Author's Note:
Hey! I'm finally writing again, which I am super excited about. This story has been in my head for a bit now and I decided to go ahead and write it. I hope you love it! Just a forewarning this is set in present time, so yes there will be cell phones and other modern technology. If you have any questions or comments please send me a PM I love reading them and responding! Happy Reading!
Part One
The Reunion
August
Pony
Steve and Soda barely look up as I open the door to the bar, Steve is too busy wiping down the shiny surface and Soda is occupied with the two girls who don't look old enough to drink at the other end of the bar. I pull back a stool and sit down, Steve finishes scrubbing a spot that I'm pretty sure only he can see, and looks up at me, "Pay is really in New York now?" He asks,
"For the moment, she's looking at Columbia as a potential medical school." I reply. I glance down at Soda when I hear the shrill giggle of one of the girls, "Him and Ashley broken up again?" Steve shrugs,
"Who the hell knows." All of us ending up in New York is still one of those weird cosmic coincidences, I had gone to college at Boston University on a hockey scholarship, and after my junior year got drafted by the Rangers. Steve, who had been looking for a reason to get out of Oklahoma after him and Evie had an epic breakup and ended their engagement, and Dally provided him the way out. Dal had a buddy he had kept in contact with who lived in New York who had become a pretty successful bar owner, he had a couple in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn and two in Queens, and he was looking for managers for the one in Brooklyn specifically guys who could handle any "unsavory" clientele that may come in. He had mentioned it to Dally who had always planned to head back East and Dally had asked Steve, they both jumped on the opportunity, the job also came with a fully furnished apartment over the bar. Steve and Dal rotate weeknights and they both work Friday and Saturday nights. Soda had come to visit, and within 48 hours had met a girl and declared that he was in love and moving to New York to be with her. Dally had gotten him a job at the bar, as a bartender and it is right up Soda's alley, he makes a killing in tips and girls literally line up to get in when he's working. To say the least, Ashley does not like this, and it leads to a ton of fights and at least two or three times a week Soda crashes on the couch upstairs and not in the small studio apartment he shares with Ashley.
"Try not to blow it with her this time." Steve comments, Payton and I were I guess what you would call high school sweethearts, we dated from the end of our freshman year until I got drafted. I'll admit the breakup had been my fault, I wasn't sure I could handle being a rookie in the NHL and giving her and the relationship the attention that they both deserved. Payton still had one year left at Penn and was trying to figure out where she wanted to go to medical school. It was a lot for both of us, I had made the decision, but she had gone along with it, wanting to do what was best for both of us. But as far as break ups go it hasn't been a typical one, we still talk every single day and neither of us have even considered getting into a relationship with someone else. Now that things are settling down; the truth is there is nothing I want more than to get back with her. She had taken the fall semester off, to try and narrow down medical schools. I know she had already been out to California to look at Stanford and to Atlanta where her grandparents were to look at Emory. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping beyond hope that she'd end up at Columbia or NYU. "Your mom must be thrilled." Steve adds smirking at me. It's not exactly a secret that mom had issues with any girl any of us dated, in her mind no one was good enough to date us.
"She's not thrilled with a lot of things at this point." I reply, to say mom is overprotective would be a massive understatement. She almost had a heart attack when I told her that I had picked BU and cried for a week. Soda moving to New York with zero warning and not gone over well either. Darry, after he had gone to school at University of Oklahoma on a football scholarship, had decided to stay there and take a position as a scout after a knee injury ended any sort of chance of going pro. I think deep down that was one of the reasons I pushed so hard to go pro in the NHL, doing it for both Darry and me. Mom is definitely going through empty nest syndrome or whatever it's called, even the other guys have become scarce. Johnny moved in with his girlfriend and her parents as soon as Erin graduated high school, and I imagine they'll be getting engaged sooner rather than later. He's currently working as a tattoo artist in Tulsa and Erin just graduated from Tulsa and is planning on going back for her Masters. I couldn't be happier for Johnny, Erin's family welcomed him in with open arms and have been the family that his own parents couldn't be. Two-Bit got a job managing the pool hall in town and has kept up his string of girlfriends. He dates them until he gets bored, or they get sick of his shit whatever comes first. Steve shrugs,
"She still hoping you end up with Madison?" I groan, Madison is the younger sister of Darry's girlfriend, mom met her once or twice and decided that we'd be perfect together. It didn't matter that I was already at BU and still dating Payton, mom had for all intentions tried to push us together when I came home for Christmas. It didn't go the way she wanted, and she still brings up Madison and how good we'd be together, now I just ignore it. Steve looks up as the door opens smiles and nods at me, I turn around and can't help but grin myself as Pay makes her way over to us.
"Sorry I'm late." She greets, before she wraps her arms around my waist pressing her face against my chest. I don't hesitate to wrap my arms around her, "My meeting at Columbia went over." She says pulling back looking up at me.
"Yeah, how did it go?" I ask as she releases me and we sit down at the bar, she pauses a second to lean over the bar to give Steve a hug, Soda turns and waves and smiles at her before going back to whatever conversation he's in with the other girls.
"I think it went ok." She replies, she turns until our knees are slightly touching and she leans forward resting a hand on my knee, "How are you?" She questions, she takes a sip of the drink that Steve slides to her, before he makes himself scarce giving us some alone time.
"I'm good." I tell her, I study her for a second. There's always been something about Payton she somehow manages to be innocent and sexy all at the same time, she's the definition of the girl next door. With her dark brown hair and bright blue eyes framed with dark thick lashes and the slightest scattering of freckles across her nose. She's petite I think she topped out at 5'2 if that, but her entire body fits her perfectly.
"I missed you." She says quietly, I pick up her hand and intertwine my fingers with hers, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"I missed you too Pay." I reply, "How long you here for?" I ask, trying not to sound too hopeful. She gives me a coy smile, and I feel something stir, something that I've ignored for way too long.
"So, you two back together yet?" Soda's voice says breaking the moment, I shoot him a look and Soda chuckles, "What I'm just asking? I'm curious." He tells me. "He's been miserable without you." He adds looking at Payton.
"Is that so?" Payton asks looking at me, I shrug running my hand through my hair, "I'm sure you have plenty of girls who are more than willingly to occupy your time." She says,
"He's basically become a priest." Soda continues, clearly determined to embarrass me. Payton raises her eyebrows at me, "Seriously Pone when was the last time you got laid?"
"As fun as this has been." I start standing up pulling Payton up with me, "We have dinner reservations." Soda smirks,
"If you get bored call me Pay." Soda calls gleefully as we walk out of the bar, I flip him off pulling the door open, and walking into the bustling streets of Brooklyn.
Soda
Pony comes back to the bar the next day with this stupid grin on his face, "You owe me $50." I yell back at Steve who has been busy doing payroll in the back office behind the bar. "I take it the reunion went well last night?" I question raising an eyebrow at him,
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Pony tells me he has never been a trash talker, especially when it came to Payton, that's how we all knew how serious he was about her. He kept their relationship completely private, no matter how much we egged him on he refused to talk about her. He's gotten even more private if that's even possible since he started playing in the NHL. He hates the media, I'm pretty sure the team has basically forbidden him to talk to anyone, his rookie year someone stuck a camera in his face on the street and Pony knocked the guy out. He mentioned a few weeks ago that he had to go through some sort of public relations course that is supposed to help him deal with the constant scrutiny of his now life.
"Right." I reply, rolling my eyes. "Are you getting back together at least so you quit being so miserable to be around?" Pony shrugs but there's something in his eyes that gives it all away,
"I'm gonna take that for a yes." Steve comments coming out of the back, I hold my hand out and he grumbles but hands over a crisp $50.
"You two really bet on Payton and I getting back together?" Pony questions, I shake my head,
"No, we bet on if you'd get laid last night, Stevie said that Payton would hold off and make you wait, but I knew that Curtis charm would come through." I reply, Pony shakes his head,
"You don't know if that happened." Pony starts, I hold up my hand,
"You realize you have a hickey on your neck, right?" I ask motioning towards where the collar of his t-shirt has moved slightly, he adjusts his collar,
"Fine. It happened." He admits rolling his eyes, "But we're not technically together." He adds Steve and I look at each other,
"You, Mr. I won't have sex unless I'm in a serious relationship had a hookup with your ex-girlfriend?" Steve asks, in that way Pony is not like any of us. Even Darry isn't above hookups, or he wasn't until he got serious with Avery. But Pony has never been that type for a hookup or one night stand or friends with benefits, it's just not him, so the fact that he slept with Pay without them being back together sort of surprises me. I also find it crazy that Payton is the only girl that Pony has been with, he had all sorts of chances to get with girls in college and especially now with being in the NHL, but he won't, and I know for a fact that he hasn't even so much as gone on a date with another girl. It's pretty clear that he's been waiting for Payton since they broke up.
"She's kinda irresistible." Pony says, "She wants a ring." He adds, Steve almost drops the bottle of vodka he's refilling,
"Like an engagement ring?" I question, so far none of us guys have gotten married yet, Steve had proposed to Evie but that lasted maybe six weeks before it all went to hell. He nods,
"Yeah." He pauses and wipes the side of his beer bottle with his finger tracing a line through the condensation, "Her grandparents offered her an apartment in Atlanta and her parents are pushing for her to go to med school at Emory." He starts, I know the fact that neither our parents nor Payton's parents have been totally supportive of them being together has bugged the shit out of Pony since they got together. Payton's parents have gotten better through the years, when they realized that what they had was real, but I know it still bugs Pony. It also speaks volumes about their relationship, they refused to give in to any outside pressures and stayed together.
"And what does she want?" Steve asks leaning forward resting his elbows on the bar, Pony shrugs,
"Us." He answers simply, "She wants us to be together."
"Do you not want that?" I ask, truth is I figured Payton and Pony would have gotten married way before now, they were always that kind of couple.
"I mean I want to be with her, and I want her here." He starts,
"Pony you're making no sense." I tell him bluntly Steve nods in agreement, "You've been in love with this girl since you were what fifteen, you stayed together in college, I get why you broke up with all the upheaval of you getting drafted, but we all know you've been wanting her back, you're not over her." I pause a second, "You're going to let her walk away again because of what? And since when are you scared of commitment?" I add.
"As much as I hate to admit this, but Soda is right." Steve comments,
"I'm always right." I tell him, Steve and Pony both roll their eyes. "So, what's the problem? Put a ring on her finger and go live happily ever after." I say. Pony sighs,
"I just don't want her to give up something because of me, if she really wants to go to Emory, I don't want to hold her back." I reach across the bar and smack him in the back of the head, "What the hell?" He says rubbing his head,
"She told you she wants to be here with you, does she need to stand on top of the Empire State Building and scream it. For as smart as you are, you are sure dumb sometimes." Steve tells him, Dal comes out of the back and looks at the three of us,
"I feel like I missed something." He says,
"Payton is back in town, she wants to get back together, but dumbass over here can't take the hint." I tell Dal, then I turn and look at Pony, "She's not giving anything up, you know Payton if she wanted to go to Emory she'd go, whether you cared or not. She came here to look at Columbia and NYU, you think she randomly picked those schools." I almost yell, "She picked them because your dumbass is here." Pony looks at me,
"She's hot kid, you could do a hell of a lot worse." Dal tells him in his typical Dal no nonsense way. "I got a date tonight, you good closing this place down?" He asks Steve who nods,
"Sure, no problem." Dal winks,
"Don't wait up." He says as he strolls out the door.
"How long is she in town for?" Steve asks as he starts polishing glasses, Pony thinks for a second,
"Couple more days, then she's going back to Philly to pack up her apartment." He pauses, "Then I don't know."
"Here's an idea kid." Steve starts, "She's off this next semester why not ask her to move in with you in that sweet ass condo you have while she picks a medical school and see what happens." Pony's eyes get big,
"You know what Steve for the first time you may actually be on to something." He says standing up, "I'll catch up with you guys later." He tells us before making a beeline towards the door. Steve turns towards me,
"$100 they are engaged within a year." He says holding out his hand,
"It'll be before the New Year." I tell him shaking his hand.