Whatever It Takes

Arianna stirred in spot, the sheets tangling themselves around her legs as she buried her face into the soft comfort of the pillow. Her eyelids fluttered opened lazily, streams of light coming from the half-open curtains. She glanced at the figure beside her.

Patrick sat up in bed, a bowl of cereal in his hands as he watched ESPN’s highlights of last night’s different games. She starred at him from the corner of her eye, half her face still hidden in the pillow. He had no idea she was awake as he took a spoonful of cereal and ate.

As she watched him her head was filled with a thousand thoughts. She studied the outline of his jaw, the color of his hair, the way he bit his lip. Her heart fluttered at every aspect of him, making her find it hard to believe that he was actually hers.

But images of the previous night flooded her head and then there was only one dominant thought that kept repeating itself in her mind. She involuntarily sighed out loud, causing Patrick to turn around and give her a small smile.

“Finally awake,” he teased, his face happy but his eyes clouded. She propped herself up on her elbows, “what do you mean finally? What time is it?” she asked him.

He leaned over and placed his now empty bowl on the nightstand. “Let’s just say I had enough time to go to practice this morning, come home, have lunch and now have a snack before the game”.

She sat up quickly and glanced at the clock beside the bed; 3:15 pm. “I’ve been asleep for 10 hours?” she asked in disbelief.

“Trust me, it hasn’t been 10 hours. You were stirring in your sleep all night…didn’t seem like you had a good night’s rest,” he told her, his eyes suddenly shifting away from hers.

The room grew quiet as Arianna sighed and rubbed her face. It was clear that a lot needed to be said about the night before yet neither one knew where to begin. She pulled the covers up to her chest and she leaned her body back against the headboard.

The awkwardness in the room was something they had never experienced. Of course they had been in fights and never held back from saying what they felt. But this time, it felt different. She felt more vulnerable than she had ever been before, and it scared her.

“Want to talk about it?” Patrick asked her, glancing at her quickly. He knew it was the right thing to do but he silently prayed she wouldn’t want to talk about the night before. Usually he had no problem talking to her and being honest, something he never had experienced with anyone else.

This time wasn’t the same though. He knew eventually it would all come out, his past with all those girls. Before her he never cared about what other girls thought of his reputation. With her, all he did was worry that one-day she would wake up and realize she could do better.

“There’s not much to talk about it, is there…” she said, not asking but more so stating. She brought her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly closer to her. She contemplated her next words, unable to figure out what to say.

“Ari,” Patrick began as he leaned over and placed his hand on her arm. “You have to know that Jamie said those things because she wanted to get to you. Don’t let her. She’s a bitch,” he told her, his hand moving to touch her cheek.

“I know that Pat…” Arianna said as she glanced at him, “but that doesn’t mean that what she said isn’t true”. She sighed and moved away from his touch, her insides feeling like they were on fire.

“I’m not dumb Patrick. I can only imagine you’ve had your fair share of girls,” she began, as she glanced back down at her legs. “I mean, which girl in her right mind wouldn’t throw herself at you?” Arianna tried to joke, but the statement caught in her throat causing her voice to quiver.

“Ari, it’s not like that,” Patrick explained to her as he moved closer to her once again. For the first time ever, he could feel himself fidget and get nervous. The nerves in his body were shot, sending his stomach on a roller coaster ride. He couldn’t let her go.

“Isn’t it Pat?” she asked him quietly, her eyes burning slightly from tears she forced back. She turned and finally looked at him again, the vulnerability she tried to hide written all over her. “Tell me it wasn’t like that and I’ll believe you…” she whispered.

He starred at her for what felt like forever, memorizing every detail on her face. Should he be honest and reveal what a jerk he was known to be? And if he did that, would that mean never getting to see her look at him like this ever again?

His hand found its way back to her face, his fingers tracing themselves down the side of her temple to her jaw lightly. She could feel her heart stop in her chest; wanting more than anything to hear those words leave his mouth. She wanted him to be everything she thought he was.

“Ari…” he began, his eyes searching hers, “please believe me when I say that I am no longer the guy I was when I was with Jamie. I’ve fucked up once or twice…I’ll admit that. But I am not who she says I am…” he told her.

He wasn’t telling her the whole truth as he chose his words carefully to leave her thinking he was more innocent than he actually was. Maybe it was wrong, but the thought of loosing her because of how he had acted in the past drove him crazy. At the end of the day, he’d do anything to have her.

“Ok,” Arianna responded, a weak smile on her lips, “I believe you” she finished. Patrick’s smile appeared instantly on his face, as a wave of relief flickered in his eyes. He leaned over and pulled her into a hug, moving back a little so he could let his lips kiss the top of her forehead.

Something inside of her rumbled, unsure about his statement. She could hear the bells go off but she chose to ignore them. She wanted him so badly that she pushed aside those doubts. Listening to her doubts before had made her miserable. For right now, she just wanted to be happy. And she wanted him.

***

The crowd jumped to their feet as the final buzzer rang signaling the Hawks victory against the Hurricanes. People beside Arianna danced in spot, singing each word to Chelsea Dagger at the top of their lungs. She smiled at their enthusiasm as she grabbed her coat and bag.

She glanced back at Lisa and James to make sure they followed her as she led the way out. Her insides bubbled with pride as she took one final glance at the ice where the boys stood crowded in the middle celebrating. She saw Patrick laughing and telling something to Corey.

As they made their way to the front doors, Arianna thought back to the past 48 hours. Things hadn’t gone exactly how she had hoped they would. She thought seeing Patrick would make this long-distance relationship easier, yet somehow it had made it harder.

It couldn’t help but cross her mind to wonder if this was really worth it. Sometimes liking someone just wasn’t enough. Relationships need more than just a feeling to make it work.

“Well, I’m off girls. I have a plane I need to catch,” James said as they made their way outside into the cold night. The girls smiled at him, suddenly sad that their time together had come to an end so quickly. They reached over and gave him a group hug, laughing as he reached down and hugged them back.

“You girls good to get back to your hotel?” he asked them, his eyes connecting with Arianna.

“Yeah for sure, we’ve taken a cab before you know. Don’t let the guys fool you,” she joked.

“Just checking. Patrick would kill me if I let something happen to you,” he told her, a smile spreading across his lips. She felt her insides rush at the mere mention of his name. “You let me worry about him. I’m just upset you couldn’t get to see him before you leave,” she confessed.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m use to it, it’s happened before. Sometimes he just has to leave right after the game. No big deal,” James shrugged it off, as he reached over and gave them quick individual hugs.

“Take care of my cousin for me this weekend!” James told her as he began to walk away, giving her a wink before making his way towards the line of taxicabs.

Lisa instantly linked her arm through Arianna’s, as she began to ramble about something funny Jon and Duncan had told her before the game. Arianna’s mind tuned her out, her thoughts going back to what she had felt before.

When she had seen Patrick score tonight, the jumble of emotions she had flooded her head and heart before she could even process a single thought. The pride and happiness that overtook her as she saw him smile made her take a step back. She screamed and jumped up and down, so happy to see him like that.

Tonight was the first time she realized that she would do anything to keep him that happy. She had never noticed before how much his happiness actually meant to her.

But why did she care so much? They had just started dating. Of course they were good friends and you always want to see your friends happy because you love them.

Her eyes widened suddenly as she felt her throat dry up. She had to mentally remind herself to keep walking as she tried to process her train of thought. Was the reason why she cared so much because…she was falling in love with him?

***

Arianna threw her luggage onto the floor, the connection between the bag and the hardwood ground making a loud “thud”. It was 10am and the morning sun had peaked through the clouds, glistening rays into her room and warming it up. She glanced around at her surroundings, relief washing over her as she threw her body down against her queen size bed.

It wasn’t even a minute before she heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” she sighed as she sat up, her head hanging to the side as her long hair draped over her shoulder.

Michael stuck his head in before pushing the door fully open and stepping inside, closing it behind him as he leaned against the doorframe. Arianna shot her brother a questioning look as a way of asking him what he wanted.

Growing up with two older brothers had never been easy. Dealing with their constant teasing and overbearing protectiveness has caused Arianna to grow up as tough as a younger sister could be. She had learned to be a “no-bullshit” type of girl, something her brothers were extremely proud of.

“What’s up?” she asked Mike after a moment of silence. He just stood leaning against her door, his arms crossed over his chest as his green eyes pierced into her dark ones.

It always surprised her how different they looked. Mike was the athlete out of them and towered over her at 6’3. He had dark hair and crystal green eyes, a complete contrast to her dark eyes and light golden brown hair.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s up,” he questioned back, his eyes narrowing in on hers. She shrugged her shoulders at his weird comment as she slid off her bed and began to open her suitcase.

“I’m tired Mike, can we not play this stupid game right now?” she asked exasperated, as she shuffled through her bag to find him the souvenir she bought him. When she had gone to Chicago last time he complained that she never brought anything back for him. This time, she made a point to go and buy him the silliest souvenir she could think of. He was 3 years older than her and yet he still whined like a baby.

“I’d cut that attitude if I was you,” he warned as he walked over and picked up her laptop, opening it and quickly typing something she couldn’t see. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye as she went back to rummaging through her luggage.

Finally! She thought as she grabbed the mug from the bottom of the bag. She had gone to every souvenir shop possible in hopes of finding him something that screamed tourist. And then she had seen it. The biggest mug ever with the word “Chicago” written in bold neon colors against a black background. It was perfect.

“So when were you going to tell me about this?” he asked her suddenly. She looked up at him, the mug in her hand ready to shove it in his face, just in time to see him turn the computer screen towards her.

“Oh my God,” she whispered as her hands went numb, the mug slipping out from her grip and onto the floor with a loud “bang”. She jumped back onto her bed pulling the laptop closer as she scrolled down the page, praying to God this was some kind joke.

And yet, it was not. Her brother had somehow managed to find the pictures of her and Patrick from that night at the bar. Her brother had now seen her making out with Patrick. He had seen Patrick have his hands on her waist and graze her ass. Her brother KNEW about her and Patrick.

She glanced up at him, shock and nausea spread across her face. She tried to brush it off but it was no use. She could see the anger and annoyance in his face and it made her feel even worse.

“Care to explain?” he asked harshly, as he slammed the screen down shut.

Arianna shook her head; no this couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t supposed to happen like this. “How did you find this?” she asked him, as she got off her bed and began to pace.

“My friend’s sister is apparently a huge Kane fan. She saw it and sent it to him and well…you can imagine my surprise when my friend is asking me how I feel about my little sister hooking up with a known hockey player who is also a player,” Mike said, irritation lingering in every word he spoke as she spat out the last few words.

“Do mom and dad know? Does James?” Arianna asked nervously, as she moved closer to the bed again, her knees growing weak.

Mike sighed and shook his head, rubbing his face with one hand in exasperation. “No, not yet. I figured I’d speak to you first before I went and did something stupid. Because I know there must be a good explanation for this right?” he asked her, his eyes pleading with hers for some excuse he could buy.

Arianna sat next to him, crossing her legs ever so slowly as she thought of what to say. “We started dating about a month ago officially. But I’ve actually known him and been friends with him since September,” she confessed, glancing at him from the side of her eye.

She could see him nod his head as he starred straight at her wall. “You know how stupid this is right?” he asked her, as he turned to look at her. She pushed her face in his direction, her eyes searching his for some type of strength.

She knew he was this upset because he cared about her and loved her. At the end of the day, she would be acting the same way if this were him in her position.

“It seems crazy I know…but it works in some weird way,” she tried to explain, noticing his eyes fill with doubt as she spoke those words. He got up and made his way towards the door, not saying a word in response.

“You know, it’s funny. Everyone always said you were the smart one,” he said suddenly as he turned back around and looked at her. He placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it to open, “before you go diving head first into this Ari, you might want to find out all the details about who you’re getting involved with”.

“What’s that suppose to mean?” she frowned at him, not liking his comment. “Type “Patrick Kane and girls” into Google,” was all he said before he pulled the door open and walked out. She cringed as she heard the door slam behind him, her mouth suddenly growing very dry at his last statement.

She glanced at her computer beside her feet. Should she do it?