Picking Up the Pieces

When I woke up the next day, my head was pounding, I couldn’t open my eye, and I desperately needed some Advil. I slumped into the kitchen, and immediately grabbed the bottle of Advil out of the cabinet, along with a glass. I stood there for a few minutes, my head resting against the cabinet, both of my eyes closed, when someone knocked on the door. I raised my eyebrows, but went to answer the door anyway. The clock read 8:23 AM, so it was weird to have a visitor this early.

“Marc…we need to talk, and I came when I knew Alice would still be asleep,” Sidney said as soon as I opened the door. I was so tempted to slam the door shut that he could see it, and immediately stuck his foot in the way.

“There is nothing I can say to you Sidney,” was all I said. Sid sighed heavily and leaned against the doorframe. He had a nice bruise forming along his jaw, and he looked as exhausted and uncomfortable as I felt.

“Well then listen to me. I’m sorry about the fight Marc. I didn’t mean to take it out on you, but seeing her in your jersey just crushed me. I’m really trying to get over her, but it’s extremely hard sometimes. That was the first time I’ve seen her in months, and everything just came out at once,” Sidney said.

“Okay,” I said. Sidney ran his hand through his hair and sighed once more.

“Look…I know that I don’t have a chance in the world to ever repair the relationship I had with Alice. I’m accepting that. Just…treat her well for me Marc,” Sidney said. His face was incredibly sad, and I felt guilt rearing its ugly head in my stomach.

“Sid…I didn’t…I’m not…” I started, at a loss for words.

“Flower, I’ve seen the way you’ve looked at her. You have ever since you met her. You’re crazy about her, but you never let yourself realize it because you were getting over Vero and I was getting in the way. She looks at you the same way Marc. I saw it last night and that’s what killed me. That look was the same look she used to give me, when we first started dating,” Sidney explained.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Don’t apologize. I’m the one who fucked all of it up. I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, so I shut down. I’ve always been this way. It’s my greatest fault. I just hope that you can make Alice even happier than I did,” Sidney said before standing up straight.

“I’ll try,” I said quietly.

“Then you’ll do it. You always get what you try for Flower. That’s the way you are,” Sidney said before walking away. I stood there, staring down the hallway, even long after Sidney had disappeared. I jumped when I felt Alice’s hand touch my shoulder tentatively.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. I shook my head.

“Just an…unexpected visitor,” I muttered before closing the door. Alice raised her eyebrows.

“Sidney showed up, didn’t he?” she asked quietly. I nodded, and then sat on the couch, putting my head in my hands. I let out a deep sigh and Alice sat down next to me, twisting the bottom of her oversized tee-shirt around her fingers. We sat like that for a few minutes, me watching her twist the shirt around her fingers over and over again, until the tension between us was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Suddenly we both shifted, and our lips smashed together. Something in my gut purred in triumph, but my head screamed at me to stop. I immediately broke away, my lips burning from the contact. Alice was wide eyed, and her cherry lips were parted slightly in surprise. I swallowed roughly and backed up into the corner of the couch.

“I am so sorry,” I said quietly. Alice shook her head.

“I think we both sort of did it at the same time,” she muttered with a blush. I wanted nothing more than to grab her and kiss her until we couldn’t breathe, so I just pressed myself further into the arm of the couch. Alice looked at me curiously before reaching a hand out towards me. I was terrified. I was afraid that she would hit me, or worse, reject me, but as her hand clasped mine firmly, a little of my fear subsided. She moved closer and closer to me until her forehead was pressed against mine and our noses were brushing against each other. Her bright green eyes burned with such intensity that it was intimidating, and I licked my lips nervously.

“Alice…” I whispered.

“Marc…” she replied.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I go ninety, you go ten,” she smirked, quoting Hitch. I felt my eyes widen, but she didn’t stop staring me down. When she blinked, she was so close that I swore I could feel her eyelashes brush against me. Finally, my last ounce of self control snapped, and I tilted my head forward and captured her lips in mine. It was a quick, chaste kiss, but there was no denying the spark that ignited in my chest. As soon as I broke away I wanted more, but I regained my composure and looked at her. Her lips were curled up into a smile, and she slowly slipped into my lap. She straddled me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. My heart raced, and I knew that this wasn’t the usual Alice.

“Alice, are you feeling alright?” I asked weakly. She chuckled lightly, and when our eyes met I could see that she knew exactly what she was doing.

“I’m feeling fantastic Marc. Are you feeling okay?” she asked quietly. There was a slightly sultry dip in her voice, and I squirmed inside.

“I told you I don’t want to be your rebound guy,” I muttered, forcing myself to look at anything but her. I looked up at the ceiling, but she grabbed my chin firmly and forced me to look at her.

“And you’re not ever going to be my rebound guy. I’ve finally accepted that nothing will ever happen to fix me and Sid…and I’ve also accepted the fact that I want you. I want you badly Marc-Andre Fleury,” she growled. My stomach dropped into my feet, and the look in her eyes told me that she wasn’t kidding. I swallowed roughly and nodded weakly.

“Okay,” I croaked. She let go of my chin and wrapped her arms around my neck once more, and leaned forward to kiss me. Her lips immediately dominated mine, and I moaned quietly as her tongue brushed against my bottom lip. My lips parted and our tongues immediately collided, fighting for dominance. My hands grasped her hips firmly as her fingers twined through my hair. It was a game of give and take, and neither of us wanted to play fair. There was such need between the two of us that I was surprised we weren’t tearing each others’ clothes off. A doubt lingered in my mind, however, and I was afraid that this was just a rebound move.