Author's note: Here's my new Tyler story! I know a lot of y'all read my other story for Sid but the people who read it for Tyler know that he doesn't get much appreciation in that story. Hopefully this will fill that void!

Her long, strawberry blonde hair fell past her 34C's, and that dress. That dress, he thought. The royal blue fabric clung to her curves, as she stood at the bar with her friends, sipping whatever her choice of poison was. She didn't look completely interested in what her friends were saying, but if she was going to follow them towards the dance floor, where they were headed now, then he would make his move.

She followed them.

He talked to his buddies, Freddy and Brandon, as they stood in the back corner of Guilt, hidden by the haze and lack of lighting, and they both agreed that their best friend wouldn't be leaving here without this girl tonight. She was gorgeous, her red lipstick was distracting, and her body was on point. He needed to have her.

The three of them made their way a long the outer walls of the club, watching the girls intently. The target was dancing with her friends, seemingly having a good time, when suddenly, she separated herself from the rest of the girls and went outside to apparently make a phone call. Concerned, the guys all looked at each other, wondering if she would be coming back or not.

"Don't worry dude, she'll be back. She wouldn't just leave her friends." Freddy said.

But she stood outside for a while and before any of them had the balls to go after her, she disappeared into a cab and out onto the streets of Boston.

"Avery, I'm just gonna go for a run, we can talk about this later," she said to her best friend, who was desperately trying to convince her to go out again tonight.

After breaking up with her boyfriend two months ago, she still hadn't figured out exactly how to be single, and last night didn't impress her much. Avery had promised her a great night out at Guilt last night and she ended up just wanting to come back home and curl up in her bed.

Her German shepherd puppy licked at her shin, as she sat there on the couch.

"You wanna go for a run?" she asked the pup, and he cocked his head to one side, his floppy ears goofily perked. She took that for a yes, changed, and leashed him up to run. It was hard running with a 9 week old puppy and she couldn't do her usual 5 mile loop around the main part of the city, so she stuck around her borough of Beacon Hill.

Equipped with her headphones and a water bottle, the pair set out. For an early-June day it was exceptionally hot, but it was still early so the heat hadn't reached its peak yet. Around the main border of Beacon Hill and the North End, her phone started vibrating in the armband holder it was secured in. Avery again.

"Yeah?" She spoke into the phone, breathing heavy, aggravated and juggling the leash, her water, and the little ankle biter running in front of her.

"Please come out tonight, it'll be so much better than last night and we can go out to dinner before we get ready and everything."

"I don't know, the more you push me into it the more I'm going to be miserable. I told you I'd think about it – Shit I gotta go," she said and hung up the phone quickly.

The leash she was holding was suddenly a tangled disaster with another, and the little shepherd was becoming fast friends with a chocolate lab 5 times his own size.

"Oh god I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she said to the guy holding the leash of the other dog as she took out her ear buds and wiped the sweat from her forehead. He was tall, a little scruffy, and sweaty from the run he appeared to be on as well. He looked strangely familiar the more she looked at him, but she crouched over and started untangling the knot while the dogs' wrestling only made it worse.

"Ha, that's okay, no worries. I'm Tyler," he said, and extended his hand for an introduction. She stood up so she wasn't awkwardly kneeling beside him as they exchanged names.

"Katie," she said, shaking his large hand. "And this monster is Bear. I'm sorry, he loves other dogs…"

"Marshall does too, it's all good." His smile was warm and friendly and his eyes lit up, thinking that she had no idea who he was. Or maybe she did.

"Looks like they're all untangled," Katie said, and stood up from returning to her task of untangling the dogs' leashes.

"Thanks, sorry about that."

"See you," she said, and she took off with Bear in tow, who was reluctant to follow after making fast friends with the chocolate lab. She didn't really have time to relish in the shocked expression on his face when Katie had nothing more to say to him before she took off. No interest in who he really was or what he did, and that never happened when Tyler approached women.

Avery would have died if she had just been in her position. Katie knew that who she met wasn't just any Tyler in Boston. It clicked with her that it was Tyler Seguin, forward for the Boston Bruins, when she saw that look in his eye; that devilish, 'don't you know who I am' look that he flashed her right before she decided it was time to remove herself from the situation. After that, she knew exactly who he was. He had quite a reputation in the city for being a party boy – a player – and she wanted nothing more than to keep running with her dog around her planned route and to get back to her apartment and shower. She was a Bruins fan, but seeing him off the ice and in a weird setting was enough to keep her from recognizing him at first, and her ex boyfriend played hockey, so she tried to avoid it nowadays.

As Tyler ran in the opposite direction with Marshall, he couldn't get over how familiar Katie actually looked to him. She barely gave him the time of day, and all he wanted to do was turn around and chase after her and her awkward looking pup. He was already smitten. Normally he never had a hard time picking up any girl, and he wouldn't have just introduced himself if he didn't have plans of possibly getting to know her.

He ran back to his place and filled Marshall's bowl with some cold water. The dog made quite the mess, splashing it all over the floor as he lapped it up, so Tyler set a towel down which Marshall thought was a good thing to chew on. Still a puppy, too. He kicked his shoes off by the door and chugged the rest of his water bottle before he walked to his room.

"Hey," the sleepy blonde in his bed said, as she sat up, not caring that her breasts were completely exposed.

"Hi," Tyler said uninterestedly, and he had almost forgot she was there. He figured she would have left by now, but it was only 11, which was early by Saturday standards.

"You wanna go again?" she asked playfully, and he honestly just wanted her to leave.

"No, I'm just gonna get in the shower," he said, as he turned on the water from the attached master bathroom and closed the door.

"I could join you," she responded, her voice raised so he could hear her over the rushing water, and the clicking of the lock on the door was enough to shut her up for now. She rolled her eyes and got the message, and collected her clothes that were strewn about the room.

He regretted calling her over last night. He was frustrated about letting the redhead slip out the door last night before he got the chance to get her name, or her number. He had known Ciara pretty much since he had moved to Boston, and the fact that she was a Playboy model was a plus at first, but he quickly realized that she was washed-up. Miss November 2011 was her only claim to fame and while she was well known around Boston, it wasn't necessarily in a good way. Tyler liked her because she always came over promptly when he called her, and while the tattoo of his number on her hip in Roman Numerals was a little creepy, he always treated her like she was what she was – an easy fuck, someone to numb the occasional sting of loneliness that worked its way under his skin. Plus she was friends with his friends so he couldn't just write her off.

He made sure to make his shower much longer than it should have been, and she was gone by the time he got out.

Katie spent the day cleaning her Beacon Hill brownstone, which she had just moved into a few weeks ago, after graduating from Boston University. She had too much space for just her and Bear, so Avery and their other best friend Megan were planning on moving in when the lease on their apartment was up at the end of the month. She had bought it and completely paid it off with some inheritance money from her grandmother when she passed away, and was working on doing a few repairs. She and her friends had already repainted the walls in each room and new appliances and bath fixtures came in about a week ago. It still had a few more things but it was coming together, and while she had more money and space than she needed, her best friends refused to move in unless Katie let them pay rent, which seemed fair enough.

She sat down, exhausted in the heat of late afternoon, and made a mental reminder to get the central air fixed before summer really hit. She didn't think much of her encounter earlier, and she actually forgot about it for the rest of the day. Megan called her around 6, wondering what the plan for tonight was.

"I guess I'll come out with you guys. I can't just sit around here all day," Katie said, finally giving in to her friends' pushy ways. They really just wanted her to come out and have a good time, and to help get her ex, Ryan off her mind.

"Oh good! We were going to go get dinner and then where do you want to get ready?" Megan asked, her tone definitely more cheery now that Katie had agreed to go with her friends.

"My place is closest I guess, where do you wanna eat?"

"We were thinking Neptune Oyster, is that good?" She knew Megan had been craving seafood all week from her constant whining about it so she didn't really want to argue, even though the prices were astronomical.

"That's fine, I'll meet you there."

She met Megan and Avery, along with their friend Cora an hour later in the North End. They ate their meal at the bar, which was tended by their good guy friend Jake, so at least they got a few free drinks to go along with their already pricey dinner. Once they were finished, they took the T back to the Bowdoin stop in Beacon Hill where they then walked to Katie's place, their bags of clothes and shoes and makeup in tow. They all crammed into Katie's spacious master bathroom, but four girls in there was a little much for two large mirrors to handle. Katie and Cora decided to get dressed first while Avery and Megan spent time painting their faces on.

Katie thumbed through her closet, unsure of what to wear. She wore her favorite blue dress out last night, and regretted wasting a good outfit on a pretty lame night. Around 12:30 she had started to feel really uncomfortable, and had to get out of the club. Something had just come over her and she couldn't stand to be there anymore, but she was going to make an effort tonight.

She came across a peach, one shoulder bodycon dress and figured that would probably be the winner tonight. The one sleeve was lacey so even though it was 80 degrees outside still, she wouldn't completely overheat. That, paired with some white wedges, was a perfect summer night outfit. It was a lot brighter than the brooding colors she wore last night, and might help lift her own spirits. Cora wore a tight white dress with mesh cutouts that accentuated her tiny, yet curvy frame. Her sandy blonde hair was already straightened, tamed from its naturally curly state, and her skin was tan after only a week or so of laying-out weather. Katie always seemed to envy Cora's appearance, but brushed the thought away as it was time to switch places with Avery and Megan.

"Dude, come on. Maybe she'll be there again tonight," Tyler said to Freddy, who was definitely reluctant about going out again tonight. Tyler was still desperate to find the girl that had completely mesmerized him last night, and wasn't about to go out to a club without his boys. He was hoping the mystery woman was in the same boat as him – maybe giving going out again tonight another shot after a kind of shitty one.

"And what if she's not there?" Freddy sat on the couch, his feet up on the ottoman while Tyler stood in front of him, blocking his view of the flat screen.

"Tab's on me, now call up the rest of the boys so we can get some grub, I'm starving."

Tyler, his grumpy roommate Freddy, Brandon and their friend Jesse all decided to grab some wings before they came back to Tyler's to get ready. Not that it was as big of deal as when girls got ready, but they had their own strange rituals.

Tyler's phone started vibrating on his bed behind him as he dug through his poorly organized closet. It honestly looked like a tornado had swept through there, but he didn't have the energy or skills to even attempt to tackle it. He turned around and found it in the messy folds of the navy blue comforter. He rolled his eyes and hit the lock button on the top of his iPhone, not interested in answering it.

"Her again?" Jesse asked, as he stood in the doorway of Tyler's room.

"Yeah, I can't get rid of her." Tyler usually got agitated when Ciara tried to get involved with his plans for the night. He liked her when he called her over, but when she tried to insert herself into the boys' night out, his skin crawled at just the thought of her presence.

"She's a dime, Segs. And she's not-so-secretly in love with you. Don't just keep her on the back burner all the time." Jesse liked having Ciara around, if it meant getting attention from a Playmate.

"I don't know, there's just something about her that I can't stand." Tyler pulled a fresh white t-shirt over his head.

"What, her huge tits?" Now Jesse was just fucking with him.

"Nah I mean… those are good. She's just not the kind of girl I actually want to take out though, you know?"

Tyler had thought a lot about what he wanted lately, and an actual girlfriend was starting to sound pretty nice. Ciara was busy enough with her 'modeling' and though they had been friends for a while and she had met his family and everything when they were in town, she wasn't the type of girl he wanted to bring home to Ontario. He could have any girl he wanted at the snap of a finger, but the types of girls that seemed to flock to him weren't what he was after, at least right now. And Jesse knew what Tyler meant about Ciara – she definitely wasn't the kind of girl to take out on a nice dinner.

"Don't get too caught up in finding a girl though. You've got a busy summer even though it's the off season and man…chicks can be down right crazy after you let them get comfortable around you." Jesse was speaking from experience, as a player for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. He knew what it was like to balance a girlfriend with the high demands of a season schedule. Tyler had a girlfriend in high school, but Ciara had been the closest thing he had to that since he had been in Boston, and it was pretty obvious how well that was going…

The girls went to Guilt quite frequently during their college years, and knew the bouncer well so they were able to avoid the line and get right in. They had pregamed a little at Katie's and they were all feeling it, but they went straight to the bar regardless. Avery got her usual cran-vodka, Cora a beer, and Megan settled for Tennessee Honey on the rocks. Katie never ceased to be amused by her friends, and their drink choices always fit their personalities. She ordered a Sex on the Beach and the friends downed their beverages before hitting the already-bustling dance floor.

Tyler and the boys came in through the back entrance and sat in one of the exclusive VIP areas while they scoped the crowd and enjoyed the bottle service. They often came to Guilt when Tyler found the time to actually spend a night out in the city but found themselves rarely leave the VIP area if word had gotten around that he was in the building. There was at least security to keep some of Boston's sleaziest away from him and his buddies so they could have a good time. But tonight seemed like a chill night as far as that went, and Tyler wanted to find the redhead from last night more than anything. The club was pretty small compared to others, and from their semi-hidden area, they had a view of almost all of the dance floor and one of the bars.

"Earth to Tyler," Brandon waved his hand in front of his face. He hadn't noticed that he'd completely zoned out of his friends' conversation as he scanned the crowd.

"Oh… sorry." He felt embarrassed that he was this preoccupied with a girl he didn't even know would be here again tonight.

"We're taking shots, wake up kid," Freddy said and handed him a shot glass. Jesse poured them all a round of Grey Goose from the bottle and they clinked their tiny glasses before throwing back the shots. Three more rounds like that and they were feeling warmed up. Tyler still kept a watchful eye on the crowd, while consciously trying not to be too obvious about it to his friends.

Katie and Cora took off to the restroom, already needing to break the seal. The amount of alcohol they had consumed was quickly catching up with their bladders, especially after they all had taken a couple rounds before heading to the bathroom. Avery and Megan hit the dance floor, but it wouldn't take them long to follow.

"I'm glad you came out with us," Cora said from the stall over. Katie came out and started washing her hands, and checked her make up closely in the expansive mirror above the sinks. Cora emerged behind her and did the same, then smiled at Katie in the mirror.

"Yeah, I just need to get my mind off Ryan." Katie had a weird feeling shoot through her body at the mention of his name.

"Don't even think about him. He's not here, and you're here with your best friends. Come on, let's go make sure Avery hasn't found a table to dance on…"

Katie laughed and followed Cora back out into the club. They wove their way through the crowd to where they found their other friends, who had already found and ditched guys to dance with. They were picky and didn't really ever want to dance with guys, and Katie could appreciate that. A girls night was always a good idea to her, and that's what she needed.

About 45 minutes passed and the girls had found themselves at the bar once again before returning to the dance floor. Katie's feet were killing her but she was still proud that she had at least made it this far into the night.

A few minutes later, Megan got her attention.

"Katie… look up there. He's totally staring." Katie followed the end of Megan's extended arm and pointer finger to the upper VIP section across the club, where she couldn't really make out a face between the lights and her lack of contacts. Her eyesight already wasn't great but the fog and strobes weren't helping.

"Don't point," Katie quickly corrected her friend. "And he's not staring," she finished.

"Uh, well he's coming over here."

Katie turned her back and pretended to be completely uninterested in who was approaching them. She was slightly curious, since they had been in the VIP section, but really didn't want anything to do with some creepy guy who had scouted them out. She danced with Avery and Cora until she noticed their eyes get wide, and suddenly Katie felt a top on her shoulder.

She turned around and was a little disappointed by who was trying to get her attention – the guy fro her run earlier with the chocolate lab that her puppy seemed to love. Of course she knew who he was, and her friends did too by the way they were childishly giggling and smiling beside her. They wanted a piece of him, but let him speak, interested in what he had to say to me – and why me, of all people.

"Oh…hey…" Tyler said, realizing that the girl he bumped into on the street in Beacon Hill while he was running with Marshall was standing right in front of him.

For a second he didn't think he had the right girl, but he thought hard back to earlier in the day to their awkward little encounter. To be honest, he hadn't spent much time looking at her face, and her lack of makeup and excess of sweat hadn't generated the image of perfection Tyler had pictured the girl from last night to be. But her hair was the same light marigold color, and her cute face matched the features Tyler had imagined on the girl. It didn't help that he had watched her from afar last night and he was surprised that this is who he had been watching, but he wasn't disappointed. At all.

"Hi," Katie said shortly, suspicious of his every move.

"Do you uh… wanna dance?" Tyler was awkward and actually nervous around a girl for once in his life, which quickly terrified him, but his friends were behind him and they gave him a little nudge before they started talking up Katie's friends.

"I'm all set," Katie said and turned around to talk to Cora, but she noticed that all of her friends were now matched up with big hunky blockheaded boys. His posse, she presumed. She turned back around to face Tyler, who stood there dumbfounded that someone had turned him down. What was he supposed to do next? What was with this girl rejecting him?

"I'm actually just gonna go," she said, and quickly high-tailed it through the thick mass of bodies on the dance floor and out the front door.

She really just needed some air. And while she thought she should give this guy a chance, there was something weird about it all, and she had heard all about Tyler Seguin from some of her other friends at BU. But this wasn't how he was described to her and she wasn't impressing her. She wasn't interested in whatever game he was playing, and if this is how he picks up girls, he really needed to step it up. What a pathetic attempt…

A few minutes later, the door opened beside her, and there he stood, quickly looking for her. She was around the corner leaning against the building, and she didn't feel like reveling herself quite yet. He pulled out his phone and started texting someone, so she decided to start walking in the direction of Beacon Hill.

Tyler looked up as he saw a bright peach colored dress walking in the opposite direction and started to jog after her, quickly catching up with her as she struggled to keep a fast pace in her wedges.

"Katie!" He said as he approached her, and she turned around, pretending not to know that he had followed her.

"Yeah?" She asked, and stopped. She was actually shocked he had remembered her name. They stood on the sidewalk, both awkwardly trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

"Come back inside. Let me at least buy you a drink." He was desperate to keep her at the club. He didn't want to watch her walk away again.

"I'm all set, I'm just going to head home." She started walking again and Tyler kept up, not missing a beat.

"Well let me walk you," he offered.

"It's okay, really. It's just a few blocks." Lie. More like a mile. But Katie was interested in what he would do next.

"Please let me walk you, you shouldn't be out alone in the city at night."

She started walking again and he walked beside her, his long legs keeping stride. Katie didn't say anything to him as they walked, and after they had crossed the street a few times and entered the park, Tyler was growing more anxious.

"I thought it was just a few blocks," Tyler joked.

"I mean, Beacon Hill isn't too far." Her words drunkenly confused him for a minute and he couldn't tell if she was taking him back to his own apartment in the Hill.

They kept walking until they finally approached Katie's brownstone.

"This is me," she said and unloced the door and pushed it open.

"Funny, I live a block that way," Tyler said in the direction of his place, which was really just around the corner.

"Cool. Well, goodnight," Katie said and started to close the door when Tyler caught it. She was nervous, and this guy could be a serial rapist or axe murderer for all she knew at this point. He had pretty much just followed her home.

"Wait, can I at least call you some time?" He was really desperate. He didn't want to watch her disappear behind the door and leave it up to chance when they'd see each other again. There was something about this girl that made it harder for him to walk away than he's ever experienced. And he wanted to figure out what that was.

"You know where I live," she said, the corner of her mouth turning up slyly, and closed the door.