Fates Colliding, Love Undying

I pulled my hands up into the sleeves of my sweatshirt as I curled myself up on the couch that the store had near the dressing rooms. Max had picked out the tuxes everyone would wear; now they were just off getting measured. After that was done, it was my turn. I told them that I would wear a tux to fit in, but they just laughed and told me no. Apparently it was a group decision that I was not only required to look like a girl for the wedding, but a pretty one at that.

Tyler told me he agreed specifically because it would piss of Susan. I do quite agree with that.

“I don’t think my tie is on right!”

“How many fucking ties have we had to put on for games, and yours still isn’t on right?!”

“Raychel does it for me, sue me!”

I snickered at Pascal and Tyler’s remarks and felt the need to throw in some of my own. I wasn’t going to let the boys be the only loud mouths in this place.

“Shut the fuck up! It’s too early to listen to you guys bitching!” I yelled at them, gaining scathing looks from the store employees. You’d think they’d never heard the F-Bomb before.

“Why are you so pissy this morning?” Flower laughed, leaving his dressing room to show me the temporary fit that they had pinned in it for alterations. Poor Marc was such a tall, gangly mother fucker, that he was lucky he wasn’t a pin cushion right now.

“Probably has something to do with the five hockey players that woke me up right after their morning skate on the one day this week I got to sleep in,” I scoffed, taking a drink of my coffee. “You look good by the way. Vero will love it.”

“Of course she will, I’m in it,” he smirked.

“But she’ll prefer you out of it.”

I lifted my eyes and took in Max’s form in his tux. He looked good, damn good really. But I couldn’t focus on him long. Something else stole my attention, or someone, if you’d rather.

Kris was breathtaking in his tux. He always looked good, I’d learned that early on. Personally, I thought he was at his hottest when he was just wearing sweats or gym shorts, because he was in his natural element. But seeing him in the pressed, black suit, and the way that it fit over his broad shoulders, the way his thigh muscles pressed against the dress pants… I was lost. He was quite a sight to behold.

“Oh wow,” I muttered as I stared, feeling a bit of a blush creep into my cheeks. By the way Kris was looking right at me, I knew he had caught me staring. I was embarrassed a bit, yes, but I really didn’t care. It’s not like he didn’t know how good he looked.

“Look good then?” Max asked, rolling his shoulders a bit to get a feel for the suit. It was only then that I’d realized, Kris had me so captivated that I had completely forgotten about Max. When the hell had that happened?

“Looks great, Max,” I smiled, my eyes flitting over to Kris a bit guiltily before falling on the ground. “You all look great.”

“I could have told you that,” Duper grinned as he and Tyler joined everyone else. Tyler scowled and shoved him away when Pascal ruffled his hair. Poor Tyler and his curls, everyone loved to fuck with them. Especially when he went too long without a haircut. After a while, the fucker started to look like a goddamn Chia Pet.

“So modest.” I rolled my eyes. We’d been here for an hour and a half, and I still wasn’t very awake. This just blew. “Go get out of those things so we can get going. The sooner we find me something, the sooner I can nap.”

“Lazy ass,” Tyler laughed, ducking into his dressing room after I gave him the finger. Pascal gave me a warning look while the others laughed. He may pretend to be an admonishing big brother figure, but we all knew he wasn’t any better than me. After all, there was the iceman incident.

“Alright, let’s get these off so someone doesn’t throw a hissy fit,” Max suggested with a wink in my direction. I found myself grinning, but the usual flip of my stomach wasn’t as strong as it used to be. In fact, I barely even felt it. Hm, must be the Bailey’s I snuck into my coffee while they were getting sized.

I took a sip and checked the text that Raychel had just sent me. The poor girl was out dress shopping with Sammy and the other bridesmaids. She was lucky that Susan had gone home last week, but she wasn’t seeing it that way. She’d been texting me to try to maintain her sanity while the others were throwing pink tulle and zebra silk everywhere. Not to mention the lace, and beads, and God knows what else. I really did pity her. Though she didn’t get an extra two hours of sleep over me… Even trade off? I think so.

“Merde!”

I glanced up when I heard the French curse come from one of the stalls. Kris must be having problems getting his tux off. He did have quite a few pins in his…probably because of how broad his shoulders were. He’d had to get a bigger size and get quite a few alterations so it actually fit him right.

I found myself putting my phone back in my purse and setting my coffee down just as I heard a loud thump and another Quebecois curse. He was really having problems in there.

I should probably go sit back down. He was going to think I was a fool, or a creeper. Or just weird. But I didn’t. I don’t know why I didn’t, honestly. I just kept walking, until I was right outside his dressing room.

“Kris?” I called quietly as I knocked on the door. “Are you having problems?”

“Un peu,” he replied, just as I heard another thump. I shook my head as a small smile fell on my lips.

“Open the door, I’ll help you.”

“You don’ t ‘ave to ‘elp me,” he began, only to finish with a yelp. Must have gotten pricked.

“Just open the door Tanger,” I chuckled. A few seconds later the door swung open, and a still clothed, and very frazzled looking Kris stared at me.

“I ‘ate alterations,” he growled, causing me to laugh even harder. I pushed him back into the dressing room and shut the door, figuring that he wouldn’t want everyone else to see a girl helping him get out of his suit. There was considerably less room in the dressing room than I had thought there would be. But, I really hadn’t taken Kris’s size into account. It was making this quite a snug fit.

“You couldn’t even manage to get your jacket off?” I asked with a smirk. He glared.

“Too many pins.”

“We’ll just have to be careful then,” I told him. “Keep your arms straight, and I’ll just take it off of you.”

He nodded and did as he was told. I slid my hands under the shoulders of the jacket and lifted it up just a bit before sliding it down his arms. I kept waiting for him to yelp again from getting stuck, because I was a bit too clumsy to be doing this. But it didn’t happen. Well, that’s one article off.

“Are there pins in your shirt too?” I asked as I laid the jacket to the side. He groaned and nodded. I quickly went to work on unbuttoning his shirt, knowing that it wouldn’t take me as long as it would him. It took me quite a bit to not become distracted as more and more of his chest became exposed to me. I really wasn’t doing a very good job of it either.

“You know, I think this is the first time that a girl ‘as ever undressed me,” he mused. I glanced up at him, noticing that he was watching me intently as my fingers made quick work of the long line of buttons. I swallowed and tried to figure out why my mouth suddenly felt so dry.

“You enjoying it?” I teased, trying not to blush when his eyes didn’t leave me. Why was he staring like that?

“Oui,” he replied, his lips upturning in a cocky smirk. “Considering who is doing it.”

And now the blush was really out there. Boy he was getting bold. What happened to cute, shy Kris? I don’t think he ever made me blush like this. Sure, he’d make me grin and laugh. But blush and feel giddy? Never. And he was doing a damned good job of it right now. I felt like my whole body was buzzing with giddiness.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t form a reply to that. He’d caught me too off guard. Instead, I laughed quietly and undid the last few buttons. Kris kept his arms straight yet again, not needing to be told. I don’t know if I was too buzzed from my coffee, or just too buzzed from being so close to him, but whatever the case, I pressed my hands against his abs before slowly sliding them up his chest and to his shoulders. Kris closed his eyes and shuddered as my cold hands moved across his warm body and took a deep breath as I slid the shirt off of his arms.

I laid his shirt down next to his jacket and tried to collect my thoughts. Well that had been stupid of me. Now he was really going to think I was a creeper. “Do your pants have pins-“

The moment I turned around to face him, I stopped speaking. Now because I had forgot what I was saying, but instead because he’d picked me up and pressed me against the back wall of the dressing room. My eyes widened in surprise as I stared back at his smirking face. “No pins in my pants,” he answered shortly, ducking down to kiss me before I could get another word in. Although I was surprised, it didn’t take me more than a heartbeat to react.

As he realized that I wanted the kiss as bad as he did, he got a bit more fervent, pressing me harder into the wall and causing our hips to press together. That was almost more than I could take, but when our tongues met, I felt a warmth begin to spread throughout my lower body as a lower groan came from my throat. One of my hands moved from his shoulder around to the back of his neck and into his hair, lightly scratching his scalp as I did so. This time he was the one who groaned, and ground his hips into mine.

“Oh God,” I whispered, pulling away from the kiss and tugging on his hair. His lips moved to my collar bone and I began to pant, feeling my stomach tighten. What was he doing to me? I couldn’t think clearly, and I didn’t want to. It was like everything else had melted away outside of this dressing room, and I couldn’t give a shit less.

I slowly kissed up his neck, stopping right behind his ear to lightly bite the skin before sucking his earlobe into my mouth. His fingers dug into my thighs so hard that I was willing to bet there would be bruises there tonight.

After a moment, he pulled away and leant his forehead against mine. “Taylor, we have to stop,” he told me breathlessly.

“Mmmm… no,” I giggled, biting him on his neck and then kissing the spot. I could feel him starting to come to attention, and it only made me even wetter than I already was.

“If we don’t stop, I’m going to take you right here,” he warned me. I don’t think that was much of a warning though. It sure as hell wasn’t about to deter me. I wanted him so badly right now that it hurt.

“I want you to take me right here,” I whispered to him, smiling deviously when he shivered. I thought I had won for a moment but then he slowly backed away and sat me back on my feet. I could see the strain on his face and for a second I almost felt bad. Then I realized how damned hot he looked and any guilt quickly melted away.

“No, you deserve more than me fucking you against the wall at a tux shop,” he explained, running a hand through his mussed hair and staring at the ground. “I want you, but I don’t want you like this. Not ‘ere, where people can ‘ear, or walk in.”

“You must not want me very badly then,” I drawled, feeling a bit disappointed. It was probably an excuse. He’d just gotten carried away. What man would honestly want his best friend’s leftovers?

“No, I do,” he corrected, now looking a bit pained. “But when I ‘ave you, I’m going to savor it.”

The intensity in those words made my whole body quake in anticipation. I wished we weren’t in this damn shop. I didn’t give a fuck where we were, as long as we were alone.

And then I heard Flower.

Fuck my life.

“Taylor? Are you in there with Kris?” he asked curiously as his shoes were seen under the door. I licked my lips and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down before I answered.

“Yeah, I had to help him get his jacket and shirt off, he kept sticking himself,” I answered, hoping that the flush in my cheeks had gone away. I could hear Max laugh and call him a clumsy bastard, and felt a small pang of guilt. If I was supposed to be in love with Max, why had I enjoyed kissing Kris so damn much? It kind of made me feel like a puck slut.

I sent Kris one last smile before slipping out of the dressing room. Everyone was changed but Kris, so I figured we’d be leaving soon. Fucking finally. I went back to the couch I had been sitting at to grab my purse and coffee, but stopped when I saw Tyler staring at me with a shit eating grin.

“What?” I asked dully. If he’d fucked with my coffee, I would not be a happy camper.

“Your hair’s messed up,” he told me as his grin grew. “And you have a hickey. Might want to zip your sweatshirt up.”

***

“God I never want to have to deal with that group of girls again,” Raychel groaned as we all teased her about dress shopping. It had been horrible I guess, and had taken them all day. I, on the other hand, had gotten off pretty easily. After trying on only a few dresses, I’d found one that shut up all of the boys. Max immediately insisted I wore that one, even going so far as to buy it for me because it was well out of my budget.

Though with the look Kris gave me when I was in that dress… I may have taken out a loan for it if he hadn’t.

“They couldn’t have been that bad,” Jordan laughed. He’d made it obvious that he thought a couple of them were cute. He’d hit on them throughout most of the engagement party. I’m hoping it was just for fun though, because if he became serious about any of those girls… I might choke him to death.

“Jordan, those girls have a low IQ, even for you,” I told him with a sweet smile.

“Excuse me!” He scoffed, pointing a finger at me from across the table in a threatening manner. “I decide to be nice and offer to buy all your drinks tonight, and you repay me like that?!”

“I said your IQ was higher than theirs! That’s a compliment!” I defended, taking a drink of the whiskey and coke that I was drinking.

“Not much of one,” Vero snickered, leaning her head on Flower’s shoulder. He smiled and turned his head to kiss her forehead. They were so sweet together sometimes, it was almost sickening. I think they beat Raychel and Tyler and the ooey-gooey cute stuff.

“He doesn’t deserve a compliment if he’s trying to get with some of those girls,” Tyler threw in, making Raychel and I laugh even harder.

“They aren’t that bad!” Jordan huffed. He really must think those girls are cute. That or he isreally desperate to get laid.

“They that bad,” Geno said with the utmost seriousness. “Dumb as box of cocks.”

I sprayed my drink right back into my glass while everyone else began to laugh hysterically. Poor Geno, he’s really come so far with his English, but he still has problems with making sure he gets the right words.

“Rocks, Ev, dumb as a box of rocks,” I corrected, trying not to laugh at him. “Not cocks. Though they aren’t any smarter than a box of dicks either.”

“Oh,” he laughed, realizing the mistake he had made. “Dumb as box of rocks, got it,” he nodded. I’m so glad he was a good sport about his slip ups. Especially when they were that funny.

“You’re ‘aving fun?”

I smiled up at Kris and nodded as everyone broke off into their own conversations. “I am. I like it when we all get together and go out like this.”

“And we’re not all drunk?” he teased, motioning to my half emptied glass. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“I’m not drunk, sir. I just have a pleasant buzz. There’s a difference.”

He nodded, accepting what I had said, but I could tell he wasn’t finished with his point. I could also tell by the look on his face that I may not be too pleased with what he was going to say.

“You’ve been drinking a lot lately.”

Nope, not really pleased.

“I’m an adult, Kristopher, I’m allowed to drink,” I reminded him. If I heard one more ‘ladies shouldn’t drink’ lecture, I’d flip shit. I’d caught it from my mom, from Sam, from Susan on multiple occasions, and even Raychel had told me she didn’t like me drinking.

“I’m not saying you’re not,” he covered quickly, looking alarmed. “You just drink more than you used to. I worry you’re drinking because of stress.”

“Oh,” I mumbled, feeling a bit shitty for immediately jumping his ass like I had. “Well, I’m not.”

“Sure?” he questioned. He didn’t look convinced. I didn’t feel convinced. I was lying, we both knew it.

“Do we have to talk about this here?” I sighed. “Everyone is having a good time, we’re all relaxed. Can’t we save the bullshit for some other time?”

He took a deep breath, almost like he was about to say something else, but instead shrugged. “Okay, fine. But I’m not letting it go.”

“I didn’t expect you to,” I teased as I rolled my eyes. “You always seem to have to call me out on my bullshit.”

“Someone ‘as to,” he grinned proudly. “Might as well be me.”

“Mhm,” I mumbled, toying with my food before glancing at him. “You know… Raychel is thinking about staying at Tyler’s tonight,” I told him, pretending that it was an offhand piece of information.

“She is?” He looked curious, but he also looked a bit shy. Where had cocky Letang gone from earlier? I’d quite liked him. I’d liked that he was forward and dominating. It was a turn on, especially coming from him.

“Yup,” I drew out, dropping one of my hands from the table and onto his lap. “Figured she’d spend the night with him since you guys have that road trip coming up.”

“Makes sense,” he swallowed as I began to trace patterns on his thigh with my nails. “They always miss each other during away games.”

“They do,” I agreed as my hand began creeping a bit higher. “It’s always weird when you guys aren’t around, even if it is just for a few days.”

“Do you miss us?” he teased, nervously glancing down at my hand. It was just below his crotch now, and judging by the quickness of his breath, he was feeling quite conflicted.

“I do,” I replied honestly. Usually they were only gone for a day or two, but they’d be gone for four days this time. I was so used to having these guys around all the time. And lately, I was quite used to having Kris around. I didn’t like the idea of him being gone that long. “And the day after you guys get back, I’m heading to Indiana for a few days, so I won’t get to see you guys,” I pouted.

He licked his lips, and I closed my legs a bit tighter. God I needed to quit thinking such dirty thoughts about him. “It’ll be a while before we see each other then,” he said thoughtfully. I really hoped he was thinking the same thing I was. Otherwise I’d sound like a slut and an idiot. I’d been called both quite a few times though, so maybe it wouldn’t matter.

“You could stay over, if you wanted,” I shrugged, running a single finger alone the fly of his pants, smirking when his eyes fluttered closed. I quite enjoyed having this effect on him. It made me feel less silly for the effect he had on me. After a second, he groaned and shook his head.

“I can’t. All of my stuff is at my place,” he explained. “And we ‘ave to leave really early. I don’ want to wake you up.”

I gave him a weak smile and nodded. Honestly, I felt a little rejected, but what had I expected? What happened earlier was probably just both of us being silly. Stuff like that happens. We were both in a close proximity, I’d been a little touchy, it was probably just a reaction he had-

“Besides, like I said, I want to savor it,” he added, shocking me enough to stop the movement of my hand. “And a couple of hours tonight just won’ be enough,” he smirked. My stomach definitely flipped on that one. “’Ow about instead, I go with you to Indiana? That way you don’ have to drive alone?”

The smile he gave me came damn near to making my ovaries explode. But I certainly wasn’t complaining. Oh God, so he didn’t regret what happened earlier. I nodded happily, feeling a bit like a teenager, but at the moment I didn’t give a shit.

“Kris,” Vero butted in suddenly, a look of utter confusion on her face. “Is that a hickey on your neck?!”

Notes