DAKOTA

Ellie and I decided to mix things up tonight and head down to the glass for warmups. Normally, we'd just hang out at our seats behind the bench, but this way the boys will be able to see us easier.

After my birthday the other day, Parker had to distance himself a bit between classes and practice. He still ends up in my bed at the end of every night, which is something I know needs to end soon. Little does he know, that will be tonight.

It's not that I don't want him to spend the night, I always do. It's just that every time I've dozed off before he comes over, I've had a nightmare, and I'd much rather have him a few minutes up the street than hours away when I try to go a whole night alone.

A loud bang on the glass pulls me from my thoughts.

"Kota!" Connor screams, "give me a bite!"

I tear off a chunk of pretzel and toss it over the glass, rolling my eyes. Connor shoves the entire thing in his mouth and skates off like nothing ever happened.

When I take my usual seat, I bang on the glass and call out to Coach. "What's up, Coopy?"

He slowly turns, giving me the stink eye, and holds up a towel so that I can't see him anymore.

Rude.

It only lasts for a few seconds, when he drops the towel and smiles tightly. "Glad to see you're okay."

My jaw drops. That's the first time he's willingly talked to me.

The game starts off strong, with Parker getting one goal with Connor on the assist. The guys are on it tonight, and I think it has something to do with the group of five scouts sitting a few rows behind me.

The Seattle and Vancouver scouts keep saying Parker's name, and I'll be honest, it makes me a little nervous.

Here's the thing about getting called up: you say yes to whoever calls first. If you don't, you risk nobody else calling after and missing your once chance. I just have to trust that those Nashville men will be on their game.

I'm brought out of my thoughts when Ellie yanks my arm, pulling me to a stand while screaming. It only takes a few seconds to realize that I missed my boyfriend scoring for a third time, securing yet another hat trick.

I start to scream with her, banging on the glass, earning me another jokingly angry look from Coach Cooper. When Parker gets back to the bench, he flexes his muscles, winking at me.

The rest of the game passes by quickly, and before I know it, Ellie and I are standing in the player's exit tunnel.

All three boys emerge at the same time, but before Parker can grab me, Brooks has both of us girls wrapped up.

"Hey baby dolls, did you see me out there?"

I smack a wet kiss on his cheek, "incredible as usual, Brooksy."

When I can finally wiggle out of his grip, I hug Connor for a moment, congratulating him, then move on to the boy smiling brightly at me.

As I go to wrap my arms around his neck, a sudden feeling of deja vu hits me, from the first home game months ago. Only this time is a little different because I'm now deeply in love with the boy whose arms wrap me up in a tight hold.

Pulling back, I press up on my toes to kiss him, but Parker is quick to reach up and wipe two fingers over my lips first.

"What was that for?"

"They touched Brooks' face," he shrugs, finally leaning down to me.

I laugh against his mouth.

"I brought you something."

Perking up a bit, I close my eyes, holding out my hands to him. I hear him chuckle lowly before my beanie is pulled off, and something else replaces it.

"Did you save me a hat?" I look up at him.

He leans in close, whispering, "I've got five more in my bag for you."

Bursting into laughter, I peck his cheek. I never wear normal hats, but I feel like that may change soon.

After deciding that we should head back to the group, the five of us greet Austin quickly and head outside.

"Where are we sleeping?" Parker questions.

I immediately stop swinging our hands, keeping my eyes on the ground. "Actually, I think I should be alone tonight."

Everyone stops walking, turning to us.

When nobody speaks, I keep going. "It's just," I pause, searching for the right words. "You all are leaving this weekend, and I'd rather you be a few minutes away just in case I do end up needing you at first."

"Oh," he says long and low. "Can I at least come stay on the couch?"

Glancing at Ellie, she gives me a reassuring nod, urging me to continue.

"I need to know that I'm okay by myself, and if you're only down the hall, I'll end up with you no matter what."

It's obvious he's not sold on the idea, but he presses a kiss to my forehead and steps back anyways. "Don't be afraid to call me."

"I won't," I smile at him, trying to seem braver than I am at the moment.

Ellie and I hug the other two boys goodbye, and head over to her car. The entire time, I can feel Parker's eyes burning into my back.

~

I've decided to cheat a bit.

Ellie and I order dinner, and while we wait, build a fort in the living room. We're going to sleep out here tonight, but put a hanging sheet between us so that I'm half-alone. I'm still struggling with nerves, so I do what I do best, bake.

By the time we start our TV show, I've already cranked out pumpkin bread, cupcakes, and strawberry cookies.

"You know," Ellie points at me. "I go to the gym almost every day, but I still can't lose weight because you never stop feeding me."

"El, you requested half of this shit."

She gasps, "how dare you accuse me of such things."

I smack her shoulder softly.

"Connor is texting me, I guess Parker texted you a while ago and is nervous cause you still haven't responded."

"Oops," I giggle, grabbing my phone from where I left it in the kitchen.

I see only two texts.

how are you feeling?

if you need me, I'm keeping my ringer on

Honestly, I feel really bad for not seeing his texts sooner. I know he cares, and I'm probably worrying him.

sorry, I left my phone in the kitchen but I'm okay

do you want me to bring Birk over?

That's okay, thank you though

I'm gonna bring some dessert over before Con and I go to class tomorrow

I'll be here

goodnight, park, love you

I love you way too much, sweet girl

As our movie wraps up, the nerves start to creep in. The worst part is, I know I'm not the only one who was affected by what happened, the other person being the girl laying three feet away from me.

I try to keep my brain clear of bad thoughts, willing the universe to let me drift off.

I'm standing on the edge of a dock, staring out at the glistening lake, when I hear rustling behind me.

Turning around, I bounce on my toes, giddy. "Parker?"

My body immediately begins to tremble when Josh steps onto the old wood, making it squeak under his weight.

"Gotcha," he smirks evilly, stepping towards me.

I take two steps back but have to stop when my heels hang off the edge of the dock. "What do you want?"

He says nothing, wrapping a hand around my neck and shoving me backward into the freezing cold water.

My limbs refuse to move, no matter how hard I attempt to flail them around, trying to get to the surface. Slowly, breathing becomes harder, and I feel myself sinking deeper and deeper into the dark depths of the lake.

With a gasping breath, I shoot up, clutching a hand over my rapidly beating heart. Glancing at the small clock under the TV, I see it's four AM, and sigh in relief when I realize that I can get away with not going back to sleep.

Quietly, I head down the hall to my room and pull out my laptop, deciding to use the next few hours for studying.

~

When eight o'clock finally rolls around, I'm already walking into the boys' house, arms full of goodies. '

Only Connor is awake, eating a bowl of cereal in the kitchen. I step into the room, accidentally startling him.

"Fuck, Kota," he grumbles. "You're here really early."

I watch nervously as he takes in the bags under my eyes that refused to be covered by concealer.

"Figured we could go for breakfast instead of lunch," I shrug nonchalantly.

Deciding not to comment on the obvious, he stands up, handing me the bowl. "I'm down, give me like ten minutes."

"What's this for?"

Halfway up the stairs, he turns back to me. "We both know you're gonna say hi to Cadell before you leave, might as well give it to him."

Nodding, I hurry up behind him, going straight to the room I've become well-acquainted with. Pushing the door open, my heart swells at the sight of Parker cuddling Birk, both sleeping soundly.

I slip off my shoes, put the bowl on the bedside table, and climb right beside my boyfriend, pressing myself against the side of his body that Birk is not. He comes to much quicker than usual, turning his face into my hair.

"Morning," I whisper.

He presses a kiss to the top of my head, his voice rough. "Fuckin' missed you."

Leaning up onto my elbow, I press my mouth to his. "I don't know why, you and Birk look pretty comfy without me."

I do know why, though, and I'm feeling the same way. This was the longest we've gone without seeing eachother since everything happened. The fact that it was only fifteen hours is only slightly embarrassing.

His eyes slowly open, and his thumb comes up to cup the side of my face, trailing under my eye. "You didn't sleep," he points out, ignoring my attempt at a joke.

"That's not true, I got about five hours." Give or take two.

Groaning, he wraps an arm around me, pulling me so I'm laying on top of him. "Baby, that's far from enough. Come back here after class and we'll take a nap, okay?"

"Deal," I squeeze him one last time and pat a sleeping Birk on the head while I stand up. "I brought you cereal."

"Thank you, see you in a bit," he softly smiles, twirling the ring on my finger for a few seconds before letting me go.

~

Connor, a psycho, orders a coke with breakfast.

"Did you hear about the banquet?"

"No," my eyebrows furrow.

He chuckles, "Coach moved it to valentines day."

I gasp, gripping his hand. "Does this mean you have a valentine?"

Connor throws my hand off of his, flicking liquid from his straw at me. "You drive me insane, woman."

Blowing him a kiss, I earn myself an eye roll.

"I thought you'd be upset that you and Parker won't be able to do your own thing."

Shrugging, I take a sip of my water. "It doesn't really matter to me as long as he'll be home."

"You are such a fucking cliche," he groans, throwing his head back.

I can't help but smile, because, before the change, the boys were supposed to be taking an off day in Ohio. Meaning they were going to be hundreds of miles away that day, and the sap in me was looking forward to Parker and I's first valentines day.

It would not be the first time that Ellie was my Galentine. I love her, too.

We wrap up breakfast quickly, and I make Connor carry all of my things to and from class because I'm exhausted. He's strong enough to handle it.

I also made him take my notes, because why not?

When we finally make it back to the house, Parker is waiting for me in the living room. Connor hands my stuff off just as I'm thrown over my favorite guy's shoulder, and he brings us upstairs.

He drops my things by his desk, giving my ass a firm slap after, which I'm assuming is because I was squeezing his the entire way up. I feel my shoes be removed right before I'm dropped onto the soft mattress.

"Hey, cutie pie," I smile up at him.

His fingers come up to pinch my lips together as he laughs. "I think you're delusional."

The second he lays down, I'm on top of him, slipping my hands under his shirt so they're warm. He kisses my head, one arm going around my shoulders and the other slipping under both my leggings and underwear, resting on my bare skin.

"I know you want me to sleep," I mumble into his chest, "but you're turning me on."

"Shh," he covers my eyes with his big ass hand.

"This is me offering to blow you," I whisper.

As he mumbles a low Jesus Christ, I feel his length harden under my thigh. "If you go to sleep right now, I'll eat you out later while you blow me."

"Deal," I gasp, closing my eyes mere moments before a comfortable sleep takes over.