I couldn’t believe I was resting my head on Dave’s shoulder as he carried me. One of his hands was under my knees, the other around my back, carrying me hammock-style. I could smell his deodorant, and I smiled, closing my eyes as I subtly inhaled the fresh scent. My arms were wrapped around his neck, and my whole body felt warm being held so tightly to his. As I opened my eyes, I tried not to focus on the spinning night sky above me, and closed my eyes again, trying to enjoy being as close to Dave as I was ever going to get.

“Where are we going?” I asked in my drunken euphoria.
“We’re almost there, you’ll see.” I heard the sound of moving water, and I opened my eyes to see that we were at the beach. As we got closer to the water, he plunked me down in the sand, and I frowned to myself as our bodies detached from one another. The sand was cold in the October night, and he had taken his blazer from the backseat and put it on me. I wrapped my arms around myself, clinging his blazer close to my skin.

“I like to come to the beach. I haven’t been in Ottawa very long, but this is one of the first places I've visited, and I’ve been coming back ever since.”
I stared out at the water, and the moon was perched just over top. I wished I could have been less drunk so I could have appreciated the scene in front of me. “So what’s up? Why did you called Miranda only your 'friend'?” I asked.
He twisted his mouth to one side, looking out at the water. “I’m not sure. I mean, I guess I just don't know what we are yet. Miranda’s great, she’s beautiful, she’s fun, she’s honest, I don’t why things just feel so...empty.” He turned to me, our eyes meeting.

Maybe it's cause you had sex within three hours of meeting her, I thought to myself. I quickly swallowed my words, and cleared my throat. “You’ve only known her for 24 hours. Maybe you’re just rushing into things. Give it a little more time.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But I was so swept up with her the moment I met her, and I feel like it’s fizzling out before we’ve even started.”

I bit my lip, trying to fight back whatever emotion was trying to escape me. It was time for me to be there for my roommate, and to be there for a new friend. “Miranda has that effect on a lot of people. Hell, she had that effect on me when I met her. You get so lost in what seems to be perfection, that the second you start to notice one of her flaws, you start losing trust in everything you know about her. I’ve seen guy after guy walk out of our apartment, and they’ve all left and never come back, because they weren't good enough for her. But she held on to you. She sees how amazing you are, and I don’t think you should doubt that. Give it some more time, and I promise it’ll be worth your while. I know Miranda better than anyone, she’s a great girl, and she could make any guy incredibly happy.”

I was both shocked and proud that I was giving him advice in my state, and that I was also fighting my feelings to be a good friend. Maybe I should have followed my own advice. I’d only known Dave for 24 hours, and throwing away my relationship with my best friend and roomie for some guy would have been, well, ridiculous. But as I looked up at Dave, whose blue eyes reflected the moonlight, I couldn’t help but study his every feature. My face inches from his, I noticed the faint freckles on his jaw line, his pale brown stubble, and the perfect shape of his lips. I wanted to know what they felt like against mine, so badly. As I familiarized myself with him more and more as each second passed, the existence of my roommate, and anything other than what was happening in that moment, disappeared.

His eyes slowly moved from my eyes to my nose, then down to my lips, then back up to my eyes. He sighed and looked down at his jeans. “You know, don’t get discouraged about the whole dating thing. Any guy would be lucky to have you.” My breath got caught in my chest as I drank in his words in that Swedish accent of his. Lucky to have me. He was making my life so much harder than it needed to be by saying things like that. “And if he’s dumb enough not to notice how fun you are, or how pretty you are, or how awesome it is that you like hockey, then I’ll knock him out,” he said, tapping me on my little, round nose with his index finger. I shoved him playfully, and he laughed.

“Speaking of hockey, why didn’t you happen to mention that you play for an NHL hockey team, Mr. Rundblad?”
He smiled wider at me, flashing his teeth. “I figured you knew. And I’d like to think that I’m not a big enough jerk to say, ‘Hi, I’m David Rundblad, one bad-ass NHL hockey player’ within the first hour of meeting a girl,” he replied, crossing his sandy arms over his knees.
I nodded, looking down at my own sand-covered body. “That’s true. So are you going to score me some tickets to a game or what?” I asked, cocking my head.
He ran his fingers over his mouth, trying to physically wipe his grin away. “I don’t know, maybe. We do play tomorrow against Buffalo. Ok sure, but only if you do one thing for me.” He looked at me and smiled knowingly. His eyes normally creased when he smiled, but they stayed round and were fixed on me. I could have sworn he was leaning in closer, as his blue eyes got bigger and bigger. I salivated at the thought of what he wanted from me in return.
“And what’s that?” I asked.
“I have a friend on the team from back home, Mika. He’s an amazing guy, and I really think you two would make a cute couple.”

I deflated. My shoulders sank, and I tried to hide my disappointment and keep the smile on my face. He was trying to set me up with his friend. Because he wasn’t interested in me. And he was dating my roommate. The compliments were to butter me up so I’d agree to date his friend. How could I be so stupid? Why in a million years would Dave pick me over Miranda?

I gave him a weak smile, and tried to remain tough. “I’m not a puck bunny, you know. I’m not going to agree to go out with your friend just because he’s a hockey player.”
“Fair enough. Ok fine, come to the game tomorrow and you can meet him before you decide. He’s kind of shy, but a really nice guy. He’s 18...”
“18?!” I practically screamed. I was 21, and thinking about dating an 18 year old, let alone anyone that wasn’t Dave, seemed like an impossibility.
“He’s a great guy. You’ll really like him. Please? You can take Miranda tomorrow night, and you can watch him play. If you say no, I totally get it. But I told him about Miranda, and about how great her roommate was, and he really wants to meet you. Will you think about it?”
I sighed. His blue eyes were pleading, and I couldn’t turn him down. “Okay, fine.”
He smiled. “Thanks, Leslie. And thanks for your advice tonight.”
I smiled backed. “You’re welcome.”

As we held each others’ gazes, he suddenly grinned devilishly, and I wondered whether Miranda had already been rubbing off on him. He stood up and quickly swept me off the ground, sand flying everywhere. I threw back my head and laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck as he started towards the car. I hoped he couldn’t feel my pounding heartbeat against his chest.
“How about we go back to your place and play a quick round of NHL 12?”
“Oh I am always up for that. And don’t think that you have a chance just because I’m drunk.”
“Well we’ll see about that.”