Mile High City

She hadn’t put much thought into meeting some of Varly’s teammates. She wasn’t too familiar with any sports teams, so she was learning their names brand new. They both agreed on the place everyone would meet up—a low key bar with local bands from the area. It had an eclectic rock n’ roll feel, so she opted for a black leather-esque bandage skirt, a white blouse, and black pumps with silver-stud details on the heel.

She knew it wouldn’t be a late night, so she agreed to dub the rest of the evening a ‘girl’s night in’ with her roommate. She turned to her perky friend on the couch, “Are you ready to go!” she asked happily.

“You look amazing!” her friend squealed.

Emily won the roommate lottery. Piper was a blonde with pin-straight hair the color of spun gold that fell past her shoulders and skin the color of light cinnamon sugar. She had straight bangs across her forehead that complimented lively green eyes and a button nose. Piper and Emily had similar majors and often found themselves sprawled out on their floor passing note cards. She was the only girl in a family of boys, so she handled herself with a great deal of confidence.

Emily swatted her hand from her face humbly. “Come on gorgeous, let’s go!”
The girls were first to arrive and chose to stand by the bar, which would be the easiest place to spot them. Piper ordered a drink and leaned onto the bar comfortably, scoping the room.

She nudged Emily. “You nervous?” she asked with a grin.

“I don’t feel any reason to be…for now!” she laughed.

“That must be them!” Piper exclaimed.

“How do you figure?”

“They look too confident.” She smirked with a wink.

“Hey!” Varly beamed, his eyes lighting up upon seeing Emily. He wore a light blue button up shirt with well fitted jeans. He opened his arms wide and took her into a hug. It had been a good couple of days since he’d been sick, and his recovery was a quick one. She flashed a mega-watt smile and looked up at him, temporarily forgetting her roommate’s presence.

A small cough interrupted their embrace. She hadn’t even noticed the guests standing behind Varly.

“I’m sorry!” she blushed, apologizing. “This is Piper!” she introduced with the voice of a game show host, holding her hands in front of her friend as if she were show casing a car.

“Emily!” Varly announced, placing his shoulder on the brunette’s shoulder proudly.

“This is Shane, Gabriel, and Mark.” He added, turning to the Emily and her friend. Shane and Gabriel eagerly smiled and nodded their heads. Mark shoved his hands in his pockets, and nodded politely.

“Don’t mind Oli, he’s a little serious. Taking him out for a good time. At least that’s the plan!” the freckle-faced defenseman joked, patting his buddy on the back.

The boys didn’t waste any time in pulling out chairs at a table near the bar. They all sat around, Gabe and Shane on either side of Piper, with Mark left to sit between Shane and
Varly, who had unsurprisingly pulled his chair blatantly close to Emily’s.

“How old are you?” Piper asked the blonde Swede, eyeing him curiously.

“19.” He shrugged, unbothered by his young age.

“So I guess you’ll be sticking to water.” She laughed. Shane razzed the young rookie before getting distracted by the waitress taking their drink orders.

Piper propped her elbow on the table and leaned in attentively.

“So what position do you play?” she asked the serious Mark Olver sitting across the table.

“Usually center, sometimes coach puts me on wing.” He answered politely.

“You score lots of goals?”

This provoked laughter from his teammates, earning a displeased look from Mark.

“No.” he replied honestly, taking a sip of his beer. “I’m not really skilled.”

“Just gritty.” Varly chimed in with a smile.

“I’ll score a goal for you!” Shane offered, his blue eyes smiling.

All the boys laughed.

“Not with hands like yours, you won’t!” Gabe responded without missing a beat.

“So Emily…” Shane cooed, unfazed by the rookie’s blast. “You like our boy Varly here, eh?” he asked.

“He’s okay.” She shrugged, smiling playfully. Varly placed his hand to his heart, feigning offense.

“Mark!” Piper spoke up. “Come play me in darts.” She said, rising from her chair. It was more of a command. The boys looked at her, caught off guard by her sudden boldness.

“Don’t look so sad. I guess you guys can come too.” She smirked, turning to the boys on either side of her.

Emily suspected her friend was intentionally leaving her be with Varly. It was a sweet gesture.

“They’re funny.” Emily laughed.

“I like them!” he responded with a chuckle. “Piper is just what they needed.”

“Everyone could use a little Piper in their life.” she smiled.

“And what about Varly? Where does he fit in?” he asked softly, his expression growing more serious.

She pointed to her chest and circled her heart. “Right here.”

“Oh and here!” she exclaimed, pulling a program from her purse. Varlamov was the featured player, and she’d drawn her own touches with a sharpie by adding a cowboy hat and lasso.

He laughed and kissed her cheek, gently leaving his nose pressed to her cheek for a few seconds.

The room was filled with a bout of laughter from the corner of the room Piper had brought everyone else to. Gabe held his stomach, laughing, while Shane was sharing a story excitedly--only to be interrupted by one of Piper's playful quips. Even Mark cracked a smile every now and again.

Eventually they returned to the table, Piper making a beeline for the seat next to Olver. Shane looked to Gabe, raising his eyebrows suspiciously.

"You like tiny forwards who like to pick fights?" Shane grinned, turning to Piper.

"Don't be silly Shane, you're not a forward."

The night was winding down. Piper had managed the keep Varly’s teammates in line for the night, and Emily and Varly enjoyed their playful banter.

Just before they were ready to head out, a gentleman approached their table.

“May I borrow this?” he asked, pointing to the empty chair. Without missing a beat, Varly smiled.

“Well, it’s not mine, but I’ll look the other way as you take it.”