Behind the Glass

I woke up to my annoying alarm I set on my phone, just incase I fell asleep on the couch, which I did. I stretch my arms, and end up hitting Patrick. I giggle slightly, causing Patrick to wake up suddenly. He sat up straight, nearly pushing me off the couch.

"Thanks for almost killing me Pat!" I say sarcastically. Pat just looks at me for a second, then shoves his face back into the pillow. I laugh again at his childish act, but I quickly realized that I would do the same thing if I wasn't so excited for today.

"Come on Patty!" I say, dragging out saying his name. I look over at the clock, which reads 8:12. decide that it'd probably be best to just leave him for now, and venture off to take a shower.

~~~~~~

After showering, getting ready, and making breakfast for both me and Pat, I go to wake up the sleepyhead.

"Pat I've got your favorite come on!" I said while pulling him by the arm off of the couch. He groaned and pulled his arm back, causing me to fall on top of him. We both looked at each other and just laughed. I got up off of him, and helped him get up and over to the food. We each got our plates and stacked on some food.

"You may look small Rae but you definitely weigh more than an elephant." He said jokingly. I scoff at him and hit his arm hard. "You may say that, but you've seen me naked." I said, leaning close to his ear I whisper, "And I look good naked."

Patrick and I were those best friends who could make sexual jokes at each other and flirt all day, but we both knew we'd only ever be friends, and we were okay with that. When I first met Pat, we had a short fling, but it was nothing more than that.

As I get up to put our dishes away, I hear Pat call from behind me, "If we're gonna bring up how good you look naked then can we talk about me?" He followed me into the kitchen, and waited until I put the dishes in the sink before he picked me up and put me on the counter. His baby blues pulled me in, just like they did the first night we met. We both kind of just stared into each others eyes for a moment, until my phone rang, knocking us both out of our trance. I jumped off the counter, and noticed it was Tyler calling me.

"Hey Ty Bear! What's up?" I asked nonchalantly, trying to hide my excitement from him.

"Nothing much baby girl, I'm just getting ready to go out with the Benns later. I just wanted to call and check in on you." He says sweetly. I couldn't help but smile at his response.

"Awe Ty! Only a few more days till the game, and I'll make sure to come see you and the Benns before I leave." I say, biting my lip. It was so hard not to tell him, but I wanted to make this surprise awesome. He stayed silent for a moment, slightly worrying me.

"I miss you so much Rae." He says, his voice quiet. I could practically feel my heart breaking.

"I miss you more Ty. Just because I don't see you everyday doesn't mean I don't think about your stupid ass everyday." I say, joking with him at the end. I could hear him stifle a laugh on the other end.

Pat walked in the room and sat next to me, looking a bit tense. I give him a questioning look, and he just shakes his head, as if to tell me "it's not a big deal." I reach over and fix his beanie, knowing it would annoy him.

"Well I can't wait to see my favorite trainer in a couple days! I let you get back to whatever you were doing. I'll call you later baby girl." Ty said.

"Okay Ty Bear! See you in a few days." We both said a quick bye, and hung up.
I take a quick look at the time, and it's 9:30.

"We should head over to the airport. I don't wanna miss my flight!" I say giddily, pulling Patrick off the couch and towards the front door.

~~~~~~

{ After the Flight }

I stood in front of Jamie's place, digging in my purse for the key Jamie gave me awhile back. Once I finally found it, I opened the door and was hit with a sense of home. I couldn't help but smile as I walked into the apartment. It was the exact same as when I left, the walls were filled with old hockey pictures and his shelves had plenty of trophies and medals.

I put my suitcase in the guest room, which was were I spent most of my time in Dallas because Jamie and I were always hanging out together, and Tyler would usually be here sleeping on the couch. Just looking around the apartment brought back so many memories. I hadn't even been gone more than a couple of months, and I already wanted to just run back down here, where I knew I would be safe. Where my heart would be safe.

I checked the time, 1:28. I shoot Jordie a text telling him that I'm here, and that they could make their way over here whenever. I saunter over into the living room, and sit down on my favorite spot on the couch. When I was over here, we practically had assigned seats for movie nights. Everybody had their own spot, and nobody ever questioned it, and eventually it just became habit to sit in those spots.

I turned on the TV, and began watching Criminal Minds, aka my favorite show ever.
I waited for about an hour, until I got a text from Jordie saying that they were on their way up. I smiled, and quickly turned off the TV. I ran to the closest mirror and quick checked my hair and outfit to make sure everything was perfect. As I heard the door unlock, I went back into the living room and just sat on the couch.

"Jordie what did you need to get from my place so bad." I heard Jamie whine. I cover my mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Just come on you idiots you'll find out." Jordie responds. As I see Jordie, I stand up from the couch, allowing me to see both Tyler and Jamie. They both stop dead in their tracks and just stare at me.

"Surprise!" I say excitedly, running up to hug both of them.

Jay engulfs me in a hug bear hug first, and twirls me around, causing me to squeal. "I've missed you so much Rae." He says into my hair, making my giggle. "I've missed you too Jay." Then without warning I was passed over to Jordie who gave me another big hug.

"Thanks for helping me with this Jor." I say while squeezing him tight.
"Anything for you." He says smiling.

When Jordie finally lets me go, I look at Tyler, who's still got a shocked look on his face. I smile at him and practically jump on him, wrapping my legs around his waist. His arms firmly circle my torso, and mine find their way around his neck to hold him close. I take a deep breath in, breathing in his familiar scent.

"I can't believe you're here baby girl." He says into my ear.

"Well believe it Ty Bear because it's really me."

Notes