An Unexpected Something New

“How…how the hell did you manage to say no to that?” Jordan asked seriously as we walked through the hall of the arena and I filled him on the events from the night prior.

“It wasn’t easy, trust me. I’m no saint.”

“I never would have thought in a million years that she would offer it and you’d say no; that you’d wake up the next day and she’d still be a virgin and you’d still have blue balls.” Jordan shook his head in disbelief again. “You really must love that girl.”

“I do Staal. I do. I hated saying no, but it wasn’t right. I couldn’t do that to her. Especially after what Letang did to her. I just couldn’t do it.”

“About that, what are you going to do with him? I’d take care of it myself but…she’s not my girl.”

“Staal, man, if I talk to him now about it, it will do nothing but cause much distress in our locker room.” I shook my head. “There are no words for how disgusted I am with him and how he treated…disrespected Hannah. And he knows it.”

“I really don’t know,” Jordan conceded. “It’s a delicate situation. You have to handle it a certain way or all hell could break loose. And he’s a loose cannon sometimes. I know that. It just sucks for you because you have to stick up for your girl while being the leader of the franchise at the same time and not cause any drama…”

“I mean, I had my doubts with him being drunk,” I quickly explained. “I know how he gets when he drinks too much…but I didn’t think he’d cross that line. I mean, there’s definitely a line and he more than crossed it. I could see if there were something…wrong with Hannah, ya know? Like if she was a gold digger or if she were…I don’t know, you know,” I knew I was rambling but I also knew Jordan knew exactly what I meant. “…but she’s not. She’s perfect and he just attacked her. I mean, be honest with me Staal,” I turned at looked at him sincerely. “She’s perfect.”

He let out a sigh and looked down at the ground before putting his hand on my shoulder. “Yeah man. She is.”

I thought back to last night and started getting frustrated just thinking about what I had turned down. I was crazy about this girl and she had taught me what it was like to put someone else above myself. I couldn’t have known what that was like before, to love someone so much like that, but I couldn’t imagine not having that now. “I couldn’t even handle sleeping next to her. If I had crawled into that bed with her I don’t know if I would have been the strong soldier I was portraying myself to be. I kissed her so hard I got both of us turned on but I found it in me to stop and go home.”

“That takes a lot of willpower Crosby. A lot. How does she feel about everything?”

“Eh,” I shrugged with slight frustration. “She understands and she agreed. I think she just felt rejected. I mean, there she was standing in front of me asking me to be with her that way. She was never that vulnerable with anyone before, ever, and I said no. I talked to her this morning though and she realized that it was the right call. I said no because I love her not because I don’t.”

Jordan was still shocked I could tell. He wasn’t exactly one for abstinence and quite frankly I never had been before either. He knew it took a special girl for me to have such restraint and I knew he had a hard time coming to the realization that I was a different person because of her. She made me better. “Crosby, dude, good for you.”

“Hey, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something,” I quickly looked at him and changed the topic.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“Ever since I accused you of having a thing for Hannah you’ve been really distant it seems. I just want to know what’s up with you lately. It’s been…different.”

He let out a little nervous laugh and took a deep breath. “It’s nothing.”

“I’m serious bro. What’s going on?” I knew there was something I just didn’t know what it was.

“I’m kind of just…” he sighed and shook his head. “I’m just dealing with some personal stuff.”

“Like?”

“You really shouldn’t be too concerned man. You have your girl, you have everything you could want, don’t bother yourself with my fucked up issues.”

“Staal, okay,” I took a deep breath and hated what I was about to ask. “I gotta ask…do you have a thing for Han?”

“No,” he answered sincerely. “No it’s nothing like that. She’s perfect, yeah, for you. You two are perfect for each other. She’s wonderful, she’s different, but that’s not what it is. Do you…remember that girl I told you about before we went on that road trip a while back?”

“Um,” I had to scratch my head for a minute. “I think so. You said she had a wonderful ass if I remember correctly. Is that who we are talking about? Wonderful ass girl? Cuz there are lots of girls that go through your revolving door.”

“That’s the thing Crosby, not since I met her. We’ve been fucking on the regular. I just haven’t said anything because…I think…I think I’m falling for her. Which,” he laughed at his confession. “It’s…it’s just ridiculous. You fell in love with this girl who you’ve never fucked, who’s held out and has these morals that are so hard to find in someone else… you aren’t supposed to fall for someone who was meant to be nothing more than a good time. I mean, what if I tell her how I feel and she turns around and doesn’t want it?”

“Well,” I couldn’t mask my smile. “Does it really matter how you started at this point? You seem to have it bad for her. You just haven’t been in a relationship for a long time so I can see your reservations. Trust me I’m sure you’re fine.”

“I don’t know how to be in a relationship like that. I look at you and Hannah and you two, the way you look at each other, it’s just unreal and I can give you advice on your relationship but when it comes to actually being in one myself, I don’t know what to do.”

“Is she seeing anyone other than you?” I inquired. I was sure I already knew the answer but he clearly needed someone to reason with him, to help him get from point A to point B.

“No. I know she isn’t. She’s a wild card, that’s for sure. The sex, man it’s amazing. I’ve never had someone as good as her and I could be out looking for it but now…” he ran his hand through his hair clearly torn. “I don’t think I want to.”

I couldn’t help letting out a little chuckle. “So this is what’s had you acting all weird? This is what’s kept you from being yourself? I don’t understand why you’ve been so secretive about it.”

“Um, yeah.” He was nervous and unsure. I hadn’t seen him like this in a long time. “I just didn’t know what to say about it. I was coming to terms with it myself.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“I…I don’t know. Two months maybe. I’ve kind of lost track of time.”

“Staal,” I rested my hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “Here’s an idea, and I’m just throwing it out there. If you love her or at least think you love her then you need to tell her, or at least tell her something. Let her know how you feel. If you don’t and you end up losing her you’ll regret it. She may be the polar opposite of Hannah but at the end of the day if she feels the same way she’s still going to want to hear it from you. I guess what I’m saying is don’t be afraid of her. Or of being with someone in general.”

“It’s just when I think about telling her how I feel I can’t breath…I don’t know what she’s going to say. I don’t want to turn into some whipped fool.”

“Has she given you any indication that she’s gonna think that about you? I don’t understand your phobia.”

“No…” he sighed. “I just don’t know how to be a good…boyfriend.”

“Sounds like you’re already one whether you like it or not.” Clearly the months he'd spent 'regularly fucking' her turned into much more.

“Shit…”

“Listen Jord. Why don’t you bring her around us. I’m sure Hannah would make her feel right at ease. Sounds like she’s going to be around for a while anyway so don’t be afraid of us making her uncomfortable. What’s her name anyway?”

“Phoebe.”

“Alright. We have a plan. You’re going to be honest with her and tell her how you feel. You are going to enter into a real relationship with her…and I’m going to prep Hannah so she welcomes her into our lives. I’m sure having another girl around will make it a little easier for her. Okay?”

Jordan nodded his head. “Yeah. Yeah,” he said more confidently. “And you…are you going to make any progress with your girl?”

I swallowed and looked down. “I, uh, I actually have some plans up my sleeve.”

“Care to share?”

“Yeah, uh, actually…I was kind of hoping I could recruit you for some help setting it all up.”

“Sure Crosby, what do you have in mind?”

I took a deep breath. “Here’s what I want to do…”

*****

I had patience but to some degree my patience was running low. Extremely low. Since I’d met Hannah I knew she was different. I knew she was the girl who was going to ruin me for all others. Once she was mine I knew I didn’t want to let her go. I was lucky that I’d found this incredible girl that I wanted to be with and she wanted to be with me too. I had never gone so out of my way to make someone else happy before. I used to roll my eyes at grand romantic gestures but with Hannah I found myself scheming to come up with new ones so she never questioned how I felt about her. I knew it wasn’t needed but I wanted to do it.

This was different, though. The plan I had held a little more significance and I was hoping she would eat it up. I took her out for a nice dinner so we could spend some time together without any pressure. After everything that’d been going on in our lives I wanted to do something that would make her smile and put her mind at ease. I wasn’t mentally all there though, I had a lot of other stuff on my mind and she probably felt slighted when I hastily grabbed the check and rushed us out of there. I was trying to make her feel better but probably succeeded at doing the opposite in that moment. I just needed her out of the house and when Jordan had text me that we were good to go I just wanted to get her home.

When we got to her house and pulled into the driveway I went around to her side of the car and grabbed her hand. My heart was pounding but I tried to be as calm as possible. When we walked through the doors Hannah stopped dead in her tracks and let out a gasp. Jordan had done a fucking fantastic job.

I had asked him to go to Hannah’s while we were at dinner, I left him a key, and cover the entire place with rose petals and little candles. The floor was blanketed in red, white, pink and purple rose petals that I knew also made a trail to the bedroom and scattered her bed. Her coffee table and couches were bombed with rose petals. The soft light from the candles made it all the more beautiful. I had to admit I was impressed with how well Jordan followed my directions and as Hannah stepped deeper into her house and looked around with her mouth agape I knew she was flabbergasted.

“This is so beautiful,” she cooed as she turned to look at me with sparkling eyes. “It’s like stepping into a fairy tale.”

I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her waist and leaned in for a soft kiss. “So I guess you like it, huh?”

“I literally don’t have the words to describe it Sid. It’s…I mean, just wow. You somehow always find a way to leave me breathless and I have no clue what I’ve done to deserve it.”

“Are you kidding?” I couldn’t believe she’d think that. “You’re perfect to me.”

Hannah spun around to take in the scenery again but didn’t let go of my hand. I could feel my heart pounding as she focused on the room and then turned to me. “What is all this for? You know I’m not upset with you, right?” she was so sincere and appreciative. “Who would have thought you were such a softie Crosby?” she giggled before giving me a quick peck on the lips.

I swallowed hard and took both her hands in mine. “I know that. I didn’t plan this because I thought you were mad or upset. I realized that your house, this house, it’s played a significant part in our relationship. I mean, think about it Han. Have you realized how much has happened here? This house kept you in Pittsburgh. If your dad hadn’t offered it to you, who knows where you would have ended up. This house is where we had our first kiss, where I told you I loved you for the first time…” As I looked into her eyes and saw the tears glistening I knew this was right. I took a deep breath before continuing. “Believe it or not we’ve got amazing memories stored away in this place and they’re memories that have changed my life forever. I love you, I know I tell you all the time but I do.” I took a deep breath and let go of her left hand with my right hand, put it in my pocket and dropped to my knee. “I want to spend everyday for the rest of my life with you.” I pulled out the ring I’d been paranoid about losing and held it up between my thumb and index finger. “Hannah, will you marry me?”

Hannah’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she stared at me on my knee in the middle of her rose petal and tea light candle covered house, holding the two-caret princess solitaire diamond that I’d picked out for her about two weeks after she told me she loved me too. She slowly nodded as her lips curled up into a precious, ecstatic smile. “Yes!”

I placed the ring on her finger and swiftly stood up, picking her up and kissing her in the process. I could feel the wetness from her tears on her cheeks as I pressed my lips against hers and held her tightly to me. I never thought I’d be at this point; never really thought I’d be proposing marriage to someone, but like I’ve said Hannah was a game-changer and asking her to spend the rest of her life with me was by far an easy decision to make.

“I love you too,” she panted into my mouth as I placed her down on her feet. “I…I’m so caught off guard. I didn’t see it coming. And this ring,” she gasped as she looked at her hand astonished. "It's gorgeous. Wow, I'm going to be your wife."

“I was kind of hoping you would be surprised. I thought about making it more elaborate but you and I have always been pretty private and I realized that doing something more intimate, more personal to us would mean more.”

Hannah ran her hands up my chest and wrapped her arms around my neck. “It was perfect.”

“I am so relieved Han, I was a little nervous you’d think it was too soon. Or that I was crazy. Or that it wasn’t good enough. I don’t think-“ I didn’t get to continue rambling because Hannah pressed her lips against mine and silenced me in the best way possible. I lost myself in her kisses and gripped my hands tightly around her waist. I pulled my mouth away from hers and looked into her eyes as we both caught our breath. I didn’t say anything because there was no need as I took her by the hand and slowly led her down the hallway to her bedroom where the rose petals trailed. I wanted her to see the trail of petals and I needed to compose myself. I swallowed and felt my skin tingling as we approached her room where I knew we were taking the next step.

When we made it to her bedroom I put my hands on her waist and spun her around and into me instantly bringing our lips together. I ran one of my hands up her side, over her perky breasts and rested it on the back of her neck. I let my hand fall to the top of her back and slowly undid the zipper on the back of her dress. I grabbed the straps that sat on her shoulders and pushed them down her arms so that the entire garment fell to the floor and she was left in nothing but her bra and thong. She reached out and undid my button down shirt and pushed it off of me and onto the floor. I ran my hands over her smooth, creamy skin and gripped her hips in my hands. She was so damn gorgeous that I found myself actively having to remind myself to breath. I pressed my naked abdomen against hers as I leaned down to kiss her and felt her fingers fidgeting with my pants. Before I knew it my pants were undone and my ankles were enclosed with my pants and boxers. I was completely naked, my hard cock out in the open and suddenly she wasn’t the only one with labored breathing. I slid my hands up her skin and behind her back so that I could undo her bra and remove it from her perfect body. She trembled as I pulled her to me and kissed down the side of her neck and shoulder then followed the trail I had made back up and behind her ear. “I love you,” I whispered softly.

Hannah pulled back just enough so that our noses were touching as she looked into my eyes. “I love you,” she whispered back. There was nothing funny about what was going on between us, it was serious, intimate and intense. I felt my heart race as she lightly ran her fingers down my chest and abdomen and didn’t stop until she stroked my cock. She shuttered as she reached up to kiss me and I slowly pushed her back on the bed. Once she was comfortably on her back I removed my lips from hers and made a trail down her chest, stopped to suck on each of her nipples and ran my tongue down her stomach. I slid my index fingers under the thin straps of her thong and gently pulled it down and off of her. When it hit the floor on top of the rest of our clothes I took a deep breath as I realized we were both completely naked.

I crawled back up so that I was level with Hannah and gently kissed her as she pulled the covers over our naked bodies and wrapped her arms around me. I ran my hand down her flesh until it fell between her legs and slipped my fingers in her moist pussy. She moaned out as I made contact with her clit and tenderly continued to kiss me. Her hand rested on my cheek and the other dug into my back as her tongue pressed against mine.

I continued to rub and flick at Hannah’s most intimate area eliciting moans and whimpers of pleasure from her. I kissed down her mouth, cheek and neck and kept going until I had her nipple in my mouth. I licked at her sweet bud and flicked it with my tongue, all the while continuing my ministrations with my hand down south. I felt her body begin to tense as her fingers pressed harder into my back and her noises grew louder. I felt her come and explode in my hand and made sure that she was plenty wet before I slowly crawled in between her opened and shaking legs.

I looked down into Hannah’s eyes and felt her body trembling. I leaned down and kissed her hard, “We don’t have to do this baby. We can stop, just tell me to stop and I will.”

Though she kept trembling she couldn’t keep her hands off of me. “I love you,” she stroked my cheek as the tips of our noses touched. “I love you and it’s okay.”

“I’m going to go easy on you. Trust me,” I inhaled deeply and felt my heart pound so hard I thought it was going to explode out of my chest. I’d never been this nervous before. “I’m going to take care of you. I promise.”

“You already have,” her voice was shaky as she kissed me. “I want to feel all of you inside me Sid. I want to feel you come inside me…I want to please you.”

Hearing her say those words made me more aroused. I grabbed my shaft at the base and positioned it so that I was at her opening. I ran it up and down her slit so that I could coat it with her juices as she let out a little moan. I looked into her eyes, “I love you Han,” I panted as I took a deep breath and slowly pushed inside of her.

Her body tensed and she sucked in air in obvious pain to this new sensation. She dug her fingers into my back and started breathing quickly and heavily. “It’s okay,” I reassured her trying to calm her down. “Relax baby,” I cooed. “Relax. If you want me to stop I will. I won’t keep going until you tell me to.”

God she felt so good. She was wet and sooo tight and I was a thousand percent in love with her. I was so turned on it was hard not to keep going but I didn’t go in anymore until she nodded her head gave her go ahead. I pushed further and felt her walls stretching to accommodate me as I let out a moan. “Oh my God Han…you feel so amazing. You have no idea.” She winced in discomfort and let out another breath. “Keep going,” she nervously panted. “Make love to me Sid.”

I didn’t wait for any other type of reassurance. I pulled out and slowly slid back in unable to hide how good she was making me feel. I kissed her to calm her down as I continued to slide in and out of her and felt her loving caresses as she gently cradled my cheek in her hand. I’d never felt this way before, never felt so intimate or connected with another human. Hannah wasn’t the only one trembling as a flurry of emotions washed over me. This felt so right. She had me, every part of me, and knowing that she’d given me every part of her and that I was the only one to ever have all of her was overwhelming. She was so beautiful and so inherently good I felt I didn’t deserve the trust and love she had so solidly put into me.

Hannah whimpered as I continued to thrust in and out of her. She let out cries of painful yet pleasurable moans as I worked her body with everything I had. I was so much more concerned about making it good for her that when I got the smallest inclination that she was beginning to feel more pleasure than pain it turned me on so much that I was ready to go. My breathing rapidly increased as I felt that familiar tightening in my balls and thrust hard as I shot my seed into her.

I collapsed on top of her both our bodies slick with sweat and tried to regain my composure. She kissed the top of my forehead and ran her hand through my hair as I buried my face in the crook of her neck recovering from the most intense, satisfying orgasm I’d ever had. I pulled my head back and felt the tip of her nose against mine as I looked into her eyes and realized she had tears in them. “Are you okay?” I panted suddenly nervous.

“I’m more than okay,” she said as she nodded her head. “I love you Sidney.”

“Was that okay for you Han?” I reached up and wiped away her tears with one hand as I kept myself balanced above her with the other. “I tried not to hurt you as much as I could, I wanted to make it as good for you as possible…”

“It was incredible. I’ve never felt that way with anyone Sid. I didn’t know it was possible to feel that way, to feel that intimate, that in love with someone.” Her voice was shaking and I could tell she was fighting back more tears. The emotions that had to be running through her body were new and intense. Things had changed and they could never change back.

“You want the truth? Me either.” I meant every ounce of that. This was Hannah’s first time, not mine, but I couldn’t tell you anyone else I’d ever been with. I couldn’t tell you what it felt like, because it was never like this. Not even a little bit. “I’ve never felt that way before.” I let out a shaky sigh. “You have no idea how in love with you I am. You just gave me the most precious gift you have…I just hope you don’t regret it.”

Hannah took my face in her delicate hand and pulled me into her for a kiss. “I wouldn’t change a thing,” she said sincerely as she looked into my eyes.

I finally pulled out of her but couldn’t keep my hands and lips off of her. I wanted to hold her and feel her body against mine. I kissed the top of her shoulders, forehead, anything I could reach. I tried but I couldn’t shake the butterflies that fluttered around my stomach all night. I was so deeply in love with Hannah and this act of intimacy that she gave me made me love her more, which I didn’t think was even possible. I never would have imagined after our first few dates that she would trust me enough…that’d I’d earn her love that much for her to give me something she held so dear to her. But just as I knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was the one for me, she must have known I was the one for her, and knowing she loved me that much moved me and I felt the tears well in my eyes.

Her lips curled up into a smile as she looked at me like this. “Are you okay Sid?”

I was laying next to her on my side and I reached down and grabbed her newly decorated wedding hand in mine. “This was the best decision I’ve ever made and I’m so thankful you said yes,” I said as I held up her hand and interlaced our fingers so we could admire her engagement ring. “I don’t want to wait to marry you.”

Hannah curled tighter into me and let out a content sigh. “Let’s get married this summer. I don’t want to wait either.”

I smiled and kissed her quick on the lips. I pulled her into me and held her close as we drifted off to sleep. I went to bed that night more in love with her than I had been that morning and it wasn’t just because of the sex. It was more than that, so much more. I couldn’t have loved the girl sleeping in my arms anymore than I did. Nothing compared to her, nothing even came close…and I knew nothing ever would.