"It's a small town girl, everything is right and we rule the world... We are tonight..."


Cassidy woke up in Jamie’s arms. It was the first time she’d ever done that with someone other than her parents, but it felt normal. And it felt right. Her back was pressed against his chest, and she figured his face was buried in her hair as she felt the lightness of his breath against her skin.

She took a deep breath in, becoming aware that one of Jamie’s arms was tucked over her hips, while she lay on top of the other. It amazed her that he wasn’t uncomfortable in this position. When she turned her head to look back at him, she smiled, seeing the innocent expression of his sleep.

Carefully she lifted his arm off of her hips, slowly sitting up, swinging her legs over the side of her bed. Cassidy stretched out her back as she sat, trying to be as quiet as possible as to not wake Jamie. She leaned over and turned her phone on, seeing it was only seven; she had always been an early riser.

A soft moan escaped from Jamie’s lips, and as she thought it had happened in his sleep, he moved his hand to her lower back, dancing his fingertips over the small of her back. Cassidy looked back at him, his eyes still shut but he was now awake as he yawned and ran his other hand through his thick, dark hair.

“Got a little chilly last night,” he mumbled through another yawn. Jamie squinted his eyes open, allowing as little light in as possible.

She grinned slightly and turned to face him a bit more, “I usually have another blanket on here, but I need to wash it.” She reached forward and pulled on the curtains, making the room darker to accommodate Jamie’s sensitive eyes. “Luckily for me, you’re big and warm… It was like sleeping next to a rock.”

Jamie yawned again, stretching his arms up into the air. “I have to get going soon.” He rubbed his eyes quickly and then opened them; smiling as he saw Cassidy frowning at him, “practice.”

“O Captain, My Captain, at least let me make you breakfast.” She pushed her hand through his hair, giggling as a stubborn strand fell right back into his face.

He shook his head teasingly as Cassidy said the nickname Tyler had mentioned the first night at the bar. She was a sucker for that movie and Walt Whitman. “I think I have time for that,”

Cassidy smiled and ran her hand down his cheek softly, before she hopped off her bed and pulled open the bedroom door, disappearing into the kitchen, leaving Jamie behind. It was only a few minutes later that he walked out the front door and came back in carrying a fresh change of clothes consisting of a ‘Dallas Stars Hockey’ shirt and a pair of black basketball shorts.

She glanced over while she prepared the food, getting distracted as Jamie changed in the living room. He pulled down his pants from the night before, leaving him in his boxer briefs before he pulled on the clean shorts. Cassidy forced herself to look down at the food, adjusting the turkey bacon in the skillet. When she looked back at Jamie, his shirt was already off, and the muscles in his chest and back flexed as he lifted his arms to slip on the new shirt.

“What’re we having,” he asked walking into the kitchen, standing behind Cassidy as she stood in front of the stove.

Cassidy stuttered for a moment, taking in the smell of him that just simply drove her crazy. “Eggs, toast, turkey bacon. Water and juices in the fridge; help yourself.”

Jamie smiled and stepped towards the fridge, pulling open the door and looked around for a moment before he grabbed a bottle of water and shut the fridge door. He stepped back behind Cassidy, holding the bottle in one hand and moving his other hand to her waist, leaning down to kiss her neck softly.

“What are you doing later today?” He murmured against her skin, sending chills through her body.

“Class,” she mumbled back, practically unable to form an intelligent response. She tilted her neck to the side, allowing him more room as she flipped over the bacon.

“When’s that end,” he pulled his lips from her neck and opened up his water bottle, taking a long sip.

She turned off the flame on the stove and moved the eggs and bacon to a plate before she reached for the toaster, pulling out two pieces of toast. She then turned to Jamie and handed him a plate, “five thirty.” Cassidy opened up a drawer and pulled out a fork and knife, handing both to him.

He walked around to the other side of the counter, sitting in the stool and began eating. “You want to go out with me tonight?”

“Another bar?” Cassidy turned and moved the dirty pans to the sink, groaning at the end of her question. She was tired of the bar scene already.

“I was thinking along the lines of a nice dinner. Eight-ish? Bottle of wine, candlelight, you and me… sounds like a pretty good night to me.”

“You want to waste your night with me?”

Jamie smiled and nodded; stabbing at his eggs and took another bite. “I don’t know anyone else I’d rather waste a night with.”

Within twenty minutes, Jamie was out of the apartment, off to go about his day. Kennedy waltzed into the kitchen with a smirk on her face, twirling her hair as if she knew a dirty secret.

“Something tells me Tyler isn’t the reason for that smile,” Cassidy mocked as she finished up washing the dishes. With her date tonight, she wasn’t going to get too ready for school; she’d focus her energy to look good tonight.

“While Tyler is amazing in every aspect of the word, no he is not. Rather the reason for the grin is a man named Jamie Benn.” Kennedy replied, skipping around the kitchen.

Cassidy pursed her lips confused, wondering what that meant. “Don’t tell me after I fell asleep he went in your room and made sweet, passionate hockey love to you.”

Kennedy blushed at the idea and shook her head, “sisters before misters. I was spying on you two this morning; cozying up to each other, you all housewife-like. Now your date tonight! Don’t worry, yes I’ll pick out your outfit and do your hair.” She gripped onto Cassidy’s shoulders, “Mama’s gonna get laid tonight!”

Cassidy rolled her eyes and pulled away from Kennedy’s grip, disappearing into her room to get ready for class. No matter how scared she was about tonight, Kennedy was right. It was going to be romantic, and with the wine and candlelight… anything was possible.

---

It was hard to focus the entire day. Going to classes was pointless as Cassidy found it difficult to concentrate on anything other than Jamie’s body as he changed this morning. While she hadn’t gotten to the point of writing his name over her notebook, she definitely thought about him more than normal.

Even when her dad called to check in, she couldn’t draw her attention from the thought of Jamie Benn lying with her last night, wrapping his strong, muscular arms around her. And when she told her dad about her date, she left out the name of the boy. Cassidy knew her dad would know who Jamie was, and he’d surely have some opinions about him; probably most of them negative.

Plus by the time she got home, Cassidy had enough to worry about without her dad’s thoughts on the matter. Kennedy had decided to lay out skimpy lingerie to wear underneath a skimpy dress. She vowed that it was the right choice, that Jamie would want Cassidy to be wearing something sexy. And after an argument that wasted half an hour, they compromised.

Cassidy wore the revealing lingerie underneath a dress of her choice. Chances were that Jamie wouldn’t see the lingerie anyway, so it wouldn’t even matter what was beneath the dress. But it satisfied Kennedy and got her off of Cassidy’s case for just awhile.

When Jamie finally arrived, Kennedy was more nervous than Cassidy, acting like a mother who was sending a daughter off to war. And even as they exited the apartment, Kennedy was yelling at them, reminding them to be safe and use protection. All of it overwhelmed Cassidy, and she found relief in Jamie’s SUV.

The restaurant turned out to be everything Jamie had said it would be. Between the candlelit table and the bottle of wine he ordered, Cassidy could tell it was meant to be a romantic evening and she silently cursed Kennedy for coercing her into wearing the meager underwear.

“You look very pretty tonight, Cassidy.” Jamie set his menu down and picked up his wine glass, taking a small sip.

She blushed and bit her lip nervously, “thank you. You look pretty good yourself,” she glanced around the restaurant.

Things were quiet for a moment. “When I was six, I was going out to the ice and I tried to be cool and run out. Right as I stepped onto the ice, I ate shit.” He chuckled and played with his wine glass, running his fingers around the rim until it made a soft noise.

Cassidy laughed and looked at him, tilting her head to the side.

“You seemed nervous. Figured if I made you laugh, you’d loosen up a bit.” He flashed his perfectly white teeth.

Her smile faded and she brought her wine glass to her lips, drinking it and finding comfort in the fact that she actually enjoyed it. It gave her something to do rather than make a fool out of herself. “How was practice,” she managed to get out.

“Tiring, but we needed it for the game tomorrow. Are you gonna go to it?” He leaned over the table and brushed his fingers against Cassidy’s. After looking up into his eyes, she laced her fingers with his.

“I have to study for midterms. Plus I don’t even have tickets,”

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but you are talking to the captain of the team. I might be able to get you some.”

Cassidy smiled and squeezed Jamie’s hand gently, “Maybe another game,”

The waiter came up and took their orders, before walking away just as silently as he came. They both laughed at his awkwardness before returning to their conversation.

“So what’s Tyler think about all this? I mean he is the one that hit on me first.” Cassidy smirked and leaned over the table more. She was finally happy that she had worn the lingerie. It made her boobs look bigger than they actually were, and she wanted to look good for Jamie.

He seemed unfazed by her change in position, his eyes not even drifting down her body, but rather staying focused on her eyes. “Tyler’s type is any girl with a pulse. And that’s okay for him; I mean he’s young, he’s got time.”

“Well you’re young too! It’s not like I’m out with a grandpa right now.”

Jamie smiled and looked at the candle in between them before he returned his attention to Cassidy. “I know but he’s twenty-two. I’m twenty-four, going to be twenty-five in July. I had my time to party and go wild, and now I’m just growing up.”

“Says the man who took me to a bar as our first official date.” Cassidy slowly began to rub her thumb against Jamie’s hand.

“Don’t get me wrong, I still like to go out and have a good time, but see you called me a man right then. As harsh as it sounds, I’m not sure you could really call Tyler a man. I think he’s a boy working his way up to that.” Jamie took the wine bottle and poured himself a little more. “Don’t get me wrong, Ty’s a good friend, and we’ve got each other’s backs on and off the ice. I just don’t look at him and say that’s the definition of a man though.”

Cassidy was in awe of everything Jamie was saying, simply because it sounded so perfect coming out of his mouth, “so in the eyes of Jamie Benn, what is the definition of a man?”

He chuckled rocked his head side to side as he thought. “Jordie and I were raised in a really traditional family. Our mom and dad are still together and happy, and I think my definition of a man stems from what I saw growing up.” He paused as if relishing the thought of his family, “my dad was a strong provider for our family. He was tough when he needed to be and gentle when it was called for. Gave us the world whenever he could, but never let us lose our humility. If I could be half the man my dad is, I think I’d be doing pretty well.”

Cassidy smiled softly, and leaned back in her chair as the waiter set their plates in front of them. She, being safe, ordered a small pasta dish, while Jamie got a sandwich that looked and smelled delicious.

“Now my turn for a hard question. What’s your dad like?” Jamie looked up at Cassidy before he picked up half of his sandwich and took a bite of it.

She finished chewing and took a sip of her wine, “my dad is gentle… kind. I’ve never heard him yell; probably because of the stuff he’s seen in his life… life’s too short to be angry. And he was my biggest cheerleader growing up,” she chuckled and looked at Jamie, seeing his eyes squint as he smiled. “Seriously, if I wanted to be a firefighter, he’d support me and if I wanted to be a teacher, same thing. To him, no job is petty. He sees every job as having some sort of nobility, and I love that about him.”

Jamie took another bite of his sandwich, swallowing before he spoke, “he seems like a great man. He must be considering you’re the product of his efforts.”

“But boy, did I give him a hard time growing up,” she looked down at her plate, almost guilty with how bad she had been to her father in the past, especially when he needed her most.

“We all do though. It’s like a child’s only responsibility.”

Notes

This chapter is titled after "We Are Tonight" by Billy Currington.

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Also if you happen to listen to any of the songs, message me to let me know what you thought!