Tell Me It's Not Too Late

The next morning I awoke to a wet tongue flicking over my face repeatedly. I scrunched my nose and for a moment thought Zach had gone crazy during the night but I quickly remember Mikko, as he flopped onto the bed next to me and nudged my face with his wet nose. I turned to the puppy, staring him down as he licked my nose once more. I jerked away, not really appreciating the dogs bad breath but giggling when his nose followed me, stretching his neck in order to reach me.

"Mikko, silly puppy," I laughed, petting the antsy dog. I looked past the big lump of fur and towards Zach's side of the bed that he no longer occupied. "Hm, baby, where's daddy?" I asked, watching as Mikko tilted his head from left to right, trying to figure out what I was asking. "Where is he?" I asked again just to watch the cute motion once more. I laughed and flopped back down on the pillows, sighing in content.

The bathroom door open and a bare chested Zach Parise sauntered into the room, only a towel hung low on his waist. He had another white towel in his hand and he rubbed at the top of his head, his hair sticking up wild and wet as he crossed the room to his closet. He turned to the bed and he rolled his brown eyes when he saw the puppy had taken over his side of the bed. He changed his course, moving to my side of the bed, sitting down next to me.

"You realized if this pretty lady wasn't here you would be done Meeks," Zach pointed out, reaching for the puppy who playfully nipped at his hand. "Hey, be nice." Zach scolded lightly before putting his attention on me.

"Morning beautiful," he grinned, leaning down and placing a soft kiss onto my lips.

"Hi," I breathed out when he pulled away, slightly breathless from his kiss.

"Sorry about Mikko. I went downstairs and must have left the door open a bit." Zach told me, brushing some of my hair away from his face. I smiled up at him, grabbing his neck and pulling him down to me.

There was something incredibly hot about making out with Zach in only a towel. My whole body seemed to buzz underneath him as he shifted, but still kept one hand holding his towel up. His tongue slid against my lips and then thrust into my mouth, dominating me like he always did. Mikko started yelping when Zach tried to climb further on the bed and Zach pulled away, glaring at the dog. Mikko snapped at him a bit more and I laughed as Zach lumbered off the bed.

"Why are you so protective of her?" He asked, grabbing Mikko and carrying him out of the room. I got out of bed, heading in the direction of the bathroom. Zach set Mikko in the hallway and turned back to the bed, expecting to find me there. Instead he found me in the bathroom doorway smirking at him.

"Hey... I wasn't ready to get out of bed," He pouted, moving towards me, still only in a towel. I grinned at him, watching his approach with lust filled eyes.

"Sorry, I have to get clean. I would ask you to join me but there's no point since you already showered," I taunted him. He kept walking towards me, stalking me like I was his prey. I backed more into the bathroom, bracing myself in front of the counter. He took long strides to catch me, pinning me against the counter and then lifting me up by the backs of my thighs. He held me above the sink, his lips forcefully moved against mine.

"My philosophy is that you can never be too clean," He growled before he thrust me into the shower, pinning me against the wall. I grinned and laughed as his teeth and lips lavished me with kisses, not letting me surrender. He tore my clothes off and threw them onto the floor before he let the steady stream of water cascade onto us. His towel hit the floor and I tilted my head back to give him better access. My fingers dug into his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp knowing that made him nuts.

I bit my lip, my head falling back against the tile wall of the shower. Zach continued to assault my body against my will and I giggled as he smiled against my skin, enjoying my moans of approval. The water ran in steady streams down our bodies, the droplets of water following the defined crevices of Zach's muscles. My eyes slid over his body in appreciation. The sexy look in his eyes is what eventually drew me in as he begged for permission to bring it to the next level. I rolled my head to the side as he marked my neck with red spots of agitated skin.

I braced myself for what I knew was next, the first thrust in, which always took my breath away. I hadn't had very many sexual partners since Zach and despite the fact that I knew he did, I couldn't stop him with that. I wanted this so bad that my vision was hazy with how hard the blood pounded through me. I felt him at my opening, slowly sliding in to help me adjust. My eyes fluttered closed and I let out a hard breath, the ecstasy flooding my body in the hottest of ways.

He gently slid in and out of me, watching all of my movements to see if he was hurting me. My fingers dug into his back and shoulder as I gripped him tightly to prevent myself from sliding down the wall. My whole body went limp as Zach's strength and hips pinned me against the wall, his movements faster and more direct. My mouth became dry and almost instantly I felt my stomach muscles coil into a tight ball and then release as the first orgasm washed over my body in a senses heightening wave. I screamed Zach's name, telling him how good this felt and how I didn't want him to stop. A little smirk tilted his mouth and he continued to thrust into me.

My eyes fluttered open as the first wave ended, Zach still continuing to build a fast rhythm. But just as fast as the first wave was over, the second wave came, stronger than before as it gripped my whole body, not letting me scream out to him how good it felt. Instead my body was tense as all my muscles tightened and then released as one, the white, hot feeling overtaking all of my actions. I loosened my grip around Zach's shoulders as his tempo built the fastest it had been. I leaned my head against his shoulder, trying to catch my breath as he moved in and out, pushing himself to orgasm without any of my help.

Zach let out a deep, low groan as he flew off the edge and into the same sort of ecstasy that I was in. He cradled me to his chest, my back pressed against the wall so neither of us would fall over. Zach set my legs on the shower floor once more but kept his arms around me as he pulled me back into the stream of hot water. My legs wobbled slightly and Zach giggled at me, lathering the shampoo in his hands before working it through my hair, massaging my scalp in a way that made me want to fall asleep.

My eyes fluttered closed as he rinsed the white foam out before scrubbing the conditioner through. He cleaned my body next going through all the motions so all I had to do was stand there. I appreciated it because my body didn't want to move. I opened my eyes when he turned the water off and wrapped a thick, white towel around my body before getting himself another one and placing it around his waist.

"I'm tired now," I pouted at him. He responded by scooping me up in his arms and carrying me to his bed.

"Then let's sleep," he suggested, setting me under the covers, still wrapped like a burrito in my towel. He joined me in the bed and we fell asleep once more in a post-orgasm haze.

This time I awoke before Zach did, a couple hours after we went back to bed. I slipped from the warm sheets and headed back into the bathroom, checking out my hair and surprised that it decided to dry nicely instead of all over the place. I combed it and tugged out all of the tangles before lathering my body up with lotion. I headed back into the bedroom, slipping into a pair of jeans and a long sleeved Minnesota shirt before sitting next to Zach. I ran my fingers through his now long, brown hair, the soft hairs curling slightly around my fingers. He shifted below me and I placed a soft kiss against his cheek, waking him up instantly.

"Hey you," he yawned, snuggling into my hip.

"Zach, wake up. It's 1 in the afternoon," I giggled as he burrowed deeper into the covers.

"I want to sleep all day," he mumbled sleepily.

"I'll make you some lunch if you get up," I suggested. He stopped trying to put himself in a cocoon and turned his face sideways.

"What will you make me?" He asked.

"Grilled cheese and ham," I grinned and stood up, knowing what his reaction would be.

He flew from the bed, ignoring the fact that he lost his towel while he had been sleeping and moved to his closet. He got dressed and came out in dark wash jeans and a dark blue sweater. I giggled as he tugged on my hand, leading me through his massive house and into his even more fascinating kitchen. It was painted green with black granite counter tops, along with a maple oak to give it a homey feeling. I looked around in awe, wondering how this house could get any more magnificent.

Zach pulled all of the stuff out for me to make him his favorite sandwich and I got busy buttering the bread and heating up the pan. Zach stayed behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist tightly while placing random, soft kisses on my neck, shoulder and cheeks. He continued to distract me until we were sitting at the kitchen counter, eating our sandwiches and sharing sweet kisses.

"So what do you want to do today?" He asked me as we placed the dishes in the dishwasher.

"You tell me. I don't live here," I laughed, stepping into his embrace and resting my head against his shoulder. At that moment, Mikko came walking into the kitchen and yelped when he saw Zach and I together.

"Are you joking dog?" Zach laughed as Mikko waved his tail at him. "What are you going to do about it?"

Mikko whined and dipped his head before looking up at me and yelping.

"Aw, little baby just wants some attention." I cooed to him, crouching down and petting his soft fur. "Right baby? Daddy isn't sympathizing," I pouted to Mikko who licked my face.

"He's trying to steal my woman!" Zach reasoned with me, crouching down next to me as Mikko wagged his tail at him. "I guess we could share," Zach rolled his eyes, placing a kiss on the dog's head. My heart swooned as I imagined him doing that with his kids, our kids. Our eyes met and I looked away, remembering the time in college where we sat in bed, naming all of our future children.

"What?" He asked, his fingers grabbing my chin and turning it back to him.

"Do you remember that night before your first game at North Dakota, when you were so nervous you couldn't sleep and we stayed up half the night, naming all of our future children?" I asked, a slight smile on my face.

"Yeah, we came up with some hilarious names." Zach laughed, the beautiful sound wrapping around my body and tugging at my heart strings. I took a deep breath, calming myself down.

"That's one of my favorite memories of us," I murmured to him to which he nodded.

"I remember I wanted to start the rest of our lives in that moment, to whisk you away and marry you so we could start popping out little Parises," He grinned at me as I scrunched my nose up in laughter.

"I was so in love with you I would have done it if you asked." I adverted my gaze, training my blue eyes on Mikko once more.

"Would have? What if I asked you right now?" He whispered, a deep emotion weaved in his voice. I swallowed and looked back at him, seeing his head tilted to the side as he studied me.

"Are you insinuating that you're going to ask me?" I wondered, my voice in a timid whisper.

He sighed deeply, running his hands through his hair before standing up once more. He reached his hands down to me, pulling me to my feet and into the entry way of his house.

"Why don't we go to the mall. We can start there and maybe meet up with Travis and Lily later," Zach suggested, grabbing my jacket from the closet and handing it to me. I stood there, dumbfounded as he completely brushed off what we had been talking about.

"Zach?"

"Hm?" He asked, not looking at me but pulling on his coat. He took extra time buttoning his jacket up so he wouldn't have to answer me. Finally with a defeated sigh he looked up at me, his brown eyes hard. I pursed my lips and shook my head.

"Never mind."
***

The tension hung in the air long after we got into the car and pulled into the mall parking lot. It wasn't until we walked by Tiffany & Co. before Zach's eyes lit up and he steered me into the store.

"What are you doing?" I hissed at him as he led me to a sales person.

"Teaching you how to except lavish gifts." He responded, smiling at the lady in front of us.

"Why?"

"Because you're my girlfriend and you're going to have to get used to being spoiled again," He grinned at me as the sales lady beamed at him.

"That's so sweet," the lady murmured, "anything in particular you're looking for?"

I twirled the ring on my right ring finger absently and Zach looked down at it, smiling largely.

"She's obsessed with rings," he commented to which I said no. "Why?" He pouted.

"Because if I go back to Minnesota with a Tiffany's ring, everyone's going to think we're engaged!" I exclaimed.

"And that would be bad?" Zach asked, squinting his eyes slightly.

"No, it just doesn't seem practical." I suggested. We sat in a hard silence as Zach stared me down, his brown eyes penetrating my argument until I sighed and nodded, sending the sales lady in a frenzy of asking me questions. I leaned away from her a bit, slightly overwhelmed as she asked about size, cut and style.

"I have no idea," I admitted sheepishly, biting my lip.

"No worries. We'll give you lots of rings and time to decide," she grinned and lead me over to the ring case.

An hour and a half later, I walked out of Tiffany's with a new ring gracing my finger along with a beaming Zach Parise. The ring was a sterling silver heart that only wrapped three-fourths of the way around my finger. The heart was sideways on my finger, the base of it pointing towards my middle finger while the arches were closest to my pinkie finger. I found it and immediately fell in love with it, including the Tiffany & Co. engravement in the band. My first thing from Tiffany's, and not surprising that it was from Zach.

I was on an obvious high as Zach and I walked around the mall hand in hand. My whole body buzzed, my mood so high I couldn't imagine crashing down. Zach pointed out some random things to me, advertisements of touristy type places he could take me before we went out later that night. I told him maybe tomorrow, I wasn't into the touristy stuff, plus I wanted to hoard Zach away all for myself.

"Zach Parise?" A stunning red head asked, placing her hand on his arm as we passed her by. I turned to look at her, my eyes bulging out of my head as I noticed exactly who it was. The only girl that I ever looked at as a competition. What the fuck was this slut doing in New Jersey?

Virginia Baker was one of those people that you hated on contact because she was beautiful and confident in the way that most people dream of being. She had an air of indestructible confidence that pissed you off to no end. She had first started getting interested in Zach at the end of our Freshman year, latching on to one of his teammates in order to get closer to him. From what I understand, Zach blew her off or that was what I thought until this moment when Zach nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Virginia, hey." He spoke as she wrapped her arms around him, pushing her ample cleavage into his chest. I glared as Zach's hand dropped from mine as she pulled him really close to her. I wasn't normally a jealous person but my anger flared as she rubbed her hands up and down his arms, touching him too much for my liking.

"How are you?" She asked, her sickly sweet voice making me want to barf.

"I'm good, how are you?" Zach asked, ever the gentleman.

"I'm great. I heard you were playing in New Jersey I just never figured we'd run into each other," she giggled.

"Yeah, this is kind of crazy. I had no idea you were here."

"Well, I don't live here. My brother does but I live in New York. I'm an editor for a fashion magazine that my daddy helps sponsor," She told him, her hands still on his arms. My eyes lowered even more when she said editor. I had been busting my ass for years to become and editor and she basically got her job handed to her.

"Oh that's awesome. I remember you talking about how you always wanted to be an editor."

My heart stopped in my chest as I flicked my gaze from the red headed slut and back to Zach. Since when did Zach talk to Virginia about her career? My heart started to pound hard and irregularly in my chest as I struggled to breath normally. My mouth immediately got dry knowing there was going to be a big bomb dropped in the conversation that I wasn't going to like.

"Yeah well just like all of your dreams coming true, mine did too," her smile shinned, her white teeth gleaming against her red lipstick. "I missed you when you left North Dakota. Study sessions were never the same," she told him suggestively. My stomach lurched and I had to bite my tongue against the bile that rose in my throat. A small, strangled noise escaped from my body as Zach and Virginia turned towards me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."

Bullshit

"I don't know if you remember but this is Abbie," Zach introduced me, not once using the word girlfriend. My heart barely fluttered in my chest, my good mood crashing down on top of me.

"Oh yeah, you were Zach's girlfriend in college," she remembered. Her smoldering green eyes held amusement in them and I knew she was mocking me. The sparkle in them telling me that she had won the little game. I could see it in the way Zach couldn't look at me or take his eyes off of her. I knew from the way she stood in front of me, her hands on her hip now, but close enough to Zach that she looked like his girlfriend and not me. I couldn't even open my mouth to respond, instead nodding my head while pursing my lips.

"So you guys are still together?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow at Zach. I looked at him, my hands on his hips as I counted to ten while the silence enclosed around us. Zach never uttered a word, not even when I sucked in a deep breath, pushing it out and trying to push the pain out also.

"Well, it was nice to see you again but I'm going to leave you two to catch up," I murmured sweetly, never taking my eyes off of Zach. My heart cracked as he continued to look at Virginia, never wavering from her beauty.

"Nice to see you too," The red head grinned before I turned on my heel and walked down the hall and out of the mall. The cold air hit my lungs and crushed them as my heart tightened in my chest, dangerously close to faltering in it's consistent beating. Tears formed in my eyes but I pushed them back, refusing to cry so publicly over Zach again. The hardest part of going through this was that Krissy had been right. Zach didn't change at all. A sob racked my chest but I wouldn't let the tears fall. I just let them blur my vision until they had no where to go but down.

I walked back in the general direction that Zach had taken, remembering some of the street names and the area. Night was falling over New Jersey and all though Zach lived a respectable distance from the city, I was still nervous as I walked the dimly lit streets. Each time headlights would fly past me I would tense up and wait from someone to pull me into their car. A shiver of fear ran down my spin as a car slowed down when it came to me, rolling the window down before Zach's voice hit my ears.

"Abbie, you scared the shit out of me. Get in the car," Zach called to me as I continued to walk down the street.

"No."

"Why not? Abbs, is this about Virginia?" He asked like he didn't already know the answer. I decided to let him figure it out himself and kept quiet. He let out a deep sigh that even I could hear. "Baby, I'm sorry. Please get in the car so we can talk about this."

"No. I don't get in the car with strangers," I told him in a monotone voice.

"What the fuck Abbs? You know me." His voice held an unnecessary amount of irritation.

"No I don't because the Zach I know would not have bought his girlfriend a really expensive ring to make up for the conversations he can't have with her. The Zach I know would have muttered an excuse to the slut who was wrapping herself around him and kept going through the mall. The Zach I KNOW would not have ignored his girlfriend as he made eyes with the red headed whore who would do anything to fuck him." I snapped at him, my eyes filling with angry tears.

"Abbie, I can't be rude. It's just not in my nature."

"Goddamn it Zach! It's not about being rude or not! It's the way you handled yourself! Like when you introduced me to her, not bothering to put the word girlfriend in. Not to mention it's obvious you screwed her brains out in college." I screamed at him, totally losing control of myself.

"You can't be mad about that. It was so long ago." He muttered.

"No, I get to be mad because it's obvious that you were fucking her when you were my boyfriend." I growled at him. His brown eyes flashed to mine, the guilt and regret evident in them. "And I'm definitely not getting into the car with you."

"Abbie, I'm not going to let you walk home like this. You don't know your way around and I need to know you're okay. I need you to get in the car right now." Zach persisted. I debated but then sighed deeply, knowing he was right. "Thank you," He murmured as I got into the car. I could practically see his body deflate in victory as he settled back in for the drive home. Little did he know he would be nothing but a loser when tomorrow morning rolled around.

*** (ZACH)

The steady vibration of my phone against the night stand woke me from my peaceful sleep filled with goals and a pretty girl I was in love with. I grabbed it without opening my eyes and stopped the alarm before letting it fall back on the top of the table. I squeezed my eyes shut, slowly trying to wake myself up for practice but finding it very difficult. But then a pretty brunette flashed through my mind and suddenly I was wide awake.

I knew I owed her an apology for a majority of my behavior last night. She had every right to leave me at the mall and then storm up to my room last night where she slammed the door shut. She should have been pissed at me for finding out that I did cheat on her in college. But that was then and this was now, I was sick of living in the past with her when all I wanted was to move on to our future. I sighed and flopped onto my back, glancing to my right where Abbie was... not.

In replace for her sleeping body was the silver ring I bought her the previous day. My stomach twisted and my heart lurched in pain as I looked at the note, knowing this was not good. I glanced to the left side of my room, noticing that her bags were gone also, confirming what my mind knew was true. I sat up slowly in bed, my eyes stinging a bit as realization set in. She was gone.

My fingers grabbed the note and ring without turning from staring at the door, hoping this was a sick joke and she was just hiding out in the bathroom, pranking me for how I acted yesterday.

"Abbie?" I called out softly, hoping to get a response. When I didn't I looked down at the note where a simple sentence graced the page in her delicate hand writing.

I love you but I can't do this.