The Fear Is Paralyzing

Kris sat in the corner of Armstrong’s, waiting for Dani to meet him for lunch. He had promised her the story of Dean, and he knew now was the right time as Quinn was at work in meetings all day to discuss trade talk. He saw her walk in, and he lifted his hand to try to get her attention. She finally found him and smiled as she made her way back towards him. “Hey, sorry I’m late,” she told him, sitting down and looking the menu over. “I was having some difficulty getting out of work,” she said with a chuckle.
“Is everything alright?” he asked her, knowing working in sports marketing at the University of Pittsburgh could get chaotic at times.

Dani nodded her head. “Oh yeah, they’ll be just fine without me for an hour!” she assured him as the waiter walked over to them. They ordered their lunch before Dani focused back in on Kris. “Now, let’s get down to it. What do I need to know about Quinn’s brother and why didn’t you want me saying anything about him in front of Quinn?” she inquired. “Tyler’s talked a little bit about him, but he doesn’t know much either. It seems Quinn is pretty good at keeping her personal life hidden.”

Kris nodded his head, knowing Dani was right. Quinn was exceptional at keeping her personal life to herself. It was why they were able to date for so long without anyone knowing. And, it was also why no one knew about Dean or what a manipulative bastard he was. “Quinn has two brothers,” Kris filled Dani in. He wasn’t sure how much Quinn had told her before.

Dani nodded her head. “Yeah, I knew about Noah. Quinn speaks highly of him. When Tyler pointed out Dean with Darcy, that was the first time I’d ever heard of him. He said that him and Quinn don’t get along? Something about her even threatening to get security to get him out of the arena?” she asked, not really sure on the story behind it.

“Dean is...un salaud,” he seethed.

Dani looked at Kris, nodding her head. “I don’t know French, but something tells me you’re not saying he’s a saint,” she joked.

“No, I’m not,” Kris said as the waiter came back with their drinks. Kris watched him walk away before he continued talking about Dean. “He’s the furthest thing from a saint. He’s trying to get the team from Quinn, using every manipulative move he can think of to do it against her will,” he explained. He saw Dani’s eyes widen a bit, and he knew she was starting to understand how bad Dean was, but Kris had barely scratched the surface. “He’s horrible to her, the things he says, you wouldn’t believe. Noah’s great to her, but Dean...I can’t even begin to describe him.”

“He’s trying to get the team from Quinn?” Dani asked, raising her eyebrows at Kris. The thought of Dean trying to take his sister’s team from her was unbelievable to Dani.

Kris nodded his head. “He tried blackmailing her...on more than one occasion. He was the one that threatened to tell everyone about me and Quinn when we started dating. He said if she didn’t give up her portion of the team he’d tell the media.”

Dani was shaking her head in disbelief. “What an asshole,” she muttered. “Why haven’t you killed the guy yet?”

“Trust me, I want to,” Kris told her. “He’s always up to something, whatever gets him money or power or whatever. And right now his focus is on Quinn. But, Noah’s already told her that he’s up to something, and I don’t want to worry her anymore. That’s why I don’t want you telling her that you saw Dean and Darcy together,” he explained.

Dani took a sip of her drink before responding. “You think Dean and Darcy are in it together against Quinn?” she asked, expressing what Kris had been thinking since Tyler had first told him that he had seen the two of them together.

“I wouldn’t put it past them. My question is how they know each other. How did they find each other? And how are they using each other to get what they want?” he said all the questions that were going through his mind right now.

The waiter came bringing them their food, interrupting Kris’s thoughts. Dani popped a fry into her mouth, munching on it as she thought about all of Kris’s questions he had just asked. “What do they want?” she asked, more to herself than to Kris. “I mean, you already said that Dean wants the team. But there’s no way he’s getting that from Quinn, is he? She’s not going to give it to him, is she?” she asked, for the first time wondering what Quinn felt about the team.

“No, no!” Kris said, shaking his head. “She won’t give the team up. In fact, Noah drew up papers a while ago between Quinn and Mario that make it pretty impossible for Dean to weasel his way in. But, he’s still trying. He’s trying to find some way in.”

“And Darcy? What does she want? Maybe she wants the team as well?” she suggested.

“I don’t think so,” Kris said, twirling his pasta onto his fork and taking a bite before continuing.

“She wants you,” Dani stated, clearly connecting something that Kris hadn’t put together just yet.

“Yeah? So?” Kris shrugged his shoulders. It was old news that Darcy was after him, and he had made it very clear he had no interest in her when he told her he was madly in love with his girlfriend. He made it even more evident by proposing to Quinn.

“Don’t you get it?” Dani asked him, having abandoned all thought of the food in front of her. “Quinn has what both Darcy and Dean want. The team. And you. They’re going after Quinn,” she spelled it out for him.

Kris suddenly understood what Dani was trying to tell him. “They are scheming together,” he muttered lowly.

Dani nodded her head. “But, it’s not like they’re going to get what they want. You said yourself Quinn isn’t going to give up the team, and there’s no way you two are breaking up and you’re going back to
Darcy. So just let them try to wheel and deal their way to get what they want. They’re not getting it,” she said matter-of-factly.

Kris knew she was right. Noah had made it very clear that Dean wasn’t going to be able to find some sort of loophole to get the team from Quinn. And, there was no way Kris was ever going back to Darcy.
He wasn’t sure what had been going through his mind when he had gone out with her before, but he would never be that stupid again.

“Stop worrying,” Dani’s voice dragged him out of his thoughts as she reached across the table and put her hand on his. “And, I’ll let you know what I find out,” she added.

Kris smiled at her. “Thanks,” he told her.

They continued eating their meal, talking about random things. Kris inquired about how the wedding planning was going. He knew a little bit about what was going on from talking with Tyler, but it was a different perspective hearing it all from Dani. She told him how there were days when she wished she and Tyler would just elope. “So why don’t you?” he asked her.

Dani shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just not what I’ve always pictured, you know? It’s always been a gorgeous wedding. But, I’m getting sick of having to listen to everyone and try to please everyone,” she said with a small laugh, one Kris knew wasn’t a real one. “And, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this,” she added, shaking her head.

“Because you need  to tell someone, and you’re trying to keep it all together for Tyler,” he said, grabbing for the bill and putting his credit card in the slot before Dani could even try to pay for her half. “You know he just wants to make you happy, right? You two have been together forever, and it’s about time you finally got married. It doesn’t matter how it happens, as long as in the end you’re married.”

“Why Kristopher Letang, when did you become such a romantic?” Dani asked him with a smile on her face. “Quinn has brought out the best in you. And if we weren’t both engaged, I’d be going after you myself,” she winked at him as the waiter brought back their paid check.

“And if Tyler wasn’t my best friend, I would have gone after you a long time ago,” Kris joked back as they both stood up and he put his arm around her.

“We could have made beautiful babies together,” Dani continued as they walked out of the restaurant with Kris’s arm still around her shoulders.

“But instead you’re stuck with little Kennedy babies,” he said with a grin. Dani rolled her eyes but smiled back at him anyways. Kris leaned down and kissed the top of Dani’s head. “The wedding will work out,” he assured her. “And, thanks for looking out for Quinn, I really appreciate it.”

“She’s my girl, of course I’m going to look out for her,” Dani responded. “Now how about you give a girl a ride back to work?”

Kris looked at her curiously. “You didn’t drive here?” he asked her, and she shook her head. “Then come on, I’m parked over here,” he nodded towards his SUV that was parked a block away.

She got into his SUV and pulled the door shut as she said, “So, Tyler’s birthday is coming up, and I wanted to do something special for him.”

“Like what?” Kris inquired, pulling out of the parking spot, following Dani’s directions to get him back to the university to her office.

“I don’t know yet,” she chuckled. “I was thinking maybe surprising him with a trip somewhere? I want to do something more than the normal party.”

Kris nodded his head in understanding. “Let me know if I can help you at all,” he said, turning the corner as Dani pointed him in the right direction. It didn’t take him long to get to the university and drop her off. “Thanks for having lunch with me and helping out with Quinn.”

“Anything for you,” she smiled with a wink. “I’ll talk to you later, Kris,” she added as she got out of his car and made her way inside the building.

Kris drove away, heading to the gym to work out. He walked inside and made his way to the locker room so he could change into his shorts and t-shirt. When he walked out, he saw Tyler and Sid there, and he made his way over to his teammates. “Hey, I just dropped your fiancée off at work,” Kris told Tyler, who about dropped the barbell he had on his shoulders.

“You what?” Tyler questioned as Sid helped him put the weight down. Tyler turned towards Kris, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. “Why were you dropping Dani off at work?”
Kris chuckled. “I had lunch with her,” he explained, but the look on Tyler’s face showed Kris needed to keep talking. “She didn’t tell you?”

Tyler shook his head, and Sid spoke up. “Wow, I guess you and Dani are falling apart,” the captain joked. Tyler shot him a look, but Sid kept it up. “I mean, she’s going to lunch with not just a teammate, but your best friend. Better watch out, she’s going to be leaving you at the altar for this guy,” Sid said, knowing that what he was saying was so ridiculous that there was no way anyone would believe it.

“She did say she wanted my babies,” Kris twisted Dani’s words.

Tyler was glaring at the two of them. “Let’s just finish this workout,” he stated.

Kris laughed, knowing he was irritating his friend. “Calm down, we went to lunch so we could talk about Quinn,” he stopped torturing him.

“Oh,” Tyler said.

“What about Quinn?” Sid inquired, not having been in the loop about Dean. “What’s going on?”

“Darcy’s in town,” Kris told Sid, wanting to avoid talking about Dean if at all possible. “TK and Dani saw her the other day.”

Tyler picked up the story for Kris. “We’re not sure what she’s here for, but I’m sure it’s no coincidence she’s in Pittsburgh and so is Tanger. I’m sure she’s going to try to sink her claws into him again, and I have no doubt she’d be willing to get Quinn out of the picture. Dani being Dani wants to figure out for herself what exactly Darcy is doing here,” Tyler explained.

Sid nodded his head. “I think it’d be better if Darcy just got the hell out of here,” he said, remembering what she had done to Kris. He didn’t want her anywhere near him again. And, he didn’t want her doing anything to Quinn. Though he hadn’t warmed up to her immediately, he had grown to like the team’s owner, realizing she really did have the team’s best interest in her heart. That was exactly the type of owner they needed, and Quinn and Mario were the best duo out there.

“I agree,” Kris mumbled, knowing it was easier said than done.