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penaltbox · 4 years

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downtown’s dead - mike vorlicky

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Word Count: 2.1k

Mike looks around the bar, a frown setting in that he doesn’t even feel, as he picks at the label of his beer bottle. He should be having fun. He had no reason not to be having fun. He was out with the boys and had no responsibilities at all that night... but he still wasn’t quite in the mood for bar hopping and flirting. He knew where he’d rather be even if he didn’t want to admit it out loud.

You sit down on the couch in your apartment, glancing down at your phone but knowing better. He was out with the guys and he’d told you that would be the plan two days ago when he’d spent the night. You had told him to have fun and planned for a much needed relaxing night in.

You can’t help the sigh you let out, even though you knew you weren’t supposed to be hearing from him. It was always supposed to just be a hookup for the two of you, but as always, someone is bound to catch feelings and it happened to be you. You loved spending time with Mike whenever he wasn’t too busy, and even though it was “just a hookup” as he said, he was also pretty public with you. It made for some mixed signals at the least.

You’d gone out together, he hung around your place and your friends pretty frequently, and he’d even admitted he cared about you a time or two before. The only thing missing from it all was him being willing to commit to a real relationship and it felt like that might never come around.

Mike checks his phone for the fifth time in ten minutes when Owen finally calls him out.

“What’s your issue, Vorlicky? Your girl not checking in to see if you’re safe?” Owen teases, a little smirk crossing his face. Everyone knew Mike had it bad for you but he was the only one who wouldn’t admit to it.

Mike scoffs, trying to play it off like he usually did, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but no. It was the family group chat. My mom had a question for my brother and I.”

The lie rolls off his tongue easily but Owen is less than convinced. He doesn’t press the issue though and just nods before turning his attention back to the conversation he’d been in before interrupting Mike’s daydream.

Mike runs a hand through his hair and checks his phone again. When had he started to get like this? He didn’t mean to catch feelings for you but he definitely did. Now he seldom spent a day away from you and it was starting to scare him. He figured a night out with the boys would fix all that but all he wanted was to call you and crawl into your bed. He swore it was easier to sleep with you next to him but he’d deny it if the guys ever asked.

Maybe if he got his mind off you then he’d be able to move on. Maybe then he wouldn’t worry about what you were up to at every minute of the day. He notices Shay and Dylan keeping the attention of a few girls and he wonders when the last time he tried to turn the charm on was. He figured now was a good time to try.

He walks over and claps Shay on the shoulder but he smirks at the girls standing there. One looks up at him and flashes him a quick smile. He knows she’s up to no good and he entertains it. He introduces himself and starts up his usual questions: what’s your major, where are you from, and what do you think of hockey players.

“And so yeah, hockey is like super awesome,” she nods, finishing her ten minute explanation of why she just loved hockey.

Mike is pretty sure she hasn’t ever watched a single game in her life and he only hears maybe every third word she says. He’s not drunk, not even close, and he knows he’s not listening because he’s comparing her to you. Her hair is shorter and not something you’d probably ever like to try, she wears heels and he knows how you feel about heels at the bar, and most of all Mike can tell she’s got her makeup caked on.

The girl leans in and squeezes his arm, mumbling something about going to get another drink. He knows he’s supposed to offer to buy hers since he’s been giving her all this attention, but he’s faking it. He shakes his head a little and leans closer.

“Hey, I’m really sorry but I need to go. I hope you have fun tonight though,” he apologizes, giving her a tight smile. He doesn’t miss the disappointment on her face but he can’t play games any longer.

He turns and catches Ryder’s eye, who had apparently been watching him long enough to know what was going on. Ryder shakes his head at Mike but he’s smiling at the same time.

“You’re going to her place, aren’t you?” Ryder asks once Mike makes his way over. A little shrug of his shoulders is the only answer that Mike provides, but they both know better, “tell her I said hi. We won’t wait up for you tonight.”

Mike feels a little lighter for a moment and pulls out his phone. He opens the messages between the two of you, ones that go back months and months now, but he locks his phone again and puts it away. He figured you won’t be upset if he just showed up.

You finish your glass of wine and rinse it out in the sink, shutting off the kitchen light on the way out. You walk over to the windows and look out at the city below you. People were going in and out of buildings all over, but none of them were Mike and you certainly weren’t with him.

You frown, hating that you felt so dependent on him, and decide that maybe it was just time to go to sleep. You double check the locks on the front door and head into your room without even checking your phone. You go through your night time routine and just as you’re setting your toothbrush back in its spot you swear you hear a knock on the front door.

Your heart rate picks up a little because there’s no reason anyone should be stopping by, but another knock confirms that someone is definitely on the other side of the door. You suck in a breath and quickly tiptoe back out, not turning on any lights and somehow not stubbing your toe like you half expected to. You lean up to see out the peephole and immediately start swearing under your breath as you whip the door open.

“What the hell, Mike?” You ask, pushing his chest.

He gives you the most confused look ever as he grabs your wrist, “what do you mean? What’s wrong?”

“You can’t show up in the middle of the night and scare a girl like this!”

You let out a little laugh and he relaxes then, letting your hand go. He thought you were legitimately upset and he’s more than happy to find that you were just caught off guard. He smiles then and goes to walk in, but you put an arm up on the door frame. He gives you a questioning look that you return immediately.

“I thought you were out with the boys tonight?” You inquire, looking him up and down. He was certainly dressed like he was ready to go out, but him being in front of you said otherwise.

He shrugs, trying to play it cool, “I did go out, but I’m done now.”

You squint a little as you ask, “and the boys? They’re done and back at their places too?”

Mike’s cheeks start to redden a bit and you have to fight off a smile. Had he really bailed on the boys to come hang out with you? You missed him, of course, but you definitely expected to not see him until at least the next day.

“I was done. Am I allowed in now?”

You step back and let him walk in, locking the door all over again and turning towards him. He has his hand sticking out, waiting for you to grab it. It’s silent between the two of you, but it feels charged. It feels like there’s a lot unsaid between you both.

You let Mike lead you over to your couch despite the fact you were definitely ready for bed. The lights from the city pour into the room, leaving it illuminated enough to not need any other lights.

“I tried to flirt with someone tonight,” he admits, trying a couple times to meet your eyes, but he keeps glancing away.

You frown, a weird pit forming in your stomach, and all you can say is, “oh.”

“I couldn’t do it. I don’t even know what her name was and I know she wasn’t as pretty as you.”

You snap your eyes up to look at him and squeeze his hand that you still haven’t let go of, wanting more of an explanation.

“I always said I wouldn’t date in college. It’s supposed to be when you have fun and go out. You get to meet new people all the time. I guess I didn’t expect to meet someone I’d like so much,” he says quietly, but he looks up finally to make eye contact.

Your heart feels like it could pop out of your chest at any moment and you really can’t fight the smile off that makes its way over your features.

“Mike,” you mumble, stepping closer and wrapping your arms around his shoulders, “are you trying to say you like me?”

“I think you knew I liked you,” he says, but he’s still blushing as he does, “but I didn’t really know if you felt completely the same.”

You bite your lip and play with the hair at the nape of his neck, watching as he relaxes under your touch, “I tried really hard not to like you. I figured it was a one or two time thing when we first hung out, but it just kept going. Then I told myself that I couldn’t fall for you because you were a hockey player, and well, that apparently didn’t matter.”

Mike smiles at you, his eyes going a little wide as he realizes what you were saying, “so you do like me? Like you don’t want to go to the bar and flirt with someone else either?”

You laugh and shake your head at his question, “no, Mike, I don’t want to go flirt with anyone else at the bar that isn’t you.”

“So maybe we give this a try? Because I can’t handle going downtown again and trying to act like I wouldn’t rather be with you,” he says honestly, giving you a bit of a sheepish smile.

You lean in, kissing him slowly and softly. You think you could probably kiss him forever if the real world didn’t intervene with it, but you take what you can as often as you can with him. You lean your forehead against his and soaking things in for a minute.

“Ryder says hi,” Mike whispers, a little grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“I love that boy,” you smile, watching Mike’s expression quickly turn a little sour as you amend the statement, “but not the way I love you.”

He raises an eyebrow at you, smirking as he mumbles, “you got so soft on me. Who are you anymore?”

You laugh and push away from him, knowing damn well he was the one who’d gone soft. You start to walk towards your bedroom but he catches your wrist quickly, tugging you back against him.

“I was planning to spend the night?” He asks, his tone unsure despite the fact you’d never told him he couldn’t.

You smile at him, giving him a little nod, “I don’t care if you spend every night here from now on, but I’m a little wine drunk and I’d like to get to bed.”

He hears the implication in your voice and before you can react he picks you up bridal style and heads toward your room with you giggling the whole time. He was even more happy with himself for bailing on the boys now.

#mike vorlicky #owen lindmark #ryder donovan #shay donovan #dylan holloway #wisconsin hockey #mine #my writing

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puckyess · 4 years

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4 Times Fate Brought You Together +1 Time You Met Him on Purpose | Ryder Donovan

Thanks for being patient! What’s your favorite part/line? My fav line is in the tags.

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Words: 8.4k

Brewers Game

You and your group of friends were the worst at actually making plans, preferring to be spontaneous and see where the days took you. Today’s adventure included deciding to attend a Brewers game an hour before it started. Seeing as how Miller Park was a little over an hour away, there was no time to debate the idea if you wanted to make it there before the second inning. At the time, it had seemed like perfect timing, a great idea.

Now, however as you stood on the crowded patio, the only tickets left for today’s sold out game, you were rethinking the whole plan. While you were a fan of the game and an even bigger fan of Christian Yelich, the blisters on your feet from standing in flip flops were not making the experience worth it. Luckily, your friends had volunteered to scour the stadium for some neglected seats. That left you standing against the railing, nursing a beer and rolling your eyes at the very obnoxious group a couple tables over.

Glancing over your shoulder with a dirty look on your face was a mistake as you realized who that group was: a majority of the Wisconsin hockey team. Your eyes widened and you quickly turned your head back to the game, but your actions hadn’t gone unnoticed by a certain blonde.

“Guys, maybe we should cool it a bit. We’re getting looks”, he tried.

“Who’s giving us looks? I’ll fight ‘em”, Mike called a bit too loud.

Your eyes on the field, you felt your face flush as his voice easily carried over to your direction. You hated confrontation and you had a feeling you were about to get one. Hoping to avoid it and trying to look innocent, you pulled your phone from your back pocket and sent an sos text to your friend, alerting her of who else was in your presence and asking how much longer she’d be gone to find seats.

You heard a “dude!” and the sound of a smack and you couldn’t help but giggle a little as who you assumed was the boy who yelled was getting reprimanded. Mike was his name and he was apparently not as drunk as he was acting, as he spied your shoulders shaking, his eyes narrowing in on the person who had gotten him thwacked by Ryder.

“Hey!” He hollered. You froze.

“Yeah, you, Yelich shirt!” And though that could have applied to ¾ of the people there, you knew he was referring to yourself. It was time to face the music so you slowly turned toward the hollering boy with your eyebrows raised.

The shit eating grin you were met with spelled trouble and you braved yourself for whatever it was he had to say next. “My friend, here,” he says grabbing Ryder and roughing his shoulder, “says he has a major crush on you. Like big time. Won’t stop staring at ya. Isn’t that right, Dono?” The blush that took over your face surely matches Ryder’s, who’s staring at you with wide, apologetic eyes. Meanwhile the boys are snickering at Mike embarrassing their friend in front of a girl.

“Really? Why don’t you tell him to come over and tell me himself? I couldn’t hear him over your loud mouth”, you retort. And with that you turn back around, heart beating in your ears, definitely not focusing on the game anymore. The noise level in the stadium raises three decibels as the guys hoot and holler at your chirp.

Not too much time passes before you feel a tap on your shoulder. You begin to sigh as you turn again, can a girl not watch a baseball game in peace anymore? But you suck in a breath when you see the nervous boy in front of you. His one hand is stuffed in his pocket, the other rubbing at the back of his neck and he’s shifting his weight from side to side. Despite the butterflies in your stomach, you can’t help but give him a little smirk.

“Ok you need to chill, you’re making me nervous”, you chirp, gesturing with your hands at his nervous fidgeting. He drops his hand and pauses his rocking with a grin on his face, seeming to relax a little.

“Well you see, you just completely killed my teammate back there and I’m kind of nervous you're going to roast me the same,” he says, thumb jutting back to where he came from. You peer around his tall frame and see his teammates staring at the two of you, well his back mostly, on the edges of their seats trying to gauge how the conversation is going.

“The smile on your face is teasing as you ask “are you aware we have an audience?” and the laugh he lets out is better than you could’ve imagined, especially because you had made him tip his head back with laughter.

He answers, shaking his head. “I had no doubt they’d be watching to see if I fail”.

“If you fail?”

The smirk on his face is dangerous, “Well that depends on you”.

You hum in response. “I don’t know what you’d fail at? You haven’t even told me your name, your number, what you’re doing over here in the first place...?” You trail off, proud of yourself for that spark plug move.

He’s shaking his head then with a beautiful smile on his face. “I’m here to apologize for Mike’s headassery and for my team’s lack of manners when drunk in public. Well when sober too”, he laughs, then continues, “and as for my name, I’m-“ but he doesn’t get to finish as suddenly everyone around you is shouting “kiss, kiss, kiss!” You couldn’t believe what was happening right now. Your brain was suddenly unable to concentrate on anything except kissing the boy in front of you.

The nervous look is back on his face as he leans down to you “you don’t have to kiss me if you don’t want to”, though there’s something hopeful in his eyes that you might say yes. Instinct takes over, your hands gripping his shirt and pulling him the rest of the way down to meet your grinning lips. You can feel him smiling as well, the rest of your senses only responding to him. You don’t hear the roar of the crowd. You can only smell his cologne and the beer that he had obviously been sipping on before coming to talk to you. You can hear the beating of your heart because of him and when you pull back, not wanting to get any farther than PG on national television, you can see his bright smile directed at you.

“Wow” is all he says, echoing your thoughts out loud. You can’t imagine the look on your face right then. You feel like you’re just staring at him with a big, dumb smile on your face. Luckily the boys, as with much of the stadium have gone back to whatever it is they were doing before your world was just rocked. Your phone ringing breaks up the moment and though you lift it to your ear you barely hear what your friend is saying besides “ohmygod, Ryder Donovan, Jumbotron and I found seats”. Ryder is still standing close to you and can very easily hear your friend’s squeals.

When you hang up he has an accusing look in his eyes but a cocky grin spread across his lips. “Don’t know my name, huh? It sounds to me like you very much know my name”.

Cringing, mostly at the fact that your friend had literally squealed over the boy staring at you expectantly, but also at your own embarrassment.

“Hey I never lied about that. I only pointed out that you hadn’t told me your name, not that I didn’t already know it. But I do have to get going to my seat. Don’t want to have to stand here with your friends any longer. I have a game to watch!” you say with a wink, leaving Ryder’s mouth open, his number never making it past his lips. He hadn’t even gotten your name.

If there was one good thing about the abrupt end to the NHL season it was that you got to watch playoff hockey in the middle of September. And it gave you an excuse to be at the bar pretty much every night that week after work. You and your roommate would order a drink or two and spend the evening yelling at the TVs in the bar. Somehow in all of your excitement for game 3 of the Toronto/CBJ matchup you’d managed to forget that every Wisconsin student goes out on Thursday nights and so KK was a bit more crowded tonight, especially with how early it was. Surprisingly, a lot of people had on gear in support of both teams and were already pregaming.

Once you had your drinks in hand, you began to weave your way back to what had become your high top table in the corner. It had the best view in the place and it was out of the way, giving you a little space to jump around if the game got too crazy without being noticed. Or so you thought anyways. You made yourself comfortable on your stool, focusing on the screen as the puck dropped, completely missing the head turn and stare of the tall blonde who had not left your mind since three weeks ago.

He gets caught staring, but not by the person he wants to. Cole nudges his arm, “So are you gonna go make your move or what?” he challenges. Shay is next to his brother leaning on the table.

“Don’t think we haven’t noticed you drooling over her since the minute she walked in”, he teases. “See, you even have a little wet spot”, he says poking his brother’s chest.

“Where?” Ryder asks, confused and suddenly looking down, pulling on his shirt to get a better look at whatever mystery stain his brother was talking about.

“Right there”, Shay says at the same time he flicks his finger upwards, hitting Ryder in the face.

“You’re such a child, Shay”

“And you’re such an idiot. You fall for that everytime”, he cackles. “But for real, bro, you haven’t stopped looking for her everywhere we go. She’s right here, just pull out those moves I know you have”.

Looking over at you grinning up at the TV, pointing at something and talking animatedly to your friend, he decides his brother is right and he moves to get out of his seat and make his way through the crowd to you. But just as his feet hit the floor the bar erupts into a mixture of cheers and boos and you’re up out of your seat, hands on your head, watching Mitch Marner dangle his way through Jackets left and right and then going backhand on Elvis for one dirty goal. The distress is clear on your face and your arms are flailing wildly as you shake your head, yelling at the screen with your friend. Even from across the bar he can tell you're mad and pouting as you sit back in your seat with your arms crossed over your chest and a scowl on your face. You look cute all worked up over a goal and he decides he’ll settle for watching you interact with the game for a bit more. He also makes a mental note that you’re a Jackets fan.

Towards the end of the second period, you lift your cup to your mouth to discover it empty. You eye the thick crowd and debate whether or not to get another drink, but with the final seconds on the clock winding down and the Jackets trailing by two goals, you get off your stool and elbow your way through the wall of bodies.

Standing at the bar you feel someone grab your elbow. “What’re you stalking me now?” the voice attached to it asks.

You whip around, yanking your arm free not realizing that the bewildered boy was harmless. Seeing Ryder’s face with his eyes wide and hands up in defense you let out a breath of relief. “You can’t go sneaking up on a girl in a bar like that” you reprimand him.

He sheepishly apologizes, acknowledging that that wasn’t his best move.

“But to answer your question, I could ask you the same thing. I for one, live here” you tell him and he looks pleasantly surprised.

“Oh yeah? And who is ‘I’ anyway? I never did get your name.”

You laugh, thinking back to your first encounter and he was right, you had knowingly left him without introducing yourself. “Y/N” you say, letting him in on the mystery.

“Y/N” he repeats, liking the way it sounds on his lips and you have to admit that you do too. “And where is it that you live, Y/N? Maybe I know the place?”

You shake your head, “Probably not. It’s not on campus”, he still looks intrigued so you continue, “it’s a little ways the opposite direction. Right next to Festival, well, attached to it. Really convenient actually, I end up going there almost every day because I decide I need something new for dinner after work”.

Just then you hear commotion and look up just in time to see a replay of Werenski taking a dumb penalty, sending the lethal Leafs power play into action. You groan and Ryder chuckles. “You get pretty into this don’t you?”

You give him a look. “If you think that’s ‘into it’ you should see me when they actually get scored on”

“Oh I have, you’ve been losing your shit over there in the corner since about the fifth minute of the first period” he says nodding over toward your table with a smirk. You should feel embarrassed but knowing he’s seen you worked up over hockey and he’s been watching you this whole time makes you feel something else instead, something you don’t quite want to acknowledge.

“See, so I was right. You’re the one who is stalking me” you chirp him. He laughs and puts his hands up again.

“You’ve caught me. Can I buy you a drink to make up for it?”. Normally you wouldn't accept drinks from guys, knowing there’s usually always strings attached, but Ryder isn’t normal by any means and you wouldn't even be mad if there were strings attached to this one, so you agree.

“If you can get her attention. I swear I’ve been waiting here pretty much the whole intermission”. After asking what you want he looks around for the bartender and flashes a smile. Within seconds he’s ordered both of your drinks and is looking at you with a smug look on his face, your mouth slightly ajar.

“Unbelievable”, you mutter, but you should’ve known better. You can tell he knows what you said but he still leans down, close to you and makes a big show of saying “what was that?” And if he wants to play games then so will you, so you grab a fistful of his shirt and bring him back down to your level. “I said it’s unbelievable that you can just bat your lashes and that girl rushes over to take your order. Must be nice to be a star hockey player”. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t annoyed, firstly over the fact that you had quite literally been waiting there for a good 20 minutes and she hadn’t even glanced your way, but the minute Ryder shows up he gets taken care of and secondly you didn’t like the way she was looking at him as she quickly filled his order and leaned over the bar to hand it to him, unabashedly showing off her cleavage.

You did however, enjoy the dirty look she threw your way as he handed you your drink and leaned down to your ear to ask if you were jealous. Whether he was referring to his non-existent wait time or if he had caught the pouty look on your face, you were unsure, but instead of inflating his ego too much you left his question unanswered.

You focused your attention on the mark you had left in his shirt at the center of his chest where your fist had grabbed the fabric, wrinkling it. Your hand reached out to smooth it and maybe curiously feel the muscles underneath. Ryder looked down, eyes watching your hand the whole time hoping you couldn’t feel the way his heart was pounding under your touch. Your eyes gauge his reaction and right when you thought you might lose your own self control, the crowd saved you, cheering as Josh Anderson wedged one in past Freddie. You quickly removed your hand from his chest and cheered along with the rest of the Jackets fans. You used the moment as your escape, thanking him for your drink and then turning on your heel, “I have a game to watch!” You told him just like the first time and strolled back to your table, leaving Ryder in a stupor.

Festival

“So tell me again why we had to drive all the way across the city to get donuts that were also at the convenience store right across from our building?” Shay asks from behind the wheel.

“Because he’s stalking kiss cam girl” Dylan pipes in, making kissy faces and then retreating when Ryder shoots him a glare.

“We’re going to Festival because all I know about Y/N is her name and that she lives in the building attached to it and goes to this store all the time” he says matter of factly.

“So we’re stalking her?” Mike sums up.

Ryder just rolls his eyes and huffs out a “no” in the front seat.

“Come on dude, what’s your plan here if you do end up seeing her? What’re you gonna say when she says ‘oh what’re you doing here?’ ‘Oh ya know, I just made my brother drive all the way across the city to get these donuts and oh by the way would you want to go out with me?’” Shay asks, imitating Ryder.

“Well no”, he answers defensively.

“So what’s your plan?” Mike pushes.

Ryder looks down at his hand, suddenly regretting his decision to shove his teammates into a car after practice and travel across town to your door. Well, grocery store. “I don’t know’ I haven’t gotten that far, okay? I haven’t really thought about it”.

At that Mikey dies laughing, “Don’t lie, Rydes! As if you haven’t been rehearsing in your bedroom mirror for the past four days”. Ryder twists in his seat to eye his teammate before he lunges for him through the opening to the backseat, making Shay swerve the car as he turns into the parking lot.

“Hey, hey, hey! Watch the shoulder!” He shouts, trying to shield his shoulder from his brother's aggressive movements. Putting the car in park he tugs on Ryder’s shirt, making him sit down and then popping the locks, he’s shoving him out of the car. “We should just leave him”, Dylan mumbles when the door shuts.

As he rounds the corner of the donut aisle for the fourth time, he’s shaking his head at his stupidity. What was he thinking coming to this grocery store on a Monday night and expecting to see you? He’d checked the playoff schedule and there weren’t any games tonight, but that didn’t mean you’d be spending your night at the grocery store. Letting out a long sigh he frowns and grabs the box of Krispe Kreme donuts.

Having been watching him from the end of the aisle, you decide to finally speak up, “Someone having a rough day? I’ve never seen anyone have that reaction when they grab glazed donuts”.

His face lights up when he turns to face you. “You’re here”, he blurts out. His cheeks flame as he tries to recover. “I mean of course you’re here, you live right next door..I mean..” he’s clearly flustered and though you should say something to try and make him relax a little, you can’t help but chirp him just a tiny bit.

“I do. Someone has a good memory...I’m surprised no one’s called the cops on you for loitering. You’ve been pacing around the store for a good half hour now and you look nervous as hell like you’re gonna steal something”.

“Just your heart” he says automatically. His eyes widen and his hands cover his face. “Ohmygod, I can't believe I just said that '' he draws out with a groan, hand sliding down his face. “I’m sorry. I really don’t know what’s wrong with me” he says with slumped shoulders and red cheeks.

Your head is thrown back with loud laughs that earn you stares from the couple entering the aisle. “That was smooth, Donovan'' you say and put a hand on his arm, scooching a little closer to him to let the couple pass by. He tries to ignore your touch but it’s increasingly harder to do, the longer you let your hand linger.

“ So what are you doing here anyway? Isn’t this like kind of out of the way from campus?” Curiosity fills your voice. Ryder inwardly cringes at his brother being right. Of course you’d want to know what he was doing here and you’d picked up on the fact that it was very much out of his way. instead of answering the question he poorly tried to deflect, unable to come up with much. It’s like his brain won’t function properly around you.

“Well I just needed the world’s best glazed donuts and figured I would go to a grocery store instead of a convenience store because they’re probably fresher?” he offers.

“Uh huh”, you nod, clearly not believing him. “They are prettyyyy gooood” you say reaching across him to grab a box of your own and add it to the basket on your arm, “But not the best.” And you begin to tell him about the little bakery back home that makes literally the world’s best glazed donuts as you walk through the store and finish crossing items off your list.

When you self checkout and all Ryder has is the box of donuts you swipe them from him, scanning them and pulling a pen out of your purse. He’s practically wrestling you in the middle of the checkout, protesting, saying that “under no circumstances will you be walking out of there without money in your hands for the world’s second best glazed donuts”. After receiving dirty looks from the lady behind you in line, you shove the box back into his hands and quickly grab your couple of bags. He holds the door for you on your way out and offers to take your bags and walk you back. You shake your head though, knowing that if he walked you back, you’d invite him in, and if you invited him in he’d be staying until the sun came up.

“Just take your donuts home and call it a win, Rydes”, you say, nodding toward the box in his hand. Your face gets warm at the use of the nickname slipping your mouth but the grin it earns from him is worth the embarrassment of the slip up.

“I’ll see you soon,” he says but phrases it in the way of a question.

A small smile finds its way onto your features, “Maybe,” you turn to walk away, “if you use what’s written on that box”. He suddenly remembers you writing something on the box when you took it from him moments ago. At the time he had been too worried about paying you back that he had forgotten to actually see what you had written. He glances down to see your number messily scrawled on the top of the box, a small smile creeping its way onto his lips. When he looks back up you’re nowhere to be seen.

Turning to walk back to where the boys are no doubt anxiously waiting for him he pops open the box and takes a big, victorious bite out of a donut. He casually slides into the car to find Shay, Mike and Dylan on the edge of their seats. Mike looks a little too smug as he says, “Coming out empty handed I see?”. With an eyebrow raised Ryder asks him if he wants a donut, extending the box toward his obnoxious teammate, nonchalantly showing off the number on the top. Dylan was about to complain that he didn’t get offered any donuts when he spies something out of place on the polka dotted box.

“What’s that on the top-ohmygod you got her number didn’t you? She was actually there? You lucky son of a bitch. This never happens to me” he says, sitting back in his seat and pouting.

Shay’s laughing from the front seat. “That’s the Donovan way. Pay up, Vorlicky. You owe me 10 bucks”.

“Let me see that'' Mike grumbles, yanking the box from Ryder’s hand to inspect. Ryder tried to play it cool, like he had planned it and had no doubts that he’d get your number, but he ends up gushing about it like a little school girl the whole way home. As he finishes the last bite of his donut he can’t help but wonder what your world's best glazed donuts taste like.

Season Ticket Holder Brunch

If you could only eat one meal a day, it would be brunch. There was just something so satisfying about starting your day around 10 or 11 o'clock, sitting down to a fulfilling meal of whatever food your heart desired. It would be perfectly acceptable to fill your stomach with fluffy pancakes and sugary syrup or you could go the cheeseburger and fries route; it was a win win. A week ago, had someone told you that you were going to brunch and there would also be hockey talk/players there, you would have been in heaven. But today you were feeling more like you were going to be in your own personal hell. Not only would you be in the same room as the guy you had kind of humiliated in front of his buddies, but you’d also have to look the one in the eye who you had given your number to and never heard from. Oh and then there was the fact that you’d be with the whole damn Wisconsin hockey team as a fan, a season ticket holder fan at that. You wouldn’t even be going, but as fate would have it, your roommate had just so happened to threaten your life when you had first refused to go, using the phrase “I will kill you myself if I have to”. So here you were, about to celebrate the beginning of a new season with brunch and the stars themselves.

His eyes had widened in disbelief the first time he had caught sight of you that day. What were you doing here, at a luncheon exclusively for season ticket holders? Cole looked at his teammate.

“You still haven’t reached out to her yet?” He asked incredulously.

“I didn’t think she was serious. What am I supposed to say?”

“Dude she gave you her number. What more does she need to do? Sack up bro”. Ryder knew Cole was right. You hadn’t thrown yourself at him like other girls did, but you had definitely made it clear you were interested in him. Hell, you had literally kissed him in front of thousands of people and yet, he couldn’t compose a text? He knew he had to speak to you today before you left, but as he watched you greet Coach Granato with such confidence, he lost his.That didn’t mean his eyes didn’t follow you everywhere you went, constantly aware of your presence in the room, even if you didn’t appear to be aware of his.

From a fan’s perspective, the whole setup was pretty cool, you had to admit. The guys were greeting guests as they entered and mingling throughout the room. You knew where Ryder was at every moment and though you wanted so badly to be able to go up to him, you made yourself avoid him. A task that was made very difficult with the warmth of his eyes on your every more. This little dance of yours continued until the presentations started, then the guys were lined up at the front of the room at banquet tables that were facing the rest of the room. There were a couple speeches from the coach and the new captains, and a really well put together hype video, which you watched none of because the whole time you kept locking eyes with the one and only, Ryder Donovan. You both were casting glances each other’s way, alternating whose turn it was to quickly look away, the question in your eyes present each time and the guilt in his.

When tables are released to go get their food from the buffet he searches for you. Spotting you in line with a plate in your hand he slides up next to you.

“I was about to offer you a ticket to the game but I guess you’ve already got that covered” he tries. You don’t even turn his way, pretending to survey the food even though your heart is beating a mile a minute just with his proximity to you.

“Oh is that so? And how were you going to do that? I’m assuming you lost my number? And if you didn’t, you really should”.

He hears snickers from behind him and he shoots his teammates a glare before turning his attention back to you. Clearly he’s messed up and he knows he’s skating on thin ice (haha) with you so he tries to choose his words carefully before just deciding to put himself out there.

“I didn’t exactly know what to say? I typed out a bunch of different options, some cheesy pickup lines, a simple hey, but I erased it every time. It didn’t seem...good enough” he admits. Now you look at him, his face confirming his words and you see him look nervous for the third time since you’ve met him, and three times more than you thought you ever would.

“How about a ’hi it’s Ryder’ you’re plenty good enough already, you didn’t need to think of some snazzy message, it’s just me”

“Yeah, but that’s exactly my point. You’re..well you’re you. You’re kind of intimidating and by kind of I mean you’re intimidating”.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that one” you say, but you’re reeling at the boy in front of you calling you intimidating, as if he didn’t know who he was.

“It’s true” he defends, calling Mike over.

“Mike, is she intimidating?”

“Oh hell yeah. I was pretty shitfaced at that game and even I knew not to mess with you after you handed me my ass” he jokes.

“See?” Ryder says, gesturing to Mike as if proving his point. “Okay you’re dismissed Mikey” Mike looks annoyed that he has to leave the conversation but shrugs and follows Ryder’s orders anyway, leaving you alone with Ryder once again.

“Well just know I don’t mean to come off as intimidating”, you tell him, wanting to break the ice and ultimately let him in.

He follows you to your table and then hesitates once he’s there, not knowing if it’s okay to sit down. You pat the chair next to you and his tall frame is collapsing into the chair next to you. Once he’s sitting you can see him visibly relax a bit, noticing for the first time how tiring these events can be for the young men that serve as the entertainment.

“Are you tired yet?” You ask. He can see the concern in your eyes and his heart swells a little at the fact that you might be worried about him.

“Don’t worry about me, today is about you guys, the fans” he teases, leaning toward you to knock your shoulder with his own.

You can tell he’s trying to keep it light, but you wanted a real answer from him. “And I thought I was supposed to be intimidating. Clearly didn’t scare you into actually answering the question” you say with a light smile. He chuckles at your remark and gives you his honest answer, leaning forward so that he can prop his bent arm on the table and rest his head on his hand, watching you.

“Yes, these things are exhausting. I’m just kind of on display the whole time and have to say the right things all the time And obviously I’m not very good at that” he motions between the two of you, “but don’t get me wrong I’m super grateful to be in this position and I know it comes with the territory and stuff. It really is fun too, meeting everyone and seeing all of the support and excitement for the team. It’s a really cool thing we have here at Wisconsin” the passion and gratitude leaking into his voice. The smile on your face is genuine as you listen to him open up and you can’t help but think about how easily you could get used to this, to him. Your thoughts are interrupted by another boy stopping at your table.

“Hey bud, coach said you have to fraternize with all of the fans, not just your girlfriend” he says, clapping a hand down on Ryder’s shoulder. Ryder’s cheeks turn the color of the scarlet Badger polo he’s wearing. You laugh at the older Donovan’s remark before sticking out your hand and introducing yourself. Shay gives his brother one last chirp before Ryder is excusing himself.

“I thought I’d never get rid of him” he jokes after Ryder leaves. “Look I know the kid hasn’t texted you yet, but I know for a fact he’s interested in you. I’m assuming you’re coming to our game this weekend?” He asks.

“I think I can arrange that, yes” you say as you watch Ryder work the room. As if he can sense you watching him, he sends a smile your way, a slight blush on his cheeks still.

“- and yeah, that’s the story of how Carole killed her husband and fed him to the tigers” Shay finishes and waits patiently for your reaction.

You only catch the tail end of what he’s saying and are very confused, “I’m sorry what?!”

He throws his head back laughing, earning Ryder’s attention. “You weren’t listening to a word I said, Y/N. You two have it so bad for each other” he taunts. You roll your eyes but there is a definite smile on your face.

“Yeah, says you”.

He smiles back, getting up from the table since you weren’t listening anyways. “I mean it, this weekend. You and Ryder. I’m gonna make it happen” he says pointing at you and his brother. You shake your head at him but don’t protest, continuing to watch the tall boy across the room.

With the event wrapping up you decide to head out, having to prepare some stuff for work the next day. You want to make it a point to say your goodbye to Ryder before you leave this time, but he beats you to it as he sees you nearing the door.

“So about that ticket..” he says grinning.

“Oh are you getting me a seat on the glass or right behind the bench?” You tease.

He’s just as quick with a response, “if that’s what you want. As long as I know where to look for you”. You look away not wanting him to see the way your face is heating up. He’s getting good at this.

“D5” you tell him, biting your lip.

“D5” he repeats as if committing it to memory. “Well then I will see you there”, he says.

“Not if I see you first, Donovan” you lightly flirt. He rolls his eyes at your cheesy response, fighting the grin that breaks out on his face.

“Get outta here, Y/N, I'm starting to rub off on you”.

Since the season ticket holder event, Ryder had stepped up his initiative, even texting you for the first time later that day to make sure you had gotten home alright and again apologizing for not messaging you sooner. He made up for lost time by committing all of his free time to you, texting and FaceTiming you every chance he got, even sneaking messages in during practice where you got a text from his coach telling you that Ryder would no longer be available for the next hour as he would be bag skating. The boys let him have it for that one.

Needless to say, you two had grown closer in the span of a week, feeling like you had known each other for ages and you were very much looking forward to the next time you could see him, which would be at his game. Obviously he knew you had tickets for it, but the look on his face when he asked if you would come to his game was adorable.

The gameday experience itself and attending the game as someone’s possible significant other was new in every way and couldn’t have been more perfect from start to finish. Even getting ready for the game was exciting. The moment you walked through the doors of Kohl you were in awe. It was even bigger and better than you had imagined. You were taking so much time admiring the arena that you were a few minutes late to watch warmups. Of course you wandered down to the glass and Ryder was in front of you in an instant. He charmingly tossed a puck over the glass and then was hit by Dylan against the boards. The game itself was electric. The atmosphere was alive and you could tell the boys were feeding off the energy. It was a very tight game for all three periods, but Ryder luckily found the back of the net within the last minute, putting the Badgers up 1 and sealing the victory. He immediately crashed into the glass right in front of you, you capturing the moment with the proudest smile on your face.

Waiting for Ryder was nerve racking to say the least. Your eyes kept shifting from place to place and person to person and you exchanged fake smiles with the people you had made awkward eye contact with. There were small groups of family members and girls waiting for the team to make their exit and you stood off to the side by yourself. You couldn’t have felt more out of place if you tried.

Soon enough you see a blonde poke of hair through the doorway of the locker room. With his head above everyone else’s you watch his eyes scan the groups for your face. You find each other immediately and across the room his silhouette starts to make its way to you. As soon as he’s in front of you he’s wrapping his arms around you and lifting you off your feet. Your laughter is genuine, having not expected him to be so open in front of everyone, despite having already kissed on a jumbortron. Once he sets you on your feet, the playful conversation starts. He counters all your quick remarks and the interactions feel as fun and as alive as they used to in middle school when you’d pass notes in secrecy to your crush.

“So what did ya think?”, the nervous Ryder from previous interactions gone and the goal scoring, talented hockey player Ryder taking his place.

A smile tugs at your lips as you decide whether or not you want to inflate his ego any, but after a 3 point night you think he’s earned a little compliment at least.

“It was amazing! This arena lives up to the hype for sure and that #27, damn he’s pretty good. Do you think you could hook a girl up? He was on fire tonight”.

“I might be able to work a little magic. I don’t know though, he seems pretty into this girl already” he drawls out, reaching for you again.

“Well, she’s feeling pretty lucky tonight”.

His teammates begin joining you two, each one giving him a hard time as they enter the picture. “Y/N! I’m glad you showed up, we thought Ryder was gonna have a heart attack when you didn’t show for the very beginning of warmups. I’m Cole by the way, Ryder talks all about you”, he says sticking his hand out.

You giggle at his comment and Ryder’s cheeks. He doesn’t deny any part of what his teammate had just said. “I didn’t know I had to follow the team schedule, but I won’t be late next time” you say, knocking into Ryder’s side.

“Are you coming out with us tonight? We’re just going for a few drinks. Nothing too wild since we have another one tomorrow, but we want to celebrate the first one.”

His question takes you by surprise, as Ryder had said he wanted to hang out after the game but had danced around what he actually wanted to do. But before you can answer he does for you. “We’ll be there, but we have to make a little stop first” he says and then realized that he hadn’t even asked what your opinion on the plans were, “if that’s ok with you?”

You didn’t have the chance to answer, again because Dylan pipes up in the conversation. “Hey, you said I would get next goal!” He whines.

Your brows knit in confusion at whatever Dylan’s complaint is in reference to, as Owen throws an arm over the blonde’s shoulders. “It’s okay buddy, I’ll take you. Ryder has a girlfriend now, so things are going to be different”, O delicately explains like he’s talking to a child, welcoming a new human into the family.

Ryder rolls his eyes at his teammates, but doesn’t dispute or even address the girlfriend comment. “Sorry, D. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. But we should probably get going if we want to make it an early one tonight”. The boys nod in agreement and all make the walk to their cars, dispersing. Ryder walks with you to the passenger side of the car and opens the door for you and you have to say, even though it’s a small gesture, it still makes you blush and earns him yet another brownie point.

After he gets in and starts to drive you ask, “So where is it that we’re going that Dylan’s so upset about?”

Of course he doesn’t give you a straight answer, wanting to keep it a surprise as long as he can. “You’ll see”.

It’s a short time before he’s pulling up in front of the Capitol building and telling you to “stay put” as he jogs around the front of the car to open your door for you. His hand is held out to help you out of the car and onto the sidewalk. You expect him to drop your hand once you’ve made it safely, but he keeps your hand tucked in his and pulls you along until you”re standing inside Dlux.

With an excited grin on his face he asks, “Are you ready for the best burger and shake of your life?”

Ryder was downright passionate, telling you about all of the different shake flavors they had and how he made it a mission last year to try every single one, “AND every month they come out with a new flavor! This month’s is red velvet”. Which one are you going to get?” You couldn’t decide but he assured you that no matter which flavor you chose, you couldn’t go wrong.

He was right on that, eventually leaving the shake decision up to him and he chose the flavor of the month, and it was delicious. The burgers were amazing too, in part due to the fact that you were starving. You’d barely eaten anything all day because of the nerves leading up to being with Ryder that night. Both of you finished your food lightning fast, but stayed to talk well past your plates having been cleared from the table. You only ended up leaving because the boys were blowing up Ryder’s phone with texts asking when you two were coming. When you looked down at your own phone you realized that you’d been there for a good two hours. Time flew when you were with him. He ended up paying for your meal, claiming it was in return for the donuts you had bought for him and though the amounts were very unbalanced, you agreed with the condition of you paying for the next time. He was overly satisfied with the promise of there being a “next time”.

“That was the perfect post-game meal. I can see why Dylan was upset he didn’t get to be your date tonight”, you said once you were back in the warmth of the car.

“Yeah I feel kind of bad, I did tell him next goal at the end of last season when he didn’t get to go”, glancing over at you he can see your eyebrow raised and further explains, “It’s kind of cheesy, but every time I get a goal, I come here for a shake and a burger. Kind of a reward I guess. A little tradition I started”. The small smile that dances across his face is endearing and almost embarrassed.

“Well thank you for letting me be a part of your tradition”, you tell him earnestly. You feel honored that he wanted to include you and share his tradition with you.

He just shrugs, “Well I figured I had to bring my good luck charm to celebrate. You’re coming to my game tomorrow too, right?” a little smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Your nose scrunches up at his line, but a giggle escapes you nonetheless. “That was really cheesy, Donovan. But yes, I will be there”.

“D5?”

“D5”, you confirm.

His hand finds yours again as he leads you to their booth in the back of KK. You can’t help but notice its view of your table in the corner that you’ve spent the majority of the playoffs at.

The boys surprisingly keep their word of only a few rounds of drinks. Ryder stays glued to your side the entire time, only leaving to retrieve you a drink. But soon he was back, an arm resting over the back of the booth, a comfortable weight over your shoulders. He used the noise level as an excuse to lean close to talk to you and you didn’t mind the close proximity one bit. Despite the bar being pretty crowded since it was a Friday night and the team being all around you, it was like you and Ryder were in your own little world.

“It’s kind of funny how things have come full circle”, he notes, ‘here we are, in KK with a Brewers and Stanley Cup game playing”.

You glance over at the TVs and sure enough, there’s a Brewers game on one and a Cup game on the other. You lean into him, a content smile playing on your lips as you think back to the first time you had met him. “I can’t believe we got kiss cammed” you reminisce.

“And I can’t believe how crazy you get watching hockey games”, he teases.

“Hey! I take my hockey very seriously, thank you very much”, you exclaim, giving his side a little jab and then settling to lean against him again. “Fate’s really got our backs, huh? First the game, then here, the grocery, and that brunch”. You revel in all of the times you had somehow ended up in the same place together, each time not knowing that you’d end up seeing the other again.

“Yeah, er, about that”, he says, taking a drink.

You can tell he’s about to tell you something that discredits something you had just said and you groan. “What is it?”

“I definitely drove to that grocery store on purpose to find you, fate had nothing to do with that”, he confesses.

“It’s true. I was the driver!” Shay interjects from beside Ryder, a gentle shove from Ryder following the interjection.

Your head tips back with laughter, “I assumed as much. Your excuse for what you were doing across town was pretty awful”

“Dude, I told you she was going to wonder why you were there and you should figure out a response before you went outside, but noooo Shay never knows what he’s talking about” the older brother butts in again.

“Yeah, exactly, you never know what you're talking about” Ryder says, quoting his brother out of context.

“Except this time”, you chirp, earning a high five from Shay.

“Yeahhh, I like this one”, he approves.

“And to think I thought this was going to work out”, Ryder jokes, gesturing between the two of you.

“Do you guys need to kiss and make up?”, Cole asks from beside you. This gets the attention of Mike and a few of the other boys, who childishly start a chant of “Kiss, kiss, kiss!” Things really had come full circle.

You’re grinning as you say, “Fate, Donovan”.

And right before his lips press against yours he says, “Must be”.

The guys cheer, almost identical to the first time, only this time the kiss is a little more heated thanks to there not being thousands of spectators and a jumbotron.

When you finally pull away from each other, Ryder says, “I’m not letting you walk away from me this time. Can I take you out on a date?”

#Ryder Donovan #Shay Donovan #dylan holloway #mike vorlicky #owen lindmark #cole caufield #I’m assuming you lost my number? And if you didn’t you really should #mine #my writing

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