#happy hour Restaurants calgary

[leanhippomarketers]

Elevate Your Online Presence with Calgary SEO Strategies

In today’s competitive digital landscape, a well-optimized website can make all the difference for businesses looking to thrive. Whether you’re a small local shop or a large corporation in Calgary, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the key to driving organic traffic, increasing brand visibility, and staying ahead of your competition. By focusing on Calgary SEO, you can effectively target your local audience and unlock growth opportunities unique to this vibrant city.

What Is Calgary SEO and Why Does It Matter?

Calgary SEO refers to the tailored strategies used to improve your website's visibility on search engines for local search queries. For instance, if someone searches for “best restaurants in Calgary” or “local digital marketing services Calgary,” a robust Calgary SEO strategy ensures that your business appears at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs).

SEO is more than just keywords and rankings; it’s about connecting with your audience, enhancing user experience, and building trust with potential customers. For businesses in Calgary, SEO offers a unique opportunity to dominate the local market and attract customers who are actively looking for your products or services.

The Benefits of Calgary SEO

Increased Visibility: With the right Calgary SEO practices, your website can rank higher on search engines, making it easier for local customers to find you.

Targeted Traffic: Calgary-specific SEO focuses on local search intent, ensuring you attract the right audience—people who are more likely to convert into customers.

Cost-Effective Marketing: Unlike paid ads, organic traffic generated through SEO is long-term and cost-effective. A well-optimized website continues to drive traffic without ongoing ad spend.

Enhanced Credibility: Appearing at the top of search results builds trust. Customers are more likely to choose businesses that rank well.

Competitive Edge: Many Calgary businesses are leveraging SEO. By adopting Calgary SEO strategies, you can stay ahead of competitors who have yet to optimize their online presence.

Key Components of a Successful Calgary SEO Strategy

Local Keyword Research Understanding the keywords your target audience uses is the foundation of Calgary SEO. For example, terms like “Calgary plumbers,” “best cafes in Calgary,” or “Calgary SEO services” should be strategically integrated into your website content.

Optimized Google Business Profile Claiming and optimizing your Google Business Profile is crucial for local SEO. Include accurate information about your business, such as address, contact details, and operating hours, and encourage happy customers to leave positive reviews.

Content Tailored to Calgary Creating content that resonates with your Calgary audience is vital. Write blogs, guides, and updates about local events, trends, and topics that align with your business. For instance, if you’re a fitness studio, a blog on “Top Outdoor Fitness Activities in Calgary” can attract local readers.

Mobile-Friendly Website Design A significant portion of local searches comes from mobile devices. Ensure your website is responsive, loads quickly, and provides a seamless experience for mobile users.

Local Link Building Partnering with other Calgary-based businesses, directories, and influencers can boost your online credibility and authority. Local backlinks signal to search engines that your business is relevant to the Calgary market.

On-Page SEO Optimization Pay attention to elements like meta titles, descriptions, header tags, and alt text for images. Incorporate Calgary-related keywords naturally to enhance your relevance.

Engage on Social Media Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn can drive traffic to your website and improve your SEO. Share engaging content that highlights your Calgary connections, such as community involvement or partnerships.

Common SEO Challenges and How to Overcome Them

High Competition: Calgary’s thriving business environment means intense competition for top search rankings. Focus on niche keywords and provide exceptional value through your content to stand out.

Changing Algorithms: Search engine algorithms evolve frequently. Staying informed about updates and adapting your Calgary SEO strategy accordingly is essential.

Time-Intensive Process: SEO results don’t happen overnight. Partnering with a professional Calgary SEO agency can help you implement effective strategies while focusing on running your business.

Why Choose a Calgary SEO Expert?

While some businesses attempt to handle SEO on their own, partnering with a local Calgary SEO expert can save time and deliver faster results. These professionals understand the local market dynamics, search trends, and customer behavior, ensuring your business is positioned for success.

A Calgary SEO expert can:

Perform in-depth keyword research tailored to your industry.

Create a customized SEO strategy aligned with your goals.

Monitor analytics to track performance and adjust tactics as needed.

Final Thoughts

Investing in Calgary SEO is one of the smartest moves you can make for your business. With a strong local SEO strategy, you can enhance your visibility, attract the right audience, and build a loyal customer base in Calgary. Whether you’re looking to increase foot traffic to your store or grow your online presence, SEO provides the tools and techniques to achieve your goals.

If you’re ready to take your online visibility to the next level, consider reaching out to a trusted Calgary SEO agency to get started today. Your future customers are just a search away!

[mygainyear2024]

Day 58 my virgin e-bike experience

Today I booked a three hour, seven hills of Lisbon e-bike tour on the recommendation of a woman from Ballarat who's in the same facebook group as me "Solo in Style: Women Over 50 Travelling Solo & Loving It! There's been lots of solo women in Portugal posting on the group and when I get to the backlog of posts, you'll hear about my catch up with Sherry, a social worker from Calgary.

On the long walk to the meeting point, I contemplated the hazards of being in a city like Lisbon. I think it might have been sparked by the two low flying pidgeons that I had to quickly duck, not an unusual occurrence. Honestly, I think there's more chance of being hit by one of those than having an accident on that treacherous road I was on in the Algarve, the N125. There's also a much higher chance of slipping on the cobblestones, made more dangerous by the gradient of all seven+ hills. And even more of a problem as I'm looking at my phone and following the very unreliable offline maps.me directions. I am the tourist who is often going around in circles looking at the phone, taking a few steps, realising I'm now further away from my destination. I'm also the tourist whose undies keep going up their bum, the undies haven't shrunk, the bums gotten bigger!

So I can get all the not so great things off my chest in one post, there's so many smokers, dogs, cats, tourists, cyclists with no helmets, stinky toilets with no loo paper, garbage around the streets (the capital doesn't seem to have the same litter disposal options as the other places I've been) and heat. Today's early morning 19° at 8.20am, felt like high 20°s in Brisbane. And sadly the cost of postage. I enquired about sending a box of my stuff home. I observed they had 10kgs boxes while I was in the queue, a whopping €250! That's put a dampener on my shopping.

I haven't ridden an e-bike before and it seemed like fun, sadly we didn't really get a good go at riding, too many stops for the history lesson by the guide (I was the one with all the answers as the two other couples had only just arrived in the country), the traffic really slowed us down, as did Nancy from San Diego, who said she rides bikes all the time, but seemed to be an accident waiting to happen. There was only one hill that I didn't feel comfortable riding down, because we took off on the bloody hill. The rest of the way I was fine and only had the bike in turbo for the two big hills, one of those is the hill I’m staying on. There were some interesting sites, Lisbon's copy cat Golden Gate Bridge, Champs Élysées and Christ the Redeemer. Lisbon also has the longest European Bridge, at 17kms.

I asked one of the staff for a piri piri chicken recommendation. I thought I can't leave Portugal without making sure I'd actually tried piri piri, as the others were just bbq chicken without piri piri, To be honest, I think I could have asked for the piri piri on the side, as that's what I got at recommended Bonjardim. A very small 1/2 chicken and dry, semi warm chips and small mineral water was $25.43! The prices here are certainly more expensive. The Red Rooster quarter chicken and chips that Mum used to get us every Thursday night after supermarket shopping were a cut above. The waiter asked if I wanted to pay a tip, I said no! The American couple beside me asked me how the meal was. I told them honestly!

The rest of the afternoon I had a wander around the streets, filled with tourists. I took a look at Pink Street, which was really a very small strip with restaurants and got asked on the way in by two dudes "sniff or weed"! I had specialty coffee, noting the flat white was cheaper than the latte and two scoops of gelato. I told the guy who served me that I was going to take a seat, and he said I stay until closing at 6.30. I did suggest he could go on a break and leave me to manage things. I was happy to stop walking up hills and escape the heat. If he'd have taken me up on the offer, I really would have done it!

[xsloungeandgrill]

During this coronavirus pandemic, restaurants and all business organizations should make sure that they are doing their part in keeping themselves, their employees, and everyone that enters their premises safe. This is why in this blog, the best restaurants in Calgary listed some things that you need to do during this coronavirus pandemic.

[myhockeyworld87]

Under My Skin - Matthew Tkachuk

Word Count: 3,644

POV: Reader

Warnings: Language, Smut, NSFW

Summary: Matthew can be a pest but what happens when your ex, Auston Matthews get under his skin.

Notes: So I’m having a sad bitch moment and thought, why not post this. I finally broke down and wrote for this boy. Who knows if it’ll happen again...haha! At any rate hope you guys enjoy. Happy Reading!

Matthew first met you over a year ago when you’d moved to Calgary for work. You had just finished your degree and a job opportunity had landed you in the same city where he was playing. You’d been out at the bar with some co-workers and had caught his eye immediately. You were everything that Matthew was looking for in a woman, smart, funny, incredibly gorgeous, with a charm that seemed to draw everyone around you in. You were like a magnet and Matthew couldn’t resist your pull.

 That first night he’d barely been able to talk to you. You’d been besotted with people left and right, and it seemed as though every time Matthew worked up the courage to speak with you, you would get pulled away. Matthew finally ran into you on the way to the restroom. Like, literally ran into you. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Matthew apologized steadying you with a hand on your waist. His hand lingered a little longer than necessary but you weren’t complaining.

 “It’s ok I wasn’t paying attention.” You held up your phone in defense. You’d been so distracted by a text, that you really weren’t watching where you were going. “Did you ever have someone text you that you hoped you’d never hear from again?”

 It was an interesting introduction to a conversation but then Matthew would take any opportunity he could get to speak to you. “Actually, yes.”

 “It’s so annoying, right?”

 “Well, there is a way to solve that problem.”

 Your eyes held his with rapt attention, and Matthew could tell you were clinging to his every word. It was then that it struck him that he never wanted that look to fade from your face. “How?”

 “Come have a drink with me and forgot about whoever it is on that phone.” You smiled. It was a bright, brilliant thing of beauty that Matthew swore could light up the night sky on its darkest days. He was sold right then and there, and with just that simple gesture you had no idea that you’d swooped in and stolen his heart that night.

 You forgot about that text message fairly quickly and just settled into an easy conversation with Matthew. The night flew by and before you knew it, your co-workers were calling it a night and you were all heading home. Matthew asked for your number which you gave in hopes that he would call you soon. Little did you know that after you left, Matthew debated with himself on how long to wait to text you. Every unsaid rule in the code of dating said to wait for at least forty-eight to seventy-two hours before making a move, but Matthew was never one to follow convention. As he lay in bed, he decided to send you a quick message.

 Had a great time tonight.

 It was short and to the point, and Matthew figured if you answered then he would ask you out again. Unfortunately, for Matthew, he wasn’t the only one texting you as you crawled into bed after taking off all your makeup. You were just getting ready to reply to Matthew when another text came in. It was the fourth of the night from the same person that had messaged you before, Auston Matthews.

 You hadn’t spoken to him in months, back when you were in Toronto, and you didn’t plan on speaking to him now, though he seemed to be trying his hardest to get your attention, just as he had been for the last couple of months. Your relationship with Auston had been nothing short of toxic. Oh sure, at first it was all hearts and roses in the beginning. Auston swept you off your feet with that charming smile of his, but then you were young and the flashy NHLer said all the right things, at first.

 You weren’t normally one to tumble into bed right after the first date, though that’s what happened with Auston. He made it seem like you were the only one, but after dating him for only four months you’d found out that wasn’t true. Oh, he tried to brush it off, make it seem like he wasn’t cheating. That the panties you’d found lying tucked between the nightstand and the bed were some old fling and not some random hookup he’d brought home. You wanted to believe him and so you let your heart overpower your head and stayed with him until you’d literally walked in on him in bed with another woman. There was no talking his way out of that one.

 It was an easy decision to break things off with him, though he kept trying to win you back. You were good for his image and he thought that he could keep you happy while he had some fun on the side. The only thing was you didn’t want him back, even though his friends tried to helped his cause. That’s when you decided to take the job in Calgary. It was an easy decision six months ago. Which is part of the reason it surprised you when he texted tonight. He was in Calgary for a game and wanted to talk. You’d honestly were debating seeing him when you’d run into Matthew.

 Matthew, you sighed. His curly hair and shaved sides gave off this bad boy vibe, but as you sat there and talked to him, you’d realized he had to be one of the sweetest men out there. You hadn’t realized at first who he actually was. Auston had turned you off to the NHL scene altogether, so you no longer paid attention to the games, even if hockey was Canada’s major sport. Honestly, you wish you didn’t know he was in the NHL. It was part of the reason you were debating about answering him. Maybe you would just sleep on it and decide in the morning.

 Meanwhile, Matthew was having a mild panic attack. He told himself that maybe you lived close to the bar and had already fallen asleep before you got his text, or that you’d turned off your phone the minute you got home. He constantly kept checking his, looking for those three little dots letting him know that you were sending something back. It was torturous.

 You laid there all of twenty minutes before you decided that you couldn’t resist the curly-haired man that had captured your attention tonight. Grabbing your phone, you shot off a quick, I did too. You typed and erased it three times, wondering if you should add more before finally pressing the send button. There it was done, if he said something back, you’d go from there. Fifteen seconds later, you knew you were in trouble.

 Maybe we could do it again sometime?

 Matthew was sweating as he hit send. He’d never been this nervous before about a woman. They either liked him or didn’t, but you, you were different. He knew that from the moment he saw you. It was even more prevalent now after he’d spent most of the night with you.

 I’d like that.

 Was your simple reply back. One that had Matthew ready to jump up and out of bed with excitement. And so the texting went on for the next ten minutes until he finally ended up calling you. The two of you talked for over an hour, almost as if you’d known each other all your lives, and you completely forgot about the texts from Auston.

 Matthew took you out three days later to an exclusive restaurant in the city. This time you told yourself you’d not make the same mistake you’d made with Auston. So, when the night drew to a close, Matthew drove you to your apartment then very properly walked you to the door and only kissed you on the cheek. It wasn’t what you expected. You’d thought he’d go for more, but Matthew wanted to do things right. He knew you were special and he wasn’t going to mess things up by sleeping with you on night one. He was in this for the long run.

 That was over a year ago. Sure, it had been difficult at first to give him your complete trust, but Matthew had earned it and over time you knew that although he may be a pest on the ice, he was anything but that in your personal life. Now the two of you shared a home and were on your way to making a life together.

 You’d kept your relationship on the down-low, staying off of all forms of social media to keep the wolves at bay. Which meant that no one, including Auston, knew that you and Matthew were dating. That was until he and everyone else saw you in the background of Taryn’s video for Brady’s twenty-first birthday. The picture highlighted Brady but behind him, there was Matthew nibbling on your neck and ear. Fans picked up on it right away, wondering who you were and Matthew decided he was tired of hiding the two of you. A week later he was posting a picture of the two of you holding hands on your way back to Calgary.

 That was dozens of posts and months ago. Your life with Matthew was nothing short of amazing, until the Flames played the Leafs. Matthew was in Toronto while you stayed back in Calgary for work. It was an early game and you joined the other wives and significant others in a small little watch party. Drinks were flowing freely, so you really didn’t catch the exchange between Matthew and Auston in warmups.

 Matthew was minding his own business as he stretched near the centerline. That’s when Auston started with the little jabs. “Nice little piece of ass you picked up Tkachuk.” Matthew was used to guys talking shit about all kinds of things on the ice, though normally it was about him being a dirty player or how Brady was the better Tkachuk on the ice; all that shit he could handle. He wasn’t used to someone taking stabs at you.

 “Shut the fuck up Matthews,” he replied then skated away. If Auston was looking for a fight, he’d get one if he kept up this banter, but not until the game started.

 It wasn’t until the end of the first that Auston got a chance to chirp Matthew again. “Tell me, Tkachuk, does (Y/N) still make the same pretty moans…”

 “Finish that and you’ll regret it,” Matthew told him. It was the only warning Matthew was going to give. Of course, Matthew knew that you’d dated someone in the hockey world and that he’d been a verifiable asshole. He’d never pressed the issue too much as he was trying to turn that stigma about hockey players around. He never liked Auston, he was always cordial to him in non-ice settings but now that he knew he was the cheating bastard who basically used you; he liked him less.

 Play resumed before anything else could happen and Matthew was sure to get in a few good checks in before heading back for the first intermission. When he was back on the ice for the second Auston picked up right where they had left off. “So, you like my sloppy seconds, Tkachuk?” Matthew saw red at the insult, and before he knew what he was doing he dropped his gloves and hit Auston. Inwardly, you cringed at the fight, not wanting to let on to the other girls that you had an idea what the exchange was about. Auston went down easy, with Matthew barely touching him, and so off the penalty box he went, while the Leafs went on the power play. You could see him just sitting there stewing, though you weren’t sure if he was mad at himself for letting Auston get to him or mad at you.

 The game ended up tied in the third, and little did you know that Auston took the opportunity to get a few more digs into Matthew. “Does she get as wet for as she did for me, or do you have to work for it?” Johnny had to hold him back from leveling him after that, but Auston didn’t let up. “She was such a fucking slut for me in bed. You know I fucked every hole…” That’s all he got out before going down hard as Matthew planted a right hook to his jaw. But Matthew wasn’t done and went after Auston as he lay on the ice. Matthew was ejected from the game and the Leafs scored on the power play.

 There was no interview after the game with Matthew, so you had no idea what he was feeling or how pissed he was. As soon as you got home, you tried to call him but it went straight to voicemail. You tried to tell yourself it didn’t mean anything that maybe he never turned his phone back on after the game or maybe they were already on the flight back to Calgary, as the team played at home the following day, but you just weren’t sure. So, you laid in the king-size bed you shared with Matthew, wrapped up in your favorite old t-shirt of his, simply staring up at the ceiling.

 At some point, you must have fallen asleep, for you didn’t hear the door open or Matthew dropping his bag like you usually did. It wasn’t until he crept into bed that you finally knew he was home. He was laying on his back, hands behind his head when you finally rolled over letting him know you were awake. You’d thought about what to say to him before falling asleep but waited for him to say something to you. When he didn’t you simply whispered, “If you want me to go I will.”

 “Go?” Matthew questioned now rolling on to his side so he could see you. “Why would I want you to leave?”

 “I never wanted to be a problem for you, Matthew, especially not with other players.” It was part of the reason you’d never told him that you’d dated Auston, though you should’ve known that Auston couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

 You went to say more, but Matthew stopped you. “You’re not the problem (Y/N). You could never be one.” His fingers ran up and down your arms lightly, just caressing your skin. “I love you, baby.”

 “I love you too.” His lips found yours then, and you melted into the feel of him, savoring how his body started to relax against you.

 “Auston’s an asshole.” Matthew finally said, when the two of you broke apart.

 “Do I even want to know what he said?”

 “Just shit to get me riled up, and it worked.” Your one hand went to the back of his neck, massaging the knotted muscles there. “I’m not stupid. I realize what probably happened between the two of you. I just don’t like hearing it.”

 “We both have pasts, Matthew. We can’t change that, but you’re my future.”

 He gave you a real quick peck to your lips. “And you’re mine. At least I don’t have to deal with him for a couple weeks.”

 You pushed him onto his back before straddling his hips. “Don’t let him get under your skin, babe. When he starts to say something…” you looked him right in the eyes. “And you know he will. Just remind him how you’re the only one I want with me.” You flexed your hips before running your hands up his bare chest. “And in me.” Matthew’s hands went to your waist, where he played with the band of lace on your panties. “You’re more to me than he’ll ever be. Both here,” you taped your heart and then his. “And here.” Lifting your hips, you took your hand and cupped the length of him. His cock instantly hardened under your touch.

 Your words spurred Matthew into action, for the next thing you knew he was ripping your panties, before shimming out of his boxers. His fingers went to your folds, where he found you ready for him. “Fuck you’re so wet.”

 “Only for you Matthew. Only for you.” It was extra reassurance that you knew Matthew needed and tonight you’d give him as many as he needed. He guided your hips down onto his cock and you sighed out with pleasure as he filled you like no one else ever had.

 As you grabbed the hem of your t-shirt Matthew whispered harshly, “Leave it on.” It was one of his Flames shirts; one that had both his name and number on the back. Leaning down you kissed him long and hard, before starting to ride him. It was slow at first, a pace meant to build you both up but not push you over the edge. His hands were everywhere, under your shirt caressing your breasts, wandering down your back to cup your ass, and moving up and down your thighs to quicken your speed.

 Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer and he flipped your bodies so that he loomed over top of you. His thrusts were deep and hard, almost punishing if your body hadn’t wanted him so bad. “You belong to me.” He said as he flexed into you, pushing you up against the headboard.

 “Yes, baby. Only you.”

 “Who?” He asked again and you realized that he was not in the mood to hear any pet names.

 “You, Matthew, you,” you answered knowing that he owned you both body and soul, just as you owned him.

 “That’s right, baby.” Matthew's thrusts were deep and sure, as he knew what would bring you pleasure, and with a few more flexes of his hips, he sent you spiraling out of control, screaming his name.

 “MMMAAATTTTTTTTTTHHHHEEEEEWWW.”

 That was all he needed to catch his high and follow you down, your name on his lips. He rolled onto his side taking you with him; your breaths mingling together as you both calmed. Your nails skimmed down his spine aimless, something you tended to do after sex. Matthew always said he loved the continued intimacy it brought, and tonight it felt like you both needed that. His lips found yours, the kiss loving and tender. “I love you, (Y/N),” Matthew whispered while brushing a stray lock of hair from your face. “And I promise, I won’t let Auston get to me next time.”

 “Good, because you’re the only man I love Matthew, and the team doesn’t need you getting ejected from games because of me.”

 “It won’t happen again.” You truly hoped that it wouldn’t but with Matthew’s temper you never knew.

 It was a little over two weeks later that the Flames were taking on the Leafs, this time at the Saddledome, where you were in attendance. Admittedly, you were a bit nervous on the inside as to what would happen between the love of your life and the once lowlife that you'd briefly called boyfriend. You tried to shake off your nerves with idle chatter with some of the girls, but your eyes always seemed to drift back to where Matthew and Auston were on the ice.

 Matthew for his part stayed away from center ice for warmups, just like he told you he would. It wasn’t until the second period after a blown whistle that Auston finally decided to poke at him. “How’s that girlfriend Tkachuk? You know if I told her I wanted her back she’d leave you in a second.”

 “I doubt that Matthews. She told me you couldn't satisfy her in the bedroom. Something about cumming too soon.” Anger started to radiate across Auston’s face. “You should see a doctor about that.” Matthew skated away, completely ignoring anything Auston would be able to say back.

 The game was tied late in the third once again when Auston tried to rile Matthew up again. Considering he had two assists you understood why they wanted your boyfriend out of the game. “It wasn’t me who had the problem Tkachuk, (Y/N)’s pussy was wider than the Grand Canyon.”

 “Hmm,” Matthew taunted back. “Must be your small pencil dick, because she’s so tight it’s like a vice-grip around me.” Auston took offense and cross-checked Matthew into the boards right as the play began, earning him two minutes in the penalty box. Matthew laughed at him as the ref took him over. Auston wasn’t there for long, as Matthew scored the game-winning goal forty-some seconds into the penalty. You jumped up out of your seat with the rest of the girls cheering and screaming.

 Even though they pulled the goalie, the Leafs couldn’t seem to find the back of the net before the buzzer sounded ending the game. You made your way down to wait outside the tunnel with the rest of the significant others. Most everyone was gone before Matthew finally came out, scooping you up in his arms. “Did you see that baby?”

 “I saw Matty,” you told him, kissing him on the lips. “That goal was impressive.”

 He finally set you back down on your feet. “No babe, that’s not what I meant. I didn’t let him get to me.”

 “Yeah, I saw that too. I’m so proud of you.”

 “Well, he can’t get under my skin about you, when I get to be all over yours.” His hands slid under your sweater and inside your jeans to cup your ass. “Speaking of your skin…let’s go home so I can get you out of all these clothes and see you.”

 You kissed him, long and languidly, before pulling back. “I like that idea. I like it a lot.” The two of you left the arena hands interlaced just as your bodies would be as soon as you got home.  

.

[so-writing]

A Moment - Matthew Tkachuk x Jacob Markstrom

This wasn’t something you wanted, it wasn’t something you ever thought would happen because you and Matthew had been solid for years and you were more than sure you would make it.

As much as you would’ve liked to blame the demise on your relationship on him, because that was much easier to explain to your friends and family, you couldn’t.

This was all your fault.

“I can fucking guarantee you aren’t going to get away with this.”

You rolled your eyes at her, your best friend, and downed the shot sitting on the bar.

“Give me sarcasm all you want but he’s going to find out. They are fucking both teammates and friends. It’s not going to end well.”

“We’ll see!”

If you could eat every word you said to her, you would gladly do it as fast as you possibly could.

*

Matthew Tkachuk dropped to one knee after dating you for several years and decided to give you his entire heart and you tearfully accepted his proposal.

He had no idea you’d been fucking Jacob Markstrom for the past three months, and if you had your way, he’d never know.

That should’ve been the end of your affair but you couldn’t keep yourself away from the tall Swede and what Matthew didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, right?

*

Matthew had come home hours ago but he avoided you entirely and you weren’t really sure why. The Flames had lost to the Flyers but that didn’t seem like it was enough of a catalyst to send Matthew into a place where he ignored you entirely.

He slept in the guest room with the door locked and was gone in the morning when you went to check on him.

Matthew didn’t come back that night or the next two nights following.

*

“Where the fuck have you been?!”

Matthew blatantly ignored you and headed into your shared bedroom. You followed him and geared up to get into a fight until you saw he began to shove his things into his luggage.

“The fuck? What are you doing?”

“Moving out.”

“Why?”

“So Marky can move in.”

You froze, dropping the bottle of water in your hands and not reacting at all as it erupted all over your feet and the floor.

There was no fucking way he knew. How could he?

“Matty,” it was barely above a whisper but he wouldn’t have heard it anyway. Matthew had hurried out of your once shared apartment, long gone by the time you realized you’d truly fucked up.

*

“I guess I’m going to go to sleep.”

“Sure,” Jacob Markstrom casually waved a hand behind him as he continued playing the video game he was immersed in.

Your relationship with Jacob was a complete 180 than the one you had with Matthew. He’d been a good hookup but he was proving to be an absolutely terrible boyfriend.

“I’m going to bed, you gonna join me soon?”

He waved you off as the doorbell rang.

Matthew Tkachuk entered your shared apartment and you rushed into the bedroom to avoid any contact with him. You weren’t ready to face what you had given up.

You fell asleep on your bed to the two of them laughing and talking about whatever video game or movie they were watching.

You would never admit it to anyone, but you missed your Matty.

*

It hadn’t been easy to contact Jacob while he was on the road with the Flames. You assumed it was something new but as the season went on, it became a habit. He was barely reachable when the Flames played in Calgary and entirely unavailable when they were anywhere else.

It wasn’t until he came home for an extended break that you finally got time with him. You wrapped your arm around him as he lifted you into the air at the airport and you happily rode him until he reached orgasm and fuck, you were so happy your person was finally home.

“We need to talk,” Jacob ran a hand through his hair and poured you a glass of wine out of bottle you’d purchased from the restaurant.”

You prepared for the worst, making the assumption that he had cheated and bracing yourself for the impact.

“Please don’t be mad at me,” he covered your hands in his bigger ones, “but I have to tell you something that might make you uncomfortable.”

“What, J, just tell me.”

You prepared yourself for the worst.

“Get ready for this,” you could see him trying to hide his smile, “prepare yourself.”

Matthew Tkachuk appeared out of nowhere and dropped into the chair next to Jake.

Your mind immediately went to the worst place until Matthew started speaking, “well, this fucking sucks right?”

Holy shit.

*

“Now, at this moment, you can’t hook your boat to mine, because I’m liable to sink us both.”

[matsbarzal]

Time’s a Ticking || Matthew Tkachuk

Notes: anyways I decided to do matty and I found this long list of soulmate AU prompts so I know what I’m doing tonight yikes. so here’s a lil bit of a nervous/anxious matty even tho he refuses to admit it. hope you enjoy!!! let me know how you like it <3 

Summary: everyone is born with a dwindling time on their wrist. the moment the time reaches zero is when a person meets their other half, the person who makes them whole; their soulmate. 

Word Count: 3k+

10,584. 7 days, 8 hours and 24 minutes. 7 days until he’d meet his other half, the person that’s meant to complete his soul, be his better half, or whatever a soulmate is meant to be. Matthew wasn’t crazy about the idea of soulmates, sure, he was surrounded by people who were madly in love and happy and complete; but he was also surrounded by those people... the one’s whose time stopped, girls and guys who had a permanent marking of time on their wrist that would never move again.

He wouldn’t say he was a pessimistic person, but he had seen so many friends and family fall into a spiral after their soulmate clock stopped ticking, watched as their other half broke them without even meeting them. He wanted to be excited and optimistic but Matthew couldn’t bring himself to feel the same delight that his friends did on his behalf. Anything could happen in this 7 days, 8 hours... and 22 minutes now.

6160 minutes

You could feel the bump of the plane as it touched the ground. This was the one part of flying you hated the most, the anxiety and the bumping as the plane made its way down the runway towards its destination. You knew anything bad was unlikely to happen, but your nerves were on edge. All you could think about was the time on your wrist, the time that kept on ticking. It hadn’t stopped in your entire 21 years of life, and from the looks of it, you were approximately four days away from that happening.

Sighing, you listened to the claps from around you as everyone congratulated the pilots for landing the plane safely. Around you, people stood up and began collecting their belongings, grabbing their bags from the overhead compartments as the chatter continued in the cabin.

You politely smiled at the man beside you as he passed you down your bag, a quick “Thank you” leaving your lips as he gestured for you to walk in front of him towards the exit. 

Originally, you hadn’t had any intention of leaving Alberta for the holiday break, but your parents had practically begged you to come home for the holiday’s, citing the fact you had remained in Lake Louise for the last year and that they had only seen you once since you made the choice to unravel everything you knew by packing a few bags and moving halfway across the country to Alberta to work at some fancy ski resort in the mountains. 

It was originally only meant to be a few months worth of work, waitressing in Lake Louise at a 5-star resort that is, and then time kept going by, and the more and more you fell in love with not only the scenery, but the people. Everyone was happy there, tourists were always excited and polite, everyone just wanted the chance to see the Lake, skate on the Lake, whatever it was. No one was ever unhappy here, and you loved that. 

You were pulled out of your thoughts as the line in front of you continued to move quickly, people eager to get out of the cabin and get back into the fresh air that flowed outside. You could barely contain your giddiness as you stepped off the plane. You could barely believe how much you missed the province, missed your friends, coworkers, you even missed the tourists. Who would’ve thought?

After about 20 minutes of watching the carousal spin and spin and spin, you finally eyed your bright red, Flames red, as a lot of people reminded you, suitcase. Grabbing it, you hauled the bag off of the carousal and onto the ground. You were eager to get to your car, which you had already paid a good 500 dollars worth of parking for, and eager to get the move on the three hour drive across Highway 1 to Lake Louise. 

After four and a half hours of travelling, you knew this three hour drive was going to exhaust you. And with the temperature out in Alberta right now? All you wanted was your bed and a cup of piping warm hot chocolate to end the day.

4590 minutes

“Man, your face is already awful to look at. You really trying to ruin it even more right before you meet your soulmate?”

Before Noah could even think, a wad of tape hit the side of his head while exclamations went up around the room about the choice of target. “Whoops, guess my tape slipped... out of my hand.”

Matthew shrugged his shoulders, an innocent grin on his face as he stood up to grab the tape from beside Noah Hanifin’s locker. 

“No, but seriously, why are you getting into fights with three days left on your wrist? Don’t go and get yourself killed or something, they’d be devastated if they’ve waited this long for your dumb-ass just to have 4000 minutes tattooed on her wrist for the rest of her life.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Matthew ignored his teammates comments, choosing instead to run his finger across the always-changing number on his wrist. 

“It’s not like it matters anyways.” His words were barely above a mumble, but it was enough to spark the attention of his captain, who was quick to tell him to meet him in the trainer’s office after he was done showering and getting the blood that was currently dripping down his face, cleaned.

Obliging on his captain’s orders, he found Gio in the office, a tight smile the only warning that he was about to get ripped apart by the veteran. Gio was one of the lucky ones, he had barely been 16 when his clock finally hit the big 0. It made him an advocate for all the soulmate bullshit, constantly encouraging his teammates to wait it out, be patient, their time would come. 

“Chucky, buddy, we gotta have a chat.”

Quirking his eyebrows at the older man, Matthew nodded, “Well Gio, I kinda figured that one out buddy, unless you pulled me in here to look at my oh so pretty face.” 

“I’m serious. You need to stop with this constant bashing of soulmates and times and shit. I know you don’t like it and you hate the concept of soulmates and whatever, but you’re doing nothing but worrying the younger guys. These kids are constantly terrified their minutes are just going to stop and be etched into their skin.”

Subconsciously running his fingers across the number on his wrist again, 4530 minutes. Wonder what that is in exact time. Shrugging his shoulders, he was quick to apologize to his captain. “Sorry, G. Not trying to scare the kids, just getting a little... I don’t know? Worried? It’s getting too close, I don’t want to get like...  it’s not important, never mind. I’ll stop talking about times in the locker room. Sorry.”

Quickly tightening the tie that was now wrapped around his neck, Matthew raced out of the office before Gio could say something else to him. He eagerly grabbed his phone, wallet, keys and suit jacket before quickly making his way towards the parking garage, the only thing on his mind was of course, you.

2120 minutes

One whole day and just a few hours. You could barely breath as you ran your thumb over the little black number on your wrist. You knew it was inevitable that you’d be meeting your soulmate while working, the moment you looked at the work schedule when you arrived back from home, you knew you’d be stuck working during the time in which you were meant to meet you soulmate. You were giddy, sure. But what if they didn’t like you? What if whoever it was, was snooty, and rude, and didn’t like you for who you were?

“Y/N, you gotta stop thinking about it, babe. You’re gonna get your head stuck in a whirlwind of thoughts. Think about other things! Like... the Calgary Flames.”

Eyeing the blonde beside you, “Tell me Cassidy, why in the world, would I think about the Calgary Flames, instead of thinking about my soulmate?”

Your coworker shrugged her shoulders and gestured to the board behind your head. You had all been notified a day prior that the Calgary Flames had reserved a whole floor of the Chateau for the weekend. With your restaurant being directly in view of the Lake and the Mountains, you were expected to be the main dining spot for the team over their course of the weekend.

“Believe me, Cass, the last thing I want to think about is a bunch of hockey boys who are going to make me miserable the weekend where I’m supposed to be... not miserable.”

She winked at you, a teasing glint in her eyes, “Maybe one of those awful hockey boys has the same number on your wrist. Maybe Noah Hanifin’s your soulmate. God, I’d be so jealous, could you imagine being destined for that beautiful exhibit of a man? God, I’d climb him like a tree.”

Laughing, you wacked her with the towel in your hand as she continued to egg you on, gloating about how beautiful of a specimen Noah Hanifin was, and how she’d do just anything to crawl into bed with that man. Cassidy was always like this, bubbly, happy, positive. Her number had stopped moving 12 years ago, or so she says. She hadn’t been paying attention the day it stopped, the number etching itself into her skin permanently, to never move again. She was never negative about it, always saying that she hoped just the thought of her brought peace to her soulmate in their last moments. 

“Okay okay, enough about the Flames. I doubt it’s even going to end up being any of them, hockey boys and I do not get along. Especially the one’s that are just constantly bothering people, and that’s the entire Flames roster, so... let’s get back to work.”

440 minutes

One thing Matthew was sure of was the fact that he loved everything about the drive to Lake Louise. He wasn’t notorious for being a huge fan of the scenery around him, but something about the drive across Highway 1, the trees, the snow covered mountains, they all just faded together and created this picture in his head. It was hard to describe, there wasn’t anything specific to the picture, it was just joyful, it was happy, it was calm. Jesus, maybe he was just fucking crazy. 

A lot of people always said you feel more calm in the hours leading up to the first time you meet your soulmate. But he sure as hell didn’t feel calm. He was on edge, the scenery around him, albeit, it was beautiful, it was not calming him down. His leg was shaking, his foot tapping the ground beneath him on the bus. He could see Johnny giving him a look every time his shaking leg touched his teammates. He knew the entire team was frustrated with him. Two games straight, two 10 minute fighting majors. 

He was being a pest, constantly egging people on, trying to ignite arguments or fights or just some form of stimuli to get his mind off of the only thing it could stray to. You. He didn’t want to think about whoever the hell you were, he didn’t want to get his hopes up that maybe his clock would actually hit 0, maybe he’d actually meet his better half. Or maybe he'd fall through a crack in Lake Louise and never have to worry about it again... hopefully. 

“If you touch my leg... one more fucking time, I am going to sock you in the fucking face Chucky.”

Immediately pressing his heel into the ground, Matthew mumbled out a quick ‘sorry’ to the teammate beside him as he watched the trees continue to go by outside the bus window. The time was still changing on his wrist, every minute counting down as the minutes passed outside. There was barely any cell service on the drive up, so the only thing that could truly distract him at this rate, was you, and he hated that.

“Soooo... you excited Chucky? It’s gotta be the big day, no?”

If choking a teammate was legal, Matthew would already be wringing Noah Hanifin’s neck. 

“Yeah, delighted.”

“C’mon grumpy pants, you’re literally like what? 6 hours away from meeting the person who’s supposed to complete your soul... and you’re in a foul mood. Did Doughty crawl up your ass and die last night or?”

Grinding his teeth, Matthew tried to bite his tongue, refusing to lash out at his teammate, even though he so desperately wanted to. He wasn’t going to be the cause for a toxic locker room, especially over something as stupid as soulmates. 

It was obvious that something was going on, everyone on the team knew the time on his wrist equalled out to less than a day. Everyone could see how on edge he was slowly getting as the time dwindled down, but no one could figure out why he was getting more and more frustrated, why the excitement wasn’t shining through as the time continued.

“Why the hell aren’t you excited man? This person’s supposed to be the love of your life, and you seem like you couldn’t give two fucks if you meet them or not?”

It was too late, Matthew was exploding before he could even comprehend what he was saying. “It doesn’t fucking matter man, okay? I don’t give a shit about this soulmate bullshit. Everyone’s soulmate is gone one day anyways, what the hell does it matter if you meet them now? I’m gonna be aching at some point because they’re gone and I’m alone. Woohoo, I get to meet them today, woo-fucking-hoo. I could literally not care less, so stop bugging me.”

27 minutes.

It was all around, highly likely, that your soulmate had some form of connection with the Calgary Flames. Their reservation was scheduled for 23 minutes from now... and your wrist had that small number 27 etched on it as it continued to count down. 

“Wow... maybe your soulmate really is Noah Hanifin... I’m sorry for saying I’d climb him like a tree.”

A loud laugh left your throat as you watched a guilty smile form on your co-workers face. “Cass, I highly doubt it’s Noah Hanifin. It’s probably just a coincidence that their reservation time coincides with my meeting my soulmate time.” Cassidy gave you a knowing look as she walked away, a small smile on her face.

You were anxious, you couldn’t deny it. Every second that counted down, you were nervous, what if you weren’t good enough for them? What if they were embarrassed it was you? What if... oh god... what if they hated soulmates? What if they were one of those people who was willing to cut the tie, ignore the call, ignore the connection?

You refused to think about that, instead putting yourself to work, clearing the tables and plates of the previous occupants, you waved off the clearing crew, instead choosing to do it yourself. Anything to get your mind off of it. 

The Flames weren't the only occupants of the Chateau tonight, only taking up about half, you were able to still seat other tourists who were interested in the view tonight. 

That’s how you found yourself, 25 minutes later, your hand on your hip as you interacted with the group of rowdy guys in front of you. They were from Edmonton, and they were absolutely hammered. They were as nice as you could expect them to be, continuously flirting your ears off, as they tried to impress you with their... what was it? Accounting job? You couldn’t remember for the life of you, your mind solely stuck on the small number 1 now etched on your wrist. 

You were roused out of your thoughts at the feeling of a hand touching your waist. “C’mon sweetheart, you’re not even paying attention to us here. Take a shot with us, baby!”

You politely removed the offending wrist, a tight smile now etched on your face. “First, I would ask that you please don’t touch me. Second, I was most definitely listening. You boys want another round of beers, and 6 tequila shots. Unfortunately, I don’t believe the shots are the best idea, nor do I think the beer is, but I’ll definitely get you a glass of water.”

Spinning on your heel, you went to walk away but were stopped by the feeling of a hand tightly gripping your wrist, a small squeak falling from your lips.

“We don’t want water.”

“Please get your hand off of me.”

“Get us what I asked for then, bitch.” 

You were about to retort, a vicious snarl on your lips, but your words were caught in your throat as you watched a fist connect to the cheek of the man in front of you, a gasp leaving your throat.

2 minutes

This had to be a joke. He was apparently two minutes away from meeting his soulmate, and here he was, in an orderly fashioned line as him and his teammates made their way into the restaurant. He could barely breath, his pants felt too tight on his hips, he could feel the sweat seeping through his shirt. Thank god he made the choice to wear black. 

It felt like everyone’s eyes were on his, everyone was wearily watching the number on his wrist go down, as the obvious anxieties began to cloud his every thought, action, move... everything.

He tried to take his mind off of it, observing the restaurant as the team slowly made their way to their designated tables. There were a few other patrons, most of them caught up in their own world. One specific table caught his eye, they were a group of rowdy guys, maybe a few years older than him. 

Quite frankly, they looked like all around assholes. Looked like the guys you’d see from Wolf of Wall Street, and from the looks of it, they were really starting to irritate their waitress. Although, all he could see was your back, your posture was unbelievably straight, your hand on your hip as you inventively listened to the guys in front of you.

Matthew continued to watch you, something inside of him telling him that he just couldn’t look away. He had to keep looking. He watched as you turned your body, ready to walk to wherever your destination in mind was, but he instantly zeroed in on the hand that was now tightly wrapped around your wrist, a violent look on the man’s face.

He wasn’t moving on his own accord now, his feet were basically moving by themselves as they raced towards you.

“Get us what I asked for then, bitch.”

His fist was connecting with the other man’s face before he could even think. He heard the gasp from beside him, he watched the number on his wrist hit 0 the exact moment he looked at you, a look of shock on everyone’s faces.

“Chucky!”

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m going to call the police you fucking curly-headed fuck.”

He could barely focus on the voices around him. You were here. You were literally right in front of him. Both of your numbers were at 0, he could see it on your wrist. He was literally staring in the eyes of his soulmate.

“Oh my god, you punched one of our guests.” Your voice was like bells to his ear, soft, delicate, everything he wasn’t... but god, you were perfect.

“I’m Matthew, and yes... I uh... I think I did punch one of your guests. I also think you’re my soulmate. Does it count as self-defence... if I punched him in my soulmate’s defence?” 

You laughed, trying to cover it up with your mouth as you watched your manager’s rush towards the now bleeding asshole at the table behind you. 

“I think I like you already, Matthew.”

[bqstqnbruin]

I hate the way you’re always right

Hey y’all, here’s the next part! Sorry it’s been a hot minute, but I hope you like this! Here’s a little bit of soft smut again ??? idk who knows.

As always, this is unedited and probably riddled with types so point em out, leave em be, I’ll probably edit this tomorrow once I’m out of class knowing me but hey, somethings never change.

Read the whole series:  I hate the way you talk to me and the way you cut your hair // I hate the way you drive my car // I hate it when you stare // I hate your big dumb combat boots and the way you read my mind // I hate you so much it makes me sick, it even makes me rhyme // I hate the way you’re always right // I hate it when you lie // I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry // I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call // But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all

_________

“You don’t know what I mean.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

---------------

“On a scale of one to ten, how nervous are you?” Evelina asks, throwing herself down on your bed. The sound of the springs of your mattress makes you jump, no thanks to the nerves you didn’t want to be experiencing. 

You had been pacing your room for at least an hour, trying to figure out what to wear, how to do your hair and makeup, thinking about what was going to happen tonight. None of you should be nervous about going out with Matthew: the two of you go out together just the two of you all the time. You’re almost always with him when he’s in Calgary, give or take Evelina or Elias. So what about tonight was different?

Well, for starters, the last few times you’ve spent time alone together you were doing more than just hanging out. Why did you have to kiss him, or sleep with him, or fuck, even like him? 

“I’ll give myself a two,” you lie to her, walking to your closet to find shoes. 

She sits up, her eyebrows raised. “Babe, you’ve been walking the runway for the last hour. Gigi Hadid doesn’t strut this much but at least she gets paid for it.” 

‘Fuck her for being right,’ you think to yourself. “How’s a seven sound?” You hear her scoff, before finally sitting down next to her. “Why am I nervous?” you whine. 

She shrugs, shaking her head. “Because it’s Matthew. 

“It’s not like Matthew’s changed, though.”

“No, but you and Matthew have. You at least finally realized you like each other, and that messes with things.” 

You look down at your hands, covered with pen ink from work that day that was seemingly impossible to get off with any type of soap you had in the apartment. “What if this ruins everything?” you ask quietly, starting to feel overly emotional at the thought of losing him. 

“If you do you still have me,” she jokes, clearly not helping. “Come on. It’s Matthew. You’ve always meant the world to him. There is nothing you can do that would cause you to lose him.” 

“I hope you’re right,” you say, not looking at her. 

She pulls you up off the bed, twirling you around so she can get a full look at the dress you were in. It was one of hers, an open-backed red halter dress that came just above your knees, paired with nude heels. Simple, but elegant enough that Matthew would spend the entire night thinking about how good you look with it both on and off. “You look amazing. What time is he picking you up?”

“He should be here any minute,” you tell her, feeling yourself start to shake at how nervous you were for this. Evelina was probably right: it’s Matthew, it’s always been Matthew, and what could possibly happen that would mean you could lose him?

The two of you leave your room, grabbing your bag and your phone on your way out. You can hear the locks of the front door turning, sending a chill down your spine knowing that it was Matthew on the other side. 

“You’ll be fine,” Evelina whispers quickly as Matthew opens the door to let him in. 

Assuming you were still in your room, he starts to call, “Hey, I’m-” he cuts himself off when he lays his eyes on you. He swallows hard at the sight of you trying to find anything to say other than the “Wow,” he lets out. 

Seeing him calmed you down immediately. He had on a black button-down with black pants. It was simple, just like yours, but fuck did he look good. “Wow, yourself,” you tell him, pulling a laugh from his lips. 

He goes in to kiss you, suddenly becoming very aware that Evelina was right behind you, bouncing up and down like a child. “Ev? We’re good,” he says, hoping that it would give her the signal to leave them alone. 

“Have her home by nine, young man,” Evelina points at him, slowly backing away but refusing to break eye contact.

“Nine a.m., got it!” he says, taking you by the hand and leading you as Evelina changes course and starts to follow you.

“Wear a condom!” she yells down the hall, you and Matthew practically running away from her.

You stop in your tracks, gasping even if you were only kind of shocked that she would actually say that. “Ev!” 

“Love you!” she practically screams, slamming the door as the elevator opens.

“I can’t believe she just yelled ‘wear a condom’ down the hall! The guys next door must have loved that. Mrs. Rose is probably throwing up at the thought of premarital sex,” you start to ramble as the doors close on you and Matthew, your hands on your cheeks pulling your eyes open a little more.

He laughs, pulling you close to him, his warm hands against your back, you draping your arms on his shoulders.  “You can’t be that shocked she would say that.” He dips his head down to kiss you, finally saying hello the way he wanted to, his forehead pressed against yours as a lazy smile covers his face, “Hi, Mercury.” 

“Hi,” you whisper, wishing you had something like that to call him. Something that meant he drove you as crazy as you apparently drove him. “And no, I’m not shocked. But I guarantee that you’re going to have to wear one tonight,” you tease him.

“If that’s what you want,” he whispers, planting a kiss on the top of your head. 

Of course, that was what you wanted. He pulls away when the elevator door opens, leading you to his car. He doesn’t drop your hand until he opens the passenger side door for you. “What a gentleman,” you gush at him, half teasing him, half swooning over the simple action.

“Only for you,” he says, connecting with your lips as you try to sit down. Apparently, he couldn’t stop kissing you either. Not that you were complaining about it. You drive through the city in silence, his hand on your thigh while he drove, your hand placed over his. You stole glances at him every once in a while, the moonlight and streetlights dancing off his jawline, his eyes shining whenever light hit them. God, he looked so good. You didn’t see the glances he took at you, your enjoyment as you watched the city alive around you, watching people walk hand in hand down the street, laughing, smiling, enjoying life. 

You get to the restaurant, him rushing over to help you out of the car before you even have the chance to try to get out yourself. This was so different from the Matthew you knew a few weeks ago. 

The two of you are seated at a table in the corner, able to look at everyone around you. You sit in silence, but it’s not weird like you thought it would be. You look up from your menu to see Matthew staring at you smiling. “What?” you ask him as he reaches across the table for your hand. Why didn’t this feel weird? What about this made it feel so, you don’t know, so right?

“I’m just,” he starts, debating on whether or not he should say what he wants, “I’m just happy,” he settles on, not taking his eyes off you as a smile shows on your face, heat rushing to your cheeks. 

“Who woulda thought you’d be soft for a girl, Rat Man?” you tease him.

He runs his tongue across his upper lip, sucking in a deep breath before letting out, “Only for you, Y/N.” 

The two of you settle into mundane conversation after the waitress comes and takes your drink orders, the same sexual teasing ones that you would have with him before this whole thing started. 

“Oh, come on, you’ve always found me hot. Don’t act like you never thought about what it would be like if I pinned you against the wall every time you saw me,” he teases you.

“I think you were at your most attractive when you were far away from me.” 

“So, even when I wasn’t around you still couldn’t get me out of your mind.” 

You roll your eyes, hating that he was right. You thought about this boy a lot more than you would like to admit. “I can only think about how much I hate about you,” you say without thinking, biting the inside of your cheek.

You swear he swallows hard, taking a moment to compose himself. He hated the thought of you still writing out that list. He needed to ask Evelina how far into you were given that you had two more weeks to finish it. But he was already taking you out on a date, so is the list even worth it? Before he can send himself into a downward spiral, he says, “And yet, you’re still sitting across from me on a date.” 

He watches you look down at the table, trying to hide the smile you couldn’t help but flash. “You got me there.” 

The waitress returns with your food, both of you falling silent as you ate. Matthew couldn’t help but study your every movement, from how delicately your hands wrapped around your utensils. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the ink covering you, on your pinky from the way you drag your hand across the page, the random dots and streaks of ink on your nails and everywhere, probably from the way you twirled it in your fingers, knowing that you drop your pen more often than you’re able to keep in your hands the way you fidget with it. He was amazed by how he could watch you for this long without you even realizing it, so wrapped up in the scene around you while you watched with amazement. He couldn’t believe that this was finally happening, that he was there with you. 

The people around you were laughing, talking, enjoying the company of the person across from them. It felt so weird to be one of those people who could do that. You never thought you would find yourself in a situation where the person across from you would be Matthew. “Oh, I know what I wanted to tell you!” you say, breaking the silence between you, “Ev and I are going to be in LA the weekend you’re playing the Kings for a conference.” 

“So you being out with me is just a ploy to get free tickets?” he smirks. He was going to get you the tickets, even if you didn’t want them. 

“I mean, what else are you good for?” you ask as he takes your hand in his, putting it to his lips. 

You go back to eating, both of you with one hand available. You try not to go crazy when he rubs his thumb along your knuckles, tracing a circle around each one before moving to the next, back and forth across your hand. You’re interrupted in your fixation on his touch by a woman screaming with joy, the man across from her down on one knee proposing. You can’t help but smile at the happiness she was radiating, Matthew watching you instead, not realizing you were picturing yourself being proposed to at that moment. You couldn’t make out the face of the man on one knee in front of you in your mind, but something about the wild hair gave you a good idea of who it was.

Why the hell were you even thinking about that? You didn’t even think you loved this boy, let alone picturing marrying him?  

The two of you start clapping along with everyone else when she says yes, a forced smile covering your face as you try to calm yourself from the internal freakout that was manifesting. You look across the table to Matthew, his eyes wider than normal, his lips in a thin line. 

Before you can ask him what’s wrong, Matthew cuts in, “I can’t believe he just did that.” 

“What?” you ask him, slightly shocked. 

“Uh, I mean,” he starts, not sure where he was going. He could feel his face getting hot. That’s not how he would have proposed to you. ‘Wait a minute,’ he thinks to himself, ‘proposing to Y/N?’ When did he even start thinking about something like that? He could feel his breath get shorter, trying to figure out what to say. You see him getting restless, reaching over to take his hand in yours, whatever panic that was forming in him instantly going away. “It’s just weird to do it in a restaurant, you know? Surrounded by a bunch of strangers instead of the people you love.” 

You don’t know why, but your entire body tensed up at that word. Matthew keeps talking, but you don’t hear him. You look over to the couple, smiling over their news. She was crying, unable to stop herself from admiring the ring and the man she just committed her entire life to. You weren’t sure how long you had been staring, only snapping out of the trance you fixed yourself in when you felt Matthew pulling you up from the table. 

“Are you alright?” he asks you, leading you back to his car. Something in his voice had changed, the soft, sweet tone from earlier not entirely gone, but some of it was missing. 

“Yeah,” you lie to him, “I think the food is just starting to bother my stomach.”  

“Oh, uh,” he says, dropping your hand once you get to the car, his hand lingering on the handle of the passenger side door. “I guess I’ll drop you back at your place then?” he asks, running his free hand through his hair. 

You recoiled slightly at his words, not wanting to go home, but there you were. “Yeah, sure,” you say, ducking into the seat. 

The two of you ride in silence, this time uncomfortable in complete contrast to driving there. He pulls up to your building, neither of you moving from your seats. What the hell happened? Did the idea of marrying him freak you out so much that you ruined your date with him? “So, uh,” he starts, “I’ll see ya?” he asks.

You don’t pull your gaze away from your hands in your lap, biting the inside of your cheek as you nod. This was supposed to be a great night for you two. Why did that guy have to propose? It was really all his fault when you think about it. You feel Matthew’s hand grazing your jaw, his thumb tracing your cheekbone before pulling you close to him for his lips to connect with yours. You pull away, your foreheads pressed against each other, an awkward smile covering both your faces. Without another word, you get out of his car to go up to your place. 

He watches you walk away, letting out a groan. “Fucking hell,” he mutters to himself, pulling away once you get in the door.

-----------

“So it was bad?” Evelina asks, lying down on your bed next to you. You finally opened up to her about the disastrous date last night, from your freak out to ending with Matthew dropping you off at home instead of spending the night together. 

You let out a heavy sigh, your phone vibrating with texts from your boss about preparing for the conference. “Fuck, is he bothering you this much about this presentation?” you change the subject quickly. 

“Nope. Not a word from him since he said we were going. That’s not important right now.”

You let out another groan, not sure really what other noise to make. Words couldn’t describe how frustrated you were by the night you thought was going to be great. “It wasn’t,” you cut yourself off, tossing your phone aside and covering your face with your hands. “It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t what I wanted it to be.” 

She turns over on her side, propping herself up on her elbow to look at you. “And you haven’t heard from him since last night?” Through your fingers you can see the expression she has on her face, scrunched up almost as if she was pitying you. 

Your phone buzzes, both of you lurching to see if it were him. Instead, it was your boss again. “Fuck this,” you say, throwing the phone on the floor. “I want it to be Matthew. It’s not like him not to text me all day.” 

“He left this morning for Winnipeg where they went right to practice and then to their game,” she tells you, relaying the message Elias probably gave her at some point. It still didn’t make you feel better. The game was over by now and you didn’t even know how it went. You thought he would have at least texted you, sent you a picture without context, something so you would know he didn’t hate you after last night. 

“He’ll text you. They’re probably still getting changed from the game,” Evelina tries to reassure you. “Do you want me to stay here or do you want to be alone?” 

You think about it, not sure how much good her company would do at this point. “I’m fine alone,” you decide, pulling out your laptop to find something to watch. She leaves you alone, your phone buzzing constantly with texts. After an episode of Gossip Girl, you finally check your phone to see a string of texts, all but one from your boss.

You let out a sigh of relief when you see Matthew’s message buried amongst those from your boss.

‘I’ve missed you, pretty girl. What are you up to?’

You could your heart racing for whatever reason as you tried to figure out what to respond with, your boss's name coming up again and again wondering why you weren’t answering him. ‘Moping, why?’

‘What’s wrong Mercury’

‘Work is a bitch’

You see the three dots appear and disappear from your screen. You stare at your phone, wondering why he wasn’t answering you when an incoming Facetime call shows up from him. Answering faster than you should, you felt relieved to finally see his face even if you had seen him the night before. “What happened to your cheek?” you ask immediately, referencing the noticeable gash that covered the right side of his face.

“I got the butt end of Johnny’s high stick at practice today,” he says, moving through what you assumed was his hotel.

“He probably did it on purpose, right?” you ask, a smirk on your face. You can hear his laugh echo through the hallway, the click of his door unlocking as he threw himself on his bed. “What were you doing?” 

“The guys and I were down at the bar in the lobby.”

“Oh, did you guys win today?”

He stares at you for a second, a brief moment in which you can’t read him. “You only pay attention to me when it’s convenient for you, don’t you?” he teases you, a smile growing on his face with every word. 

You let out a laugh, the memory of last night fading away. “My boss has been texting me nonstop about the work I’ve already gotten done, so I’m trying not to look at my phone.” You shift your attention away from your camera, knowing, not looking at Matthew for what you were about to say. “You know I always pay attention to you, Matthew,” you let out quietly, looking off to the side. 

He smiles at your words, letting out a sigh of relief. This list had to be over. There was no way you could still be writing it. “We did win. Shut them out. We were downstairs celebrating before we hit the road in the morning.” 

“Why aren’t you still with them! Go be with the guys!” you insist.

Matthew scoffs, shaking his head. “Nah, something was wrong with you. I had to make sure you were alright.”

“You left the guys for me?”

“I would leave anyone if it means making sure you’re ok.” You melt at his words, never thinking that he would be able to say something that would make you feel how you did. You missed him. You wished he was there with you. Before you can say anything, he starts, “I know how I can make you happy: tell me something. That always works.”

That always makes him happy.

“How about Dante’s circles of Hell so we can figure out which one my boss belongs in?” you joke, pausing the call briefly to finally respond to your boss to say that everything he had already texted you about asking you to do was finished and in his email. 

“I know about them but I like hearing you talk,” he says, a smile on his face. His end goes completely silent, no background noise, nothing, as if he had muted you. 

You try to recall the nine circles, starting to ramble in hopes it would jog your memory. “Dante Alighieri wrote the Italian poem between the years 1308 and 1320, the year before his death. It’s considered the first work written in the Italian vernacular, the Tuscan dialect, thus leading scholars to believe that this work is the reason why ‘formal Italian’ is Tuscan. He wrote it three parts, 100 cantos total, each canto with 33 lines: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.”

You finally hear him again, his chest moving up and down rapidly, the camera shaking in his hand. “It’s so sexy when you speak in another language. Tell me about Hell,” he lets out, clearly out of breath from what you couldn’t see going on beyond the camera. 

You start, your mind suddenly flashing back to that day at the package store, roaming through the aisles of alcohol with his hands leaving a burning touch on your body. “The first circle is Limbo. It’s where the unbaptized and virtuous pagans go. It’s like having a tv and only getting a channel like C-SPAN on every station,” you tell him, waiting for his response. His mouth is open slightly, no sound coming from him. You close your eyes, thinking of his hand in your back pocket that day, the way his fingers tensed on your ass. 

You swallow hard, your breath getting slightly shallow as you continue. “The second circle is,” you stop, knowing that you would be right in this circle as you extended your free hand down. You knew exactly what he was doing the same thing, his eyes closing every now and then, the camera shaking as you thought about his body against yours the night after the charity event. “Is lust. Anyone controlled by their hormones.”

His eyes snap open, his voice shaking as you finally hear him again: “I guess we’ll go to the second circle together?” You bite your lip, nodding at him. “Third circle,” he demands, going back to his work as he thought you in the black dress, fitting your form perfectly, every thread, every stitch, waiting to be ripped off you.

“Gluttony: habitual greed or excessive eating, especially at the expense of others,” you tell him. You think about that dry-fit shirt he wore, every muscle he had accented in the fabric as your other hand moved faster. His camera was shaking, his chest moving up and down rapidly. Part of you was surprised he hadn’t gotten there yet. “Circle four is greed: hoarding money, and goods.”

  “Five,” he chokes out, a moan following that he cut off by muting himself. 

“Five was,” you say, gasping, “Five was anger, spending their time in hell waging war against each other.” Your eyes screw shut, hoping you could get through four more. “Unmute yourself,” you demand of Matthew.

His eyes practically pop out of his head. “Unmute yourself,” you tell him again, slowly, each syllable emphasized as he watched your eyes get ever so slightly darker. He nods, doing as you ask, now able to hear his heavy breathing. “Six was heresy,” you let out, low and slow.

Matthew gasps, getting up a little as a signal that he was finished, despite you having more circles to go through. “Don’t move yet,” you say to him, not wanting him to until you could. “Those in that circle believe in religions other than Dante’s: Christianity. Seven is violence, divided further into three levels: murderers, suicide victims, and blasphemers.” You can practically feel the memory of his lips as they would have been connecting with your body, right behind your ear. 

“Tell me circle eight, pretty girl,” Matthew whispers, a lazy smile on his face as you get close to your climax. The sight of him your first night together, every inch of him as he entered you for that perfect night.

“Eight is,” you try to get out. You stop, feeling nothing and everything going through your body as you practically scream out, “Fraud.” You look at him, trying to steady your breath even though he could see your chest rising and falling as rapidly as his was before, a smile covering his face. “Nine is treachery. A frozen wasteland where those doomed to that final circle spend eternity with Satan himself. 

You both sit there in silence, catching your breath. You see Matthew finally able to adjust himself, a small laugh escaping his lips at the mess that was over the once pristine sheets. He smirks, happy that you could hear each other for the last bit, neither of you guessing you were thinking of the other the entire time.  “I told you I could make you happy, huh?” 

You take in a deep breath, trying to stabilize yourself, getting up to change quickly. “I would be happier if I didn’t have to do it myself,” you tease him. 

“Trust me: I would do anything to be there with you right now.” 

You smile at him, letting out a yawn. “I’m gonna go to bed, babe,” you say, slightly recoiling at the idea of calling him babe. “Talk to you tomorrow?” 

He nods. “I-” you start to hear him say, accidentally cutting him off by hanging up just too soon. He couldn’t have been saying much, but you send him a text saying sorry for it. “Love you,” he breathes out, wishing you heard him finally say how he felt about you.

[hockey-fics]

Hockey Players are Bad News ~ Matthew Tkachuk

Summary: Growing up your older brother Taylor Hall taught you many life lessons, but one he made more clear than the rest: don’t even think about dating a hockey player. 

Warnings: Language (if we’re still counting that)

Word Count: ~3,800

A/N: We’re just pretending Taylor Hall didn’t move to Ontario as a kid and stayed in Calgary in this.

You were no stranger to hockey. You had never played the game yourself. But when your older brother Taylor got involved in hockey it seemed like the whole family did as well. He was good, but you would never neglect to mention the role your parents had in him getting to where he was. Beginning with the fact that every winter your dad would maintain a rink in the backyard of your childhood home in Calgary for Taylor to practice on. And practice he did, on the rink almost any chance he got. It was in the backyard where you learned to skate as a seven year old. On the few occasions that Taylor, then thirteen, would take the time out of his practice to coax you around the homemade rink, picking you up every time you fell. 

You were only thirteen when Taylor was the first pick in the NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers. But your family didn’t become less involved in hockey. Things were just quieter after that. With a six year age difference between yourself and Taylor he had always been overly protective and the distance didn’t change that in the slightest. 

You made frequent trips to Edmonton and he would come back to Calgary when he had a couple days off. You stayed just as close as you both got older, perhaps you had even gotten closer. And when he went to New Jersey and then eventually to Arizona you still talked just as much, just over text and calls and facetime. 

He had come back over the summer but now it was late in August and he had gone back to Arizona to really focus on his training for the upcoming season. 

Sitting in your friend’s house you look at the Tinder profile on your screen, Matthew. From the first picture you knew more about him than his profile would provide. Matthew Tkachuk. Right wing for the Calgary Flames. Calgary Flames. Despite the fact that you were born in Calgary after Taylor was drafted by the Oilers you developed a strong distaste for the team from the city you otherwise adored. Not even to mention the reputation Matthew carried with him. But the longer you sat there staring at the profile and flipping through the pictures the more you found yourself intrigued by him. And so eventually you swipe right, your screen flashing to the match screen. Quickly tapping the side button on your phone you let the screen go dark, leaving the situation alone for the time being as you focus on the TV show you were watching with your friend instead. 

It was only three days later when you met Matt at a restaurant downtown. The date lasted hours, ending with you two walking around the dark downtown streets just talking. You hated to admit it but the date you had assumed would be terrible was quite the opposite. Matt was charming and funny, he held the door open for you and paid for dinner. He asked you questions about your childhood while you skillfully avoided any talk about your older brother. He told you about playing in the NHL and you nodded along like the inside information was all brand new to you. 

When you finally ended up back at your car you stood by the driver’s side door, looking up at Matt with a soft gaze, hoping he would kiss you. The reality of the situation was that you assumed the date would have been over much earlier and ended in his apartment. But now you were just hoping he would kiss you goodnight and ask you to do it again. And you knew it was bad news. Because the stories Taylor told you as you got older got gradually wilder and always ended with the same message ‘don’t even think about going out with a hockey player’. Especially not one like Matt. 

But your stomach still erupted with butterflies when Matt kissed you that night. It was in the way he placed one of his hands on the back of your head and the way he pulled back slowly, gazing down at you with a smile before dropping his hands from you and stepping back. And it was him asking you to text him when you got home safe, watching you till you were safely in your car before heading down the street to where his own car was parked. 

And text him you did. That night and the day after and the next day too. You exchanged so many texts over the next couple days and each notification from him made you happy in a way you couldn’t explain. No Tinder date you had been on before had ever ended like this and you definitely hadn’t expected to have the best Tinder experience of your like with hockey player Matthew Tkachuk. 

Your second date was mini-golf and ice cream. You picked a flavour you hated and Matt traded you his even though you were pretty sure he didn’t like the one you picked either. Your third date was to the zoo. You tried to contain your excitement but only made it to the penguin excitement before exclaiming how cute they were, while Matt spent most of the time watching you instead of the animals. Your fourth was drinks and arcade games at the Rec Room. You had a couple too many drinks and even though you were trying to beat Matt in a game or two you could barely stop giggling long enough to focus properly. Your fifth was a walk in the park, late fall leaving the leaves a beautiful colour. And you held hands in public for more than a couple seconds, through your entire walk. After that day you started to intersperse your dates with just hanging out, almost always at Matt’s apartment. 

You two had been seeing each other for two months when Matt finally brought up what you had been dreading. Hall was a common enough last night that Matt had never asked about it. You were sitting on Matt’s couch, your legs curled up beside you as you lean against him, eyes focused on the movie playing. 

“Will you come to one of my games?” 

Slowly you turn your head to look up at him, forcing a small smile. You knew you needed to tell him. You were pretty sure he wouldn’t care, but as soon as you told him it was real and that meant you would have to tell your parents and Taylor. Telling him was pushing a snowball down the hill, the avalanche at the bottom would come from everyone else you had to tell.

“Matt,” you say, sitting up straighter so you could look him in the eyes. 

“Yeah?” He furrowed his eyebrows, eyes glancing down your body, taking in the way you had pulled back from him. “Do you not want to? You don’t have to.”

“No,” you laugh, shaking your head. “It’s not that.” Taking a deep breath you try to figure out exactly which words to string together to bring this up. “You, uh, you know Taylor Hall, right?”

Matt’s confusion only becomes more evident as his eyes squint slightly, nodding slowly. “Yeah...why?” there’s an edge in his voice now, uncertain and already on the defence. 

“He’s uh...my brother.” 

You watch Matt go through what seems like ten different stages of processing before he finally says anything and all he manages to mutter is, “what?”

“My brother,” you repeat, knowing he didn’t really need you to say it again, just needed more time to process. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that? Were you planning on telling me...ever?” 

“Ever?” you repeat, pulling back further to turn your body towards him. “Matt, it’s only been a couple months. I though...when this started I thought it would just be a sexual thing. I didn’t expect this, I was assuming you were on Tinder just to hook up.”

Matt glances away from you for a second. “Well I kinda was,” he admits, looking back at you. “But then, I don’t know, I liked you more than I thought I would.” 

“So I didn’t think it would matter.”

“It doesn’t,” Matt says, reaching over and taking your hand, gently pulling you closer. “Doesn’t change anything, I just don’t know why you wouldn’t tell me.”

“Because if things keep going like this I’ll have to tell my family,” you whisper as he pulls one of your legs over his lap so you were face to face. 

“And?” Matt asks, hands on your waist. 

“And they won’t be happy. Taylor is...protective. He’s made it very clear that getting involved with a hockey player is bad news.” 

Matt’s lips curl into a smirk as he looks up at you, listening to your explanation. “Am I bad news?” 

Rolling your eyes playfully you press your hands onto his shoulders, about to push yourself off him. “Matt,” you whine, knowing he knew that’s not what you were saying. 

Suddenly Matt pushes himself forward, one arm around your back as he lifts you up and drops you down onto the couch on your back. “Well am I?” he asks, hovering over you. 

Giggling you run your hands around to the back of his neck. “Yes, you’re awful.” 

Matt chuckles, leaning down and kissing you. “Guess you like bad news,” he whispers against your lips. 

“I’m a sucker for punishment.”

Telling your parents about your relationship with Matt went surprisingly well. After some trepidation about the whole thing they finally came around after having him over dinner, seeing how happy you were around him. Four months, it had been four months. And everytime your parents broached the idea of telling your brother about your relationship you shut it down as quickly as they brought it up. The time would come, you just weren’t sure when.

“It’s disgusting,” Matt complains about the piece of gum he asked for after you took one for yourself. Bubblemint. “Who even came up with it?”

Giggling you shake your head, glancing back over your shoulder at him as you walk up to the door of your parent’s house. “It’s good, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Something is wrong with your tastebuds,” he laughs, stepping inside after you. Your parents had invited you and Matt over for dinner, an almost weekly occurrence at this point.

Just as you're about to call out and tell your parents you were there you see Taylor come down the hallway, the wide smile on his face fading almost immediately. A surprise visit. They didn’t happen often, not with Taylor being down in Arizona now. But whenever he had even a couple days off he would spend most of the time travelling up to see you. 

“Hi,” you say, feeling every nerve in your body firing at once. “You’re home.” 

“What’s going on?” Taylor questions, his eyes drifting over your shoulder to where Matt was standing. 

Taking a deep breath you look over, watching as Matt steps around from behind you to stand at your side. “I didn’t mean for you to find out like this,” you mutter. 

“Find out what?” Taylor snaps.

“I-,” you begin, turning your head to look up at Matt, eyes wide with panic. “I, we’re...I’ve been seeing Matt.”

“Seeing?” Taylor questions, eyes squinting, jaw clenching. 

You feel Matt slip his arm around your waist and you immediately tense up, knowing that it wasn’t going to end well. “We’re dating,” Matt tells him bluntly.

Taylor watches Matt for a second in disbelief before stepping forward, his hand grasping at Matt’s arm yanking him away from you. “Don’t touch her.” 

Matt chuckles with a cold tone, shaking his head. “Too late for that.”

“Matt,” you scold a second before Taylor reaches forward, shoving Matt back against the wall. 

“Don’t you dare talk about my sister like that.”

Reaching over you grab Taylors arm, pulling him back away from Matt. He does so easier than you were anticipating, looking down at you with a look of such disapproval you wanted to simply vanish from his sightline. “Matt, go home,” you say quietly, not able to look him in the eyes. Not able to own up to the face that you couldn’t stand up for yourself, for your relationship. 

“Y/N,” Matt pleads, trying to get your full attention. He was just as aware as you were that asking him to leave in this moment had meaning. 

“Go home, Matthew,” you repeat, using his full name to let him know you weren’t about to argue about it. 

You wait till he walks out the front door before you turn your attention to Taylor. But you don’t know what to say, where to begin. 

“What the fuck?” Is all Taylor says before there are tears in your eyes. 

Not only had Taylor always been a protective older brother he was also the favourite child. Nobody would say it, but you knew it. He was a star in the highest league of his sport, he made incredible amounts of money, he had this whole perfect life. And so you had grown up striving to live up to that, to his standards. To make him and your parents proud of you. But now, standing there under the harsh gaze of your older brother you feel yourself crumbling. 

“Taylor, I-,” you begin, your voice breaking slightly. “Please don’t be mad.”

“Matthew Tkachuk. Are you serious, Y/N? All the times I told you to stay away from hockey players and then you go out and start dating...him?”

“I didn’t think, I don’t know, I didn’t think things would get serious.”

“Why did you even want anything with him?”

Shrugging you wrap your arms around your body protectively, blinking away your tears as you stare down at the ground. “I thought he was cute and then we went on a date and I just, I really like him, Taylor.”

“You say that now but in a month or two when you find out he’s been cheating on you then that’ll change.”

“He’s not,” you begin, trailing off as you shake your head. “He wouldn’t.”

Taylor scoffs and rolls his eyes, arms crossed over his chest. “You don’t know, Y/N. You don’t know the way guys act on roadtrips. Just because he treats you well when he’s with you doesn’t mean that continues when you’re not together.”

“I...I don’t know what to say, Taylor. I like him, a lot.”

“You don’t love him,” Taylor states but it’s a question and you know it. He needs to hear you confirm it. 

“No,” you whisper, shaking your head. “It’s only been four months.”

“Good,” Taylor mutters. 

“Why?” you mutter, voice wavering. 

“Because it’ll be easier to break up with him if you don’t love him,” Taylor explains easily. 

Furrowing your eyebrows you shake your head. “You don’t get to decide if I break up with someone.”

“No, I don’t,” Taylor replies, stepping away from you. “But I can tell you what you should do. And you should break up with him.” He turns around after that, walking back towards the kitchen and leaving you standing alone in the hallway. Should. All your life you had been doing what you thought your parents and Taylor would approve of, what you thought they would say you should do. But you had never hated the idea of what Taylor would say you should do quite the way you hated this. 

After a few minutes of thinking you walk through the house, finding your parents in the midst of a hushed discussion with Taylor, falling silent the second you enter the room. 

“Hi,” you mutter, walking slowly to the kitchen island, placing your hands on the edge of it as you stare over at your family. 

“Hi sweetheart,” your mom replies, voice gentle and tentative. “I sent you a text earlier, I guess you didn’t get it.”

Pulling your phone from your pocket you look at the notification she was talking about. A warning that Taylor was there, suggesting Matt didn’t come with you right away. To just tell Taylor alone, give him some time to process it. But of course it had only come five minutes before you walked through the door, not having taken the time to read it. “No, I didn’t,” you tell her, putting your phone back away and turning to face Taylor. You’re suddenly hit with a wave of emotions, feeling like you just might burst into tears. Every other time Taylor had come home you had been greeted with a huge hug, with smiles and laughter. You felt like you were going to break under the stare he was giving you now. “I’m sorry,” you whisper to him. 

“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” Taylor tells you, his gaze softening as he realizes you were on the verge of crying, knowing you well enough to be able to read you. 

“Any guy could hurt me, Taylor. Am I just never supposed to date anyone?”

Out of the corner of your eye you catch sight of your mom grasping your dad’s forearm, gently pulling him out of the kitchen. Giving you and Taylor space to have the conversation alone. 

“He’s not just any guy. He’s plays in the NHL, he’s young, he’s rich, he’s famous. He has so many women interested in him because of that. It’s just different.”

“Would you?” 

“Would I what?” Taylor asks, eyebrows furrowed as he shakes his head in confusion. 

“Cheat on your girlfriend because of all that,” you clarify, stating it unflinchingly, challenging him. 

“No.” Taylor sighs, tapping his fingers against the countertop he was leaning on. “But it’s different.”

“It’s not,” you snap. “It’s not different. It’s not different just because you’re being overly protective. You don’t get to decide what Matt would do. You don’t even know him, you haven’t even given him a chance.”

“I do know him,” Taylor retorts quickly. 

“No, you know of him. You know him on the ice, you know how he plays hockey. You don’t know him as a person, as my...boyfriend.” It was the first time you were officially using that label. Boyfriend. Even though it had been almost four months and the understanding was there that he was your boyfriend and you were his girlfriend you had never found yourself saying it out loud. 

Taylor shakes his head, stepping away from the counter. “I clearly can’t change your mind so I’m going to let this go for now so we can have dinner as a family but just know that doesn’t mean I approve of it.”

Turning your head you watch as Taylor walks out of the kitchen to find your parents. And for a few minutes you just stand there, speechless, motionless, like you couldn’t comprehend anything that had just happened. But when your parents come back into the room you try to push it all away. Because Taylor was right, he was back for a short amount of time and even though things weren’t great with you two you needed to let your parents have their time to be just that, parents. 

The dinner passes by slowly and you try to stay engaged in the conversation. But it doesn’t take much for your mind to be pulled to other thoughts. To thoughts of Matt. At first simply worried about him being upset. But your worry begins to merge with Taylor’s words and suddenly you’re concerned about so much more. Other people. Would Matt cheat on you? Would he have left tonight, upset at you and called someone else? Someone who wouldn’t tell him to go home. 

After dinner your parents move on to dessert before then convincing you to stay for a little longer to visit. And by the time you manage to get yourself out of there it’s almost 11 and you had yet to hear from Matt. You texted him at 10:30, getting nothing more than a ‘delivered’ to signify it had even gotten to him. 

After the night is over you walk outside, getting in the Uber you had ordered. Matt had driven you both there, anticipating you would end up back at your apartment or his. It didn’t matter where but you two were supposed to be together all night. 

When the Uber pulls up in front of your apartment you climb out, feeling an emptiness in your chest. You had never felt such disappointment from your brother. You had never pushed someone away so coldly like you had with Matt. Walking up to the lobby door you open your purse, fumbling for your keys at the bottom. 

“Y/N.”

Spinning around quickly you watch Matt jog up towards you, only now noticing his car parked in one of the visitor spots. “What are you doing?” you exclaim, your eyes taking in his appearance. Ruffled hair, heavy eyes. “Why didn’t you answer my text?”

“Sorry, I fell asleep,” he admits. “I didn’t think you would be there that long.”

“You were sleeping in your car?” you ask in disbelief. 

“Well I wasn’t planning to. But you try spending five hours in your parked car with nothing else to do.”

“Why?...Why didn’t you go home? Oh my god, have you just been here this whole time? Matt, what the fuck? You’re such an idiot.”

“Well I did go and have dinner a couple hours ago,” he mutters sheepishly. “I was just worried...I don’t know, I just needed to talk to you, to see you.”

“You were worried...worried about what?”

Matt looks around, not making eye contact with you. He seemed suddenly flustered, panicky. Stepping closer you reach over, sliding your hand into one of Matt’s. “What were you worried about?” you whisper. 

Matt finally looks down at you, squeezing your hand as he pulls you a little closer. “Losing you,” he says quietly, reaching over and pushing a piece of your hair behind your ear, his hand slowly dropping back down to his side. 

You’re speechless for a few minutes, doing nothing more than staring blankly up at him. Taylor’s words suddenly didn’t seem as loud, didn’t carry as much weight. Because the way Matt was looking at you, the vulnerability in his words, you felt like you could trust him completely. “You won’t,” you finally manage to get out, letting go of his hand and wrapping your arms around him. 

Matt’s arms circle quickly around your waist, pulling you into his body till you're balancing on your tiptoes, clutching at him like you were trying to physically prove he wouldn’t lose you. “Can we go inside now? It’s cold out here,” you whisper. 

Matt moves his hands from your waist to the backs of your thighs, suddenly scooping you off the ground. “Matt,” you shriek in surprise, grasping onto him tighter as you wrap your legs around his waist. “Put me down,” you giggle, looking into his eyes. 

“Fine,” Matt huffs, slowly lowering you back to the ground. “But only because we’re going to pick it right back up when we’re inside.”

Shaking your head you roll your eyes playfully, fishing your keys out of your purse. Grabbing Matt’s hand you pull him along behind you into your apartment building, glancing back in time to see him smiling as he watched you. And seeing the way he was looking at you, so enthralled by you, only cemented your knowledge that maybe for the first time Taylor wasn’t the older sibling with all the knowledge.

A/N #2: I’m not going to ignore the fact that waiting for someone outside their apartment could be a huge red flag. If that ever happens to you and they don’t leave after you tell them to. Call. The. Police.

[b-2229]

Happy Hour Every Day in Calgary

Happy Hour Every Day in Calgary

Happy Hour at the National at Calgary Westhills

When it comes to cheap eats, it’s hard to beat happy hour.

It’s a win-win situation. The customer gets food and drinks at discount prices, and the restaurant gets customers during an otherwise slow part of the day, usually late afternoon and sometimes late at night.

In Calgary’s beleaguered economy, consumers are increasingly looking for bargains…

[randomoranges]

olympic au part 51

Epilogue

--

 Many Months Later

 “Good evening, are you all set to place your order?”

 Étienne picked up his menu again and looked at the waitress, “Yes, I’ll have the special of the day and – if I may ask, is Chef Murphy in today?”

 The waitress paused as she jotted down his order, “That depends – who’s asking?”

 Étienne laughed, “Tell him an old friend from Calgary, by the ways of Montréal.”

 She gave him a curious look, but promised to check as she headed towards the kitchens. Once she was gone, Étienne sat back into his seat and took a moment to observe Edward’s restaurant. It had a cozy feel, the atmosphere was good, from what he could tell, and the place was already starting to fill up, even though it wasn’t really the busy season or a busy night. If it meant business was booming, then he’d be happy for Edward.

 “No fucking way – Maisonneuve, you son of a gun! Mister celebrity in the flesh!” Edward boomed as he walked up to Étienne and clapped him on the back.

 Étienne laughed as he got up and the two exchanged a brief embrace, “I never thought I’d see your mug again – especially not in these parts of town – not the way the press has been hogging you Mister Bestseller for nineteen weeks straight! How are you?!”

 They sat back down, Edward taking the seat in front of him and Étienne gave himself a moment to drink in the sight of him. Edward hadn’t really changed, still seemed to be in his element with an apron tied in front of him, same warm smile and intelligent eyes.

 “I’m good – busy, but good – and you made me promise I’d stop by if ever I was in town, so here I am, keeping my own promises. What about you?”

 “Me? Same old – keeping busy, as you can tell. What brings you here in the dead of winter – I thought you were allergic to the cold,” He teased and Étienne flicked a breadcrumb at him.

 “Some morning talk show interview thing – Good Morning Edmonton, to talk about the book and whatnot.”

 The book was Étienne’s project after he’d returned home. A look back to his career, hockey, being queer and playing hockey, and the Olympics. Some retrospective thing his therapist had made him start years back that he’d left for dead for too long. But – the timing had felt good and so he’d hacked away at it in a fever like dream. It hadn’t been meant to see public eyes, but his sister had loved it and then one thing lead to the next – and he supposed it helped some that he had a certain Status – so before long he had a book deal, the thing was launched and he was being brought to all edges of the country to promote the book.

 “Shit, gonna have to set the PVR for that one!” Edward laughed as he took out his phone and seemed to genuinely set up a reminder for it. Étienne was slightly touched by that.

 “How’s life been post Olympics?” Étienne asked as he took a sip of his water.

 “Hectic, really, had to get back to the grind and such, but – you’re probably gonna laugh, remember Calvin?”

 How could he not? They’d – sort of kept in touch afterwards, but between time zones, different schedules and no real time to build a connection outside of the Olympics, they’d lost touch, sort of. Still, Étienne sometimes saw a post of his on one of the social media platforms they followed each other on – same with Edward, and knew he was doing well.

 “Yeah, what about him?”

 “We’re – sort of seeing each other.”

 Étienne’s eyes widened and he did indeed laugh.

 “See, told you – I know it’s lame –”

 Étienne cut him off before he could go on, “Shut up, it’s not lame, congrats, man, give him my regards? How is he?”

 Edward nodded and gave him a small enigmatic smile, before answering, “Good – busy as well – I guess we all are, but,” He was interrupted when one of the servers came up to him and told him something quickly, “Shit – I gotta get back, listen, I’m not done catching up with you, so linger a bit before you leave?”

 “All right, off with you.”

 Edward was out of his seat and headed towards the back as he waved at him and Étienne sat back, amused. It was a strange, small world.

 --

 Edward unfortunately, was unable to return to see him, but Étienne figured it was to be expected. The restaurant was full and he had work to do. Still, it had been nice to see him, even if for a few moments and he’d send him a message later on.

 The meal was excellent and it briefly reminded Étienne of the plethora of meals he had had at the dining halls during the Olympics. A little signature Edward had clearly made its way to those dishes and he’d found the essence here as well. When he asked his waitress for the bill, she came back to him with it in a leather ledger of sorts.

 He took out his credit card and then opened the ledger only to find a singular sheet of paper with nothing on it safe for a message that read, on the house followed by an address and a note telling him to get there at his own pace and time and that he’d join later on.

 Intrigued and slightly perplexed, Étienne took out a fifty and left it for the waitress, before he took a cab to the address on the paper.

 He wasn’t sure what he would find when he got there, but when he arrived, it was to a charming little bungalow with the living room lights on. Étienne went to the door and rang the doorbell, wondering what game Edward had set him on and then was evidently surprised when Calvin opened the door.

 “No fucking way,” He muttered as Calvin greeted him with a big hug.

 “Ed called to let me know you were on your way. I guess he didn’t tell you I was in town?” Calvin asked as he helped him inside and took his coat and hat.

 “He didn’t, but this is a pleasant surprise.” He said as he finished removing the rest of his winter gear

 “Oh, I’m sure you’ll see that by the end of the night, this won’t be the only surprise.”

 Étienne laughed, already having an idea of where this was going and followed Calvin back to the living room, to properly catch up with him.

 And later, a few hours down the line, Edward returned home and this time, they had all the time in the world to catch up together.

 FIN.

Previous: XLX

Current: XLXI

[mrfog6]

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[yycwine]

For #winewednesday I wanted to share one of the last wines I had in a restaurant which was @hyssteakhouse and the 2015 @heartlandwines Stickleback Red. From @benglaetzer the 2015 was 3/4 Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest being Shiraz with a splash of Lagrein that sees time in both American and French oak. This wine brought back some memories as my companion served this wine at his wedding almost 20 years ago. The Stickleback is a perfect glass or wedding pour that is easy to enjoy and married well to happy hour nosh like sliders, mushroom crostini and alike. While not meant for aging, this bottle with 5 years behind it was in a good spot. Here is hoping that we can get back into restaurants again soon. #heartlandwines #stickleback #happyhour #hyssteakhouse #yyc (at Tuscany, Calgary) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_2VP1wJRdi/?igshid=1d84waqk3clo4

[xsloungeandgrill]

When a customer enters your restaurant for the first time, the first thing they look at is how clean your restaurant is, then they wait and see how they are treated, and lastly they taste the food. To help you out in making your restaurant a fine dine restaurant Calgary, we are going to list some things that you, a restaurant owner, can do so you can make your restaurant better in every single way.

[holidaywishes]

i’ve got a question

part three: i’ve got a question

  Summary: guess? No, I’m not gonna do that to you. It’s a fluffy chapter, as the whole series is, where Freddie asks you to marry him

  Author’s Note: my Freddie feels are so real at the moment that I’m legit frustrated I didn’t get to see him when he was in Calgary. I sound like a crazy person. But anyway, that is where everything is coming from and my love for Freddie is very real.

  P.S. this is the ring I was trying to reference, not sure how I did but I thought it was beautiful and couldn’t get it out of my head.

  Warning: Fluff, some swearing, more fluff, tiny bit of angst just ‘cause *GIFs are not mine, please don’t @ me*

  masterlist

  You really hated dating a goalie sometimes. You always felt like your heart was in your throat when you would watch Freddie play because you hated seeing him upset -- and every time the puck passed his goal line, you saw the defeated look on his face. On the flip side, when he won, you won too. He was happy and smiley and dorky and he’d make you smile so much, your face would ache.

  But the constant up and down drove you insane. It was the main source of all of your fighting when the two of you first got together. You’d head down to the locker room, bring him in for a hug and he’d shove you away if they lost, or pull you harshly close if they won -- because he was so pumped up on adrenaline. The first time he got a shutout, you jumped up and down in your seat, screaming at the top of your lungs before you caught Freddie’s stare; dark and intense with a knowing grin plastered across his face. The first time he couldn’t stop any goals and the opposing team had a shutout, you sunk into your seat and tried to keep your eyes away from him, only to meet him at the locker rooms where you saw him about ten feet ahead of the rest of the team with his headphones in -- forcing you to sprint to his side as the two of you walked to his car.

  Your first fight with him was the worst fight you had ever been in. With anyone. It happened four months into your relationship and you threatened to leave because you felt like everything you said was wrong, like you were walking on eggshells because you didn’t want to bruise his ego. He told you that he didn’t need you and that dating you was a mistake because he knew you were too much of a child for him. Cut to three hours later, he showed up at your doorstep, slumped over, looking small and meek compared to the tall, broad-shouldered love of your life you’d come to know so well. He apologized and you noticed tears fall from his eyes, making tears fall from your eyes and your body instinctively press up against his so he could wrap his arms around your body as you wrapped yours around his neck.

  The first time he ever told you he loved you, you felt like your life could end right there and you’d be happy. You were sitting around watching old episodes of Game of Thrones because he was appalled that you had never watched the series before, your hair in a messy bun, mascara the only makeup on your face and one of his Toronto Maple Leafs hoodies on. You weren’t sure what provoked it but he turned to you during a commercial break and kissed your cheek, whispering he loved you softly against your skin. It wasn’t an extravagant moment, with champagne and candles and roses, but it was perfect and you couldn’t have asked for anything more. You returned the words so quietly that, had he not been as close as he was, he wouldn’t have been able to hear you over the sounds of the T.V. in the background; his teeth nipping at your jawline as he continued to whisper his admiration in your ear.

  So, to say that he knew how to make a small moment big was an understatement. All it could make you think about was how he’d make every birthday for your little one a parade if he was given the chance. None of how much you loved him changed how much stress being a goalie’s girlfriend was, though, and you told him you might need to start missing a few games because you didn’t want the baby to be in any trouble because of your stress.

  “I’m not sure that makes sense…” Freddie retorted

  “Maybe not but I get so stressed watching you play, knowing the attitude you’ll have if you lose. It’s a lot, babe, and I think a few games missed or watched from home is fine…”

  “I don’t know why you get so stressed watching me…” he shifted against the door frame, watching you put on the pair of diamond studs he got you for your six month anniversary, “it’s not like I get stressed playing. Win or lose…”

  “I think that’s why I get nervous…” you giggled, finally turning to him, “I carry all your stress so you don’t have to”

  “Well…” he said as he walked over to you slowly, arms outstretched to you so he could grab your waist the second you got close enough, leaning down and kissing your neck once before looking into your eyes, “don’t carry my stress then”

  “Easier said than done, Andersen” he smiled and nodded, grabbing your hand and directing you out the door

  “We’re way late for dinner you know”

  “We are not! You always say that and we always end up being the first ones there…” you teased, it was true though. You weren’t sure if it was because the guys on the team always ran late or because Freddie was Danish but the two of you always ended up being at least 20 minutes early for everything.

  “We have reservations…” he whined and you giggled

  “We’re fine, liebe,” you replied, leaning up to kiss his cheek before getting into the passenger seat, “relax. You’re reminding me of my Opa, it’s kind of freaking me out…”

  “Because I like to be on time?”

  “Because you’re worrying about being late when we’re clearly not. It’s a very Austrian thing to worry about.” He lifted his eyebrow at you and argued that it must just be a European thing because every Canadian he’d ever met was casually late for everything, making you scoff and playfully roll your eyes. He had wanted to go out to dinner with you for a while, just the two of you, but something always came up and you’d have to cancel. So, when everything seemed to work out for the two of you to go out to a nice restaurant you jumped at the chance but when you got there, you saw a few familiar cars and your mind started to wander, your hands immediately going into your purse to grab your phone.

  “Come on, babe” Freddie called out to you and you put your phone back in your purse without having texted anyone. You stepped out of the car and took a deep breath, resulting in a heavy sigh which Freddie immediately took notice of. You noticed Auston and Mitch in the restaurant standing beside John and Aryne and everyone was smiling and laughing but clearly waiting for something. For you and Freddie.

  “Fred…” you stammered, stepping back, “I don’t feel well…”

  “(Y/N)?” he questioned, concern clearly covering every syllable, “are you okay, what happened?” You couldn’t tell him that you had figured it out. That you knew he was going to propose. He’d obviously planned this and got everyone to come down and be a part of it but you couldn’t do it yet. You couldn’t get engaged without his family or yours there, you were already pregnant and that felt like a lot more than you were capable of handling at 25 years old. An engagement, a marriage, was not something you could handle right now.

  “I just suddenly feel very lightheaded” was all you said to him and he rushed to your side

  “Okay, we’ll go home…” his eyes bored into yours and you felt incredibly guilty that, as you always did, you got defensive of your actions.

  “Let me just call an Über..” you started

  “No, what? Babe, I’m gonna get you home. You and the little one”

  “STOP!”

  “(Y/N)..?”

  “I can get myself home, okay? Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I need you to take care of me. I don’t need you every second of my life you know. I can do things on my own. Like calling a fucking Über to pick me up. I’m not that helpless!”

  “Elske, (Y/N), what’s going on?” His voice was so steady and his face was showing such worry that you started to cry, to break down right there in the street

  “I can’t do it, Freddie,” you sobbed, “I can’t marry you. Not now.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know you’re going to propose in there. That’s why everyone’s in there. But I can’t. I can’t say yes to you like that…”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about…” he tried and you tilted your head

  “So everyone is just coincidentally here on our date night?”

  “Yes…” you shook your head, tears still falling down your cheeks and turned to walk away, “stop! Come back, (Y/N)! We don’t have to get married, if you don’t want to. I’ll love you no matter what. We’ll have our baby and we’ll have the happiest life, don’t you believe that?”

  “Screw you!” you yelled, taking unintended offense to his question, “what kind of question is that? Don’t I believe that we’ll be happy? Really, Frederik?”

  “That’s not what I meant…”

  “But it is! It’s what you said, which means part of you means it. I need to leave…”

  “Talk to me”

  “NO!”

  “YES!” his voice boomed in the parking lot of the restaurant and your body went stiff as he positioned himself in front of you. You noticed the group inside look out the window to watch what was happening, “you can’t just yell and swear at me and tell me what I mean when I say something. Because, guess what? I know what the fuck I mean when I say it. You don’t want to get married? Fine! We won’t fucking get married. But you are not going to run off, call an Über and go home in tears! That’s not the kind of relationship we have.” You stood in front of him, trying to gather your thoughts enough to say something, to try and fix what you’d caused but no words formed and you watched as his face softened; his hands brushing your arms as he moved closer to you

  “I’m sorry,” you finally muttered, forcing his eyes to match yours by placing your hand on his jaw, “I just… I have no excuse…”

  “I love you.” It was a declarative statement, purposeful, and you could tell he wanted no reply but you gave him one anyway

  “I know,” you whispered, bringing your arms around his neck to hug him softly, “I love you too, Freddie.” You could feel him burying his head in the crook of your neck and tightening his grip around your waist, making you melt into him

  “Let’s go home…” he said as he pulled back to look at you and you nodded, wrapping your arm around his waist as you walked with him back to his car.

  “I’m sorry that you wasted your night” you said to Steph as the two of you settled into the couch to find something on Netflix

  “We didn’t waste our night,” she giggled, “Mitch and I stayed after you guys left, we had dinner. It worked out in the end”

  “I just felt like a nutcase, honestly,” you admitted, taking a sip of your drink, “I can’t believe I acted like that. And now… I literally think he’s stopped thinking about proposing to me”

  “That’s not what you wanted?”

  “No! Of course I wanted to marry him, if he asked me, I just got.. scared?” you said, unsure of the word you were looking for, “I guess I was scared that he was only asking me to marry him so our baby wouldn’t be a bastard…”

  “Freddie loves you”

  “And I love him but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t do it. Marry me to save our kids reputation…”

  “Maybe, maybe not. Something tells me he’s been thinking about this for a while though, before the pregnancy even”

  “Oh yeah? Then why didn’t he ask me months ago?”

  “Maybe he was trying to find the perfect time… He knows how important your Grandparents are to you and he was probably trying to find a way to propose to you with them involved but it’s tricky. Them being in Vienna, him being so busy and you being so… nosy”

  “I am not nosy!” you gasped

  “You totally are! And stubborn, bad combo.”

  “Nosy and curious are very different things, I’m curious. I like to know what’s going on”

  “What about surprises? You hate surprises!”

  “I love surprises! I just don’t like not knowing that a surprise is happening…”

  “Mhmm…”

  “Like I love to be surprised but as long as I know that it’s coming. Which is why being pregnant threw me through a loop. If it hadn’t been for Freddie’s reaction, I would’ve panicked..”

  “Okay, okay,” she said, finally settling on Hereditary, “just trust me okay. He still wants to marry you, no matter how crazy or nosy or stubborn you get.” Weeks past and you couldn’t help thinking about what Steph had said, mainly because nothing had happened with Freddie. He hadn’t proposed, he hadn’t given any indication that he was going to and you were trying to figure out what he was thinking. Jeez, maybe you were nosy. It didn’t help that he was on the road for over a week but you also didn’t think he’d propose to you before telling his parents about the baby or without asking for your Dad’s blessing; he knew how old-fashioned your Dad was, how important you were to him. So, you pushed the thought from your mind. When he came back from the road, you jumped into his arms as if he’d been gone for years, kissing all over his face, forcing a smile to raise from his lips and a laugh to engulf the room.

  “I missed you!” you finally said, jumping down from your boyfriend

  “I missed you too, both of you…” he said, placing his large palm on your stomach before kneeling down to lay a kiss to the skin, “but I’m exhausted. What do you want to watch?”

  “You want some food? I bought Danish’s because I missed you…” you laughed and he scrunched his nose at you playfully so you scrunched yours up at him in return, “I also made some pork chops because I had some left over potatoes from when I had Christina and Steph over…”

  “That sounds good, thanks babe,” he pressed a kiss to your temple, sliding his hand down your waist and resting it on your ass for a second, “I’m just going to go change, okay?”

  “Mhmm.. love you!” you yelled to him as he practically ran down the hall to the bedroom. You gathered the food on his plate, bringing it over to the table in front of the T.V. where you waited for him so you could start The Sweetest Thing

  “Freddie?” you called after a few more minutes, wondering what happened to your boyfriend, “what are you doing babe? Your food is cold and Netflix is doing that thing because we’ve taken so long…”

  “I’ll be out in a sec, I just took a quick shower…” you rolled your eyes at his admission but decided to head back to the couch anyway, not thinking anymore about it. Sure enough, five minutes later, you heard the bedroom door open and Freddie’s feet padded along the hardwood floor but they seemed to go in a different direction then where you were sitting, so you turned to see what he was doing. When your eyes found him, he was standing shirtless at his sound system, his strong muscles in his back moving as he turned everything to how he wanted it and you couldn’t stop staring at his chest when he turned around; you’d forgotten how much you loved seeing his bare chest, it had been that long.

  “What are you doing?” you finally spoke

  “I thought we’d dance”

  “I made you food, you said you were tired. Netflix…?” you whined and he laughed, taking your hand in his to guide you out of the living room

  “One dance?” you agreed reluctantly but made sure to place your hands on his chest, so you could run them down his body before landing on his hips, earning a smirk from Freddie, “shouldn’t that be my move?”

  “I’m shorter. It’s easier for me…” you smiled, pushing yourself up to kiss his lips. Just then, his hands moved to your thighs and he was picking you up

  “Well I guess that’s enough of that then. I was trying to be wholesome…” you pushed your lips against his, disregarding his words

  “Who cares about wholesome right now? You look too good for me to be wholesome with you right now…” your words seem to catch him off guard and his eyes went wide. He walked over to the couch to set you down and you were confused; he turned on the movie and kissed your knee, as it was more raised than your body, before he took the plate of food into the kitchen. He started putting everything away, cleaning up apparently, and you sat up trying to get comfortable, waiting for some kind of explanation when he sat down. But nothing.

  “I don’t understand…” you broke the silence, “did I do something wrong?”

  “Of course not!” he said defensively

  “Then why did we stop? Why did you stop?”

  “I remembered something… I didn’t think it was the best time”

  “What does that even mean? It’s sex Freddie. We’re probably not going to be having a lot of it in the next few months…”

  “Can we just watch the movie?” his tone was harsh and soft at the same time, which confused you even more. You settled in next to him though, putting your hair into a ponytail and leaning your head on his shoulder to watch the screen.

  “Hey, I’ve got a question for you…” you started suddenly, bouncing up to look at him, grabbing a handful of popcorn and popping a couple in your mouth before you spoke, “would you follow me across the province? Like, if you weren’t a professional athlete, and if we just met randomly at a bar. Would you get so strung up on me that you’d follow me across Toronto?”

  “No,” he stated bluntly and your mouth dropped open, “because it’s kind of insane don’t you think? I meet you for five minutes in a crowded bar when we’re both likely very drunk and yelling at each other. And I find out all your information, where you’ll be, and decide I’m going to find you by travelling out of my way when I have no real idea if you’re interested in me. That’s insane!”

  “Well… yeah,” you laughed, “you’re right. But like, would you do something so cheesy and grandiose for me? To woo me or whatever?” you popped another piece of popcorn in your mouth, smiling at Freddie and you could see the wheels turning in his head

  “No” you slapped his chest superficially

  “Freddie!!”

  “What? I tried, you don’t let me do grandiose things. Every time I try, you ruin them!..”

  “Oh my god!” you laughed, knowing he was probably right, “I mean you could still try, you jerk!” He smiled and grabbed a handful of popcorn, eating some before tossing the rest at you and the two of you ending up in a giggling fit, throwing popcorn at each other before eventually you had to tell Freddie to stop because your ribs were hurting from laughing so much.

  “I’ve got a question…” his laughed trailed off and you caught your breath before looking at him expectantly

  “I’m all ears, Mr. Andersen…” a big smile plastered on your face

  “Will you marry me?” your smile faded slightly, out of shock, and you thought he was joking

  “Ha ha, very funny”

  “I’m not joking” you stared at him for a second, trying to see when he’d break the act but he never did. He shifted slightly to grab something from his pocket and your heart started beating so fast that you could barely hear anything over the pounding sound in your ears. When you finally managed to tear your eyes away from his, and look at what was in his hand, your breath was taken away. It was your Oma’s ring.

  “Freddie…” you gasped, looking back and forth between the ring and his eyes, “how.. when did you.. what…”

  “I called your Grandparents before you told me about the pregnancy to ask for their blessing,”

  “You went right to the top?!” you joked, still in disbelief that this was happening, and you noticed Freddie smile and nod at you before continuing

  “Your Oma offered her ring to me and I wasn’t sure if that’s what you wanted but I know how much your Grandparents mean to you, so I asked her to ship it to me…” he stumbled slightly, his big hands beginning to shake with each word he spoke. It was a beautiful ring, truly. Relatively simple -- solitaire Marquise with a gold band, maybe one carat but you couldn’t be sure. You loved that it came from your Oma, even if it wasn’t your style. You were just about to grab it and accept Freddie’s proposal when he pulled it away, leaving you in shock, “but I wanted you to have the option of something that wasn’t hers. Something that was yours, completely. So, I found this.” He pulled out a blue box from his pocket and your heart fluttered ever more so than it had before, Freddie opened the box to reveal a vintage, lifted emerald cut halo diamond ring on a rose gold band with smaller diamonds around the larger one. You had never seen something so beautiful before and you almost didn’t know what to say

  “Why did you do this to me?” you laughed, small tears escaping your eyes

  “What?” he asked, concerned as he wiped the tears from your eyes, “what do you mean?”

  “Give me my Oma’s ring or this new ring?”

  “I wanted you to have a choice…”

  “But if I don’t take my Oma’s ring, that’ll break her heart…”

  “Which one is more you, (Y/N), that’s all you have to decide. Whatever you choose, your Oma will be happy with”

  “Did you check that with her? And Opa?”

  “I triple checked, even with your Mom and Dad…”

  “Freddie…”

  “Will you marry me?” he asked again and your eyes darted to his as a smile grew on your face. You put your hand in front of his that held the Vintage ring, sitting in its velvety blue box and he slowly, carefully, put your Oma’s ring on the coffee table.

  “Of course I’ll marry you!” you finally answered and he guided the ring onto your finger, bringing his hands to the side of your face and kissing you intensely.

  “See, I knew she’d pick the new ring!” Freddie shouted, to no one

  “Who are you talking to, crazy pants?” you asked, furrowing your brow

  “Crazy pa--,” he stammered and then pulled out his phone from behind the couch, “say Hi.” He had somehow managed to conference his parents and your Grandparents in on a Facetime call without you noticing and they had been quiet this whole time -- you were truly shocked.

  “Oh my god! Hi!!” you shouted, embarrassment on your tongue, overshadowed by the excitement you had

  “Congratulations min kære” Charlotte said

  “We love you, Süsse” your Oma and Opa said at the same time and you thanked everyone while Freddie held onto you tightly. It wasn’t long before you realized that Freddie’s parents must have heard him mention the pregnancy and you panicked.

  “Charlotte, Ernst…” you started, “we wanted to tell you in person.. about the baby…” Freddie laughed and kissed the crown of your head

  “I already told them, elske, I had to” you turned to him, confusion on your face

  “He was so excited, (Y/N), it was the first thing he said when we called to check in with him, to see if he had proposed yet…” Ernst said and you smiled at the faces on the screen, a flush of colour filling your cheeks

  “So, you’ve all been keeping this a secret from me? For how long?”

  “Months!” the four of them said in unison and you laughed

  “Months?”

  “Well it’s been almost a year?” Freddie answered

  “What?!” you shouted, mouth gaping open

  “I told you, you always ruined the big grandiose moments…” You laughed and nudged your now-fiancé and then said goodbye to his parents and your Oma and Opa.

  “You’re truly unbelievable… you know that?” you mocked

  “I know. That’s why you’re lucky to have me…” you rolled your eyes and stared at your ring

  “Where did you even find this? I’ve never seen anything like it…”

  “I searched everywhere to find the perfect ring. Different cities, countries. I got my Mom to look in Denmark, even your Oma. I asked her to look and when she couldn’t find anything, and didn’t think I found anything, she offered hers -- knowing you’d probably prefer a big, expensive 24 Karat diamond,” you were about to scold him and say that’s not true but there you were, with a big shiny diamond on your finger, so you really couldn’t argue, “but even when it came, I still looked around. Then one day I get this text from your sister saying she’s found it. The perfect ring. A little bit of old, a little bit of new. A little bit of me and a little bit of you. She called me old and I didn’t let her get away with it -- but she sent me a picture and there it was. Something just clicked. And I imagined the ring on your finger. And the box. Let me tell you, I was expecting a little black box, because that’s what they all seem to be in, but they gave me this little blue box and it was perfect. Because blue is our colour, obviously, but also, your eyes. The colour of the box reminded me of your beautiful eyes…” you found yourself staring at him almost in disbelief. You had never seen him so giddy. “Well that sounded sweeter in my head than it did out loud…” he said shyly, making you laugh but were still in awe of him, shocked he had gone through so much trouble for you. That he got both of your families involved in a ‘ring hunt.’ You truly were lucky to have him and you couldn’t imagine what your life would look like without him.

  “I love you, soon-to-be-husband, and soon-to-be-daddy”

  “I love you too, soon-to-be-wife and soon-to-be-mama.”

[letterstohoneybear]

#185

Our second holiday together, on the tip of the tail of summer. We drove to drumhellar for the afternoon, and marveled at how the landscape became alien so close to home. Then sun was warm and the music was good and it felt so right to hold your hand. Knowing that there would be no goodbyes for the next few days. We climbed to the top of the biggest dino, explored gift shops and when the day was over, we drove to the hoodoos. We climbed and jumped and laughed and held each other close, watching the red sun set the clouds on fire in the near silence of the desert. My heart is still there, in the same way it stays in the butterfly garden, and at Ainsworth hot spring. That memory is already a beacon of strength to draw from when I'm feeling low.

Falling asleep in your arms. Warmth and protection.

The next day we drove out across endless golden fields and blue skies to the royal tyrell museum. We walked for hours and hours in there, marveling at texture and age and history. We love the same things about museums, and it made the experience so much more rewarding. You looked so beautiful, I think half my photos are just of you looking at glowing displays. I couldn't not capture how the light hit your features.

We drove to calgary in the rain. My voice was sore from talking with you for two days, but there was always so much to say to you that I didn't want to stop.

We met with Jacob and had a wonderful day in Calgary, visiting the zoo and sentry box. He made us breakfast and let us borrow his bed to get a good night's sleep. Thank goodness for great friends. It rained all day at the zoo, but it barely mattered to us. We got soaked watching a tiger do tricks, and later a bear and cougars as well. We watched pigs and hippos and lions and monkeys. We saw the new lemur exhibit, and it filled my heart completely to watch you get excited when they walked by. Watching you let happiness wash over you is the best feeling. Your happiness is my happiness more than ever.

We ate at a lovely Japanese restaurant to end off the trip. I'm so glad I get to experience the world, bit by bit, with people who care about me.

I'm home now. I was so tired when we got here that I rushed goodbye. So, goodnight baby. I love you more than words can say, but I'll keep writing you letters anyways. Drive safe, see you tomorrow.

[eddiecranes]

Tagged by @psi-groovin to do this thing (and I can’t remember if I’ve done this before so I’m gonna do it this time) So Basically I answer the questions and tag people I’d like to know better

Nickname: McGoo is p much the only one that is frequently used

Zodiac: Cancer sun/moon, Virgo rising (ik it was supposed to just be sun sign but I am thorough)

Height: 5′6.5″

Last Movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail BUT if you mean first-time viewings, it was Vice

Last Thing I Googled: “john’s children compilation cd” and lemme tell you that was a failed attempt to find music by Baby Marc Bolan

Favorite Musician: If you just mean in terms of talent, I would say uhhhh every Beatle I guess but also John Densmore, Brian May, David Bowie, Jim Morrison, Arthur Lee, others,

Song Stuck In My Head: This one song that my friend wrote that we’re recording but like Only The Chorus

Other Blogs: Dear god why would I do that to myself, Another Blog ? Blease

Do I Get Asks: Rarely (but I would enjoy getting more!)

Blogs Following: I am following 292 blogs

Amount of Sleep: Uh around 9 hours mostly ? Depending on when I have to wake up

Lucky Number: 17 or 9

What I’m Wearing: Gilligan’s Island T-shirt, army green jeans (it was weird today, like five of us were wearing the exact same color combo,) silver claddagh ring, ametrine necklace that Tegan gave me :3c

Dream Job: Successful bassist/songwriter or composer or critically-acclaimed author or post-production engineer extraordinaire OR music history afficionado, either one, not sure but I’d be happy with any of those

Dream Trip: Hamburg for the atmosphere but Calgary for a certain cute boy :3333

Favorite Food: Either a cheese enchilada (which. if you know me. is one of the only things I ever order at Mexican restaurants bc I’m a creature of habit) or a grilled cheese sandwich (do you see a pattern here please help me I want to quit dairy)

Instruments: Bass guitar and a Little guitar, plus I used to play violin

Languages: English and the German I learned in high school (I would love love love to go back to school and get a degree in German too)

Songs: Uh idk if this is like “favorite songs” or “songs on shuffle” but I guess I’ll list 20 songs I like:

“Drive My Car” - The Beatles

“Once I Was” - Tim Buckley

“Burn Down the Mission” - Elton John (seeing this goober in a week!)

“Lazy Boy” - Franz Ferdinand

“Queen of the Highway” - The Doors

“Old Man” - Love

“Marry the Night” - Lady Gaga

“Deacon Blues” - Steely Dan

“Mend This Heart of Mine” - Afterglow

“Fame” - Santigold

“He Can Only Hold Her” - Amy Winehouse

“Under Pressure” - Queen and David Bowie

“Cello Song” - Nick Drake

“Break It Up” - Patti Smith

“Train In Vain” - The Clash

“Don’t Go Home With Your Hard-On” - Leonard Cohen (don’t @ me)

“Just Another Day” - Oingo Boingo

“Estimated Prophet” - Grateful Dead

“Spirits and Worm” - Spirits and Worm

“Wir bauen” - Tonbandgerät

Describe Yourself With Aesthetic Things: A palm tree-lined street, The Swamp of M*A*S*H fame, a fuzzy orange cat, dark red, bed head, a music store, colorful fairy lights, nonfiction books, Eddie Crane of course, iced coffee (okay maybe these are mostly just things you could use to summon me and also if you were to make a moodboard based on this information I wouldn’t hate you......if moodboards are still a thing)

Not sure who’s been tagged yet but I’ll say: @leerockers, @dj-bi-luigi2005, @axshadows, @the-astro-ace, @academyawardforgoodtimes, @joestrummershowl, @nelson-and-murdock and anybody else who’d like to do this can just say I tagged you :)