Y/N's phone had been rather dry for the last week and a half. She hadn't heard so much as a "Hey what's up" from Scotty since they had their movie night. Part of her felt like she should be upset, but in all honesty, she wasn't.

She knew they both had busy schedules and with her budding relationship with Matthew coming forward, she didn't really need to have the online fling anymore. She wasn't putting all her chips in one basket with Matthew, but she did feel like they had a good chance of making things work.

It just seemed to come naturally, sure they started off their friendship hating each other for a good two years, but when the time was right, they matured. Now they were getting closer every day and finally going on their first date.

It wasn't exactly what Y/N would have planned for a first date, but she knew that showing up with Matthew at the flames' annual fall barbecue wouldn't be too much of a shock. Everyone had seen that they were becoming friends lately, and there would be no pressure for them in this surrounding.

Unfortunately for Y/N, She didn't have the entire day off to just hang out at the barbecue. She had to work the morning shift at the hotel in order to have the night off. That didn't bother her too much. She had to deal more with checking guests in rather than out. Which was always a lot easier. It meant she didn't have to go upstairs and inspect the rooms at all.

"Thank you again for introducing me to Matthew and the team.' Leah told Y/N, helping the woman organize the room keys before she had to leave for the barbecue. Matthew was going to pick her up at work and then they would go back to Y/N's place quickly so that the woman could get changed and dressed up for the barbecue.

Y/N smiled. "No problem- It was the least I could do... after all, you had amazing tickets." she told her friend. It was true. The seats were absolutely unreal and Y/N was quite thankful that she got the chance to go.

"So what's going on with you and Tkachuk?" Leah asked, giving her friend a slight nudge and smirk.

Furrowing her brows, Y/N was completely lost. They hadn't kissed until that night so she didn't think that Leah would have known if anything was going on between them. Hell, Matthew and Y/N didn't even know there was anything going on between them until they kissed.

"Oh don't act so coy, I saw the way he looked at you. He totally has the hots for you." she explained.

Y/N couldn't help but smile softly at that. She knew better than to tell Leah what had happened between her and Matthew a few days ago. After all, Leah was still more of a fan than a friend to Y/N. She had to keep some boundaries and protect Matthew.

When Five-o'clock finally rolled around, Y/N couldn't get out of the hotel fast enough. She was beyond excited to go to the barbecue, but more so for her and Matthew to be on their 'date'

Moving through the hotel hallways, Y/N couldn't stop the bubbling feeling in her stomach. It was like every emotion had set upon her in a tidal wave- crashing over her all at once and dragging her into the deep depths of her subconscious. But like many nights where she had felt overwhelmed by negativity, in that moment- she was lifted and held high but the positivity and fun awaiting her.

The yellow tinted lamps of the hotel cascaded rays of light upon her as she made her way out that back door and into the parking lot. By the time she had stepped into the parking lot, she found Matthew waiting in his SUV just around the corner.

The evening air in Calgary was always brisk around the November months, however, the smile that Matthew sent Y/N from behind his windshield was warm and kind, he felt the exact same as her- although his heart had been beating out of time ever since he left his apartment.

The nerves had been eating away at him, twisting underneath every inch of his being and burying themselves within his muscles. His hands shook every so often and he had a nasty habit of tapping his fingers against his thigh.

Crossing the parking lot, Y/N slid into the passenger seat of the black SUV and smiled at her date for the evening. "Hey." she leaned over and kissed his cheek delicately, feeling the scruff of his beard scratch against her skin.

Matthew blushed as her warm lips touched his rather cool cheek, although the flush he developed quickly erased any lasting effect the cold had on him.

They headed through the city listening to some music over the radio quietly while talking about Y/N's day at work. Matthew had certainly become interested in the hotel business ever since he had gotten closer to Y/N. It really didn't matter what she talked about, whatever topic seemed to fall off Y/N's tongue, Matthew listened intently.

The time spent at Y/N's condo was short lived but worth every second. Matthew waited for Y/N to get ready in the bathroom, making use of himself by putting away a few of the kitchen utensils she had left in the corner unpacked. He made sure to look around and find everything's rightful place, exactly where Y/N would want it.

When he was done, he waited in the living room, seated on her small couch in front of the television set. "Do you need me to do anything while you're getting ready?" he called out gently.

Y/N had pulled on a pair of jeans and paired it with a white ruffled top that matched her sneakers. She brushed her hair out and freshened up. "Yeah! I put a casserole in the oven when we got here, can you take it out of the oven?" she peeked around the corner and grinned at him.

Matthew glanced up at her and smiled, he thought she looked beautiful. "Yeah- do you have a cooling rack or something?" He remembered that his mother had always used one of those when she was cooking back in St.Louis.

"Second cupboard on the left- under the sink." Y/N told him, dipping back into her bedroom to finish getting ready.

She had been looking forward to this night all week and now that it was finally here, she definitely felt a bit nervous. Packing up her purse, she grabbed her phone and noticed that there was a message.

Scotty: Hey

It was a simple one word answer, worth a one word response as far as Y/N was concerned.

Iris: Busy

She didn't mean for it to come across rude or hateful, but she wasn't about to waste her time texting this mystery internet man while there was a perfectly annoying yet loveable man in her kitchen.

She finished up and headed out to the kitchen just in time to see Matthew wearing one of her aprons and her oven mitts. His curls were brushed behind his head and he was holding the casserole she had made.

Y/N couldn't help but laugh. She quickly took a picture before he noticed and grinned brightly. "I'm sorry- you just." she couldn't stop her giggles. "Wow, I'm sorry." She walked over and packed up the casserole, putting tin foil over the top so that they could transport it to Mark's house.

Matthew turned around almost clueless to what the girl was laughing at. He pouted playfully and rolled his eyes. "Whatever- lets get going." he told her, letting his hand brush along the lower side of her back.

"You look great by the way." he whispered in her ear as they headed out to his car. Y/N grinned small at this and thanked him.

Walking into Mark's house, Y/N was immediately met with a rush of women, they hugged her and took the casserole from her- leading her out to the yard to take some pictures with them before they were all too drunk to remember a thing.

Matthew was greeted by his teammates and for a while, him and Y/N went their separate ways.

"So you and Y/N showed up together?" Cam raised his eyebrows suggestively. He was sipping a corona and couldn't stop himself from chuckling. He had been rooting for the two to get together over the last two years and he was happy they seemed to be giving things a shot.

Nodding hesitantly, Matthew smiled faintly. "Yeah we're going out." he brushed it off casually.

Johnny looked at him and clenched his jaw. "Happy for you man. But if you mess up, you know that we'll break you."

The group erupted into laughter before they all patted Matthew on the back. They hung out around the grill as Mark worked on the burgers and hot dogs, doing what guys did.

Kelly had been the first to notice that Y/N showed up with Matthew. "So took cam's advice aye?" she teased, nudging the girl slightly.

Y/N glanced over at Matthew across the yard- watching as he laughed at something the guys said. The way his head tilted back and his chest erupted with a burning chuckle. She couldn't help but smile. "Yeah I did."

"So no more internet guy then?" one of the other women said.

Shrugging, Y/N didn't say too much about it. "I'm seeing where things go with Matthew. Scotty is just some guy on the internet- it's nothing serious."

Throughout the night, Y/N and Matthew found their way back to each other. Everyone had finished their dinner and they all settled around the fire pit.

Tucked away on one of the bigger love seats, Y/N was wrapped up in Matthew's jacket. The sun had set and they were illuminated by the orange and yellow glow of the flames before them. The heat licked at their feet, painting embers into the sky as the conversation flowed before them.

With her head resting on Matthew's shoulder, she was holding a red solo cup half full with red wine while he sipped at another beer. His arm was thrown around her and he really did enjoy it, he loved the feeling of having her lying against his chest.

As the group around them started to fade away, Y/N found herself recounting the night to memory- from the way the voices hummed against her ears, how the warmth from the flames did nothing to over shine the warmth coming from Matthew's body. Everything seemed perfect.

Feeling Matthew's hand rub at her shoulder, his fingers gripped around her arm, kneading the flesh and comforting her subconsciously. It was everything she needed.

Y/N could definitely get used to a life like this.

When her and Matthew went back to hers that night, Y/N had asked him to stay. She didn't feel comfortable letting him drive home after he had consumed more than a few drinks that night.

So he spent the night on the couch, wrapped up in more blankets than he needed and the thought that just a few rooms away, there was someone he cared about deeply sleeping in her bed.

Matthew made the conscious decision that night that he was going to put all of his eggs into one basket with Y/N. He really wanted this relationship to work and he had a gut-wrenching feeling that Y/N wanted it too.