Tyler was having a hard time getting Bailey out of his head. His mind kept focusing on how cute she looked when she was scared in the movies and how incredible it felt to hold her in his arms. He loved that there seemed to be no trace of the tension that had previously existed between them. He could talk to her for hours; there was nobody he’d rather spend time with than her.

At times, his thoughts got away from him and Coach Julien told him to get his head out of the clouds during practice. Overall though, Tyler felt his game was actually getting better. He was so happy and had more confidence. He was enjoying the game like he hadn’t in a long time and he knew it was because of Bailey. He honestly believed she could be his lucky charm this season.

“Yo Segs! What’s up with you? One minute you’re daydreaming, the next you’re showing off some fucking fancy puck skills. I haven’t seen you shoot like that in a long time.” Tuukka said.

“He’s in fuckin’ love! That’s what happened.” Marchy shouted.

“I am not!” Tyler hollered back

“Dude, Bailey is all you ever talk about anymore.” Soupie said.

“I can’t help it, I really like her but it’s not love. I’m too young to fall in love.”

“You’re not too young and you can’t control when it happens. Tyler falling in love isn’t a bad thing, it’s actually quite wonderful.” Andrew said and then Marchy made the sound of whip.

“Shut it Marchy! Andrew’s right, when you meet the right girl it just happens. Brittany is the best thing that ever happened to me! She even trumps winning the Cup. You’ll only regret trying to fight it, so don’t! Just let it happen Segs.” Looch said.

“We can all tell Bailey’s a great girl and she clearly makes you happy. There’s no need to rush things, but don’t ignore your feelings either.” Andrew said.

“Personally I think you’ve been a sharper player since you’ve met her. Just try not to daydream about her in the middle of a play! Whatever you’ve been doing is working so don’t stop. If you keep it up, you’ll be unstoppable this year.” Bergy said and gave Tyler a pat on the back before he headed to the shower.

Bergy basically confirmed what he’d been thinking about his game getting better. A few other teammates chimed in as well and the consensus was Tyler needed to just relax and enjoy the time he spends with Bailey and see where it’s leading.

Due to the discussion a few more of the guys confirmed they’d be there Saturday. He hoped Bailey wouldn’t be overwhelmed when at least 13 of his teammates arrive. Tyler realized the event was becoming bigger than he originally planned and he needed to get home to start getting ready. He already hired a cleaning crew that was coming tomorrow, but he and Freddy needed to tidy up quite a bit before they came. He had to hit the liquor store and figure out what snacks would satisfy everyone. Tyler wanted to make sure everything was perfect since Bailey was coming.

______________________________________________________________
“Dang, class kicked my butt tonight! My knees are going to kill tomorrow.” Bailey said wiping the sweat from her brow.

“No kidding, I think Scott forgot we aren’t professionals. At one point I was so lost, I downed my water bottle just so I had an excuse to leave and fill it up. I hope he was just in a torturous mood tonight and this isn’t what we have to look forward to each week.” Christina said as they headed towards their T stop.

“On the bright side, we can eat whatever we want tonight! We must have burned a thousand calories in the first twenty minutes alone. Good thing too, ‘cause I could eat a horse I’m so hungry.”

“Where should we go?”

“How ‘bout the Breakfast Club?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Great, is it ok if Emily joins us? I haven’t seen her since yesterday morning and she’s been pestering me all day about last night.”

“That’s right, I almost forgot last night was the big date. Of course she can come, just tell her to hurry because we are starving.”

“It wasn’t really a date, we are just friends.” Bailey clarified as she sent Emily a text to meet them.

“Whatever you say Bailey.” Christina said as they boarded the train.
After 10 minutes, they reached their stop and got off the train and headed towards the Breakfast Club.

“What are the odds Emily will actually be there when we get there?” Christina asked.

“Slim to none. You know she’s never on time.”

“True, but she has extra motivation tonight.”

“She does?”

“There is nothing she loves more than a little romance and some gossip. In fact, I’m really surprised she didn’t make Steven stay over at your place last night just so she could get the scoop as soon as you entered the door.”

“That is kind of strange now that you mention it. I guess she’s lived with me long enough to know my life isn’t that exciting.”

“Who’s life isn’t exciting?” Emily said as the girls reached the café.

Christina turned to Bailey, “Told you so.”

“Hey Em, did you just get here?” Bailey asked, still surprised to see her roommate.

“Just a few minutes ago. There isn’t a wait so we can get seated right away and you can tell us everything about last night.”

“Nothing to tell.” Bailey nonchalantly said, knowing darn well it would get a rise out of Emily.

“You are such a liar; I read your tweets with Freddy so I know something happened. Now spill!!” Emily barked at Bailey.

“Ok, ok I’ll tell you. I had a wonderful night! I still can’t believe how sweet Tyler was to me. People don’t give him enough credit!”

“Details, we need details!” Emily said impatiently; she clearly wasn’t happy with Bailey’s vague answers.

“I got off work late so I met him at the theater. When I got there he had already bought my ticket so I told him I’d get the popcorn. We actually got in a little bit of a fight, because he wanted to pay for that too and I wouldn’t let him.”

“You got mad because he was being a gentleman? I don’t understand you sometimes Bailey.” Christina said.

“I know it was stupid. I just didn’t want him to think I was using him for his money. We talked about it and I apologized for over reacting.”

“Good. Bailey you deserve to be treated like a queen and I’m sure Tyler knows you aren’t a gold digger.” Emily said to encourage Bailey. “Now what happened with the popcorn and Freddy?”

“Oh, you’ll love this. The Reese Witherspoon movie sold out so we saw Ghost Hunters.”

Christina and Emily both cut Bailey off “You hate horror movies!”

“I didn’t pick the movie and was too embarrassed to tell Tyler I was a big ole chicken and didn’t want to see it. His friends were already inside and he bought our tickets; I couldn’t say no. Anyways I was petrified and pretty much curled into a ball most of the movie. It wasn’t so bad though; Tyler put his arm around me. It felt so nice and gosh, dang he smells soooo good! I was starting to get comfortable in his arms, when apparently one of his groupies threw a napkin that hit my arm. I totally wigged out, the popcorn went flying landing on Freddy and I accidentally elbowed Tyler in the nose. The entire theater was staring and laughing; it was awful!”

“Oh my gosh! Bailey I’m so sorry, that must have been horrible.” Christina said with concern.

Bailey finished telling them about her little breakdown in the lobby and how Tyler took it all in stride and comforted her. She also discussed their conversations at J. P. Licks and the ride home. Bailey was absolutely gushing as she spoke about Tyler.

“He sounds perfect! What happened when he brought you home?” Christina asked.

"Yeah, get to the good stuff. I stayed at Steven's so you'd have the place to yourselves."

“You should know me well enough to know you didn't need to do that. Anyways, he was such a gentleman and walked me to the door. We hugged each other good night and he gave me a kiss on my forehead. I don’t know how to describe it, but it just felt right being in his arms. He made me feel special the entire night!” Bailey’s cheeks were rosy again as she recalled the special moments she shared with Tyler.

“Sounds like you had a great night. Did he make plans for another date?” Christina inquired.

“Tyler called me later that night to make sure I was ok. During our conversation, he invited me over to his place on Saturday for a get together with his team. We talked for a while; he’s so easy to talk to now. He actually stayed on the phone until I relaxed enough to fall asleep. I can’t believe how incredibly considerate he was. I can’t wait to see him again!”

"Does he have a brother?" Christina asked only half joking.

"No, but his roommate, Freddy is pretty hot."

The girls laughed and enjoyed the rest of their evening discussing what Bailey should wear on Saturday.

Notes

Loving all the comments! Y'all ROCK!!!

This chapter is a bit of a filler to introduce Christina and to fill the time vs jumping right into the next date.