Illicit Love

Carl awoke first the next morning, Gabriella snuggled closely in his chest, with his arms wrapped around her waist. He wasn't sure whether he was happy that she was still there, or nervous for the inevitable talk. Although his most urgent issue was the growling in his stomach. He slowly withdrew his arms from around her waist, attempting to get up without waking her. When Gabriella stirred lightly, Carl stopped in his tracks, holding his breath. She flopped in the bed for a minute before falling still again, allowing Carl to leave the room safely after grabbing some sweats to throw on.

Per his routine, he immediately turned on the coffee maker and then proceeded to put two pieces of bread in the toaster before grabbing his Special K Red Berries. He felt the a 40 year old woman when he ate it sometimes, but he didn't care. It tasted good. By the time he had finished putting jam on his toast, Carl heard the sound of bare feet lightly shuffling across the hardwood floor.

"Morning. Coffee?" As he turned around to offer her the mug, he nearly dropped it at the sight of her. Gabriella stood in the middle of his kitchen in his yellow, Michigan hockey shirt, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her hair was slightly messed up from their events last night, but that just made her look all the more gorgeous.

She took a seat at the barstool before graciously taking the mug from him. "I'd love some. Can I please have the milk and OH MY GOD YOU HAVE SPECIAL K!" she squealed. She immediately snatched the bowl from Carl right before he could start pouring the milk into it.

"May I offer you any?" he inquired with a laugh. She shook her head no as she ate each flake one by one from the giant bowl. "Well what about some milk for all that cereal?"

She looked up at him as if he had three heads. "Milk makes the cereal soggy," she explained. "But I will take some for my coffee. And some sugar please, if you have it."

After fetching her the sugar, he watched in amazement how content she was just by eating her bowl of sugary goodness. "I used to go through a box of this every two days. Chris cut me off because he said I was addicted," she stated, feeling his gaze on her.

"Chris is something else, isn't he?" Carl chuckled. He took a sip of his coffee, completely forgetting about the awkward moments that were likely to come soon.

Gabriella scrunched her nose at him. "Let's not talk about him," she pleaded. Carl cocked his head to the side, not understanding her logic. "He wouldn't approve of... This." She made large hand gestures between the two of them to emphasize her point.

Carl felt the smile drop off his face. Right. They weren't even supposed to socialize outside of Chris' supervision. What they were doing... Wasn't right, to say the least.

"About that," Carl started hesitantly.

"We probably shouldn't do this again," Gabriella finished for him. In all honesty, though, she didn't want to stop this. The sex was too good to give up. She had never met anyone who treated her the way he did in bed. It was the perfect mix of gentlemanly and rough. It was addictive.

Carl suddenly felt his usual surge of confidence sweep through him after finishing his morning cup of Joe. "We never should have done it in the first place," he smirked. He watched as Gabriella's face dropped and her cheeks turned pink from embarrassment. "I never even got to buy you lunch first."

Gabriella loved how he toyed with her emotions. "Carl, if you're suggesting that we go on a date, then I'm going to have to decline," she said with a big smile.

"I'm not suggesting that the slightest bit. What I am saying is that the polite thing to do is for a man to buy a woman a nice meal before they make a formal fuck-buddy agreement."

Gabriella started to choke on the dregs of her coffee at the ease with which he said the words. "I'm sorry, but what?!" she shouted when she finally cleared her throat.

Carl loved how he could catch the usual level-headed, confident girl off guard so easily. "Come on, don't pretend like you don't enjoy this little arrangement. You were practically begging me to have sex with you last night," he stated cockily.

"Oh please, you were eyeing me all night long. And I don't recall you even remotely trying to say no," she quickly spat back. She hated how he made her sound like one of those types of girls that three themselves into the arms of the rich and famous. She wasn't desperate in the sense that they were.

Carl put his hands up in defeat. "You're right. I wanted you. And I still do, so I'm offering you 100% no strings attached sex for as long as we both can handle."

A coy smile played at her lips as she thought about their situation. "Only on two conditions. One, we keep this a complete secret. Not a single soul can know about it, or I cut off your dick so you'll never be able to have sex again." Carl instinctively flinched at the thought, earning a sneer from Gabriella. "And two, you buy me food Frequently." College student meal plans were not gourmet food in the slightest sense.

Reaching his hand across the counter, Carl let out a breath of contentment. "Looks like we have ourselves a deal."

"Looks like we do," she replied as she placed her small hand in his much larger one. "And since you already covered breakfast, you only have one meal left to cover so far. Which means you owe me lunch today."

Carl rolled his eyes at Gabriella. "Does this mean I owe you a meal every time we do it now?" he inquired. "Because I don't know if I have the salary for that," he joked, since he has one of the smallest pay checks on the team.

"Oh yes Mr. Hagelin," she said slyly. "That is exactly what it means."

"What if I just take you shopping today?" Gabriella gave him a quizzical glance. Not many men offered to take a girl shopping, especially if they weren't dating. "I need a new suit and I think that should cover multiple future meetings," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Gabriella eagerly accepted this deal once he offered her $500 to spend, which may not seem like a lot but she could stretch it with her shopper savvy ways, and to carry most of her bags.

***

"Oh my god, Gab! How long does it take for you to pick out an outfit? We are going shopping, not to an awards dinner," Carl whined from the bed of her dorm room. She had been standing in her closet for fifteen minutes, rifling through the hangers, trying to find something appropriate to wear. It was the last thing she needed before they could leave, for she had already showered and had done her makeup.

"Fine! Then you pick out an outfit for me!" she huffed as she exited the closet.

Carl replaced her, and quickly picked out a beige v-neck sweater and jeans that were cropped at the middle of the shin. Lastly, he grabbed her pair of black Sperry's and threw the articles of clothing at Gabriella. "Here you go. And then pick a jacket because it's a little chilly out."

Gabriella stood there, unresponsive. She was in shock that Carl could pick out such a cute outfit so easily. When she asked him how he did that, he simply replied that he was Swedish, and Swedes know style.
After adding her favorite Tiffany's accessories, Gabriella was ready to go.

"How do you afford all of these expensive things?" Carl asked as she pulled things out of various blue boxes.

"It's simple," she said with a devious smile. I go shopping with Chris' money." she finally answered.

"Chris just gives you money?" he asked with a small laugh. He knew the rookie didn't make that much money, compared to an NHL salary, that is.

"No, but I have him wrapped around my finger. Poor fool," she chuckled. Carl quickly asked her for an explanation. "Any time I want to go on a shopping spree, I just tell Chris that I'm thinking about going up to Michigan. Don't ask me why, but he's desperate for me to stay here, so he'll give me whatever I want. He's really rather stupid when you think about it. He should realize I wouldn't leave. I have a larger scholarship to NYU than I did to University of Michigan. I never told my parents about it, so they send a check for the full tuition and I just pocket the extra to pay for training," she rambled. "And anything Chris gives me is for fun spending."

Carl wanted to ask about her parents, but he could sense contempt for them from the bubbly girl. So instead, he let out a little laugh and decided to press the Michigan thing. "You should have gone to U of M. Go blue!"

"You went to Michigan?" she questioned. Although she knew all of their NHL stats, she didn't know much about the guys' personal lives.

"Yup. I majored in finance," he answered before Gabriella even got the question out.

"Impressive," she stated, with true amazement. Brains and athletics, she thought to herself.

***

Gabriella thoroughly enjoyed shopping with Carl. She was skeptical about the idea at first, but after he had chosen her outfit, she had no doubts. He became her personal stylist for the day, and she absolutely loved everything he picked for her. He was like her gay best friend, but she knew he most definitely was not gay. She especially liked how she got to pick out his new suit. Most guys were very picky about things like that, but he encouraged it. And boy oh boy, did he look good in that navy pinstriped suit. Gabriella felt her knees go weak just remembering him in it.

"This dress makes me feel very British," Gabriella said in her best accent. She waltzed out of the dressing room, doing a little twirl for Carl in a Lilly Pulitzer dress.

"Should I make you some tea and crumpets?" Carl asked, attempting a British accent of his own, although he sounded more Swedish than anything else, causing Gabriella to laugh.

"Only if you can get me some jam, as well," she replied. After a moment of silence, due to the fact that Carl couldn't think of any more British stereotypes, Gabriella filled it with a joke. "A physicist, a biologist and a mathematician sit in a sidewalk cafe, looking at the building across the road. Two people go into the building, then three people come out.
Physicist: 'This must be a measuring error!'
Biologist: 'This is proof of procreation!'
Mathematician: 'If one more person goes into the building, it will be empty!'"

Carl sat there for a moment, trying to understand the joke. Once he got it, however, he shook his head, a smile plastered on his face. There's nothing he loved more than a girl who loved stupid jokes just as much as him. And when they were nerdy ones, that was just the cherry on top. "You are something else, Miss Gabriella." Carl slowly got up from the ottoman he had been sitting on. "I need a little break from pink floral," he explained.

Carl didn't particularly mind watching Gabriella try on various outfits, although he did wish she would try on something a little more revealing. All day she had been trying on new winter sweaters and jeans, in preparation for the coming season. So his mission now was to find something that would really accentuate her assets. As he roamed the racks of the SoHo boutique, he found just the thing. He pulled the black, metallic Hervé Leger dress off the rack, and immediately retreated to the fitting room where Gabriella was. He threw the dress over the door, telling her that he wanted her to try it on.

A gasp came out of the small room. "Carl, I can't get this! It's $2,000!" Gabriella squealed. As she stared at the dress on the hanger, she couldn't deny it's beauty, but the price was a little steep.

"You don't have to buy it, I just want you to try it on," he explained. He heard her let out a sigh, followed by the sound of a girl shimmying into a dress.

Gabriella opened the door, but didn't turn to face Carl. Rather, she stared at herself in the mirror, admiring the dress. Wanting to get a better look, Carl entered the room with her. He stood behind her, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

"Wow," was all Carl could manage to say. The dress left nothing to the imagination, perfectly displaying everything from her round ass, to small yet perky breasts and her delicate curves. He placed his arms around her waist, drawing her closer into him. "You're fucking hot," he breathed as he moved her hair to one side so he could attack her neck with kisses on the other.

Gabriella wasn't even fazed by his compliment. In fact, she stiffened under his touch. As he closed the space between them, Gabriella realized the dangers of what they had been doing all day. "This is dangerous," she whispered, pulling herself from his grasp.

Carl stared at her, with worry in his eyes. He hoped she hadn't just had a change of heart. Their nights together included sex with her that was better than any other sex he had. "What do you mean?"

"Carl, we are in public. We have been all day, shopping and at lunch. Anyone could have seen us together. It's bad enough that I'm going to have to explain to Chris how I bought all of this stuff today. Who knows who has taken a picture of us together? Who knows who may tell Chris?" she rambled. Gabriella felt the sudden need to go home. She closed the door and started to put her clothes back on.

Carl stood there, speechless. The way Gabriella had put it made him feel as if he were a reckless idiot. He didn't even think about the thousands of people who passed by them, smart phones in hand, who could easily have taken a photo inconspicuously. When she asked him to take her home, he couldn't say no.

The two sat in silence during the drive back to her dorm, although Gabriella had started to relax once she was behind tinted windows. She had overreacted and she knew it, but Carl still seemed pretty shaken up by the idea of someone catching them.

"Relax, no one caught us," Gabriella insisted with a roll of her eyes.

Carl brushed off her remark, quickly changing the subject as he parked the car. "Do you need help bringing up your bags?" Carl hoped she did. He wanted to spend more time together after their fun and playful afternoon, but he knew she would only say yes if it was in complete privacy.

"No, I got it." She packed smaller bags into larger ones so she would be able to bring them all up in one trip. "Thank you, Carl. For everything: the clothes, food, and company. I just had a little bit of an over reaction. That's all."

Carl loved the way his name came off her tongue. The way she said it, it didn't even seem like his name anymore. Like something new: a map to uncharted territory. And that made Carl a hell of a lot nervous. He needed to take a deep breath before he could respond. "I know. I had a lot of fun, too," he replied with a half-hearted smile.

Gabriella sat there for another moment, staring at Carl. "I'll meet you in your apartment after the game tomorrow night. I'll make sure to wear my sexy red thong with the matching bra," she said with a sultry wink. She leaned over the console to give Carl a quick peck on the cheek before grabbing her things and heading out of the car before Carl could even respond.

Carl had just gotten himself in way over his head.

Upon getting to her door, Gabriella fumbled with the key for a minute. The bags made if difficult to operate efficiently. However, the door opened before she could get it unlocked.

"Where the hell have you been for the past," Abby paused for a moment, looking at her watch before finishing, "32 hours?" Abby stood there with her hands on her hips, her face begging for the details of Gabriella's Friday night and Saturday afternoon adventures.

"Well let me inside and I'll tell you," she giggled. Abby stepped aside, allowing Gabriella to enter. She plopped her bags down on her bed before climbing into Abby's. Whenever they had story time, the two girls always sat in the same bed.

"Literally Gab, I haven't gotten laid all week. And I can't go out tonight so I probably won't have sex again until next weekend. So please tell me you have some juicy story for me."

Gabriella laughed at the sex-obsessed girl, but nodded her head nonetheless. Abby let out a squeal of excitement.

"Where do I begin?" Gabriella sighed. "Well after class yesterday, I got a call from John Moore, asking me to get coffee with him." Abby wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, but remained silent so she could finish her story. "He's totally cute, but not my type. We're just friends." Gabriella went on, telling her friend all about the Halloween party and her need of a place to sleep because she thought Abby wasn't at the dorm. "Oh my god Abbs, the way he looked at me when I accidentally got naked in front of him," she gushed. "I needed him to fuck me. But, alas, he went to his room without even touching me."

"Please tell me you two did it!" Abby finally interjected, the anticipation building up from the way Gabriella told the story.

"Yes we did," she finally gushed. "Abby, I practically begged him. I feel like such a whore for it but I don't even care because the sex was just so good." Her roommate squealed, throwing her arms around Gabriella's neck.

"Finally! I thought you were going to explode from the pent up frustration! I don't know how you've gone this long," Abby said in amazement.

Gabriella gave her a quizzical look. "It's been a week," she said curiously, completely forgetting that she hadn't told her about the first time her and Carl had slept together. Abby, true to nature, starting freaking out, causing Gabriella to have to tell her that story, as well.

After she had finished that story, Abby asked Gabriella about her outings today. "Well he made me breakfast. Actually, technically I stole his box of cereal, but he did make me coffee. Then we made an arrangement to be friends with benefits. Then we went shopping," Gabriella explained nonchalantly.

Although Gabriella thought of it as nothing, Abby's jaw dropped at the news. She couldn't believe her goody-two shoes, straight-A student, roommate had made an agreement so against her morals. "I am so proud of you," Abby declared with an ear-to-ear grin.

Gabriella shrugged her shoulders modestly. She did kind of feel like she was using Carl, but he was technically using her, too, right?

"You don't have feelings for each other, right?" Abby asked for confirmation. She had been in a friends with benefits relationship before that had ended badly because she had developed a crush on the guy.

"Of course not! To me, he's just a really hot Swede who played hockey. To him, I'm just a sexy ass chick for figure skates. That's it. No feelings. Nothing."

"Gab, every guy who has ever gotten near you for longer than a month has developed feelings for you, and you know it." Gabriella didn't respond, shrugging off the comment as she went to climb into her own bed. "I'm just saying don't break the poor boy's heart," Abby added.

"He's a hockey player Abby. Even if he did like me, which he doesn't, I think he could handle. But I swear to God Abby, if you tell anyone about this, I will have to kill you. Chris doesn't even want us in the same room without his parental supervision."

"My lips are sealed."