This is my submission to the Valentine's Day contest, and the first piece of writing I've ever completed since college. There are hockey elements to it, and some parts that may be considered corny, but it's romance, right? Sometimes it's cheesy. Enjoy!
*
Casey removed her hat and shook the snowflakes from her strawberry blonde curls as she stepped into the dimly lit bar.
"Fuck, it's freezing!" she yelled out as she went about unfurling her scarf and stripping off her coat to reveal her Avalanche jersey. She smiled and waved to the regulars that were littering the bar as they cheered her apparel.
"Then move back South!" her boss Mac jokingly called out from the storeroom.
Casey laughed in response. It was a familiar exchange, one they had daily for the last three winters since she started working at the Wunderbar. "Fuck that, it's too hot!"
The Wunderbar was in the middle of LoDo and near the Pepsi Center, but it was such a hole-in-the-wall that they rarely got new patrons. Casey worked there nearly every night. She was so far away from her real family that Mac and the regulars made the little bar feel like home.
Mac's hearty laugh reached Casey's ears above the others. She scuttled around the bar and stuffed her coat in the back office. A resounding crash immediately followed, and Casey's heart jumped as she ran the short distance to the storeroom.
Casey struggled not to laugh as she found her boss on the floor, covered in heaps of red, pink, and white decorations with a look of utter shock on his face. She somehow managed to pull him to his feet before the giggles started.
"Oh shut up and help," Mac muttered as Casey's laughs continued. She could only manage a nod in response, but did assist him in getting the lurid decorations back in their box.
"Tell me we're not decorating for Valentine's Day again this year, Mac," Casey pleaded.
"I would, but I hate lying to you," he said as his eyes twinkled.
"Dammit Mac, the customers hate that shit! I hate that shit!" came Casey's irritated response. She heard a few of the regulars murmuring in agreement from their stools, though none of them spoke up. "This is a sports bar for God's sake!"
Mac just laughed and shrugged. "The old lady likes them. Put 'em up, Case."
Casey growled and begrudgingly took the overflowing box from her boss' hands before he retreated to the office. After refilling a few beers and turning on the pre-game show for the Canucks-Wild game, she started hanging garlands and spreading confetti. She rushed through her work, anxious for the game to start. Playoffs were still a couple of months away, but every point the Wild could keep the Canucks from amassing was nothing but good for her beloved Avs. The Avalanche and the Canucks had been switching places for top spot in their division for weeks.
She was so preoccupied in quickly getting the decorations up that she didn't even hear the door open. It was only when she heard voices and felt a rush of cold air that she realized they had more customers.
"Are you sure this is a sports bar?" one voice queried above the rest.
Casey laughed, unable to help herself as she continued working on one particularly irritating string of pink lights. "Did you hear that, Mac?" she yelled.
"Fuck off, Casey!" his voice echoed through the office door in response, setting off another round of laughter.
"I'll be with you guys in a sec!" she called to the still unseen customers. "Fuck!" she cried to no one in particular as one corner was just beyond her reach, even standing on a chair. Casey abandoned the lights and threw her hands in the air in frustration before jumping down to the floor.
"What can I get you guys?" she called as she turned around and looked toward the front door. Casey briefly registered a few familiar faces before she promptly fainted.
-----
When Jason first stepped into the Wunderbar with his teammates, he wondered if they had the right place. It looked like Cupid had exploded, covering every available surface with pink and white.
"Are you sure this is a sports bar?" he asked Kellan as they all huddled into the entry. He was the one who suggested going out to watch the game in the first place.
"Did you hear that, Mac?" a woman yelled out. That was when he registered a strawberry blonde hanging up decorations in the corner, her cute little ass just peeking out from underneath an Avs jersey. It took him a moment to realize it was his old one, before he had given up his number to Stratton so he could honor his father. Jason smiled, feeling a little flattered. He was a defensemen, and a damn good one too, but rarely got the same amount of press and fans as Stratton and other forwards.
He couldn't help but watch her continue to try to reach the corner furthest from her, mesmerized by her movements. Jason wasn't paying attention to the rest of the talk or laughter surrounding him; he was content just watching the woman continue to try to extend her arm out far enough to hang the ugly decorations.
He was about to offer her help when she threw up her arms in apparent frustration and hopped down from the chair in one swift movement. Jason saw her lips move but didn't hear a thing she said as he was struck speechless by her face. Holy shit she was beautiful.
He had just taken in her sparkling hazel eyes and pouty lips when Jason saw her collapse.
Thank God for his quick reflexes, because he barely cradled her head before it hit the floor. Jason heard somebody yell out for Mac, but he was more preoccupied with propping up the girl's dead weight against his chest so she wouldn't have to lay on the dirty ground.
An older man approached them with washcloth in hand. "What happened?" he asked, his forehead creased with concern. The man started gingerly pressing the towel to the woman's face and she started to stir.
"She just fainted," was Jason's response.
The man nodded and continued his work with the washcloth as the woman stayed cradled against Jason's chest. Jason watched in fascination as her eyelids fluttered open, revealing her beautiful eyes again.
"Good morning sunshine," the man with the towel teased.
"What the fuck happened, Mac?" she groaned.
"You fainted, genius," came his response as he stood up, satisfied that she was okay for now. "You alright? Do you want to go home?" he offered. The woman immediately shook her head no. "Then thank your knight in shining armor with some free drinks, huh?"
They both watched as Mac threw the towel on the bar and went back into the office.
Jason turned his gaze back to the woman as she started to realize that she wasn't lying on the floor, but rather in his arms.
"Oh, God," she mumbled as she immediately flushed with embarrassment.
"Jason will do," he responded as he grinned at her. The woman scrambled up and out of his arms.
"You're Jason LeBlanc," she almost accused as she stood up. She looked over to his teammates and flushed. "And you're Kellan Quaid and Rory O'Brian!" Jason watched his teammates smile and wave at her. "Pinch me?" she squeaked and the bar swelled with laughter.
"I would, but I don't think you'd appreciate where," Jason teased in an undertone as he raised an eyebrow. He watched the woman blush again and felt some blood rushing to his groin. Holy shit.
"What can I get you guys?" she offered as she scrambled behind the bar, seeming desperate to create some space between the two of them.
Jason and the other guys ordered their drinks and sat in a booth along the wall. He couldn't help but watch her move as she poured their drinks, mesmerized. Only a few minutes later she was handing them full glasses. But right as Jason was going to start talking to her again, she scurried back to the bar, flushed. Jason smiled to himself. She couldn't dodge him all night.
-----
Casey was beyond mortified. Why did she have to faint in front of three of her favorite defensemen? She felt Jason LeBlanc's eyes following her as she continued putting up lights, probably waiting to see if she would faint again. Any other day, she may have sat to talk with the players, discussed their playoff chances, rehashed their last game, or complimented their brutal hits. But no, she had to go and fucking faint. Casey would have buried her face in her hands if they weren't full of those stupid Valentine's Day decorations.
And so she busied herself around the little bar, trying to avoid any eye contact or eavesdropping on their conversation. Finally the box of red and pink was empty, and Casey could retreat back to the safety of her bar to watch the game.
She knocked on the office door to alert Mac that the puck was about to drop and silently replaced the hockey players' empty drinks with full glasses, avoiding their eyes as she did. Still she felt the weight of LeBlanc's stare as she settled in behind the bar for the first period.
The Wild won the initial face-off and Casey felt herself relax a little. This was familiar territory. Everything faded to the background as she immersed herself in the game, screaming at the refs for bad calls, loudly berating the players for fumbled passes and missed power play opportunities. It was quickly becoming a defensive game with few shots on goal; as a result, the score was 0-0 going into the first intermission.
Reality returned and Casey made her rounds at the bar, pouring beer and mixing drinks for her regulars before eyeing the Avs in the booth. She sighed at their near empty glasses and went over to serve them another round.
"If you're that hard on the Wild, I'd hate to hear you when we play," Kellan Quaid teased as she set their drinks on the table. Casey laughed, unable to help herself.
"Well, it hasn't been that bad lately," came her retort before she could process what she was saying. The guys all laughed along with her as Casey's cheeks turned pink. She avoided LeBlanc's stare but couldn't help but register him reaching back for his wallet. "On the house, boys," she threw over her shoulder as she returned to the bar.
Casey heard Jason say 'boys?' and laughed all the way back to her stool.
