"Don't you wanna hold each other tight... We can make forever feel this way, don't you wanna stay..."


“I think you’re a little upset with me, and I’m not really sure why.”

Cassidy looked up, now shivering, as Jamie had been the person who kept her from retreating into the warmth of the arena. He stood in front of her; tall, muscular, and no longer in his hockey garb, but rather the well fitted suit from earlier in the day.

“What makes you think I’m angry with you?” She snapped back, pulling away from his clutch and grabbing at her own arms in a feeble attempt to keep warm.

“For starters, your tone is a dead give away. And secondly, after you saw me in the penalty box you put your head in your hands and looked like you were crying.”

“I wasn’t crying,” she muttered, looking around. What was taking Kennedy so long? They hadn’t parked that far away. Now Cassidy’s words came out in syllables as the cold began to overwhelm her body.

Jamie shrugged off his suit jacket and set it on top of Cassidy’s shoulders, smiling softly as her body seemed to disappear beneath the size of his coat. “You can’t blame me for not divulging much information about myself.”

“You made me look like a fool, Jamie.” She shrugged her shoulders, allowing his jacket to slip from her shoulders and she handed it back to him, glancing at him disapprovingly. Although she was freezing again, she didn’t want his pity.

“Cassidy, don’t be stubborn; just take it.” He pushed his hands into his pockets, refusing to take his jacket from her.

She pushed it into his chest, “Kennedy is going to be here soon.”

Jamie shook his head, “no she’s not. I saw her walking and I asked where you were. She told me, and I told her to leave; said I’d take you home.”

Cassidy’s eyes shot up to his and she replaced his jacket on her shoulders. She turned away from him and began walking, forcing Jamie to jog behind her until he finally caught up.

“I didn’t lie to you. Everything I told you was true, I just left out some parts.” He tried to explain, bending down to be more on her level. At six foot two, he did tower over Cassidy’s five foot four frame.

“You want to do me a favor Jamie?” She paused until she saw his eyes pleading with her, “don’t talk to me at all, that way you won’t have to leave out some parts of the truth.”

He walked beside her silently for a moment, and in that instant, Cassidy believed she had won. He had no comeback. Instead, he took a sharp breath in, opened his mouth to speak, and then nothing came out.

“Es’cuse me…” a little voice mumbled.

Both Jamie and Cassidy turned around and peered down at a small child. She was no older than four, dressed in a Jamie Benn jersey that looked more like a dress than a shirt. And her dad just stood a few feet away from her, smiling admiringly at his daughter.

Jamie flashed a bright smile and crouched down beside the small girl, wrapping one of his large arms around her body. “Hey princess, did you go to the game tonight?”

The little girl smiled brightly and nodded, placing one of her arms against Jamie’s chest as he spoke. “I saw your goal! It. Was. Awesome.” She gripped onto his dress shirt excitedly.

He smiled kindly and patted her back gently, “Thank you. I’m happy you got to see it.” He tilted his head as the small child giggled nervously. “Did you want a picture?”

The girl nodded and turned in Jamie’s arms, now facing her father. From his crouching spot, Jamie smiled at the camera, his arm still encompassing the little girl.

After the flash went off, the girl turned back to Jamie, “thank you, Jamie!” She reached around and wrapped her arms around Jamie’s neck.

All Jamie could do was chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back gently, “sure thing princess.”

He let go of the girl, smiling as she ran back to her father as Jamie stood back up, pulling on his slacks.

The father stepped forward, offering his hand to Jamie, “hey man, thanks so much.”

Jamie smiled and took the father’s hand, shaking it firmly, “yeah, no problem. Have a good night.”

“Thanks, you too.”

The father grabbed his daughter’s hand, talking to her in a higher pitched voice than normal as they continued walking down the street.

When Jamie turned back to Cassidy, she had a huge grin on her face and began shaking her head, her grin slowly fading, “don’t think you being adorable with a child is going to fix everything.”

Jamie offered a quick laugh and began walking to keep up with Cassidy again. She was silent for a moment, thinking to herself, before she raised her arm and linked it with Jamie’s.

“Although you being good with kids and also being a man’s man, is really sexy,” she bit her lip subtly as she looked up with him. Boy had being twenty-one changed her. Twenty-one, year of no fear and being bold and beautiful.

He smiled and peered down at her, leaning into her arm gently, nudging her to the side as they walked. Cassidy nearly stumbled over her own feet until Jamie pulled her the other way, entering a small bar just down the street from the stadium.

They walked in, now being aware that the bar was pretty packed. Jamie stood behind Cassidy, looking at the craziness around them. Silently, he set one hand against Cassidy’s lower back, and stepped next to her, leading her further into the crowded space until they reached the bar.

Jamie leaned over and shook the bartender’s hand, motioning for two drinks before he leaned his forearm against the bar, leaning into Cassidy’s ear. “I hope this is alright. I just wanted to celebrate the win; we can be in and out of here quickly.”

They both looked back as Jamie’s shoulder was tapped. The bartender handed him two beers, and he thanked the man before handing one to Cassidy. With one of his hands now free, he pushed his fingers through his hair, brushing back the rogue strands that had fallen into his face.

“It’s fine,” Cassidy said smiling up at him. She looked calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside she was a wreck. He wanted to celebrate the win. What did that mean? Just drinking at the bar? Or did he have expectations of where the night would lead?

They both took a sip of their beers at the same time, and now feeling oddly uncomfortable, Cassidy shrugged off Jamie’s jacket and handed it back to him. This time he took it, set his beer down, and then slid his arms back into his coat, fixing the collar before he picked his beer back up.

“So like I was saying, I don’t really divulge too much information.” He looked around the bar, taking another quick sip of his beer. “It’s hard to meet people who don’t know me professionally. Sometimes it’s hard to gauge if they really like me or if they’re using me for something.” Jamie turned his body to face Cassidy. From her sociology classes, she knew that whichever direction a man’s chest was facing was where his attention was. And instead of facing outward to the bar, his chest was directed at her. For once in her life, she hoped her professor was right.

“I mean I get it. Maybe I just expected too much. Like you were such a good guy when you took me home a few nights ago, and then I find out you weren’t being completely honest. I was just taken aback,” Cassidy’s southern accent seemed more prevalent now, and it was something she hated about herself. When she started talking for long periods at a time, it came out and she couldn’t stop it.

Although she hated it, Jamie smiled when he heard it. “I’m still that nice guy. I just happen to make more money than you assumed and have followers wherever I go.”

Cassidy giggled and went to bring her beer up to her lips. Her act of trying to seductively sip her beer was foiled when her body lurched forward. When she looked back, the man behind her was smirking. It was then she realized what had actually happened. What she thought was an accident turned out to be a drunken man slapping her ass.

From Jamie’s position, he hadn’t seen what the man had done and he just looked down at Cassidy, a slight grin on his face as the only thing he’d seen was her move closer to him. Cassidy looked back at the intoxicated man again, as he now took the liberty of groping her, squeezing her ass roughly.

Cassidy looked up at Jamie as the man kept his hand in place, “Jamie…”

Jamie smiled wider, seeing her getting closer to him. But when she spoke, he heard the fear in her tone and he looked down, seeing what was making her uncomfortable. He wrapped his arm around Cassidy’s waist, attempting to gently pull her away from the man, but the drunkard tightened his grip, and Cassidy shot Jamie a helpless glance.

“Hey bud, how about you back up a little bit,” Jamie’s tone was calm for now. But as the man refused to back away, Cassidy felt his arm become more protective around her. “I don’t want to have to ask you again.”

Physically, Jamie didn’t look like someone to mess with. He was tall, but apart from that he was pure muscle. And that was evident even beneath his formalwear. The drunken man took the hint and loosened his hold on Cassidy’s ass.

Jamie took the opportunity to pull Cassidy away, switching places with her so he now stood beside the plastered man, “you can touch me all you want, but don’t be touching her.” He giggled at his own joke and then looked back down at Cassidy. “What’s a night in Dallas if you’re not being groped?”

She chuckled and shook her head, setting her hand down against Jamie’s arm, feeling his bicep flex beneath her touch, “groping… molestation…” She smirked up at him playfully. “Thank you, though.”

He nodded and smiled, bringing his beer up to his lips and finished it off, setting the empty bottle down on the bar. “You ready to get out of here?”

This was the part of the night she’d been fearing; maybe even more so than being unwillingly touched by a semiconscious alcoholic. This moment was going to determine the course of the night, where she might still be unwillingly touched but have no one to save her.

Despite her anxiety about the moment, she looked up at Jamie and set her bottle down on the bar, “ready.”

Notes

This chapter is titled after "Don't You Wanna Stay" by Jason Aldean.

Even if you're not a country music fan, I encourage you you listen to these songs! Who knows, you might find one you actually like :)