Knocked Up

“Krantzberg stop pretending you can’t skate so you can feel him up!” Claude shouted from across the other side of the ice where he was playing with Kimmo Timmons daughter, Jake glanced up from Kimmy how was holding his hand pretty tight to look at Claude. Glancing back down he noticed Kim doing the same but she wasn’t just looking at Claude she was glaring at him as he skated towards them.

“You are no fun.” She sighed at Claude letting her hands drop from his and Jake couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as she stood free from his embrace completely comfortably on the ice.

“There are children present.” Claude laughed and she hit him in the shoulder.

“I wasn’t feeling him up just; he never asked if I could skate…” It had never even occurred to him that Kimmy could skate not once had he thought to ask her since he’d asked her to come today she’d told him not to worry about skates she as Claude had a pair for her and he’d just assumed they were from a failed attempt at teaching her to skate.

“So you decided to pretend you couldn’t?”

“Seemed like more fun than just staking rings round the pair of you.” They had all started skating again and he hadn’t even realised Kimmy was very comfortably skating next to him looking at Claude purposely pushing his buttons. Claude was by far the technically best skater on the team his skill was natural and his speed was his biggest assets, he hated it when people questioned his skating ability.

“No way could you can skate better than me Krantzberg.”

“I am not paid to skate.” Kimmy bit back straight away spinning to face backwards and skate in front of Claude – she could really skate not just a little she was level footed comfortable and confident on the ice, the exact opposite of the girl that had been clinging to him seconds ago.

“Not the point.” Claude stated straight away and Kimmy got this cute little cross look on her face, he’d seen it a few times now and learnt it didn’t mean she was actually pissed yet but to start treading carefully. Kimmy was half Italian and she got the fiery temper and passion. Jake mentally kicked himself for thinking about how good the sex was between them. He’d been thinking about it more and more recently, found himself wishing that it would happen again – he’d not been with another girl since Ottawa, maybe that was it maybe he just needed to get laid and he wasn’t developing actual feelings beyond friendship for her.

“It kinda is… you’re paid to ice skate me I am paid to break cars.” Her argument was kind of valid she wasn’t on the ice pretty much every day of the year it was likely impressive if she managed to get on the ice once a week.

“How was graduation?” He threw in the middle to diffuse the situation before one arose he really didn’t want to have to deal with a pissed off Kimmy because she got in an argument with Claude and he was been a stubborn arse.

“It was good, it was nice to see everyone and have one last night together. It seems strange that after four years of dealing with them I’ll never see some of them again. We dragged each other through that hell I am glad we got to stand there together with our certificates and jobs.” He remembered Kimmy telling him about her uni mates and how the last month of final year had seemed like an uneasy truce that would test their friendships to the limits, some she’d thought would break but she’d been surprised they’d all pulled through and sat down in a pub after there last exam and everything had just fallen back into place teasing one another.

“How’s your mom?” finally, he thought, when they’d arrived Jake had asked Claude to get this question in to see if he could get more than the ‘she’s fine’ answer he’d been given, when he’d asked on the way from the airport. It was pretty damn obvious her relationship with her mom was hugely important to Kimmy so he was worried that his mistake had ruined that for her.

“Pissed but accepting – I dropped the news at breakfast the next day she wanted to know why I wasn’t hung over and I just kind of blurted it out.” accepting that was good – accepting meant that splintered bridges could be repaired he knew though to repair them he’d need to face her mom and that was terrifying. Mellie Krantzberg sounded and looked like a terrifying woman and she was ex-military which made the inventive meeting that bit more terrifying.

“Properly more tactfully than this idiot told the management.” Oh here we go Jake thought the endless line of jokes and shit he’d been getting about this from Claude and Wayne was never ending. And soon he knew it would be the whole team the press team had their release ready for next month, their job for this week was to just be seen in public together around Philly not that they’d been hiding before. Claude had found a nice picture of them together and sober in Ottawa that he’d given the press team to go with the release, they looked like a couple in the picture Kimmy was sat on his knee as they sat out in Danny Briere’s back garden.

“He told me on the phone – he just walked into the office and blurted it out before walking off again.”

“I was nervous I thought they were going to trade me or something.” He tried to reason holding his hands up, he wasn’t the agent he didn’t smooth talk or make deals he just played hockey and then boom he had to drop this huge bomb that was never going to go down well.

“Are you coming with Lianna and I to get food?” Claude asked and Kimmy nodded making Jake suddenly aware to their post skate plans as far as he’d been aware they were just going back to his for dinner.

They’d all skated for a while longer, Jake had got off the ice and left Kimmy playing with some of the kids whilst he’d sat back on the bench and realised just how lucky he’d gotten. Claude was right Kimmy was great with kids and watching her play with them made him excited for the day that would be their son or daughter wobbling around on the ice trying to catching Mommy, not Kimmy. He’d known he had a stupid grin on his face but Claude hadn’t questioned it as he’d sat down next to him merely given him a knowing smirk. Before stating he was hungry and wanted to go get food, as per Claude’s request they’d ended up at an Italian restaurant in the middle of Philly – plenty of fans wanting autographs asking who Kimmy was the answer always the same ‘she’s Jakes girlfriend from England’

There diner discussion had revolved around Ottawa, more specifically the picture Lianna had found of her and Kimmy together Kimmys first summer there and the fact Kimmy was defiantly ginger in the picture. It had taken a while for them to agree she was ginger in the same sense Claude was ginger a strawberry blonde she called it the addition of high and low lights made her look a darker blonde but throughout the winter when the sun wasn’t on it as much it would be more ginger.

Claude and he had settled the check to which he just received a glare from Kimmy but no fight, she couldn’t fight she’d agreed they needed to look like a couple completely comfortable around each other if they wanted the press to fall for the whole been together ages story and arguing over the bill wasn’t the way to go about it. The look though had told him that argument would come when they were back at his place, she’d demand he tell her how much she owed him – Claude had told him it was just the way Kimmy was, it wasn’t anything against him.

There had been more press outside the restaurant as they’d left than when they’d arrived all of them wanting to get a picture of ‘Scorcek’s’ date/girlfriend. He’d slipped his arm around Kim pulling her into his side protecting her like the loving boyfriend should he had to remind himself though it was all just an act as she slipped her hand into his and smiled up at him like she was telling him she trusted him that the press was okay because of he made her safe.

By the time they’d made it back to his Wayne was sprawled out in front of the TV watching basketball his beloved Raptors if he wasn’t mistaken, which meant they weren’t getting the living room. Not that it was a problem Kimmy was nearly dead on her feet, for her it was something like one in the morning and she’d had a busy day. Kim had gone into her room and changed whilst he’d made her a cup of tea, she’d padded back through just as he was finishing looking the girliest he’d ever seen her with her pink plaid pyjama bottoms and pink slippers and tank but also the most beautiful. He’d thought that from the first time she’d stayed her, she looked her most beautiful when she wasn’t trying when her hair was scraped back and there was no make-up hiding her true beauty.

“Thank you.” She smiled taking the tea from him before sitting down at the breakfast bar and watching him as he cleaned up some of Wayne’s mess. “You are going to make some girl very lucky one day. You cook for yourself, clean up after yourself, you’re like the perfect guy.” She added in Czech, he loved it when she spoke Czech.

“Ignoring the constant injuries, ugly face and bad English.” He sighed placing the dishes he’d just rinsed off into the dishwasher before starting it and wiping down the surfaces.

“You have a beautiful face and your English is great, beside some girls go for the whole bad English thing – look at G his English is a pile of shit never stopped him.”

“We speak English in this apartment, people!” Wayne declared from the door way before filling up his water bottle at the sink and putting it in to the fridge before taking his other one out and some snacks.

“Aw I am sorry Wayne was you feeling left out?” Kimmy smiled and Wayne stuck his tongue out. He was glad these two had been getting on so well joking around with one another like old friends, which made having her in Philly that much easier.

“We can’t all speak seven languages’ like you.”

“I only speak five languages fluently.”

“Yeah whatever… I am going back to my game!” Wayne did just that taking his water and veggies with him he headed off back through to the living room. As he left Jake saw Kimmy yawn out of the corner of his eyes.

“I think it’s time someone went to bed, come on Miss Sleepy I’ll tuck you two in.”

“I don’t want to go to sleep get, catch up on Sons of Anarchy with me?” He just nodded and followed Kim back down the hall way to her room, sitting on her bed whilst she grabbed her laptop before climbing onto the bed.

They’d started the show with the laptop in the space between them but right now he was holding it on his lap whilst Kimmy curled in a ball under his arm her head resting on his chest. He was screwed, he was so far in the shit it was unreal he wanted this he was so content and comfortable he wanted this with her. With a woman a million miles out of his league Kimmy was meant for someone brilliant, clever and handsome – not him, he’d only got her because she was drunk and horny – he wasn’t the type of guy women like Kimberly Krantzberg settled down with and he knew it.

“I think Chibs is my dream guy.” Kim sighed and Jake looked down to where her head was resting on his chest. “Or maybe Tig.” He just looked even more confused, Tig was a phsyco that treated women like shit what would anyone see in him.

“Chibs or Tig?”

“Yeah your right maybe not Tig, I think he’d only be fun once but Chibs he just seems like the kind of guy that when he’s in he’s all in everything, I’d love that someone who was all in willing to give me everything. He has that I am a hard tough guy thing really working for him too.”

“He’s a slightly overweight Scottish biker.”

“Don’t even get me started on the accent… I always dreamt I’d end up with a Scottish Biker that accent and the leathers.”

“'o if I was to go all brave heart on ye?” Kim started laughing at him turning on to her stomach her chin still resting on his chest as she looked up at him. “Aw come on I cannee be dat bad?” They both started laughing until something changed between them and Jake felt the laughter die in his throat as he looked at her – he wanted to kiss her properly more than he had the night he met her.

He couldn’t help himself as he started to lean forwards…