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holy-puckslibrary · 1 year ago

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━ 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦

˗ˏˋ 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 ˎˊ˗

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 — teacher!jeff skinner x teacher!reader 𝐰𝐜 — 2.4k 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 — their students decide to play matchmaker before a school dance; will their scheming pay off?

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 — written to fill a short n sweet request last year for my patreon fic-mas <3 and if you catch the lil nod to two of our favs, you're a real one

“I know we’ve been having a hard time concentrating this week, which is understandable with all the excitement surrounding the Snowball Dance, but you do have one more day of work before you can totally kick back and check out,” Jeff Skinner, a high school social studies teacher, says after the tardy bell chimes.

The students are settling into their seats but listen intently.

He continues, “That being said, I will still be collecting your annotations for chapters eighteen through twenty that we started during Monday’s class. While I’m doing that, a sign-up sheet for the Unit 5 case study presentations will be floating around the room. If I were you, I’d grab the earliest slot available to get it over with and be done for the semester. But, hey, that’s just me!”

His twelfth-grade AP Government class meets this with a chorus of groans. A subset of students lightheartedly boo him from the back row. Oddly, though, the ruckus pleases him.

Mr. Skinner strives to create a classroom environment where the teens feel comfortable sharing their honest feelings and have the space to do so if they choose. Their vocal push-back signifies their trust in him. He also appreciates their mutinous spirit because it arose after their deep dive into the Declaration of Independence and its twenty-seven grievances; they were combative but in the name of freedom for the cohort and the individual. Jeff saw that as a Teacher Win.

“I know, I know. I’m a tyrant, and you hate me. But unlike this country, this classroom is a monarchy, not a democracy,” he returns the teasing. “And if you looked at our agenda when you walked in this morning, you would’ve seen that—because I am obviously the nicest person ever—I have allocated today’s class period to independent work time. So, you can complete whatever you may need. That means putting any final touches on this week’s chapters, polishing up your Supreme Court case PowerPoints with your partner or group, or finishing any outstanding assignments.

And if you recall, I give full credit for late work, so long as it's on my desk before the cut-off tomorrow at noon. You’re welcome." Sarcasm is his favorite—and most effective—bonding strategy. "If you're squared away, you know where the board games and art supplies are. Just no more explicit drawings. I don’t care, but Mrs. Benson next door does.”

The class laughs, fondly recalling the fiasco the day before Homecoming.

A couple of students decided to use their free time to create a few political illustrations. While they were historically accurate and objectively hilarious, they were not “school appropriate,” according to the 9th-grade Geography teacher who glimpsed the comic strips as she passed the open door.

She demanded Jeff punish the perpetrators for their vulgarity, but instead, he had the drawings laminated and bound into a resource book. Said book has since found a home on a bookshelf, wedged comfortably between Howard Zinn’s A Power Governments Cannot Suppress and The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution by Linda Monk.

In his peripheral vision, Jeff sees a student waiting by the door and invites them in. He segues, “Before I leave you to your own devices, it looks like we have a visitor from ASB. So, please be nice, give them your full attention, and don’t embarrass me. Capiche?”

The class agrees to comply, and the boy, an underclassman if he had to guess, hesitantly walks to the front of the room.

Jeff remembers how intimidating seniors felt when he was that age, so he gives his students a pointed warning over the kid’s shoulder. A few of them perk up, noticeably straightening in their seats.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m Leo, and I will be filling in for Gabby today.” He looks down at the printout of the day’s announcements and clears his throat. Then, Leo begins reading them aloud:

“Feeling stressed this finals season? Stop by the quad next week during both A and B lunch blocks to decompress with some therapy dogs. If you need further or individualized support, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson will be opening up their schedules for one-on-one sessions. Appointments can be made using the yellow slips in the main office.

Work permits are available in the career counseling hub. If you plan on getting a job or need to renew, please submit an application as soon as possible. No permits will be issued during Winter Break.

Remember that your final exam period is not the same as your regular meeting time or day, so be sure to check your portals this weekend for the updated schedule.

Still need a ticket for the Snowball Dance tomorrow night? Please stop by the ASB room or contact Owen Power, the senior class president, before sixth period today. They’re $15 with an ASB card and $20 without one. Trust me; you don’t want to miss out!"

The audience of seniors cheers, hooting and hollering out their delight. The underclassman beams, confidence swelling, and tucks the script away. His smile grows. “And now…drum roll, please!”

As the students bang their desks with open palms, textbooks, and stray pencils, the ASB student angles a pair of jazz hands towards the open door.

“Santa Claus!”

Peyton, the current school mascot—in an ill-fitting costume that's certainly older than he is—materializes in the empty space. He hauls a lumpy velvet bag over his shoulder as he saunters across the room. The tiny gold bells affixed to the sack twinkle with every step.

“Ho, ho, ho! Candy Cane Gram delivery!” Peyton bellows.

His impression is unexpectedly convincing, in Jeff's humble opinion.

“Santa” roots around in the bag and pulls the first set out. They’re paper-clipped together, indicating both were for the same person. “Taylor Zimmerman? Two for you!”

He passes the slips of paper back to the student who raised her hand.

The distribution of festive notes, an annual fundraiser put on by the junior and senior class councils to bankroll the dance itself, fades into background noise as Mr. Skinner begins looking over the pile of essays he collected last period from his squirrelly 10th-grade World History class.

The prompt had been to explore the impact of globalization in the post-Cold War era, and they’re off to a great start. The first essay's author touches on “transnational actors” and their impact on overall global wealth—in the introductory paragraph. Pride blooms in his chest. Maybe someone had been paying attention after all.

Jeff gets through three and a half papers—all 95% and above, but who’s counting?—before he feels someone standing over him.

“Uh, Mr. Skinner?” Peyton whispers in his civilian voice.

“Yes?” Jeff replies.

To mark his spot, Mr. Skinner sets his pen below a particularly eloquent paragraph highlighting how American consumer culture polluted local ecosystems abroad.

The sophomore nervously looks around the room. After deciding his peers were too engrossed in the social politics of sending and receiving Candy Cane Grams and Ice Court nomination speculation to hear, Peyton pulls a slip of paper out from inside the thick, red coat and sets it on Jeff’s desk. It’s crumpled, and the miniature candy cane is barely hanging on.

“This last one’s for you.”

“Oh, thank you very much,” Jeff smiles. The polite expression is meant to relieve the student from his classroom, but Peyton remains glued to his spot. Gently, he asks, “Is there something else I can do for you, Mr. Krebs?”

“Aren’t you going to see who sent it?” the boy asks, all toothy grin and twinkling eyes.

Well, that’s not at all suspicious, Mr. Skinner thinks as he slides the slip closer.

He scans the generic template, reading his name and room number scrawled beside washed-out festive clipart, but doesn’t understand the fuss... until his eyes drift down to the section for an optional message.

Mr. Skinner,

Just like a snowflake, you’re one of a kind. Be my date to the dance tomorrow night? It would make me SNOW happy!

Jeff almost believes it’s from you. Had he not been familiar with your handwriting, it would have been an excellent forgery. But, he knew your penmanship. Maybe a little too well.

His anchor charts were all in your hand; he could see at least three from where he was sitting. Jeff can’t recall the last time he attempted one on his own.

In exchange for mercifully sparing him from teenage ridicule due to his poor penmanship, he handled the construction and refurbishment of the props and sets necessary for the Winter Showcase and spring musical every year. Whatever you, the brilliant and beloved drama teacher, dreamed up, Jeff dutifully built.

Including, but not limited to, an impressive Audrey II, the iconic Venus flytrap from “Little Shop of Horrors,” a life-size bubble for their Glinda to float around in during performances of “Wicked,” and the massive tire that anchors the dilapidated junkyard set for “Cats.”

He was ambivalent about musical theater when he bartered the informal contractor role, but Jeff grew to love it after a few years. Due in large part to your infectious passion.

He gives the mastermind—or masterminds, props for trying, though.

“Oh, wow!” Jeff exclaims, deciding to play along. Peyton's face brightens; there’s no way he’s not involved. “Out of respect, let’s keep this between you and me for now, okay?”

“O-of course, Mr. Skinner,” Peyton sputters, as though he’s shocked Jeff didn’t notice anything amiss or ask any follow-up questions. “That’s why I waited to give it to you. It felt too personal to announce in front of your entire class. Especially after the whole Homecoming thing.”

“Thing” wasn’t what he’d call it, but this kind of dramatic exaggeration was one of the many reasons he loved working with teenagers.

During a pep rally in October, the student body president crowned the two of you the faculty Homecoming King and Queen. Jeff wasn't even aware that was a thing he could win, and neither had you, but you bashfully accepted the titles and accompanying crowns in front of a thousand rowdy high schoolers anyway.

Later that night, you slow-danced to Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” under a sky of twinkling stars—clear fairy lights repurposed from the previous year’s "Camelot" canopy—black glitter tulle, and a plywood crescent moon.

The students lost their minds then and were yet to get over it. Obviously.

“I appreciate that,” Jeff says, biting back his amusement.

Peyton salutes him and hoists the sack over his shoulder again. He and Leo say their goodbyes and move on to the next classroom on their route.

The remainder of the school day was agonizingly hectic. So much so that it meddled with his plan to swing by the auditorium where you held classes.

His projector kicked the bucket in the middle of his lecture on the two-way exchanges collectively known as the Columbian Exchange; Jeff couldn’t get it back into commission until his prep period, so he would have to explain how the triangular trade route emerged from colonial mercantilism policies in the new year. His 9th-grade World Geography class refused to participate in the activity he organized to mimic the Arctic landscape and harsh climate, so, somewhat reluctantly, he cut his losses and threw on an episode of Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? And right before his sixth period, some bored senior pulled the fire alarm, forcing the entire school to spend the glacial afternoon lined up in the parking lot.

All that said, it was safe to say Mr. Skinner had never been happier to see his driveway and his dog than he was this evening. The border collie shepherd mix, Chips—affectionately named as a tribute to the trained sentry dog who became the most decorated canine in the Second World War—is waiting on the porch. Joyously, he howls when Jeff gets out of his car.

“Hey, buddy,” he says as he reaches down to scratch between the pup’s ears. Chips jumps up, his muddy paws landing on Jeff’s coat. He begins licking his owner’s cheeks with reckless abandon. “Okay, come on, crazy dog. Let’s get you back inside.”

Immediately after Jeff opens the front door, Chips darts down the hallway. He chuckles, shaking his head as he sheds his coat and tosses his keys into the bowl by the door.

Jeff rescued his dog as he was wrapping up his undergraduate degree at NC State, and the two were as thick as thieves up until a few years ago.

That’s not to say anything happened or there’s bad blood; Chips simply found a new favorite person.

Jeff trails after Chips, following the furry tail and the delicious scent wafting from the kitchen. He makes a pit stop at the fridge to grab a beer before turning to address his successor to the rescue's heart, standing at the stove stirring a giant pot of soup.

“You won’t believe what happened in my second period today, babe. Every day, I’m surprised by how bold teenagers are. Hell, when I was their age, I was petrified to sharpen a pencil without asking. Their latest scheme wouldn’t have even crossed my mind. Seriously, I don’t think you could guess what shenanigans they got up to if you tried.”

He's met with melodic laughter, a sparkly sound that still makes his heart skip a beat.

“Maybe not, but I don’t need to.”

Jeff’s brows knit together, confused. Then his eyes zero in on the slip of paper identical to the one in his back pocket.

If it were possible, his jaw could sweep the tile floor.

“Guess we aren’t as sly as we think,” you smirk, waving a counterfeit Candy Cane Gram of your own in the air like a white flag.

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laurenairay · 2 months ago

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Decorating the house - J. Skinner

Summary: now that you and Jeff live together, it’s time to finally decorate your house for Halloween for the first time.

The seventh of my Autumn & Halloween blurbs! Everything about Jeff screams someone who’s enthusiastic about decorating.

Word Count: 642 words.

Tagging: @starshine-hockey-girl @tippedbykreider @lam-ila @tonyspep @cixrosie

Every surface was covered with decorations. Fake cobwebs, brooms, fabric ghosts, fake spiders of all sizes, and lanterns that gave an orange glow propped onto the side tables. There were large plastic bats for hanging in the windows and pumpkins of all sizes, some carved and some not. And right in the middle of it all stood your boyfriend Jeff, hands on his hips and a wide grin on his face.

“I think we should have enough now,” he said triumphantly.

The pleased look on his face warmed your chest, even if the sight of all the work you had to do was more than a little daunting.

“Where do we even start?” you mused.

Jeff grimaced for a second before laughing. “Honestly I have no idea. Maybe I can start by hanging the lanterns off the porch and draping the fake cobwebs over the railing and bushes, and you can hang up the bats in the windows?” he suggested.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” you nodded.

That, and it was 100 times warmer inside than outside. You could only hope the kiss you pressed to his cheek in thanks was enough to keep him warm, even as he wrapped himself up in scarf, hat, gloves, and a thick coat. That’s what you got for following him to Edmonton, you supposed.

You could hear Jeff whistling to himself as he headed out the door and shook your head fondly. Definitely worth the move.

Time flew as you climbed onto the bay windows and put up the bats with their section cups to the window panes. The rubber detail made them light enough that it wasn’t a problem for them to stick, thankfully, and soon enough you were finished with that task. You could see Jeff was no longer up the ladder hanging the lanterns, which made you feel a little better, so you headed outside to see his progress.

“How’s it all going?” you asked, zipping up your thick coat quickly.

“Lanterns are done and all of their batteries work, thankfully. This is the last fake cobweb to stretch out too,”

“They look great, Jeff,” you grinned.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, absolutely. The giant fake spiders are going on top of the fake webs on the bushes, yeah? And you wanted to line the pathway up to the house with the fabric ghosts on those metal posts, right?” you asked.

“Yeah I think so. Definitely the spider idea at least. I was also thinking to somehow pile the pumpkins up in the corner of the porch, with the witches broomsticks resting on them?” he said, frowning.

“I’m pretty sure I can figure out how to artfully drape them over some kind of wooden crate while you hammer in those metal posts for the ghosts,” you grinned.

Jeff grinned back at you, dimples on full display, giving you butterflies as he always did.

“I’m definitely making us some hot chocolate after this though. I’m already cold and you’ve been out here way longer than I have,” you mused.

“Hot chocolate sounds amazing,” Jeff nodded quickly, “There’s no way I would’ve wanted you out here in the cold this long though.”

“You are the sweetest,” you murmured.

Jeff’s cheeks flared with blush as you stepped closer to him, and he eagerly leaned into your body as you leant forward to kiss him, slow and sweet and soft.

“Thank you for doing this with me,” Jeff murmured, sweet smiling lighting up your insides.

“There’s no one else I’d rather do this with.”

#my writing #lauren's autumn and halloween blurbs #jeff skinner imagine #jeff skinner x reader #jeff skinner fic #jeff skinner fanfic #nhl fic #nhl imagine #hockey fic #hockey imagine

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honeyeyesworld · 1 year ago

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Let’s do that hockey|| Jack Quinn

(None of the pictures are mine, I found them on Pinterest credits to the original owners)

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Yourusername

Liked by jeffskinner, buffalosabers, and others

Yourusername: ✨I am a photographer and I took these pictures ✨

Good luck tonight boys!! Score goals and stuff. As they say in hockey, let’s do that hockey 🤪

Also should I be worried about Owen taking my boyfriend 🤨

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User1: LMAO NOT THE PICTURE OF OWEN AND PEYTON 💀

jeffskinner: Thank you for capturing all of my good sides 🤝

User2: The best photographer in the nhl 🤩

peytonkrebs: Y/N??

Yourusername: Peyton??

peytonkrebs: what did I do to deserve that picture 😭

User3: idk if I want to be Owen or Jack 😏

jackquinn19: I would never leave you for Owen baby

owenpower_: that’s not you said last night 😏

jackquinn19: shhh 🤫

Yourusername: ???

User5: thank you for blessing us with these pictures 😫

Yourusername

Liked by jackquinn19, dylan.cozens, and more

Yourusername: MY BOYFRIEND SCORED!! 🥳🥳

Good job on the win boys 👏👏 beyond proud of how you guys played today, and congrats to the love of my life for scoring a goal 🥰🥰

Load to view comments

jackquinn19: All thanks to you angel I love you so much ❤️

User7: y’all I was at the game tonight and Jack pointed at her after he scored it was so cute 😭

owenpower_: OUR boyfriend scored thank you very much

jackquinn19: all for you Owen 😘

Yourusername: 🤨🤨🤨

buffalosabers: Thanks to our good luck charm 😉

•

( @lvkehvghes )

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hockeylvr59 · 5 months ago

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What Ifs Part 5 || Jeff Skinner

Authors Note: First dates, first times, and some fluff. Have some Christmas in July...it only took me two years to finish this part. Set Dec. 19-20, 2020.

Warnings: smut, condomless (but on birth control) sex, oral sex, mild alcohol consumption,

Word Count: 5,293

~~~~~~~~~~~

The drive from Jack’s back to Jeff’s had been quiet though filled with swirling emotions. Upon arriving, Jeff helped you out of your winter coat before taking his own off, hanging them both in his entry. With shoes also discarded onto a mat, Jeff caught your fingers with his, pulling you back to him.

His searching eyes must have found what he wanted because after a moment he dipped his head, kissing you once again. It was just as deep as the one on Jack’s porch had been yet some of the frenetic energy had passed causing the kiss to take on a more lazy, exploratory nature.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this.” Jeff murmured between kisses. He was certainly right about that because until half an hour ago he’d given you no other sign that this was something he’d wanted.

Sensing your hesitation, Jeff pulled back, his eyes full of concern.

“I’m gonna need you to talk to me…” Letting go of your hand he swallowed hard. “If this isn’t something you want, that’s okay. I just…I thought we were on the same page.”

Tears pricked your eyes, causing you to wipe at them frantically.

“Of course it’s something I want.” You snapped softly. “But how was I supposed to know that you wanted it?”

Jeff started to open his mouth but you shook your head causing him to pause.

“You kissed me in Pittsburgh and then never brought it up again. I assumed it was a mistake.” You started ranting. “And sure you said you’d like to fuck me but I’ve known more than my fair share of men who sure would love to enjoy my body so long as it doesn’t come with any of the baggage of a relationship.”

Pausing to swallow the lumps in your throat you sighed.

“And I’ve gotten nothing but mixed messages since arriving here. You tease but how am I supposed to know what you mean by it unless you tell me?”

Waiting a breath to see if you were finished, Jeff stepped back toward you before pulling you against his chest, hugging you tightly.

“I’m sorry.” He murmured against your ear. “I didn’t want to make things awkward with the kiss but I should have made sure you knew it wasn’t a mistake. And yes I want to be with you intimately but not to use you. And I don’t care if that’s something you aren’t ready for, I still want you. You’re my best friend and I want you to be mine because I’ve never felt like this before. We can take things as slow as you want to.”

Squeezing his side, you nodded and stepped back, moving over to where your coat was hanging. Reaching into the pocket of your jacket, you pulled out the box Jeff had given you earlier and opened it. Carefully pulling the chain from the soft padding you tossed the box aside and returned to Jeff holding the necklace.

“Put it on for me?” You requested, a bit shy.

Tingles raced through your body as Jeff took it, spinning you around before carefully latching it behind your neck, his fingers lingering against your skin.

“Does this mean you want to give this a chance?” He asked.

“It means you should kiss me and we’ll go from there.”

Twisting you to face him, Jeff did just that, placing kiss after kiss on your lips filled with everything he was feeling. When your knees started to go weak, Jeff’s arms slid behind your thighs, carrying you over to the couch where he sat, pulling you onto his lap before resuming the kisses.

Though Jeff never pushed for more than kissing with his hands resting on your hips or at the small of your back, you could feel his body responding under you as your own arousal pooled low in your stomach.

Unconsciously, your hips pressed down against his and the groan that spilled from his throat only spiked your need further.

“Baby…you gotta stop.” Jeff mumbled against your lips. “Y/N.” He repeated before lifting you off of him. “Not tonight. Not gonna take advantage of you like that.” Seeing your pout, he groaned but remained firm.

“Go take a shower baby and then we’ll get some sleep.”

Though your body wanted more, you knew he was right that you shouldn’t take anything any further tonight.

Climbing off the couch, you moved to go get some pjs and everything you needed for your shower before slipping into the guest bathroom to get ready for bed. By the time you finished, pausing to look at the new silver chain adorning your neck, Jeff was already waiting in bed.

This time there was no confusion about it being anything but deliberate and affectionate when he pulled you close, snuggling against you to sleep.

***

When you woke, you found Jeff watching you, causing heat to fan over your cheeks.

“Will you go on a date with me tonight?” He questioned, voice still scratchy with sleep.

“I think I can manage that.” You replied, stretching a bit causing Jeff’s eyes to flash at the feeling of you along his body.

“Good. I’ve got practice in a bit but after that I’m all yours.”

“Sounds good.” You agreed, kissing Jeff’s jaw before shifting to crawl out of bed despite his protests.

Taking care of business, you moved out to the kitchen to start on breakfast, smiling to yourself as Jeff pressed up against you upon joining you. Everything about his actions this morning had been slightly more deliberate with him trying to more clearly communicate just how he was feeling.

You couldn’t deny that since last night you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the physical aspects of a relationship. After all, you only had today and part of tomorrow left before you had to head home to spend Christmas with your family. And who knew when you’d get to see Jeff next after that. He’d said he didn’t mind waiting but really, hadn’t you both been waiting since Pittsburgh already? The attraction was there and very much mutual and you weren’t sure you wanted to wait for some uncertain future date to take that step. You couldn’t imagine going home not knowing what it felt like to be with him fully.

You were grateful he’d stopped things last night but having slept on it, you knew what you wanted now. Though you certainly hadn’t brought anything for that kind of activity, a quick google search while Jeff got ready for practice revealed that there was a mall with a Victoria’s secret not too far away.

It definitely wasn’t someplace you shopped for everyday wear but you were confident you could find something to wear under whatever you picked for your date later to surprise Jeff with when you came home.

Once he had left promising to be back in a couple hours, you moved to get dressed yourself and head out to find something to suit your needs.

It didn’t take too long to get to the mall and after looking around the store for a while you finally picked out a push up teddy that made you feel confident and desirable. Quickly heading back to Jeff’s you hid it amongst your things and moved to curl up on the couch excitement starting to rise.

With Jeff still gone around lunch time you made good use of the leftovers from your first night here knowing that they were going bad otherwise.

To your surprise, when Jeff returned around two o’clock he had a mischievous look on his face.

“How do you feel about starting our date early?” He questioned.

“I mean I need to get ready but sure.” You replied. Laughing a bit as Jeff waved for you to get on with it already, you moved to grab the lingerie and clothes before heading into the bathroom to change and do your hair and makeup. By the time you were done you felt hot and after cleaning up you met Jeff back in the living room his eyes going wide.

“Wow…” He murmured, pressing his palms against his jeans. “You look...incredible.”

“So do you.” You replied glad that he was just dressed semi casually signaling that this wasn’t going to be too crazy of a date.

“You might want to wear your boots.” Jeff suggested as you headed over to get shoes on. Nodding, you pulled on your boots and reached for your coat assuming that if you needed boots you would certainly need it as well.

As you took the elevator down, Jeff asked if you’d be okay walking since it wasn’t too far. Having no problem with that, you let Jeff lead you out the lobby into the cold snowy Buffalo streets. It was only a moment before Jeff slipped his gloved hand into your own and you smiled squeezing gently.

“So I’d ask where we were going…” You started. “But I have a feeling you won’t tell me.”

“Wonder what makes you think that.” Jeff teased, though the glimmer in his eye as he looked down at you revealed that you absolutely weren’t wrong.

There was no hurry to your pace as you walked through the Buffalo streets. As you did, Jeff pointed out little tidbits about the places you passed and told stories from his time here.

Though it was only approaching four in the afternoon, the sun was already starting to set and you knew it wasn’t long before it would get dark. And while you weren’t in the most built up part of town, you felt safe pressed up against Jeff’s side. Nearing a casino, you half wondered if there was a restaurant or something inside that he was taking you to, but Jeff showed no signs of stopping as you passed by it, crossing the street once more before turning left.

Suddenly Christmas music filled your ears and the smell of all sorts of good things filled your nose. After a moment, Jeff guided you through an archway on your right and you instantly felt like you’d been transported into a Hallmark movie.

String lights were strung over the entire outdoor courtyard and pathway and little wooden chalets with vendors of all sorts surrounded you. It was absolutely breathtaking and screamed Christmas.

“I was thinking we could walk around, do some browsing, get something to eat…” Jeff murmured nervously. “But if you don’t like it we can go somewhere else.”

Though you’d been friends for months, it was clear that Jeff wanted to impress you on your first date.

“Jeff…” You murmured. “This is perfect.”

Seeing him smile, those dimples you adore so much out in full force, you couldn’t help but press up to kiss him softly. This truly was the perfect first date and showed just how well he knew you already.

Tucked against Jeff’s side as the two of you walked around the market, you truly couldn’t have been happier. He’d bought each of you a cup of warm mulled wine which helped fight off the chill as it continued to lightly snow. You’d gotten both dinner and dessert (and a second and third dessert) from some of the many food trucks scattered around.

While browsing some of the other vendors you picked up a few small things to take home to your family. Jeff did as well and you finally got the nerve to ask him about Toronto.

“So your family was at the game the other night…” You prompted softly.

“They were.” He agreed, squeezing your hand which was once again wrapped in his.

“A game you invited me to come to…” You added.

“I didn’t fully think that through.” Jeff admitted, quickly resuming his words so that you wouldn’t get the wrong idea. “I wanted my family to meet the girl I adore while she was visiting but I should have communicated a lot of things better before putting that into motion.” Breathing deeply, he sent you a nervous smile. “But as long as I don’t fuck this up there will be plenty of other chances for that.”

“You really want them to meet me?” You whispered, insecurities filling your voice.

“Yes I really want them to meet you.” Jeff declared fervently. “You may not know it but I can’t shut up about you.” Your stomach swooped at his words and it was no longer just the second cup of mulled wine making you warm. If it weren’t for the numerous children around you probably would have kissed him deeply.

Instead you simply murmured ‘okay then’ before resuming walking through the vendor stalls, looking at what each had before moving to the next. Having walked the whole market, the two of you headed back to the small stage, listening to the music for a few minutes. The snow had started to pick up and Jeff squeezed your hand after shifting the bags he’d insisted on carrying.

“Should we head back before the weather gets worse?” He questioned and when you nodded he worked to guide the two of you through the small crowd back onto the street to head back to his apartment. As you approached his building he slowed his pace a little, almost like he wasn’t ready for it all to end.

“Did you have a good time?” He asked. “I know it wasn’t really a typical date but…”

“I’m pretty sure it’s impossible not to have a good time with you.” You insisted, cutting him off. “The weather might be cold but I’ve never had a date as perfect as this one has been. The only thing that could make it more perfect is if you turn on that gas fireplace of yours when we get back.” As you spoke your voice shifted from serious to teasing, causing Jeff to giggle.

“I think I can manage that.” He agreed, his pace picking up again as he dragged you down the street to his apartment building.

Once inside, coats and boots were shed in the entryway and Jeff immediately moved to turn the fireplace on so it would pump out some additional heat.

Following after him, you wrapped your arms around his waist from behind, hugging him close.

“Movie?” You suggested, knowing that as much as you may have wanted to, you couldn’t just jump him as soon as you walked in the door. Jeff nodded and once you had let go of him he reached for the remote to turn the tv on. Though he moved to hand the remote to you, you told him to pick something while you headed to use the bathroom.

Returning, you sunk into the couch, smiling at the Christmas movie that was playing. Jeff must have had the same idea because a minute or two later he appeared from down the hall and slid in next to you. After tucking you against his side, he pulled a blanket over you both, finally relaxing.

Though your hand wandering over Jeff’s chest and stomach had initially been accidental, as soon as you felt Jeff shift slightly and realized, it quickly became intentional. You’d seen Jeff shirtless back when you first met and you’d slept pressed against him. Those things paled in comparison to actually being able to touch him. To feel how solid his body was, how his muscles responded to your touch.

“Baby…” He groaned softly, the sound causing your core to clench with want. “You’re supposed to be watching the movie…”

“I was…” You defended. “And then I discovered something far more interesting…”

Pulling your gaze from the television, you looked up at Jeff to find him already looking at you. With your fingers trailing down his covered abdomen once more, you held his gaze showing him the desire you were feeling from your head to your toes. Though his warm brown eyes darkened, Jeff didn’t move a muscle, instead holding you captive under his stare.

Curious to touch him without clothes in the way, you slid your fingers down to the hem of his shirt before carefully creeping under. The moment your fingertips made contact, his abs twitched at the touch and something snapped causing Jeff to crash his mouth onto yours.

It was the culmination of every kiss you’d previously shared. Never in your life had you felt this wanted, this loved.

By the time the kiss was broken for the two of you to breathe, your palm was firmly pressed against Jeff’s stomach and he’d pulled you even closer to his body.

“I need you to stop me now if you aren’t ready…” He whispered against your lips.

Though you appreciated the gesture, you couldn’t possibly be more ready. And while you could tell him that, it seemed easier to show him. As much as you didn’t want to stop touching him, it was necessary - at least for a moment - and so you pulled your hand away from him before shifting to perch more upright beside him. In as smooth of a motion as you could manage, you pulled your top off revealing the black lingerie beneath.

Jeff’s jaw dropped.

“Fuck…” He groaned, his tongue swiping over his lips as his eyes drunk in your body.

“That’s the idea.” You teased softly, your hand dropping to rest over the bulge in his pants.

“Baby…” Jeff hissed, still holding onto a shred of restraint. “I don’t want to take advantage of you. For you to feel like you have to. Are you sure?”

Leaning forward, you pressed a kiss just below Jeff’s ear before whispering.

“I can’t imagine going home not knowing what it feels like to be yours. To feel you pressed against me, inside me. I don’t want to wait for who knows how long until we see each other again.” Swallowing back the emotions triggered at the thought of leaving him, you took a deep breath and continued. “So yes I’m sure. I’m sure that I want you to lay me out right here on the floor in front of the fire with your Christmas tree twinkling and bury yourself inside me until all I feel is you. Us. Together.”

As soon as you’d leaned back enough that Jeff wouldn’t headbutt you, his hands had cradled your jaw and he’d pulled you into a fierce but tender kiss.

“Mine.” He murmured between kisses, your skin warming all over at the sound of it.

“Jeff please…” You pleaded. You knew that you should appreciate the foreplay, just making out with Jeff after you had dreamed about it for so long. Yet you couldn’t help the desperation you felt for more…for everything.

That need caused you to whimper as Jeff merely kissed you again. But then his hands dropped from your face to your ass and he stood in one fluid movement causing you to wrap your legs around his hips. Pressed tightly together, you could feel the insistent firmness of his length right where you wanted it most, causing an obscene moan to spill from your throat as Jeff carefully lowered you to the floor before sitting back on his knees.

“I want to see all of you…can I?” He questioned, his usually soft voice rough from desire as his fingers slipped to the waist of your pants. All it took was a simple nod before he carefully pulled the pants from your body leaving you stretched out in nothing but the lingerie.

When Jeff didn’t say or do anything after a long moment, the insecurity started to creep in. What if he didn’t like what he saw? Nervously, you lifted your head to look at him and your heart stopped at the sight that met you.

There was no judgment, no displeasure on Jeff’s face. Just the biggest smile you’d ever seen, his eyes crinkled with delight and dimples on full display.

“You’re incredible. Stunning.” He murmured, awestruck.

Leaning over you, Jeff kissed you softly, mixing between soft tender kisses and playful pecks.

“Mine.” He stated again, stealing one more kiss before his lips trailed along your jaw and down your throat.

Tangling a hand in his hair, you sighed as he kissed his way down your body, missing not even an inch of exposed skin. He settled between your thighs, mouth nipping and then soothing the skin of your inner thighs in a way that would surely leave marks while also causing you to squirm against him.

Gently you tugged at his hair and when he looked up, his eyes were nearly black with pleasure.

“More.” You begged, aching to be filled, aching for release.

Pulling away, after surely leaving another bruise on your skin, Jeff sat back and pulled his shirt off over his head.

Perfection. Strong but soft.

He was everything you could have wanted and more. Feeling him lay over you, chest to chest, you were certain that you would combust. He kissed you yet again and your hands wandered exploring his skin as he pushed your desire to heights you didn’t even know existed.

“As much as I adore this bodysuit…” Jeff murmured in your ear. “It’s time for it to go.”

You couldn’t possibly have agreed more and as Jeff guided the straps off your shoulders you adjusted your weight, letting him pull it down your body and off with ease.

Laid bare, you watched as Jeff adjusted himself in his pants before he settled over you again, dipping to catch first one nipple and then the other in his mouth. The way he played your body was unlike anything you’d ever felt and a string of moans spilled from your throat as he brought each nipple to full arousal before kissing and sucking his way back down your body.

“Jeff you don’t….” Your assurance that ‘he didn’t have to’ died in your throat as Jeff dived in, his tongue swiping through your core as he settled between your thighs. Your fingers quickly scrambled for purchase in the fibers of the soft rug and your head twisted, lost in the pleasure of Jeff’s mouth.

“You taste so good.” He hummed, his fingers toying at your entrance. As he wrapped his lips around your clit he pressed first one and then a second finger inside of you, scissoring them. “Can’t wait to feel you wrapped around me baby.” He cooed.

“Then get inside me.” You whined. Though his fingers were large, they still weren’t enough to make you feel full. Not in the way you needed.

“Soon.” He promised before diving back into your slick heat. You couldn’t even describe the things he was doing with his tongue but between that and his fingers curling against the spongy tissue of your g-spot it was only a few minutes before you were screaming his name as your body shook with the force of an orgasm.

Grinning, Jeff pulled his fingers out, wiping them on his pants as he tongue laved gently across your core, licking you clean.

Regaining use of your extremities, you reached for Jeff only for him to kiss your head tenderly.

“If you still want more I need to get a condom baby.” He explained.

“I’m on birth control.” You insisted, not wanting him to leave for even a moment.

“We should still use a condom…” He urged, though he made no move to get up. “But I trust you, so if you’re sure…”

“I am.” You stated firmly.

“Okay.” Jeff agreed. “Just give me a minute to lose the pants.” He stood up and a moment later his pants and boxer briefs hit the floor and were kicked to the side before he lowered himself back down beside you.

You’d thought the top half of his body was perfection but it was nothing in comparison to the bottom half. Strong calves, thick thighs, that incredible hockey ass. And then there was his dick. You needed it inside of you more than you needed air.

“Please…” You begged.

“Needy.” He smirked, though he shifted to press his weight over you, the length of his body bare against yours for the first time.

“I’ve been dreaming about it since Pittsburgh.” You admitted. Your words caused a string of curses to fall from Jeff’s lips and he quickly reached between your bodies to line himself up before burying himself inside of you. For a brief moment there was a sharp sting as your body worked to adjust but just as quickly as it started it faded and you were left with that fullness that showed how perfectly you fit together.

Jeff looked pained from trying to remain still and you kissed him softly, rolling your hips up against his to signal him to move.

“I’m okay.” You assured him.

Kissing you deeply, Jeff tested out a few rhythms before finding one that worked best for both of you. Already you could tell that he wasn’t going to last long and you reached a hand between your thighs to help drive you over the edge. With the stimulation to your clit and the feeling of his length slipping inside of you with every thrust both internally and through your fingers, by the time Jeff’s hips stuttered and you felt the warmth of him spilling inside of you, you were already tipping over the edge into your second orgasm.

When Jeff pulled out, he rolled off of you, onto the rug beside you. His skin was flushed, his hair looked like a bird had made a nest out of it and a sheen of sweat coated his skin. He was still the most attractive man you’d ever seen.

“You’re a mess.” He murmured, grinning.

“So are you.” You echoed.

“My mess though.” He declared, pride filling his voice.

And though you’d already had two orgasms and knew that he’d need a refractory period of at least a half hour, you couldn’t help but roll over and kiss him, tongue caressing his the way he’d just caressed your body.

Breaking the kiss a few minutes later, Jeff did make you get up to go pee, his cum dripping down your thigh as you walked. While you did so, Jeff cleaned up the living room and by the time you finished he was waiting in bed where a twenty minute make out session led to another round of spine tingling languid sex.

After that, Jeff carried you to go pee again and guided you into a warm soothing shower where his hands gently washed every inch of you before dressing you in one of his shirts and guiding you to bed. There, you cuddled against him and quickly fell asleep with his arms around you.

----

When you awoke the next morning, the soreness from last night’s activities had settled deep in your bones and you winced slightly. There were absolutely no regrets, but it was definitely going to take some time for your body to get used to what sex with Jeff was like.

The bed beside you was empty but before you could even ponder where Jeff had gone, the door to his room cracked open and he appeared, tray in hand.

“Good morning baby.” He grinned, his gaze instantly filling you with warmth. “I brought you breakfast.”

Shifting to sit up, you hissed softly at the movement, waving off Jeff’s look of concern.

“Just sore.” You assured him. “It had been awhile…”

His cheeks flushed as he set the tray down over your lap before leaning down to capture your lips in a soft kiss.

“I’m sorry.” He murmured.

“I’m not.” You replied, fingers tangling in his hair for a moment. The way that had him grinning into the kiss made your heart flutter and you had the sudden inkling that you were more gone for him than you had realized.

And yet, this afternoon you were leaving. Jeff had to head to the airport for the final pre-Christmas road trip and when he did, you had planned to get on the road home. And you didn’t know when you’d see him next.

It all hit you at once and you pulled back from the kiss, desperately trying to keep from crying.

“Woah…baby…” Jeff murmured, reading the emotions written all over your face. As quickly as he had set the tray down in the first place, he moved it to the side before pulling you into his arms.

“It’s going to be fine baby.” He consoled. “All star break is in a little over a month and I’ll come see you.” He promised. “It’s not that long…and we can text and facetime whenever you want.”

Fist clinging to his shirt, you tried to take a few deep breaths.

“I know.” You whispered. “I knew what I was getting into but it kind of just hit me that we only have a few more hours. I’m sorry, I’m being silly.”

“Not silly.” He breathed into your ear. “Trust me…I’m dreading leaving to get on that plane.”

Staying in his arms for a few more minutes, you eventually pulled back, your eyes still damp but feeling more secure knowing that everything you were feeling Jeff was too. You weren’t alone.

“So what did you bring me?” You hummed, looking over at the tray Jeff had brought, filled with all sorts of good things.

Shifting the focus to be present in the moment, you pulled Jeff close, the two of you cuddling in bed while feeding each other from the tray he’d brought. When your phone vibrated on the bedside table once you ignored it. When it buzzed repeatedly after that, you looked at Jeff before reaching for it.

A quick glance at the screen revealed a string of instagram notifications and suddenly Jeff appeared a bit sheepish.

Opening instagram, you scrolled past a few posts until Jeff’s username appeared on your screen, five little dots underneath the first picture. Taken on its own the first picture didn’t explain why your phone was blowing up as it was just Jeff when he’d gone to sit on Santa’s lap.

Beneath it was a simple caption of “Santa came early this year…” Hesitating for just a moment you started to swipe through the photos, your heart beating out of your chest as you looked at each. The second was of Jeff staring at you at dinner with his friends as you laughed at something, his affection written all over his face. (How hadn’t you noticed that?) The third was Jeff holding you tightly after the game, his name and number on your back. The fourth…was you clinging to Jeff as he slowly pulled you around the ice at the end of their family skate. And the fifth. Well it wasn’t a photo of the two of you. Rather it was a photo of a letter to Santa penned in Jeff’s messy hand.

Dear Santa,

I won’t ask for much this year…after all, there’s just one thing I want. This Christmas please bring me a woman who is smart, funny, compassionate, and beautiful both inside and out. My best friend. Someone who understands the craziness of the life I live but who wants to be a part of it anyway. Wants me anyway.

Jeff

Dropping your phone to the bed beside you, you looked at Jeff in amazement. That was as public a declaration as one could make. Any doubts you had about Jeff’s interest vanished and you shifted to straddle his lap.

“Santa did come early this year.” You murmured, hands settling softly on Jeff’s chest. “He came in July when he brought me you.”

There would be all the time in the world later to wade through the dms and comments. Now though, you just wanted to enjoy your early Christmas gift.

#jeff skinner imagine #jeff skinner #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #buffalo sabres #buffalo sabres imagine #bsabres #010 #jeff skinner nws #nws #lemon #nhl smut #hockey smut #edmonton oilers #eoilers #edmonton oilers imagine

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cowboybarzy · 1 year ago

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Summer Vacation Request:

Jeff Skinner in Paris… Because he loves Emily in Paris so much, lol. Long romantic dinners at cozy restaurants and so many Eiffel Tower makeout sessions. 😚

tysm for the request!! two requests for paris came in at the same time but I still wanted to something for you!!

come along the rest of the trip (only a few left!!)

📍paris, france with jeff skinner

#jeff skinner #travel with me summer 23 #jeff skinner moodboard #nhl moodboards #nhl imagine #jeff skinner imagine #buffalo sabres

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highdefinitions · 6 months ago

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fuck.

#i guess i’d also want to play with connor mcdavid #but could you imagine the whimsy he’d bring #jeff skinner #toronto maple leafs

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korshrimpski · 6 months ago

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imagine jeff skinner doing between 2 stalls with connor mcdavid, it’s obviously not going to happen, but I can imagine it in my head

#edmonton oilers #jeff skinner #you guys (oilers fans) better take care of him (jeff) for me (sabres fan)

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pensherosjourney · 13 days ago

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💫 my 2024 hockeyblr wrapped! 💫 (template link) (thoughts under the cut)

i started making a textpost about my top players but then i saw this template so of course i had to do that. my original post below:

i wanted to do the spotify wrapped of top 5 hockey players you talked about this year so here it is! i've done this mostly based on what tumblr told me are my most commonly used tags

sidney crosby. far and away the #1. i immediately imprinted upon him when i started watching in march

evgeni malkin. look. this is a pens blog run by someone who loves haterism and drama. do you expect me not to be entranced by geno

leon draisaitl. subject of my first hockey video edit <3 because i love haterism and drama. has any ever been more aggrieved to be kicked out of the face off circle every single time

connor mcdavid. i love bonded pairs AND i love martyr narratives (real or imagined)

linus ullmark. though he is coming in at #5, he is like if they engineered a hockey player to be maximum endearing to me personally. i am so charmed by everything he does

honorable mentions to: alex nedeljkovic, who i do love but who is simply not as posted about on this website, and nathan mackinnon and jonathan drouin, another bonded pair who i have discussed at length on discord

additional thoughts:

TEAMS: pens obviously my #1 team...this is a pens blog. i would say rn the avs are probably my #2 most talked about BUT i don't think i got into them as early on when i started watching and they didn't make it as far in the playoffs. i have fallen off a bit with the oilers this season because many of their games are so late. oilers 2024 cup run you will ALWAYS be famous to me but i cannot stay up that late all the time. no good explanation for why i haven't been watching bruins games, i think that somehow my personal schedule and their schedules are often conflicting OR they're playing at the same time as the pens and i'm watching the pens.

BROMANCES: bonded pairs are very important to me. even though one of these was cruelly separated this summer each of these pairings has history and are deeply intertwined in each other's lives in addition to being extremely good on the ice, which is also a big factor for me. much like with players, i have my fourth line princesses among pairings but i do not post about them as much.

FRESH FACES:

tito! when that london bridge video where he is dancing with oliver wahlstrom came out it was a redefining moment for me to sit up and take notice of this brand new penguin. i think he has a sweet face and i love a french canadian. i know almost nothing about him other than his current play and his historical romance with mat barzal (another cruelly separated bonded pair #beauback).

jeff skinner! the oilers need whimsy so badly because they keep getting rid of their whimsical players. his figure skating slay and interview series with the sabres have bewitched me. another haver of a sweet little face. i feel like he has not really found his place on the oilers yet but i am holding out hope.

ROOKIE: i am in general not a huge follower of rookies but who among us is not seeing all those posts about the baby sharks. i'm interested to see how things develop over in san jose.

BREAKOUT: for some reason i really latched onto ned in the offseason and now he is in a valentine on my fridge (real). he has the right combination of serious, sweet, and mischevious to appeal directly to me. i am not immune to a sweet little face. also he was obviously the breakout star of the pens last april in their not quite cinderella run to try to make the playoffs when jarry was struggling and he got SO many starts in a row.

honorable mentions to mikko rantanen and artturi lehkonen who did not quite make it into any of these categories but who i have grown quite fond of lately. maybe next year will be their year...

also my alternate image options for sid...also beloved to me

#c.txt #i guess??#warning for LONG post under the cut #also if you did this and i didn't see it please tag me or send me the link i love these!!!

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ilyasorokinn · 2 months ago

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edmonton oilers

* = from a prompt list

leon draisaitl ! (no longer write for)

blurbs,

✷ surprise baby showers - leon, with the help of your friends, throws you a surprise baby shower.

✷ stupid questions - y/n has a laugh over leon’s interview.*

jeff skinner !

imagines,

✷ a cliche christmas love story - y/n gets dumped right before christmas, so to drown out her sorrows, she goes to a bar where she meets jeff. (part of “taylor’s 14 days of christmas” series)

blurbs,

✷ rainy days - y/n gets caught in a downpour of rain while walking the dog, so she calls jeff to come pick her up. *

[ wips ] [ masterlist of masterlists ] [ taglist ]

#edmonton oilers masterlist #edmonton oilers #nhl #hockey #taylor’s masterlists

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laurenairay · 1 year ago

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Jeff Skinner for “stop talking” kiss pls??

Stop Talking Kiss – Jeff Skinner

Words: 1.2k

Thank you for this one anon! I love Jeff so much and he needs much more appreciation on here.

The team party was in full swing, you having shown up about an hour ago with your friend, having swung an invite from her boyfriend. It wasn’t unusual though, tagging along with her. Whenever there was a party, you were an automatic plus one to the plus one, and it had been that way for over a year now. You couldn’t deny that these gatherings were one of the exciting highlights of your avid social life, and you were grateful that your friend had wanted to include you from the start. As far as she was concerned, the two of you were a package, and her boyfriend was more than happy to go along with that. Where she went, you went, and the team knew to expect you along with her whenever there was something going on.

Speaking of the team…

“Hi Jeff.”

Jeff Skinner, one of the other highlights of your new social life. There was just something about the cute curly-haired boy, from his wide smile to adorable dimples to his unabashed laugh. Your friend teased you relentlessly ever since the first time she’d seen you around him, teasing you about your crush, but you knew that unless Jeff said something, there was no way you were going to act on it. You couldn’t face the humiliation of a rejection – and to be honest, Jeff really had never given you any indication that he was interested in you too.

You had enough pride to hold out, at least.

“Hey! I didn’t know you were here,” he said happily.

Jeff rooted around in the fridge, pulling out a beer for himself and handing you a black cherry white claw. Your favourite. He remembered?

“I’ve been here for an hour already,” you mused, watching him blush in glee as you opened the can, “Nice to know you noticed.”

He blushed even harder, shaking his head.

“I always notice you. It’s kinda hard not to,” he murmured, taking a deep gulp of his own drink.

“I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or not?” you said, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course it’s a good thing. It’s always good when you’re here.”

“Oh?” you prompted, only teasing a little bit.

Jeff huffed out a breath, almost seeming to squirm a little with the attention solely on him, only making you smile more. What was it about this guy?

“You’re like, so pretty? And you’re funny, always making everybody laugh with your hilarious stories. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone command a room like you do, and it’s mesmerising. Whenever you’re around, I can’t take my eyes off you and it’s driving me crazy. You’re beautiful, and funny, and so smart, and…”

As he continued rambling, it felt like something inside of you snapped. That was it. You couldn’t take anymore. Almost a year you’d suffered through not knowing how he felt for you, and this was the closest he’d ever come to saying anything that gave you a hint that he liked you too. If you didn’t take this chance now, you didn’t know if you’d ever get it again.

“Oh my god Jeff, stop talking,” you groaned.

Jeff barely had a moment to look confused before you placed your drink on the side and cupped his face, pulling him down into a kiss. He froze for a second, long enough to make you hesitate, before that freeze broke and he slammed his own drink down, kissing you eagerly, clutching at your waist with both hands. Fuck, yes, finally. Jeff kissed you over and over again, sending electricity through your body, letting out occasional whimpering noises himself. You didn’t know how long the two of you stood in the kitchen kissing for, hands clutching and lips colliding desperately, but you found that you didn’t care the moment that Jeff’s tongue slipped into your mouth, swirling with yours in a way that made your head spin.

“Goddamn, get a room.”

You broke the kiss with a jolt, Jeff not looking away from you as he flipped Dylan off, resting his forehead on yours as he tried to catch his breath. Dylan just snickered, grabbing a beer from the fridge before leaving again.

“So that was something,” Jeff murmured.

The nervousness from before made you purse your lips, moving your hands from cupping his face to resting on his chest.

“How could you not know that I like you?” you asked, frowning.

“What?”

“I’ve been so obvious! You think I flirt with everyone like I flirt with you?” you asked, a little incredulously.

“You like me like me?” Jeff asked, lips parted in surprise.

You groaned and stepped out of his arms in frustration. How could he be that blind? You knew the stereotype of hockey players not being the brightest crayons in the drawer, but this was crazy.

“Hey, no, don’t go please?”

Jeff hand lightly rested on your shoulder, still clearly nervous, but you turned back to face him properly anyway. There was very little you wouldn’t do for this guy, you knew that much.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such an oblivious idiot. You deserve better than that. Better than me. I just honestly didn’t think a girl as pretty as you would be interested in me?” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

His self-deprecating words made you soften, and you smiled sadly.

“We have got to work on your self esteem bud,” you said, pursing your lips.

“Yeah, I know. Not my finest attribute.”

You huffed out a laugh, shaking your head as you leaned against the kitchen counter.

“I like you, Jeff. I thought you knew that and were just shy, but apparently not. I had no idea you were this nervous around me, but you really don’t have to be nervous, okay?” you said firmly.

“Still trying to get my head around the fact that you like me, let alone trying to stop being nervous,” he said, smiling wryly.

Bless his heart. His humble nature was one of the things that had drawn you to him, if you were being honest. That, and how cute he is.

“Are you going to ask me out for real or am I going to have to do that too?” you teased.

Jeff blushed but shook his head, walking up to you properly to take a hand in his.

“Would you like to go on a date with me? Because I would love to take you out to dinner,” he asked, raising your hand to his lips and kissing the knuckles.

Okay, smooth.

“I would love to go out with you, Jeff. About time,” you said, smiling up at him.

Jeff just blushed a little deeper, running his thumb over the back of your hand.

“Now kiss me again, we were interrupted,” you demanded playfully, hopping up to sit on the counter.

“I suppose it isn’t a team party until the rookies are traumatised,” Jeff grinned, stepping forward to stand between your thighs.

That was more like it.

#my writing #lauren celebrates 1.5k #jeff skinner blurb #jeff skinner imagine #jeff skinner fic #follower milestone

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honeyeyesworld · 11 months ago

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Snow day|| Jack Quinn

(None of the pictures are mine!!! Credits to the original owners 🫶)

Yourusername

Liked by: kennedyclairewalsh, tommer97 and more

Yourusername: And the snow day begins ❄️

(Ofc featuring my boyfriends boyfriends 🙄)

Tagged: jackquinn19

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dlevi_33: Still can’t believe you pushed Owen 🤣

↪️ Yourusername: he deserved it 🤝

User1: the snowmen 😂

jackquinn19: I love you snow much 💙☃️

↪️ owenpower_: 🤢

User4: the last slide Jack carried her 😭

↪️ user3: right 😭

User5: I just want to know what’s going on in the third slide 😭😭

jackquinn19: want to come over and make more snow angels…in bed 😏

↪️Yourusername: JACK (I’m on my way) 🫣

↪️ owenpower_: MY EYES

↪️: jj.peterka: 🤢🤢🤢

alextuch89: had a great time babysitting you guys!

dylan.cozens: let’s do it again next week 🤝

↪️ Yourusername: I hope the snow reminded you of home 🎅🎄🦌

↪️ dylan.cozens: I am NOT from the North Pole 😐

jackquinn19

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jackquinn19: when life gives you snow make snow angels 😏

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jj.peterka: I can’t look at you the same 🤢

User9: this is so cute 😭

Yourusername: Are you a snowball?? Because I bet you’ll melt in my hands…or mouth 🤭

↪️ dylan.cozens: please stop 🛑

↪️ jackquinn19: 😏😏

User10: ❤️

buffalosabers: ❄️☃️

#buffalo sabres #jack quinn #jj peterka #devon levi #hockey imagine #dylan cozens #jack quinn imagine #hockey x reader #jack quinn x reader #jeff skinner #jack quinn one shot #hockey x you #buffalo sabers fic #Buffalo sabers imagine #peyton krebs #owen power #jack quinn blurb

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sergeifyodorov · 1 year ago

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jeff skinner jack eichel toxic yaoi question mark ?

question mark indeed... because like in truth i know they were sabres teammates together. i can go on hockeyreference and see that jeff signed with the sabres in the summer of 2019 and that jeichel was traded to the golden knights in november of 2021 which means that they spent two full years as teammates (19-20, 20-21). and yet i genuinely could not imagine them in the same room.

#asks #jeff skinner #jack eichel

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annieqattheperipheral · 2 years ago

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Player that made me fall in love with hockey?

Paul Kariya as a kid (mighty ducks 4eva✨)

then returned to it as an adult to investigate how much larger Sidney Crosby's beautiful huge ass had inflated (findings: astronomically)

Favourite player?

Nathan MacKinnon (fuck/marry/kill?? honey that'd be my entire life story with him (affectionate) no but fr tho I'm endeared and appreciate this weirdo so hard)

Comfort player?

William Nylander (imagining his thighs and breakaways inspires me at the gym🤷‍♀️)

Cale Makar (my youtube watches are so much of analyzing his play and edgework ...and imagining his costco shopping lists & how he stores surplus deodorant and body wash and trail mix in his condo)

Jeff Skinner (former figure skater and writer, producer, actor of between 2 stalls. need i say more)

Player I go nuts over?

Leon hot bitch Draisaitl

Player I miss the most?

Cole Caufield, damn fun to watch, been sad w him out since shoulder surgery over asg weekend

Player I will always root for?

kadri, mitchy, bunts, gio, jt, knies, lehky, landy, ej, frankie, jimothy timothy compher, owen power, brady and his clown car of senators, davo, hyman, stuart skinner, quinny, burky, tanev, grubi, robo, otter, seggy, tbear, ror, parayko, suzuki, guhle, xhekaj, zadorov, hellebuyck, morrissey, marchy--the good one--essault, skjei, antti raanta (say his full name), larkin, bergeron, wilson, kuemper...

Management/Coaches: spezzy, dubas, bedsy, sully, marty, keefer, mark fraser, sakic, yzerman

and oh yea this pesky lil rat I'm currently rooting against lmao. Matthew Tkachuk u love it, I've rooted for you enough times u can handle it bb

survey found here thx @kaleforcale888 💕

All the q's for you to copy, if u so wish to partake:

Player that made me fall in love with hockey? Favourite player? Comfort player? Player I go nuts over? Player I miss the most? Player I will always root for?

#annieQ hockey thoughts #oh hockey boys...#nhl off season #survey #nhl survey

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letangent · 6 months ago

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buddy this jeff skinner agenda is top notch! I do need the other universe tho. I need a peek between the gaps (pretty please) (although trying to imagine what he’s missing is almost more heartbreaking than having it)

MY AGENDA she is ready and roaring and my friends have not stopped sending me jeff posts since july 1st. this is my stanley cup frankly

writing that fic was honestly like a battle between my characterization demons because jeff is trying so bad to (re)connect with him and connor is just an injured tired guy who has suffered ten thousand lifetimes. and jeff has learned all of this back there but now he’s here and they r so similar but also so very different. and jeff remembers every single detail he’d brought back w him but obviously mcdavo wouldn’t notice jeff remembering until it was just too weird and then he would keep not noticing bc he has other stuff on his mind than his winger trying 2 aggressively befriend him.

and all that is to say that jeff suffers more than any of us will ever know. and that he knows davo’s coffee order, how to calm a knee spasm, the way con’s bedhead looks in the morning, the passcode to his house (though he won’t ever use it in this timeline, not now), and the taste of his mom’s cooking over christmastime. in that order

#hockey rpf for ts #anonymous #ask games #I am also just one person. someone please join me in this tag

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matthewtkachuk · 3 years ago

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if i showed up on your doorstep at 2 am, would you slam the door in my face or invite me in - jeff skinner

Despite a decades long friendship, the revelation that your best friend Jeff loved you resulted in you moving home and cutting him off completely. Two years later you show up on his doorstep.

pairing: jeff skinner x reader

warnings: angst, mentions of alcohol

word count: 9k

a/n: y'all made me do it. special thanks to everyone who read this on google docs and gave their opinion on the perfume they wear

It’s a two hour drive from Markham to Buffalo.

Jeff knows this because he’s made the drive plenty of times - for family dinners and his mom’s birthday and celebratory drinks when Jill got her first job out of college.

He also knows this because that’s how far away you are physically, but mentally and emotionally you’re oceans away.

Best friends from an early age, you were an honorary Skinner before you could even read. They loved you like you were family, and you loved them that fiercely in return. Well, almost all of them. You and Jeff had always had a special bond, far beyond that of any of his other siblings or your own. A bond so special you had no problem following him to Carolina when he was drafted.

Things had broken down spectacularly in Carolina, a string of miscommunications and hurt feelings snowballing until not a single scrap of your friendship remained. Words were exchanged, shouted and screamed and sobbed, and then silence. The only sound after was the click of the door that you shut behind you.

Last he heard you were well on your way to becoming someone else’s wife.

It’s not the same guy you had been dating when things fell apart in your friendship. No, you’d cut that one loose when you fled for the familiarity of home. Nick was someone you’d both grown up with, part of your friend group but never able to breach the inner circle that was you and Jeff. Until you’d shown up broken-hearted in your hometown and ran into him down Main Street.

Jeff’s got a lot of regrets - missed shots and unnecessary penalty minutes, the doubt that creeps in when he’s in the middle of a scoring drought - but his biggest regret is letting you slip through his fingers. Because for as long as Jeff can remember, it’s always been you. Even when he didn’t know it, even when girls had cooties, even when he was still denying it himself, it’s always been you.

It’s too bad that for you, it wasn’t Jeff.

That’s about where things broke down in the kitchen of the home you shared in Raleigh. It was the same old story - the guy you had been seeing had been treating you wrong. Ignoring your messages for days, breaking plans and just overall acting shady. Out of concern for you, and with the unofficial support of a few friends you’d made out there, he’d cornered you in that kitchen to tell you that you deserved more.

He’d been right, of course, but the confrontation had sparked your fight or flight. As someone who’d never ran from a fight or adversity before, you’d dug your heels into the ground and raised your fists.

It was then, in the midst of a terrible fight that you’d realized the truth. Your friendship with Jeff was built on a lie. Because as much as you had always thought he respected you as a friend and as a person, Jeff had spent the entirety of your friendship halfway in love with you.

Fear gripping your heart and entirely on edge, you’d laughed. You’d laughed and absolutely destroyed him. More words were exchanged between the two of you and then nothing. Words you’d never take back, words he desperately wished he could.

A lifetime of friendship gone in the blink of an eye and he still didn’t know how it happened. He’d gone over it a hundred different times in a hundred different ways and he still didn’t understand it. How he’d wanted all of you, but settled for most of you. How he didn’t even have some of you anymore, how he really had none of you now.

How he had to hear thirdhand from his sister who heard from your brother that you were now sporting an expensive ring on your left hand from a guy who used to put gum in your hair.

He supposes it’s a cute story, a real lifetime original movie of a romance.

He realizes he probably won’t even get to see a wedding picture.

Buffalo was an easy choice when his contract ended and your perfume no longer lingered in his home.

He’s happy here - a lot closer to his family, and the guys on the team are a good bunch. They’re struggling, and he’s not putting up the numbers he all but promised when he signed his name on the dotted line, but they’re working hard and he’s optimistic.

There’s only one real other downside here.

You’re a two hour drive away, but you’ve never been so mentally and emotionally far away.

Two hours away, your life isn’t the picture perfect made for TV movie romance it appears to be. Sure, you’ve got the ring and the guy and the condo with the great view. You’ve got an okay job and your parents are proud of you, except... Except. Except. Except.

Except the metal of the ring is a gaudy yellow gold, when silver has been your preferred style since junior high. Except the condo with the great view doesn’t even have your name on the lease. Except your okay job is slowly killing you, your boss is a dick and your coworkers talk shit about you behind your back and you feel like you’re wasting your degree with menial tasks.

Except the guy isn’t who you thought he was, hell he’s not even who he was only a few short months ago before he put the lurid ring on your finger after a proposal that was far too public for your liking. Nick had been so attentive and sweet, reeling you in with honeyed compliments and promises, dates where time felt like it hadn’t passed at all yet like you’d lived a hundred lives together. Now, Nick paid more attention to the television or his secretary or his phone than you.

Once, Nick had been a cold beer on the patio kind of guy. Now, you couldn’t remember the last time you had spent more than five minutes with him sober.

He didn’t hit you, he didn’t cheat on you, he didn’t belittle you. It also felt like he didn’t love you.

The pressure is stifling, the weight of your burdens suffocating. The ring on your hand and the promise on your tongue are leaden and heavy. Every day you wake up and wonder if you’re making a mistake. Every day you wake up and think about how all you’ve ever done in your life is make mistakes.

Except Jeff.

Until you’d made a mistake there, too.

When you let your fears and anxieties dictate your behavior. When you’d ran at the first sign of trouble. When you’d used his feelings as a scapegoat, pushing and pulling and gnawing at that hurt in your chest rather than acknowledge your own hidden feelings beside it.

Nick shifts in bed beside you, limbs half hanging off the edge of the bed in an attempt to keep as much distance between you as possible. At least, that’s what it feels like. Once, you’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms. Once, you sought out each other’s familiar warmth at night. Once, you’d woken up limbs as entangled as your hearts and souls.

The clock on your nightstand reads midnight, but it could be any time and no time at all as far as you’re concerned. You slip from bed and pull on a hoodie. It’s old and faded and Jeff’s. Looking at yourself in the bathroom mirror you search for even a fraction of who you used to be, a hint of the girl you used to see reflected back at you. She’s not there.

But you can try and find her again.

Quietly, you pack a bag and write a note in your sloped handwriting with a blue pen on the back of a takeout menu. Gently, you place the yellow gold ring beside it and slip out into the night.

Carolina is warm. Like your mother’s embrace, like your niece’s laughter, like Jeff’s smile. Many people told you that you would regret following him out here, but you didn’t think you ever would. Because alongside seeing your best friend on a near daily basis, you’d also accumulated a solid group of friends with your best interests at heart, and you’d even found yourself someone to love the way you always wanted.

If that desire to love and be loved in return blinded you to the reality of your relationship, that was between you and him as far as you were concerned. Even as your friends grew worried, you brushed off their concerns and made excuses. He’s just working late, he’s just busy, he lost track of time. They let it go, let you sit in your own delusions of grandeur as you live in Jeff’s apartment and date someone who doesn’t deserve you and on and on.

Until Jeff can’t anymore.

Until you’re sitting on your shared couch with your makeup done just right, the pretty little black dress you’d been planning on wearing safely tucked back in your closet, and the most melancholy expression on your face.

It breaks Jeff’s heart, really it does. And not only because he’s been in love with you since before he knew there was a name for what he was feeling in his chest, but because you’re his best friend and you deserve a lot more than some broken promises and empty words. He bites his tongue through the entirety of a Leafs game you’d insisted the two of you watch together, even as your voice was barren of all emotion.

But then the game is over, and you’re moving robotically through the kitchen, movement broken and hindered just as your spirit is and suddenly Jeff can’t hold it in anymore.

“You can’t keep letting him do it to you.” It’s blurted and messy, but it does it’s job, the words shaking you from your emotional zombie like state.

“What are you talking about?” You try to deflect, try to answer him with a question, try to ignore the pit growing in your stomach.

Unfortunately for you, Jeff knows you better than probably any other person on the planet, and certainly better than anyone in Carolina. “He treats you like shit and you just let him.”

“What am I supposed to do? Break up with him?” You scoff, “I love him Jeff! So what if he misses date night now and then or doesn’t always answer when I call? I love him!”

He turns on you quickly, desperation swimming in his eyes. He wants to tell you everything. Wants to wrap you up in his arms and love you right. But that’s not who you are and that’s not what you do, so instead he tries to get you to see reason. “Do you? Or are you just so blinded by your desire to be loved that you can’t see that he’s not good enough for you?”

It stings because you know he’s right. Deep down, you know you deserve more than half baked apologies and a derelict of a boyfriend. But you also fear that this might be it, your only shot at that happiness. So what if your boyfriend isn’t perfect. Show you a guy who is? For a moment you stare at Jeff, but that just brings on another wave of fear and anxiety and so you shout. “Oh and who is good enough for me huh? Please tell me I am so curious to know.”

It’s silent then as your words sink in all around you both. They twist and turn and curl around you, cutting you off from Jeff as it hits you.

Oh.

He feels it too, your sudden realization and it’s terrifying. It’s terrifying and scary and every other adjective out there to have his heart ripped from his chest and beating on the kitchen island for you to finally, really and truly, see.

And then you laugh. It’s not the laughter that he loves to hear, not the sweet giggle turned into gasping howls when you find amusement in something beautiful the world has to offer. It’s maniacal and hysterical and just fucking cruel as you gaze on his vulnerability and laugh.

He feels his heart break, feels it absolutely shatter as you pack your shit and go. Feels it as you sweep up the fractured pieces and deposit them directly in the trash.

It’s silent when you finally leave, no trace of your laughter remaining.

You don’t look back.

His phone reads 2 am when Jeff rolls over in bed to check it. For a moment he’s confused, disoriented and dazed as he tries to figure out what has woken him. And then he hears the frantic knocking at his front door. He gets up quickly, pulling on a pair of sweatpants in case it’s sweet Mrs. Higgins at the door. It wouldn’t be the first time she knocked on his door, but never this early in the morning. The thought of it potentially being some emergency has his movements quickening, hastened by the thought of something terrible wrong.

Except, instead of the sweet elderly lady who lives across the hall, it’s you in a pair of athletic shorts and a sweater of his he hadn’t seen since you left.

Maybe it’s stupid, but he thought you would look different. You don’t, though. Your hair is the same tone it’s always been, framing your face the way it always has. Even the sight of you in his hoodie is familiar, even as it warms him from the inside out. If he didn’t know better, didn’t have months and months of angst and pining and regret, he could almost pretend he was back in Carolina and you were still oblivious to the way you held his heart in your hands.

Almost.

Because alongside the warmth and the desire to pull you into his arms is the quiet devastation of your laughter and the thought of the large ring you should be wearing on your left hand. Jeff’s never been the kind of guy who could school his emotions, his grin too bright and uncontrollable like the sun rising in the east. Contrarily, every negative emotion rolls across his face more akin to large storm clouds rolling over the horizon. Now, confusion is written clear as day in the lines of his face as his eyes focus on the tan line in lieu of an engagement ring.

The silence is almost as stifling as the thought of the future you had been building. You don’t know what to say though, no words seeming big enough to fully encapsulate all you’re feeling. Truth be told, you don’t have a good reason for showing up here at two in the morning on his doorstep. There really isn’t a good reason. You don’t have a script carefully created, or a detailed pro con list, or a venn diagram showing the intersectionality of past and future and present.

He looks good, even if the expression on his face is more akin to shock than joy, even if he kinda looks like he could cry, even if you feel like you’re about to. You miss him. He’s right fucking there and you miss him. It’s been a dull ache in your chest in the past two years, but now the pain is sharp and shooting, radiating from the top of your head to your toes. Even just being here, in his presence, it’s like finally coming up for air after being stuck at the bottom of a swimming pool. Oxygen floods your lungs for the first time in months, a fog lifts from your mind, but the dark cloud remains shrouding you both. Because it’s still silent, and you’re itching to run.

To him, from him, into his arms, back into the night. You’re not entirely sure, but the urge is there all the same. Something deep within you calls to him, but something a lot closer to the surface is screaming at you to go. You shouldn’t have come here, shouldn’t have left Nick, certainly shouldn’t have driven two hours in the middle of the night.

But then he’s opening his arms and you fall right into them, like you were meant to do it all along. You fit like two puzzle pieces, even if the picture they’re part of is faded and worn, even if the edges are bent and torn, even if it takes a little wiggling to get them to fit together just right.

“How did we get here?” you blurt stupidly, the filter between your brain and your mouth nowhere to be seen. He doesn’t immediately react, not verbally at least, but you feel him stiffen all around you. Very carefully, he pulls back from you, a near unreadable expression on his face. The way his eyebrows have come together in the middle of his face tells you he’s upset. The lack of a smile only further validates the thought. “I mean- That’s not what I wanted to say-”

You see the internal struggle play out on his face through the scrunching of his nose, the twitching of his jaw. Finally, he settles on something simple. “Why are you here?”

“I don’t know Jeff,” you sigh in return. It’s not the right thing, not even close. You know that before he reacts, but you still wince at the look he gives you. It’s broken, desperate, practically begging for you to lay your cards out on the table.

“That’s bullshit,” he replies, uttering your name. “Tell me the truth, what are you doing here at an apartment you’ve never been to in the middle of the night without your engagement ring? Huh?”

“Jeff-”

“Tell me the truth, please.” He’s not so much angry as he is hurt, and confused. Scared too, that you’re about to run off on him again but he can’t just sit here and let you pretend like you have no idea what possessed you to drive two hours to him in the middle of the night. “Not a word out of you in two years, and then you just show up here. Tell me the truth.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing here, Jeff, okay? I don’t know! I don’t know if I’m still engaged, I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to reach out-” It’s not exactly true, but you’re not lying either. You’re not being purposefully deceitful, but the two hour drive hadn’t given you the clarity you’d hoped you’d find before ending up here.

“Are we just not going to talk about it?” He doesn’t have to elaborate further, despite your clear desire to ignore the fight that wrecked you both, it weighs as heavily on you as it does him. It kills you to think he doesn’t see that. As if he couldn’t see how destroyed you were by the thought of your life moving on without him in any capacity.

“I don’t- I don’t think there’s anything to talk about that other than what has already been said,” you say quietly, trying to keep your voice neutral. You cringe as you watch the anger light within him, the struck match finding the kerosene soaked rag you’d left behind.

“Jesus, you’re acting like I did something wrong. Like- Like I’d destroyed some precious family heirloom or kissed your sister something. Stop deflecting, my only crime was in loving you.” And there it is again, although this time spelled out a lot more clearly.

Love.

Jeff loved you.

Like, romantic, two and a half kids and a dog and a big house in the suburbs love. And you didn’t love Jeff like that, don’t love Jeff like that. Right?

He continues, taking your silence as an invitation to further the conversation, but it feels a lot more like a talking to than anything. “I never asked for anything from you. Ever. In the twenty some years of our friendship, I never asked you to want me or love me back. I never even told you that I loved you. You figured it out and you laughed at me and you ran. And then I didn’t hear from you for two years. I had to find out from my sister who found out from your brother that you were engaged to that dick who used to tease you in elementary school. So cut the shit, why are you here?”

It’s not unfair, the words and accusations he levels at you. It’s not unfair and it’s not untruthful and it’s certainly not uncalled for. It still makes tears spring to your eyes, makes your hand and bottom lip shake. “This was a mistake,” you spit out quickly and hastily make your retreat, wiping at your cheekbones with the heels of your hands. Jeff is quick to swear and utter your name, but you don’t stop.

He curses as he slams the door shut behind you. Although a very large part of him wants to rip the door open and chase after you, he doesn’t think “NHL forward chases girl in apartment building” is the kind of headline he wants his name attached to. He also knows you’re not in the proper state of mind for any confrontation or conversation for that matter. You’re so frustratingly deep inside your own head, you can’t see the forest for the trees.

It’s true, he’s never asked you for a damn thing in the entirety of your friendship, always willing to give and give and give. It’s you who had been so happy to take and take and take. His limited time, his attention, his energy, his smiles reserved specially for you, his hairbrained advice and his outstretched hand. Even in the deepest throes of his love for you, he never expected you to reciprocate or even acknowledge it. He was content to be your best friend for the rest of your lives, quietly resigned to sit at your right hand through thick and thin. For your happiness, he was ready to watch as you found love elsewhere, as you built a future with someone who wasn’t him. Because a future with you, even if he could never have you exactly the way he wanted you was more than worth it.

Until you’d taken his feelings and thrown them right back at him.

It’s near 3 am now, and he knows his best course of action is to get back into bed, try and get some sleep. After all, in the morning he’s got a two hour drive.

You cry the entire way home, barely managing to pull yourself together enough to cross at the border without causing some sort of international incident. It’s late when you pull into the driveway of your childhood home. Despite your best efforts to quietly slip into the house after finding the spare key tucked in its usual hiding spot, your mom is flicking on the light to the kitchen and calling your name with confusion laced alongside the exhaustion in her tone.

Collapsing into her arms you tell her everything. From the fight two years ago to the one only two hours ago. There’s not a single detail you don’t include, well except for one. Being the remarkable woman you know her to be, she manages to pull it out of you anyway with a simple question. “Are you in love with him too?”

“It’s not that simple,” you reply carefully, but the look she gives you is so knowing it makes your stomach twist.

“It could be,” she says knowingly and it’s only slightly more annoying at twenty something years old than it was when you were in high school. The look is the same and her tone is the same, and if you’re really being honest, even the boy is the same. It’s been Jeff at the forefront of your mind and on the front step of this house and in the frame of every picture on the mantel. Always Jeff holding your hand in one of his while the other held so delicately onto your heart. Always something more just barely out of reach, on the peripheral of your vision if only you would smarten up and grasp it.

“It can’t,” finally leaves your lips, voice broken in a way that only the weight of your own actions can. Your mother knows you better than almost any other person on the planet, a consequence of knowing you for every single second of your existence, and so she knows when it’s time to surrender the battle in order to win the war. She pulls you in for a tight hug, her embrace more calming and soothing than any natural ailment cure in the world before she goes back to bed, shutting the light off as she goes.

The couch isn’t the most comfortable, nothing like the faded leather sectional that Jeff had in your apartment in Raleigh. Your bedroom became an office two weeks after you left for college, and the spare room more likely than not was covered in random items that your parents hadn’t had the time to put away. The blanket you wrap yourself in is familiar, a patchwork quilt gifted to your family by your grandmother. You know if you were to look through the photos on display this very quilt would feature in multiple of the ones of you and Jeff.

It’s a comforting thought as you drift to sleep, so close to the sweet rest of unconsciousness when your phone buzzes once, then twice. Suddenly the vibration pattern indicates there’s a phone call coming through. You ignore it, turning onto your side so that your face is smushed into the back of the couch, willing whoever it is to give up. Your phone buzzes signifying the caller left a voicemail before the familiar pattern begins again. Who in the world would be calling you at 5 in the morning?

You shoot up, quilt falling to the floor as you consider it might be Jeff. There’s a large part of you that feels terrible for the way your stomach sinks as Nick’s photo lights up your screen. So he woke up and found you gone. You flick up the screen, simultaneously unlocking the phone and silencing the vibration to see several unread messages. They’re in varying degrees of panic, wondering where you are, wondering why you’d left behind your ring.

It’s late and you’re tired, so tired of being sad and lonely and unhappy that you turn your phone to do not disturb and get some sleep.

In hindsight Jeff should have known better than to jinx himself the way he had as your door swings open to reveal your mom. He doesn’t want to do the small talk thing, not when your car is in the driveway and he can see your coat hanging on the hook just behind the open door. “Hey, mom,” he speaks softly, mouth upturned in some sort of smile-grimace hybrid gesture. “Is she here?”

“It’s good to see you Jeff,” she says by way of greeting instead, “Why don’t you come inside?”

Your head perks up at the mention of his name, every sad curve of your body screaming with your regret. There’s barely a moment’s pause before you’re launching off the couch and into his arms. He’s not prepared for it, having spent the entirety of the drive rehearsing his apology, practicing the words he would say to convince you to let him back into your life. There aren’t words to describe how right it feels to have his arms wrapped tightly around you, to be so completely surrounded and encapsulated by all that is his large presence. If you had to try though, there’s only one word that comes close to portraying it all: home.

Jeff’s arm’s are the greatest home you’ve ever known, far beyond that of the four walls surrounding you, or the neighborhood or even the city itself. He was always your safe space, your soft spot to land, the one place you could always turn no matter the circumstances. Until he wasn’t. Until you couldn’t.

It could have been two seconds, two minutes, two hours or two years - simultaneously the longest moment and the shortest breath as you stood with him on the precipice of your childhood home. You’re not entirely sure when your mom snuck away, but she’s not lingering as you finally pull from him. “I’m sorry,” you both blurt out at the same time.

“I’m sorry I keep running.” It’s a tough admission to make, to admit that at least that much is definitively your fault. Other parts of the friendship breakdown are your burdens to carry, too - your reactions, your inappropriate laughter and hasty retreat, the two years of cut off communication at your continued behest.

But you’re not alone in your ownership here, either. Jeff all but confirms it with a quiet “I’m sorry I never told you. But look at your reaction and tell me I didn’t have a good reason to keep it to myself.”

And again and again the blame shifts back to you, because you were callous and cold in your recoil, because you were the unreasonable one, because his crime had been only what he said - in loving you behind your back.

“I don’t want to play the blame game,” he sighs finally, the quiet, lingering hurt written across the planes of your face so clear to see, cutting him just as much as it pains you. “I just want my best friend.”

There’s more he wants, of course. If he’s really and truly honest with himself he wants your love, too. He’s got some of it, certainly, obvious in the way you look at him and the way your body so perfectly curves around his own. It’s in nights past, sleepovers and secrets and swimming pools. It’s some of you, but not all of you.

It’s not the way you look first thing in the morning, sleep heavy on your eyelids and a desire for coffee running through your veins. It’s not the little black dress picked out just for him, or your heels in his hand as he gives you a piggyback ride home, or locked limbs on the sofa while you watch a romantic comedy on netflix.

It’s not all of you, and there’s never been so clearly poignant a reminder as your fiance - boyfriend? ex? acquaintance? - Nick bursting through your front door and setting fire to any goodwill that you’d managed to build together. It’s so startling a reminder, Jeff feels it like a punch to the gut, the despair of never knowing what it’s like to have all your love swirling and turning.

“I’m gonna go.” You want to reach for him, but something about his body language screams that he would only dodge your advance and so you keep your hands to yourself, eyes darting wildly between the two men.

“Jeff-”

He says your name so sweetly, if it weren’t for the look on his face you might not even know something was wrong, and then repeats himself. “I’m gonna go. I think there’s a conversation you need to be having and it’s more important than the one we’re having.”

Jeff leaves without another word and it’s like he took a piece of you with him, as you stand in your living room without a single thing to say to the man in front of you.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Nick breaks the silence first, and your shoulders deflate at the thought of it all. How do you explain to him that you just truly don’t know what you want anymore? You’re so confused by everything, betrayed by your own past and your own feelings, you’re not sure of anything. Well, anything except the fact that you can’t marry him. He pulls the ring out of his pocket, idly twisting and turning and spinning the metal object in his grasp as the quiet surrounds you both.

He doesn’t get angry and for that you’re grateful, you’re not sure you have it in you to fight like that, not so soon after last night with Jeff. “It’s not like that-”

“Then what’s it like, because from where I’m sitting I woke up alone, with your ring and a shitty apology scribbled on a pizza delivery menu, and now you’re here with someone you said you hadn’t spoken to in years.”

And yeah, it looks bad because it is bad, but it’s not bad in the way he’s thinking. “I hadn’t! It’s not- I just-” You have to stop, pausing to catch your breath and let your brain catch up to your mouth. “Do you love me?” you ask, finally.

The three second pause tells you more than he ever could.

You’re not sure what Nick thought he would be walking into, or what he had hoped to accomplish by showing up here. You don’t think reciprocal apologies, a tight hug with a lingering kiss pressed to a cheek and that god awful ring back in his pocket comes even close, but that’s what you leave each other with.

You don’t tell Jeff about what transpired in your living room after he left, and he never asks. He has plenty of opportunity to ask, though, between your daily texts and calls that come in every so often. It’s impossible to fall back into the friendship you’d so carefully curated all those years ago, too much baggage and dead weight in the way of it all, but it’s a start.

For Jeff, it’s just nice to hear about what’s going on in your life first hand, rather than to hear it from one of his sisters. He likes that he can call you after a bad game, hear your voice tell him things will be okay, that all hope isn’t lost just because he’s in a scoring rut. When they play in Toronto, he leaves you a couple tickets and pretends his heart doesn’t constrict at the sight of you in a jersey bearing his last name.

It’s nice, to have your best friend back in your life, to be able to turn to Jeff with your petty work drama or rant to him about the latest book you read after being recommended it on tik tok. You realize just how much you took for granted sharing an apartment with him, where he had been just down the hall when you needed him - whether it be a bad day, giant spider, wobbly bookcase, or any other number of things. The distance is only two hours, but fuck it feels like he’s on another continent.

It’s why you jump at the chance to head down to Buffalo for a long weekend, bags packed and mind open to all the possibilities that lay before you. You’ve had a few more conversations - with your mom, with your brother, with your best friend, with one of Jeff’s sisters - and you think you have a clearer picture of what you want. At the end of it all, what you want is Jeff, in whatever capacity you can have him in. The years without him were dark and cold, reminiscent of a harsh Canadian winter, but having him back in your life is like the first inkling of spring - green buds on trees and the sparkling gleam of melting snow. Jeff is the first breath of warming air, the bright sun rising and shining light on the world.

You don’t know if you’ll ever get enough to fill in that absence.

The reunion in Jeff’s apartment parking garage is sweet, a picturesque romantic comedy moment wherein you abandon your bags in favor of jumping into his outstretched arms. His grin is contagious, the way it splits his face wide open bringing a sense of pure elation to your system. There’s no excuse for the way you squeeze yourself around him, but you whisper “I missed you,” in his ear all the same.

He’s every bit the gentleman his mama raised, carting your heavy duffle bag with the practiced ease of a man who is constantly travelling without you having to ask. His hand briefly brushes your own as you walk side by side into his building, and as someone who has a lot of practice reading his emotions, you spot conflict and hesitance out of the corner of your eye. Taking matters into your own hands - literally - you link your hands together and don’t bother hiding your own growing smile.

You’re tired the first night you’re there, a cocktail of a disastrous week at work and the long two hour drive, and so dinner is Vietnamese, eaten on the same couch he’s had since his first year in the NHL, the very couch you had sat on the night things went to hell, the same couch you had napped on more times than you could count. For a moment it’s like you never left, like you’re sitting back in that apartment in Carolina. There’s a game on that neither of you pay attention to, and you’re definitely not sitting as close as you maybe once would have, but you could almost close your eyes and pretend.

You fall asleep with your feet in Jeff’s lap watching a movie that you couldn’t name a single actor or plot point in even if there was a gun to your head, and wake up tucked into the guest room without any recollection of even waking up. It’s the sun filtering in through the gap in the curtains, something you would have surely fixed had you not been beyond exhausted last night, and once you get up to fix it, you decide there’s no use in trying to sleep in further.

Jeff’s drinking a cup of coffee on the couch, the highlights playing with the volume down low, but his focus is more on his phone. He barely notices you sneak up on him until you’re practically on top of him, but he breaks out into a grin when he does. You swipe the mug from his hands, taking a sip and cringing at the ultra sweet taste. It’s comforting in a way even through the shock to your system, the knowledge that as much as things had changed in the past few years, he still had no restraint when it came to adding sugar and cream to his morning cup.

“So, you wanna see all the great things Buffalo has to offer?” Jeff asks with a grin while loading the dishwasher, waving off your attempts to help since he was the one who cooked, too.

You shrug nonchalantly, but you can’t stop the intrusive thought that pops in your head, the one that states you’d probably go anywhere he asked you to.

It turns out that seeing Buffalo is really just code for a trip to the zoo in the morning and early afternoon, bleeding into a quick trip to the falls. You’re a little distracted by the presence that is Jeff, coupled with the developing feelings you’ve been tripping over lately, and so you’re not as present as you’d like to be - taking a second too long to laugh at his jokes, flinching when your arms brush. You’re as quick witted as ever, though, managing to slip in a quip or two about how Niagara is better from the Canadian side alongside reminiscing about the time you’d both skipped school to take the bus to the zoo.

Jeff is nothing but kind and careful and sweet, so respectful and so cognizant of the invisible lines you’ve both drawn around you. He doesn’t take a single thing about you or your friendship for granted, and while it’s endearing, it’s also frustrating as hell that he doesn’t feel like he can just step into your space without a warning.

Dinner is a bit more of an intentional feat, meeting a few of his teammates and their girls downtown at a restaurant that has you critically picking at the rip in your jeans, but Jeff’s arm around you is grounding enough that you forget all about it before you’ve even received the drinks you ordered. His teammates are funnier than you’d previously given them credit for, and it’s another stark reminder of the way things used to be. Back in Carolina, it was more than given that you would accompany Jeff to nights out with the boys - regardless if their respective wives and girlfriends were included in the invite themselves or not.

It’s not an unfair sentiment to state that you probably had a drink or two more than you should have in polite company, but Jeff doesn’t mind. The just north of tipsy version of you is one of Jeff’s favorites - the weight of the world not so heavily on your shoulders, a near perma-grin on your face, your filter all but non existent.

Your voice is a touch too loud as you shout out goodbye to the boys and their better halves and let Jeff tuck you into the passenger seat of his car. Before he’s even moved around to his side, you’ve got your phone hooked up and are scrolling through spotify. It doesn’t even bother him that you don’t let a single song play in its entirety, skipping some four seconds in, some two minutes. All the while you’re chatting away about everything and nothing.

It’s not until you’re back in his apartment, face freshly washed and teeth brushed in your pajamas, that you let something a little more serious slip out of your mouth. Sliding over to him, it’s like you can’t pull yourself away from his energy, moving across the hardwood floor almost as if you were floating. “I missed you,” is what you speak into his chest, arms tightly wound around him.

He pulls back slightly to look you in your eyes, and for a moment you wonder if this is it. If this is the moment that your friendship has been building up to your entire lives. If this is where every hurt and every doubt and every anxiety is revealed to have been worth it, just a momentary pause on an important journey. But he just smiles in a way that makes you feel kind of sad and you don’t know why, before he’s kissing your forehead and bidding you goodnight.

Jeff’s gone for morning skate when you wake up, but there’s a still warm cinnamon bun from a local bakery alongside a note on the kitchen island. You relax all morning, making use of Jeff’s couch and hulu account. Few words are exchanged when he finally makes his way home, besides a murmured thank you as the two of you enjoy the lunch you cooked. His game day routine is pretty much exactly as you remember as he goes to take a quick nap after you’ve eaten.

You almost choke on your own spit when Jeff exits his bedroom again later, all dressed up in his game day best. The suit's new, you think, not one you remember from Carolina, and it fits him in all the right places. It’s the gentle way he startles, eyebrows rising as he offers you his water bottle that has your stomach flipping even harder. Shaking him off with a dismissive wave of your hand, you walk into the kitchen to give yourself some space, but Jeff’s never been very good at picking up on those non-verbal cues and so he follows you, crowding your space even further.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” he asks. When you nod, he smiles again, the corners of his eyes crinkling the way you’ve always admired. “I’ll leave you some cash for the cab, and then we can drive home together, okay?”

And it’s nothing special, no grand declaration of love, not like the ones before now. It’s no earth shattering revelation, no larger than life spectacle, no fireworks, no alternative indie soundtrack playing in the background. It’s just you. And it’s just Jeff. And it’s just everything he is.

Your best friend, your confidant, your shelter and your safe space to land.

Always so respectful of your boundaries, even as you threw every negative, hurtful word you could think of at him, even as you turned into nothing more than former friends turned strangers. And he’s just never asked for more, never demanded a thing from you, never expected more than you were willing to give. All you see is how much he cares for you, all that he used to do for you and all that he’s more than willing to do now.

You see just how good he is. To you, for you.

And God, how could you ever have been so fucking stupid? So completely, fucking blind?

It all flows through you, every individual atom of your body lighting up and coming alive with your revelation. You love him. More than someone loves their childhood best friend, more than you’ve ever loved a man before. It’s Jeff for you, and it always has been. You were foolish to ever think otherwise.

Jeff’s got no idea what’s going on in that brain of yours, though he often wishes he could read your mind. You look like you’re going through the seven stages of grief all on your own over there, and he wants to reach out and smooth the crease between your brows, but he keeps his hands to himself. If he’s honest, it’s getting harder and harder to do that. To have you so close but not in the way he wants you would be torture to anyone else.

Not to Jeff, though. Jeff just loves you and is appreciative of every piece of you that you’re willing to give him, offering his heart up in return.

His heart stumbles as you turn to face him and cross the space between you in three quick and easy strides. Jeff watches you lose your nerve the closer you get, until you’ve stopped in front of him to throw your arms around him, speaking only the most superficial of your thoughts for now. “Good luck tonight, Jeff.”

The view from the box is a good one, and the girls and families are more than welcoming, even the ones you didn’t meet last night. The large #53 jersey you wear feels a little stiff, and so you find yourself pulling at the collar intermittently all night. It feels like there are eyes on you the whole time, even though you know that’s all but impossible in the privacy of the box.

The game itself is a good one too, which is a blessing in and of itself in the midst of trying times for the team, as Jeff manages to pick up a couple points, including a short handed goal in the second. The entire time you’re flipping between worrying about your feelings and imagining every way things could go wrong, so deep in thought you almost miss the goal.

You’re not sure if you really belong here now, having followed the others down to the locker room hallway. It’s got you picking at the jersey again, wondering if you should take it off or leave it on, if you should stay put or start running. You’re torn almost directly down the middle, with half of you wanting to kiss the life out of your best friend, and the other half wanting to keep this secret buried even harder and longer than it already had.

In the end, your body chooses for you, as you find yourself running into Jeff’s arms the second he’s cleared the locker room. You don’t even take the time to admire his suit for the second time. He’s a giggly albeit confused mess as he catches you, but you don’t even give him time to think as you grab his face in your hands and press your lips to his. It’s a bit of a mess then, as he stumbles forward while whistling and catcalls are thrown around the hallway.

“It’s you, Jeff,” you state after you’ve pulled away to catch your breath, sounding every bit the cheesy romantic love story your life has become, “It’s always been you.”

The grin on his face is worth every bit of pain of the past two years, and his kiss is, too.

It’s a two hour drive from Markham to Buffalo.

But that doesn’t stop your parents and brother from joining Jeff’s family in their trip down to the house you now share with Jeff for American Thanksgiving. It hadn’t worked out for everyone to come down prior to now, and Jeff hadn’t been able to come up for Canadian Thanksgiving last month, and so it’s the first real holiday you’re hosting both families for after agreeing to move in this past summer.

You’re a verifiable mess about the whole thing, starting with a mishap thawing the turkey wherein it wasn’t ready to be tossed in the oven this morning, leaving you to try and make up for lost time at a higher temperature. Earlier, you’d sent Jeff out to grab a pumpkin pie, only for him to return with apple because there ‘wasn’t a single pumpkin pie in all of Buffalo’, which resulted in you frantically trying to bake one with your very limited time.

Jeff, bless him, tries his best to help you in your chaos, but only succeeds in getting himself kicked out of the kitchen - literally as you push his larger body out of the room, while reassuring that you love him, really, but he needs to get the hell out of your way.

It doesn’t really get better, especially as you hear the distinct sound of your mom’s laughter while you’re midway through washing your hair in the shower after finally being persuaded by Jeff to do so. “It’ll be fine,” he said. “I can handle things for a few minutes,” he said. In your panic to finish showering quickly, you nearly blind yourself rinsing your hair, and slip a little as you rush out of the shower.

Everything’s fine, though, when you exit your shared bedroom, fully dressed with hair so wet you’re dripping on the hardwood. Your mom is still laughing, and your dad is smiling, and Jeff’s in the center of it all, regaling your brother with a story from the road. You only slink back to the bedroom to continue getting ready when your mom gives you a pointed look.

Jeff’s family arrives soon after, your home overrun with the energy of his five siblings, but you really and truly wouldn’t have it any other way, especially as Jeff’s hand never leaves your waist. You’re all piled in the living room, laughing and smiling and catching up with one another. It’s a great time, really, even through the chirping and the teasing about you and Jeff ‘finally getting your shit together.’

That is, until the smoke detector goes off and you gasp, “the turkey!”

As it turns out, bumping up the temperature of the oven wasn’t your best and brightest moment. Both of your moms follow you to the kitchen, your mom quickly rushing to the oven to see if anything is salvageable while Jeff’s mom comfortingly wraps an arm around your shoulders, her hand running up and down your shoulder.

It’s stupid, really, the way tears begin to burn at your waterline, but all you had wanted was a nice, perfect Thanksgiving. Maybe that was an unrealistic goal, an unattainable feat, but it’s what you wanted all the same. And it’s definitely silly, but you can’t help but feel the failed meal is somehow a reflection of your relationship, or worse yet, a prediction of your future with Jeff.

After all, if you couldn’t cook a simple turkey dinner, what hope was there for you for the rest of it?

Jeff’s more patient than you, kinder and sweeter too, and yet above all else he’s also more resourceful. A few quick phone calls reveal there’s not a lot of options for delivery on Thanksgiving, and so he settles on pizza before finding you standing in the same spot in the kitchen. Both your moms have settled into a routine of cleaning up your mess, but you’re just kind of standing there looking like someone kicked your puppy.

“Hey,” he says quietly, pulling you into his arms. You go complacently, beyond your desire to be wrapped up in him, you don’t have any energy to do anything but follow his lead. “I ordered food.”

It’s probably meant to be reassuring, but it makes you feel worse, more like a failure than you already do. And so you slump further into his arms, with a muffled ‘I’m sorry’ pressed to his chest. His hand runs through your hair for a moment before cupping your face to make your face tilt up towards his own.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, love,” he tells you earnestly, and truthfully you believe he means every word he’s speaking, but you can’t shake the feeling of failure that has gripped your insides.

“I just wanted things to be perfect,” you whisper, avoiding eye contact.

He just smiles. “They are perfect, the important part is we’re all together. So what the turkey didn’t work out, I know you all had more than your fair share last month. And your pumpkin pies look really good.” His words make you smile in return, and his grin turns triumphant. “There’s that smile I love so much.”

And so maybe Thanksgiving isn’t the grand dinner you’d envisioned. There’s no turkey, and the stuffing and mashed potatoes look out of place next to the several large pizza boxes on the counter. But Jeff’s in your life, and even better yet you’ve let him into your heart, something he has not and will never take for granted. Both of your families are all here together, and neither of your moms are subtle about the way they grin at you and let their eyes flicker to your empty left hand.

It may be a two hour drive from Markham to Buffalo, but there’s not even two inches of space between Jeff and where you’ve fallen asleep against his shoulder while the last of the Thanksgiving football games play on TV.

#nhl fic #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #nhl x reader #nhl fanfic #nhl fanfiction #jeff skinner fic #jeff skinner imagine #jeff skinner imagines #jeff skinner x reader #i quit tagging is hard lol #shelb writes

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