You’re a senior at the University of Wisconsin, you’ve been here for 4 years but you barely go to any parties since you’re shy. Since it’s your last year your best friend and roommate Melissa is making you go to a party.
She’s been friends with Wisconsin’s hockey since freshman year since her boyfriend Ryder was on the team for 3 years.
“Come on girl, you need to come out of your shell and party, it’s our last year we need to make the most of it” Melissa begged
“Melissa, you know I can barely talk to anyone, I don’t want to go and embarrass myself” I pleaded. I really didn’t want to go and embarrass myself In front of her hockey friends. I had already met a few of them but I still wasn’t comfortable enough with them to not be shy.
“please! I promise I won’t leave you alone until you get comfortable. Plus once you get a few drinks in you you’ll be fine”
“Fine” I groaned out
“yay!” she started jumping happily making me laugh
“if I embarrass myself I’m leaving” I say seriously
“deal” she replied giving me a hug
“perfect, then let’s get ready” I said going over to my closet to try and find an outfit to wear.
We both got ready and left our apartment around 9 to go over to the seniors house for the party.
Once we got there Melissa dragged me to the kitchen to get something to drink, she grabbed two white claws and gave me one.
The house was already full of people, most of them I never saw before.
“drink up girly!” she told me smiling
“I really hope I don’t embarrass myself” I signed
“you’ll be fine girl, let’s go find the boys, and trust me they’ve embarrassed their selves enough, they have no reason to laugh” she said encouraging me to be myself.
I nodded and we made our way to the living room to try and find some of the boys.
Melissa spotted Owen Lindmark and Shay Donovan talking so we made our way over there.
“Hey boys, this is my best friend and roommate Y/n” she said introducing me to the boys.
“hey” I said shyly,
“ Hey Y/n, I’m Owen and this is Shay, it’s nice to meet you” he said as they both gave me smiles.
“You to” I replied smiling
“Owen, mind staying with her for a sec, I need to talk to Shay about a project for some class?” she lied
I looked at her with my eyes wide, I could tell she was lying, plus she promised me she wouldn’t leave me.
“Yeah, no worries” he replied smiling, before they both walked away
“That was a lie right” he asked me
“Yeah… definitely” I say chuckling
“how come I never met you before?”
“umm, I’m sorta shy… I don’t usually go to parties since I don’t really talk to anyone except Melissa” I said shyly looking down at my shoes
“well I’m glad you decided to come tonight” I looked at him to see him smiling
“me too” I replied smiling
We continued talking for most of the night, he really was sweet, and he made me feel comfortable. Melissa ended up joining us later along with some of the sophomores who I got to meet, they were also really nice.
It was starting to get late and I had a few more drinks, so Melissa and I thought it would be a good idea to head back to our apartment.
“You ready to head home?” she asked me
“Yeah, I’m starting to get tired anyways” I replied
Before we headed out Owen stopped me.
“wait… is there any chance I could get your number? I’d like to continue talking to you” he ask me smiling
I nodded smiling, he gave me his phone and I put my number in it
“Text me sometime” I replied smiling and giving him a wink before leaving with Melissa
When we got into the Uber she looked at me a chuckled
“what?” I ask confused
“nothing, I’m just proud of you for giving him your number… and you winked that’s so not you, it makes me happy” she said squeezing my hand
“thank you, I’m really glad you dragged me here tonight… I had a lot of fun”
“I’m glad… and just so you know… Owen’s a really good guy” she said winking, making me chuckle.
You and Owen kept talking for a few weeks. You even hung out with him alone. You guys got close, he was really sweet, and you were starting to get feelings for him.
You had gone and had coffee with him this morning, he asked if you wanted to go watch him play, they were playing Minnesota at 4pm. I told him I would go to the game.
I had asked Melissa if she would go with me, she agreed. She told me she was happy I was finally letting someone else in. I had a lot of trouble making friends when I was a kid for being shy. Melissa was the only friend I ever really made, she never made me feel bad about myself for being shy and having trouble talking to new people.
That’s what I love about Owen. He makes me feel just as comfortable, he doesn’t care that I’m shy and he doesn’t make fun of me for it.
Melissa and I got ready and left for the game
The game went well and the boys won 3-0 to Minnesota. Melissa and I made our way to the locker room to wait for the boys. The few guys that came out first smiled and gave us a quick hello.
Owen and Shay came out last.
“Hey girls, Melissa, do you need a ride to the apartment?” Shay said before leaving
“Sure thanks Shay, Have fun you two” Melissa said quickly before going with Shay, leaving Owen and I alone.
“Do you have any plans for the rest of the night?” Owen asked me smiling
“No, do you have anything in mind?”
“Well, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go on a date with me” he said nervously
“I would love to go on a date with you”
He smiled before grabbing my hand and walking out of the arena.
Hey Kylie, it’s you. Write that Shay Donovan blurb you thought about at work today
You sighed happily as Shay’s non-pizza-holding arm tightened around your waist. He’d pulled you into his lap immediately after you returned from the bathroom.
His nose presses against your neck and he inhales happily. These are the kind of nights he loves, his teammates around and his girl in his lap.
The bean bag chair your boyfriend had copped for roommate dinner faced the rest of the room perfectly. You watched as Dylan and Owen fight over the last slice of pizza.
“Want a bite babe?” Shay asks, pizza-holding hand coming to feed the pizza to you.
You nod and allow him to maneuver the food to your mouth. Shay watches you fondly, eyes softening as you take a much bigger bite of pizza than he’d anticipated but he doesn’t expect anything less. You’re his girl and there’s a reason why.
“Can you two stop being so fucking cute?” Ryder growls, there’s an edge of playfulness to his voice but you can hear the heartbreak seeping through. He’s on his stomach on the love seat by himself, his clothes haven’t changed in two days and you’d be worried if it weren’t for the fact that he actually went to practice today.
“Just because you’re heartbroken, doesn’t mean you have to take it out on those of us who are happy.” Shay counters, still feeding you pizza but leans over to press a sweet kiss to your forehead. If there was one thing Shay couldn’t live without, it would be showing you affection publicly.
“Yeah man, they’re also pretty damn cute,” Dylan rolls his eyes, sneaking the last piece of pizza while Owen was distracted.
Shay smiles down at you, you return it happily. There’s a piece of cheese that falls down your chin and Shay wipes it away with a quick finger. The boys all gag as he sticks his finger in his mouth.
“So exactly why did you break up with her?” Owen inquires, pulling the attention back to the moping Ryder.
A huff leaves the blonde boy’s mouth as he turns over onto his back. Ryder runs a hand through his hair. “She may have said another dude’s name while we were,” he pauses, eyes darting over to you briefly. You know he’s trying to think of the most appropriate euphemism for your ears.
Shay, now pizza-less, quickly covers your ears and presses a kiss to your temple. He smiles proud of himself as the rest of the boys turn their attention back to Ryder.
“We were fucking, hard, bed moving the whole apartment kind of fucking,” he continues.
“Okay get to the point,” Shay rolls his eyes, trying to gently push his hand around your ears tighter. You can definitely still hear the younger Donovan brother but you humour your boyfriend, appreciating the fact that he wants to protect you.
“And she moaned out another dude's name.” Ryder sighs, pulling the throw pillow into his chest.
“So, you mean she moaned Jack Hughes while you were fucking her.” Owen laughs, the rest of the boys joining in on the teasing.
Ryder just goes red and pulls the pillow tighter to his body. His gaze finds the roof and he’s silent again.
Shay’s hands finally leave your ears, he pats your back and gestures for you to get up. You stand and he follows, squeezing your waist. He presses a kiss to your forehead and mutters something about needing the bathroom.
You plop back down in the bean bag chair and sigh before finally putting in your piece. “If it makes you feel better, Ry, Shay has also moaned the wrong thing during sex.”
The younger Donovan perks up from his spot on the loveseat and is immediately intrigued by your confession.
“There’s no way Shay said the wrong name, he’s way too fucking whipped for you,” Dylan comments, eyeing you suspiciously.
“Well, that’s because it wasn’t a name.” You smirk slyly, hands going to adjust the bean bag chair. All three remaining boys watch intently as you do so, hanging off your every word. “He cried out Chipotle as he came.”
Dylan and Ryder burst out into hysterical laughter. You pride yourself in being able to have cheered Ryder up a little from his bubble of misery. You join in their laughter, it was pretty freaking funny when it happened. And Shay had bought you chipotle afterwards (and made you cum six times but they didn’t need to know that).
Owen looks horrified and you feel the need to ask him if he’s okay when Shay returns.
“You said you were fighting over what to eat for dinner.” Owen shrieks, clearly scarred now knowing what you were truly up to.
Your eyes widen and your laughter increases. Dylan and Ryder lose it, to the point that Ryder actually falls off the couch.
Shay stands in the entryway of the living room, his jaw hanging open. “You told them?”
It was surreal how you could sense his presence. You went from anxious excitement to a feeling of warmth, all within one breath. You watched from a distance as his frame cleared the tunneled gateway. An outsider may have pegged him as an athlete, heading back to school, with the way his broad shoulders filled out that red maple leaf hoodie and thighs that looked thick even in his grey sweatpants. They would have no idea that the boy who was ducking his head was a World Junior Champion.
His head lifts, features set into a frown as he searches the busy airport for you. When his eyes finally catch yours watching him, he breaks out into that goofy grin that you love so much. You let him make his way to you even though you want nothing more than to run to him, simply because you find it adorable that he clearly double times it to get to you. His arms engulf you and you swear he feels stronger than when he left 54 days ago. He lifts you off your feet, crushing you into his chest and yet it’s still not close enough. The act is softened when his hand comes up to cup the back of your head and he buries his face into your hair. A word hasn’t been said between the two of you but it doesn't have to because this moment says it all.
He exhales as he sets you on your feet again, the smile still on his face though it’s softer now. “I’ve missed you”.
Your arms still wrapped around his waist you pull back just the slightest to look up and reciprocate the sentiment. “You’re not allowed to leave me again, like ever”, you inform him.
He chuckles and his finger finds his way under your chin so that he can do what he’s been thinking about for months. “You have yourself a deal” he mumbles before smashing his lips against yours. He’s never been one for PDA, always remaining lowkey and content with keeping things private. So this takes you by surprise, it’s way more heated than he’s ever been with you in public and you’re not complaining one bit.
It doesn’t take more than a second for you to give into his lips, letting his tongue slide into your mouth. Your arms come up to snake around his neck, pulling him down to you. He has one hand on the small of your back, supporting you both as he leans into you, the other finds its way to the back of your neck, trying to leverage you even closer to him to deepen the kiss. All of the emotion of the past two months is evident in the way you both pour yourselves into each other.
When you just about moan into his mouth, you have to pull away. You know what you must look like when you see the way his eyes are blown. His lips are well kissed and still parted and his cheeks are the color of his sweatshirt. He looks both stunned and perfectly pleased, a smirk creeping its way onto his face.
“Welcome home, baby”, you greet him, holding his hands as you raise up on your tiptoes to give him one last, much more innocent kiss before grabbing one of his bags.
“Let’s go home”. Your heart flutters at his use of the word “home”. You know exactly where he’s referring to and love that your home has become his too. His dimple pops as he throws that sweet smile your way. He picks up his other bag and slings an arm around your shoulders, tucking you into his side.
.
As you make your way through the airport he pulls you closer and places a kiss on the top of your head. “Thank you for picking me up. I really missed you” he breathes out.
Suddenly you stop in your tracks, almost taking yourself out as your fridge of a boyfriend keeps his arm looped around your shoulders as he continues moving forward. He turns around startled.
In all of the excitement of having your baby back in your arms and that kiss knocking you off of your feet you had completely forgotten, but now that you remembered you could barely contain your excitement. “Don’t you have something you want to show me? Like, I don't know...maybe something shiny?” you tease.
He suddenly looks bashful, his face turning as red as it was after he very publicly marked his territory moments ago.
“Come on, D, let me see that gold medal of yours” you squeal.
He pulls you and his bags off to the side so that you’re not in the way and then his hand ducks into the collar of his sweatshirt and comes back out with a beautiful gold medal.
Awe is the only word Dylan can think of to describe you when he finally shows it to you. Your eyes are wide and your perfect lips are formed into a little “o” as you take it all in, the little skater ensignia, the perfect roundness of the medallion, the weight of what it all meant. And then you’re grinning at him with glassy eyes.
He looks so proud watching you take in what is one of his greatest accomplishments so far. But his pride doesn’t even compare to how proud you are of him for working to get to where he is and battling adversity for that medal. You know how much it meant to him to be on the team in the first place, to represent his country, but to actually be part of bringing home the gold brought about a whole slew of emotions for you.
He was a champion and he was yours.
“So what do you think?” He finally asks you, sliding the ribbon around your neck.
“I think you make me the proudest girlfriend in the whole world.”
—
Once you get to your car you throw his bags in your trunk. He walks to the passenger side and opens your door and you smile to yourself, not believing how much you missed such a mundane action. He leans in for yet another kiss before shutting your door and sliding into his side. Immediately his right hand finds yours and he brings it up to his lips to kiss, releasing your hand only to do that really hot thing that guys do when they back a car up and then his grip is in yours all over again.
With the music playing softly in the background and your sunshine back in the car with you it’s like you’re in your own little bubble with him, the good kind this time. You know he feels the same way because he’s much more talkative than back in the airport, in fact there’s hardly a second where the car isn’t filled with his voice. It’s a sound that you’d missed more than you thought your heart would allow and you were more than grateful to have it back. His smile is contagious, as always, but today especially. With every glance your way, his grin accompanies it. He gushes about his journey to the gold medal that was now hanging around your neck.
You make him start from the beginning, how he felt when he first boarded his flight back to his home providence. He admitted how nervous he was since at that point, he was unsure if he would make the team and he knew it was his last chance for that honor. He told you of all things he did to keep himself motivated and hopeful while he quarantined, twice, even though he knew the other guys were out there playing and earning their spots with every minute he wasn’t able to be on the ice. When he says that your daily calls and check-ins were one of those things, you give his hand a squeeze that matches the one your heart does in your chest. He tells you all about the guys, doing his best to describe their personalities and special moments that they shared while in that bubble together.
He indulges your every question, like the best round of 20 questions you’ve ever played in your life. He shares the lows of losing his captain right off the bat to the highs of the calm feeling of the locker room right before that final game. He makes you feel like you were right there by his side.
You don’t want this little moment to end as he pulls into the parking garage and apparently neither does he because he doesn’t make a move to get out of the car. So you continue your attack and ask him what he thought he was doing, looking that good in all of those suits.
--
When you finally get up to go to the bathroom, Dylan starts to follow you and you have to put your hand on his chest to shove him back on the couch. “I can pee by myself, D, thank you” you laugh. Since the minute you walked through the door, no, the minute you got out of the car he had not left your side.
He looks so sad for a moment and you almost change your mind until you snap back to reality with how ridiculous that would be. “I’ll just be right across the room” you assure him, pointing to the bathroom that was literally across the living room.
“At least leave the door open”, he grumbles.
You roll your eyes, but give him a quick kiss anyway. “You’re so weird, Dylan”, but you do as he requests anyway and he starts a full on conversation with you as you go about your business.
You emerge from the bathroom and head for the kitchen instead of your spot in his arms. When you don’t hear him complain, you turn and look at your boyfriend in alarm, “Are you not going to ask me where I’m going?” you tease him.
He looks guilty like he actually messed up and should’ve asked and you laugh. “You’ve been my shadow for days now, I think this is the first time you’ve actually let me out of your sight”.
The only word that could be used to describe his behavior lately is clingy. You weren’t complaining of course after not having access to your boyfriend in so long, but it was kind of comical how much attention he required. He would follow you everywhere, and demanded to be touching you constantly. Whether it was holding your hand to go get a water bottle or moving your feet onto his lap on the couch to watch a show, he had to be connected to you. If you got up for any reason he would question you, like a lost puppy until he knew what you were up to.
He blushes at your observation, but he doesn't deny it. “That’s the longest we’ve been apart since we met, I guess I’m just readjusting”.
“I didn’t say I didn’t like it” you tell him as you crawl back into your spot in his arms after retrieving your drink. “I missed you too”.
--
The next few days you get reacquainted with each other, falling back into your routines and of course pressing each other’s buttons.
“Stop glaring at me, you asked for this. Literally, if I remember correctly” Dylan points out.
His comment only makes you furrow your brows even more, your glare deepening as you stare at your god of a boyfriend. There he lay on the couch, sprawled out in all of his golden glory. His blonde hair was perfectly tousled, loose strands dancing across his forehead as he shook his head at you. He was wearing your favorite sweats, the ones that sat low on his hips and hugged his ass just right and to taunt you even more, he was shirtless. But that wasn’t even the best part. The ribbon around his neck, the gold medallion laying against his skin was something you couldn’t tear your eyes away from.
You had a paper to write and his appearance was not helping you get anything done. “Well when I told you to wear it around this morning, I didn’t know you’d look like that” you grumble, still unable to look away.
His laughter bounces through the room at your apparent distaste. “You have to wear the medal, Dylan. No, don’t put a shirt on, I like you just like that.” he mimics you from this morning in a high pitched voice. You don’t know what it was about that gold medal, but it turned you on and he knew it.
You roll your eyes, shutting your computer. You go to chirp him, but he picks that exact moment to raise his arms and stretch out, letting out a groan in the process. Your eyes go wide as you watch every muscle in his body flex, the glimmer and shine of his medal matching the one in his eyes. The smirk that spreads across his face makes you want to choke him, or maybe to be choked you’re not quite sure because your mind is a mess.
“I can go put a shirt on, if that’s what you want” he offers, moving to get up off the couch.
The rate at which you jump up to stop him as you yell, “No!”, is almost embarrassing.
He raises an eyebrow at you, clearly amused at how worked up you are.
“What?” you ask him, trying to brush it off, but there was no hiding how flustered he was making you. He had always been more than attractive to you, that much was obvious. Maybe it was the amount of time you had been forced apart, but he was somehow driving you even more insane every time you looked at or even thought about him. You were obsessed, knowing your man was a gold medal champion.
You thought you could handle seeing him walking around your apartment, shirtless, donning that medal, hell you even thought you wanted it. However, the minute you walked into the living room earlier and saw him standing there with his cup of coffee, leaning against your floor to ceiling windows, the city his backdrop you knew you were fucked.
You swallow hard, trying to push the image from your mind and get your head out of the gutter. “You’re the worst”, you glare at him again. Who knew it would be the absolute worst thing you could’ve said. His already apparent smirk widens.
“That’s not what you were saying last night”.
And with those 8 words, he unleashes a monster. Your composure is gone, if it was there at all and you full on whine his name.
This is when you get the confident hockey player side of him. He grins at his work, propping his head up behind one arm and beckoning you with the other.
“C’mere, my little Gold-digger”.
--
The end of the day was always your favorite. You thrived at night, even when you were exhausted. You loved looking out and seeing the night sky lit up with the city lights, you loved feeling small, tucked away in your own quiet corner of the world. But most of all, you loved those midnight talks with Dylan. Nothing was off limits with him, from outrageous would you rather that had you questioning whether you were dating a budding NHL player or a middle school boy to deep talks that had you believing with every fiber of your being that he was made just for you.
Tonight as you lay in bed with him, you had a question for him that kept slipping your mind. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but why didn’t you just ask one of the boys to pick you up?” you ask, lifting your head off his chest, instead propping your head up on your arm. “I know Ryder’s been dying to see you, he’s been sending me withdrawal texts since we put you on a plane” you joke.
“They don’t know I’m here yet”, he shrugs as if it’s no big deal.
The hand that was tracing patterns on his chest stops and he turns to look at you, anticipating your question. “You didn’t tell them you were back?”
Again he shrugs, “They think I went home for a bit before I’m coming back”.
“Ohmygod your family. Dylan! Did you even see them while you were out there?” you ask sitting up suddenly. As selfish as it was, you had only thought about him seeing his family when he first left. It hadn’t even crossed your mind for him to stay with them before coming back to campus. Now you felt bad that he was with you and not his family, you knew he didn’t get to see them very often.
His hands shoot out to grab yours and he pulls you back into his chest. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I saw them for a little bit before I left, they knew I wanted to get back though. I’ll be out there soon enough, I didn’t want to keep you waiting”.
You know your eyes are glassy when you look up at him to confirm he meant what he said. “And as much as I love the guys, they’re kind of dominating you know? I just wanted to spend a few days with my girl before we get our third wheel back” he says, giving you a squeeze.
At that you have to laugh because Ryder really had become your third wheel and honestly Shay was your fourth. Whether they did it to bug Dylan or genuinely could not be apart from him you were still undecided, but either way, where there was your boyfriend, there was also your two other boyfriends.
“He’s going to be so mad when he finds out” you tell him giggling at your little secret.
“Not if he never finds out”
“I think he has some kind of radar, D. I’m surprised he hasn’t already come knocking”.
“Don’t say that too loud” he laughs.
And as if on cue, your phone dings asking if you knew when Dylan was coming back. Once your laughter dies out you settle in and relish in the warmth of having Dylan next to you in bed again.
You’re on the verge of sleep when his voice cuts through the darkness. “Y/N?”
You hum in response.
“Are you awake?” he asks, as if your response wasn’t enough.
You roll over so that you’re facing him to see what’s keeping him up.
“I woke you up, didn’t I? Go back to sleep” he whispers.
“You’ve got me, babe. What’s on your mind?”
He hesitates and you think he might’ve gone to sleep after all and so you call his name.
“I’m here. I just-. You know what I was thinking of the whole time I was over there?”
You raise your eyebrows even though you know he can’t see them in the darkness, but he continues on anyway.
“I kept thinking everytime I walked into that building that this was going to be my future. That this is where my career was really going to start”.
You had wondered about that, how he felt and what it was like for him to be spending so much time in the very place where he was going to be playing for the next three and maybe more years. But you had been too afraid to bring it up, for fear of starting a talk about the future that you were unprepared for.
But you swallow your fears and ask anyway, “What was it like?”
You can hear the smile and excitement in his voice when he talks about his future home. “It’s amazing. It was such a privilege to be able to experience that before I get there, to get a taste of what’s to come, ya know? Like I can’t believe that that locker room is going to be mine and those stands are going to be filled with people that want to see my team play. It was surreal and humbling. It started to feel real”, and there’s something about his voice and the way he’s talking that you can tell is leading to something big.
You brace yourself for impact when he swallows hard. He doesn't say anything else, he reaches up and brushes your hair back from your face instead. “Come on, Dylan, you’re scaring me. What aren’t you saying?”
“It started to feel real,” he repeats. “I was in my home, so close to achieving my dream and all I could think about was how I wanted you there with me.”
You don’t feel like it’s safe to let out the breath you’re holding quite yet.
“I thought getting to the next level was the ultimate goal and in a way it still is, it’s what I’ve been working for my whole life, but Y/N it just didn’t feel right to not be able to share it with you too. I know it’s early and I don’t know where I’ll be this time next year, but when I do get there, I want you there with me. Edmonton might be where I’m going, but it won’t be home without you”.
When he feels the wetness of your tears falling on his chest he’s concerned. But he knows you so well and knows what your love language is and so he tilts your chin up and kisses you hard. He tells you with his lips how much he loves you, how much he adores you, how much impact you’ve had on his life. And you kiss him right back, knowing you won’t be able to get the words out at this point. You kiss your relief, your love and your commitment into his soul.
“So I’ll take that as a yes?” he asks breathless as he pulls away.
You nod, equally as out of breath, “I’d follow you anywhere, Dylan Holloway”.
No more needs to be said, the perfect words already professed. He tugs you a little closer to him and shuffles down the bed until his head is resting on your chest and the rest of his body is nesting itself a home in yours. It never fails to amaze you how much he loved to be the little spoon and how his fridge of a body managed to fit with yours perfectly. You fingers card through his hair, earning a content little sigh. You feel his breathing even out and you feel yourself nearing the edge of sleep too.
You swore you would never get enough of the way he held onto you, tight enough to know you were wanted and loved. You would never get tired of the way his voice dropped, in tone because he was fighting sleep for you, but in volume because no one else needed to hear him but you. You would always crave the way his fingers would manage to trace light paths all across your face and arms as he opened himself up to you. There was something so vulnerable and honest about your nights spent with him and you prayed that they never ended.
But his raspy voice breaks through the silence yet again, this time to ask, “How do you feel about silver? I’m bringing you home a Stanley Cup next”.
He lifts his head to flash that goofy grin your way as he soaks up your laughter.
“Silver sounds good to me, baby”
With that he’s satisfied, but even with the new goal, your new pet name still sticks. “Goodnight, my little Gold-digger.”
