Tell Me It's Not Too Late

I drove back to Zach's house my third day of being in New Jersey, coming back from a coffee date with Lily. Her and I had made sure to keep in touch while I had been back home, texting or talking virtually everyday. It was nice to have someone here who I knew would watch out for Zach if he needed someone. Plus, I trusted her which was a rare thing for me.

I pulled onto Zach's street, sighing inwardly as his house loomed in front of me. I missed him already despite the fact that we had only been away from each other for two hours. I didn't want to go home but I would be leaving tomorrow since the Devils were about to go on a West coast road trip anyway. It was going to be hard to leave, probably just as hard if not harder than when we almost separated in Chicago. It was moments like this where I seriously considered moving to New Jersey, but right now it just wasn't the right thing for Zach or I. Our relationship and the new found trust was too new and fragile to take it to such a serious level. We still needed time and I knew I would resent Zach if I quit my job.

I pulled into Zach's driveway, hitting his garage door open and pulling his Audi into his garage. I carefully got out of the car, making sure to protect his door from being dinged in anyway. Even at the restaurant I became one of those people I hate, who take up two spots so his car would surely be protected. It was funny to see his face though when I asked to use his car. The pained expression he gave me when he handed me the keys was priceless.

I walked out of the garage and down to his mail box, gathering his mail and heading back towards his house. The wind nipped at my arms covered only in a sweater since I found it pointless to wear a jacket. It was a decently warm day out, much warmer than it currently was in Minnesota with the -20 degree weather Krissy had complained about, along with the fact that I still wasn't home.

My heels clicked against the tiled floor as I walked into the kitchen. I threw Zach's mail on the counter and continued my way through the room and into the walkway where I could peek into the living room. I looked around the corner, smiling at Zach as he slept soundly on the couch, Mikko curled up at his feet. The TV was on and he clutched a throw pillow to his chest. I shook my head at the perfect image, clicking my way back into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. I took a sip and turned back to the counter, flipping through Zach's mail. Most of it was bills but The Hockey News stood out, a picture of Jonathan Toews on the front.

"Tazer's looking good," I giggled at the Captain Serious title, rolling my eyes and knowing the kid could be anything but. I flipped aimlessly through the magazine, stopping and glancing over the article on Tazer before flipping through the rest of it.

Arms wrapped around my waist and crashed me into a body as I shut the magazine. I giggled as I fell against Zach's chest, wrapped in warmth and a glow of love. His lips immediately found my collar bone, his fingers moving up my shirt at the hips. He pressed his hips against mine, pinning me against the counter and letting me know exactly what he wanted.

"Someone's feisty," I smiled back at him, his eyes still slitted from sleep. He nodded against my neck, his lips moving in a continuous line from my shoulder to my neck. I rolled my head to the other side as he gathered my hair behind my back, sucking and teasing the sensitive skin. "Mmm, Zach that feels good," I moaned.

"How good?" He whispered, his voice deep and husky as things got more heated, his fingers spreading out on my abdomen and creeping up towards the wiring of my bra.

"So good." I breathed, my head feeling heavy and a sudden wave of dizziness crashed over me as I leaned my head against his shoulder. His hips dug into mine with more force, moving in a circular motion as he pressed into me, hard and ready. My mouth was dry and I had to force my eyes open, looking across the kitchen at the window where his neighbors could easily see what we were doing. But I could honestly care less at the moment

"Zach?" I whispered, trying to get his attention.

"Hmm?" He mumbled against my skin, his lips still assaulting my flesh.

"Make love to me." I demanded, my hands encircling his waist and tugging him into my body. His hands fluttered back down to my hips, squeezing them as he rotated me so he could smash me against his chest. He lifted me onto the counter, making sure that I kept my head bent so that our lips would never stop touching. "Please?" I whimpered to him as his hands fingered my bra, teasingly trailing over the skin that wasn't covered by the red cups.

"I'm getting to that part. Just let me play with you for a bit," he grinned against my lips. I whimpered again, knowing he hated foreplay and was just doing it to tease me beyond the ability to think straight.

I moaned loudly as his fingers expertly unclasped my bra, pulling it off my body and throwing it over his shoulder. He grabbed the sleeves of my sweater, pulling them off my arms and fully exposing my upper body. His eyes darkened at the sight, his breathing become harder and more ragged. I knew that the minute I was completely naked, he would throw the idea of foreplay out the window and have his way with me.

His hands immediately covered my naked breasts, palming them before running his mouth over them greedily, not leaving any inch of skin untouched. I pressed my breasts to his face, needing the contact and his hot breath running over them. I tilted my head back looking up at the ceiling, my eyes widening when Zach scooped me, never taking his lips away from my nipple as he sucked it into a tight bud.

He carried me up the stairs, pausing at the bottom to get a better grip on my body, his hands squeezing my butt and pulling me tightly against him. I ground my hips against his arousal, emitting a low rumble from deep in Zach's chest. I could feel him becoming wild, his body turning him into a man who desperately needed a woman to satisfy the hot pounding below his belt.

Zach walked down the hallway and towards his bedroom as I tugged off his T-shirt, yanking it off of his body and leaving it in the hallway. I let my hands flutter down to his zipper, cupping him through his jeans. I fondled with him, squealing when Zach stumbled a bit, the feeling of my finger groping him through his jeans too strong of a feeling. Our breathing was now border line panting as he threw me onto the bed, immediately straddling my hips and letting his mouth trail over my chest again.

My fingers tugged at his belt, undoing it and then immediately pushing the denim down his hips. Zach kicked them off his legs, left only in his boxers. I didn't even realize it until the moment Zach shed his boxers too that I already was naked, perched under Zach, ready for him to enter me and give me wave after wave of pure pleasure.

"Now?" I murmured as he perched himself at my opening. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the feeling of him sliding into me with such ease.

"Open your eyes." He murmured to me, his lips on mine, gently lulling me to look at him. "I want to see the look you get in your eyes when I do this."

He didn't wait long, thrusting into me after the last syllable was announced I kept my eyes opening, widening as I let out a gasp, my whole body turning to jelly as he slid in and out slowly, his tempo so much slower compared to the kisses and urgency he had just been displaying. He was really making love to me, honoring my request of not pounding into me. His movements were slow and deliberate, his hands fluttering to my breasts and squeezing them tightly before letting go.

"Zach," I breathed out as he picked the tempo up a bit, feeling me tighten considerable against him. He sucked in a breath as I felt myself already on the brink. His lips came to mine once against asking me to open my eyes. I did as I was told, looking into his brown eyes, deep and soft, just the way I liked them.

"I love you Abbie," He murmured as my whole body tightened and then released, squeezing him tightly inside of me. Zach muttered a couple swear words before he came inside of me, his whole body stuttering as I shook on the bed beneath him. I could see anything, blinded by the intense feeling of the orgasm that seemed to come out of no where. My ears were ringing and my heart pounded hard and erratic in my chest as Zach rode out his orgasm before he rolled over, pulling me on top of him while still buried inside of me.

Zach's arms tightened around me as I continued to shake, my body still convulsing, my muscles still clenching around Zach. I whimpered against the crook of his neck as he let out a breathless laugh.

"Shut up," I whispered, my eyes drooping.

"I love you in this state. Completely out of it and breathless." He mused to me, the tips of his fingers brushing up and down my spin, barely touching the sensitive skin. The goosebumps that had just been disappearing were now protruding again.

"You like me vulnerable," I teased him, my arm lazily draped over his chest, tickling his side slightly.

"Only this kind of vulnerable." He assured me as my eyes started to drift shut, perfectly content in my post-orgasm state.
***

"Alright, I'm going to call you every day we're apart and leave embarrassing messages for you on your voice mail." Travis announced to me as I pulled my luggage out of the trunk. I glared at him, meeting his eyes in the rear view mirror. "This is going to be awesome." He shook his head up and down at me, a smug smile on his face.

"Do it and die. I have coworkers who don't find your crude, sexual references funny." I told him to which he snorted.

"Damn then you work with some stiffs," he told me. I rolled my eyes and shut the trunk of his car, walking back to the sidewalk where Zach stood, ready to say goodbye for real this time. I sighed deeply and looked into Zach's sad brown eyes.

"I don't want to leave," I murmured to him, resting my chin against his chest.

"You know I don't want you to either. But there is no point for you to stay, I'm leaving in four hours anyway." Zach told me, trying to disconnect himself so it wouldn't hurt to see me walk into the airport. It wasn't working though because he kept dipping his head and pressing soft kisses to my lips.

"When am I going to see you again?" I asked him, biting the corner of my bottom lip. I sunk my teeth into the flesh, needing a distraction so I wouldn't cry. Zach ran a frustrated hand through his hair, looking down at me with a heartbroken look.

"If were going to see each other, you'll have to come here. But I just feel bad because I don't want you to feel obligated to come especially since you have to go cover the Twins." He told me.

"Ugh," I groaned, letting my head fall to his chest and hang there. I had forgotten about Spring Training and the Twins until now. That was the first thing I was going to do when I got back to Minnesota; tell my editor to fuck himself and find someone else to cover the Twins. When Zach came back to Minnesota for the off-season, I was going to be with him every minute of it, not stuck on a plane or out of town with a bunch of baseball players. Although if I got to be with Joe Mauer the whole time it could have potential.

"Abbie, you're going to be cutting it close," Zach whispered in my ear, his arms never loosening their tight grip on my back.

"Can I just stay-"

"No. You know as well as I do that you can't." Zach told me firmly, his lips tugging up into a sad smile. I sighed again, kissing his lips once more before stepping from his arms.

"Bye Travis," I called, getting a honk in response. I shook my head at him, smiling slightly as we waved to each other through his tinted windows.

"Have a good trip. Score lots of goals and make me proud. I don't want to have my co-workers giving me shit for you sucking." I teased Zach, grinning as he pulled me into a tight hug. I closed my eyes, taking in his sweet scent once more before we pulled away.

"I'll try but damn, I'll be missing you," he murmured, his fingers tucking a strand of my brown hair behind my ear. He pointed his finger to the door, knowing that I'd only leave if he made me. "I love you."

"I love you too, Zach," I sighed, letting his hand drop from mine as I turned to the airport, walking in and leaving my everything behind.
***

The rest of February passed and March blew in with a bang, a double whammy of snow storms. Both storms gave the region over six inches of the white powder, fun to play in but hell to drive in. The snow only worsened my mood since snow made me think of Zach. We hadn't seen each other in three weeks and counting and I was not happy about it. Being without him just gave me more time to think about how much I wished I lived with him and that scared me. I was always the kind of person who had goals and aspirations that weren't influenced by others. But now that Zach was back in my life, I was falling into my old ways of only wanting to be with him.

I continuously made a list of pros and cons when I was working out or running errands. The pros enormously out weighed the cons but it didn't change the fact that if I left Minnesota, I would be screwed if we broke up. If I moved to New Jersey, I would have nothing left but what Zach provided for me, including money and shelter. Zach wouldn't let me work, something he casually mentioned in passing when I complained about my job, insisting that he had enough money to support me too. But I didn't want that. I wasn't going to be his trophy wife who did nothing but sat around or shopped.

I sighed, turning away from my desk and computer at work and looking out at the Minneapolis sky line. It loomed in front of me, beautiful in contrast to the grey sky and gloomy weather. I hated it when the weather matched my mood because it always seemed to make it worse and give me an excuse to stay in my funk. I twirled around in my chair, my feet brushing the plush rug I put by my desk. I twisted around and heaved myself out of my chair, walking from my office to see what the rest of the office was up too, namely Brian.

I entered his office, knocking on the door to announce my presence. He turned towards me, his eyes sparkling as he laughed with whoever was on the phone. He gestured to the leather chair across from his desk, telling me to sit.

"I'm sure she'll be very surprised when she sees him," Brian laughed, his eyes squinting shut. I smiled because he had one of those laughs that was contagious. "Yeah, man. Hopefully I'll see you soon Alright, bye." He hung up the phone and then leaned back in his chair, his fingers laced together behind his head.

"What's up?" He asked me letting out a yawn.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"My brother-in-law," He shrugged.

"How's little Matt?" I asked, referring to his nephew who was now about four months old.

"He's great. He's smiling like crazy already and sleeps through the night pretty well," He told me, stretching his arms above his head and tilting his watch down to his face. "Shouldn't you be working on a story or something?" He asked, rolling over to his computer and opening up Word.

"I don't feel like it. I'm bored with my story." I shrugged, letting my body seep into the comforting leather.

"Well you should go try," He told me, never looking back at me just letting his fingers type out his latest story.

"Are you kicking me out?" I asked him, my mouth hanging open.

"I'm staging an intervention. You've been lazy since you came back from Jersey. I mean, I know you and Parise got it on but it's been three weeks, I'm tired and sore is not longer an excuse." He grinned at the computer. My mouth dropped open and I picked up a pen, throwing it at his head. He just laughed louder and I scoffed at him.

"Fuck you."

"You love me," he stated as I heaved myself out of the chair and heading for the door.

"You like to think so," I muttered to him before walking back to my lonely office. I ran a hand through my hair, looking at the blinking light on my phone. I rolled my eyes as I picked my phone up. Sure the one time someone calls me today I happen to be out of my office. I pressed the code for my voice mail, collapsing in my chair and setting my heel clad feet on my desk.

"Abbie, it's Zach call me as soon as you get this. It's urgent." Zach's stressed filled voice came through the phone, sending me into a slight panic. I threw my feet off the desk, sitting up in my chair alert as I dialed his cell phone number. It rang three times, each one that passed making my heart pound harder. Something was wrong, I could hear it in his voice.

"Abbs," Zach greeted, slightly breathless.

"Zach, what's wrong?" I asked him, biting my lip as I waited for his answer.

"It's Mikko, he's really sick." Zach told me, his voice holding sadness and a slight bit of pain.

"What's wrong with him?" I exclaimed, my hysteria heightening.

"I don't know, I woke up this morning and he looked really sick so I took him to the vet and they ran some test. Bu they told me to bring him home and keep an eye on him. Baby, I'm really freaked out." He told me, practically whimpering.

"I'm coming." I told him, immediately grabbing my purse and jacket, shutting down my laptop.

"Abbie you can't, your boss won't let you." Zach tried to reason with me.

"This falls under the family emergency part of my time off," I assured him, throwing my blackberry in my purse and stuffing my laptop in it's bag.

"Honey-"

"Zach, shut up. I love that dog and I need to be with him if something is going to happen to him."

"Alright, I'll get you a ticket, you go home and pack." He told me, hanging up before I had the chance to think through what I was about to do.
***

My legs bounced nervously as I sat in the back of the cab, watching as the streets and other cars flew by. I wished I was driving so I could swerve around all the people driving below the speed limit. The cabbie seemed perfectly content driving at a slow speed while I was have heart palpitations. I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath and trying to calm myself down. Now was not a time to freak out on the cabbie and grab control of the car from him.

The second I got off the phone with Zach, I ran to Brian's office telling him about Mikko and making sure he would let our editor, who took over the Twins position for the time being, know. I ignored the slight laugh and smirk Brian had let dance into the air, knowing he thought I looked like a crazy woman. I snapped at him to try and be sympathetic but he just shook his head, a full smile on his face. He parted with me as I ran down the hall, yelling, "have a good time in New Jersey," as if I would with a poor, sick puppy on my hands.

I spent the whole time on the plane, thinking about Mikko and how he was such a lovable dog with his wet kisses and adorable little howls. Zach taught him how to howl I love you which made me smile even on my worst days. I thought about how he loved to nudge Zach and I awake in the morning, already figuring out that when I was there, it was okay to be on the bed. Zach would grumble at me and tell me to not let him do it but I would just shrug, explaining to Zach that Mikko was like our kid.

The cabbie pulled to a stop in front of Zach's house and I wasted no time, pulling my money out and throwing it over the seat. The cabbie hobbled out, opening the trunk and setting my luggage on the ground. I took it from him, already running up the driveway as I called a thank you over my shoulder. I slowed down the closer I came to the house, telling myself one again that I needed to stay calm. Mikko was going to be fine, but that didn't help.

My hand paused on the door handle as I closed my eyes and sucked in two deep and steady breathes, swallowing the lump in my throat. I turned the door knob, opening my eyes as the door pushed open. I looked up at the stairs first before training my eyes on the fluffy dog and man that sat and kneeled in the entry way. Mikko looked at me, his eyes wide with excitement, tail wagging, and tongue flapping from his mouth as he panted. He tried to yank from Zach's grip on his collar but Zach kept him there, sitting in between his legs as Zach kneeled behind him.

"Look Meeks, Momma's home." Zach grinned, as Mikko let out a loud set of whines and grunts of approval. He turned back to me, his ears flattening against his head as he begged me to walk towards him.

I stared at Zach, my mouth agape as I took in the perfectly healthy Samoyed. I closed my eyes in realization that I had just got punk'd. All of a sudden, Brian's reaction, the phone call, kicking me out of his office, fell into place. I pursed my lips at Zach, trying had to get mad at him for making me sick with worry but I couldn't be mad. He made it up so I would have an excuse to leave, of course he couldn't let me in on it because I needed to express the full emotions so people wouldn't think I was full of shit. I had never been so relieved to know that Zach had lied to me.

I walked towards them, dropping to my knees and gathering Mikko's flurry head into my hands. I nuzzled his soft fur with my face, as he turned his face, his wet nose pressing against my ear. I lifted my head up, gazing at Zach over Mikko's shoulder. His hand came to the back of my neck, bringing me closer as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a sweet kiss.

"I hate you," I whispered, pouting at him. My eyes were closed, breathing him in after being away for too long.

"Welcome home, baby."