I'll Be

The next couple of weeks had become quite a different routine. Work was starting to become almost unbearable; there was little sleep, a lot of driving floozies around, and a lot of packing. Rylo was definitely strung out, and it was definitely obvious when she passed out on Niki’s couch. This was very unusual, but Niki let it happen. It wasn’t hard to pack up on her own at all, especially since she wasn’t tired like the girl fast asleep on her couch. There was a lot of confusion lingering in her thoughts when it came to Patrick and Rylo. Of course it made her happy that Rylo was becoming close with someone, but it worried her that she will forget to live for herself. At times, she could swear that Patrick was using Rylo and other times, they were two peas in a pod.

Telling her best friend that she was bound to drive herself insane was totally out the question. There had been a smile on Rylo’s lips from the moment she fell asleep. It was strange to Niki because Rylo never smiled in her sleep. This was different, and a part of her couldn’t help but think that Patrick was the reason for it all. Being there for others wasn’t at all out of the ordinary and how she was going out of her way to help Patrick. What confused her was the lengths Rylo would go to help him. Driving around girls that were obviously annoying the shit out of her, falling asleep on Patrick’s couch, listening to Patrick being vocal about how fucking good said girls were… It had to get annoying and for some reason, that didn’t stop her.

By the time Rylo woke up, the sun was obviously setting. She looked around and noticed that Niki had packed up at least three more boxes. A part of her felt really bad that she had only helped pack a box, but then again, she didn’t because of how tiring life had become. When she sat up, she looked around at the various boxes scattered around the floor. Already she was beginning to feel alone and lost and Niki leaving meant she would actually be alone. Maybe not totally alone; Patrick was still around but that wasn’t the same. Her eyes began to burn as she tried to fight the tears that would inevitably spill over. Rylo silently thanked who was ever calling her as her phone began to vibrate on the end table. She reached over and saw that it was Patrick.

“Hey Pat,” she mumbled out.

“Rylo, what’s wrong?” Patrick asked, concerned.

“Seeing all of these boxes makes it so much more real.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I have a surprise that might cheer you up,” he replied.

“You can pick me up from Niki’s,” Rylo’s voice slowly began to crack.

“Seven alright?”

“Sound perfect.”

When they hung up with each other, Niki walked in and sat down next to Rylo. Niki rested her head against her shoulder and sighed loudly. “Ya know Rylo…I’m going to miss these days.”

The tears began streaming down Rylo’s face and it officially hit her. Niki was really leaving and it didn’t take much time for her to wrap her arms around her best friend. “Skype dates aren’t going to be the same as going to the diner together. Who am I going to have sleep overs with?”

“Go to the diner and have sleepovers with Patrick,” Niki chuckled over her tears. “He’s an awesome friend, Ry.”

“Yeah, he is,” Rylo grumbled. “But it’s not the same.”

“And it won’t be, it’s going to be hard. I know I’m going to cry a lot for a while and I’m going to miss the fuck out of you. He obviously cares about you, though.”

She sighed and looked at her phone, seeing that it was almost 6:30. “Patrick actually has some sort of surprise for me and he’s going to be here at seven.”

Niki smirked and nudged her gently. “See, I told you. But I’m really surprised that he’s not taking you to a club.”

“Eh, that’s for me to find out,” she sighed. “I’m starving.”

“I have pancake mix.” Niki replied with an excited expression.

They sat on the living room floor and ate their pancakes. Rylo’s heart was heavy as they talked about old times and everything they had gone through together. It felt like a knife was twisting through her heart and she couldn’t believe how badly she wanted to get away from this. As much as she wanted to relish the time she was having with Niki, it was getting to be too much. Just as she was thinking it, there was a knock on the door. She watched as Niki got up and went to the door. When the door was opened, it revealed Patrick holding a dozen roses out to Niki who took them gratefully.

Rylo got up as she grabbed the empty plates and brought them into the kitchen. After placing them into the sink, she rubbed the back of her neck. Her elbows came to rest on the counter and she laid her head in her hands. Maybe I should just go home instead, she thought to herself. It felt like her mind was running in circles and it was making her dizzy. Someone cleared their throat behind her and she turned around to see Patrick staring at her with a sad smile. He held his arms for her and she found herself walking up to him.

When his arms wrapped around her, a deep sigh escaped her lips. They stood together like that for a short while and she felt as if she would drown in a deep sea of misery if either of them pulled away. But he inevitably pulled away and placed a kiss to her forehead. “Why did you let go?” she mumbled.

“Because I have something to show you,” he chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they walked out of the kitchen together.

They both said goodbye to Niki before heading out to the Tahoe Rylo had found herself in frequently over the past month. “So where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” he smiled at her and held out a piece of silk fabric. “Oh, and put on this blindfold because I don’t want you peeking.”

Rylo took it from him and did as she was told, smirking. “Wow, Kaner. This must be some surprise that you have up your sleeve.”

All she got in return was a laugh. The drive felt like forever and all she could think about was where exactly he could possibly be taking her. When it felt like the truck finally stopped moving, she faced Patrick and crossed her arms.

“We’re here, don’t worry.” There was humor in his voice and all he got in return was a loud grunt.

Patrick stepped out and closed the door behind him before walking over to her side to help her out. He closed her door and locked the truck as he walked her through the parking garage. It was hard keeping this quiet from her but since she had been so down lately, he wanted to bring a little light into her world. By the time he got Rylo where he wanted her, he slipped off the blindfold and smiled broadly at her reaction.

She did a little turn to take in her surroundings. “I’m in the Blackhawks locker room,” her voice not lacking surprise. Rylo continued to look around the room and noticed two of the stalls had a jersey and a pair of skates each. As she made her way closer, it became evident to her that her name was on the top of a stall next to Patrick’s. “Kaner…what…”

“You haven’t looked at the jersey in your locker yet,” Patrick chuckled as she grabbed the jersey and showed her the back. It had her last name and the number ‘00’.

Rylo’s eyes got wider as she was handed the jersey. “Patrick Kane, what is all of this?” she asked as she looked from her new jersey and back to him.

“You were so upset about Niki and so caught up with work, that I decided you needed to have some fun. I really needed to thank you for everything, too. So I brought you here,” he said happily. “I’m just really glad you like it.”

For a moment, she just stood there to take it all in but that moment didn’t last too long. She walked up to him and jumped into his arms. Patrick easily caught her and held her tight as Rylo wrapped her legs around his waist. His heart felt warm and happy in his chest as she pulled away slightly to look him in the eyes.

“You are one of the best friends I could ever ask for, Pat,” she whispered before kissing his cheek softly.

“Right back at ya, Rylo,” he said with a smile.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and realized that maybe he was staring into her eyes a little too long. Reluctantly, he let her slip from his arms and watched her walk over to her stall. Patrick walked over to his and sat down, pulling on his skates. For a moment, he watched her slip on her own and pull the laces tightly, her tongue sticking out in concentration. Patrick stood up and pulled on his jersey.

Rylo did the same with the largest, most sincere smile that she had in the longest time. “How did you guess what size skates to get me? Same goes with the jersey.”

“Well I obviously saw what size your heels and dresses were.”

“Right,” she chuckled. “I forgot.”

They headed out of the locker room together and headed for the ice. Patrick stepped and his hand out to her, which she quickly took. When Rylo stepped onto the ice, she stopped and took in her surroundings. It absolutely blew her mind that she was just in the Blackhawks’ locker room, but skating in the United Center with Patrick Kane was a whole other story. If she was asked two months ago if any of this was going to happen to her, Rylo was sure that she would laugh her ass off and call them idiots.

After she took a few moments of taking it all in, she pushed off on her skates and began making her way around the ice. Patrick came up to skate side by side with her and hummed silently to himself. “I had no idea you knew how to skate,” he said while stopping to stand in front of her.

Rylo stopped as well and smiled at him, shaving some of the ice as she stood there. “Well, I used to play hockey. For a few years, actually,” she replied.

“That’s probably the coolest secret you’ve kept from me, Ry,” he chuckled, holding his hands out for her again. When she took them, he began to skate backwards. “So why did you stop?”

“Injuries happen,” she shrugged, breaking away from him. “But hey, I scored an epic goal as I was going down and won the team a division title. Can’t beat that.”

“That had to have been one for the books,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re an amazing woman. I doubt that there is any other like you.”

Rylo smiled momentarily as he came up to skate next to him again. “So, Kaner, how many strings did you have to pull for all of this?”

“Not many,” he shrugged as if it were no big deal. “It’s easy getting a jersey and a pair of skates. On the other hand, to get the ice tonight, I just had to ask.”

In turn, a laugh emerged from deep inside of Rylo, causing her to stop skating and stand in place. A look of confusion graced his face and soon, he was laughing right along with her. When they looked each other in the eyes, hers were filled with tears. For a moment, Patrick stopped laughing and became concerned. He skated towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders. A smile began to shine through and for some reason, Patrick Kane couldn’t look away.

“I still don’t understand why,” she said with a remaining chuckle. “This is all so much.”

He bit his lip and began to skate backwards again with a shrug. “Maybe I wanted to thank you for putting up with me and I knew you needed some fun where you could actually hear yourself think.” When Rylo began to skate around silently, he continued. “If anyone deserves happiness, it is you Rylo. You work so hard to make everyone around you happy. I know you’re happy when others are, but you need some of your own happiness. For you and only you.”

Rylo quietly skated up towards him as he spoke, her heart becoming heavier in the process. It wasn’t often that she was told she deserved happiness from anyone other than Niki and Helen. She stood in front of him and as he finished speaking, they looked into each other’s eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. This time was different because they were much closer and Rylo could practically taste the mint on his breath. Patrick’s hand came to rest on her cheek, the pad of his thumb stroking her cheekbone softly.

It was enough to push her skates forward until they tapped the front of his. Patrick’s face was so close to hers that she took the chance and pressed her lips against his. When their lips connected, her thoughts were running a mile a minute and the way his soft lips fit perfectly against her own made her heart race. As they slowly parted from each other, the hand he had on her cheek was now at the nape of her neck and pulling her in for another kiss. This kiss was perfect, to say the least. There were no fireworks, but there was the Blackhawks goal song screaming somewhere in the back of her mind letting her know how fucking perfect this is.

Patrick couldn’t help but feel like kissing Rylo Callaghan was better than winning the Stanley Cup. That was deep to him, and very different, but it was good. This was also a problem for him because the doubt he had lingering deep in his heart that screamed ‘Rylo would never love a guy like you’ and ‘Rylo is too good for you’ and ‘Rylo wouldn’t want to be with you after all is said and done’. The thoughts hurt and the thoughts bothered him even as he went to bed at night. So instead, Patrick continued to kiss her, soft and slow. The fear of pulling away and coming to terms that this was maybe just a one-time occurrence began to rise.

They slowly parted from each other and a quick rush of sadness poured over Patrick as he looked her in the eyes. But that all disappeared when she smiled brighter than she had ever smiled in front of him. Maybe there’s that chance that they won’t end up together, but Patrick was willing to let that be because best friends kiss, right? That does happen. Of course it happens, all the time. As thoughts continued to rush through his head at uncontrollable rates, Rylo started to head off the ice with a smile still lingering on her now deep red lips. He silently followed her to the locker room, forcing himself to shut off his thoughts for the night.

Rylo sat down at her locker and began unlacing her skates. “I can feel you thinking from over here,” she said as she looked up.

“Is it that obvious?” Patrick asked before sitting down next to her.

“Yeah, is everything okay?” She already knew nothing was alright with him because they just kissed each other at center ice. Just like that, her heart was racing all over again. But this time, it was in fear of losing everything they had.

“The kiss,” he said softly, distracting himself with the unlacing of his skates. “I really hope it didn’t mess up our friendship.”

Once Rylo pulled off her skates, she got up from where she was sitting and knelt down in front of him. She bit her lip as she tilted his head up so they could look each other in the eye. “It didn’t, don’t worry about it,” she said softly before pressing a gentle kiss to the side of his mouth.

He just nodded in response. He felt that if he said anymore about what had just happened, it would get messed up. So instead, he put a smile on his face to ensure her that everything was okay. When she retreated back to the locker next to his, he went back to removing his skates.

By the time Patrick drove them back to Rylo’s apartment, it was nearing midnight. They stood outside of her door, looking at each other. A smile began to spread across his lips, his dimples showing proudly. It had her smiling in return as tired as she was.

“I’ll let you get inside,” he mumbled.

“Okay,” Rylo whispered as she wrapped her arms around him.

His arms wrapped around her in turn, placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. When he pulled away moments later, it wasn’t hard to miss that Rylo was about to fall asleep in his arms. “I’ll see you soon, Ry.”

Once the door closed behind her, Rylo locked up and draped her new skates over a chair. She then slowly headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Getting ready felt like climbing up a steep hill in ninety degree weather and it almost felt like she didn’t have the strength to change. But as she slowly made way to her bed, she began removing her jeans and socks, leaving them in a heap by her bedroom door.

After her alarm was set, she climbed into bed. Rylo wrapped her arms around herself, taking in the feeling of wearing her very own hockey jersey. It was hard to ignore that it smelled just like Patrick. It was even harder to ignore that her heart was aching to reach out and kiss him again, but that was just being ridiculous. Right? Right, it is ridiculous. As she began to fall asleep, little did she know, Patrick was lying in his own bed fighting the same mental battle.