Tongue Tied

"Fuck, please, Alex! This is the hardest club to get into and we're on the list. How are we not going to go?" Kya cried.

"You can go. I'm not." Alex shrugged.

"It's your name on the list, not mine." Kya frowned.

"You only want to go because Tyson said to meet him there." Alex rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and Ryan." Alexa butted in.

"And the rest of the cute ass team." Erica finished.

"And the devil." Alex hissed.

"Oh, c'mon. You can find a cute guy to talk to and hang out with all your work friends." Kya pleaded.

Alex rolled her eyes again. She stood up and walked towards the washroom. The other three looked amongst each other. Alex looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was slowly drying from the shower she had just taken. She switched on her wand. She peaked out of the washroom at her friends.

"Might want to start getting ready." She smirked, closing the door.

Just over an hour later, the girls were all ready. Alex had her hair curled and nice and big. She had a black crossover halter neck crop top on with a cut-out detail, with a zipper on the back. She paired it with high-waisted, faded, skinny jeans and laced up, open toe, tan booties with cutouts on the sides. Her cream, leather clutch was grasped in her hand. Her three friends could not believe how well she cleaned up at times.

"At least eleven twenty five year old men will hit on you tonight." Alexa states.

"I'm just going for Hilary. No guys involved." Alex clarifies before the four go.

Alex's coworker, Hilary, was of higher class. She was very wealthy and married even wealthier. She had convinced all her coworkers to come to one of the swankiest clubs in Colorado. Hilary wasn't full of herself by any means. She was very modest and just loved to get sloppy drunk with friends. She told Alex to come and bring the girls since she was very fond of all four of the "underagers" as she called them. And that's why they were out for the night. Alex told security Hilary's name, then her own, and then her plus three. They were in without a hitch or an ID being asked for.

Hilary gasped and ran over to the four as the entered the VIP area. She hugged them all tightly as she smiled. She began to ramble on about the night so far. She introduced everyone to each other. Alex knew almost everyone since they were people she worked with. It was a small office where they worked and Hilary wasn't just a coworker, she was their boss. She terrified Alex at first but she had really grown to love her.Hilary stopped mid sentence.

"Those hockey players are here." She growled.

"Kya's boyfriend is here." Alexa sang.

"Yeah, sorry." Kya blushed. "If you'd excuse us."

She dragged Alexa away with her. Erica moved closer to Alex. They continued talking to the people around them. Alex and Erica both had glasses perched on their laps. Nonalcoholic drinks sat in them. Every time Erica took a sip, she frowned. She wanted nothing more than to be chugging 'em back right now. Alex felt the same but hid it a lot better.

One by one, people began to leave the area they were in. Eventually, Hilary was smashed and had to be taken home. As soon as she left, more of the group had to go. Erica had taken off with a couple of the girls Alex worked with to dance. Her last friend of the night, Brad, her very beautiful and very gay colleague, gave her a kiss on the cheek before he announced he was calling it a night. Alex was now alone.

She wasn't alone for long. She saw two giant figures approaching her. She felt her stomach flip. All the tension within her eased when she recognized who. It was two well known athletes among the city, Matt Duchene and Gabe Landeskog. They smiled as they sat on either side of her. She didn't speak as they slowly sipped on whatever they were drinking. She drank her water, feeling uncomfortable.

"Your friends told us to come hang out with you." Gabe explained. "You were at that event a little while ago."

She nodded. "You're the captain of the Colorado Avalanche." She replied.

He chuckled. "I like to go by Gabe. You're Alex, right?" He extended his hand. She opened her mouth to question how he knew. "Kya told me."

She nodded and shook his hand. She turned to the guy on her other side. He smiled at her, extending his hand. She shook it as they exchanged names. The three began to chat. Matt and Gabe bickered occasionally, it made Alex laugh. She ended up near tears after ten minutes of conversation with them. They were funny, but most players had a good sense of humour.

"So do you want a drink?" Matt asked. "Was that vodka rocks?"

She laughed. "I wish. It was just water." She sighed.

"Then let's get some shot!" Gabe exclaimed.

"Sorry, boys. I'm not exactly of age." She told them.

"Wow, maybe you should get to know Nate." Matt chuckled. Alex tensed. "Second year in the league and he still can't have a drink."

She let out a small chuckle. "I know Nathan too well." She expressed. "Do you think you could take me to where my friends are? I think it's almost time to head out."

They nodded. All three rose. Matt walked in front of Alex while Gabe stayed close behind. She held onto Matt's shirt while Gabe held her hand. Neither wanted the girl to end up lost and she didn't want to lose them either. Matt guided them through bodies. She saw Erica sitting with Nathan. It looked like she was yelling at him. Alex furrowed her brows but the sight was quickly taken from her eyes.

"Ladies, we bring you Alex." Matt said as he stepped out of her way.

"Oh my god! Come dance!" Alexa cried, pulling her in.

Alex danced for a bit. She ended up in some shoulder-shimmy dance off with Matt. She didn't understand why hockey players were terrible dancers but she wasn't much better. Ryan O'Reilly pulled her towards him by her hand and spun her. She was finally having fun tonight. She had been having fun since Matt and Gabe approached her. Bad dancing made it that much better. Her eyes landed on where she had once spotted Erica with Nathan. He was watching her. They locked eyes as she continued to dance. He just shook his head before he walked out.

She shook her head and turned back to Tyson, who she was dancing with. She stopped, causing him to frown. She walked the opposite direction Nathan had. She didn't know why she was still doing this. She couldn't keep letting him ruin things for her. It'd been two years since their break up and over a year since the last time he touched her. She shouldn't have felt guilty because she was dancing. She shouldn't have felt anything because of him.

"Hey!" Erica called, stopping her friend. "Where are you going?"

"I need to leave, Er. Nathan was j," Alex stopped herself. "I don't want to be here anymore."

"Okay. Let's get the girls and head out." Erica rubbed her shoulders. "Don't get upset."

"I'm okay." Alex smiled as they approached the group again.

"Hey, can we head out?" Erica called to Kya and Alexa.

They both turned. Erica's eyes shifted to Alex. The other two looked at her. She looked like she was near tears. Alexa nodded. She said her goodbyes to the boys before she guided Alex out. Kya turned to Tyson. He smiled down at her. She smiled back. He gave her a small kiss.

"Tell Alex to cheer up." He instructed and all the guys agreed.

Kya nodded. "I will."

Erica smiled at Kya and Tyson before Kya turned to her. Erica waved to the giant men in front of her before she and Kya held hands as they walked through the club. They reached out front where Alex and Alexa were attempting to hail a cab, with no luck. Finally, one stopped for them. Alex walked to the door. She looked to the left where she saw him. Nathan was leaning against a building on his phone. They stared at each other. She sighed and climbed into the cab. What a night.

Notes