HOCKEY IMAGINES [ UNEDITED ]

#95 - Anders Lee - #27 New York Islanders

I sat down on the bench putting my coffee in between my knees and brought out my book from my bag, I crossed my leg over the other and set my book against it. It was early, 9 am, and already the park was busy with mums and their baby's and elderly people taking their morning stroll. It has become sort of an early morning routine for me to do this, I would pick a coffee up at the cafe at the corner of my street and then come here to the park and sit for an hour to read my book. I guess it started after my ex boyfriend broke up with me, I needed something to do and this was it. Since then, I have never missed a day.

My happiness was immediately destroyed when I saw him walking in my direction with his arm draped over a beautiful blonde haired girl, I stare at them for a few seconds before I turned my direction elsewhere. I continued to read my book but I kept getting distracted by the thought of him and his new girlfriend, we hadn't broken up more that two weeks and already he's found someone else. I prayed hard that he didn't see me but my prayers were unanswered when I saw him walking towards me, he gave a slight awkward smile before taking a seat beside me on the bench.

"Hey Y/N, long time no see." He spoke up, I shut my book closed and looked at him. He looks just as unhappy as I am but masking that unhappiness with fake happiness, I could see it in his eyes.

"Hey Anders." I replied.

"How have you been?" He asks. I notice the sympathetic in his eyes when he asked that question.

"Good, good." I say quickly. "What about you?"

"I've been doing good too." He says and then the awkward silence follows. When we broke up it was mutual, no heartbreaks, just two lovers in a relationship ready to call it quits. Well that's what Anders believed, I on the other hand felt horrible afterwards. He broke my heart but I never let him believe that, he seemed so content on ending our relationship I decided to do the same. I didn't want him to move on as quick as he has, I didn't want to see him with another girl and yes that sounds selfish of me but he was first lover and my best friend. It hurts to see him moved on so quickly when I still find myself thinking about our relationship.

"Do you come here often?" Anders asked a question that is so not in Anders nature to ask. We'd promised each other that if we were to meet that small talk would never come and yet here we are trying to make it work.

"Yeah every morning, it's pretty." I nodded taking a sip of my hot coffee. Anders nodded. "Do you come here?"

"No this morning I thought it would be fun go on a walk, I picked here because it seemed pretty and it is in person." Anders says looking around the park in awe. The small talk between us is unbearable, the silence even worse. His date coughed which grabbed his attention, I had forgotten she was there.

"I must get going, it was nice seeing you again." Anders told standing up, the whole encounter we just had was strange.

"Yeah it was." I said giving him a forced smile. He said goodbye and walked off with his date his arm draped over her shoulder again, he kept taking glances at me as he walked away.

I sighed and pushed that odd conversation out of my head, I continued on reading.

The following weeks after that awkward first meet up with Anders gets even more awkward, everyday at 9:05 am he and his girlfriend walk by me and Anders would give a slight wave and smile in my direction, I would return them. Seeing him again after the break up like this hurts, I was fine and had almost gotten over the whole thing until he showed up many Mondays ago with his girlfriend made my heart sting. I'd never thought I was that easy to get over but it just wasn't that, it's cheesy to say but I'm still in love with Anders after all this time.

The Monday is no different to any other day of the week, I sat on the bench with my book and coffee and began to read. Any second now Anders will walk passed with his girlfriend and give the awkward wave and smile, I waited and waited but they never showed. I began to pack away until I saw Anders running towards the bench I sit on, his girlfriend no where in sight. He came up to me and before I could say anything his lips connected onto mine, his hands cupped my cheeks while mine rested against his hips. I enjoyed the kiss but soon stopped when I realized he has a girlfriend, I pulled away from him and stared into his blue eyes.

"Um." Was all he said as we sat back down on the bench. In silence we sat for a good ten minutes before I finally spoke up.

"Are we going to talk about this or not?" I asked turning my attention to Anders, he ran his hand through his hair as he thinks.

"I didn't mean to do that, I'm sorry." He says without looking up to me.

"What about your girlfriend?" I asked speaking my mind freely, Anders continued to look down at his hands.

"We broke up." He says far too quickly, a little bit of happiness sprung through me when I heard him say that.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry." I said meaning none of it.

"Yeah it didn't feel right, the relationship you know. I know what love feels like and what we had," Anders said shaking his head. "It wasn't love."

The silence filled the space between us, I looking into the distance while Anders looked to his hands.

"You see when I saw you here sitting alone peacefully reading your book I felt something that I hadn't felt since we broke up and that was love. Many of times I wanted to sit beside you and hold your hand while you read your book, I wanted to be with you, spend my time in your company again. I never liked her, I thought that if I were to date some else after we broke up I would lose all thoughts and feelings of you but it only made everything worse. It only made me want you even more. I still love you Y/N and I continue to do so." Anders explained now looking at me, his eyes never breaking my gaze. "I know we decided to break up, it was mutual and I understand if you don't want to ever see me again after this but know that I really love you."

"Anders." I began chewing at my lip. Anders looked at me with a hopeful look, his eyes have so much happiness in them since I last saw him with his ex girlfriend.

"I never stopped loving you Y/N, I just wanted you to know that." Anders said starting to get up. I grabbed his hand without thought and pulled him back towards me, I stared into his eyes before closing mine and leaned forward to press my lips against his. Soon my lips were placed on his, my hand still holding onto his hand. We kissed for a couple of seconds before I pulled away, a smile on my face as I did.

"Does that answer your question?" I asked standing up, Anders over stood me but it wasn't dominating it was protective, caring, everything that Anders is.

"It does." Anders nodded before pressing his lips on mine again.

A/N: Wow this was long! I hope you enjoyed reading it, I enjoyed writing this one. Remember requests are opened so if you would like one just ask.

-Lauryn