Chapter 44
Forty-Four
Tweetie
Thank the universe for small favors. It’s as though all the powers are on my side to win Tedi back.
We didn’t get to play our non-conference game since the weather was so shitty and Philly couldn’t get out of Toronto from their game the night before. The snowstorm is keeping us here for another night, so when Tedi suggested Rowan, Conor, Henry, and I come to her dad’s house for dinner, she didn’t have to ask me twice. It just sucked that the other three came with me. I wouldn’t have minded the time alone with her.
We arrive at Tedi’s childhood home with her since she waited for us while the rest of her family came back here. It’s a three-bedroom ranch that’s modest and well-kept. It sits on a nice piece of land. I haven’t been here in years, and I really hope her dad is okay with me coming.
Tedi opens the door. “Hello!” she calls into the house.
“Hi!” Mason emerges from the kitchen area. He skids to a stop and waves at the group of us. Tedi swoops him up, and he wiggles to get free. “Snow!”
He laughs as she shakes her hair, and all the flakes land on his face. She gives him a big kiss on the cheek and releases him.
“Do you want to see my daddy’s old room?” he asks us guys.
“Let me introduce them first, then they’re all yours.” Tedi runs her fingers through Mason’s hair, and I find myself admiring the way she is with him.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen her with kids. She’s probably like an aunt to Aiden and Saige’s girls now. The thought that I missed seeing that happen makes my chest squeeze.
We all take off our shoes and coats in the entryway.
Tedi leads us through the family room and into the kitchen, where her dad and the woman I suspect is the new girlfriend are cooking. There’s a pot of sauce on the stove and some pasta boiling. It’s been a minute since I’ve had a home-cooked meal like this. Toby and Theo are at the table, each with a beer in hand.
“Okay, you guys already know Toby and Theo…”
Her dad looks over and doesn’t smile. Great. I figured there would be some work to do here. I practiced my speech on Conor earlier in the hotel room.
“This is my dad, Derin.” She puts her arm through her dad’s and rests her cheek on his shoulder just like she used to do with me. Then she kisses his cheek, and he smiles for the first time.
“Rhonda, this is my daughter, Tedi.”
Rhonda turns from the stove to face Tedi. I’m not sure how I would feel if my mom ever had a boyfriend. She’s gone on dates, but no one seems to stick longer than a few months. Since I’m rarely home, I only hear about them from Georgia.
“Hi, Rhonda.” Tedi puts her hand out with a welcoming smile.
“Sorry, dear.” She shows Tedi how her hands have hot pads on them.
Tedi pulls back her hand, and her shoulders slump, which makes me hate Rhonda.
“Dad, you remember Tweetie.” Tedi recovers quickly, she’s dragging her dad across the kitchen by his arm.
“Yes, hello, JD” He puts his hand out, and I swear Conor coughs out a laugh.
“Thanks for having us, sir.”
“You can still call me Derin.”
I nod and don’t say anything else, but Tedi’s already moving him toward the others. She introduces him, and they’re all polite and thank him for having them.
“What can I do to help?” I ask after all the introductions are over.
“Oh, that’s not how Rhonda rolls.” Theo tips his beer at me and takes a sip.
“I’ll get you guys a drink. We’ve got beer, water…” Toby stands, and Tedi walks by me to join him in the garage to get the drinks.
I keep my feet cemented to the kitchen floor, so I don’t tell Toby to forget it, I’ll go with Tedi. The last time I came here, my tongue was down her throat before the door shut. What I wouldn’t do for that to happen now.
Two small hands grab mine. “Come on. I want to show you my daddy’s room,” Mason whines.
“Go ahead, we have a few minutes before dinner’s ready,” Rhonda says.
I had plans on talking to Derin to let him know that his daughter is in good hands with me. That I’m not that guy I was when we broke up. But I allow Mason to drag me down the hall, and he stops me in the doorway of what I guess was Theo and Toby’s bedroom as kids. There are two twin beds and a million trophies—mostly from hockey by the looks of it. Two dressers and two desks.
“My daddy played hockey too.” He picks up a trophy and brings it to me.
“Want to see my room?” Tedi whispers behind me, winding her arm around my waist and holding a beer in front of me.
Mason takes the trophy and goes back over, stretching on his tiptoes to reach another one. “I’m gonna play this year.”
I feel like a bad guy for not following his every word, but Tedi is distracting me with her tits pressed against my back.
“I hope you love it,” I say.
“I’m gonna go show Rowan this one.” He moves to slide by me in the doorway. “Excuse me.”
Then Mason is gone. What would it be like to have that much energy?
Tedi takes me by the hand and leads me down the hallway.
“I thought hand holding wasn’t approved?”
She looks over her shoulder but doesn’t say anything. I step into her childhood room that’s half gym, half bedroom. Last time I was here, it was still her room, and we slept in the bed together. Derin was a pretty chill guy, but I’m not taking my chances now. I stop, releasing her hand and placing my palms on the doorframe.
She turns around. “What are you doing?”
I look down the hall. “I’m not going in there.”
She crooks her finger, and fuck, how much willpower does she think I possess?
I shake my head, and she tilts hers, teasing me. “I was going to loosen up a rule. I thought maybe a kiss in my old bedroom where I used to dream of kissing a hot hockey player.”
“You fulfilled that dream years ago.” I push back into the hallway, away from temptation.
“I’m starting to second-guess how much you want me.” She tries to saunter past me, but I hook my arm around her waist and tug her to my chest before she can walk down the hall.
“If you said yes, I’d take you to that garage, make you place your hands on the wall, and sink into you,” I say, and she giggles. “I’m trying to be respectful, and I need to talk to your dad before I leave here.”
She circles out of my arms. “No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. I want him to know that I’m serious and I’m not going to hurt you again.”
She inhales and studies me for at least a minute. “Tweetie.”
“Jeez, lovebirds, get your asses in here for dinner,” Theo shouts down the hall.
“You swore. You owe me a dollar,” Mason says.
“Come on, let’s just eat.” She walks in front of me.
I’m not going to lie, all I can watch is her ass shift side to side as she walks. We get back into the kitchen, and Tedi might miss the way her dad is giving me the evil eye, but I’m not.
The table is set, and we all sit down to eat. Mason carries most of the conversation, consisting mostly of questions about hockey. We hear about Kyler Watkins and the bully he is to Mason. I think Kyler might get a visit from Tedi before we fly out tomorrow.
Rhonda doesn’t say much, but when she does, it’s to Mason about wiping his face or to stop talking while he’s chewing, making Toby go more and more rigid in his seat.
Derin’s head is down, focused on his plate almost the entire meal.
By the time dinner is over, the guys say they’ll clean up, and Rhonda tries to tell them the steps to do it in and where things are. Toby’s jaw clenches, and Theo laughs. So opposite those two. Because the guys are helping with clean-up duty, Mason is suddenly interested too.
I take my opportunity and approach Derin. “Do you have a minute to talk?”
He glances at Tedi behind me, then sighs. “Sure. I need a fresh beer anyway. Come on.”
I follow him toward the garage door, and Tedi squeezes my hand when I pass her on the way.
Once the door shuts, Derin crosses his arms and stands in front of me. I’m taller by a head, but he’s intimidating as all hell. “I’m doing this to appease my daughter, but I’m going to be honest, I don’t like you.”
I guess I have a lot more work than I thought.