It had been a pretty rough day at school and at your part time job. You were absolutely beat and had no desire to go home and cook, so you stopped at your favorite café for dinner. You got a booth and slid in, setting your bag and jacket on the seat next to you. You ordered a coffee and a bowl of soup to start and leaned back against the seat trying to relax. As you browsed the menu, you noticed a small group of guys walking in and getting the booth that was two seats down from you. They looked like they had just been to the gym and almost all of them were a bit hyper. When the waitress came to take your full order, you ordered your favorite sandwich and handed the menu back to her. As she walked away, you noticed one of the young men staring at you. You smiled politely at him and then looked out the window. He was a cute brunette with an innocent smile, and brown eyes.
The waitress brought your coffee and bowl of soup. "Thank you." you told her politely.
You sipped your coffee and overheard the group of guys talking about hockey and their next game. You took another look at the brunette who had been staring at you and recognized him from T.V. You hadn't watched many hockey games, but a few of the games you had caught had this guy on one of the teams. When he looked over at you and smiled, you blushed and looked at your bowl of soup pretending that you weren't staring. Out of your peripheral vision, you could see the brunette staring at you and you tried your hardest not to stare back, but he was really handsome.
When the waitress took your soup bowl, she set down a napkin with a note written on it.
You looked up at her and smiled politely. "Um, what's this?" you asked her softly.
The waitress smiled. "A young man at the table over there sent it." She said and walked away.
You opened the napkin and read the note. 'You are way too beautiful to be looking so sad. -Carey' You smiled reading it, and looked up to meet the gaze of the brunette.
He smiled at you and winked.
You smiled back and sipped your coffee.
The waitress brought your sandwich to you, and then brought the table of hockey players their food. While you were putting some ketchup on your fries, you saw Carey standing up and heading towards your table. You couldn't help but feel butterflies in your stomach as you put the ketchup back.
"I know this is kind of weird, but I'm kind of getting tired of the hockey talk. Would you mind if I sat and ate with you?" he asked sweetly, giving you that bright smile again.
You looked up at him and smiled back, trying to calm your nerves. He was even more handsome up close. "No, I don't mind at all. Have a seat."
Carey smiled and slid into the booth in front of you. He set his plate down and noticed you both had the same thing. "You have good taste in sandwiches, ma'am." He teased.
You smiled up at him. "Oh thank you. I'm Y/N." you said and held your hand out over the table.
He smiled and shook your hand gently. "Carey." He said. "It's very nice to meet you, Y/N."
"It's nice to meet you too." You smiled, taking a bite of your sandwich.
"Sorry about the napkin note, you just looked a little down. I thought I could try and cheer you up." Carey said, taking a bite of his sandwich.
You smiled softly and nodded. "Well it definitely cheered me up. I've just had a really long day at school and work. For a good few hours I thought it was 'Pick on Y/N day'." You joked.
Carey gave you a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry you had a bad day. I wish I could make it better for you, I really do." He said sincerely.
"You've already made it better, you made me smile." You said to him, smiling.
Carey smiled and you could have sworn you saw him blush. "Well I'm glad I could help."
"Me too." You said. "So you're a hockey player?" you asked.
He nodded. "Yes ma'am, I am. I play on the Canadiens." He smiled proudly.
"I thought I recognized you. I haven't seen many games, but I've caught a few with your team." You smiled.
"Well here I am, in the flesh." He smiled, winking at you. "So tell me about yourself, Y/N."
The two of you spent the rest of your dinner talking about yourselves and finding out that you had a lot in common. Carey made you laugh a lot and you seemed to have the same effect on him. The two of you decided to order a slice of pie to share for dessert. When the waitress brought you the plate of pie, you looked up and noticed Carey's friends were gone.
"I think your friends left." You told him.
Carey looked over his shoulder and then back at you. "I guess they did. They probably text me, I felt my phone vibrate but I didn't want to check it. I was occupied." He smiled at you, handing you a fork.
You smiled at him, your cheeks blushing, as you took the fork.
The two of you ate the piece of pie, and when the checks came, Carey paid for your meal as well. The two of you walked out and Carey walked you to your car like a proper gentleman.
"Well I had an amazing time with you, Y/N." Carey said.
You smiled up at him and nodded. "I did too. Thank you for making me smile and turning my bad day into a good one."
"Hey, anytime." He smiled. After a moment, he spoke up. "Um, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to exchange numbers so we can hang out again."
The butterflies started up again in your stomach. "That sounds like a great idea." You said and pulled your phone out. "Here, you can put your number in and then call your phone from mine so you have my number."
Carey took your phone gently and smiled, punching his number in. He sent a text to his own phone and then handed you your phone back. "Got it." He smiled.
You got a glimpse of the text he sent himself and smiled, letting out a small laugh. 'Hey handsome, this is the beautiful girl from the diner, Y/N.' the text read.
Carey smirked and held his arms out. "How about a hug for the road?"
You smiled and nodded, wrapping your arms around his waist, his arms wrapping around your shoulders. You couldn't help but feel safe and warm in his arms.
As he pulled away, he placed a peck on your cheek. "Drive safely okay? I'll text you later." He smiled.
"I will, and you drive safely too. Good luck on your next game." You smiled.
"You should watch it. Give me some good luck vibes." He winked.
You smiled and nodded. "You bet I will. Goodnight, Carey."
He smiled at you and nodded. "Goodnight, Y/N."
You got into your car and drove home with a huge grin on your face. The whole way home you couldn't stop thinking about Carey and the future the two of you had together. Even if you were just starting out as friends, you were okay with that, as long as you had him in your life. Who knew a bad day could turn out so great?