The Fear Is Paralyzing

Kris and Quinn had moved into Kris’s living room to watch a movie, the second part of the evening he had planned for the two of them. He had been worried that she wouldn’t like the low key date, but Quinn was enjoying herself just fine, and she made sure to tell Kris just that.
 
He had let her pick the movie, not sure which type she would want. He had a large movie collection so he had decided not to rent anything and let her pick one of his instead. She had hummed as she looked over his movies, obviously having a tough time picking just one, which was why she had ultimately decided on two, holding up both Back to the Future and Say Anything, hoping Kris would make the ultimate decision.
 
He was surprised by her picks, liking both of those movies himself, and instead of picking one of them to watch, he had told her they could watch both, and he put Back to the Future in first. By the time that movie had ended, their bodies had moved around on the couch from their original positions, and Quinn had moved to lean against Kris’s side and he had pulled her in close to him by putting his arm around her. Her head was rested on his shoulder, and he was reluctant to get up and put the other movie in. He was just too comfortable and loved their positioning so much, and he didn’t want to ruin that.
 
But as the credits were scrawling across the screen, Quinn moved her head to look up at him. “Should we put the other one in now?” she asked him, and he nodded his head, finally moving his arm out from around her so he could get up off the couch. He removed the first DVD, replacing it with the next one before going back to the couch, grabbing the remote from the table in front of them before sitting down. He started the movie before trying to get back in the same position as before.
 
Kris couldn’t help but notice how comfortable he felt around Quinn. This was their first date, but it felt like they’d been together longer than that. He figured it helped that they had been friends at first and had hung out before on more than one occasion. He glanced down at her to see her staring intently at the tv screen, and he couldn’t help but smile at her. She was so into the movie, and he assumed it was one of her favorites.
 
Halfway through the movie, Kris found himself only half paying attention to it, instead watching Quinn, who would laugh out loud at the funny parts, even though she had already seen this movie so many times before. And, he would catch her mouthing along with the words to certain points, making Kris smile at her.
 
At one point, Quinn noticed that she was being watched, right when she was mouthing along to the words, and she immediately became red in her face and she buried it in Kris’s shoulder. “Don’t make fun of me,” she cried, and Kris wondered why she always thought he was making fun of her.
 
“I’m not,” he assured her, putting one of his hands on the back of her neck, trying to get her to pull away, but she wouldn’t do so just yet. So, he kept his hand where it was, petting her hair in a comforting way. “I think it’s cute.”
 
Quinn finally pulled away, looking up at him. “You do not,” she said with an embarrassed laugh. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” she added, her face still bright red. “It’s okay, you can say it, I’m a weirdo.”
 
“You’re great, Quinn,” he tried to convince her, but she wouldn’t believe him. “So I’m assuming this is a favorite of yours?” he asked, nodding his head in the direction of the tv where the movie continued to play.
 
Quinn nodded her head, putting her hair behind her ears. “Yeah, it is. What about you? I mean obviously you own it.”
 
“It’s a good one,” he agreed with her as she got back in her position from earlier with her head rested on his shoulder. They watched the rest of the movie like that, and once the credits began rolling, Quinn moved so she could stretch.
 
“Thanks for tonight,” she told him, smiling in his direction. Kris couldn’t help but smile back as she stood up from the couch, going over to his window, pulling one of the blinds to the side to look outside. “Oh wow,” she mumbled, and Kris stood up, wondering what was going on. “Apparently it snowed these past few hours,” she said, as he stood behind her, looking over the top of her head outside as well.
 
It had snowed a lot in the time they had been in his apartment. So much that all of the vehicles outside were completely covered in white. Kris couldn’t even see the color of his SUV under all the snow. He looked out at the streets to see them completely covered in snow as well, a couple of cars out there so late, driving at an exceptionally slow speed. It was obvious that the city wasn’t ready for such a big snow, as the roads weren’t cleared at all.
 
Kris looked down at Quinn. “I can drive you back if you want. It’s not going to be a fun ride, but if you want to go home, then I’ll take you,” he spoke. She just looked up at him, waiting on him to finish his thought. “Otherwise you can stay here for the night, and I can take you back in the morning. Hopefully they’ll have cleaned the roads by then,” he told her.
 
Quinn peeked out of the blinds one more time at the street before answering. “I think it’d be safer if we just waited til the morning. I’ll stay here for the night. Thanks,” she smiled at him. “I’ll just sleep on the couch,” she said.
 
Kris immediately shook his head at the idea, not allowing. “No, no, you’re not sleeping on the couch,” he told her.
 
She looked up at him skeptically. “Then where do you expect me to sleep?” she questioned.
 
“In my bed,” he said casually, and the look on her face almost made him want to laugh. It was a mix of shock and nervousness, and he knew he needed to clarify his thoughts for her. “I’ll sleep on the couch,” he added the explanation, and she let out a breath of relief.
 
“Kris, you can’t do that! I’m the guest, and that’s your bed! Besides, you have a game tomorrow! You can’t mess everything up tonight. If you play badly tomorrow, it’ll be all my fault!”
 
Kris looked at her. “What makes you think I’d play badly?” he asked, raising one eyebrow at her. “You don’t have faith in me and my playing abilities?”
 
Quinn began stuttering, not really knowing what to say. But, when Kris smiled at her, she realized it was all a joke, and she lightened up a little bit. “Don’t do that!” she said, punching him in the arm.
 
“Ow!” Kris cried out, rubbing his arm.
 
“Oh my God! I’m sorry!” Quinn apologized immediately, reaching out and grabbing his arm, rubbing it a little bit where she had hit him. She looked up at him to see him smiling, and she knew she hadn’t really hurt him. “Stop it!” she said, punching him again.
 
“Sorry,” he laughed, while she shook her head at him. She was trying to resist the smile that was forming on her face from seeing him laugh, but she was failing. “It was just too easy,” he told her. “You’re not going to hurt me by punching me, though. I couldn’t play hockey if I was that weak,” he told her, running one of his hands through his hair. He noticed she bit her lip for just a second before realizing what she was doing and immediately stopped. He smiled at her but didn’t say anything. “Let me get you something to wear for tonight,” he said, and Quinn looked at him curiously. “Unless you want to sleep in your dress,” he said, motioning towards her dress.
 
“Oh, either way,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
 
“Come on,” Kris said, leading her back to his bedroom. “Here,” he said, pulling one of his old Penguins t-shirts out of his drawer and handing it to her. He then opened a different drawer, grabbing a pair of athletic shorts. He held them up looking them over. “I don’t know if they’re going to fit, but you can try,” he said, handing them to her as well before walking over to his closet. Quinn turned around, unsure what he was doing. “And here’s a towel if you want to take a shower or anything,” he said, reaching over and putting it into her hands that were starting to fill rather quickly. “The sheets are pretty clean, I put new ones on a few nights ago,” he said, motioning towards his bed which held a pair of black sheets and a gray comforter. “But, I can get you new ones if you prefer.”
 
Quinn started laughing, and Kris glanced over at her, wondering what exactly he had said that was so funny. “Kris, I’m staying the night. One night,” she smiled at him. “You don’t need to cater to me. I’ll be okay,” she assured him. “Thank you for this,” she said, holding up the clothes and towel in her hands. “And, I’d be perfectly fine sleeping on the couch,” she added.
 
“I don’t want you to,” Kris told her. “You sleep in here, and I’ll go out there,” he said, turning back around to grab an extra blanket out of the closet and some clothes out of his dresser. “Have a good night, Quinn,” he told her. He paused for a moment before gathering his courage to lean over and kiss her, causing her to nearly drop the items from her hands as she tried to wrap her arms around him. He pulled away a few moments later, smiling at her. “Let me know if you need anything else,” he added, walking out of the room, leaving Quinn a little weak in the knees.
 
***
 
Quinn woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar place, instantly sitting up, trying to remember what had happened the previous night. As she looked around the room and her eyes landed on a picture on top of the dresser with Kris and another man about his age that seemed to be a few years old, the night before came flooding back to her. She smiled as she looked down at Kris's clothes that she was wearing, and she pulled back the covers to get out of bed.
 
She walked down the hallway, hearing noises coming from the kitchen, and she realized Kris was already awake. When she walked inside, his back was facing her, as he was at the stove, making French toast. "The man does cook," she said, and she noticed Kris jump a little bit at her words. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," she told him.
 
"No, it's fine. I didn't know you were up. I hope I didn't wake you," he told her, putting the piece of French toast that had just finished onto the plate that already held a big pile. "Want some breakfast?"
 
Quinn nodded her head as she sat down at the table. "No, you didn't wake me up. And, yes, I'd love some. You know you didn't have to go through all this trouble for me!" she told him. "Especially after I made you sleep on the couch! How was that, by the way?" she asked, looking up at him as he brought a plate of food over to her and sat it down in front of her, handing her a knife and fork before turning back around and going to the refrigerator.
 
Kris shrugged as he looked in the refrigerator, finally pulling out some orange juice. "It was fine," he told her. "And, I hate to break it to you, but I didn't make all this just because of you. It's part of my game day routine," he admitted. "I just made some extra in case you wanted some."
 
"Well, thank you for thinking of me," she said with a small laugh. "And, I’m sorry I’m screwing up your game day routine. I can just call Noah or Claire to get a ride from one of them so you don't have to interrupt your day!" Quinn told him.
 
Kris shook his head at her. "Don't be ridiculous. I can manage the fifteen minute drive to your place. I went outside a little bit ago. The roads seem a little bit better, so we should get there no problem. I'm gonna have to leave for the game early, though. I don't want to be late. We all found out what the punishment for that is," he muttered.
 
Quinn raised an eyebrow at him. "I feel like there's a story behind that," she chuckled.
 
"Oh there is," Kris nodded his head. "Jordan was late one time last year. He said it was traffic, but all of us know he was getting a quickie before the game. Anyways, Coach was pissed, obviously. He still let him play in the game, but the next day after practice, Jordan had to wash his car. And everyone else’s. In the parking lot, where everyone could see. In his underwear.”

Quinn began laughing, just imagining that. “Bylsma has a sense of humor, huh?” she asked.
 
“Yeah, when the time is right. He was pissed that night, though. He cut Jordan’s playing time.”
 
Quinn looked over at Kris. “Well, make sure you’re not late tonight,” she smiled at him. “Let’s finish eating, and then you can take me back home and get ready for your game, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kris told her, as they both continued eating their breakfast.
 
When they were finished, Quinn grabbed her dress from the night before, throwing it into her purse before putting her coat on. She buttoned it up as Kris reached for his. “Thanks for last night and this morning,” she smiled at him as he walked her outside to his SUV. It was lightly snowing, but not accumulating like it had the night before. Kris had been right when he had told her that they had cleared the streets. They weren’t in the best condition, but they were much more drivable than last night. “I had fun,” she told him.
 
Kris flashed her a smile as he put his car in reverse and backed out of the parking spot. “Me too,” he told her, reaching over and grabbed her hand, resting it on the center console. The rest of the drive was quiet, something that neither of them minded, as they were just comfortable being with each other for the moment.
 
Kris stopped in front of her apartment complex, and he offered to walk her upstairs, but Quinn refused. “Go get ready for your game. I’ll see you tonight. Good luck,” she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. However, Kris put his hand on her right cheek, moving her face so he could give her a real kiss.

“I’ll see you tonight,” he replied as he pulled away. Quinn got out of the car, a little bit in shock from the kiss, but a smile on her face. She gave him a quick wave goodbye before scurrying in to her apartment complex, going up to her apartment to take a shower and get ready to go to the game that evening.