A Winter Classic

Ellie sat on the corner of the bed watching as Phil tossed various pieces of clothing in front of her. There was never any method to his packing and as she watched him rifle through his drawers she reached over and refolded the clothing that had already made it onto the bed and started placing them in his suitcase from where she sat. You’d think after all the years of doing this he’d have it down to a science but he was a man after all and when you looked around he truly did pack like one.

“How can you make sense of this chaos?” she asked stacking a pile of jeans and dropping it into the suitcase.

“What do you mean?”

He didn’t even look up from the drawer he was rummaging through, no doubt looking for the matching sock he held in his left hand. When she didn’t reply he looked over his shoulder at her watching as she indicated everything sprinkled around her on the bed.

“It makes sense to me.”

“Babe you’ve been looking for this sock for the last five minutes.”

He watched Ellie’s hand as she swung the sock before tossing it in his direction. He caught it easily with his quick reflexes before folding it over with its match, rolling the elastic to secure them together then tossing it back at her.

“I know what I’m doing here.”

“If you say so.”

She sat back and thought about what was happening. It was all so domestic, boring really but soon enough there would be camera crews here to document even these mundane things. They’d talked earlier about the impending arrival of the HBO cameras and had decided it would be better for her to keep out of their way. If he had no desire to be in the spotlight she had even less.

“So what have you got going on while I’m gone?”

“I’m going to be working, working, working…” she collapsed onto the bed scattering the bag of toiletries across it. “I’ve got a bunch of graveyard shifts this week.”

They weren’t her favourite since they could drag on forever but they did have their advantages. They tended to be a lot quieter with prolonged periods of downtime that allowed her to keep a close eye on his games. They also ended up being scheduled back to back which meant she could just plow through them all in one shot rather then having them scattered through her schedule.

“At least you’re getting them out of the way.”

She watched him pick up the scattered toiletries, toss them into his bag, zip the suitcase shut and push it to the floor. When he joined her on the bed she looked up at him and when their eye connected she smiled. She just couldn’t help it.

“I’ve got something for you.”

“Oh you do, do you?” Ellie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively with a laugh.

He picked up the closest pillow and threw it at her.

“I’m trying to be romantic here.”

“Oh.”

Well that shut her up.

She watched Phil roll over and rummage through his nightstand. He shoved things around till he slammed it shut, then leaned over her and began doing the same thing on the other side. Ellie watched the muscles in his chest move as he dug around, watched his arms bend and flex as he continued his search just a few inches away from her face. Slowly so he wouldn’t notice her move she pushed up onto her elbows and pressed her lips to the center of his chest, right above the steady rhythm of his heart.

“You keep doing that and I’m never gonna find what I’m looking for.”

“That’s a shame…” she trailed her hand down his arm slowly then back up. Watched the goose bumps raise across his skin. “Cause I’ve definitely found what I’m looking for.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I think so.” She confirmed pressing her lips along his jaw.

“Well don’t let me stop you.”

He ducked his head capturing her lips with his as he shifted down her body. When she noticed both his hands were now on her body, pressing her into the mattress she paused.

“Don’t stop looking.” Ellie teased. “You promised me a present.”

“I thought that’s what I was doing.”

“I’m gonna warn you if there is a bow wrapped around your junk I’m gonna lose it.”

When he pulled back to look down at her they both lost it, breaking into laughter.

“Well now you’ll never know.”

Phil leaned down, kissed the tip of her nose then went back to the task of searching through the nightstand. This time when he slid the door shut he had a small rectangular box in his hands. Ellie sat up, moving next to where he sat and looked at the box. Too big to be jewellery and too small to be anything she could think of she looked over at him.

“What is this?” she asked taking the small box from him. It didn’t weigh anything and it jingled when she shook it a little bit.

“Its nothing…” he paused. “Its kinda stupid and its not a big deal…”

Ellie knew if he was back peddling this fast that it wasn’t stupid and it probably was a big deal. It was the first thing he’d ever given her and when he wasn’t paying attention she was going to make sure to take the box and keep it for the old memory box. She slid the box open, pushed aside the paper and looked down at the shiny silver key staring back at her.

“I told you it was nothing…” It was just a key and any of the other girls he’d dated before would have thought this was stupid. He didn’t want to hand it to her like an idiot but now he might have made an even bigger idiot of himself then he’d anticipated. “I didn’t mean to get your hopes up…”

She reached over and pulled him down to her lips before he said anything else. Eventually his hands slid into her hair, tunnelling through the strands as he deepened their kiss and when she was fairly certain he wouldn’t continue on about how this wasn’t a big deal she pulled away.

“This isn’t nothing.” She whispered resting her forehead against his. “This is big.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes!” she laughed. “I don’t need you to buy me fancy things Phil.”

She liked nice things and she wasn’t afraid to buy herself those things or accept them as gifts but that’s not what she wanted from him. She also knew that for a guy with money and an ex like the one he’d told her about that he wasn’t used to what she was telling of him, that he couldn’t just buy her affection but she had a job and money of her own. She wasn’t looking for a sugar daddy, she was looking for love and she loved him.

“I love this.” She confessed. “Thank you.”

“Your welcome.”

This was a pretty big step for them, another step forward on their path.

“Wait a minute.” Ellie paused. “Does Tyler know your giving me this?”

The teasing tone in her voice made him laugh.

“I ran it past him.” He shrugged. “I was going to do it either way.”

“And you’re sure you wanna do this?”

Sure their apartments were interchangeable, and they basically came and went as they pleased anyways but having a key changed everything, it was a permanent invitation into personal space. Something she knew he valued above anything else.

“Yeah I’m sure.”

“Cause if I take this your never going to get rid of me.”

Ellie put the key down on the nightstand then slid across the bed and onto his lap.

“Never?”

“Never ever.” She promised feeling his hands slid around her hips.

“I can work with that.” He pressed his lips to hers.

“Good.” She responded in kind. “Cause I’m not leaving now.”

She leaned in sealing his lips with hers. Ellie exhaled feeling the rough tips of his fingers glide against the small of her back. Her skin broke into goose bumps as his hand nudged her shirt up and over, dragging the palms of his hands in its wake. He moved so slowly, so carefully it felt calculated, like he was trying to touch every inch of her but not all at once. But once her shirt was gone and she sat there in her bra he just looked at her, carefully looked her over till she went red all over.

“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head and just when she thought he wouldn’t say anything he did.

“Nothings wrong.” He confessed. “Your beautiful.”

She was all beautiful unmarked skin. Not a bruise or scar marring her perfect soft flesh, the complete opposite of his own.

“Your perfect.”

She was hardly perfect; there were a few things just off the top of her head she could think of that she’d change but hearing those words broke her heart a little bit. This wasn’t entirely about her; it was a reflection of something inside him, something she wanted to reach out and sooth.

“I’m not perfect.” She took his hand in hers, pulled him over and rested it between her breasts, above her heart. “But I am all yours.”

What started out slowly moved quickly and when they were both stripped and he slid between her thighs she knew it was finally going to happen. She was so relieved she sighed as his skin met hers.

“You okay?”

“As long as you don’t stop.”

She pulled him down till his lips hit hers again and that seemed to be all the motivation he needed. His hand drifted up her thigh, tracing the curve of her body as he slid into her warm welcoming body.

Heaven.

She responded to his every move, met him stroke for stroke like they were on the same wavelength which made him feel stupid for putting this off for so long. Ellie’s breath was shallow, like she was trying to reach deep down for a lung full of air and when she finally did she moaned loudly. It had been so long and she’d wanted this so many times that she was already close and as he set pace she nearly saw stars.

“I’m close…” she whispered her legs closing around his hips, pulling him closer and deeper. “Not so slow.”

She bit her lip as he double his effort and a second later her body exploded. The slow burn detonated like fireworks and she had to close her eyes to keep from getting burned.

“Ellie…” he was close she could hear it in the breathy way he said her name. “Elle look at me.”

When her eyes rolled open she met him head on and less then a second later he followed her. His body went still then he collapsed on top of her, the weight of him pushing her deep into the mattress below. A minute later, surrounded by nothing but their mingling breathes Ellie looked down at her hands tensely pressed into the skin of his back. She relaxed her fingers as he lifted his body up and above her.

“I love you Ellie.”

“I know…” She slid her hands down his back. “I love you too.”

She kissed him quickly then gently pushed his shoulder away.

“Now get off me, I’ve got something for you too.”

He rolled away with a laugh.

“Way to ruin my romantic moment Elle.”

“Oh quiet you’ve got the credit already.”

Ellie rolled over, reached into her bag and pulled out the spare key she’d been carrying around for the last couple weeks. She hadn’t been able to pry her spare away from Casey so she’d had another made.

When she rolled back over she dropped it into his hand and closed his fingers around it.

“You’ve definitely earned this.”