#jd34

“You know she can’t skate, right?”.

If looks could kill, Trevor Zegras would be six feet under at the moment.

Georgie didn’t understand the man’s fascination with getting her roommate and his teammate together. She could see the attraction they shared but would rather not meddle with it. Trevor and his want of being involved in everything is really shining through in this current moment.

“That’s perfect! Jamie’ll be right there to swoop in and save her from falling. See? My plan is perfect, Gigi!” Trevor exclaimed, eyes shining with excitement and anticipation.

His current plan for ‘phase two’ of his plan to get you and Jamie together included the family skating event that the Anaheim Ducks were hosting later in the week and since neither Jamie nor Trevor had family in California, it was a perfect idea to recruit you and your roommate as their plus ones for the night. He’d pair himself up with Georgie while Jamie was paired with you. It was perfect in his eyes. Nothing could go wrong and that night would be the night where everything fell into place and the both of you would finally get together after bearing witness to the mutual pining and obliviousness.

“Y’know this isn’t a rom-com movie, right?” Georgie scoffed out, eyes rolling and head shaking as she did so.

“I’m well aware thank you,” Trevor sassed, copying the actions of the woman in front of him. “You have nothing to worry about. She’ll be in great hands. Jamie won’t let her fall or anything”.

The woman across from him only hummed and crossed her arms over her chest, not fully believing in the blue eyed man. Whatever he’s planning, she thought, better be good. Poor girl deserves a break.

———

“You know I can’t skate, right?”.

The question seemed to hit Trevor in the face, eye nearly twitching in agitation.

“Yes. I’ve been made aware of that”.

“So why do you want me to go to your family skate so bad?”.

The blue eyed man nearly wanted to rip the ends of his hair out in frustration. Why couldn’t you just say yes without any questions? It was a simple question that required a simple answer.

“You can practice your skating skills! Everyone should at least learn how to skate one time in their life. Plus, neither Jamie or I have family in California and it’d be nice for you and Georgie to tag along,” he replied, internally on his hands and knees begging as he asked you.

“I’ll fall,” you retorted, arms crossed against your chest.

“Jamie or I will be there to catch you. Hell, if you want Mason to do it, I’ll make sure he will. Just…please come”.

Trevor’s words only caused you to sigh out, nerves already bunching in your stomach at the thought of stepping on the ice. It’s not that you haven’t skated before. It’s just that it’s been years since you have and even then, it was only your third time ever skating. You didn’t want to make yourself look like a fool and fall straight on your face.

“Promise?” You asked.

“Promise,” Trevor nodded.

“Don’t make me regret trusting you, Zegras”.

“I’d never. Scouts honor!”.

You had a feeling that you were going to regret agreeing to skating with Trevor. And you’d be proven right exactly four days after this interaction.

———

“If I slip and die, I’m going to haunt your ass!” You shrieked, hands out in front of you as you wobbled on the sleek ice, trying to balance yourself.

The force of laughter that left Jamie’s lips nearly knocked the both of you over, skates slipping back and forth on the ice as you tried to balance yourself once more.

You don’t know how you were in your right mind when you agreed to Trevor’s family skate idea. You immediately regretted it the minute you stepped onto the ice and nearly face planted. He had managed to catch you last minute, hauling you up as he laughed at your state, declaring you ‘Bambi on ice’.

You had been handed off to Jamie when Trevor decided to help Georgie, even though she had a lengthy history of skating and could manage on her own. He practically dragged you over to the Canadian before lightly shoving you into his frame, clinging onto Jamie’s outstretched arms as you cursed the Zegras boy out.

“You’re doing great so far! Just focus on what’s in front of you,” Jamie replied, the sweetest smile on his face as he continued to grasp your hands in his own. You were surprised he could still feel his hands from how tight you were gripping them. “It’s always hard the first couple of minutes on the ice. But it gets better as time goes on”.

“Says the professional skater”.

He grinned at your statement, eyes never straying from yours as he did so. You did have a point. Jamie had has ample time to refine his skating skills whereas you barely even touched the ice growing up.

“Okay, you got me there. But trust me. The more time you spend on the ice today, the easier it will be next time,” he added, eyes quickly darting behind him to make sure no one was behind him as he continued to skate backwards.

“Next time? Oh no! No. There will not be a next time! This is the only time I will be stepping on the ice,” you retorted, shaking your head.

Jamie only shook his head in response, grin still plastered on his face as the both of you continued to glide across the ice.

“It won’t be if Trevor has anything to do with it. Now, you’re doing great! Just keep bending your legs,” he replied, hands tightening their grip on yours ever so slightly.

A scoff was the only response to escape your lips as you continued to focus on skating properly, desperate to not fall on your face.

———

“So, how was it?”.

Hours had passed and you were all skated out, Jamie practically carrying you off the ice as you complained about how much your feet hurt.

A glare was shot in Trevor’s direction. His usual, stupid grin on his face as he plopped himself right next to you as Jamie untied your skates for you. (You had protested much on the fact. But he insisted on untying your laces for you. You could not refuse him after he practically pouted at you to let him.)

“I’m killing you when we get home,” you replied, massaging your foot once it was free from the tortuous confinement of the ice skate. “I can’t feel my feet, Trev!”.

“She did pretty good. Better than I expected,” Jamie commented, gently placing the other foot onto his thigh, fingers deftly untying the laces.

You let out a gasp of shock, gently nudging Jamie’s forehead as you pouted, “You have no faith in me at all!”.

The onyx haired man only chuckled at your response, shaking his head a little to fix his locks as he continued to aid you in getting out of your skates.

“From what I could see, you did well, babe” Georgie piqued, skates already off and tennis shoes on her feet. Her piercing eyes glared at Trevor for a second before returning to you, softening a bit.

You mouthed a ‘thank you’ to her, a gentle smile on your face.

“All right,” Jamie murmured, softly taking your foot out of the unlaced skate and placing it on the ground underneath him. “You’re all ready to go!”.

“Thanks, Jimmy!” You spoke, stretching out that foot as you wiggled your toes and tried to relieve yourself of the soreness.

Trevor shot Georgie a look, something that neither you or Jamie noticed. The man wiggled his eyebrows a bit, earning an eye roll and a smack to the shoulder from the woman in front of him.

“McTavish is having a little get together later tonight if y’all are interested in joining,” Georgie commented, very discreetly kicking Trevor’s shin, earning a yelp from him.

“Oh, right! Something about starting the new season off with a bang or whatever,” the brunet added, rubbing his shin. That’ll definitely bruise.

“We should definitely go!” He continued, trying to gauge you and Jamie’s separate reactions to the suggestion.

You looked a little unsure, sparing a quick glance to Jamie as he absorbed the information given to him. Parties were never your thing to begin with. But it always managed to be fun if a certain Ducks player attended.

Jamie shrugged, hand still loosely holding onto your ankle, “Sure!”.

You nodded in response, a smile gracing your features as you looked at Georgie in confirmation.

“Great!” She exclaimed, hands clapping together as she ushered you up, ankle now becoming cold as Jamie’s hand slipped from it. “Us girls will get ready while you two do whatever. Just don’t forget (Y/N)’s drinks this time”.

Georgie shot a hard look at Trevor when she finished her commentary, glaring at him once more before she handed you your shoes and turned your back towards the two boys.

The blue eyed man only rolled his eyes and scoffed, arms crossing over his chest.

“She’s right. Don’t forget it,” Jamie added, including his, in Trevor’s opinion, unwanted input.

“I won’t, lover boy,” Trevor scoffed, ruffling his friends hair before getting up himself, phase two already beginning to circle in his brain.

———

The ‘little get together’ Mason was throwing was, in fact, not little.

If you had to guess, you would say there were at least thirty people squished in Mason’s apartment. Every person there either seemed to be a player or a friend of a friend. You didn’t recognize most unfortunately.

People were bumping into one another as they mingled their way through the crowd to get somewhere else or greet another friend. It was overwhelming to say the least. And it didn’t help that once you stepped through the door, Georgie excused herself to go to the bathroom and left you by the overflowing coat rack Mason had stationed by the entrance to his apartment.

You were close to turning around and leaving the party when you heard someone shout your name—Trevor.

“And where do you think you’re going, missy?” He asked, two alcoholic beverages in hand. “You’ve barely been here thirty seconds and you already want to leave,” Trevor continued, tsking at you.

“This isn’t a little get together, Z,” you shouted, the music and loud talking in the small space making it hard to hear what Trevor was saying.

Trevor sheepishly shrugged. “It was!” He exclaimed, “But then Brittany wanted to bring some of her friends and then they wanted to bring some of their friends…”.

You only shook your head, snatching the familiar labeled beverage in his hand and cracking it open before he finished his sentence.

“But hey, Jamie’s here!” He excitedly shouted, a wide smile spreading on his lips. “He’s back in Mason’s room! I left him there to get you since Georgie texted me that you guys were here”.

A small blush crept onto your cheeks at the mention of the defenseman, warming up your face. Trevor had taken that reaction as a sign to grab your free hand and drag you to Mason’s room, squeezing his way through the numerous bodies littered across the room.

“It should be more peaceful in there,” Trevor commented, turning his head a little bit so you could hear him. He knew how you got with large enough crowds and had personally asked Mason if you could stay in there for a majority of the time so you wouldn’t be overwhelmed. (Not that getting you into Mason’s room with Jamie was a part of his plan, of course not!)

Once you had reached the pearl white wooden door, Trevor had quickly ushered you in before closing the door behind himself, trying extremely hard to keep a straight face so as to not blow his cover.

Jamie was seated on Mason’s bed, elbows on knees as he was scrolling through whatever app he had on his phone. His dark hair had fallen forward due to the position, causing Jamie to have to push back the strands to get a good look at whoever walked into the room.

A smile broke onto his lips once he saw that it was you. “Hey,” he spoke, turning off his phone and throwing it to the left of him, the device making contact with the soft pillows.

“(Y/N/N) here tried to run. But, I caught her in time before she could make an escape. You’re welcome,” Trevor praised himself, giving a little bow to Jamie and you.

You rolled your eyes and took a sip of your beverage. “Oh, why, thank you so much, Trev!”.

Only a wide grin was Trevor’s response to your quip, teeth on full display as his blue eyes twinkled with an all too familiar look.

But before you could question what he was up to, a loud knock came from behind Mason’s bedroom door, catching the attention of all three of you in the room.

The door opened to reveal Lukáš Dostál, one of the Ducks goalies. He had a sheepish smile on his face as he called out to Trevor, telling him that Mason needed him real quick before slowly backing away from the door frame to allow space for the center player to get through.

“Alright,” Trevor spoke, clapping his hands together, or at least as much as he could with his beer in hand. “I must depart. So, I’ll leave you two alone. Don’t miss me too much now”.

A fake laugh escaped your lips as the boy exited the room, the loud slam and click of the door echoing throughout the room. Trevor shot you a small wink just before he completely disappeared behind the door.

“He’s up to something,” Jamie commented, eyes squinted at the door, gaze lingering on the general area Trevor stood just moments prior.

“I was about to say the same thing, Drysdale” you murmured, non dominant hand on hip as your dominant one still held your cool beverage.

“You’d think we’d have a sixth sense for this,” he chuckled, fingers raking through his dark hair. “With all the shit he pulls, you’d think we’d be better at recognizing when he’s up to something”.

You smiled at his comment, nodding with what he was saying as you took a sip of your drink. Trying to pinpoint what exactly Trevor was up to was always a hard feat—something that you hadn’t quite mastered yet even after all these years of knowing him.

“He’s sneaky. Too much for his own good sometimes,” you spoke, flopping onto Mason’s bed, cup already emptied and discarded somewhere amongst the room.

Jamie only hummed in response as he felt your weight dip the mattress, the force of it nearly forcing him backwards, his left hand going behind him in order to stop himself from crushing you.

From his position, Jamie could see every faint freckle on your face and every birthmark that painted your skin. You were wearing a black baby tee that had two pink magic eight balls positioned as cherries, tied by a ribbon on the very front. The necklace that held your first initial laid in the middle of your chest, moving up and down with each breath you took. The jeans you were wearing hugged your figure perfectly. Your eyelids were gently closed and from time to time, he could see your eyes move underneath the lids. Your hair splayed around your head like a halo, shining in the overhead light. To Jamie, you looked like an angel sent from above—so pretty and kind and captivating. He couldn’t believe he had met you when he did. He felt so blessed to get the privilege to be in your life, in whatever way you deemed appropriate.

“Trevor’s special. In more ways than one,” Jamie chuckled.

His comment made you laugh, your head thrown back against the sheet as your legs lifted up to your chest as they kicked instinctually from laughter.

Your reaction made Jamie smile and blush, blood rushing up his neck to his cheeks, dusting his face a light pink color.

“I’m surprised we’re still friends with him,” you wheezed out. “With all the shit he’s pulled, he should’ve been blocked a long time ago”.

Jamie chuckled and nodded in response.

His heart was beating extremely fast, something it did regularly when Jamie was in your presence. He also had a hard time breathing too, but who wouldn’t?

A comfortable silence had settled between you two. You still laid down on Mason’s bed, eyes delicately closed and breathing steady as you tried not to fall asleep on the comfortable mattress.

The loud chatter of those outside Mason’s bedroom was only an afterthought as the two of you continued to bask in the comfortable silence. The domesticity of it all made Jamie’s heart lurch and his mind race. It wasn’t an entirely domestic scene, but it was enough for him. You are always enough for him.

The man wasn’t going to lie about how he knew about Trevor’s “masterful plan”. He had figured it out quickly after he heard his roommate mumble to himself about how his plan failed after that one party at their shared apartment. Confiding in Georgie only proved Jamie’s suspicions right—the redhead practically spilling every thought and plan Trevor had come up with in an attempt to get the two of you together. Jamie had nearly died at Georgie’s confession. That was the only confirmation he needed to pull up his bootstraps and finally work up the courage to confess to you. And, of course, Jamie knew of Trevor’s idea of throwing you two in a room together in hopes of the two of you getting together.

“(Y/N)?”.

So, here goes nothing.

“Can I tell you something?”.

That question piqued your interest.

You opened your eyes and sat up, faces inches away from Jamie’s face as his eyes never left yours. Your cheeks burned pink from the proximity and you found yourself cursing at your low tolerance for alcohol. Another reason why you much preferred the colorful, fruity drinks many alcohol brand names created. You didn’t need much to feel the effects.

“Yeah. What’s up?” You asked, shifting yourself a bit so all of your weight wasn’t put onto your arms, leaning a little forward.

Jamie’s mouth suddenly went dry, the words caught in his throat as his brain tried to scramble for something—anything to say.

“Should I have not said that about Trev?” You wearily asked, worried he took what you said about his best friend to heart. “Because I didn’t mean that! He’s a cool guy, really! Can be a bit annoying, but I’d never block him. Unless he did, like, something incredibly stupid like—”.

“No.” Jamie simply stated, it coming out more as a croak than a word. He cleared his throat before continuing.

“No. It’s not about that. I honestly agree with everything you said”.

That granted Jamie a smile of yours that he so desperately loved seeing on you. He copied your smile, licking his lips before then.

“It’s just—Damn. I didn’t think it’d be this hard,” he whispered, head slightly shaking as his eyes darted from place to place, nerves tingling throughout his entire body.

“What? That what would be hard, J?” You softly ask, hand coming up to gently grip his bicep in a comforting grasp.

The skin you touched felt like it was on fire to Jamie. Every time you touched him, sparks erupted underneath his skin. It always felt nice. Like it was supposed to happen. Like you were supposed to be touching him.

“I’ve thought day and night about this nearly every day since I met you. Do you remember that? Trev was so excited to introduce you. He was practically buzzing off the walls with excitement,” Jamie begins, his own hand gravitating towards yours that still grasped his bicep, gently wrapping around your wrist.

You giggled at the memory. Trevor had been excited to introduce the two of you. He was dead set on Jamie being the one to rid you of your relationship disappointments. The man had commented many times how his friend and roommate Jamie could be your one. You very much doubted that statement. You had given up at that point. But the second you locked eyes with Jamie Drysdale, all bets went out the window. He was so sweet and so gentle in speaking with you and shaking your hand. You were sure if angels walked the Earth, Jamie was one of them. That night, after leaving the café Trevor brought you to, you had realized that the center hockey player was right about Jamie being the change for you. But you still had doubted that something as kind, as beautiful as Jamie would fall for someone like you.

“Trevor wouldn’t stop talking my ear off about all your little quirks,” you commented. “He told me about your sleep talking and how you always watch the Mighty Ducks series whenever you don’t feel well”.

“Of course he did,” Jamie snorted. “What didn’t he tell you.”

You only smiled in response as you waited for Jamie to continue whatever he was saying beforehand. The butterflies in your stomach swarming and hurriedly batting their wings. You weren’t sure what Jamie was trying to say. You just hoped that he wasn’t going to abruptly end the friendship you two had.

“Trevor had mentioned some things here and there about you. Honestly, I wasn’t sure who I was going to meet that day from how little he mentioned you. He refused to tell me anything and insisted that I actually talk to you to find out more about you. Which, I guess, I should thank him for because then I probably wouldn’t have connected with you the way I did.”.

“It’s forever sketched into my brain—that day. I remember how cold it was that morning and how you walked in with only jeans and a jacket on while I had too many layers on to count. I think my lungs stopped working the minute you walked through the café doors and we locked eyes. I nearly spilled my drink.”.

You both chuckled at that. You had a feeling of where this conversation was going to go and your brain nearly started to overheat from how hard you were thinking and trying not to just blurt out how you felt to him. You never got those long confessions from those you were interested in. And since you were now getting that, you didn’t want to interrupt and ruin the moment. So, you stayed quiet and silently urged Jamie to continue.

“I know it’s cliché to say, but I’m pretty sure I loved you the moment I saw you. Everything about you intrigued me. Everything about you was so enchanting and I couldn’t stop myself from being greedy and wanting to get to know you better. I don’t even think Trevor spoke to us once during the entire three hours we were there. It was hard having to leave and part ways. I wanted to spend more time with you.”.

“I called my Mom later that night and told her everything. She laughed at me and told me that something similar happened to her and my Dad. That I should keep you as close as I could. I’m pretty sure even she could tell that I was already taken aback by you. It was that night that I knew no one else could compare. I mean, it took you, what, five seconds to break me out of my shell and have me talking the entire morning. You were special for some reason and you’re something that I cannot imagine letting go.”.

“So, I guess what I am trying to say is, I think—No. I know that I’m in love with you. And I have been since Trevor uttered your name,” he finished.

Unshed tears gathered in your waterline, threatening to spill over as you took in what the man you had held so close to your heart for so long just confessed.

Jamie too had small tears gather at the corner of his eyes. His heart pounded against his chest as he tried to slow his breathing down. He poured his heart and soul out to you and he only hoped that you matched his feelings back.

“Oh, Jamie,” you whispered, voice full of emotion. “I too have loved you since the moment we met. I think I had a harder time coming to terms with it. I had some rocky relationships in the past that made me feel inadequate for love. For the longest time I thought I was only made for half assed love and the kind of love that made me feel empty when it was over. But, meeting you has changed everything. Meeting you has rewired my brain in so many ways that I can’t begin to tell you the impact you’ve had on me. Just you alone have made me believe all over again. You make love seem not as scary as I thought”.

By the time you reached the end of your sentence, Jamie had tears running down his pale cheeks. He knew of your less than satisfactory relationships and hoped that one day, he could change your mind. He didn’t think he’d actually achieve it as just your friend. He only hoped that he’d be able to do more as your partner.

Silence fell over the two of you again as you both sat there in a warm touchless embrace. Jamie’s hand still gripping yours. Eventually, he moved your hand from his bicep up to his lips, delicately kissing it before placing it on his cheek as he leaned into the soft flesh of your palm.

“I feel like that was really cheesy, no?” He whispered, a giggle falling from his lips.

You could only giggle and nod in response, leaning forward to rest your forehead against his.

Your eyes met, both wet from the tears shedded. An unspoken question (Can I kiss you?) was asked between the two of you, a simple shake of your heads was the only confirmation you needed before leaning in and pressing your lips together.

Jamie’s lips were so, so soft that it made you want to cry all over again. His cologne was more pungent now that you were lip locked. The smell made you feel dizzy, your closed eyes not helping the slight vertigo sensation you felt. His unoccupied hand went to your cheek to pull you even closer, the need to become one ever so present in the air.

Your other hand went up to his soft locks, desperately tugging at the ends, making Jamie shudder at the feeling. You tried to get closer to the man, but the position the two of you were in was not ideal.

But, before you could pull away and climb into Jamie’s lap, the door to Mason’s bedroom slammed open, scaring the two of you away from each other.

“Holy shit! Yes!” A voice shouted, the owner jumping up and down as they squealed and shrieked in excitement.

“Trevor, what the fuck?!” You screamed, now lying on the bed sideways from the scare you received.

“I did it! I finally did it! You guys kissed! I am the ultimate matchmaker, bitches!” He continued, ignoring the glares he was getting from the two of you.

As Trevor began to dance in celebration in front of Jamie and you, you peeked a look at the man you just kissed only to see him smirking as he gazed at you.

But, the only thing you could do was shake your head and urge yourself forward, locking Jamie into another kiss.

“Ew! Hey, I’m right here! Just because you’re together now does not mean I consent to seeing you two eat each other’s faces,” Trevor exclaimed, a small smile on his face as he teasingly tsked at the two of you.

The only response to his comment was your middle finger as he slipped through the door again, careful to lock the door as to leave the two of you some peace and privacy.

———

( “So, did they do it?” Mason asked, feet propped up against the small table placed in front of his couch.

The Ducks player had originally been against Trevor’s “plan” but had ultimately agreed when he got sick and tired of Jamie moping around like a lost puppy after someone mentioned your name.

The smirk on Trevor’s face said it all.

“Good, hopefully he’ll stop looking like a lovesick fool every time someone mentions her,” he added, sipping his beer. “But you owe me big time, Zegras! I just don’t let anyone use my bedroom for their matchmaking plans”.

Trevor only saluted his teammate, uttering a sir yes sir! before practically skipping his way to Georgie to spill the beans.

The sweetness never lasted, no

tzjd & jet pack blues - fall out boy

also inspired by this post by @hattyformatty

"Z," you yelled at him, waving your hands about, trying to get his attention.

He turned around, probably mid-sentence, to find out who needed his attention. A grin spread across his lips as he made his way over to you, looking as graceful as a newborn calf on his skates.

Just before he reached you, he began speaking—shouting, realistically.

"Yah, Y/n, watchu want, boss?"

"Your, or Mase's, charger, please. If I'm waiting on you guys till video's over, I at least want something to kill some time."

Trevor saluted you, face as serious as he could muster—which wasn't a lot.

"Aye, aye, captain. One phone charger, comin' right up. Stay where you are and don't move a muscle."

He pointed at you as he waddled towards the locker room—backwards—where he would presumably take apart both his and Mason's bags trying to find the promised charger.

When he came back a short while later, Z had already changed into slides and loose workout gear. At least he hadn't taken a shower yet, not making you wait on him for quite that long.

"Here you go, your majesty," he said, stretching up to hand over the cable.

"Tell Jameson I said hi. Mason misses him too, even if he won't admit it."

Without giving you time to reply, he started skipping off again, his slides hitting the ground harshly with every hop.

"Oh, and see you in a few," it echoed down the hall.

You were tempted to shout, 'A few what? Minutes? Hours? Days?' after him, but he was too far gone already. Instead, you made your way out of the rink, carefully balancing on the ledge of one of the multiple planters outside the Honda Centre.

Basking in the late morning sun, you closed your eyes. Soon it would get too, unbearably, warm to enjoy the rays, but for now you were content.

You had followed Jamie to the Golden State after his draft in 2020. Had spent the lockdowns far away from your family, in a different country on the opposite side of the continent. Your only—real—form of human interaction was with him, Z, and Mason. The restrictions made you grow even closer than you already had been.

But you knew you would stay by his side before it was even clear where he was headed. Ahead of his draft, you had been looking at universities closest to the teams that were interested in him. Applying to them wasn't even a question; getting accepted into them was what mattered. By now you had already finished your Bachelor's in Biological Sciences—molecular, cellular, and developmental—with a minor in Mind-Body studies.

By the time the Ducks had traded Jamie to Philly, you had already committed to USC for another few years, however. A Master's degree in Biokinesiology with a sports science emphasis. You loved what you were studying and loved that you got to study in sunny California, with some of your best friends just a stone's throw away.

But having Trevor and Mason around didn't change how much you missed Jamie, your Jamie.

The sun was beating down on you a little more harshly now. Fishing your phone out, you ignored the push notification at the top of the screen for the time being.

If you didn't check your emails before calling Jamie, you wouldn't check them at all. There was a response from the study group you had formed with a few fellow students that you got along with well enough, confirming the session planned for tomorrow evening. But nothing else.

Nothing to keep you from opening your messaging app, nothing to keep you from smiling dumbly at Jamie's latest text.

'done for the day, call me whenever. love you'

You hit the camera button to start a FaceTime call.

“And I thought you invited me over to watch a movie,” I say softly against the surface of Jamie’s neck. He moves my head gently to meet my eyes before pressing another kiss to my lips. He mumbles,

“Are you complaining?”

“Not yet,” a cheeky grin spreads across my face despite neither me or Jamie pulling away; both of us nervously and excitedly breathing into each other’s mouths. Jamie reciprocates my smile and surprises me by excitedly grabbing my face in his hands and crashing our lips together once more. Running the tip of my tongue over his bottom lip causes his breathing to flutter dazedly and I bite back a cocky smile. The rookie duck chases after my kiss but I push him back by his chest and he hits the headboard of his unmade bed. He looks at me hazily, in awe of my entire being. Swinging my left leg over both of his, I’m kneeling over him leaning down to reconnect with Jamie. I take his adorable face in my hands and draw him back in for another kiss. Once intertwined again, I lower myself onto his lap and I feel him involuntarily sigh at the new point of contact. His hands are practically twitching with anticipation before coming to rest awkwardly on my waist. His touch is light, too light. I can tell he’s unsure of how much he should do.

The consideration is sweet but I’m aiming for something more.

Without breaking our kiss, I place my hands on his wrists and trail his hands up the length of my body before resting them on my ribcage. When he still doesn’t move, I take a moment to appreciate his extensive respect before guiding his hands over my grey graphic t-shirt, over the lace fabric of the black bralette I’m wearing today. Jamie lets out an involuntary whimper of excitement which makes me laugh into the kiss.

“You’re so adorable.” He flushes in embarrassment and buries his face in the exposed skin of my neck. “No, come back!” Jamie peeks up at my face long enough for me to tangle my fingers in his lengthy black hair. We resume our kiss, less frenzied this time; there’s a piece of innocence that wasn’t there before. We unintentionally sigh simultaneously and I look into his eyes, playing with the ends of his messy hair.

“Jamie?”

“Hm?” He answers without breaking eye contact.

“Can we get Chinese for dinner?”

“...Sure?” he laughs, seemingly confused.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Whaaaat?” I pester and pout, placing a soft kiss on his lips which he reciprocates.

“You’re cute.” Jamie presses another kiss on my lips, wrapping his arms around my waist. We’ve been switching between cuddling and making out for most of the day, just trying to rest as much as possible. Rest days are rare for us between hockey season being in full swing and the holiday season. But when our days off sync up, it’s inconceivable bliss.

The only issue is getting rid of Trevor. Easier said than done. Jamie and Trevor do everything together so naturally, they’d spend their off days together too. As a result, Jamie and I had to find a way to get some of the other ducks involved without them finding out either. Figuring out how to sneak around Trevor was a pain in the ass early on but Jamie and I have got a routine down now. Whenever they have time off, Mason unknowingly takes one for the team by hanging out with Trevor the whole day.

And it’s not that I don’t want to meet Trevor, I’m ready for anything! Jamie is the one with reservations. He said he would tell Trevor when he was ready, but I feel like he should be ready by now.

“Jame.”

“What’s up?”

“Are you gonna tell Trevor soon?”

“About us?”

“No, about the nepo baby article- yes about us!” I say sarcastically, waiting for an actual answer.

“Well-” Suddenly, we jump apart, startled by the sounds of the front door opening.

“HONEYY I’M HOOOOOME!” Jamie and I snap up at the sound of the front door opening and look at one another in panic. Both of us stare at each other in fear as we hear Trevor shuffle into the apartment. I quickly swing myself off his lap to plop down on the bed next to him. He gives me a pouty look.

“What do we do?!” I whisper shout.

“I don’t know!”

“HEY JAMIE, HAVE YOU SEEN THE-” Trevor’s familiar voice cuts off. I sit anxiously tuned in for the reason he stopped talking. After a long pause we hear him say, “Oh, Jamie, you dog.”

“I left my shoes by the front door,” I confess in a whisper. Jamie looks at me panicked. Trevor’s footsteps come closer.

“You invited someone over without telling me? Oh-” he cuts himself off again, leaning in the doorway upon seeing me and Jamie on the bed. Taking in Jamie’s messy hair and my shirt’s disheveled placement; it’s not hard for him to piece together what had been happening prior to his arrival.

“You’ve got yourself a girl, Jamo?” Trevor says incredulously.

“You’re not supposed to be back until 5.” I stare dazedly and absentmindedly pick a loose strand of my hair off of Jamie’s shirt. It didn’t even take me a moment, the comment is just instinctively fired out.

“How do you know that?”

“Oh my god, Z, get out.”

“No way, dude. I have too many questions. How long have you been keeping her from me?” Jamie hesitates to answer before deciding that what’s done is done.

“About a month.”

“Yeah, see, I have some lost time to make up for,” Trevor says before launching himself through the doorway and flying head-first onto Jamie’s bed where the two of us scramble to move out of the way. He lands directly in the middle with Jamie on the right and me on the left. “Sooo, where’d you guys meet?”

“You remember that one day I needed to go to Target and it was raining really hard?” Jamie butts in to contextualize our meet cute for Trevor.

“Yeah, I don’t know why you insisted on going.”

“Well, we were both leaving around the same time and as I’m about to step out I hear her say something. And at first I thought she was talking to me or something but when I turned around, I realized she didn’t have an umbrella and so I walked her to her car, we exchanged numbers, and the rest is history.” I snort out a laugh at Jamie’s abbreviated version of the story.

“That’s the skeleton of how it went. I asked him if I could hitch a ride under the umbrella and he was so nervous he didn’t speak the whole time. When we got to my car I gave him my number and the rest was history.” Trevor howls with laughter at the visceral image of Jamie being nervous.

“I give you too much credit, Jimbo. As if you could pull her.”

“And you’ve been single for how long?”

“Oh, you’ve got jokes.”

“Only when my boyfriend is being made fun of.” Trevor looks at me and then quickly over to Jamie. I follow his gaze and look at Jamie who’s glowing bright red. I guess I haven’t called him my boyfriend in front of him yet.

“Have you been dating for a whole month or does that include the talking stage?”

“Uh, no, two weeks of talking, two weeks of dating.”

“Is this even legal by the way?”

“What? We’re the same age!” Jamie argues against Trevor’s nonsense.

“Okay, okay, just making sure. I wouldn’t put it past you to go for someone a bit older.”

“Are you sure you’re not just projecting?” I seize the opportunity to poke fun at Trevor once more and he looks at me playfully. I stick my tongue out at him and laugh before leaning my head on Jamie’s shoulder. I feel him relax underneath me and as extra reassurance, I grab his left hand in both of mine.

“Seriously Jame, how did you end up with her?”

“Look. As fun as it is to see you flabbergasted about the idea that Jamie could ever date someone, we’re just trying to watch a movie.”

“Okay, okay, okay. I know when I’m not wanted-” Trevor gasps, cutting himself off, “Are you watching Top Gun? I love this movie- wait can you rewind?” He then squirms his way up the bed, settling between me and Jamie, forcing us to accommodate him and break our connection. Jamie looks at me, trying to apologize silently but I just smile and shrug. I reach an arm up around Trevor to play with the ends of Jamie’s hair once more.

“I forgot how comfortable your bed is!”