Alpha

Tyler had barely slept the night before. Instead, he had stayed awake, watching Savannah sleep. She had gone to bed shortly after they had gotten back to his place, after stopping for food on the way there. She had curled into him, being careful with her broken wrist and knee, and he hadn't moved since.

The dogs continued to come around, but Tyler refused to get up to play with them. He wanted to stay with Savannah. He loved her. There was no denying it. And the fact that she was safe in his arms was the best feeling in the world.

He watched as she stirred awake, slowly opening her eyes before shutting them again. She peeked one open and then smiled at him. "You're here," she said, her voice extremely groggy.

"Where else would I be?" he asked, laying on his side, propping his head up with his hand.

"Practice? Taking the dogs out?"

"Well we have a game today, so no practice," he told her. He had momentarily forgotten they had a game tonight, realizing he would have to leave her at some point today. "And the dogs are anxious to be taken out, but I didn't want to leave you," he admitted.

She stared at him for a few moments, just smiling. "You liiiiiiiike me," she teased.

Tyler laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, something like that."

"Something like that? You liiiiiiiiiike me," she repeated, poking him in the chest.

He grabbed her hand in his. "I love you," he said the words without even thinking. Her breath caught, and she didn't say anything. It was too soon. He knew it. But, he also knew he really did love her.

"You're just saying that," she finally spoke, looking down at the bedding.

Gerry came running in, trying to jump up on the bed for attention, but Tyler ignored him. "You're the first woman I've said that to that I'm not related to," he told her.

Savannah stared at him and then her eyes dropped to his chest. "I love you, too," she said.

"You're just saying that," he joked.

"Stop!" she told him, gently hitting him with her hand. "I don't say those words if I don't mean them."

"You do always speak your mind," Tyler said. He couldn't wipe the grin off his face. She loved him. And she'd said it to him.

Gerry suddenly leaped into the bed, and Tyler saw Savannah wince when the dog accidentally hit her knee. "Shit, Gerry!" Tyler exclaimed, pushing the dog away.

"I think you should take him out," Savannah laughed, pretending her leg wasn't hurting.

"I don’t want to leave you," Tyler said.

"I'll make you a deal. You take the dogs out, and when you get back, I'll make lunch and we can take a shower and get you ready for your game tonight. Think you can get me tickets?" she asked him.

"You can have season tickets," he replied, reluctantly getting out of bed. He stopped and turned around. "One question."

She sat up. "Hmm?"

"Is that shower together?"

She laughed. "Is that gonna get you a W tonight?" she joked.

"Bet your ass it is," he stated before giving her a wink and getting Gerry out of the bedroom.

She rolled her eyes, but he didn't notice as he went to get the other dogs to take them all outside.

His phone rang when he got outside, and he glanced at it, surprised to see Alex's name flashing on the screen. He answered it as the dogs pulled harder on their leashes, causing Tyler to jolt forward. "Hey what's up?"

"How's our girl?" she asked. He should have known that she was calling to check in on Savannah. That woman had more people looking out for her than he could count.

"She's fine, she's in my bed still," he answered. "She's coming to the game tonight. Are you?" He knew that Alex didn't make it to every game depending on if she had photo shoots, but it seemed that Jamie played better in the games she attended.

"I can't tonight, so make sure she's okay on her own."

"I'll put her in a suite," Tyler replied, figuring she'd be better off in her own space with less chance of someone bumping into her injuries. "Captain is gonna be sad you're not there," he added in a singsong voice.

"Please, he probably won't even notice," Alex laughed. "He's so focused on these games and the end of the season coming up. I could probably go back to my place for a few nights and he wouldn't even notice."

Tyler stopped while Marshall got tied up around a tree he was trying to go potty on. After untangling him, he continued walking down the sidewalk. "He'd end up finding you eventually when he wanted sex," Tyler spoke.

"You're such a romantic, Segs," she said sarcastically, and he could practically hear the eye roll in her voice. "Tell Van I'll see her tomorrow."

"You're not texting her that right now?" he chuckled.

"I'm telling her that you're gonna keep an eye on her for me tonight," she replied, and Tyler smiled. He would keep an eye on Savannah for tonight, and every night from here on out.

"Bye, Alex. I'll make sure to tell Jamie that he needs to pay attention to you more," he said. He could hear her yelling at him, but he chose to hang up the phone instead. Sometimes Jamie needed to hear those things because all he focused on was hockey. Tyler was usually that way, too, but Savannah being hurt had changed that for him.

He walked the dogs back to his place to see Savannah up and in the kitchen. He walked up behind her and put his hand on her low back. "You need to take it easy," he told her.

She turned her head around to look at him. "I can make lunch, I'm not dying," she told him.
He held his hands up, surrendering before a fight ensued. "Okay, you win. What are you making?"

"I was thinking chicken and potatoes, what do you think?" she asked.

He grinned at her. "Sounds like my kind of pregame meal," he replied. "I talked to Alex, she said she isn't coming to the game," he changed subjects.

Savannah nodded. "Yeah, she's got a photoshoot. Guess I have to watch you alone and try to make friends with the other girlfriends," she laughed. He knew she stayed pretty close to Alex in the games she'd attended.

"You're going in a suite tonight," he told her.

"What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"I'm putting you in a suite. I don't want to risk someone bumping into you, so you get a suite. They'll bring you whatever food and drink you want right to your seat."

"Why, Tyler Seguin, you sure are spoiling me."

"Well I do love you."

She looked up at him. "So that wasn't just a line before?" she asked jokingly.

He leaned down and kissed her deeply. "Definitely not a line." She bit her lip, but didn’t say anything. "And then you get to come home with me," he said, not even giving her the option of going back to her place.

"You know those teammates of yours are going to think you're in a pretty serious relationship if you're not careful," Savannah joked.

Tyler placed a hand on her lower back. "Pretty sure they already know I'm in over my head," he winked at her, but he was dead serious. Half the team was supportive, and the other half was worried for him. He'd never been like this with a girl. But, he knew if he was going to be in love with anyone, it'd be Savannah.

"I wish Alex was gonna be there tonight," Savannah changed subjects.

"You'll have to root for her boyfriend for her," Tyler laughed.

She smiled. "They're a power couple, you can't come close to that. You think he's ever gonna propose?" she asked. Tyler was surprised by the question. He had asked Jamie that on more than one occasion himself, and he'd never gotten a straight answer as to why Jamie hadn't popped the question yet.

"Like you said, they're a power couple," he agreed with her. "I don't think that's gonna end anytime soon."

She leaned into him. "Thank you," she said out of nowhere.

He looked down at her curiously. "For what?"

"For being so stubborn," she replied.

He genuinely laughed. "You're the stubborn one," he argued.

She smiled. "That I am. But you gave me a chance, let me be in charge."

He leaned in close to her and lowered his voice. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret. You were never in charge, I just let you think you were." He was joking, of course, and he wondered how she would respond.

Her head popped up. "That's a lie. I was always in charge," she said matter of factly.

"Okay, Miss I'm-In-Charge," he rolled his eyes but decided not to argue anymore with her. He was just happy she was there with him alive.

"So how many times you gonna score tonight?" she changed subjects. His eyes turned a shade darker at her unintentional innuendo. She hit his chest as she laughed. "Goals, you dirty minded man!"

Tyler laughed. "Goals? Three, I'll score you a hat trick. How many times am I gonna score after that? That's up to you," he told her.

"That's right, it is up to me," she said, a sly grin on her face. He grinned right back before kissing her.

He was excited she was coming to his game, though concerned she was in more pain than she was letting on. She was given painkillers at the hospital but hadn't been using them. He wondered if she was actually not in that much pain or if she was trying to tough it out. He noticed her wince on more than one occasion, which made him believe she was just trying to be tough.

He finally convinced her to take one pill before the game. Actually, he had Alex and Shea convince her to do it. He knew she wasn't going to listen to him, but she did listen to them a little better. He hadn't wanted to leave her to go to the rink before the game, but she assured him she'd be fine. She planned on staying at his place a little longer and hanging out with his dogs and then catching an Uber to the game. He'd never in his wildest dreams thought he'd actually want a woman staying at his place with his dogs when he was away, but he had to admit he liked the image.

The game went by quickly, with him scoring the winning goal. He liked to think he was showing off for Savannah, but in fact, he had a lucky deflection. He couldn't shower quick enough in order to meet her up in the suite.

He was surprised when she was waiting for him in the hallway outside of the locker room, though. He smiled as he walked up to her, giving her a quick kiss. "Didn't like the suite?"

She shook her head. "No, it was great, thank you for getting that for me. It was nice to be able to stand up when my leg got to aching and I think it was better for my head to not be around so many people," she admitted.

"Good," he said, wrapping his arm around her. "Ready to go home?"

"Not yet," she said, and he looked down at her curiously. "I need to talk to Jamie real quick," she explained, just as the captain walked out of the locker room. "Jamie!" she called out, and the older man looked over at her.

"Hey, Savannah, how you feeling?" he asked her.

"Good…well okay," she told him the truth. "As good as I can be after everything," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Good. You let me know if there's anything I can do for you. Even give you a ride or something if this guy lets you down," he jerked his thumb in Tyler's direction, but the tone of his voice let everyone know that he was joking.

"I do need a favor," she told him, and Tyler looked down at her, wondering what Jamie could do that he couldn't.

"Name it," Jamie replied.

"Can you tell Alex that she owes you after scoring that goal?" Savannah grinned.

Jamie laughed loudly. "I'll deliver the message," he said with a wink.

"Is that how it works?" Tyler asked.

"For the captain only," Savannah joked.

"Guess I'm going to have to take over that captain spot then," Tyler replied.

"Not a chance," Jamie said, hitting Tyler in the chest with the back of his hand. "Have a good night, you two. I've got a woman at home I need to get to."

"Have a good night, Jamie!" Savannah called out before looking up at Tyler. "Ready to go home?"

"I was ready before the game started," Tyler said.

Notes