Oh Puck, Look Out!

x5 - Mathew

I'm walking around the house, pushing past my teammates and a bunch of people I hardly know, making my way to the kitchen when I see her. I feel the blood rush to my cheeks as I make my way towards her. Dude, why are you freaking out? It's just a girl, you're fine. She smiles at me as I finally reach her on the opposite side of the kitchen island.

"Hi Carter," my palms are sweating, "You look amazing." She tucks her hair behind her ear and lets out a laugh, "Aw Mat, you're so sweet thank you." Her face glows beneath the changing lights as she takes another sip of her drink, "I have to say, you look really handsome too." I run my hands down my shirt. I went with a black buttoned down with the top three buttons undone, ripped black jeans, and black and white Nikes - a very different outfit from what I would normally wear.

"So, um, how are you liking the party so far?" Carter gives me a confused look, yelling "what," over the music. I sigh, leaning down towards her ear and placing a hand on her shoulder."You know Carter, I would love to talk more if you wanted to come upstairs with me," I whisper. I immediately put my hands up in defense as I realized what I just said and how wrong it could come out, "I promise I'm not just trying to seduce you!" She laughs again, "You're fine, Mat. I would love to." She smiles warmly, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the staircase at the front of the house.

We take a left at the top of the stairs, slipping into the first room we see, shutting the door behind us. I let out a deep breath, "Finally, some peace and quiet." Carter places herself on the bed, crossing her legs as she places her drink on the nightstand. Based on the quaint decoration, I figure that this could be a guest bedroom in Bryce's house - looking primly untouched.

"So, what would you like to talk about?" Carter looks up at me as I make my way next to her, sinking into the plush comforter, leaning against the headboard. "Literally anything, I want to get to know more about you, you know, since you're new and all." She sits back, pondering how she's going to answer my question. "Well, I'm the new Social Media Coordinator for your team, I'm originally from Long Island. I graduated from Syracuse University in May and then moved here after I was offered the job. Umm.. I don't know what else, I'm so used to just talking professionally."

I look at her in admiration, my eyes flitting all over her face and her body. I won't lie, I'm still a man. "Tell me more. What are your goals in life?" She leans back against the throw pillows, undoing the buckles on her shoes and curling into a ball to face me. "Well, I feel like my main goal is to just give back to my parents. Being an only child, they did so much for me growing up and I just want to be successful so I can return all that they did for me. And also to own a Tesla," she lets out a laugh, closing her eyes and her nose slightly scrunching as she does.

"Honestly, I love that. My parents did the same for my brother and I, always letting us do what we wanted, getting us into hockey, all of that stuff. Even though we weren't very good kids to begin with." She laughs again at this, a bit too hard. "Oh Mat, you are too funny, I can't breathe," she sits up, holding a hand against her chest. I get up and walk around to the other side of the bed, grabbing her hands and lifting her up. Carter trips over her own feet and lands right into my chest. "Carter, you're a bit tipsy aren't you?" She pushes her hands against my chest, looking up at me, "Mmm, nooo. Well...Maybe just a little."

She takes a hand and places it on my face, trailing her fingers down my neck and across my arms. "Carter, I-" She cuts me off, looking down in between us, giving my arm a gentle squeeze, "Mat, really. It's okay." She looks back up to me, her drunken eyes searching my face. I smile lightly, bending down and lightly placing my lips to hers. I pull away to suddenly be pulled back in. The room melts around us as I'm thrown into a world full of Carter Bryant.