Mat Barzal Imagines

Gorgeous

Warnings: Two swear words, alcohol

You were currently at a club on Long Island watching Mat chat up several girls at once, and you wanted to scream.

It was already bad enough that you had fallen in love with your best friend, but he was also the most attractive player in the NHL. Life was cruel.

You were bitterly nursing your third Old Fashioned of the night when "Gorgeous" by Taylor Swift started playing. Hearing the song made you snap: enough was enough. You marched over to Mat and shoved the throng of girls surrounding him out of the way.

"Come dance with me!" you said while tugging on his arm. "I love this song!"

Mat laughed. "You're really drunk, aren't you?"

"Who cares? Dance with me," you begged him.

"Sure," he said, taking your hand and leading you to the dance floor. You made the poor decision to wear heels, which you had a hard time walking in while sober (and that was on a good day), so you tripped over your own two feet as soon as you made it to the center of the room. You never hit the ground, though.

"I've got you," Mat said softly, maybe more to himself than to you.

"You've always got me," you replied, and when you realized that you said it out loud, you blushed and bit your lip.

"God, stop doing that," Mat groaned.

"Doing what?"

"You know very well what," Mat said.

"No, I don't," you retorted.

"Fuck, (Y/N), it's just...when you bite your lip like that, it drives me crazy."

That was not what you were expecting to hear. You raised an eyebrow. "I drive you crazy?"

Mat's eyes darkened in the already low-lit club. "Always," he said.

You would never have done this if you were sober, but you said, "You like me."

Mat blushed. "I do, actually. I've liked you for years. Oh, God, what am I thinking?" he cut himself off, "You're not going to remember any of this in the morning. I should've waited to tell you until you were sober."

"It would take a lot of alcohol for me to not remember what you just said," you replied.

He didn't answer you, just looked at you for a few beats until you filled the silence: "I like you too, Mat. I've had a crush on you since, well, forever."

Mat smiled down at you. "We would make a pretty good couple, wouldn't we?"

"Definitely," you replied while starting to lean towards him.

Mat gently but firmly placed his hands on your shoulders. "Babe, we shouldn't do this right now. You're drunk."

"Who cares? Like I said, I'll remember this in the morning."

"I know, but I don't want our first kiss to be when you're plastered on the dance floor."

Your heart melted when you heard him say that. "Aw, that's so sweet!" you gushed, slurring a little bit. Fuck, this moment was going to make you both unbelievably happy and want to cringe for the rest of your life.

"Okay, I think it's time to take you home, princess. We'll talk about this in the morning."

"Princess, huh?"

He blushed. "Well, yeah. I can always come up with another nickname for you if you want..."

"Princess is perfect," you cut him off, and he wrapped his arm securely around your waist as he led you off the dance floor and out of the club.