“How’s it going, sweetheart?”
Sarah was distracted by the pair of people flanking her, so she hadn’t noticed Reid standing outside the doors waiting for them. She looked adorable wearing a tight-fitting shirt under her black jacket with the team logo across her breasts. When she’d texted him and asked to see if he could pull any strings to get her parents in early, he didn’t mention that he’d meet them at the door.
He wanted to have a few minutes to see what the family dynamic was like before putting himself in the middle of it. As he expected, Sarah was being talked at and didn’t seem like she was actually part of the conversation going on around her.
The way her eyes widened and her face instantly transformed from pretending to be interested to the pure joy that registered when she heard his voice broadened Reid’s smile. He’d waited until they were almost to him before interrupting, which meant she didn’t have far to walk to wrap her arms around him. Something inside his chest tingled when he felt her shoulders un-tense just from being in his arms.
“What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be inside doing guy things.”
Reid squeezed her tight and lifted her up so her feet barely touched the cement below them. Nico liked to tease him that eventually he’d get tired of spending time with Sarah, but that seemed impossible based on the fact that his heart jumped out of his chest every time he saw her.
Kissing her temple, Reid laughed as he put her feet back on the ground. He tucked a strand of hair the wind caught behind her ear and let his hand curve around her neck.
“I’m worried what guy things you think we’re in there doing pregame. I can assure you we aren’t drinking beer and playing poker, and I’m pretty sure no one is going to miss me jumping around as I try to loosen up.”
“I’m sure everyone misses you, but that’s not why you’re out here. Since you haven’t met me pregame before, I’m guessing you want to be introduced.”
“Or I just missed you, which is true, but I figured you finally told them about us if you brought them to a game.”
With Sarah right there in front of him, Reid hadn’t paid attention to her parents’ reactions to their greeting. He’d made note that if her mother was any indication, Sarah’s looks weren’t going to be fading anytime soon. The woman looked like she could’ve been Sarah’s older sister, but he knew she was an only child.
Her father showed his age a little more. Mostly because of the gray in the bushy beard that looked to be warm in the late afternoon chill. His chest puffed out a little when he noticed Reid looking over at him. Reid had never done the whole meeting the parents thing, but he expected a level of protectiveness.
“The question of where I go at night evidently needed to be addressed.”
“And you’re all about showing rather than just telling. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Lewis.” Reid reached out and shook the man’s hand and then turned to his wife. “Mrs. Lewis.”
Both parents squeezed his hand in what he assumed was a warning or show of strength in general. Reid worried about squeezing too hard, but at the same time he didn’t want to seem weak. He settled for his it’s-nice-to-meet-you slash I’m-the-guy-who’s-going-to-one-day-marry-your-daughter handshake. Obviously, they couldn’t pick up the latter from just the handshake, but he did what he could to make sure he indicated he wasn’t going anywhere.
There was skepticism on both of the Lewises’ faces. Sarah hadn’t filled Reid in on what all she’d told her parents about them. Since no one had come out and said they knew Reid and Sarah were a hot ticket item, he had to wonder if he broke the news by mentioning there was an us.
“Mom, Dad, as I told you on the way here, Reid is my new boyfriend. I’m sure you have tons of questions, which you’ve more than likely already asked ten times, but Reid does have to get ready for the game, even if he decided to come up here and slack off for a few minutes. I’m expecting no less than a hat trick from him tonight, so he needs to get his game face on.”
Sarah had turned away from Reid so she could address her parents, but quickly turned back to show him her evil little smile. Usually the smile led to them losing their clothes as quickly as possible, which to him sounded like a great pregame warm-up. Knowing Sarah’s willingness to feel their bodies connected, Reid suspected she wouldn’t balk at the idea, but she was entertaining guests and they more than likely wouldn’t appreciate being told to hang tight while their daughter was busy being mauled by Reid.
“A hat trick, huh? I’ve had three of those in my career, but it’s been a while. I guess that means I’m due. So, do you have your tickets or do you need to still take care of that?”
Reid understood why Sarah didn’t want to sit in her usual spot with her parents tagging along. He could get them all in without a problem, but Sarah had explained in her text they weren’t ready for the wives and girlfriends club. Sarah had bonded with a friend or two, but had mentioned that unless you had a ring on your finger or had been dating a player for over a year, most of them didn’t think you were going to last long enough to bond with.
Knowing how people were easily traded from team to team and sent down to the minors off and on, Reid could understand trying to find stability in the extended family unit a lot of the women had. His hope had been that Sarah would find someone to bond with and that had happened, so he was fine letting her figure out what was best in that regard.
“I’ve got some pretty digital tickets on my phone that we’re going to use. I take it with you out here, we’re going to be fine going in now?”
Sarah waved the phone she held in her right hand in front of his face. The phone was off, so he didn’t see the fancy tickets she mentioned, but he figured she had things taken care of.
“Yup, I got your names added to the list just in case I missed you. Before I head back in to do my guy things, I wanted to verify dinner arrangements for tonight. I assume we’re going to need a table for four instead of a quick hop through a drive-thru.”
“When you order half the menu, it’s not a quick hop,” Sarah said as she jabbed a finger playfully into his ribs. “I wouldn’t mind sitting down to dinner tonight, but it’s usually pretty late before we get that far. Are you guys up for a late night?”
Sarah turned so she could ask her parents the question. Reid looked up to try to get a read on the two. Warm and fuzzy feelings weren’t coming from either parent. The sense that they had been fans of Aaron was pretty strong based on the fact that neither one of them had said anything and there was no jump to have him call them by their first names. They either liked the ex, or were worried she was making another mistake.
“We may need to play that by ear,” Sarah’s mom said hesitantly. “Sarah mentioned the game wouldn’t be over until after nine, so I assume that means with dinner thrown in it would be well after midnight before we got home.”
Reid couldn’t argue with the math. If they were cool grabbing fast food, they could maybe make it home by eleven, but sitting down to eat food that didn’t come in a wrapper would take some time. Reid wanted to work on getting them to warm up to him, and that probably meant keeping them up past their bedtime wasn’t a smart move.
“I’m sure we’ll get it all figured out before the game’s over. So, you walking us in? I think I need to go find one of those spiked apple cider drinks they’re always promoting during intermission.”
Sarah posed it as a question, but at the same time she hooked her arm through Reid’s and spun him around so they were facing the door. Reid didn’t know anything about the drink she mentioned, since he was off in the locker room during the intermission. He had sensed she was frazzled, and the admission that she was already looking for a drink led him to believe her afternoon hadn’t gone smoothly.
They walked through the doors and through the metal detectors before Sarah got a chance to flash her tickets. Reid hadn’t asked where she was sitting. He figured he’d know soon enough because it was hard to miss her red locks up in the stands. Whether she noticed it or not, he always sought her out during warmups and when he came on and off the ice between the periods.
There was a constant need on his side of things to verify she was okay. She didn’t seem to think anything was ever going to come of the warning about Aaron stalking her, but Reid wasn’t willing to bet her safety on that. He knew what it felt like to be in love with her, and the potentially crazy lengths he’d go to in order to keep her by his side. Not hearing from Aaron in weeks didn’t mean the man was out of their lives.
“So, we’ll meet up after the game?”
Reid needed to catch an elevator right inside the doors back down to the locker room. He could’ve probably walked around with them a little, but he had a habit of losing track of time around Sarah.
“I’ll text you to let you know where we are. Have a good game, okay?”
Sarah got up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on the lips. Reid’s smile was already as wide as it went, but he softly chuckled to add what he could to it.
“I’ve been told I need to score at least three goals, so it’s going to have to be one of my best games.”
Her nose scrunched up as she nodded. “Yup, I’m counting on you. See you later.”
Waving at him, she directed her parents into the door so they could get a look around. There were so many times that Reid wanted to add an “I love you” when they said goodbye, and that was one of them. It felt natural that the words would come out of his mouth after all the time they’d spent together, but he was afraid that a little over a month was too soon. Since he already didn’t seem to be her parents’ favorite person, he figured it would only add to the hostility.
So, instead of doing or saying anything other than waving back, Reid waited for them to disappear and made his way over to the elevator to get back down to his teammates. He hadn’t said where he was off to, but he expected there would be questions about him missing for fifteen minutes, only because it was the first time he’d run off.
He wasn’t disappointed when he heard some snickering as he walked around the corner. Spending so much time with the guys meant they tended to have some twisted senses of humor, so Reid was afraid what the conversation had been while he was gone. He intercepted a soccer ball headed in his general direction and kicked it back into play.
“Can I change my date? That face is telling me October is way too far away.”
Reid ignored Mickey for a second and grabbed a water bottle so he could get a drink. He had a feeling whatever the comment was about would make him want the spiked apple thing Sarah had mentioned, and apple anything wasn’t his thing.
“Do I want to know what you guys are placing bets on now?”
Looking to Nico, because Reid figured it had to have started with him, he put on a nonchalant look to say it really didn’t matter to him. He was curious, obviously, since he asked the question, but the little bets they made were always silly, like who would get in a fight during a game or score the first goal.
“How long before you ask Sarah to marry you. Side bet, whether she says yes.”
It’d been a while since they decided to bet on anything interesting, and that particular topic interested Reid greatly. Sarah had met everyone on the team, so they’d gotten a small glimpse into what the relationship was like. Reid had a feeling he knew the answer to his question before he asked it, but he went ahead and did it anyway.
“What’s your bet, Nico?”
His roommate had spent the most time with the pair and had some interesting views on marriage. He liked to play around, but he’d told Reid that when he finds the right girl, marriage would be quick and it would last forever.
“No, no, no. He can’t answer that.”
The team captain, Kyle, was quick to break up the simple question and answer. Reid looked over at the slightly smaller man with his hat on backwards and covered in sweat.
“You think he suddenly went mute?” Reid asked with a laugh.
The idea of anything muzzling Nico was hilarious. Reid was surprised Kyle could jump in there quick enough to keep Nico from answering.
“You can’t know what days have been picked. It taints the bet.”
He had a point, and as Reid moved his head back and forth as he considered it, he supposed he wouldn’t press for a specific answer. He’d thought about his future with Sarah, but marriage was probably still down the road a little far to start predicting. It’d be fun to hear all the groaning going on when people guessed wrong.
“Fine. Can you at least tell me what the breakdown of the if she says yes pool is?”
The soccer ball came at him again, high, so he had to head it away from him. They didn’t have much longer before they had to get dressed for warmups, so he started jumping and jogging in place to get his blood flowing again.
“Pretty much all yes,” Nico supplied. “Zach and Reilly think first answer will be no.”
“But she’ll eventually say yes,” Reilly said.
“And you guys can make these assumptions based on the five or so hours you’ve spent with the two of us?”
Reid switched to doing a few walking lunges around the area outside the locker room. The cardio got his heart pumping, but it made it hard to carry on a conversation.
“Nah, they base it on you. Never seen you with girl, so she must be special enough you make it work.”
Nico patted Reid on the shoulder on his way to the locker room. He hoped his words were a joke, but it was hard to tell with him. Reid figured their reasoning was useless, but to claim Sarah would say she’d marry him just because Reid liked her made him think the whole team had been hit a few too many times in the head. They obviously had, but that was beside the point.
“We’ll have to see how that works out. I’m pretty sure if I don’t get a hat tonight she’s never going to talk to me again.”
“Good luck with that. Who wants to place bets on Reid getting a hat tonight?”
Reid ignored the banter as the guys started throwing out guesses on how long it would take him, because just saying whether he would or wouldn’t wasn’t much of a bet. They all needed to get lives, but at least they weren’t involving Sarah’s decisions directly in their game. He didn’t consider their relationship something to place bets on, and it felt like doing so would curse it in some way.
“You better hurry, they’re starting up again and I’m sure you don’t want to miss out.”
Sighing, Reid took a seat next to Nico in the locker room. The other man was already starting to put on his gear.
“Nah, I only bet on sure things. I hear you mention getting a hat trick and I know that not certain. You marry Sarah, that’s going to happen.”
Reid looked over at his friend to try to gauge again whether he was goofing around. Nico wasn’t cooperating as far as letting him look at his face because he was looking the other way as he adjusted his pads.
“Not if her parents have anything to say about that. I just met them upstairs and I’m ninety percent sure they’re up there right now trying to convince her to leave before I can even get dressed.”
“That’s why I don’t do relationships, but you no worry. Sarah likes you and she make good babies.”
Reid’s throat closed up a little as he scoffed. Not only did Nico have them getting married, but he was already planning their family. Reid admittedly had thought about the future, but babies weren’t in it yet.
“I’m sure I don’t want to know what brought you to that conclusion, but if you’re thinking about Sarah having kids, it probably means it’s about time for me to move into a place of my own.”
It had been something on his mind, but he was waiting for Sarah to decide they were ready to move in together. A month didn’t seem like a long time. It also didn’t feel like it had only been a month.
“It’s about time. I get tired of you two sitting on the couch just staring into each other’s eyes. What you think you going to find in here?”
“Shut up and just get ready for the game, will ya?”
Reid threw a towel at Nico to put an end to the conversation. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night, off and on the ice.