#Matthew Tkachuck imagine

[swissboyhisch]

Canada vs Europe

Liked by crosby87, penguins and others

ivylemieux: One last training before game time. Hiya boys 🙋🏻‍♀️ tagged: crosby87, jackhughes, colecaufield and anzekopitar

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crosby87: Hi, I'd like to ask you not to post more pictures of me

ivylemieux: No.

crosby87: okay, well I tried 🤷🏻‍♂️

taycrosby: Look how smiley Sid is. We've all missed you so much! Liked by ivylemieux

user: I can't wait to see these games!

colecaufield: bestieeeee 🫶🏻

jackhughes: 🫶🏻

ivylemieux: my favourite bromance

user: We know you have the goods. Please post them.

anzekopitar: good seeing you kiddo

tkachuk19: why didn't you post a picture of me :(

ivylemieux: Matty the Ratty you don't need to have your ego inflated more

tkachuk19: but bub 🥺

mcdavid97: suck it up Tkachuk

Liked by jackhughes, ivylemieux and others

laurenmatts: First time seeing an ice hockey game. Thankfully, I have a coach to help me understand icing 🤭 tagged: ivylemieux

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user: even I don't fully understand what is or isn't icing

ivylemieux: Thanks for coming with me on this little trip around the country ❤️

user: Around the country?!

laurenmatts: Always willing to spend time with you 🫶🏻

friend2: you two are stunning! Liked by laurenmatts and ivylemieux

user: imagine never seeing a hockey game 😭

macematts: why didn't you take me 😡

laurenmatts: girls' weekend obvs

macematts: says the girl currently hanging out with a ton of guys

ivylemieux: there is wives and girlfriends too

Liked by jackhughes, ivylemieux and others

hockeycanada: Our favourite captain is in the house cheering on our boys 🇨🇦 tagged: ivylemieux

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user: this is such a great photo

user: 🫡🫡🫡

taycrosby: couldn't just pose normally?

lemieux66: You expect her to be normal?

crosby87: you'd be crazy for that

user: this family is great

user: 🥰🥵

ivylemieux: gotta support the best 🫡

usahockey: so us?

euroallstarhockey: No it's us 💁🏻‍♀️

hockeycanada: who does she play for? oh that's right us. It's us.

user: She’s so cute!

timhortons: We love her 😍

ivylemieux: stahppppp 🤭

Liked by leondrais, nhl and others

mcdavid97: What a way to kick off the Hockey Exhibition tour. tagged: leondrais

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user: love that he also used a picture of Leon

user: What a game! As someone who has never seen a hockey game before... Wow you're a great player

leondrais: we'll get you in the next city

mcdavid97: just win against the US tomorrow?

anzekopitar: yeah we will, don't mind Leo

user: They're besties your honour

ivylemieux: Canadaaaaaa baby

tkachuk19: United States baby

mcdavid97: CANADAAAA

jackhughes: USAAAAAA

nylander29: EUROPEEEEEEEE

user: Guys.... did you see Matt and Ivy watching the game together? Matt even came to support Connor!

ivylemieux: Hate to tell you but I made him come

edmontonoilers: Our favourites playing against each other?! NOoOoo

Liked by calgaryflames, ivylemieux and others

tkachuk19: The three stooges are back together 😈 tagged: ivylemieux and mcdavid97

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user: I honestly forgot these three were best friends

user: right? it's so weird that Mcdavid and Tkachuk don't constantly fight

taryntkachuk: Bring her home will you?

tkachuk19: 🫡

bradytkachuk: your wish is our command 🫡

user: One of my favourite things about these three is the fact the boys go with Ivy to the other's games. Even though they're rivals. Just super sweet.

tkachuk07: oh no, watch out Australia 🫣

lemieux66: Wouldn't want to be there

user: Best friend goals

user: The chaos 😂

ivylemieux: missed you two knuckleheads 💕

mcdavid97: are you sure?

tkachuk19: Yeah, you hitting us doesn't say 'I Miss You'

ivylemieux: and the tackles that took you both to the ground? What did they say?

laurenmatts: Those tackles said "You better win'

TAG LIST:

@penny4yourthoughts @mp0625 @hischierhaze @11zegras @lvrzegras @francesfarhadi

#Matthew Tkachuck imagine #Matthew Tkachuck imagines #Matthew Tkachuck insta edit #Matthew Tkachuck social media fic #Matthew Tkachuck insta fic #Matthew Tkachuck x reader #Matthew Tkachuck rpf #Matthew Tkachuck fic #Matthew Tkachuck fanfiction #florida panthers imagine #florida panthers imagines #florida panthers x reader #florida panthers fanfiction #florida panthers fic #florida panthers insta edit #florida panthers social media fic #Nhl insta edit #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #nhl x reader #nhl fanfiction #nhl fic #nhl rpf #hockey insta edit #hockey rpf #hockey imagine #hockey imagines #hockey fic #insta edit #insta fic

[catzy88]

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

✨ ACTORS ✨

★ Actors (general actor/actress tag) ★ Cillian Murphy ★ Daniel Brühl ★ Joey Batey ★ Ralph Macchio ★ William Zabka

🏮 ANIME & MANGA 🏮

★ Naruto     - Hatake Kakashi     - Uchiha Obito     - Uchiha Sasuke     - Uzumaki Naruto

🎭 CHARACTERS 🎭

★ Antonio Salieri ★ Baron Helmut Zemo ★ Geralt of Rivia ★ Girolamo Riario ★ Jaskier ★ Johnny Lawrence

🏒 ICE HOCKEY 🏒

★ Ice Hockey (general hockey tag) ★ NHL (general league tag) TEAMS ★ Colorado Avalanche ★ Florida Panthers ★ Leijonat (Team Finland) ★ Philadelphia Flyers PLAYERS ★ Artturi Lehkonen ★ Brad Marchand ★ Claude Giroux ★ Connor McDavid ★ Leon Draisaitl ★ Matthew Tkachuk ★ Sidney Crosby ★ Travis Konecny

🎀 MISC. 🎀

★ Aesthetic ★ Funny Posts ★ Memes/Tests/Quizzes ★ Photography

🎬 MOVIES & THEATER 🎬

★ Amadeus ★ Harry Potter ★ Horror (general horror movie tag) ★ The Karate Kid ★ The Lord of the Rings ★ Marvel Cinematic Universe ★ Movies (general movie tag) ★ Mozart l'Opéra Rock ★ Saw franchise

🎧 MUSIC 🎧

★ The Beatles ★ Jimmy Page ★ Led Zeppelin ★ Music (general music tag) ★ Oasis ★ Paul McCartney ★ Queen

🖋️ MY WRITING 🖋️

★ Fics & imagines & headcanons & etc.

💞 SHIPS 💞

★ Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence (The Karate Kid, Cobra Kai) ★ Eddie Munson/Jason Carver (Stranger Things) ★ Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier (The Witcher) ★ Jack Eichel/Connor McDavid (Hockey RPF) ★ James “Bucky” Barnes/Helmut Zemo (MCU) ★ John Lennon/Paul McCartney (The Beatles RPF) ★ Lawrence Gordon/Adam Faulkner-Stanheight (Saw franchise) ★ Leon Draisaitl/Matthew Tkachuck (Hockey RPF) ★ Leonardo da Vinci/Girolamo Riario (Da Vinci's Demons) ★ Liam Gallagher/Noel Gallagher (Oasis RPF) ★ Malcolm Tucker/Ollie Reeder (The Thick of It) ★ Nathan MacKinnon/Artturi Lehkonen (Hockey RPF) ★ Peter Strahm/Mark Hoffman (Saw franchise) ★ Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (BBC Sherlock etc.) ★ Sidney Crosby/Claude Giroux (Hockey RPF) ★ Uchiha Obito/Hatake Kakashi (Naruto) ★ Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto (Naruto) ★ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart/Antonio Salieri (Amadeus 1984, Mozart l'Opéra Rock)

📺 TV SHOWS 📺

★ BBC Sherlock ★ Cobra Kai ★ Da Vinci's Demons ★ Doctor Who ★ The Falcon And The Winter Soldier ★ Midnight Mass ★ The Thick Of It ★ TV Shows (general tv show tag) ★ The Witcher

#tags #i decided to turn my tags page into a post #to make it more accessible to mobile users #so here you go 🤗 #the general tags are there because i post a lot of misc things #but i don't post all of them so often as to warrant their own specific tag #oh and just so you know #i'm totally okay with anyone going on a liking/reblogging spree on my blog 💖

[kailyn-writes]

send me a name and number from this list!

98. I’m sitting in the window seat of a library/book store reading when you throw a snow ball at the window.

It was your first time in Canada, someplace you never could've dreamed you'd be. And yet, here you were, bundled up in a thick coat, walking down the snowy streets of Calgary. You were here on a whim, you found cheap plane tickets and got a couple of days off of work and then suddenly you were in Calgary.

You'd been sightseeing all day, doing all of the touristy things you could find on Google. And now, you were in desperate need of a hot drink and a place to sit down. You're almost considering heading back to your hotel when you stumble upon a small bookstore, with a cafe attached to it. You walk inside, sighing softly as the warmth envelops your body. You begin to un-layer as you walk around the shop.

After ordering and receiving a latte, you make your way to the bookstore part of the shop, immediately feeling at home in the shelves of books. It doesn't take long for you to pick a book out and you purchase it before heading over to the small corner nook that had caught your eye several minutes ago. You settle into the window seat, setting the latte on the bench beside you as you let yourself dive into your new book.

You're several chapters into your new book, and down one latte, when you hear a 'thud' and feel the glass that you're leaning against wobble slightly. You look up to see a very tall young man standing several feet away from the window, eyes wide in shock. You can see his body vibrate with laughter and it makes you smile. You glance around and see a couple of other very tall men nearby, laughing and pointing at the blonde. You chuckle softly before going back to your book.

It's only been a couple of minutes, though, when another thud sounds and you look up to see one of the tall men that was laughing, acting nonchalant a few feet from the window. He's very obviously trying not to look at you but failing. You decide that now is a good as time as ever to pack up and head out, so you do. You grab your stuff and tuck your book into your bag, chuckling as the three men laugh and congregate outside the window. You stop and get 4 lattes from the cafe, before stepping out to brave the cold once more.

You immediately make your way towards the trio, smiling softly at them as you approach. "You guys have to be cold out here. I saw you tossing snowballs with no gloves on. Figured these could warm your hands up." You hold out the tray of drinks, encouraging them to take one.

"The cold really doesn't bother us, but this is a very kind gesture." The blonde who threw the first snowball replies, though he takes the drink and holds it close. The other two murmur the same sentiment and take the drinks, leaving just yours in the tray.

"Well, lucky that the cold doesn't bother you. I've never been anywhere close to this cold and it is honestly killing me." You joke, tugging your gloves on as they chuckle. "Well, I've gotta get going. Have a good day."

"Wait." You've just barely turned around when he calls out, stopping you in your tracks. You turn on your heel, smiling softly as you come face to face with the blonde. "I'm Matthew."

"Y/n. Nice to meet you, Matthew." He smiles down at you and you feel your heart skip a beat. You're so thankful that the wind has turned your cheeks permanently pink, otherwise, he'd see the blush creeping onto your features right about now.

"So, uh, you're not from around here?" He asks, and you chuckle.

"No, I'm from Arizona." His eyes light up when you say that, prompting you to laugh.

"No way! I'm from Arizona!" He's practically jumping for joy in front of you, which is much cuter than you would've thought.

"What are you doing in Calgary, then?" You ask, eyebrows raised as you take a sip of your warm drink, having forgotten about it.

"Well, I could ask you the same thing." He chuckles, and you nod. "I play hockey for the Calgary Flames." He explains and it takes a second for the information to register, but when it does your eyes get a little wider.

"You're Matthew Tkachuck!" He smiles and nods, taking a sip of his drink as you chuckle. "I don't know much about hockey, but my brother thinks you are, like, the greatest thing to walk the Earth since Dinosaurs."

"Your brother sounds awesome." He chuckles and you can't help but to laugh. Your brother was awesome, and he was going to be so jealous that you met Matthew Tkachuck.

You're just about to respond when your phone starts buzzing in your pocket, your best friend's picture flashing across the screen. She'd told you that she was flying into Calgary today, she must've already landed. "I'm so sorry to cut this short, but I have to go. It was really nice to meet you." You begin to walk away, but he calls out your name.

"Y/n! Wait, can I get your number?" You can't help but laugh, nodding.

"Check your cup!" You turn to walk away, just as he tugs the sleeve on his cup down, revealing the black sharpie numbers scrawled above the logo. He smiles, nodding triumphantly as he walks back towards his buddies, who grin at him from their spots.

#matthew tkachuck fic #nhl writing #i don't know what this is #matthew tkachuck imagine #matthew tkachuck x reader #please take it easy on me #i haven't written anything in a long time

[mattsboldyy]

a little help please?

this is my first imagine! please enjoy!

requested- yes

Requests- Open

Summary: Matthew has a injured wrist so he can’t really do much. You help him out and you end up exchanging numbers.

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You walking into the grocery store heading to get a tiny carrier to put your groceries in. You heard a loud thump and when you look over you see the tower of soda packages on the floor. The whole entire store goes quite. You look up to see a man with dirty blonde hair and curls. He looks frustrated from the brace that’s tight around his left wrist. You walk over to the man and start to lean down to start helping him pick up the mess he had created in the middle of the isle.

“You really don’t have to-“

“I know. Just feeling nice today.” You say laughing

He smiles at you when you finally stand up.

“Matthew, right?”

“The one and only.”

“Wait! Aren’t you one of my brothers friends?”

“Oh yeah! You’re Y/N, right?”

“Yep!”

You both smile at each other not saying anything.

You finally snap out of your trance and say,

“Anyway, are you okay?”

“Yeah. I just can’t seem to go 5 minutes without dropping something.” Matthew laughs.

“Do you need help?”

“If you don’t mind, that would be great.” He said smiling down at you.

“I don’t mind!” You say taking some of the things out of his arms, “You know, there is something called a grocery cart..” You laugh

“I’m not that stupid.” He says laughing back as you both head towards the check out area.

You help him check out and then head outside of the store. “Again, Thanks for the help.” Matthew says walking to his car with you right by his side. “No worries!”

“Can i maybe get your number? Ya know, to pay you back for the help?” Matthew asks shutting his trunk and turning back towards you. “Sure!”

You exchange numbers and go separate ways.

Ding!

You look at your phone and smile as you read the text.

Matthew T.

‘Hey, it’s Matthew. I hope I’ll see you again soon. Maybe we can meet up for dinner one day soon!’

You

‘Yeah! Just let me know when and where and I’ll be there :)’

You put your phone away and you can already tell you’re going to fall in love.

#matthew tkachuck #matthew tkachuck imagines #nhl imagine #imagines #imagine

[im-only-joking]

Fluff #46 Matty T plzzzzzz

"You're hurt. Please just let me heal it" with Matthew Tkachuck (pls forgive I still dunno how to spell it)

Some angst and blood mentions but this is fluff city so.

Rough games happened in hockey, you knew that. You also knew your boyfriend Matt was a bit of a... Provoking player to say the least.

Still. Seeing Matt as he came home, you knew he was hiding something worse than a bruise by the way he winced when you hugged him.

"Where?" You asked. "Where does it hurt?"

"Babe I'm fine, just how the game goes," Matt replied, trying to shrug it off.

"If it's nothing lemme see." You stepped forward to lift him shirt and he immediately grabbed your hand to stop you. "Matthew."

Matt just shook his head. "Really, I'm fine."

"You're hurt. Please just let me heal it."

Matt huffed, and lifted his shirt to just above his navel, showing off a blood soaked bandage.

You gently peeled at the edge of the tape holding the gauze on and sucked in a breath at the deep gash underneath that was hastily stitched up.

"Matthew," you breathed.

"Just a skate. Caught me above the padding. Not intentional I'm sure, it happens."

"Just a skate, he says," you grumbled. "You're impossible."

Matt chuckled. "You gonna be my nurse till it's healed?"

"Not like you've got anyone else, so if I must..." You trailed off, trailing your hand up to Matt's chest.

Matt let out a full bellied laugh, pulling you closer. "Only nurse I'd like to have. Help me change the bandage?"

You nodded, pushing up on your tiptoes to give him a kiss. "You bet, tough stuff."

#matthew tkachuck #matt tkachuk #tkachuck? tkachuk? idk man #player asks #hockey imagines #hockey writing #matthew tkachuk

[queeniewriteshockey]

With Your Head or Your Heart || Matthew Tkachuk + Reader

A/N: This story was written with the song This Feeling by The Chainsmokers as inspo. It felt like a very matty song. Or, perhaps it’s more a reaction from people to a relationship with Matty. Please let me know what you think. I love hearing your thoughts.  Requested: Y/N this is all my own mind refusing to let this rat go. It’s because of this that it was written in one day.  Word Count: 8,194

A chill runs through your body, making you groan as you chase the warmth again. You bury yourself deeper in the cocoon you’ve made for yourself out of blankets and squeeze your eyes shut even tighter. Perhaps if you try really hard, you won’t have to wake up and face the day. You already know the day is going to suck. You can feel the slight pounding in your head growing. It sounds like a drum section of an orchestra. The rhythm is steady; each pump of blood through your heart makes your head pound. The pulsing needs to stop.

The blankets pull away from you without your say, and your response is nothing intelligible. A tiny whine escapes your lips as you reach to stop them from going anywhere. You don’t want to get up. You want to stay where you are warm and comfortable. You want to stay surrounded by the warm scent of vanilla and sandalwood. You want…

Your mind stops whining for a second as you turn your face into the pillow and inhale deeply. The scent is warm and woodsy, not feminine at all. It’s not yours, either, your pillows smell like lavender and chamomile. You know this because you spray them nightly to help you sleep. A large part of you loves the smell of these pillows, but the logical part of you is screaming at your stupidity.

“Babe, come on, we gotta get up,” Matt says from somewhere, you’re guessing the end of the bed because the blankets are still being tugged away from you. He’s not trying very hard, though. If Matt wanted to, the sheets could pull them from your grasp without effort. He was strong enough.

“I don’t wanna,” you mumble into the pillow. Your reasons for not wanting to get up are two parts comfort and one part an unwillingness to face Matt and then your friends.

“I was going to make breakfast.”

You snort. Matt, make breakfast? Funny.

“Okay, I was going to order breakfast. Maybe you could stay and we could-”

“No,” you say, suddenly rolling over to the edge of the bed and sitting up. The room is bright, far brighter than you would like it to be, and the pounding in your head grows with the sudden movement. The evening before comes back to you effortlessly.

You’d gone out with a few of your friends and met up with Matt and a few of his friends. It was supposed to be relaxed and carefree. It was supposed to be fun. It was all of those things. When it came to Matt, you had a hard time saying no to him when he was so sweet and affectionate, which was always.

They tell me think with my head, not that thing in my chest.

“I can’t.” You can, but you can’t. It’s always the same response, and Matt knows it. You don’t look back at him when you stand to collect your clothing for the simple fact that if you see that dumb pout on his dumb face, you may finally cave and actually stay. It wasn’t because you didn’t want to stay. It was the exact opposite, truthfully.

You’ve known Matt for over a year now, and he’s never been anything but the nicest guy. He’s always there when you need a hand, and he’s fun to talk with. He makes you laugh, but more than that, he makes you happy. If only things were that easy, though.

“Yeah,” he says from behind you. “I figured.”

You shut the door to the bathroom on his words and close your eyes. You didn’t have enough to drink to feel sick to your stomach, but you feel sick nonetheless.

They got their hands at my neck this time.

Everyone and you do mean everyone has warned you about Matthew Tkachuk. You couldn't count how often you had been told by your friends and even some of his teammates, that he’s not a good guy to date. They all said the same thing; don’t get attached. He won’t stick around. So you keep your guard up and do exactly what they say. You don’t let yourself get attached. If only it weren’t also breaking your heart, that would be awesome.

In the bathroom, you busy yourself with cleaning yourself up and getting dressed. There’s a toothbrush in the cup that’s reserved just for you, and you do your best not to consider what that means. It’s purple - your favorite color. He went out of his way to get it for you. Though, when he gave it to you, you to told yourself not to overthink it. It was just a toothbrush. You’d made mention of wishing you had one once, and he’d remembered. You didn’t think he’d keep it, though. It sat next to his as though it belonged there.

You throw yourself together as best you can. You wash your face with a bit of water, trying to clear the smudging of your eyeliner so that you don’t look like a raccoon. The water helps to wake you up and clear your head. You run your fingers through your hair, catching a few of the knots created by sleep and Matt’s fingers before you pull it up into a messy bun and call it good.

You could take a shower, but truthfully getting out of there was the better option. The farther away from Matt, you were, the better you were able to think with your head, which is what you need to keep doing when it comes to Matt.

“All good?” Matt asks when you step out of the bathroom.

You nod. “Bit of a headache, but,” you shrug. That was the least of your worries. You wander out of the bedroom and into the living room in an effort to distance yourself from Matt and also to find your purse. Your phone is in there, which is how you call for a ride.

“Do you want a cup of coffee before you go?” Matt asks. He’s standing in the kitchen holding a kcup in his hand. “I can make you one.”

It’s such a tempting offer but again you shake your head. You’ve located the purse and the phone, thankfully. “I’m just going to call a Lyft and head home. Emma is probably worried about me.”

“Okay, well, I guess I’ll see ya when I get back, maybe?” It’s a question more than a statement. You feel bad for making him question you, but at the same time, it’s for the best.

“Yeah, of course,” you tell him while you call for your ride. He was leaving for a road trip in a few days, which was the reason for the night out last night. The first road trip of the year, after all. “Good luck, Matt. I hope you guys kill it.”

You place a kiss to his cheek before you leave, you can’t help it. You need that little bit of contact with him. When you slip out the door, you sigh softly and shake your head. He makes it so hard to keep a logical mind.

--

I'll tell you a story before it tells itself. I'll lay out all my reasons; you'll say that I need help.

“This is a bad idea,” Emma says from your bedroom. “I’m telling you Y/N; you should have said no.”

You’re standing in your bathroom, putting in a pair of earrings while making sure your makeup looks okay for the evening ahead of you.

“You’ve made your opinion perfectly clear, Em,” you remind her.

She’d been telling you for days to back out of the invitation to a team party Matt bestowed upon you. He’d been very clear that it was just as friends, but he needed a date so… You’d agreed. He was a friend, after all. You did like spending time with him. Plus, you liked his teammates. They were fun and entertaining. His reasons for asking you and not someone else made sense to you. He didn’t have a date,  and he couldn’t go alone, plus he didn’t want to go with just anyone. What if they were boring? What if he didn’t like them? At least he knew he’d have fun with you. He's a real smooth talker. But he sold you on the logic, and you shrugged off all the naysayers. Which, when it came to Matt, were many.

“It’s just a party, Em, a work party, no less. It’s fine. We’re friends, remember?” The statement seemed more like a place holder than actual information. It was something you’d uttered so many times, to yourself and your friends, that it didn’t even feel like a real statement. One of these days, you’d stop trying to explain yourself to everyone, but today was not that day.

She mutters something you can’t make out from a distance between you, but you hardly need to hear her descent. She’s been one of the biggest opponents of yours and Matt’s friendship from day one. You didn’t understand why and anytime you asked, she seemed to think “because” was a good enough reason. As far as you knew, there had never been an issue between Matt and Emma. He was always very kind to her, which was more than you could say for her. She made her dislike for him very clear.

She was part of the reason you held him at bay, truthfully. You valued your friends and their opinions. If they had a reason to dislike a guy, it was almost always valid. You held on to that knowledge every time you pulled away from him, but it was getting harder to remember.

“How do I look?” You ask, stepping out of the bathroom. Your dress is dark blue and silky; it sits off the shoulders with cuffed sleeves. It tapers to the waist and flairs at the hips to flow gently to the floor. You should pair it with heels, you know, but you decided to go with a pair of silver flats because you preferred to preserve your feet. You didn’t really like heels anyway.

“Too good for him,” she says as she hurries off the bed to inspect you. Your hair is pinned up in some complicated do that Emma had created. It's some sort of french twist with a sweep of your bangs across the forehead and wisps of hair curled around your hairline. It was an important party, so you had to look elegant.

“Well, thank you,” you tell her with a smile. You’re excited and nervous about the party, but you try not to let that show.

“I like these,” she says as she reaches for the earrings you’d been messing with. “Where did you get them?”

“Uh,” you hesitate, “Matt gave them to me.” The silver teardrop earrings had been a gift from him as had the delicate necklace that matched. He’d gifted them to you before you’d agreed to go to the party with him. It had been his way of asking, which was incredibly sweet of him and power move you told no one about. You may have picked the dress out specifically to go with the earrings, but you weren’t going to admit that to Emma. She’d likely die from her eye roll.

“Well, how about that,” she says softly, “he has a little bit of taste.”

“Rude,” you tell her. You know she doesn’t care about insulting Matt, but that statement wasn’t exactly friendly to you either. What did it say about you if she thought he had no taste? He seemed to like you well enough, at least.

There’s a knock on the door of your apartment, making the two of you turn in the direction of the sound. You both know who it is, but you don’t move to get the door. He’s annoyingly on time.

“I’ll get it,” Emma says. She grabs a silver shawl from the corner of your bed before she heads out,  “Here put this on. Give me a few minutes and then come out. He needs to wait.”

“Why?” You ask, but she waves the question off and heads out of the room. The shawl is beautiful and utterly impractical for Calgary in the wintertime, but beauty didn’t listen to the temperature, plus you were going to be indoors, so it hardly mattered.

You heard Emma answer the door, and Matt great her. She’s as civil as you’ve ever heard her, but it’s his voice that causes you to suck in a deep breath. He’s the kindest he can be to her, never anything but, despite the fact that she makes it hard for him.

“She’ll be out in a minute. Don’t get comfortable.” Again, rude. One of these days, you’ll need to find out just why she doesn’t like Matt.

From your spot in your room, you slide the shawl over your shoulders and retake a deep breath. You smooth down your dress to give yourself something to do before fixing your smile on your gently painted lips and walking out. Matt’s standing by the door in a beautiful grey tux and a white shirt; his bowtie matches your dress almost perfectly. The two of you are practically reversed in colors. He’s silver with blue accents, and you’re blue with silver.

The smile that spreads across his lips when he sees you is almost blinding, and it makes you blush. “You look beautiful,” he tells you. The honesty in his voice makes your heart skip.

You could curse him for the way he makes you feel. Little butterflies tickle your nerves, and all you can do is smile. “You don’t look so bad yourself,” you tell him, trying to play off the nerves. He looks better than not so bad. He’s the most handsome you’ve ever seen. Perhaps this was a bad idea.

He laughs at the backhanded compliment and shrugs, “I had help,” he admits. “Johnny’s girlfriend is responsible for this.”

“Of course, she is.” You should thank her next time you see her. Or maybe you should kill her. “You’d be a mess without the women in your life.”

“Don’t I know it.” The fact that he doesn’t even argue with the statement makes you laugh. One of the biggest reasons you liked Matt was because of how he treated the women in his life. Everyone was always cautioning you with him, but from what you’d seen, he was extremely loving and kind to the women he loved. It wasn’t just any man that would gush about his baby sister the way Matt did.

“Shall we go?” He holds out an elbow to you like a perfect gentleman, and you take it willingly.

“Yes, we shall.” You turn to Emma to say something, but she doesn’t let you.

“Have fun,” she says before you can say anything.

“We will. Don’t wait up.” Matt says with a big grin on his face. Okay, he’s doing that to annoy her now. That, he was very good at. It wasn’t just Emma he annoyed, either. All of your friends thought he was a pest.

You tut at him and push him out the door before Emma can respond. “You like seeing her get pissed, don’t you?” You ask as the two of you walk to his car. He wasn’t mean to her, never mean. But he did know how to poke a sleeping bear without getting bitten. It was a talent of his, both on and off the ice.

“It gives me great pleasure to see her eyes get wide and her nostrils flare.” He laughs. “I’ve never done anything to her; she hates me for no reason.”

“You’re hopeless.”

He opens the passenger side door for you, a grin on his face. “Yes, but you love me anyway.” He places a kiss on your cheek and stands back to let you take your seat.

“You think mighty highly of yourself, mister,” you say instead of debating his statement. You’re not sure what the truth is where your feelings for him are concerned, and you don’t want to figure it out. It’s best to leave that on the ground and kicked under something.

The drive to the party is filled with the two of you ‘discussing’ read arguing over the music in the car. Matt takes the very mature stance that the driver picks the music, but you maintain that as the passenger, you control the radio while he focuses on not killing the two of you. Neither of you wins the argument, though. The whole drive is spent skipping each other's choices of songs and stations. It always goes like that, though.

We all got expectations, and sometimes they go wrong. But no one listens to me, so I put it in this song.

As it turns out, the party is more of a charity event than a real party, but it’s interesting to see the big to-do the Flames turned it into. The event itself is as beautiful as you expected. It’s elegant and understated. The decore is blacks and whites and golds, and the music flows like the alcohol. Probably to loosen donors’ wallets. Neither of you is drinking, which means both of you get to remember the chaos the rest of the team causes during the party. That was, in your opinion, the best part of going.

Noah slides up to you about an hour into the party, after Matt’s wandered away for a second because he has to rub hands with some remarkable people. Such was the life of the future face of the Calgary Flames, you suppose.

“Enjoying yourself?” Noah asks. His smile is loose, and his eyes heavy-lidded. He has been drinking; that is clear.

“Yes, actually.” You’d already been out on the dance floor a few times with Matt. He’d shocked you the first time he’d asked you to dance. Honestly, you’d laughed at him and questioned his ability to dance, but he was decent, and it was easy to forget where you were when the two of you were pressed together, moving as one on a dance floor. It was easy to lose yourself in him anyway.

“Saw you on the dance floor. You looked like you were having fun. So did Chucky.” You hate that nickname, but it was one you’d gotten used to hearing. Chucky was a killer doll. Matt was not Chucky. Not to you.

“Well, I’m glad he’s not regretting bringing me.”

Noah scoffs. “Like that’s ever possible. He’s been talking about this for weeks.”

A blush creeps up your neck at Noah’s words. You wish you could blame it on alcohol, but you’re stonecold sober, so it wasn’t that. No, it pleased you that he was excited to take you to the party. He was excited to have you as his date.

“Hey,” Matt says beside you, suddenly making you jump. “You trying to steal my date?” He askes Noah as he puts an arm around your waist.

“Of course,” he says, “she’s too good for you, anyway.”

“He has a point,” Matt says, looking down at you. “You’re way too good for me. But, this chump has no room to talk.”

“Do I get a say in this?” You ask as the two ping pong chirps back and forth over you. “Because I think I’m going to go find Johnny. I like him better than both of you.”

Matt laughs and places a kiss on your cheek. “I think I saw him over by the bar.”

You slip from his hold, give him a mock salute, and head in the bar's direction. You weren’t joking when you said you wanted to find Johnny. Noah and Matt were joking around, of course, but it still felt weird to have both of them arguing over who you were too good for. Were you too good for Matt? Or was he just bad for you like Emma always said?

“Hey, you,” Johnny says when you finally find him. “I thought I saw you around.” Johnny hugs you as a greeting, and you return it warmly. “Where’s your menace?”

“He’s not mine,” you say quickly. “He’s over talking to Noah.” He wasn’t yours. You had to keep it that way. You don’t argue with the fact that he is a menace. You do know Matt, after all.

“Are you having fun?”

“Of course.” You’d be having more fun if you could drink, but you needed a clear head about you. It was a resolution you’d picked up before the holidays because when it came to Matt, a clear head was necessary. You often found yourself in trouble because of him if you didn’t keep a clear head. “Matt’s a perfect gentleman, and this place is gorgeous.”

“It’s a bit stuffy for my liking,” he says with a shrug, “but it seems to have the effect the organization is looking for. Are you going to the after-party?”

“After-party?” You ask because no one’s mentioned an after-party.

“Chucky, didn’t tell you?” Johnny asks, his brow furrowing. “Maybe he’s not going either.”

“Maybe,” you say. Or maybe he just didn’t want you to go with him.

The sick feeling you’ve learned comes with your feelings for Matt come back but this time it’s a little different. Disappointment, maybe? Or was it more? Was this what Emma was trying to warn you about? It doesn’t matter, you tell yourself. Both of you made it clear that this was just a friend’s date. Nothing more.

Matt finds you shortly after Johnny vanishes into the crowd, leaving you to your thoughts. “Hey,” he says with a smile. It faulters when he sees you, though. “Are you okay?” He asks. The concern in his voice does nothing to make you feel better.

“Uh,” you say with a shake of your head. “I don’t feel well.” It wasn’t a lie, but you didn’t know how to tell him why you didn’t feel well. “Maybe dinner didn’t agree with me.”

“Do you want me to take you home?” His hand rubs your back, comforting you.

“Yeah. I think I want to lay down.”

He doesn’t even bother to make his rounds to say goodbye. He waves to Noah and that’s it. Before you know it, the two of you are outside and headed toward the car.

“Do you want to go home or back to my place? I’ll let you have the bed. I’ll take the couch.”

If you went back to his house, it meant he couldn’t go to the after-party, but you didn’t really want to be around him at the moment, either, so you shook your head. “I want my bed,” you tell him. You just wanted to lay down and forget the evening happened at this point.

You can hear Emma’s I told you so, and it doesn’t help matters at all. You want to scream. This was why you kept him at arm’s length. This was why everyone warned you about him.

“Let me walk you up,” he says when he pulls up to your building.

“No, it’s okay. Go back to the party, Matt. I’ll be fine.” You open the door and step out of the car before leaning down. “Thanks for taking me,” you say politely because you aren’t rude, and you don’t want him to know that anything is wrong.

“Thanks for coming with me. We should do it again.”

“The party?” You ask, confused.

“No,” he says with a laugh. “The date. But like, maybe a real one.”

His statement throws you off-kilter. You can’t help but blink at him. Confusion must show on your face because suddenly, he’s backtracking.

“Or, not,” he offers. “Obviously, if you don’t want to…”

“I don’t feel well,” you tell him again. “Good night Matt.” You close the door without answering him about a real date. You’re more confused now than you were before.

When you get into your apartment, Emma is waiting for you. She’s shocked to see you home so early. You tell her the same thing you told Matt and escape into your room to wash the evening off.

When you finally settle into bed, you grab your phone to dig through the notifications you missed. You’re shocked to find a text from Matt.

[[Feel better, angel]] is all it says. It leaves you more confused than before and maybe feeling a little guilty.

I'll tell them a story; they'll sit and nod their heads. I tell you all my secrets, and you tell all your friends.

You thought things with Matt would be a little strained after the party, but as it turned out, he didn’t go back to the party. He didn’t go to the after-party, either. He went home and did exactly what you did. He watched TV and relaxed. You know this because he kept texting you during the night, making it difficult for you to rest, which you pointed out. Of course, that led to his “well if you’d just stayed here…” Comment. He really was hopeless.

You let Johnny’s comment about the after-party fade into nothingness. It took a minute to do so because the running commentary by Emma fueled the doubt that plagued your mind. She never failed to tell you just how much she didn’t think Matt was good enough for you.

“He’s going to break your heart,” she says one day while the two of you sit in a cafe. “He’s notorious for it, and you’re just gonna end up being another notch in his bedpost.” She doesn’t seem to care that it’s your feelings, not his, that she’s hurting.

“He doesn’t have my heart to break, Emma,” you remind her for the millionth time. If you say it enough, maybe it won’t be true. Lately, he’s done nothing to make you question him, but you’ve also made sure to keep your distance with him. No more fake dates or dubious evenings that end up in his bed.

“Yeah, okay,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “You’re not fooling anyone with these lies, Y/N. I know you. I can see it in your face.”

You don’t like it when she contradicts you or points out your lies. If you say them enough, maybe they won’t be lies. Possibly, you’ll believe that you aren’t at least getting attached to Matt. Maybe.

Your phone chimes beside you, and you glance down to see the message that just came in. It’s not exactly rare to get a message from Matt anymore. Since the party, he’s been a permanent fixture in your messages. The two of you seem to talk more now than you have in the year plus that you’ve known each other. He even facetimes you sometimes when he’s on the road.

Text messages and even facetime are safe. You don’t have to guard yourself against him or your feelings when you’re not physically face to face with him. It’s easier to keep the barriers up. Arm’s length can be a country or two long.

“Is that Matt?” Emma asks before you reach for the phone.

“Yeah,” you tell her. “We’re supposed to exchange holiday gifts today before he flys home for the all-star game.” You were over the moon happy for him and so proud when you’d heard he’d been picked for the games. It was a huge accomplishment and one he rightfully deserved.

“I hope you got him a lump of coal,” Emma says bitterly.

“Emma,” you scold. “I didn’t get him a lump of coal.” You’d spent the better part of two months racking your brain for a suitable gift for the idiot. His birthday and Christmas were in the same month. Annoying. But you’d had time because the two of you had decided to do gift-giving in January. Partially because of his schedule and partly because you’d gone home for the holidays to see your parents.

“What did you get him?” She asks, her eyes narrowing skeptically.

“I’m not telling you!” You’re defensive of the way she questions you. Matt was stupidly hard to shop for, honestly. What do you get a hockey player who can afford to buy whatever he wanted? It was unfair, really.

“Fine, whatever. I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not like he’s anything special. I’m sure by this time next year; he won’t even be a part of the conversation.”

Hold on to your opinions, and stand by what you said.

You stand, suddenly, tired of this conversation. You’ve been tired of it for months. “Stop it.” Your anger boils beneath the surface, which makes keeping your tone level difficult. “I know you hate him; I know this. You’ve made that very clear, but he’s my friend. Why can’t you just respect that?”

It was your mistake to make; it was your life to mess up. He was your friend, not hers. She holds her hands up in surrender but doesn’t say anything. You were tired of everyone hating him. You just wanted to be able to make your own choices when it came to him. No one was willing to let you, though.

“Sorry,” she finally says, “I just don’t want to see you get hurt. I’m worried.”

“You’ve made that very clear, and I’ll keep it under advisement, but please, keep your opinions to yourself.”

She nods in agreement. It’s probably the best you’re going to get from her.

“I have to go. I’ll see you tonight.”

“I hope he likes the gift,” she says as her goodbye.

You do too, but you can’t focus on that. You’re too angry to be positive at the moment, and her comment just bugs you even more. He probably won’t, you think. That’s probably what she meant. It’s fine. If he doesn’t like it, he can return it or give it to goodwill. It’s his choice.

In the end, it's my decision, so it's my fault when it ends.

The two of you meet up at an outdoor ice rink to enjoy a little recreational skating and a bit of hot cocoa before exchanging the gifts. You had wanted to keep it informal because it was safer that way. Outside and around people was always safer when Matt was involved.

It was so easy to forget everything everyone warned you about when it was just the two of you. He was so loving and sweet with you. He never made you feel like you weren’t exactly who he wanted to be with when he was there. He never made you feel like you were an afterthought or a chore. He always made you feel special.

“Hey, Angel,” he says with a grin when he sees you. He’s got a toque over his curls, and his skates hanging from his shoulders.

“Hey Matty,” you say, matching his grin. Your little gift bag is swinging from your finger, and your skates mirror his.

“You okay?” He asks because somehow, he can always tell when you’re not in the best mood.

“I will be,” you tell him honestly, “Emma just irritated me today.”

“Of course, she did. I’m tellin’ ya. That girl has issues.”

You sigh. Between the two of them, you can’t handle it. Matt had become more vocal about his issues with Emma lately, and you just didn’t have the energy to battle either of them. “Please,” you ask softly, “can we not talk about her?”

“Sure. This is an Emma free zone starting. Now.” He sits down and pulls you with him so that you can put your skates on.

“Thank you,” you tell him before focusing on getting the skates on and out onto the ice.

The moment the two of you are out on the ice, all the annoyance with Emma fades away. You find yourself lost in the crowd of people doing the same thing you’re doing. There are a few kids that recognize Matt, which means you're dragged into being a photographer so they can have a picture with him, you don’t mind, though. It’s hard to care when the smile on his face is so genuine. He doesn’t turn a single kid down for a photo or an autograph.

A couple of the parents have to usher their kids away so that “he and his girlfriend can spend time together”. You correct a few of them, but your protest falls on deaf ears.

“Would it be so bad,” he asks, wrapping an arm around you as the two of you make a loop around the rink.

“Would what be so bad?” You ask because you’re not sure what he’s referring to.

“Being my girlfriend.”

You laugh at the question but stop when he doesn’t join in on the joke. “Matt, I can’t be your girlfriend.”

His brow furrows, and his lips press into a thin line, “why’s that?” He asks as though he doesn’t know. As though he actually thinks its a good idea.

“It wouldn’t work. You’re… And I’m…” You didn’t know how to finish either of those sentences, so you let the statements fall where they were.

“I’m what?” He asks, turning to look at you while he skates backward. “I’m what, Y/N?”

“You’re just…” Emma’s words run through your head. Player. Heart breaker. Womanizer. Anything and everything bad that she could think of to describe Matt ran through your head. She never listened when you told her he wasn’t like that.

“You can’t tell me there isn’t something between us,” he says more forcefully.

“Can we not do this here?” You ask. There are people around. It’s public, and he’s a public figure. “Matt, let’s talk about this somewhere else.” You slide into the wall of the rink, hoping to coax him off the ice, but he doesn’t exit.

“Naw,” he says suddenly. “I don’t think I want to. I don’t need a change of scenery for the “it’s not you, it’s me” conversation. It’s cool. Message received.” When he does exit the rink, it’s without you. No matter how much pleading you do, he doesn’t listen.

You don’t follow him off the ice. You don’t know how to make this better. You don’t know what to say or do. This isn’t how the day was supposed to go. You were supposed to exchange gifts and get cocoa and have fun with your… He was never just a friend. You both knew that.

By the time you drag yourself off the ice, Matt is long gone. You change out of the skates and pull your bag and shoes out of the little locker you’d bought to keep everything in. His gift is in there, mocking you, but worse than that is the little card that Matt must have put in there when you weren’t looking. It wasn’t torn up or anything, so he must have done it before you wrecked everything.

Do you open it? Or do you just throw it away?

You glance around the rink, wondering if Matt is still there, but you don’t see him. The card taps on your fingers as you walk out of the rink, your gift to him hangs from your wrist, and it burns you where it sits. Guilt wells up inside you, but you try not to let it eat you alive. You never expected this, honestly. Every time you considered the possibility of being Matt’s girlfriend, you were reminded of all the reasons you shouldn’t let yourself fall for him.

Maybe… Maybe those reasons didn’t exist.

In your car, you sit silently, debating a few things. You could text him and apologize. You could go home and forget all of this and let it end where it is. Wouldn’t it be better for both of you if you did? He was mad, obviously, and truthfully you felt like maybe he had a reason to be. The two of you were more than friends; you always had been. You wanted to be his girlfriend. You did. You had from almost the moment you met him.

Out of habit and curiosity more than anything, you slid the envelope to the card Matt had left open and pulled the card out. It was a simple card, solid of color with little gold filigree on it. Happy Holidays is scrawled on it. When you opened it, a ticket fell out which forced you to abandon the card and open the other envelope. A plane ticket to St. Louis sat nestled in the fold, your name on the boarding pass.

The card itself simply reads, “Come see me, Love Matt.” It is more than you can take. Tears fall from your eyes, and you scream in anger. You’d let everyone around you make your choices for you, and you’d ruined probably the best thing you’d ever had without even knowing it.

The drive home dries the tears, but it does nothing to change your mood. Heartbroken isn’t even the right word for how you feel. You feel like utter shit. They’d told you he’d break your heart. They didn’t tell you you’d break his; they didn’t prepare you for the fact that you were the one not good enough for him. Did any of them even know him?

Walking through the door of the apartment takes all the strength you can muster. You don’t want to see Emma right now. You don’t want to deal with her, but it doesn’t matter. The moment she sees you, she’s out of her seat and wrapping you in a comforting hug.

“What happened?” She asks. “What did he do?”

“Nothing,” you tell her. “He did nothing. He… Asked me to be his girlfriend, and then,” you handed her the ticket and walked away.

She looks at the card, and the ticket you’d just handed her in confusion before turning around to talk to you. You were already on your way to your room, hardly paying attention to anything.

“Wait… I’m confused. Are you going?” She follows you into your room where you face plant into the pillow.

“No,” you tell her. Your words are muffled, and you make no effort to change that. If you look at her, you’ll cry. Or yell at her. She’s one of the voices in your head, cautioning you where Matt is concerned.

“What happened?” She asks again, this time more gently. Her hand rubs your back. It’s meant to comfort, but all it does is make you cry.

“He wanted me to go to St. Louis with him, but he never got to tell me. I ruined everything, Emma. Everyone kept telling me he was going to hurt me, but” You turn your head to look at her, “you didn’t see his face, Emma. I’m the one that hurt him.”

She sucks in a deep breath through her teeth and falls silent. Her hands rub circles into your back while you lay there and cry. You’re thankful that she doesn’t have anything to say this time. You don’t need her condescension or her help. You just want to lay there and hate yourself in peace. The migraine you’ll end up with will be well deserved after all of this.

At some point, sleep takes you, but it’s fitful. It’s been a long time since you’ve cried yourself to sleep, but you can’t help it. You loved him, even if you didn’t allow yourself to say it out loud, or in thought for that matter. You never considered your life without him. You never thought that was an actual possibility. He was always there for you, and you thought he always would be. You wanted him to be there for you.

“Okay,” Emma says loudly, pulling you from your sleep if that’s what it was. “I know how to fix this.”

“Fix what?” You ask. Your voice is raw from all the crying and the screaming you’d done in the car. It hadn’t been very mature, but it had made you feel better in the moment.

“This thing with Matt.” She lovingly flicks you. Almost as if to say get with the program.

“There’s no fixing this,” you tell her sadly. You didn’t see any way of making this right. He was gone, and he wasn’t going to come back. Not to you, anyway.

“No, you’re wrong. You still have the ticket, so…”

You sit up slowly, needing to be upright for this conversation because you were having a hard time following her at the moment. It wasn’t just because you had a headache, either. Was Emma trying to help fix things? She hates Matt. Why would she try to help?

“Guilt,” she says. “This is my fault.”

You didn’t even realize you’d spoken, let alone asked her a question.

“Look, I’m not a big fan of his, but you clearly like him, and I can’t really deny that he liked you, either. So… We fix this. Maybe…”

“Are you suggesting I fly to St. Louis?” You ask.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. You have the ticket. Unless he’s canceled it, the flight leaves tomorrow afternoon. You could…”

“What if he’s canceled it?”

“He hasn’t.” She’s so damn sure of it it’s hard to argue with her.

“What do you say? Should we get you packed?”

“What if he doesn’t want to see me? What if I get there and he won’t see me and I’m just… there?” The idea of him rejecting you in a completely different city is worse than any nightmare you’ve ever been subjected to. You’ve already broken your own heart, did you want to let him do it too? Perhaps you deserved it.

“Y/N,” Emma says with a sigh, “stop it. You listened to me before, listen to me now.”

“But, you were WRONG before!” You remind her.

She waves her hand at you as though your argument means nothing. “But I’m not now. Go to St. Louis. Find him. I’ll text Noah and ask what Matt’s room number is and everything. It’ll be okay. We’ll fix this.”

You’re skeptical about this plan, but you have nothing to lose, so… why the hell not. “Okay. Okay, sure. Yeah. I’ll go to St. Louis.”  

-- They tell me think with my head, not that thing in my chest. They got their hands at my neck this time.

He didn’t cancel the ticket, though why you have no idea. If it had been you, you would have canceled it right away. You would have tried to get some of your money back. Perhaps Matt didn’t care about the money. He was rich, after all. A plane ticket probably didn’t even register to him. For whatever the reason, you’re grateful to him for not canceling it. It would have made getting to St. Louis a lot more complicated.

While you nursed your lovely headache, Emma had packed your bag, but you’d given her a few instructions on what to pack. Once you are packed, the rest of the evening is spent listening to Emma apologize for being so awful about Matt. You want so badly to be mad at her, to hold onto that anger and blame her for all of this. She was trying so hard to fix it, though. You could see that.

She’d even taken you to the airport and made sure your boarding pass was still working. At the security gate, she hugged you and apologized one last time before sending you on your way through.

Once you’re seated on the plane, it sets in that there is no going back. You’re actually going to St. Louis to what? Confess your love for Matt? This sounds so ridiculous, but it’s precisely what you’re going to do. Music keeps your mind occupied on the flight and through the connection. It’s a playlist that Matt put together for times when the two of you couldn’t agree on the station in the car. It had a bit of both your favorites. The thoughtfulness tugged at heartstrings you didn’t know existed. A few times you felt the tears prickle at the corners of your eyes, but you’d cried enough already. You didn’t want to do it again.

Landing in St. Louis was both exciting and terrifying. You had no idea where you were going, but you made it work by asking for directions and finding the little maps all over the airport. Finding a cab was an adventure. The place was a madhouse; it was the all-star weekend, though, so that explained everything. Your taxi driver was a very nice man, friendly and communicative. You told him where you needed to go, and he got you there without any trouble. You tipped him very well and hoped against hope that you wouldn’t need another one in a few hours.

Noah had come through for you with the name of Matt’s hotel and his room number. He was a good friend. You should set him up with Emma. Maybe it would soften her heart to Matt a little… if this whole thing turns out alright, that is. Which, it very well might blow up in your face more spectacularly than the skate rink incident. Yes, that’s what you’re calling it now.

You bypass the check-in counters and go right for the elevators to get to the floor you need. The hotel is chaotic, and it’s easy for you to slip through everything. You knew from Noah that a bunch of the hockey players were staying in the same place. You’d thought, maybe, that Matt would stay with his family, but Noah had assured you that he would be at the hotel.

The hall that led to Matt’s room was deserted when you arrived, which was a blessing, honestly. If it had been swimming with players, you might have lost your nerve. As it was, your hands shook when you stopped in front of his door. You didn’t know if he was in there or out with the guys or doing something with his family. Honestly, you could be standing there for hours and never see him, but you needed to knock, or you’d never know.

The sound of the knock echoed through the empty hall, and you held your breath, waiting for the door to open. Or not. It felt like you stood there for an eternity before the lock on the other side clicked, and the door pulled open. Matt stood there in a pair of shorts and hoodie, his eyebrow raised in your direction.

But you're the one that I want if that's so wrong Then they don't know what this feeling is like

Confusion glosses over his features before his face turns to stone. “Y/N?”

“I’m so sorry, Matt.” You say instantly. “For everything. I didn’t. I’m so sorry.” You were going to cry again, which you told yourself you wouldn’t do, but it’s so hard when he’s standing there looking at you.

He reaches for you, and you let yourself be pulled into his room. His arms wrap around you, and he holds onto you while you cry. It doesn’t seem fair that he’s comforting you after how you’d treated him. He shushes you and presses his cheek to the top of your head. ���It’s okay,” he says softly. “I’m sorry I got mad and stormed out. I shouldn’t have… You’re allowed to say no to being my girlfriend.”

You pull back from him and shake your head. “I don’t want to say no, Matt. Really. I never wanted to say no. I just. I was scared because people keep telling me that you’re no good for me.”

“Emma people?” He asks.

You can’t lie to him, so you just nod. “But she’s the reason I’m here. She told me to fix it, so I’m trying. That’s why I’m here. Matt, I love you, and that scares me bc I don’t want to get hurt.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says softly. “I’ll try my best not to. It’s as good as I can give you.” Very few people set out to hurt the other in a relationship. His offer is as good as it gets. “If, that’s what you’re saying.”

You laugh through the tears and nod. “Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. I want to be your girlfriend, okay? I love you.”

He pulls you close and pressed his lips to yours. It’s forceful and firm, but it softens as you wrap your arms around his neck. “Thank fuck,” he says against your lips. “It’s about time we made this official.”

You laugh at his words before pulling him back into a kiss. You choose to focus on that rather than the rest of the relationship. That will come in time. The two of you need to discuss things, you’re sure, but the time for talk is later. Right now, you want to get lost in him. You want to put the hotel bed to use, and you want him to show you around the city he grew up in.

All in good time, though. You have plenty of it, after all.

#matthew tkachuck #matthew tkachuk imagine #calgary flames imagine #NHL Imagine #hockey imagines

[prettyboybarzal]

can i get a number 9 off of the fluff list w matty t 🥺👉🏻👈🏻 - pucksnsticksnhockeyboys

Meredith and Johnny had been trying to set the two of you up for years now, though every attempt was futile. It wasn’t that you weren’t into Matty, it was just that you couldn’t quite see your lives intertwining in a way that made sense. He was at the peak of his career, traveling more often than not. You were just getting your footing with a new company and just finally put money down an property just outside the city. Each time Meredith brought it up, you shut it down.

Until you couldn’t anymore.

“He’s Johnny’s best man, you’re my maid of honor,” she murmured one night. “You’ll have to work together to make my wedding unforgettable.”

“I can work on wedding plans with him no problem, but that doesn’t mean we have to fall in love.”

Which is exactly how you ended up waiting for the newly-engaged couple outside one of the most expensive restaurants in Calgary with Matthew Tkachuk just a few feet away. Your phone was pressed to your ear with Meredith apologizing profusely on the other end.

“I told Johnny to call the both of you and cancel!” she exclaimed. You glanced over your shoulder at Matty who was chatting with the hostess and felt your heartbeat a little bit harder. “You guys should still grab dinner. Getting reservations there is so difficult!”

“I know what you’re doing,” you grunted. She laughed. “And it’s not going to work.”

“Matt can be very persistent if he wants to be.”

“And who says he even wants to be?”

“I do!” Johnny yelled out from the background.

Your decision was made for you. Matt seemed to already have known where your conversation with Johnny and Meredith was going to go because the hostess led you to a table for two the moment you stepped up beside him. 

He pulled your chair out and removed the sweater from your shoulders to place it along the back after you sat. You smiled politely at the hostess as she relayed the specials, finding it hard to focus with Matt’s eyes on you. 

“Are we on a date right now?” you asked shyly after a few minutes, finger sliding beneath the menu to flip to the entrees. You glanced up at him, catching his gaze for a moment before he too looked at the food on the menu. “It feels like they set us up.”

“It does, doesn’t it?”

Your waitress arrived ready to take your orders giving you the opportunity to reset the conversation back to the reason you were even here with him.

“So, we were going to discuss the Bachelor and Bachelorette weekends tonight,” you began, attempting to gain control of the conversation. “Meredith’s wondering what the plan is for the guys.”

He leaned back in his seat, one arm extended over the back of it as he gazed back at you. His shirt was unbuttoned to his chest, a silver chain reflected the light from the chandelier hanging above you.

“Would it be so bad if this was a date?” he asked, voice low. You were too caught up in his gaze to choke any words out. He leaned forward, elbows on the table. “I don’t think it would be such a bad thing.”

“I think it’s unrealistic,” you answered. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Like, the idea of us being together is great on paper, especially to our best friends, but we don’t even know each other.”

“I know you,” he argued, suddenly very animated. “I know you love the new job you have. I know you hate Tequila shots and the only time I’ve ever seen you take one was the same night your douchey ex-boyfriend broke up with you. Oh, and I know you put money down on that little house just outside the city—the house with the sunroom and the wrap around porch.”

“You don’t know anything of substance.”

"Then let me get to know you substantially,” he spoke. “Let’s see if Meredith and Johnny are right.” You eyed him curiously, feeling a bit more inclined to give into his request under this low lighting with a rose between the two of you. “I’ll start. I used to have an imaginary friend until I was eight.”

“You had an imaginary friend?”

“I did, and his name was Hank,” he affirmed. “Now, you tell me something.”

“Umm,” you hesitated, racking your brain for a response good enough for him. He watched you with a glint in his eye, smirk on his lips. “Oh, I don’t know.”

“Stop overthinking it,” he urged. “I’m not going to judge you.”

“When I was little, I was obsessed with the singer Cher,” you began. He nodded for you to continue with a growing smile. “And I used to write her monthly letters about my life and every month, she’d write back. At least that’s what I thought until I was 14 and my mother told me that it was her all along. Imagine how embarrassing that was to tell my friends.”

“No way.”

“Yes way,” you exclaimed. “I still can’t believe she let it go on for that long.”

“So, you’re gullible,” he noted. You rolled your eyes at him. "See? I am getting to know you.”

You felt yourself relax against the back of your chair and Matty’s softened at the realization that you were finally feeling comfortable with dinner being just between the two of you. At the end of the meal, your face hurt from smiling and he felt giddy for the first time in a long time. He walked you to your car as slowly as he possibly could to get use of every moment you had together.

“This wasn’t as bad as you thought it’d be, right?” he asked as you slowed to a stop at your car. You shook your head.

“I had a nice time.”

“Would you call me crazy if I asked you on a second date?” he asked. “One that we don’t have to be tricked into?”

“I think I’d be crazy if I told you no,” you answered. He smiled wider. “I’m free tomorrow if you wanna grab coffee.” You paused, hand lifting the car door before you were turning back with a smile to say, “And bring Hank.”

“Only if you bring Cher.”

#matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuck prompts #mk writes

[lovenhlboys]

Ok so if y’all would like, I would love if you could send me NHL fic recs as I’m going on a long car ride and am not the one driving.

Players I love reading about

Nolan Patrick, Travis Konecny, Carter Hart, Roope Hintz, Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, Jake Virtanen, Andrei Svechnikov, Matthew Barzal, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, & Matthew Tkachuk.

Again, you don’t have to I would just appreciate it, you can either submit the post to me or put it in an ask or message me, whatever you want to do. 😁

I will be reblogging my favs with who submitted them if anyone wants to watch out for that on Tuesday.

#hockey #nolan patrick #idc if you don’t know me or anything #anyone’s submissions are welcome #travis konecny #carter hart #roope hintz #brock boeser #elias pettersson #jake virtanen #andrei svechnikov #mathew barzal #mitch marner #auston matthews #matthew tkachuck #nhl imagine #nhl fic #hockey imagine #hockey fic

[lannowins]

Guys send me blurbs about players!

I want to try this out!! I'll do any player!

#hockey imagine #mitch marner #auston matthews #matthew tkachuck #mat barzal #brady skjei #dylan strome #jamie benn #tom wilson #andre burakovsky #nhl imagine #john beecher #josh norris #johnny gaudreau #sean monahan #noah hanifin #morgan rielly #william nylander #brock boeser #elias petterson #travis konecny #trevor zegras #nolan patrick #quinn hughes #case mccarthy #carter hart #clayton keller #anthony beauvillier #connor mcdavid #mark scheifele

[lars-eller-is-a-danish-hero]

Never forget that I for an entire year thought Matthew Tkachuck was Canadian because I read an imagine wrong

#matthew tkachuk #steph

[texanstarslove]

So I came up with this little lyric prompt list and I thought it’d be fun.

If y’all would like, send me a hockey boy, a prompt and specify if you’d like it SFW or NSFW and I’ll try and get my mojo back and crank some of these out. I don’t mind repeating players but I’ll cross out each number as I get requests for them ( @danglesnipecelly I am totally doing this how you did yours because, hello genius!).

“Everyone has a secret. Can they keep it?” from Secret by Maroon 5; Jonathan Toews

“I’m here to remind you of the mess you left when you went away.” from You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette

“I can’t escape the way I love you.” from i love you by Billie Eilish; Tyler Seguin

“Feels like forever, baby, I never thought that it would be you.” from imagine by Ariana Grande; Matthew Tkachuck

“Honey, you should know that I could never go on without you.” from Green Eyes by Coldplay

“This has been said so many times that I’m not sure if it matters.” from Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying by Fall Out Boy; Nolan Patrick

“Sit back down on the couch where we made love the first time and you said to me there’s something about this place.” from You and I by Lady Gaga; Jamie Oleksiak

“I’ve seen right through and underneath and you make me better.” from Underneath It All by No Doubt

“However far away, I will always love you.” from Love Song by The Cure; Chris Kreider

“You can call me hopeless, baby, ‘cause I’m hopelessly in love.” from Selfish by *NSYNC

#lyric prompts #writing prompts

[kailyn-writes]

pretty pretty please can you do “i know we’re not… friends or anything, but… i’m here for you, if you need someone to talk to.” with matthew tkachuk? ❣️

send me something from this or this!

Word count: 701

You were not a partier. Everyone who knew you, knew that. Which is why most of them were incredibly concerned at the amount of alcohol you had consumed on this particular night. Your boyfriend of almost a year had dumped you a week ago and you were desperately trying to get over him. Tonight, you jumped at the chance to go out with your friend and her hockey boyfriend and his teammates.

You were about ten shots deep when Matthew Tkachuk showed up. You were so drunk that you couldn’t remember why you didn’t like him, just that you didn’t. You managed to steer clear of him that evening, walking away from a conversation as he walked up to it, always keeping him one person away from you on the dance floor.

Eventually, the heat of the club and the sweat on your skin became too much and you needed to get out of the building. You thought no one had noticed you sneaking out, but just as you plant yourself on the ground, the cold air drying the sweat on your skin.

“Hey, you okay?” You roll your eyes as Matthew sits down on the sidewalk beside you, his jacket in his hands. “I know we’re not… friends or anything, but… I'm here for you, if you need someone to talk to.”

You glance over at him, your eyes welling with tears. He nods, scooching over to wrap his jacket around your shoulders, just as the tears begin to fall. You stay like that, tucked underneath his jacket and his arm, for several minutes as you sob, letting it all out. He rubs your back and whispers softly, pressing gentle kisses to the top of your head.

He’d never known why you hadn’t liked him, just that you avoided him so harshly that you were rarely in the same room as him for more than a couple of minutes. He’d been trying to find time for the last six months to tell you how he really felt about you, and it seemed like it would have to wait just a bit longer.

“Come on, let’s get you home, pretty girl.” He says softly, moving to help you up. He hadn’t been drinking so he figured he would drive you home, after letting your friends know of the plan. He found your best friend pretty quickly and told her what was going on, assuring her that she should stay and have fun, that he’d get her friend home safe.

The ride from the bar to your apartment wasn’t long, but you curled up in the passenger seat of Matthew’s car, eyes heavy with exhaustion.

Matthew helped you out of his car and up to your apartment, even taking your keys from you to open the door. He chuckled when you fell face down onto the couch, groaning softly. He went to the kitchen and found a water bottle and some ibuprofen for you, holding those as he walked back to the living room.

“C’mon. You want to sleep in your bed.” He leans down to help you up, but all you do is turn your head so that your face isn’t smushed into the couch cushion. You groan as he helps you up, pouting as he all but drags you into your room.

“Why are you being so nice to me? I’m a bitch to you. I am not nice to you.” You say and he just chuckles.

“Your best friend would kill me if I let you sleep on the couch in this condition.” He says, though that’s not the only reason he’s helping you. He turns to step away and you grab his wrist, pulling him to you. You plant your lips on his, eyes widening when he pulls away.

“As much as I want to continue kissing you, I want you to be sober for it.” He says, as you pout. He turns to grab the water and medicine he’d set on your dresser and move them to the nightstand, smiling softly at you. “If you want, I will call you later this week and we can go out. Redo that first kiss. Only if you want, though.”

#matthew tkachuck x reader #matthew tkachuck fic #nhl writing #nhl imagine

[im-only-joking]

39 with Matthew Tkachuk the lovable pest

39) "I'd do anything for you despite how much you piss me off"

No warnings, just a little pigtail pulling on Matt's part lol

"Why are you such a brat," Matt laughed, chasing after you at your family's cookout. Your families had been friends for years, and so you knew Matt from when he was a small kid moving into the neighborhood.

"Why are you such a pest," you snapped, your hackles raising.

"C'mon, what did your sister mean about your 'big fat crush on me'?"

You stopped in your tracks, causing Matt to thud into you, almost knocking you over.

"She was lying," you tried to say, but Matt shook his head and turned you around to face him.

"Nah, Y/N, she's not a liar. And neither are you. So. Tell me. I'll be good and quiet."

You sighed, looking up at him through your lashes. "She means... That I'd do anything for you, despite how much you piss me off sometimes."

Matt was quiet, like he'd promised. Too quiet. You frowned and gave him a short whack to the arm.

"You can talk now asshole."

Matt grinned, and you rolled your eyes at his stupid antics. "I'd promised to be quiet. But, Y/N, you know I'd stop the world from spinning for you if I could. You're more to me than all the teasing and shit I give you."

You bit your lip. "You know this'll probably end badly right?"

"Nah, we got this" Matt smirked. "We're way cute together according to Brady. And I hate to prove him right but... There's no denying we're meant to be, baby."

You groaned. "What cheesy movie is that from, Matty?"

Matt laughed loudly. " My own personal brand of cheese, baby."

Rolling your eyes you pushed him back towards the sounds of the cookout, where everyone else was chatting and eating and laughing, and probably assuming you two had slipped away for less savoury reasons.

"Let's go prove Brady that we are cute as hell."

Matt slipped his hand into yours, squeezing lightly.

"Let's do it."

#matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuck #matthew tkachuk #this is cheesy ik #but i hope you like #please forgive how long it took to do this. #i was so out of it #nhl imagines #nhl blurbs #nhl fic #nhl imagine #nhl players #nhl one shot

[im-only-joking]

Matthew Tkachuk 79 & 93

Im just gonna do 93 cuz i already did 79 with jamie benn.

Usual warnings. Smut!

Matt's dick kept poking into your ass. Now, normally that wouldn't have been a problem for you, but it was a relaxing romantic date night after a lovely dinner and now you were cuddled up watching The Notebook.

"Does this story get you going, Matty," you grumbled, turning in his arms on the couch to look at him.

He laughed, kissing your nose. "You get me going, baby."

You sighed and let him keep you deeply, rutting against your stomach as you felt yourself get wet. Matt's hands dipped down to your ass pulling you into him.

"Let me taste you," he murmured into the kiss, tugging his shirt off and pulling at the hem of your shirt as well.

Sitting up, Matt undressed you completely, slipping your panties off with a wink and pulling you to the edge of the couch as he got on his knees in front of you.

You gripped his hair in anticipation, and then relaized how harsh it might have felt, so you pulled your hand back.

Matt grabbed your hand though, smiling. "It's okay honey, you can pull my hair as hard as you want while I'm between your legs."

With that he began tonguing at your pussy, your hands pushing deep into his curls as you moaned.

"Baby, yes, fuck yes," you cried, tugging hard at his hair and you felt him chuckle, the vibrations making your toes curl.

"Atta girl" Matt grinned up at you. "Be as rough as you want, you know I like it."

#matthew tkachuk #matthew tkachuck #again... how do you spell his name #matthew tkachuk imagine #nhl imagines #nhl blurbs #nhl fic #nhl one shot

[im-only-joking]

#72 Matthew Tkachuk please

Got a lotttttt of Matty ones so be warned there will be a bunch haha.

Usual warnings plus bondage, etc

"You're so good for me," Matty sighed, slamming into you at a rapid pace. "Perfect all tied up for me. Like a fucking present."

You could only whine behind the ball gag in your mouth, drooling onto the bedshits of Matt's expensive sheets. You were like a present, if presents were wrapped in rope instead of silk bows. Your ass was stuffed with a plug, arms gripping each other behind you back and roped looped around them.

Your legs were spread, tied to either bed post to keep them wide.

It had been what felt like hours at this point, from being teased and spanked, to having Matt make you cum from his fingers, his mouth, and his cock, and he still hadnt gotten off, but you could tell he was close.

His breaths grew heavier, louder, and finally he spilled inside you with a long moan.

"Fuck you look good like that," Matt chuckled, petting at your pussy dripping with his cum. "Maybe I should leave you like this, that way anyone who wanted to use you could have a go with you. Would you like that? Having all my teammates fuck your pussy till they cum? Get all messy from them using all your holes?"

You grunted, whimpering behind the gag and rocking your hips down to try and get some release one last time. You couldn't help but think all all the Flames, each laughing and joking around as they took turns with you, fucking you, touching you, knowing you were Matt's, but could use you if they asked.

"Awe, slut, it's okay. I think it's hot too. Think maybe you could wait to cum if I got someone to come over and get you off?"

You nodded, tears leaking out of your eyes. Matt released the clasp on the gag.

"Verbal yes or no baby," he said, switching tones to a kinder, gentler one.

"Yes daddy."

#matthew tkachuk #i honestly dunno how to spell his name so... #matthew tkachuck #? #smut #nhl imagines #nhl blurbs #nhl fic #nhl writing #nhl one shot