Status: Work in progress...

Brave the Storm

Chapter 4

Sidney had Kailyn on his bare shoulders as he gripped her calves to keep her there as he charged forward in the shallow end of the pool where Kris and his girlfriend Emily were coming at them. The water splashed around the boys’ waist as the smell of chlorine breached the four of their noses. Emily and Kailyn clasped each other’s hands and pushed against each other. Kailyn was by far the strongest female competitor due to her work outs and her practices. She was simply humoring Emily by letting her hang in this long. But a simple yell of, “Kailyn!” by the youngest Staal distracted her just enough to give Emily the edge she needed to dislodge Kailyn from Sidney’s shoulders. She fell into the clear blue liquid with a splash and came up sputtering.

At the edge of the pool standing side by side were the four Staal brothers. They each stood with their hands in their jeans pockets with eyes focused on her. She swam to their side of the pool. Eric bent down, took her hand, and pulled her out of the pool while trying not to stare at her bikini clad body. She took her hair and squeezed the water from it while greeting, “Hey guys! Thanks for coming! Beer is in the coolers scattered about. Mario said to tell everyone to make themselves at home.”

Right then Jeff Skinner came up from behind her and threw her over his broad shoulder. “Happy birthday Kai, we brought the team!” He spun her giggling form through the chilly air. She looked behind Jeff to see that the team was in fact present.

She grinned and waved, “Hey! Beer in coolers! Let’s start getting trashed! I’m going to change first, so Mr. Skinner if you please, I would like to get to the pool house by my own power.”

************

Eric sat at a round table where Kailyn, Zach, his girlfriend Maya, Jon, and Sidney sat laughing hysterically at the high school memory Zach regaled about the time Sidney and Kailyn got forcibly locked in a closet for Seven Minutes in Heaven. He chuckled at the beat red faces of the two in question.

“Shit, we broke that door in half when we slammed into it. No one dared to try to get us together again after that,” Sidney said after he calmed down his laughter. He and Kailyn leaned over the table to high five.

“You’re right. Especially when you graduated, then they focused on the fact that Kailyn was too busy making out with Jon to notice you,” Maya laughed. She patted Jon on the knee when he sent her a glare. He shifted uncomfortably when he felt all the eyes on him.

“What!” Jon burst, “You can’t deny you wanted to Parise! She’s hot and I was a willing accomplice!” He pointed an accusatory finger at Zach who immediately held his hands up in surrender.

“What the hell you back stabbing bastard! That was between you and I in confidence! I didn’t throw you under the bus, my girlfriend did,” Zach told Jon smugly.

Maya shrugged, “It’s no big deal Zach, Kailyn wanted in your pants too.”

“MAYA! We agreed to keep that to ourselves you bitch!”

Eric was enjoying himself, though he didn’t appreciate hearing about who Kailyn made out with, the fact that the five had so many hilarious and embarrassing stories about each other made him laugh his ass off. Though the true reason he enjoyed sitting and listening to the stories was because the look of sheer happiness Kailyn had while she listened or told stories of her own. Her blue eyes shined bright in a way that Eric had rarely seen in his time knowing her. Her smile was not faked or forced and it did not falter once. Her friends were the only ones that could make her truly happy now and he appreciated how happy they made her. He loved seeing her smile and wished that it would never go away.

But sadly it had to drop the moment she heard his voice, “Well good, at least I know who to gun for when we play Chicago and New Jersey.”

The table was struck silent as their eyes tried to believe what they were actually beholding. Right in front of them, in black jeans and a black Affliction shirt, was the man who could completely destroy Kailyn and ruin her birthday party. He was standing with his arms crossed and glaring at Kailyn’s friends from his place behind her.

“Mike, what are you doing here?” she asked taken aback and wide eyed. She turned around to face Mike and stood. The boys wasted no time standing also.

Mike turned his hard stare at the guys into a pleading one to meet her blue eyed gaze. Eric could see the insincerity in them; he just hoped Kailyn was able to see it as well. If she was fooled by Mike, this could be a long night. He didn’t want her crying over someone that didn’t deserve her tears. “I want you back. I miss my wife. I think now that we have both had our fun, we can work out your issues with retiring.”

Okay, so maybe she didn’t need to read it from his body language. She could hear the truth right from his mouth. Now it was all up to her to decide what she wanted to do with the information. Eric smirked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself closer to his body as she said, “No, I don’t think I have had enough fun yet. I think I might need some more. Isn’t that right Eric? I mean he already thinks we were fucking the first day I got here.”

“I think it’s time you leave Green. Don’t let the door smack you in the ass on the way out,” Jon told Mike.

“I’m not leaving without Lyn. So Lyn cut the shit and just come back so you can save your friends’ faces.” Mike gained a hostile stance that made him look like a cat about to pounce on its prey.
“She doesn’t have to go anywhere with you as long as I am around,” Eric spat at the shorter brown eyed man. Eric was having problems resisting the need to pull Mike by the faux hawk behind the Lemieux pool house and beating the shit out of him. He couldn’t believe the man was trying to order Kailyn around like he owned her. Eric wouldn’t stand for it. Kailyn had a right to live her own life and choose to include whatever man she deemed worthy.

Mike’s face became red with anger as he met Kailyn’s gaze once more and told her, “Kailyn, you are coming with me, that’s…”

“I swear if you finish that sentence with ‘final’ I’ll kick your ass on principal,” Jared said as he took his place at his brother’s side as the second blond Staal and Marc joined him. The three each gained the stance of feet apart and arms crossed. They weren’t messing around by the looks of pure hate on their face. Eric was extremely grateful to his brothers for sticking up to his teammate. They had clearly accepted her as a part of their family and she would not be messed with as long as they were around.

“I don’t need a reason,” Jordan growled with his blue eyes flashing dangerously.

“As you can see, we are completely ready to kick your ass so I suggest you get off the Lemieux property,” Marc said in a tone that suggested the topic should drop immediately. Marc reminded Eric of their father tin that moment when he had to stop disagreements in their tracks at the Staal family home. He felt extremely proud of his brothers standing together and strong for something they knew was right. He was also grateful that Sidney, Jon, and Zach were surrounding Kailyn to protect her from anything that would hurt her whether physically or mentally.

“I think it’s time you leave Mr. Green. Ms. Kane is my guest and she is allowed to stay as long as she wishes. I don’t appreciate you ordering my son’s best friend around in front of me, now goodnight,” Mario Lemieux said while coming into view and putting a hand on both Sidney’s and Kailyn’s shoulders.

No one would be dumb enough to fight with Mario Lemieux, so with one last glare Mike retreated from the property and returned to whence he came from. Eric was happy that Mario had decided to step in when he did because he had an inkling that the disagreement would have escalated and wouldn’t have had the same end as it did if he didn’t. He didn’t have the heart to destroy Kailyn’s party when she looked happier than she had in months because her asshole of an ex husband. He could see the telltale signs of Kailyn being upset. Her eyes were glassy and her shoulders slumped. This altercation had taken a toll on her recovery. He wanted to make her feel better about it quickly and help her to get over this setback.

He just had to be up front with himself. He liked Kailyn, there was no other way around it. The way she held herself to such a high standard to be the best person she could, the amount of hard work she put into her job, and the way she treated her friends. He could tell she would do anything for them, and he really liked that about her. To top off her beautiful personality, she was equally as gorgeous on the outside. Her soft blond hair and striking blue eyes, she was small but she could really pack a punch if she needed to. He wouldn’t want her fair skinned knuckles coming at him. Who was he trying to kid? This woman was his dream wife. He just had to make her fall in love with him. Easy enough, psych.

“Thank you for dealing with him, Mario. I don’t know what I would have done if he tried to hit my friends,” she said gratefully while looking up at Mario. Eric could see she had visibly relaxed in the wake of Mike’s departure.

Mario kissed her on the forehead much like a father would to his daughter and told her, “It’s my pleasure Kailyn. Do not let him ruin your night. You go have fun, okay?”

She grinned and saluted him, “Yes sir!”

Mario smiled and nodded before leaving. Kailyn turned to the group assembled around her and informed them, “I am going to get hammered now, excuse me.”

***********

Kailyn was way past buzzed during the early hours of the morning. It was around one thirty and everyone was dancing and laughing like the party just started. All around her she saw dancing couples and a few that were looking to score later on. Her best friends were at the bar drinking and carrying on. She was dancing with James Neal and having quite the time since Mike had left. She had quickly gained alcoholic amnesia and partied like there was no tomorrow. It felt really good to let her hair out of its trademark braid and just have fun. She felt like she hadn’t had fun in six years, not six months. She couldn’t deny that Eric had been a big part of that.

They had worked out all summer together and had really gotten to know each other. After Eric had passed with flying colors with the Mike phone call, he had become her rock. He was always there when she wanted to talk or just go out and get something to eat. He had been a really good friend to her and she didn’t know what she would do without him. She owed him a lot for how well she was dealing with her broken heart. She was truly becoming dependant on Eric’s company.

As if her thoughts had called to him, with a slow song just starting, Eric had taken James’ place. His strong arms wrapped around her petite waist and pulled her closer to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest, letting the soft thud of his heart calm her whole body. The only time she felt truly at peace was when she was in the presence of Eric Staal. She found him unbelievably relaxing to be around. Everything from his Axe cologne to his smooth drawl comforted her. She adored being around him because she didn’t feel the need to be perfect around him, he simply took her how she was. She didn’t have to worry about impressing reporters and keeping her role model image intact. She could swear as much as she wanted or lose her cool and Eric would understand.“I’m really glad you came Rick.”

“There’s no where I wanted to be more than with you to help you ring in your twenty first,” he told her. He drew small circles on her back, adding to her relaxed state.
She could hear the pure sincerity in his voice and she believed him. In her tipsy state, she took it a little more personal than she would have sober and blushed. She couldn’t contemplate why he was always so wonderful and patient with her. She didn’t understand why he stayed around her in her darkest of days. She felt like she didn’t deserve or no one did care for her, but Eric was making her think otherwise. He made her believe in herself and made her feel like she was worth something and was special in her own awesome way. She was addicted to the feeling and spent as much time soaking it up when he was around whenever she could. “You’re a good man Eric Staal, don’t ever let anyone tell you any different.”

“As long as you know what an amazing woman you are,” he told her softly right by her ear.
She felt a tingle go down her spine and she couldn’t stop the shiver that ran through her body. She looked to the side right when he went in, but the end result was a soft pair of lips connecting dangerously close to full on the mouth. She felt the warm kiss on the side of her mouth through her entire being. Her hazy mind found herself wanting to know what it would feel like if the kiss had come to the forefront of her own lips…

Instant sobriety occurred next. She disentangled herself from him as the soft strains of Wait for You by Elliot Yamin were still playing. She walked away from him, leaving a greatly taken aback man on the makeshift dance floor with only once glance back in his direction. She immediately found her friends so she had an excuse not to bring up what just happened in front of them. Her heart was beating at what she was sure was her limit and she couldn’t help but touch the spot where his lips had only moments ago with her finger tips. Only one clear thought had made it into her thought process after that, what the hell had just happened?A
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I am not really sure how I feel about this chapter. That being said, I would really appreciate some feedback. I want to know your feelings about this chapter because thus far in my writing I feel that this is the weakest chapter. Feel free to convince me otherwise. Just a heads up, some drama is going to wreak its havoc soon...just sayin'.