{Patrick}
I stir slightly in my light sleep, rolling over as I do so.
I force my heavy eyelids open, and sunlight streams through the large window.
The Chicago skyline is vivid through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the end of my bedroom.
I absolutely love waking up to that view every single morning.
I check the clock on my night table.
11:30 AM.
I roll over and see Abigail lying beside me, her face buried in her pillows.
She has the covers all the way up to her neck, and her hair is tangled and messy.
I smile, looking over at her.
She's definitely hungover as fuck.
I went to bed at about 11:00 last night, and she obviously wasn't home.
I have no idea what time she made it home, but she's clearly still exhausted.
I'll ask her exactly what they did last night when she's able to speak.
She's going to be feeling pretty shitty for the rest of the day, and I don't blame her.
It's Saturday, August 6.
My bachelor party is tonight, at 8:00.
My groomsmen organized the whole thing, and apparently the entire Blackhawks team is going to be there tonight.
I'm not sure where we are going, but I will find out later tonight.
I'm pretty excited, to be honest.
I haven't had a solid guys night out for a while, and I'm looking forward to it.
I move closer to Abigail, wrapping my arms around her tightly.
I press my lips against the top of her head, pulling her body in closer to mine.
She groans lightly.
I bite my lip, trying to keep myself from laughing.
"Way to wake me up." She laughs, her voice muffled into her pillow.
"How do you feel?" I ask, the warmth from her body radiating onto my bare skin, as I'm not wearing a shirt.
"Like shit." She replies, quickly.
"Did you have a good night?" I ask.
"It was amazing. But I'm tired as hell, and super hungover." She admits, laughing into her pillow.
"What time did you get in?" I ask, pressing another kiss on the top of her head.
"Like 5:00 this morning?" She says.
"Wow." I say, raising my eyebrows.
Abigail isn't one to party a lot, so 5:00 is crazy for her.
"How much did you have to drink?" I ask, biting my lip.
She pauses for a second.
"Fuck you, Patrick." She laughs, shaking her head into her pillow.
I still can't see her face, because it is buried into her pillow.
Her light brown hair falls in loose, flattened curls down her back.
She's wearing spandex and my Blackhawks dri-fit t-shirt.
"You know that's my shirt." I say, chuckling.
Now, I'm just teasing her.
"It's the only thing I could find when I went to bed earlier this morning." She mutters.
I laugh.
"I'm just teasing you." I say.
"I know." She replies, a smile in her voice.
With that, I let her sleep again.
I leave my arms cocooned around her, cuddling her up into my body.
We lie like that for a few hours, at least, the morning sun streaming through the window, until it becomes afternoon sun.
Eventually, I force myself to get up and have a shower.
I glance at the clock, as I roll out of bed.
2:00.
Damn, I really laid around for a long time.
By now, Abigail is simply drifting in and out of an uneasy sleep.
She has already taken a couple Advil's, and is now just trying to settle her headache and stomach.
I make my way to the bathroom, and turn on the hot water.
I strip down, getting into the shower and letting the warm water roll down my body.
I stay in the shower for a good twenty minutes, thinking about everything.
The wedding, Abby's night out yesterday, my night out tonight... all sorts of things.
After a long, relaxing shower, I force myself to get out.
I change into a pair of grey shorts and a black v-neck.
The boys said I don't have to dress up tonight, so that's why I'm going with something casual.
I open the bathroom door, to find Abigail still lying in bed.
She's lying on her back, eyes closed, hands over her face.
She groans.
Abigail doesn't take hangovers too well, let me tell you that.
"Hangovers fucking suck." She groans, her voice slightly muffled.
"I know, love." I laugh.
She laughs too, but only for a moment.
***
The next six hours went by extremely quickly.
I hung out in bed with Abigail, watched some TV, ate dinner, and just relaxed.
It's now 7:45, and Sharpie is picking me up pretty soon.
I have just finished making dinner for Abigail in the kitchen.
Of course, the dinner being soup.
I pour the hot soup out into a bowl, and grab a spoon, as well as a glass of water.
Carefully, I make my way up the stairs, down the hallway, and into our room.
Abigail is lying on her side, her back towards me.
Her breathing is steady and quiet.
I walk around the bed, and place the soup on her night table.
She looks up at me, her eyes red with exhaustion.
"I made you dinner." I laugh, running a hand through my curls.
"Thanks love." She says, smiling up at me.
I kneel down beside the bed, taking her warm hand.
"Feeling any better?" I ask, feeling her forehead.
She doesn't have a fever, which is good.
After all, she's just tired and has a pretty brutal hangover.
"A little less tired, considering all I've done is lie in bed all day." She laughs, her light brown eyes moving over my face.
"What time is it?" She asks.
"Quarter to eight. Sharpie is picking me up in a few minutes." I reply.
She nods.
"You have fun tonight, alright?" She says, raising her eyebrows.
"I will." I nod, kissing her forehead.
"But not too much fun, if you know what I mean." She smirks.
I roll my eyes, laughing.
"Whatever you say." I wink, laughing.
She laughs too.
My phone goes off, and I see that I have a text from Sharpie.
"I guess I'm leaving now." I say, smiling.
"Have fun. I love you." She says, reaching forwards, and kissing my forehead gently.
"I love you too. This love is ours." I say, smiling.
"This love is ours." She replies, her voice gentle and quiet.
"Feel better." I say, standing up.
She nods, a small smile on her face.
I give her hand one last squeeze, before heading towards the entrance of the bedroom.
I make my way down the hall, and downstairs to the main floor of the apartment.
I throw on my flat brim Chicago Cubs hat backwards, and take a quick glance in the mirror.
With that, I leave the apartment, locking the door behind me.
I make my way down eighty-four floors through the elevator, and then to the exit of the building.
I locate Sharpie's truck, and get in on the passenger's side.
"Hey man!" Sharpie says, looking over to me.
"Hey Sharpie!" I say, bro hi-fiving him.
"Congratulations on the engagement, man." He says, smiling over to me.
I nod, thanking him.
"You ready for a sick night?" Sharpie asks, laughing.
"You bet I am." I say, sitting back in the passenger seat.
"Good." Sharpie says, as we drive off through Downtown.
Sharpie and I drive for a good fifteen minutes, before he pulls up at a small building.
It doesn't have too many decorations or logos around it, but it's fairly intriguing on its own.
And then I realize where we are.
A strip club.
I laugh, looking over at Sharpie.
"Chicago Strip House?" I ask.
He raises his eyebrows, smiling back at me.
"You're welcome." Sharpie laughs, running a hand through his hair.
I shake my head, laughing.
Chicago Strip House is probably Chicago's most well-known strip club.
I've been here before, but only a couple times.
And I certainly haven't been here in a long time.
Sharpie and I get out of the car, and make our way into the building.
As we get closer, the music begins to grow louder, and when we finally get inside, the noise is blaring incredibly loud.
Sharpie and I make our way through the noisy, dark, and crowded strip club over to the barstools.
Tons of girls stand on the stage and walk around the club wearing hardly anything.
At the barstools, right around center stage, sits majority of the Chicago Blackhawks team, as well as a few of my guy friends from back in Buffalo, including, Kyle.
They all notice Sharpie and I making our way over to them, and they all get up off of their seats to greet us.
"Kaner! Welcome to your bachelor party, man!" Saader laughs, throwing his arm around me.
"Thanks Saader." I laugh.
I greet each and every one of the guys, as they all congratulate me on the engagement.
"Patrick Kane!" Kyle laughs, bro hi-fiving me.
His dark hair is hidden by a backwards Chicago Blackhawks hat.
"Kyle, my man!" I laugh, as we pull away.
"Congratulations on the engagement, buddy. I'm honored to be a groomsman." He nods, smiling.
"Thanks man. It's nice to see you again, I haven't seen you in too long." I laugh.
"You too." He nods.
Kyle and I talk for about fifteen minutes, catching up on everything as we do so.
Sharpie and Duncan Keith buy the boys and I all drinks, and in groups of three or four, we start having conversations with each other.
I am sitting with Shawzy, Jonathan, and Brent Seabrook, at the moment.
"So, what is it, fourteen days and you'll be a married man?" Brent asks, looking over to me.
I look down at my drink, smiling.
"Yeah, two weeks." I say, nodding.
Shawzy shakes his head.
"Damn." He laughs.
We all laugh, taking a sip from our drinks.
We talk for about five more minutes, when Shawzy and Brent decide to get another drink.
Jonathan and I sit together, looking out at the club in front of us.
A thin, attractive blonde walks past us, wearing nothing but a thong and hardly a bra.
Both Jonathan and I watch as she passes by us.
"Pretty nice view." Jonathan says, quietly.
I laugh, looking over at him.
"I'll say." I say, taking a long sip of my cold drink.
Jonathan laughs with me, and then I look over to him.
"Thanks for organizing this, Jonny. Means a lot." I say, smiling.
"You bet, Kaner." He laughs, throwing his arm around me loosely.
"Hey, I wanted to tell you something." Jonny says, taking a sip of his drink.
"What is it?" I ask, watching him carefully.
He looks over to me, sighing before speaking.
"I broke things off with Natalie." He announces, his voice quiet.
My eyes widen, and I nearly drop my drink.
"What!?" I ask, louder than I had intended.
Jonathan and Natalie have been nearly inseparable since the beginning of summer.
As far as I know, she is one of the few people that truly makes Jonathan happy at the moment.
They were going strong, and that much I know.
Or at least, I thought I did.
"I called things off with her last night, after she got home from Abby's bachelorette party. I had been thinking about it for the past few days, and I decided I just had to. The plan was after the bachelorette party ended, Natalie was going to come back to my place. I stayed up until 5:00, when she finally made it back to my place, and I sat her down in the kitchen. I just told her straight out, that I couldn't be with her anymore. Not right now, anyways." He explains, breathing deeply.
I gape, unsure of how to respond.
"Why?" I ask, my voice distant.
Jonathan sighs.
"I feel horrible about doing it. It's not her. I want her to understand that it's nothing she did..." He says, shaking his head.
I nod, gesturing for him to continue.
"She slept over after we had a date night for her birthday, on August 2nd. We had sex for the first time. But it wasn't the physical sex that killed me. The actual sex part was amazing. It was the emotional attachment afterwards. It was the sleeping together, after we had sex. There was just this strong emotional attachment, and that is what killed me. And as cruel as this sounds, every fucking second of that damn night, I thought and was praying that it was Ally in my arms." He says, shaking his head.
I swallow hard, taking in what I have just heard.
Jonathan continues.
"Patrick, I had the same nightmare. The one that I used to have every single night for months after it happened." He shakes his head.
The nightmare.
The one that he would always describe as haunting, the one where Ally and Jonny are lying together, there is a white light, and she's gone.
The one that caused him restless nights for so long after the night that she died.
"Except, it was different, Pat." He shakes his head.
"This time, when I woke up, instead of feeling empty, alone and lost, I felt another human-being in my arms. And I looked over and my heart begged to see Ally, Pat. And I didn't. I saw Natalie. And that's not who I longed to see." He explains.
I swallow, shutting my eyes tightly.
I'm not even sure how to respond to something as immense as this.
I sigh, shaking my head.
"I think if that is the way you are feeling Jonathan, then calling it off with Natalie was the best thing to do. For now, at least." I say, quietly.
He nods.
"I know." Jonathan nods.
"How is she doing with it?" I ask.
"She wasn't mad. I mean, yeah, she was a little upset, but she completely understood. I could tell she was saddened, but she understood and respected the fact that there was nothing she could do about it, at this point. I really hate that I did this to her only three days after we had sex for the first time. " Jonathan explains.
I shake my head.
"Natalie's a good woman, Jonathan." I say, in all honesty.
Jonathan nods, in agreement.
For the next ten minutes, Jonathan and I sit in silence, soaking up the atmosphere and just enjoying each other's presences.
We change the subject, talking about the wedding that is coming up, and a few other things.
Jonathan and I continue talking for a while, drinking as we do so.
And after about forty-five minutes, I can feel my conscious self slipping away, as the alcohol takes control of my body.
I can feel my reflexes growing lazy, and I can tell that I have started getting drunk.
Based on what Jonathan is saying, I can tell he is fairly drunk as well.
Most of the guys around us, seem to be drunk too.
Right then, Shawzy makes his way over to us, with Corey Crawford.
"Come on fuckers, let's go get a dance!" Corey laughs, raising his drink.
Both Shawzy and Crow are very, very drunk.
I laugh, looking over to Jonathan.
My vision is slightly blurry, but I feel good.
I feel exhilarated.
Both Jonathan and I get up from our spots, walking through the club.
Brandon Saad joins the four of us, and we head closer to the stage.
We sit down on the large chairs by the stage, and the dancers begin heading in our direction.
"My dick is escaping my pants." Shawzy announces, loudly.
I hear Jonathan snort beside me.
"Good God, Shawzy." He says, laughing.
Of course, Andrew is very, very drunk.
The first girl to come over to us is a dark haired, blue eyed girl wearing black lingerie and pantyhose.
She finds Corey, and Shawzy begins cheering as she starts to dance on Corey's lap.
Corey sits back in his chair, looking as if he is enjoying this a lot.
Him and Shawzy cheer, stuffing money in her bra.
I roll my eyes, laughing at the boys.
She gives Corey a fairly long lap-dance, and as she leaves, Corey slaps her ass, putting his hands up in celebration.
"Atta boy, Crow!" Saader laughs, hi-fiving him.
Within the next few minutes, three other brunette girls wearing a similar outfit as the first, come along.
They find Saader, Shawzy, and Jonathan.
The girl next to me climbs onto Jonathan, rubbing her ass right in his crotch.
I look over to Jonathan, and his jaw is clenched, but his face is seduced.
I look back up, to find a blonde-haired, blue-eyed hottie looking down at me, a small, seductive look on her face.
I lick my lips, raising my eyebrows slightly.
She quickly moves onto me, rubbing her ass in my crotch.
I run my hands along her bare sides, and she moves her ass in circular motions.
I can feel myself losing control, until I feel something hard in my shorts.
Her ass rubs against my boner, and I bite my lip, trying to minimize it.
After a few minutes, she finishes her dance, and I slip her a bill.
She winks, thanking me, before proceeding to another guy for the night.
"How'd that feel?" Shawzy asks, looking over to me.
"Fucking amazing." I admit, laughing.
"There we go!" Shawzy laughs, hi-fiving me.
The rest of the guys all gather around the stage, each guy getting a few dances.
All of the guys drink and drink, until I can't even remember how many drinks I've had, and to the point where I can hardly make out what's right in front of me.
We party, letting our wild and crazy sides out entirely.
I get at least six more dances from different girls, and that's not half as many as Shawzy or Saader had.
The guys and I gather around the stage, watching the strippers do multiple pole dances.
The whole time, you can hear Shawzy and Crow cheering on the girls, whistling at them as they do so.
And so my best guy friends and I drink, cheer, laugh, listen to loud music, and receive tons of lap dances from different girls throughout the long and fun night.
We cherish tonight, enjoying the good times as they roll, because a night like this only comes once in a lifetime.