I Think I'm Fallin' For You

"So what are you doing tonight?"

I switched the phone from my left ear to my right, still rummaging through my closet. "Going out. You know, with that guy. Josh."

"Yeah, I know." My best friend chuckled. "Remind me again, how were you able to land a date with Josh Gorges?"

I moved away from my closet, abandoning my search for suitable clothes and plopping down on my bed instead. The closet raid will have to wait until it had my whole attention, or I'd probably end up wearing some kind of clown suit. Or last year's Halloween costume.

"Well, you know how Tom always bugs me to come to one of his practices?" Tom Pyatt, my little brother's best friend and fiercest rival on the ice back home, had always been like a second brother to me. He was ecstatic when he heard I had moved in Montreal years prior to his signing with the Canadiens, and his moving into my modest apartment in the heart of the city not only made it more affordable, but also less lonely. The constant come-and-go of him and a couple of his teammates was almost soothing compared to the empty echo of my footsteps that filled the apartment only months before. A little over a month ago, he had started to think that it would be a great idea to drag me to one of his testosterone-filled, sweat-bathed practices.

I did not.

"So you finally went? It's about time. I'd kill to see my boys work their asses off every day at practice. Wow." Unlike me, Mallory was a huge hockey fan, and a die hard supporter of the Montreal Canadiens. Needless to say, she freaked out the one time she walked in the apartment to find Tom slouched lazily on the couch, eyes glued to the TV and clad of only a pair of boxers.

"Yeah. And it was alright. Better than I expected." I twirled a strand of light brown hair around my finger unconsciously, thinking back. "Only, number twenty-six kept looking and grinning at me. And you know how I am when people stare at me." I said, earning a laugh from the other end of the line. "So anyway, Tom had asked me to meet him at the locker rooms after practice-" Mallory squeaked. "-so I was leaning against the wall next to the door when he walked out. Josh, I mean."

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to walk in that locker room." She sighed, clearly envious. "But never mind that. What happened next?"

"Well, we talked for a while. It was weird, 'cause he had only taken off his skates and his jersey, so he still had his under-armor and he was struggling to get his breath."

"Aw, he wanted to be sure to talk to you! How sweet!" Mallory exclaimed, making me smile.

"Well anyway, we talked until Tom walked out of the locker room. He was showered, fully-dressed and ready to go. I was about to say goodbye to Josh and leave when he asked me if I still had two minutes." I bit my lip, aware that my story-telling didn't do justice to reality. "So I sent Tom on his way and waited. Josh stayed silent for a second or two before asking if Tom was my boyfriend."

"I bet you laughed."

"I had to!" I huffed, embarrassed that my reactions were so easy to predict. "His face when he asked it combined with the idea of going out with Tom was just priceless. Plus, I didn't laugh wholeheartedly, I just... giggled. Kinda." I added, trying to regain some of my dignity.

"Whatever. What did he say after that?"

"Well, it showed in his face that he was relieved - which is a good stroke to my ego - and he asked me if I wanted to go out with him tonight. Or rather, he told me I had to cancel everything I had planned." I laughed. "Not that I had anything."

"That is so sweet. Are you excited?"

"Well, it's weird, you know? I mean, he's not my type at all."

"True. You usually go for the deep, brooding, artsy type with long hair and bad hygiene."

"But I liked being with him. And he made me laugh a lot while we were talking. So I dunno, I guess I'll just have to wait and see." I sighed, remembering how his wide grin and sparkling eyes made me want to join in on the joke, whatever it was. "And fuck off by the way."

Mallory laughed. "I'm only kidding ya babe. I can practically hear you smiling over the phone. It's nice." I smiled at that. Just as Tom was my second little brother, Mallory was the big sister I never had. "So when is Romeo Gorges supposed to pick you up?"

I looked at the clock. "In a little over forty-five minutes." I sat back up on my bed. "I'll have to let you go, I still have to get ready. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"I'll want to know all the juicy details." I could imagine her grinning on the other end of the phone. "Have fun babe!"

"Thanks. I have a feeling I will." I hung up, still smiling.

***

Forty-five minutes later, I was seated on the couch, a longish white v-neck overlapping my leather-like tights, feet encased in black lace shoes, hair straightened to perfection and held back with a sparkly green and silver hairband, my emerald eyes lined and mascara-ed subtly and a soft pink sheen on my thin lips. And maybe I had sprayed on my neck and wrists a little of Mallory's perfume, which she had forgotten last time she had come over. Just maybe.

As much as I tried to concentrate on the gameshow flashing before me, all I could think about was if going out with Josh Gorges really was a good idea. I had no idea where he planned to take me, and it didn't help sooth my nerves. Mallory was right; I usually dated dark, sensible, and maybe slightly effeminate artists and musicians that preferred staying home and watching a movie than going clubbing all night. I had no idea if I could keep up with a life-of-the-party professional athlete.

But I was willing to try.

A harsh buzz startled me from my thoughts, and I rushed to the intercom, only to take a full minute to compose myself before answering. "Yes?"

"It's me. Um, Josh."

I took a deep breath as a smile threatened to crack through. Okay, so maybe I wasn't stressed about going out with any professional athlete. Maybe it was his ever-sparkling eyes and his ability to make me laugh at every sentence that had me so flustered.

"Yeah, I'm buzzing you up." I pressed the button on the intercom to open the lobby door. The elevator to the fourth floor took exactly 54 seconds (Tom had complained one day that it took over two minutes, and I had argued it couldn't be more than one. The matter was solved with a chronometer, a ride in the elevator, and more whining from Tom) so I waited as patiently as I could, arranging and rearranging my hairband in the living room mirror.

Three short raps at my door sent my heart jumping in my throat, and I walked slowly toward it, not wanting to look too eager. When I finally opened the door, Josh Gorges' grinning face was the first thing I saw, and I grinned back, feeling the anxiousness slip away to be replaced by bubbly excitement. "Hey."

"Hey. I brought you these." He stretched his arm toward me, and only then did I notice the three pink tulips clutched in his hand, completing the picture-perfect scenario of the first date. I took them, unable to suppress the almost-exaggerated smile plastered on my face. "Thank you! Just let me put these in a vase and I'll be right out."

I quickly walked in the kitchen and grabbed the tallest glass in the place, filling it with water before placing the flowers in them. Okay, maybe it wasn't a real vase, but it was going to do. It was all I had.

"So are you ready to go?" He asked me as I walked out of the apartment and into the hallway.

"Where are we going exactly?" I turned back from locking the door behind me, locking eyes with his.

"Oh, you'll see." He smiled to himself, as if enjoying a private joke. I just stared at him as he slid his hand in mine and started walking towards the exit, prompting me to do the same.

Out in the parking lot, I couldn't help but notice a bare patch in the bed of tulips hugging the building. Pink tulips. I just shook my head, laughing softly. Far from finding it tacky, I found the fact that he had pulled the flowers out of my own building's little garden... endearing.

Like a real gentleman, he held the car door open for me before circling the car to the driver's side. Jumping in his seat, he bumped his head against the top of the door pane, causing me to stifle a giggle. "I totally meant to do that." He assured me, rubbing the top of his head, causing me to giggle harder.

As he started up the car and leaned over his seat to back out of the parking lot, I let my eyes drink up his appearance. Plain dress shirt opened two buttons down the collar, simple black pants. Sandy hair close-cropped, obviously freshly shaved. A small silver chain hanging from his neck, matching the subtly expensive silver watch at his wrist.

Definitely not regretting my decision.

The car ride was filled with light talk, as it was leaning on the wall next to the locker room the day before. Talking to him, I felt like I had known him all my life. I felt closer to him than to almost anyone I had known. This should've scared me, but instead, it filled me with a shining happiness I couldn't explain.

"Here we are." He said after twenty minutes of talking that felt like twenty seconds to me. I looked out of the driver's window into the dusk to see gentle blue waves washing onto soft-looking sand. I couldn't recognize the place, even if I knew we couldn't be far from Montreal.

"Where are we?"

"L'Île des Soeurs." He answered, opening his door and stepping out, careful not to hit his head again. He quickly circled the car to open my door, taking my hand and helping me out of the car. "Hammer owns a place here. It's the best beach in the region, but the best thing is that know one knows that. There's no one else here but you and I."

"That's really sweet, but I don't have my swimsuit."

He just grinned, locking his arm with mine. "Come and see."

I didn't have to wait long. After two minutes of walking, a navy blue blanket spread out on the sand came into view, flanked by a blue-and-white cooler, a battery-powered radio and multiple bulbs emitting a soft glow. The beauty and simplicity of it took my breath away.

"Wow," I breathed, taking in the sight.

"I hoped you'd like it," he said, wrapping his arm loosely around my waist. "Somehow I felt like you deserved more than the usual dinner-movie date."

"I love it." I laughed lightly, taking his hand and pulling him toward our 'table'. I took off my shoes before settling on the soft fabric, patting the space beside me. "So what's for dinner?"

His cheeks took a rosy tinge as he settled down next to me. "In all honesty, there's more style in the setting than in the food." He opened the cooler beside him, peering inside. "There's many kinds of sandwiches, macaroni salad, and coleslaw. Oh, and apple juice." He added as an afterthought, looking uncertain for the first time.

"Sounds perfect." I smiled, making him grin back. He took the food out of the cooler and spread it before us, handing me a glass and a fork before turning the radio on, which immediately started playing soft rock music.

"Mmm, this is really good." I said after my first bite of salad.

"Well thank you. I really thought I would never get it done." He smiled, taking a bite out of a chicken sandwich triangle.

I stayed silent for a second before asking, surprised, "You made this?"

He nodded. "Actually, I made all of this. Except the apple juice. That I bought." The soft pink was back to his cheeks again, giving him an innocent and adorable look.

"You're one in a million." I said before taking a ham and cheese triangle for myself, taking a small bite. It was delicious.

"I could stay awake, just to hear you breathing..."

"Oh, I love this song." I sighed, starting to rock back and forth along with the ballad.

Josh stood up, dusted his pants off and offered me a hand. "May I have this dance?"

I placed my hand in his, smiling as he lifted me to my feet. He wrapped his arms around my waist while mine were around his neck, and right there, barefoot in the sand, we started dancing to Aerosmith's 'I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing'. My heart was going at a hundred miles an hour. It was heaven.

"Cause even when I dream of you, the sweetest dreams will never do. I still miss you babe, and I don't wanna miss a thing."

"Ever since practice ended yesterday, I couldn't stop thinking about you." He whispered in my ear as the song progressed.

I looked up into his eyes, easily losing myself into them. "You're not the only one." I whispered back, very aware of how close his face was to mine, how his breath danced on my lips.

We kept staring into eachother's eyes until he leaned in towards me, and I closed my eyes, my stomach fluttering with anticipation.

***

"...and that's when he kissed me. Seriously Mal, it was the best date of my life." I sighed, lovestruck. Mallory and I were hanging around the locker room after practice the following day, as Tom had had the great idea of subtly hooking my best friend up with one of his teammates, Max Pacio-something. I don't know, I wasn't really listening when he told me. All I cared about was that I would be seeing Josh again.

"I'm really happy for you girl. At last you find a guy that's fit, a total hottie, and that doesn't smell constantly of oil paints," she said, making us burst out laughing. "But seriously, you look totally smitten. It's good on you."

"I guess you're right. I certainly do feel good." I nodded. "Josh Gorges, I think I'm falling for you." I said simply, to no one in particular.

"Did you really mean that?" Josh asked, popping his head out of the locker room.

I jumped, unjumbling my thoughts before nodding, smiling as I always did when I saw him.

He nodded to himself, clearly satisfied. "Thought so," he said, flashing me his signature grin and winking before disappearing back into the locker room.