The Fear Is Paralyzing

Kris groaned as he heard the phone ringing. “Make it stop!” he whined, turning over onto his stomach and pulling the pillow over his head. He heard Quinn laughing at him as she got out of bed to grab her phone. But, before she could get to it on top of the dresser, it had stopped.

She got back in bed with him, running her hand up Kris’s bare back, lightly running her fingernails along his skin. He rolled over and pulled her close to him, letting her breasts press up against his chest. He started kissing her neck as the phone started ringing again. “Ignore it,” he muttered as he pressed his lips to her skin.

“I can’t,” she said reluctantly as she pulled away from him and stood up once again to get her phone. Kris watched her naked body sway as she grabbed her phone, glancing at the screen before answering the phone. “Kris is going to kill you,” she chuckled. “Why are you calling my phone anyways?” she asked, crossing her free arm over her chest as Kris continued to stare at her body.

“Kris’s is shut off or dead or something,” Tyler’s voice said. Neither of them had plugged their phones in the night before, having relished in their new engagement, so Quinn wasn’t surprised that Kris’s was dead. She still couldn’t believe that she was engaged, but the ring on her finger that she couldn’t help but keep looking at continued to remind her that it wasn’t just a dream.

“You want to talk to him?” she asked Tyler.

“If he’s not too busy,” Tyler said with a laugh as Quinn walked over to the bed and handed the phone out to Kris. She slid back into the bed and cuddled up next to him.

“What?” Kris asked, avoiding all niceties, not caring who was on the other end. All he knew was that whoever it was had interrupted what was about to be wake up sex with Quinn, and he was now frustrated about that.

“Sorry to interrupt your morning fuck, but this is important,” Tyler spoke, and Kris sat up in bed, leaning back against the headboard. Quinn noticed his body language change, and she looked up at him, waiting to see what was going on with Tyler.

“What’s up?” Kris asked him, putting his arm around Quinn.

“Dani and I were out to breakfast this morning and we saw Darcy,” he began.

“Merde,” Kris cursed, and Quinn immediately knew it wasn’t good news, whatever Tyler was saying to Kris. “Did Dani make a scene?” he asked, trying to make a joke.

“After I told her who it was, she wanted to go over there and punch the bitch,” Tyler chuckled, and Kris did the same, mentally picturing Danielle going up against Darcy. He knew Dani would win with hardly any effort on her part. “I stopped her though. But, Darcy was there with some guy. I didn’t think anything of it at first, I just thought it was the next poor sap that she was trying to sink her nails into, you know?”

Kris shut his eyes, knowing that there was more to it. “But he wasn’t, was he?” he asked. “Who was it?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think it was Quinn’s brother.”

“What?” Kris exclaimed, wondering why on Earth Noah would be with Darcy. “Are you sure?” he questioned.

“Pretty sure. I only saw the guy one time when he came into the arena and Quinn didn’t want him around, and she was threatening to get security to take him out,” Tyler explained, and it suddenly dawned on Kris that Tyler was talking about Dean instead of Noah. “He had dark hair, kinda long, but not as long as yours. He looked like a tool. Look man, I’m pretty sure it was him.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Kris muttered. “Thanks for letting me know. Let me know if you find anything else out, okay?” he asked.

“Of course. I’m sure Dani’s already on it. I told her I thought it was him, and you know she’s protective of Quinn,” Tyler told him, and Kris couldn’t help but smile at that.

“A lot of people are,” he replied with a smile as he looked down at Quinn, who was drawing shapes on his chest with her fingertip.

“I’ll let you get back to her,” Tyler said. “And I’ll let you know if I see her again. But, watch your back, okay?”

“Thanks man,” Kris said, hanging up the phone and putting it on the nightstand next to him. She looked up at him, and he knew she was about to ask what Tyler had called for. “Trade talk,” he lied before she could ask him. He didn’t want her to worry about Dean more than she already was, and if Tyler was right and he was with Darcy, then he knew there would be more she should worry about.

“Anything interesting?” she asked him.

“You know, the same old rumors that always go around,” he shrugged. “But, really, I should be asking you, you are the big boss in Pittsburgh, you probably hear more about trades than any of us,” he said. “Should I be worried about getting traded?” he asked jokingly. He still had two years left on his contract, and he had played well this season. He highly doubted he was going to be traded, even though it was always a possibility.

“I actually don’t know about you,” Quinn replied honestly. “Mario deals with everything about you. We talked about that when you and I started dating and Mario found out. We thought it was better that way. So if you’re going to be traded, I wouldn’t really know about it. But, I can tell you that you have not been in any of the talks Mario and I have had,” she told him, kissing his chest.

“So who have you talked about then?” Kris asked, hoping to get some insider information.

Quinn bit her lip as she shook her head. “You know I can’t tell you that.”

“I was hoping for some special treatment, but I guess that’s not going to happen,” he winked at her. “Even for the fiancé,” he added, grabbing her hand and looking at the engagement ring on her finger.

“Even for the fiancé,” she smiled back at him before kissing him on the lips, leading to the morning romp Tyler had interrupted before.

●●●

While Quinn was in the shower, Kris used her phone to call Noah. He knew Quinn was going to take a while in the shower, she always did after they had sex like they had just had. “Hey Quinn,” Noah picked up the phone.

“Actually it’s Kris,” he told Noah. “My phone’s dead, but I needed to talk to you,” he said seriously, and he knew Noah picked up on his tone. Noah urged him to continue. “TK called me a little bit ago. He saw Dean when he was out at breakfast,” he began.

“What? I thought he was still out of town,” Noah muttered, clearly frustrated that he didn’t have a handle on where his brother was.

“That’s not it,” Kris continued. “He was there with one of my old girlfriends, a manipulative one, who I’m sure is up to something. When Quinn and I went to visit my parents, she was there and was trying to get back in with me. Let me tell you, she’s a user. I don’t know who’s using who in that situation though,” he mumbled.

“Probably using each other to get what they want,” Noah stated. “This isn’t good. Does Quinn know?”

“No, I made up some stuff to make sure she didn’t know. I don’t want her to worry,” Kris told him.

“Good, good, I don’t want her to know yet. I’ll see what I can come up with and let you know what I find out. Thanks for letting me know,” he added before hanging up. Kris put Quinn’s phone back on the bedside table and laid back down, waiting on Quinn to get out of the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she came out with a towel wrapped around her torso, her wet hair hanging down her back. “You look so sexy like that,” Kris growled at her. Quinn rolled her eyes at him as she went to the closet to grab clothes for the day.

“You should probably go get in the shower. I invited Dani over for lunch. I’m sure Ty will be coming with her,” she added, knowing that Kris would want his buddy there so he didn’t have to be alone with all the girl talk. “They should be here within the hour.”

Kris nodded his head as he headed towards the bathroom, but not before grabbing Quinn’s ass through the towel and kissing the back of her neck along the way. She gave him a sideways look, but he knew she loved it, even if she wouldn’t say so right now.

They finished getting ready just in time as a knock on the door sounded, and Quinn made her way out there to find Danielle and Tyler standing on the other side. She invited them in, and Kris pulled Tyler aside in a hurry. “Dani’s not going to say anything about seeing Dean and Darcy, right?” Kris asked him through gritted teeth.

“Uh...” Tyler trailed off, and Kris looked like he could kill him right now. The last thing he wanted was Quinn to know that Darcy and Dean had been together, and he was trying to figure out a way to let Danielle in on that.

“You’ll never believe who Tyler and I saw this morning!” Danielle said to Quinn, and Kris knew it was too late. He shook his head, knowing he couldn’t stop it.

“Darcy,” Tyler cut in, giving Danielle a look. Kris wasn’t sure how he had done it, but somehow Dani must have been able to read his thoughts because she simply nodded her head and didn’t mention a word about Dean.

“Yeah, Darcy was there. She looks like the bitch she is!” she told Quinn before looking at Kris. “I don’t know what the hell you ever saw in her, but you definitely did a huge upgrade with Quinn.”

“I know,” Kris smiled, putting his arm around Quinn and pulling her into him.

“What’s she doing here?” Quinn wondered aloud.

“I don’t know,” Danielle shrugged her shoulders. “Ty wouldn’t let me go find out,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, giving Tyler a fake glare.

“I was saving you from going to jail,” Tyler countered. “If I had let you find out why she was here, it would have ended with you killing her,” he stated, and no one in the room doubted that.

“Well she’s a dumb thieving bitch,” Dani rolled her eyes. “She deserves what’s coming to her.” Quinn couldn’t believe how much hatred Dani could have for someone she didn’t really even know, but she was glad that she was on Dani’s good side.

“And karma will come back around, but you don’t need to play karma,” Tyler said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dani said, rolling her eyes once again. “Anyways, what are...holy shit!” she yelled, causing everyone in the room to jump. She reached out, grabbing Quinn’s hand, lifting it towards her face so she could get a better look at the ring. “You’re engaged!” she exclaimed loudly. “When did this happen?” she questioned, looking between Quinn and Kris, both of whom had smiles on their faces.

“Last night,” Quinn told her as Dani hugged her and Tyler congratulated Kris.

“Tell me everything!” Dani urged, and Quinn launched into the story. “Ahhh!” she screamed when it was over. “That’s so cute! Good job, Kristopher!” she beamed at him, who smiled modestly as he ran his hand through his hair. “We could have a double wedding,” she began.

“No,” Kris and Tyler said at the same time.

The girls looked over at them, and both of them continued to shake their heads. “Not happening,” Tyler said. “It’s crazy trying to plan our wedding right now. We’re not going to try to please them, too,” he told Danielle.

“Fine,” she sighed. “Besides, I want you to be my bridesmaid, and you couldn’t do that if you were getting married at the same time,” she pointed out.

“And you couldn’t be my bridesmaid,” Quinn agreed.

“You want me to be your bridesmaid?” Dani asked with wide eyes.

“Of course I do!”

Tyler looked over at Kris, rolling his eyes. “Women. I swear, they’re crazy. Getting all hyped up about things like being a bridesmaid. Now you’re going to have to deal with all the planning and the craziness of your girl,” he said in a low voice, making sure Dani didn’t hear him. She wasn’t a brideszilla, but she definitely was opinionated, and sometimes that spelled trouble for Tyler.

Kris chuckled. “I’m hoping Quinn isn’t as bad as Dani.”

They continued talking through lunch, and Kris was able to pull Dani aside afterwards while Tyler was talking to Quinn. “So I don’t know how you and TK are able to communicate without talking, but somehow you knew not to talk about Dean in front of Quinn,” Kris spoke.

“Yeah, what’s up with that?”

“I don’t want Quinn to worry, at least not yet. Dean is up to something, we just don’t know what. Noah’s looking into it, and so will I. But, I don’t want her worrying about it. So I’d like to keep it quiet around her. But, I’m hoping that if you find anything out that you’ll let me know?” he asked her.

“You know I will. Do you think you can fill me in on the background at some point?” she asked him. “I mean, if Quinn wouldn’t mind. She’s told me some stuff, I don’t know if she’s keeping some other stuff from me.”

“She wouldn’t be on purpose,” Kris assured her. Dani and Quinn had become extremely close friends in the past several months, and Kris knew that Quinn didn’t have a lot of close friends and her friendship with Dani meant a lot to her. He was sure she filled in Dani on a lot of her life, but Quinn also didn’t like to burden other people with her problems, so there was a chance that Quinn hadn’t told her all about Dean and his schemes. “But, I’ll fill you in. Lunch tomorrow?” he asked, knowing Quinn was going in to work in the morning.

“Yeah, text me and we’ll figure out a place,” she smiled up at him. They both returned to their other halves without them noticing they had been gone. Kris put his arm around Quinn. He’d protect her from Dean and Darcy and anyone else out there that was against her. He just needed to know what he was up against first.