Electric Soul
one.
Curled up on the couch, Emma pulled her bare feet beneath her bottom and reached for her cup of coffee. She was flipping through a bridal magazine someone from the office had bought her when the front door to the loft opened. TJ walked in with his gym bag over his shoulder and a slight frown on his face. The hockey player dropped his bag on the floor and pulled out his dirty clothes, tossing them toward the laundry room. He missed the room with an open door miserably and moved on toward the living room, dropping down on the love seat opposite his fiancé, his legs dangling over the edge.
“You going to pick up the laundry on the floor?” The brunette asked, eyeing the dirty t-shirt and basketball shorts on the floor.
TJ pulled his baseball cap down lower over his face and groaned, “Close enough, isn’t it?”
Emma rolled her eyes and shut the magazine tossing it on the couch as she got up, moving toward the laundry room. “Next time you miss the back of the net, I’m sure the team will appreciate that it’s close enough.” She muttered under her breath as she grabbed the dirty clothes and tossed them just a few feet away into the hamper.
“What are you going on about over there?” TJ questioned, reaching out for the remote to change the channel.
“Nothing.” Emma grabbed her briefcase with her laptop inside off the kitchen counter and stepped into a pair of sneakers, “I’m over to Quinn’s for a little while to get some work done. There’s grilled chicken and salad stuff all in the fridge, you just have to put it together.”
TJ lifted his head slightly and looked toward the door, “You won’t be home for dinner?”
The brunette shook her head, “For the fifteenth time this week, no. Quinn is going to help me out with some stuff for work and then she and I are heading over to Kelly and David’s to help bake some stuff for a fundraiser.”
The front door had slammed shut before TJ had a chance to even say goodbye. He lay hopelessly on the love seat, contemplating if it was really worth it to get up and walk all the way into the kitchen. Before getting the chance to reach a verdict, the tired athlete had passed out, his head nuzzled into the corner of the love seat, his baseball cap slightly ajar and covering his face.
Emma arrived at the Berglund household just shy of twenty minutes later. Saint Louis traffic was bad and the fact that it was rush hour only made matters worse. The brunette parked in front of Quinn’s beautiful home and just let herself in, taking a seat across the dining room table from Patrik.
“Please, come in. Make yourself at home.” Patrik muttered setting his spoon down.
“Oh please, like your one to talk.” Emma countered, not in the mood for her Swedish friend’s humor.
Patrik took the hint quickly and went back to eating his dinner. About ten minutes later, Quinn came down stairs and joined her husband and best friend. They worked tirelessly together for several hours on a new business card design for one of Emma’s clients before calling it a night.
As Emma sat on the bottom step of the staircase, tying her shoe, she looked up at Patrik who was leaning against the entry way talking to his wife, “If you could do me a favor, I’d really appreciate it.”
“What’s up, grumpy?”
Emma frowned slightly before standing up, rubbing out a knot in her back as she spoke, “Stop by my place and just make sure my darling fiancé is still alive. When I left earlier, he dropped like a sack of potatoes.” She grabbed her bag from Patrik’s outstretched arm and threw it over her shoulder, “How hard did you guys go at the gym today?”
The swede furrowed his brow, “He cancelled on me this morning. I was at the gym solo today...”
“Well, we’d better get going.” Quinn looked nervously between Patrik and Emma, “Kelly asked me to pick up more flour and butter so we’ll have to stop at the grocery store real quick.”
As Quinn ushered her friend out the door, she tossed a look over her shoulder causing Patrik to have chills run down his spine. “I told you to keep your mouth shut about it.”
Emma played with the hem of her sweater as she waited for Quinn to get the baking supplies from the store. She pulled her phone from her pocket and began to scroll through Twitter. There were a few more notifications from the photo she had posted of her engagement ring. TJ had tweeted a picture of the salad she had put together for him earlier.
“Hey, can you call Kel and let her know I couldn’t find the exact flour she wanted but I-” Quinn buckled her seat belt and began pulling out of the parking spot when she looked over and saw her friend looking out the window with a dull look on her face. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
The brunette tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, “You don’t think he’s-”
Quinn shook her head and reached over the center console, giving Emma’s leg a gentle squeeze, “No.”
“You going to pick up the laundry on the floor?” The brunette asked, eyeing the dirty t-shirt and basketball shorts on the floor.
TJ pulled his baseball cap down lower over his face and groaned, “Close enough, isn’t it?”
Emma rolled her eyes and shut the magazine tossing it on the couch as she got up, moving toward the laundry room. “Next time you miss the back of the net, I’m sure the team will appreciate that it’s close enough.” She muttered under her breath as she grabbed the dirty clothes and tossed them just a few feet away into the hamper.
“What are you going on about over there?” TJ questioned, reaching out for the remote to change the channel.
“Nothing.” Emma grabbed her briefcase with her laptop inside off the kitchen counter and stepped into a pair of sneakers, “I’m over to Quinn’s for a little while to get some work done. There’s grilled chicken and salad stuff all in the fridge, you just have to put it together.”
TJ lifted his head slightly and looked toward the door, “You won’t be home for dinner?”
The brunette shook her head, “For the fifteenth time this week, no. Quinn is going to help me out with some stuff for work and then she and I are heading over to Kelly and David’s to help bake some stuff for a fundraiser.”
The front door had slammed shut before TJ had a chance to even say goodbye. He lay hopelessly on the love seat, contemplating if it was really worth it to get up and walk all the way into the kitchen. Before getting the chance to reach a verdict, the tired athlete had passed out, his head nuzzled into the corner of the love seat, his baseball cap slightly ajar and covering his face.
Emma arrived at the Berglund household just shy of twenty minutes later. Saint Louis traffic was bad and the fact that it was rush hour only made matters worse. The brunette parked in front of Quinn’s beautiful home and just let herself in, taking a seat across the dining room table from Patrik.
“Please, come in. Make yourself at home.” Patrik muttered setting his spoon down.
“Oh please, like your one to talk.” Emma countered, not in the mood for her Swedish friend’s humor.
Patrik took the hint quickly and went back to eating his dinner. About ten minutes later, Quinn came down stairs and joined her husband and best friend. They worked tirelessly together for several hours on a new business card design for one of Emma’s clients before calling it a night.
As Emma sat on the bottom step of the staircase, tying her shoe, she looked up at Patrik who was leaning against the entry way talking to his wife, “If you could do me a favor, I’d really appreciate it.”
“What’s up, grumpy?”
Emma frowned slightly before standing up, rubbing out a knot in her back as she spoke, “Stop by my place and just make sure my darling fiancé is still alive. When I left earlier, he dropped like a sack of potatoes.” She grabbed her bag from Patrik’s outstretched arm and threw it over her shoulder, “How hard did you guys go at the gym today?”
The swede furrowed his brow, “He cancelled on me this morning. I was at the gym solo today...”
“Well, we’d better get going.” Quinn looked nervously between Patrik and Emma, “Kelly asked me to pick up more flour and butter so we’ll have to stop at the grocery store real quick.”
As Quinn ushered her friend out the door, she tossed a look over her shoulder causing Patrik to have chills run down his spine. “I told you to keep your mouth shut about it.”
Emma played with the hem of her sweater as she waited for Quinn to get the baking supplies from the store. She pulled her phone from her pocket and began to scroll through Twitter. There were a few more notifications from the photo she had posted of her engagement ring. TJ had tweeted a picture of the salad she had put together for him earlier.
“Hey, can you call Kel and let her know I couldn’t find the exact flour she wanted but I-” Quinn buckled her seat belt and began pulling out of the parking spot when she looked over and saw her friend looking out the window with a dull look on her face. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
The brunette tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, “You don’t think he’s-”
Quinn shook her head and reached over the center console, giving Emma’s leg a gentle squeeze, “No.”