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Effortless

Chapter 5: Ballerine

I was happy that we had Thursday off. We didn’t get back to Pitt until around 3 in the morning and I was feeling the exhaustion a little bit. I felt better than I had been, though, and I couldn’t get Dianna out of my head. Just the way she looked when she answered the door, so carefree, so warm. I kept picturing the kiss we shared over and over again. It made the flight easier for me, which was good, because believe it or not, I’m terrified of flying. The guys did not hold back questioning me about what was going on between us. I told them that we were just talking and hanging out, nothing serious. Max could tell I was holding back something, but that’s only because he is super intuitive. I didn’t care much, they would find out eventually.

It of course was raining when we landed and I rushed to my car trying to keep from getting soaked. I sat there for a second before pulling my phone out and turning it back on. We weren’t allowed to have them on in the plane.

DIANNA HAWKINS 11:07pm

Hey handsome, I know you’re probably not even back to Pitt yet. I have to go to bed though, performance and everything tomorrow. Just wanted to tell you Goodnight and sleep well. : )

I smiled and texted back, hoping that it wouldn’t wake her up. My phone told me that she had sent this around 11 o’clock at night.

Home safe and sound, it’s raining like crazy though. Goodnight, Dianna, sweet dreams.

Driving felt good; I enjoyed being behind the wheel again. I loved my car, I finally had a car that I liked and I had to say she was a beauty. I walked into my apartment about 45 minutes later, my hair was soaked and I couldn’t wait to be in my own bed. I stripped down and decided on a shower before bed. In the shower, I had to focus my thoughts on something else aside from Dianna. I kept trying to think of everything that was the complete opposite of her. I ended up just turning the water to cold instead, worked much better.

The next day.

I woke up to my phone vibrating. I looked at my alarm clock and it told me that it was a little past noon. I grabbed my phone to see Sid’s name.

SID 12:23pm

We are coming over. Prepare.

I fell back in my pillow and rolled my eyes. My apartment was always the hang out place; I felt it was because my living area was huge. I looked at my phone again and I saw a missed message from Dianna.

DIANNA HAWKINS 10:30 am

I really enjoyed waking up to your message. I’m so happy you got home safe, not that I worried about you or anything : ) Nora is insisting I tell you hello as well.

I couldn’t believe that I had slept right through my phone going off. I text her back,

Hey, sorry I literally just woke up. You don’t have to worry about me, I’m a big boy. : ) Tell Nora I said hey too. How’s your day going so far?

I laid my phone on my stomach and waited for her to message me back. I closed my eyes and imagined what she was doing; pulling her hair up for rehearsal, laughing happily with Nora, chatting about whatever. I smiled thinking about her. At some point during this time I must have dozed off because I woke up to have Marc-Andre’s face smiling, very close to mine. I jumped and fell out of my bed.

“I told you we were coming, bro” came Sid’s voice from my bedroom doorway. I groaned and sat up. I knew closing my eyes wouldn’t end well.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. I must have dozed off.” I apologized getting up.

“And to think we brought you a sandwich and everything…some friend you are” Flower joked with me.

I rolled my eyes at him and he smirked back.

“Not to be rude, Tanger, but your breath reeks, go brush your teeth and then come and eat with us. We want to know about this girl” Sid said, taking off his hoodie.

“You mean the lady on the phone” Max walked in, holding my phone to his ear. “So rude of you, Tangers, to ignore this poor girl when she texts you. He rather sleep, Di, you should see him, sitting on his bedroom floor, woken up by his boys because he can’t get outta bed” Max shook his head in mock and shame. My eyes got big, Dianna was on the phone. Ugh, they would call her.

Max uh’d and mm’d as she obviously responded.

“Give me the phone, Maxime” I said, standing up and reaching out for the phone.

“Uh oh, Di, he’s a little pissed off that I called you. He’s sooo cute when he’s angry” he kept going, antagonizing the hell out of me.

“Give it”

He handed me the phone, but not before saying, “Tell you’re pretty little ballerina friend I said hello.”

He handed me the phone, with a wide grin, and then quickly left the room before I could throw a punch at him.

“Dianna?” I asked into the phone, just in case they were yanking my chain.

“Hey, Sleepy” she sounded cheerful, which I was thankful for, I had a flashback of when Alex would yell at me for an hour when they guys pulled this shit.

“I’m sorry about my friends, Dianna, and I’m also sorry for falling asleep again on you” I said into the phone. I was genuinely sorry for both things, the first more so than the last.

“Haha, it’s no problem, I think Nora was more excited for Max calling actually. It’s nice hearing from you though. I’m so sick of New Jersey” she replied and I could see her sitting on her bed, legs stretched out in front of her, her feet pointed, as though it was their natural state.

“Usually girls get a little upset when half the Pittsburgh hockey team calls them.”

“I’m not a usual girl, and it wasn’t the whole hockey team, just one of the forwards.” She sounded reassuring which made me feel better.

“So, how is your day going?” I asked, shutting my bedroom door, so that the guys wouldn’t over hear our conversation. When I heard my TV turn on, I knew they were in their own world. I padded over to my bed and stood in front of it. I decided to lie on the floor instead; my carpet was thick and soft anyway.

“Alright, kind of a lazy day, we had rehearsal this morning and now we’re free until the performance” she answered. “Nora and I have just been sitting in our room doing nothing”

“I think my day has been significantly more lazy than yours, I wished I hadn’t slept so long, could have gotten a few things done before the guys showed up” I replied, lifting my hips to stretch my back.
“You had a long flight; I would have slept in until 12 if I could have. I don’t mean to keep you on the phone if your friends are over. I don’t want to be that girl” she confided a little quietly.

“You got to understand they are always here, so you aren’t interrupting anything, trust me.” I said, hopefully getting through to her that this was as common as the mail being delivered.

“You sure?”

“oui, ballerine” I responded, I was so relaxed and was enjoying talking to her so much that my native tongue slipped out.

“tout en veillant, Kris” I think she could hear the popping sound as my mouth fell open.

“You speak French?” I inquired and I knew I could keep my astonishment out of my voice.

“Well, I took it in high school…and then again in college…and I do believe my mother forced me into classes on Saturdays and after school.” I could almost hear her smile through the phone.

“Do you speak it very good?” I asked, I really wanted to make sure she wasn’t bullshitting me. Girls did that sometimes, learned a few words or phrases in French to impress one of us.

“Well, my dad is from France, and I have been studying it for a long time. So yeah I am good at it. I would say I’m bi-lingual.” She stated matter of factly.

“I didn’t know that about you” I replied unsure what else to say.

“There are many things you don’t know about me” she responded quickly.

“I can’t wait to learn them though, ballerine”

We hung up about a half hour later, reluctantly though, she had to get ready for her performance. Apparently hair and make-up takes longer than one would expect. I wouldn’t know though.

I walked into my kitchen five minutes later to see a Sub-Way sandwich on the counter. I un-wrapped it and saw my favorite. The guys knew me to well. I put it on a plate and grabbed water from my refrigerator before going into the living area. All the guys were sprawled out on my furniture and floor.

“Off the phone with your lady then?” Fluery asked me, turning just his head where was lying on the floor.

“Yep, she had to get ready for her performance.” I replied, plopping down next to Sid and starting to eat my sub.

“Soooo tell us about her!”

I looked over at Max my irritation went away for him calling Dianna because it was actually very nice to hear her voice.

“What do you want to know?” I countered, not sure what to tell them.

“What’s she like?” Sid asked his voice held genuine interest. I felt sometimes that because he was the captain he wanted to take care of us, on and off the ice. It was nice though, Sidney was a good confidant.

“Honest and thoughtful are probably the best two words to describe her. But, you know, laid back at the same time…I loved that she didn’t get mad at all when you called her. I like that, I want a girl that can be like my best friend and I feel like she possibly could be. You guys saw her she’s obviously beautiful, but she kind of lays everything out for you to see, no hidden bullshit or anything. Very straight forward, which I really like and it’s nice because I don’t feel like I have to make the first move all the time” I thought it better to get it out there now, so they wouldn’t keep inquiring about her.

“Sounds like she’s a good fit for you, man, do you think you want to keep her around then?” Flower ask, leaning up on his elbow.

“Well, we made plans to go to dinner when she gets back, so we’ll see how that goes. I mean, it’s only been two or three days of getting to know her.” I knew right away they heard my concern on the fact that I was liking her a bit too much, too fast.

“You would worry about falling for a girl too hard, Tanger” Max chuckled, “just go with the flow, dude, and don’t worry about it. If you enjoy spending time with her, make time to spend with her.”

“I know, I know, but she does seem really cool. She speaks French too” I added, waiting to see their reaction.

“Yeah, I bet she does” Flower said sarcastically. “Doesn’t every girl?”

“I bet she learned like a couple words and told you she does.” Max agreed.

“No, really her dad is French. Apparently, she’s grown up with and took classes and shit” I argued back.

“I swear, Tanger, this is luck that you met this girl. She seems like a keeper, but beware of the honey moon stage after it she might be nuts.” Max continued.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Max? What the hell is a “honey moon stage” “Sidney looked confused.

“You know, the first couple months of the relationship where you think the person is perfect and then they show their true colors” he explained, looking at us like we were idiots.

I was aware of that, maybe I didn’t have the same lingo as Maxime, but I was cautious of it. I felt something certain about Dianna and I was looking forward to getting the chance to learn more about her.

Later that Night 11:09pm

The guys left around 9 and I was enjoying some time to myself. I was folding laundry when my phone went off.

DIANNA HAWKINS 11:12 pm

I got my first standing ovation tonight!! I’m so excited, I wish I could be with you right now!!! : )

I read the message and smiled, I wasn’t too sure exactly why a standing ovation was good I always thought everyone stood up after a performance. I sent back,

Félicitations! That’s amazing, ballerine! You deserve it. I wish you were here too, make my evening a little warmer.

I continued to fold my laundry until she responded. I couldn’t help, but let my mind wander about all of the things I wanted to do with Dianna. I wanted to go on another walk with her, I wanted to watch a movie with her, and I wanted to see her dance. I sound like a sap, but those things sounded so nice right now. My apartment seemed quiet without the guys here.

Dianna’s Point of View

I was seriously on cloud nine. I couldn’t believe how well the performance went. I’ll admit too that I kind of wished that Kris could have seen. Well, any of my friends really, but him too. Nora was very chatty on our way back to the hotel and I had to say I wasn’t really listening. I kept rethinking about tonight when I saw every person stand up after my solo. That feeling of accomplishment. I have to say, it was such a good night. Another good kiss would end it really well. I texted Kris to tell him about my night and I hoped that he would understand what I was talking about. His response was genuine and it made me want to see him more. I had to stop being such a teenage girl when it came to him.

Back at the hotel, Nora decided to get some drinks with the rest of the company, but I could feel the exhaustion creeping up on me. Spending most of the night with Kris the one day and having to be up and dancing I wanted to just lie down and rest. I opted out of the bar scene and went to the room. I took a quick shower to rinse off the sweat and the make-up from the night’s performance. It made me feel even better.

KRIS LETANG 12:43 am

Ballerine, I’m exhausted and I’m sure you are too. I just wanted to tell you bonne nuit and that I can’t wait to see you again. I’m so happy you did well tonight, I wish I could have seen you dance, you really don’t even know how much. Sleep well petit danseur.

I smiled, and I let myself fantasize for a second on moments that we could share together. Kissing him, hugging him, going to one of his games, and even just hanging out. My smile grew with each thought and I knew that Kris Letang was a guy that I needed to get to know better.

Bonne nuit, Kris. I hope you sleep well too. I’m so looking forward to spending some more time with you when I get back. I wish you could have been here tonight too, but I promise you’ll see me dance sometime. Bonne nuit again, Kris Letang

I fell asleep that night imaging what it would be like to have him lying next to me.
♠ ♠ ♠
I know, this is just a filler, but it needed to be done. Please comment, I know people are reading, so let me knwo what you think.

<3 SJ