**** Still Mon 6/21 ****

Zanna sat on her couch that evening with a glass of wine in one hand and the TV remote in the other. She flipped through the channels until she came to the Mariners game. They were playing in Houston.

"Carlos Correa," she said aloud to herself, trilling the R's in his last name. "Looking real good in those pants…" She was continuing to admire the Houston Astros' short stop when her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey girlie."

"Hey Maura. What's up?"

"Just checkin on ya. Hoping you would go on a date with me next weekend."

"A date?"

"Yeah… Okay, a double date."

"With who?"

"You know that Starbucks guy I told you about? The guy named Dominick?"

"Yeah."

"Well he finally asked me out. We've been talking on the phone and texting a lot and I told him that I'd go out w/ him on Saturday as long as he didn't mind that my bestie and her guy were coming along…"

"Great plan… except who is my guy?"

"I don't know. Whoever you want! You work with like 30 or 40 guys right? Some of them are bound to be single!"

"Well I know some of them are… but like you said, I work with them! I don't wanna ask out someone that I work with. What if they say no and then it's all weird?"

"What if they say yes then you get married and live happily ever after?!"

"Right," Zanna chuckled.

"Come on, Zee," Maura whined. "Just ask someone to hang out with you. It doesn't have to be a date per se." Zanna sighed loudly and her BFF knew she was swaying her.

"Okay. I'll see what I can do."

"Yay! I'll call you in a couple of days and see who you picked!" The girls said their see-you-laters and hung up.

**** Wed 6/23 ****

It was now Wednesday and Zanna knew that Maura would be calling her that night to harass her about who her weekend date was going to be. She sat at her desk in her office and went through the guys' photos on her laptop. She stopped on Nick… then Artemi… then Patrick.

"This is ridiculous," she whispered to herself. Her train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. "It's open!"

"Hey Zee!" Brad Marchand walked in and smiled.

"Afternoon Marshy! What's up?"

"Big Zee is having a barbecue this Saturday and we wanted to make sure you got your invite. Here's the address." He handed her a piece of paper.

"Question…"

"Shoot."

"I'm supposed to go on a double date with my friend this Saturday… do you think Zee would care if I just brought her and her date? We would bring drinks and snacks, of course."

"He wouldn't care at all! Who's your date?" he asked, reaching into the jar of M&Ms on her desk and helping himself to a handful.

"I don't exactly have one."

"How come?"

"I don't know. I don't really know any single guys that I'd wanna ask out that I'm sure like me back."

"If I were single, I'd be down… But what about Kaner or Artemi or somebody?"

"Yeah, I don't know… Did you need anything else?"

"Nope. I'll let Zee know that you plus two are coming!" He turned to leave but she stopped him.

"Marshy…"

"Yeah?"

"If you were single, you'd be interested?" He smiled proudly and nodded. "Thanks." He left and she smiled to herself. "I can do this."

As she was getting ready to leave for the evening, Artemi spotted her locking up her office. He approached her and smiled.

"Hello Zanna."

"Hi Artemi. How are you?"

"Good. How are you?"

"Great, thank you."

"Good. I am just asking if you are to go to Big Zee's house on the weekend."

"Yes. I will be there!"

"Oh good. Is funny that we have Big Zee and Little Zee. Little Zee is you," he chuckled.

"That's kinda funny," she smiled.

"Yeah. So… You are leaving for now?"

"I am. Are you leaving too?"

"Yes. I can walk you to your car?" She nodded and he happily escorted her out to the parking structure. "What are you doing tonight?" She opened her mouth to answer but she was interrupted.

"Zanna!" Patrick called and trotted over to them. "Hey Artemi."

"Hello."

"Hey Kaner. What's up?"

"Wondering if you wanted to grab a drink tonight."

"Oh! I wish I could… I have to finish up the article we're submitting to The Hockey News tomorrow."

"No problem. Maybe tomorrow night… We'll talk about it tomorrow?"

"Okay. Night, Kaner."

"Night guys." Patrick walked away and Artemi lost any ounce of courage he'd tried to muster to ask her out.

"Well," she smiled at Artemi. "I guess I should go."

"Okay."

"Was there anything else you needed?"

"Uh, not really. Maybe when we go to Big Zee's house on the weekend, we can say hello."

"Of course! I'll look forward to seeing you there."

"Good," he let out a sigh of relief. "See you tomorrow."

"Good night Artemi."

"Good night."

**** Thurs 6/24 ****

Thursday after work Patrick Kane, Zanna and a few of the other guys went out for drinks at a local brewery. They had a brewery patio all to themselves. Artemi thanked his lucky stars when he was one of the guys that was invited.

"Marshy is Katrina coming?" Looch asked.

"Yeah. She should be here any time now. Will it be nice not to be the any girl here anymore, Zee?"

"I don't mind," Zanna chuckled. "I like hanging out with you guys."

"Zanna, try this one." Ryan sat down next to her and set his beer glass in front of her. "It's an IPA." She took a sip and handed it right back. "You don't like it?"

"It's a bit much for me. I'm more of a blonde beer person."

"See, she digs blondes," Patrick slung his arm around her shoulder and grinned at Ryan who then rolled his eyes and walked away. She looked over at Artemi who looked longingly back at her. She was, by now, sure that he was interested but she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go there. Her cell phone rang breaking her eye contact with him.

"Hey Maura. What's up?"

"Are you at Ten Barrels?"

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"I'm here but I'm not on your special list so they won't let me onto your patio. Can you come let me in?"

"Of course!" She stuffed her phone back into her purse and excused herself from the guys. "Hey girlie!"

"She okay to come in?" the security guard asked and Zanna nodded, holding her hand out to her bestie.

"I'm so glad you're here. But please don't try and fix me up with anyone while you're here okay?"

"No worries, Zee. I totally get it. I'm just here to observe… then I'll tell you who I think your guy is!" She left Zanna behind and made her presence known to the group of men before her. "Hey guys! I'm Zee's BFF, Maura. How's it going?" Zanna took a deep breath and followed her.

Maura spent the next 20 minutes examining these guys, their habits and mannerisms, and how they looked at Zanna if they looked at her at all. It didn't take her long to figure out that Patrick was interested and that Artemi was also interested but maybe too shy to say anything. Ryan was obviously interested in Maura but she could tell that he was probably super sleazy.

Meanwhile Artemi was starting to feel trapped. All he wanted was to have 30 minutes alone with Zanna. He wanted to just sit across from her and talk to her… alone. How was she supposed to get to know him on a personal level if they could never talk uninterrupted? He sighed to himself, finished the rest of his beer and headed toward the exit. Zanna needed to use the restroom so she walked that way as well.

"Are you leaving?" she asked him.

"Yeah. Just want some quiet."

"Are you okay, Artemi?"

"Yes. Just done here." She could tell that something more was going on but she wasn't sure it was her place to press him for more info. "You are leaving too?"

"I was just gonna run to the restroom…"

"Oh." Bummer.

"If you can wait a second, I'll walk you to your car… if that's okay."

"Really?" his smile returned. "I will wait." He walked downstairs with her and waited outside the restroom door for her. "Better?" he asked upon her return.

"Much," she chuckled. "You ready?"

"Yes." He held the door open for her then followed her outside. Maura could see them crossing the street from the patio. She knew. How can I help facilitate this? She wondered to herself.

"Maura," Patrick began. "How long have you known Zee?"

"Um, like 5 years."

"She seems pretty great."

"That she is!"

"So… you guys must talk about everything, huh?" She could tell he was fishing for intel. This could be awkward if Zanna was into Artemi but Patrick was into her. "Has she mentioned any of us to you? I mean work related stuff… or otherwise?"

"Yeah. She talks about you guys. I mean some of you."

"Anything about me?"

"If I remember correctly, you are the 'cute blonde with the amazing personality.' Great sense of humor? Would that sound about right?" He stood up straighter and beamed with pride.

"I guess that could be me. That's pretty cool." While Patrick was feeling pretty damn good about Zanna's thoughts on him, she was silently walking Artemi to his car.

"Artemi, are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah. A little tired."

"Okay. Well, I'm glad you came out tonight. I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?" He smiled and nodded. She put her arms around him and squeezed him for a moment. "Good night Artemi."

"Good night Zee."

By the time she returned to the patio, Ryan was all over Maura. Maura was leading him on mercilessly but Zanna knew there was no way in hell he had a shot with the flirtatious brunette.

"So you're coming to the barbecue on Saturday, right?" Ryan asked her.

"Yeah… with my date!"

"Me?" he gave a cocky smile.

"No," she laughed. "But thanks for trying!" She walked away and he finally figured it out. "Hey Zee. Your friend leave?"

"Yeah. Said he was tired."

"Bullshit. Zanna, he left cause he feels threatened by the blonde with the smile over there."

"Patrick?"

"Yeah. Puppy-dog-eyes-guy is into you but doesn't know how to tell you. He can tell that Patrick is into you too… and that Patrick is all too happy to pursue you and probably get you."

"Maura, are you sure about all that?"

"Oh yeah. Keep an eye on everything on Saturday. You'll see it."

**** Sat 6/26 ****

The team, crew and office staff had Friday off and it was a much needed day of rest. The guys as well as everyone who worked with them had been working hard. Saturday would be the day that many of them would get together on a social level at Zdeno's house for the barbecue.

Zanna rode with Maura and her date, Dominick. Maura had hoped that Zanna would get a ride home from Patrick or Artemi. She knew that love was going to be in the air for her bestie and she hoped it would be tonight!

"This the place?" Maura asked.

"Right address and tons of cars… I see a spot over there. If you circle around the block, you can park there." Zanna directed her to an empty spot. The three of them walked up the front steps and Zanna rang the doorbell. While they were waiting for someone to answer, Patrick came trotting up the sidewalk toward them.

"Zee!"

"Oh hey, Patrick!" He caught up to her on the porch and hugged her.

"How are you guys?"

"Great! Good to see you again Patrick," Maura replied. "This is my date, Dominick. Dom, this is Patrick. He works with Zanna." The guys shook hands just as Zdeno was opening his front door.

"Hey guys! Thanks for coming! Come on in… food and drink and people are in the back yard. Make yourselves at home."

"Thank you!"

"Yeah, thanks Zee." The group made their way to the back yard and began to mingle. Zanna looked around but didn't see Artemi anywhere but she did see Brad Marchand who had become one of her closer friends.

"Hey Marshy!" she hugged him hello.

"Hey Lil' Zee! Glad you made it!"

"Me too! Where's Katrina?"

"She's on vacation with her family."

"Cool. Have you seen Artemi by chance?"

"Not yet." He saw the subtle disappointment on her face. "Oh, you like Artemi, don't ya?"

"I like all you guys!" She smiled, trying to avoid his real question.

"Nah, you know what I meant… You like him." She shrugged and looked away.

"I don't know. He's sweet and cute and a good guy."

"But Patrick likes you… Right?" She nodded. "Well, do you like Patrick back?"

"Yeah. I mean he's got a fantastic personality and sense of humor. He's pretty cute too… killer smile."

"Well, no pressure either way right?"

"Right."

"So just take it as it comes, Zee!"

"Okay! Thanks Marshy." As the afternoon tip-toed toward evening, Patrick and Zanna became closer. He stayed by her side as much as he could and she allowed it. Artemi hadn't showed up but she was no longer worried about it. If she was meant to get together with him, he would have been there.

Frank and Ryan, who each had money on who Zanna's first would be, watched her with Patrick all evening.

"Hey Pasta," Frank grabbed teammate David Pastrnak. "Who picked Patrick? Besides Patrick?" He pulled his phone out of his pocket to look.

"Patrick, like you said… and Mikko and Tyler."

"Looks like they're gonna be right, eh?" They all looked over at Zanna and Patrick as they stood close to one another talking and laughing. Maura and Dom had taken off around 9 o'clock leaving Zanna in charge of her own way home.

"I'm gonna use the bathroom then grab us a couple more drinks," Patrick smiled at her. "Be right back."

"Okay," she smiled back. Once he disappeared into the house, she approached her male BFF again. "Hey Marshy. Can I borrow you for a sec?"

"Sure." He excused himself from the guys he was hanging out with and followed her to a more private spot. "What's up, mama?"

"Would you be able to give me a ride home? I mean, not right now but whenever you're ready to go?"

"Not riding with Patrick?"

"I get the feeling he thinks something is gonna happen between us tonight and I'm just not ready for that…" He saw the pleading in her eyes.

"Yeah, of course I'll give you a ride home. Prolly leave in the next hour or so. Is that cool?"

"Perfect. Thanks Marshy."

"You got it."