| Kelsey followed Lisa into the lobby of the Luxury Box level of Mellon Arena, trying desperately to fit in with everyone around her. She sat down on a leather couch next to Lisa, and smoothed a wrinkle out of the bottom of the jersey she had borrowed from Lisa. She watched as two blonde women clad in mini-skirts, tank tops and not much else made their way into the room and snickered as Lisa suddenly growled under her breath. �Hey Lise,� one of them said in a sugary voice. �Who�s your friend?� �This is Kelsey,� Lisa said, the tone in her voice making it painfully apparent that she didn�t want to be in the same room with the girls. �Kel, this is Jennifer and Monica,� she said, pausing as each girl gave Kelsey a smile. �Hi,� Kelsey said quietly, giving them a slight smile. She was normally very open with new people, but for some reason, these girls made her extremely uncomfortable. �It�s nice to meet you,� Jennifer said, taking a seat on one of the chairs near the sofa. �So who are you with?� �Don�t beat around the bush, Jen,� Lisa said, not making the slightest attempt to hide the rolling of her eyes. Jennifer heard. �I don�t ever beat around the bush, you should know that much about me by now,� she said, still smiling. �So who�s the lucky guy?� �Kris Beech,� Kelsey replied slowly, not knowing what their reaction would be and not really wanting to see it. Monica suddenly made a gasping noise. �You�re with Beechie? You�re kidding me, right?� �No,� Kelsey replied. �Why exactly would I be kidding you?� she asked, raising her brows questioningly. �He was with her last month,� Jennifer answered for Monica. �It�s just that� You�re not really� his type.� �My type?� Kelsey turned around to see Kris and Matt standing in the doorway. �And what exactly is my type, Jen?� �Well, I, uh, I didn�t mean that�� �Yeah,� Kris said, shaking his head and walking over to the couch. �That�s what I thought.� He suddenly leaned down and kissed Kelsey on the cheek. �For you,� he said, handing her a rose that he had been holding behind his back. �Thank you, it�s beautiful,� Kelsey replied. �You wanna get going?� Kris asked, taking Kelsey�s hand when she was standing up. He didn�t let go once she was on her feet. �Yeah,� Kelsey replied, trying desperately to ignore the looks Monica and Jennifer were giving her. �OK� We�ll see you guys later,� he said over his shoulder, directing his comment to Lisa and Matt. As soon as they got to the door, Kelsey heard Monica snort. �He never gave me any roses�� ~*~*~ �A Miller Light for me, and whatever Kelsey wants,� Kris said to the bartender. �Labatt Blue,� Kelsey said, trying to calm herself. Lisa was right when she pointed out Kelsey�s lack of a social life, and as comfortable as she was with Kris, she was still slightly edgy when she was alone with him. They waited in silence for their drinks to come. Moments before the bartender set the two bottles down in front of them, Kris suddenly cleared his throat. �So�� �So,� Kelsey replied, grabbing the bottle and taking a quick sip from it. �So I guess it�s my turn, huh?� Kris said with a slight laugh. Kelsey smiled and nodded her head. �Okay. So� How�d you like the game?� Kelsey�s eyes lit up. �I loved it. You guys were amazing, that goal you got was great,� she said with a large smile. �But, why were you pointing at me after it?� �Cause I scored it for you,� Kris said with a small smile. Kelsey smiled. �Thank you,� she said, somewhat astonished. �You had some pretty nice hits out there, too.� �It�s all part of the game,� he said with a slight shrug. He immediately winced after his sentence. �What�s wrong?� Kelsey asked, putting down her bottle. �My shoulder,� Kris muttered, �I hit one guy a little too hard, it�s kinda sore.� �Awe,� Kelsey said, placing her hand softly on his left shoulder. �It�s fine, really�� Kelsey suddenly smiled and raised her eyebrows. �You are practically begging me to give you a shoulder massage, aren�t you?� �Now that you mention it,� Kris replied with a slight grin, �it would be nice.� He paused while Kelsey laughed and began to roll up her sleeves. �But you know what would be even nicer?� �What?� �If I gave you a shoulder massage,� he said, standing up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders before she could get a word in edgewise. ~*~*~ Brooks walked into Le Mardi Gras, pulling his hat over his eyes. He didn�t want to be seen, but there was no way that he was going to let Beechie pull a fast one on Kelsey. He searched the bar for them from his spot near the door for a few minutes, finally finding them near the corner; Kris was standing behind Kelsey, running his fingertips up and down her arms a few times before placing his hands on her shoulders. Brooks saw red. As much as he wanted to walk over and beat the living hell out of Kris for stealing his would-be girlfriend, he quickly reminded himself that it was his own fault for not being with her in the first place. He took a seat closer to the opposite end of the bar, where he could easily be hidden behind people and could see Kris and Kelsey if he wanted to. After a few hours of watching Kris flirt shamelessly with Kelsey, Brooks decided to call it a night. Unfortunately, Kris and Kelsey decided to call it a night at the same time. Brooks was just calling the bartender over to pay his tab when Kris spotted him from his place beside Kelsey. He swore under his breath as Kris told Kelsey something and began to make his way over to where Brooks sat, his exit to the door blocked by about ten people. �I suppose you wanna know what I�m doing here,� Brooks said as Kris made his way over to him. �For starters, yes.� He leaned against the bar, his back to Kelsey. �You can also get me and my date a drink for the road before you pay your tab.� Brooks again fought the urge to take Kris by the throat and slam him against the nearest tree. �You know why I�m here,� he muttered, flagging down the bartender. �A Labatt and a Miller Light.� He turned to Kris. �I told you not to hurt her.� Kris blinked. �I�m not hurting her,� he said slowly. �Did it ever occur to you that I might actually like this girl?� �How the hell is that possible?� Brooks asked, not believing a word Kris was saying. �You haven�t even fucked the same girl twice in one month the entire time I�ve known you.� Kris blinked. �Can�t a guy change?� he asked. �I like her. She�s great. We get along great, we have the same taste in music and cars and sports-� �Sports?� Brooks asked, blinking. �She doesn�t like sports.� �Well, she likes hockey now,� Kris said, �since I scored that goal for her.� Kris paused. �But she�s amazing. And I really do like her. I�m not gonna hurt her, I swear.� He stopped speaking and turned his back on Brooks, looking across the bar to where Kelsey sat, talking to a bartender. Brooks stood silently, watching his teammate. Kris was known to be a player when it came to girls; he rarely spent more than one night with one girl, and was always looking for his next victim. But from the look in his eye, Brooks could see that something in Kelsey had sparked an ambition for change in him � he had seen the same look in Matt�s eye when he first began dating Lisa and their relationship was on somewhat rocky ground. He frowned, suddenly feeling rather helpless with the whole situation when Kris suddenly turned around to face him. �You don�t like her or something, do you?� he asked, his head cocked to the side in thought. �Cause if you do, then just tell me�� Brooks hesitated for a split second, but Kris didn�t pick up on it. �Nah,� he said, shaking his head. �I�m just watching out for her, ya know? She�s one of my best friends, I don�t wanna see her heart getting broken.� Kris nodded and went back to watching Kelsey. �I really do like her. I�m not gonna break her heart; or at least I�m not gonna do it on purpose.� Kris paused for a moment. �You were right, Brooksey, she is different.� He watched as Kelsey sat at the bar, drinking the last of her bottle and talking animatedly with the bartender. �And I�ll be damned if I�m gonna fuck this one up. I know I don�t deserve her, after all the shit I�ve pulled, and only God knows why she wants to be with me� But I�m not gonna let her change her mind. Not if I can help it.� |
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