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I hope you have fun reading Chapter 7 :)
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GIVE IT A CHANCE
CHAPTER 7
Luckily for Elsa, the following had week passed quicker than she had expected. She had to admit she had actually been looking forward to the Christmas ball, as it had been a while since she'd attended such an event, but she wasn't nearly as excited as Anna, who had been literally counting the hours until that Friday night.
After her classes ended, Elsa went to the entrance of the university's campus and waited for Jack to pick her up. Then they went home and started getting ready for the evening. Jack let her shower first after he had suggested that they save up on time and water by showering together but, unfortunately for him, Elsa turned down his offer, saying that, knowing what he was planning, they would save up on neither.
When Jack walked out of the shower, Elsa was still in her bathrobe drying her hair in front of the mirror of her makeup desk. He leaned down and gave her a small kiss on the cheek before quickly drying his own hair with a towel and trying to make it look presentable. After that he walked to the wardrobe and took out the tuxedo he had already prepared. He gently laid it on the bed and proceeded to take out a pair of underwear and socks. With one swift movement he caused the towel that had been previously wrapped around hips to fall to the ground. He heard Elsa let out a small gasp and turned his head to look at her. He saw how her eyes traveled from his ankles, past his legs and bum, and up his back, finally meeting his. When he caught her gaze, Elsa immediately looked away, blushing like a school girl, and started brushing her hair a little too quickly. Jack smirked but didn't say anything. He put his underwear on and started getting dressed. Five minutes later he was standing in front of the mirror fixing his tie. Satisfied with his work on the knot, he put his jacket on and turned to Elsa.
"So? How do I look?" he asked her stretching out his arms to the sides a little.
Elsa turned her attention to him and looked up and down. He was wearing a three-piece black tuxedo. His jacket was unbuttoned, showing the formal white shirt and the black vest underneath, accompanied by a silver tie. His outfit was complete with a pair of elegant, polished, formal black shoes.
She stood up and walked to him. "Perfect," she replied, after adjusting the collar of his shirt a little, and tip-toed to give him a kiss.
He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, deepening the kiss, then he pulled away and smiled down at her. "I'll let you get ready as well. I'll be in the living room."
He let her go and exited the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Elsa sat back down in front of her mirror and started doing her makeup.
Forty minutes later Jack was still sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for Elsa. He looked up from the game he was playing on his phone and glanced at his watch. "Elsa, are you ready? We're gonna be late," he called and turned his attention back to the game.
"Be right there," she replied and a couple of minutes later the bedroom door opened and Elsa walked out.
She stood a few steps away from Jack, her torso turned slightly to the side, her hands on her hips, one leg positioned in front of the other. "I'm ready," she said, rather suggestively.
Jack, who was caught up in the game, looked up a bit absentmindedly then he looked back at his phone, before his eyes shot up again. He looked at her, his eyes traveling up and down her body. Her hair was braided in its usual loose plait, hanging over her shoulder, however this time done with care and decorated with small snowflake-shaped hairpins. She had very discreet smoky makeup on, her lips in their usual rosy color. On her ears Jack noticed elegant, silver stud earrings. He moved his eyes from her face down her body. She was wearing a turquoise-blue strapless dress that hugged her torso tightly, underlining every curve, starting just above her breasts and continuing down to her hips, where the cut of the dress widened. The satin fabric at the upper part of the dress was decorated with what Jack classified as tiny Swarovski crystals that reflected the light in a very delicate fashion. Around her upper arms, Elsa had a wide dark-blue fur scarf that hung loosely at her elbows. Jack's gaze slid down, following the folds of the dress. He blinked and gulped lightly, when his eyes reached the slit that started from above the middle of Elsa's thigh, revealing a perfectly shaped leg, clothed in the thin, barely visible fabric of her skin-colored stockings. The dress reached the ground, where it came in contact with Elsa's dark-blue pumps, which matched the color of the scarf. She looked glamorous!
When he was done inspecting her outfit, Jack looked up at her again, and then stood up. "Great, let's go," he said, putting the phone in his pocket and turning to walk out the living room.
Elsa stood there dumbfounded. 'Great?' That was all he had to say about the way she looked? Was the mirror smudged? Had she not seen herself properly in it? The Jack she knew would be trying to remove the dress by now, forgetting everything about the event they had to attend. She blinked a couple of times before she regained her composure and cleared her throat. At that Jack turned around.
"Would you mind?" she said, lifting one of her arms slightly, revealing a delicate necklace in her hand.
Noting what she meant, he moved towards her and gently took the piece of jewelry out of her hand. It consisted of a very thin and fragile looking silver chainlet, on which a snowflake-shaped pendant hung. It matched her earrings. Elsa turned her back to Jack and he carefully placed the necklace around her neck. Elsa shivered slightly at the feeling of his breath against her bare skin. When Jack was done securing the clasp of the necklace, he rested his hands on her upper arms and bent down to put a soft kiss on the side of her neck. He lingered there a little longer, taking in her wonderful scent. Elsa leaned in his touch, turning her head a slightly to the side, wanting him to kiss her lips as well. But he didn't.
Jack breathed out, causing strands of her hair to tremble. "Shall we?" he said in a low voice, as he released her and turned to walk towards the door.
Elsa frowned. For once she'd wanted to be the one teasing and it hadn't worked. However, she didn't say anything and simply followed him.
They went out of the building, where a black Mercedes S-class was waiting for them. The driver opened the door for them and they sat in the back seat. The journey lasted for about half an hour, which they spent in silence, each looking out their own window in the back of the car. At a certain point Jack had turned to look at Elsa, taking her hand in his, and after a brief moment he looked back out the window. He kept on caressing the upper side of her hand with his thumb. Elsa didn't look at him or say anything; she just smiled a little at the nice feeling.
Soon the driver pulled up in front of a beautiful Baroque-style building that Elsa recognized as the Grand Hotel Marnier – one of the oldest, most impressive and most expensive hotels in the whole country. Originally the building had been a palace. The doorman of the hotel opened the car for them and Jack got out first after which he offered his hand to Elsa and helped her out of the car. They walked up the stairs, Elsa holding onto Jack's arm, and entered the hotel's lobby through the rotating door. They could hear classical music and chatter coming from the big reception hall of the hotel. A guest service representative met them at the other side of the entrance, smiled widely at them and bid them welcome. Jack smiled back, took out two invitations from the inner pocket of his jacket and handed them to her. She looked at the names and up at both of them again.
"Welcome, Mr. Frost, Ms. Andersen! Right this way," she said and led them in the direction of the reception hall. When they reached the entrance, she nodded to them and left.
They entered the hall full of people and Elsa let out a small gasp.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" Jack whispered, leaning a bit towards her and smiling. Elsa nodded and looked around taking in every detail in the room.
She guessed that before the building was turned into a hotel this used to be a ballroom. It was a large, bright and spacious room with polished wooden floors and big French windows, facing the inner courtyard. The walls and ceiling were decorated with elaborate details and mesmerizingly beautiful images. There was a crystal chandelier hanging right above the middle of the room. Elsa directed her attention to the people. The reception hall was already full. She could recognize some faces in the crowd – there was the Prime Minister with his wife, the CEO of the company funding scholarships at Arendelle University, a couple of famous actors and TV personas.
A waiter passed by them and offered them champagne. They both took a glass of the sparkly liquid and made a few steps further towards the center of the room. Elsa looked around, trying to spot Anna and Kristoff.
"So, you finally made it," came a familiar voice from behind and they turned around to see Bunny and Tia. Bunny was dressed in a nicely fitting tuxedo and Tia was, as usual, very flamboyant, wearing a brightly colored long dress, decorated with feathers.
Jack smiled broadly at the sight of them. "Yeah, Miss Fancy Pants here took her time," he replied, looking lovingly at Elsa, and gave her a small kiss on the cheek, when she pouted.
"Don't listen to him, Elsa. Men will never understand us. You look absolutely stunning!" Tia spoke and moved to give Elsa a gentle hug.
Elsa returned the hug. "Thank you, Tia! So do you! How have you been?"
"Oh, same old. Spending most of my time at the dental clinic and with this guy," Tia said and nudged Bunny slightly, smiling up at him.
"And can you ask for anything more?" Bunny replied with a wink.
They laughed and talked for a while longer, before Bunny said he had to go and greet somebody he knew, and moved with Tia by his side.
Jack noted that he should probably do the same, as he knew many of the people present, so he offered Elsa his arm and they walked around the reception hall, greeting and talking to various individuals. After a while, Elsa finally saw Anna, who was standing next to the buffet, carefully selecting different pieces of food and placing them on the plate in her hand. Elsa excused herself from the conversation Jack was currently involved in and walked in the direction of her little sister.
"Anna," she spoke, when she stood a step away from the girl.
Her sister turned around. "Elsa, hi!" she replied, smiling. "Isn't this place amazing! And the food is just so delicious!" Anna said excitedly, as she put a piece of finger food in her mouth.
Elsa chuckled. Anna suddenly gasped, finally taking in the full image of her sister.
"Oh Elsa, you look gorgeous! The dress truly fits you well, I'm so happy you got it! What did Jack say when he saw you? I bet his jaw dropped!"
"Actually, he didn't comment on it at all," Elsa relied, disappointment evident in her voice.
"Well, that's strange…" Anna said, raising an eyebrow. Elsa just sighed and looked at the glass of champagne in her hand. "Oh don't worry, Elsa. You know him. He's probably playing a trick on you."
"Might be… Where's Kristoff, by the way?"
"He went to the restroom, he should be back soon," Anna replied, just as Kristoff came into view. "Speaking of the Devil…"
"Hello Elsa! You look wonderful!" the young man said, when he finally reached them.
"Thank you! Likewise," she answered, looking at how handsome he looked indeed. She had never seen him wear formal attire before, it looked good on him.
Kristoff blushed lightly and turned to Anna. "I would like to introduce you to somebody. Will you join me?"
Anna looked at Elsa, who smiled softly, knowing what her little sister was silently asking her.
"Go, have fun. I'll be fine,"she said.
Anna smiled back, left the plate food she was holding and took Kristoff's arm.
Elsa watched them walk away and chuckled. She was happy her sister was finally in good hands. After a moment, she glanced back at the champagne in her glass. It was making her dizzy, so she left it on the table behind her and turned around to look at all the people once more.
"Fantastic party, isn't it, Ms. Andersen?" she suddenly heard a smooth voice with a subtle British accent coming from behind her, which almost caused her to jump out of her shoes.
She turned around to look at the owner of the voice. He was a tall man, in his 40s, dressed in black from head to toe. He reminded her of a funeral agent. His features were sharp and his hair was slicked back. He had grayish complexion that made him look like a heavy smoker. He smelled like one too. But what bothered Elsa the most were his yellow eyes. They looked almost menacing.
"I don't believe I've had the pleasure," she said, not breaking eye contact.
"Oh, but of course, where are my manners… Black, Edward Black," the man replied, took her hand in his and bent down to kiss it, then looked up at her again and smiled. His teeth were unusually sharp. Elsa tried hard to hide her disgust. His name was familiar but she just couldn't put her finger on it. The man looked up once again and his eyes slid to the side and fixated on something behind her. "Such a shame, don't you think?"
She followed his eyes and saw Jack, who was currently entertaining a group of dignitaries, who were laughing wholeheartedly at his jokes. Elsa's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" she asked, noting the man was referring to Jack.
"Well, it's a shame that such a gifted hockey player, like Mr. Jack Frost, is stuck playing for a mediocre team like The Guardians, when there are other places, where he would be much more appreciated."
Elsa felt very irritated at the man's comment. How dare he offend one of the best hockey teams, not to mention the one her boyfriend and his friends were part of! But before she could spit out her sharp reply, another male voice joined the conversation.
"Edward 'Pitch' Black. I didn't expect to see you here of all places. I've never imagined you were one for charity," came the distinct Russian accent from behind her and was followed by a big warm hand that rested on Elsa's back. She exhaled, relief taking over her.
She looked up at the gentleman standing by her side. He was tall and generally a big man, with long grey beard and mustache and slightly balding. He briefly looked down at her – his blue eyes under the bushy dark eyebrows were warm and protective. Nikolai North – coach of The Guardians. Elsa liked him a lot, because he was one of the few people that could beat some sense into Jack whenever he was being stubborn.
"North," the repulsive man in front of them said through his gritted teeth. "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt other people's conversations?"
"I wouldn't have interrupted, if I hadn't seen the lady wasn't enjoying your company one bit," the coach replied in a calm voice, his expression stoic. "I decided she would feel much better conversing with me."
Elsa could have sworn she heard the man growl with anger. His face contorted into a menacing expression for a brief moment before he turned his attention to her, his expression changing almost immediately into a sly smile.
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Andersen," he said. "I hope to see you again soon." He bowed slightly to her and then turned around and hurried towards the exit of the reception hall.
"Such an unpleasant fellow," Coach North said still looking in the direction of the door. "What did he want from you?"
"He mentioned something about Jack wasting his talent on 'a mediocre team like The Guardians'," she quoted. "He said that there were other teams, where he would be more valued."
North's eyes narrowed and he frowned a bit. He stayed silent for a few seconds, as if considering something. Then he turned to look down at her, his expression changing in the blink of an eye. "Elsa, you're beautiful as ever!" he said, as if he had just met her and the previous conversation hadn't taken place at all. "How have you been? Has Jack been treating you well? Because if he hasn't, I'll have to have a serious talk with him."
Elsa smiled widely up at him. "Everything is going fine. I can't complain, Coach," she replied. Everybody referred to him as "coach" and so did she. She was happy that he didn't seem to mind it.
Suddenly the music the orchestra was playing changed from generic background music to The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss. People moved to the sides of the reception hall, freeing the central area, and some couples started dancing to the music.
"Will you do me the honor?" Coach North said, as he offered his hand to Elsa.
She smiled and took it. They danced in silence for a while, enjoying the music. After a couple of minutes Elsa spoke, "Who was this guy anyway? Edward Black…"
"In the hockey world he's known as Pitch Black. He's the owner of The Nightmares," North replied.
So, that's why the name sounded so familiar to her. She had heard Jack and Bunny talk about this team a few times.
"The Nightmares? Isn't this the team famous for not losing a game… ever?" she asked.
North nodded. "Yes. They're also famous for being quite ruthless. There are rumors that Pitch uses surreptitious methods to ensure that his team always wins. There is usually blackmail, threats and a lot of corruption involved in that. Pretty much everybody knows these are not just rumors but, despite all the investigations, nobody can actually prove his actions. He's very well connected on the higher levels, so he always manages to sneak out," he replied and after a short pause said, "Don't mention your encounter with Pitch to Jack. He might misinterpret it and you know how quick-tempered he can be sometimes."
Elsa frowned a little, but nodded in agreement. They danced until the music stopped and then pulled away.
"Thank you for the dance, Elsa. It was a pleasure," North said as he brought her hand to his lips.
"The pleasure was all mine, Coach," she replied.
Suddenly Jack, who was now standing behind them, cleared his throat. They both turned around rather surprised.
"You'll have to fight me for her, Coach," he said.
North laughed. "Boy, you don't stand a chance against my charms," he replied and winked at Elsa, who chuckled.
"I'll ask nicely then. Can I have my lady back?"
"Of course, of course. She's all yours," the older man said and left them at the dance floor.
The music started playing again and Jack took Elsa's hand, drawing her near. They danced for a while, simply looking at each other, smiling. Then Jack leaned in to whisper in her ear, "There's something I've been wanting to tell you all evening."
Elsa pulled back and looked at him inquisitively.
"I can't wait to go home and remove that dress," he whispered again with a suggestive grin of his face. He watched in amusement as Elsa's eyes widened and bright-red blush crept on her cheeks.
A/N: So, what you do you think will happen from here on? :D
I changed North's name from 'Nicholas' to 'Nikolai' because I wanted it to sound more Slavic.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Reading your reviews is the best part of this story for me :)
