Tell Me It's Not Too Late

"I miss you," Zach murmured as I laid on my bed, drinking in his voice after being away from him for a month. Yeah, it's been a month since Zach was in Minnesota and if I thought I missed him the five years he was absent from my life, this was pure torture. I went to bed at night, trying to get him off my mind long enough to sleep. But it never worked, he dominated my brain like he dominated on the ice.

"I miss you too," I giggled, heaving myself up and stuffing some more of my clothes into my suitcase. "But you are making it very hard to be productive in the packing department."

"Screw clothes. You won't need them when you get here," He spoke with a sexy edge to his smooth voice. I blushed at his words, for once glad that there was a couple thousand miles in between us.

"I'm not sure about that," I told him, holding back the laugh that bubbled into my chest as Zach groaned loudly.

"That's not very nice. How am I supposed to keep my hands off of you when I've missed you so much?" He asked.

"I don't know. You might have to practice before I get there," I rushed into my bathroom, grabbing my overnight kit filled with my face wash, shampoo and conditioner, along with other bare essentials.

I'll think about that. But I'm actually heading into the arena right now for a different kind of practice," He told me, the sound of him opening and slamming doors could be heard.

"Okay, well I'm about to leave. I guess I'll be seeing you in a couple hours then." I murmured, my hands zipping up my suitcase before I sat down on my bed, looking at my dresser that held a picture of Zach and I from our North Dakota days.

"Alright, I can't wait to see you, baby." Zach murmured to me despite the fact that it was obvious that he was in the locker room due to the loud talking.

"I loooovee you Abbie," a voice called to me, a couple smooches could be hear too. I giggled as Zach told Travis Zajac to shut up. I knew who Travis was from Zach's description of him and I was really excited to meet him. Him and Zach happened to be roommates so I had a feeling we would be getting to know each other quite a bit.

"Tell Trav I love him too," I told Zach who begrudgingly relayed the message.

"Enough love fest. Get to the airport." Zach told me, before he gave me his own I love you and hung up.

I smiled as I grabbed my suitcase and carry on, which was really just a backpack, along with my purse and headed out to the living room where James and Krissy were getting ready to head to her parents house for a family dinner.

"You ready?" James asked, helping Krissy put her coat on.

"Yep," I grinned at him. James and I had gotten close. He was the closest thing I had to a brother and I really was starting to enjoy his company. I just hoped Krissy didn't get bored with him, but judging by the way she still swooned when he looked at her, that wouldn't be happening.

"Then let's head out," Krissy smiled warmly at me, looping her arm through mine. In the last mouth, she's finally started to come around with the idea of Zach and I being together. It started when he did in fact call me the night he left Minnesota and then again, every day, even if he could only talk for a few minutes. Krissy liked the commitment he was showing but she was still a little weary as to how this whole thing would work out. Long distance would be hard, but if anyone could make it work, it was Zach and I.

Krissy and James decided they would drop me off at the airport since it was on the way to Krissy's parent's house which was located in Bloomington, a couple miles from the airport. James pulled his black SUV up to the curb where I needed to be dropped off and helped unload all of my bags. I thanked him graciously and turned to hug Krissy goodbye.

"Send Zachary my love," she whispered in my ear. "I like seeing you this happy," she murmured, pulling away and smiling at my grinning face.

"Me too. I'm going to miss you," I told her, wrapping her into one more hug.

"You'll be back in a week, right?" She asked me, confirming that I would actually be returning to Minnesota.

"Yeah, I'll see you lovers then," I waved goodbye, walking into the airport after handing off my luggage.

The trip to New Jersey was spent practically bouncing in anticipation as I stared out the window at the vast amount of clouds in the sky. I brought along my iPod, a book, and the idea of sleeping but quickly discounted the last one. There was no way I would be able to sleep knowing I would be seeing Zach in a couple hours. I missed him so much that it hurt but scared me at the same time.

Over these last couple weeks he had been the perfect gentleman. He constantly reminded me of how much he loved me and how he couldn't wait to see me. It was his idea to fly me out to New Jersey and have our own little Christmas holiday together, a week before the actual day. I had agreed, immediately taking the week off without even checking with my editor because I knew he wouldn't really care. I usually covered the University of Minnesota sports but I was willing to hand that over to a columist for the week. I needed to see Zach more than I needed to stay intune to how the Gophers were preforming.

Butterflies flew around in my stomach as the plane started it's decend, the New Jersey skyline coming into view. I had never been here before and I never thought I would be after the whole break up. But I was happy to be making my first appearance on the east coast and even more estatic to be here for Zach. I gathered all of my belongings and followed the train of people exciting the plane. I moved around the airport, walking down to where the baggage claims were located. My brown hair was pulled into a pony tail in the middle of my head and it swung around as I searched over the tops of people's heads for Zach. My eyebrows lowered in concentration as I tried to pick him out of the countless heads that roamed around the airport.

I stood on my tip toes, scanning for Zach but still failing to see him. I came back down on my heels, moving off to the side so I wasn't in the way of the other travelers anymore. I bit my lip, watching as my luggage came onto the baggage claim. I reached for it but another hand beat me to it, pulling it off the rotating machine. I turned towards my left and smiled as I came face-to-face with Zach. I pressed my lips to him, not even bothering to mutter a hello. Zach's arms wrapped around me tightly and I squeezed him with as much force. He pulled away and I swooned at the sight of his ever present dimples.

"Hi," he breathed out, his hands resting on both sides of my face, pulling it towards him again. I giggled as our lips connected once more.

"Hey you," I murmured against his lips.

"How was your flight?" He asked as he laced our fingers together and lead me out of the airport. We walked along the rows of cars until we reached his Audi, shoving my stuff in the back and then driving towards Zach's house.

"It was fine except it was excruciatingly long," I confessed, smiling at his infectious laugh.

"I know how that goes," He told me, his thumb running over my hand that was still laced tightly with his. "Are you hungry?" He asked me to which I nodded.

"Airplane food is gross," I stuck my tongue out as he pulled into a restaurant I had never heard of.

"I agree. But this should make all that better. Best burgers on the East Coast right here, babe."

"I'll be the judge of that," I teased him, getting out of the car and following him into the restaurant.

We spent the time at lunch, catching up and getting used to being around one another. I felt myself blushing every time he made a comment about how beautiful I was or how much he missed my laugh. For some reason it felt like we had just started dating, not already having two years of experience. We held hands on top of the table and I felt a burst of pride when Zach completely blew of our waitress who was hitting on him hardcore. By the end of lunch, I was pretty sure she was going to attack him on his way out the door. Obviously that didn't happen as Zach pulled me from the restaurant like his pants were on fire.

"Sorry about that," Zach told me once we were in the car again.

"No big deal. You can't control that, plus I've seen you with worse," the last part flew from my mouth without it my brain even processing it. I cringed and resisted the urge to slap myself upside the head as Zach pushed out a deep sigh.

"Yeah I was an asshole that last year at UND," He mumbled, running his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry about all of that. You didn't deserve any of it."

I just nodded, my teeth dragging my bottom lip into my mouth, biting down as the awkwardness started to settle over us. I shifted around in my seat and looked down at my hands to try and busy myself from Zach's curious eyes.

"Aren't you going to ask why I did it?" He questioned, grabbing one of my hands and lacing his fingers with mine. He squeezed lightly, and brought my hand to his mouth, dropping a kiss on it.

"I wasn't going to but you can tell me if you want," I shrugged nonchalantly like I didn't care at all. False, I did more than anything.

"It wasn't to hurt you, that wasn't what I wanted but I know I did. It was like an ego boost for me. I got so much shit for breaking up with you. All those girls didn't mean anything and none of the could ever mean what you did to me." I looked over at him, watching his side profile as he concentrated on the road, his jaw set in a rigid way. "I couldn't admit that I was wrong," he whispered to me. "That's why it took me so long. But I don't want to live without you anymore." He looked over at me, his brown eyes deep and honest. I smiled and kissed his lips before turning his face back to the road.

"It's a good thing you don't have to anymore then," I told him before sitting back in my seat and enjoying the rest of the ride back to Zach's house.
***

"Travis, let's go!" Zach called as he hustled up the stairs when we got to his house. The boys had a game tonight against the Ottawa Senators and they were running behind since Zach had to get me from the airport. A tall, brunette came out from the kitchen, half a sandwich in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He was already dressed in a black suit, a blue dress shirt and a red tie. He gave me a grin around a bite of his sandwich before grabbing me and squeezing hard.

"Hey kid!" Travis exclaimed, picking me up with one arm. "How ya doing!?"

"I'm great, thanks for asking," I smiled at him. Yeah, I was definitely going to get along with Travis Zajac.

"Damn am I glad you showed up. I'm sick of Zachy being all, I wish Abbie was hereee,"He whined, trying to imitate Zach. I giggled as Zach flew down the stairs, putting on his tie and fixing it in the entry way mirror.

"I have no idea what he's talking about," Zach pulled me away from Travis and into his body. He placed a kiss on the top of my head as I wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my cheek against his shoulder. "Are you going to be okay for like an hour? Travis' girlfriend, Lily, will be here in a little bit."

"I think I'll manage," I looked up at him, puckering my lips for a kiss.

"Okay, I love you. Make yourself at home." Zach said, pulling away and geturing for Travis to follow.

"Dude, you are totally forgetting something," Travis reminded him, walking out the door. "Tell her about the dog."

"Oh, wow. I forgot about him. We have a dog, a samoyed, who loves attention and to be petted. Try not to spoil him too much, he gets enough love from Lily." Zach lead me into the living room that was obviously decorated by a girl. The room was red and green and had various pictures on the wall along with picture frames and other trinkets to give the room a homey feeling. I smiled as Zach walked to the fluffy, white dog that was laying on it's pillow next to the fireplace.

"Hey bud, this is Abbie. She's the love of my life, try to be nice and don't steal her from me." Zach grinned up at me as I squatted down next to him, petting the fluffy fur of the dog.

"What's his name?" I asked, looking at Zach who blushed.

"Uh.. Mikko," Zach finally spit out. I hit his shoulder scoffing as the puppy now licked at my hand.

"I wanted to name my dog that!" I exclaimed, "you took my name." I gave him a wild grin and grabbed the back of his neck, kissing his lips with a large amount of force.

"I know but he reminded me of you with his calm demeanor and personality," He told me, kissing my cheeks and then the tip of my nose.

"Well if he's calm and a good dog then the name doesn't fit. Mikko is the Greek god of mischief and mayhem." I informed him causing his brown eyes to roll at me.

"Yeah, but only you know that." Zach argued.

"Nuh-uh. I knew that," Travis boasted from the doorway.

"Yeah because you asked where I got the name and I told you to look it up. I'd know everything too if I googled random crap in my spare time." Zach rolled his eyes again, pulling me to my feet. "Alright, we really have to go now. I love you, see you after the game."

"Good luck," I told him as he pulled me in for a quick hug and kiss before he was out the door, running to his car with Travis. I smiled and waved before shutting the front door.

I spent the remainder of my time alone watching TV and sitting next to Loki as he slept on the couch next to me. I watched the news, making sure to note that the weather was going to be absolute crap while I was here along with the fact that a lot of people get shot in New Jersey. Although that isn't very different from Minnesota either. I sighed and clicked the TV off as the clock ticked towards 6:30. Lily would be here in a couple minutes so I applied some lipgloss and continued to lavish Mikko with love. He was a beautiful dog and I was kind of jealous that he was Zach's. i was actually debating a way to steal him when the front door flew open and a pretty blonde slid into the room.

"Hi! You must be Abbie. I'm sorry I'm kind of late. Traffic was ridiculous." She stepped towards me as I stood up and pulled me into a hug, surprising me.

"It's okay," I smiled, pulling away from the hug.

"Oh wow. Zach's description of you does not do you justice. You're fucking beautiful!" She exclaimed, before tugging on my arm and leading me up the stairs. We walked to the end of the hall, past a bathroom and a couple of other bedrooms until we reached what I assumed was the master bedroom. I cautiously stepped in, not sure why we were in here.

"This is Zach's room so it's okay if you come in," she teased, throwing the closet door open and stepping into Zach's walk-in closet. I laughed as I peaked in, amused that he has such a big closet with virtually no clothes. He was only occupying less than half of the closet with his whole wardrobe. "Zach wanted to make sure you wore this to the game. He wants you to be branded with his name or something," she giggled, handing me a red jersey with Zach's name and number on the back.

I pulled it on, fixing my hair once my head was out from underneath the red fabric. It slid over my body, taking away any of my curves and making a dress around me. I could tell it was game worn because it still smelled like hockey. Lily laughed as I wrinkled my nose a bit. She grabbed some of Zach's calogne off his dresser and sprayed me with it.

"Now I smell like him," I laughed.

"Yeah, but it's better than hockey funk." She giggled, pulling me from Zach's room and out the front door. She turned and grabbed a key, locking the house up before we made our way to the car

"Do we have to put Mikko in a kennel or anything?" I asked her as we drove away from Zach's house, heading back to downtown Newark.

"Nah. He's had very good training." She assured me.

The rest of the drive to the Prudential Center was filled wtih constant chatter as we got to know each other. I found out she played hockey and her and Travis met at North Dakota. I told her I didn't remember seeing her to which she responded that she rarely ever hung out around campus. I laughed and assured her I probably wouldn't have noticed her anyway since I was too wrapped up in myself. We talked about our careers and she told me about how her and Travis were close to getting engaged. I wasn't surprised since they had been together for about four years and Travis was contently in the NHL now.

We arrived at the arena and went directly to our seats which were on the red line, across the ice from the Devil's bench. We could see every play perfectly and felt the intensity of the game from where we sat, perched on the edge of our seats. Zach played fantastic, tearing up the ice and making his opponents look stupid. He ended the night with 4 points, all assists, with a huge smile on his face. There weren't any gestures or smiles thrown my way as the game drew on, but I didn't expect any. Zach was always focused when he played hockey, to him, there was nothing outside of the boards, only empty seats. Travis also had a good night, ending with a goal and an assist for two points.

"That was amazing," I exclaimed, trying to catch my breath as the fans filed from the arena but Lily and I stayed put.

"I know, it's so intense and fast. I love coming to the games. You'll be here for a week so you should be able to see two more. It'll be fun!"

"Yeah, as long as they win. Zach gets grumpy when they don't." I informed her to which she nodded.

"Oh yeah, they lost to the Rangers a couple weeks ago before he went to Minnesota, and Zach shit a brick. He got home and went right to his room. Travis and I heard him throwing stuff."

"Yeah, I remember one time when Zach lost a close game at North Dakota to the Gophers and he wouldn't talk to anyone the whole night. His parents had come up for the game and he refused to talk all through dinner until him and his brother, Jordan, got into a huge fight. On the walk back to his dorm though, he dropped the pissed off act and started acting like the normal Zach. He goes through these mood swings sometimes that are ridiculous." I shook my head at the memory, remembering how rude Zach had been to his parents, the only time I'd seen him act like that.

Eventually we made our way down to the locker room, waiting outside for the boys to emerge from the room. We continued to share stories about our boyfriends and I laughed loudly as Lily relayed the story of Travis passing out on her front porch in college, wearing nothing but a pink tutu and a jeweled crown. Apparently he wanted to dress up like a princess? She said he claims it was the booze but I think we know otherwise.

"Hi baby," Zach murmured, placing a kiss on my cheek as he came out of the locker room, freshly showered. "You smell like me," He whispered, nuzzling against my neck.

"Yeah, I needed something to take away the hockey smell from your jersey. I got hosed down with your cologne."

"Good choice. Do you recognize it?" He questioned.

"Obviously, Polo's the way to go babe." I grinned and smoothed out his tie, a habit I hadn't forgotten.

"Some of the guys and their girlfriends are going out tonight. Are you guys in?" Travis asked, Lily pressed against him tightly, her back to his front.

"Nah. I want her to myself." Zach smiled as Travis made a gagging noise.

"Alright, be safe kids. We don't want any accidents." Travis parted as Lily and him headed to the right while Zach and I went to the left. We walked down the hallways of the Prudential Center, our hands swinging in between us, our shoes clicking against the concrete floors.

"I forgot how much you blow me away when you're on the ice," I told him, watching the slight blush creep up his neck.

"Thanks," he smiled at me, dropping a kiss on the top of my head. He unlaced our hands and threw an arm around my shoulder. We slowly made our way out of the building, heading to Zach's car that was parked in a seperate lot, away from where all the fans would be waiting for him to sign autographs. Usually he stopped after the games or practice, knowing that it meant a lot to them but he wanted to keep me away from his fans for now. He didn't want to expose me to the people who would hate me instantly because I was on his arm.

I sighed as I melted into the soft leather, feeling tired all of a sudden after a long day. I looked out the window as Zach drove, trying to keep my eyes open as the New Jersey cities ran by the window. I lost the battle with my eyes though as Zach grabbed my hand, bringing it to his mouth and placing a kiss on each one of my fingers. We arrive at Zach's house and I forced myself to wake up and walk to the door with Zach. We went straight for the stairs, both of us tired after the events of the day. I hadn't slept very well the night before and I was in desperate need for a couple good hours of sleep.

"This might be a dumb question but I want you to choose, do you want to stay in the guestroom or in my room?" He asked me stopping outside what I assumed was the guest room.

"Keep walking," I told him, pushing him slightly. His face lit up like a sign in Las Vegas as he grabbed my hand and lead me to the room I had been in that afternoon. I didn't bother to look around the room at the decorations, since the walls were stark white and only a couple pictures sat on his dresser. Zach immediately tugged his tie off, walking to his closet and grabbing the hangers for his suit and shirt.

I grabbed my bag that had somehow found it's way into Zach's room, and grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. I slipped Zach's jersey off along with my jeans, not even bothering to be descrete about it. Zach had seen it all anyway although my chest had grown a cup size since he last saw me naked. I shrugged, figuring teasing him would do little harm. I slid my pants up my legs and I heard a groan come from behind me.

"Why did you bring clothes? I thought we discussed this?" He scolded, turning me towards him as I stood in only sweatpants and my bra.

"And I told you that wasn't going to happen," I teased lightly, enjoying the slight wrinkle of his nose.

He gave an exasperated sigh and I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck He placed his warm hands on my hips while I ignored the shiver of pleasure that rippled to my core. I pursed my lips as I studied his face, noticing the sleep evident in his beautiful brown eyes.

"We should get to bed," I whispered, leaning up and placing my lips softly to his.

"Yeah," he murmured, scooping me up and dropping me into his soft bed. I groaned as my head hit the plush pillow, happy to not have to support my body weight anymore.

Zach pulled me up again and I gave him an annoyed look as he unsnapped my bra. "Hey, my intentions are clear. I'm helping you get ready for bed." He grinned as he turned his head and grabbed my t-shirt. He handed it to me and I pulled it over my head.

"It must kill you to not be able to look. I know you want too," I teased him, poking his bare stomach. I collapsed back into the pillows, grinning up at him.

"Yeah, but I'm not really into getting slapped when I'm exhausted," he leaned down, placing a kiss on my forehead.

He walked back into his closet, coming back out dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. It was chilly that night so he walked back into the hall, turning the heat up a bit before he joined me in his bed. I rolled towards him, grinning at him as he snuggled into his pillow. His hands ran through the sides of my hair, pushing it away from my face. He fingered a piece of my brown locks before leaning forwards and pressing his lips against mine.

"I'm glad you're here, Abbie," he whispered, his arms wrapping around my waist. He slid me towards him so we laid together a tangle of limbs in the middle of his bed.

"Me too." I whispered, closing my eyes.

"Love you." He kissed my lips one more time as I felt myself drifting into a deep slumber.

I mumbled those words back, knowing that he didn't need to hear them clearly to know what I said. It was obvious how i felt since I was in New Jersey, a place neither of us thought I'd ever set foot in. But here I was, wrapped up in the arms of the man I loved and would always love, no matter what happened in our future.