What if I like you?

Thirty

Sophia
We found ourselves in the parking lot of the hotel a few minutes later, and Aus found a parking spot somewhat near the entrance. We were running a little late, but warmups weren't starting for like 45 minutes, and the coliseum was only a 10 minutes drive, so we were gonna be fine.
We walked inside the hotel and Aus grabbed her bag from the backseat. Walking up to our room we talked about the game.
Now we had beat the Nucks once already this season, but they have really gotten stronger, so we have to put our best foot forward at this game for us to win. When we entered the elevator, Syd pressed the button to go up to our floor.
I scanned my room key and held the door open as Syd and Aus walked in. Aus places her bag on the bed and took out her Martin Jersey, and Syd grabbed hers from the closet. I took out my Barzal Jersey from the closet, as well, and we all changed. I went into the bathroom to touch up my makeup while Syd and Aus fixes their hair. When we all finished getting ready, it was about 20 minutes to warmup time, so we headed back down to the car, and Aus started driving us to the Coliseum.
We pulled into the back entrance, and we went through security before making our way to the locker room area that was right under where our box was.
We went through a few more security guards and we made our way to our seats, which were in one of the boxes designated for friends and family.
We greeted the other wives who we had seen last night, and we found our seats that were parallel to the benches, and had a great view of the game. As we sat down, they started announcing the opening lineups. Lee, Barzal, and Eberle were the opening forwards, with Boychuck and Toews on defense, and Greiss in the goal. The Canucks, however, also had a really strong opening lineup, so they were gonna be a tough team.
Syd sat next to me while Aus was at the bar talking to some of the other wives. Suddenly, the lights dimmed and the music started playing as the announcer yelled out "YOUR NEW YORK ISLANDERSSSSS" and we all yelled and clapped as the guys came out from the tunnel, skating around in circles. The arena erupted in noise with cheering and yelling while the Islanders came out in their bright blue jerseys looking like smurfs, next the Canucks came out from their side of the ice. Everyone was skating around in circles and starting to take shots at the goal to warm up when Syd asked if I needed to go to the bathroom. I told her I would go with her and we stepped out of the box into the concourse.
We found our way to the bathroom and there were some teen girls already in there. I waited for Syd by the sinks and checked my makeup. When she came out she washed her hands and we started walking back towards the box when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw two guys standing there, and I didn't recognize them at first, but I knew they looked familiar. Apparently they recognized me as Trevors sister, and that's when it hit me, this was one of Trevs childhood best friends that I hadn't seen in years. He called me Zegras, and very few people call me by my last name, so I knew it was him. I gave him a hug and we talked for a minute, catching up about our lives, and I took a selfie w him to send to Trev. When we heard the announcements go off that it was puck drop, we parted ways, and I told him we would have to catch up soon.
When we started walking back to our seats, someone else came up to us, this time I didn't recognize her at all. She asked if I was Trevor Zegras' sister, and I knew by the way she pronounced my last name, that she had to be a fan. I was polite to her nonetheless, I told her I was, and she asked for a picture, which was rare. Usually Trev was the one getting asked for pics, but I didn't mind so of course I took a picture with her. A few minutes later I got a notification that I had been tagged in a post, so I of course liked it.
When walking back to the boxes, there was a security guard standing at the entrance who let us in. We went back just after the puck had dropped, and sat down just as the Islanders gained control.
The game was pretty normal, with us having a 2-0 lead in the first period, a tie of 2-2 in the second, and no changes in the third. It looked like it was going into overtime, so we prepped for what was gonna be an interesting rest of the game.
As suspected, the game did go into overtime, and with four minutes and three seconds on the board, Brock Boeser scores what is expected to be the game winning goal. We all sigh, and get ready to leave, when the play is called into question. After a lot of deliberating, the ref comes out from the penalty box and puts his arms into a "T" shape, signaling no goal. There is an eruption from the audience, and Barry Trotz cracks a smile. The players get back on the ice for the remaining few minutes of overtime, and low and behold, with less than a minute left, Mathew Barzal wheels down the ice on a breakaway and goes bardownski, for the game winning goal. We all cheer as the players form a huge hug in the offensive zone.
Walking to the locker room about a half hour later, we see the boys come out, all sweaty in their game day suits.
I said hi to all the guys and Mat went in to give me a hug but I told him "not a chance you stink" and he laughed and says "okay fair enough."
By now it's pretty close to 10, so Mat asks what our plans are for the night. He tells me he's tired so he doesn't want to go out, so we agreed to go back to his appartement and order pizza. We asked Syd to come with us but she said she was going over to Matt and Sydney's house because they have some boxes and stuff to sort through from when they were kids.
Mat and I walked through the tunnel and to the staff parking lot where his car was. We got in and let me tell you, the smell was similar to driving the boys around after practice, terrible. As a hockey sister and a hockey player, I sucked it up, and we pulled out of the parking lot. We start driving to his apartment, which is pretty close to the coliseum, and we pass a Starbucks, which I beg him to stop at. We pull through the drive through and I tell him to order me a cold brew, which he does, along with some fancy drink for himself. We pull around and get our drinks and start driving back to his place.
When we got to his building, we got in the elevator and headed to his floor. When we got inside, I went to place the order for the pizza cause we were both pretty hungry. The lady on the phone tells me the food should be here in under 30 minutes, and Mat says he's going to go take a shower. I tell him okay, and I tell him that now I have to make the phone call I've been dreading all day. I pick up the phone and put in Alex's number, and he takes that as his cue to leave. He goes into his room just as Alex picks up. I start the conversation asking about his day, and he tells me practice was rough and that coach is refusing to start Cole even though he feels back to normal. I tell him that's a bummer, and he asks how New York is. I tell him a little about my day, before asking, "so what was it that happened at the party? Tell me the whole story because I just want to know."

"Well, you see, there were these two girls..." he starts, "and they were hanging around jack and I all night. I told her I had a girlfriend, but she wouldn't back off"

"Okayy..."

"So anyway, jack leaves to play beer pong with someone, and this girl still won't leave me alone. She's holding my arm and smiling at me and trying to be all flirty, and that's when Trev saw us"

"Continue"

"He told me we need to talk and he starts making all of these accusations. I'm going to admit, from his point of view I can see how he thought I was cheating on you, but I swear to you I wasn't"

"I believe you"

"So after, I realize how insanely drunk he is, and jack and Cole step in and try to talk him down but he still won't calm down"

"That sounds like him" I say rolling my eyes, knowing that's how Trev gets when he's wasted.

"It's not a big deal and I'm sorry it has become one, I love you and I would never cheat on you and you know that"

"I love you too, Turcs" I say, the smile on my face finally coming back.

"So, hows the trip so far? I bet it's great but I can't wait to see you tomorrow"

"I know I miss you so much al, I'll see you tomorrow, love you kid"

"Love you too" he says, before we both hang up the phone.

Soon after, mat comes out of his room in some shorts and sits down next to me on the couch and starts to ask if I want to talk about what happened.

"It's okay, Trev was just being a drunk moron and started accusing my boyfriend of cheating on me" I shrug my shoulders.

"if he did cheat on you i would kick his ass, you know that right?" He says smiling.

"I knoww" I say, giving him a huge hug, before continuing, "so now you know the details of my love life, let's hear how yours is going."

"Calling it a 'love life' is a stretch Soph, you know I'm not really into that whole dating thing"

"Yea yea you're a one night stand kinda guy," I say rolling my eyes, before hearing someone knock on the door from across the apartment.

He laughs and shrugs his shoulders before getting up to answer the door. He opens it to find the girl delivering pizza, who's jaw basically drops when she sees him. I'll admit, seeing mat barzal open the door shirtless is the kinda thing that could drive a girl crazy. He's hot, but he's like a brother to me I would never think of him in that way.
He brings the pizza inside and opens the box on the kitchen counter before getting two plates. I took a slice at first and then went back for a second, while I'm pretty sure he downed at least three.
When we finished the pizza, it was close to midnight, and considering I had a flight to catch tomorrow morning, I had to say my goodbyes and call an Uber.
I went to order the Uber and mat offered to drive me back to the hotel, which was very nice of him. I accepted his offer, after all Uber's are very sketchy, and he grabbed his keys.
We headed down the stairs to the lobby and hopped in his car. On the drive home we talked about next time he would be visiting DC, which would be soon hopefully. The guys had a game at the caps at the end of the season, so I knew I would see him then.
When we pulled into the parking lot, we both got out of the car and I gave him a giant hug, I was gonna miss my "big bro," even if we aren't biologically related.
I said my goodbyes and went inside to find an empty hotel room, looks like Sydney isn't back yet, oh well. I took a nice long shower and when I got out I changed into some pjs and turned on reruns of friends to fall asleep to. I set my alarm and just as Syd walked through the door. She was holding a pile of stuff, probably old childhood memories, but I was too tired to ask her about it, so I just fell asleep.