Perfect Symmetry

The rest of the night was painfully awkward for me. I avoided Jon like the plague, leaving the room if he entered and refusing to look him in the eye. The rest of the night was spent with the few people who stuck around, gathered in the living room around the Sharp’s gas fire and just talking; funny anecdotes were shared liberally. The boys all had good ones, particularly one of the players that I hadn’t formally met yet: Adam Burish.

When he went to the kitchen for some more beer, I followed him and made a point to introduce myself.

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Jazz,” his blue eyes twinkled at me.

I smiled. “It’s great to meet you too, Adam. I loved that story about Sharpie, and the pranks you pulled in Nashville.”

Adam laughed. He had a deep, wholesome laugh and I loved it.

“Yeah, we’ve had some good times. So you and Stalberg, huh?” he winked at me.

My cheeks warmed. “Yeah; I guess.”

He looked at me in disbelief. “You guess?The dude is a walking model! His skin is so tan you’d think he was a surfer. And with those killer eyes and smile, I think every girl in Chicago faints whenever he walks by.”

“What are you, his publicist?” I teased, refilling my glass of champagne.

Adam grinned. “No. But if I was, I would tell you that I know that a certain Mr. Toews has also set his sights on you?”

I gulped. “I...I don’t know what you’re talking about. No!”

He smirked. “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh don’t quote Hamletto me, you little twerp.”

Adam chuckled. “I like that you’re comfortable enough with me to call me names, yet I’m insulted at the same time.

I made a face at him and turned to re-enter the living room before twisting my head back to look at him again.

“Why do you think Jon feels that way?” I asked suspiciously.

Burish waggled his eyebrows tauntingly. “We’re a pretty close team, Jazz. Shit goes around.”

I rolled my eyes, and after exchanging phone numbers with him, I returned to the living room and planted myself in between Hailey and Abby and refused to even look in the general direction of Jonathan Toews.

Viktor was extremely nice to me for the rest of the night, even after he lost many, many games of cards against basically every player, including Burish.

“Maybe you should just stick to hockey,” I teased him, patting his shoulder comfortingly.

He made a face at me and pulled me into his body for a quick kiss. I grinned, and wanted to slink away into a room like Pat and his sleazy date. The nightcaps were passed around, and I eventually pulled Viktor into the empty kitchen and handed him his gift.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” his blue eyes looked down at me.

I waved away his insistences and pressed the flat package into his hand with a small smile.

“I know,” I replied, “I wanted to.”

His large hands pulled delicately at the cheap wrapping paper that I had dug out from the back of one of my many storage places. I bit my lip as he pulled back the front, revealing the large Kindle inside. I winced.

“If you already bought it, or someone else already gave it to you, I can totally take it back.” My hands reached for it, mortified.

Viktor put his hands on top of mine. My fingers looked tiny in comparison.

“No one did,” he assured me. “I love it.”

I smiled in relief. “Oh thank God. It’s all you’ve talked about for like a month. I thought someone else would have thought to get it for you.”

“The guys are much more dense than you,” Viktor murmured before putting the present on the kitchen counter and wrapping both his arms around my waist.

I giggled. “Well I’ll have to thank them for that then.”

He was silent as he bent down to press his warm lips to mine. I forgot all about the crowd that was sitting in the living room, and I forgot all about displays of impropriety as I pressed myself up so close to him that I could feel every muscle in his chest.

His hands were slowly but surely moving south towards my bum, so I finally pulled away and glanced nervously around. Luckily, we were still alone. He reluctantly pulled his hands away and turned on his heel.

“Wait here,” he said firmly before walking out.

I collapsed into a chair, breathing heavily. Wow, I didn’t want to lose control like that again, especially in a public place! I was straightening my dress and hair when Kaner walked in.

“Hey! Haven’t seen you much since I dumped Maddy with you and walked off,” he laughed. His blue eyes were clouded with alcohol, but he was nowhere near as drunk as I had seen him. This was a perfectly acceptable level of tipsy.

I grinned at him. “You having a good time?”

He took a seat next to me and nodded. “This is really fun. Did you see that fox I brought to this thing?”

I rolled my eyes. “Where’d you find her?”

“She lives next door to an old buddy of mine,” Patrick explained.

I frowned. “Be careful; you won’t be able to shake this one like you usually do if your buddy sees her all the time.”

Patrick waved his issue off. “Not a problem. Neither of us wants anything serious.”

“She might have said that, but it’s pretty easy to fall in love with cute, funny guys, Patrick,” I reminded him.

He turned to look at me with a dorky smile on his face.

“You think I’m cute, Jazz?” he inquired sweetly.

I groaned. “Is this going to be used as some sort of blackmail now? Because if so, I will deny it with every fiber of my being.”

Pat chuckled. “Maybe. I’ll use it at the perfect moment.” He stood up to head back into the living room. “You coming back in?”

I nodded. “Give me a minute. I’m waiting for Viktor.”

He made kissy noises and I swore at him as he returned to the living room with that same stupid smile on his face.

Viktor returned just as Kaner disappeared, with a flat box that usually meant one of two things: jewelry or jewelry.

“Here,” he presented it to me after sitting down in Kaner’s abandoned seat.

I looked at him carefully. “I hope you didn’t spend a fortune,” I implored.

Viktor shrugged. “It’s rude to ask how much a gift costs.” He kissed my nose teasingly.

I continued to look accusingly at him until he finally nudged me impatiently.

“Just open it, you ninny,” he laughed.

I finally did, and my expectations were definitely exceeded. It was a silver bracelet, with shiny crystals placed in strategic places and one small, delicately made flower pendant right in the center. It was exactly what I would have picked out for myself.

“Wow, Viktor,” I murmured, “This is too much.”

“I think I get to decide when things are too much,” he corrected, “and this is just perfect.”

I nodded slowly, stroking the flower pendant in awe. He lifted it out of its case and placed it on my child-like wrist. It slithered gracefully to the base of my wrist that met my palm and stayed there, glinting in the fluorescent lights of the kitchen.

“Thank you,” I breathed before giving him a quick kiss and burying my head into his chest. “It’s amazing.”

His arms wrapped around me and he kissed the top of my head endearingly.

“Merry Christmas, Jazz.”
~
I woke up in Viktor’s apartment for the first time. I vaguely remembered getting here, but the memory was getting foggier the more I tried to recall it. Viktor was next to me, snoring softly with his face buried in his pillow. I glanced at my phone on the bedside table and registered that it was 8:30 AM. Why the hell was I awake? My body’s natural alarm clock forced me out of bed.

I used my cell to call my mom at the airport and apologize for not being there to drop her and my dad off.

“It’s fine,” my mom insisted, “did you have a nice time last night?”

I grinned unintentionally. “Yeah, a really good time.”

“Good,” she said definitively, “then I’ll call you once we land okay?”

I stifled a yawn. “Have a safe flight. Love you.”

I hung up and then crawled back into bed with Viktor and snoozed for a couple more hours.
~
When Viktor roused at around eleven, I was sitting up, reading emails from friends and family from Christmas. He immediately went to shower and I called Hailey, hoping she was also awake.

“Hello?” her voice sounded chipper, so she must have been awake for a while.

“Hailey, it’s me,” I spoke quietly, even though I knew Viktor probably couldn’t hear me with the shower on.

“Ugh, Jazz, I just got up and I’m exhausted. Can this wait?” Hailey’s voice changed as soon as I announced myself. It was whiny and weary.

“No!” I replied emphatically. “I need some serious personal advice immediately.”

“Ooh, is this about Stalberg?” she cooed, her voice perking up again.

I got out of bed and moved away from the bathroom that Viktor was inside. God, I felt paranoid.

“Is Seabrook with you?” I hissed.

Hailey yawned. “No, he went to get coffee and doughnuts.”

I slumped into one of Viktor’s leather couches and groaned loudly.

“Okay then. I have a problem,” I started.

Hailey sounded impatient. “Yes, I inferred that.”

I then proceeded to tell her about the whole Jonathan encounter in the hallway at the party last night. She squealed in excitement.

“Are you serious? That is so hot, Jazz. Did you kiss him already?” she exclaimed.

“Hailey,” I scolded, “I’m technically dating Viktor, remember?”

“Meh,” she dismissed, “it’s only been what, six weeks? Two months?”

I sighed in frustration. “That’s not the point. And then you won’t believe the Christmas present Viktor got me.”

I described the bracelet to her and Hailey was in hysterics all over again.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped irritably.

“What?” I retorted defensively.

“Well, you’re hoarding two amazing guys and it’s not fair!” Hailey laughed.

I groaned. “You’re right. I’m with Viktor and things are going well, you know? And Jon is so hot-and-cold with me. It’s exhausting.”

“Did you want to kiss him?” Hailey asked suddenly.

I stiffened. “What was that?”

“You heard me. Did you wantto kiss Jon?” she repeated patiently.

I frowned. That was a loaded question. If I said yes, then I was a bad person for stringing Viktor along. If I said no, then I was really just wasting Hailey’s time and Jon was wasting his energy.

“No,” I lied. “No more than I wanted to kiss...Kaner.”

She giggled. “Well I’d love to kiss Kaner.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t.

“If you didn’t want to kiss him, I think your problem’s already solved, right?” Hailey’s voice was gentle, trying not to hurt my feelings.

If only that was true.But I didn’t say that to her. Instead, I told her she was right and then hung up the phone just as I heard Viktor coming out of the bathroom.
~
We spent the rest of Boxing Day just sitting inside, and I let Viktor attempt to teach my how to play NHL whatever. He played the as the Blackhawks and I played as the Sharks. Since I had no idea what I was doing and spent most of the time pressing random buttons and yelling at my players, Viktor crushed me.

“I’m warning you, I’m a sore loser,” I huffed.

Viktor tried to kiss me but I turned away. He gave me an incredulous look, but I remained firm. “Sore. Loser.” I insisted.

After that, he let me score a couple before turning off the game and dragging me back to bed. It was a good day, to say the least.
~
I went home that evening, even though Viktor was eager for me to stay.

“I have to go home at some point,” I reminded him before asking him to drive me home.

“Fine,” he relented, “but I’m driving you with no clothes on.”

“Ew! Viktor, you wouldn’t!” I hit him with a pillow threateningly.

He gave me a small smile. “Oh, but I would.”

We compromised, and Viktor drove me home with nothing but boxers on. God, it was so embarrassing at every traffic light. I could feel eyes burning through the windows. Viktor was unfazed, smiling at the gaping girls and waving cheerfully to the confused men.

“Viktor,” I hissed, “oh my God...”

He laughed and looked over at me. “Don’t be so embarrassed, Jazz. I look good, don’t I?”

I blushed. “I refuse to answer that.”

When we got to my apartment, I leapt out of the car, yelling at Viktor to call me later. I entered my building with a sappy smile on my face. I was heading straight for the elevator, in my coat and dress from last night, when the man at the front desk called out my name.

“Miss Patil?” he cried out.

I turned to face him and offered him a smile. “Yes?”

“I have a package for you,” he explained, reaching under his desk and pulling out a square box.

My eyes lit up. Late Christmas presents were always a good note in my book. I was all for making the holiday last as long as possible. I took the package from him and thanked him profusely. I opened the package in the elevator since I had the patience of a five year old. Inside the box was a delicate silver necklace. The pendant was a silver dream catcher, with the netting created ever so carefully and even the feathers made of silver. I was gaping at it. No way Viktor went and got me a second piece of jewelry!

The card was tucked underneath the fluffy stuff that cushioned the necklace. Still clutching the silver chain, I reached for the card and opened it impatiently.

Friends? Merry Christmas, Jazz, -Jon.

Really?

Ask me to be friends and then give me one of the most amazing presents ever? Well that’s just not fair, Mr. Toews.