Status: Updated approx. once a week!

Picture Perfect

Sparks

-----Kat's POV

"Get up Kat! We've got to get going soon and I'm not letting you sleep through today," Jules says as she plops onto my bed. I groan and turn onto my other side. Truth is I've been awake for an hour or so, but I haven't had the motivation to rush out of bed. Thoughts of my growing falling out for Kyle haunt my head all morning. "Listen Claude already texted me this morning to-" she begins to say.

"You have his number?!" I almost shout sitting straight up in my bed.

"Yes! He gave it to me, calm down! You're acting like he's some villain," she says making her way out of my room, probably to turn on the lights so I can't "fall asleep" again. She flicks on the lights, hurting my eyes, "Well, I guess you could say that," I mutter to myself as I pull my comforter over my head, blocking out the light. Why was she talking to Claude? And why the hell is he starting to sneak into my life any way he can.

"Get up! It's beautiful outside, we haven't hung out with a group of people in eons, and this could be a really fun day if you just let it happen," she states as she yanks the comforter off me and onto the floor. "Plus maybe I could score an interview with some of these guys- you know how impressed my boss would be?"

"Fine I'll get ready now- you've guilted me into actually going," I grumble- cranky from my lack of sleep.

She gives me a triumphant smile, "thank you- and I don't know why you're acting like hanging out with them is the end of the world," she comments and leaves me in my room so I can get changed. More like the end of my relationship I think to myself and try to shake the idea out of my head before I can think about it more thoroughly.

I mope for another 20 minutes or so before Jules practically shoves me into the bathroom to get a shower. Once I get out- I quickly change into my favorite bathing suit and blow-dry my hair so it's not soaking wet when we get to Claude's.

I quickly apply some waterproof liquid foundation to my scar- thankfully I had thought to buy some more last week; I always put it on if it's going to rain or if I go to the gym- it always works like a charm. I run some water on a small part of the covered scar to make sure I don't need to apply a thicker layer on top of it- luckily it stays on. The last thing I need is everyone asking Jules and I about our scars. It felt stupid to cover up the scar every day but it was so much better then thinking about what happened when people asked questions. Jules already had her scar covered up and was ready to go so she was reminding me of the time every 5 minutes that passed.

"Alright! I'm ready!" I say as I run out of my room. (outfit)

"¡oh Dios mío ¡por fin!" she exclaims in Spanish, "vamos!" I get a granola bar out of our snack cabinet and we grab our sunscreen, hats, keys and flip-flops before making our way to the captain's apartment.

"Why is he having this stupid pool party anyways," I huff as we trek across a busy cross walk.

"He already said Kat- it's the last beautiful/hot day of the season before it gets cold- he's closing up the pool soon- jeez I didn't think I'd have to practically drag you here. It's Claude Giroux- and the friggin Flyers! You should be excited," she says and rolls her eyes at my apathetic attitude.

"Sorry," I groan. I try to put on a smile, and soon Jules has me laughing once again and my bad mood starts to disappear. I couldn't help but to look forward to jumping into Claude's pool- it definitely was a rarely hot day for October- undeniably the perfect day for a pool party. Jules looks at her phone and stops outside of the front door of a gorgeous building, "this is it," she says while double-checking her phone for the address.

I clear my throat, "are you sure?" I ask, feeling extremely intimidated by the expensive looking interior of the lobby. She nods, grabs my hand and pulls me into the building while I'm still frozen in awe. We are greeted by a doorman dressed in a suit and a lobby adorned with plants, expensive looking rugs, paintings, and ornate furniture. "Holy shit," I utter as we make our way nervously to the elevator- well aware we looked like bums in our outfits surrounded by such a fancy environment.

I check my phone for the address Claude sent to me last night and we make our way to his door anxiously- top floor penthouse apartment- definitely more than I could ever afford. "1912... 1913...1914.... here it is," Jules says nervously and I suck in a breath as I knock on the door.

Suddenly the door flings open and a smiling Brayden Schenn and Steve Mason greet us at the door.

"So glad you girls could make it!" Brayden says with a huge smile.

"I was sure Kat was going to make up an excuse to not make it," Steve says with one eye-brow raised, referring to the few times I made up pathetic excuses to dodge hanging out with Claude.

"Well I was going to make sure that wasn't going to happen," Julie says with a huge smirk and sticks out her hand, "I'm Julie- you can me Jules," she says and shakes hands with Steve then Brayden.

"Well thanks for getting her here," Brayden says with a soft laugh and both guys step to the side of the door and usher us in to the humongous apartment.

"Chinga santa este lugar es increíble," Jules comments in Spanish as she looks around and I can't help but to laugh at the confused expressions on the guys' faces.

"Gracias," Claude says to Jules with a small smirk as he walks up to us, "I'm glad you guys could make it," he adds and then turns to me, giving me a panty melting smile. Thankfully, my eyes are hidden behind my sunglasses so he can't read my expression. Secretly, I take in his body with my eyes and can't help but to admit that he looks so good in his tight red v-neck. I can't wait till he takes it off my thoughts confess and I try to push the thought to the back of my head. As Claude leads us to his pool, I gape at how beautifully his apartment is decorated and how large it is. I make small talk with Brayden while Jules talks to Claude about his knowledge of the Spanish language.

I gasp in awe at how large his pool is and the gorgeous view of the city as soon as we step out of the apartment through two sliding glass doors and onto a beautiful porch filled with flowers, beach and pool chairs and a speaker blaring music. Jules looks back at me and mouths "holy shit" - we were both so taken aback by the scene before us- I thought places like this only existed in magazines and Pinterest.

"You can throw your stuff anywhere," Claude tells us, "and grab a seat over there." He walks us over to a group of pool lounge chairs being occupied by some of the guys and -what I'm guessing- some of their girlfriends. The girls smile and say hi as Claude introduces us to them. Nervousness washes away and I cheer internally when I realize that none of the gorgeous girls are introduced as Claude's girlfriend. As most of the guys peel off their shirts and jump into the pool, Jules and I claim a couple of the chairs and start to chat with the surrounding girls.

No matter how hard I tried to pay attention to whatever Claire was saying to the group, I couldn't help but to watch Claude wrestle his shirt off revealing his well-defined torso. Even though it was nothing I haven't seen before, it still sent shocks through my body. I slide my sunglasses down my nose, look over the lenses, and get a better, unfiltered look at Claude's amazing body. He notices me looking and gives me a sexy smirk- I quickly look away with a huff- why am I acting so pathetic? The next time I look up at Claude, he spikes the volleyball, obviously tries to flex his muscles "non-chalantly" to impress me and gives me a like-what-you-see look after noticing my stare again- I can't believe this guy's cockiness! Two can play at that game Giroux.

With his eyes still on me, I unbutton my light-cotton dress shirt, slide it off and step out of my overalls revealing an American flag matching bathing suit. I see Claude eyeing me, taking in my tanned body through my sunglasses and I can't help but give him a wicked smirk. I chuckle softly as I see Zac turn around and whisper to Claude, "God bless America." Claude frowns at Zac's suggestive comment and elbows him in the arm.

After a little while of tanning, talking with the girls and some of the guys, and shamefully trying to keep Claude's attention from afar, Claude, Steve, Rachel, Michael, and Marisa suggest we all start a game of volleyball. Most everyone agrees and makes their way to the pool. However, I stay cemented in my chair, enjoying the last day warm day, soaking up the sun- I'm always up for pool games but for some reason it was one of those days that laying in the sun was all I wanted.

"Come on Reilly time to get in the pool," I hear a familiar voice calling me by my last name. I open one eye to see Claude standing in front of me, soaking wet- looking absolutely mouth-watering.

"I don't think so Giroux- I'm having too good of a time laying her," I admit truthfully and shut my eyes once again figuring he'd just leave me alone.

"I don't think so," is all I hear before getting scooped up into a pair of brawny arms and I'm moving towards the pool.

"Put me down Claude!" I demand, but he only gives me one of his sexy crooked smiles.

"Sorry Kat, you're going in."

"Come on really, put me down!" I plead and try to get out of his hold but another part of me really isn't trying to part with his embrace. Claude holds me tight to him as he jumps into the deep end of the pool while I pray the make-up covering my scar doesn't dissolve in the water. I surface the water still in his arms, my heart fluttering wildly as I feel his hand above my knee; something about him always makes me feel like a 16 year-old girl dumbly in love. Thankfully, the foundation doesn't wash away and keeps my scar a secret along with that night.

"Really Kat? An American Flag bathing suit? You know Canada's the best," Claude says making a playful snide comment.

I roll my eyes and push myself out of his arms, "we'll see about that," I say and swim to the other side of the volleyball net where no one was thankfully paying attention to Claude and I's interaction. As he makes his way into the opposing team's side he raises his eyebrows at me, "I like the way you talk Reilly, bring it on," he says with a sexy smirk. Butterflies take flight in my stomach but I keep my game face on with confidence- little does he know Jules and I were co-captains of our volleyball high school team- he has no idea who he's messing with.

During the game, Julie and I stick together, setting up and spiking the ball getting a ton of points for our team. However, Claude's team: Steve, Michael, Rachel, Katie, and Zac were putting up a great fight against ours: Brayden, Claire, Jakub, and Raffl. Even though the game is getting more competitive than we planned, it was still a ton of fun. After I spiked the ball after a great set up by Claire, I gave Claude a daunting look- letting my ego come to the forefront.

"Alright Reilly, getting a little too cocky," he notes with a teasing grin.

"Am I? Or are you just mad that you're not so good here as you are on the ice?"

"You wish that were true," he says after Zac let out an 'ooo' at my comment.

"Really? I'm still waiting for you to bring your game Giroux," I remark, raising one eyebrow, challenging him one more time before Steve serves the ball.

Jules hits back the serve with a bump and sends it over the net. Rachel hits it up into the air, Zac launches it over the net, Brayden sets up the ball and I spike it hard right at Claude. Unfortunately, he gets it back over the net and I hear him utter, "so that's how you want to play." Raffl sends it back over the net lightly, Del Zotto sets up the ball for Claude to spike it. I try to get ready to hit the ball back but it rockets into my forehead, hitting me with a loud thwack. An incredible stinging sensation rises up and I lift my hand to my head, "OW! What the HELL Claude!" I shout in pain.

Jules is at my side immediately, "are you okay?!"

"I'll be fine," I grumble.

"I'm SO sorry," Claude admits as soon as he gets to my side shortly after Jules.

"It's whatever- let's keep playing," I say and drop my hand from my face.

"No way! You need ice- you have a huge bump already," Jules says inspecting my forehead.

"I'll take her," Claude comments immediately.

"Why? So you can give me a black eye when no one's looking?" I remark grumpily, "no way."

"Stop being so stubborn," he says and pulls me out of the pool by my arm before I can fight back as everyone restarts the volleyball game; Wayne and Luke take our places.

As we step into the apartment, incredibly cold air greets us, "Do you want to help prepare your guests for the winter or something?" I ask rhetorically, "I'm surprised it hasn't started snowing."

"You're cute when you're grumpy," he says and my heart does a flip as I follow behind him into the large apartment. Claude gets a bag from a bottom drawer and fills it up with ice from the freezer as I gawk at his amazing kitchen. I feel for the bump on my forehead and wince when I press my fingers lightly against it, "ow!"

"Are you okay? I feel terrible for doing that, I really didn't mean to hit you," Claude admits. He closes up the ice bag, backs me into the counter steadily, and raises the ice to my forehead. I wince when he places the bag on the fairly large bump and he says sorry once again. I try to say it's okay but my mouth is dry and my voice is nowhere to be found. I grow more nervous as he inches even closer to me, inspecting the probably bruised bump. I keep my eyes on his bare chest and sculpted shoulders. I admire them in my mind, which causes fantasies to erupt through my mind- all including Claude, me, and the counter I was secretly wanting to be placed on top of by his strong arms.

"I'm beginning to think you hate me Katina," he half laughs. I take my eyes off his neck, fixate on his eyes, and make eye contact with his golden hazel eyes, which only makes my voice crawl further away from my throat.

"I-It's okay," I manage to say, "And I don't hate you."

"Well I'm happy to hear that," he says with a grin. He steps closer to my body and I can feel the warmth emanating off his torso. I inch closer to him trying to get warmer, the goose bumps on my arms and legs starting to look more like mountains. "Are you cold?" he asks, his voice almost a whisper, making my heart melt like ice cream on a hot day.

"Any sane person would be," I remark in the same tone as his.

Suddenly we were the only people in the world and I swear I could hear his breathing grow heavier. Claude lowers the bag of ice and places his hand on the counter behind me, leaning closer into me. He tilts his head slightly, starts to move closer. I try to move away, my mind says "no pull away" but I'm paralyzed.

"Hey Kat!" I hear Jules yell and Claude and I almost jump out of our skin. He immediately steps away leaving me frozen against the counter. "In here," Claude says, now looking into my eyes. Each of us processing what almost happened.

"Hey!" Jules smiles, "the bump looks better but you should put the ice back on it."

"Oh! Yeah, of course," I say, grab the bag of ice anxiously and place it against my forehead, still incredibly shaken up by Claude, "uhm, let's head back out."

Jules tells us about the rest of the game and how our team won, thanks to Wayne's crazy serve. Claude and I try to act enthusiastic and as if nothing just almost happened between us but I could tell he was faking it as much as I was.

-----Claude's POV

As Kat sits at the edge of the pool with her feet in with Jules, I jump into lighthearted game of volleyball- now with a big beach ball- at the shallow end of the pool.

"What's wrong, G?" Steve asks noticing my preoccupied mind.

"I almost kissed Kat," I blurt out in a whisper.

"What?! In the apartment when you got ice for her?"

"Yeah, I have no fucking clue what came over me," I confess.

"Well you better suppress it," he remarks, "she needs to keep her job G- don't be a dumbass."

Soon after our talk, Mase, Zac and I start to BBQ some cheeseburgers, hotdogs, and hamburgers on the grill for everyone for a late lunch. I start to move toward Kat and Jules' direction to ask what they want to eat, but Steve insists that I give Kat some space. The rest of the day everyone is having fun but I can still feel the awkward tension between Kat and I; only talking when I asked her if she wanted another beer. Of course, she would say no each time and get one herself.

Just before the sun was setting and the view from the pool was beginning to look beautiful, I see Kat and Jules packing up their things and placing their bags around their shoulders.

"Jules! Kat! You guys are going to miss out on the sunset," I say as I walk over to them- Kat avoiding eye contact with me.

"I would love to stay but we've gotta go," Julie says regretfully.

"I've got a really bad head ache but Jules you should stay," Kat adds looking off in the distance then looking at Jules, still avoiding eye contact with me. She quickly persuades Julie to stay here while she walks back to their apartment. She goes back to sit with some of the guys and their girlfriends, leaving just Kat and I.

"Well thanks for inviting me," she says looking down at her feet, "it was a lot of fun." Once she finally makes eye contact with me, it knocks the wind out of my chest. She says goodbye and strides through the opened sliding glass door into the apartment. I rush in shortly after her and stop her just as she is about to open the front door.

"Katina," I call out quietly. She turns around swiftly, obviously upset she didn't make it out before I got to her, "I'm sorry about what happened before.. in the kitchen. I-I- I don't kn-"

"Claude, i-it's fine, really. I think we should just forget that it ever happened- well what almost happened," she says quietly, looking away from my face and at the wood flooring.

"Let me walk you home, make sure you-" I begin to say.

"No- I'll be fine- you don't need to worry about me. I'll see you around Claude," she says and leaves the apartment before I can even argue with her. Why did I have to screw this up?
♠ ♠ ♠
Hey! Hope you like the chapter! New one should be up soon. Thanks so much for reading- don't forget to comment, I love getting feedback! (When I was writing the volley ball I scene I was listening to Hey Mama by David Guetta and honestly I think it sets a good tone for that part in the chapter lol).

Kat's Outfit