Promises to Keep

Tyler stood in line at Starbucks. He kept eyeing his watch, impatiently. He thought it would be wise for him to stop briefly for coffee on the way to practice- he was beginning to regret his choice.
The place was packed. People were chattering all around him, but he still felt like he was in his own world. All he could think about was two things; game three, tomorrow, and Tayla. She was hurting, that was obvious. After they had gotten home from Las Vegas, she found comfort alone in her room.

He hadn't spoken to her today, but had heard her go to work, before he even was thinking about practice. Knowing she probably needed a caffeine fix, and more than likely didn't sleep well if at all the night before.

Of course, he knew he wouldn't be late. He had left early enough, but wanted to ensure he had time to at least talk a little bit to Tayla, to make sure she was okay. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he held her black coffee in his left hand, and his iced coffee in another. Though he typically didn't indulge in caffeine often, he did ocassionally enjoy a cup of iced coffee, introduced to him by Tayla, of course.

"Hey! Tyler!" he heard his name be called just as he was about to round the corner to his car, he looked up and felt a little anger; it was Nick, trudging towards him. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked, huffing and out of breath.

"I don't have time, I'm going to be late- I'm sorry" Tyler apologized- though he did not feel the least bit sorry.

"Please" Nick begged, seemingly desperate.

"Fine. What?" Tyler asked, now just curious as to why he wanted to talk to him so badly.

"I need to make it up to Tayla" he breathed, finally catching his breath.

"You don't say" Tyler snorted, before he could stop himself.

"She told you?" Nick asked, enraged.

"Of course she did, that's what friends do" Tyler snapped, rolling his eyes.

"Sure, 'friends'" Nick replied, using air quotes around friends and rolling his eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tyler asked, confused.

"I don't buy that you guys are just friends" Nick spat, feeling more confident as he spoke.

"I beg your pardon?" Tyler asked, a little shocked. He wished he was more than friends wth Tay; it was what he thought about constantly. But, he wasn't; and he was too afraid to do anything about it.

"I think that's just a ruse" Nick continued.

"A ruse? Are you joking?" Tyler scoffed; this guy was coming across insane. He was fairly confident Nick would be his own downfall, and he wouldn't have to do anything. "A ruse for what? Why would she lie about that? Huh? What does she have to gain?" Tyler snapped.

"I-"

"She moved here to get a new start. A fresh start. She's been through a lot, just like a lot of people. If she chooses to not relive it, that's her choice, dude. You can't force her to tell you things she doesn't want to relive. And you certainly cannot tell her who she can and can't be friends with" Tyler fumed, trying to not attract attention to himself. Lucky, it was early in the morning, and most people were more concerned with getting to work on time than two men having a verbal disagreement with each other in a Starbucks parking lot.

"I'm not telling you to stay away from her-"

"I would hope not" Tyler interrupted him. "She's free to choose who she wants to be friends with. Period. That's not up for debate" he added, and Nick remained silent. "If you want to make amends with her, and if you truly do actually care about her, than I think you know what you have to do" Tyler stated. "Now if you'll excuse me" he nodded, grabbing the coffee and iced coffee from the roof of his car, and slamming the door.

"Fuck you" he could hear Nick yell out to his car. Tyler simply rolled his eyes.

"Real mature, bud" he murmured to himself, making his way to practice. He was making this far too easy.

*********

"This is for you" Tyler knocked on the door of Tayla's office upon arriving at the American Airlines Center. He was still slightly early for practice, but, thanks to Nick, he didn't have as much time to talk with her as he had orignally intended.

"Ugh, you have no idea how much I need this" Tayla thanked him, opening it right away and taking a large gulp. "Much better. Now I feel like I can function normally" she laughed, turning her attention away from her computer for a moment.

"I have a slight idea" Tyler spoke softly.

"You know me too well" Tayla spoke, sighing. "It's ridiculous. I just feel so stupid" she confessed.
"Stupid about what?" Tyler asked, taking the seat in front of her.

"Stupid for thinking meeting a stranger on the street and agreeing on a date would be a smart idea?" she worded it like a question. The pair both laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of her statement.

"Oh my god, Tay" Tyler laughed, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry, but I mean come on! It's worse than Tinder" she answered back.

"Nothing is worse than Tinder" Tyler pointed out.

"You used Tinder" Tayla shot back.

"Used. Past tense" Tyler reminded her, and she laughed once more.

"I blocked his number for the time being. I don't really want to speak to him. I'm not sure what I would even say" Tayla finally turned the conversation to a more serious note.

"Tell him he's an asshole?" Tyler offered, and Tayla rolled her eyes. "What? Only an asshole holds up me from coming to give you your morning coffee by starting an argument with me in the parking lot of Starbucks" he let slip purposely.

"Wait- he what?" Tayla asked, outraged.

"Yeah. I came out with our coffees, and he was waiting in the parking lot for me" Tyler began the short version of his morning. "He told me he wanted to make it up to you, then attacked me again about our relationship" he rolled his eyes.

"Again?" Tayla asked, exasperated. "I don't know why he won't give that up, I'm sorry" she apologized to Tyler; he didn't deserve to be put through this.

"It's not your fault." Tyler reminded her, and she nodded. "Despite what you may think- and I know you're thinking it. And it's his loss- not yours. Remember that" Tyler reminded her, and she nodded. "I have to go though- I'd stay and chat longer, but, you know- coach is riding us hard" he offered a weak smile.

"Despite what you may think- the losses aren't your fault. You guys just need to get your heads out of your asses- like a team and come back from this series. I know the odds aren't in your favour, but there's been bigger comebacks" she reminded Tyler. "Besides, the Knights are definitely not going to get lucky and sweep a team out two years in a row, let's be real" she added with a smirk.

"Thanks Tay" Tyler thanked, waving goodbye before disappearing from view. With a sigh, Tayla eyed her phone, before unblocking Nick's number. It didn't take long before it rang out; he was calling her.

"Hello?" she asked, though the caller ID indicated clearly who was calling.

"Oh- uh- you answered" Nick was surprised- who knows how many times he had tried to call her when she had his number blocked.

"That's what happens when you call someone" Tayla replied sarcastically.

"Look, I need to apologize" Nick stated, and Tayla let him continue. "I got jealous of your relationship with Tyler, I won't lie. He's a big, strong, NHL player- I mean who wouldn't get jealous?" Tayla kind of saw his point, but remained angry none the less. "And he threatened to come between us, so I kind of lost it on him when he approached me this morning" his last comment threw her off.

"He did what this morning?" Tayla asked, stopping her sip of coffee mid sip.

"I was at Starbucks, and he approached me when I was getting into my car" Nick began to explain. "And he confronted me, telling me I was an asshole, and that I needed to stay away from you" Nick explained, and Tayla was fuming.

"Wow..." Tayla trailed off, baffled by the sheer stupidity of his statement. "I didn't realize you A) started to drive a car to work B) even had a working car right now. You told me last week your car was in the shop" she confronted him with the obvious lies.

"I don't know what you're talking about- I got the car back. I was going to be late so I drove today" he snapped, offended she didn't believe his story.

"Tyler already told me what happened, so you can save it" Tayla snapped.

"Oh, so you'll believe him and not me?" he exploded in fake anger, though his heart was racing. "I always knew something was up with you guys" he sneered.

"There's clearly something up with you." Tayla corrected. "And as far as I'm concerned, we're done here." she added. "I deserve better"

"Done here?" Nick asked, not seeing where she was going.

"I want you the fuck out of my life. Leave me alone" she sneered, hanging up the phone. She immediately reblocked his number, and slammed her phone on her desk. Despite her obvious lack of luck in relationships, she knew she was worth more than this. She had to stop blaming herself; Tyler was right. It was his loss; not hers.