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ahockeywrites · 4 years

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One Chance is All Some Get - 1

Part Two - Masterlist

Word Count: 10.3k Warnings: swearing, talk of blood, talk of needles, discussion of mental health

The monthly blood drive that happened in the winter at NYU Langone on Long Island was one of the few times the Islanders voluntarily went to the hospital. This time, Mathew had a fling going on with one of the nurses who would be helping so dragged Anthony along for moral support. It wasn’t that Anthony didn’t want to go, he just hated needles. Anything he could do to stay away from needles, he did. He hated blood tests, vaccinations and was certain that donating blood would only bring him closer to his fear. Mathew knew of his fear but hoped that he could get over it temporarily to be his wingman.

Sarah adjusted her short white coat, being on the accelerated MD program at NYU Long Island meant that she had less time to learn the same skills most student doctors learnt in 4 years. However, it did mean that she was able to take part in the blood drive, even if it was just taking the observations of the patients that came in. It was something she took pride in as she was doing one of the most basic tasks, she was always willing to do the tasks that no one else wanted to do because she knew it was the only way she could work her way up the ranks to becoming a qualified doctor.

Her short brown hair was tied back into a small bun and she had her stethoscope around her neck, allowing her to check the most basic functions of the human body. She read her list of things to do one more time before leaving the staff room:

Introduce yourself to them

Make sure they have signed the consent forms

Take their height and weight and check that their blood volume is enough to donate a pint of blood

Take a small amount of blood from their finger and ensure that there is enough iron in their blood to be able to donate

Ask them about their travel history and if they have undertaken any risky behaviour that may mean they are unable to donate

Invite them to take a seat in the chair and give them a drink of water

Answer any questions they may have

Only seven simple tasks to remember, she reminded herself. Sarah walked out of the staff room and made her way to the attending doctor who was in charge of the drive. They had each been given a tablet with the names of the patients they would be seeing and when they checked in to their appointment. A few names jumped out, namely Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier.

Now, Sarah wasn’t a massive New York hockey fan, especially coming from New Jersey, but anyone who spent more than one day on Long Island had heard of them. They were the up and coming players for the New York Islanders and had a large social media following. Their looks were just an addition to their spectacular hockey skills.

Anthony kept tapping his foot. It was his way of showing nerves, his plan for the day before Mat had dragged him here was to enjoy his day off, maybe try cooking something fancy and watch Netflix all day. But no, he was sitting in a stuffy hospital waiting room, waiting for some doctor or nurse to hook him up to some machine that was going to steal his blood, then he was going to be told that he couldn’t do any heavy lifting on that arm for the rest of the day. It was the same procedure as every blood test that he had for the Islanders and he was going to hate every moment of it. The soft voice of the receptionist called him and Mat over to collect the papers they needed then they had to wait for one of the student doctors to call them through. They both nodded and went to fill in the paperwork. She had also given them some water that they were told to drink slowly, which apparently was going to help when donating blood. Anything Anthony could do to make the donation go quicker, he would do.

It was an unfamiliar room to Sarah, but familiar equipment and she thanked the heavens that she had been trained on similar machines. She swiped her identification badge on the reader attached to the keyboard and signed in to the computer. Quickly, she read through the patient information for Andrew Parkinson, he was her first appointment of the day and noted that he previously had iron deficiency anaemia but had been treated for this using iron tablets and knew that this could be a potential boundary for him donating blood today. She collected her stethoscope from the desk and left the small room to enter the waiting room.

“Mr Parkinson for the blood donation?” Sarah asked, trying to be confident. Sarah looked over the room and noticed a man, with blond hair walking over to her and when he was close enough she offered him her hand to shake which he accepted. “Hi there, I’m student doctor Sarah Milkins and I’m going to be taking you through the first stages of your donation today if that’s okay with you sir.”

“Of course it is,” Andrew said, “lead the way.”

As soon as Anthony heard the soft voice, he looked up wanting to see who it could belong to. He saw a young woman, she couldn’t be older than 25, pushing up her black-rimmed glasses which matched the stethoscope on her shoulders. Even the pens that were in the pocket of her white coat matched. But what made her stand out was her scrubs, he had never seen someone wear a pair of dark blue, unfitted scrubs so well. He smiled at her, but she had already turned her back to him and was leading another man to her consultation room.

“Mat, what was the name of the nurse you were seeing?” Anthony asked his friend, hoping that it wasn’t her because he would do anything but break the bro code.

“Urm,” Mat had to rack his brain to try and remember her name, “I can’t remember but she was definitely a blonde, and she was tall.” Tito let out a sigh that he didn’t even realise he was holding. “Why?” Mat asked, “got your eye on one here?”

“If I do, just be glad it's not your girl,” Anthony replied, with a roll of his eyes.

Sarah was glad to hear that Mr Parkinson had been keeping up to date with his family doctor with regards to his anaemia and was even happier when she completed the finger prick test to show that his blood contained enough iron for him to donate. It was even better when he mentioned that he hadn’t travelled out of the state in the past 6 months. “Mr Parkinson, I am happy to report that your blood volume and iron levels are high enough to donate today,” she said with a smile. “Do you have any questions for me?” she asked, he replied with a shake of his head so Sarah continued, “so, if you could just finish your water whilst you’re waiting in the chair, I’ll send one of the nurses over to you.” She pointed towards chair number 6 and walked him there. “Thank you again for donating.”

Three minutes. Three minutes to fill in all of the information that the system needed. Sarah was thankful that she had been making notes on the computer as she spoke to Mr Parkinson as it made filling in the additional things a lot easier. She took a quick look at her next patient and saw that they would be accompanied by a social media team. This confused her until she saw the names, it was the New York Islanders who she noticed on the list before. A little sigh escaped her lips before she covered her tablet with the case and walked out of her consultation room.

Anthony noticed as soon as she walked back out from the consultation rooms. He noticed how she looked a little awkward standing there, but it allowed him to take in her beauty even if he knew this was likely to be the only time he ever saw her. New York was a big city, 8 million people and she was just one of them.

“Mr Barzal, Mr Beauvillier and camera crew?” Sarah asked meekly, not wanting to accidentally say the wrong thing.

Placing his hands on his thighs to help him stand, Mat said, “I guess that’s us.” Anthony nodded not believing that he was going to be in the same room as her, let alone caught on video with her.

“I’m student doctor Sarah Milkins and I’m gonna be conducting your observations today,” Sarah began as she started leading the gaggle of people down the corridor. She opened the door to her little room and offered Mat and Anthony the seats on the opposite side of her chair. “I’m not too sure what the camera crew want to do, but I’m just gonna ask you guys a few questions, take your height and weight then do a little blood draw which is just a pinprick on your finger. If you guys don’t have any immediate questions, shall we get started?”

“We’re just gonna be filming the guys, so just try and keep this as normal as possible,” one of the guys with a camera said.

“I’ll try my best. So, I’ve got both of your files up so as long as you don’t mind answering the questions in front of each other, I’ll ask you both at the same time,” Sarah questioned the boys.

“I haven’t got an issue with it,” Anthony said, looking up into Sarah’s green eyes. Her eyes then flicked to Mat who agreed with his friend.

“First question, any new tattoos and piercings in the last three months?” Both boys shook their head and Sarah quickly typed the information into the computer but something kept drawing her back to Anthony’s eyes. “Second of all, any trips out of the United States, not including Canada, in the last three months?” Another nod from both of them confirmed that she was able to move onto the height and weight measurements.

“Now, it’s not that I trust the official NHL data, but if you don’t mind I’d like to take your height and weight, this is to make sure that your blood volume is high enough to donate,” she had to keep this professional, it wasn’t like she had them sat in their boxers in front of her, they were there to do something she did every other month. The boys nodded and the camera crew started giggling when they noticed the height difference between Sarah, Anthony and especially Mat.

Sarah knew she was short, standing at 5 foot exactly, but she didn’t take into account how much shorter she was than the two hockey players as she walked through the hospital corridors. “If you don’t mind, Miss Milkins, could we film this?” one of the camera crew suggested, and Sarah knew that this would be quite funny.

“Yes, just don’t make fun of how short I am,” she said with a laugh. She was used to the jokes about her height and even made some herself when she could think of them. Everyone in the room agreed and made sure they were camera ready. As Sarah motioned for one of the boys to make their way to the height and weight measure, Anthony gave Mat a look to silently tell him to go first. He was incredibly flustered, he didn’t even know why. This was a professional setting and all he had to do was ignore the pretty girl who was looking after him at this moment. Oh, and the needles that he would have to encounter slightly later on.

Sarah took the notepad out of her pocket and found a pen on the desk too. “So, Mat,” Sarah whispered, but she then remembered that she was being filmed so would have to speak up a bit more. “Mat,” this time she was able to get the attention of everyone in the room. “Height is 6’0, and weight 189lbs. Perfect blood volume for donating today! Anthony, would you like to replace Mat on the machine?” Sarah asked politely, whilst writing down these numbers.

Anthony nodded and went to stand on the machine. He noticed Sarah’s eyes as he stood in front of here, slightly awkwardly. They glistened emerald green under the annoyingly bright medical lights and he just wanted to stare into them, but he knew that it would be strange, especially as they had barely known each other for 10 minutes and would probably never see each other again.

“Anthony, just shuffle to your left to make sure we can get the most accurate reading if you can,” Sarah spoke softly, she didn’t want to make this too awkward for him as she could sense that he had some nerves around donating blood. She sent a smile his way, just to ease him.

“Urm, yeah, sure,” Anthony grunted as he moved less than an inch but this allowed Sarah to get the correct readings.

“That’s, 5’11 and 182lbs,” Sarah said and quickly wrote that down. “So, boys, both of you have got enough blood to donate about a pint today! Have you got any questions for me?”

Mat and Anthony shook their heads and looked towards the camera crew who did the same action. Sarah thanked everyone in the room for their time and encouraged the boys to finish drinking a pint of water. She also pointed them towards some of the nurses who would be taking their blood today.

“Miss Milkins, would we be able to get a photo of you and the boys for social media? If you don’t want to, that’s fine but it’ll be nice to get one,” one of the camera crew suggested. Sarah was slightly shocked but agreed nonetheless. She slotted herself between Mat and Anthony and let the crew do their thing with some portable lights and a professional camera. This was not what she expected to be doing when she woke up that morning.

“And we’re done,” the man said, “just jot down your Instagram and Twitter handles for us so we can tag you and send you the photos.” He handed her a small pad of paper and she scribbled it down and handed it back.

“Right, if you head over to Jane, my colleague over there. She’s the one waving,” Sarah laughed. “She’ll get you set up for your donation! Thanks for coming today and donating and I hope to see you soon!” Anthony and Mat waved to Sarah as she went back to the small examination room to put the information into the computer.

Sarah let out a sigh, she didn’t even realise she was holding one in. Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier were not your average blood donors and the fact that she had been the person to take their observations was incredible. She had never tended to anyone of their star nature and was thankful for the existence of patient confidentiality.

Even if her photo was going to be posted online, she wished that it wasn’t the Islanders that had come in to donate. It would have been a better story to tell to her parents if Jack Hughes and Nico Hischer came in because then she would have been star-struck and probably would have collected autographs for her sister, who swore that Hischer’s hair was the best thing known to man.

Rebecca, the receptionist, one of Sarah’s friends from high school and her housemate, was star struck when Sarah said that she did their observations. “I am going to need a drink after this,” Sarah exclaimed, “I hope my face doesn’t get plastered all over the internet.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Rebecca asked, “You know I think you should get out more.”

“Getting out more is not the same as a hockey team that I don’t even like posting photos about me,” Sarah sighed. “If it was the Devils, I might not be as concerned, but I guess that’s what we get for living in New York.”

“We're still on for the Mets game and drinks after on Saturday?” Rebecca asked, hoping she didn’t shoot down the idea. Sarah knew she needed to take a night off from studying and she did enjoy baseball, it was the drinks after she knew she wasn’t a massive fan of the idea of.

“We won’t stay out too late?” Sarah needed her sleep and was not prepared to give up too much of that for the nightlife of New York.

“Of course, we can’t have little miss perfect staying out past her bedtime now, can we,” Rebecca joked. Sarah responded with a swift roll of her eyes and told her to get lost. She sent Rebecca a quick wave as she headed back to the waiting room to collect the next donor.

Mat had seen that look in Anthony’s eyes before but didn’t want to prod too far because he was about to be hooked up to donate blood. “Marie, you have to come and see these veins,” the nurse exclaimed. Her accent was definitely southern, Texas perhaps, Anthony thought. He wondered why the nurses were getting so excited over their veins, to him these were just the vessels that allowed his blood to get back to the heart and reoxygenate so he could perform at his best on the ice. Yes, they were pretty prominent, but he had seen people on his own hockey team with more visible veins than his.

“My lord,” the second nurse exclaimed, “I’d certainly have wanted test subjects like these two when I was learning.” Anthony shot Mat a worrying look, slightly concerned about what the nurses could be plotting against them. They wouldn't be held hostage for all the student nurses to learn their skills on, would they? He was thinking too much, surely? “Aw sweetie, no need to worry,” the second nurse told him. “Just a quick pinprick.” Yeah, like he hadn’t heard that before.

Anthony looked over to see Mat in conversation with the southern nurse as his blood started to collect on the machine. He needed to relax, that’s what they always told him when he was preparing for a blood test. Sighing, he closed his eyes and balled his hand into a fist. Thinking of rural Quebec and how he couldn’t wait to get back over the summer when the season was finished. The greenery, the sun beating down on his bare chest, a beautiful girl on his arm, anything to take his mind off of the needle that was being placed into his arm.

He was nervous, to say the least, but was glad that the camera crew were currently occupied filming Mat talking to one of the nurses. The nurse was able to get the donation needle the first time and Anthony was able to start his muscle tension exercises. Deep breaths, he told himself, it will be no longer than ten minutes, last time you were done in 6. He was pulled out of his thoughts by the laugh of a girl, was it the nurse that did their observations? He hoped not as he really did not want a cute girl to see him like this. Without opening his eyes too far, he peeked across to see her walking someone to the consultation room.

As he let out a deep breath, Anthony heard the beeping of the machine. Success! He had finished his blood donation and this time without tears. It was the little wins, he told himself. The southern nurse made her way across to detach Anthony from the death trap and he waltzed over to join Mat who was drinking a mug of coffee to rehydrate himself. He picked up a Gatorade from the selection along with a small bag of chips and sat in the comfy chair. The camera crew wanted him to do a small piece to camera about how easy it was to donate, he sniggered at that one, and where people in Long Island could come and donate.

It was easier than he thought and was happy to only have to record it twice, it took Mat at least 5 attempts to even get the first bit right. Anthony was happy, he had donated blood to a good cause and now all he wanted to do was leave and get some Chinese food in his stomach. Mat and Anthony made their way back through the donation area, signing a few cards that the team had brought for them. He felt on top of the world, and had no idea why. As he walked outside the hospital, the cold New York air hit him straight in the face.

“So, which one was she, eh?” Mat asked, to which Anthony replied with a roll of his eyes. Like he was openly going to tell his best friend but more importantly the big mouth of the team which of the healthcare staff he had a tiny crush on.

“None of your business and I’m probably never going to see her again so it doesn’t matter,” he replied, trying to convince himself more than his teammate.

Sarah sighed, one more patient to triage then she could have her Wednesday evening to herself, a bottle of wine and whatever takeout she ordered. She looked at Rebecca and the two of them shared a look that only they could decipher. It meant they would be having sushi for dinner and Rebecca started to place the rolls that she knew the two of them would want in her UberEats basket from their favourite place. All Sarah had to do was get her head down and finish her day of work quickly. Luckily, the next patient was a regular donator and knew the whole procedure. She was able to get them processed quickly and headed to the staff room to collect the small number of belongings she had brought with her.

Her locker was the furthest away from the entrance, but she didn’t mind. She looked forward to graduating to a bigger and more accessible locker in the future, but hopefully in the emergency department. Backpack, wallet, phone, coat, scarf, beanie. One more once over of the locker to ensure that it was fully empty, which it was, and Sarah was ready to go home. She was incredibly thankful that she did not have any classes or have to be up early for her psychiatry rotation so she could have the entire bottle of wine she desired that evening.

As she passed the reception desk, Sarah saw that Rebecca was waiting for her with a hot chocolate for her to keep her hands warm on the drive back to their apartment in Bay Ridge. The two shared a car as it kept the cost of maintaining it low, they both worked at the same hospital so driving was shared between the two of them. Sarah would take the morning drive and Rebecca would drive them home in the evening. It was a dynamic that worked, and they couldn’t thank the heavens more for each other.

The drive to their apartment wasn’t too long, and after watching the world go by for 45 minutes or so, Rebecca pulled into the parking lot of their apartment complex. They both exited the car at the same time and Sarah was faster to reach the elevator so called it down for them. Music softly played in the car and Rebecca informed Sarah that she had ordered dinner and it should be at their door in about 20 minutes which gave both of them time to change into something comfier and get started on a bottle of wine.

Time passed quickly once the food arrived and the girls enjoyed being in each other’s company for the first time in what seemed like ages. Sarah was always busy with assignments or in the hospital and Rebecca was working full time as a receptionist whilst taking night classes to try and get into law school. They were focussed women which is why they were the friends that everyone would marry each other if they hadn’t found other people by the age of 40. Platonic soulmates, that’s what everyone called them and it was the best way to define them.

Thursday was filled with assignments for the two roommates. Rebecca had a 2000 word introduction to property law and a 3000-word essay on an interesting criminal case that she had found. It wasn’t like Sarah had the day easy, she was tasked with reading and taking notes from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Section II, on depressive disorders. The book wasn’t light reading in the slightest, but this interested Sarah. She worked through the chapter and was able to do some outside reading into how they are treated, through a combined approach of medication and what is sometimes referred to as ‘talk therapy’.

The two had consumed more coffee in one day than was considered healthy, but they did this to ensure that they had a free weekend and could ensure that they were able to enjoy their time off. It was uncommon for them to have an entirely free weekend but it was worth it so they could see Rebecca’s family. They were coming across from Trenton to spend the Saturday with the girls and both of them couldn’t wait to spend time with them. Both of their families were close, but when Rebecca’s family had moved from Newark to Trenton when they were in college, it became more difficult for them to meet up regularly. This was why it was special for the two girls.

By 7 in the evening, they had both decided they had done enough work for the day and made their way to the kitchen to try and decide what they should make for dinner. After a quick rummage through the cupboards, they settled on a simple carbonara. It wasn’t overly simple but didn’t stretch either of their culinary abilities. “Want to watch anything in particular on tv tonight?” Rebecca shouted from the living room. Sarah popped her head out from behind the door frame to say that she didn’t care as long as it wasn’t reality tv to which they both laughed. “How about your hockey boys?” Rebecca questioned.

Sarah raised one of her eyebrows in confusion, unsure of what Rebecca was talking about until she checked the TV set to see the Islanders warming up before their game that evening. “Eugh,” she sighed. At this point, Rebecca was the only person who knew that she had helped them with their blood donation, but Sarah kept reminding her that it was only observations and not actually taking the blood for their donation. The difference was subtle to the majority of people, but Sarah always tried her best to explain different medical terms to people, sometimes it was easier than others.

They agreed to watch the game together so Sarah quickly finished plating up their food and Rebecca walked through to collect some glasses of water. Due to the fact their apartment was pretty small, they didn’t have a proper dining table to sit at and eat food, usually, it was a quick affair at the kitchen island but the girls chose to change the scenery up for once by eating on the couch. The game was only a few minutes into the first period and it didn’t look like they had missed much which they were thankful for.

It was a well-fought game for the Islanders, even Sarah had to admit a 2-1 OT win over the Bruins was impressive even if they weren’t Jersey. She did sneak a look at Anthony during the intermission interviews and it hit her that she had met, not just one, but two hockey players. Sarah knew that she didn’t have a chance with a professional hockey player because that would involve actually seeing them again and in a city as large as New York, the stars would have to align for them to even notice each other in passing.

The Islanders social media team had waited until after their Thursday night win to post about Mathew and Anthony visiting the hospital to donate blood. They even found out that Anthony’s blood had made its way to the neonatal unit at the hospital and it had helped to save the life of a baby girl. As soon as he had discovered this, Anthony made a mental note to try and get in contact with the family and invite the girl, when she was well, to a game on his behalf. He felt proud, he was able to overcome his fear and help save the life of someone. Before, he thought it was silly to voluntarily go and get poked with a needle, but when he heard that it had saved someone’s life, it felt different. He knew he would donate blood again.

The photo taken at the blood drive was present on the screens around the arena and was also posted online. The team made sure not to tag Sarah in the Instagram and Twitter posts to try and avoid the chance of harassment but included her handles on the attached articles because they knew that fewer people would read the article. It was smart, but Anthony didn’t read the article, he just went on Instagram and saw that she hadn’t been tagged so he assumed that she would be the one that got away.

Anthony checked his calendar, realising that he had an appearance to make at the New York Mets game and questioned why his past self had agreed to it. He wasn’t the biggest fan of baseball but as he thought over it, he was relatively happy to have said yes. A night off, with some of his teammates, a few beers and nachos. What could possibly go wrong?

Everything, everything seemed to be going wrong for Sarah. First of all, her alarm didn’t go off on time so she had to rush to get ready for lunch with Rebecca’s parents. Second of all, the red shirt that she had planned on pairing with black skinny jeans had just disappeared so she had to settle on one that was black and covered in small flowers. It showed off a bit more of her shoulder than she was hoping but it was nothing that her puffer jacket wouldn’t keep warm. Third of all, their apartment was out of coffee, so instead of making a vanilla latte and putting it into her travel mug, Sarah had to fork out five dollars for one made at Starbucks. Finally, after all of this, she had to run to catch the train into the city but missed the one she had planned on taking, closed its doors the moment her foot touched the platform.

She audibly sighed when she sat down at the table alongside Rebecca’s parents. James and Rachel were lovely people and Sarah couldn’t have picked a better set of parent’s to be friends with. They understood the demands of a college degree such as an M.D. as they had both attended college followed by graduate school. Nonetheless, they were glad to see that their daughter and her best friend were enjoying themselves living in the Big Apple. It wasn’t too much of a culture shock for the girls, as they had grown up on the other side of the Hudson river and often went across to New York for the shopping experience but living in a city that big was. The difference from living in college dorms to an apartment was something the girls knew they wanted to share.

Lunch passed quickly, and the four of them made their way across to Citi Field in preparation for the afternoon game. As they were waiting for some food to snack on during the game, an announcement caught Sarah off guard. “And today we welcome as special guests, your very own, New York Islanders!”

She had to make sure she had heard the announcer properly and she did when she saw the faces of two people she had helped at the hospital just days prior on the big screen. Aside from Mathew and Anthony, there wasn’t any face that rang a bell, even when they introduced each of them. It must have been because she would rather settle down with a book rather than watching grown men balancing on a knife’s edge on ice and body slam into everything.

Even being a fan of the Devils, she enjoyed the atmosphere of the game as opposed to the actual game on the ice. Occasionally going to a game was a simple way to meet up with old friends and catch up with how they had been doing. The social side was what interested her rather than the actual sporting side. Sarah did have to admit that following some of the Devils players on social media was amusing, especially P.K Subban, he seemed to think he was a social media star alongside being a defenceman. But this was the team she had grown up watching, not the Islanders.

The four made their way to their seats and were happy that they hadn’t missed any of the game. It was an interesting first experience for Sarah, as she had never been to a baseball game. Her parents never really took her along to sporting events but she grew up learning ballet and she attributed her patience and perseverance to that. She wished that she had more time and money to continue the hobby, but a college degree brought her classes constantly and more debt than she wished to make sense of.

Although she had never been to a game before, she was able to pick the game up quickly, especially with a few pointers from James and Rachel. Yes, there were a few things that she struggled to understand but to a first-time viewer, she knew that she wasn’t going to be able to understand everything immediately. It turned out to be a rather exciting game and the four were enjoying the atmosphere, eating the snacks they had bought and watching sports.

She wondered if her life would have been different had she spent more time watching professional sports rather than studying and dancing. But then she realised that she wouldn’t have become the person she was and she loved herself for who she was, and anyone who tried to get her to change wasn’t worthy of her friendship. Sarah prided herself on only being friends with people who respected her, especially after an incident in high school. It was never spoken about, but the people who cared about her knew about it and always looked after Sarah when she dealt with friendship issues. She kept her friendship group small and her walls high, but sometimes that was necessary.

Sarah looked around, trying to find the correct route to the bathrooms. Every arena was different and that never made needing to go any easier. She asked Rachel if she knew the route, thankfully she was able to pass across some basic directions to help Sarah. Head up and just follow what Rachel told you, it’s not that far, she told herself. There wasn’t a line so she was able to head straight in and out quickly.

It took her a few moments to regain her bearings and start walking again because it seemed like as soon as she started she was stopped by a firm chest. “God, I’m so sorry,” she started apologising to the mysterious stranger she had just crashed into.

“Hey, no worries,” the stranger replied as Sarah stepped back to notice who it actually was that she had walked into. “Aren’t you that nurse from the blood drive?” Anthony asked, thanking the heavens that he might have actually found the girl.

“I was at the blood drive, but I’m not a nurse,” she laughed. He wasn’t the first person to think she was a nurse and wouldn’t be the last. “I’m one of the student doctors, I’m in my final year and help out at the blood drive once a week.”

“Well, urm,” Anthony stuttered, “thanks. Maybe I’ll see you again?”

“Yeah, if you come along on the same date in two months I’ll be there,” Sarah smiled.

“Thanks, and sorry for crashing into you,” Anthony apologised.

“No worries,” Sarah replied, “maybe see you then?”

“Yeah,” he breathed, watching her turn around and walk back to where she was sitting.

You’re an idiot, Anthony thought to himself. Surely, there was something better he could have said other than maybe I’ll come to the blood bank again. It might have been a good cause, but it would involve him overcoming his fear once again, but maybe for her, he could?

Sarah returned and the Mets had just started the fourth innings. She informed Rebecca, who she was sat next to about who she had walked into. Rebecca’s mouth hung open and her mother had to ensure that she was okay before asking why the hell her daughter was catching flies. Immediately, Rebecca launched into the entire story of two of New York’s elite sportsmen who had come to their hospital and how Sarah was the one to do their observations. If that wasn’t enough to shock James and Rachel, Sarah bumping into Anthony outside the toilets would have been.

“How crazy,” James exclaimed. His wife agreed and told the girls that fate must have been on their side that day. Sarah thought about it as the game continued, on the train home and in bed that night. Was it really fate? Or just two people who lived in the same city accidentally meeting in the same place twice? Meeting might have been exaggerating slightly, they had been in professional circumstances the first time and bumping into someone accidentally at a sports event certainly wasn’t ideal either. She tried to push the constant confusing thoughts out of her head as she tried to sleep.

Anthony was thinking the same things as he made his way to bed that night. Why couldn’t he have struck up a proper conversation with her? Why did he assume she was a nurse when she clearly told them she was a student doctor? He was a self-aware idiot who needed help talking to girls. But it wasn’t like he could just go back to the hospital, with the description of the girl and ask them to tell him who she was. He had to hope that fate would bring them together once again.

He thought about asking Mat for help, but then remembered all the failed dates he was always going on. It had to be one of the older guys on the team, the ones who were married. Anders, as the captain, was always a safe bet. He was caring and commanding in the way only the captain of an NHL team could be. Anders was also amazing when it came to giving advice.

“Tito,” Anders spoke at practice the following day, “I just don’t know how you expect me to give you advice when you know basically nothing about this girl.” Anthony’s face frowned, but he understood where he was coming from. It wasn’t like the two of them had been on a few dates and he wanted to take the next step. “General advice though, don’t fuck up when talking to a girl.” Anthony had to let out a laugh, it wasn’t like he wanted to destroy any of his chances with any girl, it was that sometimes his awkward side came out. He knew it was normal to get slightly flustered when talking to someone attractive, but all he wanted was to meet her again so he would be able to have another chance.

Sarah checked the order on her phone one more time. Being the student doctor meant that she was often tasked with going on a coffee run. She didn’t mind though, she was just looking forward to the days when she could be the one offering treatment, even if the psychiatry ward wasn’t where she saw herself in the future. Unfortunately, she had to head to a Starbucks that was slightly further away from the hospital due to the usual one being out of almond milk which is what Dr Jones had in his coffee. Sarah warned the staff about this but they informed her that it was okay and rounds could wait until she got back. They also said that they would let her help with some procedures on the patients when she returned which made her become more excited to return to the hospital.

The scarf the young girl was wearing engulfed her body, but it kept her warm, and that was all that she cared about. Fashion was second to being warm and comfortable, especially in the New York winter. It was only a five-minute walk to the coffee shop which Sarah was thankful for as she wanted to spend as much time in a building with heating as possible which was completely understandable. She watched the small amount of snow as it fell on her short walk and some of it stayed on her coat until she entered the shop. It wasn’t a busy day, but she had arrived earlier than the estimated time suggested so she found an unoccupied seat easily and busied herself on her phone. The peace and quiet was something Sarah rarely had time to enjoy working in a hospital so she savoured the short amount of time she was in it for.

Her enjoyment was cut short by a group of rowdy people who walked in to collect a to-go order like she was. They were directed to sit down near where Sarah was sitting and she hoped that her order was almost ready so she could try and get away from the people causing all of the noise. “Fancy seeing you here,” Sarah heard a voice from behind where she was sitting and slightly turned her head to see a slightly dishevelled Anthony Beauvillier. She greeted him awkwardly, not really sure how to address someone you had only met twice and one of those times she was being filmed and the other was a complete accident.

“Are you waiting for coffee?” he asked, mentally face palming as he asked. Of course, she’s here for coffee, it’s a coffee shop, what else would she be here for? Anders said don’t fuck up and what was the first thing he did? Fuck up.

“Yeah,” Sarah replied, trying to hide a laugh at how nervous he seemed. “As the med student, I’ve been tasked with grabbing some coffees before we start rounds.”

“Isn’t there a coffee place closer to the hospital?” Anthony asked, genuinely curious. He was almost certain that when he brought Mat for an operation the other month he stopped by the one that was right outside.

“There is, but they were out of almond milk. So here I am,” she said, laughing slightly. Anthony nodded in understanding hoping that he would be able to ask for her number rather than stutter over his words once again.

“I know this seems really random,” he started, not really sure how to phrase it without seeming weird, “but fate had brought us together three times and I’d rather not risk it again. Could I maybe get your number?” Anthony reached up to scratch the back of his neck, he couldn’t have fucked up another time, could he?

“Yeah sure, pass me your phone,” Sarah responded with a smile. She was glad that he had asked her rather than her asking because she would never have been able to. She was always the quiet one in her group of friends, but she didn’t need to be loud to be noticed. Her academic achievements showed off more than she could ever say. Anthony quickly pulled his phone out of

his pocket, unlocked it and found the contacts section. Sarah found the add new contact section and typed in her name and number. “There you go,” she exclaimed just as the barista called her name. “Text me?” she asked Anthony who responded with a swift nod of his head.

He was still in shock, how on earth was he actually able to ask her for her number and why on earth did she actually give it to him? Anthony made his way back to the group of hockey players and Anders quickly pulled him aside. He asked Anthony if she was the girl and a few questions about her so he could attempt to figure out the situation. It wasn’t like he was going to share anything that he found out, he just wanted the best for his young winger and if that involved a girl, he was going to be happy for him.

The entire conversation with Anthony had thrown Sarah off but she knew that she couldn’t let it bother her professionally so went back to the ward as if nothing had ever happened, and was able to help with a few patient diagnoses and even suggested medications to her superiors who were impressed with the knowledge that she had in the subject. They even asked if she was considering a residency in the field because they would love to have her on board. It wasn’t like she could say no, instead she told them that she was keeping her options open and wanted to experience as many fields as possible before choosing her field. Even though she knew that there was only one place that she saw herself, in the emergency department.

She eventually found time in the day, 4 in the afternoon, to rest her legs for the first time in what seemed like days. Sarah loved the time she spent in the hospital and was beginning to learn how to survive on little sleep and lots of coffee. She also enjoyed the variety of patients she was seeing and the fact that they were actual human beings not just case studies on a piece of paper. Helping people was always something that she enjoyed doing.

Rebecca was adding the final touches to the roasted vegetables as Sarah made her presence known in their apartment. Sarah placed her backpack down on the couch and quickly followed the scent of salmon to the kitchen. “Becca,” she groaned, “you take too good care of me.” Rebecca shook her head as she continued to plate up the dinner. The conversation that the two had over their food, and a glass of red wine which according to Sarah was acceptable because it promoted blood thinning.

Sarah mentioned it when they were clearing up, which wasn’t the smartest idea she had ever had because Rebecca almost dropped the dishes into the sink. “You saw him again?” Rebecca exclaimed, wanting to make sure she had heard her best friend right because there was no way that she had seen a group of the Islanders in a Starbucks and had given her number to Anthony Beauvillier.

“Yeah,” Sarah replied, “I mean, I gave him my number so it’s probably gonna be hidden in a pile of other, prettier girls numbers, but hey. I tried, and that’s all I can do.” Rebecca sent a soft smile in her housemate’s direction, she knew that there had to be a reason for fate to bring them to the same place three times. It couldn’t just be a coincidence anymore, could it?

Anthony sunk into the soft material of his and Mat’s main couch, wishing the world would just engulf him. He groaned into one of the cushions as he tried to release all of the awkwardness that his body held. Mat tried to get him to talk, especially when he noticed that he was talking to a girl at the coffee shop but Anthony was stubborn and refused to say anything. Mat was the one who had a better track record out of the two, but Anthony didn’t need to hear his best friend bragging about all the different ways he had seduced different women into his bed in different states across the country. He needed advice on keeping the same woman around him.

Yes, he had previous girlfriends but none stayed around longer than two months or however long it took for them to get intimate a few times and he hated that. Anthony wanted to form a connection with someone, he wanted to come home from a long road trip to someone waiting in bed for him, he wanted someone who was available to go on dates with him regularly. He wanted love. And it was proving harder than he wanted it to be to find.

Matt Martin had decided that this losing streak needed to end, so he took them to an all-expenses-paid training camp on Cape Cod during the few days they had between games. As an experienced player, he knew that taking some time away from watching tape and having failed set plays occur during training was the best thing they could do. So he found a place that fit their needs and was able to cater to their weird athlete diet. They kept in shape by taking part in a variety of watersports and using the spacious gym facilities that were on offer. It also allowed Anthony to pull Anders aside once more to try and get advice on what to do.

At this point, Anders was close to telling him that he needed to do something but refrained from saying it in those words as he knew that this was a difficult thing for a teammate to bring to him. “Just text her,” Anders told him, collecting a towel to wipe away the sweat forming on his brow as the two completed some interval training on the treadmill.

“I would,” Anthony replied sarcastically, “but what do I say?” Anders noticed the genuine concern in his voice, did this girl he had met all of three times really have such a hold over him? All he could do was give the most sensible advice he could think of and told him that he would try and ask some people under the radar for more information but stressed that he needed to actually get in contact with her.

Anthony told his captain that he would try his best but his anxious feeling never seemed to go away, especially when he opened up her contact to send her a message. He kept thinking of everything that could go wrong, and never the positives that he could get out of it. Yes, he might not get a girlfriend out of it, but even gaining a new friend would be much better than not even trying. But he pushed these thoughts to the side, well, as best as he could, before moving to work on some hand-eye coordination tasks alongside some of his potential linemates.

The three day trip to Massachusetts came to an end much quicker than all of the Islanders wanted, but Barry Trotz was pleased to see that they were rejuvenated from their time away and was able to try the same drills they had done previously and this time they were a lot more successful. This translated to a successful win streak against the Rangers and Flyers and they all decided that it was the right time to celebrate.

Vodka shots, tequila shots, sambuca shots. If it was liquor, it could be found in the private room that the Islanders had booked for their celebration. Anthony had meant to invite Sarah, he did send her a simple text telling her that this was his number, but he couldn’t justify throwing her into the life of a WAG when they were barely even friends, so he simply told her that he was going on a night out in celebration which she completely understood, he had worked hard for his job as an athlete and deserved to celebrate.

Sarah didn’t want to scare Anthony by mentioning that she was doing her rotation in the emergency department in case she was at the closest hospital to him and someone needed immediate attention. She thought it was a long shot, but at around 1 am she heard a voice that she recognised. Dr Stevens was the doctor she was shadowing and he had just been introducing the two of them to the patient who was a lovely elderly couple where one of them had a fall and they were recommended to visit the ED to make sure that they were all okay.

She was instructed to begin some basic observations and took a few samples of blood to send down to the labs; it was a procedure that she had done many times on her colleagues and models but one she was unfamiliar with on elderly people as their veins weren’t always as visible. The couple were lovely and continued to encourage her even as she struggled but it was the motivation she needed as she was able to collect the appropriate number of vials needed to test for a variety of conditions.

James, one of the nurses, had begun to start looking after the crowd of boys by first, taking some general observations of each of them to make sure that they were not suffering from over intoxication. He thanked the lord, even though he was an atheist, that they were just drunk. He was able to collect some water for the two who weren’t injured then was able to take a quick look at Mat’s hand. James quickly called over Sarah for help when it came to attaching an IV and Dr Stevens had made sure that if he wasn’t looking after her that the most experienced nurse would be assisting her, tonight that being James.

Sarah was shocked to see Mat with a bloody rag covering his wrist, covering what looked like a relatively deep graze. James informed her of the situation and that she needed to attach him to an IV and would be observing him putting in a set of absorbable stitches to quickly solve the small issue of his graze. She agreed but Anthony and Matt, who for some reason thought that they needed a father figure at the hospital, kept trying to distract her. It wasn’t like she minded chatty patients, in fact, they were some of her favourites because it meant that she was able to find out more information about conditions they had, but drunk people weren’t her forte. However, she was beginning to notice that a night shift in the emergency department consisted of more drunk people than she thought.

One of the other nurses, Shelly, was able to lead Anthony and Matt to an empty bay where they were given a few more bottles of water and some snacks to help them sober up. Occasionally, someone would stick their head in to make sure that New York’s Long Island’s finest were doing okay.

It was relatively easy to hook Mat to the IV and he was pretty comfortable when James began to stitch up his graze. He had experienced it multiple times and more often than not there was no pain relief so the small amount he had been given was a lifesaver. He did continue to chat to Sarah as if he was competing for Canada but she understood why. Hospitals were not a nice place to be at the best of times and if this made him more comfortable, then he should do that. It wasn’t up to her to tell him what made him comfortable, that was completely out of bounds.

A few minutes passed, and Sarah had begun to start Mat’s discharge paperwork and that included sending a small report to the doctors at their training facilities. She imagined if she were one of them, she wouldn’t be too impressed to hear that one of her star forwards had slightly injured himself, but that was for Mat to explain. She was simply documenting what she saw and the procedures that were undertaken.

2:53 in the morning. Anthony had sobered up enough to call the three of them an Uber to their respective places and he also thanked Sarah profusely for looking after them too. She was humble, simply letting him know that it was her job, even if she wasn’t getting paid for it. He also promised that as a thank you, he would take her out on a date. Sarah was almost sure that when he woke up, hopefully fully sober, he would have completely forgotten about that so she simply brushed it off with an “of course Anthony.” What else was she meant to say? It wasn’t like she could whip out her phone and just say, tell me the date and time and I’ll be there. This placement was preparing her for a job in a hospital. She couldn’t do that to any other patient, or their family members, so why was Anthony different?

“Professional hockey player, absolutely filled out, oh, and you have a crush on him,” Rebecca told Sarah like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Sarah felt her cheeks heat up as Rebecca went further down the list, it wasn’t like anything that she said was wrong, it just wasn’t what she had hoped to hear at 8 am over a coffee with her best friend. She sighed as she went to pick up the steaming mug of coffee, not sure how to respond.

“Yes, yes and maybe?” Sarah replied, not really sure how to admit to the small amount of feelings she had begun to feel about the winger. The pair had been sporadically messaging each other, mainly a well done for a three-point night or how was the er today? Nothing more than that, but Sarah wanted more but knew that he might not feel the same way and accepted the small amount of communication with him.

Anthony, on the other hand, was sweating and not just from the painful workout that they had just been subjected to. He knew he needed to ask Sarah out on a date, sooner rather than later, because he was certain that she would be able to find someone with whom she could hold more intelligent conversations. She was a medical student, after all, he told himself. As he sat on the small couch in his bedroom, he checked Google Maps searching for a small coffee shop where he could ask her on a weekend, casual date. He picked one that looked nice enough, and just went for it.

Anthony: Hey, this might seem out of the blue but I was wondering if you wanted to go for coffee sometime this weekend? I’m not playing until Monday and I’d really like to see you

And now he had to play a waiting game, but he didn’t have to wait as long. Once he had returned from collecting a parcel, a care package from his mother containing things that he missed from Quebec, he checked his phone to see a reply. He smiled to himself, even if it was a rejection, he wasn’t being ignored which in his books was a massive win.

Sarah: Hiya! That sounds like a great idea, I’ve got a small research thing to do, but I can do that whenever. Text me when and where and I’ll be there :)

The first thing Anthony did was text Anders and let him know. His captain was pleased for him and was happy to hear that he had taken the initiative even if he was worried. But now, Anthony had three more days to worry about something else.

Rebecca shouted through the hallway to try and get Sarah’s attention. Sarah had left her phone in the lounge as she went to change into something more comfortable and it wasn’t like she expected Anthony to reply so quickly either. “It says,” Rebecca started before Sarah swooped in to take the phone out of her hand and held it to her chest. There was no way in hell that Sarah was going to let Rebecca find out that she was going on her first date in 4 years, let alone with Anthony Beauvillier of the New York Islanders.

As she raised one of her eyebrows, Rebecca looked over quizzically at her best friend. “Tell me who that text was from and I’ll drop it completely,” she bargained knowing that even though she was studying law there was no way in hell she would be able to get any more information out of Sarah.

The two shared a look and Sarah knew that Rebecca wouldn’t push, or at least she hoped. “Anthony,” she said, wishing that she either assumed who he was or didn’t care enough to ask. Rebecca’s jaw dropped in shock, did Sarah Milkins really just say that she was going to go for coffee with Anthony. Anthony Beauvillier. Number 18 for the New York Islanders. It wasn’t like it could be a different Anthony as he was the only one who both of them knew and that Sarah would have told Rebecca if she had even been talking to anyone else.

Rebecca tried to get hold of the phone but Sarah quickly ran back into her room and locked the door before she could be asked any more questions. “I’m saying yes, we’re going to Maman at 3 o’clock on Sunday, I’ll be back before nine,” Sarah shouted through the door. Eventually, Sarah let Rebecca into her room and let out a little scream of excitement. They spent the rest of their afternoon discussing date attire and just tried to stay as calm as possible.

#ahockeywrites #ociasg story #anthony beauvillier fic #anthony beauvillier story #anthony beauvillier imagine #anthony beauvillier #islanders18 #new york islanders #hockey writing #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nhl writing #nhl fic #nhl imagine

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ahockeywrites · 4 years

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One Chance is All Some Get - 2

Part One // Part Three- Masterlist

Word Count: 7.3k Warnings: family being stupid, swearing, allusions to sex

Mathew Barzal couldn’t believe it, he was helping his best friend into an outfit appropriate for a first date. “Anthony, you’re going to a coffee shop, not the Ritz. You don’t need to pick something that you would wear before a game, keep it simple,” Mat advised Anthony and he couldn’t help but to roll his eyes at how stupid he was being. It was obvious to anyone who looked into their apartment that Anthony hadn’t been on a date for longer than he would like to admit.

“The date isn’t for another three hours, why are you stressing so much?” Mat was genuinely curious, he had never seen his best friend act in this way before.

“Because,” Anthony started as he went to pick out a black pair of jeans to go with the shirt he had already selected, “I think she’s the one. Fate keeps bringing us together, so it has to mean something, eh?”

It took Mat a few seconds to figure out who he was on about, but his face lit up as soon as he figured it out. “It’s that doctor girl, eh?” he spoke as he started poking him. Anthony didn’t need to say anything as the blush on his face gave away the answer but still, he nodded to confirm Mat’s suspicion. “Good on you mate, she’s pretty and has the brains for the two of you.”

Anthony looked at him sternly but wasn’t able to hold it for too long as he burst out laughing. He had to agree with his friend and linemate because he was absolutely right, Anthony wasn’t as smart as he would have liked to be and hoped that this wouldn’t hinder him on his date. Surely Sarah wasn’t going to delve into the depths of something she had learnt in school because she knew that he was simply a hockey player. He knew about concussion, mainly because he had been subject to the league’s protocol more frequently than he would like to admit. But anything past that, he was clueless.

As she slipped on a pair of ballet flats, Sarah called out to Rebecca letting her know that she was about to leave for her date. Rebecca basically sprinted out of her room to wish her best friend a nice day and reminded her to keep her location on in case she forgot to text her. Sarah rolled her eyes, even though she understood the intent behind it and knew that Rebecca always had her back, no matter what.

The subway wasn’t overly packed and Sarah found her way to the coffee shop a little after three as she had to use Google Maps to find the shop but was thankful to see Anthony sat at a table near the front of the shop. He had what looked like to be some sort of coffee (Sarah honestly had no clue about the different sorts of coffee, she knew the difference between an iced and hot and that was the extent) and a few different pastries that looked to be untouched, she could only hope that he had selected them hoping to try them with her, but she didn’t want to make any assumptions. As she moved through the tables, she was able to get Anthony’s attention and he pushed himself up from where he was at.

It seemed like both of them had the same thought as both went in for a hug, but awkwardly stopped as their arms were a small distance from their torso. Their eyes met and both let out a small chuckle and realised that the other wanted the same thing so shared in a quick hug and greeting. Anthony walked around to pull out the chair for Sarah to sit on, thanking his lucky stars that he didn’t accidentally pull it out from underneath her, but when she was sitting at the table he asked her what she wanted to drink. Her response was amusing, to say the least, “if it has caffeine, it's good. But some sort of vanilla coffee would be perfect.” He nodded and quickly headed over to the barista to get himself a refill and whatever the barista suggested that contained vanilla in. The barista nodded and said that he’d bring them over when they were ready and as Anthony paid, he slipped a twenty-dollar bill into the tip jar because the service he had received so far was above and beyond what he expected.

“They’ll be over in a few minutes,” Anthony told Sarah and indicated that she was to help herself to any of the snacks on the table. Sarah raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to protest, but Anthony was quicker. “You are not paying me back, my treat for you having to deal with me multiple times in multiple places,” he said with a smile.

Sarah couldn’t help but smile back, you could tell that Anthony was a hockey player as he had a fighting sense about him, but in a soft way. He wasn’t trying to get into anyone’s face but he was more than happy to look after those who he cared about, and it seemed like Sarah was already one of those people.

The barista walked over with their drinks and Anthony started a simple conversation by asking about college and how she was enjoying the city. Sarah knew she could have spoken for days about that so kept it short and sweet, but Anthony immediately noticed that she was holding back and encouraged her to talk truthfully about the course. She had never been in the company of someone like this before, usually, the friends she had made before wanted to talk about themselves and their problems and couldn’t care for the issues she was experiencing. Anthony was different, he allowed her to express her emotions truthfully and she immediately felt at ease opening up to him, not fully yet, and letting him know about the hardships that she was facing at the moment.

Their conversation flowed better than either of them could ever imagine; by the time they had finished their second and third coffees, Sarah checked the time on her phone to realise that it was almost 6 pm. She didn’t want to leave Anthony because she was enjoying the time that she was spending with him, bringing him home wasn’t an option. After all, that would insinuate that she wanted something out of him that she wasn’t comfortable doing just yet, so she suggested the next best thing. “I know a place that does really good Mexican food, want to grab dinner?” Sarah really hoped that it didn’t come across as too demanding or wanting more out of this than either of them wanted, but the date was going well and she wanted to spend more time in his company.

“As long as they do a pitcher of margaritas, I’m in,” Anthony replied with a laugh. He was really enjoying himself and didn’t want to leave Sarah’s company. She was funny, quick-witted, but most of all, she was understanding. He could understand exactly why she was the sort of person people would want to be their doctor. When he was speaking to her, he could tell that she was paying her full attention to him, as if the rest of the world didn’t exist.

The fact that she genuinely wanted to spend more time with him was a mystery, to Anthony at least. Most people he knew tried to spend as little time with him as possible because he was such a closed book and it took the majority a few cracks to break through the hard exterior he had built. Sarah had broken through it within the first minute of their date. He knew that she was going to be special to him.

Sarah told Anthony the address and he quickly called an Uber for the two of them to share. It was a few minutes before it was to arrive, so he went back up to the barista to thank them for their drinks once again and he did slip another bill into the tip jar on behalf of himself and Sarah. The barista that made their drinks gave him a cheeky wink and told Anthony that he expected to see him again but this time as more than friends. Anthony knew that he had picked a good place for a first date and he would have to bring the team there as the ambience was good, but the quality of the coffee was something that other establishments wished they could make.

The Uber pulled up on the sidewalk and Anthony checked that it was the right one for the two of them before opening the door to allow Sarah to slide into the car. They shared a short conversation with the driver on their drive to the restaurant but most of the time Sarah spent sneaking looks at Anthony. It wasn’t like she was the first person to take a liking to his looks, but the more that she got to know him, the more she started to fall for the person he was.

As they pulled up to the restaurant, they both thanked the driver and Anthony was quick to dart around to open the door for Sarah once again. He really hoped that his acts of kindness weren’t too much for Sarah but continued to act in the same way as he opened the door to the restaurant for her. The pair waited to be seated and Anthony started looking over the menu to see what there was. It seemed like the majority of it was soft shell tacos and you picked the fillings that you wanted and he completely understood why Sarah liked this place so much. The variety was large and the cost was low.

They were seated in a small booth and ordered a pitcher of margarita to share, Anthony insisted that they got some glasses even though they both knew that they would be using straws to drink out of the jug. “Usually, I just get the steak, chicken and black beans as a filling, but that’s just what me and Rebecca are a fan of,” Sarah told Anthony. He nodded back in appreciation and quickly scanned the menu but told her as she was the one with the knowledge of this place, she should get what she knew was good. When the food arrived, Anthony’s eyes widened. They only ordered a few bowls of food, but they were filled to the top, almost overflowing, and he knew that if Sarah knew of this gem in the city, what other gems could she know of.

Anthony quickly whipped out his phone to take a few photos of the beautiful girl across from him as she wrapped her lips around the straw in the pitcher. Sarah looked incredibly carefree and she asked him to send her the photos to remind her of this date. He kept making a mess of his tacos and she kept laughing at him as somehow he had spilt salsa onto the side of the pitcher, this should have been impossible for the average person, but Sarah was learning that Anthony was more than just the average person. He had the ability to make her laugh for hours on end, as shown by the fact that their date had continued for much longer than either of them were expecting.

“Could we get a portion of churros too?” Sarah asked Anthony sweetly, “I know it might not be on your meal plan, but they’re so good.” Anthony nodded, knowing that his trainers would be able to notice he had gone off plan, but how could he say no to the girl he had it bad for.

Sarah knew that this might be out of her comfort zone, but she wanted to try it nonetheless. She picked up a churro from the small bucket on their table, dipped it in the chocolate sauce and leant over to try and feed Anthony the dessert. She was lucky that he noticed what she was trying to do and opened his mouth to try the sweet treat. As he started chewing on it, he realised why Sarah had wanted to try these. These churros were the best that he had ever had and by the smile on her face, Sarah knew that she had made a good choice in bringing him to this place.

Quietly, Sarah excused herself from the table to go to the washroom when they had finished the churros. She texted Rebecca to let her know that she could do whatever she wanted for dinner as she had already eaten, then fluffed her hair up in the mirror, ensuring that she was still presentable. When she returned to the table, Anthony was finishing off the margarita and she couldn’t help giggle. “Everything has been paid for,” Anthony told her. “As I said, my treat.”

Sarah rolled her eyes slightly, which didn’t go unnoticed by Anthony but he chose to ignore it as he offered her his hand and the pair walked out of the restaurant. Sarah wasn’t particularly sure what had come over her during the evening, but she still hadn’t had enough of his company so asked if he just wanted to go on a walk before she headed home. He agreed and they began to walk the streets of New York city aimlessly.

Eventually, somewhere in the city, Anthony checked his watch hoping that it was before 8 pm so he could get a relatively good sleep before the morning skate. He was in luck, it was half-past seven so he told Sarah that he needed to get back to his place soon but wanted to make sure that she had gotten home safe too. Sarah blushed slightly as she had heard from Rebecca’s many failed dates that most of the men she went to dinner with didn’t care if she got home safely unless they wanted sex from her. Both Sarah and Rebecca wanted to find someone who cared about them, not someone who wanted to use their body and add another notch to their bedpost.

Sarah pulled out her phone to figure out where she was and which train lines she needed to jump on to get back to her apartment. “Sarah,” Anthony said, “let me call you an Uber, that way I know you’ve made it back safely.”

She flinched slightly, unsure if she could trust Anthony with her address so offered a compromise, “how about I pay for the Uber and you pay it back to me if you’re so insistent on paying for it,” Sarah laughed. Anthony agreed and allowed the girl to call the car.

The ride took about 15 minutes as the traffic had passed rush hour and both of them were sitting comfortably in the back seats of the car. Anthony had kept his hand clasped with Sarah and began to rub small circles on the back of her hand, to ensure that she felt safe. Sarah quickly checked to see what Rebecca was doing, watching Brooklyn 99 in bed, and sent her a message to say that she was almost back. Rebecca swiftly responded making sure that Sarah knew that she would want all the details of what happened to which Sarah rolled her eyes.

Anthony caught her doing this, so Sarah passed her phone to him so he could read the text too. He lightly chuckled but before he could type a reply to Rebecca, the car began to slow down as they reached the complex where she lived. The pair thanked the driver, and Sarah made the split-second decision to tip him well as he drove them safely. As Sarah stepped out of the car, Anthony was there offering her his hand and they walked to the front door. He waited until the Uber was out of sight before speaking.

“I had a really good day today,” he started, remembering Anders' words of encouragement, “and I’d really like to see you again.”

“I’d love to see you again too,” Sarah replied, looking up into Anthony’s eyes. She rose onto her tiptoes and leant in towards him and he almost had an internal meltdown, but instead, he leaned in towards her too. The pair shared a short but sweet first kiss and Anthony brought Sarah into a tight hug.

“I don’t know if this is too fast or not,” Anthony started, trying not to ramble his head off, “but, would you like to be my girlfriend? You’ve caught my eye every time we’ve met and I just thi-”

He was cut off by Sarah pressing her lips to his once again but this kiss was slightly less innocent. Her tongue slipped into his mouth gently and it felt right, but Anthony knew that if he didn’t stop now, he would have a harder time stopping further down the line. “Yes,” Sarah told him firmly, “yes, I would love to be your girlfriend.” He pulled her in for one final kiss before wishing her a good night.

Anthony, thank you for an amazing afternoon and evening, I can’t wait to see you again. Classes will probably be kicking my ass, but we can grab coffee whenever you’re near the hospital?x

Sarah sent the text as she was slumped on her bed. Anthony had made her feel things that she hadn’t felt in years. The affection that he showed towards her made her feel loved? Was that the right word, it was something new that she enjoyed, he was an amazing person to spend time with and she couldn’t wait to see him again.

Rebecca pushed a mug of coffee towards Sarah as she tried to scope out the situation from the previous night. All she knew was that the two of them had spent a lot longer with each other than they had planned to. She wanted detail, but not too much detail as sex lives should stay private, to which Sarah blushed, reminding her friend that she still hadn’t done that with anyone yet. Sarah told her everything, from the coffee shop, to the Mexican place, to just wandering around the city. Rebecca could sense that there was something that Sarah hadn’t told her, she knew not to push as this would be unfair on her friend.

“Andhekindakissedmeandaskedmetobehisgirlfriend,” Sarah rambled. Rebecca’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Did Sarah just say what she thought she did?

“Could you say that again, but slightly slower?” Rebecca asked, trying to process what Sarah had just said to her.

“And he kinda kissed me, and asked me to be his girlfriend,” Sarah repeated, hiding behind the sleeves of her shirt, making sure that her blush wasn’t visible.

“You’re dating him, aren’t you?” Rebecca asked, even though she knew the answer.

All Sarah could do was nod and Sarah brought her into a tight hug, “you deserve to be happy, and I can tell he makes you happy,” Rebecca whispered into her best friend’s ear.

It seemed like the next month went a lot faster than Anthony or Sarah could imagine. He met up with her two or three times a week for a coffee or to take her out for lunch. It was the best time for them as they were less likely to be spotted by fans and Anthony was often at games or on a plane during the evening so dinner dates were hard to come by. Now, this wasn’t to say that they didn’t go for dinner, it was usually at one of their places, they did kick their roommates out for the eating portion of the evening, but they usually crashed by the time the couple were watching a movie to end the evening. When Sarah went to Anthony’s place, she began to stay over because she didn’t want to risk going home alone late at night, which he understood.

He said that she could sleep in his bed and he’d take the sofa but Sarah told him that couples could share a bed. He was stumped, he knew that if he shared a bed with her he might start thinking with something other than his brain, but she insisted that the Islanders couldn’t have their star winger hurting himself because he was sleeping on a sofa. Anthony sighed, but agreed to share a bed with her.

As she left his en-suite barefaced, he was able to take in her natural beauty. His oversized shirt engulfed her petite body and he opened his arms to bring her in for a cuddle. Sarah immediately relaxed into Anthony’s arms, it had become her safe space, and he kissed her forehead softly. “C’mon,” Anthony whispered, “you’re tired, let’s sleep yeah?” He didn’t receive a verbal answer, but the gentle snores were an answer enough.

Anthony didn’t know what to expect when Sarah asked him to accompany her Christmas shopping. Was she a shopaholic, someone who knew exactly what gift to get for each member of her family, or did she pick up what she thought looked good? Apparently, she had a list for each family member that she needed to get a gift for but she refused to show him what was on the list for him. They went to Macy’s, Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue and after three hours following his girlfriend and helping her carry the bags around, his feet were aching. He had managed to find somewhere for them to grab a quick lunch.

“So,” Anthony started as he placed down their drinks on the table in front of them, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.” Sarah raised one of her eyebrows, she was slightly worried because Anthony was radiating some nerves.

“I don’t need to hide a body, do I?” She laughed, trying to ease some of the nerves that he was clearly feeling.

“Nah, I promise,” he replied. “It’s technically two questions but-”

“Baby,” Sarah reached over to grasp his hand in hers, “take your time.” She looked at him lovingly, they hadn’t said the words to each other just yet, but Sarah was feeling things for Anthony that she hadn’t felt for anybody else.

“You know how I’m playing on Christmas Eve,” Anthony began. Sarah nodded as she took a bite into her sandwich, allowing him to continue. “I was wondering if you and your parents wanted to come and watch?”

“Of course baby,” Sarah replied enthusiastically. “I mean, they know I’m dating you, and have been asking about coming to a game as Newark really isn’t far.” Anthony rolled his eyes at this as he knew exactly how close Newark was. “You said there were two questions?” Sarah prompted him.

“Yeah, do you want to come to Quebec with me during bye week?” He asked. Sarah almost choked on her bite of sandwich, was he really asking her to come home with him for a week?

“I’ll need to see if I’m free,” she stuttered out, not really sure how to answer the question.

“Let’s get through the game with your family first,” Anthony reassured her, “you can make your decision on Quebec at any time, baby.”

At practice the next day, Anthony was quick to corner Anders and explain the situation. He had invited his girlfriend and her family to their game and was wondering if he should offer them all jerseys or nothing, and he was starting to overwork himself. “Dude,” Anders told the young winger, “get her a jersey if you want her to wear one, get the rest of the family scarves or something. Aren’t they all Devils fans anyways?” Anthony nodded after hearing how much Steven could ramble on about the stats of the current Devils team. “Something small, maybe get them to be left on their seats?”

And that’s exactly what Anthony did, he gave Sarah one of his game-worn jerseys and left a scarf and hat on the seat of her parents and two brothers. The five of them took in the atmosphere present and consumed slightly too many nachos. Anthony made sure that they came down to ice level before puck drop and he flicked a puck over the ice for each member of the family. It was a lot easier to get one to Steven and Simon because they towered over both their parents and younger sister.

“That boy of yours is nice,” Sarah’s mother commented, genuinely taking an interest in the boy who her only daughter was seeing.

“I wouldn’t be dating him otherwise,” Sarah replied, mesmerised at the speed Anthony could reach on the ice. “He’s been good to me so far, but it's only been a month and a half.”

“It seems like a lot longer,” Steven butted in. “She’s been heart-eyed over him since they first met.” Sarah resisted the temptation to roll her eyes but reluctantly nodded in agreement. It wasn’t like her eldest brother was wrong, so she had no basis to argue.

“Just be careful,” Simon, her other brother, advised. “I know how hockey players can be.”

“Just because all the players you knew in your frat were sleeping with a different girl every night, doesn’t mean that all hockey players do that,” Sarah sighed, hoping that the puck was going to drop soon. She chose to sit between her parents, with the hat that her boyfriend had gifted to each family member perched on her head.

Hockey wasn’t the easiest sport to understand, but she was able to explain the basics to her mother as the first period went by. Anthony behaved himself for the most part aside from a few swears that the entire crowd could hear when he missed a shot that was apparently easy for him. Sarah sent him a text during the intermission, but she wasn’t sure if he would be able to see it, so she made her way to the food stands to collect some more snacks for the game.

As she made her way back through the crowd to her seat, she felt some eyes giving her more attention than she thought that she deserved. It was strange, to say the least, but she tried to shake it off and wanted to enjoy the rest of the evening with her family. They all cheered when Anthony got his first point of the game, an assist for a Barzal goal. They all booed when the Bruins scored to level the playing field. But the best moment was when there were 5.8 seconds left on the clock and Anthony broke away from the defenders, took on the goaltender and scored. He looked up to see Sarah in the stands and pointed in her direction, not trying to give away who she was, but their eyes met and that was when Anthony knew.

Anthony knew that he wanted Sarah to be at all of his games, he wanted her to be the one he came home to, he wanted her to be the one at his side at the galas. Anthony loved her.

Did he really have to be named the first star of the night? All Anthony wanted to do was see his girlfriend who he hoped was waiting outside the dressing room. He tried to stay focussed when talking to the reporters, and when he made his way back onto the ice but his mind was somewhere else. He wanted to get a quick shower and then go out for dinner with his girlfriend’s family. Was that too much to ask for? Apparently so.

As Anthony walked out of the changing room, Anders had to remind him that he either needed to tie his tie or lose it completely somewhere in the middle wasn’t ideal, he spotted his girlfriend. Sarah ran towards Anthony and pulled him into a hug. “Well done Mr first star of the game,” she whispered into his ear, slightly seductively.

“If you keep talking like that, we won’t be going to dinner tonight,” Anthony joked. In response, Sarah rolled her eyes but dragged him towards her family.

“Anthony, meet my mother, my father and Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Steven and Simon,” Sarah explained, pointing at each member as she said their name. Anthony felt like he had already been accepted by the family as Sarah’s mother brought him into a tight hug. He shook hands with her brothers and father and Simon immediately brought him into a quick conversation about his intentions with his sister. Anthony was truthful saying that he saw a future with her, even though they hadn’t been together for too long. It seemed to be the right answer as Steven then started a conversation about where they were going for dinner.

The walk from the area to the restaurant took about five minutes and the six of them were quickly seated. Meeting the parents was never something that Anthony was good at, but Sarah made it easy for him. Her parents asked him about Canada, playing for a hockey team and what life was like being someone who could be recognised frequently. Her brothers asked about what he spent his beefy, their words not his, paycheck on, how he was looking after their younger sister and the one that Sarah physically stopped Anthony asking, how often did he pick up girls on the road.

“Shut up and eat your pizza,” Sarah scolded her brothers for even thinking of asking her boyfriend about his previous escapades. She didn’t want to think of Anthony in that way and she hoped that he didn’t have eyes for anyone other than her.

Aside from this question, Anthony felt like a member of the family and could tell that they all wanted him to genuinely be a part of the family. They got along like a house on fire and Anthony loved the dynamic between the siblings, they were able to chirp each other much better than anyone on the ice could. Simon or Steven could say something, but Sarah always had a much better comeback than either of them were prepared for. He was happy that he integrated into the family so quickly and couldn’t wait to bring Sarah home to Quebec.

Dinner finished up and Anthony refused to let Sarah’s father pay the bill, however much he insisted that Anthony was a guest of the family and didn’t need to foot the cost. Eventually, the older man caved and said that he would leave a tip on behalf of everyone but Anthony was allowed to pay for the dinner. As Anthony went to the bar to pay, Sarah’s father whispered in her ear, “don’t let him get away, he’s amazing.” Sarah blushed, the compliment wasn’t even directed at her but at someone else she cared about. Anthony fitted seamlessly into their family dynamic and it made Sarah realise; she was in love with Anthony.

“Thank you for having me tonight,” Anthony spoke to all members of the Milkins family. “I hope you have a great Christmas and I hope to see you all at another game soon.”

“It’s been a pleasure having you tonight, Anthony,” Mr Milkins said as he shook Anthony’s hand once more. “As for the hockey, tell us a time and place and we’ll be there.” He let out a hearty laugh as he let the other members of his family say goodbye to the young couple.

Anthony watched as Sarah embraced both of her parents, reminding them that she and Rebecca would be over at 11 am to open presents with them, and opened his phone to call an Uber to her apartment complex. It was a short wait for the two, once the Milkins’ had left them, and this time Sarah made sure that she was wrapped up for the New York winter.

Sarah had wanted to invite Anthony to the celebrations that her family were having, but she thought that it would be slightly too early. They both shared what they were doing in the car to her apartment. Apparently, Mat was going to attempt to cook himself and Anthony a roast ham but were both prepared to go to the Martin house in case everything went wrong. So, Sarah knew that she expected to see photos of them with the Martin family because there was no way in hell that either of them would be able to make food. Sarah was going to drive across to her parents’ house, with Rebecca in the passenger seat singing Christmas songs. It was going to be like every other Christmas. They’d have turkey because that was what her father’s family always did, they were British, open presents as soon as all members of the family were there, and end the day by playing an obnoxious number of board games.

It made Anthony think about his future, would he want to go back to Quebec or would he go to New Jersey? Would he spoil every family member he had? How about the food, would it be a fancy meat in the centre of the table or would they just decide to eat something they usually ate? It didn’t even cross his mind that Sarah was in every single one of the plans because it felt right for him to include her. There wasn’t anyone else who he wanted to include in a family occasion, it would be crazy for him to think that anyone else could be in her position.

The car slowed to a halt and both Anthony and Sarah jumped out of the car. He followed her into her house so they could share their Christmas wishes with each other. No gifts were being shared as they were meeting up on Boxing Day to exchange gifts, even though Sarah was adamant that she didn’t need him to buy anything because she had everything that she needed. Anthony said the exact same thing, but both of them knew that the other had bought gifts. It was basically impossible for them not to buy gifts for the other because they both wanted to show how much they appreciated one another.

“Have a good Christmas day baby,” Anthony said, bringing Sarah into a tight hug as the pair stood in her hallway. “Don’t eat too much turkey and drive safe, yeah?”

“You got it,” Sarah replied, looking up into her boyfriend’s eyes. “Mom will probably give me a load of leftovers that I can cook on boxing day?” Anthony nodded and agreed that it would be a super simple idea for them to do and would be an easy lunch for them both to pick at as they shared gifts. The two of them stood in the hallway for a bit longer before Anthony checked the time and realised that he should probably head home so that his girlfriend could get a decent amount of sleep before driving. He called an Uber for himself back to his place and kissed Sarah a few times more before the honks from his car got so frequent that she pushed him out of her front door. She waved at him as his day started to drive away.

Christmas Day at the Milkins house was chaotic, to say the least. Sarah and Rebecca arrived just before 11 am and there was excess wrapping paper covering lampshades and on almost every soft surface. Sarah’s younger cousins were running around the house, causing havoc as usual, and both of the girls found refuge in the kitchen along with the other adults. Most of the adults had an alcoholic beverage in their hand, but both of them decided that if one of them wasn’t going to drink, the other wouldn’t drink either.

Gifts were exchanged, non-alcoholic beverages were drunk by the girls, and a lot of food was consumed. Turkey, roast potatoes, vegetables, pigs in blankets, nut roast, gravy, cranberry sauce. You name it, it was on the long, beautifully decorated table. The children pulled crackers with each other and the flimsy paper hats rested on their heads. Laughs filled the house and Sarah was enjoying herself until one of her aunts asked her a question.

“So,” her aunt started, “where is this big hockey shot of your boyfriend?” Sarah wanted to let out a loud sigh and roll her eyes, but the entire room had gone silent, expecting an answer from her imminently.

“Anthony is back in New York, spending time with his housemate and is going to call his family later,” she replied, hoping that people would understand that she didn’t want to talk to her extended family about her very new relationship. Her aunt didn’t seem to understand her tone and continued to question her.

“But, you haven’t had a relationship ever. Why do you think that dating a hockey player is a good idea? Are you dating him for his money? Because I saw the contract that he signed,” Her aunt pushed.

Sarah watched her parents’, her brothers’ and Rebecca’s eyes widen at this comment. Anyone who knew a shred of knowledge about Sarah knew that she would never date anyone for their money, she wasn’t like that. She was dating Anthony because she enjoyed being in his company, he filled a hole in her heart that she didn’t even know was there. Sarah was dating him because she loved him. There didn’t need to be another reason.

“I am dating Anthony, because he is a lovely person to be around and I enjoy spending time with him,” Sarah replied sternly. “There doesn’t need to be another reason.” Sarah placed her fork down on the table and took a large gulp of the apple juice in her champagne glass.

Her aunt understood that she didn’t want to take any more questions about her boyfriend and Sarah picked up her fork again, stabbing a potato forcefully. The tension in the room was present and no one knew how to cut it, except for Sarah’s mother. She noticed that most people had already finished their food and asked Sarah and Rebecca if they wanted to help clear and the girls agreed quickly.

Sarah’s mother apologised profusely for the behaviour of her sister, but the medical student told her mother that she didn’t need to apologise for something that she didn’t do. It was up to Sarah’s aunt to apologise if she felt it fit, it was no one else’s responsibility but her aunt’s.

The tension was eased with Christmas pudding, cheesecake and a plethora of other desserts. The family resumed their comfortable chatter that only occurred at events such as Christmas or Easter. Rebecca and Sarah were some of the first to leave after the games were played, stating that neither of them wanted to drive in the snow whilst it was dark, which everyone understood. They chatted about the behaviour of some of the family members, purposely excluding that one aunt because it wasn’t something that either of them wanted to discuss. It was a comfortable atmosphere, and both were glad because it was the most at home either of them had felt all day. It wasn’t that they didn’t enjoy the day, because they did, it was the number of family members that neither of them were expecting to see. They arrived home safely and once they had lazily strewn their gifts on the couch, they both called it a night and headed to bed. Sarah was looking forward to Boxing Day as Rebecca needed to go to work so she and Anthony would have the apartment to themselves.

A loud knock on the front door of Sarah’s apartment started her as she drank her morning coffee. She was expecting Anthony to arrive a bit later so was slightly unsure of who could be at the door, but she was positively surprised by the sight of her smiling boyfriend behind the door. Anthony pulled Sarah into a hug and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Joyeux noël mon amour,” he whispered into her hairline. He had missed her on the main day of festivities and hoped that her mother had given her some leftovers as Mat was able to make something for Christmas Day, but it was a bit of a disaster.

“So,” Sarah had to compose herself as she was laughing, “you’re telling me that Mat put a ham in the oven for 10 hours and didn’t check it once?”

“It was worse,” Anthony continued with the story, “he didn’t even want to go to the Martin house so we just made a stirfry and ate it whilst watching Elf.” Sarah had to control her laughter because she didn’t want to disturb any of her neighbours. Anthony shuffled over to sit next to Sarah and pulled out a small bag that she hadn’t noticed until just then. “I know you said no gifts, but I couldn’t not get you something.”

“Baby,” she groaned but moved slightly to find the bag that she had prepared for him.

“So, I’m not allowed to get you anything, but you’re gonna get me some stuff?” he moaned, rolling his eyes.

“I don’t care,” Sarah stated, passing the small bag across to Anthony. He handed her a small bag, filled to the top with crepe paper and she responded with a roll of her eyes.

“You first,” Anthony, well, he tried to suggest it but it came out a little more forceful than he hoped. She made her way through the obnoxious amount of paper, throwing a small amount across the couch to hit Anthony until she made her way to a small box. It was a dark blue jewellery box, from a place that Sarah had never heard of but looked incredibly fancy. She carefully opened the box, revealing a bracelet with a charm attached. A heart, with the date they started dating. Sarah lifted her head and met eyes with Anthony. She couldn’t believe how beautiful it was.

“Do you like it?” he asked, slightly nervous that he hadn’t picked something good.

“Anthony,” Sarah replied breathlessly, “it’s beautiful.” She lifted the bracelet out of the box and offered her wrist to Anthony so he could put it on for her. Although she could put it on herself, she thought that it would be nicer for him to do it. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles before unclasping the bracelet and caressing the soft skin of her wrist. Gently, he placed the jewellery over Sarah’s wrist, then after he clasped it closed, he kissed her wrist.

“Ma chérie,” Anthony gasped, trying to keep his emotions in check. His girlfriend, who he loved even though he hadn’t told her yet, was wearing a gift from him. He did take a lot longer than he thought was necessary to find something that he thought was perfect. “It looks perfect on my perfect girl.” He lifted Sarah’s knuckles to his lips and kissed them softly.

“How am I meant to top that?” Sarah sighed, still looking into Anthony’s eyes. She passed him his gift and he pulled out three neatly wrapped gifts. He started with the smallest one and opened it to find a set of three ties with matching socks. Sarah claimed that he needed to up his tie game on game day and this was her way of solving that issue. The medium-sized one was a new leather wallet with a matching Airpods case. Anthony’s wallet was falling apart and he had to use an elastic band to hold it together so that he didn’t lose cash or his cards. He thanked her profusely because it was something he genuinely needed a new wallet. The Airpods case was something that he also needed as his current case was absolutely filthy and Sarah refused to even touch his set when they were watching something together.

The final box was slightly larger and he opened it to find a classic style radio. Sarah knew that he wanted something nice to have on his workbench to show off when his mother came to visit and this connected to AM/FM along with Bluetooth capabilities which he absolutely loved. Anthony struggled to be in the kitchen, even when he wasn’t cooking, without music so to have something like this was perfect for him. He pulled her into his lap to thank her with a kiss but it immediately became heated. Their tongues danced around each other and both of his hands found their way just above the swell of her butt, staying at a respectable distance from crossing her boundaries. Sarah’s hands didn’t know where they should be placed, they moved from around his neck, to on his abs and ended up settling with one around his neck and the other resting on his bicep.

Anthony tested the waters by moving one of his hands to cup her butt cheek and resting it there without doing anything else. She didn’t complain so as they continued to kiss, he gently grasped the soft flesh, allowing Sarah to moan into his mouth. “Shall we move this to the bedroom?” Anthony asked and Sarah responded with a nod.

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