anthology//NHL

10. Jeff Skinner

Warnings: some cuss words lol what did you expect, it's me?

***

"Maybe it's time to break up..." I said, trying hard to hide the shakiness in my voice.

"(Y/N)...you really don't mean that."

I sighed. "Honestly, I don't know, Jeff. I need time to think about the future. We clearly want different things."

"Just because I don't want to get married and settle down right now doesn't mean I don't want to eventually!"

"Exactly. I'm ready to settle down, get married, buy a house with my husband, have kids! I understand if that's not what you want, but you need to let me go."

"So just like that, it's over?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry."

---

THREE MONTHS LATER

"A tough loss for the Carolina Hurricanes tonight-."

At the mention of his team, I reached for the remote on the coffee table and scrolled through the channels before settling on a movie that was already halfway through. Not that I needed to pay attention to what was on tv, I just needed some noise to play in the background while I searched through apartments on my laptop. For the past three months, I'd been spending all my time working and hanging out in my apartment, something my roommate didn't appreciate when she brought a guy over. I figured that with the money I had saved up, I could afford to move out but every available apartment seemed to be a high-end bachelor pad.

"I'm going out, you wanna come with?" my roommate asked, appearing in the hallway in a black lace dress. "I'll wait for you."

I shook my head. "I'm not feeling great, maybe next time?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're never gonna feel better if you just sit here."

"Trust me, I'm not gonna feel better with drunk guys grinding on me."

She shrugged. "Alright. I'll be back late, don't freak out if I come stumbling in at three a.m."

I focused my attention back to the apartment listings. Frustrated with the fact that all of them were way out of my price range, I closed my laptop and threw it aside on the couch.

I closed my eyes for a brief second, opening then when I heard a rushed knock on the door.

I stood up and walked over to the door, figuring it was my roommate who had forgotten something.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

I opened the door and nearly slammed it shut when I saw him standing in front of me.

"Can we talk?"

I tried to speak but my brain was completely frozen.

"Please, (Y/N)."

I found myself stepping aside and letting him in.

He sighed. "I shouldn't have showed up like this, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," I replied softly. "Is everything okay?"

I closed the door and lead him to the living room.

"I miss you."

My breath hitched as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into his chest and settling his head on top of mine.

"Jeff...I-"

"I'm a fucking mess without you, (Y/N). I know I fucked everything up and I'm sorry that I put you through so much shit but I've realized just how much I need you."

I should've pulled away and asked him to leave. But in his arms, I found the comfort I had been missing for the last three months.
"I love you, Jeff. But we can't be together if you still feel the way you felt three months ago."

He slowly pulled away, a small smile on his lips. "I don't feel the same way."

"Then how do you feel?" I asked.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to come home after a loss and know that you'll be there to make me feel better, and come home after a win and celebrate with you. I want to wake up beside you, knowing that you're mine and that we have a future together. I want to buy a house with you and raise as many kids as we can handle with you. I want you."

I gasped as he reached into his pocket and dropped down to one knee.

"Marry me?"

***
Part two, maybe?