Well Worth the Wait

Elle smiled as she re-entered her bedroom where the TV was showing sports centre. Her best friend's face flashed across the screen as he went to celebrate with the rest of his team mates. Elle gushed with pride as the faces of her some of her closest friends truly expressed the sheer joy of winning a match. Normally, she would have been at the game, but tomorrow's looming event was probably the biggest of her career so far and she had to make sure everything went smoothly.

Elle had been working for the New York Rangers for almost two years after moving to New York from her native London in England. She was the PR manager for the team and had worked her socks off trying to organise tomorrow's big charity event for at least 6 months and the day had almost arrived. Everything was set. Caterers arranged, seating plan finalised and the itinerary scrutinised to the last detail by all of the hired staff. It had to go off without a hitch. This was going to be huge for the Rangers and Elle had warned them all several times that the event could really put them out there and open up so more opportunities for them, so their best behaviour was expected. It wasn't just for them though. She had to prove it for herself and the sceptics who had dismissed a 24-year old being the PR manager of such a high profile team. Elle had to make a statement.

She lowered the volume on the TV and crawled onto her bed, grabbing her phone from the night stand. She knew Cam would be on the phone as soon as he got the chance, he always was after any game she couldn't make it to.Elle normally travelled with the team so she was always around but on the odd occasion she would miss one, Cam would always call to discuss the highlights afterwards.

Tonight was a home game, and usually she would have been there in the stands wearing one of their jerseys, but tonight she had stayed at home. Being there would be too distracting and there was a lot of pressure on her.

All the boys were her friends and she looked after them as if they were her brothers, but with Cam it was different. They were best friends. They told each other everything, well almost everything.

There was no denying that he was attractive, gorgeous even. Elle couldn't deny the butterflies she felt whenever she was around him, but to be honest, she just ignored them half the time. She was in love with him and had been for quite some time. But he never saw her that way and never could, he was so good looking and she wasn't. She didn't have a figure to die for; she was curvier than the majority of people but she always made sure she looked her best. Unlike this evening when she was rocking a messy bun and her favourite pyjamas. She believed Cam would never find her remotely attractive let alone be in love with her so being best friends with him would have to do. Plus she would never get the chance with all the puck bunnies that surrounded him every single time they went out.

Elle was shook from her thoughts to the sound of her phone ringing. Looking at the caller ID she accepted the call with a slight smile.

"Well, hello there Cameron"

"Hey Elle," Cam replied. Elle's stomach flipped at the sound of his voice. "Did you see the game?"

"Cam, do you even have to ask? Of course I saw the bloody game! You know I always watch you guys on the TV when I'm not physically there," She laughed into the phone.

"I knooww, well what did you think? Did you see the goals? How did I do? What about the defence eh? I thought we totally rocked! " She could hear the rabble around him and Elle knew he was in the locker room surrounded by the rest of the team.

"Woah! Slow down Ranger, one question at a time yeah?" Elle giggled into the phone.

"Sorry babe" Cam said sheepishly into the phone. "Well?"

"I thought it was pretty good Cam. That second goal was epic. The Bruins were quite a tough team. They really upped the ante that third period huh? Good job our goalie had a good game because they put up quite a fight" She smiled as Cam chuckled into the phone.

"Yeah, I was pretty good, wasn't I?" Cam replied.

"Oh, how modest of you. But you guys did great. Tell the guys congratulations from me though Cam, I was gutted I couldn't be there" Elle sighed into the phone.

"I will do. Hey! You're such a dick Girardi, leave me alone...Sorry Elle." Elle didn't take any notice that he sounded somewhat exasperated on the phone, like he was sick of the joking. At 26, he was one of the biggest kids in the team and was always making the jokes so she wasn't too concerned that he was getting the brunt of the banter for a change.

"It's ok, but I'm sorry Cam, I really have to go. I stayed away from the stadium for this very reason. I have work to do and you are quite distracting." She didn't want to say goodbye, but Elle knew that he could talk for hours and she really needed to finalise the plans for tomorrow.

"Ok, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Cam sighed into the phone. Elle knew he wanted to talk but she really had to go.

"Cam, I know you want to talk, I do too. But I'm just about to crawl into bed. Go celebrate, you deserve it. I'll speak to you tomorrow" She tried to lighten the mood.

"If you say so, I will go and enjoy myself. Goodnight dorkface." Cam replied with the silly nickname he'd used since they had met all that time ago.

"Night, loser." Elle could here him laughing at her reply as she hung up the phone. Ever since he'd called her dorkface, she'd always replied with loser. It was their thing.

Reaching for her iPad, she smiled at the background, a picture of her and Cam smiling at one another on their trip to London to see her family during the summer. He'd decided that he wanted to go with her when he found out that she was going there. Usually Elle's parents and brothers would come out to see her. They'd met Cam when Elle first moved to New York and they instantly loved him. Like most people did. But this year Elle had needed a break away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Cam had invited himself when he found out she was going to be going alone and he argued that he'd never been to London before and absolutely needed to go with her.

It was one of her favourite pictures of them together. Elle couldn't help but think about their friendship. They had clicked instantly when she first started her job. He was the star goalie and she worked behind the scenes for them, but they had so much in common and along with their similar sense of humour, it just worked.

Elle sighed and opened up the itinerary for tomorrow, double checking all the details before she drifted off to sleep.

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The next morning, Elle was rudely awoken by her alarm. She groaned, reaching over to the off button. Throwing back the sheets she padded her way from her bedroom to the kitchen to make some coffee. However, instead of being greeted by her usual living room scene, she was instead greeted by an obnoxiously large man draped over her sofa. Half a cold pizza and some lovely girl's underwear adorned her coffee table.

"What the...?" Elle muttered to herself, rubbing at her eyes trying to determine whether it was a mirage. When it groaned, she knew that this was no hallucination. It was none other than Cam Talbot. If he was here, it only meant one thing. He'd spend the rest of the day annoying the absolute shit out of her. On purpose.

"Cam...Cam...!" Resisting the urge to shout, Elle knew if he was here, he had a hangover. The more she said his name, the more he ignored it.

"CAMERON!" The final shout of his full name jolted him awake, along with the pillow hitting him over the head.

"Oof...what the...where am I?" Definitely hungover, she thought.

"You're in my apartment you stupid oaf! Why the fuck, are you here?" Elle's anger was rising. Not today, please not today, she thought.

"I don't know Elle, I'm so sorry...oh shit, my head hurts. I don't know what I'm doing here. I guess I just came here when I left the club last night" Cam had sobered very quickly when he saw the hurt in Elle's eyes. He hated seeing her upset, especially when he knew it must be his fault.

"Cam, you do know what day it is right? It's the most important day of my career so far. Of course you don't remember...it's always one and only with you isn't it?"

Elle was shouting now, not caring that she had neighbours.

"I d-don't know what you m-mean Elle. What have I done?" Cam stuttered.

Her eyes filled with tears threatening to spill. "I support you through everything Cam, everything single fucking thing."

"I know you do Elle. Please tell me" He pleaded.

"I shouldn't have to tell you Cam. You're supposed to be my best friend." Elle had given up shouting. Being angry would get her nowhere and there was a sudden look of realisation in his eyes. A tear slid down her face and she furiously wiped it away.

"I am your best friend Elle"

"I shouldn't have to tell my best friend that it's the charity event later. You're supposed to be attending you know. Plus, if I was your best friend, you should know that I'm not that keen on you fucking somebody else on my couch, intoxicated or not". Elle gulped.

"The charity event? Of course that's today, I didn't forget...I'm just hungover Elle. And what do you mean? I haven't fucked anybody." Cam moved closer to Elle but she backed away.

"How do you know Cam? You didn't even remember where you were or why. I'm pretty sure that's not my underwear on the coffee table, clearly not 'cause it looks like tooth floss. It doesn't get more realistic than that" Elle didn't hold the tears back this time. "It's always the same story with you Cam. I just can't believe I've stuck it out this long."

"What do you mean Elle?" Cam's expression had changed, now he looked more confused than sorry.

"I've watched you for the best part of the last two years pick up woman after woman in clubs and bars, using your status to impress them and get them into bed. And I stuck by your side being a great best friend just hoping and wishing that some part of you felt the same way that I felt about you," Elle gulped down sobs. "I just hoped that one day you would love me just as much as I love you."

"I do love you Elle. You're my best friend for fuck's sake". Cam looked like he was pleading for more answers. "I'm such an idiot" He whispered.

"Not the way I wish you did. I don't want you to love me like a best friend Cameron. I think you'd just better go." Elle sighed and flopped onto the couch.

"Please don't make me go Elle. I'm sorry. What are you trying to say?" Cam moved towards her.

"I can't do this now Cam" Elle muttered.

"Tell me, Elle. I can't make things right when I don't know what you mean. Tell me now". Cam stood defiantly waiting for an answer.

"I'm in love with you Cameron Talbot, and have been for months. You wanted the truth? There you go" Elle stood up backing him towards the door. " I know you don't feel the same. How could you? That underwear on the table just shows me that you don't see me like that and I'm nothing compared to the other girls in this city. Now please leave, before I make an even bigger fool of myself and fuck up even more" She said as she opened her apartment door. The look on Cam's shocked face told her everything she needed to know.

"Elle. Let me stay, we need to talk about this" Cam failed to realise he was now stood outside of her apartment.

"I can't" She whispered and closed the door on him.

"Elle? Please?" Cam shouted from the other side.

Elle didn't say anything. Instead she slid down the back of the closed door and sobbed.

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Elle looked down and smoothed her dress. The long navy blue fabric hugged her curves and she'd done her hair and makeup accordingly, opting for an up do. She sighed and surveyed the room. It was decorated to perfection. Tables dressed, glasses polished and champagne on ice. However, instead of feeling excited, Elle just couldn't be bothered. She'd much rather be at home crying into a tub of ice cream rethinking the words she'd shouted at Cam this morning in her sitting room. How stupid could she be? Telling him she was in love with him. 'What a dick' she thought.

If the moment had ever come it shouldn't have been said in the midst of an argument. But it was done now and she couldn't turn back time. Elle glanced around seeing the first of the guests drifting in from the entrance. 'Now or never' she thought as she made her way over to greet the guests and make sure they were seated sufficiently.

Before Elle knew it, the evening was over. The event had gone well and they had risen quite a bit of money for the charity. The team had been very respectful and she had enjoyed the company of them and some of their wives and girlfriends and was sitting around chatting and laughing with them whilst the room was cleared. Even her boss had commended her hard work and congratulated her. Elle had noticed Cam when he arrived. She'd managed to successfully avoid him over the course of the evening and now she just felt like shit about it.

"What's the matter Elle? You're miles away and you've done such a great job here" Marc Staal had made his way over to Elle and sat down next to her.

"I had a fight with Cam, Marc. That was after I found him sprawled on my couch this morning" Elle swirled her champagne around in the glass.

"No shit. We wondered where he got to last night. What did you fight about?" Marc half laughed.

"Well, he says he 'forgot' what tonight was and how important it was to me. That annoyed me, plus the skimpy underwear on my coffee table didn't really help."

"You all know how much support I give you guys, Cam especially. The fact he forgot, it hurt. He knew how much this meant to me." Elle sighed. "Everything had just taken it's toll I guess".

"And you've avoided him all night because he forgot Elle?" Marc looked at Elle knowingly. "I know you, that's not everything. What else did you say?"

"I kind of told him I was in love with him and had been for months. Although he practically forced it out of me!" Elle tried to defend herself.

"Well...shit." Marc looked shocked. He knew how long Elle had been in love with Cam. He'd cornered her one day and dragged a confession out of her.

"I know, I'm such an idiot. He made it pretty obvious he doesn't feel the same." The last few sips of champagne in her glass looked more interesting than Staalsy at this point.

"I think you need to talk to him. I don't know what he did to make you think that but you two need to sort it out because it's starting to get silly". Marc placed his hand on her shoulder and stood up.

"What do you mean Marc?" Elle looked up confused.

"Just speak to him Elle. I can't remember the last time he took a girl home after being at a club. It must be over a year", He started to walk away laughing at the expression on Elle's face. "By the way, those panties weren't from a girl he slept with. Henrik gave them to him as a joke".

"What the actual fuck? Who does that for a joke?" Elle placed her drink on the table and stood up. She needed to find Cam. The least she could do was apologise.

After looking everywhere for him she gave up and assumed he had already left. She grabbed another drink from the bar and headed out onto the patio looking over the venue's grounds.

Elle toyed with the liquid in her glass, sighing and thinking about what Marc could have possibly meant.

"Shit, shit, shit. Well and truly messed that up." She said aloud, thinking she was alone.

"Elle?" She immediately recognised Cam's voice and spun around.

"Cam...Listen I'm sorry. This morning, I was so horrible". She looked at her shoes.

"You never even gave me time to say anything. You just pushed me out your door", She knew he was hurt.

"I know," she whispered. "I'm so sorry Cam." She could feel her eyes filling with tears and turned away from him.

"Please don't cry Elle. You know when I hate it when you cry". How he knew she was going to cry, Elle had no clue. "Plus, you're not the only one whose sorry. I didn't even try hard enough".

Elle composed herself and turned around. "It doesn't matter. It's done with now. Let's forget it yeah?" Cam nodded and moved to stand beside her, looking at the view.

"I knew that tux was a winner when we bought it. I must admit it, I'm good. You look great Cam".

"You were right. It is a winner. I do look good. Not as good as you though Elle". He cast his eyes over her form smiling.

"Thanks" She smiled shyly, turning round again to look at him.

"You're welcome" he retorted.

The pair stayed silent for a while. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. With Cam the silence was never awkward.

"Will you let me speak now Elle." She didn't look at him, she just stayed looking forward.

"Ok" She replied simply.

"I saw Staalsy on my way out of here Elle. He said he told you something" Cam turned to face her.

"He might have mentioned something before. But I wasn't going to bring it up" Elle turned to look up at him.

"Bring it up" Cam asked her.

"What?" Elle was more confused than anything.

"Ask me about what Marc said. Please? So I can just get this all out" He forced the topic on her.

"Ok...ok. Marc said that you haven't taken a girl home for more than a year now. He also said we needed to talk because this was getting silly, but I don't know what he meant by that Cam". Elle sighed and just looked at Cam.

"It is true. I haven't taken anyone home or gone to any other girl's house for well over a year now Elle. I couldn't" He looked so relaxed when he was saying all of this.

"But Cam...it looked like you were from where I've been standing".

"I know it did, I made it look like that was the case. But Staalsy saw right through me right from the start. He knew I'd never slept with any of them. That man has some kind of power. The guys eventually found out and have basically tormented the shit out of me for months." He looked back over the field and swallowed. "When I spoke to you on the phone yesterday after the game...Girardi was making some daft joke at my expense".

"What?"

He ignored her question and just carried on.

"Don't get me wrong Elle, you know it's not hard for us to get girls. They practically throw themselves at you if they know you wear a jersey. But it felt wrong. I've tried so many times to just go home with someone, but I just couldn't do it." Cam gulped and continued. "I couldn't go home with a girl I'd just met. Not when all I could think about was it wasn't you Elle. Not you that I would get to wake up beside in the morning. Not you I was getting a welcome home kiss from and it wasn't you making me feel better after a tough game".

Elle didn't know what to say so Cam carried on.

"Then this morning, you were so upset and I was so oblivious to what I had done. But then you said you were in love with me and then you practically threw me out of your apartment...I didn't even get chance to reply."

"I'm sorry Cam, I really am. I was embarrassed" Elle tried to give reason for her actions.

"I know Elle, but you didn't even give me the chance...the chance to tell you that I am in love with you too. And I think I have been since I first set my eyes on you two years ago when you walked through the front doors of the stadium" Cam looked her dead in the eye.

Elle couldn't reply. To say she was shocked was an understatement.

Cam could see she was trying to find words and chuckled.

He stretched out his arm to her and Elle slipped her hand into his palm. Cam laced their fingers together and pulled her tentatively towards him. He lifted her arm and placed it around his neck, before slipping his own around her waist and resting his hands in the small of her back. He rested his forehead on hers and whispered "You are so beautiful Elle."

"Thanks," Elle blushed.

"I love you Elle." Cam whispered and proceeded to press a small but sweet kiss on her cheek. They moved back and looked in each other's eyes.

"I love you too Cam" Elle replied.

Cam brushed his tongue over his lips and moved closer to Elle's face. Their lips brushed ever so slightly, feeling each other's breath on their face and then as if he couldn't take it any longer, Cam pressed his lips onto hers. Elle smiled against his lips and Cam's hand moved to cup her face. He returned the smile as Elle threaded her fingers into his hair and began to play with it at the back of his head. Their lips continued to move as if they had been doing this for years. Elle took Cam's bottom lip in between her teeth and bit down gently, earning a low groan from the man in front of her. She couldn't help pulling back and chuckling briefly before he claimed her lips once more.

"Elle...you can't believe...how long I've waited...to do that" Cam breathed when they eventually broke apart.

"I think I do, I think it was well worth the wait though, what do you reckon?". Elle giggled as Cam pecked her lips once more.

"Definitely worth the wait. Be my girl Elle?" As Cam asked her, he looked somewhat nervous.

"Absolutely. I'm all yours." She replied. Cam grinned a huge smile and kissed her again.

"Thank God for that, I'm all yours too, always." Cam breathed when the pair eventually parted for air. He grabbed Elle's hand and intertwined their fingers.

"Come on gorgeous. I think it's about time I got to wake up next to you. Let's go home". Elle laughed as Cam proceeded to pull her back through the venue.

The players that had been left in the room started to cheer and whoop as the pair manoeuvred their way to the exit.

"Thank FUCK for that!" "Fucking finally Talbot" "Hopefully he'll stop whining like a bitch now!"

Elle laughed at some of the comments made at Cam as they walked through the room. Cam halted to a stop and pulled Elle in for another kiss right in front of everyone. The boys cheered and wolf whistled at the pair. Elle felt the colour rush to her cheeks and Cam chuckled at the sight of her blush.

"God, I love you!" Cam whispered.

"I love you too. Let's go." Elle whispered back and dragged Cam through the exit right into the rest of their lives.