Keeping Ice On The Wound

"Like I said, Mark, don't make this harder than it needs to be," she said, trying to calm her breathing. "I knew what I was doing when I went home with you that night."

"Would you mind filling me in on what that was?"

"You really want me to say it?"

"Yes, I really do. I want to hear you say that none of our time together has meant anything to you."

Hilary opened her mouth to do just that but found that the words weren't so easy in coming out this time. It should be easy; she should have no trouble telling him that she had only been looking for a one night stand. But the way he was speaking to her now and hearing him say that he didn't think of her as a fling made her unable to do it.

"I didn't think you could," he said from the other end of the line when she said nothing. "I knew you had to at least feel something. This wasn't just a fling. If it was, I never would have called you the next day."

"Even if you hadn't been injured and stuck at home alone for a week?" she asked.

"What?"

"Oh come on, Mark. You stopped calling me and asking me to come over when your buddies got back to town. You didn't need me to keep you company anymore."

"That's not why-" he started to protest but she cut him off.

"It doesn't even matter anyway because you're wrong," she snapped. "I didn't feel anything with you and I only ever wanted... sex." The second she spoke the words, she wanted to suck them back in. She wanted to apologize and beg for forgiveness but she knew it was too late. So instead of saying anything else, she simply hung up the phone.

***

For what felt like hours, Mark stewed in his dark, silent apartment. He replayed his conversation with Hilary over and over in his mind until none of it made sense anymore. More than anything, he wished he could just pace across his living room. It was beyond frustrating at this point that he couldn't even do that.

Only the sound of someone knocking on his door brought him out of his funk. He lifted his crutches and made his way over to look through the peephole. It was Brody; no surprise there. Mark was considering pretending he wasn't around when Brody spoke to him.

"I know you're in there, gimp," he called through the door. "Let me in."

"I'm not in the mood for company," Mark replied, still not opening the door.

"I don't care," Brody replied.

Sighing heavily, Mark unlocked the deadbolt and made his way back to the living room. Brody waited a moment before testing the door and then he let himself in.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked as he walked into the apartment, tossing his jacket on the kitchen island. "Did your girlfriend break up with you?"

Mark didn't answer and when Brody saw the stormy look on his face, he realized.

"Oh shit," Brody breathed and laughed shortly. "Oh man, I was kidding. She really dumped you?"

"I wouldn't label it as that," Mark snapped. "Especially considering we weren't really dating."

"But she did?"

"Shut up."

"Oh man! I never thought that you'd be the one to get dumped!"

"Shut up!" Mark repeated but to little avail. Brody dropped onto the couch beside him, chuckling in amusement. "I'm so glad you're happy about this."

"Come on, Gaines," Brody said and punched him in the shoulder. "You just said it yourself; you weren't even really dating. So what's the big deal? Did you really like her or something?"

Brody's words had Mark's mind whirring. Was it that big a deal? Did he really like her? The answer didn't require much thought. It was a big, fat yes.

"Can you drive me somewhere?" Mark asked, hauling himself to his feet.

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Dude, what are you going to do? Just show up on her doorstep and beg for forgiveness?" Brody asked as he trailed along behind Mark.

"Something like that," Mark muttered as he balanced himself on one foot to shrug his jacket on.

"Awesome," Brody exclaimed and grabbed his own coat. "I love the drama!"

Mark managed a thin smile at that before they were striding down the hall and outside to Brody's car.

"So where to?" Brody asked when they were rolling away from the apartment building.

Mark blinked and glanced over at his teammate.

"You don't even know where she lives?" Brody demanded.

"I... we... she always came to my place," Mark stammered and flushed when he thought of how that sounded.

Brody laughed and banged an open palm on his steering wheel. "Well, do you at least know her last name? We could call the FBI or something."

Mark rolled his eyes as he fished around in his jacket pocket for his cell phone. He quickly dialed a number and waited impatiently until Anatoli answered.

"Obie, let me talk to Lena," Mark said, skipping all the niceties.

"Who the hell is this?" the Russian demanded.

Chuckling, Mark told him and then asked again to speak to Lena.

"Why the hell do you want to talk to my girlfriend, Gaines?"

"It's not what you think, Obie," Mark replied. "It's about Hilary."

"Hilary? Lena's roommate?" Anatoli sounded completely lost.

Mark heard Lena's voice in the background and listened to them banter with a smile on his face.

"Give me the phone, Anatoli," Lena said.

"Why do you want to talk to Mark?" was Anatoli's wounded response.

"I don't want to talk to him but he obviously needs to talk to me about Hilary."

"I don't get it."

Lena sighed and Mark stifled his laughter. "I'll explain it to you after. Now please, just hand me the phone."

Anatoli grumbled as he did so and Mark chuckled as Lena's voice came over the line.

"Hi, Mark."

"Hey, Lena," he said. "I need a huge favor."

She groaned. "Don't tell me."

"What?"

"She's trying to drive you away, isn't she?" Lena asked.

Is that what she's doing? Mark wondered to himself. Why? "I... don't know. Maybe."

"Listen, don't let her bully you, Mark," Lena said. "She's great but she's been hurt so many times in the past that she doesn't know when a guy is really nice."

What Hilary had said to him before was slowly starting to make sense. "Thanks for the info, Lena, but that wasn't why I called."

"Oh, OK. What can I do then?"

"I just need to know your address," he said.

"Oh, Mark, why don't you just call her first?"

"I don't want to give her the chance to hang up on me," Mark replied. "And I want her to be able to see it in my face when I tell her that she can't get rid of me so easily."

"Yeah!" Brody chimed in with a fist pump in the air.

Mark jerked his head around to stare at his friend and laughed when he saw Brody's excited expression.

"Who was that?" Lena asked with a laugh of her own.

"Brody Lang," Mark replied. "So can I have your address?"

She gave it to him and wished him luck. He thanked her and was about to hang up the phone when another thought occurred to him. "Oh, Lena?" he called.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"You can go ahead and tell Obie about me and Hil," he said. "And he can tell whoever he wants to."

"All right," Lena said and she sounded happy at the prospect.

"OK. Thanks again. Have a good night!"

"You too, Mark. Tell Hilary I said she has to listen to you."

Mark hung up the phone with a laugh.

***

Hilary was feigning sleep but wasn't sure who she was trying to fake it for. There was no one in the apartment with her, let alone in her room and she wasn't sure why she was even bothering. Her mind was still turning over the conversation she'd had with Mark over the phone. She felt like a horse's ass for saying what she had to him. She'd be lucky if he'd ever acknowledge her again.

Not that we'll ever cross paths again, she thought and groaned. She lifted a pillow to her face and groaned louder.

Suddenly she heard loud pounding on her front door and sat up straight in bed. Her heart was beating so hard she had to put a hand on her chest to keep it from choking her. The knocking continued and it was accompanied by a loud male voice. Hilary stood up and crept down the hall towards the front door, listening in fear to the noise. Then she recognized the voice and frowned.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, whipping the door open to find Mark and a stranger standing on the other side.

The stranger grinned at her and lifted a hand in a careless wave. She barely spared him a glance before turning her attention back to the man on crutches before her.

"I came to talk to you," Mark replied.

"A phone call would have sufficed," Hilary replied and flushed as he scowled at her.

"I didn't want to give you another chance to hang up on me," he snapped.

"I didn't-" she protested but he cut her off.

"You did and you did it before I had a chance to tell you my side," he said. "I meant it when I said I wasn't in this just for a good time." He paused as thought listening to his own words. Flushing, he waved a hand dismissively. "That came out wrong. I mean, I have had a good time with you - a great time, in fact - but that wasn't all I wanted. I like you, Hilary. I liked you before you offered to come home with me."

Hilary's face flamed at his words and she crossed her arms over her chest, painfully aware that she was dressed only in a ratty tank top and thin, flannel pajama pants. The stranger with Mark only grinned at her and shifted on his feet.

"I never wanted this to just be a one night stand," Mark said and leaned forward until their faces were closer together. He teetered ominously on his crutches but maintained his footing. "I want more from you, Hilary, and I'm prepared to fight you every step of the way."

Her eyebrows went up at that and she smirked. "You're prepared to fight me into a relationship?"

He shrugged. "If that's what it takes. Look at me. Don't I look serious enough for you?"

He did. In fact, she'd never seen him look so serious before. In all the time they'd spent together, he'd been smiling or laughing. Even when they'd been intimate, his expression had been one of wonder, of intense satisfaction. As though reading her mind, the corners of his sensual mouth lifted and Hilary couldn't help but smile back.

"I know you may not believe me yet," Mark said, his voice lower this time. "But I don't want to hurt you. Ever. I didn't want you to come over this week because I was being babysat by the guys on the team and we wouldn't have had any time alone together. It wasn't because I was ashamed of you, or not serious about you."

Hilary blushed deeper and glanced at the tall man beside him briefly before looking away again.

"Nice to meet you finally, Hilary," the man with Mark said.

"Finally?" Hilary echoed in surprise, her gaze drawn back to the stranger.

"Oh yeah," he said with a nod. He jerked his chin in Mark's direction, the impish grin never leaving his face. "This guy couldn't stop talking about you the first night we got in. He didn't tell us your name but I think that's because he didn't want to jinx himself or something."

Hilary's eyes went back to Mark's face and she giggled when she saw the embarrassed look on his face.

"You can stop now, Brody," he muttered. "Hilary, meet Brody Lang, one of my teammates."

"Nice to meet you," she said and shook his outstretched hand.

"Brody, this is my girlfriend, Hilary Winsome." He turned slightly to toss his friend a dirty look. "See? I knew her last name."

Brody laughed as he shook her hand and clapped a hand on Mark's shoulder. "You told me, all right. You need me here anymore?"

"No," Mark replied, looking back into Hilary's eyes. "I just wanted you to meet her. I wanted her to know that I'm not afraid to introduce her as my girlfriend. I want everyone to know that she's mine."

Thinking briefly that she should perhaps be offended by his masculine claim over her, Hilary couldn't stop trembling now. She wrapped her arms around her body and tried to keep herself from turning inside out. She'd never expected this in a million years. That it was Mark and that she was confused as hell over her own feelings only intensified the situation.

"It was nice to meet you, Hilary," Brody said, breaking the silence. "Go easy on him. We want him back in the line up as soon as humanly possible."

Hilary smothered a giddy laugh with her hand, never taking her eyes off of Mark's. "Bye, Brody. It was nice to meet you too," she managed to call out as he walked away down the hall. "You want to come in?" she asked Mark.

He breathed out a sigh of relief and hopped inside as she stood back to hold the door open. "I thought you'd never ask."

Hilary turned to shut and lock the door but couldn't move when she felt Mark's entire body press into her from behind. His head dipped low and she felt his warm breath stirring the hair at her neck a moment before he pressed a hot kiss to her already fevered skin.

"I meant every word, Hilary," he whispered and kissed her again.

"I'm starting to believe you," she replied breathlessly and shuddered when she felt his tongue slide along her throat.

He growled inarticulately at her response and she felt one of his hands settle on her hip. He moved closer, pushing his midsection against her and she felt his desire pressing into her behind. "You will," he assured her. Then he made another sound, this one of annoyance.

"What?" she asked, still too afraid to turn around.

"I wish I could pick you up and carry you to bed," he said.

Laughing, she did turn around and looped her arms around his neck. She stood on her toes to kiss his mouth and sighed happily when his tongue drove inside hers. They kissed for a long moment and Hilary savored the taste of him inside her mouth. Finally she pulled back and smiled up at him.

"Can you settle for chasing me into my room instead?" she asked and before waiting for a response, she jerked out of his arms to dash down the hallway.

"Dammit!" he cried and she heard a thump as he maneuvered around to follow.

Giggling helplessly, she ran into her room and jumped under her covers. He was close behind her, in spite of his impediment and when he saw her ducking out of sight, he chuckled darkly.

"You're going to pay for that," he said and kicked her bedroom door shut.

"I'd like to see you try," she taunted, poking her head out to stick her tongue out at him. Then she shrieked as he tossed his crutches aside and practically belly flopped onto the bed with her.

Together they laughed and rolled beneath the sheets and got gloriously naked together. Hilary rose to his touch, hungry for his kisses and teasing strokes after what felt like an eternity apart. Mark responded, dragging his tongue over every surface he could reach until they were both breathless with desire. Their bodies fit as they should and they rocked together as it felt so right. Much, much later, they slept together, fitting perfectly into each other's arms.