;; From A Different Point of View cellythefloshie's snapshot series
Summary: Jeremy is introduced to who Katie really is. Snapshot for: Mama Bear Kinks & Tropes: n/a Word Count: 1.3k+
Jeremy walked back towards the locker room feeling… Good? No, that would have been a minimization of the feeling that coursed through him. The energy of the win, the hype of the boys as they celebrated, it sent adrenaline pumping through his veins even after the final buzzer and the post game interview. But it wasn’t the only thing that fueled him. Since Jeremy had woken up that morning, all he could think about was the beautiful woman from the bar, and how he hoped that her name would show up in a message from an unknown number in his phone.
His nickname, Bulldog, rang through the room as he entered. It sent his grin wide as he reached a single hand back and peeled his jersey off his back. As he tossed it into the pile of jerseys in the center of the room, he accepted the pats on the back to congratulate him on the win as they hadn’t been sending an onslaught of shots on Montreal’s net. On 42 shots, they had scored 6 goals, with an effort from the top line all the way down to the rookie, Parker Stacey, who played his first game on the fourth line. Jeremy meant to congratulate the kid before he had gotten tied up in the post game interview, and he still would, but first, he wanted to relish in the moment.
Sitting down in his stall, he leaned back and let out a heavy exhale. His hand reached down, picking up his phone from where he had tucked it away between his shoes and his suit jacket. Jeremy saw a text from his mom first, a soft smile as he told himself that he would reply to it later, and then he scrolled through the rest of his notifications and did not find what he was looking for.
For a moment, his smile waivered.
It shouldn’t have. Not when he had just won one of the most exciting games of his career so far. Not when he was surrounded by a team that felt more and more like family with each game. He matched their smiles, and their laughter, as he stripped off his chest protector, leaving him sitting there in his equipment from the waist down. Glancing down, he began to work at the suspenders and ties that kept his goalie pants in place. His damp curls fell down against his forehead and he reached a hand up to push it back from his face.
And then he felt it, the weight of someone’s gaze.
Looking up slowly, his eyes scanned the room, trying to find the eyes of his teammate or coach that was trying to get his attention– or maybe someone from the media team that was hanging around too long. But it was when his eyes settled near the centre of the room, he found his answer. Standing between the rookie, Stacy, and his captain, was… Katie?
His hands dropped, his palms suddenly clammy as they flexed at his sides. The panic that consumed his body was threatening to betray him as his pulse hammered against the soft spot of his throat. Every limb suddenly felt weak, as if he legs would fold in on themselves if he stood, and his mind was empty, radio static. But his face didn’t betray him, his easy smile remaining as he pushed up from his seat and walked across the room without a second thought.
The only woman he wanted to see was right in front of him, and he wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass. Jeremy didn’t know her full name, but he hadn’t needed to. She’d just been Katie. It had meant to stay that way when he picked her up in the hotel bar. But then it spiraled into a need or more when she had smiled against his skin, and moaned so softly it was like a sweet song to his ears. When her touch had burned like fire along his skin, leaving a mark only in memory but he was convinced it would be etched there forever. It was a night he wouldn’t soon forget, and he could tell she hadn’t been so quick to cast their night aside because Katie was looking at him like she had seen a ghost.
There was no ignoring how her body stiffened at the sight of him, or the way her face paled before she quickly looked away, back towards Bergeron who was supposed to be the focus of her attention. Katie’s hands tightened their grasp around her purse, and her chest rose and fell a little too fast and when Jeremy came up, patting Parker on shoulder as if he had made the trip across the room just to congratulate him, her eyes darted to him. They were wide with something that wasn’t quite shock, but he couldn’t quite place it.
“I didn’t realize we had guests,” he smiled at Parker, then Bergeron, before settling on the woman he knew far beyond what anyone in the room could imagine.
Bergeron nodded, and his introduction was casual, “This is Stacey’s mom, she came out to see the game tonight.”
Jeremy’s stomach twisted, his head cocking oh so slightly as he looked at her. Silently begging her to correct his captain but it never came. Katie–his for the night, Katie– was Parker’s mom?
His jaw threatened to loosen, to fall agape, but his lip didn’t fall further than a trembling breath that he quickly hid behind a smile as he reached out his hand for her to shake.
“Stacy’s mom?” Jeremy started with a disbelief he wished he was faking that oozed into careful charm that had coaxed her into bed the night before. “You don’t look a day over thirty.”
“You’re too kind,” she told him, her smile forced. He was sure no one else would notice, but he could see the cracks in her facade. Jeremy had only spent mere hours with her, but he knew what a true smile looked on her lips. This one quivered at the corner of her lips, and slipped away as her breath hitched as she wiped her hand along the seam of her jeans before finally shaking his hand with her trembling touch.
Her hand was warm in his, his skin soft and supple. It was a delicate reminder of the night they shared. Of how she had clutched to him so desperately that her nails had left crescent moons in the flesh of his back. He squeezed her hand, for just a second, just enough to silently tell her that their secret would be safe. Jeremy had hoped that it would put her at ease, but instead, her pupils flared and her chest was full with the breath she held until his hand slipped away from his.
She had let go too quickly but her touch lingered, even as he reached out to shake Parker’s father’s hand. His eyes darted back to Katie, for only a moment, his own heart racing now as he silently questioned if there was still something going on between the man Jeremy suddenly hated for only one reason: That he had once had Katie all to himself.
She didn’t say a word as she stepped back, forcing herself back into composure before she could unravel at the seams. Slowly, Katie reached her left hand up to tuck a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. It gave him a look at her bare ring finger as she oh so casually shook her head.
They were separated, and while it shouldn’t have, it excited him.
He was going to be seeing her for as long as he and Parker played together in Boston. At games, during breaks even if he was lucky, Katie was going to be a fixture in his life.
Jeremy didn’t know how it would play out, but one thing was clear, things would be complicated. He wanted her, and if he had to guess? Katie wanted him too, even if she shouldn’t – but she wouldn’t be able to resist him. Not forever.
TAGLIST: @mp0625 , @starshine-hockey-girl , @wingedwheelprxncess , @kurlyteuvo , @couldawouldashoulda50 , @hagelpoint-3821 , @macklin-celebrini-71 , @m00nlightdelights , @laurenairay , @idonthaveaclue , @dasiysthings
Join my taglist.
