If there was one thing that got Y/N fired up, it was watching a hockey game from behind the glass. The thrill of seeing players skate up and down the rink while snowing the fans was something she would never get tired of.

Usually she joined the ''better halves' up in the box during the games but tonight she was out with some different friends. Her friend Leah from work was a major hockey fan and she had planned to take her boyfriend to the flames' game for their anniversary. Unfortunately, they broke up two weeks ago and she wasn't able to sell the tickets.

Not wanting to let them go to waste, Leah decided that her and Y/N could use a night out. After all, they hadn't spent a lot of time together lately. "So do you know everyone on the team?" Leah asked, looking over at her.

While Leah was decked out in flames' gear, Y/N was wearing a denim jacket and a flames' scarf that Cam had bought her when they first moved to Calgary. She matched it with a white longe sleeved shirt, some black jeans and sneakers. One of her favourite things to wear in the winter. Tucked into her purse was a pair of gloves and a beanie for when the two girls took the train back home. It was going to be cold that night but thankfully they had come prepared.

"I've met everyone a few times but I'm only close with a select few." Y/N mentioned. She was trying to pull some strings with Matthew so that Leah could meet him. After such a rough breakup, Y/N thought the girl could use some cheering up. What better way to do that than to introduce her to her favourite hockey player.

In all honesty Y/N didn't know why Matthew was Leah's favourite, but she thought that she could use their new found friendship to maybe help her other friend out. Although Matthew wasn't making that easy on her.

"Come on I can't just go around meeting your friends Y/N." He smirked, really dragging this out. He would have said yes as soon as she asked, but upon seeing how important this was to the girl, he wanted to milk it a bit.

"Please Mat?" the girl had asked him before the game. She clasped her hands in front of her and gave him these big round puppy dog eyes. Usually they worked like a charm but Matt was tougher to break.

Fixing the sleeve of his dress shirt, he looked at the girl and hummed. "What's in it for me?" he asked.

Y/N groaned and shook her head. "I'll cook you dinner at my house, and buy you a bottle of wine to go with it- whatever you want." she pouted.

That was when Matthew became putty in her hands, as soon as she mentioned a meal and gave him that adorable little pout, he couldn't say 'No'. "Alright bring her to the locker rooms after the game. I'll let security know that You're coming." he winked.

Y/N grinned brightly and gave him the biggest hug. "Thank you! Trust me she will remember this for a long time." she winked.

Matthew had been a part of a few meet and greets before. When he first joined the league, he found himself wondering if the women would be attractive, possibly adding to another notch on his bedpost, but as he became more mature, he stopped doing meet and greets unless it was for a good cause or for kids.

When Y/N said that her friend was dying to meet him, he didn't really think much about the friend he was about to be introduced to. More over he was wondering what Y/N wanted him to do. Obviously she wanted him to help her out, but would she like him more if he met Leah?

Usually Matthew never cared what people thought of him, but in the last few weeks, all he cared about was whether or not Y/N liked him.

Ever since that night on her living room floor, Matthew had felt this strange inclination towards Y/N. He stopped messaging 'Iris' as much and he started focusing more on his new friend. They spent late nights on the phone talking about tv shows and how he played in the game, or how she was stressed at work because of rude guests.

He liked talking to Y/N and he was disappointed that it had taken him this long to really get to know her. He knew that she had a troubled past when it came to relationships, something she didn't usually talk about, it didn't really bother him all that much considering he didn't have the best track record either.

Part of him wondered what things would be like if the two of them dated, maybe they would be a good match. He really didn't know but as he grew closer to the woman, he found himself wanting to find out.

Y/N glanced over at Leah who was watching the game with an intense gaze, she slammed her fists against the glass ever so often, usually when there was a bad pass or the other team scored. Tonight Calgary was playing against Dallas, one of Y/N's favourite teams. Not too much because of texas in general, but she liked the personalities many of their players had. Not to mention Tyler Seguin was pretty nice on the eyes.

The woman couldn't help but blush as number ninety-one skated by them, tossing a puck over the glass. Y/N caught it and she watched as Tyler winked at her. Rolling her eyes she smiled anyways. She would have to tell Kelly about that.

It wouldn't have been a Calgary game if Matthew didn't get into a fight. He decided to square up with Corey Perry this time, the two of them threw a few punches and Matthew ended up coming out on top. Still he was slightly bruised up and Y/N felt her stomach lurch at the sight.

She had never felt that way about him before and it was almost startling that she did so. She wondered if the hits hurt as much as they looked.

Every time she had watched him scrap before, she didn't get worried about him. But she supposed that friendship changed that. He was no longer a nuisance in her eyes but rather someone she was starting to care about.

When the final buzzer sounded through the arena, Y/N found herself letting out a sigh of relief- was she relieved that matthew couldn't risk getting hurt any longer? Was she relieved that the game was over and the flames had won? Or was she anticipating the dinner she promised to make Matthew that night.

Time would only tell.

"Before we go, I arranged something for us." She looked over at leah and smiled. Her co-worker's eyes widened and immediately she started to pray that she was going to meet the team.

Grabbing her phone, she texted Matthew and told them that they would make their way down towards the locker rooms after some of the crowd had dispersed.

It took longer than Y/N wanted, but she couldn't really expect much more. There were always fans lingering around the saddledome.

She followed the directions that Matthew had described briefly in his text, Y/N had never been to the players quarters before. As they saw a security guard up ahead, Y/N grinned. "Hey- I'm waiting for Matthew, He told me to come down. My name is Y/N Y/L/N" she told the guard.

True to his word, Matthew had told all the security staff that he was letting in Y/N and a friend, the security guard escorted the pair of ladies down towards the locker rooms near the tunnel.

Standing in the hall awaiting them was Matthew, Johnny, Giordano and Elias.

As Y/N rounded the corner, they all smiled and greeted her with short hugs. "Hey kiddo." Giordano teased, ruffling the girl's hair. She rolled her eyes but hugged them all back just the same.

"You must be Leah." Matthew smiled, looking at Y/N's co-worker and making pleasantries. The group could see just how awestruck Leah was at meeting her favourite hockey player, they stuck around for a little while and chatted.

Soon the guys had to leave but Matthew had stayed. He signed Leah's jersey and gave her a puck from the game.

Originally the plan had been for Y/N to take the train back with Leah but after the deal she made with Matthew, the three of them were going to leave together.

"You really don't have to drive us." Y/N tried to reassure him as they walked out to the private parking garage underneath the arena.

Matthew waved her off. "It only makes sense for me to do so." he told her. "After all, you owe me dinner, remember?" he smirked.

Y/N rolled her eyes at that, she had a small smile on her lips and felt rather content. "Yeah... I suppose you're right." she sighed.

After dropping Leah off at home, Y/N and Matthew made their way back to his apartment. It wasn't like she expected. In all honesty, Y/N was expecting something rather cold and overly-modern.

She thought that Matthew would have spent his money on something elaborate and almost too clean. But she was surprised to find that his apartment was done up in a suburban style. He had cream coloured walls with white crown moulding, hardwood floors that carried a warm tint and a few plants scattered around.

It was rather comfortable. From what she understood he enjoyed the colours grey and beige. There wasn't much variety but it still looked very nice.

"Wow... I love your place." Y/N complimented as they walked in.

Matthew was kind enough to take her coat and hang it on the rack, showing her around before they settled into the kitchen.

Smiling softly, Y/N leaned against the white marble counter and looked up at him. "So Tkachuk. What am I making you for dinner?" She laughed softly.

The man smiled at her, his dirty-blonde curls bouncing ever so slightly. "Well, I don't have very many ingredients so I suppose whatever you find in there." he told her, walking over to the fridge and opening it up.

He was definitely right. As Y/N looked into his barren fridge, she found barely anything that she could use to make him a decent meal. She glanced through his pantry before coming to the conclusion that he definitely needed to go grocery shopping sometime soon.

"I can pretty much make you a boiled egg." Y/N told him, her hands on her hips as she sassed him.

Matthew Rolled his eyes. "Come on- there must be something in here you can cook." he told her, going through the freezer he found a frozen pizza and half a loaf of garlic bread. "See! Voila!"

Y/N laughed softly. "Really? After all that torment you put me through just to get you to say 'yes' about meeting Leah, I'm making you Pizza Pops?" she tilted her head at him.

Letting out a content sigh, Matthew shrugged. "I was going to say 'Yes' no matter what. I just thought that I could get you to hang out with me." he revealed.

The woman gasped almost in mock offence. She swatted his arm playfully and started getting the oven preheated. "If you wanted my company, you could have just asked."

He didn't know that they had gotten to that point in their friendship, but now that he knew Y/N would've said yes, he felt himself burst with happiness- although he would never show that on the outside.

"Cool." He mumbled, trying not to smile too much.

Through the night the two of them shared some pizza pops and some boxed red wine that Matthew had gotten as a dinner party gift from one of the guys a few weeks ago. It was still fresh and they drank only a little bit.

But as they settled onto the couch together, Y/N slowly moved closer to Matthew, neither of them had recognized it until finally their hands brushed against each other.

Glancing up at Matthew, Y/N searched his blue eyes for any hint of judgement or unease. But she found none.

Matthew looked at her feeling his chest start to clench. There was a rising tinge in his cheeks as he glanced at her lips. They looked so soft. So delicate and welcoming.

If you had asked the two of them where their relationship stood a year ago, they probably would've said that they hated each other. But in that moment, there was nothing more Y/N wanted than to kiss Matthew.

And there was nothing more Matthew wanted than to kiss Y/N.

As their lips met, Y/N stiffened slightly. She wasn't sure when their friendship had suddenly developed into something more- especially in such a short time. But as Matthew's hand reached out and cupped her jaw. She felt herself come alive.

She could feel the scruff along his jaw, sliding against her skin. His lips were partially chapped and his hands were firm- but against her own they felt amazing.

Matthew's eyes fluttered shut and he found himself leaning into the kiss, there was no sense of urgency or roughness- it was soft and delicate. Like the perfect moment had been set upon them.

He could feel the material of Y/N's shirt underneath his grasp- the soft fabric gliding underneath his calloused fingertips. The warmth radiating from her skin melted against him like softened butter.

Y/N breathed him in like smoke of a cigarette- with his breath fanning across her lips, he was intoxicating. Like her own mix of tobacco and nicotine. He was everything she could have wanted. Dangerous, Addictive and euphoric- even if it was only for a short time.

Finally pulling away, Matthew held Y/N's hand in his own, brushing his thumb across her knuckles. Neither of them had expected what just happened, but he wasn't angry at it.

Did she mean it when she kissed him?

Did he mean it when he kissed her?

The two of them were at a loss.

"I uhm... I should probably get going." Y/N muttered, going to stand up and grab her things. She had a permanent heat spread across her cheeks- even if it wasn't visible. Her stomach was in knots and her chest was filled with butterflies. Neither of which she wanted to get rid of.

Matthew nodded. He got up and grabbed his keys, pulling his jacket over his shoulders. "Yeah... i'll drive you." he reassured her, keeping his promise from earlier. There was no way he was going to let her take a cab this time of night- not that he would've let her take one in the day time either.

He may have been a pest on the ice, but it seemed as of recently, Matthew was a gentleman. Even if he was only so towards Y/N.

The drive back to her Condo was quiet, but neither of them felt that it was filled with awkward glances or uncomfortable pauses. In reality, the two of them were just taking their time processing everything that had happened.

When they arrived at Y/N's Condo, Matthew parked the car and walked her to the door. Standing underneath the light, he started thinking. "You know Mark is throwing his annual fall Barbecue this weekend." he brought up.

Y/N had just unlocked her door when he spoke up. Turning around she nodded. She had already made room in her schedule so that she could stop by. "Yeah?"

Gulping, Matthew scratched the back of his head. "What if we went together?" he proposed. "As a date." he took a leap forward and was praying that he hadn't overstepped their boundaries.

Smiling faintly, Y/N gave it a second to process. That actually didn't sound like the worst thing in the world. Nodding she gave Matthew's hand a squeeze. "I would really like that."

The hockey player smiled brightly, as Y/N got ready to go in for the night, he leaned down and kissed her cheek gently. "I'll pick you up."

Heading back to his car, Matthew waited until Y/N had gotten into her condo- watching her disappear from the illuminated threshold. He couldn't wait for Saturday.