Let Me Give Your Heart A Break

"Are you sure?" Brandon said with a sad look on his face.  He then took my hand and held it underneath the bar.

"I think so. I'm so sorry, Bran!"

"Don't be sorry, Jen. You're not the one who made the decision."

"It's just that I feel so bad about it.  The craziness with Nick, trade rumors, and everything."

"Jen, I don't want you to worry about it.  I want to be with you and nothing is going to change the way I feel about you."

"Really??" My face immediately lit up.

"Of course.  I finally have my chance with you. Why would I want to ruin it?"

Is this the way Brandon really felt about me? We would be apart for awhile, but my internship would be over right before Christmas.  Was I Pittsburgh bound? Without anymore hesitation I leaned in and kissed him. Then I could hear cheering and clapping while we kissing. Brandon and I then broke apart.  We then realized half of the team was swarming us at the bar. 

"FINALLY!" a drunk Chad LaRose yelled out.

"You're one lucky guy, Sutter!" Cam Ward said patting Brandon on the back.

"You're definitely right!"

The next couple hours were filled with lots of laughter and stories.  We were a family here in Raleigh no matter what happens.  It was almost closing time when Brandon and I decided to leave. Hand in hand we walked out together. 

"So pretty boy is still with ya! Way to go, Jen." I looked over and saw Nick leaning up against his bike. 

"Yes, he was here with me. What does it matter to you?"

"Brandon Sutter, the kid who is getting traded. You're just so smart."

"Leave her alone! Get back on your stupid little bike and go." Brandon said. We started walking towards his car.  The rest of the team started coming out of the bar.  Nick was still running his mouth.  Brandon and I finally made it to the car.  We could see that the guys were having a few choice words with Nick.  I love those guys so much.  Brandon turned up the music and before we knew it were were almost back to my house.  We pulled into my driveway and Brandon put the car into park. 

"Well, I had a really great time tonight.  Thanks for coming with me, Jen."

"No problem, I had an awesome time as well."

"Whatever happens with the trade,"

"Shhh... No more talk about the what if's." I said as I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Butttttt"

" Come on, let's put on a movie and try not to think about it."

"Okay, that sounds a whole lot better." Brandon said as he cut off the engine.  We walked up to the door and I unlocked it. 

"Go ahead and make yourself comfortable.  I'm going to get changed." I said handing him the remote.
I went into my bedroom and put on a pair of gym shorts and an old canes t-shirt. I went into the bathroom and washed off my makeup.  I made my way back into the living room.

"Hey there beautiful."

"Oh stop it."  I said laughing.

"What? It's the truth!" Brandon said pulling me onto the couch with him.

"Did you find something for us to watch?"

"Yep.  Wedding Crashers."

"Sounds great to me."

Brandon wrapped his arms around me as the movie began.  He was really sweet and kept rubbing my back.  I was so glad he picked something funny to watch to keep the trade off our minds.  Eventually the movie came to an end. 

"Do you want to stay?  It's pretty late and tomorrow is a Saturday."

"Would you like me to stay?" he said with a smile.

"If I didn't want you to stay, I wouldn't have asked." I said getting up from the couch.

"Well then I'll stay."

I put my hand forward and helped him get off.  We walked into my bedroom.  I climbed into bed getting under the covers.  Brandon took off his jeans and climbed in. 

"Goodnight, Bran."

"Goodnight, Jen." he said giving me a sweet gentle kiss.  Brandon pulled me in towards him as he held me tight for the rest of the night.

Because These Things Will Change

So there we were standing in the middle of my living room.  I could now believe that everything was perfect in my life.  Brandon was always right. He knew I needed to break myself free from Nick.  I knew I should have listened to him sooner. Brandon was the one that I should have been with all along.  I could see this all perfectly clear now.

"Do you know how long I have been waiting to do that?" Brandon said with a smile across his face.

"Umm I don't know.  Tell me." I said giving him another quick, cute kiss.

''Since the day I first had the guts to introduce myself to you."

"Aww Bran, that's really sweet of you." I said giving him a hug.  " We better get going.  We need to get you ready for your signing.

"That's right.  Do we have to go?"  Brandon said pouting his lips.

"Yes!  We can't just leave Biebs there by himself!"

"Oh Biebs.  He's something else."

We started walking out the door as we said goodbye to Louie and Candy.  We walked back to Brandon's car and made our way back to the arena.  After the quick car ride Brandon met up with Jeff Skinner for their signing appearance.  Back at the office, the trade rumor mill was going rapidly.  Reports that we were getting Jordan Staal were flying all over the place.  The only question was who were we offering.  Yes, it would be great to have two of the Staal's together, but I had grown so attached to all of the players and they were family to me.  I kept hearing Brandon's name getting thrown around along with some of our prospects. I had to tell him before he got the news.  My blackberry started ringing "Yeah" by Usher.  Ohhh shiii.  Brandon was calling to see if I was coming.

"I'm on my way out of the office, I swear!" I said laughing.

"Alright! Biebs and I were getting bored out here in the car." 

"I'll see you guys in a few.  I just have to grab a few things."

"Okay, see ya Jen!"

I grabbed my purse and the bin full of surprises the Canes had packed for the fans who came.  I also grabbed a couple waters for the boys.  I finally made my way out of the arena.  The boys were sitting there jamming to "Drunk on You".  Now this was going to be a fun ride to the signing.

"Ready boys?" I said getting into Brandon's car.

"We're as ready as we'll ever be!" Jeff said making his way into the backseat.

"Well let's get this show going"

Brandon pulled out of the parking lot and we were on our way.

"So, Jen.  What's this I'm hearing about getting Staal?"

"That's all I heard about once I got back to the office."

"Anything new?" Jeff asked.

"Well, nothing is set in stone yet.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.  I'm pretty sure this is going to happen though."

Brandon put on some old 90s songs as we were laughing and singing along.  I really wish I would have recorded this.  We made it to Dick's Sporting Goods for the signing with about 15 minutes to spare.  The employees were really great and helpful with getting everything ready for us.  I didn't have much to worry about with Brandon and Biebs saying anything out of hand at these type of things.  Other players, yes.  It's a miracle when we can get Biebs to say fuck.

Brandon and Jeff did a great job with the signing.  A lot of kids showed up and were very excited to see them.  It was so cute to hear them say, "We want to play for the Canes someday like you guys!"  I knew the guys appreciated it because I'm sure they did the same when they were young.  We were wrapping things up when I got a text from Eric Staal. 

drinking night @ jay's bar.  be there

"Hey did you get the text from Eric?" Brandon asked.

"Yep! Do you want to go? I think it'd be fun."

"Yeah! Would you go as my date?"

"Of course I would!" I said giving him a hug.

"Yeah Sutterrrrrr!" Biebs yelled from the background.

"You told Jeff what happened?"

"Of course. Biebs knew something was up!" Brandon said laughing.

We were on our way back to the arena to go back and get Jeff's and my car.  I was definitely looking forward to tonight.

"Well I will pick you up tonight around 9 if that sounds good to you." Brandon said walking me to my car.

"That sounds great.  I'm looking forward to it." I said with a big smile.

"Bye Jenn" Brandon said giving me a kiss.

"Bye Bran".  I said getting into my car.  Tonight is going to be sick.

I made my way home to get a shower and get ready for the night.  The shower felt so good especially with the North Carolina heat.  For dinner I put together a salad. I finally decided on this as my outfit for the night.

I really hoped Brandon would like it.  I painted my nails so that they would go with my outfit.  It was a little after 8:30 when I heard a knock on the door.  It was Brandon. All of a sudden I got butterflies in my stomach. I quickly opened the door and let him in.

"Hi Jen!"  he said giving me a kiss.  "You look amazing!"

"Thanks Bran!  You look pretty good yourself!"

"I'm really excited about tonight!"

"Me too!  I hope everybody shows up!'

"Shall we go?"

"I'm ready to go when you are."  Brandon opened the door for me and I locked it.  Jay's Bar was this local bar that the guys loved to hang out at.  When we arrived the place was filled.  Brandon didn't leave my side.

"Jen, what can I get you to drink?"

"A Labatt would be great. Thank you!"

A couple minutes later Brandon was back with our drinks.  Brandon and I were having a great time getting a little flirty.  Eric Staal managed to find his way to us with shots of Jack.  A few shots later and we were pretty lit.  Half the team ended up singing "Call Me Maybe".  We finally found two spots at the bar that were available.  Brandon and I grabbed the chairs really quick.

"So I know you aren't really supposed to saying anything, but can I ask you something?"

"Is it about work?"

"Yeah"

"What is it?"

"Who's going with the Staal deal? I know it's happening."

"Do you really want to know?"

"Definitely.  I just want to know."

"It's probably you." I said putting my head down.