The Party

2.1

Allie's POV

My alarm wakes me up the next morning, I hop out of bed excitedly because it's my first day of work. I slip on some black jeans and a pink blouse as I out some makeup on before straightening my hair. Once I'm ready I eat some breakfast before leaving the apartment and hailing a cab to get to the right location. The cab stops in front of a building, I pay the driver before stepping onto the sidewalk with my bag slung over my shoulder, I smile as I walk into the building. I walk up to the receptionist happily, "hi how can I help you?" the lady asks with a smile, "i'm the new graphic designer" I reply, "perfect I can show you your new desk" she replies while standing up, "sounds great!" I exclaim as I follow her. "Here you go, i'll let the boss know that you're here, she'll want to talk to you" she says as we stop at a bright orange cubicle, "thanks" I reply, "my name is Sarah if you need anything" she explains with a smile, "i'm Allie" I say, she waves and goes back to the reception desk. 

A few minutes later there's a knock making me look away from my computer, "welcome Allie, we're so happy to have you here" the lady who I assume is the boss says with a smile, "i'm so happy to be here, I can't wait to get started" I explain, "I'm Georgia, I run this crazy and fun place" she adds while holding out a hand, I stand up and shake her hand, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person" I tell her, she laughs, "likewise" she says. "What would you like me to start on?" I ask her, "I'm probably going to get you to learn some of the tricks we use here, i'll take you to Dominic and he can help you out" she replies, "sounds good" I exclaim as I follow her. We stop outside of a blue cubicle and a guy with wavy brown hair is sitting in front of a computer filled with illustrations that he seems to be editing. "Dominic, I have someone for you to meet" Georgia says making him turn to us, He smiles at me, "hey, you must be the new graphic designer" he exclaims, "yep that's me" I say while smiling, "Dominic show Allie the ropes and help her to understand what she's going to be doing" Georgia continues, "okay i'm on it" he replies, "perfect, i'll check up on you guys later" she exclaims before walking away and leaving us alone. "Pull up a chair Allie, we've got quite a bit to go over" Dominic says, I take a nearby chair and place it next to him. We spend the next few hours going over a bunch of things that I will need to know.

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I walk out of work and my phone rings in my purse, I take it out and hit the talk button,

Allie: Hello

Austin: Are you free tonight?

Allie: Austin?

Austin: yeah, are you free tonight? there's a game at TD Garden

Allie: yeah I don't have anything planned

Austin: awesome! i'll leave a ticket for you at will call

Allie: okay

Austin: see you in a few hours

Allie: bye

Austin hangs up and I roll my eyes at how ridiculous he is, I hail another cab to get back to the apartment. Once I get into my apartment I drop my bag on the floor and slip off my shoes, I slump on the couch and sigh in relief. Before I can get too comfortable my phone buzzes with a text,

Austin: you're all set, the ticket is under your name

Allie: awesome

I put my phone down and get off the couch knowing that I'll have to change for the Bruins game. I end up wearing a plain black hoodie and light wash jeans knowing that games are a casual affair. By the time i've eaten something and have all my things in my small purse it's 6:30 and puck drop is a 7:00. I run out of the my apartment and out of the building quickly flagging down a cab. The driver stops a block away from the arena because of the traffic, I thank him and pay him before stepping onto the sidewalk. I walk to the arena smiling as I watch all the fans cheering as they also make the trek to the rink. Once I get inside I spot the box office and I walk there knowing that I would find will call there, I go up to the correct window, "hi I have a ticket set aside" I say to the ticket attendant, "name?" she asks, "Allie" I reply, she flips through a box of envelopes and hands me one, "thanks" I reply before walking away and taking the ticket out of the envelope to see where I need to go. 

I finally find my seat which is right against the glass, as I sit there I think back to when I was in a similar position back in Minnesota when I went to my first hockey game to watch Nate. I bite my lip as I watch the players come onto the ice for puck drop, my eyes try to spot Nate's blond hair but my attempt is unsuccessful with no knowledge of his jersey number. "Hey are you Allie?" the girl next to me asks, "yeah, and you are?" I reply confused, "i'm Austin's girlfriend Kelly, he said you would be here" she explains with a smile, "it's nice to know that guy has a girlfriend" I say to her, "I heard you and Nate have some history" she replies excitedly, "yeah we do, but I don't think we can go back to that" I tell her sadly, "the way you were scouting out for him a second ago tells me otherwise" she explains, I blush and look down at my lap, she puts a hand on my arm, "does he know that you're here?" she adds, "not at all" I reply while looking at her, "you should surprise him, you guys should try it out again, you've both grown up" she explains, "that's just it, what if we realize we won't work together and that we've grown apart" I exclaim worried, "let's just see him after the game and see what happens" she tells me with a smile, I sigh, "I think you're right, it can't hurt to try" I say as I run my fingers through my hair. 

>>>><<<<

Before I know it Kelly has me waiting by the locker room to wait for Austin and Nate, I bite my lip nervously as I watch the doors of the room. Every few minutes a different player would come out, they would say hi to Kelly and give me a once over before leaving. "This is a horrible idea i'm so out of place" I say, "well it's too late here he comes" Kelly says while shoving me, I turn as I stumble and hands come to my waist, I look up and see Nate, "you're here" he says with a smile, "yeah, Austin got me a ticket next to Kelly" I reply shyly "I'm really happy you came" he explains while tugging me closer to his body, my hands land on his chest as I look up at him, "I wouldn't have missed it" I say, "go to dinner with me right now?" he asks suddenly, "I would love to" I reply with a smile. Nate lets me go and takes my hand in his, I smile at the gesture and Kelly shoots me a thumbs up when we walk by on the way out of the arena. 

We end up at a little pizza place sitting across from each other, we order a pizza to share, when the waiter walks away Nate looks at me. "What?" I ask, "I've missed you" he replies while smiling, "I've missed you too" I say while biting my lip as I look at him. The waiter comes back with our pizza and drinks, we thank him before each taking a slice. "So what have you been up to?" Nate asks, "well I finished at U Minnesota, but that's pretty much it, i've been pretty boring since my freshman year" I reply with a shrug, "any guys in your life since we ended it?" Nate adds, I swallow my bite and look at him, "no" I reply, "I focused mostly on school" I add, "any girls in your life since me?" I ask, "nah, no one could measure up to you" he replies while watching my reaction, I continue eating my pizza not knowing what to do with that information. We spend the rest of the time straying away from the topic as we talk about what Nate has been up to since he came to Boston.

At the end of the night Nate walks me to my door, "thanks for dinner, I had a great time" I tell him with a smile, "it's no problem, thanks for coming to the game, I love it when you cheer me on" he exclaims, "I can't cheer you on if I don't know the number on your jersey" I say sheepishly, "right, well it's number 10" he tells me, "i'll keep that in mind for the future" I respond as I bite my lip before looking down at my feet nervously. A hand comes to my chin and brings my head up, "you're still the same shy girl I met at that party" Nate explains while moving his hand to put a stray piece of hair behind my ear, "I beg to differ" I say confidently, "well you act the same way around me" he adds while taking his hand away from my face, "I can't deny that" I reply while getting lost in his captivating brown eyes.

 He goes to distance himself from me but I grab his shirt and pull him close before pressing my lips to his, I almost immediately pull away, "i'm so sor..." I start to say before Nate cuts me off with a kiss, he wraps his arms around my waist while my arms go around his neck, after a few minutes he pulls away, "i've definitely missed that" he tells me, I laugh at his statement, "yes and your laughs" he adds with a smile as he pecks my lips one more time, I tighten my hold on him not wanting him to stop, "well aren't you a needy one" he says with his forehead touching mine, I blush and look away from him. "Don't get me wrong, I love it but we should take it slow" he explains, "you're probably right" I say as I lower my arms from around his neck, "that being said, dinner tomorrow night?" Nate asks, "definitely" I reply, "awesome, I should go I have practice tomorrow, night Allie" he exclaims, "night superstar" I reply using the old nickname I had for him, Nate presses a kiss to my head, "I haven't heard that one in awhile, don't stop" he explains before backing away towards his apartment next door, "I don't plan on it" I reply as I stick my key into my apartment door as I watch him go into his.