New Story...

Well, the whole reason there isn't a final chapter up here for this lovely story is because I've cheated and started a new project... Look for the finale of MMB to be up within the week.

As for the new story I've been building... www.ifnotnow89.blogspot.com

Well, I'm sad to say that this will probably be the last story I write for roughly a year. For those who don't know me, I'm starting paramedic school in September and my friends and instructors have already warned me that I will have no life but studying, practicals and sleeping. So, I wanted to have one last hurrah before it is time to buckle down and become a full-time student for the first time since I graduated college a few years ago.

I will definitely be posting the rest of the stories I have written and posted on the Hockey Fantasy Fiction board since many have expressed interest in that...so no worries.

I only have a few chapters written of this so far and I contemplated on waiting to post it until it was finished, but like any writer, I am looking for feedback!! It will be a chapter or 2 until we learn about my new hockey muse... strangely, he has been someone that I've been attempting to write about for some time now, but nothing ever seemed to work until this time. I hope you all enjoy and will follow me along on this last adventure before my hiatus!!

Chapter 11

Well... I hate to say this, but it seems this story is coming to an end... there will at least be another chapter or epilouge, so stay tuned!!

I have waited
Dined on ashes
Swung from chandeliers and climbed Everest
And none of it's got me close to this

I've waited all my life
If not now, when will I?

Stand up and face the bright light
Don't hide your eyes
It's time

It Not Now, When? - Incubus

Ch. 11

I figured talking about now was probably the best thing for both of us.  There was no need to leave it until the end.  I felt her tense as soon as I said something about it.

“We can make this work,” I murmured, trying to soothe her.

“How?” she mouthed.

“There are jobs in the Pittsburgh area…”

“But I’m not even sure I want to leave Glens Falls,” she turned over so that she was completely facing me now.

“Even if I asked you to move in with me?”  The words were out of my mouth before I could even think them through, but I didn’t regret them.

“I can’t just quit with a couple months left in the season to move in with you, James…”

“I’m not asking you to, in fact I don’t want you to.  I mean, not right now at least.  This is obviously new for both of us and it’s probably in our best interest to take things a little slow, not counting this weekend of course,” I smiled, unable to hold back a laugh.  “I don’t want you to give up your dreams and goals, but I think we can find a middle ground where we can everything.”

“Having everything only happens in the movies, James,” she sighed as she rolled out of my arms and to the edge of the bed in an attempt to get up.

“What if I said there is a job opening at the Heinz Field?” I blurted out.

She stopped.

“I didn’t some research and talking to some people in their front office.  The person that had the position before just took a job with us over at the Penguins.  I know its football, but I thought it might be an option…”

“You’ve obviously been thinking of things before you even came to talk to me the other night, haven’t you?” she asked quietly, sitting back down and turning towards me with no readable expression on her face.

I propped myself up on my elbow and nodded.  “Yes, yes I have.  I told you Hanna, I love you and I need you in my life.”

“I’m going to need some time to think about it…I mean, not about us, but just the job switching…” she said quickly, probably noticing my look when she talked about needing time to think about it.  She crawled back over to me, grabbed my hands and commandeered my attention away from her naked body so that we were staring into each other’s eyes.  “I love you and I want to make this work, don’t doubt that,” she said quietly.

“I don’t doubt it.”

“I just want to make sure I take a job that I actually like and not take one because it puts me closer to you.  I’d be miserable if I didn’t like my job…”

“I can understand that,” I nodded, allowing a smile to cross my face before I leaned in to kiss her.

Wow, a job with the Steelers organization.  I also had to remember I was offered a job in Philly too.  Both would be dream jobs, yet only one would make everything the way it should be.  As soon as I got back to Glens Falls, I began writing e-mails and making phone calls to the people James wrote down for me.  I sent out portfolios and links to my things on the web that I had done over the last year and a half.  The hockey season was winding down quickly and I wanted to have all my ducks in a row before I gave final answers to Mr. Snider and the wonderful organization I had been involved with.

“So my cousin is settling down, eh?” Brad chirped into the phone one evening while I laid across my bed, writing out a list of questions I wanted to ask at my interview.  I hoped the Steelers organization wouldn’t be put off too much by me asking some questions, but I wanted to make sure this was a job that would make me happy.

“I’m just moving to Pittsburgh, it’s not like I’m getting married…”

“Yet.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes, “Yet,” I echoed slightly unwillingly.  “I don’t want to rush things, especially for the simple fact that I feel as if we’ve sped things along at Mach1 speed since we’ve gotten back together.”

“You are moving to where you should have been after being together for a year…”

“But that’s the thing Brad, we haven’t technically been together that long.”

“You just happened to be on a detour and now you’re paths have gotten back on course,” Brad said sincerely.

“You sound like a romance novelist,” I chided.

“I’m just older and wiser, that’s all,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, and is that why you are still single?”

He stopped laughing and growled, “This has nothing to do with my personal life, Hanna Montana.”

“Whatever, hypocrite.”

“You are in love with him.  You two balance each other perfectly and you’re happy, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, then, there is nothing wrong with the pace of your relationship.  Stop making such a big fuss about the norm and just go with it.”  I let my head drop down onto my arm and shook it, knowing he was right, but for someone who is very goal oriented, it was sometimes hard to let go.  “If I remember correctly,” Brad continued.  “You had to get James to realize having a girlfriend was okay, am I right?”

“Yeeeaahhh,” I drew out, trying to figure out where he was going with this.

“Well, it seems the tables are turned now.  It’s like he has to get you to believe the same damn thing this time around.”

I didn’t say anything for a moment.  “That is a very good point.”

“I have my moments,” he grinned into the phone.

“So she’s moving to the ‘Burgh?” Matty Niskanen asked excitedly.

“I’m thinking it all kind of hinges on if she gets this job with the Steelers or not…” I said evenly.  I had been trying for the last 4 weeks not to get my hopes up too much, but it was so hard not to.  I’m just kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop and be back at square one.

“She should have no problem getting that gig,” Sidney piped up.  There was a group of us out eating lunch after practice in New York City; we were playing the Rangers that night.  “I can imagine the Flyers aren’t going to be overly excited to hear that a Penguin has stolen her from their organization…”

I laughed, “Yeah, especially since she’s boosted the Glens Falls organization 10-fold.  Her work is crazy.”

“I always liked her stuff down in Dallas,” Matt remarked.

“I’m just excited to have another hot ass to be walking around in the events,” Jordan remarked.  “If you want to dump her again, you can definitely send her my way…”

I just rolled my eyes and shook my head.  “That hot ass is all mine,” I remarked.

“Really, now?” Hanna said from behind me, making everyone’s mouth drop at the table.  Only Sidney seemed to be the only one who wasn’t surprised by her arrival.

I almost knocked my chair over, standing up.  “Hanna?!” I exclaimed.  “What…How…Wow…” I sputtered, pulling her into my arms as she smiling broadly.

“You seem surprised,” she giggled.

“Well, I am.  I don’t remember you saying anything about coming to NYC…” I said, still shocked that I was holding her in my arms.

“I didn’t say anything because I wanted to surprise you, I just didn’t think Crosby over there had it in him to keep a good secret.”

“Hey!  I told you I would be silent!” Sidney cried, launching a french fry in our direction.

I pulled back, looked down at her and kissed her firmly on the lips.  “Hi,” I whispered.

“Hey,” she whispered back, her eyes sparkling with humor.

It was actually a beautiful day in the city, so Hanna and I decided to take a stroll before I went back to the hotel to take a nap.  “I have a few days off, so I figured I’d drive down here and see you and Brad play against each other,” she informed me.

“Oh, so I’m not the only reason you are here,” I mockingly sulked.

“No, you are totally the reason I’m here,” she elbowed me.  “Seeing my cousin is just an added perk.”

“I’ve missed you…”

“Same here.  Plus I needed to tell you my news in person.”

I stopped, not wanting to miss a word she said because something in her voice told me I wouldn’t want to miss a thing.

“I’ve handed in my resignation to the Brooks and wrote a letter to Mr. Snyder turning down his job offer in Philly.”

I looked at her curiously and waited a moment, just in case she had something else to say.  “Isn’t your interview with the Steelers at the end of the month?”

She smiled and nodded before looking down at the ground.  “Yeah, it is.”

I put my hand under her chin and lifted it so her eyes were looking back up at me again.  “So what’s up?”

Her hand reached up and covered mine.  “I’ve decided that even if I don’t get the Steelers job, I would just look for something else in Pittsburgh…It’s my turn to show that I am 100% committed to this also.”

“So either way you are going to move to the Burgh to be with me?”

“Yeah.”

I quickly dropped my hand and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her against me tightly.  “That is almost as good as hearing you say that you love me,” I exclaimed.  “What made you make this decision?”

She sighed.  “Let’s just say my cousin reminded me of somethings that are important in life and how you have to be willing to make some compromises to get to where you want to be…”

“I promise to make you happy,” I whispered.

“You already have.”

“I love you Hanna.”

“I love you too, James.”

“Glad to see Nealer hasn’t taken you fully to the dark side!” Brad chirped as he walked down the hallway of MSG.  I was hanging out with some of the Pens, already being razzed about my choice of hockey sweaters.  Brad had given me his new Ranger’s jersey a week or two after he had signed with New York.  Coming here, I knew I would have to wear it because everyone knows that family always outranks significant others.  Plus, what’s more fun than wearing a jersey with your own last name on the back?!

“I didn’t want you to feel as if you didn’t have a fan in the place.  I highly doubt a lot of people wear your jersey around here,” I joked, knowing full well his was the highest selling jersey for the Rangers since he’d been signed.

“Missed your sarcasm, little one,” he laughed, pulling me in for a hug.  “It’s definitely good to see you.  Are you free after the game?”

“Only if you don’t mind hanging out with some Pens,” James jumped in.  “We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon for Newark, so we have a night off in the city after the game tonight.”

“I’m sure we can come up with some good places to take you guys,” Brad smiled.

“Yeah, like the Empire State Building!” Dubinsky chirped while he walked into the locker room.  “I hear it’s a long way down when someone pushes you off the top…”

Everyone just laughed, but it was a somber reminder that shortly they would be enemies out on the ice.  I kissed Brad on the cheek and wrote down a place to meet.  I then kissed James and wished him luck before pushing him towards his own locker room.

The game was crazy.  It was evident that both teams were fighting for position in their division.  I can’t say I was totally surprised when James got into it with Dubinsky, during the 2^nd period.  I also can’t say that I wasn’t turned on to see my man throwing a few punches and coming out on top.  However, he would still have a fat lip from one of the punches that Dubinsky actually connected with.  The Penguins won 3-2, so the boys were a little rowdy as they walked out of the locker room.

“Sorry Hanna, but I couldn’t resist putting your cousin into the boards tonight,” Duper chided.

“Yeah, yeah,” I waved him off, shaking my head.  It had been a solid hit that had a positive outcome for the Pens.  Duper took the puck from Brad and passed it over to Sid, who quickly found a hole to fire the puck past Hank.  It was a good defensive play, but I still cringed with the rest of MSG as my cousin took the hit.

Soon we were in downtown Manhattan at a swanky club, both teams intermingling with one another.  It always amazed me how they could be so vicious to each other one minute and then next they were practically holding hands together.

“Your girl is smoking hot,” Brandon Prust commented when she got up to use the restrooms.

I always thought this, but tonight she was looking untouchable in a silky dark purple halter that hung loosely, in a draping like fashion around her cleavage and a short white skirt with pair of nude Jimmy Choo’s.  Her hair was down, falling naturally over her shoulders.  Every time she dressed like this, it made it harder for me to believe that this was the same girl who didn’t mind being in hip boots, fishing.  I just nodded at Brandon and tried to hide the big smile that said, “Yup and she’s all mine.”

When she came back she pulled me up off the chair and drug me out onto the dance floor.  “If I’m here, you are not allowed to just sit here and watching…”

“But I enjoy watching you dance,” I whined, not totally feeling comfortable dancing.

“Then watch me while I do this,” she winked before she turned around, bent forward and ground her ass up against me.

“You’re evil.”

“Do I have your attention now?”

“You’ve had it for a while now,” I played.

She turned back around to face me and threw her arms up around my neck.  “Well if you are paying attention then you must know what ideas I have in my brain at the moment.”

I leaned down and breathed into her ear, “It wouldn’t have anything to do with heading back to the hotel and having you grind your ass up on me with less clothing, now would it?”  I smiled, feeling her shiver in my arms.

“You are very attentive it seems.”

She can’t move to Pittsburgh soon enough…

Chapter 10

Don't know what else you might have expected, but this is loaded with Adult Content... just in case you didn't know. :o) But, from your comments, I'm thinking ya'll knew it was just around the corner. hehe

It's not the pale moon that excites me
That thrills and delights me, oh no
It's just the nearness of you

It isn't your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation, oh no
It's just the nearness of you

When you're in my arms and I feel you so close to me
All my wildest dreams came true

I need no soft lights to enchant me
If you'll only grant me the right
To hold you ever so tight
And to feel in the night the nearness of you

The Nearness of You – performed by Nora Jones

Ch 10

Hanna’s flight was 30 minutes late, which gave me 30 more minutes to think about what I wanted to do to her this weekend.  We would have two nights together and I wanted to make the best of them.  I was so excited last night driving home that I’m shocked I didn’t get a speeding ticket for my happy lead-foot.  There was still the unspoken problem of not having a cut and dry plan of where we were going to go after this weekend, but I figured we’d have more than enough time to hash that out in-between the times I had her crying out my name.

I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face when I caught my first glimpse of her as she walked down the terminal.  Her dark brown hair was covered by a black and white printed fedora.  Her Columbia coat was a plain, dark olive green and her dark stone-washed jeans flared out to cover her brown hiking boots.  She was dressed practical for the weather instead of dressing to impress me, which for some reason was a huge turn-on.  It was definitely one of the things I had loved about Hanna when we were in Dallas, she wasn’t hell bent on perfecting her looks, instead she was just happy to live.  I wasn’t a high maintenance guy and I sure as hell didn’t want a high maintenance woman.

“Of course my flight needs to land late,” she half grimaced and half smiled at me before wrapping her arms around me.  “I wanted to beat you here,” she laughed, her competitive side shining through.

“I’m just glad you’re here,” I admitted.  “You ready to go get our rental and head up to the lake?”

She looked up and smiled broadly, “I’ve been waiting since you suggested it last year already.”

It wasn’t a large cottage, but it was the perfect size for a getaway.  It sat right along the lake, which was now frozen over with snow piled all around.  There were numerous ice-fishing shacks scattered about, but soon I would only be able to see the glow from their windows because night was quickly coming.

“How are you making out with that fire, boy scout?” I chirped over to James, who was attempting to get a fire started in the fireplace.  The cottage had electric heat, but we definitely needed a fire to take away the bitterness out.  It probably didn’t help that the one whole wall of the place was all window.  It was a beautiful picture frame of the lake, but not very heat efficient.

“Do you want to try?” he growled, obviously annoyed that he didn’t have it started yet.  “I can at least get dinner started since you are feigning incompetence in that department.”

“I’m not feigning incompetence; I’m just saying my specialty is grilled cheese or trout!”

“Well, we don’t have trout and I’m thinking you’d need to at least make 3 grilled cheese to even begin to fill my stomach,” he smiled, patting his belly while he climbed up off the floor, giving me the sign that the fire task was all on me now.

We kissed before switching places.  “No wonder you can’t get this thing started!” I chirped.  “Just throwing the logs in on top of each other never gets things done!”  I quickly pulled everything out and began with a Tee-Pee of smaller kindling and some crumpled newspaper in the bottom.  In no time at all, crackling could be heard and the comforting smell of burning wood was faintly filling my nose.

“Are you serious?!” James whined from behind me.

“I was a girl scout.”

“And I was a boy scout.”

“Obviously we are more superior or you just didn’t pass your campfire merit badge,” I giggled, using his arm to pull me up off the floor.  “What’s for dinner Julia Child?”

“Spaghetti and meatballs?”

“Sounds like a plan,” I stood on my tip-toes to kiss his cheek before turning to flit away towards the bedroom, announcing I wanted to freshen up a bit.

“Are you ever going to come out here?!”  I called out from the kitchen.  The table was set, the wine was poured and the candles were lit.  I rushed getting it all together thinking she wasn’t going to take a long time to get ready, but now I was sitting at the table tapping my foot while my stomach growled.

“Don’t you know patience brings good things to those who wait?” she sang down the hall, letting me know she was walking this way.

“I think a year is enough patience…” I began to remark but my words were taken from my throat when I saw her.  “Holy shit.”

“Hope you don’t mind that I wanted to get more comfortable,” she smiled.  “Oh, my, look how beautiful this looks!” she exclaimed, fawning over the romantically set table.

I somehow stumbled over to her chair, but I wasn’t going to pull it back so she could sit in it.  Instead my goal was to now turn her around and take her back to the bedroom.  Her hair was piled on top of her head, with wisps falling out all over the place.  Her idea of something comfy was a short black silk teddy that barely covered her ass, a sexy lace garter holding up knee-high fishnets that bottomed out in a pair of black stilettos.  My mouth was dry and my dick was hard.  Food was no longer on my brain, only dessert.

“Something wrong, Neal?” she asked in a seductive yet playful tone.  She pulled back the chair and sat down, crossing her legs with some added dramatics.

“Um, yeah, you are sitting in that chair…”

“Well, it’s dinner time and I’m starving!”  She turned towards the table, picked up the glass of wine by her plate and took a slow sip.  The candle light accentuated everything and I’m sure she knew it played in her favor.  Once she set the glass down, she turned back towards me and looked up at me with an innocent face.  “Are you going to just stand there and watch me eat?”

“I…but…ugh, I’m starving but I’m fairly sure I could hold out until I get you out of that outfit.”

She smiled and waved her finger back and forth.  “No, no, not until after dinner; besides, reheating spaghetti is a sin.”

She was a menace, a tease and I am completely whipped by this woman.  I slowly sulked back over to my side of the table and took my seat.  It was going to be complete torture to sit across from her, especially with the way her breasts were practically falling out onto the table.

I’m fairly sure he was still chewing the last bite of his spaghetti when he ripped me up from my chair and pulled me against him.  At first the game was fun to play, but it became increasingly difficult to sit on the chair, feeling myself getting wetter with anticipation as each moment passed by.  I wanted to make the night a little more memorable and my idea seemed to be doing just that, despite feeling slightly hooker-ish sitting at the dinner table dressed like this.  I’m positive they would frown upon this in charm and beauty school, unless it was the Playboy Bunny semester.

“Hanna,” he breathed into my hair.  I had missed hearing my name on his lips for way too long.  “I want you to know before we do this, that there was only one other I had in my arms while we were apart...”

“Same here,” I whispered back.

No more words needed to be spoken about it.  There was no need to say that the other person never lived up to the expectations and that the sex wasn’t as good as it had been between us.  It was another time and another part of our lives now and we were here to move on.

I sighed as his hands slid hotly down my back, over the silky material and to my ass, where he cupped my cheeks and squeezed firmly while pulling me against him so that I could feel his hard erection.  My arms clung tightly around his neck, keeping me in an upright position.  I lifted my chin and looked up into his grey eyes.  His lips came crashing down onto mine and kissed me into oblivion.  He traced my mouth with his tongue; I sucked on his lip, never wanting to break with him again.

Pulling back ever so slightly, I broke off the kiss.  “This is what has been missing…”

“I love you Hanna,” he said hoarsely.

“I love you too,” I echoed, looking deep into his eyes.

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the hands still cupping my ass, coaxed me up.  I wrapped my legs around him and he carried me back to the bedroom, laying me gently onto the bed.

She finally said the words I had wanted to hear.  This was it.  There was no turning back.

I climbed over top of her, dipped down to kiss her deeply and began working my way down, biting at the silk covering her beautiful body.  She was squirming all over the place.  The mixed laughter and moans echoed throughout the room.  Once I arrived down between her legs, I found a piece of flimsy material that I assumed was supposed to be underwear.  I ripped it off like I had done the night we first made love.

“I’m still waiting for you to replace the other pair you ripped,” she mumbled.

“I’m just hoping you’ll eventually run out and have to walk around without any on all the time,” I smirked.  She attempted to make some remark about my thoughts being dirty but her words became nonsensical as soon as I began lightly tracing her nether lips.  If there is one thing that makes you feel like you have all the power in the world, it is going down on a woman.

My taste buds were instantly reminded how sweet she always tasted, yet this time she tasted even better.  It was obvious I was not the only one turned on during dinner time because she was already swollen and dripping wet, making her even more sensitive to my motions.  Her fingers threading through my hair, coaxed me deeper, forcing my tongue into her treasured center.  I knew I was getting at the right spot when her moans turned into cries and she bucked against my face.  She came within moments after I slipped a finger into her, touching her g-spot.

“Oh, pleeeaasssseee, yeessss, FUCK!” she yelled out.  Despite her clawing for me to come back up and kiss her, I stayed between her legs and went back to the dessert dish that I couldn’t get enough of.  “James!” she hissed after she came the third time.

“Okay, I’ll leave you be for a bit,” I chuckled before laying kisses down the inside of her thigh and running my tongue over her fishnet stockings all the way down to her high-heeled shoes.  After placing a kiss in the arch of her shoe, I stood up and stretched her legs up, putting her in a very vulnerable looking position. “You are so fucking hot,” I growled, sliding my hands down her thighs and to her hips to pull her closer to the edge of the bed.  She sat up and crooked her finger in a come-hither kind of way.  “Yes?”

“You are a master,” she groaned before pressing her lips to mine.  Before I knew it, she had me undressed and I was dragging the silky black lingerie up and over her head.

He has always made me feel so beautiful, even on the days I wasn’t feeling it.  There was something about the way he looked at me and the way he touched me…he has always done it in such a loving way.  Tonight was no different, in fact he made me feel like a supermodel.

His large, calloused hands brought an extra abrasive pleasure, causing me a shiver to run through my whole body.  “Fuuuckkk,” I whined, throwing my head back to revel in his touch.

“Damn right. You look like a porn star sitting like that on the bed,” he growled.  I just kept my eyes closed and shook my head.  I guess my pose was a little on the provocative side, considering I was in a modified crab walk position on the bed, minus the movement, and at his insistence, my stilettos were still strapped to my feet.  The way I was feeling at the moment, I didn’t care that I was spread eagle for him to see, it just made for easier access when he finally pushed his length inside of me.  Still standing at the edge of the bed, he pushed my knees back against my chest and entered me. 

I cried out when he completely filled me.  “Yesssss.”

“Mmmm…” he hummed in harmony with me and smiled sedately before setting a slow pace, achingly pulling in and out of me so that I’d feel every inch of him with every movement.  The position made it feel like his cock was hitting my diaphragm, causing me to gasp every time his pubic bone hit mine.  It also gave him the freedom to keep exploring my body with his hands that were now grasping my sensitive breasts.  Before too long we were lost in the rhythm of each other moving together as if we had never lost course on the map we had created a year ago.

I came first, crying out his name and in another thrust; I felt my walls milking him dry.

As the night wore on, more positions were tried and more moans and name yelling continued until I thought I was no longer able to move.  By the time the sun came up, I was fairly sure he was not going to be able to touch me in certain places for at least a month.

I was woken up by his fingers lightly touching my wrist, where my floss bracelet was wrapped around.  I was spooned against him with his arms and legs wrapped around me.  “How are you even awake?” I whined hoarsely.  Even my throat hurts…

I felt him chuckle beside me.  “I’m not sure.”

“I don’t want to move…”

“Then don’t.  We can lay here all day if you like.  Everything I planned has already been done.”

I turned my head ever so slightly, at which he kissed my cheek.  “It’s obvious you aren’t very creative,” I giggled.

“Oh, I’m fairly sure you found some of the positions creative last night,” he smirked, kissing my temple this time.

“Mmmm,” was all I could think to say as the memories flooded my brain. 

“Hungry?” he asked, gently putting pressure on my stomach with his forearm.

I nodded my head.

“I’ll get up and make you something.  There aren’t IHOP’s out here.”

“I can’t imagine why,” I smiled lazily, enjoying the feel of his fingers twirling small pieces of my hair.

“I guess we have some things to figure out, eh?” he spoke quietly in a tone that told me he was no longer speaking of breakfast.

“I guess so,” I whispered, kind of wishing we could just push the inevitable far down the road.  Decisions needed to be made, but I wasn’t sure yet what that would mean.