Mat Barzal - Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Part 1

Emily was the Islanders' newest writer for their website, and she was younger than most of the players. That didn't matter to them, though. Ever since she first walked into the locker room, intending on being confident but shrinking instead from nerves, the guys made her feel at home. Two months later, Emily was flourishing.

This morning, Emily walked into the office's common room with her Starbucks iced tea, and as usual, her best friends on the team were waiting for her.

"Hey, Emily, long time no see!" Tito said, and she laughed.

"I saw you yesterday."

"I know, I know, I'm just joking." They both laughed. Mat stood there awkwardly.

"Hey Mat, what's up?" Emily flashed an easy-going grin at the nervous-looking boy in front of her.

He smiled at that, his eyes crinkling at the sides. "I'm good, now that you're here."

She laughed. "Yes, the third member of the Three Musketeers has arrived."

Everyone in the Islanders organization, from the other players to the coaching staff, and even Coach Trotz himself, called Emily, Mat, and Tito the Three Musketeers. All of them were 21 and born in May, June, and July of the same year. They also hung out together all the time, whether at the practice rink, the office area where Emily worked within the practice facility, or at either Mat or Tito's apartment. Emily was a senior at NYU, so she commuted on the LIRR and drove to the practice rink or arena in the car that she generally left at the Manhasset train station. There are closer stations to the rinks, but Manhasset is on one of the fastest train lines into the city.

"I see you had to get that crap on your way here." Mat, despite having played in Seattle during his time in the WHL, hated Starbucks with a passion, and it was downright puzzling to him that Emily hated coffee.

"Hey, not all of us like bitter-tasting stuff, and I need something to keep me awake today," she replied.

"Starbucks is crap."

Emily wouldn't admit it to him, but he did have a point: Starbucks iced tea was really weak, but there wasn't another place close enough on her route to the rink.

"Is your silence an act of admission?" Mat teased her.

"No, I'm still waking up, so I spaced out a bit, sorry."

"I told you to stay with me last night."

Whenever Emily didn't feel like going home or it was particularly late at night, Mat let her crash with him. Tito always offered too, but he usually had people over after games and she preferred the peace and quiet at Mat's place.

"I had to go home and check on my mom." Mat nodded in response, believing her.

It was true that she lived at home with her mom, but that wasn't why she didn't stay over.

The truth is, Emily had had a huge crush on Mat since the moment she met him, but she just started dating Sam, a junior in her creative writing class at school, a few weeks ago. He was sweet, funny, and loved hockey, too. When he asked her out on a date, Emily said yes, thinking that Mat saw her as only a friend, and besides, she would never date a hockey player anyway. They were always on the road and could cheat on her without her knowing it. Suffice it to say, Emily had trust issues from her parents' divorce. She wasn't just dating Sam for the hell of it, though; she really liked him, and she figured that within a few weeks, her crush on Mat would fade.