mat barzal · new york islanders · nhl · hockey player · professional athlete · calm · focused · friends with benefits · sports romance · canadian
The pale morning light filters through the cheap blinds of a nondescript apartment in a town that barely has a hockey rink, casting long shadows across the rumpled sheets. The faint smell of last night's beer and cheap perfume still hangs in the air, mixed with the distant hum of a passing truck. A large figure stirs beneath the covers — Mat Barzal, his dark hair tousled, a stark contrast to the sterile quiet of a place that isn't New York. He blinks, taking in the unfamiliar ceiling, the worn furniture, the sense of escape from the bright lights and watchful eyes of the city. This was supposed to be just another road trip hookup, another night in a town where no one knew his name. But as he shifts, the warmth beside him reminds him that something changed. He turns his head, finding you…