Insane Love

Outside, it was getting dark and a warm Summer wind was blowing. The sun was almost on its way to setting down, the streets were calm, people wearing shorts and loose shirts, and a barbeque smell was flying in the air. The lake was quiet and the birds were not heard anymore, as they were beginning to sleep.

Inside, though, the drinks were being prepared and the noise level was just getting higher. Zoe's bachelorette party was at a reserved club house, with Lana, Mia, Elisha, Cheryl, James Reimer's wife April, Mike Brown's wife Sarah. The Brown family had arrived from Edmonton only two days ago, and Sarah was already back to bonding and catching up with the girls.

Mia had appointed their own bartender for the night, plus the setup was changed just a bit inside. They had planned out the events, but what Zoe didn't know was that Elisha and Mia had hired professional and sophisticated males, if you were to speak formally. There was a large oval shaped pool outside with bright underwater lights. One side of the club was a bar, a dancefloor in the middle, and a large screen to watch movies later while sitting on the couches. The house was near the water, where they could see that there was also another party going on at a lake house further away. But they didn't think about it too much.

"Alright, which one of you got me this!?" Zoe laughed, holding a bright pink lace thong with her fingers. She had opened up one of the gift boxes, as they were sitting on the barstools with martinis in their hands.

"Oh you know you love it." Elisha winked.

"Mike will love it even more, " Mia grinned, giggling to the side with Elisha.

"Speaking of Mike.." Zoe bit her bottom lip and glanced at all of them one by one. "Um, we're moving to Seattle in a few weeks after our honeymoon in Vegas."

"Wow. Seattle." Lana breathed.

"That's so far away." Mia sighed, looking at her best friend sadly.

"I know, but I really think it's time for us to raise a family somewhere else. He got a job offer there and he's already looked for a house, and I've seen the pictures and the yard is so big and beautiful." she spoke, smiling faintly.

"As long as you come back to visit all the time." April Reimer beamed nicely.

"Of course! And you girls have to come visit too." she put her hand on Cheryl's arm.

"You're lucky you guys are moving by choice." Lana stared at her feet on the stool. When everyone gave her a confused look, she continued. "I'm just worried that Tyler might not get re-signed when free agency begins."

"Already thinking about long term, eh?" April winked, nudging her with her elbow lightly. "Tyler's a great center, I'm sure he'll sign another contract with us."

"I hope so." she sighed.

"I miss Toronto more than anything," Sarah said. "But relationships or marriages are all about wanting to be together wherever. Edmonton just so happened to be where Mike got traded."

"Life is less complicated with a real estate agent than being with a hockey player." Zoe giggled, earning a laugh from them.

"Did you guys see what Colton got Mia for her birthday?" Lana turned the attention over.

"No, what?" Elisha looked at Mia with curious and glimmering eyes.

Mia glanced down at her chest, where the diamond stone was hanging right above her cleavage. The girls Awwww'd and April examined it by picking it up and tracing over the jewel with her fingertips.

"It's so pretty!" Cheryl exclaimed, nodding her head in approval of the expensive gift.

"Thanks," Mia smiled. She wore the colour that looked the greatest on her. It was a thin-strapped red tanktop, to show off her shoulders and slim arms. The tight black skirt was pulled up to her waist and over her shirt, reaching down to her thighs.

"You moved in already now, right?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, I moved a day after my birthday when a family with children was ready to sign the papers and buy my place." she told her.

"You know, in the long run, I really think you guys will have kids." Elisha sipped her cocktail, still looking up at Mia to see her reaction.

"I don't know." Mia murmured, putting one elbow on the bar counter. She turned her head to the left and glanced at the white sofa chairs, in front of the flat screen TV that was set in the club house.

"Do you want kids?" Cheryl questioned, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I really do." she replied quietly, smiling faintly. She knew Colton had changed over the year, drastically, but she didn't know if he was prepared for something like that. Children are a great responsibility, and marriage would have to come first. But even for that--she thought it was too early.

"Well, I believe it will happen one day." April said kindly.

"I believe Bozie and Kess will be together forever, that's all I know." Mia joked and they all cracked into laughter.

-

"CANNIBAAALL!" Tyler and Phil screamed in the air, knees pulled up to their bare chests. The buds soared through, and finally landed in the lake while everyone clapped over the loud music. They came out of the water, shook their wet hair, and put both fists up in victory.

"Is that all you got?" Colton laughed, standing on the edge of the dock in his shorts.

"This marks a competition!" Nazem held his Heineken beer bottle up, as Joffrey and JvR did the same.

"Bring it on," Tyler challenged with only his head above the water.

Colton took four steps back, getting ready by preparing his hands like he was racing, and ran at full speed to the edge of the wood. He leaped in the air, higher than Bozie and Kess did, and landed by making the waves cover Tyler. The water was cool in the night, it had gotten darker, and the only light they were getting was from the many bulbs that had been hung on clothing-lines around the area.

"That's nothing!" Brownie exclaimed, already in the air above the water. He landed near all three of them, making a bigger slash, throwing water on everyone who was standing on the dock.

"Well," Dion laughed, looking into his beer can which now had been filled with lake water. "I guess we know who the winner is."

"Where's my prize?" Brownie joked, water dripping from his face.

"They'll be here soon." Bozie smirked, climbing back to his feet on the dock. He wasn't referring to gold medals, trophies or awards, of course. He had taken care of what he promised the other Mike.

"Jesus, aren't you guys cold?" Mike laughed curiously.

"Worth it." Colton shrugged and dried himself off with a towel Dion had thrown at him.

"Let's go, bachelor." Tyler put both hands on Mike's shoulders, walking behind him. The party was at Bozie's lakehouse. He had planned it all out with Phil and Colton, and some of the other boys had come in on it. It was 8:30PM, which meant it was also time for some entertainment.

The rest of them threw their shirts back on after drying themselves off. Mikey, Tyler, Phil, Dion, Nazem, Brownie, Joffrey and JvR all headed back into the 3-story house. They cracked some more beer bottles and cans open, sitting down comfortably on the leather couches in front of the screen. It didn't take long before the doorbell rang, and Mike looked up in confusion.

"Is anyone else coming?" he asked, looking at Tyler. When he saw the smirk on Bozie's face, he sighed and rolled his eyes while trying to hold back a smile.

Tyler stood up, going up the three wooden steps to the front door. He turned the handle, opening it wide to the three....men that greeted him. They were as tall as Tyler, wearing police officer uniforms and gear, all with shades or sunglasses and silver nametags.

"Umm.. Can I help you, officers?" Bozie asked, looking confused. Phil and Colton came up behind him alone with the same faces.

"We've received some noise complaints." The middle one, Roberto, with brown spiky hair said after he took off his police hat.

"We're going to have to frisk you," One of the other men, Parker, pulled out his hand cuffs.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Tyler backed up, pointing at him and glancing at the other 'officers' repeatedly.

"Okay, wait a minute." The third cop with the nametag reading Sebastien looked at his co-workers. "These guys aren't chicks."

"You guys aren't chicks either." Phil furrowed his eyebrows and stated the obvious, earning an eye roll from Colton at his side.

"I called for three police women, " Tyler laughed dryly, and looked behind them to see nothing new but a red car parked in front of his lakehouse.

"Our manager told us to come to this location," Parker pulled out his white iPhone, showing the boys the tag on Google Maps. "Three strippers for a bachelorette party reserved by Mia Stone and Elisha Cuthbert."

Colton sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He scratched his neck, already planning on how to tell Mia about this. Phil snickered along with Tyler who was trying to hold back a laugh.

"There's been a misunderstanding," Colton walked to the steps behind the men, and motioned his head towards another house with bright lights on the shoreline. It wasn't too far away, but there were many trees and trails in between the two houses. "I think that's what you were looking for."

-

"This is a misunderstanding," Elisha shook her head at the ladies standing at the glass door. Mia was standing beside her friend, also wondering what the confusion was about. This was not going according to the plan.

"We're not leaving until we know which place we were assigned at." The girl with bleach blonde hair and pink bubble gum spoke, placing one hand on her hip by the fake gun on the police belt.

"Tyler Bozak, Phil Kessel and Colton Orr," one of them read a piece of white paper in her hand. "Do any of them own this house?"

Mia curled an eyebrow. "Colton Orr, eh?" She crossed her arms impatiently, she smirked, "He was involved?"

"Yeah, he and Mr. Bozak made the reservations." The girl with pretty hazelnut hair told them.

"Yeah," Mia repeated, no hint of surprise or shock in her voice. "We'll see about that." She was staring at the lakehouse, letting her eyes wander to the road that could lead them there. "Girls, grab your bags and lock up for now." Mia called back into the house.

"Um, what about us?" the brunette asked for clarification once Zoe, Sarah, Lana, Cheryl and April came out of the house with their purses.

"You're coming." Elisha stepped in her car as everyone else did the same in theirs.

Mia led the way, they all had their lights on as they drove in the nighttime, following the dirty trail. It was a two-way road, barely, and the bushes looked like they needed to be cut down a bit. It was a quick drive until they could see the lakehouse. Mia parked first, along with the rest of the girls, and they recognized the cars more than well.

They walked up the pathway until they could see the dock after the grass area. Mia went up the steps to the porch, where she could see the light of a TV screen coming out. Elisha knocked on the door and they waited. Tyler opened it, brightening up his face when he saw the strippers.

"Move over, playboy." Mia walked in, bumping into his shoulder and changing his expression as he laughed and put his hands up in defeat.

"So, I heard you guys lost some of your...guests." Cheryl teased, putting one hand on her hip and raising her eyebrow at Joffrey.

"We could say the same thing about you." Phil chuckled, turning the attention over to the three male police officers who were standing awkwardly.

"Give us back our strippers!" Elisha laughed. "And your popcorn!" She snatched a bag of buttery popcorn from Dion's hands.

"I was eating that," he laughed with his mouthful.

"Take them," Tyler gestured his arms out dramatically. "This was supposed to be a night full of lap-dancing for Mikey!"

"We were supposed to be throwing twenty's at cops with Zoe!" Sarah yelled back, getting a nodding approval from Lana.

"Where's Orr!?" Mia roared loudly over everyone as they argued, but jokingly. She glanced quickly around the wooden lakehouse inside, tapping her foot impatiently on the hardwood floor.

Colton came back fearlessly from the kitchen with a beer bottle in one hand and a bottle opener over the lid. He looked too concentrated on what he was doing until he came closer and heard all the noise. When he looked up after cracking it open, he furrowed his eyebrows and squinted his eyes. I only left for two minutes..

"There you are!" Mia scared him, making him blink twice to confirm that it was really her, that she was really standing there.

"Oh, would you look at who it is." he mocked. "I thought you would have been too busy waiting for your 'frisky cops' to arrive." He made air quotation marks over the words,

"Okay, everyone calm down." Mikey stood up, putting one arm over Zoe's shoulder, urging the friends to all be quiet. Arguments were cut short, and they listened.

"Men, ladies, thanks but I think we're fine for tonight." Zoe said to the male strippers, along with the females. They glanced at each other, and then made their way out the same door they entered.

"Guys, I appreciate it but this has already been a great bachelor party." Mike chuckled.

"I think we'd all go for just sitting down and talking over a dumb T.V show and eating and drinking all night." Zoe winked at Mia.

"Are you sure?" Lana questioned, standing beside April.

"Yes, trust us." she confirmed.

"Alright..." Nazem shrugged, getting over his doubts. "Let's get the party re-started."

While everyone was spreading out and going to the kitchen, grabbing more beer and pop, making more popcorn, sitting down and talking, the night was just getting better. It turned out that things didn't need to go according to the plan all the time. For once, it was alright to just go along with it. Zoe and Mike were to-be-married in the next couple of days, and they still wanted to spend their parties together.

Mia was putting more pretzels in an orange bowl, when Colton came up behind her. He was holding a box of matches in his hand, looked at her and smiled. "Come." he said simply, motioning his head towards the back door.

"Where?" she raised an eyebrow, after throwing a small salty pretzel in her mouth.

"You'll see," he grabbed a black blanket off one of the wooden chairs. He held his other hand out, and she went along with it by lacing their fingers together.

They stepped outside, walking down the pathway to wherever Colton led both her and himself. The moon was full that night. The rest of the sky only had stars in the dark. Mia looked down again, now seeing where they were. Four logs around a large amount of sticks in the middle, prepared for a fire. Colton quickly lit the match and sparks flew up.

They sat down on a log, Colton wearing his sweater and Mia's shoulders and back covered by the blanket. She sighed after making herself comfortable, feeling the heat of the fire, and the warmth of the man she loved beside her.

"Are you cold?" Colton turned his head to the left, only inches from the side of her face.

"No, it's perfect out here." she responded, smiling at her words. It's perfect because you're here. When he faced forward again, they stayed quiet. It was a normal silence, their minds were just thinking and eyes were snapping the beautiful images.

"I'm glad we came out here, it was getting kind of loud." Mia said truthfully.

"Kind of?" he smirked, earning a laugh from her.

Colton didn't move away this time. She faced to the right, still grinning faintly, and saw that he was still staring. The fire made their eyes shine, and he was just staring into her. Into her deep self. He had already discovered it.

"A couple months ago," he began. "When we made the playoffs, and before we fell asleep, I told you that you make me really happy."

She remembered. He didn't even have to say anything more for her to remember. Her skin got goosebumps, not from the weather, but just from being excited to hear him speak about it. She remembered when he had whispered those words that night. Enough to make her still think about it.

"I just hope you know I mean it.." he had to look to the side, to break apart from her brown eyes for a moment. Then he met them again.

Hold me. Mia licked her lips. "I believe you, Colton." Her hand reached up to his cheek gently. "I fall for you more, and harder, and deeper each day. I believe you."

"You're everything I've ever wanted." he whispered to her, the honest truth sounding so good and feeling so good to escape his mouth.

From day one, he thought he'd never actually meet someone like her. He thought about it, but he could never picture himself settling down, as much as he tried. When she was first introduced to the team, when she first ate messy chicken wings across from him, when she first stitched his cuts back up or when Mia first rejected him--he knew.

She was something so special, he'd have to be an idiot to not see it. He spent so much time, wasted so much precious time thinking that she was like all the other girls. Colton had learned a lot from her. He learned more about himself, that he truly has a caring and compassionate side. He learned how to treat delicate flowers, how to hold someone and love them. Oh, he learned.

"I love you so much." she replied softly, smiling with her eyes.

Now, Mia, she opened herself up to the right person. Her whole life was spent trying to hold herself together after the Cinderella phase, after she found out that relationships aren't fairy tales, and that it doesn't always end good. The real world hit her so hard, it was such a shock figuring out what love could be like.

She thought she knew what type of guy Colton was like. Everyone knew his reputation, his fighting career and toughness on the ice, sure. But she discovered much more. She taught herself while trying to hide the key to her heart from him. She learned that some keys are meant to be found, and that some locked doors are just meant to be opened and left unlocked. She loved Colton long before she admitted it, but she denied the truth. What good did denying the truth ever bring to this world? That was something Terra would say.

"I love you too." he spoke, with one hand on her thigh tenderly. "Always have, always will."

"Forever." Mia's voice was almost a whisper as their faces came closer.

"Forever, baby." he said quietly. He eyed her mouth, and their lips met in the softest, and most assuring kiss. Their lips were wet, and they were left with wanting more. They deepened the kiss, their noses and foreheads touching smoothly. It all fit perfectly.

El Fin / The End