Dreaming Out Loud // Jonathan Toews, Chris Kreider, Nathan MacKinnon

Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado, October 21, 2019

Caterina's cell phone rings just as she enters the practice rink. She checks the caller ID and scowls when her eyes land on the familiar name.

"Grayson," Cat greets, not pleasantly.

When Grayson Smith calls, it is never good news for her.

"Cat, as you know, we have a problem..."

The last time she was in contact, they were trying to resolve a crisis. It had not been pretty for either of them and now that he is calling her again, she knows it is not a good sign.

"Look, Artemi Panarin has already decided to move forward with Vlad Sorotov as his agent. I'm not even in the running anymore," Cat begins, assuming that Grayson is taking issue with her pursuit of the New York Rangers forward.

Grayson was always protective of his turf in the Tristate area. If anyone was moving in on a New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, or New York Islanders player, Grayson had to know. Before Artemi Panarin, Cat herself has never tried to venture into that territory. She pursued and even represents players in other sports in the Tristate area but never professional hockey, especially after her experience working with Grayson.

"Did you not know that my client is hanging around your sister?"

Oh, this is about Eva, Cat realizes. She feels a sense of dread hit her. Cat has tried her best to keep Eva away from these hockey players, especially now that she is back in New York. Cat's complicated history working with Grayson has made her weary about the New York hockey players.

"You don't represent Zibanejad, I don't see what the issue..." Cat stops when another realization hits her, "of course where Zibanejad is..."

"My client follows," Grayson finishes for her.

Cat sighs in annoyance.

"What are you concerned about? My sister is not dating your client, they are just in the same social circle."

"Your sister was photographed in the Boston area with both Zibanejad and my client. At some point, they were photographed alone while Zibanejad stepped outside to take a phone call," Grayson explains. Cat can sense the irritation in his voice.

She rolls her eyes. Grayson is overreacting. Nevertheless, Cat really needs to try to warn Eva again. The first time she tried, it was not well received. Now that Grayson is trying to get involved, she has more of an incentive to try harder this time.

"What's the catch? Are you trying to retaliate against Kreider for what happened with..."

"Excuse me, is this an accusation?" Cat interrupts abruptly.

"What are the chances that Eva Hale crosses paths with Chris Kreider?"

"Listen, if I had it my way, my sister would be nowhere near these damn hockey players, especially yours. After what happened last time, this is the last thing I want," Cat responds.

Grayson pauses for a brief second before speaking again. It sounds like he is considering her words.

"So you'll handle it?"

Cat does not even hesitate before responding.

"I'll handle it."

She hangs up without waiting for Grayson's response.

As she enters the Avalanche's practice rink, she shivers and zips up her track jacket. She can see the Avalanche players on the ice running practice drills. When she approaches behind the glass, she nods to one of the assistant coaches. She is a frequent visitor here at the practice rink. As she is committed to Nathan's progress on the ice, she takes it upon herself to stop by during practice to see him excel. She does this for all of her athletes but admittedly, she has visited this practice rink the most.

This time, she has two athletes on the ice right now. This season is going to be so different for her.

"Yo Cat!"

She looks up just as a puck flies towards her direction. The puck hits the glass right in front of her, forcing her to jump. Cat looks back up to see Mikko, decked out in his practice gear, grinning mischievously at her. She ignores the flutter of her stomach and rolls her eyes at him. He looks at her for a few more moments before returning to practice. As Mikko skates by Nathan, the latter looks over at Cat and waves. She grins widely and waves back.

About twenty minutes later, the head coach ends practice. Both Nathan and Mikko are skating towards her. Gabriel Landeskog gives her a nod of acknowledgment as he skates by. She watches as the Avalanche captain gets off the ice and into the locker room.

"Hey Cat," Nate taps his hand against the glass to get her attention.

She gestures for the two to skate around to meet her. Once the hockey players got off the ice, they wobble over to her in their skates. Mikko reaches her first, wrapping an arm around her shoulder in a side hug. Trying to keep her cool, Cat pats his shoulder casually when they pulled apart.

"What brings you to our morning practice?" Mikko asks.

"Just doing my job and making sure you are both doing well!"

Nathan chuckles.

"Basically, she has nothing else better to do with her time."

Cat playfully swats his shoulder.

"I also want to personally let Mikko know that I got him an endorsement deal with B-Tech Sports," Cat turns to Mikko as she says this.

From the corner of her eyes, she can see the playful smile on Nate's face falter a little. When Cat turns to face him, he recovers with a smile that did not reach his eyes. Cat should have informed Mikko of this news separately. It is extremely difficult to manage two players on the same team because jealousy becomes an issue when she gets a deal for one player but not the other. Since Nate convinced her to take Mikko on, she thought this time would be different. She has a feeling she is about to be proven wrong.

"Sweet!"

Cat is trying to get Mikko deals as an attempt to eclipse the controversy surrounding him this summer. This endorsement deal is just one step towards that goal.

"You are shooting a commercial in Baltimore with Patrick Kane next Wednesday, you have a break that day and it works so well with your schedule because you guys play the Capitols on Tuesday. Pat Kane has to travel from Nashville," Cat turns her attention to her phone as she says this.

"Will you be traveling with me, Miss Hale?" Mikko asks.

"Yeah, it's my job to, isn't it?"

Mikko chuckles as he turns to Nate. The older man pats him on the shoulder and mumbles a congratulations. Mikko notices some tension in Nate but decides to let it go. The Canadian superstar is usually intense and disciplined during the regular season. He always pushes the team to be healthy and to compete with all they have got. This is normal for Nate.

"I am also here for a post-practice lunch with my main squeeze, it's on me," Cat beams at Nate as she says this.

Nathan grins as Mikko throws his hands up, exasperated.

"Hey, what about me?" The Finnish player asks.

"Beat it, kid!" Nate chirps.

Mikko sighs dramatically before wobbling off towards the locker room. His departure leaves Cat and Nate alone. The two stare at each other in amusement.

"Where are we going?" Nate asks.

"You get to choose today. I do have to tell you that I'm not restricting my diet to kale salad. You do whatever you want but I don't have to suffer because of you," Cat teases.

Nathan has always been mindful about what he is putting into his body. Sometimes he gently encourages Caterina to do the same. He has nudged her to make healthier choices when she wants nothing but sugar and a cheeseburger. Cat tries to oblige sometimes since she wants to keep herself in shape, but every once in a while, she just wants to eat all the junk food.

"Fair enough," Nathan agrees.

"Alright, I'll wait for you by the car, go change and don't bother showering," Cat scrunches up her nose, "because I'm too hungry to care that you stink."

The hockey star playfully glares at her and makes his way back to the locker room. Cat leaves the building and walks out to the parking lot. Just as she approaches her Volkswagen Jetta, her phone rings again. She sits down on the hood of her car and sighs in annoyance. Her job sure is demanding, and even if she expected it before jumping into the field, she still sometimes wants to turn her phone off for a day and ignore all her responsibilities.

She rests her head on top of the windshield and brings the device to her face. The two letter name on her screen brings a scowl to her face. However, Cat decides to answer the call anyway.

"BK."

"Cat?"

"Well, don't sound surprised to be hearing from me, you're the one who called," Cat snaps.

She can picture the man rolling his eyes on the other end of the line, and it used to bring a smile to her face. But now, under this circumstance, she cannot allow herself to do that.

"You got a point there," BK's southern drawl makes her heart melt. Just like every other time she hears him speak, she tries to shake it off.

She cannot believe she is on the phone with him right now. Most importantly, she cannot believe that he still has her number saved on his phone.

"So what do you want?"

"How is she?" He asks.

She can sense the urgency in his voice and it makes her feel bad for being so mean to him.

"BK, you guys broke up so many years ago, why now?" Cat sighs loudly.

"What do you know about this Mika Zibanejad guy? You know hockey players, and I want to know about him," BK demands.

The brunette shakes her head again as she contemplates on what to tell him. She sees Nathan walk out with his duffel bag in tow. His head shoots up in recognition as he spots her.

This is the perfect opportunity to throw a wrench in Eva's plan and nudge her in the right direction. As much as she hates herself for meddling in her sister's life, Cat knows this is for her own good.

"I think you should give her a call, I'm sure she would love to talk to you. And you can ask her about her tour too, because I think you know how important her music is to her by now."

Nathan walks over to her and gets into the passenger seat of her car. Cat gets up from her spot on the hood to follow suit.

"You are right, I'll give her a call. I guess I just have been seeing Eva around lately, with her new album out and all, so I thought of your family... even Jack, who hates me," he laughs.

Cat starts up her car and the conversation with BK is immediately amplified inside the vehicle via Bluetooth. She turns to give Nate a warning look, as if daring him to make his presence known in this conversation. He gives her a curt nod as if telling her that he will not interfere with anything. However, Nate leans over and mumbles the name of the restaurant he wants to go to.

Cat nods and pulls out of the parking lot.

"Yeah, it has been a while since we last talked," she replies.

"I miss you, Cat."

Cat pauses, trying not to look at Nate. She can sense him perk up. She has got to stop taking personal calls in front of him.

"I miss you too, BK, you know that!"

She can see Nate look at her with pure interest.

"Remember when your dad would invite me over to the apartment to eat breakfast with you guys?"

Cat laughs, thinking back to the days when Eva would bring him over to eat whenever their father asked. Jack was never around so it was just the four of them. BK took it personal and thought that Jack hated him.

"Yeah, he really liked you," she says.

"And you liked me too, didn't you?"

Cat groans in embarrassment.

"Oh, what gave me away?"

His chuckle reverberates through the sound system inside the car.

"The lovelorn gaze? Or maybe the fact that you were eyeing me like I'm a piece of meat or something"

"Um, more like a piece of fine ass," Cat jokes.

"Cat Hale: objectifying men since 1994."

She almost slams on the brakes when Nate barks out in laughter. Cat turns to the hockey player with an eyebrow raised. Nate did not stop laughing.

"Who is that?" BK asks, equally amused.

"I'm about to grab lunch with my client, what's it to ya?"

"Geez, I was only asking! Hello, MacKinnon," BK greets the hockey player, knowing damn well Cat is spending time with him.

Nate mumbles a greeting back to him.

"Well, I have to get going, it was nice talking to you again!"

Cat makes a left turn.

"Hey, BK?"

"Yeah?"

"Give me a call next time you come up to Denver, yeah?"

"Sure, CHale, I'll be sure to do that. Have fun on your DATE!" He teases.

Exasperated, Cat exchanges a look with Nate before turning her attention back on the road.

"IT IS NOT A DATE!" She exclaims but the line is already disconnected. The music from her stereo replaces the sound of silence.

Cat sighs loudly in frustration. Nate, on the other hand, continues to be amused.

"Old boyfriend?"

Cat manages to sacrifice a hand to swat his upper arm.

"No, Eva's ex-boyfriend."

Nate's lips forms into an 'o' shape. He reaches over to change the radio station, accidentally brushing his elbows against Cat's. She glances at him just as he looks over to do the same. For a moment, the two are locked in a gaze, brown eyes to green, and that moment ends much too soon when Cat looks away to focus on the road.

"What, jealous?" She teases.

"Yeah, that's totally it," Nate returns sarcastically.

What the fuck was that? Cat is mortified. The two had exchanged a look and it was intense. She has never thought of Nathan romantically or lustfully, so what on earth just happened between them when they looked at each other?

"Is his name just BK? What's that guy's deal?" Nathan pulls her out of her thoughts.

"His name is Bartholomew Keller, but understandably, he goes by BK," Cat answers.

"When he dated your sister, you had the little sister crush on him, didn't you?"

Cat nods her head affirmatively.

"It's totally the southern charm," she muses.

Cat pulls into the parking lot of the restaurant, craning her neck to check for any incoming vehicles. She advances towards a parking space when the coast is clear. Meanwhile, Nathan hums along to some country tune on the radio. Cat tries to hide a smile as she prepares to turn off the engine. There is something about Nate humming along to the radio that Cat finds endearing.

"Are you turning that thing off or what?"

Nate, who had stopped his humming, is now staring at her expectantly. Cat turns off the engine of her car as she glares at Nate.

He ruffles her hair playfully and gets out of her car.

"Jerkface," Cat mumbles as she follows suit.

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B-Tech Sports is a fictional corporation.