Love Rivalry (A Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Fanfiction)

Chapter 24 - A Deep Examination of Conscience

Ashley's POV

I felt my phone vibrate against my hip. I slid it out of the gap between my sweats and my skin. My alarm had went off. 8:30. I kept my alarm on silent as not to wake Ryan. I didn't need him to find out about this. I carefully slid out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes and headed into the bathroom. I put on some jeans and a light blue cardigan and my low top Chuck Taylor's.

After a touch of makeup, I grabbed my bag and quietly tiptoed out of Ryan's room. I quietly headed down the stairs and saw Jordan in the kitchen. Damn it. I felt my phone vibrate again in my pocket.

"What are you doing up so early, kid?" Jordan asked with a smile.

"Just meeting my friends for some breakfast. I'll be back soon. If Ryan wakes up before I get back, let him know where I'm at."

"Will do." Jordan said, turning back to the stove, and with that I headed out to my car. I pulled out my phone and saw a text from Gabe.

"There's a coffee place near my hotel on Main if that's okay with you." The same place Ryan and I went to after the Halloween incident.

"Perfect, I'm leaving now, see you in a few."

I drove to the coffee shop, taking in the beautiful scenery. There was still plenty of snow on the ground, and the city was blanketed in a beautiful white foam. Snow fell lightly on the city, as people were outside building forts, having snowball fights, or playing hockey on a frozen pond.

It was all breathtaking. I never really enjoyed the little things in life. I've never had the chance to do that. Just enjoy things. My life didn't allow for it. But now that I'm here, all that's changed. Having control over your life is the ultimate feeling. No one can tell you how to live your life.

I pulled up to the coffee shop at around 9:25. I was a bit early. I told Gabe that he didn't need to rush over here. 

I began to have second thoughts about this. It wasn't fair to Ryan that I was sneaking around behind his back. I pulled out my phone to text Gabe that something came up. Right as I did, a tall, muscular blonde haired boy pushed his way through the door. 

Gabe. 

I immediately put my phone back in my pocket and signaled him over. He smiled and headed in my direction. 

"Miss Ashley." He smiled. 

"Gabe." I smiled back at him. 

"How are you?" He asked me, taking off his jacket. 

"I'm good." I responded. I was never really good at small talk. I was the worst person to hold a conversation with. 

"You haven't been here too long I hope?" 

"Not at all, I just walked in a couple of minutes ago." The waitress then came over and took our orders and Gabe and I continued talking. We talked about hockey for the most part, even Ryan came up once or twice. 

"So you guys are back in town next week?" I asked him. 

"Yup. Hopefully we can have another good game." Gabe said, sipping on his coffee. After a few more minutes of talking Gabe had to leave. 

"I need to get back and finish packing, but, maybe when I'm here next week we can do this again?" 

"I'd love that." I responded. Ryan.

"Great, well I should get going, I'll see you next week." Gabe said, flashing his million dollar smile once more. Gabe left after one of the most awkward coffee meetings in history, and it was all my fault. But maybe it was good. Maybe my boring self wouldn't bring him back to me. Maybe I could forget about Gabe, and just be happy with what I have. Ryan.