"Hey, what took you so long?" I'd dropped my coat along the back of a chair beside Jonny, watching as Patrick took the one opposite with a wink.

"We were busy jamming out to Taylor Swift in the car, sorry man," Patrick replied before I could, taking off his own jacket to reveal his biceps peaking out from his tshirt, and him definitely noticing the staring. He flexed for a moment with a smirk before dropping his coat, "Anyone want a drink?"

"Oh, God, not the Taylor Swift again! And, uh, I'm good, Lindsey and I already have a private table up there... you know. But the rest of the team's lurking around here, and if you need us we'll be back there," him and Patrick exchanged a few winks, which left me nauseous and thinking about my brother's sex life.

"Don't worry, Jonny, I'm pretty sure we won't need you," I added, patting him on the chest before brushing by the two of them, "You coming for a drink?" I whispered into Patrick's ear as I passed, running into Sharpy on the way to the bar.

"Wow, is that the real Patrick Sharp I see? You're even prettier in person," I joked, leaning against the bar beside him. We'd spoken for a bit at the dinner and after games, but not much more than that.

That, and I'd seen his commercial, like, two hundred times and I still laughed.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," he joked as he turned to look at me, breaking into a huge grin, "Nice to see you again... you here with Jonathan?"

"Uh, kinda... I came for Jonny, but I came with Patrick," I blushed slightly, watching as he looked back at Kaner and flashed him a thumbs up with a chuckle.

"Got a thing for Patricks I see! Not that I didn't see it coming... does Toews know?"

"Yeah, no. And, he probably won't. I don't know, I don't think this is gonna go anywhere..." I trailed on, ordering my drink quickly before glancing back at Patrick who was within a group of girls but managed to glance over at me with a sheepish smile. "I have no clue why I'm telling you all of this!"

"Because I'm a trusting and loyal person, that's why. And trust me when I say that he's into you... he hadn't really been himself lately, but I'm pretty sure I can guess why now," he gave me a look that I couldn't really deny, considering he was definitely right. Well, about what he implied, not about the totally into me thing.

"Sharpy, I thought we talked about the older guy thing," and Patrick was beside me, a hand resting casually on the small of my back as though it were the most natural thing, the boys suddenly breaking into smirks and laughing at whatever inside joke he'd just brought up.

"Well, since that's my date," Sharpy glanced away, sending a wave at a pretty, young looking girl who smiled nicely in their direction, winking at Patrick, "I'd say that you were wrong."

"Not as hot as my date, but definitely a ten," Kaner countered, slapping the other on the back in some sort of approving way.

"The whole approving of each other's dates thing is really cute, not gonna lie, but why are you standing here talking to us when you could be talking to her?" I interrupted with a smirk, tilting my head in the girl's direction.

"True," he said with a smile, getting up almost immediately and rushing over to his date, "You two have fun!"

"God, what a flirt," Patrick broke the sudden silence and sat down in Sharpy's old seat, ordering a drink before glancing over at me with his signature grin, causing me to sport a smile of my own. "Your brother thinks that I like you," he added, but his expression didn't say that it was as serious as she might have expected.

---

"Wait, what?" she asked as I casually picked up my drink as the bartender pushed it to me, and I slapped down a generous tip before explaining the unexpected yet entirely expected comment.

"I think it might have been the Taylor Swift thing," I added with a smirk, scanning the crowd for Jonathan before leaning in to grab her tapping hand, pressing it gently to my lips with a smile before continuing. "He just gave me the whole protective brother comment, I joked about how hot you are, he laughed and ran off to look for Lindsey."

She smiled lightly, but they both knew that the next time he brought up the two of them, they wouldn't be laughing. "Is this going anywhere, Patrick?"

I glanced up at her, taking a moment before dragging my stool closer to her's, once again placing my hand over her's. "Allison, I like you. I like you a lot. I like hanging out with you, I like listening to your horrible singing, I like watching you try to pick up all the junk on your bathroom floor..." she cut me off for a moment, laughing in a mock tone of insult before playfully punching him in the arm, "I really like you. And, if you want to take that kind of risk, I wouldn't mind trying to make something out of this... even if you brother might kill me."

They were quiet for a bit, Allison catching her bottom lip lightly between her teeth, glancing down at she stirred a finger through her drink. "I... I wanna try this. I really do. But, uh, can we keep it between us? Just for a bit?"

"Yeah, for sure..." I paused, taking a sip of my drink before glancing over at her with a smile, "So, I'll see you Friday?"

"Friday? What's Friday?"

"Our date," I added with a smirk, leaning in to press a kiss quickly to her mouth, a hand quickly slipping to rest on the back of her neck before I stepped away from the bar, taking my beer over to a few teammates in a quick cheers before motioning her over.

"Who is THAT?" Shaw asked, glancing at Allison with an impressed look.

"She's... she's my girl."

Notes

sorry this was so short and it wasn't great, i just didn't want to force myself into writing more than i was feeling. i'm going to focus on writing a little more, but it'll probably be slow because of exams and things.

thanks to everyone who's read/followed my story! i've got a new one as well (well that's a first) if you'd like to check it out

the next chapter, i hope, will be up soon!