There Are Still Rules To Break

When Patrice returned from the Garden a little after noon, he found Amanda in his kitchen making sandwiches for the two of them. Walking up behind her, he put his hands on her hips and his lips on her cheek, just like he had that morning when he woke up to find her making him breakfast. She turned her head to look at him, a small smile on her face.

“How was locker clean out?”

“Depressing,” was all he could manage to say. Amanda nodded and took the two plates from the counter and set them on the table. Laughing, Patrice continued, “You know you don’t have to make three meals a day for me.”

“I like to,” She said with a shrug. “It’s no big deal.”

Nodding, he bit into his sandwich as Amanda returned to the table with ice tea for the two of them. They sat in silence for a bit, just eating and sharing an occasional glance. She cocked her head to the side when she noticed Patrice hadn’t taken his eyes off of her for nearly thirty seconds.

“What?” She asked, a small laugh escaping from her lips.

Instead of answering her, Patrice stood and walked to where he kept his important documents in the corner of his living room, where his desk sat. Getting the envelope he wanted, he walked back to Amanda and placed it in front of her. Looking at him curiously, she opened the envelope to find a plane ticket to Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec City, Patrice’s name on it, and it was dated for the next day.

“Oh.”

Giving him a half smile, she put the plane ticket back into the envelope and slid it toward him across the table, but Patrice didn’t acknowledge her actions. He kept his gaze on her, trying to read her reaction. He could tell she was disappointed, maybe even a little sad that he was leaving so soon. The ticket had been an impulse buy the day after their final loss. At the time, he just wanted to get out of Boston and forget about the fact that he was a hockey player for a little bit.

But now that he had gotten so used to being with her, the last thing he wanted to do was leave. His family was already expecting him, so he couldn’t back out, he realized that he would have to manage time without Amanda, as much as the thought pained him. It surprised him, really. Two weeks after meeting this girl and the thought of being away from her pained him? When the hell had he fallen so hard and so fast?

He watched with a frown on his face as Amanda silently stood up and took her plate to the sink, beginning to clean it off. Patrice stood, too, but this time he did not wrap his arms around her from behind. He stood next to her and placed his hand on top of hers, stopping her from cleaning.

“I know you’re mad - ”

“I’m not mad,” She cut him off. “I can’t be mad that you’re going home in the off-season. I knew it was coming, but I would have appreciated some warning.”

He sighed, “I know. I planned on staying in Boston - no matter how our playoff run ended - longer than this, but I just bought the ticket after we lost…” He trailed off when he realized he wasn’t winning her over. “I’m sorry, Amanda. I am, really.”

She sighed and nodded, walking forward to place herself in between Patrice’s out-stretched arms. He smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around her small frame, pulling her into his chest.

“I’ll miss you. Is that stupid?”

“Nah,” She laughed. “It’s easy to miss me.”

Patrice laughed, but shoved away from her, mumbling something about being underappreciated. Laughing with him, Amanda wrapped her arms around him, trapping his own arms against his body as he walked from the kitchen to the bedroom. With her face already pressed into his back, he flung himself forward and onto the bed, causing her to fall on top of him.

With her arms trapped under his chest, she was unable to move. Whining her complaint to Patrice, he smirked and rolled himself over, freeing her arms, but trapping the rest of her underneath his weight. He heard her squeak from underneath him, but he only wiggled his body and stayed where he was.

“I hate you,” She mumbled into his shoulder, which was pressed up against the bottom half of her face. “I really fucking hate you.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do, too.”

Rolling off her and lying on his stomach next to her, he frowned. Amanda couldn’t help but laugh at the pathetic look he was giving her. Though, the twinkle in his eyes told her he was one hundred percent kidding around with her. Blowing a strand of hair out of her face, she winked at him and brought her hand up to his cheek. His eyes closed at her touch, but when he felt her coming closer to him, he opened them again, a small smile forming on his face.

When her lips pressed against his in a gentle kiss, his eyes fluttered closed again as he brought his hand up to her hip, pulling her even closer to him. It was like as soon as he felt her touch, he wanted, hell, he needed more of her. He deepened the kiss, but Amanda immediately broke it, sliding out of his grasp.

Sighing loudly, he got off the bed and followed her to his closet where she pulled out his suitcase, “You need to pack.”

. . .

Patrice’s bags were by the door, and he was completely prepared to leave Boston, physically. He had his boarding pass and his passport in his carry on, as well as his iPod, some magazines, and a book. But, he wasn’t ready to leave, emotionally. Staring at Amanda as she blow dried and straightened her hair, he couldn’t help but feel like he was making a mistake. What if he left and when he came back things weren't the same?

“Hey,” Patrice started, walking into the open bathroom. “Can I ask you a favor?”

“Of course,” She said, turning off her hair flat-iron and unplugging it.

“Do you think you can watch my apartment a bit? Maybe spend a night here a couple nights out of the week? Gather my mail for me, if I leave you the key?”

He felt awkward asking her, but he didn’t have anyone else that could do it. The previous summer, he had his neighbor do it, but he had since moved out of the building, so Amanda was his only option. She smiled wider and nodded, telling him she would do it, no problem. It made Patrice feel more than just happy knowing she’d be at his place while he was gone. It was like his place was becoming hers, too. It wasn’t like she didn’t already have a lot of her things there from when he had practically forced her to spend a few days with him.

Again, she had made him breakfast before they needed to leave his place at ten in order to make it to the airport for his flight, with a departure time of noon. She had been nice enough to drive him there and bring his car back to his building for him. In fact, Amanda had been nice enough to do a lot for him. Even though it was going on only three weeks of knowing her, he was already so dependent on her.

He caught her arm as she went to set her hair products back into her bag and pulled her into him roughly. Grasping the side of her face with one hand and her hip with the other, he brought his lips down to meet hers. Smiling into the kiss when she dropped the bottles in her hand, he led her toward the bed, sitting himself on the edge. Amanda immediately sat on his lap and brought her hands forward to his shoulders, digging her nails into the skin underneath his thin white tee shirt.

Putting his hands underneath her butt, he lifted her up and moved further onto the bed, pulling her down on top of him. She couldn’t help but moan into the kiss when her hips grinded into his as she fell onto him. His hands were tangled in her hair as he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, causing her to groan out even further. He couldn’t deny how much he was enjoying the feel of her petite body on top of his, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he needed to leave for the airport very soon if he wanted to make his flight.

It was like she sensed it, too, when she slid her hands underneath his shirt and grabbed at his bare flesh, but pushing herself away from him at the same time. She frowned at him as she sat up and he stayed lying on the bed, his eyes still closed.

“I know,” He mumbled out a minute later, finally sitting up. “We need to leave.”

Amanda only nodded and got off the bed, slinging her purse over her shoulder. She sighed when Patrice left the bedroom without another word and grabbed his bags, quickly exiting the apartment. She followed close behind, but he was moving so fast. By the time she was in the parking garage, he already had his bags in the trunk and was sitting in the driver’s seat of his car.

The ride to the airport was silent and awkward. So many times each of them wanted to say something to the other, but they bit their tongues, not really knowing exactly what to say. When Patrice pulled into a parking spot, he immediately grabbed his bags, but waited for Amanda to get out of the car before he started walking toward the entrance. The walk to his gate was silent, too as was the wait to get through security, and Amanda was going crazy.

When they reached his gate and he put his things down, Amanda grabbed his hand and forced him to look at her.

“I’ll be here when you get back.”

It was the simplest thing she could have said, but it was perfect in Patrice’s mind. His face stretched into a wide smile and his arms immediately wrapped tightly around her body. Amanda smiled, too, bringing her eyes up to meet his. Pressing his lips to hers, he savored the last moment he would have (for a short while, at least) with the girl who had made an impact in his life in just a short while of knowing her. When they pulled away, they both groaned as his flight was called to board.

Giving her another quick kiss, he picked up his bags and silently made his way toward the ticket booth. Smiling back at Amanda one last time, he saw her smiling just as widely. While he knew he would miss her, he also knew that for the first time since he had become a Bruin that he had more than just hockey waiting for him in Boston when the summer was over.