Thirty-Day Lover

Thirty Day Lover - Chapter Seven

“Mmmmmm… Ron, how old are you?”

The hands that were running languid circles down Christina’s back stopped at the question, his being was of pure confusion, and Ron wondered if it was a trick question. However, a more likely question entered his mind and exited his mouth. “Why? Are you regretting this?”

Well, isn’t someone a little sensitive?

Christina snorted before turning her head to look at the CEO sitting behind her on the bed. It’s been a couple of days since they were able to sneak in time together. She’s never known that a CEO could be this busy as well. She’s always thought that since he was no longer an active player, he just needs to dress up, sit there and look pretty.

“No, I’m just trying to calculate the normal range of libido activity for someone your age.”

That left Ron even more confused. “What?”

“The more you touch me, the more I feel like we’re not going to finish this movie.”

Ron chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer to him. His face was pressed against her hair, inhaling the fresh scent of her shower products. “And what’s wrong with that?”

“What do you think?”

“Alright, what is it? Why are you so pissy today? I haven’t seen you in the past couple of days; I couldn’t have possibly pissed you off.”

And another snappy remark was already on the tip of her tongue but she caught herself. It wasn’t Ron’s fault, she knew that very well, but her remarks just couldn’t seem to stop themselves. Instead, she sighed and tilted her head back against his shoulder to catch Ron’s profile. “I’m sorry, it’s not you, it’s me.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m on my period.”

“I thought PMS was supposed to take place before one’s period.”

“Technically, yes. However, mine extends throughout the entire period, as long as I’m bleeding, I’m PMS-ing.” She paused and pouted without regard for whether she’s not one to do that often. “Actually, it’s not even PMS. I’m just having horrible cramps and they make me extra nasty.” Lowering her head, she kissed his clothed arm softly. “Sorry, don’t take it to heart.”

“Silly girl.” He chuckled lightly against her neck while his free hand moved to press against her stomach, his fingers spread out to cover as much skin as possible. “You’re allowed your moody episodes too; there is no need to apologize.” His hand was warm against her stomach; she was fascinated to see how large his hand was against her body. It was as if the size of his hand alone was enough to cover her entire stomach.

“I feel like such a bitch, I’ve been snapping at people left and right. It’s ridiculous, and even I know that!”

“They deserve it.”

“You’re patronizing me.”

He only laughed but didn’t say anything else for a while. She returned her eyes to the movie that they had picked out to watch on pay-per-view, even if money was ticking away with each passing second, she didn’t feel motivated to put her mind into this movie.

“Do you have any dresses or skirts?” He asked suddenly, deviating from their previous topic of conversation.

“I do, tons. Why?”

“Do you have any with you on this trip?”

“No.” She said with a shake of her head. “I figured that it would be rather awkward and unprofessional of me to prance around in skirts and dresses when I’m working in such an organization.” Can you imagine what that would look like? Every time she’d bend over she’d be risking flashing the entire team. No thanks. “Why?”

“I wanted to take you out for dinner; most places I know would require semi-formal attire.”

“That’s fine, we’re in L.A. tomorrow, so I’ll just go buy one.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Relax; I have more patience than you think.”

She turned her head to give him a look of warning; he had better not back out of this then!

[Tuesday Night]

Christina gasped loudly with the crowd when Hank was checked hard in the opponent’s zone. It was a clean shoulder to shoulder check that knocked him down, shoulder hitting ice first before his head bounced off of it. Oh that looked much more painful than the cramp that she’s been experiencing. Gosh, you’d think painkillers would kick in a bit faster!

She watched in her office the T.V. screen that was attached to the wall. He was down on the ice, clearly shaken, for a moment before moving to rise to his feet. He was slow and a couple of teammates caught his arms to help him glide off the ice. Christina knew that he’ll eventually be wheeled to her, but for now, he’ll be going to the medical office first for immediate and urgent attention.

However, she was relieved to see that he had walked into her office without the aid of anyone else. At least it wasn’t at the level where he needed a wheelchair. “Hey, are you alright? How are you feeling?” Christina greeted him at the door of the examination room and stepped aside to let him in.

The player shrugged and heaved himself onto the examination table with a weary expression on his face. It was the first time she’s seen such a look outside of those 60 minutes of each hockey game. It wasn’t a good sign.

“Where are you feeling pain?”

“I don’t actually feel any pain.” He started, his left hand lifting to press against his right shoulder blade; that was the shoulder that had made contact with the ice first. “It’s just this really tight feeling I have in my right shoulder. As if some things are jammed together that I can’t work the kinks out of.”

She nodded with each observation and jotted it down diligently. Although they’ve always been quite mouthy around one another, at a moment like this, neither was in the mood for jokes. When she’s finished with her notes, she set the clipboard down and stepped closer to him. “I’m going to check your shoulders first.” She grabbed his left arm first –the one that was unharmed- and rotated it around the shoulder, getting a feel of what his body should feel like when everything is working normally.

By the time she switched to the injured arm, he grimaced when she lifted his arm to a certain degree. Any further and he was already inching backwards, she could tell from his expression that any further, he might just punch her. “Okay, we’ll leave it at that.” She turned to grab her clipboard and jotted down a couple more things. “What did the doctors say? Are they going to run tests on you?”

“I’m going to get a CT scan after I’m done here.”

“By yourself?”

“Yeah, they said to go as soon as possible. And it’s not like I can’t go on my own.”

She looked at him for a moment and gauged his expression. She could tell that he was displeased, not because of what the doctors told him, but displeased with himself. He shouldn’t have gotten hit that way, he should have kept his head up.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re hurt. I’ll go with you.” Flipping close his file, she deemed that to be finale and the end of this conversation. There really wasn’t anything that she had taken out of their place when they came in here, besides if they weren’t back, the rest of the medical team would pack up for her either way. They were still going to L.A. for a day longer, even if anything gets left behind, she could always come back for it. When she took off and threw away her gloves, she looked up and caught his somewhat blank look. “What’s wrong? Are you hurting anywhere?”

“Oh no, no.” He shook his head and hopped off the examination table. “You’re coming?”

“Yeah, didn’t you hear me? Now come on, it’s not good to delay these things for too long.” She didn’t give him another second to respond and was already heading out to grab her jacket. Hank didn’t let her catch the surprised look in his eyes when she had offered so willingly and with such determination as well. He told himself that she was a health care professional and that such gestures shouldn’t be taken as having another layer of meaning embedded within.

The two of them grabbed a taxi and were driven to the nearest hospital’s emergency room. It was late at night and the room wasn’t laboured with too many people. Yet it still took a considerable amount of time to get him readied and set-up. With the attitude that those ER staff members were giving them and her discomfort with being on her period, she almost wanted to grab the doctor on shift by the throat and tell him to hurry the fuck up. There wasn’t anyone else in the waiting room, so she didn’t see why he had to take so damned long to prepare a CT machine.

She held his jacket and sweater when he was directed to finally be treated. Her eyes were torn between making sure that Hank was fine and wanting to glare at the doctor. Which fucking medical school did he graduate from? She was tempted to send the college of physicians a complaint letter for his attitude.

And then, the worst part began. Waiting for the results.

Since they were on a road trip and this wasn’t the hospital that was affiliated with the team, they couldn’t possibly leave and expect that the technicians will send over the report as soon as it was out. Without a choice, the two of them took their seats in the waiting room and waited. Christina hated waiting, she hated waiting even more when the usually witty Hank was in obvious discomfort and she couldn’t do anything for him.

Their legs were stretched out in front of them, and it seemed like neither cared about their appearances now. Christina wondered if the rest of the team knew where they were, but figured that they would call if they really were getting antsy. So far, no one’s called either of them. Christina rubbed her temple and glanced at the clock. It was already late into the night, an unholy hour to be awake, especially since she was supposed to go out shopping with Ron as well.

Ah that damned player who checked Hank! Christina wanted to check him into the boards as of right now.

“Sorry.”

Hank’s voice brought her back to reality and she turned to look at him immediately. “Mmm?”

“Sorry, you have to sit here with me.”

“Don’t be silly, you shouldn’t apologize for something like this.”

He gave her a weak smile and she returned it slowly. She took the time and looked at him carefully. More than anything, the kid was tired. It must have been stressful on him to go through all these procedures when he’d much rather be out on the ice and playing right now. Shifting in her seat, she placed their jackets on the seat next to her and tugged at his arm towards her.

“What is it?”

“You’re tired, aren’t you? Get some sleep.”

He gave her a weird look. “No, that’s embarrassing; I’m not going to lean against you like some chick.”

Christina felt her eye twitch visibly; suddenly that cramp pain just came back full force. “Do you want me to break your good arm?”

In this empty waiting room, their conversation seemed to be broadcasted for the entire hospital to hear. The bickering took longer and then finally, the compliance when he finally slumped against her; she almost wanted to say that she’s changed her mind and shove him away. Gods, why are all these men so heavy?

His eyes were closed after a while. She didn’t know whether he was asleep or was just resting, but she didn’t find out either. For what seemed like an eternity, she sat with her eyes open waiting for the results. In the future, if she ever recalls this little episode, would she remember how soft she had looked at him resting against her?

It was a complicated pool of feelings, like an instinctual need to care for him.

Maternal love?

Christina wanted to laugh, but she knew that if Hank ever heard of those thoughts, he would be less than pleased. In the end, she decided to keep them to herself instead.

And when the two of them finally returned to the team much later, the CT scans didn’t show anything that the medical team didn’t already hypothesize. The good news is that Hank wouldn’t need to stay out of the game for long, as of right now; he’ll be listed as day-to-day. They get one day off for them to get to L.A. after a few hours of bus drive, Hank was already looking better after a night of sleep and some exercises that have been tailored to that shoulder.

So everything was deemed fine, injuries weren’t rare, but it was never welcomed, of course.

That afternoon when the rest of the team was taking their nap and resting, Christina and Ron had strolled out to pay these prestigious shops a visit. She loved the fact that she could walk down the streets of L.A. and not have to put on a jacket. This was much better than the east coast, she made a mental note to herself that if she should ever change jobs, then she should look for one on the west coast. The climate here certainly was much more to her taste.

“What color should I be looking for?”

“Whatever you want.”

Ron held open the door for her and she stepped into a mostly empty shop. It was a Wednesday afternoon; the majority of the population should be at work, hence the reason why she could still hear the soft piano music playing through the P.A. system. The clerk greeted them two steps into the door and let them know of the latest sale, and then the clerk was smart enough to leave them to themselves.

“How about the material then?”

“Your call.”

“… can I just go to dinner in nothing then?”

“I wouldn’t mind, but I’m not sure about the society as a whole.”

Christina laughed at that as she ran her hand down the length of a dress. “Good, I was afraid that you were going to be a broken record today.” She let the dress drop and wandered further into the shop.

“You know what else I want to get today?”

“What?”

“A pair of skates.”

“Why?”

“Do you know how to skate?”

She paused and turned to look up at him. “You want me to buy a pair?”

“Yeah, don’t you think I’d have one with the team?”

Yes, that makes sense.

“Why do I have to buy a pair?”

“Just be a good girl and go along with it, I’m not going to hurt you.” His voice was lowered for her alone to hear. She presumed that it was sensible since there wasn’t enough noise in the shop to drown out their conversation effectively. Especially when they were in such a high class shop, it was best not to start any scandals.

“Fine.” Christina gave in and held up a CHANEL dress to size it up with her eyes alone. “I’m all yours today; you can drag me around however you want.” They have a car and the time of players’ naps, more than enough for them to grab a couple of things.

However, she had a thought it wouldn’t just be a couple of things they go back with.

“What about that one?” Ron pointed towards a black dress at one end of the shop from rather far away.

At first glance, it wasn’t a dress that she would pick out for herself. Although she can’t use the term generation gap, but the dress wouldn’t be at the top of her list.

“Can I start a room for you?”

“Yeah, just these two.”

“Great, please follow me.”

She looked over her shoulder at Ron, whom gave her a signal to go ahead and that he’ll catch up. Satisfied with an answer, she followed the clerk to the back room and entered a luxurious change room. Of course, high class shops need to have high class change rooms as well. She hung up the two dresses and stripped herself free of clothes first. Christina decided to try on the one Ron had pointed out to her first. It was a snug fit, and she was glad to see that her figure was still in good grace since nothing was bulging where it shouldn’t be.

Perhaps she was still just a little obsessed with that.

After she had zipped herself up, she turned to open the door, just in time to hear the clerk and Ron near the entrance of the change room area.

“Sorry sir, we have a couple of female costumers at the back, it’s against the rules to let males enter unless they are of immediate relationships.”

Christina’s arm paused and she gave the change room door the strangest look she could muster. What kind of a stupid rule is that?!

“You know whom I came in with; it shouldn’t be too much of a problem, right?”

Perhaps this was yet another provision set in to prohibit uninvited guests and photographers into more private areas? Either way, it was strange to her. The clerk was about to say something else but Christina quickly opened the door and interjected.

“It’s alright.” Her voice drew both of their attention to her, she leaned against the frame of the door and smiled at them, her hands were tucked behind her back. “He’s my husband, you can let him in.”

The clerk visibly glanced down at Ron’s hand, perhaps surprised to actually find a wedding band on his ring finger. She muttered a small apology and left the area to leave the two of them alone. Ron waited ‘till the clerk was out of ear shot before he headed towards Christina.

“Don’t look like that; it was a little white lie.” She started as she could already read the uncomfortable look on his face. “You can’t tell lies like that?”

He stopped in front of her but didn’t say anything for a while. “I don’t like lying.” At length, he finally expressed.

And us being in this messed up relationship isn’t lying?

Christina refrained from that comment and stood up straight, making sure to turn three-hundred-sixty degrees in front of Ron to let him see. “How is it?”

“Very nice. Have you tried on the other one yet?”

“I’ll be doing that right now.”

And with one more smile, she stepped back into the room and closed the door. If he wasn’t so uncomfortable after what she had said already, she would have jokingly invited Ron into the change room with her. Now, she’ll just save that for another time. The first dress was peeled off and she changed into the second one. It was shorter and didn’t have a zipper that she needed to deal with. At the same time, it was strapless and she’s always had a paranoia that it might just fall if she wasn’t careful enough.

“Ta da~”

His eyes assessed her from head to toe. “Which one do you like better?”

Probably this one, since it was more like her. Yet who knows what it was within her that had her wanting to appease his tastes instead. “I think the other one is more suitable for the situation.” So she made her decision and watched him lift a smile. It seemed to have brushed aside the somewhat awkward moment not long ago.

When she was again dressed in the attire she stepped out of the hotel with, he had already took the dresses from her hands and was heading for the cashier. And by the time they left the shop, both dresses were bagged and in his hands. Christina couldn’t help but think how much she felt like a mistress who was getting pampered by this wealthy sugar daddy. That is just wrong on so many levels.

Ron knew the area well, and only after a minute of conversation did she find out that his first wife was from L.A. and thus he’s spent quite a few years in L.A. and has walked these streets on a regular basis. So she could sit with confidence that he wouldn’t get the two of them lost. The trip didn’t call for any usage of brain cells; it was an opportunity to get to know each other well.

She admitted to google-ing him when she first had her interview with Author Neight, which had him laughing at the wheel. Yeah well, if her name would show up with a webpage of its own, she would direct him to google as well!

More than what those pages have told her, she didn’t just know him for the goal scorer he was, this was a more human him in front of her. Christina learnt about his likes and dislikes from listening to what he’s said and reading between the lines. She understood that he liked to take things easy when he wasn’t competing, and to him, his family was the most important thing.

And he did speak with warmth in his eyes.

Yet, when she was sitting on a bench in the sports equipment shop, he was the one kneeling in front of her and directing the clerks to get this and that. Her bare foot was held in his hand and propped against his bent knee. It gave her the time to watch him and feel the care that he’s portrayed through how careful he’s been with her feet.

She had to admit that it was embarrassing for her at the same time. Christina’s always believed the even more than the reproductive organs, feet were more private. Yes, in her opinion, she would rather show her vagina to a stranger than her feet. It was as if, once someone’s really taken a look at her feet, then all her flaws would have been exposed to that person.

It was a strange belief, she knows.

Of course, like she had anticipated, they did not go back to the hotel with just these two items that they’ve set out to grab. In the end, when he carried all of the bags upstairs, she mentally counted a few dresses and skirts, a couple pairs of shoes –not counting the pair of skates- and miscellaneous items that they’ve picked up. Most of them were for her, but some were for him as well. Christina would feel extra bad if he didn’t even buy a single thing for himself.

The entire floor was quiet; it seemed like a slow day where no one wanted to do anything in particular. It served them well, the less energized the boys are, the more time they would have to themselves. The two of them decided to call room service for the night and forego the trouble of going out for dinner. Besides, Christina was still on her period and didn’t exactly want to move any more than she had to.

It was nice to sleep with someone next to her when her stomach was hurting. His body emanated heat for the both of them, his hand was safely pressed against her bare stomach to help the matter further. She thought she would have a good sleep tonight, until it was dark and creepy outside and the phone in her room rang.

Ron groaned against her neck and moved closer to her, it was a sign that he wasn’t getting up no matter how much it was going to ring. Christina groaned louder than him but finally had to sit up and reach for the phone. Someone had better be dead to be calling her at this hour of the night.

“Mmm, yeah?”

“Christina?”

Who the fuck else would this be?!

“Yes, who is this?”

“I’m sorry, this is Nik.” Christina’s brain was slowly waking up and she blinked in the darkness to remind herself whom Nik was. “I know it’s late, but Hank’s been feeling uncomfortable ever since dinner.”

Now, she was wide awake and her alert posture had wakened Ron temporarily as well.

“No, it’s fine, I’ll be over in a minute.”

Putting down the phone, she swung her legs over the bed edge and stood up quickly. Her hands felt around the nightstand for her glasses first before she dialled up the intensity of the bed side lamp.

“What is it?” Ron’s voice sounded groggy from the bed.

“Nik said that Hank wasn’t feeling too well, I’m just going to check on him.” She was already at her closet pulling out the first set of sweat pants and sweat shirt that she could find. Ah, this job was more than she signed up for! Sleep was everything in her life, and now, because of one phone call she’s scrambling around a dimly lit room looking for clothes. “Go back to sleep, I’ll try to be back as quickly as I can.”

The CEO looked less than convinced but could only nod and fall back into bed. She wished she could do the same!

At the players’ door, it was already left ajar; she merely knocked out of courtesy before pushing it open and entering. Nik was sitting by Hank’s bed side and holding a towel against the hurt shoulder. When he looked up and saw her, he was more than a little relieved. He was probably more traumatized than the one grunting in discomfort on the bed as of this moment.

“Here, let me see.” She stepped over and Nik stood up to allow her more room. Hank didn’t even acknowledge her presence; then again, his face was pressed against the bed. She took the towel off of Hank’s shoulder and handed it to Nik before her fingers began pressing against the general area where he was feeling the pain. Each time he flinched, she knew she hit a right spot.

“Is he going to be okay?” Nik asked standing by her side.

“Yeah, it shouldn’t be anything more than muscle spasms.” Really bad ones, she’ll give him that. Christina could only imagine how hard he must have been hit and landed on the ice. “I’m going to stick around and work this kink out.” She said and patted Hank’s back to let him know that she was addressing him as well.

“You’ll make a great mom.” The injured one managed to mumble out.

Christina narrowed her eyes at him and wondered if she should press harder so he wouldn’t even have the energy to speak. “I hate children.” Turning her eyes away, she looked to Nik instead. “Feel free to go back to sleep, this wouldn’t make much noise. Just leave a dim light on and it should be fine.” As much as she’d hate to use the expression, her hands surely can feel better than her eyes in a situation like this. With a well defined body beneath her fingertips, her experience could substitute as her eyes.

“Nah, it’s fine. I can sleep with the lights on. I don’t want you to accidentally run into anything.”

It was then that she glanced around the room, it was as if a tornado had gone through it a couple of times and a hurricane followed right afterwards. Yeah, maybe leaving on the lights was a good idea.

Hank shifted underneath her and made a move of wanting to sit up, which was promptly denied when Christina held him back down. “Stay still, do you want to lose your arm for the rest of your life?”

“I can’t breathe like that!”

“Then don’t!”

“I’m going to sue you for attempted murder.”

“If you still have energy to bicker with me, then it seems you’re just fine.” At which, he looked away sheepishly. “I advise against attending practice tomorrow, and you need to tell this to the medical team as well. I’m sure they’ll want to run more tests just to make sure that it’s nothing serious.”

“I have to miss practice?”

“Man, just shut up and listen to her!” It was Nik who finally couldn’t take his whining any longer and decided to throw a pillow at his face to shut him up. That just served as further incentive for Hank to want to shoot right up and return the favour. It wasn’t until he pushed against the injured arm did he remember the pain that had him bed bound for the past hour or so, according to himself.

Nik grinned his victory and turned around in his bed to sleep again.

Christina and Hank were left starring at each other, and slowly her eyebrow rose to indicate that she was still waiting for him to get back on the bed. Meekly, he fell back down on his stomach obediently and was silent for the rest of the night.

It wasn’t until noon that she managed to climb up out of bed with a headache, and it just grew worse when she realized that it was in Hank’s bed she had woken up. Oh kill her.

To be continued...

Author's Notes: This would have been faster if the Olympics weren't on every single day.