'It's the kind of kiss that inspires stars to climb into the sky and light up the world. - Tahereh Mafi (Ignite Me)'


"So how many tattoos do you have?" I asked Tyler as I sat cross legged on one of the recliners in Jamie's rec room.

He looked over at me, "Too many to count now. Do you have any?" he asked me curiously.

I smiled and shook my head, "No, but I really want one! I've just never gotten around to finding somewhere that I liked!"

He looked at me wide eyed, "Okay, but, we have to go and get you tattooed!"

I laughed, "Yeah, right now!"

"You think I'm joking," he said with a sly smile, "but we could go right now and get you tattooed."

I squinted at him, "You're full of it."

He laughed, "No," he said smugly, "I’m Tyler Seguin."

I rolled my eyes and smiled at him, "I don't know why I hang out with you, you're cocky as fuck sometimes."

He laughed as the elevator door opened, "Might be, but I'm a cocky guy that could get a tattoo on you!"

I laid my head on the back of the recliner and laughed, "What are you two laughing about?" Jamie asked.

I continued to giggled as I looked over to Jamie, past Tyler, "Tyler's gonna take me to get tattooed," I told him.

Jamie laughed and leaned against the wall next to the elevator looking at us, "Oh really?"

I leaned closer to Tyler and lifted the sleeve of his shirt up, exposing his half sleeve. I began tracing it with my finger as Tyler pointed things out about it and explained the meaning behind it, which was basically, that it was a Seguin family tree with his mom, dad, and sisters on it.

"So come on then!" Tyler said to me, making me laugh.

"No! I promised my brother we'd go together!" I said, sitting back in my chair.

He groaned, "Fly him down here! I wanna see you get your first!"

I laughed, "Yeah, okay, I'll just fly him down here. No problem."

He laughed, "Fine. But I will see you get a tattoo!"

"Deal," I said with a laugh as Jamie took a seat next to me.

It had been about three weeks since I went to the club that night and met up with the guys and some of the WAGs. I had gone out a few more times with them since then, having grown pretty close actually to all of the guys and the girls since then.

There was no secret about it. I had a serious, major crush on Jamie. We had been spending a lot of time together, pretty much anytime he wasn't at a game, either home or away or practice, or I wasn't at work. We were always talking, and texting and Facetiming. I missed him when I wasn't with him.

But, he hadn't asked me out on an official date. We hadn't kissed or anything beyond that, obviously. But I was really happy just getting to know Jamie like that. I was happy to sit and talk about nothing and everything, and get to know him away from just being the Captain of the Dallas Stars. He was smart and funny and charming and so kind.

"Alright, well you two have been a ball of fucking fun, but I'm gonna take off," Tyler said standing up and stretching.

I stood up along with Jamie, "Well, have a good night doing God knows what with God knows who! Be safe!" I told him while laughing.

"I always am," he said wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes but hugged him when he pulled me into him, "God, I hate you," I told him.

"Lies," he hissed when we broke apart.

I smiled and shook my head, "See you later, Ty."

"Bye Jo! See you at practice in the morning, Chubbs," he said to Jamie, as they did the 'man hug.'

"Alright. Can you let yourself out or do you need an escort?" he asked.

Tyler gave him a look, "I always need an escort," he answered back, like it was obvious, making me and Jamie laugh.

"I'll be right back," Jamie told me, while Tyler walked into the elevator.

I nodded, "I'll be here," I told him with a smile.

He smiled back at me as the door closed. Just as they did my phone began ringing, I looked at the ID and saw that it was my dad, I instantly picked it up.

"Hey, dad," I said smiling.

"Hey, Josie," he replied back.

I leaned back in the chair, "What's up?" I asked.

He sighed, "Nothing really, just checking in, seeing how things are."

I grinned, "Things are fine, dad."

"How's Jamie?" he asked casually.

I snorted, "Jamie is fine, dad."

"When do I get to meet him?" he asked me.

I chuckled, "Dad," I groaned, "you don't need to meet him! We're just friends!"

"You two spend a lot of time together to just be friends," he said with a small laugh on his end.

I sighed deeply, "I don't know what to tell you," I told him, "He hasn't asked me out or anything like that," I said with a small shrug, "I just...like hanging out with him."

"Well," he sighed, "he's no Maple Leaf, but he's not a bad player."

I laughed and covered my face with my other hand, "Oh my God. Dad, I'm still a Leafs fan! I swear! Gotta get my hockey fill down here, but the Leafs are my people!"

He laughed his deep laugh on the other end, "As long as you remember where you come from!"

I smiled as the elevator door opened, "I remember," I said as Jamie walked out.

"What are you doing?" dad asked me.

Jamie looked at me questioningly, I move the phone receiver a little away from my face, "It's my dad," I said quietly, Jamie nodded and sat next to me, in the chair where Tyler had been sitting.

"Who's that?" my dad asked.

"It's huh, it's Jamie," I said casually.

"Ohh!" my dad yell while laughing causing me to laugh, "Just friendly, eh?"

I shook my head while continuing to laugh, "The one time!"

"Let me talk to him!" my dad said.

"No!" I shouted with smiling, "I'm hanging up now."

"Josephine Ivy," he said making me crack up, "you put him on the phone right now."

"Nope," I said back, "bye dad," I said.

"Bye Josie, love you," he said while still laughing a little.

"Love you too," I said before hanging up and putting my phone on the empty chair next to me.

"You didn't need to end the conversation just because I came back," Jamie told me.

I shook my head, "Oh no, it needed to end," I said with a small laugh, "he was asking to talk to you, and I was like, nah, I'm good."

He began laughing, ""I would've talked to him!"

I laughed, "I know!" I yelled, "That's what makes it worse!"

Jamie continued to laugh from next to me, "Are you nervous for the game tomorrow?" I asked him.

He shrugged, "Yeah, I'm always nervous for games still."

"Sorry I can't make it to this one," I said sadly.

He smiled, "Its okay. I should have figured, it being a school day and whatnot."

He had offered me seats right next to the bench but it was a Friday early evening game and I had a staff meeting so I couldn't go.

"I'll still be watching you, though," I said with a wink.

He smiled back, "That's all I can ask for."

---

I let myself into Jamie's house after he opened the gate for me. I closed and locked the door swiftly behind me and made my way further into the house.

"Jamie?" I called out.

"Living room," I heard him reply glumly.

The Stars had lost that night to the Coyotes 3-0. I had yet to see Jamie after a loss, but I called him right after I knew he would be done in the locker room and said I'd come over and hang out since he wasn't in the mood to go out with everyone else and party like they usually did, even after a loss.

I walked over quickly and saw him sitting on the couch, bottle of beer on the table next to his propped up feet, with the highlight reel of the game playing on his big screen T.V. I walked around the couch and sat down next to him.

"Hey," I said softly, placing my purse on the floor.

"Hi," he said quietly back, not looking away from the screen.

I adjusted myself so that I was sitting cross legged facing him, "You okay?" I asked him, placing my hand on his knee gently.

He sighed deeply and turned his head to look at me, "Yeah."

I titled my head, "I'm know when you're full of shit too, Jamie," I told him.

His lips twitched for a second like he was going to smile, "I'm just mad is all," he said finally, as he turned and watched the highlight reel again, I looked over and saw Jamie getting pushed into the boards on the screen.

"Hey," I said shaking his knee gently, getting him to focus back on me, "you played so well tonight Jamie. Between you and Tyler, you guys had a few shots on goal! Their goalie was just on fire tonight, which sucks, obviously. But you played with everything you have just like you always do, Jamie.

"And honestly, I'm so proud of you! You have so much talent, and you've been playing with everything you have lately! The NHL has taken notice, Jamie, and just because you don't win every single game isn't going to take that recognition away! You are so well respected in the league! You're gonna hold up that Cup and hopefully I'll be able to cheer you on when you do."

"Can I be honest?" he asked me softly.

I nodded, "Yeah of course."

"I've been playing a bit harder because I know you watch," he said shyly, "I wanna...impress you when I play, so I've been putting every last drop of energy into it on the ice. Every goal I've gotten has been for you," he admitted.

I felt my heart stutter in that moment. How was this guy real?

"Jamie," I said, moving my hand from his knee up to rest on his chest, "I'm always impressed when I watch you play. You don't have to try and impress me because you always do. You are a dominant force in the NHL, and every time I watch you play it's obvious as to why. It's obvious why and how you won the Art Ross trophy.

"You impress me daily," I told him quietly, "and it's not just with hockey either. You impress me with how kind and generous you are. You impress me with your humour. Just everything. So yeah, don't worry, I'm always impressed by you," I said, and moved me hand away from chest.

He moved his hand quickly and took my hand back in his, "Thank-you," he told me softly.

I smiled a little back at him, "Anytime, I'll always give you a pep talk."

He chuckled a little and smiled just slightly, "See, there's that smile and drives all the puck bunnies crazy," I said with a smile as I poked the dimple on his left cheek.

His smile faded, "I don't care about them," he told me, "I care about you. That's it."

I blushed and looked away from him at the T.V, "Geeze, way to make me blush."

"Thank-you for stopping by," he told me.

I looked back over at him and grinned, "Thanks for letting me come by. Sorry for just inviting myself."

Jamie shrugged, "I'm happy that you wanted to come over. You make me feel not so much like shit."

"Hey," I said sternly, holding onto his chin with my thumb and index finger, "I don't ever want you to feel like shit, Jamie. You play your absolute hardest every single game, and if you don't win every game, then I don't want you to feel bad. I'm going to watch all of your games, and win or lose I'm always going to be so proud of you! So anytime you feel like you're not playing your best on the ice or anything, just remember that I'm watching, and that I think you're amazing."

He was watching me with a small smile lingering on his lips, he moved his hand to gently grasp my wrist and move my hand away from his chin. He laced our fingers together and then lifted his other hand to cup my cheek, which I leaned into.

He moved quickly and placed his lips on top of mine in a slow sweet kiss. I felt my stomach erupt into a million butterflies. My heart continued to pound loudly against my chest as our kiss continued.

I broke away and squeezed his hand, "I...I um, wasn't expecting that," I said, looking down at our hands.

He let out a small breathy laugh, "I'm sorry," he said.

I shook my head and looked up at him, "Oh no, don't be sorry," I smiled, "I’m not saying I minded it."

"Was it too fast?" he questioned.

I bit down on my lip and averted eye contact, "I'm not saying it was too fast," I said slowly, "But...I know that we know each other...but I want to really know you. I wasn't lying that night at the club when I said I wanted to see where this all went too. And I'm not saying I don't want this," I said motioning between the two of us with my hand, "I just want to be...one hundred percent sure before jumping into something. My last relationship really messed me up, so I need to make sure about feelings and where we both are any things like that," I said, trying to explain my feeling to him.

But he continued to smile at me with such an understanding look on his face, "I respect that," he told me instantly, "I don't want to rush you into things, not at all. You know where I stand. When you're ready, let me know. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank-you," I said with a small smile.

He leaned his head back against the back of the couch while still looking at me, "What happened in your last relationship?" he asked curiously.

I snorted and rolled my eyes, "It wasn't a good one," I said.

"Tell me," he pushed jokingly.

I smiled, "Well," I started, "he was an asshole basically. We only dated for like, less than a year. When I came down to Dallas I didn't want to date anyone, so I finished my couple years of school and then I met David when I was about two months into the school year last year. And I mean, it was awesome! He was the first guy I had dated since Zac and of course, being me, I fell in love within fifteen seconds," Jamie laughed, making me smile, "I moved in with him within the first...month and a half I think? Like, it was fast.

"But then he got laid off from his job. And then it was up to me to pay the bills and everything that went along with living in a house. And I'm a teacher, right? So I don't make a shit ton of money, so I was having trouble keeping up. But then he wasn't even trying to find a new job and was just content relying on me to pay for everything. Which sucked but I toughed it out because I really thought he was it for me. My fate shit and everything.

"But then he got a letter around mid-July saying that he had fallen behind on child support payments. I didn't know he had a kid," I said while shaking my head and looking up at the ceiling.

"Are you serious?" Jamie asked in disbelief.

"Oh yeah," I said as I looked at him, "I don't have the best tract record with guys as it turns out. I was pissed about finding out about his kid, but...I don't know! I figured we could maybe work it out still, but that was the beginning of the end," I said with a shrug.

"Then what happened?" he asked rubbing my knee.

"He asked me to help him pay it," I told him.

"Josie," Jamie said, staring at me with wide eyes, "tell me you didn't help him pay his child support."

I sucked in some air quickly, "I did," I blurted out quickly.

He groaned loudly which made me laugh, "How are you laughing?" he asked me, putting a hand to his heart, "This is giving me anxiety."

"I have to laugh or else I'll cry forever," I said, "But I paid, just once, not everything he had fallen behind on, but I paid a month's worth which was $250. That was not one of my finest moments," I admitted, "but I wanted him to be happy, and I thought that I was happy with him, and it wasn't smart, at all."

"What was the breaking point?" he asked.

I looked down at my lap, where our hands were still laced together, and he hand was back on my knee, "It was when I got paid on a Friday and then on the Tuesday I went to but a coffee and didn't have money on me, so I went to use my debit and it declined," I said sadly, "It was like, a dollar and change and I didn't have it in my account. I had paid the mortgage, car payments, electricity, and the child support payment. I moved money from my savings account that my parents put money into every month to cover expenses if I need it. I hadn't touched it since being in Dallas.

"I had never been so embarrassed in my life. It was the worst feeling ever, people staring at me. Someone behind me paid but I'll never forget that," I said, gripping his hand tighter, "We were broken up by Friday and I stayed with Zoe and Kyle until I found my apartment. And I moved in and then a couple months later I was in a random karaoke bar and met you," I said with a small smile, "Maybe three times a charm?" I asked with the small shrug.

Jamie leaned down and placed his forehead against mine, "I'd probably take that bet."

I smiled, "I hope so."

Notes

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