Tongue Tied

Jo was holding a pool party for close friends. The girls were there and some of the guys from the team. It was kind of something to hold over Alex, if he was being honest. Nathan was on his way home today and was coming to Jo's. He wanted the two to talk shit out, so this was how he was arranging it. He put Alex to door duty. She would greet people and let them in. Jo was waiting for Nathan to appear.

As if he read Jo's thoughts, Nathan walked up to the door and rang the bell. Alex opened the door with a smile and froze a bit when she saw him. Nathan's face lit up. Alex smiled a bit before she wrapped her arms around his neck. His wrapped around her bare waist and he lifted her off the ground. He placed her back down and looked her over once. Her body was toned like crazy. She must've added to her workouts.

She did the same to him. He was big before but now? He was giant. She grabbed his arm and squeezed the muscle with a look of shock on her face. He chuckled a bit. That's when he noticed the chain on her neck. His eyes followed it to the charm. He smiled when he saw she still wore it.

"I can't believe you have that on." He laughed.

"I keep my promises." She winked.He took a deep breath.

"Do you think we could talk?" He whispered.

"There's nothing to talk about. We grew apart. It's life." She shrugged.

She turned away and walked towards the backyard. Nathan followed her. He stopped her right before she reached the door. He was close, too close for comfort. She looked up at him slowly. She frowned when she saw how sad he looked. She never wanted to make him sad, no matter what he'd done to her.

"Can I take you out?" He blurted.

She furrowed her brows. "Like, a date?" He nodded. "Yeah. Tomorrow."

"Dinner and a movie?" He asked.

"Like always." She smiled and walked outside.

He exhaled and squeezed his eyes shut. It was time to make things right. A hand on his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts. He turned and saw a smiling Jo. They hugged before Jo shoved him back. Nathan was shocked and confused.

"I can't believe you played a full fucking NHL season." Jo shook his head in disbelief.

"And post-season." Nathan grinned.

The night went on and everyone had fun. Alex and Nathan weren't awkward and all of her friends were good. Marina got a bit too intoxicated though and may have let slip what an asshole he was. He agreed and that was it from there. At one point in the night, Nathan was becoming very handsy. He and Alex were play-arguing and he decided she needed to go for a swim. She begged him not to but he cornered her and then tossed her over his shoulder. He threw her in but she pulled him in after her.

The next day came quickly. They made plans to go for dinner at five and then to the movies. Alex got ready in a simple outfit. She wore tights, a v-neck, and a cardigan. She straightened her hair and put on a minuscule amount of makeup. Nathan wore jeans and a tshirt. He picked her up and noticed the necklace was still resting on her chest. He smiled a bit as he drove to the diner.

Nathan talked the entire time he ate. Alex had little to say. Maybe it was because he was talking about how great his new life was. It made her feel terrible because she wasn't a part of that life. He didn't notice anything was wrong. It kind of made her more angry than she was. She wasn't only angry. She was sad, and hurt, and annoyed. She just wasn't happy.

At the movie, Nathan suggested they shared popcorn, so Alex didn't eat any. She was still mad. His arm was across the back of her chair. She wanted to roll her eyes but she didn't have the energy. The movie ended and Alex rushed out. Nathan struggled to keep up with her. She walked straight out to his car and stood at the passenger's side. He unlocked it with the automatic starter and she climbed in. They sat in their seats and she wouldn't look at him.

"You're still mad, really?" He sighed.

"Why shouldn't I be?" She hissed and spun around. "Do you have no concept of the extent of what you did?"

"You knew I had to leave, Al." He said in a calm voice.

"You made me look like such a fucking idiot." She shook her head. "'Don't worry, he promised we'd make it work.' 'We'll be fine when he goes, he promised.'" She mocked herself. "You didn't even fucking try."

"Neither did you!" He yelped.

"There's only so much I can do when you ignore me, Nathan." She stated. They went silent. "Can you take me home?"

He nodded, putting the car in drive. He took her home and an eerie silence surrounded them. Alex leaned forward and turned on the stereo. 'Talk Dirty' played. Alex felt uncomfortable so she switched stations. 'Bump' came on and she let out a dry laugh as it played. Nathan took a deep breath. He got to her house in record time. She mumbled 'thanks' as she climbed out. The door slammed and Nathan squeezed his eyes shut.

The next day, Nathan woke up to his doorbell ringing He furrowed his brows as he sat up. He walked downstairs and to the door. He stepped outside and saw Alex standing with a cardboard box. He recognized the contents of it as his clothing and jerseys and other things she had of his. On top was the black box the necklace had come in. He looked and saw her neck bare.

"I thought you might want all of this back." She breathed out. "It's all your Mooseheads stuff and other clothing and things of yours that I had."

He shook his head. "I gave all of this to you for a reason."

"Yeah, when we were together." She spat. "Look, can you please take it back?"

"No. I want you to have it." He argued.

"Nate, please. I can't l,"

"Can you come inside so we don't get the cops called for a public dispute?" He cut her off.

She let out a growl as she stepped inside. "Here, I'll take it upstairs for you." She said as she walked up them.

"Alex," He groaned as he followed her.

She walked into his room and placed the box on his bed. She took a deep breath as she turned around. She bumped right into him. He was shirtless, which was making this a lot more difficult for her. She nodded at him and attempted to step around him. He stopped her.

"Will you please talk to me?" He begged. "I can't stand knowing you hate me."

"I don't hate you."

"But you're angry with me." He pointed out. She shrugged. "So stop holding it in and beat the shit out of me."

She shook her head. "I don't want to hurt you. I just want to get rid of everything that reminds me of you, alright? That's why I'm bringing all this." She took a shaky breath.

"You can get rid of all this stuff but I'm not going to leave you alone." He whispered, stepping closer to her.

She let out a deep breath as she looked up at him. It was like she forgot everything he had did while she looked into his eyes. Before she could think, she had her lips on his. Before any of her thoughts could register, they were getting undressed and laying on his bed. And when she finally got her senses back, they had already finished. He held her close and kissing the top of her head. She shook her head and pushed away. She climbed over him and started looking for her clothes.

"Alex, c,"

"No!" She screamed. "This was a mistake!"

"It wasn't a mistake if we still love each other." He stated.

"It doesn't matter how we feel because you're still going to leave again, Nathan! It's never going to matter because you'll always have to leave." She felt herself getting choked up. He stayed silent. "Just, please leave me alone."

And with that, she walked out. Nathan knew there was no point in chasing her. He knew she was right. He got dressed and decided to go through the box she had left. He couldn't do it. These were her things and he didn't want them back. He wanted her to have them. He wanted her to keep them and remember everything they shared. He wanted her, but he couldn't have her. This was the closest thing he would get to that.

Notes