TWENTY-SEVEN
Lincoln
Present
I was lying on my bed in my childhood room, throwing a tennis ball up in the air and contemplating my life choices. And of course, everything came back to one thing.
Her.
For the past few nights, we’ve talked on the phone like we never skipped a beat. She excitedly told me all about the ideas her agent had for her book and how she was going to start shopping it around and getting it published by some company, and I was excited right along with her.
But I’m a greedy bastard, and I want more with her. I don’t just want phone calls, I want sleepovers, I want to get a place of my own that’s not the hockey house and be able to have her there with me.
A knock sounds at my door, and I call for whoever it is to come in.
Surprisingly, my sister enters the room, and not surprisingly, my parents follow her in.
“Hey.” I sit up on the bed, and Mick takes a seat next to me. Grinning at me, my parents use my desk chair and small reading chair to take up their own seats, and I stare at each of them, waiting for whatever it is they want to say.
“What’s going on with school, son?” my dad asks gruffly, his brows furrowing over his green eyes that match my own.
“Um, I’m still working on the makeup paper,” I say, uncomfortable with the family intervention.
In my bedroom.
“Do you think it’ll be enough to let you play?”
I shrug at my sister’s question and shake my head. “We’ll find out next week.”
“Next week? Already?” Mom asks. “Do you need help?”
I roll my eyes and sigh, leaning against the wall. I still had a twin bed in here that was way too small, but with my whole family in the room, it felt even worse. “No, I’m good.”
“Is Cassie helping you?” Mom pries again, and my gaze snaps to her.
“No. Why would you ask me that?”
“We know Cassie tutored you this last winter. We thought she’d be a big help.”
A little smile crosses my sister’s lips, and she ducks her head.
“Mickey,” I state, nudging her with my hand. “Did you have something to do with Cassie tutoring me?”
She looks over at me finally, like she’s holding in a secret. “No, actually. That was all Tanner. I had nothing to do with it.”
“Really?” I ask deadpan. I don’t believe her.
“Really. I only just found out about you and Cass before our weekend away.”
“What?” Mom’s sharp tone cuts off whatever I was going to say, and Dad looks up from where he was studying something on my desk. “You and Cassie are a thing?”
Oh crap. This will not go well. “No.”
“Not anymore.” My sister sing-songs the words, making me want to pull her under my arm for a noogie.
But I’m more mature than that.
Sometimes.
“Well, wait, what happened? Lincoln David, don’t tell me you had an opportunity to give me a wonderful daughter-in-law and ruined it.”
I bite my tongue hard enough to draw blood and sigh, tilting my head up to the ceiling. “We…were together. For a minute.”
“What happened?” My dad, who usually couldn’t care less about these types of things, leans forward on the cane he’s used since he got out of the military.
Mickey looks at me like she’s waiting for me to tell them everything, like she already knows the story.
“She told you?” I ask quietly, unsure what I was feeling about that information. But I was…glad. If Cassie told her best friend what was happening between us, then maybe I could actually win her back.
“Yeah, she told me.” Mick gives me a sad smile.
So, with that, I spill the story to my parents, keeping everything G-rated so that I don’t scar myself and them along with me. But I tell them about her tutoring me, about how hard she works, how she wrote a book, how she just got an agent, and how we’ve been talking recently, even though I almost lost her.
I tell them how I fell for her two years ago and how I’d screwed up.
“That’s why you don’t drink as much anymore?” Mick asks, awe in her voice like I just revealed something miraculous.
“I screwed that up so bad, I didn’t ever want to make a mistake like that again.” Especially where Cassie was involved. I think I loved her from the moment I saw her. Maybe it wasn’t “in love,” but it was a type of love that drew me to her, that made me want to be around her more, that made me want to know everything about her.
“Okay,” Mom starts, holding up a hand. “Let me get this straight, you met Cassie before Mickey did?” I nod my head, feeling overwhelmed by…everything. “And you fell in love with her?”
“I don’t know if I was in love, but…yeah.”
My mom’s face softens, but she continues. “Then you failed your class, and Tanner got her to agree to tutor you, after you hurt her feelings like that?”
“Yes,” I ground out, not mad at my mom, but mad at the situation.
“Then you two found some common ground, finally talked, started dating and fell in love again?”
“I guess,” I say on a sigh. “Lot of good that did me when I attacked her for not telling me about Mick and Coach.”
“Yeah, that was dumb,” Mickey says, looking at her nails. “But I do apologize for that. I had no idea she was working with you. I feel guilty that she felt like she couldn’t say anything. That wasn’t fair.”
“No, it wasn’t,” I agree, then shake my head. “Still doesn’t excuse what I did.”
“But you two are talking again?” Mom asks, that glimmer of hope still in her eyes.
“Yes,” I answer confidently. I was thrilled Cassie was letting me back in again. Even after everything we’d been through, I could see a glimpse of relief on the horizon.
“Okay, family meeting!” Mom calls, too loud for the small room.
Mick laughs, and I say, “Mom, we’re already having one.”
“This is now official. We need to help you win back Cassie.”
I shake my head, having no intention of my family helping me with anything. “No.”
“Yes.”
“No,” I say again, exasperated. “I’m working on it. I can’t push her.”
“Family dinner,” Mom says to Dad, who nods his head in agreement. I stare at him, then at Mickey, who smiles broadly at me in shock. “Family dinner, Mickey, can you get Tanner to come?”
“Of course!”
“No! Why would she want—” I get cut off by my mom pulling up recipes on her phone, and they all abruptly stand.
“Where are you going?” I ask them, and Mickey turns back to answer, a shit-eating grin still on her face.
“We’ve got a dinner to plan. You should call her and make sure she’s free for Friday!”
They leave in a hurry, and I highly suspect my dad leaves with them just so he can be done with this whole conversation.
I throw myself back on my bed and let out a long sigh. This is why I don’t tell my family anything.
The doorbell rings, and I’ve never moved so fast in my entire life. I knew it was her because everyone else was already here, being loud and overly happy in the kitchen.
Cassie is standing on the other side of the door, her hair braided off to one side and a floral sundress on, showing off her legs.
“You look incredible,” I tell her, watching her blush rise up on her cheeks. She’s holding a bundle of flowers and a casserole dish.
When I’d called and asked if she would be up for dinner with my folks, she’d only hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
I didn’t know how she was feeling right now, but if she was anything like me, her stomach was in knots.
“Thank you,” she replies, stepping into the house and kicking her shoes off like it’s second nature. It probably is, she’s been here numerous times.
I lean forward, grasping her elbow and pressing a kiss to her cheek before taking the dish out of her hands.
“Thanks,” she says again, stepping down into the living room and following the voices to the kitchen.
Right before we enter, I grasp her arm again and say, “I’m really sorry about this.”
She frowns at me, glancing from me to the kitchen. “Why? Am I about to be interrogated?”
“Um.” I pause, my hand still on her arm. “I’m not exactly sure what their plan is.”
“Well.” She glances toward the kitchen. “What have you told them?”
I tilt my head from side to side, nerves coming on to me. “A little bit of everything.”
“Everything?” Her voice rises for a second before she lowers it, her eyes wide and pleading.
I lean in closer, my body touching her. “Well, not everything.”
“Which is it, Muscles?”
I smile at the nickname and say, “Enough for them to know we were—are—together, not enough to know how together we’ve been.”
“Lincoln!” she hisses at me, that flush overwhelming her gorgeous cheeks. “I thought this was just a nice dinner.”
“It is. I swear.” She calms down a bit, but I don’t know what my family is planning, and now I’m even more nervous. “Hey, we could just leave? Go grab a bite somewhere—”
“Cassie! Is that you?” My mom comes around the wall separating us from the kitchen, and I groan quietly. So much for a quick escape.
“Hi, Mrs. Ellis, thank you for inviting me.” Cassie smiles graciously, handing my mom the flowers in her hand. “These are for you.”
“Oh, you sweet girl!” Mom envelopes Cassie in a hug, and I smile at the sight of them. I don’t hate that. “You don’t need to call me that! Either Sienna or Mom will do!”
“Mom,” I scold, watching Cassie fluster at the thought.
“Okay, Sienna, thank you.” Cassie recovers quickly and seems overwhelmingly relieved when my sister pops around the corner.
Mick takes Cassie with her, and I turn to my mom. “A little much, Mom.”
My mom looks over at me, feigning innocence. “What? I’m just trying to welcome her home.”
I roll my eyes skyward and shake my head. It’s hopeless.
We enter the kitchen, and Tanner is standing at the stove, stirring something. He showed up while I was upstairs getting dressed, so I walk up to him.
“Coach.”
He turns, shaking my hand with his free one. “Ellis.”
I peek over at Cassie with my mom and sister. They’re all chatting about something that makes my mom laugh. Cassie’s eyes hit mine from across the room, and I grin at her.
This was a good idea. This makes her feel like she’s part of the family, maybe if she sees how accepting my family is of our relationship, if there’s endorsement from my family, she’ll see how serious I am about her.
“How’s the work going?” Tanner asks, and I know he’s not talking about the skating classes I’ve been coaching.
“It’s coming along,” I say with confidence I don’t feel. I think my paper is good, it’s the subject matter that’s tricky.
Tanner was able to get me a redo, and the basis was I got to choose my own subject. I’m not sure they’ll like it, but it doesn’t really matter.
I passed the public speaking portion of the class, so I literally just have to email my professor my updated—or brand new, in this case—paper, and it should be all good.
Fuck. I hope it’s all good.
If I don’t get to play hockey, I don’t know what I’ll do.
Probably drop out and try to get picked up as a free agent.
Soon enough, we’re sitting down at the table. Mom and Dad sit at each end while Mick and Tanner sit across from Cassie and me.
I keep my arm slung over the back of Cassie’s chair and smile when she leans into my arm. I fucking love that she does so.
We chat about this and that, leaning away from topics that may trigger questions about our relationship, and I’m shocked that my mom hasn’t asked anything embarrassing yet.
“So, Cassie, Lincoln says you finished a book?” Cassie looks up from her plate at Mom’s question, and her gaze goes to me.
“I did.” She smiles shyly.
“I can’t believe you never told me you wrote a whole book,” Mick scolds her teasingly.
“Well, she was working on it at Thanksgiving,” Mom retorts, “The one about the professor and his student! I can’t wait to read that.”
Cassie flushes, and it hits me out of nowhere.
I look over to Tanner and Mick, who seem to be holding in their laughter. “That…” I trail off, frowning down at Cassie, whose blush has skated down her neck. She takes a long pull of water. “You were covering up for them.”
“Yup,” Mick answers calmly, sitting back in her chair and looking to our mom. “She didn’t write a book about a professor and his student.”
“Actually,” I interrupt before Cassie has to answer anything else, she already looks like she’s about to die of embarrassment. “She wrote this epic fantasy book. It’s amazing.”
“You’ve read it?” Mick gapes, looking back over at Cassie. “You let him read it and didn’t even tell me?”
“Um, well.” Cassie licks her lips and glances around the table. “He found out from my mom that I wrote one and wouldn’t stop pestering me about it.”
I don’t know if I pestered her, but I go with it. “It’s true. I wasn’t about to sit around and not read my girlfriend’s book. It’s good material.”
“Lincoln!” Cassie hisses at me, grasping my thigh with her hand tightly. I want to tease her and whisper higher in her ear, but I keep my mouth shut.
“Ooh, is it spicy?” Mick whispers across the table.
“Spicy? What’s that mean, spicy?” Mom asks, looking back and forth at the four adults around her table. Not one of us says a word, and she sighs, then looks at my dad. “It’s like they’re speaking a different language.”
“It’s best we don’t learn it, dear,” Dad says calmly before changing the subject. “Lincoln, son, have you made your decision about school?”
Right. Our conversation the other day got derailed when they found out about Cassie. “I’m not completely sure.”
“What about school?” Cassie asks curiously, and I wish I’d talked to her more about my current situation.
Whenever we talk, I try to keep it light and fun. Delving into the serious topics made us both tense, and I didn’t want that. I want to be a safe place for her to be, for her to talk about her life problems and her work problems.
“Well, I wrote my paper. But if they don’t give me a B or higher…” I trail off, embarrassed that this is still an issue.
Some people weren’t cut out for school, and I was definitely one of them.
“You’ll drop out?” Cassie asks, looking at me with concern.
“Probably.”
“You’ll get it, Lincoln,” Tanner says confidently, giving me a nod of his head. “You’ve been working hard. I know you can pass, and you’ll be playing when the first puck drops.”
I appreciate the confidence from him, knowing that he’s been through this himself and probably wouldn’t blow smoke up my ass, just knowing who he is as a person.
“But if you don’t,” Dad starts again, lifting up a fork full of food. It was Mom’s baked chicken, one of my favorites. “You have to decide where you’re going with your career.”
“Dad, maybe we can talk about this later,” I hedge, feeling like the first dinner we have with my girlfriend—whether she admits to being that or not—was not the time to talk about my future.
“I’m just curious, is all,” Dad says, and I see behind his statement that he’s genuine. He’s not trying to cause problems.
“I know. I’ll probably enter as a free agent,” I say, putting the conversation to bed.
Or so I thought.
“Free agent?” Cassie asks, looking at me with a tinge of worry in her eyes. “Like, to get picked up by any team?”
I nod my head slowly, not wanting to put this kind of stress on her. She had enough going on. “Yeah, don’t worry, though. I’m probably going to be fine with school and will be back to playing hockey in no time.”
Later, after dinner is finished and my family has properly interrogated Cassie enough, Tanner and Mick leave, and Cassie and I head out to sit on the front porch.
I sling my arm around her shoulders, and I breathe a sigh of relief when she nestles into my side, stealing my warmth as the nighttime summer breeze blows across our bodies.
“Well, I already knew this, but my family adores you.” As do I, I add silently.
“Your parents are great.” She smiles in thought and adds, “Mick wants to read my book.”
“I know.”
“Are you going to hold it over her head forever that you got to read it first?”
“Yup.”
Cassie moves her hand over and pinches my side, making me jerk. “Be nice to your sister.”
“Hey, she’s my sister. Teasing is my biological right.”
She shakes her head and settles back against me. “This was nice. Thank you for inviting me.”
I look over at her to see her staring at me, her head resting softly against my arm. “Thanks for coming when I did.”
I lean forward, hoping and praying that she’ll reciprocate and nearly leaping with joy when she does. Her lips press to mine, and I wrap my arm that’s behind her more firmly around her, pulling her as close as possible without making her sit on my lap.
My other hand finds purchase on her neck, my thumb moving her in the direction I want as I tease my tongue along her lips. The kiss is passionate and romantic, and I wish more than anything we were anywhere but on my parents’ porch right now.
I miss being with her. I miss holding her each night and waking up with her in the morning.
We had one perfect week of it. One week, and I felt like it could have lasted forever, and I never would have tired of it.
We slow the kiss down, and I place longing pecks on her lips a few times before I fully pull away.
“Muscles, we can’t get worked up on your parents’ porch swing,” she teases, smiling gently at me.
I return the smile and wiggle the swing. “I don’t know. We could get pretty creative out here.”
She giggles at me and sweeps her bangs away from her eyes, her expression growing more serious. “Hey, just so you know, if you end up going out as a free agent and get picked up by someone far away, that’s okay.”
I blink and shake my head, looking at her. “That was random.”
Cassie shrugs and looks at her nails. “I’m just saying. Don’t let me hold you back.”
Something sharp stings my chest, and I turn myself to fully face her, a frown pulling at my mouth. “Sunshine, you do nothing but make me want to be better. You don’t hold me back.”
“I just don’t want any decisions you make to be based on me,” she says, looking sad as she does. “I know that you feel real feelings for me because I return those, but I also know that you have a long life ahead of you, a long career ahead of you, and I don’t want to be the reason you give up a good thing.”
I bite my lip and decide how I want to proceed. I don’t want to pressure her, but damn, I want her with me. I want every decision I make for the rest of my life to be based on what we want.
“Cassie, I need to tell you something that might make you mad.”
“Okay.” Her eyes turn hesitantly toward me.
“Since you started tutoring me at the beginning of the year, since we decided we don’t hate each other as much as we thought, since you became my absolute best friend in the entire world.” Her eyes well with tears, and I wipe the first one that falls away with my thumb. “Every decision I’ve made has been for us. Me retaking this class, rewriting this paper again, it’s because I want to finish college before I go pro so that when I’m not able to play in the pros anymore, I can get a good job that will support our future.”
I grasp her hand in mine, turning to face her fully. “I don’t know what the future holds, I don’t know if your book will take off and you’ll become a famous author, I don’t know if I’ll go pro and play for ten, fifteen, or twenty years, or if I’ll get injured in my first game. I have no idea.” I reach forward and cup her cheek in mine. “What I know is that my future, whatever it brings, I want you right by my side.”