Illicit Love

Gabriella unlocked the door to her second home, thrusting it open to allow herself entrance into the familiar apartment. She quickly threw her skating duffle on the floor near the doorway before making her way towards a commotion she heard in the kitchen.

Chris saw a figure move from the corner of his eye as he flipped the last pancake onto the stack he had made this morning. His face immediately lit up upon seeing his little sister in front of him. "Howdy stranger!" he greeted warmly as he went to go grab her in a bear hug. As a result of his illness combined with Gabriella's hectic school schedule, he hadn't seen her since she left for the competition nearly two weeks ago.

"Chris!" Gabriella squealed, hugging him back. "I know you haven't seen me in a while, but you should know I don't have an appetite quite that big," she joked after they had ended their embrace, referring to the pancake stack that was too big for just the two of them. She took a seat at the barstool, propping her head up in her hands, elbows resting on the marble countertop.

Chris rolled his eyes at her, continuing to move about the kitchen to grab various finishing touches. Gabriella watched him curiously as he worked. Glancing at all of the items on the counter, she noticed a stack of three plates.

"Who else is coming?" she asked skeptically. Chris usually didn't have anyone come over this early in the morning, especially not when Gabriella was here.

"No one else is coming," he replied smoothly, not even bothering to turn around as he continued to rummage through the pantry looking for cinnamon. Gabriella did not enjoy when her brother was this cryptic.

Just as Gabriella was about to interrogate Chris, a very groggy, very shirtless John Moore appeared, wearing only a pair of flannel pajama pants (who was currently kicked out of his apartment while he was getting some of the walls repainted). Although she was in no way attracted to him, Gabriella couldn't help but stare at his glorious abs. She's always had a soft spot for a six-pack.

John went straight to fixing himself a cup of coffee, not even noticing Gabriella's presence. Naturally, she would not stand for this. She quietly walked up behind John, making sure to stay out of his view. He was so oblivious this early in the morning. She watched as John set down his mug on the counter, turning slightly to get the sugar. Gabriella took this as her opportunity to grab the mug, quickly snatching it and returning to her seat before he even turned back to where he had set it down.

She had to stifle back her laughter as he scratched his head while staring at where he had set down his coffee. "I could have sworn I just poured myself some coffee," he said, baffled.

"And I could have sworn that you don't ignore me when you walk in a room," Gabriella countered as she took a sip of the drink, smiling in content as it warmed her from the inside out.

John frowned as he saw her sip his coffee. "Gab, if you don't give me that coffee right now, I'm going to kill you," he groaned.

"Fine," Gabriella chucked. She stood up to hand him the mug. "Here you go Mr. Grumpy Pants," she replied cheerfully, reaching up on her tip toes to ruffle his hair.

Taking a sip of the caffeine, John noted, "You're in a particularly good mood this morning. Did your date go well last week?"

Gabriella's stomach dropped at the mention of her date. It wasn't that she was regretting it. In fact, she and Carl had met up nearly any day that their schedules allowed for. They were essentially an official couple now. It's just that absolutely no one was supposed to know about it.

She and Carl had discussed it over 3 am fruit salad. They decided that right now, their relationship should remain under wraps. Now was not the time for Gabriella to draw unnecessary attention to herself. Not when she needed to be focusing her entire being on Nationals. That, and they needed to work on getting Carl on Chris' good side. Out of all of his teammates, Carl was the one Chris wanted his sister to stay the farthest away from.

"What date?" Chris asked as started to plate his breakfast. She and John began to do the same.

"A me, myself, and I date," she answered calmly. She gave herself an internal high five for the quick save.

John shot her a sideways glance, which she responded to with an angry stare. She didn't need John to fuck things up for her, despite the fact that he didn't even know it was Carl who she was seeing that night. Regardless, Chris did not need to know the details of her dating life. Lord knows she didn't want to know his.

"You know Gab," Chris started as he handed her a new cup of coffee. "Maybe you should go out on a date or two sometime soon. It's not healthy to just hang out with your brother all the time.

"Yet your always telling me to stay away from your teammates," she teased with a roll of her eyes.

"Yes, because hockey players are no good, two timing man whores. Wouldn't you agree, John?"

John looked up at the duo through his mouth full of food. He quickly swallowed it before answering with a devious smirk on his face. "Oh, definitely. Just a couple of days ago I got the best blowjob from a pretty little thing abou-"

"That's enough!" they both shouted, covering their ears at the same time. This caused John to let out a low huff as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"No, but really, Gab. I'm serious. I can hook you up with one of my friends. He's a great guy, nothing like the boys," he said, referring to the team.

Naturally, Gabriella couldn't tell him she was seeing someone at the moment. That would lead to an endless interrogation that she didn't feel like dealing with. She needed a lie that would get him off her case with this dating situation. "I don't really think now is a good time," she shrugged. "Not with Nationals and everything." Chris nodded his head in slight agreement, knowing that he could not object to this observation.

Just as Gabriella was finishing her breakfast (the other two were much faster eaters), her phone, which was lying isolated on the island, started ringing. She was getting a phone call. From whom, she did not know, but her stomach dropped at the thought of it being Carl.

John gave her a quick smirk before jumping up and lunging for the phone, assuming it was the mystery man she had gone on her date with. Gabriella felt her pulse quicken as she pushed the chair out from underneath her, nailing John right in the stomach. This allowed her just enough time to snatch up her phone and race out into the hallway before he could catch her. All this time, Chris could only stare in amusement.

"Hello," she whispered as she closed the door behind her.

"Hey," Carl responded. She could picture his smile through the phone, causing a warmth to spread through her. "I want to watch you skate today during your practice. And then I was thinking you could come back to my place and make some more of that quinoa with spinach that I love so much."

Gabriella chuckled lightly, making a note that she would have to teach him how to make that himself. Suddenly, she heard the door knob rattle behind her. She should have figured John wouldn't give up that easily. "Sounds great! I'll talk to you later!" she rushed out just as the door flew open.

John immediately lunged for her, causing Gabriella to recoil in fear. John didn't account for her sudden movement, so he accidentally tackled her in the process. As she was falling to the floor, Gabriella's phone slipped out of her hand and went sliding down the hall. She and John both reached their arms out, desperately trying to grab the device. Gabriella's sense of urgency kicked into overdrive as she crawled out from underneath his large body. Somehow, she was able to grab her phone and tuck it safely into her bra.

"Ew, is that even sanitary?" John asked in a fake disgusted voice. He quickly picked himself up off the floor, dusting himself off before helping Gabriella up.

"Come on," she smirked. "Don't act like you wouldn't love to stick your hand in there and grab it."

"That's enough, children!" Chris chuckled. He stood in the doorway with two bags on his shoulder: his hockey bag and his sister's skating bag.

"Sorry mom," she and John mumbled in sync.

Chris shook his head, a small smile plastered on his face. He was so happy that Gabriella and John had grown so close. He needed someone new in his life after what happened to him when he left Columbus. And it was obvious to Chris that John was infinitely times happier around her. He was a hockey player, but maybe they would be good for each other.

"Any chance you're going to tell us who that was?" Chris questioned.

She gave him a quizzical look as she took her duffle from him. "You'd be crazy if you thought there was." She was always telling him that there were parts of her life he didn't need to know about. For the most part, Chris respected this line.

"Thought so," he chuckled, knowing he wouldn't want to have it any other way.

***

"I'll drop the car off around 1:30," Gabriella explained to Chris as she finished tying her skates.

Chris nodded his head as he dropped the keys into her bag, telling her he'd see her later. Normally he wouldn't mind sticking around during her skating time, but he really wasn't up for staying at the training center for three more hours. Thankfully, Brassard was willing to drive him home.

As soon as Chris and Derick left, Gabriella took to the ice, where she found Coach Erik waiting for her. "Hey Coach!" she greeted. She subtly looked around the rink, seeing no sign of Carl anywhere. She figured he was making sure it was safe for him to be there with her at the time. Gabriella knew her coach wouldn't say a word to anyone about it, so she didn’t worry about him seeing the two of them together.

"Hey kiddo!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. He pulled a clip board out from underneath his arm, which worried Gabriella slightly. Whenever he had his clipboard, it usually signaled a brutal training session. "So the critics have been calling your last set of routines very safe, predictable, and boring.”

Gabriella never read reviews of her performances, and for a good reason. She never wanted to let the critics get into her head. She never wanted to give them the satisfaction of knowing that what they said completely changed Gabriella’s style of skating. But as Erik went on and on about how everyone was saying she wasn’t a technical skater, or a skilled skater, she grew furious. According to the judges, she was too “bubblegum pop.” Her routines “relied too much on energetic jumps, and not enough on the gorgeous footskills that give figure skating the grace and elegance that everyone loves.” Essentially, she was a disgrace to the figure skating world.

Of course, she did everything in her power to not let these comments affect her for too long, but she did realize that she needed a set of completely new routines. This was a feat that was hard to come by. Nationals were only two months away. Even the best figure skaters needed at least six months to master any given routine. Doing what she was about to attempt was unheard of in her profession. But, then again, the Kreider way was to do the unthinkable.

“So,” her coach went on, clapping his hands together. “I’m thinking a whole new look. Instead of a childish, innocent Gabriella that we usually play off to the public, I think we should go with something a little more mature. Definitely more technical. Something sexy, sleek and…” he trailed off looking for the right adjective.

“Seductive!” Carl piped in from the players’ bench. The two of them turned, surprised to hear another voice in the rink. He had slipped in so quietly that neither of them had noticed.

“That’s it!” Coach Erik exclaimed with a snap of his fingers.

Gabriella thoroughly liked the idea. She came into the spotlight of the skating world when she was merely ten years old, still innocent and foolish, and the public absolutely adored her. As she grew older, however, her personality began to change. She became witty, but in the best way possible. Despite the fact that she had never met a person who didn’t love her personality, she couldn’t show the spectators how she had changed. Essentially, she became another Miley Cyrus. Truth be told, she was getting tired of the cutesy routines and the childlike giggles she forced during interviews. And now having the opportunity to have a competition that would be the equivalent of the Bangerz album thrilled her more than it should have.

For a half hour, the three of them bounced ideas off of each other for her new routines. It was very amusing, watching Carl try to think of sequences she could try, considering he knew none of the correct terminology or rules and regulations. He was only actually helpful when thinking of new music.

After another hour and a half, they had a solid half of a routine done, which was quite a bit of progress for one day. Coach Erik, pleased with today’s work, decided to end her training early so that he could sit and think about sequences for a while in solitude. However, Gabriella wasn’t quite done yet. She still held possession of the rink for another hour, and she wasn’t going to waste it. With a devious grin, she instructed Carl to go put on his skates.

When he returned, his facial features displayed the apprehension he felt inside. He had a feeling that he knew what Gabriella was planning, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to handle it. He would never admit it, but watching the spins, turns, and jumps Gabriella had executed today looked excruciatingly difficult. He could tell, just by watching, how much balance and control was required, and he sure as hell did not have the grace for that.

Carl quickly skated to where she was. She placed her hands on his chest, closing some of the distance between them in an attempt to feel the warmth of his body against her cold one. “Don’t look so scared!” she teased, sensing his nerves. “I won’t make you do jumps or anything. I just want you to skate with me,’ she pleaded, staring up at him with her big doe eyes that Carl could never say no to.

***

Gabriella should have kept a log for the amount of times Carl had fallen on his ass. She had laughed so much that her abs and cheeks were still sore. He found the pain he felt to be worthwhile. He loved being the one to put a smile on Gabriella’s beautiful face. He absolutely adored the twinkle in her eyes. God, he loved being able to call her “mine.”

He loved the way her hair perfectly framed her face when she leaned over the stove. He loved the she held a look of pure ecstasy every time she smelt the food she was cooking. He loved everything about her at any moment of every day. Maybe it was a good thing the boys didn’t know how head over heels he was for her.

Gabriella whipped up the quinoa in no time, throwing in some leftover steak that they had shared the night before. As she did so, she couldn’t stop herself from sneaking peeks at the man in front of her. Everything about him was so perfect. She had never met anyone who had ever been able to challenge her the way he does. He pushes her buttons in all the right ways, and presses her to her limits. He was simply perfect for her.

The two ate in silence, perfectly happy just being in each other’s presence. Although they hadn’t been together very long, they already felt as if they knew everything about each other. They were so comfortable together, like an old married couple. They even had the dish dynamic down: she washed, he dried and stored.

It didn’t take very long before the two found themselves cuddling on the couch watching reruns of Say Yes to the Dress, with Gabriella’s head resting on Carl’s lap. Gabriella had loved the show for a while. The first time she forced Carl to watch it, he objected relentlessly. He did not think a man with any sense of dignity should watch a show on wedding dresses. By the end of the episode, he was planning their next SYTTD marathon.

“The beading on that dress does not go with the lace AT ALL,” Carl groaned, getting annoyed at the American style. You can take the man out of Sweden, but you can’t take Sweden out of the man. Gabriella turned her head slightly so that she could look in his eyes; her own evidently filled with laughter. “What?” he chuckled when he noticed her staring.

Gabriella picked her body up slightly so that she could give him a small peck on the lips. “You’re adorable.” A small kiss, however, was not enough for Carl. As she went to go lay back down, he grabbed her torso, gently pulling her up so she was sitting in his lap. Carl took a loving glance into her eyes before their lips met in a fiery passion.

Her hands found their way into his flow while his made their way underneath her oversized sweater, roaming up towards her breasts. They soon lost all their senses, except for touch, of course. Too caught up in each other, neither of them noticed the door to the apartment open.

“Oh shit! Sorry man!” the intruder, who was already three steps into the room, yelled. He quickly turned around to leave, before the couple could even react. However, he quickly turned back, thinking that the girl sitting in his teammate’s lap looked a little too familiar. “Gab!” he shouted when he realized who it was.

Gabriella quickly jumped off of Carl, her heart beat racing at a pulse that was close to cardiac arrest. “John, you cannot say a word about this. To anyone,” she squeaked. Her body was shaking in fear. Carl wanted to hold her while she quaked, but he figured this was not the most appropriate time for that.

“Well then you better start talking,” he barked, still thinking that maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. Gabriella and Carl? It couldn’t be…

“Maybe you should go make us some coffee.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Five minutes later, the three of them sat around the kitchen table, mugs in hand. They quickly told John about their relationship, leaving out the friends-with-benefits part. That was something truly no one needed to know about.

“So you mean to tell me that you guys have been dating for two weeks, and haven’t told anyone?” John questioned, looking for verification.

“Yes,” Carl stated. “And we don’t plan on telling anyone until after Gabriella makes the Olympic team.”

John was slightly impressed at Gabriella. She didn’t seem like the type to do things like this. It was a side of her he hadn’t really seen before. “Chris is going to flip when he finds out. He hates Carl.”

Carl shrugged his shoulders. He had been targeted numerous times by Chris, in his various attempts to keep him away from his little sister. “Yes, I know,” Gabriella agreed. “And that’s why we aren’t telling him yet. So you better keep your mouth shut and not tell a single soul about this, or, I swear to God, I will castrate you.”

John squirmed in his seat, imagining how painful that would be. “Okay, okay. My lips are sealed.”