Sequel: Breathless

There Are Still Rules To Break

"Aren't you being a little possessive?"

Game two at home was not supposed to end in a shutout in favor of the Hurricanes. The Bruins were supposed to win that one, gain momentum heading into games three and four in North Carolina. And when the team got to Carolina, they were supposed to take at least one of the games. That way, heading back into their hometown crowd, they’d have the momentum. Easy win. Onto round three. But it seemed like no matter what offense they threw at the Hurricanes, they had a way to counter it. And just like that, the Bruins lost games three and four, and were down three games to one in the series, on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs.

As their plane touched down in Boston, Patrice Bergeron grew more frustrated with himself than ever. He felt like he hadn’t done anything in any of the first four games, not even taking penalties. He knew as a hockey player, that there were ways to make a difference without your name showing up on the score card, but still; Patrice couldn’t help but feel that he was letting his team down, letting his fans down, and most importantly, letting Amanda down.

The girl had been in his thoughts almost constantly since a week before when she had slept over at his place. She had stayed well into the evening on Saturday before she decided she really needed to get home and get some work done, something she had barely been able to do since she met Patrice. He had reluctantly let her go after she promised she’d see him in the locker room after game two, except, she hadn’t been there.

And when he tried texting her, she didn’t respond. And when he tried calling her, she never answered. He wasn’t sure if he was more frustrated at his game play or at the fact that Amanda seemed to be avoiding him. Had he scared her off? Was he too forward? Did she not feel the same way about him as he did, like he thought she did? Too many negative thoughts were running through his head, and he just wanted them out.

He thanked Chuckie for the ride as he pulled up outside of Patrice’s apartment. Chuckie nodded in recognition, yawning as he did so. He told Patrice to get sleep, let his mind shut down for a while. Nothing had ever sounded more like a good idea. It was nearly two in the morning, after all. Sighing, Patrice walked into his building, taking the elevator up to his place. Throwing his bag by the door, he immediately headed for the bedroom, wanting nothing more than to sleep.

Flipping on the light, he froze in his tracks. Passed out among his sheets and blankets, wearing nothing but one of his jerseys was Amanda. So many questions ran through his head, but he couldn’t be bothered to figure out the answers. He stripped down to his boxers and slid into the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her. She stirred lightly in her sleep, her eyes briefly opening. She smiled up at him before she drifted into sleep again, clinging onto Patrice tightly.

Patrice didn’t fall asleep right away. Staring down at Amanda’s angelic face, he couldn’t bring himself to look away or close his eyes. She was so beautiful, whether she believed him or not. He couldn’t believe how much he had missed her after only a week of being away from her; and then the two of them had only been friends a few days before their little sleepover. Maybe he was falling too fast, but whatever it was about her, Patrice couldn’t stop himself from falling.

Taking one last look at her sleeping face, he closed his own eyes and let exhaustion take over.

He wasn’t sure what time it had been when he finally fell asleep, but when he woke up the next morning, Amanda was still in his bed with him. Smiling to himself that it hadn’t been some dream, he pulled her into him a little tighter, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and she let out a shy smile, “Hey.”

“Hi,” He said back. “It’s not often I come home to find a beautiful girl in my bed. Care to explain?”

Amanda blushed, “I guess I knew you’d be bummed out over the games. I wanted to be able to distract you from all of that, but I fell asleep before you got back.”

Patrice raised an eyebrow at her, scooting himself up so he was sitting and her head was still on his chest, “How were planning on distracting me?”

Amanda’s eyes went wide and her mouth hung open, unable to say anything, “I don’t. I just thought - ”

Patrice laughed, holding a finger to her mouth, “I was just kidding. I’m glad you were here, though, I still don’t know how you got in here…”

“I sweet-talked the guy at the front desk.”

Patrice’s eyes narrowed as she shrugged off her statement. She laughed when she saw his expression, asking him what was wrong. He sighed, “Don’t go flirting with other men.” Her eyebrows shot up onto her forehead, but a smirk found its way to her lips, “How come?”

“I don’t like that.”

“How come?”

“Because… Just because.”

“Aren’t you being a little possessive?” She asked, her smirk widening.

Patrice’s eyes looked up to meet hers, and he groaned, “I’m sorry. You probably think - ”

Amanda’s lips were on his before he could finish what he was going to say. Realizing they had only shared one kiss, which had been a week before, Patrice was quick to press his lips back against hers. Bringing his hands to her waist, he lifted her from her spot and set her down on top of his lap, tangling his fingers in the baggy material of the jersey. Her hands rested on his chest as she lowered herself so she was sitting on his lap while straddling him. The feelings that erupted in Patrice when he felt her legs wrap around his thighs and her most sensitive parts rub against his own were indescribable. There were no words that could ever come close.

He felt her hands push against his chest, and at first Patrice thought she was trying to separate them, break their kiss. But when her body came forward with her hands and her lips stayed attached to his, he almost felt all the air rush out of him. Sure, he hadn’t known her that long, but he never would have guessed her to be a take-charge kind of girl.

Letting her legs slide down the bed, Amanda’s body was flush against Patrice’s, her lips still moving against his. Bringing a hand up to her hair, Patrice detached his lips from her and pressed his forehead against hers, his breathing ragged. He wanted to know what was going on inside her head, what she was thinking, but he was afraid if he spoke, he’d ruin the moment and she’d be gone. He searched her light brown eyes with his own dark brown ones, trying to read her, but he couldn’t.

“Amanda…” He sighed. “Where were you?”

Her eyes fell as she rolled herself off of him, turning herself so she faced his window instead of him. “’Manda,” He mumbled out, rolling over to press his chest against her back, bringing his hand up to move her hair off of her neck. Placing a kiss on the corner of her mouth, then her jaw, and then her neck on the sensitive flesh that was exposed just before her skin was covered up by the thick material of his jersey; he brought her attention back to him as she turned into his touch, lacing her fingers with his.

“I got scared,” She whispered as she lay on her back, looking up at him as he stared down at her. “Of what?” Patrice asked, pulling his eyebrows together and gripping onto her hand tighter. She bit her lip and looked away, but Patrice brought their conjoined hands to her face and pushed her head back so she was looking at him again. “Of what?” He repeated, his tone stern.

“You’re perfect,” She told him. “So perfect, Patrice. I can’t even begin to think what you’re - ”

He cut her off, “Wait, you’re wondering what I’m doing with you?” His eyes were wide as he watched Amanda nod meekly. “Amanda,” He started, standing up from the bed, pulling her up with him. “You listen to me.” She nodded, her mouth shut and eyes wide. Placing his lips against hers in a short kiss, he told her “If one of us is perfect, it’s you. Remember what I told you about having shame or being embarrassed with me?” She nodded. “I don’t want you to ever talk like that.”

Amanda nodded, letting her head fall against his bare chest. Patrice wrapped his muscular arms tightly around her small body, pulling her into him, but he froze when he heard her sniffle. Grasping her upper arms, he pulled her away from him, staring at her, “Why are you crying?”

Amanda laughed at her self and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “It’s stupid,” She started to say, but when she heard Patrice groan, she realized what she had just said would fall into the category of ‘shame.’ “I’ve tried all my life to be perfect, and I’ve never been good enough. And here we are, barely two weeks into knowing each other and I’ve never felt more beautiful, or cared about, or anything. It’s overwhelming.”

Patrice pressed his lips against Amanda’s again, silently vowing to himself that she would never, ever feel unbeautiful or uncared about ever again. He only hoped that she knew that, too, as he tried to pour every emotion he was feeling into their kiss.
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Sorry about the wait! I was kind of holding this hostage until Manda posted me more Ben! Which you should all go read, here! <33

Comment, please!