Gabby walked into Patrick’s apartment building wearing large sunglasses and an Astros baseball cap. She and Patrick had been sticking to the low-key thing for about a month. Gabby was so comfortable with Patrick but she wasn’t sure if Patrick was ready for a relationship in the spotlight. As a matter of fact, with the rumors Gabby heard she wasn’t sure if Patrick was ready for a relationship period.

Gabby stepped out of the elevator and onto Patrick’s floor, quickly shaking her hair loose from the baseball cap so she wouldn’t have hat hair. She slipped the baseball cap and sunglasses into her purse before knocking on the door. It took awhile for Patrick to open the door and when he did Gabby immediately gasped.

“What the hell happened?” Gabby asked and rushed to inspect his face. Patrick was sporting a black eye and a busted lip.

“I’m fine,” Patrick sighed and closed the door behind her.

“I didn’t ask if you were fine, tough guy, I asked what the hell happened,” she reached to touch his face and he cringed away.

“I got into a fight,” he sighed.

“At practice? With a teammate?”

“Yeah, asshole just went nuts out of nowhere.”

Gabby swallowed hard and feared the worst, “Who was it?”

“Jonathan Toews,” Patrick sighed.

Her eyes grew wide, “Are you kidding? Aren’t you best friends?”

“Yeah, I just don’t fucking know. I think Stacey is just driving him crazy. I never really liked her anyway.” Gabby didn’t know why that comment made her feel better.

“I can’t believe he did this to you. A girl is no reason to beat up your best friend,” she sighed, a secret meaning behind her words.

“Calm down, Gabby. I don’t really want to talk about it anymore,” Patrick sighed and pulled her towards the couch.

“If you insist,” she smiled. “So can you still kiss with that busted lip?”

“I guess we’ll just have to find out, won’t we?” his mood immediately improved.

“You’re ridiculous,” she laughed as he lay down on the couch and pulled her down on top of him. Their lips immediately attached as she played with her curly hair and his big hands gripped her hips.

“So, besides Toews going mental, how was practice?” Gabby asked.

“Eh, nothing special. Did you have work?”

“No, I just had a few hours of studying to do,” she shrugged.

“Studying?” Patrick scoffed.

“Yeah, I get mailed the script and then I have to study it. I do more on my show than just stand there and look pretty,” she laughed.

“I know that, you’re just so good at it,” he laughed and she smacked him playfully. “Speaking of standing and looking pretty, I heard in the locker room today that you were half naked in a magazine,” he mentioned.

“Oh, Vogue? Yeah, it wasn’t that big of a deal,” she shrugged. “Wait, you were talking about me being half naked in a magazine in the locker room?” It suddenly made perfect sense why Jonathan attacked Patrick. Jonathan must have gotten jealous and focused his anger on Patrick. She still couldn’t believe he would stoop so low.

“Yeah, everyone’s been wondering who’s been keeping me busy for the past month. No one believed I could get a girl as beautiful as you,” he smiled.

“Well, aren’t you lucky?” she smirked.

“Yeah, especially after you laughed when I spilt that tray of drinks in your lap,” he nodded and Gabby burst out laughing.

“You were just too cute to resist,” Gabby giggled once her laughter had calmed down. She cuddled into his side and Patrick wrapped his arms tightly around her, kissing the top of her head. Gabby couldn’t believe how great this was.

After a few minutes, Patrick sat up slightly and Gabby raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. “I have a question. I was wondering if you would like to come to my game in a week?”

“Are you sure?” she asked and he nodded with a big smile. “You know what this means,” she looked at him for reassurance.

“I know exactly what it means. I want the whole world to know I managed to charm my way into your life,” he grinned.

“Well, that’s a good thing because the whole world will know,” Gabby smiled. “But what does this mean for us?” she pushed.

“It means I want you to be my girlfriend,” he grinned and her heart fluttered again.

“Well, that’s good news because I really want to be your girlfriend,” Gabby grinned and Patrick leaned in to kiss her excitedly.

“Do you think maybe we should get caught by the paparazzi this weekend? Just as a buffer?” she asked once they pulled away from each other. She didn’t want too much attention to go to their relationship during the game when the attention belonged to the Blackhawks as a team.

“Sure, I guess that sounds fun,” Patrick shrugged and Gabby giggled. “Oh shit, I better tell my mom before my sisters do,” he groaned.

“That might be a good idea,” Gabby nodded and giggled as he placed another kiss on her lips.

“Do your parents know about us?” he asked.

“I told them we’re seeing each other,” she nodded.

“Really?”

“Yeah, if I don’t give my mom verbal updates every two days she freaks out,” Gabby shrugged.

“That’s cute,” he smiled.

“No, that’s scary,” she corrected and he laughed again.

“Nap time?” Patrick asked and Gabby nodded, snuggling back in to his large form. As Gabby closed her eyes she wondered what the hell she was going to do about Jonathan Toews. One thing was for sure, she had to deal with Jonathan before her relationship with Patrick officially came out of hiding this weekend or all hell might break loose.