Effortless

Dianna’s Point of View

The following morning I was tired, I’m not going to lie, but I have to say I felt really good. Thank God, for Nora, though, I would have never gotten up if she wasn’t there. After she and I were both dressed, we decided to go down to get some breakfast before we figured out what we were going to do for the day. We had a pretty much free day until about 7 when we had another light rehearsal. No performance tonight, but we had one the following day. I felt comfy in my big sweater and skinny jeans; warm too considering the October air was becoming a bit nippy.

“You know if this boy keeps you out that late every night there is going to be a problem,” Nora chastised, her voice full of mock seriousness. She was getting a little annoyed with my slow pace.

“Okay, mum, I’ll remember that,” I replied as the elevator took us down.

The thing was though I couldn’t get him out of my head. I logically told myself that it was because it was new and that I enjoyed the attention. Though, there was this other part of me that couldn’t help but think that there was something completely different about Kris. I mean, he was kind and he seemed as if he would be a good boyfriend. Shit, you know what I mean, if we were to date. I’m not saying that we would. It was just a thought.

“I still can’t believe you two didn’t even kiss! You’re both beautiful, young, adults who have a mutual attraction and you didn’t fucking kiss!” Nora continued as we stepped off the elevator.

“I want to do this right, Nora. I want to take it slow. Really get to know him before I jump into anything” I explained

Nora didn’t push it. She knew what I had dealt with in the past and she understood why I would want to take it slow. I had this feeling too, that if Kris was the guy I hoped and sort of knew he would be that he would be comfortable taking it slow too.

At breakfast I stuffed my face. I was so damn hungry. Nora looked at me like I was a freak. As a dancer- food was something that was better in fewer quantities not today though I felt good and I was going to enjoy myself. As a chugged my orange juice, my phone went off.

KRIS LETANG:

Morning, Dianna : ) How are you?

I smiled because I liked that he called me Dianna. No one else did, not even my parents. I was Di to everyone, but to him I guess I was Dianna and I really liked that.

I sent back,

Good morning! I’m a little tired, but I’m good. How about you?

“So, was that you’re boy texting you nice and early? You guys would make a cute couple, you know. “Nora said as she finished her grape fruit.

“Yes that was him, and don’t jump the gun for me, Norie, I’m good with this right now.”
My phone went off before she could respond.

KRIS LETANG:

I’m a little sore actually. Got checked pretty hard last night, but I’m good. I really enjoyed spending the time with you last night. Maybe I could see you again today before I fly out?
I tried to keep from smiling, but it didn’t work. I liked that he wasn’t over forward, but made his ideas known, so that I didn’t have to guess. I texted back.

I’m done stairs in the restaurant right now. When do you fly out?

Five minutes passed, then 10, then 15 and I kept checking my phone like an idiot.

“He probably jumped in the shower; it’s what 9:45?” Nora tried to make me feel better. It wasn’t a big deal, I just had to keep my head, which I was having trouble doing. We sat there for a little bit longer; I listened to Nora as she talked about finding a place in Pitt to live. I chimed in every once in a while letting her know the good places and the bad ones.

“My apartment building has nice one bedroom on the first floor open. I don’t know how you feel-“but she cut me off mid-sentence.

“Don’t turn around, don’t freak out. You’re man just walked into the lobby. I think he’s looking for you.” Nora said staring right at me, trying to make it less obvious that she noticed him.

I could feel my heart beat a little faster and I grabbed my glass of orange juice to do something with my hands.

“He saw you, he’s walking this way-“she didn’t finish her sentence because she smiled and waved. I turned and saw him waving too. He looked at me, and I think his smile got bigger…just saying.

He reached the table and greeted both of us, “Hey Dianna, Nora” I felt him put his hand on the back of my chair.

“Hello, what brings you down here?” I questioned turning to get a better look at him.
“You” he smiled down at me. I smiled too, God I was such a sucker.

“Well, I have to break in my new pointes for tonight’s rehearsal. So, I’ll see you two later” Nora quickly said, and stood up.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt or anything I just thought I’d come to say hi. Please stay Nora” he insisted extending a hand when Nora stood up.

“Nah, not me, I’ve been putting off doing my shoes for too long, I’ll see you guys later,” she waved as she walked away.

I made mental note to hug Nora later.

“Go for a walk with me?” I directed at Kris when Nora’s shape disappeared behind the door.

“For sure”

Kris Letang’s Point of View

I liked that I didn’t always have to make the move. It was nice feeling that she wanted to spend time with me also. We walked outside into the October air and it felt refreshing, a little cool, but nothing that we couldn’t handle.

“I didn’t mean to keep you out so late if I knew you had rehearsal,” I apologized; I guess I thought she was leaving today too.

“Don’t be, I enjoyed myself. Plus, it’s just a small little rehearsal, not a performance” she explained. I looked over at her.

Her hair was pulled up and she had the cutest ears. I know, you think I’m weird, but they were small and dainty and I wanted to reach out and touch them. I didn’t though; I thought she might think I was a creep. I liked her hair in a ponytail, she had a beautiful neck and I could see her collarbone. Everything was so delicate about her, from her nose, to her cheeks. She looked like a porcelain ballerina doll.

“What are you looking at?” my thoughts were interrupted.

“Uh, sorry, I was just looking at you…” I replied, I could feel my ears get hot. She smiled at me and wrapped her hand around my upper arm. I liked the touch because it wasn’t too forward and it wasn’t as intimate as holding hands.

“So, tell me about yourself, all I know is that you play hockey. I’m sure there is more than that.” She asked, looking up at me.

“What would you like to know?” I countered, I didn’t know what else to say to her, I was my hockey.

“How tall are you?” she asked, and I laughed a little.

“Out of all the questions in the world, that’s the question you ask?” I replied to her.

“It’s a completely legit question; I’m 5’2” she said.

“Well, I’m 6’0…”

“Mmm, I think I might need to invest in some heels,” she laughed.

“It’ll make it easier for me to kiss you that’s for sure,” I smirked, when I felt her stiffen next to me.

‘Oh, so you want to kiss me, huh?” she probed, I stopped and turned to her grabbing her waist and pulling her close to me.

“I’ve thought about it, “her eyes were big and curious and I knew she was trying to figure out my next move. I moved closer to her, our mouths were extremely close. “Not yet though, it isn’t time,” I said, I was so close to her I could feel her breath on my lips. I let her go and started to walk. I’ll admit, all I wanted to do was kiss her. I could feel the ache in my stomach, but I didn’t want to rush it.

“You are an evil man, you know that,” she said as she caught up to me, wrapping her hand around my arm again.

“I’m not, “I grinned at her. She rolled her eyes playfully. “My turn for a question, how old are you?” I smiled, stupid questions here we go.

She laughed and threw her head back, “I’m 27” she said, looking at me.
I felt a little numb, 27? She was older than me? I would think Matt would have mentioned that to me. She didn’t look 27. I stared at her for a second.

“You’re bullshitting me,” I said, looking into her eyes.

“I am but you should have seen your face. I just turned 22 last month,” she answered honestly.

“I was going to say you don’t look 27. I’m 23” I told her.

“I love an older man,” she joked, squeezing my arm a little.

“What else, what else do you do aside from dancing?” I knew there was more to her than that, I could tell.
“I’m a PA student, final semester actually,” she shrugged.

“PA student? Like Pennsylvania?” I inquired; I honestly didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Physician Assistant student. I can pretty much do everything a doctor can aside from calling the shots.” She explained to me.

I was a little dumbfounded. I wasn’t expecting that. I figured she would have been an art student or something along those lines.

“Don’t look so surprised…I love medicine and it was something I wanted to pursue. Plus, dancing is hard to get into professionally when you have my body type.” She said.

“What do you mean body type? You have a great body,” I insisted, because I honestly thought that…especially the lower half…not that I looked okay? I saw her ears turn a little red.

“Well, my mother was a ballerina. She always wanted me to be on stage somewhere in Europe dancing to Swan Lake or Coppélia, but you can’t dance ballet when you only reach the height of 5’2, and the contemporary I do is very hard to get a job. I’ll never stop dancing though, it brings me to much happiness.” She continued, she was looking forward and I understood that there might have been more disappointment from her mother than she was letting on. I made a mental note to remember that.

“Well, I don’t know much about dancing or ballet, but when I saw you in the hallway I thought you were amazing, so don’t get down on yourself. I wish I could be that graceful. I’m always tripping over my own two feet.” I tried to be sympathetic.

She looked at me and I could see the gratitude in her face, “You know I watched the highlights from your game this morning…you looked pretty graceful to me.”

“On the ice I feel like I can do anything. I feel more at home there than anywhere else. So, maybe I do look graceful, but when I’m walking in my own shoes I one clumsy person”

“I can tell that you really love hockey, it’s nice seeing someone so dedicated and passionate about something. It’s so rare now a days.” She said to me.

We continued walking for a while in silence, but it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. She let go of my arm for a second to tuck some hair that fell into her eyes and when she went to put her hand back on my arm I grabbed it and laced my fingers with hers. Her slender fingers looked small in my hands, but they fit well.

“Can I be honest with you about something, Dianna?” I broke the silence a few minutes later.
“I would like you to be always, “she replied, “here lets go over there and sit on the bench.” She said pointing to the small bench looking out over a park.

When we sat down she sat very close to me, it was getting a bit chilly out.

“What were you going to say?” she asked.

“It’s nothing against you, but I was really surprised that you asked me for my phone number and honestly I wasn’t that happy about it. See, I dated this girl last year that was legit crazy and I guess I was worried that, that would happen again. I kind of wanted to focus on my hockey this year…I didn’t want any distractions. I know that might seem selfish, but it’s true. Then now spending this little time with you I want to see where this might go. I was just wondering if maybe we could take it slow?”

She didn’t respond right away and I felt her shift so that she was further from me, which was something I did not want. It was weird, I didn’t want to go to fast with her, but I didn’t want her to be far from me either. It doesn’t make sense, I know.

“I want to take it slow too. I know, I might have been a bit forward; it was just something about you that compelled me to know more. I don’t want to be a distraction at all; I just want to spend some time with you and get to know you better. I’m not interested in jumping into anything. I was just telling Nora this morning that I wanted things to take time with us.” She said back, and I was a little relieved that she understood and wanted the same thing.

We sat there for a while longer, and played with her fingers, tracing circles in her palm and just enjoying the warmth from her. Her hands weren’t even a little bit cold, despite the chilly weather. We decided to head back and I held her hand the whole way because I wanted to, no other reason, it felt nice to have hers in mine.

“So you’re in Jersey for another night?” I asked her.

“Yep, we have one more performance tomorrow and then I’m flying back to Pitt”

“Well, Saturday then, I want to take you to dinner”

“I want you to take me to dinner” she said almost immediately.

Dianna Hawkins Point of View

He walked me all the way back to my hotel room door, and I could honestly say that it felt great to feel his warm, rough hand holding mine. There was something about holding hands that was so intimate.

“When does your plane leave?”

“We have to be at the airport at 3” he replied. I frowned he would have to be leaving soon.

“That’s soon.” I said,

“Too soon, you mean” he grinned at me.

“Yes too soon. “

He pulled my hand that he was holding and placed it on his face. He breathed deep, and I felt chills run up my arm. He pulled my wrist to his mouth and kissed it, and did a few more times. I felt my heart beat crazily underneath my ribs.

I pulled my hand away from him, and he looked at me with big eyes. I placed the same hand on his chest and then slid it around his neck and I pulled myself into a hug. I felt him burry his face into my neck and it brought back the memory from the night before.

“Have a safe flight, Kris.” I whispered into his ear. When I tried to pull away he kept me there.

“Not yet” he said softly.

And I let myself stay in his arms.

A few minutes later I entered the room. Nora wasn’t there but she left a not telling me that she went shopping. Leave it to Nora to find the nearest mall anywhere she was. About a half hour later I decided to get ready for rehearsal. I started to take my clothes off and let my hair down before I had to pull it up. Standing in my bra and panties, I heard a knock at the door. I cocked my eyebrow, who the hell could that be.

I threw on a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt. I walked over to the door and of course there was no peep hole. Annoyed I opened the door to see Kris standing there.

“Hey, again,” I said, cocking my head in surprise.

“Hey”

I looked at him inquiringly and he just stood there looking at me. He looked a little nervous and he glanced up my body for a second before placing his eyes on my face.

“I just wanted to, uh, say that, um” he stuttered over his words.

“Kris, please, just kiss me already” I took the initiative and hoped that was the reason for him knocking on my door.

He looked at me eyes big. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might jump out of my chest. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach start to dance. Maybe that wasn’t why he was here.

He took a step forward, and put both hands on my neck and his fingers curled around. He leaned down and placed his lips gently on my own. The butterflies ignited again, and I felt tingles go down my spine.

The kiss was gentle and sweet and I smiled into it. He pulled away and looked at me, resting his forehead against mine. The smile would not leave my face, but I didn’t care. He kissed me again with a little bit more enthusiasm and I kissed back. I slid my hands from where they rested on his chest to around his neck. We both pulled away a bit out of breath.

“I know we agreed to take it slow,” he started to explain, his arms wrapped securely around my waist.

I cut him off with another kiss.

“ but I couldn’t help myself “he whispered onto my lips.