Can't Be Tamed...Or Can He?

Anna woke up on Thursday morning and immediately checked her phone. She'd found herself doing that a lot lately. Sure enough, a text from Patrick was waiting for her. Hey, are we hanging out tonight?

Anna smiled to herself. The past four days had dragged on endlessly; she was excited to see Patrick again. Texting and watching him on TV just wasn't the same.

She crawled out of bed and hopped into the shower, figuring that she'd call him from the office. As the hot water ran down her back, Anna made a decision: she had to confront Patrick tonight about his intentions. She was already falling fast for him, much to her chagrin, and she wasn't going to go any deeper if he thought of her as a friend with benefits at the most. Nope, not happening.

~~~~~~~~~

It was 3:30 when Anna decided give Patrick a call. She hadn't wanted to do it earlier for fear of making the wait seem even longer.

"Hey, it's me," she said when he picked up the phone.

"Hey, I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me," she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Of course not! So...I have to work tomorrow so I can't do anything too crazy. Do you want to just come over and hang out, maybe rent a movie?"

"That's cool with me. Does 6:30 work?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's perfect. I'll see you then," she replied.

"Talk to you later," he said before hanging up the phone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anna was straightening the pillows on her couch when the sound of the doorbell made her jump about 10 feet into the air.

She padded into the foyer and opened the door. "Hey stranger," she chirped as he pulled her into a hug. God, he smells good.

"Long time no see," he grinned as he fixed the backwards Chicago Bulls cap on his head. "Come in," Anna motioned, and he stepped across the threshold.

"How was work?" asked Patrick.

"Pretty good, a lot of packing boxes and tying up loose ends. I'm sure tomorrow will be a full-on cry fest though," she replied as she hung his jacket in the closet.

"Will you miss it?"

"Yeah, for sure. I mean, I love everyone there; they've been like family to me for almost a year now. I've been there since I graduated college. But I'm so excited to begin a new chapter, ya know? It seems crazy that I start in like four days." She was talking about her internship, of course.

"You're going to be great. They made the right decision," he smiled.

"Thanks," she blushed. "Nice job on the road trip, by the way," she added.

"Thanks. We're definitely rolling. I think you're a good luck charm," he winked, nudging her in the ribs. They had swept the road series with flying colors.

"I screamed for like 10 minutes when Tazer scored on that breakaway last night," Anna grinned as she led him into the living room.

Patrick pretend-scoffed. "Whatever, my goal was way better," he said, referring to his power play goal in the second period.

"Yeah, you wish," she grinned, plopping onto the cream-colored couch.

Patrick sat down next to her and ran his hand along the red Blackhawks blanket draped over the back. "You didn't have to buy a blanket just to impress me, you know," he teased.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she said as she punched him in the arm.

"Ouch, that hurt!" he fake pouted.

Anna stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed the remote. She looked through the movies on pay-per-view and settled on The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. "Will this work?" she asked, glancing at him.

"Anna," Patrick said solemnly, staring at her.

She gave him a questioning look. "What?"

"Come here for a sec," he said, motioning for her to move closer.

She obliged, then stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

Patrick moved his face toward her so their noses were practically touching. Anna froze. He took her face in his hands and met her gaze. "Relax," he murmured, then pressed his lips softly against hers.

Anna's eyes widened in surprise, then closed as she gave in to the kiss. It was gentle, reassuring.

He pulled back and grinned, almost cockily, but still endearing. "I've been waiting to do that since I saw you in that bar, you know."

Heat rose to Anna's face. "I didn't," she replied, half-teasing, half-serious.

"I know you didn't," he muttered. "You shut me down." He chuckled as her face got even redder.

She started to stammer out an explanation but Patrick kissed her again, cutting her off. It was deeper this time, more electric, and one of his hands moved to the back of her neck.

"Patrick, wait," Anna sputtered as she separated her lips from his. "We need to talk." She had to do this.

"What is it?" he asked. His eyes searched her face.

She sat back, putting more space between them. She took a deep breath. "I don't really know how to say this, but I just — I need to know what you're hoping to get out of...this." She motioned between them with her hand.

He started to speak but she stopped him. "Look. You have a reputation: I know it, you know it, everyone knows. And I really like you, but I'm not that kind of girl. I don't want to be fuck buddies or friends with benefits or a booty call. That's not me. So if that's what you want, you're going to have to look somewhere else." She stared at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

Patrick glanced at her, then looked at his lap. He was clearly uncomfortable. "I know I have a reputation. Trust me, I can't escape it. I love women; there's no use denying it. But like I told Jonny: you're different from those other girls. You're interesting and smart and funny...the other girls I've been with, they're dumber than a box of rocks. They're puck bunnies. And although they're great in bed—" Anna cringed internally at his straightforwardness. "—they have nothing else to offer. And talking to you has shown me how cool it is to have someone who's more than just a pretty face." His tone was earnest.

Anna sighed and looked at the floor. She didn't know what to think. He seemed genuine, but how could she know for sure?

"You're the first girl that I've taken out to dinner in years, you know," he added.

Anna's eyes snapped up to his. "Really?" she asked quietly.

"Really," Patrick said with a small smile. "I told you, you're pretty special."

Anna grinned, then scooted closer to him. She had to give him a chance. "I know I am," she teased, then placed a hand on his chest.

Pat grinned and raised an eyebrow, and Anna had no choice but to kiss him to wipe that stupid look off his face.

~~~~~~~~-

Patrick pulled away from Anna's lips and glanced at his phone. "I should go," he murmured, looking at the time. "It's past 10 you've got to work tomorrow." They'd spent the past three hours making out like high school kids and watching movies.

Anna stuck out her lower lip. She knew he was right, even though she wished he could stay longer. "Fine," she said with a dramatic sigh.

She untangled herself from him and stood up from the couch, slipping her shirt back over her head and running her fingers through her hair.

Pat stood up, straightened his shirt, and grabbed his hat and the empty popcorn bowl from the coffee table.

"I'll take that," Anna said and reached for the bowl. They walked into the foyer and she set the bowl on the kitchen counter. "Do you want water or something to take with you?" she asked.

"I'm good," Patrick replied as he shrugged into his jacket.

Anna padded over to him. "I had a lot of fun, thank you." She felt like she was 17 again, making out with a guy on the couch while her parents were gone.

"Me too; maybe I'll have to start going on road trips more often," he teased.

"Maybe not," Anna replied, rolling her eyes.

"We'll see," Patrick grinned. He leaned down and planted a kiss on Anna's lips. "I'll talk to you soon," he said as he opened the door.

"Bye, Patrick," she smiled.

She closed the door behind him, then grabbed her phone from her back pocket and composed a group text to Lauren, Katie, and Olivia. Holy shit...I JUST MADE OUT WITH PATRICK KANE.

~~~~~~~~~~

Patrick pulled out of the parking lot and tried his best to focus on the road, which was hard to do since all he could think about was how warm and soft Anna's skin felt beneath his palms, the way her lips tasted, the way her body felt pressed against his...

Pat shook his head and adjusted his hat. He turned up the radio, still thinking of Anna.

This girl was going to be the death of him.

Notes