Oh My Goodness

Jessica

It had been a couple of days since the Christmas party, and the team was on a 4-day road trip. I had 2 days off of work, much to my dismay. Every other thought was Gabe, and it was beginning to get a bit ridiculous.

On the third night, the night before they came home, I received a Skype call from Duchene9, and accepted with a smile.

"Matty!"

His face appeared on my screen and he grinned when he saw me. "Hi!" he replied over-enthusiastically. I smiled.

"Nice goal tonight."

"Thanks," he beamed. There was a pause before he added, "What are you up to?"

I shrugged. "Taking a breather before I start work again tomorrow."

Matt nodded in understanding. We continued on in conversation for a few minutes before Matt yawned.

"I'm going to go get a shower."

"But you just came on!"

Matt shrugged. "I gotta shower."

"You suck," I whined.

Matt made a face before glancing beside him. "Landy, wanna Skype Jess while I grab a shower?"

My heart began to beat faster and I glanced at myself on the screen, hoping I looked okay. I hadn't even known Gabe was there. I heard his muffled answer, and Matt turned back to me.

"Here's Landy. He'll keep you company."

I rolled my eyes at him, and he waved before handing the laptop over. Gabriel's smiling face appeared onscreen, and a smile immediately found its way to my lips.

"Hey, Jess."

"Hey."

"What are you up to?"

I shrugged. "Nothing," I sighed.

"You watch the game?"

"Obviously," I laughed. Gabe grinned and held up his hands in surrender.

"It was just a question!"

I scrunched my nose up at him and glanced over at the tv, where they were showing game highlights. "Nice goal. How many is that for you now, Superstar?" I heard Gabe groan and I looked back at him with a grin.

"Don't even go there," he warned.

I laughed. "Just did." He rolled his eyes, but the smile never left his lips. "Seriously though, what number was that?"

"18."

Of course, I had known the answer... I knew exactly how many goals he had. But he didn't have to know that.

"That's amazing," I smiled. "Keep it up."

It was silent for a moment, and I fiddled with my hands, looking down at them. After a moment, Gabe spoke again.

“Did Matt tell you about the cottage?”

I looked up, my eyebrows furrowed. “The cottage?”

Gabe nodded, a huge, excited grin on his face. “We get three days off the week after Christmas, and Matt booked a cottage for a few of the guys. Did you want to come with?”

I felt excitement bubble up in me at the thought of a beautiful, snow-laden cottage out in the mountains of Colorado. “That would be amazing,” I gushed. Gabe’s smile widened even more. “But…” I paused, biting down on my lip. “Would the guys be okay with that?”

Gabe gave me a look. “Jess,” he started. “You know all the guys love you. You’re great to have around, we all think so.” His voice got quieter at the end of his sentence and stared right at me through the screen, making my skin erupt in goose bumps.

I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face as I nodded. “Okay, sounds like a plan.”

***

It was Tuesday night, and exactly two weeks until Christmas Eve. I was scheduled to go to my grandparents’ on Friday for Christmas, and would be back on the 27th. I had booked three weeks off of work to include going there and going to the cottage, and I was beyond excited. I wasn’t excited, though, to leave Matt and Gabe for two weeks.

I yawned as Matt pressed play on the movie we had chosen to watch. I snuggled up against the arm of the couch, and watched through heavy-lidded eyes as the opening credits for the Avengers began to play.

Matt was talking to me, but I was hardly listening. My mind began to wander, and my eyes began to close. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

***

Gabe

I came home from the rink at about 1:45am, gently closing the door behind me. I let out a sigh, slipping off my shoes and heading towards the kitchen. I was exhausted. I passed by the living room, throwing my jacket on the back of the couch. It took me a few seconds to realize there was someone lying on the couch, and I quickly back tracked my steps. I quietly stepped around to the front of the couch, and I felt myself smile involuntarily as my eyes landed on a sleeping Jessica.

I headed to my room and grabbed the blanket that sat on the edge of the bed. I slipped back into the living room and as gently as I could I laid the blanket across her sleeping figure. She immediately snuggled up into the blanket, and I smiled. I watched her for a few seconds, breathing in and out.

I was almost mad at myself as I gently brushed her cheek with my finger. I didn't have an explanation for my actions, really. It had just happened. And it was there, at 2:00 in the morning in Matt's living room, that I realized something.

I liked this girl. I liked her a lot.

Jessica

I woke the next morning as the sunlight began to stream through the windows. I stared ahead of me for a few moments, trying to adjust to the light, pulling the blanket up around my shoulders. I snuggled into the couch pillow, and took a deep breath. Something near me smelled really, really good. I opened my eyes, and it took me a second to realize that I hadn’t had a blanket on me when I went to sleep. That was what smelled so good. I wonder if Matt had slept with this blanket, or if it just smelled like him because of the laundry detergent? Either way, I wasn’t complaining.

I heard noise from the kitchen and sat up, stretching and yawning. I stood up, and quickly re-tied my hair in a ponytail, hoping it looked presentable. I made my way to the kitchen, and smiled as Matt turned. He gave me a smile and murmured a good morning. I walked over and stood next to him, watching as he cooked some eggs on the stove.

“Wow, chef Duchene.”

He rolled his eyes. “Do you want some or not?”

I laughed and nodded. It was silent between the two of us for a moment, and we both looked up as we heard footsteps enter the room. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest at the sight of Gabe, pulling a shirt down over his chest as he walked through the threshold. His hair was a mess from sleeping, and the t-shirt hugged his arm muscles. How could someone look that good after just waking up?

He greeted us both with a smile. “Morning.” His voice was low and rough, and the sound turned my stomach to mush. Matt returned a verbal greeting, but all I did was give him a weak smile.

He headed over to the cupboard and pulled out a loaf of bread. As he headed to the refrigerator, Matt grabbed two plates and served out the eggs for the two of us. We sat at the table, and I yawned again, turning to Matt.

"Thanks for covering me up last night."

Matt raised an eyebrow, chewing slowly. "Wasn't me."

We both turned towards Gabriel, who was buttering his toast at the counter. He glanced over with a smile before returning to his task.

"I came home late," he spoke up. "Saw you on the couch." He paused, turning around and beginning to walk over to the table. "It was the gentlemanly thing to do."

As he sat down across from me, he threw me a smile, and it hit me that the blanket, and the smell that came with it, had been Gabe’s. This small fact made me entirely too light-headed.

***

Gabe

I pulled into the parking spot at the airport and turned the car off. I glanced over at Jessica, and my lips turned up into a smile as I saw her fast asleep, her forehead on the window. I gently reached over and rested my hand on her knee, giving it a squeeze.

“Jess,” I said quietly. “We’re here.”

She stirred, and after a moment, her eyes opened. She glanced around, and I kept my hand on her leg for a second, before removing it. I saw her eyes flicker to my hand, and could have sworn I saw her blush.

“Come on, you don’t want to miss your flight.”

She yawned and nodded, taking off her seatbelt and getting out of the car. I went around the back and grabbed her suitcase, shrugging her off when she protested. We walked through the doors and towards her terminal, where we saw that her flight was scheduled to be right on time. I was kind of disappointed – I had hoped to spend a bit of time with her.

We walked to the door where people were handing over their tickets, and where I wouldn’t be allowed to go. She turned to me, and I smiled down at her.

“Got your ticket?”

She held it up. “Check.”

“Suitcase?”

She laughed and gently kicked it with her shoe. “Check.”

I paused. “Um… Hug from Gabe?”

A smile lit up her face and made me smile in return. I held out my arms, and she quickly walked forward into them. Her hands were around my torso, and my head rested against hers. We stayed like that for a minute in silence, before she shyly pulled away. I kept my hands on the sides of her arms, gazing down at her.

“I wish you were staying for Christmas.”

She looked down, and I could tell she was blushing again. “Yeah… I’ll be back before you know it, though.”

I nodded, and pulled her forward for another quick hug. “Have a safe trip,” I murmured against her hair. “And have a great vacation.” I pulled away and looked down at her again. This time, she met my eyes, and I added, “See you when you get back?”

She nodded, and I released her from my grasp. She grabbed hold of her suitcase and I watched as she walked towards the line of people. She turned once, lifting her hand in a tiny wave, and I waved back, watching her again for a moment before turning and walking back to my car.