Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Ch. 4

Pat could tell there was something wrong between him and Jon. Well, he could tell that Jon wasn't happy with him. Jon barely looked at or spoke to him during practice and after being friends for so long he could read the signs. When he was getting ready to leave it briefly crossed his mind that Jon may just have figured out that Pat had been drilling his girl for the last six months; that Pat could faintly smell like her since he'd been in bed with her all morning, but that quickly left his mind. After the months of sneaking around he was confident they wouldn't get caught.

"What's up with you?" Pat asked as Jon went to brush by him.

"Nothing," he shrugged.

"Ooookay."

Jon finally turned to him, fed up. "The fuck were you last night?"

Pat's heart caught in his throat for a second and he looked at Jon with a confused expression but before he could answer Jon continued speaking, confirming just how angry he was. "You're not drunk now. You propose to my best friend, get her hammered, and then leave her to her own devices? Are you kidding?"

"I didn't exactly leave her to her own devices," Pat commented in self defense. "I knew you would take her home." What was he supposed to say? 'I wanted you to take her home so I could go back to my place and fuck your girl?' No.

"It's not my job!" Jon responded, voice elevated. "She's your fiance. You beg me to help pick out a ring and I finally agree against my better judgment and the night you give it to her, you can't even take care of her. How am I....how is she supposed to feel confident that you'll be there for her, take care of her for the rest of her life? Huh?"

"Woah." Pat's eyes widened and he put his hands up. "I didn't realize it was such a problem."

"Yeah," Jon breathed out. "Of course not. You don't think of anyone but yourself. You volunteer me to take care of Charlotte not even considering I might have had plans with Rose."

"Did you?" Pat asked already knowing the answer.

"Does that matter? If you're going to marry Charlotte then you better start acting like an adult instead of the man-child you are. You're my friend, Pat, and you forget that I know you. Charlotte doesn't see it. I don't know if she just doesn't want to or what spell you've got her under, but the way you treated her last night was wrong."

"Why don't you get the stick out from your ass and calm the fuck down. She's your best friend bro. I didn't think it would bother you too much to take her home, she's on the way. Fuck. She doesn't care this much, I don't know why you do."

"Does she, though?" Jon turned and looked him square in the eye. "Guess you don't know her as well as you think," he said as he stormed away from Pat annoyed.

Pat paused for a moment but turned and walked out behind Jon. He was only a few strides behind him but he opted for silence. He didn't have anything to say and he didn't want to keep fighting. As they walked outside Pat saw Charlotte waiting for him. When her eyes met his she smiled and waived and Pat felt a sense of victory. Jon could say what he wanted, but Pat was the one with the girl--and that didn't mean Charlotte. He had Jon's girl and he had Charlotte. He wanted to tell him that he couldn't even satisfy his own girl and to keep out of his business, but he kept his mouth shut. Maybe, Pat thought as Charlotte walked towards him, maybe Jon didn't know her as well as he thought.

Pat didn't notice Jon shake his head disapprovingly as he pulled Charlotte into him for a hug.

"I was a little surprised you wanted to go for lunch," Charlotte said as she got in the car with Pat. He'd called her earlier in the morning to meet her at the arena and asked her to go out and grab some food after. To him, it was a fair trade off after blowing her off the previous night. As long as he kept her happy and went out of his way to do outwardly nice things, she'd never question his loyalty.

"That a bad thing?" Pat asked as he started the car.

"No. Of course not babe. It's just not your style."

"I wanted to spend some time with my fiance," he said as he grabbed her hand in his and raised it to his lips for a kiss.

Charlotte gave a faint smile and let out a little sigh. "Well, you could have spent time with me last night."

Pat wasn't sure if she'd go there but it was now clear she was. "C'mon Char," he looked over at her in the passenger seat and gave his puppy dog eyes.

"I don't get it. We've been together for two years. You literally gave me a ring yesterday, asked me to marry you, and then after we celebrate with our friends you send me home alone."

"Not alone," he corrected her. "Jon went with you."

"Yes, that's true," she responded trying not to lose her cool and be as patient as possible. "I just would have liked to have woken up with you there. I mean, it's what marriage will be like."

Pat's throat tightened at the thought of that. Waking up next to her every morning would virtually eliminate the possibility of waking up next to Rose. It shouldn't have bothered him, but it was messing with his brain. "I know," he said smoothly. "I can't wait Char. I love you," he turned and looked her in the eyes before darting them back to the road. "I figured you were pissed about that. That's why I wanted to take you out now. Make up for it."

"Really?" she tilted her head and asked sincerely, wanting to accept his apology.

As Pat pulled into his driveway Charlotte wrinkled her brow and looked at him confused. "You're taking me out...to your house? You're cooking?"

Pat let out a little laugh. "Not exactly. Come on." He walked around to her side of the car and helped her out, holding her hand until he opened his front door.

She stepped inside and saw the staircase, one rose lying on each step like a trail. She smiled and followed it up where it stopped at the door of Pat's room. "I'm not cooking, but I am bringing lunch to us. I got it catered for the day," he whispered into her ear as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She turned around in his grasp and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing the tip of her nose to his. "Smooth one, Kaner."

"I felt bad about last night," he said simply. "I wanted to make it up to you." He leaned down and kissed her and felt her lips move against his. "Are we okay?" he pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes and wait for her answer.

Charlotte nodded and pressed her lips back to his. He walked forwards, pushing her backwards towards the bed and kissed down her neck. When the back of her knees hit his mattress Charlotte let out a little moan and felt his hands travel down her waist and lift her shirt up over her head. He put his hands to her waist and lifted her just enough to get her on the bed, crawling in between her legs and kissing down to her bra.

"Baby," she panted pushing him back. "Where are your sheets and covers?"

"Oh," he leaned back clearly caught off guard and swallowed nervously. "I threw up on them last night, sent them to get cleaned this morning."

*****

Rose met Jon at his place. They were supposed to get dinner or see a movie, do something. Anything. When she got there she was all done up. Her hair was perfect, her makeup was flawless, her outfit was flattering to her skinny yet curvy figure. There was a reason she was a model with a contract, and there was a reason Jon was attracted to her in the first place.

When she walked through the door Jon greeted her with a kiss. "Hey baby," he did a double take, "Wow you look great."

She smiled. "Thanks babe. How'd it go last night?"

"What?" he looked at her unsure of what she meant.

"Charlotte. She was pretty drunk last night."

"Oh, right." Jon rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah she was pretty wasted." He sighed. "I don't know."

"What?" Rose rested her hand on his arm. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

"Nothing," he shrugged it off. "It's no big deal."

"No," Rose insisted. "Tell me. Tell me or we're not leaving this house."

Jon smirked and raised his brow, "That could be fun."

Rose put her hand up and rested her palm against his chest to keep him away. "I'm serious. What's wrong?"

Jon sighed and sat down on the edge of the couch. "Pat's pissing me off lately."

Rose swallowed nervously but never broke her concerned expression. "Why?"

"I don't know," he sighed again. "I'm just put off by how he was yesterday. He proposed to Charlotte. You know? He should want to spend every second of every day and every night with her. I mean, he should feel like the luckiest son of a bitch in the world that she loves him and said yes. He should want to hold her against him in bed at night, wake up next to her in the morning..." he stared intensely at the ground. "How do you propose to someone and then practically blow them off the same night? He should have been the one taking care of her last night. He should have wanted to."

Rose smiled to herself knowing where Patrick would rather have been-- where he actually was. "I understand what you're saying." Rose went and sat down next to him, placing her hand on his back. He never broke his gaze away from the floor. "But," she continued. "Maybe you should cut him some slack."

Jon finally turned his head and looked at Rose. "Really? You think so? If that were you and me, you wouldn't be pissed?"

"I don't know," she answered quickly. "You got any questions you want to ask me that I don't know about?"

Jon smiled faintly and shook his head. "Not yet," he said as he leaned in a gave her a peck on the forehead.

"Then I can't answer that question." Rose didn't want to be honest and say he was right and that if she were Charlotte, she'd be hurt. She didn't want to add anymore fuel to Jon's fire.

"Maybe you're right," he breathed out. "Maybe I'm making it a bigger deal than it is."

"You're protective of Charlotte," she chimed in to ease his thoughts. "There's nothing wrong with that."

He moved in and kissed her on the lips this time. "You're more rational about this stuff than I am I guess. That's one of the reasons we're good together." He shook his head and rested his forehead on the palm of his hand, his elbow resting on his knee. "You don't think Pat's been acting weird lately? Is that just me?"

Rose loved how Pat had been acting lately, but wasn't about to say that. "I guess it's just you babe." She forced a smile and pushed him back so he was sitting straight up. She put her hand on his thigh and ran it up is jeans until she was cupping his package in her hand. "I know something we can do instead of dinner," she leaned in a whispered seductively in his ear before licking down his neck and giving it a little nibble.

Jon's lips curled up into a smile and he let her unbutton and pull down his pants. It wasn't that he was particularly in the mood, but she was offering and he could use the release. She shimmied out of her pants and slowly impaled herself on his cock, as she did so, she leaned in and moaned in his ear. "How about you forget about Charlotte and Patrick for now, and just worry about fucking your girlfriend."

Little did Jon know, Rose wouldn't be able to shake Patrick from her mind, and little did Rose know Jon wouldn't be able to put Charlotte out of his.

*****

The next night after Pat left Charlotte's, he found himself unable to control his ability to drive. He wanted to drive home but couldn't do it and realized he was speeding to Rose's. He had sent her a text to make sure the coast was clear and he was on his way. He found that was happening a lot more lately. They were starting to be a little careless. Their affair had started out being whenever they could steal alone time, now they were actively scheming to get into the other's bed.

Pat barely had to knock on her door before she answered and he immediately grabbed her and pulled her to him, violently lifting her up so she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissing her so hard she couldn't breathe. He kicked the door closed behind him and slammed her hard into the wall. Rose ripped her shirt off after ripping off Pat's and he put her down for just enough time to get their pants off. "Bedroom?" she asked flushed as he lifted her against the wall again and slammed his painfully hard cock inside her. "No," he panted as he rhythmically went in and out of her. "God you're so fucking hot," he moaned out louder and threw his head back. She felt so good to him. Each time they were together he was on fire. Pat didn't know if it was because it was so wrong, or the sneaking around, or something else, but she had easily become his addiction.

"Charlotte still has no idea?" Rose panted out as she bounced on him, her back firmly against the wall.

"Fuck Charlotte," he said pressing his lips to hers, silencing her...except for the moans and gasps for air that escaped her mouth.

*****

"Wanna get a coffee?" Jon called Charlotte to see what she was up to since he had no plans at the moment.

"Sure. Now?"

"I'll be there in two minutes. Be ready," Jon said before hanging up the phone.

True to his word, Jon was there and Charlotte needed an extra minute to get her stuff to leave. When she got to the car she was thankful he had the heat going. "I'm freezing!" she squealed as she rubbed her hands together quickly.

"I knew you would be that's why the heat's blasting," he turned to her and said with a smile.

"No plans tonight?" she teased.

"Nope. I just wanted an easy night tonight."

"I would have thought you'd be with Rose then."

"We're not the engaged couple," he said with a laugh. "I'm not married to her, I don't need to see her every night. If I want a fun, easy night, that's why I have you. Well, for now at least."

"Very funny," she said sarcastically. "I see what you did there."

"What?"

"The dig you made. I get it. I know you're pissed at him Jon, okay? I know you're mad you had to take care of me the other night but I talked to him about it. He apologized."

"I'm sure he did," he responded cynically. "Wait," he realized what she just said. "You think I'm mad because I had to take you home and take care of you?" Jon couldn't believe that was what she got out of it.

"Yeah," she nodded. "You haven't dropped it. Like, I get it. You wanted to go home with Rose, whatever. I inconvenienced you. I'm sorry."

"Woah," he shook his head. "Char that's not at all why I was pissed. You really think that?"

She paused for a moment. "No, I don't know. You just seemed that way."

"No, Char. No way. I'm not mad because I had to take you home and take care of you. I'm happy to do that. I just get pissed when he doesn't take care of you."

Charlotte swallowed and stared straight ahead not wanting to show how much what he was saying was registering with her. "I know."

"I just want to see you happy," he added. "And I know, at least I think I do, when you are and when you aren't. You deserve the world and if he doesn't live up to that, I'm going to call him out on it. That's all."

Charlotte didn't say anything she just nodded her head.

"Hey," he turned and looked at her. "Charlotte. Look at me. Are we good?"

"Yeah," she looked at him and gave a smile. "We're good. I love that you care that much. I mean I would feel the same way if I felt Rose wasn't treating you right. So, yeah, I get it." She leaned in and gave him a hug as he ordered their drinks through the drive-thru. She loved that after all this time she didn't need to tell him what she wanted, he always knew what to order her and he knew exactly what she liked in the particular ways she liked it.

"Hey!" she gasped. "I almost forgot, it's why you had to wait the extra minute. I have something for you," she turned and reached for her bag, pulling out what Jon could tell was a picture. "We took this picture the night of your first game as a Blackhawk," she gushed. "Remember that night? You were so nervous but we had so much fun. I was so proud of you!"

Jon took it from her hand and couldn't hide his smile. There they were all those years ago. It was fresh from the game, he was still in his jersey, skates and gear. He was sweaty and she was next to him, her arms around his waist. They were both laughing in the picture, he remembered that and it was obvious by looking at it. Her head was back with the biggest smile and he was looking down at her, his arm around her shoulders. "I found it in one of my albums and thought you'd want a copy."

"This is great Char. I can't believe you found it. I don't have a copy of this. I love it," he said never taking his eyes off the picture. "Thank you." She didn't know at the time, and he wasn't about to tell her, what he was really thinking when they took it that night.

"I'm glad," she said as she rested her head on his shoulder and they pulled up to the window where Jon handed her her coffee before he was handed his.

*****

The next day at the arena before their game, when Jon arrived he quickly taped the picture of him and Charlotte that she had given him the night before in his locker...right next to the professional shot of Rose that she had hung up herself after a game a few months prior.