#c.caufield

Cole was the only hockey player you had a weakness for. Last June, you were sitting on the couch with your family watching the draft, and your eyes were drawn to a sad-looking boy sitting in the audience. The commentators then provided a name for the face: Cole Caufield. They talked how talented he was, but that his short stature meant he had to watch his teammates and other inferior prospects get picked before him. You noticed from his soulful eyes and mouth pressed into a thin line that he was desperately trying to keep it together, and you felt badly for him. What sealed the deal, though, was his radiant smile when Shea Weber called his name at the podium, making him the newest member of the Montreal Canadiens. It was in that moment you knew you were in trouble, and you developed a huge crush on him afterwards.

You were hoping you wouldn’t see Cole today (or ever), but fate clearly had other plans.

“I…I’m fine, thanks for asking. I’m sorry, I should’ve looked where I was going,” you blushed.

“No, it was all on me. I was so busy looking at all the photos on the walls that I didn’t see you coming.”

You smiled at that. They had fascinated you, too, when you first started coming to practices here. “Yeah, they are amazing.”

There was a moment of silence before Cole broke it. “I forgot to introduce myself before, I’m Cole. And you are?”

“Y/N,” you said.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N.” He smiled at you before his cheeks flushed red, and he dropped his hands from your waist, where they had remained since they steadied you. He extended one of his hands to shake yours, and you took it. “So, are you from Montreal?”

“No, but I’ve lived here since high school and I’m a first-year at McGill,” you replied, intentionally vague about what, or rather, who, brought you here. “What about you?”

“I grew up in Wisconsin before moving to Michigan for the NTDP program, and I went to Wisco last year before turning pro and coming here.”

“That’s awesome!” You acted like you hadn’t conducted countless searches about him on the Internet in the past year.

“McGill’s a really good school, what are you studying?”

“English literature.”

He only nodded this time, and you wondered if you said something wrong because he got really quiet and looked super nervous. Or maybe he figured out your last name.

“I know we just met,” Cole began, and your heart started beating rapidly in your chest, “but I was wondering if—”

“Y/N!” Of course, at that particular moment, your brother had to come down the hall and wrap you up in his arms as if Cole wasn’t standing there. When he finally let you go, he finally noticed Cole, whose eyes were darting between you and Carey. You could tell from his face that the pieces were fitting together in his mind.

“I see you already met my baby sister,” Carey said with a note of suspicion in his voice, and he actually puffed his chest out in an attempt to look intimidating. Your brother’s behavior made you cringe.

Cole opened his mouth to speak, but you beat him to it. “I crashed into him as I was walking down the hall.”

Carey visibly relaxed and ruffled your hair, which you immediately smoothed back down. “Y/N, I love you, but you’re a klutz.”

“Hey, not all of us have superhuman reflexes like you,” you said, hands in the air.       

Cole laughed out loud. “You got that right; your brother’s the best goalie I’ve ever seen. He made some wicked saves during practice today. Well, uh, I’d better get going. It was nice to meet you, Y/N,” he said, smiling shyly at both you and Carey.

“You too,” you said, but he had already put his head down and started walking down the hall.

It took all you had not to sigh out loud. You were convinced that Cole was about to ask you out when Carey showed up. Now, he was probably never going to ask you out. You were the “baby” sister of the franchise goalie, and he didn’t even find out about it from you. You were absolutely crushed. You wanted to get to know him better, go on dates with him, maybe even be his girlfriend, but you doubted that would happen now. Cole seemed smart, and there was no way he would risk upsetting your brother.

“Are you okay?” Carey snapped you out of your trance.

“Yeah, totally fine. Can I have dinner at your place?” you asked. After only a few weeks at McGill, you were starving and Carey’s wife, Angela, was an amazing cook.

“Of course, shorty.”

“I told you not to call me that!” you said indignantly.

“You’re my baby sister; I have to have at least one embarrassing nickname for you,” he responded before putting his arm around you and guiding you out of the practice arena and into the cool and crisp Montreal afternoon.

***************

That night, you were in your old room at Carey’s place because you had received a text from your roommate, Leslie, saying she was having a guy over and that you had make yourself scarce. It had taken you about a week to hate her guts, and that hatred increased every day. You already requested a dorm transfer for the spring, but you were in the lurch for this semester.

After you received the latest text from Leslie, you had called Jesperi Kotkaniemi, otherwise known as KK, and commiserated with him. He said he would’ve let you crash with him, but Cole was his roommate for the year. You quickly agreed that wouldn’t be the best idea and had now come to terms with the fact that you’d probably be staying with Carey this semester.

Your phone buzzed on the bedside table and you picked it up with a sigh, thinking it might be another passive aggressive text from Leslie, but it was an unknown number.

The text read: Hey it’s Cole, I got your number from KK.

Your heart started pounding in your chest, and you scrambled to unlock your phone and respond to the text. What were you going to say?

Then, another thought popped into your head: you never told KK about your crush on Cole. That son of a bitch had figured it out, you thought wryly.

Before you could get your thoughts straight, another text popped up on your screen: Is it safe to FaceTime?

Now you were convinced that your heart was going to burst out of your chest. You typed, Let me check, before throwing the phone down on the bed and tiptoeing down the hall. You saw Carey and Angela cuddled up together on the couch watching a movie, so you went back into your room and texted Cole: Coast is clear.

Before you knew it, your phone buzzed with an incoming FaceTime call. You took a deep breath before accepting the call.

Cole’s smiley face appeared on the other end. “Hi, Y/N.”

“Hi,” you said, only partially successful in sounding calm.

“I’m sorry our conversation got cut off earlier,” he said.

“You’re sorry? If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine,” you responded. “Carey is my brother, after all.”

It was very subtle, but you saw Cole’s jaw clench. You mentally kicked yourself for mentioning your brother. It was like you were trying to self-sabotage.

“Well, that’s true,” he laughed nervously before clearing his throat. “Listen, I was going to ask you something back at the arena before he showed up, so I’m going to do it now before I lose my nerve.” He took a deep breath and then continued, “Would you like to go out for coffee or something tomorrow?”

You couldn’t believe your ears.

“It’s totally fine if you don’t, I totally understand—”

“No, no, no,” you cut him off. “I’d love to! I’m just surprised you asked me after finding out about Carey.”

“That’s what KK said,” he replied. “Well, he said I had to be insane, but the connotations are the same.”

You rolled your eyes. “And he’s supposed to be my best friend,” you said sardonically, and Cole laughed.

“I’m sure most people would think the same thing, but when we met, we just clicked,” Cole said before gasping. “Oh God, I sound like a weirdo and I’m putting words in your mouth.”

“Not at all, I thought the same thing,” you reassured him. “So, what time should we meet up tomorrow?”

***************

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Y/N,” Angela said as the two of you waited outside the dressing room for Carey and Cole.

“I do,” you replied, looking at her steadily. She was eyeing your jersey nervously as if she wasn’t convinced.

It had been a month since you and Cole went on your first date, but it felt like you had been together for a year. He officially asked you to be his girlfriend two weeks ago, but this was their first home game since opening night due to a long western road trip. He had also given you his jersey that night, and you were wearing it instead of your brother’s #31.

“We can’t hide this from him forever,” you continued, “and Cole scored his first goal tonight and the team won, so hopefully Carey’s in a good mood.”

You told Angela earlier today, and while she was happy for you, she was understandably nervous about how her husband was going to react. Carey looked like a teddy bear, but he was capable of being downright ferocious if he thought someone would hurt his family, especially you.

“We’re about to find out,” she replied, angling her head toward the dressing room from which your brother had just emerged. He was smiling, which was good. How long that was going to last…you knew it wouldn’t be long.

“Great game tonight, babe!” Angela exclaimed, hugging her husband. He hugged her back fiercely, then let her go and pulled you into a hug.

“You were amazing out there, big bro,” you said into his chest.

“Thanks, shorty,” he retorted, and you let the nickname slide. Carey let go of you while simultaneously saying, “I’m always better when you guys are—”

He stopped mid-sentence, staring at your sleeve or, more specifically, the #22 on it. “Why aren’t you wearing my jersey? Whose number is that, anyway?” he asked before realization dawned on his face. “Cole.”

“Carey, I don’t want you to be mad, but—”

“Y/N and I are dating,” you heard Cole say. You looked over Carey’s shoulder to see him standing behind your brother; you hadn’t even seen him come out. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you earlier, but we were both afraid of how you would react, so we figured it was best to tell you after the roadie.”

Carey’s expression was, for once, unreadable. You could generally tell what he was thinking, but now? Nothing. “How long?” he asked, the words clipped.

“A month,” you replied before continuing. “I’m sorry for not telling you, too, but I wanted to make sure this was going to work out before upsetting you, and then you guys went on the road, so I couldn’t tell you sooner.”

“Is that why you were glued to your phone the whole time?” Carey asked Cole, turning away from you.

“Yeah,” Cole admitted.

“Are you happy?” Carey spun around to face you again.

“Happier than I ever thought I could be with anyone.” Conviction rang clear and true in your voice.

There was a long pause before he looked at Cole, who had walked over to your side and taken your hand in his. “If you ever hurt her, I swear to God, Caufield, I’ll kick your ass,” he said.

“I won’t. I go all out to protect the people I love,” Cole replied, smiling at you. You just barely stopped yourself from gasping in response, instead smiling back at him and squeezing his hand to convey that you felt the same way.

“You scored your first NHL goal! I’m so proud of you,” you whispered. Cole grinned before looking at your lips and leaning in.

“And no PDA while I’m around,” Carey interrupted.

“We’re just holding hands!” You protested without thinking. Carey stared at you, and you looked at the ground, suddenly finding the concrete interesting.

“I know, I’m just messing with you!” Carey reached out to ruffle your hair, which you smoothed down with the hand that wasn’t holding Cole’s. “Why does everyone think I’m so scary, anyway?”

“You have got to be kidding me.” This time, it was Angela who spoke, barely suppressing a chuckle while she did so. “Do you remember the time you thought you saw Y/N’s prom date kiss someone else at the pre-party?”

You cringed at the memory, and Cole looked at you. “What happened?”

“He lunged at them and ripped the guy away, only to realize he wasn’t my date,” you replied. “The principal flipped out. If Carey wasn’t who he is, he would’ve been banned from school property.”

Cole looked at Carey, who shrugged. “I go all out protect the people I love.”

“And I love you for that,” you cut in, “but I’d prefer not to see you end up in jail one day.”

“Sorry?” You asked closing your phone and putting it on the rolling table, “It’s just I’ve been so bored that I got into looking at Tik Toks.”

The three boys shared a surprised look finding it hard to believe that you of all people had started to look at the videos. “Are they giving you the right meds Y/n/n? Because you don’t seem like yourself,” Cole said taking a seat on the couch next to your bed. You raised your eyebrows challenging him to keep going with his thought.

“I might have just had surgery Caufield, but I can still kick your ass.” All of you burst into laughter before you quickly stopped to cradle your lower right abdomen. The three hockey players faces soon morphed into ones of concern. “I’m okay, I promise it’s just the stitches - hurts to laugh, that’s all.”  

Jack’s hand was quick to find your free one and give it a tight squeeze. “I guess that means you can’t hang out with us for awhile huh?” Alex asked wearing a smug smile. “It’s always a good time with us.”

Your e/c eyes rolled before you squeezed Jack’s hand in return. “No Alex, it means I have to stay away from Luke, you guys aren’t that funny.” Jack pulled his hand away from yours looking hurt. Cole and Alex wore the same looks and you scoffed. “You guys can’t be serious right now, I’m kidding. You know I think you’re all hilarious.”

Cole’s mouth opened to snap back at you only the song Old Town Road started to play and your cheeks flushed red: busted. “Well boys looks like we’re only funny if we dress up like cowboys,” Jack announced smirking at his two best friends. “Isn’t that right babe?”

You were quick to hide your face in your hands as Jack passed your phone around so they could see just what you had been watching before they came to visit you. “Stop please,” you begged only their laughs bounced off the fall as you slowly died from embarrassment. “Fine if you’re trying to kill me, just please don’t tell any of the other guys, please.”

All three turned away from the huddle to look at your pouting face. “Sure thing princess, it’ll be our little secret, “Jack repsoned voice as smooth as honey but the look in his eye told you otherwise.

“We promise,” Cole and Alex added in sync the same devious smile resting on their faces.

Just as you were about to fight back one of your nurses came in.”Sorry boys but it’s time to go, Y/n’s has to get some rest.” All four of you started to frown at the news, “Don’t worry you can come back tomorrow.”

They all nodded slowly padding over to you. Cole and Alex both kissed your cheek before exiting the room letting you have a minute alone with Jack. “Here’s your phone back princess,” he started with a smile, “call me when you wake up okay? I’ll bring you dinner.” Humming you leaned into his hug, “I love you Y/n.”

“I love you too J, just please don’t tell any of the guys, especially not Trevor.”

“We won’t, don’t worry babygirl nobody’s gonna find out,” he whispered against your forehead. A quick kiss was pressed against it before he pulled away and walked to the door. “I’ll see you later babe, I love you.” With that Jack disappeared from the room leaving you with your nurse.

She was still smiling looking down at you. “He’s a keeper that one,” Laura started to say as she went to check your stitches. Seeing your confusion she was quick to answer. “He was in the waiting room the whole time with your parents.”

It brought a smile to your face then you remembered who you were dealing with. “Yeah well he’s only a keeper if his hockey team doesn’t find out about the Tik Toks I was watching.” It was Laura’s turn to give you a confused look but thought nothing else of it.

You should’ve known Jack, Alex, and Cole would tell the boys about it, but with pain meds you were on you didn’t, and that was a mistake. 

“Mom why aren’t we at home?” You asked noticing the fact you pulled into a too familiar driveway. One that was a block away from your own house. “I’m supposed to go home and rest,” you reminded her trying to get an answer as of why you were at the Hughes’ house and not your own.

Turning her head she smiled over at you, “Ellen wanted to see you, and so did Jack since I wouldn’t let him take you home. Plus I knew you’d wanna rest here with him.” The smug smile told you one story compared to her words. Sighing you didn’t argue and carefully got out of the car only now noticing the cars that belonged to the boys. “The boys wanted to see you too, Jack had them all worried about you Y/n/n,” your mother spoke reading your mind perfectly.

The front door was thrown open revealing the women who wore a warm smile. “Oh Y/n, sweetie it’s so good to see you out of that hospital.” She was quick to wrap you up in a hug, careful not to hurt you in anyway. “I’m so happy everything went okay, Jack was so worried,” she gushed holding you at arms length away to look you over.

“So I’ve heard,” you answered with a wide smile, “well at least we know he isn’t all about hockey.” Ellen laughed at your insight knowing that it was true, that boy was caught up in this own little world, and very few things ran around his head other than hockey. “Speaking of J, where is he. I can’t believed he hasn’t mobbed me yet,” you joked looking around Ellen into the house. The only other Hughes that you saw was Luke.

He smiled at you before pushing past his mother to throw himself at you. “Y/n/n,” he sighed causing to laugh a little, “‘m sorry I couldn’t come see you but hockey, and ‘m happy you’re okay.” You wrapped your arms around the youngest Hughes happy to finally see him again.

“It’s okay Luke I know. Your mom gave me the card and bag of Red Vines you got me,” you explained pulling away to see him smile up at you. “I love you lil dude, you know that right?” He was quick to nod before muttering he loved you too.

“Why don’t we get Y/n inside,” Ellen stated and that’s when you saw her smile. It was teasing like there was something going on, but you didn’t know it yet. “The boys are in the basement waiting for you. Me and M/n are gonna start making lunch.”

You and Luke both nodded showing you agreed with her, before he started leading you down to the basement. The walk was slow, and quiet. Way too quiet, you’d never heard it this quiet when the boys were over before. Normally the house would be full of music, or the sounds of a hockey game playing off the Tv, but nothing. “Luke what’s going on? Why’s the house so quiet, Jack and the boys are never this quiet.” His shoulders shrugged as you slowly made your way down the stairs not wanting to strain your abdomen.

“Where the fuck is the furniture?” You asked looking over at a smirking Luke. “Luke Hughes I know something is going on, so tell me right now what it is.” Again his shoulders only shrugged his shoulders watching you roll your eyes. “This is ridiculous, why the fu-”

Then you heard it, and your face fell. “No,” you whispered frowning, “no, no, no, no. ‘M gonna kill Jack, Cole, and Alex.” Old Town Road had started to play over the speakers of the Hughes basement and you felt your cheeks burn red.

You were waiting for the boys to rush out and make fun of you but it didn’t happen. They were still nowhere to be found. “Yeah, I’m gonna take my horse to the old town road. I’m gonna ride ‘til I can’t no more,” Jack, Alex, and Cole all sang together slowly making their way towards you.

Your eyes went wide as you stared at them in cowboy boots, hats, jeans, and flannel shirts. They all had matching belts to top the outfit all off. “I hate you guys,” you cried through laughter. Soon all the boys relieved themselves dressed to match your three best friends.

“I think you love us Y/n/n,” Alex teased Cole nodding to agree with him.

“Come on babe, you gotta admit this is pretty funny,” Jack added with a million dollar smile, “and I did it all for you.” Those seven words caused your cheeks to flush, and your heart to race feeling as if it was going to jump out of your chest.

“Plus you haven’t even seen the best part!” Cole exclaimed stepping towards you, “Hit it Trev.”

And just like that the song was starting over as Trevor smirked over at you. “I can’t believe you listen to this of all people.” You gave the wannabe frat boy a weak smile, “You’re never, ever gonna live this down Y/n/n, I hope you know that.”

“Hey leave my girl alone,” Jack called arms crossing over his chest. He then turned back to face you and Luke who now had a chair for you to sit in. “Please enjoy the show love.”

Sitting next to Luke you watched as the boys got in formation to do what looked like a line dance to you. As the song continued on Alex dropped on to the ground, and Cole stood over him as if he was riding a horse.

Your laughter could be heard throughout the whole house as you watched the boys try to prove they could dance. And god the smile Jack was giving you the whole time - you were sure you were melting into the chair. His eyes were on you the whole time not caring about anything else.

“Luke make it stop,” you wheezed clutching your abdomen. “Make it stop,” you begged watching as they all tipped their hats off to you and the song came to an end. “Thank god it’s over, you guys cannot dance.”

All of them frowned at you as you stood from your seat. “Well everyone expect for Spencer, you were surprisingly good at that Spence.” The blondes shoulders shrugged as he smiled back at you.

“Hey I’m the boyfriend, I should be getting the compliments,” Jack cut in arms still crossed over his chest. His pout turned to a smile as you pressed your lips against his cheek. “That works for me too.”

“But seriously thank you guys, all of you. It means a lot that you would do this for me,” you said as you walked over to hug Cole and Alex. “Even if you know my secret, I’m fine with it.”

“Group hug!” Cole yelled making sure to pull your closer to him. Soon the whole team was piling up trying to hug you close to them. Somehow, even Luke got roped into the hug.

It didn’t last long before you told them you needed to sit down. “Well now that we’re done here, can we get lunch?” Trevor whined.

“Yes Trev, we can get lunch now,” Alex answered with a sour look. As soon as he dashed up the stairs Alex was shaking his head, “Yes, the only way we could get Trevor in on this was with food.”

You rolled your eyes not surprised by that fact, “Of course it was, but he does have a point. Jack carry me?” He nodded his head quickly before sweeping you up off your feet. “Well howdy cowboy, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

He tried biting his lip to stop laughing but he failed, and couldn’t hide the smile that you were forcing him to have. “Howdy to you too ma’am, the pleasures all mine.” His lips were placed on yours, and you could feel your cheeks beating up with all the boys watching you two.

“Mm, if you say so J,” with that you pulled the hat from off his head and placed it on your own. “Wanna take me down to the old town road?” You then whispered into his ear.

Jack’s cheeks burned red - his skin almost the same color as a lobster, “I - uh, that was inappropriate,” he mumbled setting you down on kitchen tile. You smirked up at him, “But - ‘m not opposed to that idea.”

Your mouth dropped open as you stared at him in disbelief. “I was joking you know,” you muttered grabbing a plate. Jack gave you a pointed look causing you to cave, “Yeah so I wasn’t joking, but I didn’t think you were gonna answer like that.”

“Obviously I meant after you get your stitches removed, if that what’s you mean,” he explained sliding up next to you. “But hey, a cowboys never one to disappoint a lady.”