with couples, families and friends, chatting amongst themselves. Malayna was the first to step inside, away from the chilly Buffalo weather, Carter being the one to hold the door open.

The pair asked for a table and was lead to a table for two, in the corner of the restaurant. Carter, being nervous and wanting to be a gentleman, had rushed ahead of Malayna and pulled out her chair, gesturing for her to sit before gently pushing her closer to the table.

Malayna thanked the boy, giggling softly at how sweet he was. He had even gotten her flowers, showing up at her door with a bouquet of red roses. The boy had even dressed up a little.

Carter wore dark denim washed jeans, a black long sleeve under his red and black flannel. It was a perfect mix of cute and casual, with a little touch that told Malayna Carter wanted to look his best. Jokes on him though, he doesn't even need to try.

On the other hand, Malayna wore black skinny jeans, a few rips up either side of the legs. She tucked her grey long sleeve in, accentuating her curves, a black dress coat to top everything off. With the weather, Malayna didn't wear what she wanted to, however she was still quite pleased with her simple, yet put together outfit.

The two waited until the waiter had poured water in both of their glasses, giving them the menus before stalking off to tend to another table. Carter looked at Malayna as she took off her jacket before meeting the boys gaze.

"Well," she smiled softly, tucking a strand of her curly hair behind her ear.

"Well," Carter paused, "you look great." He grinned before clarifying, "I mean you always look great, but you look great."

Malayna blushed, looking down at the table quickly before glancing back up. "Thank you, and you look great as well."

Carter waved her off as he was in the middle of taking a sip of water. "Thank you, I try."

The two broke out into laughter, staring at each other with happiness glimmering in their eyes. "So," Malayna started. "You boys won today. Eight, nothing. Thats awesome."

"Yeah, it felt great, thank you. You were our good luck charm," Carter claimed, grinning teasingly at the blonde.

"Actually, I think it was the coffee," she joked back.

Carter tried not to hide the anxious feeling in his stomach, but he continued. "Actually, I think it was the kiss. Thats apart of the pregame ritual now, you know."

Malayna looked away, glancing around the restaurant as if that would hide the red tint on her cheeks. She regained her composure before looking back at Carter, his gaze never wavered away from her. "Oh, so your teammate catching us in the act is apart of it too?"

Shaking his head vigorously, Carter bit his lip as he smiled. "Oh no, he got in shit for that. Besides, now that I'm expecting it, I will make sure we're all alone. No interruptions."

Malayna's heart raced, her brain was going nuts. Did Carter intend for that to come out so suggestive? Was that happiness Malayna felt at his words? As if he had read her mind, his eyes went wide, correcting himself. "That sounded way more suggestive than I intended it to be," he chuckled, Malayna forcing one out to.

"Mhm," she mumbled, her cheeks a brilliant shade of red due to the conversation. Not like the thought of them being alone without interruptions sounded bad to her...

"So," Malayna started once there was a loll in their conversation. "This might sound a little creepy, but I saw the video where you said you wanted to score a goal..?"

Malayna was grinning widely, Carter mirrored her, laughing slightly before replying. "Yeah! That would be fucking awesome!" His voice lowered, and he became serious, "not a lot of goalies score goals. I wanna be one of the ones who does."

"Well, I hope you get your goal. I think if anyone was going to get one I'd be yo-"

"Carter? Carter!" A voice cut Malayna's sentence short, both their heads turning to face whoever spoke.

Carter instantly gaped at the scene in front of his eyes. In walked his whole team, who had just gotten a table beside theres. The boy shot Malayna a look, telling her he was just as caught off guard as she was. I'm sorry, I had no idea, his chocolate coloured eyes seemed to plead. Malayna smiled reassuringly at him.

"What the fuck man? I thought you said you were gonna just stay at the hotel and rest?" Sam Steel made his way over to the couple, the rest of the team in their spots watching.

"I-I thought you guys were going to a different restaurant. The Left Bank, down the street?" Carter gulped, visibly nervous. He ignored Sam's questions, instead, asking a few of his own.

Sam shrugged nonchalantly, "the tournament screwed everything up. We showed up there and it turns out Team USA took our reservations there, so we just took their's here," he said, referring to the bistro.

Carter's mouth made an 'o' shape, nodding his head slowly as he gazed around the restaurant. Malayna sat, her lips sealed tight as she watched the two interact. "Anyways," Sam clapped his hands together, a wide (fake) smile plastered his face. "I should let you get back to your... date." Sam bowed, gesturing to Malayna before turning on his heels and heading back to the team.

A feeling of uncertainty shot throughout the blonde. It didn't feel right sitting with Carter well his team was beside them. She felt like she was keeping him from them, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea they were going to be here," he spoke frantically, leaning forward as if he was scared they'd hear him.

Malayna bit her lip, feeling bad. "Were you suppose to be with them? Was this suppose to be a team dinner?"

Carter blinked, almost surprised by the question. "It's not a big-"

"Carter," she begged softly.

The boy let out a sigh, "yeah it was. But every nights a team dinner. Really it's not a big deal. And before you say it, the only reason why I didn't tell them I was going out on a date was because I knew they'd bug me. I'm sorry, Malayna, I know this isn't turning out the way-"

"Lets go sit with them." Carter blinked rapidly.

"What?"

Malayna grinned, gathering her purse and coat. "Lets go sit with them," she pushed back her chair and stood up. "I know how this'll go if we continue like this. We'll both try to pretend your whole team isn't beside us, but you'll be casting longingly glances over at them all night. Before that happens, lets just go sit with them. I really don't mind. I want to."

Carter still looked doubtful, feeling bad for the girl for having to deal with this. "But, our date."

Malayna let out a small frown, but she covered it up with what looked like a genuine smile. "We can reschedule. C'mon, I know you want to." Malayna tilted her head as she smiled, reaching out her hand for Carter to take it. He cracked a smile before taking her small hand in his, standing up and taking the few steps to the team's table.

"Mind if we join you?" Malayna asked with a grin, Carter letting go of her hand to pull up two extra chairs to the head of the table.

The boys all shouted no, making the pair smile as they plopped down in their seats. "This is Malayna," Carter stated, a few of the boys saying hi or simply smiling.

"Damn," Victor Mete shouted, dragging out the word from the other end of the table. "One date and he's already bringing her to meet the family, you must be a good one." The table broke out into laughter, Carter and Malayna both glancing at each other with shy gazes and rosy cheeks.

Malayna was confident when she sat down, however Victor's little dig had turned her into a blushing mess. Carter had noticed, and placed a hand on her knee, giving it a small reassuring squeeze. The blonde let out a long sigh at his gesture before gaining her composure, taking a sip of water and starting to skim through the menu.

"So Malayna, what are you gonna get to eat?" Kale Clague asked, gazing at the girl with curiosity.

Malayna shrugged, taking her time to slowly look up from the menu to Kale. Before she was able to respond, Kale continued. "Hotdogs maybe?" He questioned, holding back his laughter before failing and bursting out.

Malayna gaped at his referral to the outdoor game where she was caught redhanded devouring a hotdog. Malayna swallowed before regaining herself, the boys, including Carter looking at her expectedly.

Smiling wickedly, the girl snorted. "So Cale," she turned to Makar, his eyes widening at his recognition. "How did it feel to meet Kale on Canada's healthiest D pair?" She turned to face Clague again who was shaking his head, chuckling lightly. "Is your chemistry, dare I say, organic?" The table erupted into snickers, the pun so bad, it was almost funny.

"As for food," Malayna continued, looking down at her menu nonchalantly. "I was thinking about getting the steak and a you salad. Though, I think it might be a little too greasy for me." She looked up from the menu when the whole table broke out into laughter with 'ooh's' and 'aw's, Carter throwing his arm around her shoulder loosely.

Malayna gave Kale a what can you do look before grinning, loving the easy banter between the two. Kale shook his head, still chuckling. "Not bad hotdog girl, not bad." He fixed his gaze on Carter, "you better treat her right. Get her as many hotdogs as she wants."