Angels of Long Island | Mathew Barzal

~27~

I wake up to the grey sunshine coming in through the closed drapes the next morning. My eyes flutter open and I roll over on my side to find a tanned, heavy arm draped lightly over my hip. Mat is still asleep with his silky mop of dark brown hair ruffled from his sleep. His lips are slightly parted, letting out soft, sleeping breaths. He's laying on his stomach, legs entangled in the sheets. His face is speckled with stubble, feeling rough against my fingertips as I run them along his strong jawline. He'll probably shave after his shower. His eyes are shut, not moving, indication that he's in peaceful sleep. The many lengths of lines contouring his muscles are defined by shadows from the room. His back is broadened by muscle layers and his arm muscles contract in his subconscious. I smile admiring him, he's so handsome; it's crazy.

In my midst of watching him sleep, he rolls over on his back, pulling the sheets from off my body in the process, due to the corner of the sheet being tucked under his left leg. I instantly get goosebumps from the loss of warmth his arm was providing me. His eyes slowly open and he blinks a couple times, ridding them of blurry, sleepy vision. He swallows deeply before turning his head to look at me. He immediately smiles and pulls me closer to kiss me. The stubble on his chin rubs against my own; it's a weird feeling since I've never kissed him in the morning like this before. "Good morning babe." He mumbles, almost incoherently. "Good morning, sleepy head. I like being called babe." I chuckle, running my fingers through his soft locks. I look into his brown eyes, wondering if I'd get lost in the abyss that they are. He smiles and doesn't stop until I peck his lips before saying "I'm going to get a quick shower. We have to meet Beau and Laur for breakfast before the bus leaves for the airport." He frowns and pulls me into his warm body, enveloping me in his large arms. "Can't we just stay here?" He asks, his voice low and raspy from sleeping. That alone was a turn on. "I wish. But I don't want to be stuck in Canada with no way home." I laugh. I crawl out from his grasp and go to the door. "I'll be back in like 15." I say, opening and shutting the door behind me. I hear him groan once more before I hear the lock click. I go back up to the floor my room is on. I unlock the door with my key card to find that I must have just missed Beau on his way out because Lauren's just coming out of the shower. "Hey girl! How'd it go with Barz last night? I'm assuming well unless you slept on a couch in the lobby." She laughs. "It went so well." I say, blushing. "Did anything R rated happen?" "No. We've been dating for less than 12 hours. We just slept." I say. "That's so weird. Barzy has a girlfriend." Lauren says, fishing for socks in her now-neatly packed suitcase. I smile before rushing to the bathroom. I shower with lightning speed and come back into the room and grab a pair of white jeans and a tan sweater. I change in the bathroom and drag a brush through my hair. I brush my teeth and do my makeup in 5 minutes flat before coming back out to the room and pulling on a pair of thigh-high tan boots. I hurry back up to Mat's room and knock lightly on the door. Mat opens it. He's dressed and ready to go to breakfast. He has on a pair of black jeans and a black Islanders jacket. He has indeed shaved and slicked his hair into a neat style. "Hi girlfriend." He says. "Hi boyfriend." I respond, stepping into the room and kissing him. I slide my arms around his next as I feel his hands slithering around my waist, resting on the small of my back. I have to stand on my toes a bit to reach his lips even with his head dipped to my level.

Anthony comes out of their shared bathroom, dressed and ready to go as well. "Get a room." He laughs. "We have one, and you're in it." Mat speaks, lips not leaving mine, making his sentence sound marbled. I let go of the kiss and say "Let's go guys, we're wasting time." "Sir yes sir" Anthony says, saluting me. I take Mat's hand and we head to the elevator.

We meet Laur in the lobby and walk down the street to a brunch café. We eat, talk and laugh for a while until deciding it was time to head back and get ready to head to the airport.

A little while later, all the wives and girlfriends are slowly gathering in the hotel lobby. The guys have already caught their bus to the airport, likely taking off before we will. All the girls want to know what happened with Mat and I so I sit down with them and tell them all at the same time what happened last night and I get a chours of "awws" when I'm done. "Are you happy?" Megan Bailey asks. "And is Mat happy?" Emily chimes in. "We both are. He hasn't stopped smiling all morning." I explain. They all gush over us before heading to our cars and then to the airport.

We catch our plane and head back to the states.