Saturday, September 3, 2011

Chapter Seventeen

FINALLY!! I am back and with a chapter!! Sorry for the long wait, everyone!!



“Really, Sam?!” she whined when I threw a first class plane ticket onto her lap.

I was leaving in a few hours for Edmonton. Ever since we had our talk the other night, we were completely inseparable. In fact, Alex had only been home to her apartment to get changes of clothing and take in the mail. We fell into an easy routine and she helped me get my place cleaned up for the season and then get packed. It was a little challenging with her wheelchair at times, but I found her a walker that had wheels and a seat on it so that I could just push her around upstairs on that instead of carrying the wheelchair up and down all the time. She wasn’t overly thrilled about it, but I just ignored her and didn’t give her much of a choice when I refused to bring her chair upstairs. She started going back to her training sessions with Dean and we all immediately began seeing positive results. It wasn’t consistent, but Alex was beginning to pick-up her feet and “walk” instead of dragging her feet while on the parallel bars. Like I said, it wasn’t consistent, but it was a huge start.

“Yes, really, Alexandra!” I mocked back as I straddled her, pinning her to the couch with my body. “I want you there for opening night.”

“But I don’t even like hockey…and besides, home opener isn’t until the 9th and this ticket is for the 2nd!”

I laughed. “For not liking hockey, you sure seem to know my schedule pretty well. I’m fairly sure you don’t like hockey because you don’t know much about it, so why not learn to love the game by seeing it live and in person?”

She bit her lip and breathed out some air, looking very frustrated and very cute at the same time. “It’s in Edmonton.”

“Yup, I play for the Edmonton Oilers,” I played along, knowing it would annoy her even more if I played stupid.

“Sam! You know that my dad is the mayor there and that whole family issue there…”

“Yup.”

“Well, if I go to Edmonton, then I’m going to have to visit my family.”

“Yup.”

She made some growling noise and pushed against my shoulders with my hands. “There is no doubt that you and Denise are family because you both manipulate to get your own way.”

I grinned and braced myself for a couple more hits. We had talked in length over the last several days about the fact that she needed to get things straight with them before it was too late and she regretted it. I was a big family person and it really bothered me how broken her relationship was with her parents that had once been very important in her life. “Well it’s not all about getting you back together with your family. In fact, it has more to do with me…”

“You?”

“Yup.”

“How so?”

“Because besides practices and a few team events, you and I have a whole week together. By that point it will be a little over a month since we will have seen each other and I’m thinking we’ll have a lot to catch up on,” I winked, making her finally giggled and shake her head.

“So basically you are making me a prisoner in my hometown?”

I looked at her for a minute and then nodded my head. “Yup, it would seem so. But don’t worry, I’ll only tie you to the bed with my silk suit-ties.”



I was going to miss him more than I wanted to be missing him. This past week had been utterly ridiculous. I’m fairly sure a person is not supposed to laugh that much or have that many orgasms. I was going to be going through some serious withdraw and I knew it. Of course I couldn’t let him know, but I was really excited about heading to Edmonton. As much as I wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of seeing my family, I did really miss the city I spent my early years in. I was already thinking about some of the places I wanted to take Sam to. In more than one conversation, I realized Sam didn’t know all the cool hangout spots in the city.

Besides all the sex, Sam and I spent a lot of time just talking and getting to know even more about each other. Talking about the war in front of him became a lot easier for me. I didn’t need Race there to feel as if it was okay to speak about certain things. Suddenly it felt like all the counseling I had been involved in over the past year and a half had clicked and I was finally beginning to deal with everything.

“Does it ever hurt?” Sam asked quietly, tracing the scar on my back from the bullet, as we laid in bed together. I was lying on my belly and using his chest as a pillow, it was becoming a routine position for sleeping because the sound of his heart put me to sleep.

I turned my head so that I was looked up at him and spoke hoarsely, “I actually only feel you touching the scar when you go too far above or below it with your fingers.”

“You have no feeling there?”

“No, it’s a lot of scar tissue because they had to open me up so many times after the infection had set in. I was actually thinking of getting a tattoo over it; I mean it wouldn’t hurt as bad if I got it somewhere else.”

Sam started laughing quietly.

“What?”

“You’d have a tramp stamp…”

“It would not be a tramp stamp. There would be no tribal shit.”

“I’m not saying it wouldn’t look hot!” he threw up us hands. “What would you get?”

“Something in Korean I think,” I said thoughtfully.

“A saying?”

“Probably. However I won’t be getting it until I walk again.”

His hands came back down onto my back and began tracing my scar again. It was actually kind of soothing. “So it’s a reward to yourself, eh?”

“Guess you could say that.”

“I like that idea. You’re going to look sexy with a tattoo,” he winked before pulling me up to his lips. “Not that you aren’t sexy enough as it is,” he added before kissing me deeply before I could smack him.



Dropping Sam off at the airport came all too soon. I teared up a little when we dropped Johnny off two days ago, but I knew I’d most likely be a snotty mess, despite not wanting to be like that.

“You’re biting your lip so hard that I’m sure you taste blood right now,” Sam joked as we sat next to each other, waiting in the terminal.

I looked over at him and then looked back down at the floor.

“No sulking or tears, Princess Mulan.”

I elbowed him in the ribs hard enough to make him curse. “Well, now you’ll have a bruise to remember me by for a little.”

“You know, I could always get your ticket changed so that you come along with me now…” he whispered into my ear.

I looked over at him again and pleaded silently for him to stop torturing me. “You know I can’t right now.”

He sighed and pulled me close to him. “I know. You have a goal to achieve. I want to be able to watch you get a tattoo in Edmonton,” he breathed into my hair.

“I probably won’t be walking without some sort of crutches or something…” I grumbled.

“Everything takes time, Alex,” he said sincerely. It amazed me how much he seemed to have grown-up just in this past month. However, his childish ways were still there, which made me fall in love with him even more. “Do you want some pop-rocks?” he suddenly shoved the package in front of my face. See what I mean?

I sat laughed and nodded my head, a tear already threatening to escape. We laughed obnoxiously at each other, garnering some glares from other travelers, but we didn’t care because it kept our minds off of the upcoming emptiness.

“Flight 671 for Edmonton, now boarding…”

Sam stood up and quickly pulled me to my own feet. I was actually able to put weight on my legs so that I didn’t have to rely fully onto him, but that didn’t matter because he still held me tight against him like he did that first night we danced together.

“I love you Alexandra.”

I smiled because I was beginning to like hearing him say my full-name. “I love you too, Sam.”

“I’ll call you as soon as I touch down.”

“Okay.”

“Promise me you won’t be a hermit in your apartment for the next month?”

“I’m fairly sure Denise will have me over at their place helping ready for the nursery…” I rolled my eyes and smiled. Race and Denise announced the news yesterday at a BBQ they held for the end of Sam’s summer. Everyone was ecstatic for the news, including me and Sam who were already asked to be the God parents.

“For our God child,” Sam grinned. He was very excited about it because he loved kids.

“Yup.”



Several hours later I was sitting alone in my apartment in Edmonton, already wishing she was here with me. I was just glad I had hockey to keep my mind busy, but nights were going to be tough.

Me: What are you doing?

Alex: Just hopping and skipping around the house, celebrating the fact you are gone…

Me: LOL You have such a wonderful sense of humor, Princess.

Alex: Did you make your bed yet?

Me: You’ve already been watching YouTube videos about me?

Alex: Well, I had to hear your voice and see your face somehow, right?

Me: I’m fairly sure that’s pathetic.

Alex: And I’m fairly sure you’ve made me this way.

Me: Then I’m totally okay with you being pathetic.

Alex: I love you.

Me: I love you more.

5 comments:

  1. Squeeeee!!!
    New chapter!
    Woot!!

    I did my own little happy shimmy when I logged in real quick and saw this!
    I'm making my mom wait to go to Best Buy until I'm done commenting!
    I said it was important and I had to read something before we left and she said "Oh yeah, who's story is it this time??"
    She knows me too well........

    Lovely update!
    I want more of them!
    You go right back to writing woman!!

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  2. Yipppeeee! A new Chapter! I have been dying for this...and I just figured out that I am actually going to see the Oilers play this year...Nov 5 to be exact...so I will work on getting you Sam pics!

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  3. Very nice! I was so happy to see a new chapter! I like the way their relationship is progressing and I'm glad Sam is getting her to Edmonton. Can't wait to see what's next...

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  4. So glad to see a new chapter! I absolutely loved it! They are too cutee together! I can't wait for her to go to Edmonton!

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  5. They are so cute together.

    I think Sam is right she should talk with her parents & resolve things.

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