Illicit Love

Gabriella scrunched her nose in slight disgust at the scent around her. She would never be able to get used to the smell of hospitals. It was such a distinctive scent, and one that was usually associated with bad memories at that.

"Gab, can you just sit still for like, two minutes?" Chris asked playfully.

She hadn't noticed, but her good foot had been shaking constantly from the moment she sat down in the hospital bed. Having her attention brought to it, she stopped. "I'm sorry," she replied sheepishly. "I'm just so nervous. If I don't get cleared today, I can say goodbye to Nationals. Goodbye to the Olympics. And goodbye to redemption." She bit the inside of her cheek in a solemn attempt to keep back the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. The thought of her dreams being forcefully ripped away from her left a void in her heart that could not be filled.

Chris felt his heart ache for his little sister. As a result of the being so close, her dreams became his dreams. He wanted this for her just as badly as she wanted this for herself. He became saddened by her injury, but not nearly as sad as Gabriella had become.

Throughout the past three weeks, she hadn't had the energy to do anything. She only went to class and then back to her dorm. She wouldn't even go to Chris' apartment anymore. Chris was worried about her sudden depression. He knew it would only be temporary, but the fact that she wouldn't even go to his game no matter how much he begged her to scared him. He hoped to God that today would be her last day on those horrendous crutches. He also hoped she would come with him for the holidays.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can say that can make you come home with me?" he asked in a meek attempt to get her mind off of the MRI she had just taken a little while ago.

She shook her head, eyes fixated on her sprained ankle. "No Chris. There isn't," she whispered softly. Massachusetts was the last place she wanted to be. She knew if she went, her parents would constantly attack her, telling her how foolish her figure skating dreams were. Quite frankly, she didn't want to hear that, even if it was only for three days.

"So you're just going to spend Christmas alone? That doesn't sound like a jolly ole time to me," he chuckled.

"Nonsense," she said lightheartedly, finally looking up to meet his eyes. "Gracie Gold is flying in tonight. We're spending the holidays together." Of course, she would be with Carl, who thought it was silly to fly to Sweden for a three day vacation, as well. She just couldn't tell him that.

Chris was relieved that she would be spending time in the company of her long-time childhood friend. "Ah, the infamous Gracie. Tell her I said hello."

Just as Gabriella said she would, the doctor came back in. He had a stone cold expression, which worried Gabriella. Was that a sign of bad news, or was it just his poker face? She couldn't tell, and help her breath as she anxiously waited for him to speak.

"Good news Ms. Kreider. The swelling has gone down completely."

She immediately let out a sigh of relief. Taking a quick peek at Chris, she found him with a shit-eating grin on his face. Oh how sweet those words sounded to the two of them.

"So this means I can skate again?" she asked for clarification.

"I would recommend waiting another week. Walk on it for a while so it gains back some of the strength before skating again. The muscles are still fragile, so ease back into things so they can adjust," the doctor prescribed.

But Gabriella just wouldn't take this as answer. "But I can start skating again," she said again, but this time making it sound like a demand. She needed to feel the ice underneath her again. Her thoughts had been racing for the past three weeks, and she needed to skate again in order to clear her mind.

"I wouldn't recommend it." The doctor held an expression slightly filled with worry, not knowing exactly where this conversation was headed.

"But that's just a recommendation. It's not required. And since it's not required and it's a free country, this means I can do what I want. I want to skate, therefore, I shall skate," she argued with a blank face. "Let's go Chris!" she added, jumping off the hospital bed as she did so. She grabbed his hand, and the two started sprinting towards the exit. The doctor, too confused to even realize what was happening, let them go.

Cackling, the duo quickly made their way back to Chris' Range Rover. As soon as the engine was started, Gabriella reached over the center console to roll down the front windows. She then went to crank the heat up to 80 degrees, putting it on full blast. Chris stared at her with a raised brow. The 40 degree temperatures did not call for this type of behavior.

"I'm happy, Christopher. And when I'm happy, I like to blast music with my windows down," she explained, pulling on her sunglasses. Chris could only roll his eyes at his sister. He decided to turn up the volume and sing along to "We Can't Stop" as it came on the radio. Needless to say, the many pedestrians of New York City stared at them as they sped by.

"Hey! You missed the turn you dumbass!" Gabriella shouted over the music. Instead of making a right-hand turn onto the street of her dorm, Chris had continued straight, as if he was going back to his own apartment.

"No I didn't," he replied with a coy smile. Gabriella immediately knew what he had planned, and she was in no position to argue with him. Unless she wanted to jump out of a moving vehicle and re-injure herself. And the smile in Chris' face told her she was in for a good surprise.

Before she knew it, she was in front of the door to the apartment she had grown so familiar to in the past five months. Chris stared at her with a wicked smile as he slowly opened the door, causing Gabriella's lips to slowly turn into a wide smile from the anticipation.

Gabriella apprehensively walked into the apartment. She wanted to know what was being hidden inside, but she was also afraid that someone may jump out at her. She scares too easily, and she did not quite feel like falling and twisting her ankle again. That would be tragic.

The room was completely dark. She figured that the shades must have been drawn. However, as she slowly rotated her body, she began to see lights out of the corner of her eye.

"A Christmas tree," she immediately smiled to no one in particular.

"But wait, there's more!" Chris piped in. As Chris rushed over to the light switch, Gabriella couldn't help but wonder what other surprise she was in for. There was no way Chris would have the time and patience to turn his apartment into a Christmas Wonderland.

Just as Chris turned on the lights, a chorus of "Merry Christmas" made it's way from the kitchen. Gabriella smiled bashfully when she saw John, Derrick, Mats, and Mike dressed up formally for a Christmas celebration. Even more surprising, Carl was even there. Gabriella couldn't help but hope her brother was warming up to him.

Gabriella was honestly speechless. Chris could never plan anything, so the fact that he was able to organize all of their friends at a gathering was astonishing. "Chris, you shouldn't have," she was finally able to squeak out after gaining a bearing on her thoughts.

"You're probably right," he chuckled. "But I did it anyway." That earned a multitude of nods of agreement from the men in the kitchen. They had to put in a lot of work for this gathering, too. So much work that Chris had started to refer to them as his little elves. "I even took to the liberty of going to your dorm and getting all of the gifts you had ordered for the guys. Thanks for having them wrapped, by the way. But now, if I may, you are distastefully underdressed," Chris pointed out.

Gabriella suddenly became self-conscious of her appearance. All of the guys (except for Chris who hadn't changed yet) were wearing dress pants and button downs. She, on the other hand, was sporting a pair of yoga pants and an old Boston College hockey sweatshirt. "Well I wasn't aware that I would be attending such a formal event today," she finally retorted.

"Personally, I think you could just go naked. Or maybe wrapped up in my bed sheet," Mike smirked. He was constantly flirting with her. It posses Chris off to no end, but Gabriella would always dismiss his comments.

"That's where my gift comes into play," Chris explained, completely dismissing Mike's comment. He quickly walked toward the tree, grabbed two boxes, then proceeded to hand them to Gabriella.

"Aw, you wrapped them yourself!" Gabriella exclaimed, noting the terrible job done. Half of one side of the box was completely uncovered, but it is the thought that counts.

"Why, yes, I did," he said proudly, puffing out his chest. "Now go change!"

Gabriella did as she was told, retreating to her room. She excitedly tore at the wrapping paper. Honestly, she didn't even expect Chris to get her anything. He almost always asked what she wanted, but she hadn't heard anything about him and Christmas except for asking if she would return home with him.

Gabriella's eyes went wide in awe as she revealed the logo on the first box. Christian Louboutin. She excitedly lifted the lid of the box, pulling out a pair of classic, black suede pumps. She almost couldn't believe that she was holding a pair of red bottoms in her hand. Chris had really outdone himself this year. And that was just the first gift.

Although not as exciting as the heels, the second present was still a great one: a red cocktail dress and a pair of matching black tights. It truly was the perfect holiday outfit. Gabriella quickly threw on her ensemble, and then went to fix her hair and makeup.

By the time she had returned to the living room, she had found that Chris had already changed. All eyes immediately became fixated on her as she entered the room. She could sense that Carl was trying not to look, not to gaze at her lovingly, for she was trying to do the same thing.

Throughout the month that they had been together, the couple had been able to avoid group outings. This was made easy by Chris' hatred for the Swede near his sister. Although, there was the occasional outing where they both were invited, such as Thanksgiving; however, thanks to divine intervention it seems, one of them was always able to find an excuse not to attend the gathering. Except for this time.

And now, as they stood three yards away from each other, they couldn't help but feel the attraction between the two of them. She wanted so badly to close the distance between them and place herself into his arms, the place she knew she belonged. She began absentmindedly playing with the hem of her dress in order to distract herself from the need to be close to Carl. However, she quickly learned that this desire was stronger than she was.

It was only an innocent glance upwards; one that immediately met Carl's gaze. Their eyes became locked. The passion between them was too strong for either of them to look away. And clearly no one else could look away, either. Gabriella felt like a car accident, and everyone else in the room were innocent onlookers, watching their secret come to light.

John couldn't allow this to continue. He had done a lot of hard work to keep his mouth shut about their relationship. And he sure as hell wasn't going to let his hard work go to waste because of some silly lovers' stare. He finally cleared his throat, breaking the silence that had fallen in the room. "Why don't we start the gift exchange? We all kind of have the be at the airport in a couple of hours."

Gabriella silently nodded her head, becoming fully aware of the scenario around her. "Um... Yeah... That's, that's a good idea," she choked out, turning on her heel to go sit on the couch next to the tree. John immediately followed her, plopping himself down in the opposite end. The rest soon followed suit, sitting in a circle on the floor near the couch. Carl sat as far away from Gabriella as possible.

Gift after gift was unwrapped and opened. Red wine flowed gratuitously as the Mariah Carey Christmas album played softly in the background. After a while, John placed his hand on Gabriella's knee. "You okay?" he asked softly enough for just her to hear. "You're shaking."

"Everyone knows now," she responded solemnly. She took a large swig of her wine, trying to shake off her nerves. "God, I'm so stupid," she sighed, shaking her head.

"What are you talking about?" he asked with a questioning brow.

"John, we basically just eye fucked each other for a solid minute and a half. Hockey players may not be the smartest breed, but they sure as hell aren't that oblivious to things," she shot back.

"You are aware that that little stare down you two had was only approximately seven seconds, right?" John asked cautiously.

At that news, Gabriella's head whipped towards John faster than the speed of sound. She could have sworn that they had stared at each other for longer than a minute. She hoped that he wasn't lying to her, but seeing as she had finally been able to sit still, she just went with it. She wanted to be able to enjoy her time with the people around her, not worry about everyone finding out about her and Carl.

After the last of the gifts was handed out, Derrick got up from the floor and inserted himself in between John and Gabriella. "What's up lovebirds?" he asked as he lazily threw an arm around each of them. The two of them were so stunned that Derrick had just insinuated that they were lovers that they could not even speak. They simply stared at the French-Canadian in utter confusion. "What? Would future lovebirds be more politically correct?"

"No you dipshit! Friends would be correct, because that's all that we are, and all we ever will be," John barked, lightly smacking the back of his teammates head. He then shot an apologetic look towards Gabriella on behalf of his long time friend.

“Not if Chris and I have anything to do about it,” he laughed evilly before getting up to vacate the seat.

Gabriella and John immediately shot each other quizzical looks. Derrick wanting set his best friend up with a girl, well, that’s not that strange of an idea. But having that girl be Gabriella and Chris being okay with it… Something just didn’t add up there. And then add in the fact that Gabriella is already in a relationship and John knows about it. That just makes this a topic that needs to be avoided.

“So what are we going to do about that?” John asked cautiously.

Gabriella cocked her head to one side, thinking about what their choices were. “Nothing. We ignore it for now, and things will work themselves out soon enough. Nationals are only a little more than a month away. After that, Carl and I are going to tell everyone,” she explained softly.

Just as she had gotten towards the end of her explanation, Mats came bounding over, with his goofy grin plastered on his face. “You and Carl are going to tell us what?” he asked, his smile not faltering one bit.

Gabriella cringed at the question. How many times would she have to avoid this topic today? “That we got into a huge argument the other day,” she quickly lied. “Bastard kept calling me a stripper on ice,” she added, throwing in a hair flip for an added effect. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw John choke on his wine at her explanation.

“Funny, he never mentioned anything to me about that.” Luckily, he shrugged off any doubts he had about whether or not that argument actually happened. “Well, I just came to say goodbye. I have to go pick up my family at the airport.” Merry Christmas’s were exchanged as Mats and Gabriella hugged each other goodbye.

Soon enough, everyone had left with arms full of presents. Gabriella quickly went around the living room, picking up all of the wine glasses to put them into the kitchen sink. When she returned, she saw the Chris was on the floor picking up all of the leftover wrapping paper. “Chris, if you don’t leave now, you’re going to miss your flight home,” she stated, crossing her arms over her chest. Chris looked up from his work with puppy dogs eyes. He always hated cleaning up. “Yes, I will finish cleaning,” she sighed, answering his unspoken question.

“Have I ever told you that you’re my favorite sister?” he chuckled as he picked himself up off the floor to give her a hug.

“I’m your only sister, dumbass,” she retorted lovingly, giving in to his embrace. “Now go. I’m not letting you miss your plane.”

Chris placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning down slightly so that they were eye level. “Thanks Gab. Now, you better call me on Christmas, or I’m taking back your Louboutins. Have fun with Gracie, and just remember, I wouldn’t be angry if I came home to find a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies waiting for me,” he joked with a smile. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” she reciprocated, giving him a sisterly kiss on the cheek, which he quickly gave back. She thought about mentioning what Derrick had said to her before, but decided to let it go for now. She didn’t want to cause him to be late. There would be plenty of time to worry about that after the holidays, and after Nationals. “Go,” she nudged, one last time before he left for the holidays.

Once she was sure he was gone, she sent a quick text to Carl, asking him to pick her up. Once he had responded saying that he would be there shortly, she turned back to the mess that she had promised she would clean. Just had she had put the last dish back in the cabinet, there was a slight knock on the door. She immediately rushed over to it, knowing her favorite Swede would be on the other side.

As soon as the door was open, Carl picked her up and twirled her around, causing Gabriella to elicit that beautiful laugh he loved so much. Once he set her down, he placed a kiss on her lips, which Gabriella quickly escalated into a heated make-out session up against the apartment door.

“You do not know how difficult it was not to touch you all afternoon,” she sighed once they pulled apart for air. “All day I just wanted to run up to you and kiss the shit out of you.”

“Oh trust me, I know! Words cannot describe how happy I am to have you all to myself for two and a half whole days.” He was practically oozing with excitement at the thought of being able to keep her in his bed that whole time.

“Yeah, about that…” she said nervously. Sensing her apprehension, Carl’s face dropped a little. She started fiddling her fingers as she tried to figure out how to say this delicately. “I kind of forgot to tell you. Gracie Gold is spending Christmas with us. But just Christmas! So we still have tonight and all day tomorrow.” She said the last part rather quickly, trying to shed some positive light on this news.

Carl took a while to answer, causing her stomach to form knots. She hadn’t really thought about how he would take this news. She hoped he hadn’t planned some big, elaborate surprise for her. That thought hadn’t even crossed her mind before this moment.

Truth be told, Carl was a little upset that he wasn’t getting as much alone time with Gabriella as he had originally planned. But he lived to keep her happy. So he said what any good boyfriend would say. “The door is always open for guests on Christmas Day. At least that’s how we do things in Sweden.”

“Have I ever told you how amazing you are?” she grinned. The twinkle in her eye had told Carl that he had said the right thing.

“There’s no need to tell me because I already know that,” he replied arrogantly. “Now let’s get back to my place. I plan on keeping you in my bed all night,” he stated as he threw her over his shoulder.

***

Gabriella woke up Christmas morning as excited as she used to be when she was a little girl. For the first time in a long time, everything seemed as if it was falling perfectly into place. She was finally able to see her best friend after months of separation. She and Carl were blissfully happy together. And she smelt gingerbread.

Hearing her stomach’s screams for food, Gabriella shot out of bed and towards the kitchen, throwing on one of Carl’s button downs as she raced out the door. “Mmm,” she moaned, taking in the wonderful scent. “Are those gingerbread pancakes that I’m smelling?” she asked as she threw her arms around Carl’s neck, placing a lazy kiss on his cheek as he flipped the last batch.

“Yes, they are. And there’s a cappuccino on the table for you.” Hearing that news, Gabriella withdrew her arms, turning on her heel to head towards the table. “Where are you going?” Carl asked incredulously.

“To drink the coffee that my wonderful boyfriend made for me,” she responded happily.

“Not before giving me a proper kiss.” This prompted Gabriella to take Carl’s face in her hands and plant a sloppy kiss on his mouth. “Merry Christmas, Gab.”

“Merry Christmas, Carl,” she gushed. As she turned to walk away from him, Carl immediately regretted not buying shorter dress shirts.

Sitting at the kitchen table, watching Carl make breakfast while sipping on coffee and flipping through magazines, Gabriella felt perfectly at peace. She couldn’t imagine any better way to spend her life. That is, until there was a knock on the door. “Gracie’s here!” she squealed. She was practically launched out of her seat at the sound.

“Merry Christmas my beautiful bitch!” Gracie greeted once the door was opened. Gabriella welcomed her into the apartment with just as much enthusiasm. “Oh, shit!” she whispered, immediately going over to the large floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the city skyline. “Chris lives here?” she asked in amazement.

“Not exactly,” Gabriella replied sheepishly. She didn’t want to tell Gracie over the phone about her relationship. She figured explaining their complicated partnership would be better if done in person. Just as she was about to continue, Carl yelled that breakfast was ready from the kitchen.

“That wasn’t Chris’ voice,” Gracie noted with a raised brow.

“You are correct,” Gabriella replied with a soft laugh. This only made Gracie more confused. Gabriella took hold of her friend’s hand, leading her into the kitchen. “Gracie, this is my boyfriend, Carl. Carl, this is Gracie. We’ve been dating for a little more than a month but nobody knows about it. Not even Chris. So you cannot tell a soul,” she explained.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you. Gab was gushing about you all day yesterday,” Carl said warmly, sticking out his hand and flashing her his million dollar smile.

Gracie stood there, stunned. Her eyes kept rotating from his outstretched hand, to his face, then to Gabriella, and then back to his hand. Once she finally processed what Gabriella had explained, she muttered, “How the hell do you land a guy like that?"

"Seduce him with your body," Gabriella whispered mysteriously. Carl gave her a knowing smirk, whole poor Gracie was left in the dark about that backstory.

***

The three of them sat on the floor next to the small Christmas tree that Gabriella and Carl had put up yesterday, with champagne flutes in their hands. Well, technically only two of them sat on the floor, since Gabriella was sitting in Carl's lap.

"Okay, so you're telling me that Chris has no idea you two are dating?" Gracie questioned.

"Well, he's not supposed to," Carl answered with a small laugh. With this vague answer, Gracie obviously needed to know why.

"Because he hates Carl. But I, on the other hand, do not. I'm actually quite fond of him." Smiling, Gabriella placed a soft kiss on the crook of his neck. Carl responded to this action by wrapping his arm tighter around her frame.

"Yeah, but I still hate you," he chuckled, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

"Aw! You guys are so freaking adorable! I can't stand it!" Gracie gushed, throwing her hands in front of her mouth for full effect.

"Sorry if we are coming off a little too strong. We don't usually get this much time to act like a couple," Gabriella apologized, getting up off of Carl's lap to retrieve the few gifts under the tree. "These presents aren't going to open themselves!"

Gabriella watched, beaming as Carl and Gracie opened the gifts she had gotten them. She had always loved giving other people joy, which is what made Christmas her favorite holiday. Although the gifts weren't anything special (a couple of pairs of nike pro spandex and sports bras for Gracie, and a few plaid button downs for Carl), the smiles on each of their faces made Gabriella the happiest girl in the world.

"Okay missy! Now it's your turn," Gracie instructed, handing Gabriella a gift of her own. After opening the panini maker, Gabriella promised she would use it all the time, and made a mental note to start pinning panini recipes on Pinterest.

"Sorry, Gracie," Carl interjected. "Although Gab's love oldie pressed sandwiches is greater than her love for me at times, I think I got you beat for best gift."

Gabriella's ears perked up at that. She almost objected as Carl sat a perfectly wrapped box in her lap, for they had promised not to go for expensive gifts for each other. But as soon as he said those words, she knew he had gone over budget.

"Go ahead. Open it," Carl urged. He was nearly squirming from all the anticipation. Gabriella obeyed and opened the package.

"Oh my God, Carl. These are gorgeous," Gabriella beamed, pulling out a pair of skating tights. They had the Louis Vuitton insignia painted in glitter all over them.

"Are those for Nationals?" Gracie asked quickly. "Because I'm extremely jealous that I won't have the best dress anymore."

"Yes, they are," Carl answered for her. "And they go along with her routine just perfectly."

Gabriella couldn't argue with him. The tights would give her a completely new look. She just didn't know how she would explain this to Chris.