Friday, June 18, 2010

Chapter 6

As if she’d jinxed herself, Tabby woke up to a find a thick fog blanketing the lake and a gloomy dark grey sky looming overhead. Pulling on one of the only sweaters she’d brought with her, she took a well worn and obviously well loved copy of Pride and Prejudice with her down to the store and opened up.

She was half way through Lizzie and Darcy’s turbulent relationship when she heard the rain began to pelt down upon the old roof. ‘Great,’ she sighed to herself, sticking her thumb in the book to hold her place. She knew there would be no customers now, even though her grandfather had always said that the fish were more likely to bite in the rain. People came to the lake to catch sun, drink some beer and waste some time. It wasn’t really about fishing, even if all of the store’s clients seemed to be serious about their pastime. They weren’t serious enough to catch their death in one of the East Coast’s famous downpours.

Tabby stared out the window as she turned the sign in the front door from ‘open’ to ‘closed’. The rain was coming down so hard that cats and dogs didn’t really describe it. It was like sheets of water falling from the sky.

Oh well,’ she thought, shrugging to herself as she turned to head back into the house. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have lots to do. Mentally adding things off her list, she headed up the rickety old stairs when she felt the first drop on her head.

“Oh mother fucking hell,” she growled, turning and heading back down the stairs. She’d forgotten that the old place leaked like a colander when it rained like this. A spring shower it could take. Even a heavy dump of snow, but sheets of rain and the place turned into a giant dripping faucet. Dropping Lizzie and Darcy on the couch as she jogged by, Tabby began pulling out pots and bowls, silently cursing her grandfather for not having the roof fixed and wondering how much worse it could be than when she’d been a teenager and just how many pots and bowls she was going to need.
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Sidney stared out at the sheeting rain and let go a heavy sigh. He’d always hated rain days, even when he’d been a kid. He’d never been good at sitting still. He wasn’t the kind to curl up and read a good book. He couldn’t even sit through an entire movie without stopping it in the middle and doing something else. He thought about asking if the guys wanted to shoot some pucks in the basement where he had had a similar set up to his parents’ place except with a goal this time to shoot at and not his mom’s dryer, but Max and Kris seemed content to duel it out, UFC style, on X-box. In fact, from where he leaning, staring out the kitchen window, he could hear them cursing one another loudly en Français.

Half of him wanted to join them but it was always too complicated to play with three, unless they got into something like So-Com or Brothers in Arms, and the other half knew that he was too competitive for it to really be any fun. He just hated to lose too much.

“Why don’t we really go?” he called, still staring out at the sheeting rain. He heard the silence that followed and grinned to himself. It didn’t take too long before two heads appeared around the corner, expressions of hopeful disbelief clear on both of their faces.

“Really?” they said in unison. Damn, they’d all been hanging out together way too long.

“Once it gets socked in like this it could be a fucking week before it clears,” he explained which made the two look even more eagerly hopeful, their eyes round as saucers, just like little kids being teased with the promise of candy, sure it was going to be taken away if they said the wrong thing. “Well? What else are we going to do?” he asked and then took a step while his two friends began to jump and yell like a couple of oversexed cheerleaders.

It wasn’t just the rain he’d be getting away from, Sid thought to himself as Max and Tanger celebrated. He’d spent half the night fighting the urge to drive up to her house and…. Sid shook his head, trying to clear the x-rated visions from his mind. It was one thing to almost kiss a girl but even if she had teased him a little, no matter how far ahead his imagination raced, she hadn’t exactly invited him into her bed, although Sid knew, without a shadow of a doubt that was exactly where he wanted to be and the strength of his desire for her was starting to scare the shit out of him.

He didn’t obsess like this over women. Scores, games, set plays, sure. He could obsess over positioning in a power play for hours, given the opportunity. But women…normally he tried not to allow them to invade his thoughts too often and no wonder. It was so distracting. This was exactly the reason that his father had forbidden him to date until after the draft. Not that he’d done much of that since then. Women always seemed to want more than he had to give and he hadn’t found anyone yet that was worth taking the time for.

That and having been bitten a couple of times, Sid wasn’t sure that he trusted his judgment anymore when it came to pretty girls, hence his taking the first opportunity to escape from the temptation that Tabby represented.

“So we’re really doing this? You’re not going to pull out on us au dernier moment, est-ce pas, mon ami?” Tanger asked, grabbing Sid by the shoulders and daring him to back out already.

“Ne me faites pas regretter,” Sid sighs as he mumbles his reply, causing Kris to bounce up and down and when Sid won’t join in, Tanger turns and grabs Max and the two of them go back to acting like a couple of kangaroos while Sid brushes by them to search for his passport.
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Tabby drummed her fingernails impatiently on the counter as she waited for the shop assistant to come back with a recommend someone to fix the roof. She’d begun using the bait pails to catch the drips and as an option, that was quickly losing its’ effectiveness.

“Snap your gum at me and tell me to use the yellow pages,” she snarled to herself impatiently as she stared at the door the girl had disappeared through. “If I had a yellow pages I know exactly where I’d be shoving it right about now,” she added colourfully, the ghost of a smile playing at the corners of her lips as she thought about the highly uncomfortable, even painful manner in which she would insert the brightly coloured book…

“Is Taylor here?” Tabby froze, that molten chocolate voice causing the small hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. She closed her eyes and imagined herself invisible.

Great…just fucking great’, she mentally swore as her hand gripped the edge of the desk. She was wearing yoga pants, old ones that barely fit that she’d found in one of the closets, black hip skimming ones with ‘sexy’ written across the ass of them in bright red, in case you might otherwise miss the sentiment. Her already slim fitting t-shirt was drenched and clinging to her like a second skin, causing more than just her skin to be chilled as a Neanderthal type middle aged man in a red and black checked hunting cap had proved by staring straight at her chest as she walked in the door. Tabby dug the keys to the old pick up into the palm of her hand and prayed not to be seen with her hair plastered to her head, not an ounce of make up on and generally looking like a homeless person.

“Hey, look mon capitaine, n’est pas que le magasin d’âppats fille?” Tabby pushed the breath she’d been holding out between pursed lips and forced a smile on her face as she reached up to wipe her wet hair out of her eyes. When she turned, rather than finding Patrick standing behind her, she found one of his friends, the one with the darker hair, and, now that she could see them, equally dark and very puppy dog like eyes. At first glance she would have thought them just that, soft and chocolate brown like a lab’s but then his lips turned up in a mischievous grin and Tabby made a mental note, ‘that one’s trouble’.

“Doing some work on the house while it’s quiet?” Tabby turned toward the source of that liquid honey coated voice and tried to forget that she looked like death not so very warmed over, especially when he looked so damned handsome in a light blue t-shirt that seemed almost like a second skin the way it draped closely over his muscles, causing his shoulders to look even wider than she knew them to be. Even with a light colored baseball hat pulled down over his eyes there was no mistaking that he was looking at her with actual concern in his caramel flavored gaze.

“Yeah, something like that,” she replied, trying to sound more enthused about it. The last thing she needed was more of his knight in shining armor act. If he so much as asked if he could help she knew her knees would just give way.

“Nothing major, I hope,” he added, taking another step towards her until he too was leaning against the counter, his ankles crossed so that one of those damnable flip flops he seemed to wear everywhere bent under itself. She forced herself to shrug and smile and do that whole ‘golly gee, no problem-o boss’ look as she dragged her gaze away from his just so that she could breathe again, except that she found herself staring down at his hand, and those thick fingers that were holding a sizeable key ring that included a small red maple leaf and a key fob that looked like it might be for some expensive type of vehicle. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him if he owned a roofing hammer but almost as soon as she thought it, she had a vision of him, shirtless and sweaty on her roof and so instead she just shook her head and bit down on her bottom lip, not trusting herself to speak with that vision still burning in her mind.

Fortunately she didn’t have to speak, as he was very suddenly being climbed by a pretty young girl with long blonde hair. Tabby told herself she had no right to be jealous but the urge to grab the girl by her hair and pull her off of him was nearly overwhelming. It was only the risk of making an even bigger spectacle out of herself that stopped her.

“Guess who?” the girl wrapped her hands across his face, blinding him, but Patrick didn’t look overly shocked or perturbed. In fact, he grinned wide, pulling his pink lips back over his big white teeth.

“Get down Taylor. What are you trying to do? Cripple me?” he laughed, reaching back with one arm to help her down. Tabby clenched her teeth even as her hands curled into fists. If he had a girlfriend literally blocks away from her house how could he have nearly kissed her and she was no not that kind of girl who shared well.

“Are you saying I’m fat?” the girl, Taylor, put her hands on her hips and stared him down, but with a grin on her face and a twinkle in her eye that said she didn’t mean anything by it. Tabby looked at her and then back at Patrick, who was rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

“You girls and your obsession with weight, fuck. Tell her Kris. Tell her that no guy likes a rack of bones.” Tabby turned to the one with the puppy dog eyes and found him suddenly very interested in a shelf of power tools.

“That’s okay Kristopher,” the girl purred, sidling up to him and wrapping her arms around what looked to be a very flat stomach, before laying her cheek against the middle of his back with a cherubic smile on her face. “You don’t have to do anything but breathe and look good."

“Si…mon capitaine, il s’agit de votre soeur,” the young Frenchman managed to look stoic and entirely uncomfortable all at once. It even made Tabby smile to see him stiffen in the girl’s embrace, especially now that he’d said that she was Patrick’s sister.

“I think what Tanger’s trying to say is stop manhandling the merchandise,” Patrick’s other friend, the one that had canon-balled them last night, appeared beside the cuddling duo. “Unless you want to manhandle my merchandise, ma petite fleur,” he added in a lascivious tone.

“Ewww, your merchandise has been way too handled,” Patrick’s younger sibling gave a shudder, but untwined herself from his friend. “You should be in the damaged goods section.”

“Ouch!” the one Patrick had called Max placed both of his hands over his heart and winced. “Je suis mortellement blessé,” he added while artfully stumbling backwards, raising one hand dramatically to his brow. “The light, la lumière…se fane,” he moaned, finally coming to rest against a pile of boxed air conditioners which he then proceeded to slide down until he was sitting on the floor with his legs stretched out in front of him, his arms limp at his sides, his eyes closed.

The entire store gave him a standing ovation and, after a long moment, he popped up to his feet and began giving deep bows to all four corners of the store.
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“Seriously, he should be put on a leash,” Taylor sighed, turning her back to the show and facing her brother, her cherubic smile replaced by a tired half frown. “So, what do you need for your giant house that you need my store discount on?”

“Nothing,” Sidney tried not to laugh, knowing it would only upset his young sibling even more if he was even the least bit encouraging of his friend although it was hard not to laugh when Max pulled shit like this. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re heading to Atlantic City…probably into New York too, so I’ll be gone for a few days. Will you be okay to look after my place for a while?” he dangled the keys in front of Taylor who reached up to snatch them out of his hand but he was quicker. He closed his fingers around the keys and held them up and back, just out of her reach. “Without having a huge party and getting me in trouble with the neighbors…again,” he added, raising an eyebrow while he watched her bottom lip jut out.

“That was once, and I didn’t invite most of those people, they just sort of showed up,” she pouted but didn’t stop reaching for the keys, even giving a little jump as he held them just out of her reach.

“Atlantic City eh?” Sidney had almost forgotten she was there, but as soon as she spoke, he looked over to find her still leaning on the desk, except now she was wearing an expression of…was it disappointment? If it was, it was there and gone or at the very least hidden as she ducked her head and went back to digging into the counter with her red nails. Red, the same colour as that word across the ass of those hip hugging pants she was wearing.

“The guys thought it might be fun.” Suddenly it felt like he should be apologizing, as if he was doing something wrong. He didn’t even know this girl and already he felt like he was abandoning her.

“I’m sure it will be,” she agreed, flattening her hand on the counter and then using it to push off. “Well, have a good time,” she smiled but it didn’t warm her features at all. In fact, her eyes flashed like she was angry. Angry at him for leaving?

Sidney turned to watch her leave, half enjoying the view and half wanting to run after her, to grab her and spin her around, run his fingers through her wet hair and taste the rain on her lips. Except he didn’t. Instead he listened to the chime above the door sound as she pushed her way through it and he just stood there, wondering what if?

“So, are you going to give me the keys or what?” Taylor made another grab for his hand and this time Sidney didn’t pull away from her grasp. He let his sister snap her hand around his wrist and said nothing as she pried the key ring out of his hand. “And where should I tell mom and dad you’ve gone because they are so not going to be impressed with Atlantic City,” she added, tucking his keys away in the pouch at the front of her Rona pinny.

“I uh…Max’s…say we’ve gone to Max’s for a while,” he told her, absentmindedly, that part of him that wanted to go after Tabby felt like it had left with her. He suddenly felt light headed and sick to his stomach at the same time.

“As long as he’s not hanging around here,” Taylor grumbled, before putting on her bright and shiny face and going on tip toes to hug him. Sidney hugged her back but his mind was…elsewhere.

“Ma petite, you injure me with your hostility,” Max did that thing where he suddenly appeared behind someone and made them jump out of their skin. It never did work with Taylor. That’s why she was a goalie like his father had been. She didn’t rattle easily.

“I am not your petite, and I’ll be a lot more than hostile if you keep breathing down my neck Froggie,” Sid’s sister growled, putting her elbow deep into Max’s gut, making him double over and fight for breath.

“That’s no way to get mon ami Kristopher to like you, you know, calling me names like that,” Max hissed, still holding his stomach as he narrowed his eyes at her.

“Who says I like any of you?” Taylor snarled, and with that, turned on her heel and headed back into one of the aisles. They could hear her muttering something derogatory about men all the way to the back of the store.

“I like them feisty,” Max grinned suddenly and Sid shuddered.

“Don’t talk about my sister that way, pervert,” Sid grumbled, giving his friend a push towards the front door.

“She scares me,” Kris added, giving his own shudder.

“Both of you, stop talking about my sister, seriously,” Sid grumbled, hunching his shoulders as they stepped out into the beating rain. “Now what time is the flight? Is there anything we need before we go?”

“It’s Atlantic City mon ami,” Max grinned, putting his arm around his friend’s shoulders. “Whatever we need we can find there. Even a hooker for you,” he added, and for the second or maybe third time that day, Sid elbowed him in the ribs and left him behind holding his ribs and cursing en Français.

13 comments:

  1. whaterver happens in AC stays in AC
    the sexual tension is RISING !!!!!lol

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  2. "“That’s okay Kristopher,” the girl purred, sidling up to him and wrapping her arms around what looked to be a very flat stomach, before laying her cheek against the middle of his back with a cherubic smile on her face. “You don’t have to do anything but breathe and look good.""

    Uhhhh, yeah! GO Taylor!

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  3. YES! update!!! :DD i've been waiting anxiously for this. (and i already can't wait for the next one...no pressure, or anything ;P)

    hahha i like taylor. she's funny :] except Tanger is mine...sorry ;P

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  4. I love this. taylor made my day. AW, Kris is just too cute for words! AMAZING WRITING, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! (:

    PLEASE UPDATE SOON!!

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  5. “Unless you want to manhandle my merchandise, ma petite fleur,” he added in a lascivious tone.

    “Ewww, your merchandise has been way too handled,” Patrick’s younger sibling gave a shudder, but untwined herself from his friend. “You should be in the damaged goods section.”

    HAHA..omg this was sooo funny! Poor Max :)

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  6. Great update. I wonder if Sidney really cusses in in reagular conversation with Taylor? With her being so much younger- I just can't see him treating her like one of his friends....

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  7. P.S. I wasn't saying anything bad about you putting that in the story, I was just thinking...
    Great update!!!

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  8. I like this story,
    I'm a huge fan of your writing :)
    I've read every one of your stories on here!
    I love this, it's mysterious as to what's happening next. You'd think they'd just confess that they want to fuck each other, but- nope, he goes to Atlantic City!!! :P

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  9. ahhhh i want him to go see her before he leaves.... !!!! lol

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  10. They weren’t serious enough to catch their death in one of the East Coast’s famous downpours.
    ^^ Laughing right now because it just happened to me when I got off work... /sigh Good 'ol east coast.

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  11. "while his two friends began to jump and yell like a couple of oversexed cheerleaders."
    “You don’t have to do anything but breathe and look good."
    “You should be in the damaged goods section.”

    ^^^That was just too funny!!

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  12. I like Tabby, and I like Sidney and I love the idea of the two of them being together but some little part of me is kind of glad Max, Kris and Sidney are taking off for Atlantic City. I think Sidney really needs to opportunity to let loose a little, maybe make a few mistakes so that he can realize that Tabby is what he really wants.

    I have to mention. I LOVE that Max and Kris are in town, and the exchange with Taylor was hilarious.

    I get so antsy for more of these updates!! I love this story already and I feel like I know so much about the characters in such a short time. Kind of like how I know at one point we'll meet K, Kris' newest Canadian love interest! Muahahaha.

    In all seriousness though, great job, I'm anxious to see what happens in AC!

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  13. NOOOO Dont leave Tabby! Ugh men... Anyway wonderful chapter!! On to the next!

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