Long Ago // Connor McDavid

Twelve

I adjusted my navy blue romper in the hotel mirror out of boredom. Connor had been gone for about an hour and it only really took me 20 or so minutes to get ready.

I walked on over to the large window that looked out onto downtown Florida. All I could see were cars, water and of course palm trees. As I squinted my eyes, I noticed the round like building in the distance. It was the arena.

"Hey babe"

I whipped my head around, startled at the fact that someone else was in the room.

There was Connor, standing with a huge bouquet of flowers in his hand. He began to walk over to me and planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Here" he said, extending the flowers infront of me.

My mouth was hanging open as I grabbed them from him, smelling them in the process.

"What are these for?" I asked as I continued to examine them.

"Just cause" he replied.

I looked up to see him smirking at me and I was overwhelmed with joy. I set the bouquet on one of the queen sized beds and give him a kiss.

"Thank you" I said with our faces inches apart.

Connor didn't respond, instead he just stared at me with a smile glued to his face. Just then his phone buzzed in his pocket and reached for it to see a text.

Stromer: We'll be there in 10, u and Holl on ur way?

Connor didn't even bother to respond and just stuck his phone back in his pants.

"Better get going", he said, placing one last kiss on my cheek before we headed on out to a much needed dinner.

-

Once there, we walked past multiple restaurants with many outside patios before finally reaching a restaurant called "southern-ers".

It was mostly patio, but an extremely nice one nonetheless. It had a nice wood fence wrapped around the back, along with red and yellow cushioned seating, many plants and twinkling lights for when it got dark out.

My eyes quickly scanned the area before stumbling upon a familiar face.

"HOLLS!" Dylan cried.

He stood up from his chair and walked over towards Connor and I. I tried to see Mitch and the others at the table but my veiw was cut short due to Dylan's figure.

He wrapped his arms tightly around me as I did the same. "How are ya?" He said pulling away.

"I'm great. I've missed you!" I playfully punched his arm.

"Feelings mutual" he laughed.

Just then Mitch emerged from the table and was shaking Connors hand before coming to me.

"Mitch!" I happily said.

"Holls balls!" He replied.

I rolled my eyes as he also wrapped me in a hug. As he pulled away, I now had a clear veiw of the table, and just then noticed that they were all staring at us, especially me.

I flashed them a small smile, trying to brake the awkwardness before Connor jumped in.

"Guys this is Holly" Connor said as he placed his arm on my lower back, bringing me closer to him.

They all gave me a "hello" before standing up to shake my hand.

"I'm Noah" an extremely attractive guy said. Follwed by an "I'm Lawson, nice to meet you" from a smiley baby face, and lastly, a simple "Jack", from a curly head who seemed so 'pleased' to be there.

A slight moment of awkwardness fell again before Mitch headed back to his seat, Dylan, Connor and I following.

There were to empty chairs, one next to Dylan and the other Jack. Take a guess as to which one Connor chose.

As soon as I sat down I immediately felt uncomfortable. I could tell jacks eyes were scanning me, and most likely judging me.

I tried not to look at him but rather infront of me, where Mitch was sitting. He was looking at Jack, and could see him looking at me. He drew his attention away from Jack and looked at me, flashing me a warm smile.

It didn't take long for us to scan the menus and for our food to arrive, which we all basically inhaled.

The rest of the evening was them all discussing hockey, more hockey, and hockey. I was pretty quiet the whole time, minus a few questions from Mitch and Dyl, who were trying to make me feel included.

"Well boys" Dylan began, "we gotta couple big days ahead of us, we should get going."

Everyone seemed to agree, especially Jack who seemed to not be having any of this. They all payed for their bills, Connor paying for mine, and said their byes and "see you tomorrow's".

Mitch and Dylan walked down the same street as Connor and I as their car was parked near ours. The sidewalk wasn't big enough for all 4 of us, so I tried to walk infront. Letting them talk about God knows what.

I tried to tune out, focusing my attention on the Florida nightlife around me. I heard a few things about Jack, Dylan's girlfriend and them complaining about waking up early, but before they could continue, we reached Dylan's car which Mitch was also riding in.

"See you Holls." Dylan called as he was already half way around the car.

"Bye Dyl". I said, giving him a slight wave.

Mitch and Connor talked for a few more seconds before doing their 'mainly handshake' and Mitch giving me another hug. And with that, they were gone and it was just me and Connor.

Connor waved frantically as they drove away, like a child. I still hung back, my arms wrapped around my sleeveless body as I tried to get some heat. It was surprisingly chilly for a summer evening in Florida.

"You okay?" Connor asked as he turned towards my direction.

"Mhmm" I responded.

He placed his arm on my lower back as we started to walk again, him now also observing the Florida nightlife.

"Did you have a good time?" He suddenly asked.

"Yeah, it was kinda a guy thing though. But it was nice to see Mitch and Dyl."

"Sorry if you felt kinda out of place, and sorry If I didn't talk to you to much" he began.

"No, no Connor, it's fine, I still had a good time." I looked up at him with a smile.

He had his usual worried look on his face, but it seemed to go away once I attempted to reassure him. I did have a good time, but I also felt out of place. Besides, I was the only girlfriend, let alone girl there.

Either way, I was with Connor, and that was all I really cared about. The draft was approaching fast, and any time spent with Connor was quality time.