Chasing the Stars {Jamie Benn}

Eight

Once the dinner ended, we dropped Shay off. However, Tyler, Jamie, and I decided that we weren't really ready to go home, so we went back to Anvil.

Tyler ordered me a Mudslide, insisting that I tried it this time. I sipped on it to please him as we sat around a raised round table on wooden bar stools. Our outfits definitely didn't match the theme, but it was okay.

A waitress came up to the table and sat down two shots in front of Jamie and me.

"What's this?" he questioned, looking confused. The waitress flashed a sweet smile.

"Those nice gentlemen over there took care of the tab and got a round for Benn and his lady," she explained as she pointed to a group of men in the center of the room. I felt my cheeks turn pink.

"Thank you," Tyler said, dismissing her from the table. She smiled at him before walking away. "This," he said lowly, pointing between Jamie and me, "is getting old."

"Want to know what else is getting old, Tyler?" Jamie shot back, suddenly straightening up in his seat. I was too scared to move. Tyler's eyes flared with anger, and Jamie's nostrils were flared like they always got when he was upset.

"What, Jamie?" he replied, an angry smirk on his face as he folded his arms over his chest.

"You have no right to be doing this," Jamie said firmly. His face was turning red, and I had a bad feeling that this was about to get ugly. But I couldn't do anything but watch.

"I do, Jamie. And there's nothing you can do about it," Tyler said simply, raising his eyebrows as to say "What are you gonna do? Fight me? Get us both in trouble with the team?"

Jamie's jaw clenched, and he suddenly stormed away from the table, fists in balls. What in the hell just happened? Tyler looked smug, and for a moment, I began to wonder who I even agreed to marry.

The waitress walked by us, and Tyler reached out to brush his hand against her arm. She turned immediately, and she smiled when she saw it was Tyler.

"What can I do for you, Ty?"

Ty? What the hell? Did they know each other?

"Since they picked up ours, we'll pick up theirs. Thanks, Sara," he said with a smile, gesturing to the men who payed our tab. Sara flashed a smile and walked off, leaving me alone with Tyler.

I was still stuck on the guys' fight. It seemed to hold much more gravity than just Jamie and me matching clothes and people mistaking us for a couple. There was for sure more than that, but that was all I knew.

"What the hell, Tyler?"

It came out of my mouth before I could stop it. His eyes flared up again, and he leaned forward onto the table.

"Please, leave it, Elle," he said. His voice was too calm. He was talking to me like I was child, and there wasn't anything I hated more than when he did that.

"Fine. I will."

I hopped down off my barstool, smoothed out my dress, and went in search of Jamie. I even braved the men's bathroom, but there was no sight of him. I finally just left the restaurant, and stepped outside into the cold air. Jamie was leaning against the building, beer bottle in hand.

"Jamie," I said quietly, walking towards him. He lifted his eyes to meet mine, and a small smile came onto his face. "What just happened?" He sighed and broke eye contact. Why couldn't someone just come clean? This was getting out of hand.

"I really wish I could tell you," he whispered, reaching out to tuck my hair behind my ear. His hand brushed against my neck, and I felt myself lean into his touch. He kept his hand there, and he just gazed at me with sad, tired eyes.

"Why can't you tell me?"

"Tyler needs to figure it out on his own. I just hope you'll forgive me when it's all said and done," he told me, dropping his hand away from me. Maybe it was the mudslide talking, or maybe I was just so pissed off at Tyler. Whatever it was, I grabbed his hand and put it back where he had it.

He immediately used it to pull me into his chest, wrapping his other arm around my torso. He held me tight, like he had been wanting to do this for a long time, and I had never felt more at home.

••••••••••••••

A few days later, the guys left for a road trip. I was somewhat relieved to be alone, especially after the confrontation. I still felt weird about the whole thing despite the apologies Tyler was spewing.

I had always loved getting some alone time. It was the only way I could make sense of my feelings and what was going on.

I invited Krystal, Val's girlfriend, over, so we could watch the game together. I had met her sometime last month during one of the games, and we really hit it off. She was sweet, and she was about my age too.

"Val is honestly so hot in all his gear," she commented from the couch. I grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses before joining her. "I mean, look at him, Elle."

"I'm not going to call your boyfriend hot," I replied with a laugh as I poured the wine.

"I don't know who to look at," I sighed, looking at both Jamie and Tyler, messing around by the boards. After some prodding and urging, Krystal got me to tell her all about the Jamie problem, and I could actually be myself about it around her.

I could express my attraction to him without feeling too guilty, and the glass of wine was probably helping a little bit too. I decided that I should just let myself feel what I was feeling. It's not like I could control it anyways.

"Well, Jamie's new haircut is pretty nice," she commented, tipping her wine glass towards the TV. It was pretty cute, I had to admit. "You never told me what happened at dinner and the bar."

I turned to face her on the couch, folding my legs underneath me. She smirked and got comfortable, ready to listen. I explained everything that happened, and when I was done, she sat there and thought about it for a few moments.

"I would probably feel the exact same way if I were you," she told me. Suddenly, the game announcers erupted in yelling, I scrambled to turn it up when I heard Jamie's name involved. Tyler, in the meantime, was attempting to fight someone, and he was getting beaten miserably. I couldn't take my eyes off of Jamie, laying dazed on the ice.

"No, no, no," I whispered. They replayed what had happened, and I almost couldn't bring myself to watch. Someone from the other team slammed Jamie into the boards from behind with his head down. His head flew straight into the boards, and it bounced off the ice as he fell.

I grabbed Krystal's hand, and she let me squeeze it as the trainer knelt down beside Jamie. I couldn't get a good look at his face, but I could tell he was confused.

He finally managed to get up with the help of Val and Horcoff. Jamie couldn't even skate, they practically just dragged him off the ice. Tyler was being ushered into the penalty box with a bloody nose, but I couldn't have cared less in that moment. I watched as Jamie's numbers disappeared down the tunnel, his weight heavily placed on the trainer.

"Shit!!" I yelled out, shooting up from the couch. Krystal handled my anger like a pro. She gave me some weird ass vase from the end table, and my immediate reaction was to hurl it across the room. It hit the wall and fell to pieces.She wrapped her arms around me in a hug and gently pulled me back down on the couch.

"You'll see him tonight," she assured me. I glanced over at the broken vase, and I prayed that it wasn't a Benn family heirloom.

But I had a feeling that even if it was an heirloom, Jamie would forgive me anyways.