... perfect. You are perfect. But I’m not. I should want to kill Jon but he’s so under my skin and I can’t... I can’t do that to you.” Fiona wiped her eyes, smearing her makeup slightly. Viktor still held her arms. “You deserve someone who only thinks of you. I want to be that person - I tried to be - but I’m not.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Bullshit.” His voice wasn’t angry but the harsh word still snagged like a burr. “I knew that you and Jon had a thing - everybody did. I’m not stupid, Fi. I knew what I was getting into.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His hands squeezed slightly, as if he knew she’d try to break away.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I didn’t... I’m sorry, you....” Tears caught in her throat. “You’re not stupid, I didn’t mean that. But you had every right to expect that when I went out with you, when I came here to be with you, that I had made up my mind. I thought I had. I wanted to.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A tear ran down her cheek, taking a dark gray trail of mascara with it. Viktor let go just long enough to wipe it with his thumb, then he pulled Fiona into his chest.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I rushed you,” he said, into her hair. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She tried not to melt into his huge, comforting body. “You’re being all perfect again!”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As laughter goes, it was weak. And watery. But it came from Fiona just the same and Viktor felt her surrender, fold against him and sigh. He was going to lose this fight, but he wouldn’t give up. Just like the man he thought she needed and deserved, Viktor would hold the idea of this relationship in his arms while it died.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sorry,” he chuckled.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No, I’m sorry. Really. You do everything right and I want that. But I’m fucking it all up. That’s not good enough for you.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t want you to be perfect, Fiona. I just want to be with you.” He was glad she couldn’t see his face or it would have been hard to be so blunt. She sighed again and he waited, but when no more argument came he knew he’d really lost. Finally he opened his embrace and made her look up.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“This all got serious so fast... what if we slow down, back off a little? See what happens.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She gave the tiniest shake of her head. “So we both wait for him? And if he pulls it together, what do you get? That’s worse than anything yet and I won’t do that to you.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He knew she was right, and it was a kindness. She could have strung him along and based on the way he felt holding her now, he’d have followed her anywhere.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“At least tell me that you know he doesn’t deserve you. After everything he’s done....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She half-nodded.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t run right to him.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t even know if I’m going there at all,” she admitted. She needed to get her bearings and Jon needed to sweat it out. “The last thing I told him was goodbye.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor smiled sadly. “Goddamn it, Fiona. I want you to be happy, but all I can see is him hurting you.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona pressed her lips together until they were white, trying not to cry again. “And all I can see is me hurting you.” Her voice was so quiet, she cleared her throat. “I hope you don’t hate me.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Remember the day I asked you to wear my jersey?” Viktor’s big hand brushed the dark, tousled hair back from her face. “That was two weeks ago.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s all?” Fiona felt as if she’d been going crazy forever.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I liked you before then. But it’s been two weeks, Fi. I will live.” He looked at her with those storm-colored eyes: soft and forgiving, another thing she didn’t deserve. Perfect man couldn’t stop being perfect even for this.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Promise me you won’t let him hurt you. That’s the only way I could ever hate you. If you throw this away for nothing.” He kissed her cheek lightly. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I promise.” She turned her face and caught his lips in a swift, sweet kiss. Their last.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor held her hand all the way to the front door. Hjalmarsson looked very confused from the couch - Fiona just gave him a little wave. In the hallway, Viktor pulled her into his arms and twisted her from side to side with a little playfulness that he didn’t really feel. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You still want him after all this. You’re pretty perfect, Fiona.” He smiled. “Not very smart, but....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She blushed. “He’s got a lot to live up to.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outside, the driver had insisted on waiting. Fiona hoped Jon was getting billed double time. He turned toward her building without being asked and she resumed looking at the wintry city that rolled by. Her heart ached a small, dull pain as if she’d just kicked it in the gut. Every breath made it only halfway down.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon was going to have to start from scratch. In fact, as far as he knew, it was already over forever. It didn’t seem right to explain that to Viktor - it would give him an opening, keep leading him on. It was Jon or nothing, and only if he did the work. Anything that happened between them now would stay between them. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She went straight to her apartment, dead-bolted the door and opened her computer. Twenty minutes later, she printed a single page. Then Fiona brushed her teeth, climbed into bed and waited for sleep to come.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon dragged his feet into work in the morning. The smell of the locker room seemed overly pungent, the comments particularly callous. He hurried to the ice in search of fresh air and quiet only to find that Stalberg had beaten him there.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A couple of guys were practicing tip-ins around the net. Seabrook shot from the point, Stalberg tried to redirect it past Crawford. Kane alternated slappers from Keith. Jon turned toward the empty net on the near side, balancing a puck on the blade of his stick. He tossed it top-shelf, just under the crossbar, as a pair of skates ground to a stop behind him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Is she okay?” Jon asked without looking.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You win, Vik.” He turned around because it was the grown up thing to do. And the only person Jon wanted to impress other than Fiona was Viktor. Jon was beaten fair and square, and now he knew what kind of person he needed to be. If he was very, very lucky maybe he’d find someone else that demanded nothing less.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor rested an elbow on his stick and shook his head. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You really are a complete fucking mess.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What?” Jon was angry, like a switch flipping. He was graciously conceding defeat, swallowing back bile every second, and Stalberg wanted to keep kicking?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well fuck that.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You got her, alright? You win, congratulations, now get the fuck out of my face!” Jon moved a step closer but Viktor didn’t flinch. He knew the truth.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I should just go right back to her,” Victor stared Jon down, “because you could never be what she thinks you can.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And what’s that?” Jon spit. He was glad for his helmet and pads if he had to go a round with his teammate right here on the ice.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Good enough.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon’s legs were coiled to stride forward and his arms flexed to start swinging. It all dropped out of him like a rock. “What?” he said for the third time in as many minutes.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s you, asshole. And if you fuck it up, captain or not, I will kill you.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon blinked stupidly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I won’t take another punch, Jon. Ever,” Viktor hissed. “If you hurt her, I promise the last thing you’ll ever see is just how hard I can fight back.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The meaning of the words finally reached Jon’s brain - his eyes got a little wider, his mouth opened but nothing came to mind. Viktor growled deep in his chest and turned his back on his friend.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi? Fiona!” Jon knocked on her door at the same time he called her name. No answer. None on her phone either, and no one at the bar had seen her. Jenny wasn’t on shift yet. Jon, however, had a game to nap for.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Good luck fucking sleeping now.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked at the ceiling for an hour, trying to figure out where Fiona could have gone or why she was ignoring him. She’d turned him down, he remembered that part. But Viktor had gotten a completely different version and Jon was more than willing to be wrong in this case.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s the day after Christmas, where the hell is she?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon met his parents at their hotel for pre-game meal. His mother was beaming from the second he walked in the door.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Will Fiona be joining us?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No, Mom.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh, well. Maybe we’ll see her at the game.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon looked to his father for help, but Bryan just rolled his eyes. The way half the women in the restaurant were looking at Jon, it would be better if his mother played matchmaker. The waitress in particular looked ready to slip Jon the key to the nearest linen closet.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona didn’t have season tickets, she didn’t need them. But unless someone else had put her at will call or she was coming with Abby, he didn’t expect to see her there. Abby wouldn’t likely be leaving her tiny baby at home for what was just another one of a thousand hockey games.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Maybe,” Jon said.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But she wasn’t there. Jon arrived on time, gave Viktor a simple nod, then sat in the team meeting and a video session, warmed up, stretched, dressed and still no sign of Fiona. If Stalberg knew anything he wasn’t telling. So Jon searched the faces around the glass at pre-game skate, looking for that snow white skin and dark hair. Nothing.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do you... have you talked to her?” he finally asked, stopping next to Viktor at the blue line for a shooting drill. Stalberg wouldn’t deck him in front of all these fans.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No,” he shrugged, half-smiling to himself. “But don’t rush her. It doesn’t work.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona never showed, or at least never showed herself. The Hawks won 2-0 and Jonathan held out hope right through the media scrum and shower that she might waltz into the locker room. He entertained the fantasy that she’d throw her arms around his neck in front of everyone. But she didn’t come.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fiona?” Jon called at her door again, knocking so loudly he might as well be yelling, “Chicago PD!” He’d called her countless times, no answer. The bar had been too busy for him to drop in for a quick check with Jenny. So he was back outside her apartment.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sorry, Fi, I have to.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He slipped his copy of her key into the lock, knowing she’d hate him for it. Knowing he’d find the place empty. There were no dishes in her sink, nothing recording on the DVR. The blankets had been pulled over her bed - as made as ever, but impossible to tell when she’d slept there last. Since leaving him standing on the sidewalk nearly twenty-four hours earlier, Jon hand’t seen or heard a word from Fiona.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was no purse on her chair, no phone plugged into the wall. He slid open the desk drawer to check for her iPod, but it too was missing.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fuck!” He slammed the drawer in frustration.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hr computer came on.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The laptop was open on the desk - it had been sleeping, not turned off. In fact she’d never clicked away from the last page she visited. Jon leaned down and saw the Travelocity confirmation screen, complete with her flight times and destinations. He scribbled one the back of her phone bill envelope and ran out of the apartment.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Author's Note: Your comments on this story have been my favorite for anything I've ever written!</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>_</i></span></span></div></span></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-58172287114790459262012-01-02T16:09:00.000-08:002012-01-02T16:09:09.830-08:00thirteen<div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.19494793214835227"><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Eeeeeeeek!</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>THIRTEEN</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona woke beneath a pile of warm, heavy Swede. Viktor did indeed talk in his sleep, but he didn’t snore or steal the covers. Even so, Jon jumped into her mind at the first chance. She finally felt ready to admit why.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I thought of myself as Jon’s girl.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And Fiona had acted accordingly - helping him, coddling him, acting like every awful thing he did was funny and charming and, ultimately, forgivable. Like a kicked puppy who kept coming back, she had acted in a way that asked no better from Jon. He may have run the show but she was a willing accomplice, stroking his ego. Some of it she’d even liked. And there was an edge to that aggression that undeniably excited her and was unmistakably Jon. For every time they’d ever ended up in a compromising position together, he’d never made a secret of wanting her. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That was the problem. He wanted her, but for what? If it was for sex he could forget it, because he could - and did - get that anywhere else. She sensed that he was scared now and wanted more, something solid and real, like dating. But Jon dating? The thought made her shake her head in disbelief.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon would be a... date? Fling? Experiment?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> None of those sounded bad, per se. But neither did they sound like enough. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If only he wasn’t so... Jon.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Because no matter what he did wrong, something about Jon had Fiona so crossed up that she lay in bed with another man still thinking about him. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Only now she didn’t feel like forgiving anyone, even herself. Only forgetting.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor shifted in his sleep, never letting go of her. Now here was a man who was ready. He was more ready that she was, already halfway there. And after the night they’d spent together Fiona felt herself running after him - falling, tripping, jumping - toward whatever he had in mind.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boyfriend</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It was obvious. A single word from her and this perfect specimen with the surprising smile would be her boyfriend. As an “other” he would certainly be significant. Viktor might not have that edge that gave Jon some of his fire, but Fiona now thought of it as one less way to cut herself.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe this wasn’t the best way to start</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she thought as she he moved again. But she was smiling, because it wasn’t really possible to regret something that had been so great. And there was no way she was letting Jon ruin this for her. Like a bear coming out of hibernation, Viktor spoke with his face mashed to the pillow. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Told you Santa was Swedish.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How’s that?” she laughed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“My present is still here.” He lifted his head, blond hair falling over his one open eye, and looked at her carefully. “You’re thinking you shouldn’t have done this.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona squeezed his forearm where it fell across her stomach. “No,” she half-lied. “I was just thinking I could never regret it.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We could do it again to make sure.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She laughed as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. The sheets were twisted around them, bright white against his darker skin and the width of his chest and shoulders made it hard for Fiona to hear what he was saying.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s okay, Fi. I meant what I said. I really like you. I know Jon does too, but he’s... well, you decide. I think you deserve better than him.” He let one hand drop to her side, tracing the curve of her breast. “Maybe I’m not better, since I kept you here last night.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona rolled onto her side and put her face right to his. “I stayed because I wanted to.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nobody’s perfect.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona walked home in the cold sunshine. The giddy euphoria of her night with Viktor could have flown her there were it not for the promise of dinner with Jon around her ankles like lead weights. She felt guilty for thinking of him at all. If she fell into the river she’d sink like a brick now. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She hated to think of Jon this way - as a burden, a problem. He’d always been her favorite thing. Their dynamic had gotten lost in all the turmoil of the last few weeks and she’d shied away from his company because it always ended in a fight, a kiss, or some combinaton of the two. As much as she hated his presumption of going into her apartment, he had done it to deliver a gift. An olive branch. He deserved some credit for that and she promised herself that tonight she would give it to him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because it’s Christmas.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And that was all she would give him. Because Fiona was officially crazy about Viktor.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She went home and showered away the feel of last night’s perfection. By three-thirty Fiona was she admiring Jon’s dress selection in the full-length mirror. Paired with pattern printed heels and topped with a black wrap, the cranberry cocktail number was something she would have chosen for herself. Sweeping her hair back to show off the earrings, she pinned a few waves away from her face, finished her makeup and waited.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am fine, this is fine. Jon will have to learn that he cannot get everything he wants.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But when a knock tapped the door, her heart leaped into her throat.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Merry Christmas,” Jon said instead of a million questions: Had she missed him? Had she been with someone else?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just reach up from the depths and drag me down</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Fiona thought as she blinked at him. It had been a few days - very eventful days - since she’d rebuffed his aggressive kiss and turned her back on Jon in the park. Her mind had been otherwise occupied with a newer, shinier version of perfection. But the old standard looked as good as ever.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi,” she said stupidly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He wore a black suit with shiny lapels, a single button and a tie the exact color of her dress. His dark hair was getting a little long, making him look younger than his 23 years. It belied the size and shape of his body, and the old soul that had always lurked in his eyes. Sometimes Fiona thought his actions were at such odds with the person in his head.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That dress doesn’t do you justice,” he tried, standing in her doorway like an awkward teen picking up his prom date. It had been a long time since Jon was less than confident around a girl. But here she was, more beautiful than ever as he looked into her eyes and wondered if he’d already lost her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s gorgeous, Jon. Thank you.” She rose onto her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I missed you,” he said quietly and reached for her hand. “I have a surprise downstairs.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona slipped her hand into his, the familiar comfort of his contact. If nothing else it felt good to be around Jon and not be hissing or spitting or trying to scratch his eyes out. She pushed herself over the threshold and followed him to the elevator.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Where are we going?” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Only place that’s open,” he deliberately avoided the question with a smile.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona rolled her eyes. If Jon could be relaxed then she might get through tonight just fine. She might even restore some of their friendship before telling him that would be the extent of their relationship. She loved Jon but if he wanted to be a new man, he’d have to make his practice cuts on someone else. Their friendship would be more like what normal people had - no kicking out one night stands or sharing a bed. It would be something new for both of them.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before the elevator reached the ground, Fiona felt stronger.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can do this. Even if I can’t give him everything, I can give him today.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They stepped into the lobby, and an older couple in fancy dress turned like they were waiting for just such an arrival. Fiona recognized them immediately from TV. The woman’s face lit up into a big smile. Jon had her hand again, she hadn’t noticed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fiona, these are my parents, Bryan and Andree. Mom and Dad, this is Fiona.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon stood very still and watched Fiona like she was in slow-motion. It registered on her face first - she knew his parents on sight. Her green eyes flashed wide, that soft mouth that he had no right to claim formed a tiny ‘o’ of surprise. Most importantly, her hand - back in his - squeezed. Just the reaction he was looking for.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We’ve heard to much about you,” his mother said, throwing her arms around Fiona’s neck.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s so nice to meet you!” Fiona recovered herself quickly, saying the first polite thing that came to mind. Autopilot kicked in and she hugged his mother, accepted a kiss on the cheek from his father. Jon’s hand moved to her lower back to moment she was free, guiding her to the hired car waiting outside.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His parents passed through the door and Jon leaned forward to hold it open for Fiona. She gave him the most murderous glare she could muster.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ambush,” she said under her breath. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His mother talked a mile a minute. She asked about Jon’s Christmas Eve and he said it was low-key, he’d gone to the Sharp’s for the morning to deliver a gift for the new baby, watched a movie at home in the evening. They all felt the dig - had Jon spent Christmas Eve with Fiona? Obviously this was serious enough to mean Christmas Day with the parents....</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I visited a friend for Christmas dinner,” Fiona said eventually. Andree’s expression fell by a fraction. Jon’s mask was near-perfect, only a slight flex of his jaw hinted that he knew exactly where she’d been, now it was confirmed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh fuck</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she thought. But it got her back up to know he’d done it again - helped himself to whatever there was. For once it had bitten him in the ass.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He shouldn’t open doors if he doesn’t want to see.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His mouth smile but it didn’t reach those intense eyes. “I hope Santa knew where to find you.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona was pissed and Jon knew it. He’d expected nothing less. He also knew she would be flawless - charming and smart and his parents would be in love with her before they were out of the car. They rolled to a stop in front of the nicest Chinese food restaurant in Chicago and Jon congratulated himself on being right about two things. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She’d been with Viktor. He couldn’t claim surprise - he’d never waited to get something he wanted. But Fiona was better than him, and he’d secretly been expecting more from her. Self-serving, yes. But even when you jumped out a window, hitting the ground still hurt like hell.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He needed this night more than ever. But first he needed a second to speak to her in private. His father helped his mother down from the SUV, Jon got out and turned to help Fiona. It was easy to block the door for a moment.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her green eyes were sharp as they caught his. Fiona wanted to demand an explanation but she knew exactly what he was doing. Still there was a hint of something unusual in his gaze: apology.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An awkward silence rose between them.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I didn’t know how else to prove it.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Prove what?” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That I’m serious about this.” Jon let the words fall, like he was willing to drop the issue of Vitor, where she’d been, what she’d done with another man when he’d been thinking of her all night. Then he reached for her hand.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They were seated in a large, opulent dining room with low, sparkling light. Jon sat next to Fiona on the banquette, trying not to stare as the warm glow caught every surface of her. The bare skin of her neck and shoulder looked like silk, the earrings glinted like the diamonds they were. Shifting near, he breathed in the scent of her slightly flowered perfume. All the while she chatted with his parents like she’d known them forever. If he wasn’t about to salvage his chances with Fiona, he would have his mother to answer to now.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon rolled his shoulders and focused on the conversation. It would have been easy to slip into the banter he and Fiona always had, except it had been weeks since they’d talked like friends. Listening to her was like getting in a time machine. As Fiona talked about her past Christmases, Jon wondered if she’d told the same stories to Viktor. In bed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was with one guy. One guy she likes, who likes her, who wants something real</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Compared to everything I did,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> he chastised himself even as he judged her. Each word was like a lead weight in his heart. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is why she hates me</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona could feel the tension in Jon’s body as he sat next to her - too tall, too stiff on the padded bench. She waited until something funny was said and then punched him in the thigh.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Relax,” she hissed behind a swipe of her napkin.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The appetizer plates were cleared and Fiona excused herself to the ladies room. Jon had to slide out to let her go, so he used the excuse to walk her across the restaurant. They both felt his parents watching their backs until they were around the corner.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“This is too...,” she started to say.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon was still moving. He reached his arms around her, wrapping her into a hug. Fiona froze, space violated and surprised. She stayed that way, expecting him to help himself to the kisses he’d taken before. But Jon just rested his chin on top of her head and held her tight. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona stood stock still for another moment as her brain and heart screamed at her body. All communication was down. She should push him away or at least step back, but she couldn’t make herself do anything. Everything about his weight and height and size felt....</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sorry,” he whispered.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The apology wasn’t for bringing her here, on a blind date with his parents on Christmas Day like she was being debuted in the movie of the story of his life. It was for everything that came before, right back to the day they met when he didn’t follow “Nice to meet you” with “Any chance you’d like to help me change my life?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally he let go. Fiona took a breath, gave him a sad half-smile and led the way back to the table.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona could help thinking that if she and Jon were really together, this would be the perfect way to take the next step. His parents were so enthusiastic about her that she felt bad that they had no idea what she was really doing here. Even if Jon had said they were just friends, it was easy to see they were hoping for more.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They sat back down, Jon a little less rigid. He spoke up more over their delicious meal and it eased the pressure Fiona felt in her chest. By the end of the main course it almost felt like a normal dinner. She and Jon even shared a sorbet for dessert. It wasn’t until the check arrived and Jon sent his credit card away that she started to feel that familiar panic creeping in around her heart.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The car dropped Jon’s parents at the Fairmont hotel. Fiona knew they didn’t often stay with Jon, but sensed they didn’t know why. Not very nice to wake up your parents kicking a random girl to the curb in the wee hours. As Andree hugged Fiona goodbye, she whispered into the younger girl’s ear.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t let him scare you off.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona couldn’t keep the surprise off her face. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe they do know.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon needed to get her alone. His place wouldn’t work - she’d never come. And she probably wouldn’t let him into her place, not again. Climbing back into the car was like fighting quicksand, the air so thick with tension. After a short, silent ride home Jon tipped the driver before letting either of them out. Once on the sidewalk, he knew this was the only chance he’d get. She stepped out next to him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi,” Jon said, reaching for her arm, “I....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He couldn’t take it anymore. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I know you stayed at Viktor’s.” Instead of anger rising in his voice, it fell away in sadness. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona felt weak. Not because she was ashamed that he knew - she wasn’t ashamed of what she’d done. But she certainly didn’t feel like Jon had the right to call her out. The Windy City was true to it’s name, an ice cold breeze whipping around them. It curled through Fiona’s bare legs as if to hold her in place.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Because you went into my apartment again?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He didn’t answer, couldn’t answer.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jon, I like him. A lot.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I just thought....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I thought that part of the problem with me is that I’ve slept around! I knew you were into him but I didn’t think....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Stop,” she whispered sharply. Then she inhaled deeply, taking a moment before this became a fight. “Sleeping with Viktor isn’t sleeping around Jon. Don’t you dare put him, or me, in the same category with those girls you bring home. That is not fair.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The look on his face said he did know, but couldn’t figure out how to apologize for it. She brushed past him, twisting free, and made it all of three steps.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I think I love you,” he said.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona stopped. With her face hidden, she squeezed her eyes closed and bit back the anguished noise that came unbidden to her tongue. It was a full five seconds before she could turn to face him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I know, Jon. But the only person you care about is yourself.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It wasn’t the answer he wanted and that made him mad. “I can do better!” he shouted.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She didn’t want to fight with someone who had just claimed to love her. She didn’t want to fight with Jon at all. Heavy, sharp words came so fast to her tongue, like bullets into the chamber of a gun. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Until the next road trip. Until the next blond. You don’t need a girlfriend you need a babysitter.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Fiona swallowed them hard and hunched down into her coat as if it were armor. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s too little, too late.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They faced each other for a moment, just waiting. As if the world would screech to a halt or someone would drop to their knees. But nothing happened. Jon had asked and Fiona had answered.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was nowhere to go. What was she meant to do, ride in the elevator with the man she’d just turned down? The best friend she’d willingly let walk all over her? Fiona couldn’t be in the same building with him, not now. Jon stood there gaping as she hurried toward the car still idling at the sidewalk.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona shut herself inside the back, hands trembling as she reached for the seatbelt. The driver met her eyes in the rearview mirror.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thought someone might still be needing a ride.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div></b></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-46712237554039490322012-01-01T10:02:00.001-08:002012-01-01T10:02:59.990-08:00twelve<div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5862372748088092"><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It took all of his strength for Viktor not to have Fiona’s clothes off in the middle of the living room floor. The fire, the Christmas tree... it was too much like a cheesy porn. So he hauled her up over her protests and half-carried her into the bedroom. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They barely made it in the door. Fiona turned in his arms and rubbed against him so fully he nearly dropped her. He pulled at her tank top while she quickly unbuttoned his shirt. Pushing it from his shoulders, Fiona took a second to step back.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“God, you’re beautiful,” she said quietly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Get back here,” he laughed, reaching for her. His fingers wrapped into the hem of her shirt and whipped it over her head. Viktor pressed his thumbs along the inside curve of her breasts, where they rounded invitingly from the cups of her bra. It was easy to lean her backward and follow with his mouth. The soft skin slipped beneath his lips as he tugged down a cup and raked his tongue across her nipple.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona moaned softly. Viktor’s cock throbbed against her leg, urging them to please kick this night into a higher gear. He backed her up until her legs touched the bed then eased her down. One knee to the mattress allowed him to kneel over her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She stretched her arms up and let him look; his gaze felt warm as it traveled over her body. Fiona sighed - the view wasn’t bad from her seat either. He bent at the waist and pulled off her boots in turn.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor moved over her in a push-up to kiss her mouth, then down her neck and chest, stopping the unsnap her bra with one hand. It was such a practiced trick that she laughed out loud. The vibration from his own laugh, tickling across her stomach, ended anything funny about it. Those long fingers ghosted over the waistband of her jeans. She bucked her hips in encouragement.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor took an extra moment along her side, just above her hip, to trace a small circle with his tongue. His body was rioting and so he knew he must take it slowly. Plenty of good would come to those who waited. Every noise she made pushed his blood pressure higher. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her black jeans were very soft as he tugged them over her hips, revealing lacy black boy shorts that perfectly matched the bra he’d tossed to the floor. Viktor lifted his head.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do you wear underwear like this every day?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She smirked and said, “Yes” while shaking her head no.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That is so hot,” he laughed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The fabric stretched taut across her lower stomach and wrapped the curve of her hip, disappearing underneath. It was so thin beneath his fingers - he had to see the rest. With one hand, Viktor flipped Fiona onto her stomach. She gasped, landing with a little ‘oof.’ If even possible, the sight of her high, perfect cheeks rounding out from those black panties was the thing that put Viktor over the edge. He pushed hard up her thighs until he had two handfuls of her ass. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi.” His voice was husky, suddenly in her ear. He lay against her, fitting her ass into his lap, and kissed along the top of her back. Hands slipped under to cup her breasts and Viktor ground his hard-on against the forgiving softness of her backside.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mmmm,” she moaned, arching up. He let her roll, then dropped to his knees off the side of the bed, taking her panties with him. Before she was onto her back, Viktor was pulling her toward the edge of the mattress.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh my....” The words were barely audible. Viktor slid his open mouth up the inside of her thigh and paused just shy of her peach. Only for a moment. Before Fiona could get a breath, his tongue was moving across her entrance.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,” she gasped.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor thought the same as her smooth skin slid under his tongue. She was wet for him, tasting of salted honey and twisting against his mouth. Her thighs were small in his hands as he held her writing body open.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona’s brain was the spin cycle of a washing machine and thoughts had no pattern. For a brief moment she considered how Jon hadn’t done this, wouldn’t think to do this, before the sensation of Viktor’s tongue sent her into another swirl.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His dick beat against his pants. Every molecule in his body was desperate to be near her, in her, to have what he’d been waiting for especially now that he knew she wanted it. Fiona might have her mental arguments, but her body had given in to him completely.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I can’t....</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I can’t wait,” he lifted his head to apologize. He wanted to make her scream but if he didn’t get his own soon he wasn’t sure he’d be alive to make anything happen.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Get up here!” she wailed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor stood and threw his pants off. Fiona raised her eyebrows because it was all she could do. He was so beyond beautiful there wasn’t really a word to accurately describe him. Bright blue boxer briefs strained to keep his desire in check.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She pushed herself to sitting and reached for him. He towered over her, his eyes dark with lust as she moved her hands up his thighs, over his ass, barely avoiding his package as it stood at attention. Then she flipped down the waistband and carefully peeled away the last piece of clothing between them.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her hands felt like silk and Viktor nearly stumbled. So much bare skin, all of it sizzling as if over an open flame. He exhaled as she held him in a very full fist and stroked his length. It was a long way from start to finish.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi,” he breathed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They moved quickly together, Fiona scooting up the bed while Viktor reached for the bedside drawer.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another thing Jon didn’t do</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she allowed herself to count. But she hadn’t stopped him so it was just as much her fault. Now wonder she’d felt so dirty.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor bent an enormous arm alongside her head and kissed her deeply. The corner of the little foil packet bit into his palm like teeth, that tiny pain the only thing keeping him connected to the world. She eagerly returned his kiss.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you sure?” he asked.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I wasn’t, I am now</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she knew. But she just said, “Yes.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It only took the smallest movement. Viktor looked right into Fiona’s eyes as he pushed slowly: her pupils got larger, rolling slightly back, he tried to keep steady. Her tight little body made him earn every one of his many inches.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“God,” she said involuntarily. It hurt so, so good. Viktor watched her carefully. When he was almost there, almost to the hilt, knowing it was the tightest spot, he kissed her lips and buried himself inside.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fuck,” Fiona managed in a breathy sob. Her hands were full of his biceps, her thighs spread wide by his legs. Viktor tried half a stroke, earned himself a moan of pleasure from the girl beneath. The heat, the squeeze and the sound all threatened to end him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Best Christmas ever,” he whispered as he moved again.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona tried another spot. There was nowhere within reach that her hands could fit around anything - arms, shoulders, abs; everything was too thick, too wide, too taut. Viktor’s face was pressed to her chest as he leaned her back. She was in his lap, legs around his waist, while he held her up and rode against her weight.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Baby,” he groaned as she bottomed out on his cock for what seemed like the ten thousandth time. His hands were under her ass, lifting and dropping her along his rock hard shaft. She’d run out of compliments and was reduced to small sobs of breath.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She grabbed a handful of his hair, pulled his head back and kissed him hard on the mouth. As his tongue wound around hers, Viktor tipped sideways and dumped her on the bed. He never pulled out. She hooked a leg over his hip and he pumped deep into her from another new angle. Sweat from his brow smeared across her shoulder as he moved to claim another kiss. The moment their lips touched, she swiveled her hips and put his next stroke right into her hot spot.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oohhhhhh,” she moaned right against his lips. He clamped a hand to her backside and held her there, changing to shorter, harder thrusts. She moaned again, louder.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I like that,” he said playfully. But he didn’t feel playful. He felt like he was about to come for the third time that night and possibly deflate like an empty air mattress. Because they Fiona could still sleep on top if him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You like everything!” she panted. And she liked everything he had done, to the tune of stars popping around the edges of her vision.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Stop being so sexy,” he teased back. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first time they’d barely had time to say a word. He stayed on top of her, lifting her ass ass in his hands letting her show him the spot. Five minutes later, they were both groaning in pleasure and collapsing into a heap. A laugh over not being able to hold out any longer had made sure they both enjoyed it.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second time, Fiona climbed on top and enjoyed making herself useful by stroking her slit along his hardening length. Viktor let his hands roam and marveled at the fact he’d ended up here, with her. Once she rolled a condom on and guided him inside, she’d had them both moaning in just a few minutes. Viktor made no secret that he liked to let her run the show.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By then the bed was a wreck. Fiona climbed over him, walked naked to the kitchen and came back with the apple crisp and one spoon. She’d never eat apples again without thinking of something even more delicious. They sat there, naked and laughing, sharing scoops of dessert.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventually Viktor pulled the spoon from between her lips and drew her into his lap. Her shape was perfect, the span of her waist fit easily into his hands as he worked her around on his cock. He was surprised he could manage again so quickly but there was no end of way Fiona was making his hard. Her pink nipples, their stiffness proving that she wanted him too, rolled beneath his tongue like candies. She raked fingers through his hair and held on.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now he was above her again, that dark hair fanned out over his pillow and her flawless skin rosy with exertion. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona caught Viktor’s eyes wandering over her body, her hair, sometimes stopping on a random spot like he was trying to memorize her. Even while grunting and bucking, he looked at her like she was made of gold.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Viktor, oh God!” It tore right out of her with her third orgasm of the night. She’d let his adoring gaze distract her from the very stiff, very persistent matter at hand. Now her body was quaking and rolling again. Viktor shifted his hips to flatten hers, burying his cock one last time and grunting as the pleasure took him too. She felt him pulse hard, draining himself.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They stayed liked that, twisted limbs and still joined, until their breathing came back down. Viktor kissed whatever part of her body was under his mouth. Fiona traced the outline of his delicate ear with one finger. When finally he freed himself, he got up and discreetly cleaned himself off. Fiona couldn’t move. She could barely keep her eyes open to enjoy the sight of him walking naked toward the bed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Beautiful.” She wasn’t sure her voice made any noise. “You’re beautiful.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor climbed in next to the devastated, gorgeous body in his bed and wrapped himself carefully around her. She shifted in close. They both sighed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If this doesn’t do it, nothing will</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he thought.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Please don’t let tomorrow come</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Fiona wished.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ten o’clock on Christmas morning and Jon rang the bell on Fiona’s apartment for the second time. Still no answer. He twirled the key in his hand, weighing the risks. If he let himself in and she was sleeping, she’d be mad. If he let himself and she was sleeping with Viktor, he may commit homicide.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Relax</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he reminded himself. Since he’d let jealousy get the best of him, Fiona had taken a big step back. It left quite a hole in his personal life and have given him plenty of time to think. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As much as he wanted Fiona for himself - and he did, he was more sure of that than ever - he wanted her to be with someone good. So he’d have to be good. Killing another guy in her bed was probably a bad start.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon knocked loudly, then opened the door. “Fi?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He examined the living room, a growing sense of unease in his stomach. Nothing in the kitchen. Walking slowly toward the bedroom, calling her name in a low voice, Jon found the door wide open. And the freshly made bed empty.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She got up early and went out.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Christmas? Where?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For a walk.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s ten degres.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For breakfast.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At a Chinese restaurant?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His brain whirled like the dial on a safe, trying to land a combination that made sense. Something other than the obvious.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She didn’t sleep here.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It hit him like a kick to the sternum, his shoulders rounding protectively toward his vulnerable middle. It was Christmas Day, the day he’d planned to give her the best surprise he could come up with. The one most likely to work.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And she didn’t even come home last night.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He stood still a full minute, letting the red haze of anger roll through his body. It could be anything, or nothing. Or it could be Viktor. Even so it would be nothing more than he had gotten, though he doubted Stalberg capable of getting it in such a confusing, shameful way. Still, if she’d stayed with Viktor it did nothing more than even the playing field and Jon was not afraid of a little competition. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s just sex</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he told himself. Then he said it out loud. It still sounded like complete and total bullshit, and it seared every vein in his body.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He thought about writing her a note, but decided it would be better if Fiona thought her secrets were kept. He texted her instead.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon: Dinner’s early. Pick you up at your place at 4.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then he locked her apartment door behind him. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fuck.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_</span></div></b></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-11517765445009202282011-12-30T07:33:00.000-08:002011-12-30T07:33:33.403-08:00eleven<div><span id="internal-source-marker_0.7539110307116061"><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>I love all of your comments! I'm glad you're all getting into this one, because I'm obviously having a lot of fun. And your comments are making me sway from Viktor to Jon and back again. I'm really enjoying this too much....</i></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christmas Eve was the absolute worst day of the year to be out shopping. At least she didn’t have to drive anywhere, but Fiona battled crowds in every street, store and register line. It was hard to even get to the racks of clothes, which of course were no help once she reached them. She had no idea what to wear for dinner at Viktor’s. Something casual enough because they were staying in, but a little dressy because it was the holidays. And a date - it was definitely a date. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I want it to be a date,” she said out loud to a display of shirts, a touch of wonder in her voice. They didn’t seem surprised.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally she settled on a gauzy black sweater that hung losely on her frame. Underneath she tried a tank top with wide stripes of gray and white visible through the outer layer. The sweater was shorter, and Fiona like the way the contrasting colors showed at her hips. Super soft skinny black jeans that she always wore went inside a pair of high gray riding boots. A little more shopping yielded a pair of sparkly hoop earrings and two bangles to match. It was enough but not too much - clothes that didn’t invite trouble but could be off in a second if it came to that.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona shivered, not unpleasantly. She had a feeling things were coming to that even if she tried to fight it.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When she was ready with her bag in hand and outfit in mind, Fiona climbed into a chair in the MAC store.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I have a date,” she told the artist, who herself was wearing enough makeup to star in a drag show. “But just dinner.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The woman smiled like she could fix that with a few swipes of her brush. “It’s never just dinner, honey. I’ll give you something that’ll still look good tomorrow morning.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona asked for “pretty understated” and didn’t peek until the work was done. She had left enough time to take it all off at home and start again if need be. But to her pleasant surprise, the artist had done a perfect job. It was more a little than she usually wore - darker along the lashes, and purple at corner of her lid that made her green eyes shine. Everything else was light and amazing - an enhanced version of herself. Fiona bought the eyeshadow and the lipstick and headed home, praying not to run into Jonathan.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor made sure every inch of his apartment was clean. He didn’t want Fiona thinking it was some kind of bachelor pad. He’d been to Toews’ place, he knew the vibe it gave off. Then he called his parents in Sweden.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m having dinner with a friend,” he told his mom, assuring her this was not lonely Christmas.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A girl?” his dad asked on the other side of the line.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes, a girl. My friend.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Did you cook?” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No time, Mom. I just got in this morning.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His father snickered. “Just as well, don’t give her all your secrets yet.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In fact, Viktor had opened all the packaging himself and set everything to be heated up. Each dish was fairly small but there were plenty of choices for two people and leftovers to boot. He’d gone the traditional American route, even though neither he nor Fiona were actually American. If he’d planned in advance he could cooked, or at least ordered something Swedish.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I planned in advance I wouldn’t be fighting against Toews</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he reminded himself.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was dressed and ready, a bottle of wine open on the counter, when his buzzer rang. Viktor wiped his damp palms on his pants and let Fiona in. Then he waited, door open, for the elevator to arrive.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He...,” he lost his train of thought when she stepped off the elevator. She looked incredible, like Fiona 2.0. Soft waves of dark hair tossed over her shoulder as she turned toward him. Those gorgeous green eyes went through him like an arrow. He stood up straight and cleared his throat.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey,” he tried again.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Viktor.” Fiona nearly walked right into the wall. He managed to get more gorgeous daily. Today his hair was pushed back from his forehead and he wore a light blue button down shirt rolled up his massive forearms. Dove gray slacks only accentuated his physique and height. He smiled and she felt the Earth’s gravity weaken.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Merry Christmas.” He stepped inside and she followed, right into his open arms. Viktor hugged her with his eye closed, willing himself to slow down because they had all night. Fiona put her head against his broad chest and tried not to faint.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inside his apartment was so spotless she had to smile. Ignoring the delicious smell from the kitchen, he gave her a little tour. A big flat screen TV, comfy looking overstuffed couch and chaise, coffee table with magazines carefully arranged. She bet there were a few Maxims hiding under there, maybe Playboy, or else he’d hidden those away. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You have a fireplace,” she said.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It gets cold in the winter.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona’s brain immediately calculated there was enough room in front of it for a blanket, some pillows and two people if they got very close together.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Focus!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And my tree,” he said proudly. It was perfectly decorated with ribbons and globes, sparkly silver tinsel and tiny white lights. And it was adorably about five feet tall. Next to Viktor’s six-foot, three-inch frame it looked like a toy.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s so cute! I love it!” She pretended not to see that there was one package underneath it and she had a good idea who it was for.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After seeing the rec room-slash-office and bathroom, Viktor showed her the master bedroom. It wasn’t huge, but the bed inside was definitely a king and another flat-panel TV hung on the wall. A few pictures were scattered around but mostly it was a boy’s room with minimal decoration that still seemed very comfortable.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Very, very... stop</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she told herself. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor looked around like he’d never been in there before to avoid looking at Fiona. It may be Christmas but he wasn’t sure how long he could keep this Good Boy streak going. Being that close to a soft, inviting bed, coupled with the intoxicating smell of dinner in the oven was making his head swim.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hungry?” he asked.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Definitely.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He didn’t have a dining room, just a square table at one side of his kitchen. The places were already set and he even had lit small votive candles in holders shaped like reindeer. Fiona held one up and arched an eyebrow.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“From my mom,” he said. “They were here last year for Christmas.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They lined the dishes up on the island - ham, potatoes, gravy, chutney, stuffing, apple crisp - and went through their own little buffet line. She was first, taking her time, enjoying when Viktor brushed against her side. Sometimes he forgot he was twice her size. They sat at one corner, as close as they could be. The warmth and the comforting scent and the overall coziness of the whole setup made Viktor blush with pride. Fiona rested her knee against his underneath the table. He filled her wine glass and then held his up.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks for coming over,” he said. Maybe he was leaning just a bit.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Merry Christmas, Viktor.” Fiona smiled, then she ducked right in and kissed him on the lips. It was meant to be a peck but they seemed to stick together for a long, slow moment. He closed his eyes. Fiona’s heart zoomed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear God I’m going to....</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Merry Christmas, Fi.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once the zinging feeling in his chest settled, it was as easy as ever to talk to Fiona. She cracked him up with stories of getting into trouble as a kid when they were off school for the holidays - trying egg nog for the first time, locking her keys in the car while it was running, perverted shopping center Santa. He found himself keeping up with stories of pranks his teammates had played on each other in every place he’d lived. It was a simple way to keep the conversation away from Jon. Just like at their first dinner, he almost forgot it was a date. Except that her dangly earring kept bouncing against the exact spot on her neck where he wanted to put his mouth.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Vik,” she said, moving her head into his line of sight. He’d spaced out for a second. She smiled like she’d caught him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He didn’t even think, just reached for her. His lips closed on her smile; she tasted like apples and sugar and wine. Whether by desire of surprise, Fiona parted her lips and Viktor swiped his tongue across hers.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chairs squawked in protest; pushed back against the hardwood floor. She tried to stand as he tried to pull and Fiona ended up right in his lap, arms around his neck. Viktor braced his hands between her and the table so she’d be perfectly comfortable there. He pulled the plug on all his caution and kissed her deeply.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She snickered as they came apart, gasping. It had been long enough for them to lose their breath. Their foreheads pressed together, chests rising and falling in double time. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sorry,” he said without a hint of regret on his face.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t lie, it’s Christmas!”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He tilted his head. “Okay, not sorry.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona pressed her lips to his so softly they barely touched. “Me neither.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor put her feet on the floor and stood, never entirely letting go. He led the way into the living room and pulled her against him, sitting her between his legs in front of the tree.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Did you know that Santa is Swedish?” he asked, grinning over her shoulder.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh yeah?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He’s from Lapland. And if you’re Swedish, no matter where you live in the world, he visits you first on Christmas.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona couldn’t believe he could kiss her like that one minute and be so playful the next. How did he keep all that straight inside? It was impossible for someone to just be so... nice. So genuine. Viktor wasn’t putting on any kind of show for her, he was just glad to have her here. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swoon.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He reached both arms all the way around her, picked up the single gift under the tree and put it in her lap. “See, he was here already.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m not Swedish,” she teased.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He let those arms settle around her waist, holding her comfortably like it was something he did every day. Something he’d like to do. She leaned against his chest.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I told him it was okay. Open it.” His warm breath left goosebumps across her neck as he squeezed in to watch her open the paper. She slid her finger under each side and flipped it over before pulling the gift free.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The heavy square book had a glossy cover: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Traditional Swedish Recipes.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Taped just below the title was a little gift card envelope for Williams-Sonoma.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona pressed her lips together and tried not to die.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I actually can cook. Next year, maybe we can make our own dinner,” Viktor said softly. Then he used one finger to pull the hair back from her shoulder and put his mouth to that place where her earring touched her neck. Fiona’s entire body rocked. She let her head fall back onto this shoulder.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m trying to be good,” she chuckled as his kiss trailed toward her collar bone. Her hands were moving down his thighs.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Santa’s too busy to care now,” Viktor said against her skin. He was really trying to be good himself, when instinct told him to have a frank and open discussion about Jon. But this moment was too perfect to be ruined - she could stop if she wanted. After all it was up to her. Jon would play every card in the deck to get her into this position and there was no way Viktor was going to walk away now. He nipped lightly her earlobe.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She moved so fast it surprised them both. Fiona whipped around, straddled his legs and pusher herself right up against him. He grabbed a hold of her hips. Fiona looked like she wanted to say something to justify what she was going to do, she filled her lungs to give force to the words, but then she stopped. Just stopped, looking down from her perch in Viktor’s lap. She exhaled a short sigh and then kissed him. Her fingers slipped up the back of his head into his hair. He squeezed hard, her body so small in his arms, and settled her into a very compromising position.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona giggled. “Naughty List it is.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was being swallowed by the Earth. It was possible her entire skeleton had turned to paste from the sheer deliciousness of kissing Viktor. For like an hour. They were twisted up on the couch, him half on top and his weight all that kept her from sliding to the floor. His shirt was halfway open and completely untucked, and sometime ago her gauzy sweater had landed near the window. But otherwise they were still fully dressed, if a bit out of breath. His huge hand was warm through her thin tank top and the lacy cup of her bra, his fingers brushing the bare skin just above her breast - back and forth, slowly and lightly. She pulled his lip between her teeth and slipped her tongue back into his mouth.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There wasn’t a single thought in her mind: not about Jon, not about anything. Other than the Naughty List. His hand brushed over her shoulder, making her shiver.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you cold? I can turn on the fire.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The temperature spiked just at the sound of his voice. Fiona dragged her palm along the small of his back, under his shirt.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re warm,” she said. “Now I know how people survive winters in Sweden.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor pursed his lips into a little smirk. “It gets pretty cold here.” Then he shifted another inch, sliding his knee between hers, pressing down harder. “That’s why I have the fireplace.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona didn’t even look toward it. “If you go for that fireplace, I’m following you.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He kissed her again, smooth as silk, then levered himself up with surprising speed. She squeaked in protest - it was quite cold without him. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fine!” She pulled a throw from the couch and shook it wide onto the rug in front of the grate. Then every single couch cushion and pillow joined it, including the one she hit him in the ass with.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That ass...</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor squatted to set the fire alight and Fiona fought the urge to growl as his pants stretched around his thighs. Instead she dropped onto the pile of pillows and stretched out with a sigh. Once the gas fireplace was on and crackling nicely, Viktor lowered to his knees and looked at her sprawled out.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He smiled. Not like the Big Bad Wolf who couldn’t wait to tear her apart - though she wanted him too - but a genuinely happy smile. She grinned right back at him like a kid in a candy store.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi,” he moved in close, resting on an elbow. Thick fingers traced the arc of her ribcage, she drew a deep breath to keep from being tickled. “I’m not going to ask you to decide between me and Jon.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She froze. His hand kept moving over her prone body, up between her breasts and out to lift the hair from her shoulder. Those storm-colored eyes followed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But I am going to ask you to stay.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked at her and she thought she might cry. She wanted to stay and never leave, never be tempted by anything else or have to consider what some might call options. Fiona wanted the decision made for her. It was petulant and childish, but would be so easy.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor watched carefully as his words reached her brain and pooled in her bright green eyes. A better guy would take her home, but he had already been so good. And he knew that Jon wouldn’t stop now, not ever, and for all he knew Fiona had already been down that route. He wanted to at least be equal, he wanted her at least to know how he was sure it would feel between them. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And he really, really just wanted her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You can say no,” he continued. “I will pretend not to cry.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She smiled, an embarrassed little purse of those lips still flush from kissing. Now his touch traced her jawline, curling dark wisps of hair over her ear.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I think you want to though. And if you want to then I hope you will. Don’t worry about later. Whatever happens, I still really like you, Fi.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona bit into the perfect rise of her lip, wondering if she was dead and this was Heaven. Viktor had managed to say “let’s have sex anyway” and make it into a reasonable, romantic proposal. He solved exactly the problem she’d been tossing in her mind. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we do this, tonight, but we don’t end up together, what happens to us?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There were strings attached - they were currently wrapped around Fiona like two-hundred-plus pounds of Sweden’s finest netting - but life was messy. She wanted to be near him and with him and knew it might just be the thing that changed everything. It wasn’t a contest. It was about connection. And she was really, really hot for Viktor.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can you go to hell on Christmas?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> she wondere. But once she silenced the guilty conscience inside her mind, Fiona knew this felt right.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She kissed her answer onto his lips. Viktor’s shoulders sagged with relief and he playfully kissed her back, running his teeth down her neck and grabbing her up, making her squeal. When he reached the top of her shoulder, he kissed her delicate skin in earnest, breathing in her scent.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona whispered into his ear, “I like you too, Viktor.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because it was Christmas, and at Christmas you tell the truth.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div></span></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-85225398065260501052011-12-29T09:13:00.001-08:002011-12-29T09:13:43.946-08:00ten<div><span id="internal-source-marker_0.44366470095701516"><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I want you all to know that I am torturing myself most of all with this story. I change my mind on which way it’s going every day...</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona stood in the bookstore looking blankly at a shelf full of spines she could not read. She’d turned on her heel and stormed out of the park, half expecting Jon to follow her. Three door down she’d ducked into a bookshop. Two minutes later, Jon walked past.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her hands were shaking. The novel she held was merely to keep from looking crazy as she slowly moved the aisles, trying to settle her mind. Behind a display of cookbooks, she leaned against a wall. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon liked her. Not enough to keep from spreading every pair of legs that offered, so it probably wasn’t enough. But he did like her. She wasn’t surprised - instead it was like looking at a bunch of lines and suddenly seeing a picture come to form.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon also hated her. He held her equally responsible for their wild night - which he should. She had given no more than he had: they’d shared the physical act as if it carried no emotional weight. They had both lied and christened it anyway.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And Jon kissed her again. It was the exclamation point at the end of his argument and still ringing in Fiona’s head, loud and clear.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fuck</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. She threw the book onto a nearby table.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____ </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon practically ran to his building, using the most direct route, hoping to catch Fiona on the way. Hoping he wouldn’t. Hoping she’d be waiting halfway home, stunned by what he’d said and willing to give him a second chance. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More like a two hundredth chance</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he knew.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He walked past home, continued onto Michigan Avenue and headed for Macy’s. He’d always been a person of action, even if lately those actions had been unstable. Hockey had taught him to channel his anger and aggression into forward motion and it was time he let his training take over.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From a single rack in the store he bought new sheets, duvet, mattress pad and pillowcases - two sets, in dark blue stripes and dark blue diamonds, so Fiona would know she had never seen them before. If she ever saw them at all. He paid the laundry on the corner a hundred dollars to put his wash first. Then he went upstairs, stripped his mattress and threw out every piece of bedding that had ever touched a body.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Looking at the bare bed, Jon felt a little lighter. He could do this. He could be normal. From the desk in the living room he opened his laptop to the Contacts section. Girls he had been with - those whose numbers he’d kept - were sorted into categories. It was the only way to keep them straight. He started with The Naughty List, as Kaner had named it back in the day. These were the go-to girls if he needed a fix and couldn’t be bothered to walk down the street to get it. Most of these girls were 10-pluses and he knew they still had tricks left to show him. With a tiny frown, he pressed delete.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Nice List was next. These girls were smart, normal and pretty without looking like strippers. The kind you could take as a date to a party, or somewhere you might be photographed. But Jon hadn’t called any of them since he met Fiona. So he deleted them.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last batch was labeled Do Not Answer: numbers he had kept only to block so he didn’t accidentally pick up for a girl who’d gone psycho on him. There were a handful of names. Jon made a face and decided not to delete them. He plugged his iPhone into the system and let it sync, wiping out those girls forever.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It felt like a purge, but with a trap door. Jon could fill both of those lists with new names in a week if the situation came to be. For now he was hoping to never need them again. When the laundry called he went right away, daydreaming of catching Fiona in the elevator. Once the new linens were on his bed, he set about a different daydream.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">___</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor: Working tonight?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ugh</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Fiona thought. Not about Viktor, but about adding to this house of cards, higher every day with the wind blowing all around them. She had no idea which direction she hoped to fall.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor was about as perfect as they came these days. He liked her openly and honestly, no hiding behind other girls and half-truths. And he was sexy as all hell, no question about that. Fiona knew she needed to tread carefully not just around his heart, but his body as well. She sought comfort fiercely and his big heavy arms offered the ideal place.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona: Yes. Come and see me.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She knew when he walked in the door that night. It was pretty early, just the happy hour crowd and a few tables eating pub food for dinner. Jenny was with her behind the bar and she just growled low in the back of her throat.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Please tell me you’re getting that,” she whispered.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona had to admit she was crazy not to. Victor wore a dark blue and red plaid shirt rolled up over his forearms and open a few buttons at the neck with dark jeans and brown boots. He was so Scandinavian he’d surely come to chop firewood before teaching you new, inventive ways to keep warm in bed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey.” He smiled and the whole world tipped sideways, slid off its axis and crashed to the floor.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi Viktor,” Fiona managed to keep her feet.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead of taking a stool, he made for the notch in the bar that let the servers through. Fiona couldn’t help moving toward it too. When they reached it, he kissed her lightly on the cheek.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi,” he said again.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hail Mary, full of grace</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">... ran through Fiona’s mind.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor ordered a beer and waited until Fiona went for a glass to allow himself a smile. Her pale cheeks flushed hot where he’d kissed her smooth skin. He was well aware of the effect Jon had on women - his teammates all had it, to some degree. Jon just used it more. He’d been using it on Fiona, holding some kind of power over her. Viktor figured it couldn’t hurt to do a little of the same. After all, he was probably at least as good in bed as Jon. No point in hiding it.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona clanked the glass so hard against the tap the rim cracked. Jenny snarfed a laugh and passed her a new one.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Blackhawks were hitting the road in the morning for a three day trip. He was glad to give Fiona some time and space - as much as he’d been around, he knew Jon had too. Maybe more. How the poor girl stayed nice to Jon was a mystery but made Viktor like her even more: she defended her friends, even against herself. When they got back it would be Christmas and maybe that would prompt her toward making a decision.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How was your day?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I didn’t get punched.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well that’s an improvement.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Haven’t kissed anyone either</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he almost said. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yet.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More people started arriving as offices emptied. Fiona worked the bar, always glancing back at him. Everyone in the room was glancing at him, especially anything with boobs. Two girls approached, and the blond one slid her ass slowly onto the next seat as if she were giving it a lap dance.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi. I’m Kaylee,” she shook her hair back. “And this is Amber.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi,” the other one giggled.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor was nice and introduced himself, aware that Fiona must be watching from somewhere. More people were crowding the bar in search of daily drink specials. Kaylee and Amber worked in a nearby dentists office, and let slip they were avid Blackhawks fans. Viktor mentioned the big win they’d had the night before and both girls agreed immediately that he’d had an incredible game and they’d watched the whole thing. Of course there had been no game and two nights ago they’d lost. It didn’t matter.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona circled down to his end of the bar. The second she came into view Viktor knew he might well be completely in love with her. Some girls would get jealous in this situation. Fiona was grinning from ear to ear over the two pieces of arm candy he had picked up.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Another beer?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes, please,” he said graciously. “And honey, drinks for my new friends.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kaylee flinched slightly when he said honey. It sounded like he meant, “honey I’m home” not “hey honey, what’s your number?” But she couldn’t be sure. The dark haired bartender wasn’t that good-looking. When she came back, it was with refills of their cocktails.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ladies.” Then she doubled back for his beer. “There you go, baby.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor caught her hand, turned it over and kissed the inside of her wrist. It took about half a second. Amber made a “hhmmmpphhh” noise, Fiona grabbed the sink underneath for balance. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks,” he said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Okay, no more of that</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Viktor promised himself.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The two girls took their free drinks elsewhere. He knew they’d be back, or others, when his friend Niklas Hjalmarsson arrived. Hammer was a good looking kid, recently single and a little dorky. Watching him pick up girls was as good as any TV show on the air.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona gave Hammer a big hug right over the bar and a round of fresh beers. It was easy to watch her work, flirt with the guys at that bar and just relax. He liked knowing where she was and that she wasn’t with Jon, knowing she was okay and that she was happy. He and Hammer had a couple of drinks before it was time to turn in.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Night, Fi!” Nik called loudly to catch her attention. She dropped what she was doing to come to their end of the bar. Viktor was putting on his coat as well. If not before, then definitely now, a hundred people were watching them. Well, they were watching the Hawks. And hoping the bartender would hurry back.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks for coming in.” Fiona had the weird sensation of feeling shy.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What time are you done?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She made a face. “One.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor had figured as much. He leaned in lightning fast and kissed her cheek again, sneaking a deep breath of the way her skin smelled. She shivered against him. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll pick you up.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a Boyfriend of the Year move and Viktor knew it. He rolled to a stop outside the bar just before one in the morning, easily finding a parking space. Weeknights died early in the winter. The city was lit up for Christmas though, and worth a drive in the crystal clear air.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inside chairs had been flipped onto tables and floors cleaned. Jenny, the other bartender, was unloading a rack of glasses. She started to say they were closed, then stopped.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh, hey Vik.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey Jenny.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“She’ll be right out.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In truth Fiona was in the bathroom brushing her teeth. She had no idea what would happen next and wanted to be prepared for anything. Mostly she wanted to tell Viktor that she didn’t want him getting hurt. He’d gone from making a move to waving a flag and Fiona would have to get on board soon or get off the train.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It would help if she didn’t have to keep looking at him. Between his smile and his shoulders, his hands and his thighs, the very Swedish way his clothes were never too pressed but never wrinkled... it wasn’t fair. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She sent Jenny home and locked up the back. Viktor had never been in the place completely alone before; he was suddenly glad she wasn’t alone at night to walk home in the dark.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t get you nervous leaving here?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ve got pepper spray. But some nights I take a cab. We give them a lot of business so they don’t mind picking me up for just a few blocks.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When they were safely tucked into his car, she said, “Your taxi is much nicer.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was such a quick ride to her apartment and Viktor had no idea what he wanted to say. Fiona had a little more. “I’d invite you upstairs but....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But then I’m going to kiss you again.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Somewhere was a prison where women were tortured like this. The Pit of Despair, or Azkaban maybe. Viktor was their top interrogator and no one ever lasted past the second button on his shirt.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She sighed and they both laughed. “Yeah, about that. Viktor, I need a couple days to figure this out. Jon is my friend and things are too....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I know,” he said. Where Jon would have kissed her quiet, Viktor agreed with her instead. “I’m sorry if I am pushing too much, Fiona. I’m not in a hurry.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stupid, perfect, fucking...</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Fiona was so close to just giving up and kissing him that her fingers curled. Viktor raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. Then he leaned in and brushed his lips across her cheek the way he’d done in the bar, the way that sent sparks racing down her spine.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she said quietly. From where Viktor’s fingers were twisted in her hair, he could probably feel her heart pounding.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He pointed to the spot on his jaw where Jon’s punch had already faded away. “I’m tougher than I look.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona just shook her head.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We’ll be back in three days. Maybe by then you’ll want another ride home.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He let her go, not because he wanted to but because he sensed she wouldn’t. And he didn’t want to be the straw she grasped at. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give her time, what’s a few more days, it’s not like Jon will be here either.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Maybe,” she smiled. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I hope so, because I really want to come upstairs.” That smile.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona tried to walk steadily across the sidewalk and through the lobby. All the while she was thinking only one thing.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in that shower. And this time I’m dead-bolting the door.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twenty minutes later she lay awake, staring at the same ceiling she’d memorized as a wasted heap of Jonathan fell asleep with his arms around her. More than a few images from that night had crossed her mind in the shower. But they kept being interrupted by the idea of Viktor.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So far Viktor was nothing more than a promise. The hint of how hard he might kiss her, the way his fingers pretended to pull at her hair. Even the scent of his skin, so warm and classic, merely a tease as he leaned in to brush her cheek. Her body ached to know what it would be like with him - would it be better? Different? What did he look like with bed head and did he snore? Would she care? Fiona would have bet money that Viktor talked in his sleep, sweet nothings that would keep her up all night.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona woke to the knowledge that the guys were leaving soon for their two-game road trip. She lay in bed for a while thinking about the same thing she’d been thinking about every day - why did this all happen at once? Any girl would be lucky to have Viktor, any day of the week. Jon was more of a fixer-upper, but no less incredible in his own difficult way. She hoped they would get along on the road because the first best way to make herself a problem was for it to bleed over into the team.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She went for breakfast, took herself for a walk around town and counted the number of times in an hour she saw a Blackhawks logo - 84. She saw Jon’s name or number 14 times. She didn’t see Viktor’s, but the way he was playing would change that quickly enough. Back at her apartment, she decided the only way to stop thinking about her problem was to go back to sleep.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But there was a single flower laying on her pillow. She nearly jumped - it was something a serial killer or a stalker would do. What if she had been home sleeping?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course only one person had a key to her place, and he handwriting on the front was unmistakably Jonathan’s - like a boy in grade five trying to impress his teacher. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I left something upstairs for you. Try not to bite it.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jonathan</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Annoyed that he felt he had the right to march into her apartment, she took the elevator to the penthouse. Obviously the cleaning lady had been in because the pillows were perfectly arranged on the couch and not a single dish stood in the drying rack. No sign of anything on the counter or table, but she wasn’t expecting it to be out front. Knowing the way Jon thought, Fiona walked straight to his bedroom.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She’d spend more than a few nights and even more mornings in the king size bed and it had never been blue. Now it was made up like a catalogue ad - dark blue duvet, no wrinkles, turned down over blue and white striped sheets and pillowcases. He’d even bought pillow shams for Christ’s sake. Fiona rolled her eyes.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smooth move, Jon.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the foot of the bed was a red gift bag with white tissue paper sitting atop a big white square box. It was nicely wrapped, obviously by the store. Right on the sparkly paper, Jon had written in marker: OPEN ME FIRST. She put the bag aside and started on the box. Once the paper was off the lid lifted free and she peeled back a layer of tissue.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a beautiful cranberry colored cocktail dress, strapless but not too short. Pleats at the top dove into cinching around the waist to hold it up. It flared at the hips then curved back in to accentuate shape. Beneath it was a small black velvet box - inside were teardrop earrings she assumed to be diamonds.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jesus.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both pieces were exactly like Jon: beautiful, expensive, presumptuous. She had half a mind to growl in frustration that he still assumed she could be had at whatever price he was offering. Then she remembered the gift bag. Annoyed, Fiona reached in and yanked the contents out in a rush.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh my....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was one of those NHL Player Pals stuffed dolls wearing a Hawks #19 and meant to look like Jon. There was a note pinned to its chest like Paddington Bear.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know I haven’t been a very good boy this year. I’m not expecting any presents. Will you have Christmas dinner with me anyway?</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jonathan</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Island of Misfit Toys,” she said in a whiny voice, making a face at the doll. But Fiona closed her eyes as her heart threatened to swoon. She gritted her teeth in resignation - of course she’d say yes. He didn’t need to buy his way in. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well maybe after that fight in the park</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she allowed. But still. Jon should know better than to think she’d agree just because he paid a ransom. A really gorgeous ransom. She ran the silk taffeta dressthrough her fingers, knowing it would look good with her hair and skin and figure. If Jon knew anything, it was how to show up with a trophy on his arm.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The plane had barely touched down before Jon had his phone out. He’d chosen a seat near the front of the plane at the window inside Kaner. Things had been a little stiff around the team since he’d punched Viktor and everyone knew he was in very real danger of losing Fiona. Worse was that no one seemed to feel bad for him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona: Okay, I’ll have dinner with you.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon: Do you like it?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona: Beautiful.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon’s playful side wanted to ask for a photo of her in just the earrings. That kind of flirting always worked with the girls he knew. But it would not work with Fiona. Jon needed to start considering the differences between the girl he wanted and all the girls he had deleted from his phone.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon: Even the doll?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona: God no. Were they sold out of Kaner?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This was definitely the girl he wanted.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon: Yes, so I bought new sheets instead.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona: It looks good in here.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon: So do you.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A little bold, but if he was ever going to tell her how he really felt he needed to get a run up to it. The phone stayed silent for a few minutes, until the Hawks were on the bus toward the hotel.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona considered how Jon couldn’t quite get anything right. It was as if his gloves were too big and he couldn’t quite aim his shots. Unusual for him - they guy had nothing but game. And now he was off it, all because of her. She couldn’t decide if that was good or bad, or if it was working.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona: Good luck.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon: Miss you.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He watched Ottawa roll by outside the window and considered how much energy that had taken. Jon questioned every word he used, examined every meaning. It would be a lot of work to win Fiona over and he expected nothing less. Somewhere in the back of the bus, Viktor was likely sending his own flirtatious texts. Jon’s jaw flexed with the knowledge that his teammate was probably doing a much better job.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">___</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona looked up from the crowded bar at one of the zillion TVs overhead. The sound was on loud and the place was packed. The first time they’d said “Stalberg,” she had spilled a beer right down the front of her shirt.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Guess you’re not getting that,” Jenny said, shaking her head. “If Vik’s lonely, you give him my number okay? I’ve put together a lot of IKEA furniture, I’m really good with one tool and no instructions.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona swatted her friend with a bar towel and went back to serving customers. Now the first intermission interview was beginning - with Jon.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Boring boring sports related question?” the host asked.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Rutubega watermelon sports cliche,” Jon answered. He didn’t hesitate to look into the camera, as if he were well aware the effect his heavy stare had on women worldwide. Somewhere in space a TV satellite slipped out of orbit.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or maybe that was just Fiona. A bead of sweat ran an arc around the apple of his cheek and toward his chin, threatening to drop onto a spandex shirt only the Jaws of Life could remove. He swiped a towel over his skin and Fiona felt every fiber, rough from industrial detergent, scrape her own skin. Her mouth hung open an inch. Bar orders fell on deaf ears.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh my God,” Jenny grabbed her arm and practically threw her into the back counter. “Are you getting THAT?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her whisper was low and harsh, like the was suggesting something illegal. Or just plain impossible. Jenny knew Fiona and Jon were good friends and neighbors, but only the guys knew about the other stuff. Fiona found it too confusing to another woman how she cleared out his one-night stands and slept in his bed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I, uh, no. No!” she lied quickly. “Why do you say it that way? Like Jon would be better than Viktor?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jenny put her hands up defensively. “No reason. I mean, certainly not better. Stalberg is... well, I shouldn’t say.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why?” Fiona hissed. People at the bar were getting anxious.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Because he likes you!” Jenny whispered. “I mean lately he’s here all the time and kissing you hello and I don’t know. He seems really nice, Fi.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jenny escaped to the tap and started pouring beers, taking more orders than she could remember to put the conversation on hold. Fiona did the same, grumbling. They helped the front line and Fiona angled Jenny into a corner again.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you sleeping with Toews? I mean, I thought you were at first but then he’s always with other girls so you can’t be. Right? I didn’t think you’d let him do that to you.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona exhaled sharply. “No, I’m not.” </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not currently, at least. Not in the last few days.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Good,” Jenny reached for a new stack of pint glasses. “I mean, he’s hot as all get out and I’d let his major into my penalty box, but you should go out with Viktor. He’s dreamy.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At two minutes after one in the morning, Fiona’s phone rang.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you walking home alone?” Viktor asked.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No,” she couldn’t keep the smile from her voice. “I’m still at the bar.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Call a cab, please.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where Jon struggled to hit the right note with his advances, Viktor played Fiona like a tuning fork. Every move had her vibrating at perfect pitch.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay. How’s Canada?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Cold and lonely.” Viktor’s voice was low and warm. Either he was in bed or they’d taken a wrong turn toward the Caribbean. Fiona was reasonably sure that Viktor in bed meant no shirt on that wide slab of a chest and probably just shorts under the covers. Black, fitted, very soft shorts, useless really because his ass and thighs were all muscle and...</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stop stop stop!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nice game,” she tried to steady her breathing.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks. One more to go, then we’re home. Then it’s Christmas.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Hawks had flown to Toronto right after the game in Ottawa. They would play tomorrow then fly home late on the 23rd and wake up in Chicago on Christmas Eve.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do you have plans?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Not for Christmas Eve.” She couldn’t tell him about the date with Jon, which she wasn’t even sure was a date. A date, and certainly that dress, meant leaving the apartment. She didn’t know if any place would be open for them to go.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Viktor thought. “Would you like to help me make a traditional Swedish holiday meal?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hmmm, what does it involve?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor wished for a little bit of luck. “Opening the packaging on whatever I order from the store.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ah,” she laughed. “My favorite kind of cooking. And who is coming to this holiday feast?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You. And me. If that’s okay.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona leaned against the bar, blushing to herself. Somewhere Viktor was half-asleep in the darkness making sure she didn’t spend her holidays alone. If Jon was alone in the dark thinking of her, he was probably doing it with a sock in one hand.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It sounds perfect.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Call you when I’m back. Now take a taxi home.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">___</span></span></div></span></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-55619549753149377172011-12-28T07:23:00.001-08:002011-12-28T07:23:48.846-08:00nine<div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.30502023990266025"><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon didn’t look over his shoulder as the locker room slowly emptied. When he’d arrived, most of his teammates got dressed on the double and headed to the ice for practice. He lingered. So did Viktor.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sorry about yesterday,” Jon finally said, turning as he did. He meant it even if he was reluctant to say it. Hitting a teammate over a girl was not only unacceptable from a captain’s point of view, hitting a friend over a girl was a dick move anyway you looked at it. It was Jon’s responsibility to make the first move. He couldn’t help adding, a little under his breath.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You know I like her.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stalberg had his head down, tying his laces. He shrugged those huge shoulders. “The only thing I know is that you treat her like shit.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon’s anger flared, his muscled clenched until his back was perfectly straight. The teeth at the back of his mouth ground together. It bought him the moment he needed to realize he couldn’t argue that point. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“So you’re really going to to do this?” Jon wished he could sound threatening or angry. But he just sounded sad.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Where I come from Jon, you don’t show a girl you like her by proving how many other girls you can get into bed.” Viktor finished with his skate. He got to his feet and pulled his practice sweater over his head. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Including her</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Jon wanted to say. But he couldn’t use that either - it was the only private thing he and Fiona had. And Jon was about as disgusted with his behavior that night as he was about all the other nights it hadn’t been Fiona at all.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You show her by keeping her away from guys like that.” Viktor grabbed his helmet and headed for the door.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m seeing her today,” Jon called after the door closed.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The day he met Fiona, Jon had strolled into the bar for lunch. It was still very much summer and his collared shirt was open over tan skin. Bright blue stripes went the long way around a broad chest. Dark khaki shorts did nothing to conceal his extremely sturdy lower body. His eyes locked on hers the second she looked up and Fiona felt like every step he took toward her was another inch she sank into the floor.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jonathan! Welcome back!” her uncle Danny called, swinging through the kitchen door. He owned the bar, plus another like it across town. He was working on franchising opportunities nationwide and would be traveling most of the winter to warmer climates. So he’d invited his university graduated niece to take her first real job keeping an eye on the place, under his supervision. And since he wasn’t going to be staying in his apartment, she could use that too.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fiona, this is Jonathan. Jonathan, my niece.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He touched her hand; she was sure she’d fall and knock herself out.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fiona’s looking after this place for the winter, and my condo. You’ll be neighbors. Jon lives on the top floor.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If, uh...,” Jon said stiffly, “If you need anything, let me know.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay, thanks.” Fiona just heard herself giggling inside.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jonathan is a celebrity around here - the captain of Chicago ice hockey team. Big deal, they are. Won the championship two years,” Danny said. “The town’s mad for them, including a lot of our customers.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And just like that, Fiona came back to Earth.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well no wonder</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she thought a little harshly. No wonder this guy looked like a demigod and oozed confidence. He fit the profile exactly. She’s worked in a Dublin bar popular with the local football and rugby teams - big deals back in Ireland. And she’d see just how well those boys did of a night on the town.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nice to meet you, Jonathan,” she said with impressive coherence.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You too.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon was so dazed he left without even eating lunch. Halfway around the block he realized, and thought how stupid he must have looked going in there for no reason. As if he expected to be introduced to a spectacular girl at every hour of the day.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He liked the name. He had barely heard her accent but was sure he’d love it. Her dark hair and her snow white skin were a beautiful contrast to everything he’d seen for months. She looked like winter, even in the height of summer, and winter had always been Jon’s favorite season. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why does she have to be Danny’s neice?!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The team had been frequenting the bar since before their Cup winning season, when everything had changed. Now there weren’t many places they could go to be low-key and they guarded those few places jealously. Fiona would be there now, she would be in charge. And she lived in his building. He couldn’t let something so close to him go wrong.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That wasn’t the only problem. For the first few moments, Jon had watched his presence have the same effect on Fiona that it had on nearly every woman he met: like the water pulling quickly away from a beach, just before a huge tidal wave crashes over it. The way they moved - biting lips, touching hair - the way they talked - low voices and soft laughter - and the look in their eyes - like he could have it anytime, anywhere - had all been there. And then it was gone.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The moment Danny said hockey, champion, celebrity, Fiona had gone cold. Like a bucket dumped on fire. Whoosh. Nothing.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon toyed with the idea for blocks as he passed another twenty places to eat. She’d want him once she spent more time around him, he was pretty damned sure of that. Maybe there was something else though. He’d been considering having a girl who was also his friend. Not a girlfriend - God, no - too tough with his job and too limiting for his lifestyle. But there was something about having a girl around, the way it changed the dynamic when his teammates were getting sick of each other. They gave good advice, had good taste and sometimes, though his teammates were like brothers, there were things he just couldn’t talk about with the guys.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A girl friend. Hmm.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona did errands and chores until she could find no others, anything to keep her from waiting around all day for Jon. She went to the gym, showered and spent half an hour blow drying her hair, staring in the mirror wondering what the hell she was supposed since it was only three o’clock. Maybe agreeing to meet him was a bad idea, but she wouldn’t call him first.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She had feelings for Jon. It was impossible not to, she reasoned. He moved like a hero, smiled like a Boy Scout and could talk a girl out of her panties in twenty words or less. But her feelings were not limited to the kind that tingled below the waist. Despite her misgivings at their first meeting, Fiona and Jon had become fast friends. She reasoned it was okay because he never hid anything from her. Jon had a lot of girls, a lot of fun and more than his share of drama. She saw it all. Since he wasn’t trying to act like a great guy, Fiona couldn’t really fault him for not being one. Until it came down to her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When her phone rang, her heart nearly stopped.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey. Still okay to meet?” Just the sound of his voice made her heart hurt.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah, okay.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m home, I can come down.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No,” she knew the only place this couldn’t happen was near the scene of their previous crime. It would already be on her mind, Fiona didn’t need it in her face as well. “Let’s walk.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon cursed as he hung up. He’d been hoping to get her alone, really alone. His presence still had an effect on her and he would need all of it to win her over. Instead he pulled a knit cap over his ears and headed for the elevator.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" />She was already in the lobby. The doorman bid them good afternoon as they left. Fiona led in the direction of a small nearby park sheltered between two buildings. It was guaranteed to be empty in the cold. They claimed a small bench between some shrubs, protected mostly from the wind. Jon was aware he took up much more of the seat than she did.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He started talking immediately, clumsily. “Fi, I know I shouldn’t have flipped out on him but....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jonathan,” she cut in. He stopped. “You apologized to him. You don’t have to say it to me.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But I punched him because he kissed you.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No. You punched him because I let him kiss me. And I kissed him back.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well fuck</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Of course that was it. Jon didn’t care who Viktor kissed so long as it wasn’t Fiona, and that could only happen one way - she wanted it too.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What do you want from me, Fi?” he asked, unprepared to be put in his place so quickly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why are you doing this?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because it took seeing you with someone better than me to realize I might lose you forever. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He knew the words to say. But boys never took the easy way out.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I like you,” he said stupidly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She put a mittened hand on his arm. “Just now?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No, always!” he said with more force than he meant.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goddamn it, can’t she tell? Does she think I share all that stuff with anyone else? Who is the only person I ever want to sleep close to, the only person who helps me sleep at all? The only one I call for help who always comes?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But he had to stuff all that back down his throat, because Jon had never said any of it before.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Always,” she repeated, afraid he was going to say that, “when you had so many chances to do something and never did? Always when I was right here, Jon?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He had missed so many chances; had them and given them away.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Always when you were with all those other girls?” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They didn’t mean anything, Fi.” He was sure she knew that, that she could see it and had felt it even when she was in the room with him and one of his conquests. There was nothing but dead air between him and those girls. And nothing but spark between him and Fiona when those girls left.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She stood up so quickly Jon didn’t catch her. So much for quick reflexes. The sun was behind her, forming a halo of light along her outline as he looked up. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to her face in shadow, a moment to see what he thought might be tears in her eyes.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“They meant something to me, Jon.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona didn’t want to cry in front of him. She was upset as much with herself as him - if anything, Jon had always been as advertised. If she had expected more then she was the fool. But here he was, telling her there had always been more. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi, wait.” He stood, she retreated until there was more than his arm’s length between them. Again Jon ached to think she felt physically afraid of him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why didn’t you tell me before?” she asked.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was nothing else to say but the truth, even if he couldn’t explain it. “I didn’t think I was good enough for you.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona nearly screamed in fury at his nerve. All her energy focused into a little point of white light. He hadn’t been good enough and he hadn’t ever tried to be better and fuck her, she’d liked him anyway, despite herself. But he couldn’t trust her to give him that benefit. He couldn’t climb up to reach her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And now you’ve brought me down, Jon. You’ve had me like one of your whores and what’s good enough for them is good enough for me?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her voice dripped with venom. It was harsher than she felt but her back was up and she was seething. To know he’d been thinking about her, about something between them and still taken those other girls to his bed... it was worse than if he’d never been interested in her at all.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No, Fiona. That’s not why I... why we... you wanted it too!” His grip on calm was slipping. Jon closed the distance between them in a stride and towered over her. To Fiona’s credit she didn’t step back. “You didn’t turn me away, remember? You didn’t exactly tell me to go to hell while you were letting me tie you up and make you scream.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He had to stop. He was shouting at a woman in a public place - he’d end up on the news, arrested, fired. Frustration overwhelmed him; he couldn’t say what he wanted, he shouldn’t even have to say it. Jon thought Fiona knew. He thought she’d always known. There was only one thing left to do and it might be his last.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon grabbed Fiona by the back of her neck and kissed her. His mouth crashed onto hers with a grunt, teeth and lips mashing. She gasped and Jon jumped at the chance to snake his tongue into her mouth. Fiona moaned in protest. He didn’t stop, just locked his other arm around her waist and kissed her until she bit him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fuck,” he hissed, dropping her and wiping the back of his bare hand across his lower lip. A tiny streak of blood came away with it. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona glared at him, her green eyes bright against the wintry air. She was fit to scream and scratch his eyes out and rip him open and then just lay down and cry for how fucking good it felt when it kissed her. Jon didn’t lose control - not ever. Yet twice he’d lost it with her. She should have known then that he meant it.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t go with him, Fi. Don’t make me watch you be with someone else.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona blinked once. It was closer to the truth than anything Jon had said yet and still painfully inadequate. A different choice of words and she might have been all his. Instead she shook her head.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You started it.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div></b></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-32354736376494057582011-12-27T11:41:00.000-08:002011-12-27T11:41:18.903-08:00eight<div><span id="internal-source-marker_0.3524905489757657"><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3524905489757657"></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3524905489757657"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">___</span></b></div><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abby: Patrick says Jonathan punched Viktor. He just stood there and took it. Jon stormed out, silent all practice.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona read the text leaning against the bar, someone’s hot sandwich in her hand waiting to be delivered. It made her stomach clench - Jon would never put himself before the team; Viktor’s perfect lips split and bloody. She quickly handed the plate off and ran back to the walk-in cooler.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona: Are you okay?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor: Can a guy with a black eye take you to dinner?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona was typing furiously. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He didn’t.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor: I’m fine, thanks to your warning. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t much for a hockey player to take a punch; Viktor probably got popped a few times every game. But from a friend, off the ice, over a girl... Fiona hated feeling like she wasn’t worth it. That’s how allowing Jon to dominate her had felt - not the sex, even in her rage she had to admit that was legendary. But the overall effect had left her empty and sad.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor: If you don’t want to, I understand.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona: Pick me up at 8.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She spent the rest of her shift with one eye on the door, half expecting Jon to rip it off it’s hinges and throw it through the plate glass window to the street. He didn’t show, which didn’t really help matters. Fiona walked home knowing every step only brought her closer to his door.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey Vince,” she said absentmindedly as the doorman held the entrance for her. He followed her inside.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Miss Larkin, there’s a package for you.” Vince opened a drawer beneath the security desk and withdrew a silver-wrapped box the size of a hardcover book. Fiona thanked him and hurried to the elevator, fighting the urge to rip the paper off until she was all the way to her kitchen.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The sight of the counter brought back the feel of Jon’s big hands on her arms, the strong push of his hips and chest to her smaller body. It had almost really been something for a moment.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She put the silver package down and pulled free the tiny white envelope taped to the corner. It was the kind of card that came with flowers - white with a blue frame and a tiny star embossed at the top.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sorry.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jonathan</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona squeezed her fingers into fists to stop them shaking. How stupid - it was too small for a bomb and too big for an engagement ring, so what was she nervous about? She pried the lid free.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inside, laid out flat, was a standard-issue ice pack. The kind you snapped and shook to make a compress. The kind someone might need if you punched him in the face.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Asshole.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon knew he should go downstairs and apologize, tell Fiona exactly what he’d done wrong and how he hoped she could still see in him whatever she’d seen before, when they were friends, when he’d clung to the idea of them together, someday.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the truth was that “someday” was more like “when it’s convenient.” For him, of course. He had never considered their friendship, less than six months old, to be a ticking clock. It was more of a long-term restricted free agent contract with the possibility of renegotiation. Of all the things he felt stupid for, that was the worst. Well that and punching Viktor.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He’d left the ice pack for Fiona before going to practice - he had a stash of them in his apartment. The flower shop across the street had boxes and cards. Jon had briefly considered flowers instead, but that was too generic. If he wanted to give her flowers he should have done it before all this happened.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And he knew more than anything that she would see Viktor again, soon. His own actions in the locker room had made sure of that. They had also surprised everyone - only in that he actually followed through. The entire team knew how Jon had carelessly treated Fiona, at the same time they knew their arrogant but well-meaning Captain was absolutely crazy about the dark-haired girl. No doubt in anyone’s mind that Fiona was worth taking a punch over.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So Jon was the bad guy twice over, and Viktor the hero. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Again, not exactly my plan</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Jon thought sarcastically. He needed to start thinking and stop acting so rashly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was back to pacing his living room, wondering what to do next. Just twelve hours ago he’d been in her bed, all morning he’d wondered how it went wrong so quickly. Now he was beginning to think he never should have been there at all. This part - frustrated, confused - was not a mistake. Last night had been the mistake.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Again, not the sex. Jon knew beyond anything that his connection with Fiona was stronger than he’d felt, maybe ever. He covered his feelings with aggression but the physical aspect of their night had taken both of their breath away. Together they were something special.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was the way he’d gone about it. Yes the the scratching, biting, furniture-breaking romp had been crazy hot. But he should have gotten to that point differently. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Should have just asked her to the motherfucking party!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon kicked the couch. Much like Viktor, it didn’t retaliate.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor was outside Fiona’s building at five minutes to eight. Funny how he thought of it as her building, not Jon’s. But he kept a weather eye out for the captain just in case. Toews had said nothing to anyone the entire practice, thrown off his gear and left without showering. Viktor just shrugged at the questioning looks from his teammates.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The clock ticked eight and Fiona came through the door, headed for his car before he saw her. Again that winter white dress coat covered her outfit - it was like the wrapping on a present. Viktor moved to get out but the doorman beat him to it.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Evening, Mister Stalberg,” Vince said. “Have a nice time, Miss Larkin.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona dropped into the passenger seat, twisting to face him immediately. Her hand came right to where his jaw just beginning to darken into a bruise beneath the scruff. She cupped his chin and ran her thumb over the slightly swollen mark.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m so sorry, Viktor.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s nothing. I get hit worse than that in practice.” It wasn’t macho bullshit, it was true.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Still...,” she was aware of the electric current flowing where their skin met. He was ridiculously handsome, especially in close quarters. Fiona had heard women debate Jon’s attractiveness - it was obvious which side she was on. But with Viktor there was no question. His gray-blue eyes were the same color as the shirt he wore, open at the collar under a dark blue sweater that stretched happily across his wide shoulders. Fiona couldn’t stop her fingers from brushing his neck. She wanted so much to touch him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Take a lot more than one punch to mess up your face.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m in trouble</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she thought.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here goes nothing</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Viktor told himself.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the door of Girl & the Goat, a trendy restaurant in Near West Side, Viktor helped Fiona out of her coat. He moved slowly so as to not be too eager. It revealed a yellow dress with cap sleeves, cut into a deep V at the front and fitted at the waist with a navy blue belt. The skirt fell just above her knees - very classy, very pretty. His hand brushed her bare arm.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You are stunning,” he hold her honestly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She smiled, then tugged the hem of his sweater, right at his waist, toward the belt on her dress. “Once again, we match.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inside the dining area, the hostess looked at Viktor like she’d pay top dollar to eat wherever he was on the menu. Fiona snarfed back a tiny giggle that only he heard, and followed his very impressive figure to a cozy little table in the back.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Enjoy your dinner,” the hostess cooed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Enjoy her phone number on the back of your menu,” Fiona whispered as she took her seat. Viktor made a face. Fiona flipped his menu over and pointed. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh my God,” he covered the digits as if they would go away. “I’m sorry!”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona just laughed. “I’m used to it.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They ordered meats, breads, veggies, everything. Viktor knew Fiona was no dainty girlie-girl. As she tore a piece of bread baked with mushroom soup from the loaf, he couldn’t help but smile at how familiar she already was. Conversation flowed, thank God. They were friends, after all. Except now he was free to admire the way her lips glided over the smooth curve of her spoon.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona was relieved to find Viktor as easy going as ever. They shared dishes and ate off each other’s plates, swapping stories about off seasons and what they had done with their lives before meeting five months ago. It was plenty to get them through dinner and they never came close to talking about Jon. If anything, they were so used to being around each other that they nearly forgot they were on a date. Both were surprised at how quickly the time passed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Dessert?” he asked, offering the tiny menu.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Let’s walk,” Fiona suggested.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor waved off the valet, heading in whichever direction they felt like. He was unsure of what to do with his hands - hold hers, put them in the pockets of his leather coat, put an arm around her? He really wanted to put an arm around her. Fiona solved the problem by tucking her hand inside his arm and holding on: it was old-fashioned and appropriate, still physical contact.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As they walked by shops touting Christmas gifts and decorations, Fiona felt the ease of the night slipping away. Sitting across a table from Viktor was one thing but walking next to him, touching his thick bicep and matching her pace to his heavy stride made everything visceral. He’d gently held her against the car last night, his mouth on hers, never taking advantage with his clearly capable body. Something in that restraint seemed absurdly romantic. It tugged at her heart, especially now.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They were passing a Mac store when a Blackhawks commercial came on all the screens in the front window at once. Just like that, Jon’s trying-to-be-serious face was everywhere.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ugh,” she said. They both instinctively stopped to watch the 30-second spot. Viktor looked at their reflection in the glass, thinking they made a gorgeous pair. When it was over, Fiona spoke. Time to feed the elephant in the room.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“This thing with Jon is... a thing.” She turned away from the window, lest the video play again. “I don’t know why it’s a problem all of a sudden, but... well okay, I do. But I don’t know how I feel about it.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor didn’t say anything. He knew better than to point out that Jon really liked her and disrespected her at the same time. If they were just friends then it didn’t matter who else Jon slept with. It only mattered if Fiona cared in return. And if she did, insulting Jon was not the way to win her over.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona slowed, pulling Viktor’s arm so he turned toward her. “I think you might be the only one here who doesn’t think of me as Jon’s girl.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She wanted to know how long Viktor had been thinking about her as something more than a friend, but didn’t know how to ask. He was busy flexing his jaw to stop from kissing her, at least until she finished speaking. The spot where he’d been punched flared with pain.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thank you, Viktor. For that. Are you okay with this if I’m not sure what I’m doing?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you okay with this if I don’t just let him have you?” Viktor said, aware that everyone they knew, probably including Fiona herself, had expected exactly that. He’d barely put his lips to hers, barely felt the cool press of her soft mouth or the shape of her sliding into his arms when something vibrated.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Shoot, sorry,” Fiona stepped back, dropping the small purse from her shoulder. “I only have this on because....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Fiona already had hers out.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Abby’s in labor!”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon had never been in the happy wing of a hospital before. The institutional lighting and furniture couldn’t dampen the elated atmosphere of the place where babies were born. Kaner had his feet up on a table, playing with an over-sized plastic puzzle toy that looked like it was genuinely perplexing him. Brent and Duncan and a couple of the other guys and their wives were on their way up with snacks and coffee.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey, did you call.....” he asked. Pat read his mind and nodded.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sharp had called Jonathan on his way to the hospital. He was overjoyed at the thought of becoming a father and expected nothing less from his teammates. Not surprisingly, they were all grins and one-armed man hugs in the waiting room when Sharp came to get them.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s a girl!”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They filled the hallway outside the maternity ward observation room. Sharp slipped in and moved quickly behind the small plastic crib holding a tiny baby wrapped in a pink blanket. Kane started clapping and everyone followed. Wives were crying, Seabrook tapped on the glass like he was calling to fish at an aquarium.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A door banged somewhere and a shuffle of footsteps rushed around the corner - one of them in high heels.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God, please no</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Jon thought.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then it was there, in his face for everyone to see. Viktor and Fiona, dressed for a date, bumping into each other as they skidded to a stop in front of the group. Jon’s chest flexed, stifling a huge roar that welled up at the sight of her looking so beautiful and for someone else. Kane put a hand on Jon’s arm, out of sight.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona’s heart did a high dive into an empty pool. Jon’s eyes were black with displeasure and he was somehow infinitely hotter when angry. His trapezius muscles flexed just below his neck, making him seem even stronger.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stronger</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">... she forced the word away.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Which one?!” Fiona pushed Duncan aside - no easy task - and pressed her face to the window. Sharp was holding the little pink bundle now, and waved the baby’s tiny arm in Fiona’s direction. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She squealed with such pure delight that Jon thought he would die of shame. Such a good person, such a good friend. He’d ruined it. Kane was busy hoping Fiona never got pregnant because it might ruin her figure. Brent thought of a few ways to make sure it was his kid she carried. Viktor found a very interesting spot on the floor and tried not to smile.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How’s Abby?” she said through the glass. Sharp reluctantly returned his daughter to a nurse and came back into the hallway.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“She’s probably ready, come on.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona was grateful for any distraction. Everything was obvious - she and Viktor out together, Jonathan’s locked jaw at the sight of them. The boys could only resist an inappropriate question for so long. Sharp stuck his head into another room, then waved them inside. Abby was sitting up in bed, covered by a blanket; she looked exhausted and thrilled and radiant.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Eeeeeeeeee!” Fiona threw her arms around her friend, the two of them talking all at once in warp speed. The guys stood in an awkward half-circle, huge bodies with shoulders rounded and hands stuffed into pockets. It took a second for the girls to realize.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh, sorry!” Fiona stepped away.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One by one they congratulated Abby. She took note of Jonathan’s jeans and long sleeve t-shirt, then Viktor’s much nicer outfit. Fiona in a dress could only mean one thing. Abby gave her a not-at-all secret look and Fiona did a terrible job of ignoring it.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor had offered to skip the visit and drop Fiona off. She had insisted that Patrick and Abby were his friends too and nothing was going to interrupt the celebration. Viktor had to see Jon every day, so what difference could it make?</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After ten minutes, it was clear Abby was spent and it was time to go. Even more awkward than the arrival. As the group filed toward the exit, Seabrook fell into step next to Fiona and gave her a very suggestive look. She slapped his arm. He grabbed her and swung her around, shrieking, making everyone jump. Then he dumped her into Kane like a sack of potatoes. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“As you were,” Brent saluted and left.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kane gave Fiona’s arm a squeeze of support. That meant a lot to her - Jon listened to Pat. He could help control the situation.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Vik, wanna help me pick out a present?” Kane hooked a thumb toward the gift shop. Keith led the way without being asked. Stalberg glanced at Fiona to be sure she was okay, then left her alone.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona dropped her eyes like she was gathering the strength to look at Jon. She bit the corner of her lip. His hands were fists in his pockets, furious with himself that she felt afraid to be around him. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You look great,” he said quietly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks.” Just as quiet.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi, I...,” he took a deep breath, praying that words wouldn’t fail him now. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to ruin your night. Can I see you tomorrow?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She looked up hesitantly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Just to talk,” he added.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Are you just saying that because he’s right here, Jon? You already hit him. I’m not sure which version of you I might find tomorrow.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon had been all over the place. He was just as confused as Fiona. The rage in his chest upon seeing them together had quickly been drowned by the desire to be the one seen with Fiona. To show anyone and everyone, to have them feel jealous or happy or impressed with him for getting a girl like that.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I promise.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She could never say no to Jon. Everything he’d ever asked, she’d given. That morning she had drawn the line when he started dictating instead. But now, with the corners of his supple mouth turned down and pain obvious in those bottomless eyes, her answer was no question.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay. Call me.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He stood there as she went to the gift shop. Viktor came quickly and neither looked back as they walked away together.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona and Viktor didn’t say a word until they were closed in the car. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Want to go home?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She knew she should. Something in her sense of destiny told her this would all end with her and Jon together, the way everyone assumed. She blamed Disney movies. It would be so easy to buy into, to just accept whatever he told her tomorrow as good enough. But Fiona wasn’t in the mood for anyone, even fate, to boss her around.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No, I don’t.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even if it ended tomorrow, even if it ended with Jon, Fiona wanted to know that she had considered her options and made her own decision.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He drove back toward the restaurant, wondering if Jon had helped or hurt his cause. Fiona didn’t seem upset, and he didn’t ask. Whatever had passed between them barely lasted three minutes and she was still on this date. He found a parking spot on the street near Artopolis Bakery, helped Fiona out of the car and this time he didn’t let go of her hand.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh my God I love this place,” she sighed as they walked in. There were ceiling high shelves packed with treats, bakery cases bursting with sweets. It smelled like sugar and coffee and warmth - the way a kiss tasted. Viktor licked his lips in anticipation.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona inhaled the purely indulgent scent of the dessert shop. Between that and Viktor’s huge hand twined into hers, she felt now would be the poetic time to faint.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They got a table and ordered the Christmas special - s’mores. The platter came out piled with marshmallows, chocolate squares and graham crackers, plus a little campfire burner and two fondue forks. Sensing the night was coming to a cozy end, Fiona ordered a glass of milk.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll have one too,” Viktor added.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was the perfect diversion - assembling the s’mores without making a huge mess required some effort and even more failure. Fiona softened a chocolate piece and carefully laid it into the graham cracker and marshmallow sandwich Viktor had made. He squeezed the pieces together to pull it off the fork, then offered it to her. She bit it in half and passed it back. It was hot and melty and delicious. Fiona smiled like a five year old at a camp out.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“So good! They must make a fortune off these things!”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This should be illegal</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she thought as Viktor took a huge swig of milk. As if he wasn’t already the strongest, healthiest-looking guy in the world; the man wreaked havoc on the female reproductive system. Plus Fiona had just seen a newborn baby. Her hormones were going haywire.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With a lot of teamwork, they finished every last scrap of sweet. Viktor asked Fiona if she wanted to lick the plate. She licked her fingers instead.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ohhhh God</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. He’d been doing well, keeping himself focused on having fun. But as Fiona’s fingers dragged slowly across her mouth, tugging gently through the smile on her lips, his body got as weak as a marshmallow. Without thinking, he reached out and pulled her hand gently from her face. That current flowed steadily between them, like a car running smoothly waiting to be told where to go.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come on.” He didn’t call for the check, just threw some cash on the table. Butterflies began to flutter in Fiona’s stomach. She hadn’t meant to be suggestive with her hands - but if she’d realized, she might have done it anyway. Probably. Maybe.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If not for Jon...</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If she hadn’t been with Jon the night before, she’d have no qualms about Viktor right now. Not sex - she wasn’t really a first date type. But she wouldn’t hesitate to kiss him right through that look like he really wanted to kiss her too.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon had left her feeling like a whore. Viktor could take that away, she was sure, but the only way to do it was farther down that same path. Like buying something broken, only to spend more fixing it. Good money after the bad.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still, surely I could just...</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor went to the passenger side and opened her car door. Then he blocked the way with his body, pulled her in and kissed her. No pushing this time, no trapping her up against something. He just stood there with his hands at her waist and invited her to join his lips as they moved softly over hers. Fiona went right into his party.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was all she could do to stay on her feet again. Viktor’s solid arm slipped behind her back as if he could tell she was weak in the knees. Thirty seconds later she felt the pressure ease, his mouth break away gently. His light eyes focused on hers, then crinkled with a smile.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t think he saw this time.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The steering wheel was a welcome anchor for his unsure hands. It had been excruciating to keep that kiss in check and even harder to stop it entirely. Which is precisely why he’d done it at the restaurant and not in front of her apartment. Viktor didn’t care if Jon saw. He cared that Fiona knew he was willing to wait for her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not that it was easy.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her building was close. Victor stopped a little short of the entrance, put the car in park and unbuckled his seat belt. Then he turned toward Fiona.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If I get your door, I’m going to kiss you again.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She gulped. Viktor was like an ad for sex with a guy who could deliver your new mattress, break it in and make you eggs in the morning. His elbow rested on the center console and his chest couldn’t fit cross-wise in the space between the seat and steering wheel.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t want to get you punched again.” She also wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He waved it off. “I don’t care about that. Next time I might defend your honor and hit him back.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona smiled, hoping she looked honest and flattered. In truth she didn’t have any honor and there was nothing more than her own weakness for Viktor to defend. For Jonathan to exploit. She hated being the damsel in distress.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“In that case, I’ll give you this for next time.” She pulled the ice pack from her coat pocket, showed Viktor and put it in the glove compartment. “Jon left it because he knew I’d see you again.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Then I hope he has more.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div></span></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-28831220966402340102011-12-25T12:25:00.001-08:002011-12-25T12:25:31.868-08:00seven<div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.6519670868292451"><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona stared blankly at the ceiling. She and Jon were a tangled pile of body parts, still catching their breath. His lips found her throat and kissed the racing pulse beneath her skin. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi,” he said quietly. Nearly squashing her in the process, he rolled free and lifted her onto one side, then untied her hands for the first time in almost an hour. She didn’t even care. Jon gently turned her face, so close they were nearly kissing. The anger was gone, drained away with all that release and replaced with worry. His arms went around her slack body. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey. Did I hurt you?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She squeezed her eyes shut. He might want to kill her, the same way she wished she’d given him a black eye for storming into her house, but Jon would never really do anything to hurt her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Good,” he sighed. “Holy shit.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yeah.” She laughed softly, letting him roll her into a tight hug. He was all soft skin and hard muscles, warmth wrapped around her like a drug dripping into her veins. But it nagged at her. It had been too easy. She had been too easy. Jon would probably disagree - he didn’t have to break and enter to get laid most nights, didn’t have to restrain someone to keep his pretty face intact. But when it came down to business, Fiona had spread her legs and moaned like every other whore in his little black book. And that was not what she wanted from him. But now was not the time for that fight - Jon’s breathing evened and pulled her right down into sleep.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the morning, Jon woke wrapped around a pillow. He shifted toward where he was sure Fiona’s warm body lay, only to find himself alone in the rumpled bed. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey,” he said, scratching his head as he came into the kitchen. Fiona couldn’t help but smile - he’d put his shorts on, but it did little to hide the fact that he was still Jonathan Toews. She was peeling an orange at the counter, dressed in yoga pants and a t-shirt. He came around behind and rubbed his hands along her upper arms, kissing her softly on the ear.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come back to bed.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear God in heaven</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she thought. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am not this strong.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jon, I think we should....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Have a heart-to-heart and figure out what the fuck we’re doing before I’m in love with you and you’re still banging every slut who can count to nineteen.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His tone brooked no argument. As if expecting a fight, Jon had equipped himself with his most deadly weapons - bare chest, hulking shoulders, huge thighs all on display. Even the outline of his cock beneath black boxer briefs would have been enough to render most women senseless. Fiona would have to say her piece to all of his pieces at the same time. Jon turned her around, still holding her arms. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We just changed everything, Jon.” She tried to keep the hope from her voice.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">God damn it.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He had the sweetest face. He could sell a bicycle to a fish and leave them thinking it was a deal. Fiona understood how and why the girls came running, and why they were always surprised to be shown the door.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t, Fiona. Whatever you’re thinking, just come back to bed.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then Jon realized immediately he’d taken the wrong approach. The mostly-naked part had weakened her defenses. But telling her what to do had called up fresh reinforcements.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Or we changed nothing. Not a single goddamned thing!</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Stop it! Stop acting like I’m your fucking property and you can do whatever you please!” She tried to shake herself free and failed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You didn’t seem to mind it last night,” Jon continued, unable to get through his head that was just the problem.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona growled. “That’s right, just like always. Take what you want and the morning after be damned.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A genuine look of surprise plastered itself across his face like a billboard. He had never considered that she had wanted anything but exactly what he’d given her last night. It was, after all, every girl’s fantasy. At least every girl he knew.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But you... you never told me to stop.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I didn’t want you to stop!” She wrenched herself free and backed around the counter, putting something between them. “I wanted you, Jon. But I didn’t want it that way, just because you were mad I went on one date with another guy....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I saw you kissing!” he hissed. Jon didn’t appreciate being called out and belittled for his actions, even if he deserved it.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You forced your way in here and tied me up over a kiss?!” she was shouting now. “Are you fucking kidding me? I’ve been in your bed a hundred times and you never did anything! One kiss. I’ve seen you do so much worse!”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so she had. Fiona had done worse herself just to help him out. Jon had asked her for so much and she’d given it willingly. He’s never considered paying any of it back. Now he had zero moral high ground, just the hole he’d dug for himself.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon set his jaw. “I’ve had about enough of you and Viktor.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There it was, the asshole gene that had come to Jon through nurture, not nature. The life and times of an NHL superstar had bred him a little harder. Jon saw it differently - what was his, was his.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I haven’t had any of him at all. Yet.” She managed a smirk.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon stepped around the barrier and forced her up against the counter. The last time he’d flattened Fiona with his hips, they’d been naked in the shower. His short hair managed to be a ruffled mess that spoke volumes about what they’d done to each other. And he’d always had bedroom eyes. Right now Fiona could see the hard edge lurking behind them.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You are not my boyfriend.” She sounded more confident than she felt, considering how easily he was pinning her to the wall.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But I am his captain.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona wasn’t cowed. “You wouldn’t stop him. Because I never tried to stop you.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She slid a hand down between them, cupping his penis. Jon opened his mouth to protest but had to bite his tongue. This was what he’d feared - all those girls who had paraded through his bedroom, coming back to haunt him. But not in the tabloid or pregnancy-scare way he’d had nightmares about. Instead, it was possibly worse.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll stop,” he said quickly. Of course he should have done that before, and without offering or being asked. It wasn’t a favor to her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She raised an eyebrow. “Doubtful.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He didn’t know what more she wanted. “And I’ll tell everyone we’re together.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You will not say a single fucking word. I’ve heard you talk about girls, Jon, and I will not be another story in the locker room.” As she spoke, she tightened her grip around his shaft.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An image flashed through his mind of Keith and Seabrook holding him up while Kane punched him in the stomach. They all wanted dirty, private details of Fiona’s bedroom life, but wanted to learn them first-hand. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You wouldn’t. The guys would never.” </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It doesn’t matter, Jon. We’re not together.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What if I want to be?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> he thought. But it sounded too needy and desperate - he’d expected her to ask that question, or demand it. It she said ‘together or nothing’ he’d have taken it in a heartbeat. But she never even offered.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" />For the first time ever, it dawned on Jon that Fiona might not actually want him at all.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But she always...</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“So what, you’re going to Stalberg him against me? He likes you, Fi.” Jon clung to the single argument he could win. “He definitely doesn’t think you were with me last night. Or that you’re giving me a hand-job right now.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona turned her light stroke into a sharp, firm grip. Jon groaned.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He probably hoped you were touching yourself in the shower....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Squeeze. Yelp.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And he’d love to see you face-down, ass-up like that....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She twisted, he barked in pain. The kind that almost felt good.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Careful, baby,” he growled into her ear, trying to reel the situation back in with an innuendo that he’d gladly make reality. “I’ve still got that tie.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And you promised to use it if I called you Viktor.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“YOU WHAT?!?!” Abby shouted, dropping her voice as she exhaled hard. “Shit, you’re going to make me go into early labor.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona put her head down on the table in the coffee shop. “I didn’t do anything! But I did let it happen. I mean, I didn’t call the cops when he broke into my apartment and....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You can’t call the cops if you gave him a key,” Abby was trying not to smile.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona blushed. “Or if you’re tied up.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“WHAT!?!” Louder this time.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona covered her face with one hand and told the entire story with enough detail to make Abby slap the table and repeatedly demand she shut the hell up. When Fi was finished, the pregnant woman was pale-faced and slack-jawed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I married the wrong Blackhawk,” she said, shaking her head. The two women allowed themselves to laugh in embarrassed disbelief for a moment. Both knew there was a lot more to this story - that’s why Fiona had called for an emergency meeting while the guys were at practice.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wow, Jon was really moody at the party but I had no idea he was that upset. You guys were kind of throwing it around though, Viktor all mooney-eyed and following you everywhere. You know how Jon hates to be lose.” Abby looked at Fiona like, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Right?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “But at least he was there, it’s not like you and Vik were doing anything behind his back.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She crumpled. “Viktor kissed me. When he drove me home.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona bit her lip as if the taste of Viktor’s kiss might still be found there. It was long gone thanks to a hard scrubbing from Jon. It seemed like a million years ago the big, gentle Swede was kissing her softly, like he was asking permission. After the night with Jon, it seemed a long time since anyone had waited for her answer.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh my God. You like him!”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t know....”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Abby was locked on a scent. “You’re such a liar! No wonder you were glowing at the party - he couldn’t stop touching you. And no wonder Jon was so pissed! He’s going to kill Viktor when he finds out.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That is the problem!” Fiona slapped the table a little too loudly. She glanced around but no one appeared to be eavesdropping as they dished dirt on the local hockey heroes. “Why does Jon get to flip out? Why does he get to say who I go to a party with, or who I kiss? Why does he even care, when he’s fucking a different girl in every city and half of Chicago?!”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Shhhhhhhhh, sorry. I know, I know. But... it’s Jon. He’s private and lonely and he when lets something in, he can’t let it go. Like Kaner.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That is an excuse, not a reason.” Fiona rubbed her eyes. “And he saw the kiss, driving past, so he already knows.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abby grimaced, twisting her pretty face into a mask of pain. Fiona figured she’d find the same if she looked at herself in the mirror this morning. Everything had gone from zero to disaster in a single night. And she still couldn’t decide if it had been a good or bad idea.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Too much of nothing or too much or something. Better than waiting.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“So he’s already killed Viktor, that’s what you’re saying? And they’re all in Chicago PD interrogation where Patrick’s not allowed to text me?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona had thought the same as Jon stormed out of her apartment that morning. It was less dramatic when all the leaving you could do was push the UP button on the elevator, so she allowed him the show of slamming the same front door he’d let himself in through hours earlier. She quickly texted Viktor a short warning: “Jon saw us say goodbye.” Then she turned off her phone and hoped Jon had taken her warning about not telling the team to heart.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Viktor’s so... ugh! He’s so perfect! Any girl would be lucky to date him, and he probably remembers their names and calls them back! Anyway, I warned him. This isn’t his fault, it’s mine.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Vik knows what he’s getting into...,” Abby let the thought trail off, wishing she’d never started talking.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" />“What?” Fiona demanded she finish her comment.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abby shrugged. “I was going to say: He knows what he’s getting into, going after the Captain’s girl. I’m sorry, Fi. I know you’re not, and I love you so much, but that’s how I think of you, I guess. As Jonathan’s girl.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona looked up at the ceiling and silently asked for strength. Because that was exactly how, in the context of the team, she’d always thought of herself. Until now.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well you might have to change that.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“But you and Jon,” Abby said like it was the title of a story; already printed and therefore unchangeable. “You always knew what he was like.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona tore the edge of her coffee cup between painted fingernails. “I... this is so stupid, Abby. I am so stupid. I’ve seen Jon with a million girls but... I thought I was different. To him. You know? Like we’re such good friends it would be something more if we ever got together. But it wasn’t. It was Jon doing whatever Jon wanted, telling everybody exactly how it will be in Jon’s world. And I did it! I rolled over like every other gold-digging star-fucker notch in his bedpost. I hate myself for that.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She paused, drawing a deep breath to slow her racing heart. “You know the worst part? Not last night, but this morning. Light of day, Abby, when it’s just me and Jon like always and he’s still telling me what to do. Come back to bed. Don’t argue. He actually thought I would listen! He thought I would carry on doing what I was told, like every other girl begging for his attention.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“So what did he tell you? He wants to you to be his sex slave? Or he loves you and wants to have ten thousand babies?”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona looked up from her pile of shredded paper. “But I didn’t let him tell me anything.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abby raised her eyebrows, suitably impressed. Not many people got the chance for Jonathan Toews to tell then what to do. And few, if any, ever turned it down. Fiona was obviously struggling but Abby was glad she had taken the path less traveled. She reached over and squeezed the Irish girl’s hand.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Good for you, Fi.” Abby couldn’t help but add, “That must have been some kiss from Viktor.”</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona allowed herself a rueful smile. “I might need to be reminded.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the hour between being kicked out of Fiona’s and leaving for practice, Jon paced a groove into his living room floor. He snapped a hanger in half. He threw a teacup into the sink so hard it shattered.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That had obviously not gone as intended. Well, the sex had been epic and he’d expected nothing less - especially the rough stuff, he dreamed of girls who liked to play hard. But Fiona was supposed to wake up smiling in his arms and tell him everything was over now, there was no more running or searching or using the wrong girl’s name in bed. No more calling for help. But he’d fucked it up by treating her the same way he’d treated those girls - like she should be grateful to be with him.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was grateful, of course, the way fantastic friends were for each other. And he was absurdly thankful for her. There was no need prove it to each other. But he’d let his jealousy get the best of him, his need to control the things around him. And Fiona would never be controlled - that’s why he was so drawn to her.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fucking Stalberg!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor was in and Jon knew it. Jon had stood thinking about it so long that he’d be late to the rink if he didn’t speed. He ripped his coat from the closet and another hanger lost it’s life.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The phone looked small in Viktor’s huge hand. His heart had done a little canter around the ring when Fiona’s name popped up on the screen. Kissing her had seemed like a rash decision at the time, especially since the heat had been rolling of Toews all night. He knew when he was pushing his luck. But once they were alone, Viktor felt there was an opening. And Fiona had kissed him back, just for a second. He had not been wrong.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona: Jon saw us say goodbye.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He exhaled heavily. There would be hell to pay, probably in secret lest Jon let the entire team know he’d been challenged. The Captain was about keeping the team together, he’d never run the risk of division. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor also wanted to get another chance with Fiona. He’d siezed an opportunity by inviting her to the party but all their energy had been focused on everyone around them. He hadn’t been alone with her for longer than it took to drive there or back. This thing with her and Jon - whatever it wasn’t officially - was a serious obstacle. Wishing English was his first language, he struggled for a few minutes with a reply that was a little flirtatious and also respected the trouble he’d gotten them both into. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor: If I survive, it was worth it.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He arrived early to practice, got half-suited up quickly and went about working on his equipment like any other day. The room filled in steadily but Toews was nowhere to be seen until almost every stall was occupied.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the Captain stormed through the door, it was like the OK Corral just announced a shootout. A long, dark jacket streamed behind him as he charged across the middle of the floor. Muscles flexed at the corner of his jaw; those brown eyes were furious. Viktor stood instinctively, Jon never slowed.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Guess I was wrong</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Viktor thought briefly.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Toews threw a left and Viktor let him, having already decided he could only win this fight by losing. Fiona did not belong to Jon. If he wanted to act like a kid whose candy had been taken away, let him. Any explanation Jon gave would only serve to deepen the hole he was in.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still the punch connected with enough force to make Viktor stagger to one side. Instantly the testosterone kicked in and Seabrook and Bolland grabbed Jon by the shoulders, hauling him back. Hjalmarsson stepped in front of Stalberg, ready to hold him off. Viktor rubbed the spot on his jaw.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What the fuck, dude!?” Seabrook yelled, but it was needless. Everyone in the room looked from Jon to Viktor and back, remembering the party, remembering that red dress. Jon practically dragged his teammates the three steps it took to get in Stalberg’s face. Viktor had one inch and one pound on his friend - not much of an advantage.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Don’t do anything stupid,” Jonathan hissed. An angry vein pulsed in his forehead and his face was flushed red.</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor stared right back. “I’ll leave that part to you.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">___</span></div></b></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-68201589291684924382011-12-23T06:39:00.000-08:002011-12-23T06:39:02.140-08:00six<b id="internal-source-marker_0.41543915937654674"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon didn’t remember parking, the elevator, or opening his door. As if his auto-pilot had run out of batteries, he found himself standing in his dark living room with his winter coat in one hand. </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<div><span id="internal-source-marker_0.41543915937654674"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He’d seen the kiss. He’d seen Viktor take the opening, the one he himself had left, and turn it into a scoring chance. Momentarily blinded, Jon didn’t react quickly enough to see what happened next. Then he was down the street and out of range. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He tossed the jacket and went back out the door, right for the stairs. The elevator was too slow. Palming his keyring and selecting the right one by feel, he was letting himself into Fiona’s apartment three minutes later.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon didn’t knock. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He had no idea what to expect, or how long he’d been shell-shocked in his apartment. Viktor may well have Fiona bent over the arm of the couch with that sexy red dress around her waist and handful of gorgeous dark, making her look back as he fucked her. That image made Jon’s muscles strain against the fabric of his shirt. But the living room was empty except for a trail of clothing on the floor.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ll fucking kill him.</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By the hallway Jon knew something else was wrong. Two shoes were scattered beside the rug. That red dress, so perfectly filled earlier, was empty and dropped on the hardwood. No sign of men’s clothing. He slowed and quieted his steps. Outside the bedroom, a lacy black bra was twisted on the ground.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon stopped. He should leave. Fiona was clearly alone, unless she’d treated Viktor to the strip tease of his life. They had strange boundaries but this was crossing them all. The master bedroom door was open, a dark spot on the carpet could only be her last scrap of clothing. He imagined them to be very skimpy panties. Slightly mesmerized, Jon opened the door a few more inches. Then he heard the water.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And her voice.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a low, small noise. He froze in place, one foot halfway off the floor. The blood pounding in his ears made it hard to concentrate, but her voice came again with a tiny sound. Fiona was in the shower. And she wasn’t alone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon crossed the room in three strides and pulled the door open.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She didn’t hear him over the water. But she was definitely alone. The large, glass enclosed shower stall hadn’t even fogged up yet. Jon could see the perfect lines of her naked body, the pale flesh color. Her back was to him, one hand splayed against the wall. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh my God.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She moaned softly. No question where her other hand was. Or why she didn’t hear him coming or feel him watching. Fiona was busy with a fantasy of her own.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All the blood in Jon’s body surged. He was hard in a heartbeat, realizing all at once he’d been halfway there all night. Nothing like a challenge to fire him up. And now, standing on the threshold with steam beginning the cloud the room, he didn’t even know who she pictured while she touched herself. That afternoon he would have been sure it was his hands, his mouth she imagined. But Viktor had gotten further in one night that he had in months, at least toward something real.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon tore off his shirt and tie. His pants and shorts and socks quickly followed. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona had nearly stumbled as Viktor released her. If not for the car holding her up she’d have dropped to the ground. He watched her reaction carefully but Fiona had none to give. So Viktor kissed her lips again, softly, and drove himself away.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The elevator took a lifetime as she fought the urge to climb the walls. The kiss had revved her engine and Fiona was relieved Viktor hadn’t pushed any further. If he had, they’d be waking up the neighbors every hour all night long.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stop, stop. Focus</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, she told herself. But when she did, it was Jon’s face in her mind. That was no better. She was furious with Jon AND she wanted to fuck him. One problem at a time was more than she could handle. Fiona tripped out of her heels and gave into the temptation the only way she felt safe. Her dress, bra and panties couldn’t come off soon enough.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The water was hot. Her mind alternated from face to face, changing boys in the middle of dirty thoughts they should not share. Only Fiona’s fingers were up to the singular task of relieving the night’s frustration and they were working hard. She didn’t even hear the noises she made. Or Jon until it was too late.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The shower door popped open with a wet squeak. Fiona screamed. Anticipating her reaction, Jon grabbed her around the middle and held her still. It only took a second. Then he pushed her to the glass and kissed her hard. Fiona slapped at his bare chest, registering in slow motion that he was here, in her shower, she was naked, so was he. He’d probably been watching, listening. So he knew that she had been....</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ohgod,” she whimpered. Two of Jon’s thick, heavy fingers slipped between her already- soaked folds and jacked up deep inside her. She made another guttural noise. </span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Is this how he likes it?” Jon growled in her ear as he pumped his hand. She was deliciously slick. He would enjoy fucking her right through the hot mess she’d made for another man, if in fact she had. “Or is this for me? Hmm, Fiona? Get off on making me jealous?”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She finally regained some of her senses and grabbed a handful of Jonathan’s short hair. Pulling as hard as she could, Fiona wrenched his face away from her neck. He yelped in pain.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fuck you,” she spat. “Fuck you for thinking I wait around here....”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He pushed his thumb into her clit and Fiona moaned shortly before biting the sound in half. She would not scream for him. She would not allow it. Jon smiled at her attempt to defy him. Then he stroked back and forth across her hot button.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“... wait around here for you,” she managed to finish. “Fuck you.”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But her body was betraying her. The wet between her thighs was not from the shower; Jon’s hand was doing work. She crushed her mouth against his.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For a first real kiss, it was off the charts.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon freed his fingers with a pop, grabbed two handfuls of her ass and put her right into his lap. Every jerk of his hips ran his cock between the flat of his stomach and the smooth, bare mound of her pussy. He lifted her easily: up and down, up and down. Then he stopped, holding her up, prodding her slit with his head.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona groaned. She knew he was big, knew he would probably hurt at first, like the burning of a fuse until fireworks started exploding. But just the tip spreading her swollen place was too much. </span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Afraid you’re not good enough?” she hissed.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon’s instinct was to drop her so hard onto his dick they’d both come all at once. He might get off a thrust or two but he’d be creaming inside her before he could even breathe. Instead he hauled her toward the door. He didn’t even turn off the water, just right out of the bathroom and threw her on the bed. Before she could stop bouncing, he was over top of her with his tie in hand.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Is this what you wanted him to do? ‘Cause I don’t think Stalberg’s into the fun stuff, Fi.” She wrestled with surprising strength, and he let her think she had a chance. Then he pinned both her hands back with one of his own.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I bet he’s lots of fun,” she sneered.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon wrapped the tie around one wrist, twisted and dropped it around the other. The ends threaded through the headboard and he pulled so hard she slid an inch up the mattress. She tried to get a knee up in defense but he sat heavily on her legs.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oof, fuck.”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If you insist.” Jon shoved her thighs apart, sliding up against her until he had her teased open again. One tiny move would do it now. His face was an inch from hers.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wait wait, are we really gonna do this?” she said, her tone becoming alarmed. Jon looked down into the eyes he’d tried to read so many times and knew there was no way he could stop himself. He couldn’t even wait long enough to try. But he would never hurt her.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Were you thinking about me in the shower?”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes.” She wasn’t ashamed.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Only me?”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona wanted to scream. With free hands she’d have punched him. Why couldn’t he just say, “I want you” or “I’ve been waiting for this” or even just “Yes” and then fuck her? Why did there always have to be something else - someone else - going on between them?</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Get out!” she shouted. Jon reared up, still straddling her prone body. He made no move to leave. Instead his hand traced the outer curve of her breast. </span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You want me here,” he said in a sure voice, palm rolling over her hard nipple. His cock throbbed, he pushed another centimeter into her. “And here.”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OhmyGodyessssssssss</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, her body screamed. But Fiona’s mind rioted. She wasn’t even breathing. She wanted him so badly, wanted all of the tension that had been strangling her to finally fucking snap like the tightrope she was walking. She wanted to throw him out the window, she wanted to kill him. Or let him make her breakfast after the greatest night of her life. </span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Something, anything...</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon put his lips to her ear. “I want you.”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The line between what they had been and everything else disappeared.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes.”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her words were instantly erased by a swing of Jonathan’s hips. He pushed steady and strong, right up into her heart. Fiona bit her lip until Jon kissed her, then she bit his lip instead. He grunted as he forced himself as deep as he could go without stopping, terrified of stopping because it would be over. She was so tight, the strangled noise in her throat saying he was hurting her and she liked it.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mother of...,” he breathed.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Holyfuckingshit,” she swore.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon would normally have smiled at her epithet, how cute she was when she cursed. But he was concentrating hard enough to levitate them both off the mattress. He needed to get a few strokes in, establish some rhythm so he could make this like last. Fiona swore again as he rocked his length into her. Jon pulled on the end of the tie for leverage, used his other hand to push her leg up over his hip. She was unbelievably tight, or maybe he was just that big.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fiona, fuck,” he said. “Are you a virgin?”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her voice was a whisper. “Yes.”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He tried to scramble off her, but was buried so deep he would never have been able to pull out even if she hadn’t locked her legs around his waist.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m kidding! Shit, you’re a bastard.” She lost her breath as he crashed back down on top. Jon gave her a death stare and she just laughed. “You fuck whores, Jon. Didn’t you know I would feel,” she pulsed her pussy tight around him, “better than that?”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He groaned as she nearly squeezed the orgasm out of him. Fiona pulsed again and twisted her hips at the same time, wringing him like a wet towel. He grunted loudly.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She laughed derisively. “Ha. Virgin.”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh that’s it,” he said, the blood flow returning to his brain. He’d been scared for a minute that everything had gone too far. But this was the Fiona he knew; the way he always imagined she would be. He flicked the tie free of the headboard and pinned her again while the knotted the ends together. Jon pulled the tie like a leash until her arms were around his neck and lowered himself all along her body. With a kiss to her mouth, Jon pushed off one massive thigh and rolled her on top.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona squealed against his lips and she landed hard on his cock. Jon got two handfuls of her ass and began bouncing her. Her perfect breasts swung tantalizingly but he couldn’t reach without allowing her to free her arms. He still had plenty of ideas for her while tied, if he lived to see them. He levered up hard, held her down hard. Her eyes were closed.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Look at me,” he said. She did just as his thumb found her clit and she closed her eyes again, clamping down a cry. Jon timed his hand to his hips and pushed her right up into the pressure every thrust. </span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona felt like she was being forced apart from the inside. Jon was by far the biggest she’d had and now she knew that size did matter. Or maybe it was the motion. Maybe it was being tied up and thoroughly fucked at all the same time. Either way, his thumb was working its way toward magic. She still wanted to punch him.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon hauled her down and kissed her. Fiona swiveled her hips, giving as good as she got. She sensed Jon was covering something with his kiss.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Almost there, baby?” she purred.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You wish.”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mmm, I do. I want to feel it,” she teased, rolling down hard. “I want to hear you....”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon pushed his head back and roared. It made Fiona laugh. She had a little bit of control after all.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thinking the same thing, Jon threw Fiona down next to him on the bed. He spun to his knees, pressed her down onto her stomach and straddled her. The tie was quickly open and shut again, this time her hands tied behind her back. Jon grabbed her two wrists together and steered her into place.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fucking perfect,” he said, running an open hand over her ass. His fingers trailed through the soaked honeypot and all the way up over her backdoor. She flinched. “Hmmm, next time.”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon positioned himself between her knees, then eased himself inside. From this angle Fiona was tighter than ever and completely helpless. She moaned softly as he took her. Then Jon pushed his knees out in a sudden swipe, spread eagled her, and heaved himself in to the hilt.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fuuuuuuck,” she said into the mattress. </span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He snaked a hand around her hip and tweaked her clit. She breathed an unintelligible noise. To Jon it sounded like a white flag waving in the wind. He would have her here and now, she would go first and he would say when. Then he would have the thing he wanted more than anything else. </span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Baby,” he whispered into her ear, working his mouth hard against the forgiving skin of her upper back. Every stroke pushed her harder into the mattress; Jon bent his knees and pulled on her tied hands, forcing her to kneel. His hand splayed on her stomach to hold her up. Breath heaved from her lungs as he plowed home.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“God I’ve wanted to fuck you forever,” he admitted. </span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona couldn’t think. Her defenses would have pushed back but her brain was scrambled. Jon was only hurting her a little bit and it was totally overwhelmed by all the pleasure building between her hips. Everywhere his hands touched tingled, everywhere his lips met her skin blistered. It was all she could do to move against him.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon was so close to coming that every punishing thrust hurt him more than her. He was harder than he could ever remember. This needed to happen now.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If I untie you, promise to be nice?”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“If I call you Viktor, promise to tie me back up?”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She actually laughed. Jon gritted his teeth. </span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m done waiting.”</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He doubled his pace. Fiona put her face to the blanket and screamed. He tipped her onto her side, repositioned himself with one of her legs over his arm and the other pinned down, and resumed riding her into the floor. Fiona, still bound, slid her hips till his thigh pressed her clit and let him work against it.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Better hurry,” he said, realizing she was trying to come before him. He had no intention of making sure she went first after that last verbal attack. Viktor could come clean up if there was anything left of her.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Shut up.” Fiona opened her eyes and saw his face, that face she knew so well. She had pictured a few things not so different from this very scene alone in this room, in her big bed in the dark. And maybe a few more as she pretended not to notice Jon getting hard while he held her in his sleep. All she had to do was let everything else go.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Something so easy was almost always a trap. It lured you in and pounced when you were defenseless. Fiona gave up, let is happen.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon. Finally.</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She bucked hard against his solid thigh while Jon held her down by the hair and pumped. Out of nowhere, he kissed her full on the mouth, his tongue sweeping over hers. It made her toes curl.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That was the last line of resistance. Fiona screamed as she came. Jon kept his mouth to hers and pounded her pussy right through it. Her back arched off the bed, grinding every last ounce of feeling against his thigh before she collapsed.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh no you don’t,” he said. Jon pulled out and shifted till he was alongside her, still holding a fistful of her hair.</span></div><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi.” His voice cracked. She opened her mouth. The second his cock slipped between her lips, Jon hunched over and came right down her throat.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Author's Note: I considered putting a warning at the top of this chapter, but I thought it might take away from the element of surprise. I personally died about five times writing this. Hope you're still with me. ;)</i></span></div></span></span></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-49279374634640123092011-12-22T09:22:00.000-08:002012-07-21T19:22:34.556-07:00five<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for all your comments! I think we need some inspiration for this chapter... plus I like books with pictures.</span><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.45753343659453094"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FIVE</span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.45753343659453094"><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fiona didn’t bother announcing her presence as she pushed the locker room door open. Telling them she was coming resulted in half of them taking off more clothes. Jon followed behind, daring someone to do something. A hail of greetings rang out around them.</span></b></div>
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“Moneypenny,” Brent said, approaching in head-to-toe spandex and grabbing Fiona as if to kiss her. She tried to kiss him back and got a pucker full of scruffy cheek. He laughed and dropped her onto the floor.</div>
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“Ugh, so romantic!” she cried, laying there for effect. A hand appeared to help her up.</div>
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“Hey,” Viktor pulled her to her feet. The dark blond flop of his hair dropped across his forehead, making her hand twitch to brush it back. Fiona reminded her face to smile.</div>
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Fucking hell, how can they all be so gorgeous?!</div>
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The shy smile and lantern jaw, added to the fact she had no idea what color his eyes were, made Fiona pull up short and stop six inches from the solid wall of his chest.</div>
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“Thanks,” she tried not to stutter.</div>
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“Sure,” he nodded heroically. Before the moment could develop, Viktor released her hand and turned back toward his locker. She watched the roll of his shoulders beneath his Under Armor.</div>
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“Come to see us off, eh?” Duncan bumped her side, making her stumble. “Captain’s gonna miss you.”</div>
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They both looked at Jon, who had his head down but a smile on his lips. Duncan knew the rules as well as anyone - Viktor could flirt all he wanted, they all did anyway. Jon resigned himself to being okay with that. But Fiona was his if she was anyone’s, and even if she wasn’t. The one day road trip to Columbus would give him time to figure out what he was going to do about it.</div>
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Fiona hung around a while, till the guys were ready for practice. She bid them good luck and held her hand out for Jon’s car keys. Instead of tossing them, he dangled them from a finger. She rolled her eyes as she approached.</div>
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“Luck,” she wished him, taking the keys.</div>
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Jon’s arm was already around her waist, his lips just below her ear. It looked lecherous and funny, like he was whispering something dirty and stealing a kiss. Instead he just said, “Miss you,” and set her free.</div>
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____</div>
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Two days later, Viktor was tapping his fingers on the bar. A few early lunchers were finishing plates, but the midweek day shift was pretty slow. They had won a solid game in Columbus and flown back right after, not arriving home until late. It was a rare off-day and most his teammates were probably sleeping in. Especially Jonathan. A minute later Fiona swung through the doors carrying a rack of clean glasses.</div>
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“Viktor,” she said, more than surprised.</div>
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“Hi Fiona.” A slight blush rose in his cheeks. </div>
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She squeezed her fingers hard against the biting edges of the dish rack before setting it down. “Hungry?” </div>
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“I’ll just have a burger. No fries.”</div>
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She smiled. “I’ll eat your fries.”</div>
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Viktor wore a dark blue military-style coat with a short standing collar, the white shirt beneath stretched healthily across his chest. A winter jacket would be hanging out of sight under the bar. His five o’clock shadow, perfectly pronounced at noon, and piercing light eyes were just gravy. They made small talk until his plate arrived, then Fiona snagged a french fry before putting it in front of him.</div>
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“How come you’re up so early on an off day?” she asked. Jon had not called, nor had she expected him too. Free days were like gold these guys.</div>
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“Had to drop off my suit at the cleaner for tonight.”</div>
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“Oh, what’s tonight? Big date?”</div>
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Viktor stopped with the burger halfway to his mouth. “Holiday party. Aren’t you coming?”</div>
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Fiona was unprepared to cover her reaction, then recovered and shook her head like it was meaningless. Except it wasn’t. “Uhh, no, I didn’t know about it.” </div>
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“It’s the team and front office, just staff. I’m... I’m sure Jon meant to tell you. Probably thinks he did.” Viktor laughed once, it sounded fake. His face was pale.</div>
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“Yeah, probably.” Fiona continued drying glasses.</div>
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Some of her dark hair had slipped its ponytail and hung free at her ear, obscuring his view of her face as she turned away. Viktor felt stupid for upsetting her, and assuming that Jon would obviously do the right thing. This holiday party was friends and family only - no fans, no press. They may have known each other only six months, but most of the team already thought of Fiona as both.</div>
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“Come with me.” The words were out before he realized what he was saying.</div>
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“Oh, you don’t have to....”</div>
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“I want to. And all the guys will want you there. Come with me.”</div>
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She paused before protesting, cataloging a hundred ways in which it was a bad idea. But she never got to voice any.</div>
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“I have a clean suit,” Viktor tried with a smile.</div>
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<span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fuck Jon</span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, Fiona thought. </span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fuck him for forgetting about me.</span></div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
She felt most of the Blackhawks were her friends and family, especially so far from her real home. Things with Jon had been stranger than usual lately and she felt he was starting to take advantage of their bizarre setup. It only worked if it was working for both of them.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Okay. I’d like that.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
When he finished eating, Fiona crumpled his check and thew it in the trash. He made a face at her. </div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Pick you up at eight.”</div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
___</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Well, shit.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fiona had one dress and one hour to get into it. She had hurried home from work and into the shower. As she did, she thought of the movie </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jerry Maguire</span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">:</span></div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Shave your legs, but don’t let it turn you into a whore.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
The dress was red, fitted almost too well. It was reasonably cut at the chest if a little too short in the hem. She’d bought it for a bachelorette party but it seemed the right color for the holiday season. After blowing her hair out straight, Fiona curled big sections into loose waves and let them fall down her back. A little smoky eye makeup and mascara, with glossy red lips were all the makeup she felt comfortable wearing. Stepping into her high red heels before the mirror, she took in the sight of her work; the results were a far cry from her casual everyday look.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Either a very good, or a very bad idea.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
At eight on the dot, her phone rang. She checked the screen - it had been ringing a lot that day - saw what she was looking for and grabbed her clutch. Already in her winter white dressy coat, she didn’t answer Viktor’s call till she was at the elevator. If he got to her door she was afraid she might not make it out at all.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Be right down.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
She looked both ways as the elevator opened in the lobby, like she was crossing the street: no Jon in sight. Just the doorman looking impressed and a black Mercedes sports car at the curb with a serious problem leaning against the side. Viktor wore a long black coat open over a dark suit, white shirt and red tie. Classic Hollywood glamour. Classic hot guy.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Fucking fit,” she mumbled, pushing the door open.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Hi,” he gave her the full wattage of that smile. </div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“You look great,” she admitted right off the bat. A bit like saying water was wet.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
He appreciated the hair and makeup, the red heels making her shapely calves flex as she strutted toward him. Needless to say he couldn’t wait to see what was under her white coat. “Had to be worthy of my date.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
It was easy to be with Viktor when Fiona stopped worrying about Jon. They chatted on the short drive to a swanky waterfront hotel and took the elevator to the top floor restaurant. The building was round, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a stunning 360-degree view of downtown and the lake.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Like the view from Jon’s place</span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>. </i>Fiona pushed the thought away.</span></div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
She was acutely aware of Viktor’s eyes on her as she pulled the coat off. Passing it to the coat check, he tucked both claim tickets into his pocket. Then he touched her arm gently.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“You look beautiful,” he said rather quietly. Fiona squared her shoulders and accepted the compliment - you didn’t wear a great dress to go unnoticed. His hand was warm on her skin.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Dressed to match you,” she said, tugging on his red tie.</div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
____</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jon slugged a mouthful of scotch and waved for another. He’d have to stop shortly, appearances being what they were, even at a private event. But he was annoyed that all five of his calls to Fiona had gone unanswered. Now he had to navigate this party without his wing-woman to make small talk and charm everyone’s wives into loving him by association. Kane sidled up, also stag, and ordered the same. They were talking about a new video game when Patrick coughed on a mouthful of liquor.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Shit,” he said.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jon followed his eyes toward the entrance and immediately inhaled a mouthful of his own drink. He sputtered, eyes watering. When they cleared the vision was still there.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Fiona, all legs and sex hair, in a red dress like a perfectly wrapped gift. Her fair skin was the color of buttermilk in the dim lighting, the twinkling Christmas decorations catching every surface of her like a diamond.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
And right next to her, close enough to touch: Stalberg in a four thousand dollar suit and a million dollar smile.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Grrrrrrrrrr.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
The urge to push off from the bar and get a running start toward tackling Viktor flared behind Jon’s eyes. He forced himself to hold the highball glass without breaking it, concentrating on how much pressure he was exerting. Just that morning he’d been telling himself it was fine if they flirted, he’d have to get over that. Now it was pouring down his back like a cold shower.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Dude, easy,” Kaner said, his eyes wide. “You can’t....”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jon tossed back the rest of his drink and set the glass carefully down. “Watch me.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
He curled his lips into a smile on approach. Fiona was distracted by Abby, hugging her pregnant friend and taking a kiss on the cheek from Patrick Sharp. Viktor spoke to them over her shoulder, like he was boxing out anyone who might approach his date from the side.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Hey guys!” Jon tried to keep the edge out of his tone. Fiona’s dark green eyes were hard on his, though her voice was honey.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Happy holidays, Captain.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Well what the fuck am I supposed to do now?</span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i> </i>she thought. Even knowing Jon would be here, suited up and looking gorgeous, had not prepared her for locking eyes with her would-be date in a crowded room. Jon’s sharp pin-striped suit, white shirt and striped tie hung from his frame like an example of God creating man in his own image. The same could be said for Viktor, now next to her, greeting Jon while resting a hand possessively on the small of her back.</span></div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Fiona swallowed hard. She may have done the wrong thing, trying to feed animals at the zoo.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jon’s gaze swung back to her. He had the singular ability to reduce her to nothing with a stare. Fiona had heard a lot of women say that about Jon; something in the way he looked at you made the ground turn to quicksand. He unleashed it now: desire spiked with anger. Fiona moved away from Viktor’s hand.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Can I get you a drink?” Viktor asked. He was no stranger to Toews staring down an opponent and it felt about as intimidating as he’d expected.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Sure, thanks. Red wine.” Fiona watched Stalberg’s back as he left her there alone.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jon’s eyes never shifted. “I’ve been calling you all day.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Why?” She rocked on the balls of her feet, enjoying the extra height if she had to stand her ground.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“To invite you here.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Fiona shrugged. “Too late.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“You didn’t mention your date last night,” Jon lowered his voice to a hiss, “when we were naked together in my bathtub.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
His hand came to hold her arm, Fiona shook him off. “You didn’t mention the party.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“I was going to ask you.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
A red flush was rising up his neck, marring the perfect complexion. A tiny furrow between his brows showed from years of being so serious. Jon was right up to Fiona, their chests almost touching.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Should have done, Jon.” She dropped her eyes, considering for a moment if she’d gone far enough just by arriving. </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In for a penny</span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, she thought. So she met those bottomless brown-eyes again and spoke quietly. “Don’t worry. I won’t call for your help in the morning.”</span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
____</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jon stood alone on the small balcony. It was intended for smokers but the team didn’t have many, even among the staff. Wind whipped off the lake making it almost too cold to be outdoors. Jon didn’t even have his overcoat on. Lake Michagan seemed like an ocean but for the lack of waves - it stretched to the horizon and beyond, frigid and black.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Inside the party was warm, full of sparkling lights and laughter. Jon had done the tour of duty, Kaner had stuck close by. Neither reveled in their roles as the faces of the Blackhawks, but they were the ones that husbands and wives of the Hawks employees most wanted to meet. </div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At least I don’t have to explain that Fiona isn’t my girlfriend</span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>, </i>he thought. Then he wondered if Viktor had been saying those words all night, brushing off the obvious compliment with one of his patented superhero smiles.</span></div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Fuck.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jon was furious that he couldn’t be furious. He’d all but forgotten about the party - his brain was full of trying to win games. When it came to public relations he just went where he was pointed. Tonight he’d dropped the ball and it was his own fault. And of course Fiona was pissed - she must have felt so embarrassed that he hadn’t asked.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Stupid play</span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>,</i> Jon berated himself. </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Eye on the puck, not the man.</span></div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Back inside, he did a casual lap of the restaurant. People had already begun leaving but most of the players and their dates were still around. No post-party activities tonight, as they had practice the next morning. No one wanted to look bad coming from an off day or they’d never get another.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Hey.” Seabrook turned at the sound of Jon’s voice. They stood together near the dessert table, surveying the scene. Jon found Fiona immediately: across the room, sparkling under the lights of a nearby Christmas tree. Brent nodded in that direction.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“I take it you screwed the pooch on that.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jon shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yup.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“And now Stalberg’s gonna screw your girlfriend.” Seabrook pronounced it like a done deal, a death sentence. For as angry as Jon had been about seeing them, it never really occurred to him that Fiona and Viktor would carry over to something beyond this party. At least not right away. He’d have a chance to redeem himself. </div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Right?</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“He wouldn’t,” as if because Jon spoke the words they were true.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Brent slid his empty glass across the copper bar, signalling an end to his night. Without looking at his captain, Seabrook shrugged. “I would.”</div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
____</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Fiona was grateful for the interruption when Abby pulled her from conversation with two saleswomen from the front office. They were obviously enamoured with Viktor and trying delicately to pump Fiona for information. She’d had too much wine and was about to burst out laughing.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Thank you,” she said, following the pregnant Sharp into the ladies room. “I swear they were going to ask me to videotape him sleeping.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Her smile faded as she saw Abby’s more serious expression. They waited until an older woman had left the parlor part of the restroom. </div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Have you talked to Jonathan?”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Fiona rolled her eyes. “No. He can meet and greet on his own tonight.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“He’s been standing outside for ages.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“I know. I saw him.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Abby leaned against the low counter. “What is going on? Why are you here with Viktor?”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Because he invited me! I didn’t know a thing about this party till lunch today. Viktor thought I was coming with Jon. I would have too except Jon never asked me. For all I knew he’d show up here with some slut on his arm, and call me in the morning to kick her out of his bed!” Fiona whispered the last words sharply, aware that her anger was getting a little loud. “It was pretty humiliating, Abby. Viktor looked like he wanted to die.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Abby shook her head. “He’s such an asshole.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“He didn’t do anything except...!”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“I meant Jonathan,” Abby stopped her. </div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Fiona huffed. “Well in that case, yes.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
A few younger women, people’s college-age daughters by the looks of them, came in as a group. They smiled shyly at Abby’s pregnant belly and then at Fiona, who might well be their idol for landing herself on Viktor’s arm.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They don’t know the half</span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>,</i> she thought as she smiled back.</span></div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Abby admired her huge bump in the mirror, rubbing a hand protectively over it. She and Patrick were so in love it made Fiona swoon like a Disney Princess surrounded by woodland creatures. It would probably be the most beautiful baby in the history of the world.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“He’s crazy about you,” Abby said while Fiona was daydreaming about a castle and a prince. </div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“He just wants what he can’t have.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“It’s odd, the two of you - it feeds his ego that you don’t fall at his feet. He needs something to strive for, it’s the way he’s wired.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Fiona knew as much was true, and it handcuffed her. Anything she gave would eventually be giving him away. The shiny red apple looked delicious until it was nothing more than a core in the trash.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“That’s why he makes a good captain,” Fiona said, “and a shit boyfriend.”</div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
____</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jon waited until Fiona had her coat on, then made sure to say goodbye at the same time as a lot of other people. He blended into the crowd, avoided them and took the next elevator. In the lobby, he stayed inside until the valet brought Stalberg’s car around. The sight of them standing close in the chill wind outside made Brent’s words ring in Jon’s ears.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
He would. Of course he would. But they wouldn’t. Not really.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Jon drove so distractedly that he missed the turn for his block and had to circle around the front to reach the parking garage. As he drew up toward the main entrance, Viktor’s car was at the curb.</div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
____</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“I had a good time,” Viktor said. The valet had warmed up the car and it was toasty and cozy after a few minutes standing in the brisk wind. With a warm layer of wine in her blood, Fiona leaned back into the low leather seat.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Me too. Thank you for inviting me.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“I’m glad you didn’t already have a date.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
She let gravity work its magic on the words, drawing them down toward the ground and out from between her and Viktor. It had undoubtedly been a date. He was massively attractive and obviously into her. And they were both very much in serious trouble.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Me too,” she confessed. Without telling him why, Fiona needed something to break. Something had to push this situation along or she’d be caught between taunting Jon and being dragged around all season. It wasn’t even Christmas and she was exhausted jumping over the land mines he kept laying down. </div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
When they pulled up at her curb, Viktor said, “Wait.”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Such a gentleman</span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, she smiled to herself. He opened the passenger door and helped her out. Seabrook had made the James Bond joke that morning when she answered Jonathan’s phone from bed. But it was now she felt most like a Bond girl - dressed to the nines, a gorgeous man driving a sleek car, and the idea they were doing something secret and dangerous.</span></div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Too bad she wasn’t really as sexy as all that.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“Viktor, I....”</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
He pressed her against the side of the car and kissed her. The heavy weight of his body, the warm scent of his skin and the soft, careful push of his mouth made Fiona weak. Alcohol swam in her bloodstream. Like a film reel slipping, it took a moment for her brain to catch up to the picture on the screen. After a sultry moment, his incredible lips pulled away.</div>
</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
“It doesn’t have to be him,” Viktor surprised her by looking right into her eyes and saying what she’d been avoiding admitting to herself. </div>
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: left;">
____</div>
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>
</b></span></span>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-19925902402156818972011-12-20T09:36:00.001-08:002011-12-20T09:36:45.127-08:00four<div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8183515418786556"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The water was hot, as much as the shower he’d forced himself through in the locker room. It had done nothing to calm his nerves and Jonathan prayed that this time would be different. Maybe because he was wearing clothes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I want to see you naked, you do know that,” he said. The tension with Fiona had broken and Jon was comfortable again, saying whatever popped into his head because that’s what he always did with her. He lowered his swimsuit-clad backside beneath the surface of the bathwater and sat down.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m afraid that line actually works for you. You’re losing touch with reality.” Fiona wore a pair of Jon’s boxers rolled over at the waist and his shirt. She had stuffed her panties into the pocket of her jeans while changing - they were a little wet from their encounter in the closet. She sat on the edge of the tub, feet in the water and Jon scooted back till he was leaning against her shins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It’s better than Pat. He says, ‘You want to see me naked.’ And they do,” Jon laughed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She worked her fingers along his neck and the top of his shoulders, feeling muscles that normal people didn’t have. Jon was such a baby when it came to being touched - Fiona figured a lifetime of being beaten up for a living would do that to a guy. He rolled his head in encouragement as her thumbs pressed along the top of his spine. Fiona was working her way inside one shoulder blade when Jon grabbed her ankles and pulled.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her butt slipped off the rim of the big jacuzzi tub and down the sloped side, wedging her in right behind Jon’s back. The water was shockingly hot all at once and she hissed as it seared her skin. The borrowed shorts and t-shirt were soaked instantly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ow, shit!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He just chuckled and wiggled back between her legs, then he rolled his shoulders. “Don’t stop.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jesus,” she muttered, but moved her hands over his bare skin just the same. She couldn’t get much purchase with everything so over-developed. He seemed to enjoy it anyway, letting her work for a few minutes until she pushed her fingers up through his dark hair.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Mmmm, that feels good.” Jon scooted down, bending his knees, until he lay against Fiona’s chest. His hands lifted her ankles again and hooked them in over his thighs like a pretzel. She let him because she couldn’t do anything else. Jon’s palm caressed the curve of her calf.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You have great legs.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I have great everything,” she teased, pinching his earlobes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I wouldn’t know, you won’t let me see anything else.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona made a mocking noise, continuing to massage his scalp. Jon closed his eyes and reveled in the warmth of the bath and the comfort of Fiona’s body. He also considered another element: they were alone. For the first time since the locker room that morning, when she’d kissed Stalberg hello, he felt calm and controlled. Maybe that was the x-factor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey, I lost you there,” she said, twisting his ear again. Fiona had been talking out loud to herself. About what she couldn’t say - her mind had officially wandered down Jon’s chiseled chest beneath the surface of the water.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Sorry.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The opening might not present itself again, when Jon was at her mercy. So Fiona asked her question. “You okay? Today was weird.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because I want to kiss you. I want to pull you into my lap and rip off those shorts and make this the dirtiest bath you’ll ever take...</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Jon’s train of thought drifted off, circled back to the beginning. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But I really just want to kiss you.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He chickened out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Do you like him?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon was aware it sounded like a note passed in homeroom: please circle how much you’re going to break my heart.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Viktor? I do. I like all your teammates.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s not what I mean,” he said quietly to avoid whining.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona wanted to ask if he liked any of the girls he brought home. If he ever bothered to know them at all. How could he like someone he’d barely met? It didn’t matter how much clothing they ended up shedding - it wasn’t the type of revelation Jon needed. He could fuck any girl he wanted, except her. She chose her worlds carefully.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I like him more than you like the girls you bring home. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to bring back to mine.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those were fighting words, bringing up more questions than they answered. She let them hang. Jon shifted - he was uncomfortable but it only served to remind Fiona that his huge, perfect body, that mass of sex appeal and strength, was currently closer to her goal line than any man in quite a while. And whoever that last scorer was, Fiona hadn’t needed a full butterfly to get her thighs around him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He wants you to like him.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona sighed. “I’m not worth it.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon’s hands were behind her knees, his head rested against her breast. She ran her thumb along the thick tendon at the back of his neck. They both knew exactly what she meant - it wasn’t worth it for Viktor to chase something Jonathan wanted. Stalberg could pick up the sloppy seconds or passed-overs, but only after Toews had first choice. The Blackhawks pecking order was firmly established when it came to women. And Fiona was something much more than that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You are,” Jon said, sliding his grip up to the back of her thighs. “You definitely are.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kiss him</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Fiona thought. Her body ached to be absorbed by him. She could lean down and press her lips to his ear, he’d turn and capture her mouth. Borrowed clothes and swim trunks wouldn’t last a second. The bathtub would become the first set in many scenes, all to end with panting and screaming and release. But it would change everything and she wasn’t sure she’d ever find herself back here, intimately telling secrets and spending time, once she relegated herself to the ranks of the girls in Jon’s bed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona told herself it would be different, for her. But Jon never did.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally the water was cold. Jon detached himself from Fiona’s body and helped her stand. She looked down at her soaked clothes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No dripping on the floor,” he smirked. She couldn’t reach the towels.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You are,” Fiona pointed to the water pooling around his own feet from the swim shorts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon shrugged. Things had been weird all day and Fiona’s answers didn’t give him the reassurance he’d been looking for. If she wasn’t going to stroke his ego, he wished she’s get to work stroking his second most useful part. So he pushed the shorts to the floor in a wet </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thwap</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fucking hell, Jon!” Fiona’s hand flew up to cover her face.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What?” he feigned, checking his naked self out from behind in the mirror over his shoulder. Fiona spread her fingers and peeked at his reflection - backside only. She nearly slipped to her death. Jon flexed, curling one arm in front of his perfectly flat abs. “Not interested?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jonathan Toews, I am going to kill you.” She looked the other way.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Gotta get out of the tub first.” He crossed his arms and stood, stark naked, like the bouncer outside a club. Fiona glared at him, he smiled right back. Never once did her gaze drop below his elbows. Jon was tempted to start shaking his hips like a dance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You will regret this,” she promised. But her fingers curled slowly into the hem of the over-sized shirt. Gathering a fistful of saturated cotton, Fiona turned her back and stripped it off. Then she tucked it under her chin to cover her front, even though he couldn’t see, and dropped the boxer shorts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon sucked in a breath at the site of her perfect ass. He’d seen it scantily clad, rocking in the air like an apple hanging from a tree, while she eviscerated some nameless girl with the idea of a threesome. Jon had wanted that girl to leave more than ever, because he didn’t need her. Fiona in his bed, in earnest, would be plenty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi,” he started to reach for her when his hand was slapped away. She didn’t even look or aim, just swung where she knew he’d be reaching. Then she spun around, his drenched shirt clinging to the curves along the front of her body. Chastened and stunned by the fact that she’d actually done it, and was close enough to touch or toss onto the bed, Jon stepped back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona took the opening and covered three steps to the door in a moment. Jon stayed still, gaping. She felt his eyes on her skin, her bare curves, making their way from the small of her back to the cleft just below her ass. It left a hot trail of sparks, and left her shaking at the idea of his strong hand following along. She glanced back to see Jon with his mouth hanging open.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For fuck’s sake.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She yanked the shirt from where it stuck to her front, balled it in one movement and threw it over her shoulder. Jon’s gaze followed it - and she dashed away. As her feet hit the carpet, she heard the wet slap of the shirt landing in the tub.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon yelped. Fiona reached her destination - the walk-in closet - and slammed the door behind her. Half a second later, Jon was shaking the handle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Let me in.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No one gets in the panic room,” she said, rifling through the sickeningly straight piles of clothes for a new pair of pants and a shirt. That might not be enough. A snowsuit, maybe? A quick glance around didn’t reveal a suit of armor or chastity belt within reach. Jon rocked the door hard.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fiona, I’ll break this down.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll be out in a second!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I bet it’s....” His footsteps moved away, Fiona hurried to find something. She pulled a red Canadian Tire long-sleeve shirt over her head like a dress, then found a pair of track pants. They were way too big.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Damn your huge ass, Toews!” she called, rolling them over four times at the waist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just then, she heard a scrape. Another. Before she could react, the lock clicked open. Jon stood in the doorway, staring in awe at the credit card in his hand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ve always wanted to do that,” he smiled like he wasn’t still naked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Now you can retire to a life of crime,” Fiona laughed nervously. This whole no-clothes thing needed to end right now. The game was turning dangerous and she was beginning to think losing might be more of a win. Her eyes drifted south and quickly darted away... then back. Jon watched a hot blush creep up her cheeks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was big. Everything about Jon was big, Fiona knew that. But seeing him like this, Fiona knew that some things would never be the same. Even if she left here now and joined a convent, she’d never sleep through another night without moaning and wet dreams.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jesus, Jon.” She held out another pair of pants.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I told you, the view changes.” He stepped closer, Fiona backed a step deeper into the closet. “I want you to know what you’re missing.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I already know.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He let his eyes drop to her body, lost in the size of his clothes like she wore a tent. Jon gestured with his chin. “I’d like to see what I’m missing.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A smart remark sprang to her tongue, but Fiona swallowed it. She was exhausted by the day and confused by all this attention. Jon’s naked body was short-circuiting her brain. The ground beneath her feet seemed sloped down, like a single step would send her tumbling, freewheeling toward something - a cliff, a bad landing, a bottomless pit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jon,” she said quietly. Her shoulders rounded and her voice dropped. One white flag short of a surrender.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon closed his eyes. Anger flared, leftover from the game; a hot burst of frustration flooded his veins. He waited it out then looked at her again. God damn she was so fucking beautiful. Why couldn’t she just give in?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Okay.” He reached for the pants she offered, pulled them right on. Then he reached back and grabbed her hand. His wide thumb pressed into her palm, catching her unaware so he could pull her closer. She sighed at the pleasure of the pressure as Jon wrapped her in his arms and frog-walked them to the bed without letting go. One hand went for the corner of the comforter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona lifted her face to his, searching his eyes. The urge to kiss her fired like a cannon but Jon gritted his teeth and let it drain away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Clean sheets,” he promised. Fiona climbed in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon followed her to the middle, fit his body all along behind and wrapped an arm over her side. He bent his knees by pushing hers up, locking them together. Heat bled from his shirtless chest into the tense muscles of her back. Jon gently brushed the hair from her neck - Fiona felt goosebumps rise - and tucked his face into the spot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t go with him. With anyone</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Jon wanted to say. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t let anyone else in here</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Fiona wished she could tell him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She didn’t move.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi.” Jon pushed a hand up under her shirt, flat on her back, as high as he could reach. Her skin was softer than he thought possible. Reaching her shoulder, he gave her a little shake.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She came around slowly. Fiona lay on her side, sprawled across his bare chest with one arm tucked in at his far hip - inside the waistband of his pants. His dick wanted to stage a revolt, stand up like a soldier. Jon was trying to reason with the traitor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey,” she croaked softly. With one eye open she took stock of the situation: all the bare skin, her weight on top of him, his hand well beneath her clothes. Fi pulled away a little and untangled herself, then nuzzled in against Jon again like a sleepy kitten. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why are the girls who sleep here never cuddled up to you in the morning? You’re so warm and lovely.” She burrowed deeper. Jon pushed an arm beneath her head, she accepted the half-hug and rested her head on his huge bicep. It opened his whole side and she couldn’t help but rub her palm across his six-pack. He squeezed her tight.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t....”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t let them. I don’t want them near me when I sleep. And it would be tougher to get them out in the morning</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Jon told them he wasn’t a close sleeper, or claimed hockey injuries. The truth was colder. But he didn’t sleep well with them nearby either, unless he was drunk. So when he failed in that category it made for a long night of lying awake near a sleeping, naked girl like the remnants of a snack you shouldn’t have eaten that exist only to make you feel wretched.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t like it.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona hooked a leg over Jon’s, anchoring them together. “Liar.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Only with you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She went perfectly still at his side, even holding her breath. Jon felt her muscles stiffen. He rolled to face her and hauled her in close. Those dark green eyes were unsure - but they didn’t say no. It was the falter he’d been looking for before, the one tiny clue that she felt something too. Not a lot, just a hint.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon put his lips to her cheek, just off the side of her mouth. It was so nearly a kiss that it felt like a punch to the stomach. He held Fiona tighter so she wouldn’t notice when his body rocked with the impact.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You’re the one</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he almost said.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But he didn’t. The phone rang. Distracted by what he wasn’t telling Fiona, she was quicker on the draw.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Headquarters,” Fiona hit the speakerphone and purred with the full lilt of her accent. “Good morning, Mister Seabrook.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ah, Moneypenny,” Brent laughed. “You’re sounding very naked this morning. I presume that means Mr. Bond is indisposed?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She giggled from the back of her throat, so convincingly sexy that Jon groaned. He reached out and dragged her up so her back was on his stomach. She yelped in surprise, wriggling in his arms and making the whole situation even worse. The phone slipped from her hand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He wishes!” Fiona yelled. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That’s true!” Jon clenched his arms around her waist, squeezing the air out of her lungs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seabrook made a barfing noise. “Later Captain. Have fun jerking off when she leaves.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The phone beeped dead. Fiona was still perched atop Jon, his rock solid bear hug unbreakable. It was not at all unpleasant to feel every muscle in his professional body flexed against her, manhandling her with ease. Add to that the huge biceps pushing her breasts up and together... she wondered just what Brent imagined they might be doing. And what it would be like to actually do it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stop it, stop it! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona let her body go slack all at once, falling into Jonathan and sliding off to one side. He kept an arm around her and they lay still, watching the ceiling, each wondering if the other was thinking what they were thinking, all of which involved no clothes and a lot of heavy breathing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon wondered what he would have to say to keep her in his bed. How many things he’d have to apologize for, how many things he could never undo. There was a long list of moments he wasn’t proud of. Jon tried to picture himself through Fiona’s eyes and the vision wasn’t pretty - if he was honest, he frankly couldn’t understand what she saw in him. Maybe that was the reason he’d been so upset of the idea of her and Viktor - a guy like Stalberg deserved a girl like Fiona. Jon was well aware he fell painfully short.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While Jon was lost in thought, Fiona traced a finger along the heft of his bicep and watched his flawless skin give under the gentle pressure. He was so strong and capable on the ice and in the locker room, yet he let his life outside the game spin in every direction, picking up whatever he bumped into and dropping it just as quickly. Fiona was grateful for the semi-permanence of her role and knew the best way to lose it was to give Jon exactly what he wanted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even if sometimes she wanted it too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_</span></b></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-57827970158209022552011-12-17T20:01:00.001-08:002011-12-17T20:01:13.897-08:00three<div><span id="internal-source-marker_0.32169390097260475" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey,” Coach caught Jon by the shoulder as he charged across the locker room, headed for the shower. He’d stuffed his ire down long enough to give the media his standard contract language about a good win and strong game. Jon didn’t even hear himself anymore when he gave interviews.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What’s up?” Q asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nothing.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The older man rolled his eyes and mustache. “Alright, just don’t get into a fight or anything. Not bailing you out of jail.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon stood under the searing hot water of the locker room shower, eyes closed and facing the wall. He should be spent, exhausted from leaving it all on the ice. If two and a half hours of exertion couldn’t run this out of his system, he wasn’t sure anything could.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anything but her.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He shook the thought away. Why was this happening tonight? Jon saw Fiona all the time, flirted non-stop, got his advances rebuffed more often than a salmon swimming upstream. They were only half-serious. So she was wearing someone else’s jersey - it was just Stalberg for Christ’s sake. He was a nice guy, they were friends. If Jon told him to back the fuck off his girl, Viktor would do it. But he wouldn’t - he couldn’t. She wasn’t.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s not like it’s Kaner!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That thought almost made him laugh. Fiona and Patrick were too much alike these days - Patrick had done a lot of growing up, and turned into the kind of friend who’d help you out of any jam. He was currently repaying a lifetime of favors. Kane was comfortable with himself and everyone else could take it or leave it. No one ever left it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And now Jon was the uncomfortable one. So many girls - he was in and out like a revolving door, shopping but never buying, trying things on for size and nothing ever fit. Maybe it just needed to be broken in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Tazer, hurry the fuck up!” Seabrook shouted. “Quit jerking off and come find a girl to do it for you!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon twisted the shower off and stalked right toward his teammate, water streaming off his body. Brent threw him a towel. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Won’t be your girlfriend tonight though,” the defenseman smirked, jerking a thumb toward the locker room. “She’s already got her hands full.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon pushed past and barely had the towel around his waist when he stepped into the room. Fiona was sitting between Viktor and Kane, leaning over to see something on Stalberg’s phone. All the muscles in Toews’ neck tensed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jesus, Jonathan,” Abby said from the near side. He hadn’t seen her there, rifling through the shelf in Sharp’s locker for the keys he was always losing. “There are women here!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re already knocked up,” Duncan offered, finishing the knot in his tie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon’s eyes were waiting when Fiona looked up. Hers were dark green, not nearly brown but almost black like her hair. And they never failed to smile when she saw him. This time, that steady gaze went slowly up the bare expanse of his abs, chest and shoulders before coming to rest on his face.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’ll have a girl for sure if you stand too close to that,” she said appreciatively.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pat snorted. “Then before Tazer retires, he can try to bang you daughter. Bet there’s an award for that.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sharp threw a roll of tape overhand like he was pitching a fastball. Viktor reached around Fiona and pulled her down into his lap as the tape whizzed just past and nailed Kane in the forehead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ow! Asshole! I didn’t say I was gonna....”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“SHUT UP, KANE!” everyone yelled at once.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pat rubbed the welt below his hairline. “Jeeeeez. Tough crowd.” He waited a beat before turning to Jon. “Gonna have to be a secret then, you and your child bride.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona watched Jon cross the middle of the bar - not her bar, she was off tonight - and enjoyed the spectacle of nearly every head turning to follow him. He was always recognized. But that heavy gait, the low center of gravity his overly muscled ass and thighs produced tended to intimidate men. Or maybe it was the wide, lanky roll of his shoulders. Or the absolute knowledge that your girlfriend or wife would sell her soul for ten minutes in a dark room with that guy. By the time he reached the hallway to the bathroom, only the women were still looking. They watched as long as Fiona did, until Jon came back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pat and Viktor were at the bar, chatting up some girls and selecting the perfect scotch. Fiona had returned Stalberg’s sweater and sat alone at the high table in her jeans and riding boots with just a plain white v-neck top.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It made her radiant, and Jon knew she had no idea. The simplicity of it, when other girls were trying so hard, stood out more than any makeup or padded bra. Offsetting her dark hair, making her porcelain skin seem rosy - it wasn’t fair, he thought, that she didn’t even have to try to make him feel so helpless.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nice game,” she repeated as he sat across from her. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Thanks.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Something bothering you? You were a little aggro out there.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon shrugged. He’d ditched his suit jacket and tie; his light purple dress shirt strained over the bicep he bent to put one elbow on the table. “Just wanted to win.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked away and Fiona let the silence stretch between them until it was awkward. She sipped her beer, noticed his highball glass was nearly empty. Jon lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck, wincing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Here.” She dropped lightly onto her feet and moved around behind him. Jon’s skin was hot beneath her fingertips and solid as rock. They both hissed as she pushed against the tension. “Woah, Jonathan.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon caught her hand before Fiona could pull away. He held it there, against his shoulder, but didn’t turn his head. And he didn’t speak.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can’t even ask for help</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Fiona nearly scoffed. She had never known anyone so stubborn. With a touch that pulled beneath the collar of his shirt and said she wasn’t leaving, Fiona freed her wrist from his massive grip. Her thumbs found the meaty joint between his shoulder and neck and kneaded hard. Jon groaned. If anything, his muscles clenched harder. Fiona put her hands flat on his back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You should go. Soak this in the tub or something.” She moved around to look at his face, still turned away. “You won’t be able to sleep.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon nearly laughed. He never slept well alone - he was out of practice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come with me.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He expected her to protest, but she simply reached for her coat. Then she looked over her shoulder to where Pat and Viktor were holding court at the bar. Jon follwed her eyes and saw that Stalberg was watching them, taking note of Fiona getting ready to leave. He immediately pushed his way through the small knot of people gathered around them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Going?” Viktor asked, looking only at Fiona.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m tired. And Jon’s my ride.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I could drive you,” he offered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona smiled and it looked like a real promise. “Next time, yeah? Thanks for the jersey, I was the best dressed girl in the place.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She lifted onto her toes and kissed Viktor’s cheek, holding his ample bicep. Jon watched the fabric dent where her fingertips got a good hold of his teammate’s arm. Stalberg closed his eyes briefly as Fiona’s lips brushed his skin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Later, Vik,” Jon clapped him on the back, breaking their little reverie. Then he headed for the door with confident stride that said he knew Fiona would follow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona reached the button on the elevator panel, but Jon was quicker. He caught her arm again and held. Then he pressed the number for his floor. She thought about protesting if only because she wanted her own pajamas, but sometimes Jon was just moody. He’d had a tough night regardless of the score sheet - maybe she was the only one who could tell. So she went into his apartment when he held the door open.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She ditched her coat and headed right to his room. In all the nights and mornings she’d spent there it could have been her own closet, except it was too organized. Luckily it meant she knew where to find the comfy clothes. She kicked off her boots and peeled her jeans down, stepping into Jon’s over-sized sweatpants. As she was pulling her shirt overhead, caught up in her hair, Fiona heard Jon come up behind her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He stopped in the closet doorway, not three feet away. Fiona dropped her shirt and reached for one of his, aware of the weight his eyes laid along the bare skin of her back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nothing I haven’t seen before,” he said.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Then why are you watching?” she asked, selecting a dark short-sleeve.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The view changes.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She had her arms up, sliding the tee down when he touched her back. Just his fingers - warm, thick and slightly rough, moved slowly from her spine outward toward her right side. His palm followed until he was holding a handful of her skin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon had touched her a million times, in plenty of them she’d been wearing less clothing. And already in bed. But something about this felt different, greedier. Jon stepped up right behind her. Fiona lowered her arms, shirt still around the elbows.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jon.” She left it at that because she didn’t know what else to say. His fingers traced the curve of her shoulder, dragging the hair forward to bare the creamy flesh.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi.” Her skin was so fair. He wanted to push until it turned white beneath his touch, then rub till it was red and kiss till it bruised. His own skin, not tan by any means, was so dark in comparison it looked dirty. Like he felt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I like you this way. Not....” he stopped quietly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wearing someone else’s jersey?” she prompted. That had to be what was eating at him. It didn’t make sense but it was the only way she could explain the rolling boil he’d been heated to all night. Fiona turned to face him, very conscious of her mostly-undressed body and rising heart rate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jonathan had been looking at the small of her back and the way her waist curved into the perfect size of his hand. Now that angle had him staring at the ripe breasts lifting from the delicate, lacy bra. She had a figure that he couldn’t resist - nothing too big or too small, just perfect proportion like a math equation or a song. His cock twitched in appreciation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the look in her eyes faltered, Jon would have kissed her right then. Half-naked, steps from his bed - he had her right where he wanted her. Except he wasn’t sure she wanted to be there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That was something he’d never felt before.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What is wrong?” she asked. Her hand came up to his cheek, bringing them even closer. Alarm bells were ringing. Fiona’s heart pounded. But still Jon was her friend and something was troubling him, she couldn’t imagine not trying to to help.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nothing,” he lied. The hand at her side slid across softness till it was around her waist, drawing her in. Jon kissed her forehead gently. “Just tired.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He held her for a moment before opening his eyes. “Will you stay?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It almost happened - something passed across her eyes that he couldn’t read. A second later it was gone. Fiona cracked that gorgeous, mischievous grin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I can do better than that.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_____</span></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-50638019042216205692011-12-15T08:20:00.000-08:002011-12-15T08:20:12.631-08:00two<div><span id="internal-source-marker_0.22961847204715014" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That was fast.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The voice came from behind him in the lobby. It was just after two in the morning and Fiona was getting home from work. Jon was getting home from working it out with a reasonable facsimile of the girl smiling back at him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Didn’t want her to see those dirty sheets, eh?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the dramatic lobby lighting, Jon thought Fiona looked like a classic film star. Her milky skin was out of fashion, only a few women like Dita Von Teese went for the no-sun look. But it worked for Fiona, and she looked healthy from the rosy flush always in her cheeks. That inky dark hair shone when she moved. Her lips were red like she’d been biting them. Or kissing someone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wanna come up?” Jon asked. She always was a night owl.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’m bushed, but thanks.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Suddenly Jon wanted to be close to her. He wanted to cleanse himself of the girl he’d just been with, whose name he hadn’t even tried to learn. With Fiona he could have conversations that would be remembered tomorrow, laugh at jokes they would bring up again. He could do things that mattered and those things made him real.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Come on.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Patrick offered me a jacuzzi bath,” she challenged him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll give you a foot massage.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona winced. “I know exactly where those hands have been.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ten minutes later, she let herself into his condo. She’d stopped at her place to change into pajamas. Jon wandered out of his room shirtless with a towel wrapped around his waist, one huge arm pushing a hand through his wet hair. Fiona watched him the way he’d watched her prance about in her underwear that morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They curled up on opposite ends of the couch, their legs toward the middle. Jon grabbed Fiona’s ankles and yanked her over, feet in his lap, and delivered the promised massage. Somewhere around the second skit of Saturday Night Live on DVR, she fell asleep.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona woke in the morning to a strange room. She sat up and saw windows - shaded, but lots of them. Then someone snored.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh my God.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her reflex was to jump out of Jon’s bed, knowing it had been a high-traffic area. This room could have speed cameras, she thought, and give out tickets. But her visit yesterday morning to chase off that girl had been on white sheets. The ones currently twisted around her were beige with white stripes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I changed them,” Jon mumbled, rolling toward her. He was shirtless - she hoped he had something else on beneath the blankets. With Jon you could never assume. Fiona lay back and snuggled beneath the down comforter. Jon slid in close to spoon her from the back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re a good sleeper,” he said in a small voice. “Don’t wake up when I touch you.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Because you don’t touch the good parts. I wake up punching then.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He moved a hand up under her shirt, keeping it to the side well below her breast. It was still flat and hot against her bare skin, heavy lifting as she inhaled. It felt... nice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Stop snoring,” Fiona said, then closed her eyes to sleep.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When next she woke, Fiona was tangled in various parts of Jonathan’s mostly naked body. She was on her back, Jon on his side and pressed against hers with one leg over the top and an arm wrapped around. His face was pressed against her neck, his breath fluttered warmly across her collarbone. One of her hands was unfortunately - or fortunately - caught between her hip and his lap. She tried not to move it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well he is wearing underwear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon was one of those boys who bled heat. He could be plugged into the wall and keep the whole place toasty. In sleep it was even more, trapped under thick layers and sharing skin. Fiona reveled in it like she was soaking up the sun on some tropical vacation. Jon stirred a little at her side, one hand wandering up to cup her breast through her shirt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He laughed first. “Slut.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re the one with no clothes on.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We could fix that.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But she just said, “Don’t move” and Jon obliged. They stayed still and warm, taking turns drifting in and out of sleep until the sun was so high the curtains were losing their battle. Finally it was nearing ten o’clock.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’ll give you a ride to the rink. You can get a sweater from Viktor.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">___</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Why is it,” Patrick put down the stick blade he was working on, “you always show up here in the morning with Tazer?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He’s my neighbor,” Fiona walked a slow circle around him, admiring the head-to-toe spandex Under Armor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes but what does he do with the boys in your bed before he brings you here?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She smiled. “They usually see him and run.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pat picked up the heat gun to resume work. “One of these mornings it’s going to be me he finds.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And then he’ll run instead. Very poetic.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She had a certain amount of license to go where she wanted. Being with the captain had it’s privileges. All the guys knew that Fiona and Jon were not together - and never had been - so they had full liberty to make fun. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Tazer, it was nice of you to pick up Fiona at my place this morning,” Brent shouted across the locker room, “but you could have given me a ride too.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He didn’t even look up. “She gets ready faster. Less time doing her hair.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She let herself into the room, wincing at the smell of sweat-soaked everything. Victor wore a dark gray t-shirt and his hockey shorts; he smiled when he saw her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hmmmmm... dirty thoughts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Fiona didn’t try to stop. Instead she gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then took the proffered jersey and dropped it over her head. It was big but manageable. She hung around a while before heading for the El to take her home. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Luck o’ the Irish, boys!” she called.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the door swung shut behind her, Sharp looked at Stalberg. “You and Fiona?” he asked.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“No!” said Jon, Viktor and Patrick at the same time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon knew he had a problem with possession. He didn’t care if one of the Hawks got with a girl he’d nailed - he was pretty confident that she’d enjoyed him the most, or at least that’s the story she’d tell. He just didn’t like people touching things that were his: his gear, his phone. So the guys of course did - Sharp stole Jon’s bags from hotel rooms, Pat swiped his keys at least once a week. It was common knowledge that Jon’s things were Jon’s things until he said otherwise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was even worse with things he couldn’t have, things he thought he deserved. The night they were eliminated by Vancouver in the 2011 playoffs had been among the worst of his life. The Cup was his. It wasn’t entitlement - he had </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">earned</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The same tightness spread through Jon’s chest when he saw Fiona in Viktor’s jersey. It made his vision narrow, a jealous green crept around the edges until she was all he could see - and she wasn’t even looking at him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not that she’s mine</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, he told himself to be clear, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but she was in my bed last night. And the night before.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The irony was not lost on Jon - the only girl he felt possessive about was the only one he hadn’t fucked. The girl he was most likely to lose to a teammate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She doesn’t want Viktor either.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still, did she have to look so happy about wearing his jersey? Did her lips need to linger so long on Stalberg’s scruffy cheek? And fighting her way to the front row, standing at the glass for warm-ups, cheering and smiling? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon didn’t like that at all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The frustration couldn’t be defined, but it roiled in his gut like anger. As Jon always did, he turned that to the ice and redefined the phrase ‘power forward.’ He threw more hits in one game than he had in a week. Scored a goal too, by bulldozing through traffic at the net and forcing it under the goalie’s pad. He was roaring before it was across the line. It only fired him up more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Tazer! Reign it in. You’re gonna get that pretty face of yours punched tonight!” Coach Q hollered. Jon had already taken a pretty flagrant slashing penalty and was lucky to get only a minor for it. He hid in the bathroom during second intermission and tried to get his head on straight.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The quiet didn’t help. In there he had to admit to himself that Fiona was something special. She was more than his friend, though bonus points aplenty were awarded for the relationship they already had. Fiona was a prize only to be won, not taken; only to be awarded for good behavior. And Jon’s behavior was getting worse. He thought of her as a peach - one he knew would be juicy and sweet - growing more and more ripe at the top of the highest tree. He’d only been plucking easy fruit from the bottom branches.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There wasn’t time to jerk off. Jon adjusted his jockstrap as best he could over half a hard-on and went back to the room.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viktor was sitting, eyes mostly closed and head back, chewing on a protein bar. The ghost of a smile crossed his face. “She looks good dressed in my jersey, no?”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon kept walking. “Only if you’ve never seen her undressed.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona sat down next to a very pregnant Abby Sharp, feeling slightly guilty for drinking a beer while Abby held an unopened bottle of water.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I have to pee every ten minutes as it is,” she explained, tipping the water to demonstrate it was still closed, “and even a few stairs is a lot with this thing around my waist.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course little blond Abby was the most beautiful pregnant woman Fiona had ever seen. They were higher in the stands that usual, just two rows from the top of the bottom section and on the aisle. Fiona took her seat, tucking Viktor’s oversized jersey in around her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Stalberg? Hmm,” Abby said. “I see you’re playing hard to get.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ha ha, very funny. The only thing I’d get from Jon is an STD.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Aw, he’s not so bad. Shows off a little too much but I think he’s just lonely.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona slugged back her beer, suddenly not feeling bad at all anymore. “If he’s lonely, he should talk to one of these girls he brings home.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He does.” Abby waited for her young friend to catch on. “It’s just not the same girl he sleeps with.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona looked at the ice: a clean sheet every time, just add hot water. A lot like the way Jon ran his life. So what if he was lonely? He had girls to fuck. And he had a girl to talk to, someone to call and visit and spend time with. He took advantage of both opportunities regularly. So what if they weren’t rolled into the same package?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“He doesn’t give those girls a chance,” she argued.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abby shrugged. “I’m just saying, if you make this a game then he will beat you, Fi. Jon doesn’t lose.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Well I’m not all that shiny, and we know how Jon likes his trophies.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abby let it drop and Fiona was grateful. They could banter for hours, but for some reason the sound of Jonathan’s name had an edge tonight. It dragged like a burr down her throat she couldn’t seem to swallow. When the teams took the ice she was glad of the deafening distraction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Within the first five minutes she knew the Hawks would win. They didn’t score right away, but their blood was up. Jon threw a few hits, then a few more. He stood a man up at center ice, smeared another along the end boards and came out with the puck. It was one of those nights where he punched a whole in the defense and the entire team poured through. Fiona cheered him like she always did, but felt Abby glance her way every time. Even in the freezing Madhouse Viktor’s jersey was a little too warm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Hawks got a goal, then on a fluke the Hurricanes got it right back. It was an ugly, out-of-position play by Seabrook that left Crawford with his pants down. Eric Staal nailed it home and even from halfway across the building Fiona heard him roar. The Canes felt the ice tipping toward Chicago and seized the opportunity to level things out. On the next play, Chad LaRose crushed Kane against the glass and stripped the puck away, charging toward the net. Only two minutes in the period. Fiona saw it before it happened - Jon was too far away but had to try. He swung mightily and his stick chopped LaRose’s ankles right out from underneath.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Two minutes, slashing!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon slammed the box door so hard the boards shook.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Woah,” Fiona didn’t mean to say out loud. Sometimes Jon got mad on the ice. His face turned purple and he blasted obscenities that would make a trucker gasp. Tonight he didn’t say a word, just threw every ounce of his strength into punishing the penalty box gate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Somebody’s angry,” Abby said and left it hanging. The power play unit battled through and only the buzzer freed Jon from his time served. He skated, head down, right to the locker room.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The pace never let up. At the end, the Hawks won 5-3 on sheer muscle. The crowd was as fired up as the players, but Fiona felt exhausted by their efforts. She didn’t see them having anything left for the bar afterward.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, she was wrong.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-962056459518544967.post-71043946581699770532011-12-12T20:12:00.000-08:002011-12-12T20:12:13.388-08:00one<div style="background-color: transparent;"><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.45422320859506726" style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Help.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona rolled over in bed and grabbed the phone from her nightstand. She knew what it would say. Only one person ever said anything at this ungodly hour of the morning.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“For fuck’s sake,” she said, swinging her feet to the floor. Normally she’d throw on a sweatshirt or just go in her pajamas, but this particular very early morning it happened she was sleeping in her underwear. So she dug through her top drawer for the matching bra, pulled a long coat from the hook inside the door and headed for the elevator.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona turned the key in the front door and nearly tripped over a discarded pair of sky-high leopard print heels. They were quite nice actually, she thought as she kicked them aside. A few yards on lay a three-thousand dollar suit coat in a heap on the floor. Fiona stepped right on that without a twinge of guilt. Dress, over the arm of the couch; bra, on the hallway rug; pants, caught under the half-open bedroom door. Fiona pushed her way in.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weak, watery light poured in through windows no one had bothered to shade. Shortly it would be blazing sunlight over the city and right into this penthouse condo. A fluffy, dark brown duvet was heaped atop the bed. On the far side, a single delicate foot with painted toenails was visible around the twisted sheet. Closest to her, Fiona saw the familiar shape of bare chest and arm, comforter wadded up beneath one hefty bicep. He turned his dark head on the pillow and gave her an apologetic smile.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hey,” he murmured.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona rolled her eyes. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ladies and gentlemen, Jonathan Toews is a manwhore.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then she dropped her coat, completing the trail of clothing that lead all the way to the scene of the crime.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon’s eyes went wide. He was used to favors but not surprises, even those who arrived scantily clad with legitimate bed-head. He scanned the expanse of her shapely leg and thigh, the curve of her waist and flat of her stomach. Breasts rose scandalously from a balconet bra trimmed with lace in just the places he wanted to touch. Her nearly-black hair spilled down over pale white shoulders and back. Fiona shot him a warning glare before climbing right onto the bed with such energy that she practically bounced off.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oof!” she giggled, tossing her head onto the pillow next to Jon. Stretched out on top of the soft blanket, Fiona bent one knee and rubbed her foot along her other calf. “Morning everyone.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The unsuspecting, hung over girl next to her came to slowly. At the sound of Fiona’s voice, she whipped around the see another woman on the bed she’d followed Jon into. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Who are...?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh Jon, she’s cute. You always did have good taste.” Fiona’s accent lilted playfully through the words as reached out to touch the girl’s bare shoulder. The girl skittered to her feet, attempting to take the sheet with her; it snapped short, leaving her stark naked in the morning light. She squeaked and snatched up a pillow. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Who are you? What the fuck?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona felt sorry for her, but ultimately this way was easier. This girl wouldn’t ask for Jon’s number, wait days by the phone for a call that would never come, then try his phone for a week, maybe a month, leaving voicemails. Or dial just once the fake number he often gave. The doormen downstairs were like prison guards, only they kept people out. It was better if this girl left because she wanted to and never wanted to come back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Honey, I’m Jon’s girlfriend. Just away on work. Sometimes he brings home someone for us to play with.” Fiona rolled over theatrically, laying on her stomach with her back arched, kicking her feet in the air like a pinup girl. “Though I do hate it when he starts without me.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I am not like that! I didn’t come here for this.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh, that’s a shame.” She slid her knees under until she was on all fours, paused, then dropped back to sit on her heels. It made her breasts bounce dangerously, which couldn’t be ignored because she was running her fingers gently over the curve of her cleaveage. “Are you sure you won’t reconsider?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh my God.” The girl flew from the room. There were sounds of picking up and zipping on, all hurried until the door slammed behind her.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona dropped back to the bed in a whooof of down feather and pillow. “You are a shit.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“And you are fucking beautiful. What am I doing up here with that girl while you’re downstairs waiting for me to call?” Jon propped himself up on a very capable-looking forearm.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Waiting, hmmm. Well Kaner’s pissed I had to crawl out from underneath him to save your ass. Hates to be woken, you know how he is.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You and Kaner, that’s funny. He’s the right height for your rack at least. Why don’t,” Jon said, sliding toward her and pulling her in, “you get under the covers with me and we’ll keep your imaginary boyfriend waiting a little longer?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Unless your cleaning lady’s been round since dinner, I’m not getting in these sheets. There’s such a mess I could crack this blanket in half.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon pressed his body along hers, only the blanket in question separating them. “I’d be a one woman man for you, Fiona.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“One woman, ha! She’d have to be made of Kevlar for how often you go shooting off.” </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She sat up, letting Jon’s eyes fall to the full display of her chest. He was exceptionally beautiful: skin glowing with health, dark eyes and thick hair, strong jaw marked by tiny scars that revealed his passion and occupation. But Jon was not to be tamed and Fiona thought she wouldn’t want him any other way.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I won’t have him at all. Nothing to be gained.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona pressed a kiss to his cheek, letting her hand wander the hard plane of his stomach. She stopped just short of what she knew was stirring, patted his abs once and climbed off the bed. A full bend and snap move to retrieve her coat earned a frustrated groan from the man behind her. With a smile, Fiona left Jon alone in his bed.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">_</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Boys,” Fiona said with a nod of her head. The barstools looked delicate beneath their huge legs, their frames hulking around the high table. She slid a pitcher of beer they hadn’t ordered into the middle, followed by pint glasses.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“How are you, beautiful?” Brent Seabrook offered her a one-armed hug and a kiss on the cheek.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Better now you’re here. These idiots,” she tilted her head to one side, indicating a booth full of college-aged guys, “have never met an Irishwoman before. I’ve half a mind to throw them out but their bar tab’s enormous.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All at once, five members of the Chicago Blackhawks turned their game faces on the group of unsuspecting, rowdy drunks. There was a slow hiss of air from the atmosphere as the tension grew - then it snapped. Back to normal. They had a way of controlling a situation without doing a thing.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Funny how that works,” Duncan Keith smiled through his Movember mustache. “They get all quiet around us, but I’d rather fight Seabs that you, Fi.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She winked at him and patted his arm. “I prefer wrestling.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Patrick Kane hugged her from his seat, Viktor Stalburg settled for having his five o’clock shadow rubbed. Jonathan got to his feet and gave her the full body treatment.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Still wearing that lingerie?” He tugged at the v-neck of her shirt, peering down.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“In the bin. Once you’ve seen it, it’s spoiled for other men.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona left them and crossed the room. It always amused her to watch a room full of people pretend not to watch a table full of celebrities. The guys spent so much time together they had almost their own language and they never shut up. Already the pitcher was empty and half their glasses drained. She poured another and let it settle.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They were a sight. Duncan’s shoulders were so wide he looked like a Mac Truck in a t-shirt. Viktor’s square jaw made superheroes jealous. Brent’s thick, gorgeous hair had one God-given purpose: holding onto while he did unspeakable things to your body. Patrick had a million-dollar smile that he gave out like candy. And Jonathan... one accidental catch of those bottomless brown eyes and knees literally wobbled. The whole experience was intense even for the initiated.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“My boyfriend’s back and you’re gonna be in trouble...,” Jenny sang, pulling a new order ticket from the printer. “Hey la, hey la.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Not my boyfriend.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jenny brushed past. “How do you even know which one I’m talking about?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon finished his second beer, feeling more full that usual. He wouldn’t sleep well tonight but it didn’t matter, just an optional skate in the morning before their game against Winnipeg. His hometown team, such as they had been reintroduced. The guys talked hockey and strategy and swapped rude comments about the talent in the bar that evening. Fiona set another pitcher of beer down.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fi, can I ask you a question?” Viktor said. She sidled right up between him and Patrick. “If I give you a jersey will you wear it tomorrow?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Have you lot got a game?” she joked. Everyone within five miles of the United Center had the Hawks schedule memorized. “I might be working.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re not,” Jon said. “It’s Wednesday.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She raised her eyebrows. “Well my secretary says I’m free, so yes, I’d love to come and wear your number Viktor. Not enough Stalbergs in the crowd for you? Or just too many Kanes?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Patrick shrugged. “I am irresistible. A fact those ladies over by the jukebox are about to find out.” He dropped from the stool and sauntered away. They all watched as the girls registered his approach, looked excited, then turned their eyes toward the table waiting for someone to join Kane. They wanted Jon, but they’d take anyone. Toews pushed the empty stool under Fiona’s butt, giving her no choice but to sit.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What, no conquests tonight? Waiting for CSI to decontaminate your place?” Her joke made Duncan and Brent laugh.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ha ha,” he droned. “Not every night, Fi. Even I have limits.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That,” she punctuated her sentence by hopping down from the seat, “is entirely ruining my hot, sweaty dreams of you, Jon.” Fiona let her hand drag slowly across the back of his neck as she left. The boys didn’t wait till she was out of earshot before ragging their captain.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Bro, she is never going to fuck you,” Duncan shook his head.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“She still bouncing your puckfucks in the mornings?” Brent asked.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon nodded. He thought about telling them that morning’s story, how sexy and outrageous she’d been, even though it only made him sound pathetic. Some version of that scenario - either Fiona and another girl or even just Fiona - is what he should have been getting. He obviously wasn’t.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“She came up this morning in her underwear,” he admitted. “Little blue lacy ones and this bra - she was spilling out of it. Jumped on the bed and scared the shit out of the girl by pretending she was there for a threesome.” When he looked up, three slack jaws and six wide eyes stared back at the him. Jon was only glad Kaner wasn’t around to hear the story.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“She was mostly naked,” Duncan said slowly, “in your bed. This morning.” He jerked a thumb toward the bar. “Fiona.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Walked right in the room and dropped her overcoat, almost nothing underneath. All fours on the bed, talking to the other girl like it was something she did all the time.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Probably does,” Viktor said. He was a bit quieter than his teammates, his observations more sharp. They listened when he spoke. “Maybe not threesomes, but a girl like that does not spend the night alone unless she wants to.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They watched Fiona lean over another table, passing drinks. Her dark hair fell in her face, skin white as marble. One of the people made a joke and she laughed, a loud clear note ringing even through the din of the bar. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon looked around at the girls out on a Tuesday night at this particular place. Some were pretty. There were a couple of higher-end hotties that Kaner was monopolizing. Nothing really caught his eye. Jon went back through them, one at a time, looking for something he couldn’t put a finger on, something that would spark his imagination.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the end of one of the tables was a girl with hair almost as dark as Fiona’s, skin not quite so fair. Duncan and Brent set up a game of pool, Viktor got pulled into Patrick’s conversation. So Jon waited for the girls’ friend to go to the bathroom, then slowly made his way across the room.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Hi,” he said. Jonathan Toews didn’t need pickup lines. “I’m Jon.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The girl looked stunned. Little cartoons birds could have flown circles around her head and she wouldn’t have blinked. Jon cringed internally - girls like this were a dime a dozen. She’d go home with him right now, or to any dark corner. She’s do anything he wanted, within reason. And she wouldn’t manage to get a single laugh or smile out of him, not a word beyond “suck it” or “you like that?” </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes it was just about release. Sometimes it was so he didn’t have to care, didn’t have to hope she enjoyed it or wonder if she faked it. He just wanted to get off, then get out. There were nights he wanted difference, excitement. But so many of the girls he caught were disappointingly similar. If he took this girl home, it wouldn’t be the first time Jon had closed his eyes and thought of the sassy Irish girl who lived in her uncle’s condo five floors below. So close to something he’d never have, while Jon was used to getting everything he wanted.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Wanna get out of here?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She left her friend without a word. Someone in the bar would tell the other girl what had happened, and Jon knew no friendship would be lost over one of them leaving with the Blackhawks’ young captain.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Where’s Tazer?” Pat asked, leaning over the bar. He’d refrained from behaving badly, mostly because he’d grown out of that a little. Too much, too soon, he was fond of saying. Fiona set down a rack of clean glasses and started drying.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Left about forty minutes ago with a girl.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pat was surprised and not surprised all at the same time. Jon clearly had no idea what he wanted, and he did a great job of throwing his indecision in Fiona’s face. Pat didn’t expect his best friend to shack up with anyone soon, but he wondered if it was necessary to be quite so indelicate. For all the times Jon read Pat the riot act about his bad boy antics, he looked a little hypocritical these days.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Want me to wait for you? I’ve got a jacuzzi tub.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fiona opened her mouth to give him what for, but stopped. Instead a smile curled her lips. Pat was tempting, always tempting. He’d do what he offered - and then some - but already he’d become a better person in the four or so months she’d known him. A part of her suspected that Patrick didn’t want her to go home alone, only to have Jonathan to call her for help in the morning. For once her joke about being underneath Kaner wouldn’t be in jest.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I can’t go home with you then wear Viktor’s number tomorrow. But that tub does sound quite nice.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pat rapped his knuckles against the bar. “If we win, I’ll give you keys and you can take Vik there after. He’s probably never landed a brunette.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“A brunette in a bathtub,” Fiona clarified.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“On a Wednesday.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“In December.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They both laughed. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Right. Just win,” she said.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Nice place,” Jon said. He looked around the decent-sized living room of her shared apartment: mismatched furniture, small flat screen TV, picture frames with candid color shots. It was surprisingly homey though nothing like Jon’s home at all. One of the photos was the girl they’d left behind at the bar.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Roommate’s out, for now.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon didn’t need more prompting. The girl - Laura, he thought - moved nervously around the room as if he were taking up all the space. So he reached for her arm, pulled her in and somewhere between her feet and his chest, she forgot whatever was making her skittish. One strong hockey player hand to the lower back and everything was calmed away. Jon kissed her with his eyes closed.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He made quick work of her top and bra, tipping her back and burying his face in the soft skin of her breasts. She may have been a six, but her tits were a ten. Everything he did - every nip, pull, lick - had her selling it to the cheap seats.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh Jon,” she said. “I want you.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He pulled her toward the hall and let her lead to the bedroom. Guiding her through the door, Jon held her in front of him, reached around and pushed a hand right into her jeans. She moaned as he felt the hot slick of the desire she was already feeling for him. Two thick fingers slipped inside that part that made all girls capable of owning any man they wanted, if only they knew how to do it. While he worked her, Jon ground his growing erection into the forgiving round of her ass. As soon as his bar was raised, he snapped her fly open and forced her jeans down.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Kneel.” At the edge of the bed he set her on all fours and stood behind her. Laura’s hair was nearly black in the darkened room - all the better for Jon’s little mind game. He took a condom from his wallet before dropping his own jeans to the floor.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Baby,” he said encouragingly as he ran the length of his cock along the crack of her ass. Laura tensed, sure that she’d have a tough time fitting him in the right hole; there was no way he was going in the wrong one. Jon held her steady and as he reached around to flick her clit, Jon pressed himself into her pussy all at once.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was tight - very tight. And very tense. Laura cried out - the first real sound she’d made for him all night. His blood simmered. Struggling to stay on her hands as Jon stroked into her again, Laura made another strangled little noise.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Shhh,” he told her, “relax. You’ll like it.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her pussy felt glorious, like a good solid squeeze wrings water from a cloth. Jon knew he was big, knew he was already giving it to her good and hoping she’d been wet enough over just the idea of fucking him to actually be ready to fuck him, because he wasn’t about to get romantic. Just in case he worked her clit with two flicking fingers. His other hand spread huge across her hip and held Laura right where he wanted her. Jon gave her a moment to get on board, then he started to row hard.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Oh God,” she said in a husky voice. He knew she meant it. Jon pushed her facedown, flat on the mattress and followed onto her back.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Ever dream about this?” he asked quietly, continuing to force himself inside her. “Ever think about me fucking you?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Yes,” she said in a playful tone.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He grunted with the effort of the next thrust. Laura did too. Jon was hard and hot, and one pussy served just as well as the next when all he wanted was to blow his load. He put a hand to the back of her shoulder, holding her against the worn bedspread. She mewed in reply. He sat up taller and ran his dick right into her target. He had no desire to make this last but at least wanted to give her something nice to remember him by. So he found that little spot that made her breathe out in tiny sobs and went right for it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Jonohmygod,” she moaned. He liked hearing his name so reverentially, didn’t matter who said it. It always turned him on. Jon got a little harder, a little bigger, making Laura feel even tighter around his cock. That and the sweet spot he was nailing - he was almost there.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jon dropped onto her back, pushing hard with his chest and kissing her neck. “Let me hear you,” he commanded like she hadn’t been auditioning for a porn this whole time. Then he drilled her three quick times in succession, not allowing her to catch her breath. When Laura’s orgasm broke, the noise she made was more a growl than a scream.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That was it. Her body went creamy and he let his own slip. It was always best for him when the girl came first, it told him he was incredible and she worshipped him and he’d made her lose control. After that, his work here was done. Jon came fast and strong. That momentary release was bliss: he couldn’t feel or think anything else, just ecstasy. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Fucking right,” he whispered into her ear. She panted beneath him. Jon stroked his cock into her until every last ounce of sensation was gone. Then he rolled off with a huff.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They always tried to cuddle. Jon figured the idea of being held by Jonathan Toews, naked in bed, might be more appealing to most of them than the actual sex. Laura came to rest against his side and he let her lay there, but didn’t reach out.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That was great,” he exaggerated. “I wish I could stay.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You’re going?” Her eyes were wide, a little hurt. But she’d gotten it too good to muster any real disappointment.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Curfew. I’ll probably be late and get in trouble as it is. But,” and this is where he always sold them, “you were worth it.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She smiled. At her own dismissal. Jon dressed quickly, took a knee and leaned over her sprawled body with a goodbye kiss. Then he was gone.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">____</span></div></div>juliet falls...http://www.blogger.com/profile/00589480204400462998noreply@blogger.com6