Taking Shots (Assassins)

by Aleo, Toni

  “Me, too,” Elli gushed as she curled her hair, piece by piece.

  “So we haven’t talked much this weekend.”

  “I know; I’m sorry I’ve been so busy.”

  “I know, but have you thought about what we talked about the other morning?”

  Elli laid the curling iron down, since she didn’t want to burn herself in case he said something to shock her. She leaned against the counter, holding the phone in front of her face, staring at the picture of him grinning at her. “No, not really.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Now? Maybe we should wait until you get home.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Yeah, let’s think about it some more before we make a decision.”

  “Okay, does that mean you don’t want to live with me?”

  She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, “No it’s not that, it’s just a big step, are we sure about this?”

  “I am.”

  Well, okay then.

  “Okay, well let’s just wait until you get home okay?”

  “Fine,” He sounded mad, but he just went on saying, “So what do you want to do for your birthday?”

  She laughed, laying her phone down and picking the curling iron back up, “I don’t know, I haven’t done anything for my birthday in a long time.”

  “Well let’s do something this time.”

  “I mean whatever is fine, Shea. Dinner and movie. Whatever. I don’t care. It’s just another day.”

  “I don’t like that, it’s your special day, so it should be special.”

  She laughed as she pulled her hair up on one side, “I guess.”

  “Well think a little and we’ll discuss it when I get home.”

  “What time should you be in?”

  “Probably around five, I think Grace is making dinner for seven, so I’ll have enough time to get ready.”

  “Alright, I’ll have to shop for something nice to wear.”

  “Not nice babe, hot.” She laughed uncontrollably.

  “Like I would meet you parents in something hot, please.”

  “Oh god, please do. Oh by the way, you have that purple number right?”

  She didn’t, it was with Harper but it was easy to get, or maybe she would get something hotter today, so she said “Yeah, I do.”

  “Oh thank God, good. Please wear that under whatever you buy, I can’t wait to have you naked, baby.”

  “Gosh, you’re so horny,” she teased as she giggled, trying to apply her makeup.

  “Only for you, baby. I’ll let you go, call me later. It’s my off day.”

  “I will, I miss you!”

  “I miss you more.”

  Elli smiled as she hung up the phone, and finished doing her makeup. She cleaned up and then went into the bedroom picking up all her outfits to hang them up. Afterwards, she took Adler outside. After standing in the cold for fifteen minutes waiting on him, they finally made it back in just in time to catch her phone ringing. It was Grace, canceling, because Amelia was running a fever. Elli wished Amelia well, and asked if they needed anything. Grace informed her that there were plenty of hands to help, and thanked her anyways, before hanging up, promising to reschedule another day.

  Since Elli was already dressed and ready to go, she left. She drove around town running the errands she needed to run before heading out of town to go to her house. After parking the truck in her driveway and walking up the walkway, Elli found that she had missed her little house, but then she went in, and felt completely alone. So after making sure the house was in one piece and grabbing some more outfits and shoes, she left, packing up the truck. She checked around the house, and then made sure everything was locked before getting in the truck and driving off.

  As she drove, she started thinking about living with Shea. She loved her home, she did, and even though he said they would stay there when they could, it wouldn’t be the same as her going home every night like she had done for the past five years. She would be going to Shea’s condo every night. Not that she hadn’t been doing that for the past couple weeks, but still, she would be officially living with Shea. Could she do it? Was she ready for that?

  Elli found herself parking in front of the studio, and getting out to go see how things were going. When she opened the door and stepped inside, Harper stood up from behind the desk with a huge smile on her face.

  “Welcome to Time-” she stopped, and shook her head, “I mean really, Elli, can’t stay away for one damn day?”

  “Oh, hush, I was bored,” she grumbled as she walked towards the desk, and sat in one of the chairs behind it. “Anyone coming in?”

  “Not for an hour.”

  “Good, I got a bone to pick with you!”

  Harper started laughing, “He loved it! And I know for a fact he did!”

  “That’s not the point, Harper Allen! You sent it without my consent!”

  “Oh well, you’ll live.”

  “I can’t believe you.”

  “I am helping you out, so hush.”

  “Uh! You make me sick!”

  “I do not.”

  “Whatever,” Elli said with a huff, “So, on another note,”

  That made Harper laugh, they both knew Elli couldn’t stay mad at her.

  “Yes?” Harper asked, as she picked up a packet of pictures and started sorting through them.

  “Shea asked me to move in with him,” Harper stopped what she was doing and looked over at her, surprise all over her face.

  “You’re kiddin’.”

  “No, I am not.”

  “Wow, what did you say?”

  “I said I don’t know, that we’d talk about it when he got home.”

  “That’s crazy, what are you thinking?”

  “I don’t know, I mean I stay there five days out of the week anyways, but that was when we were crazy busy, now we ain’t, so I wouldn’t need to stay there like I did, but every time I go home, I get lonely.”

  “Okay, well why do you have to say you moved in? Why can’t y’all just go the way you’ve been going?”

  “I think he wants it to be official.”

  “Oh, well I don’t know babe.”

  Elli let out a frustrated breathe, and dropped her face into her hands.

  “I mean, Elli, do you even love him?”

  “Huh?” she asked lifting her head to look at Harper’s profile, since she was looking down at an order form.

  “You heard me, do you love him?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I thought you did, but now I don’t know because if Jakob asked me to move in. I would because I want to be with him all the time.”

  “You would move in with Jakob?”

  “In a New York minute, that man drives me nuts. In a good way, of course.”

  Elli kept staring at Harper in total astonishment, “Who the hell are you? And where is my best friend?”

  Harper giggled, still not looking at Elli as she packaged up some pictures. “He said he would change me, I guess he was right. It takes the right person to change you.”

  “I’m speechless.”

  “You’ll be alright,” Harper said standing up, and walking around the desk to put the picture packages in piles. “But really, Elli, do you love him?”

  Elli thought for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders, “I don’t know, how do did you know?”

  “I don’t know? This is new to me! All I know is that Jakob is the only man I want, so, hell, that must be love,” Harper giggled as the most beautiful smile went over her face. It had to be love, because Elli had never seen Harper smile like that. “He’s the first thing I think of when I wake up and the first thing before I go to sleep. I want him, always, and the thought of being with anyone else actually hurts my heart.”

  Elli felt the exact same way about Shea, so did that mean she loved him? Wasn’t it too early for that? Of course, she cared for him deeply, but did she love him? She must not if moving in with h
im scared the living shit out of her, but that didn’t feel right, because sometime she felt the words right on her tongue, ready to say them to him, he made her feel so good, so special. So she had too, but then why did moving in with him scare her so bad?

  Because she was crazy, that was the only logical answer.

  Chapter 19

  Elli was in her living room, eating her favorite hockey food: nachos, when it happened.

  The day had gone easy; she had talked to Shea that morning when he had arrived in St Louis. She even went and bought a beautiful black sweater dress to go with the studded black Christian Louboutin heels she had bought the day before for the dinner with Shea’s parent’s that following day. Harper had declined coming over to watch the game since she was cramping and wanted to watch the game back in her bed.

  Elli didn’t think anyone saw it coming, but with hockey, no one ever does, but she was out the door and in the truck driving to Harper’s because she knew Harper was gonna need her. She just wished she had put on some pants first, because it was colder than the North Pole out with only her little plaid shorts on.

  When Elli pulled into Harper’s apartment complex, she saw Harper in the window on the phone. Shit, she had forgotten her phone at home. She ran up the stairs after locking the truck, and pounded on Harper’s door. Harper threw the door open, tears streaking her face, snot running down from her nose.

  “I can’t get a hold of anyone!” she cried as she threw herself in Elli’s arm. Elli held her close, even though she was freezing, and moved her hands up and down Harper’s back.

  “I’ll call Papa, let’s go in,” Elli said soothingly as she moved Harper inside.

  “It looked bad Elli, so stinkin’ bad.”

  “I know,” Elli said with a shake of her head, as she locked the door, and sat Harper on the couch before taking her phone from her.

  The hit that Jakob took was honestly the worst Elli had ever seen. Elli wasn’t even sure who the guy was that took Jakob out. All she knew was that Jakob had done a full flip before hitting the ice, face first.

  And Jakob doesn’t wear a face guard.

  “Did they get him off the ice?”

  “Yeah, about ten minutes ago. Shea isn’t in the game anymore, either.”

  “He isn’t?” Elli asked looking at the screen to see if she could catch Shea’s number as she dialed her Papa’s number. Bryan answered on the third ring.

  “Eleanor, I can’t talk right now.”

  “Is he okay?”

  “We don’t know, they are taking him to the ER now.”

  “Is Shea with him?”

  “I think so.”

  “Okay, I’ll call him.”

  “Okay.” Elli hung up, dialing Shea’s number, but he didn’t answer. She looked over at Harper to see her still crying her heart out, which who could blame her? Elli would be a wreck, too, if her boyfriend was the one that had gotten hit. She went over to the computer, looking up the number for the hospital by the arena. After talking to four nurses and waiting for over ten minutes, Elli hung up the phone in complete frustration. No one would tell her anything.

  “Anything?” Harper asked as she hiccupped before wiping her face with her shirt.

  “No, babe, but someone will-” The phone rang, and it was Shea. “Shea, is he okay?”

  “No, not right now, but he will be. He took a bad hit to the knee, and broke his nose. They are running x-rays right now, we’ll know more in a few, but I wanted to call and tell you guys that he’s going to be okay.”

  “Okay.” Harper had come over and stood beside Elli, she relayed what Shea had just said, and Harper nodded her head, trying to keep the tears at bay.

  “Should I go down there?” Harper asked as she took deep breaths.

  “Should she?” Elli asked.

  “She could, I’m not sure how long he’ll be here, it might be just overnight.”

  “Okay, when will you know more?”

  “Soon, I’ll call you at this number.”

  “Alright.” Elli hung up, and gathered Harper in her arms. “It's okay, Harper. Knee injuries can be fixed, he’ll be okay,” Elli said as Harper sobbed in her arms.

  “I’ve never been so scared in my life. I just want to see him, hold him.”

  “I know Harp, I know.” Harper pulled back, looking up at Elli.

  “Can you manage tomorrow? Maybe we can call Alice? She can come in to assist.”

  “Sure, go pack, I’ll look for a flight.”

  Harper ended up leaving an hour later which was for the best because Jakob had a complete tear of the MCL in his knee and wouldn’t be able to leave the hospital for a couple of days. Elli had called Alice when she was driving back to Shea’s from the airport and she was more than willing to come in a help the next morning. When Elli had arrived at the condo, she walked Adler before going back inside to go to bed. She crawled into bed just as her phone rang. It was Shea.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey, you, Harper get off alright?”

  “Yeah, she should be there at 10:15.”

  “Okay, I’m gonna head to the airport in a few, then bring her back here.”

  “Thanks, she’s a mess, so beware.” He chuckled, and Elli’s heart swelled. She missed him so much, and was so excited to see him tomorrow, but all she kept imagining after dropping off Harper was Shea getting hurt, and her being the one in a ball of tears.

  What in God’s name possessed her to date a hockey player?

  “Its fine, it was a scary hit, we are lucky it’s only what it is, it could have been worst.”

  “Yeah.”

  Nothing was said for a moment, and then Shea said “Hey, you’re okay, right?”

  “Yeah, it was just scary, Harper’s a mess.”

  “I know baby, but getting hurt can happen, we all know that when we lace up our skates before each game.”

  “I know, but still, I couldn’t imagine if it was you. I probably would have flipped out.”

  “Oh, baby, don’t think about that. You’ll worry yourself sick.”

  She already had.

  “Okay.”

  “Alright, well go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Me neither, goodnight.”

  “Night.”

  Elli hung up just as the tears started to fall. She was crying for Harper, for Jakob, and for the simple fact that this could happen to Shea. The thought tore sobs out of her, because she was so scared. The uncertainty of what could happen to Shea scared her shitless, and the fact that he wasn’t with her made it worst. She couldn’t hold him to guarantee herself that he was fine at that particular moment, so she cried and cried.

  Until sleep came.

  Shea had gotten back to the hotel late the night before after taking Harper to the hospital, so when he woke up late and missed the bus back home, he went to the airport and jumped on the first flight home. He was surprised no one came looking for him, but then again they probably thought he was still with Jakob, which normally he would have been if Harper wasn’t around.

  Since he had taken the airplane home, he was three hours early. After landing, he took a taxi to his condo. Shea wanted to shower before heading over to Time Standing Still to surprise Elli. When he walked into the condo, Adler came barreling from the kitchen to greet him.

  “Hey, boy!” Shea said bending down to pet and hug the pup. He didn’t realize how much he had missed the dog, but he had. He rubbed the top of Adler’s head before shutting the door, and taking his bags back to his room. Nothing had changed, he noticed as he walked through the condo, but it was easy to tell that Elli had been living here. Cups were in the sink, along with the trash being full, and her shoes were everywhere. He shook his head as he threw his bags on the bed, he would unpack later, he was too eager to see Elli. After taking a shower and throwing on a pair of jeans with a t-shirt and sweat shirt over it, he was out the door, in his truck on his way to Elli’s.

  When Shea pulled up t
o Time Standing Still, no one was in the parking lot except for Elli’s truck and one other. He prayed that no customers were there as he got out the truck and headed for the door. He kicked himself mentally for not picking up flowers first, but he was in such a hurry to see her, he had forgotten. He threw the door open and a blonde haired girl stood up, saying the regular greeting.

  “Hey, is Elli here?” he asked, the girl smiled nicely, but obvious didn’t recognize him.

  “She is, and you are?”

  “Shea Adler, her boyfriend.”

  “Oh! Hi! I’m Alice, one of her assistants! So nice to meet ya!” she said holding out her hand. He took her small hand in his and smiled.

  “Nice to meet you, too,” he said, “Is she in her office?”

  “She is. Would you like me to page her?”

  “Um, can I just go back there?”

  “Sure!”

  “Thanks,” he said with a grin as he started down the hall for her office. He was half way there when the door open and Elli started towards him, looking down at a piece of paper she was holding. He stopped taking in the beauty that was her. Her hair was up in a crazy mess of curls, she was wearing a white button up shirt that had a green tie that wasn’t tied, with a green plaid skirt, with black tights and green high heels.

  She looked like a naughty school girl.

  And she was all his.

  “Jesus, woman, you are too hot for words.”

  Elli jumped, startled, throwing the papers she was holding in the air. She looked up at Shea, as a slow grin went over her face.

  “Shea!” she gushed, running to him, wrapping her arms around his neck before pressing her lips to his. He wrapped her up in his arms, picking her up off the ground a little as he passionately kissed her. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, he groaned as he started walking towards her office. God, he wanted her.

  So fucking badly.

  He pushed the door close with her back, before pressing his rapidly growing erection into her core. She gasped as she pulled at his sweat shirt, trying to get it off. He pulled back, pulling his shirt and sweat shirt off at the same time, before reclaiming her already swollen lips. As he fed himself from the sweetness of her mouth he undid each button of her shirt, before capturing her breast in each of his hand. She let out a moan as he tweaked her aching nipples through the sheer fabric of her bra.