Whatever It Takes

Now, what was the quickest way to get a guy’s attention? Guys fell prey to legs, butts and boobs. She glanced down at her skinny jeans; legs were out of the question. Butt? Not her best jeans to demonstrate that asset. Boobs? Hmm, that would work.

She shrugged off her sweater and laid it across her lap as she crossed her legs. In her panic of trying to impress James, Arianna had settled on wearing a conservative yet cute and stylish combination of a black silk scoop neck tank top tucked into dark navy blue skinny jeans topped off with a little cream colored cardigan.

She ran her fingers through her hair, shaking it slightly to give it some volume. The dim spotlights highlighted her golden highlights giving her hair a vibrant glow. She accepted her drink with a gracious smile, as she reached into her pocket to pay for it. It wouldn’t be too long before the boys came; now she just needed to sit and wait.

“How about you let me buy that drink for you?” a male voice said from behind her. She turned to glance at where the voice had come from, a smile spreading across her face. Two guys stood before her, both athletically built with dark hair and light eyes. One wore jeans a plaid shirt tucked loosely into his pants. The other, the one who had spoken, was dressed similar with a stripped shirt and jeans.

“No, it’s okay. I don’t like strangers paying for me,” she stated as she handed her money to the bartender. “We don’t need to be strangers,” the guy continued as he sat on the open stool beside her. He gave her a bright smile and she couldn’t help but giggle. Yes this will work just perfectly, she thought.

***

“Guys, have you seen Ari?” Patrick asked as he made his way back to the table. Those girls had kept him for over an hour, talking about pointless things but mostly just flirting with him.

He didn’t really mind if he was being honest. After all, these were his fans; he needed to give them what they wanted. Also, he loved the female attention.

But now he wanted to see his girlfriend. Talking to those girls had been fun but towards the end it got boring. None of them challenged him like she did. None wanted to make him work for it. He excused himself from their grip and walked back to the table, surprised to find out that Arianna was not there waiting for him.

“Pat, remember you’re drunk,” Jon said, as he sat at a chair around the table. “What are you talking about?” Patrick asked him, annoyed with his comment. All the guys around the table were silent; some glancing away while others just took sips of their drinks.

“She’s there, over by the bar,” Brent said, as he pointed her out. Patrick squinted; sure his eyes were misleading him. Yet there she was, sitting at the bar and chatting with two guys who kept reaching over and touching her arm.

“What the fuck is she doing?!” he said out loud, as he grew irrationally jealous in seconds. He felt his hands clench into fists, as he saw the guy touch her leg with his.

“I think she’s doing what you were doing” Lisa spoke up as she sat beside Jon and watched Patrick’s expression. Patrick glanced back at the table where they all shot him knowing looks.

“I take back what I said. This girl is perfect for you” James teased, as Jon and Sharpie started snickering at the comment. Patrick shot them all looks, “so funny” was all he said as he made his way to the bar where his girlfriend sat.

***

She smiled and nodded, listening as Harvard and Yale told her stories about their different fraternities. She couldn’t remember their names to be honest, only where they went to school. They were cute and charming, she’d give them that much, but they weren’t Patrick.

“You need to come with me,” a familiar male voice said from behind, as Arianna felt a hand slide down her lower back and his warm breath against her neck. She didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was.

She shot Harvard and Yale a pretty smile and jumped off the stool. Both boys seemed in awe of the guy beside her, neither one processing what was happening. She laughed out loud and turned to follow Patrick as he grabbed her hand and led her away from the bar.

As they approached the table, he stopped walking and turned to face her. They were inches apart, his hands still on hers while their bodies grazed one another. She could feel the rush between them, the chemistry vibrating from inside them both.

“Care to explain me to what the hell that was about?” he asked her in a husky voice, irritation lingering in each of his words. She let out a small smirk, covering it up quickly as she moved in closer.

“Why do you think you’re the only one allowed to have fun?” she asked him innocently. Their eyes were locked on one another, neither one willing to be wrong. “What are you tal-” Patrick began to say until he realized what she meant.

“Ari, that’s part of my job. They’re just fans. It didn’t mean anything,” he told her as he took her hands and placed them in between his. His eyes were filled with sincerity and concern; had he gone too far? He never wanted to hurt her that wasn’t his intention. He just didn’t know any better; he had always done this and gotten away with it. He didn’t see the big deal.

“Pat, I get that. It doesn’t bother me. I want you to be with your fans and give them the whole Patrick Kane experience,” she teased, “but I’m also not going to sit around and let you flirt with girls in front of my face”.

“So it’s just a friendly reminder,” Arianna said as she pulled her hands out from his. “To remind you that just as quickly as you can be flirting with girls I can be flirting with guys. And it’s not a threat or anything like that. I just want you to know it works both ways,” she finished as she put her hand on his cheek.

“But Ari, they’re fans. Those guys aren’t fans of your work…they’re fans of something else,” he told her as he gave her body a once-over look.

“Exactly Pat, they are fans. I don’t think you realize that means you don’t need to hit on all of them,” she said as she slid her hand down his neck. “ Treat them like your friends Pat. And not like your girlfriend,” she whispered as she brought her mouth close to his.

An arrogant smirk appeared on his face as he brought his lips down onto hers for a quick hungry kiss. His brain was jumbled with incoherent thoughts and alcohol and desire, allowing him to momentarily forget that they were suppose to be keeping this on the down low.

She pulled away and rested her forehead against his, a smile plastered across both their faces. Arianna tasted his alcohol on her lips but ignored it for the time being. She just wanted to be close to him for now.

“Glad you kids could work out your problems” Sharpie said as he and Jon appeared beside them. Patrick and Arianna laughed, sliding their bodies next to one another in an effortless manner.

“Time to go though, early practice tomorrow morning” Jon said, as Arianna glanced at all the players behind him getting their things together. “Ok” Patrick said simply, as he leaned down and nuzzled Arianna’s neck carelessly. “We can go home and play,” he whispered suggestively in her ear, causing her to break out into a fit of giggles.

“Remember your cousin James?” she asked him through her laughter, his eyes confused for a moment until her statement sunk in. “Patrick can’t drive,” she declared to all the guys as they found themselves back at the table.

“Yes I can!” he shouted, as he pouted like an angry 6 year old. “Not helping your case baby,” she said soothingly as she rubbed his back. She glanced around the table, hoping to find someone who could drive them. Jon suddenly appeared besides her, causing her to jump slightly.

“I don’t even think I can drive. I left my car at Patrick’s so I was just planning on crashing there tonight anyways” he told her. She sighed and looked for Lisa or James. Surely one of them would be able to drive, they knew the city pretty well she assumed.

“Lisa!” she said as she spotted her cousin and Patrick’s in an intense conversation, each one holding empty shot glasses in their hands. “Well looks like neither of you can drive,” Arianna said to herself.

“Ari, just drive my car. You’re the only one capable,” Patrick said as he took his keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. His arm was still resting against her shoulders, his weight suddenly growing heavier and heavier on her.

“Pat, I can’t. I’m not insured on it and I’m not even of legal age to be allowed to drive anywhere else in the world other than where I’m from”.

“Ari, you worry too much,” Jon said as they made their way towards the bar door. “Guys, if we get stopped by the cops I’m screwed. A) I have a car filled with incoherent drunks and B) I want to be lawyer. I’ll never be one if I have a criminal record!” she told them, growing more anxious with every word.

“You need to relax,” Patrick told her, “I’ll help you do that when we get to my house,” he teased as he kissed her neck. As they pushed the doors open they were met with the crisp cold air against their faces.

“Right now is not a good time to try and seduce me,” she said in a worried tone, as they reached his car. He laughed at her pouting face, and took it in his hands. “Do you trust me?” he asked her sweetly. She nodded in response, her eyes growing softer as she starred at him. “I promise nothing bad will happen. Just drive”.

***

“Never again! Never again will I listen to you guys!” Arianna said as she stomped through Patrick’s front door. The rest of them followed behind, laughing hysterically at the panic she was displaying.

“It’s not funny!” she argued with them as she sat on the couch and pouted. “No A, it really was!” Lisa giggled as she fell onto the couch beside her and continued to laugh.

On their drive home to Patrick’s, Arianna had been a model student driver, stopping at every yellow light and breaking at every stop sign. It would be just her luck that a block from Patrick’s house they would get stuck at a red light. so close to freedom but yet so far, was the only thought that kept going through Arianna’s mind. All was good until a cop car pulled up beside them.

At that moment Arianna went into high mode of freak out mixed with panic. She had to be told by Patrick to continuously take deep breaths in and out, and reminded my Lisa to act natural.

Yet the one thing she shouldn’t do, she did; look at the cops beside them. They glanced back at Arianna and gave her a small head nod, to which she responded by letting go of the wheel and giving them a thumbs up.

“Fine, laugh at me all you want! I just panicked!” Arianna whined as she slid down into her seat more. “Poor baby,” Patrick said as he came over and lifted her off the couch and placed her into his arms.

“Everyone’s being mean to me,” she pouted, as she gave him a knowing look. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. “It wasn’t so bad A, see? I told you to trust me. I’d never let anything happen to you,” he told her sweetly.

She gazed into his eyes and nodded, as she rested her head against his chest. She might not have known him for long, but that was one thing she did; she trusted him.

***

Beep, Beep, Beep!

“What the fuck?” Arianna mumbled as she heard the annoying beeping continuously coming from her phone. She stuck out her arm in the dark, reaching over to the nightstand to try and grab her phone. She saw the alarm clock read 5:45 am. Who the hell was calling her this early in the morning?

She found her phone and placed it to her ear, clicking “Answer” in the process. “Hello?” she mumbled into the mouthpiece, her head still not fully awake.

“Oh my God!” Marissa’s voice said in a hushed whisper from the other end. “Rissa? Are you ok?” Arianna asked, suddenly concerned and more awake then before. “Yeah, I’m fine. But you might not be,” Marissa said back in a hurry.

“What? What are you talking about?” Arianna asked as she sat up in bed, glancing at Lisa who was asleep beside her to make she hadn’t woken her up. They had ended up sleeping at Patrick’s after a long debate with all three boys. None of them would allow the girls to take a cab back that late at night. In the end they forced her and Lisa into the guest room and told them to sleep there.

“Do you have a computer nearby?” Marissa asked in a concerned expression. “Uh, yeah I think. Hold on,” Arianna said as she slid off the mattres and walked towards the door.

She opened it and stepped out, closing it behind her gently. She tiptoed into the open area where the living room and kitchen were. She could see Jon sprawled out on Patrick’s big sofa, fast asleep.

She tiptoed to the table where she found Patrick’s laptop. She sat down quietly and opened the screen, happy to find his computer unlocked. “Ok, what am I looking for?” Arianna asked Marissa.

“Go to your Facebook. I inboxed you a link. Click on it and scroll down,” Marissa said in a hurried expression, her nerves getting the best of her. Arianna nodded and did as she was told, growing nervous as she heard the anxious tone of Marissa’s voice. She furrowed her brow at the link Marissa had sent her; she had not idea what this was.

Instantly after clicking the link, a page expanded open on her screen and her eyes immediately caught Patrick’s name being mentioned all over the place. She scrunched her forehead as she began to scroll through the messages (all of which were dedicated to declaring their love for him.

She suddenly felt her heart stop beating.

“Oh my God,” she said into the phone, her hands shaking as her eyes stayed glued to the page in front of her. “I’m so sorry A. I typed his name in Google, just curious to see what would come up. And this page did so I clicked on it and I saw that…and I just thought you needed to know,” Marissa explained.

Arianna couldn’t speak, no words willing to form on her lips. Her eyes burned into the picture she saw on screen. There she was with Patrick, their arms wrapped around each other as their faces were caught in a deep kiss. It was a picture from the bar, right before they left.

What stung her even more was the comment associated with the picture made by whoever posted it.

“Looks like Kaner found himself a new bitch”

Arianna scrolled down the page in a hurry, her eyes growing wide as she spotted more pictures posted from that night. With every picture came nasty comments; 7 for every somewhat nice one she got.

“Oh my God” was all she could say again. She felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. Guess it was public news now that Patrick Kane had a girlfriend.