Love in Boston

"So how was your date?" I asked Nate as we ate breakfast the next morning.
"It was great! It had a better turn out than your date." He winked.
"Gross." I said grabbing my phone as it dinged.
'Morning baby' it was a good morning text from Tuukka.
"Lover boy again?" Nate asked.
"If you must know, yes." I said as I typed my response.
"Don't get to into your conversation, we've got work to do!" He exclaimed pointing a finger at me as he moved to put his now empty bowl in the sink.
"Don't think I haven't seen you take little phone breaks here and there." I mused without looking up.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He hummed. "Be ready in 20!" He said as he went to get ready. I quickly decided to call Tuukka before I would be too busy to text him back.
"Hello rakas." He answered on the first ring.
"Hello there handsome. I thought I'd call you before Nathan practically steals my phone during work." I laughed as I put my own bowl in the sink.
"Oh no. Who will I talk to today if you don't have a phone?" He exclaimed.
"Well you could make friends with that Brad guy, he seemed nice." I suggested.
"Hmm that's not a bad idea. Alright I'll see if he's free. What are you up to today?"
"Work. Sadly I'm not a famous hockey player who makes money by playing sports." I joked.
"Well lucky for you I'm not famous either. We can be nobodies together!" He laughed.
"Let's do it! But I get off at 4 if you want to have dinner tonight."
"Ms. Belk, are you asking me on a date?" He chuckled.
"Umm...sure. I just want to see you again."
"A forward girl, I like it!" He said.
"What can I say, no sense in beating around the bush. I like you, I think you like me, why make things complicated?" I questioned.
"I definitely like you." He confirmed and I hummed in response.
"See?"
"Alright tonight, we'll go to dinner. I have another meeting with Bruins management and I'll see what upon Bradley is up to so I'll let you know when we're hitting the town." I nodded and just then Nathan knocked on my door.
"Sounds good. Nathan is calling for me so I have to go. See you tonight?"
"See you tonight." With that we hung up.
"Come on! We're going to be late." Nate yelled.
"I'm coming. Sheesh for someone who had such a great night you sure are grumpy" I yelled back. I walked out and saw Nate leaning against the counter tapping his fingers against the countertop.
"Impatience doesn't look good on you." I commented walking past him out the front door.
"Well if you would hurry up I wouldn't have to be impatient." He grumbled. We made our way to our job for the day; a young family who want their kitchen redone to update it. We had been working this job all week so we already had all the materials, today we were putting up all the counters and cabinets.
"Nate! Thank god you're here, the woman is freaking out!" Thomas, one of the workers, said running over looking panicked.
"Why?" Nate asked.
"Something about the counter height and her height. I don't know, she's yelling and not making much sense." He said.
"Alright I'll handle it." Nate said before walking inside. Not even 10 minutes later he walked out with a smile on his face.
"Taken care of. Let's get to work." He said waving us inside. It turned out she wanted the counters lowered a little bit but Nate told her that we had codes and regulations we had to follow in order to get and keep permits. Nate smoothly talked her down until she calmed down. We worked with little problems thankfully, no real setbacks. We got everything setup ahead of schedule and we were definitely happy about that. The husband said he was happy with the work and told us to not worry about anything else for today and pick back up tomorrow.
"Whew finally done!" Nate exclaimed jumping into the truck.
"You're tired?" I asked laughing as he did a small dance in his seat.
"What can I say? I like finishing a job." He shrugged.
"We're not completely done yet though." I reminded him.
"Hush child, let me have my small victory." He waved me off.
"Alright Jeeves, take me home!" He nodded and we sped off to the apartment.
'Hey. We're done with work early. We on for dinner?' I sent a quick text to Tuukka on the way. He texted back that we were still on but he was out with Brad currently. I still had time to go home and change out of my dirty work clothes and into something that was more presentable.
"Date tonight?" Nate asked as I rushed into my room.
"You know it." I called out before slamming my door shut. I took my time getting ready, to tired to rush nor did I need to since we finished early. I got dressed and went out into the living room to watch TV with Nathan until my date with Tuukka. An hour or so later the doorbell rung and Nate jumped up to answer it.
"Tuukka, hello." He acted so surprised to see him but he knew he was coming over. I stood up and walked over to see Tuukka standing there in a suit and tie.
"I'll take it from here Nate, thanks!" I said practically pushing him back towards the couch.
"Touchy touchy. Be safe tonight. No babies!" He yelled before slamming the door shut behind us.
"You look great." Tuukka said as we walked down the stairs.
"You do to. Although next to you I look like a slub." I commented.
"Slub?" He asked confused.
"You're dressed a lot nicer than I am." I clarified.
"Don't even worry about it." He waved off my comments making me laugh. We made our way onto the curb and he hailed down a cab, even if it took a few minutes.
"So where are we headed?" I asked as we sat in the back of the taxi.
"It's a surprise!" He smiled as he rested his hand on my leg. We pulled up in front of a nice resturant on a quaint street in the center of Boston. I looked up in awe as we stepped out, amazed by the glitz and glamor the place emitted from the outside.
"Come on." Tuukka said gently grabbing my hand and leading me inside.
"Hello. Can I help you?" The very neat looking hostess asked as we approached.
"Hello. Two under Rask." Tuukka said politely smiling at her. She looked down and nodded before grabbing two menus.
"Follow me, please." She said walking back into the resutrant.
"This place is super nice Tuukka..." I muttered as we were led to our table.
"I know, I just thought that since our last date didn't go so well there was no way this one could go wrong." He said. I picked up the menu and my heart skipped a beat at the prices.
"Holy moly." I breathed softly. There was no way this was up my alley, I was the bar and grill type.
"Rakas..." I heard Tuukka mutter over the menu. I looked up to see him with a deep frown.
"What's up?"
"This isn't your scene." He stated as a matter of fact.
"Well I'm not used to it no...but I know you're trying hard. I'm sure it'll be good." I reassured him. Suddenly my menu was being pushed to the table and I was being pulled from my seat.
"What are we doing?" I laughed as he pulled me through the sea of tables full of people dressed to the 9, all of whom looked horrified as we ran through the restaurant.
"We're doing something more your speed. I'm not screwing up another date with you." He laughed pulling me outside into the warm air. I pulled him to me and wrapped my arms around his waist.
"You really are something else." I smiled up at him. He wrapped his arms around my back and moved me so I was leaning away from him.
"I try only for you." He leaned down to kiss me a sweet kiss. "Now, where do YOU want go? Anywhere you want." He said cocking his head to the side.
"How bout we walk and when I find someplace I'll say something. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect." He grinned. He kissed me again and we began walking.
"So how was your day?" He asked as he held hands as we walked down the street.
"Pretty uneventful thankfully. It almost went to the poops though. I guess the woman was freaking out about the height of the counter tops. I think she thought they were too high." I said looking around. There were a lot of fancy looking restaurants and small shops.
"Oh, we're you guys able to settle everything?"
"Yeah Nate was able to smooth talk her down. I mean there was nothing we could do anyways, there are codes and regulations builders have to follow." I pointed out.
"I guess that's true. Well that's good. No other hiccups?" I rose an eyebrow at his use of the American slang term.
"Brad taught it to me today." He said.
"Ah yes, how was your lunch with young Bradley." I asked.
"He is older than you." Tuukka pointed out with a smile on his face.
"Yeah but he looks so small so therefore he looks young." I justified. I spotted a small hole in the wall looking place as pointed to it.
"There!" I said pulling Tuukka across the street after checking for cars. We walked in and I instantly felt much better. The atmosphere was relaxed and everyone looked friendly and open.
"Hello. Two?" A woman said coming up to us.
"That's right." I grinned. She grabbed two menus and grinned back at us.
"Your date is a little over-dressed no?" She whispered in my ear.
"We just left the fancy schmancy place up the street. Not my scene." I laughed.
"100% understand. He might wanna lose the tie though, sticks out like a sore thumb." She laughed. She led us to a table and left explaining she would get us water.
"She says lose the tie." I leaned towards Tuukka smiling. He laughed and removed his tie as unbuttoned the too buttons of his shirt.
"Better?" He asked and I nodded.
"So I'm thinking greasy ass cheeseburger, big ol thing of fries, and a beer. What about you?" I said scanning the menu before looking up at Tuukka.
"The same. I'm glad you know how to eat. Also, I think that's the first time I've heard you curse." He commented.
"I don't generally curse no, I leave that to Nate and Daniel." I laugh.
"Understandable." We spent the rest of the evening laughing and having a comfortable time. Neither of us felt stiff or awkward, the environment was comfortable and the food was delicious! Before I knew it we were both stuffed to the brim and it was getting late.
"Well I believe it's getting late. Think we should head out?" Tuukka asked, his jacket and tie long gone.
"Sure. I think that's a good idea. I do have work in the morning. Man, being an adult is tiring work!" I joked.
"Yeah a 9-5 job sounds so taxing!" He laughed. He paid the bill as we slowly made our way back, half-heartedly trying to hail a cab back, neither of us too anxious to end the date. We made small talk on our way back until we were back at my apartment.
"Well this is you." Tuukka said as we stopped in front of my door.
"I had a good time tonight." I said looking up at Tuukka.
"Does it make up for the terrible first date?" He asked. I laughed and nodded feverishly.
"Absolutely. I think you might've even earned a third." I smiled.
"Oh, but wait...didn't you ask me on this date?" He rose an eyebrow questioningly. I simply grabbed him by his collar and brought his lips to mine. He was shocked for a second but recovered and wrapped his arms around my waist. He gently pushed me against he door as our kisses grew more passionate. I moved my fingers to through his hair causing him to groan into my mouth and press his body into mine even more. Suddenly the door opened and we both practically toppled to the floor due to how much we were pressed against it.
"Well well well. What have we here?" Nathan's smug voice came above us. I looked over Tuukka's shoulder to see him smiling down at us smugly with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Shush you. Couldn't let you have all the happy endings now could I?" I responded. Tuukka laughed before getting up and extending a hand to me.
"Had I not opened the door Tuukka junior could've been made right there. Our poor neighbors!" Nate exclaimed while walking towards his room. I cleared my throat awkwardly before turning to Tuukka.
"Sorry about that. He's...weird." I explained.
"Yeah, but I like it." He smiled.
"So I guess this goodnight?" I asked.
"It is. But I will definitely be calling you for that third date." He winked. I laughed and led him to the door.
"Text me when you get back to your hotel. When do you have to go back to Providence?" He frowned in thought.
"In a week or so. I'll let you know. I'll be sure to get that third date in before I leave." He said nodding to himself.
"Alright. Well I look forward to hearing from you Mr. Rask." I smiled at him.
"Look forward to calling you Ms. Belk." he grinned. He gave me a final kiss before walking down the hallway. I closed the door and leaned on it, my heart beating quickly.
"That guy is gonna be the death of me. But what a wonderful death I will be!" I muttered to myself smiling.

Notes

I'm getting better at updating! Been super busy with a new job, school, and life in general! But Tuukka won the Vezina trophy and Bergy made it onto the NHL 15 Cover!