Something Just Like This

Ariana awoke to the vibration of her phone against the nightstand. Looking over to the other side of the bed, Mikayla was already gone. She picked up her phone; it was Reilly. Taking a deep breath, she answered.

“Hello?”

“Where have you been? I’ve been calling all morning.”

“I’ve been sleeping,” she replied, walking out onto the bridge between the two villas overlooking the courtyard.

“I saw the picture.”

“What picture?”

“The one on Instagram, Ariana. I’m not stupid you know.”

Rubbing her forehead, she remembered the photo Kayla had taken in the pool at the end of the night with everyone. “Reilly-”

“Like I said, if you want to be single, just let me know.”

“I never said that! You were the one who brought that up.”

“Because it’s obvious it's what you want!”

“Reilly seriously, fuck off. You knew I was coming here and that there would be other guys here. I wouldn’t have come if it was going to be this big of a deal.”

He sighed. “I don’t appreciate being treated like shit.”

“Treated like shit? You’re the one who has picked this fight over an Instagram photo.”

Brianna and Mikayla walked into the courtyard, sitting at the patio table by the pool.

“Ari! Beer for breakfast!” Brianna raised her drink waving at Ariana.

“Who was that?” Reilly asked.

“Brianna, my friend.”

“Beer for breakfast eh? Real mature.”

Ariana sighed, squeezing her eyes shut. “You know what? You’re right. I don’t want this right now. I need some space.”

“What?!”
“We’re done. I’m done with this.”

“Ari, come on. You don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do. We’re over. Don’t call me anymore.”

“You’re not being serious.”

“Bye Reilly.”

“Ariana-”

She ended the call. Briana, Kayla, Johnny and Auston were sitting by the pool, laughing. Enough was enough; it had only been one day and she was already fighting with Reilly. They’d have their problems before she even decided to come down to Miami and she kept it from Aaron for fear of him approaching Reilly himself. She didn’t want to create any tension amongst the team.

But this summer down here was something she was doing strictly for herself. Their relationship was an emotional mess and at first, it didn’t occur to her that she was trying to escape it, but it was clear now that that was the case. His overreaction when she initially asked, to when he found out who was going to be there and now over an innocent photo - that was it. As her phone vibrated with his incoming call, she ignored it. He’d called her all night while they were out, sent her countless messages and then had the audacity to talk to her the way he just did, when he was the one who started the entire fight. It was over; it had been over long before this fight though.

She walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water. Her throat was burning as she held back tears, reflecting not only on what had just happened, but all of the events that lead to it.

“Ari, are you okay?”

Looking up, she came face-to-face with her brother.

“Oh...y-yeah. It’s...it’s all good,” she faked a smile.

“Ariana…” he put his hands on her shoulders. “What happened?”

She pressed her lips together and sighed. “I...I got into a fight with Reilly and-”

“What did he do? Did he hurt you?” Aaron’s face changed to a look of concern. “Because if he did, I swear-”

“Aaron, no,” she shook her head. “He...he didn’t do anything, he just...we’ve been fighting a lot lately and, it kind of just came to a head the last few days.”

“The last few days? Ari, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want to create this tension between you guys. I know you’re teammates and friends, and also this was between me and him and I didn’t want it becoming an issue outside of us.”

“I told you that I would always look out for you though. I didn’t matter who or what it was, I told you I’m always there for you.”

“And I love you for that,” she smiled. “But, this one I wanted to deal with on my own. We’ve been fighting on and off since March and you guys were in an intense part of the season so I just kept it to myself and talked to my friends about it. Even then they said that we should break up but I stayed with him because he kept wanting to make up. And when I told him about Miami he got really heated...which I again, never told you about...and then last night he picked a fight with me about the guys being here and Kayla posted a photo and he saw it and...went off this morning so. Yeah. It’s...done.”

“I’m gonna fucking kill him, where’s my phone?” Aaron reached into his pockets.

“Aaron, please, don’t,” she grabbed her brothers arm. “It’s really new. And I want there to be peace between you two so just keep it between us, okay? You know if I need you, I’ll come to you, right?”

He put his arms around her, hugging her. “I love you Ari and I hate seeing you hurt.”

“I love you too, Aaron. And don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I have all my friends here, new and old.”

He smiled. “I’m glad. But don’t hesitate to come to me, okay? I don’t like it when you keep secrets from me.”

“Well I can’t tell you everything,” she chuckled.

“I don’t mean like that,” he laughed. “You know what I mean.”

“Of course.”

“Anyways, Dylan is going to drive me to the airport to head back for Dayna’s birthday. You’ll be fine, right?”

“Of course I will, you know me,” she smiled.

“I think Matts said he invited a friend down for the weekend so I’m sure you’ll have fun again.”

Ariana hugged her brother again. “Say hi to Dayna for me. I’ll call her tomorrow to wish her happy birthday.”

“Alright,” he kissed her on the forehead. “Be good, Ari.”

“Always.”

Aaron said his goodbyes to everyone else and Ariana joined the other four by the pool.

“Is everything okay, Ari?” Kayla asked as Ariana sat beside her.

Ariana took a deep breath. “Reilly and I broke up.”

“Oh Ari, I’m so sorry,” Kayla put her arm around her friend. “Are you okay?”

“...yeah. I mean, I kind of saw it coming. He was being an asshole about everything.”

“This is why you need breakfast beers,” Brianna slid a beer across the table.

Ariana laughed. “This is why we’re friends.”

“Are you talking about Smith?” Auston asked. “He tried to fight me once, it was weird. He gets angry pretty easily.”

“Accurate,” Ariana laughed again. “He’s got some anger issues.”

“Well lucky for you, Matts invited a friend down for the weekend,” Brianna added.

“Bri, come on,” Ariana shook her head.

“Oh no, apparently he’s really nice. And he isn’t permanently angry. And he loves to drink so, he’s one of us.”

Everyone laughed.

“Do we know who he is?” she asked.

“My teammate,” Auston replied, taking a drink of his beer.

“Well that really narrows it down then,” Johnny said.

“That’s the only clue you get.”

“Alright, I’m gonna pull up the roster and start guessing off names,” Mikayla pulled her phone out. “And Matts, you have to let us know when we get the right one.”

“Sure,” he shrugged.

“Alright, so Ari’s new man…” Kayla scrolled through her phone.

“Kayla!”

“What? I’m probably right,” she nudged Ari with a grin. “Okay...let’s see...William Nylander?”

“No.”

“Carrick?”

“Nope.”

“Leivo?”

“Negative.”

“Komarov?”

“OH MY GOD PLEASE!” Brianna exclaimed.

“No,” Auston laughed. “He’s married.”

“But...Uncle Leo,” Brianna pleaded. “He looks so nice.”

“He’d be like a Dad, Bri,” Auston replied. “Keep trying Kayla.”

“Connor Brown.”

“No.”

“Reilly...Martin…”

“No and no.”

“Let’s see...Mitchell Marner.”

“Correct.”

“Ooooh shit Ari, it’s on! I’m all over this!” Brianna threw her arms up. “I can’t wait!”

***

Auston and Dylan left to pick up Mitch from the airport, while everyone else got ready for the night.

They had decided to stay at the house for the night and get to know one another more. Besides, Kenna had some interesting plans for the evening. She’d collected one of the empty wine bottles and her “Never Have I Ever” card game.

“Kenny, you are not!” Ariana exclaimed when she came down to see the setup.

“I am!” she smiled. “Come on Ari, it’ll break the ice between us and especially you and Mitch.”

“I don’t know…”

“Trust me. I met Mitch once when the Leafs were in Detroit and he’s such a nice guy. He’s not the type of guy who would make a big deal.”

“I’m a bit hesitant about Reilly still.”

“Why? You two broke up didn’t you?”

“We did but...I don’t know, I feel like I should feel more upset than I am.”

“You can’t make yourself feel a certain way. You feel how you feel. I think what you need right now is a drink and a night to let it all go. No strings attached.”

Ariana laughed as Kenna handed her a cold beer.

“Cheers to being single,” Ariana raised her drink.

Kenna blushed.

“You are single, aren’t you Kenny?”

“I am…but...I’m...involved with someone I guess you can say,” she replied with a slight grin.

Ariana turned around to see where Kenna was looking. Connor and Johnny sat by the pool talking.

“McJesus?!”

“Shhh!” Kenna shushed her. “I don’t want him to hear us.”

“Sorry...you’re with McDavid?”

“Well we’re not together but...while you guys were all downstairs talking this morning we went for a walk down the beach and it was...really nice. He told me a lot about his childhood and stuff and Edmonton...I...I think I could become an Oilers fan too.”

“Girl!! Oh my god!! I’m so excited for you!!” Ariana hugged Kenna.

“Thanks Ari,” she smiled. “And I’m not the only one. You saw Auston and Bri last night eh?”

“I did...I walked in on them standing pretty close to one another...which they both claimed was nothing but I think we both know that was a lie.”

“Oh for sure. I know Bri is really apprehensive about getting involved with any players since she’s breaking into the industry but you can’t really the deny a connection, you know?”

“Definitely not.”

***

“It’s hot as fuck out here!” Mitch rolled the window down as he got into the car. “What’s up Matts! Great to see you man!”

“You too. You know Larks right?”

“Oh yeah, nice to see you man,” Mitch greeted Dylan. “Thanks for letting me come down.”

“Anytime. You’re gonna love it, the house is sick and the girls are…”

“What girls?” Mitch asked

“Matts you didn’t tell him about the girls?! What the fuck man!”

“Well I mentioned them but…”

“They’re our roommates,” Dylan laughed.

“WHAT?!” Mitch spat. “THEY FUCKING LIVE WITH YOU?!”

“Yeah!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP.”

“And they’re all totally gorgeous,” Dylan replied.

“Holy shit,” Mitch laughed. “This is already the best trip ever.”

***

“This place is unreal,” Mitch said as he and Auston joined the rest of the group in the kitchen.

“I know right?” Auston replied. “It’s fucking sick. Want a drink?”

Mitch watched as a girl with wavy brown hair walked into the house, short jean shorts and a blue crop top. She smiled as she saw him.

“You must be Mitch,” she said as she entered the kitchen. “I’m Ariana, nice to meet you.”

“Yeah...you...you too,” he replied awkwardly.

He watched as she walked away and joined the other girls.

“That’s Ekblad’s sister,” Dylan joined in.

“Like Aaron Ekblad?!”

“Yeah. But he’s gone for the weekend to see his girl,” Dylan took a drink of his beer. “And she is newly single. So that is all you, man.”

***

“Okay, so this is how the game works,” Kenna started as everyone sat at the patio table by the pool. “So someone starts and begins with ‘never have I ever’, saying something they’ve never done. If you’ve done it, you drink. If you’re the only one who's done it, you take a shot. And if you’re the only one who hasn’t done it, we can potentially find a way for you to do it now if the circumstances work as such. Good?”

Everyone agreed, and Kenna set a bottle of vodka and Jameson on the table. “Whoever had to do shots luckily gets a choice...I guess I’ll start? And then we’ll go around the circle.”

She took a deep breath, thinking of what to start with. “Okay so…never have I ever...cheated on my significant other.”

Nobody moved. Slowly, Johnny took a drink of his beer.

“Gaudreau what the fuck man?!” Dylan exclaimed. “You cheated on your girl?”

“...we were like 5 and I didn’t even know we were official and I kissed another girl on the playground so…”

“Oh my god,” Brianna laughed. “And here I was thinking you legitimately cheated on someone.”

“She must’ve been heartbroken,” Mikayla added.

“I don’t think she ever got over it, it probably still pains her to this day…” Johnny replied. “I live a life of sin.”

Everyone laughed.

“Alright McJesus it’s all you,” Ariana said.

“Ah shit...okay,” he ran a hand through his hair. “So...never have I ever...almost died?”

“Christ that’s dark McDavid,” Auston laughed.

“I almost fought Ott once, does that count?” Johnny asked.

“I would say not,” Connor laughed. “He is pretty fucking scary though.”

Brianna and Kenna both drank.

“Bri! Kenny!” Scarlett pointed. “Tell!”

The girls looked at each other.

“Want me to tell it?” Brianna asked Kenna.

“Go for it.”

“Okay so...it’s kind of a fucked up but...we went to a Jays game on summer and Kenna got these tickets that were really close. So we’re sitting there enjoying the game and one of the Mets players hit a foul ball and it literally went right between us and almost hit us. We felt the wind of the ball as it flew by. It hit some guy behind us in the balls so...that sucked. So I think he had a brief brush with death also.”

“It was fucking great,” Kenna laughed.

“And we were drinking the whole time. So 5 beers later the game ends after going into like 12 innings. We decide to go out after. We go to a bar, run into a bunch of people we know and long story short we almost drank ourselves into a coma and I think we were drunk for the entire next day and Kenna was so hungover we actually thought she was going to die.”

“...It was fucked up.”

The group was silent.

“Sounds like an excellent day,” Mitch laughed. “Minus getting hit in the balls.”

Everyone started laughing.

“Alright Marns its all you,” Auston said.

“Okay...oh shit I have a good one...never have I ever kissed anyone at this table.”

Everyone drank except Ariana and Mitch.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Dylan yelled after finishing his drink. “There’s clearly shit I don’t know!! I mean everyone knows about Kenna and McDavid-”

“Dylan!” Kenna shoved him.

“What? They do. Well if they didn’t they know now. But who else?”

“We should be asking you the same thing,” Mikayla laughed.

“I’m trying to figure out who the hell Gaudreau kissed, I don’t know about everyone else,” Ariana said.

Johnny smiled from where he sat.

“There’s another obvious one here everyone is missing, just saying,” Dylan added, looking at Auston.

“Fuck off Larks,” Auston laughed.

“Auston and Bri!” Ariana smiled.

“Really?!” Mitch said. “Shit! I like this place. Let’s keep this going.”

“Okay so we’ve got Larks, Gaudreau, Kayla and Scarlett.”

“I kissed Scarlett,” Kayla stated bluntly.

“YOU DID?!” Johnny yelled. “REALLY?!”

“No!” Kayla laughed. “I knew you’d fall for that.”

“Okay it’s Kayla and Gaudreau!” Connor yelled out. “That was way too obvious, nice try Andrews.”

“So Scarlett and Dylan eh?” Kenna nodded. “I like it.”

“And then there were two,” Dylan looked at Mitch and Ariana. “Kenna, wasn’t there a rule that if-”

“...you haven’t done it, you can attempt it if the situation works out as such? Yes, yes there is,” Kenna finished. “Ari? Mitch?”

“Oh my god you guys…” Ariana shook her head. “I don’t know why I consented to this game.”

“Because it’s fun,” Brianna replied. “Now come on, a deal is a deal!”

Ariana sighed. She picked up her drink, finishing it. “A deal is a deal.”

She turned to Mitch and just as she was about to lean in, he closed the gap between them kissing her first. His fingers brushed her cheek softly and deepened the kiss. Ariana put her hand on his arm and slid closer to him.

“Holy shit this is so romantic guys!!!” Dylan broke the silence.

Ariana and Mitch pulled away.

“Now we’ve all done it,” Ariana said, picking up her cup to refill her drink in the kitchen.

As she started making another drink, Mitch came into the kitchen.

“Hey,” he gave a boyish grin.

“Hey,” she replied, pouring vodka into her cranberry juice.

“I’m sorry if that was...weird,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

She smiled. “You didn’t, don’t worry.”

“Are you sure? I know we don’t really know eachother and-”

Before he could finish, Ariana kissed him again.

“I promise you don’t need to worry. I liked it.”