Chapter 46 Greyson
Chapter forty-six
Greyson
I think this sunflower lost a few petals…
~ One Week Later ~
Last night was game five of round four in Dallas. A game we won, which now puts us at a three-to-two lead. One more win and the cup is ours. When we got off the ice last night after our victory, I was bombarded by texts and calls, most being from Bunny. She was beyond elated.
The texts had come in during the game, practically giving me a play-by-play of every move or block I made. It was adorable to read. The way she cheered me on even being over a thousand miles away made me fall in love with her all over again.
Then there were my parents, Lance, Mira and John, and the rest of the girls. Even Nadia and Gracie’s maternal grandparents, Claudia and Simon, left me a message and a call, congratulating me on our win.
Since the incident, Claudia and Simon have only seen Gracie once.
It’s not that I wanted to keep her away from them, but I needed a bit of time to trust them more, and I could tell Claudia was still dealing with a lot of guilt over what happened.
But even though they weren’t coming to see her in person, they still video-called every few days to see her through the phone, showing they still wanted to be involved in her life.
But I think the best part of my night, excluding Emma, was seeing Coach’s face after the game.
Even when we lose, he’s always positive, always pointing out our strengths and never making us feel worse about a loss.
This is his sixth season as our coach, and he’s probably the best change that was made for the team.
The improvement since he’s been here and every following year can’t go unnoticed.
But tonight, the pride on his face when the buzzer rang and we were two points over, I honestly thought he was going to jump on the ice and join our little celebratory circle. I imagine it’s in those moments that he misses playing. He was a legend on the ice.
I never got to play against him, but I used to watch him on TV, and by the time I signed my first pro contract, he had just suffered his accident that ended his career.
Silas is the only one in our gang that got to play him a few times since he’s one of the lucky fuckers who drafted right away.
But I get it, he’s a fucking good player.
Once I’m in my truck leaving the airport, my phone rings through the cab. Usually Clay, Silas, and I share a ride, but I wanted to stop at the hospital to see Maddie before leaving for our away game, so I ended up taking my own car.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, sweetie. Are you on your way home?”
“Yeah, just got on the road. Should be home in thirty. Why?” I frown.
“Oh, just curious. It sounded like I was on speaker, that’s all.”
“Yeah, you are. But I’m alone, so no need to worry.” I chuckle. My mom hates it when everyone can hear our phone calls.
“Good. I was just calling to make sure you got home safe.” Weird, she never calls for that. I usually just send her a quick text to let her know.
“Umm… okay. Well, yeah, I’m fine. Home soon.” I suddenly hear murmurs through the phone and my mom quickly shushing them away. “Mom? Where are you?”
“Oh, nowhere. I’m home. Your father just has some friends over. Okay! Well, I have to run. I’ll talk to you later. I love you, sweetie, and I’m so proud of you.”
She sounds strange, but I just shrug it off. “Thanks, Mom. I love you, too. Say hi to Dad for me.”
“I will, bye.” She hangs up right away, another thing she never does. She’s the type to wait until you hang up, or else she never will.
I’m racking my brain as I make my way home for reasons as to why my mother would be acting so strange, but it all clicks the minute I get into my driveway and find Lance’s car parked to one side. Amanda is by his side, and my mother and father are facing them.
They turn to face me as I pull up beside them and kill the engine of my truck, then jump out with a massive grin. “What are you guys doing here?!” I laugh as I take my mother into my arms.
“Oh, my baby. There was no way we could watch you play from the couch. This is a big deal, and we wanted to be here for you in person. I hope that’s okay?”
“Of course. You know you guys are always welcome to stay here as long as you’d like.” I let go of her and hug my father next. “Hi, Dad. I’m happy you’re here.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world, son.”
“Wait, did Aubrey know you were coming?” I ask once I step back.
My mother nods. “She did. We called her last night after your game to tell her. But I made her swear she wouldn’t mention it to you. I’m glad she didn’t. It would have ruined the surprise.”
I laugh. “I don’t know why you even doubted her. No one can keep a secret like Brey. I swear she’s like a vault.”
“He’s right, Nancy. Don’t you remember that time we were both working nights and our son here decided to have a girl over?
We knew about it even though you kept denying it.
” He narrows his eyes at me with a smirk.
“Then when we asked Aubrey, she wouldn’t tell us anything, even when we tried to bribe her with her favorite things.
Our girl may be shy and sweet, but she does not crack under pressure. ”
“Oh! I forgot about that.” My mom giggles as I walk over to Lance and Amanda.
“Hi, it’s lovely to see you again,” I tell her as I kiss her cheeks, then move on to my girl’s father. We shake hands and pat each other’s back in a manly hug. “Hey, I’m guessing you’re the one to thank for getting my parents here?”
He smiles tenderly. “Thanks to you, I now know how important family is and how much we can come to regret missing out on these important moments. It’s the least I could do.”
“Thank you,” I say with gratitude, then address all of them. “Have you been inside? Does Em know you’re here?”
“No, we just stepped out of the car when we saw your truck coming down the road.”
“Oh, good, she’ll be happy to see you all. Let’s go inside. Although Gracie is probably napping right now, so we’ll have to keep it down.” I grab my luggage from the back of my truck and head for the door, everyone following right behind.
I grab the handle and push the door open wide, calling out to Bunny. “Hey, baby. Guess who I found out—HOLY SHIT!” I shout as my jaw hits the floor when I catch sight of Emma.
She stands naked a few steps from the entryway facing us, with bunny ears above her head.
Her long red hair partially covers her breasts, and a big sunflower is stuck between her legs, hiding her bare pussy from us.
I’m not sure how it’s holding there, but I’d really like to find out. She’s like my twisted version of Eve.
Em screams at the top of her lungs when she sees I’m not alone and drops to the floor, trying desperately to hide herself.
I rush over to shield her with my body. “OH MY GOD! This is mortifying!” She hides her face behind her hands as I sit on the floor before her, arms wrapped around her naked body.
“Can someone get me something to cover her up, please?” I ask without looking back.
I hear shuffling, then Amanda shows up at my side with my winter coat in hand.
She must have looked in the closet by the entrance.
I quickly put it over Emma, making sure it hides everything before lifting her up from the ground.
She doesn’t let go of me and refuses to lift her head, keeping it buried against my chest.
I’m not even sure what to say or do right now. I’m in complete shock. Emma never stands naked by the door like that, so clearly she had some naughty time planned for us. Which is now pissing me off that we aren’t alone. Despite our four guests standing nearby, I’m hard as a steel pipe in my jeans.
I quickly search my mind for some way to dispense this awkward, humiliating situation for Emma. But my father apparently beats me to it and only makes it worse. “Still screwing like rabbits, I see,” he chuckles.
“DAD!” I yell at the same time as my mother smacks him behind the head and growls, “Andrew!”
“Wait, is that why you call her Bunny? Please tell me that’s not the case,” Lance asks, sounding disturbed.
“No. It’s not,” Emma and I say at once. Although hers is muffled by my clothing.
“Just very fitting,” my dad adds.
“Oh my God! Dad, shut up!”
Gracie starts to cry through the monitor, our loud voices pulling her out of her sleep.
“I’ll get her,” Amanda offers and rushes by us, smiling sympathetically at me before disappearing from view.
Em groans into my chest, then lifts her head to look at me, and all I can do is smile. As embarrassing as this moment is for her, it’s pretty hilarious.
“So my parents came down on a surprise visit thanks to your dad.”
“You could have warned me!” She glares.
“Oh, honey, he didn’t know until just now,” my mom informs her.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. This is your home, and I remember what it was like to be young and in love. With a child, spur of the moment becomes the focus of the relationship.” She giggles.
“If anything, we should be the ones embarrassed for sneaking up on you like that. We’re sorry.
We should have told you and only kept it a surprise for Greyson. ”
Em lets out a deep breath. “No, it’s okay.
I should have thought better of my plan and waited in the bedroom at least. With the number of people that just walk into this house, it could have been anyone.
” She closes her eyes momentarily and shakes her head.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take a long shower and wallow in my shame for a while.
It’s lovely to have you here, Nancy and Andrew. Hi, Daddy.”
Lance walks over and kisses the top of Emma’s head while she still clings to me. “Hi, Sunflower.” He visibly pales and his eyes go wide. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to call you that for a while… at least until that image leaves my head.” He chuckles and scrunches his nose.