Lover - Mat Barzal

two

Me: you too Mat.

I save his number to my contacts and fall asleep with a smile on my face for the first time in awhile.

. . .

I was never in to hockey as much as Cole was. He and Luke bonded over it and I think a large reason why Cole latched on to it was to give himself a distraction from the disaster that is our family. It gave him something to believe in and it made him who he is today.

So the next day when he asks if we can go to an Islanders game, I call Luke who gets us some good tickets. It's been years since I've watched a game on TV and even longer since I've been to one so I don't know any of the players.

Our seats are right at the glass so we have a pretty good view of the hockey players when they skate out on the ice. Luke looks content but Cole is bouncing out of his seat and I can't help but laugh.

"Chill out kid."

He rolls his eyes and takes a handful of my popcorn, stuffing it in his mouth. "I'm five minutes younger than you, Nov."

"Still my baby brother," I coo and grin in delight when his cheeks turn red. Luke is laughing beside me and when I look at him, his eyes are locked on one of the hockey players.

I let my eyes follow where his gaze is and they land on number 13. Barzal, I read and when he skates towards us and I see his face, my jaw drops.

"Fuck me." I whisper in shock.

"Maybe later," Luke says at the same time Cole mutters, "what?"

But my focus isn't on either of them, it's trained on Mat. Over the course of the night, we brushed on the topic of jobs. I told him about my work and he just told me he skated. But he left out the part that he's a professional hockey player for the New York Islanders.

My mind is still trying to wrap around that fact when he stops in front of where Luke, Cole and I are sitting. His eyebrows raise in surprise but he doesn't react otherwise, just tosses a puck over the glass for a kid sitting next to us. I'm still staring at him and it's probably a little creepy at this point but a smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth and he skates away.

"What was that about?" Cole asks breathlessly and I prepare to pull his inhaler out of my purse but he looks like he's fine.

"She met him yesterday." Luke explains helpfully and I glare at him.

"You knew who he was?"

He smirks. "Why do you think I sent him to give you that umbrella?"

"You're such an asshole. You could've given me a warning."

He raises his hands in defense. "How was I supposed to know you'd get all cozy with him at the bar?"

"Luke." I hiss but the blonde just ignores me. I turn my attention to Cole who looks like he's about to pass out.

"You had a date with him? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Take a breath before you pass out." I say, "and it wasn't a date."

Cole makes a bunch of weird hand gestures and noises, clearly not able to form any real words. He eventually just sighs and relaxes in his seat.

"Relax and enjoy the game. These tickets were expensive." I say and he rolls his eyes but doesn't comment.

The rest of the game goes by smoothly, the Islanders win 3-2 and Cole and Luke have me nearly deafened with their cheering but seeing my brother relaxed and not stressing about finding our father makes me happy.