Like We Used To Be

God, it was so weird standing in the office of Mark Cooper, head coach of the Vancouver Wolves. Waiting to meet a guy that she used to be so close to. Looked up to even. Would the six foot three Assistant Captain, even recognize her? Riley's done a lot of growing up since he had left Alaska all those years ago. She was no longer that pudgy little teenager who bugged the hell out of him and her brother that she used to be. No, Riley's grown up. She thought she looked pretty decent. Not to mention that she had a nice income coming from the business she co-owned with her brother. Hell, she could live comfortably from that alone, but she didn't want to. No, Riley was a twenty-year-old. She wanted to work, she wanted to make her money, actually earn it. Not to mention she loved sports.

Sitting up straight in the chair that was in front of Mark Cooper's desk. A man named Asher Coffin sat to Riley's right, Nate's manager. The three had finished their little discussion, introducing Riley to the big boss so that he didn't think she was just some stalker or something. Now, they were just waiting for Nate to finish changing after practice and join them.

The sound of a knock on the office door caught everyone's door. Followed by a voice that Riley hadn't heard in years, asking to come in. Mark gave the okay, and that was Riley's cue. She stood up from the chair, She fixed her outfit real quick before she stood up straight and offered a kind smile.

"Abelle, this is Miss Riley Dawkins, she's to be your new PA," Mr.Coffin explained once the door closed behind Nate. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr.Abelle," Riley said, offering a cute smile as she waited for his response to all of this. From her understanding, Nate actually didn't even know that Asher had hired anyone, it was just an idea a couple of days ago. So, she wouldn't be surprised if Nate was confused as hell. As well as surprised at seeing her if he remembered her.

----

The feeling of driving something smaller then a Humvee was so weird to Irvin. The wheel was so jerky, the slightest of the movement moved the car. It also went so much faster sooner as well. While the humvee was a little slow on the pick-up sometimes. Not to mention it offered Irvin a slight feeling of claustrophobia. Well, an equinox wasn't exactly a small car, but still. In Irvin's mind, it was. The seats were closer together. There were fewer buttons and indicators on the car's dash. The radio played news and music instead of static and reports from HQ. Not to mention there weren't huge guns strapped to the top of the thing. So, it felt weird, end of discussion.

Hitting the break, a small curse escaped from Irvin as the car jerked from the to hard tap. Causing the car that was driving behind Irvin to have to slam on their breaks and swerve a little bit. "Sorry," Irvin mumbled and lowered his head a little bit as he saw the car move to the lane next to him and zoom past. He was almost certain that the driver had also flicked him off, which, Irvin would say that he deserved. That was poor driving on his part anyway, maybe heading to the bar to meet with some friends was a bad idea. After all, He's only been in town for a couple of days. He still hasn't gotten used to civilian life again.

A couple of minutes later, Irvin pulled into the parking lot of Kieth's. A local pub is not the safest part of town, but it served one of the best hamburgers around and was known to have some hot waitresses that would love to come home with some of the clientele for a couple of hundred bucks. Not a place that Irvin would like to go to, usually he'd just do carry out, but whatever. He hadn't been home in almost four years. He wanted to love a little bit. He hadn't survived being shot at for four years and go back to living in the security of his home.

Parking, Irvin walked into the pub. It took him a couple of moments to spot a couple of his Ex-MArine buds and high school friends chilling together at a table. He waved to them and then went to the bar to get a drink. From what he could see, there was only one bartender who was working and from behind, she looked pretty attractive. Then again, not getting laid by a living person for four years made almost every woman he's laid eyes on seem attractive. Tapping on the top of the bar to get the girl's attention, Irvin asked her for a drink. "Hey babe, can I get a Long Island?" He asked, needing something strong if he was to feel even the slightest burn. Then, as the bartender looked up, it felt like Irvin's world halted. "Is?" He asked, the name he used to call hundreds of times before he left, the name he hadn't spoken in years.

Nate came walking out of the locker room, completely undressed from his hockey gear he had been wearing during practice. A nice hot shower had made sure he no longer reeked of body odor, though his hair was still a bit damp. Running fingers through the strands without much thought, he tried to tousle it and make it look somewhat decent. The muscular centerman walked through the halls towards his coach's office, knowing his manager had been calling before practice. Nate didn't know what it was about, he had let it go to voicemail. He probably had pissed Asher off, and was only continuing to. He had just taken his time cleaning up after practice.

Walking down the hall, his eyes skimmed over their team logo on the wall. Nate ignored his teammates as he made his way to the head coach's office and all of his teammates did the same. He definitely wasn't here to make friends and that had been made abundantly clear. That, or his ego had pushed them all away. The twenty-seven year old definitely had a big head and tended to have a snobby attitude. Becoming rich and famous really worked him over.

His fist tapped against the door to Mark's office, before he called in. Stepping inside without waiting for an answer, he was a bit thrown off seeing a third at the table. Especially a woman. One who looked...familiar. The young woman stepped up from the table, fixing her dark blue blazer and smoothing out her shirt and she stepped towards him.

Riley Dawkins? His eyes flashed towards his best friend's younger sister, wondering if that could be here. He hadn't seen her in so long, but he definitely remembered she hadn't been such a bombshell. He cocked his head back towards his manager when he kept speaking. "PA? Asher, we only talked about hiring one," the cocky athlete didn't care to pitch a fuss in front of anyone in the office.

"Well, I've hired one." Asher sighed, his fingers tapping against the table, his eyes rolling up to the ceiling. He could only hope Nate would just let it go. Sighing, but trying not to let it be written all over his face, he turned his attention back to Riley. "How's Marcus doing? It's been a minute." He was almost positive the woman standing in front of him was that chubby little kid who loved following him around when he was younger. Crossing his arms over his chest, he tilted his head to the side. Damp strands of dark hair falling over his face. His gray Vancouver Wolves t-shirt stretching around his biceps.

Mark and Asher both had looks of confusion on their faces, but he'd fill them in later. "You've definitely grown up." He was much too busy letting his eyes roam down her frame, over her curves, down her legs.

---

The music sounded amplified, feeling the vibrations in her chest. Looking out at the crowd of people in the bar, Isabella was glad she had her own space behind the bar. Becoming claustrophobic from just looking out there. Her face was hot, her cheeks were probably tinted red, but luckily her shift was almost over. Then, she could stumble her drunk ass home and reheat the nachos she knew she had left in the fridge.

That and she had the next two days off while her boyfriend, Jack, didn't. It was sad how much she was looking forward to it. Two whole days without him, until he would come home late in the night. She could sleep in, stay hidden under the blankets, make breakfast, enjoy whatever she wanted without fear.

Hey, babe, can I get a Long Island?" Is turned down to the end of the bar per hearing the request. "Of course, sweetie," her words slurred as she grabbed the gin and the vodka, before the other multiple liquors poured together to make the drink. Her eyes lifted up to the man, at first just realizing it was a soldier home from deployment. But then he spoke again, the way his voice carried her name sending chills down her spine. Sitting the bottle down on the bar, Is felt her heart drop into her stomach. "Irvin?"

This was embarrassing for her. She hadn't seen Irvin for almost four years now. He had joined the Marines and she had never heard from him again. Then again, a high school girlfriend isn't that important. Reminding herself they hadn't even been official. They had went to prom together. Her face was burning red, but now from a different reason other than the alcohol. "You just come home?" She cleared her throat, trying to make conversation, beginning to fidget with the sleeves on her dress. It was hard to not think about what kind of life Is would have if they had stayed together. If they had called or written letters... Maybe her arms wouldn't be littered with bruises and cigarette burns.

@ FallenHope95

@ dezz
Not even a greeting? Typical cocky athlete. Mimicking the athlete that was now her employer, Riley arched a crow back and crossed her arms over her chest casually. She could feel his eyes roaming her, and it took everything in her to not blush. "He's fine, leg's been bothering him though. Thinks a screw came loose or something." Riley replied, then shrugged her shoulders. She could feel the confusion from the other two, but if it didn't affect Nate, then she'd act the same way.

A small snort escaped from Riley, she couldn't help it. "Well, growing up would do that to a person," Riley told him, doing her best to offer a small smile. She couldn't be all sass to him. They were in the office with his manager and GM after all. So, getting down to business, Riley stood up straighter and offered a polite smile towards Mark and Asker, then she proceeded to reach a hand out to shake their hands. "It's been a pleasure meeting you both. I promise to do my best to clean Mr.Abelle up for you both, image-wise. As well as his professional image."

Turning her attention back towards Nate, Riley brought out her phone. "Since I'm going to be managing your Instagram account for you, I'm going to need your information. I'll add existing images to your Facebook fan club that I'll be starting up for you." She was into her business mode now, introductions were over so this was where the real work begins. Getting Nate to listen to someone other than himself. "Also, my face is up here. I have a boyfriend, and don't appreciate that look you've been giving me." Lies, but Nate didn't need to know that.

----

It took a couple of moments, but eventually, Irvin realized that Is had spoken to him. "Uh yeah." He mumbled quietly, then repeated his words a bit louder since it was a tad loud in the bar. His eyes wouldn't leave those beautiful eyes that he couldn't help but admire. When they were younger, he could remember himself getting sidetracked multiple times, causing that musical laugh of hers to erupt from those lips that he loved to feel against his. Of course, they were just kids then. Although, he couldn't help but wonder if they were still as soft as they used to be. Did Is still use that candy-flavored lip gloss? The Watermellon one was his favorite.

Breaking from his thoughts, Irvin ran a hand over his extremely short hair. "I just got home a couple of days ago, still trying to get caught up with civilian life," Irvin informed the girl that once owned his heart completely. It sucked that they had to call off whatever they were when he joined the Marines, but. They were so young, and he didn't know how things would go while he was away at training and then his first deployment a couple of weeks after. It all was so new to him and he didn't want to be held down. Now though, he wasn't sure he had made the right choice.

Roaming his eyes over Is as she made his drink, he couldn't help but realize how hot she's become. Not that she wasn't before by any means but. A mature beauty, she was a woman now and not just a girl he had crushed on for three years before getting the guts to kiss her one Halloween. "What have you been up to? How are your parents?" He asked, remembering that they loved Irvin and had treated him like one of the family whenever he came over.

It wasn't to say this didnt affect Nate at all, but the towering athlete just wasn't going to let it show. Definitely being blindsided from both angles, having no clue Asher was going to hire him an assistant so soon and what was the coincidence it would be Riley?? Was it off base for him to think it was intentional? That Riley had tried to become his assistant? It wasn't surprising he would think that way though. Everything revolved around Nate.

Marcus. Glad to hear he was okay. Nate made a small mental note to remind himself that he needed to call Marcus. It had been too long and Nate still felt bad over what had happened to his friend. He seemed like he was doing fine though, heard his business was doing great. But that hadn't been what Marcus wanted to do and that made him feel bad, even if he had no hand in what happened.

His cheeks began to burn slightly when she called him out, hearing his manager snort off to the side. Still, a smirk appeared on his face. "Oh, lucky man. I'd love to meet him. He enjoy the move to Vancouver?" He motioned towards the door, before pulling it open. "C'mon, Ms. Dawkins. Let's go talk about all this stuff you need over a coffee." Holding the door open for her, he waited for her to move before he waved towards his boss and coach.

---

Is swallowed around the lump that had formed in her throat, but continued to make Irvin's drink. Pulling out the rum last before giving it just a spritz of soda as a mix. "Here you go," she slid him the plastic cup, before wiping the bar down. It had been years but there was still something there for Irvin. Something that pulled at her heart and made it difficult to keep eye contact with him. "They're doing fine," she shrugged, dropping her gaze to the counter top as she leaned against it.

What she was supposed to tell him? That she didn't them often anymore? It had been weeks since she had seen her mom, only speaking to her during random calls where she had to ask for some money. That was all their relationship was anymore it seemed. She hadn't seen her father in months. And it wasn't from lack of want to. Jack made it almost impossible to do anything.

Purposefully ignoring the question about how she had been doing, Is pulled out two shot glasses and sat one down in front of the marine. Grabbing a bottle of vodka from underneath the bar, she filled both his and hers to the brim. "Take a shot with me. As a welcome home. And thank you for keeping us safe and protecting our freedom," she teased him, a cute smile playing at her lips, sliding his shot closer to him slowly before picking hers up. "It's on the house, both drinks," Is insisted before clinking her glass to his and shooting it back.

@ FallenHope95

@ dezz
Amusement flashed across Riley's face as she looked back towards Nate. An arch of an eyebrow showing that she was indeed amused by his words. Was that jealousy she heard in his tone, or could it be sarcasm,? "Stressful, but we're both managing it." She told him, then raised her right hand and tucked some hair behind her ear out of nervous habit. Then, she turned towards the two others in the room and offered a small wave as she walked out the door.

Shoving her phone into her purse, Riley glanced over her shoulder at Nate as they walked. He looked the same, yet, different at the same time. "You've definitely gotten taller." Was all Riley said as she looked ahead of them. The last thing that Riley needed right now was for the older man to think she was checking him out. "Asher wants to make sure you're in top shape for the playoffs." She added in, making a mental note to ask the man to import Nate's files to her laptop.

Stepping out into the entrance area of the arena, two large figures could be seen standing in the middle of the room talking. The one on the right was a platinum blonde from what Riley could see, while the one on the left was a brunette. Both were obviously over the six-foot marker as well and just as strong looking as Nate. "Woah, is that Zack Mathew's and Lucas Bright?" Riley murmured, feeling star-struck. Giving them a longer look then she'd given Nate since they've met. "How's your relationship with your teammates?" Riley asked, glancing up at Nate.

----

Maybe it was because of all of his training in the Marines, but something seemed off about Is. Her body language, the lack of eye contact. It all screamed at Irvin that she was hiding something from him. That she wasn't comfortable with the simple light-hearted questions that he had thrown her way. That she was lying, and from what Irvin could remember, Is always hated, liars. But, that was his training, this was civilian life. He needed to look at things from a different perspective, He did come back after for years of not talking to her after all.

Lowering his dark gaze down to the shot glass that's on the counter. Irvin listened to Isabella. His lips pursing together, a small snort escaping from him. Always the one to try and play things off as a good thing. Not that being a Marine wasn't a good thing, it was at the top of his list of things he was proud of. What bugged him though, was that Is was drinking on the job. "Welcome?" Irvin mumbled quietly and took the shot as if it was nothing but water. Then, set the now empty shot back onto the counter. His eyes turned towards his drink. The mix looked strong, but nothing could get the marine drunk anymore sadly. The screams still echoed in his mind.

Reaching into his pocket, Irvin set down a twenty, the seven bucks for the drink and the rest as a tip for his high school sweetheart. "What are you doing tomorrow?" Irvin asked, trying to be casual as he reached out and grabbed the plastic cup. He raised it to his lips, tasting the mix of all of the different alcohols that were in it. It barely even burned going down his throat. All the training to not get drunk with the guys coming in handy right about now. "Thinking of visiting the lake, want to join me?" The lake, a place where he and Is found by accident one day when they were teens. It was on his parents' property and was pretty secluded. It was relaxing. It was the only place that he wanted to be.

It wasn't every day that a woman called him out for checking them out or being a bit flirty. Nate was used to women throwing themselves at him, so it might've hurt his ego just a tiny bit for Riley to remind him where he was, that they were coworkers. At first, Nate believed the little line about a boyfriend to be a lie. Or maybe he was just telling himself that to stay cool around the collar. He might've been a slightly jealous type.

Even when Riley answered his question, he barely believed her. Not entirely sure why, but Nate didn't want there to be another man in the picture with Riley. "I'm always in top shape for playoffs," Nate muttered, rolling his eyes back into his head at the mention of his manager. Asher meant well and did a fantastic job at keeping him paid well, but sometimes he felt suffocated. It wasn't something he would admit to Riley, but he was not excited to have a personal assistant. It had completely went over his head that Asher would hire him one without consulting him first, and if Riley hadn't have been in the room, his manager might've gotten some choice words.

Nate barely looked up when Riley seemed starstruck by two of the men on his team. Her eyes lit up like she was looking at a pile of gold and the expression did nothing to help Nate feel better. He could almost count the seconds Riley wasted staring at the men. It twisted his stomach. "What kind of a relationship am I suppose stop have with them?" He countered, placing his hands on his hips as he eyed the two players in question. Lucas did have a bit more muscle and Zach was taller... Maybe Nate could use some extra time in the gym. "We play together and then we go home. I'm not here to make friends."

---

Drinking on the job was something Is did often. Most bartenders do. But the difference, was Is usually left the bar stumbling. It was a miracle she made it home every night. Is placed her shot glass down next to his, her cheeks starting to tint red. Scooping the glasses up, she hid them from view and leaned against the counter again, a bit closer to Irvin. It had been easy to ignore just how much she missed him when he wasn't around. It was simpler to write him off, tell herself that he wasn't thinking about her, so why should she waste time thinking of him? But now that he was so close, she wanted to reach out for him.

It was a surprise to Is when he asked what her plans were for tomorrow. Drink, smoke a joint, lay numb in bed... All true answered but none that she would give to him. "I'm free," she chewed on her lip, her eyes dropping to his, watching his mouth as he spoke. "The lake...?" Memories of that place we're almost enough to turn her whole face red. The two of them had wasted so much time just sitting by that lake...

Anything would be better than wasting her day inside, just waiting for him to come home... And it was Irvin sitting in front of her. Her highschool sweetheart... Did she want to chance the trouble she could get into? "I'd love to." A smile broke out on her face at the thought. Would it feel just like it used to? Is could only hope. "I.." the smile started to slip from her face, but only slightly. "I'm glad your home," she forced herself to look back up at him. Years of thinking about him, wondering if he was safe, if he would ever show back up to this little town in the middle of nowhere. It was surreal to know the only thing that separated them now was the bar.

@ FallenHope95