Whatever It Takes

Patrick walked up to his front door, his gym bag weighing heavy on his shoulder. Today’s practice had not been one of his best performances. It had been filled with mindless passes, unmotivated skating and unusual aggression. Coach Q had pulled him off the ice halfway through to ask him where his head was. And to be honest, he wasn’t sure where it was.

His mind had kept drifting back to Arianna all day, worried about how she was doing. It happened from time to time where he had bad practices for one reason or another. But never had he felt so overcome by a single situation and that worried him. Was he falling too fast and hard for her?

He sighed as he opened the door, an uneasy feeling running through him as he was unsure as to what he would find. As he closed the door behind him, he heard laughter and chatter coming from the living room. He could feel himself frown as he dropped his bag at the door and followed the noise.

James, Lisa and Arianna were spread out across his living room on different couches in the midst of a conversation. They were all slightly red with rosy cheeks, laughing hysterically at something one of them had said.

“Patty!” Arianna cried as she noticed him at the door, her hand raised in the air to signal him to come over and join her on the couch. Patrick smiled at her, struck by how warm and bright her smile was. He made his way over to her cautiously, glancing at Lisa and James curiously for a sign of what was going on.

“Hi babe,” he told her as he sat down beside her. She slid her body over next to his, leaning over and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek, her hand caressing his face quickly. “How was practice?” she asked him, a smile still on her lips as she took a sip of water from her glass.

“Uh it was okay…” he told her, still confused as to what caused her change in emotion. “How are you?” he asked tentatively, glancing back at Lisa and James who were now consumed in their own conversation.

“I’m better,” she told him honestly, as she bit her bottom lip. “I’m sorry for this morning. I acted like such a baby… they always say the first blow is the hardest,” she confessed.

“Don’t apologize. Im the one who’s sorry…I should have protected you better Ari,” he told her, as he was filled with guilt. “Are you crazy?” she asked him, “This was not your fault at all”.

“Pat, it’s not the end of the world. So some girls said some stupid shit about me…I spent the day mopping over what strangers think of me” she told him as she brought her legs up to her chest. “And then I spent the day with Lisa and James, and they helped me see how crazy I was acting. It’s me and you in this…everyone else can go to hell,” she laughed, her smile contagious as he found himself smiling back.

What was it about her that always made him believe everything that came out of her mouth? Suddenly the worries he had before about falling too fast didn’t faze him. This was what he always wanted and he always got what he wanted. He put his arm around her and pulled her in, “that’s my girl”.

She giggled and rested her head into the crook of his neck as she snuggled closer. She wasn’t sure when things had gotten so serious between them, but it dawned on her the minute she felt her body relax as it reached contact wit his. She hated to admit it, but she would do anything to make this work. Something she had never felt before.

“Okay so now that you two love birds are reconnected,” Lisa teased, “what are the plans for tonight?”. Arianna shrugged her shoulders, not really caring what they did as long as she was with Patrick.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I want to go out. It’s not often I get to come to town and party with my cousin,” James said as he gave Patrick a look. Patrick nodded in response, “sounds good to me”. He had promised his cousin that having the girls around wouldn’t take away from their usual going out routines. He knew Arianna was always up for anything.

“Alright, well then I better go and get myself ready” Arianna said as she got up off the couch, leaning down to give Patrick one last kiss on the lips. “Call the boys and let’s do this right!” she told them as she walked to the guest room where her change of clothing was stored.
Patrick laughed as he watched her go; yeah, she was definitely someone worth keeping around.

***

The music from the club blared from the speakers around them, the floor vibrating from the beats that came bouncing off the walls. Arianna swayed her hips with the sound, her body loose and relaxed as she took a sip of her water. She closed her eyes for a second, running her fingers through her hair as she let the rhythm overtake her.

After the hysterics of last night, she had chosen not to drink today. She just needed to mellow out and have some fun. Also she had drunk quite a bit last night. Her body wasn’t craving to have more alcohol. Instead she had chosen to loose herself in the music. She loved to dance; it was the best form of relaxation for her.

As she danced around with Lisa, she felt warm hands grasp her from behind, sliding down low on her waist. Her body was being pulled back into the warmth of another’s body, one she knew all too well.

She laughed and turned to face Patrick, a seductive smile playing on her lips. He starred at her hungrily, his eyes and hands roaming all over her body. She could smell the liquor on his breath, as his eyes were glossy from his previous drinks.

Until now she had never noticed how much Patrick enjoyed his drinks. It didn’t bother her really; he was a big boy and old enough to make his own decisions. She shook her head and let the idea go. So what if he had a drink every now and then? He was still the same Patrick she knew and cared about.

“Having fun?” he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling against her neck. She nodded in response, brushing her lips against his earlobe. The connection between them was igniting sparks within her; her body suddenly craving his more than ever before.

“Public place children, public place,” Sharpie’s voice interrupted their moment as he came and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. Arianna laughed and pulled away from Patrick, who shot Sharpie an evil glare.

“I’m going to get some more water, you guys need anything?” Arianna asked the two of them. Sharpie shook his head no, his face still stuck in a permanent smile from disrupting their intimate moment. He loved to tease Kaner and bother him in any way, shape or form.

“I’ll go get them, stay here,” Patrick told her as he finally stopped glaring at Sharpie. He moved swiftly over and snaked his hand around her waist, bringing his lips crashing down onto hers for a kiss.

She pulled away and shook her head at him, laughing at his urgency to have her. “Not worried about all these girls seeing you with me?’ she questioned. “I don’t give a fuck,” he told her as his hand moved dangerously lower on her back. “They already know and I have nothing to hide”.

He was slightly buzzed she knew that. But his statement still meant so much to her, she couldn’t find the right words to say. She reached over and pulled his face closer to hers, a soft kiss exchanged as a way of saying “thank you”.

“Water please” she smiled at him, as they broke apart. He shook his head and laughed at her, as he walked away. His body turning on the inside as his mind raced with the unspeakable things he wanted to do to her. She really had this undeniable aura about her that drove him crazy.

As Patrick pushed through the crowd of people to get to the bar, he was stopped every so often by fans (most of whom were female) asking for pictures. He happily obliged, pulling the girls in close for memorable pictures.

Once he finally reached the bar he ordered himself another drink and a bottle of water for Arianna. They had already finished their bottles and he wanted one last drink before heading out. As the bartender gave him his drinks, he paid in cash and turned to walk back to their V.I.P section when something caught his eye.

What the fuck is she doing, he thought as he made his way over to where she stood, suddenly angry because he now knew who had taken those pictures the night before.

***

Arianna stood alongside Brent and Duncan, listening as both boys told her embarrassing stories about the other. She watched from the corner of her eye as Lisa and Jon stood alone in the corner together talking and dancing. She wasn’t sure why but she suddenly felt nervous as she watched them.

You have no reason to be, she thought to herself, Lisa is happily married and Jon is pretty into Marissa.

Her head drifted back to the conversation the boys were having. She opened her mouth to comment but quickly shut it when her eyes caught sight of something on the dance floor.

“What is Patrick doing?” she said out loud, as both guys beside her turned to look where she was starring. Arianna watched as Patrick stood in front of a girl who looked awfully familiar, his face getting closer and closer to hers. She would have been jealousy if she hadn’t seen the angry look on his face.

***

“What are you doing?” Patrick yelled at Jamie, her face filled with surprise as he appeared in front of her. “What do you want Patrick?” she asked him coldly, regaining her icy glare.

“I want to know why the fuck you have a camera pointed towards Ari and the guys,” he continued, growing angrier. She rolled her eyes at him, discreetly tucking her phone back into her pocket.

“Don’t know what you mean,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. Patrick grew more infuriated with her as the seconds passed, suddenly more sure than ever that she was behind the photos of last night.

His brain had a flashback to the previous night; her blonde hair shining underneath the lights, his eyes catching a quick glance of her body as it moved through the crowd. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? He had been so tipsy he hadn’t processed any thoughts.

“You know exactly what I mean. You posted those pictures of her online,” he said in a low voice to her as he moved closer. A small smile appeared on her lips, “Prove it” she said back.
They stood in silence for a few seconds. Patrick’s brain raced with ideas of taking her phone and breaking it to delete every picture.

“What’s going on?” Jon’s voice interrupted Patrick’s thoughts as he turned to see Jon, Duncan and Brent standing alongside Arianna behind him. They all looked confused, except Arianna who looked worried.

“Hi boys,” Jamie greeted them in a flirty voice, her eyes glancing over all them and landing on Arianna. “I remember you,” she continued, “you’re the girl who was at Patrick’s party. You were starring whole into my back because you were jealous that I was sleeping with him and you weren’t”. She flashed Arianna a wicked smile, her eyes daring her to start a fight.

Arianna shook her head; she wouldn’t do this with Jamie. She knew what she wanted was to get a reaction out of her and she wouldn’t let her win. She respected Patrick too much to embarrassing him like that or give in to this craziness.

“Nice seeing you again too,” she said through a forced smile as Brent and Duncan chuckled at her fakeness. Arianna rolled her eyes and gave Patrick a look; she would see him later, she wanted no part of this. Patrick nodded to her although his eyes were still filled with fury.

“Aw looks like your little toy can’t handle the pressure that comes along with being your flavor of the month,” Jamie teased to Patrick as Arianna began to walk away.

Arianna stopped dead in her tracks, suddenly filled with rage. She turned back to look at Jamie, her eyes piercing wholes through Jamie’s skull. “Back off,” Patrick growled to Jamie, his body shaking with anger.

“Excuse me?” Arianna said, ignoring Patrick’s comment and everyone around her. Her eyes were fixed on Jamie; no one spoke about her like that and got away with it.

“I didn’t stutter,” Jamie said, “and everyone thinks so too. That little forum really did a good job of nailing you down”.

Arianna could feel her anger boil up, her heart racing now. This was not going to end pretty.

“I don’t know what your problem is, but you better watch your mouth,” Arianna threatened as she took a step forward. Patrick suddenly tensed up, realizing he needed to break up this up before he it got out of hand. Yeah he was boiling up with anger over what Jamie did, but he would deal with it on his own. He didn’t want Arianna getting involved in this.

“Forget her Ari, she’s not worth it,” Patrick said as he took a step forward to stand between the girls who were glaring at each other.

“I hope you don’t believe all the shit he says. He’s just going to use you and throw you out like he’s done to everyone else,” Jamie spat at Arianna, her eyes narrowed with hate.

That was the final straw for Arianna as she felt herself loose control. She hated confrontation and avoided fights at any cost. However, she never let someone walk all over her.

“Listen carefully,” Arianna, said as she took a step forward into Patrick, “I don’t know what the fuck your problem is. So you’re bitter he dumped you, get the fuck over it and grow up you miserable bitch”.

“You’re dumber than you look. Because if you think for one second you’re any different than all those other girls you’re sadly mistaken,” Jamie retorted, furious over Arianna’s previous statement.

Arianna felt herself deflate a little inside, as Jamie’s words stung. She glanced at Patrick and suddenly felt like an idiot. He had broken how many girls’ hearts before her? Was she any different? She watched as he stood there, not denying anything Jamie said.

Jamie took a step forward, her eyes red with fury as her arm was at her side balled up into a fist. Patrick stepped forward separating the two girls again, before glancing at Brent and Jon to grab Arianna.

Jon swooped his arm round Arianna’s waist and pulled her back before she jumped over Patrick to attack Jamie. Brent got in front of her, blocking her view of Patrick and Jamie.

“Get off me Jon,” Arianna said as she shook him off. She pushed Brent and glanced one more time at Jamie. “I’m done,” she said exasperated, “I’m so done with this. Do yourself a favor and go and live your life and stop being so pathetic”.

With that she turned and walked off into the sea of people. Patrick shook his head as he turned to look at the guys. His eyes pleaded with Jon’s and Brent’s to go and follow Arianna home. He needed to stay here for right now and finish things with Jamie.

***

“Ari?” Patrick asked as he, James and Lisa stepped through the front doors. All the lights in the house were off as silence filled the air around them. After having a stern talk with Jamie, he had left the club in a hurry to get home. James had spent the night trying to calm him down; his nerves were a wreck.

Jon had messaged him that he and Brent had dropped off Arianna at his house before, even though she fought with them that she wanted to go to her hotel. Patrick knew that Jamie’s comments had stung Arianna, especially about the other girls.

He walked through the dark house as James went to the kitchen to get some water. The guest bedroom door was closed, but he saw a tiny light shining underneath the crack of the door. He knocked gently on the door, before pushing it open and glancing inside.

Arianna lay in bed fast asleep, a book open by her side as a small night-light was left open. Patrick sighed as he pushed the door open more and stepped in. He walked over to the lamp and turned it off before taking a seat at the edge of the bed.

She looked so peaceful as she slept, he couldn’t help but stare at her. His hand brushed a piece of stray hair out of her eyes, as he leaned over and gave her a light kiss on the head.

He felt so guilty as he looked at her asleep. He prayed he wasn’t ruining everything he loved about her. These past few days had been hard for her; he knew that. He just worried that it would all get too much for her. He had seen the hurt in her eyes when Jamie mentioned those other girls.

He sighed and got up, walking to towards the door. Hopefully things would look better in the morning.

“Pat?” Arianna’s soft voice rang through the silent dark room. He turned around to see her rubbing her eyes, still half asleep.

“Hey, sorry I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said as he took a step back towards her. “It’s ok,” she said as she looked at him through half closed eyes.

“Ari…I’m sorry about tonight…” he began as he sat back down next to her on the bed.

“Pat, it’s ok,” she said as she reached an arm over and rubbed his arm. “Just stay with me please?” she asked him sweetly. “I don’t want to be alone tonight,” she confessed as her eyes glanced into his.

He felt his heart melt as he saw her vulnerability and innocence. Patrick nodded as he slid himself beside her and hugged her close. They had a lot they needed to discuss, but right now all that mattered was just being together.