God, I couldn't believe I was so stupid.

We'd just made it to his car, laughing at the recollection of what had happened in the club previously, which led to me placing gentle kisses on his bruised knuckles, laughing between each one.

"How did that loser even know you?" he chuckled, finally starting his Maserati with his know free hand which she'd just 'kissed better.'

"It's a long story... when you hang out with Carina and a whole team of hockey guys, shit's bound to go down. I'm just glad nothing really lasted with that dick — I mean, what was I thinking?" we both laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot, a tinge of disappointment creeping up on me as I realized the night was coming to an end. Yeah, I'd probably spent a total of two or three hours with him, but he was different. I'd met my fair share of hockey guys, most of them just as cocky as he was rumoured to be, but he was different — deeper. It was like, he wasn't just playing hockey to be a hockey player... and he wasn't defined by his athletics. He was funny and charming; and, maybe a tad attractive. But when he talked to someone, or I spoke, I could see the interest or passion in his eyes.

I mean, I'm no poet, but I definitely could have stared at him for a good few hours.

"—— hey, you good?" I snapped out of my daze, realizing I'd been staring him down for a good few moments, and tried to crack a smile.

"Shit, sorry... what?"

"I said good thing you didn't, there's only room for one hockey douche in there and it's me," he joked, motioning to my chest where I assumed was supposed to be my heart. I chuckled, slapping him playfully on the arm as I motioned for him to turn down a side road.

"I'll be sure to keep a spot in here for ya," I smirked, leaning gently on the centre console, my elbow touching his, and I swear I could pick up on a faint smile on his end.

---

The feeling of her brushing against me instinctively pulled a smirk at the corners of my mouth, and I felt myself exhale, barely noticing that I had been holding my breath. As I caught her looking out the window, I carefully snuck a look at her, my heart pounding as I actually noticed her finally, taking in the model-worthy beauty she definitely didn't even need to try for. There was something about her... the fact that she wasn't fake, or shallow, or anything like you'd expect. But that was probably her hot body and the influence of alcohol speaking... not that I hadn't thought about her lately.

But I was Tyler Seguin: I wasn't supposed to be acting like this.

Or, more like I was supposed to be, but I didn't.

"Shit, you missed the turn!" she called out, suddenly turning her head to look at me, causing me to glance away awkwardly, mumbling a shit under my breath as I glanced back to check what the odds of me getting to turn around were.

"Damn it, Linka, you had one job," I laughed, looking over to meet a shocked expression as she gradually cracked and laughed, shaking her head.

"Whatever, I don't mind getting back to the hotel a bit later," she winked, smirking as she leaned back into the centre, resting her chin on her hand. "Unless you're trying to get me out of here, then I'll walk."

I shook my head, nudging her playfully with a smirk, glancing down at her. A look which I intended to take a moment with ended up lasting a moments, the low volume of the radio humming in the background. Eventually, she must have felt his glance, looking over to lock glances with me, a smile gradually tugging at my lips.

"I knew you were a rebel, but no eyes on the road?" she broke into a big smirk, and I thought she leaned forwards slightly, but I settled with a smirk as I returned my view to the road.

"Okay, this time you're gonna have to help me actually get there."

---

"Thanks for the ride... and punching that guy in the face for me," I mumbled, smirking up at him as he mirrored the same.

"I told you, it was my pleasure. Call me whenever someone else needs to be punched — and thanks for the great navigating skills. Only missed like, what, four turns? Pretty successful," he smirked as I leaned back against my door, arms crossed over my chest.

"Three, actually, we redirected from the other one... but in order to do that, I think I'm gonna need your number..." I trailed off, biting my bottom lip as he slipped his hands in his pockets, stepping up to me.

"What, do you think I just give that away?" he questioned, a hand gloving over his chest, as if he were insulted by the assumption. But slowly, he slipped a hand into his breast pocket, clearly trying hard not to break into a grin as he stepped up to me, his face hovering only centimeters away from mine, eyes looking down as he slipped the piece of paper he'd grabbed into my pocket, not bothering to move much until a grabbed it out with a confused but amused look. As I unfolded it, I noticed the winky face immediately, smirking at how typical it seemed of him, reading off his number.

"Looks like someone came prepared," I breathed, glancing up at him with a proud look as I crossed my arms back over my chest, leaning back against my door once more.

"I was hoping I'd get the chance to do that," he laughed, hovering close again, this time letting a hand hover over my waist, slowly slipping across the tight fabric of my dress. I didn't fight it at all, my own hands lifting to rest on his chest, looking up at him through my eyelashes with a sly smirk.

"What about this?" I whispered, watching as he leaned in, tauntingly slow, allowing our mouths to hover over one another until I finally pulled his lips down into mine, holding him flush against me as I bumped back into the door, a faint bang most likely echoing through the empty room. At first, our kiss was slow and careful, hands traveling over one another to chart the unfamiliar territory, but he didn't hesitate to trail his hands down low, cupping my ass as I reached up to hold my curl my arms around his neck, pulling him in tight.

It seemed as though this would continue on for a while, until I found myself falling back into the entrance, our bodies ripped from one another as I fell back into another body.

---

"So I'm guessing you didn't grab the car?" I looked up to see Serena back in Carina's arms, awkwardly regaining balance and standing up alone, blushing as Carina smirked at us two, shaking her head. I offered a week smile, brushing back my hair as I took a step back, hands slipping once more into my pockets.

"Um, no, I thought Jamie would have brought you back to get it..." even through her awkward mumbles, I found my glance locked on her, watching as she brushed her thick brown hair from her face, trying her best not to make any specific eye contact with Carina or I. My lips stung from the absence of her's, wanting nothing more than to simply have her back against me.

But I knew that even if Carina weren't there, going any further wasn't a great idea — we were both just messing around, and she wasn't the kind of girl I wanted to be sneaking away from in the morning.

"Tyler," Carina acknowledged me with a glimmering smirk, laughing lightly as she watched Serena fumble to get her shoes off, still avoiding the two.

"Carina," I smirked, watching as Serena mouthed a guilty I'm sorry from behind the other. "You still hanging with Jamie?"

"Uh, no I think he got back to his place... about a half an hour ago," she joked, earning a gentle nudge in the arm from Serena.

"We hit some traffic," she finally spoke up, making eye contact with me, not bothering to hide the reminiscent smirk from her mouth, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth. God, she was gorgeous.

"Yeah... bad traffic." We smiled at each other for a while after, until Carina finally cleared her throat and stepped back slightly.

"Well I'm gonna return to my area of the room, you two can... do whatever. Thanks for getting her home, Seguin." She started off back into her room , not hesitating to glance back once Serena turned away, signalling that she had her eyes on me. I saluted jokingly, leaning along the doorframe as Serena groaned, a hand slapping against her forehead.

"God... uh, sorry about that, and thanks for —— everything, I guess," she smirked, stepping back towards me, crossing her arms across her chest again, looking up at me now that she was without the four inch boost.

"My pleasure," I smirked, leaning down, hoping she'd lean in for one last goodbye.

"Maybe I'll see you soon... if you're ever in LA, let me know," she smiled shyly, seeming a little less outgoing now that she'd definitely sobered up from the embarrassment.

"Yeah," I mumbled, smiling down at her, my eyes lost in her's as she almost drifted back into me, but clearly stepped back to avoid any other embarrassments. "If you wanna head to Dallas again anytime soon, I'll definitely have some tickets saved for you."

"Actually, considering how close Carina and Jamie seemed to be getting, I don't doubt I won't be here again anytime soon."

I stood for a moment, simply smirking at her for a moment before blinking back to reality, leaning up off the doorframe as I felt around for my keys in my pocket, stepping back into the hallway. "Feel free to use that," I pointed, seeing her shift the number in her hand with a smirk.

"I won't."

"Night, Linka."

"Night, Seguin."

Notes

sorry this one was kind of uneventful, but it was a good transition i guess —— they're both definitely people this would happen to. hopefully i'll get another few out before i go away, and i hope everyone's liking it so far.

after i start getting into tyler & serena's relationship a little more, i'm gonna try to start focusing a bit on jamie & carina as well. if you'd like a little more focus on them, let me know! i'll probably only do it if people would be interested.