Tongue Tied

Alex was more than happy when Nathan told her she was allowed to come to the events he had to attend for the draft. They held hands as they walked through. He was waving and smiling at everyone while she stood at his side. Eventually, she had gotten bored and found her way to Jo and Zach. They were standing with some other draft picks, but quickly turned to her.

The three stood around and made jokes about everything. They laughed at people's outfits, they laughed at things each other had said. They were getting kind of loud so they decided to quiet down. Nathan spotted them and stomped over. Alex wasn't positive but he looked angry. He came over and grabbed her wrist.

"We need to talk." He said through gritted teeth as he pulled her away from Jo and Zach.

She pulled her arm out of his grasp. "That hurt." She told him, rubbing her wrist.

He frowned, grabbing it gently and pressing his lips to it. "I'm sorry, but do you have any idea how you were making me look?" He hissed.

"What do you mean? I was standing with Jo and Zach." She furrowed her brows.

"Exactly!" He exclaimed. "My girlfriend walked away from me to go talk to my best friends. That's not suspicious?"

"It's not because one of your best friends has a girlfriend and the other one is seeing my best friend." She spat. "Look, let's just go back. I'll stay with you."

"No, you already embarrassed me." He shook his head.

Her jaw dropped. "I embarrassed you? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"This isn't helping." He stated.

She went to speak but stopped herself. She just shook her head and walked off. He followed behind her. She walked over to Jo and Zach where her things were. She grabbed her bag, phone, and sun glasses. Nathan hovered behind her. She looked at the confused French boys in front of her.

"Sorry, I've been an embarrassment tonight so I have to go." She spat, giving Nathan a look before she took off.

Nathan sighed, following her. "Alex, you don't get it!" He called when they were outside.

"No, you're right! I don't!" She yelled. "I don't get how your girlfriend of over a year can embarrass you by doing nothing, but what do I know?"

"I'm the number one draft pick. Everyone in there is watching me like a fucking hawk!" He screamed.

"What was I doing to make you look bad?" She gasped.

"Hanging with guys that aren't me." He stated, as if it was obvious.

She closed her eyes, exhaling. "Whatever, Nathan. I don't want to ruin your night so just go have fun." She waved him off, turning away.

"I'm not letting you leave if you're upset." He frowned.

"I'm fine, honestly, I get it. Just go back inside." She reassured him.

"Come in w,"

"No! Just go, Nathan!" She yelped. He opened his mouth to speak. "I am upset but I get it. I just,"

"Then I'm not,"

"I'm not upset with you. Just go back inside, please." She walked over to him, grabbing his face. "I love you. Go have fun."

She kissed him gently before she walked away. She made her way back to their hotel. She got to their room and kicked off her heels. She let out a deep breath as she unzipped her dress. It fell to the ground and she left it. She dropped face down in the bed. She was in her undergarments only, but she couldn't care less. She realized she had make up on and let out a growl as she rose. She found a shirt of Nathan's and slid it on, tearing her bra off.

Alex went to the washroom and found her make up remover. She rubbed one of the sheets from her forehead to her chin. Her mascara trailed down her cheeks. She sighed at herself before hearing the door. She panicked, running out of the washroom. She froze in the doorway. Nathan was slowly turning in her direction. He jumped a bit when he saw her, before he laughed.

"You scared me with your grudge like make up." He teased as he took off his suit.

"Why are you back?" She frowned, crossing her arms. He shrugged.

"Didn't have a reason to stay." She rolled her eyes, walking back into the bathroom.

He stood in the doorway, now stripped to his boxers, and watched as she washed off her make up. She finished and washed her face with some face wash. Lastly, she brushed her teeth. She turned to him after and glared. He had a small smirk on his face. She shook her head, brushing past him. He grabbed her wrist but she swatted him away.

"I'm mad at you." She huffed as she crawled into bed.

"What did I do?" He frowned, crawling in on the other side.

"You're dumb." She pouted.

He moved closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. His legs tangled with hers as he kept his face close to the back of her head. She could feel his breath on her neck. She ignored it.

"Why now?"

She spun around to face him. "Because I left so you could have a good time without worrying about me fucking something up, and y,"

He kissed her to shut her up. "I wasn't going to have a good time without you. I know it's stupid that I'm acting so crazy with this shit but look at all the bad press other athletes' girlfriends get? I just don't want that for you." He explained.

"I can handle it." She argued. He scoffed. "I am willing to put up with it for you."

He smiled, kissing her again. "I'm sorry for grabbing your wrist. Is it alright now?"

She laughed. "It didn't even hurt, I just wanted you to feel bad." She admitted.

His jaw dropped and he kissed her. "I am sorry for how I acted, though. Like, really sorry."

"It's okay. Just let me handle this shit." She said as she played with his hair on the back of his neck. "And if I embarrass you, tough."

He rolled his eyes with a smile before he kissed her again. They fell asleep soon after. This almost became a habit for them. Nathan became more and more stressed and high strung as it came closer to him to leave for training in Colorado. Alex tried to avoid doing things that would set him off, but being around Nathan was like walking through a field of mines. He was waiting to explode.

The day he would be leaving came faster than Alex could have imagined. She sat on his bed with a frown as he packed. She let out small sighs when he folded her favourite clothing items of his. A few times, he rolled his eyes and tossed them at her instead of packing them. She smiled every time and inhaled his scent from every item.

Alex was miserable. She knew she could handle him being away, she just didn't want him to be gone. She was worried that them being apart would be worse than they has been the last few weeks. Nathan had been so angry with her lately, she could only imagine how he'd be if he wasn't around to watch over her. It didn't help that he was acting like he didn't mind he was leaving one bit. It hurt Alex a lot.

Truth be told, Nathan almost didn't want to leave. He and Alex had been so rocky and all he wanted was to stay and fix everything. He knew she was more upset than she was showing. She let out a quiet sigh that Nathan heard. He stopped packing and stood up. She watched him. He walked over to his desk, looking around for something. She furrowed her brows when he held out a long velvet box.

"Please open it." He said with a shaky breath. She slowly took it from him. He sat down beside her as she stared at it in disbelief. She slowly lifted the top. It was a gold chain with a charm. She tilted her head at the charm. It was '29'. That was her birthday. She looked at Nathan who had a small smile on his face.

"Your birthday." He spoke.

She nodded. "Yeah. But wh,"

"Also my number for Colorado." He smiled a bit wider. "Sid helped me decide on what number. I was between a few and twenty nine was in there. He asked me which had the most importance to me and you do."

She felt her eyes watering. She closed the box and sat it down beside her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. It was full of passion and love. Nathan deepened it and it turned into a full blown make out session. She slowly pulled back, holding onto his face. His hands had found her thighs and pulled her closer during their heated time.

"I love you so much and I'm going to miss you more than you can imagine. I don't know wh,"

"You will be fine." He cut her off. "We'll talk every night. I love you too much to let you be this sad about me leaving."

"Help me put it on?" She asked in a quiet voice.

He took the box and pulled the necklace out. He swung it over her face, loosely wrapping it around her neck. He did the clasp up before she turned to look at him. They both looked at the necklace before they looked back at each other. He smiled at her while she let tears slowly roll down her face.

"Promise me you won't become distant?" She begged.

"Promise me you won't take that off." He nodded at the necklace.

"God, no need to promise. It'll be like an extra body part." She chuckled. "But promise me!" She whacked him.

"I promise! Of course I promise!" He yelped before he pulled her in for another kiss.

Notes