Patrick
"Did you talk to her?" He asked Jake.
"No, Autumn talked to her friend who's dating her cousin." He explained as he ate some fries.
"Well, when do I get to meet her?" He quizzed.
"She flew out last night with like some of my friends and her cousin, Jeff." Jordan stated.
"Jeff who?" Pat cocked a brow.
"Skinner, and Beau's coming." Autumn mentioned as she ate.
"Beau's coming?" Sid piped in.
"Yeah, why wouldn't he come for G's engagement party?" She shook her head.
Patrick smiled. He admired the pair. They contrasted each other well. Autumn ate her greasy food while Sid stared at her in envy. His diet was ridiculous. Pat looked to Jordan and Jake. They were sharing a tray of fries. He looked at Stephanie and Jon. She was resting on his shoulder. His arm was around her as he pressed his lips to her temple. Pat was surrounded by couples.
Yeah, he was glad the guys he considered friends were happy with good girls, but he couldn't help but be jealous. One night stands were good for one night. He wanted something there for him consistently. That's why he let Jon convince Autumn to find him a friend. She agreed and found him Kenzie.
He knew Kenzie was a cousin of Autumn's friend's boyfriend, not realizing that boyfriend was a fellow athlete. Patrick and Kenzie started texting and facetiming when Patrick has time with his busy schedule. Her blue eyes and dimples are what signed the deal that he was going to make it work with her. How could he resist?
She told him she was flying out for Victoria and Geno's engagement party. Apparently, she had met him a few times before. Pat was ecstatic. He was finally getting the chance to meet her. He hoped everything would work out from there. As if she could read his thoughts, he got a text from her.
Kenzie: Made it to my hotel. Need some sleep. Wanna meet up tomorrow?
He smiled and sent her a 'yes'. He was kicked under the table. He looked up and met eyes with Stephanie. She had smirk on his face. Pat just chuckled, looking back down. He could tell his cheeks were flushed but Kenzie made him feel giddy. Weird, but a fact.
"Who texted you?" Jon called on him.
"Uh, Kenzie." Patrick grinned.
"She's pretty cute." Sidney nodded.
"She's hot as fuck." Autumn added.
Sid furrowed his brows at her. She smiled innocently and pecked his lips. Pat rolled his eyes. He decided he'd had enough couples for the night. He slid out of the booth, biding his farewells as he walked out. That's when he went crazy.
"Hello?" Kenzie answered.
"Hey, what would you say to meeting up right now?" He asked, walking towards the hotel she'd be staying at.
"I don't know where anything is, Patrick, and it's dark out." She sighed.
"I hope I'm not being turned down because I'm standing right outside your hotel." He laughed.
"You are not." She scoffed.
"Yeah, I am. I couldn't handle not seeing you in person any longer."
"You're unbelievable. I'll be down in a minute." She said.
"Unbelievably romantic." He cut in.
Patrick waited a few minutes before the hotel doors opened. A female figure walked out, wrapping herself in a cardigan. A smile spread across his face when he realized who it was. He walked towards her as she stepped down the stairs. They came face to face, both smiling.
"Would hugging you be weird?" He asked.
She rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck. His held onto her waist, tightly. He rocked her a bit before the pulled apart. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down. He looked back up at her. She was watching him.
"Do you wanna go for a bite to eat or something?" He chewed on his lip.
She nodded. "I think that'd be nice." She admitted.
Patrick began walking. He had no idea where he was taking her but they were going somewhere. Kenzie walked close to him. It made him feel like she felt protected by him. Their shoulders would bump ever so often, or their hands would brush. Pat would look at her but she'd be smiling at the ground.
They arrived at some small restaurant that was still open. Neither spoke Russian so they had to find a waiter that spoke English. Patrick ordered something and waited for Kenzie. Once she finished, the waiter asked if they were paying together. Pat said 'yes' faster than Kenzie could even think. They sat in silence. Both were just basking in the fact that they were seeing each other, face to face.
It amazed Patrick that he didn't feel awkward or like he had to impress this beautiful girl sitting in front of him. As cliche as it seems, he didn't feel like Patrick Kane, he felt like Pat.
"So, tell me about yourself?" She spoke, sipping her weird tea concoction.
"Anything you need to know can be googled." He joked.
"Tell me something no one knows then." She shrugged.
He fell silent. There wasn't much no one knew about him. If it was said, it was known. He thought about his deepest fears, secrets, everything, but nothing came to mind. His blue eyes met hers and he felt his throat hitch.
"I've never met anyone with prettier eyes than you." He breathed.
"What about yourself?" She smirked.
"I mean, I'm okay, but I'm not you." He shot back.
She giggled a bit, shaking her head. "Smooth." She taunted.
They laughed and talked over their meals. Pat found out pointless little things about her that had no real reason to be told but he loved that she told him. For example: she had a pug named Loki, she lived in Las Vegas, her favourite movie was 'Clueless', and she beat Jeff up when they were ten. He told her about life back in Buffalo, how he strangely loved having three sisters, and all about his deceased grandpa. She stopped him during that by grabbing both his hands. She looked him dead in the eye.
"I'm really sorry, Patrick. I heard how close you were with him and how he loved watching you play." She frowned.
"He's still watching me play, just from better seats. Plus, I'll have a pretty blue eyed girl watching me now, hopefully." He gave her a toothy grin.
She laughed at his comment with a shake of her head. Something about her drove Patrick wild. They finished eating and started their stroll back to Kenzie's hotel. Their hands and shoulders brushed. The third time their hands brushed, Pat did something knew. He caught her hand and laced his fingers in her.
They continued to walk, her small hand in his large one. She had a small blush on her cheeks. Patrick loved that he did that to her. When they got to the hotel, they stopped and stared at each other. Kenzie looked up at Pat with her big blue eyes and he nearly melted. He smiled down at her. She sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist. He rested his chin on the top of her head as he hugged back.
"Is this like a 'goodbye, that date sucked and I never wanna see you again' hug?" He teased.
"No," She pulled back to see his face. "It's a 'tonight was great and we better still be on for tomorrow' kind of hug."
Pat smiled, nodding. "One last question before you take off for bed," She nodded at his request. "Is it too early to kiss you?"
He stepped closer to her. She took a deep breath, placing her hands on his chest to keep him back. He looked down at her, eyebrows furrowed.
"I wish I could say 'no' because I've been imagining how your lips feel and I kinda wanna kiss you too, but this is the first time we've actually met and I don't want to rush into it and ruin anything." She explained.
He smiled down at her, like he always did. He nodded in understanding before he pecked her forehead. She looked up at him in shock. He just laughed.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" He tilted his head.
"Yeah, you will." She confirmed, walking to her hotel.
Kenzie looked over her shoulder at him. He winked at her, watching her walk inside. She shook her head with an eye roll. Once she was inside, Pat made his way back to his hotel. He was kind of, mad, no, upset, that Kenzie wouldn't let him kiss her. He didn't think they were rushing. They had been talking since a week before the Olympics. He was even texting her while he was back home after his grandpa past. Patrick knew one thing and that was that he liked Kenzie. He had been waiting three weeks to be with her, and now she was making him wait longer. Sure, he could actually spend time with her now, but all he wanted was to call her 'his'.
His phone rang. He was confused at who would be calling him. He pulled it out and answered it without checking.
"Hello?"
"How was your meet up with Kenzie?" Jon laughed.
"How did y,"
"Jeff's girlfriend called Autumn freaking out because Kenzie was making noise while she was sleeping." Jon explained. "So, what happened?"
"Took her for dinner, talked about shit, walked her home, didn't get to kiss her." Patrick listed.
"What a bitch! Who doesn't kiss a girl on the first date?" A female called.
"Steph, go away." Jon growled. "Sorry, who are you? Patrick Kane didn't kiss a girl?"
"She wouldn't let me. She doesn't want it to move too fast and I don't want to muck it up." Pat sighed.
"I respect that." Jon stated.
"I don't know, it was kind of a let down. Like, I was so set on meeting her just to be with her and then she just kind of shut me down." Pat frowned.
"Maybe she's scared. Just give her time. If you like her as much as you seem to, it'll be fine." Jon reassured him.
They finished talking and Patrick got to where he was staying. He took the elevator up to his room. He got to in his room and let out a deep breathe. He instantly pulled off his clothing, leaving him in his boxers. He dropped face down into his bed. Kenzie was going to make him work.

Notes