Status: Very slow updates, I will try to get them out as quickly as possible.

Sweet Disposition

Chapter 5

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There was a knock on the door of Claire’s apartment. She smiled softly, rising from her spot on the couch and stretching her limbs slowly before walking over to let her friend in. It was a Friday night and Claude had been due to arrive around this time. It had become somewhat of a tradition for the pair to order in and watch a movie together. It had started out as a little bonding kind of thing that Danny had been a part of. But at one point, Danny stopped coming and the two 21 year olds continued to meet.

She would, more often than not, end up curled up against his side with his arm around her shoulders as they would watch the film. The two would usually take this time to chat as well, conversing about topics ranging from hockey to childhood to whatever was on their minds.

She opened the door to find the hockey player standing in the hall with a rather sheepish smile on his handsome features. “Hey Claude,” she greeted with a small smile. “Hey Claire,” he smiled in response, looking like he had done something wrong. She frowned, “What’s wrong Roo?” He opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by the sound of familiar male voices getting closer. “J'ai essayé de ne rien dire, mais ils l'ont sorti de moi,” (I tried not to say anything, but they got it out of me.) he apologised, his eyes pleading for her to forgive him.

No sooner had he said that, Scott, Mike, and Jeff waltzed on over to stand by the young winger, all grinning innocently at her. “Hey Claire,” Scott said, slinging an arm around Claude’s shoulder. “We heard you were having movie night,” Mike added with an impish grin. She could never really be mad at any of the boys, at least, not for long anyway. “Yeah, we are,” she smiled, “Come on in, I was just about to order some pizza.” They were all smiles as they entered her apartment, Claude being the last to come in.

“Sorry Claire,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, as if he were expecting her to blow up at him for bringing the three uninvited hockey players to her home. She shrugged, “It’s fine. Not like I can ever be mad at you or those goofs.” He grinned in response as the two made their way to the seating area where Mike and Jeff were currently raiding her movie stash while Scotty just sat and laughed at them.

Claire shook her head as she plopped down next to him, Claude following suit as the three continued to watch the two forwards amusedly. After a good 10 minutes of the pair battling it out, they settled on Casino Royale. The pizza arrived about 20 minutes into the film and it disappeared within the following 15 minutes after its arrival. It always amazed Claire how much hockey players could eat in one sitting, not to mention how quickly they downed their food as well.

As time passed, she found herself snuggled up next to Claude, whose arm was casually draped over her shoulders. Scott still occupied the other part on the couch and would shoot small, smug glances at the young pair cuddling beside him. Jeff sat on the floor, leaning against the overstuffed chair that was taken by Mike on Scott’s side. Claude’s closeness to Claire didn’t go unnoticed by the captain and his best friend and soon they, like Scott, began stealing glances at the pair. Every once in a while he would mumble something to her and elicit a response whether it be a soft chuckle or smile or a little murmur in reply.

It was adorable and as the three hockey players glanced at each other, they wordlessly agreed to never let the 21-year-old ginger live this down so long as he didn’t act on his blatantly obvious attraction for the young trainer. They began scheming and thinking of potential ways to get him to ask her out, now too distracted to fully enjoy the movie.

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Claire had fallen asleep at some point during the movie, her head resting against Claude’s chest. He stayed put, his arm still wrapped around her small frame for fear he would wake her up and, not that he’d admit it, because he really enjoyed the feeling of having her in his arms. The three others slowly rose from their seats, stretching their limbs out, the sound of cracking joints only just blurred out from the credit music. Neither of them could get over how sweet and comfortable their teammate and trainer looked together, cuddled up on the couch.

“I guess we should head out G,” Scotty murmured, so as not to wake up their sleeping host. Claude nodded in response, not wanting to disturb her just yet, attempting to formulate possible ways to get out from under her without waking her up. “See you at practice tomorrow, eh G?” asked Mike, ruffling his hair as he walked by. Soon they had cleared out of the apartment and were on their way home, leaving the young French Canadian with the dark-haired beauty alone in the apartment.

He didn’t know how long he sat there with her, just savouring the feeling of her body against his. She seemed to fit perfectly with his body, something that had not gone unnoticed by him during their previous movie nights and rather, any time they hugged. She was so beautiful to him, the way her hair fell in soft, chocolate curls, the way her skin always seemed to glow, her always infectious smile, the list could go on. He was smitten with his best friend and it scared him a little. He had never been so hung up on a girl.

Yes, he wanted her. The thoughts that she unintentionally brought up in his mind were far from innocent and he was proud of himself for holding off from displaying any form of arousal whenever he was in her presence. In the last few months, despite a few one night stands, his hand had become his best friend coupled with many an x-rated fantasy about her.

He snapped out of his reverie, knowing full well that the later he stayed, the more likely he was to fall asleep and most likely be late to practise. Not to mention any problems with his little friend standing at attention in the morning because of her proximity. She made him feel like an awkward teenager and he kind of liked it.

Reluctantly, he squeezed her shoulder, shaking her slightly. “Claire,” he murmured, “Vous avez besoin de se réveiller, mon cher.” (You need to wake up, dear.) She stirred, groaning a little as her eyes slowly fluttered open. “The movie’s over, you fell asleep,” he stated quietly. “Are the boys still here?” she asked, groggily rubbing her eyes. “No, they left not too long ago.” She nodded, slowly easing herself up from her position, Claude releasing her as she worked her way up to a sitting position, instantly regretting moving out of his warm, comfortable embrace.

She mumbled something incomprehensible to herself in French that he couldn’t quite decipher, running a hand through her mess of curls. She let out a sigh before her grey eyes connected with his green orbs, “How long was I out?” He smiled softly, “About an hour, you crashed around the middle of the movie.” She chuckled, “Devinez j'étais fatiguée, eh?” (Guess I was a little tired, eh?) He couldn’t help but let out a laugh, feeding off of her smile and the amused sparkle in her eyes, “Je pense que oui. Vous avez regardé assez à l'aise.” (I guess so. You looked pretty comfortable.)

“Not my fault you make a good pillow,” she fired back in her defense, unable to stop her lips from turning up at the corners. “Oh, I’m a good pillow, eh?” he grinned cheekily, a devious glint in his eyes. “Shut up,” she giggled, giving him a playful shove, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. The pair joked around until Claire started to drift off again, her eyes getting heavy as she fought to stay awake. “Claire,” he murmured, “You should go to bed. You look tired, cher.”

“No, I’m fine,” she replied, stifling a yawn. Claude loved her stubbornness, finding it to be adorable as she continued to fight the heaviness of her eyelids. It was rare that they had alone time like this during the season and she didn’t want to miss out on any of this time with her best friend. He sighed, rising from his seat and stretching his stiff limbs out before turning to her. She squealed in surprise as he quickly scooped her up from the couch, “Claude! Mettez-moi en bas!” (Put me down!) She giggled, attempting to wriggle herself free from his bridal-style hold on her. “Jamais,” (Never.) he grinned down at her.

Any fight that she put up against him went away almost instantly as he carried her effortlessly to her room. Instead, she cuddled into his chest, nearly out cold in the short time it took him to get to her bed. Managing to support her body weight with one arm, he peeled back her bed sheets and gently placed her onto the comfortable mattress. “Faites de beaux rêves Claire,” (Sweet dreams Claire.) he murmured, tucking her in. He looked at her for a moment, admiring the way her silky brown curls fanned out on her pillow and the peaceful look on her gorgeous face. If only she knew what she did to him. He shook the thoughts from his head and after one last look, he quietly made his way out of the room, silently shutting the door behind him.
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Here's a new one for all of you lovely readers! Wow! 33 subscribers! Thank you all for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy this, I'll hopefully get the next one out later today. You're all wonderful!