“Hey, Laur. It’s me. I um.... I was really hoping you’d pick up. I wanted to... um. I wanted to tell you before they announced it...” He lets out a little sigh. “I um... I’m being traded. To- to Calgary. For a pick... Just gimme a call, okay? Bye.”

My heart immediately sinks for my best friend and before I know what I’m doing, my fingers are dialing my boss’s number. He picks up and I hear a voice asking him about the new office opening in Calgary. Suddenly, I’m hanging up the phone wondering what the hell I just did.

“Hey, Laur.” Brandon says, answering my call on one ring.
“My job is opening a new office in Calgary next month.” I say, skipping over a greeting. “What would you say if I was transferred there to help get the branch started?”
“Are you.... are you serious?” Brandon asks, bewildered.
“I can start looking online at three bedroom apartments right now. I’m assuming we want an extra bedroom for visitors or teammates or whatever. What’s our price point?”
“You don’t have to do that.” He chuckles, low and rumbly. I can tell he’s hurting inside, despite trying to put on a brave face. He loves playing for the Blackhawks, so having them trade him is a stab in the heart.
“Well it’s too late.” I declare. “I’ve already asked my boss to transfer me, and he said he’ll file the paperwork first thing tomorrow morning.”

There’s a long pause on the other end, and all I can hear is the sound of him breathing. If there’s an obvious sniffle or two, I won’t say anything about it.

“You’re the greatest friend anyone could ask for.” He finally says.
“I’m not letting you move to fucking Calgary all by yourself.” I whisper, the realization of what I’m about to do sinking in.
“You’ll have to get a work Visa.” He states.
“Like I said- I’m going to help open the new branch. Work will get me the Visa I need.” I take a breath and let it out slowly. “So... three bedrooms? Or will we need four?”
“Three bedrooms are probably enough.” I can hear the relief in his smooth voice. “I can come over tomorrow night to look with you?”
“Dinner will be ready at six. Don’t be late, Bollig.” I smile.

Four months later, as the NHL season is getting ready to begin, I’ve never been happier with any decision I’ve made in my life. Breaking the news to my family that I was packing up my entire life and moving to another country went surprisingly well, once they knew I was going with Brandon.

We found a nice apartment just ten minutes away from the rink and fifteen minutes from my office. It has a nice view of the city, and is complete with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a large living room where we fit a gigantic couch for any stray hockey players that might end up needing a place to sleep. Brandon- ever the gentleman- insisted that I take the master bedroom. I tried to fight back, but he insisted that it was important for me to be able to have my own space. Especially if any of his teammates ever decided to show up.

I’m toweling off my hair after my post-work shower when the door slams shut. The sound of male laughter fills the apartment, so I make my way out to them ready to meet Brandon’s teammates for the first time.

“How many rooms do you have?” I hear from the kitchen.
“Three.” Brandon responds.
“What are you doing with a big place like this, Boller?” Another voice asks.
“I have a roommate.” He defends himself. “And we have an extra room for when family visits.”
“Don’t lie, B.” I smirk, stepping through the middle of the kitchen towards the refrigerator. “Your fat ass takes up most of the room.”
His teammates laugh and I grab a water bottle out, draining half of it in one go.
“You didn’t mention a girlfriend!” The teammate closest to me says, his eyes clearly giving me the once over.
“Boys this is my best friend from back home, Lauren. Laur, meet Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau.”
“Hello, boys.” I smile at each of them. I walk over to Brandon’s side and rest my hand on his hip. “I have to get ready for a work dinner tonight. But there’s leftovers from my lunch in the fridge if you’re interested.”
“How long will you be out?” He asks, pulling me so my head is resting on his chest and my body is flush against his.
“No idea. Hopefully not too long, but you never know.”
“Is that creepy guy going to be there?” He references one of my new co-workers’ boyfriend, who seems to have no moral issue with hitting on other women while out with his girlfriend and took a special interest in me at last week’s company dinner.
“Probably.” I wrinkle my nose.
“Let me know if you need an out. I’ll call you with a fake emergency.”
“Yeah cause that wasn’t completely awkward last time.” I roll my eyes.
“So I’ll show up and pretend to be your super buff boyfriend instead.” He puffs out his chest and looks so proud of himself.
“Will do, Boller.” I laugh at my best friend, patting him on his ridiculously sculpted pecs. “It was nice meeting you guys.”

I head back towards my room, but not before hearing the one- Monahan, I think- beg Brandon to “please tell me you’re tapping that.” I roll my eyes again and hold back a laugh at Brandon’s sputtering response that I’m just his friend.

Unfortunately for me, I actually do need Brandon’s help later in the night. Creepy Rick is living up to his new nickname, never really leaving me alone for more than a couple minutes despite Erica sitting right next to him. But fortunately I do have my best friend on speed dial and before I know it, a group of the Calgary Flames are being seated at the table across the room from us. They quickly gain attention from the other customers in the restaurant, so I don’t feel weird staring. I watch Brandon slide his jacket onto a chair and nod at Gaudreau before making his way over to me.

“Hey babe.” He says as I push my chair back and stand to hug him.
“Hey, I didn’t know you guys were coming here for dinner.” I respond, accepting a brief kiss on the lips. His arm stays wrapped around my hips as we talk.
“Yeah we were gonna try that new steakhouse but a couple of the guys wanted to come here instead. Most of us aren’t super hungry and apparently they have the best appetizers. I texted you, but I guess you didn’t see it.”
“No, I didn’t.” I run with the easy white lie. “I’ll have to come say hi when we’re done here.”
“Well actually Monny never left our place earlier so he drove me here. After we decided on this place, I figured you could drive me home?”
“Sure.” I smile up at him. “Oh! Guys, this is my boyfriend Brandon. B, these are my co-workers.” I feign remembering our audience.

I look out across the table as everyone kinda mutters hi, clearly a little star-struck by our NHL visitor. Brandon gives them all his best smile before kissing the side of my head and giving my hips a little squeeze and making his exit.

“Lauren, you didn’t tell us you’re dating Brandon Bollig!” My co-manager and closest friend at the table, Lisa, says.
“Yeah, that’s why I asked to get transferred to this office. We hated being so far apart when he was in Chicago, so when the Hawks traded him here we decided to use the new branch as an excuse to be in the same city again.” I smile, finding the truth easy to let roll off my tongue.

I outwardly brush off the whole topic, gratefully noticing Creepy Rick backing off me just a bit. We switch topics to the plans for the final phase of fully launching the new office and conversation flows smoothly. We’re just finishing up when I feel a hand drop on my shoulder.

“Hey Lauren, Boller wanted me to let you know we’ve decided to go over to the bar across the street.”

I look up and see Johnny Gaudreau smiling at me like he’s known me longer than a couple hours. He’s completely adorable and I think for a moment if he wasn’t so young I would definitely think different thoughts about him. But as it is, he’s about twelve years old and I’m supposed to be dating his teammate.

“Thanks, Johnny.” I return his friendliness. “I think we’re about done here too. We have to pay the bill and then I’ll come with you. Anyone else wanna join us?” I offer to the table. There are a couple nervous responses of acceptance and I have to hold back a chuckle. Watching people react to Brandon and his teammates has always been one of my favorite things. Especially last summer, after the Cup win. People don’t know how to talk to them, and usually get super nervous around them. They forget that these guys are just human too.
“Cool I’ll let him know.”
“Hey- who’s he talking to?” I interrupt, noticing Brandon on the phone at their table.
“His mom, I think.” Johnny responds.
“Ahh okay. Tell him to tell Tracy I say hi.” I giggle.
“Gotcha. I’ll see you over there.”

Johnny makes his departure and I flag down our waiter and hand over the company credit card for the check. When we’re all settled with him, our group gets up to leave. Despite being a small group, only about half of us decide to join the Flames at the bar. Lisa, Erica, and- of course- Rick, are part of the group of six that follows me out the door.

I’m surprised to see Brandon waiting alone outside the restaurant, still on the phone. He spots me and pushes off the brick wall, swinging an arm over my shoulders as we start to walk over to the bar. The rest of the group gets lost in their own conversations, which helps ease the awkwardness between them and my friend.

“Hey mom, Lauren’s here.” He says. I can hear her order him to give me the phone and laugh as he dutifully does as he’s told.
“Hey Tracy.” I greet her.
“Honey I just wanted to say I love what you did to the apartment!” She exclaims. “Brandon finally gave me a tour this afternoon on Skype. It looks amazing!”
“Thank you!” I blush, thinking about all the hard work that went into making our apartment feel like a home. “I had a lot of fun with it.”
“The photo collage was such a nice touch.” She gushes.
“That’s my favorite part of the whole place. I just had to get that Cup photo up on the walls somewhere and all the others just fit around it so well.” I admit, thinking about the photo of the two of us kissing the Cup together underneath the St. Louis arch hanging in our living room. It’s a little bit of home, a little bit of us, and a little bit of a daily reminder to Brandon that he’s an amazing player that won the Stanley Cup. And I’ve surrounded it with great photos of the two of us throughout the past twenty years.
“Well it looks amazing. I can’t wait to visit for Christmas! I just wanted to talk to you- I have to go now, so you take care and I’ll talk to you another time, okay?”
“Sure thing! Tell Dale I say hi.”

We hang up and I hand Brandon his phone back just as we reach the door of the bar. He holds the door open for me and the rest of the group, and I make a bee-line for the group of Flames. I get a little nervous as I approach the table, seeing as I’ve only actually met two of them a couple of hours ago. As comfortable as I am with Brandon, I’m worried my cover will be blown now that I’m actually faced with guys I don’t know at all. But my amazing friend has apparently already taken care of that. As soon as I’m close enough, the cluster of hockey players all shout out my name, as though they’re super glad to see me. I respond with a huge smile and a laugh, feeling Brandon behind me.

It’s amazing what happens when you bring a bunch of professional athletes and alcohol together. The general public gets a little crazy- men wanting a chance to hang out with their favorite players and women wanting a chance to go home with them. As someone who has been around these kinds of guys all their life, I’m not at all affected by their looks and charm. (Though I will admit, I kinda freaked out the first time I met Patrick Sharp back in Chicago.) But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy watching others make fools of themselves. Especially here in Canada, where hockey is more like a religion than a sport.

Brandon and I stick close to each other, him secretly introducing me to his teammates as the night goes on. They’re all super cool with pretending to already be friends with me, and I can tell we won’t have to pretend for too long.

I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with our situation about two hours into the night, though that might be the combination of Molson and shots. I give Monahan- “Call me Monny, dude”- a nod as I make my way up to the bar, gesturing to the bottle in his hand. He swirls the dregs around and nods at me with a smile.

“Hey can I get two more?” I ask the bartender, lifting my empty bottle. He nods and heads off as I feel a large mass appear behind me.
“I never knew you were into the athlete type.” Rick says in my ear, making me jump a little bit.
“Well you don’t really know me.” I inch closer to the bar top.
“We could always change that, Lauren.” His hand rests on the small of my back and it makes me shiver. “I would love to get to know you better.”
“No thank you. Brandon and I are happy together.” I state simply, wishing for the bartender to just hurry up so I can make my escape.
“Are you sure? You’re so beautiful. We could make magic together.”
“Sorry man, she’s not interested.” My knight in shining armor cuts in, just as the bartender sets the beers down in front of me. He eyes me, silently asking if I’m okay. “Now how about you back off my girl so I don’t have to kick your ass?”

I take a huge gulp from my bottle and give a weak, grateful smile to the bartender before slipping away from Rick’s grasp. I tuck myself safely into Brandon’s side, his arm wrapping protectively around me. He stares Rick down until the much smaller man takes the clue and takes a step back. But he doesn’t go far, and I can feel my best friend’s muscles tensing against mine. I’ve known him long enough to know he’s drunk and gearing up for a fight if Rick doesn’t disappear soon.

“Let’s dance, babe.” I say, chugging half my beer before pulling at Brandon’s arm.

Thankfully, he follows my lead and lets me drag him towards the dance floor, stopping to give Monny his on the way. I offer Brandon the rest of my drink and he downs it in one go before dropping it on the nearest table and pulling me close to him. Our bodies start to rock together to the beat of the music and he sweetly brushes my hair back from my face.

“I find myself itching to fight someone when you’re with another man.” He admits roughly into my ear. “Especially when you don’t want them around. I’m so protective of you.” His words make my body flush. It might be a little animalistic, and maybe I’m going crazy but the thought of Brandon fighting for me turns me on a little. I turn around and grind my ass into Brandon’s lap, causing him to groan. “God, babe. I never knew you could dance like this.”

The truth is, I never knew I could dance like this either. Sexy and seductive has never been my style. But with Brandon, it’s easy to fall into the rhythm of the music, grinding my body against his. Maybe it’s the alcohol melting my inhibitions, or maybe it’s just how comfortable I feel with him. But my entire body heats up under his touch and it lights a fire within me.

“Maybe I’m so protective of you because I don’t want anyone else to have you but me.”

My breath catches in my throat and his lips brush against my ear. I stand up straight and press myself flush against his body. I look up at him over my shoulder, wondering if this is real and I see the same disbelief in his eyes.

“Lauren, I’m sorry- I didn’t know I-”

I cut him off by turning around and pushing up on my toes, pressing my lips to his. He’s quick to respond, holding me close to him and kissing back. Despite this being the first time we’ve done this, it feels as though I’ve been kissing him my entire life. Our mouths fit together like they were made for each other, teeth nipping at all the right places and tongues falling into line perfectly. It’s easy to get lost in the feeling of kissing Brandon, but I am aware of a familiar voice off to my right muttering an impressed “oh shit.” I assume it’s one of his teammates, but in all honesty I couldn’t care less who. Not with Brandon’s teeth pulling my bottom lip into his mouth and pinching down on it.

Eventually, we have to come up for air and when our eyes meet we’re both flushed.

“That was- um…” I stumble.
“Yeah.” He agrees, still holding me against him and starting to rock to the beat of the music again.
“I liked that.” I admit, my forehead resting in the middle of his chest. “You know, with you.” I clarify, feeling my face burning despite being tucked away from the public against his body.

I feel Brandon’s chest expand and his heart beats strong and quick beneath his shirt. He buries his nose against my head and there’s a comfortable silence between us for a moment.

“I never even knew I felt this way.” He finally murmurs against my hair. “But now that I know you feel the same, I’m not letting you go.”

————————

“So, um. Lauren and I actually have something to tell you all.” Brandon says, just as our parents are finishing up dinner. “We were thinking about waiting until tomorrow morning to tell you all, as a Christmas present. But it’s kinda some big news and we really don’t want to wait.”

He shoots me a nervous look, but I’m too preoccupied with trying to read the looks my parents are giving each other. My mom looks smug, and my dad looks like he’s going through a mixture of emotions. Brandon grabs my hand and gives me a reassuring squeeze. It’s time to let the bomb drop and deal with the reactions.

“I’m pregnant.”

There’s a brief silence before his mom and my mom both let out cheers of joy. I look over at my dad who, surprisingly, looks pleased. I can feel the stress and worry melt from my shoulders.

“I told you so.” My mom jeers at my dad with a laugh.
“Yes, you did.” He chuckles, shaking his head.
“Never bet on a mother’s intuition.” She smiles at me, getting up from her seat and pulling me from mine. “Oh honey, I’m so happy for you.”
“Me too, mom.” I nod, falling into her embrace. “I know it wasn’t planned or anything. We’re not married or engaged. I mean hell, we’ve only been together a couple months. But...” I pause, smiling over at my boyfriend who’s now wrapped up in one of his mother’s famous bear hugs. “I’m excited.”
“Me too.” Brandon immediately agrees.

Tracy breaks her hug from him and steps around the table towards me.

“Lauren, I can’t think of any other woman I would want carrying my grandchild.” She says, tears in the corners of her eyes.
“Thank you.” I whisper, feeling myself getting emotional too.
“You two are going to be great parents.” My dad says with a small smile.
“Daddy... you’re okay with this?” I ask, still a little nervous of my traditional father’s opinion.
“Of course.” He nods, clasping Brandon on the shoulder. “This kid has taken care of you since day one. I know nothing will change. You, and my grandchild, are in good hands.”

I look over at my boyfriend and can’t help the grin that takes over my face. He looks so happy, finally telling our parents about Baby Bollig. Almost as happy as he was when I first told him he is going to be a daddy. Yeah, my father is right. This baby and I are in very good hands.

Notes

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