Chapter Fifteen

"Morning mon amour," Kris said rolling over in bed.

"Morning," Nikki said groggily, brushing her bangs from her face and kissing Kris' cheek.

"It's your last full day here," Kris' voice changed and he propped his head up. "What do you want to do?"

"I just want to spend time with you, other than that I don't care what we do," she smiled.
"Movie day?"

Nikki placed a gentle kiss on Kris' lips. "Does that mean that I get to spend the entire day in your arms?"

"That's exactly what it means." He kissed the tip of Nikki's nose before rolling out of bed.
Nikki opened her mouth to speak, about to ask where he was going, but when he pulled a plain white t-shirt over his head and ran his hand through his hair she closed her mouth and laid back.

***

After a day of watching movies on the couch wrapped in Kris' arms, only leaving them when he got up to change the movie or refill the bowl of popcorn or their drinks, they started to get ready for bed at around ten. Kris got into bed first, and Nikki followed shortly after, looking into Kris' eyes. "I don't want to leave tomorrow."

"I don't want you to leave either love, but don't worry I'll be in Pittsburgh for training camp in September."

"You're gonna make the team this year," she said with a smile and kissed his cheek. "Promise."
"Please don't make promises that you can't keep."

"Kristopher, you are going to make the team."

"But--" He could say no more, he was cut off when Nikki's lips crashed down on his. Soon her tongue slipped between his lips and wrestled with his for a while. "Mmm, convincing," he said licking his lips when he pulled away. "Okay if I make--"

"When you make the team."

"Fine, when I make the team we'll get to see each other all the time."

'Good," she smiled. "I hate to say it, but we should probably get some sleep."

Kris nodded and kissed Nikki before she snuggled up close and he wrapped his arm around her. "Goodnight Nicolette, I love you."

"I love you too, goodnight Kristopher." The last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the feeling of Kris' lips placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

***

"Nikki," Kris whispered. "Nicolette, wake up."

Nikki mumbled something into the pillow before turning away from Kris and the window through which the sun was leaking through.

Kris brushed the stray strands of her light brown hair away from her ear before softly whispering, "Nicolette, it's time to wake up my love." His lips gently brushed her ear sending a chill through her entire body, causing her to cuddle up closer to him and to pull the blanket closer.

She lay there for a few more seconds before turning to Kris, eyes wide open, and hair in her face and saying, "Do I smell bacon?"

Kris laughed before kissing her lips gently and saying, "Yes you do. I'm going to go finish breakfast, but you my love need to stay here, okay?" Nikki nodded and Kris kissed her cheek before heading back to the kitchen.

In the kitchen Kris began to scramble the eggs when Nikki snuck up behind him, he jumped when her arms wrapped around his waist. He poured the eggs into the pan while saying, "I thought I told you to stay in bed."

"I know, I know, but I missed you."

"Babe I was out here less than five minutes before you came, what are you going to do when you go home." As he finished speaking he turned to face Nikki and slipped his arms around her waist, lacing his fingers behind her back, pulling her closer.

"I know for a fact that I won't be able to do this," she leaned up and pressed her lips to his. Just as she was about to slip her tongue past Kris' soft lips the eggs began to crackle.

"Let me finish up out here and I'll meet you back in bed?" Nikki nodded and Kris kissed her on the nose before she headed back to the bedroom.

A few minutes later Kris came back into the bedroom with a tray of food; scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and orange juice. "Why is there only one plate?" Nikki asked when Kris placed the tray on the bed.

"You eat, I'll eat when you're done."

Nikki took a bit of her eggs, after dipping them in ketchup of course, and her eyes lit up. "Amazing, as always." After a few more bites she asked Kris if he wanted a bite, he nodded. Nikki cut of away piece of the eggs and brought it to Kris' mouth. After all the food was gone, Nikki feeding herself as well as Kris, she noticed that there was a bit of jelly on his lip. "You've got some jelly on your lip," she said with a giggle.

Kris wiped his lip with his arm, "Better?"

"Still there." After another try Nikki said, "I'll get it for you." Instead of simply wiping it away with her hand she moved closer to the Frenchman and pressed her lips to his. To make sure that she got the grape jelly she ran her tongue along his upper lip, the jelly was not as delicious as the kiss she was receiving. What happened next came as no surprise, Kris' tongue slipped between Nikki's lips and began exploring. A few seconds passed before Nikki felt herself being lifted and the next thing she knew she was on Kris' lap. She didn't mind, and she didn't want the kiss to end. Tired of sitting up Kris began to gently lean back, bringing Nikki down with him.

When they finally broke the seal Kris ran his hand through his hair, and his tongue along his lip. "I love you Nicolette."

"I love you too Kristopher," she cuddled up closer, moving her head to his chest. "Can we stay like this forever?"

Chapter Fourteen

I know that it's been a while, but being in the AF is quite stressful. I hope you like the new chapter, it's kind of short, but I like it. Comments are greatly appreciated. Congratulations to Kris on his beautiful goal last night in game five against the Habs. GO PENS! <3



Chapter Fourteen

"I love cooking for you," he smiled . With a kiss on the cheek he started toward the kitchen before shouting back, "What do you want to eat?"

"Um.." Nikki said unsure. "Anything you make me I'm sure will be delicious," She said loud enough for him to hear from the kitchen before she softly said, " Just like you."

"What was that?" He asked pulling a skillet down from the hook above the island that held the sink as well as the stove and oven.

"Nothing," She didn't know what to think now.

"You said I was delicious," he placed the skillet down on the stove top and started towards her.

"No I didn't." She started to back away from the kitchen as Kris got closer. Kris nodded as if to say, 'Yes you did.' "Okay, what if I did?"

"Well if you would have said that I was delicious then I would have said that you are the most beautiful girl that I've ever seen. And then I would do this." He had been holding her until this point but now he ran his hand along her smooth cheek before gently bringing her lips up to his. Kris' fingers were laced and his hands rested behind Nikki's neck, holding her close. Nikki ran her hands up and down Kris' back before grabbing a hold of his t-shirt in an attempt to deepen the kiss. She was successful.

Kris was slightly taller than Nikki, okay almost an entire foot taller, so kissing while standing was do-able, but wasn't exactly comfortable. They were both obviously thinking the same thing because at the same time they started towards the couch without breaking the kiss.

Eventually it was broken though when they had to sit down on the couch, it was only for a few, they sat down as quickly as possible and once they were both comfortable they picked up where they left off.

Nikki moved closer and closer, soon she found herself being lifted into Kris' lap; she certainly didn't object. They had only been together for a few days, but they had been friends for eight months, and she was so comfortable with him. All that she could think about was the man that was holding her so close. She was pulled from her thoughts when Kris' tongue grazed her lower lip; it was a surprise, but definitely a good one. She parted her lips enough to capture his lower lip, nibbling on it gently as he did the same with her upper lip. A chill rolled down her spine as his tongue grazed her lip again, this time her upper lip though.

After what seemed like forever Kris tongue finally grazed hers, she tilted her head to the right making it easier for Kris and soon their tongues were 'battling'. It didn't last super long and Kris forced himself to end the kiss. He pulled away reluctantly and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. "I'm sorry but dinner would never get made if I kept that up."

Nikki's face still held a smile as Kris got up off the couch after picking her up off of his lap and placing her down in spot next to him. "It's fine, we'll have to do that again some time."

Kris smiled, "So about dinner?"

He was just making it to the kitchen when Nikki turned around on the couch to face him. "Grilled cheese?"

"Sounds good to me, and tomato soup?"

Somehow Nikki's smile grew wider, "With milk?"

"Of course," he was somehow even more in love with her. "I knew I loved you for a reason."

"Hey, I was about to say that." Nikki smiled.

Soon dinner was finished and eaten, if was an early dinner, but that gave them more time to just sit and enjoy each others company.

***

"Did you bring your skates likes I asked you to?" Kris asked the next morning at breakfast.

"Of course."

When breakfast ended they threw their dishes in the sink, grabbed their skates and hoodies and headed to the car. Nikki of course hadn't brought a hoodie so she had to borrow one of Kris'.

They had great time skating and when they arrived home Nikki tried to give the hoodie back that she had taken off before they left the arena. "Keep it," Kris said handing the black hoodie back to her. It was a Foreur's hoodie, he had another one and he had thought about giving this one to her anyway.
"Are you sure?"

"Something to remember me by, who knows when we're going to see each other again after I drop you off at the airport. But I promise you, we're going to stay together no matter what. You are my girlfriend and I love you, I waited long enough to have you for myself and I'm not going to lose you, okay?" All Nikki could do was smile and nod.

Chapter Thirteen.

"Morning," Kris said when he felt Nikki stir.

"Good morning Kristopher, how long have you been awake?"

"A few minutes," he said as she sat up in bed, a smile on her face. "You're so beautiful when you sleep."

Her smile grew, "Thank you. I only have two more days after today, what are we going to do today?"

At this Kris began to smile. He certainly wasn't happy that she would be leaving soon, but he had an idea, not of what to do for the day but what to do at that very moment. Running his hand down her cheek drew a smile, he pressed his lips to hers and lightly ran his hand along her arm; a chill rolling down her spine. "You okay?" He asked pulling away.

"Yeah it just tickled."

"Ticklish are we?"

"No." Nikki was more than just a little ticklish and even the slightest touch could get her to squirm. Once in school her friends had ganged up on her during a free period and caused her to fall out of her chair because she was laughing so hard.

Kris was willing to find out for himself and began to tickle her stomach, this caused her to fall back to a laying position and squirm as a laugh much more than a giggle escaped her lips. He stopped for a moment to allow her to breathe normally, once she caught her breath he began again.

"Kris please, I hate being ticklish."

He was soon forced to stop when Nikki turned to try to get him to release her and there was a loud pop. "Oh my god, Nikki, are you okay?"

Trying to bring herself to a sitting position she fell back as a piercing pain shot through her left shoulder.

***

Deciding that the best thing to do was to go to the hospital Kris filled a bad with ice and instructed Nikki to hold it on her shoulder until they got to the hospital. Nikki had injured her shoulder before and she knew that she had popped it out, but it had never hurt this bad. Kris had apologized at least ten times before they left the house and by the time they had made it to the hospital he had said that he was sorry close to fifty times. Each time Nikki couldn't think of what to say that would make it better, after all it was his fault but he didn't mean to do it.
"Kristopher, really I'll be fine you don't have to worry."

The automatic doors opened at the emergency room and after filling out a lot of paper work they were lead to a small room and told that the doctor would be with them soon. "You would think that at the emergency room they would treat things as an emergency and actually see you."
Nikki laughed, she had always felt the same way.

After a half an hour a man in a white lab coat finally entered the room. He mentioned his name but Nikki didn't care what it was, she wanted him to fix her shoulder so that the pain would go away. She had been at the hospital for close to two hours already and the pain was as great as when she had popped her shoulder out at eight that morning. "So it's your left shoulder?"

"Yes," Nikki said aloud, but in her head she was cursing at the doctor, 'That's what I wrote on the forms isn't it? Or did I fill out ten forms for no reason?'

"Okay, I'm going to need you to change into this gown," he said grabbing a paper gown from the white cabinet. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He placed the gown on the table that Nikki sat on and left the room.

Kris and Nikki quickly made bets on how long the doctor would really be gone before Nikki got down from the table and Kris went to leave the room so that she could change. "You don't have to leave, it'll be like I'm wearing a bathing suit."

Kris removed his hand from the door handle and turned back around to face her, "Are you sure?"

"You can turn around and look at the wall if you want, just don't leave."

Kris turned to the wall and Nikki first removed her jeans first figuring that they would cause the least amount of pain. Once they had landed on the floor she began to remove her t-shirt, cringing the whole time. When she finally had the shirt over her head she sighed, relieved that she didn't have to inflict any more pain upon herself. All the while Kris was picture how she had looked the day before when they were in the pool. This was why he didn't hear Nikki say that it was okay to turn around the first time. "Kris!"

"Huh?"

"I said you could turn around." He did and found Nikki struggling to get back onto the table. He helped her up and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Almost thirty minutes after the doctor left there was a knock at the door. The door slowly opened and he peeked in before entering. "Oh, you didn't have to take your jeans off."
'Then why didn't you make things easier and just say, 'Take your shirt off.'?' Nikki said to herself. She jumped down off the table and pulled her jeans up and the gown down over top of them. With Kris' help she again got back on the table and stared at the doctor, waiting for him to say something.

"Let's get your vitals and then we'll take a look at your shoulder."

'Finally,' Nikki thought. Once her heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing were all checked she was asked to remove the gown. 'Well what was the point of putting it on in the first place?'

She ripped the gown down the middle and Kris couldn't help but stare. The doctor took her right hand and began to move her arm, asking if it hurt. 'Of course it hurts you moron, I wouldn't be here if it didn't hurt.'

"Well it seems as though you've dislocated your shoulder." 'No shit,' Nikki thought. "The severity though is unknown so we'll have to get you an MRI." 'Awesome, more waiting.' "It'll be an hour or two before we can fit you in, so maybe get something to eat just try to relax."

"Thank you," she said just before he left the room.

By this point it was already almost eleven o'clock and neither Nikki nor Kris had eaten anything all day. "I'm going to go grab us something to eat, okay?"

Nikki nodded, when Kris left Nikki grabbed the remote and turned the small tv on. Kris returned fifteen minutes later with food that would only require one hand to eat, chicken fingers and fries.
It was one-fifteen when there was a knock on the door again. It had been two and a half hours since the doctor left, during that time Kris had helped Nikki back into her shirt, they had both eaten, and watched five tv shows. "I'm so sorry about it taking so long," the doctor said. 'No you're not,' Nikki thought. "Let's get you upstairs."

Nikki hopped off the table again and was lead to the room where she would finally get her MRI. The MRI itself didn't take long and once she was done Nikki was sent back downstairs to the room she had been sitting in all day.

Finally, an hour after walking back down to her room it was almost three o'clock, she had spent her entire day in the hospital, and there was another knock on the door. "Well I'm sure you'll be glad to know that sugery will not be required to repair it." Nikki smiled at this but was upset because she could have just popped it back in herself that morning and not had to spend her day being irritated with doctors and watching French TV. "This is going to hurt, but once it's back in all the pain will go away." The doctor grabbed her arm and just as easily as her shoulder had come out it went back in. "You'll have to be care, the next time it comes out it could require surgery."

"Thank you," was all that Nikki said. She was told that she was free to go and with that she jumped down off the table one last time, grabbed Kris' hand and they left the hospital.

"So much for me making dinner tonight," she said once they arrived back at Kris' house.

"It's fine baby. Je regret."

"Kris, really it's fine. But did I ever tell you that I hate doctors?"

"No, but I could figure it out after today. Now go sit down in the living room and I'll make dinner, d'ccord?'

"Oui mon amour."

Chapter Twelve

I'm sorry if there are any major spelling or grammatical errors, some one had to sent this to me because my Mircosoft Word trial ran out. I hope that you all enjoy it, comments are greatly appreciated, and GO PENS!


Chapter Twelve

After Kris left the room Nikki found her bathing suit, changed and made her way to the kitchen to wait for Kris to reappear. “Ready baby?” he asked placing his arm around her waist and then kissed her check.

“Yes but I have a question for you.” Kris nodded as if to say, ‘Go ahead.’ “What happened to the shy Kris? Don’t get me wrong, I love you no matter what, but, I don’t know, you used to be so shy.”

“I think it’s just, I’m comfortable with you and now that we’re together I don’t have to always be thinking about how to not let it slip when I’m talking to you that I love you.”

“Oh Kristopher,” she smiled. She turned to face him, he was smiling too and something pulled them together.

When they pulled away both Nikki and Kris still sported smiles. “Okay baby let’s get going,” he took her hand and helped her down from the stool. Nikki grabbed her bag from the counter and followed Kris to the car. Kris opened the door for her to get into the black BMW and before he closed the door he placed a kiss on her lips. The brief kiss made them both smile and when it ended Nikki unconsciously licked her lower lip.

Twenty minutes after they left Kris’ house they arrived at a cute little house and as they pulled into the driveway Nikki saw a sign that read, ‘Les Letangs.’ She guessed that it was his parent’s house and would have loved to have grown up in a place like that. Kris helped her out of the car and pulled her into a hug. “J’amour, petit ami.”

“Et tu.”

Releasing her from his grasp he took her hand and led her down a small path to a white fence. He attempted to open the gate with his right hand and failed. Nikki smiled and slid her hand from his, “Here baby.” He successfully opened it with his left hand, took Nikki’s hand back in his, and led her into the beautiful backyard. There was a good sized in ground pool and patio, Kris told Nikki to make herself comfortable while he grabbed a few things from inside.

He walked around to the front of the house and knocked on the door. “Kristopher?”

“Bonjour maman,” he smiled. Kris informed her of what all was going on and told her that they would stay out of the house as much as they could. “Bonjour belle,” he said walking up behind Nikki who had taken her shoes off and put her feet in the cool, clear water.

“Bonjour.”

“Ready to swim?”

"Mhm," she said getting up from the side of the pool to remove her t-shirt and shorts. Kris threw his t-shirt onto the table and turned to see Nikki wearing a black bathing suit. His breath caught and he couldn't help but stare. "You okay, Kris?"

"Fine," he brought himself to say and began to walk towards her. "You're just so beautiful." He ran his hand along her cheek before kissing her. He pulled away with a mischievous smile. He picked her up into his arms and tossed her into the water behind her.

After resurfacing Nikki looked upset, “What the hell Kris.” Kris was now worried, had he really upset her, all he had done was pushed her into the pool. She made her way to the wall, pulled herself up and got out of the pool. As she walked towards him he began to back up. “I’m sorry baby.”

“Oh you’re gonna be sorry, don’t you worry.” She got him to begin backing up towards the pool, without lifting a finger she sent him into the water with a splash. She sat down on the side and waited for him to come up out of the water. “We’re even now,” she smiled.

He ran a hand through his hair which made Nikki smile. After walking towards her he wrapped an arm around her so that he could bring her into the water with him. He separated her knees and positioned himself between them, she wrapped her legs around his waist and the next thing she knew she was in the pool and Kris’ lips were pressed against hers. “I love you.”

“You have no idea how much I love you Nicolette, thank you for coming to Montreal.”

“Thank you for letting me come to Montreal.”

A few more kisses were shared and water splashed before they got out and wrapped in towels they sat down on the swing. Nikki laced her fingers with Kris’ and rested her head on his shoulder as they sat and talked for awhile. The sun was warm and quickly dried them. Nikki couldn’t think of a better way to spend her day than in the sun with the man she loved.

"I'm gonna go get changed, okay baby?"

Kris nodded and told her how to get to the bathroom once she walked in the house.

"I'll meet you back out here," she kissed his cheek.
"I'll be waiting."

Once inside she found her way to the bathroom where she changed and fixed her hair, it was getting frizzy, something that always happened. Once she looked presentable, although she was sure that however she looked, even if she walked out in a pair of sweats Kris would tell her that she looked beautiful. She thought the same of him though, he could roll out of bed with his hair a mess, or just play a game and be covered in sweat and she could still think that he was gorgeous.
The door to the backyard was in the kitchen but before she could get to that door she ran into a women who stood at the stove making something that smelled delicious. "You must be Nikki," she said with a smile. "Kris talks about you all the time." This made Nikki smile, did he really talk about her all the time. In the back of her mind though she was a bit worried, what all did he say about her. She didn't think that Kris would say anything bad about her, but there was no why for her to be sure. "Nothing bad, dear. He loves you very much."

Her facial expression had obviously changed to that of worry, but when she was assured that nothing bad had been said to the mother of the man she loved with all of her heart she smiled again, and looked quite relieved. "Good, I love him too, very much." They talked for a bit, Mrs. Letang mostly telling stories of when Kris was younger; how adorable he was when he started playing hockey, how she had put a picture of the Stanley Cup in his crib, and how he had always been and still has determined to make a career in the NHL.

Nikki told a little about herself but there wasn't much that Mrs. Letang didn't already know, Kris really had talked about her all the time. It had been close to twenty minutes when Kris gave up waiting patiently outside. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and tried to fix his hair. He ran his hand through it one last time as he opened the sliding door and stepped into the kitchen where he found his mother and his beloved. They were deep in conversation and didn't hear the door open or close. He cleared his throat and they both looked up. "Oh Kristopher," his mother said.

"I see you've met Nikki." Both Nikki and Kris' mom nodded.

"Sorry I left you out there baby," Nikki said getting up.

"It's fine baby, it gave me time to think about how beautiful you are," He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently kissed her lips, his mother looked on with a smile. The kiss was short and when it ended Kris turned Nikki away from him, his arms still around her, and placed a kiss on top of her head.

"I'll leave you two alone, help yourself to the fridge," she smiled and left the room.

"You hungry?"

"Always," she smiled. "Are you cooking?" "Well I actually have a few things ready already, hope that's okay." She nodded and Kris released her, taking her hand and leading her outside. In the grass was a blanket with a picnic basket, something he has obviously set up while she was inside changing.

Once they sat down across from each other Kris began to removed the contents from the basket and place them on the blanket between them. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, strawberries, and sparkling grape juice. Once they had both eaten their fill everything was placed back into the basket, the basket moved off to the side, and the couple moved closer together. Kris lay down on his back and Nikki rested her head on his chest. "Thank you Kris."

"You're welcome love." They spent a while longer at Kris' parent’s house, all of their time spent outside. After about an hour on the picnic blanket they moved to the swing and sat hand in hand with Nikki's head resting on Kris' shoulder. "You ready to go home?" He asked around five o'clock.

"Sure, I don't want you to let me go though."

"As soon as we get home, well no, after dinner I'm all yours promise." Nikki liked the sound off that and let him release her hand from his. The ride home was short and Kris went straight to the kitchen where he prepared dinner, Nikki went to her room to check her phone that she had accidentally left there that morning. She was glad that she had left it there; she enjoyed her distraction less afternoon. She had a few texts all of which were asking what she was up to. She responded, 'Spending time with Kris.' To all of them. It was only after she had sent the texts and left the room that she realized she hadn't told any of her friends that she and Kris were dating. It could wait a bit longer; after all he was waiting for her in the kitchen.

Dinner was kept simple that night, chicken salad and rolls. They ate at the island in the kitchen, and as always Kris's cooking was amazing. The home made lemonade was quite good as well. "You always cook for me, tomorrow I'm gonna cook for you, okay?"

"Really baby I don't mind, but if you want to make dinner that's fine." He smiled and kissed her cheek. Nikki went to the living room and Kris quickly washed the dishes. "Now I'm all yours," he said placing his hands on her shoulders from behind the couch.

Nikki smiled; she took his hand and brought him to the front of the couch. He sat down on her lap and laughed. "Um," was all that Nikki said.

"Sorry baby," he moved from her lap to next to her on the couch and kissed her cheek. "So I'm yours for the rest of the night, what are we going to do?"

"I was thinking massage and then you could hold me for the rest of the night."

"Works for me."

"Really, most of the time people will only give me a massage if I give them one back."

"Turn around." She did as he said and he massaged her back for at least ten minutes before he gave up due to thumb cramps. "Thank you baby," she smiled.

"Lay down." She lay down with her head on the arm of the couch and Kris' arms wrapped around her. He turned the TV on and they sat enjoying some show, neither of them really paid full attention to it. At around nine-thirty Kris thought that something on the show was funny and when he looked down to see why Nikki wasn't laughing he saw that she was sleeping soundly in his arms. He smiled, she was so beautiful. He decided that he could go to bed early tonight, swimming did take a lot out of him. He turned the TV off, placed the remote on the coffee table and carrying Nikki bridal style made his way to the bedroom. He lay her down on the bed and got in next to her before kissing her cheek and whispering, "Goodnight Nicolette, I love you." To his surprise she didn't wake up. He wrapped his arms around her and he too was soon fast asleep.

Chapter Eleven

Hey everyone! I have finally returned to a somewhat normal life. I'm currently at tech school, still in Texas and will be here until June. I don't have any of my notebooks with me, yet. As soon as they get here I will be updating all of my stories. However while I was at basic training I got bored and wrote a least a scene for all three of my stories. This one however I wrote enough for it to be considered a chapter so here it goes... I hope you all enjoy, comments are greatly apprecitate and most importantly... GO PENS ♥


Chapter Eleven

“Bon huit Kristopher.”

“Bon huit Nicolette,” he kissed her cheek and let go f her small hand before they went their separate ways to their bedrooms. He stripped down to his boxers before crawling into bed. He turned the lamp off and attempted to fall asleep, but he felt as if something was missing. Staring off at the ceiling he thought of how much he loved the girl who was across the hall. He wanted to have her in his arms, to kiss her lips again. He had dreamt about them being together for so long and now that they were together he couldn’t believe it, he needed time for it to sink in.

Nikki was feeling the same way, she wished that Kris had said something sooner, but all that mattered was they were together now. She also lie in bed staring at the ceiling, wishing that she was in Kris’ arms. She didn’t want to push anything, but after twenty minutes she knew that it was worth a try, it was the only way that she was going to fall asleep. Rolling out of bed she walked to Kris’ room across the hall and quietly opened the door. “Kristopher,” she said quietly.

“Oui?”

“This may be weird, but can I sleep in here with you?” She asked weakly.

“Oui,” a smile appeared as he said this. Nikki stood in the doorway a moment more, unsure if she had heard him correctly. “Nicolette?”

“Je regret, I wasn’t sure if I heard you correctly.” She stepped into the room and closed the door before getting into bed next to him, awkwardly.

A few seconds passed before they moved closer and Kris wrapped his arm around her. “I love you Nicolette,” he said and kissed her cheek.

“I love you too,” she smiled and soon they were both fast asleep.

***

The next morning Nikki opened her eyes, unsure of where she was. She didn’t recognize the room but when she felt that there was a set of arms holding her close she knew exactly where she was. “Good morning Nicolette,” Kris whispered, his breath tickled her ear. His accent sent a chill down her spine. “You okay?” He pulled her closer.

“I’m fine; it’s just your accent.”

“Ah, is it okay if we just lay here for a while?”

“Mhm,” she ran her hand along his Kris’ arm until she found his hand and laced her fingers with his.

Sleep soon found both of them again and when they awoke for the second time that morning Nikki turned to face Kris and stared into his chocolate brown eyes. “I love you,” he said before placing a kiss on the tip of her nose.

“I love you too Kristopher, how long have you liked me?”

“How long have you liked me?”

“I asked you first,” she smiled.

“I’ve liked you since we met in the Marriott. Luc kept telling me to ask you out because he knew how much I liked you, but I didn’t want to risk messing up our friendship.”

“Aw. I’ve liked you since I saw you at training camp but that was just, ‘wow he’s really attractive’. After we met and started talking, well you know what I mean.”

He said nothing more; he only stared into her ice blue eyes and smiled. They sat in silence for a while but the moment was ruined when Nikki’s stomach growled. “Hungry babe?”

“Mhm, is my amazingly talented boyfriend going to make me something to eat?”

“Of course I will,” he tried to loosen his grip on her but Nikki wouldn’t let go of his hand. “I have to get out of bed to make breakfast sweetheart.”

“I don’t want you to though.”

Kris smiled, placed a kiss on her lips and when he pulled away he rolled out of bed. “Stay here and I’ll be back soon.” One last kiss was placed on Nikki’s cheek before Kris threw on a t-shirt and left for the kitchen.

Nikki sat up in bed for a few seconds before falling back against the pillows. She took in Kris’ scent and smiled, the fact that this wasn’t all a dream made Nikki incredibly happy. When she had woken up that morning she had thought that she was still in Pittsburgh. Kris had given her the perfect birthday present. Already this trip was better than she had imagined it could be. Soon she was pulled from her thoughts when the smell of pancakes seeped into the bedroom. It drew her from the bed and led her to the kitchen. She walked up behind Kris and couldn’t help but stare, she was so in love with him.

“I thought I told you to stay in bed,” he said without turning to face her.

“Sorry it just, well the food smelt so good.”

“It’s okay baby, what do you want to do today?”

“Doesn’t matter as long as I’m with you,” she smiled. Kris still hadn’t turned to face her but she could tell that he was smiling. “What do you want to do?”

“Hold you in my arms,” at this he finally turned towards her. “Is that okay?”

“Sounds perfect,” a crocked smile appeared, this only happened when she was truly happy about something.

After breakfast Kris threw on a pair of shorts and Nikki changed into a pair of shorts of her own and another Pens tee. While she was changing there was a knock on the door. “Oui?”
“Can I come in?”

“Oui.” The door knob turned and Kris walked in wearing black soccer shorts, a tight red t-shirt that accented his toned body, and black flip flops. Nikki couldn’t help but stare at the man she loved. “What’s up?”

“Would you want to go swimming? You brought a bathing suit, right?”

“Yes and yes,” she smiled. “Any excuse to see my man shirtless.”

Kris smiled, “Okay I’ll get a few things ready and we’ll spend the day at the pool.”