40. Octavia
OCTAVIA
Switching legal specialties was proving to be a lot of work, but for the first time since she passed the bar, Octavia was excited about her chosen career.
She was buried in textbooks and cases and hadn’t seen Nathan in four days, but as she walked into the arena next to her nephew and mother, she felt lighter than she had in months.
After planning a big dinner for the previous week, Flora and Tyler had been taken down by a cold followed a couple days later by Scottie. So despite Flora being stuck at work, Octavia and her family were attending Nathan’s game and they’d all go out for a quick bite after.
Scottie stood slowly when they walked into the family room, gesturing to the two women next to him to follow.
“Mom, Em, this is Octavia and I’m guessing her mom and”—he looked down at Tyler—“I’m guessing the Lego-obsessed nephew, Tyler.” He tapped Tyler’s Toronto Wolves Lego hat.
“Yep!” Tyler chirped.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Octavia said, barely getting the words out before both women enveloped her in a hug.
“Sorry, we’re big huggers in this family,” Nathan’s mom confessed, stepping back. “God you’re stunning,” she marvelled and Octavia felt her face heat.
“She is, isn’t she?” Her mom responded, smiling proudly up at her daughter. “I’m Joanna,” she said, already spreading her arms in preparation for a hug.
“Judy and Emma,” Emma said after they parted.
“Told you not to worry,” Scottie teased from next to Octavia.
Octavia hadn’t been worried so much as anxious to get this over with. She’d received an earful from her mother when she revealed how long she’d been seeing Nathan for. And now she was meeting his family before he met hers. So a few more hours of anxiety paved the road leading to the post-game meal.
Nathan started the game by scoring and proceeded to net another goal and two assists before the final horn went. By the time he skated out to accept the first star of the game, Octavia was vibrating with nerves.
“He really likes to play in front of you,” Judy said, squeezing her arm gently. “I haven’t seen him play like this since his dad was alive.” She sighed as she stood. “He looks like he’s having fun again.”
“I can’t say I knew how he played before. I didn’t spend much time watching hockey,” Octavia confessed.
Emma stood next to her mother and raised her arms above her head, stretching her body after sitting for so long.
“Oh we know.” She laughed. “We’re naturally wary of anyone interested in dating him, but when he told us you had insisted you weren’t going to date a hockey player, we knew that we had nothing to worry about. ”
“He wore me down pretty quickly. I’m a bit embarrassed.”
Judy laughed, gently patting Octavia’s shoulder.
“Don’t be. He has a talent for wearing people down when it’s about something he really wants.
I wanted him to play soccer and I tried my damnedest to sway him in that direction.
And then one day there I was with my double-double, sitting with other parents while he zipped up and down the ice at the butt crack of dawn. ”
“He’s annoyingly good at picking what to fight for,” Emma added. “His intuition is enviable.”
“Oh hush.” Judy scoffed. “All three of you have fairly good intuition. It’s nice not to have to worry about you all the time.”
Octavia’s gaze slid to where Scottie was chatting animatedly to Tyler. Nathan had told her all about how overbearing their mom had been about Scottie’s well-being after the accident, and she really couldn’t blame her. She imagined nearly losing a kid would do that to someone.
“Despite everything,” Judy whispered, “He does take after his siblings. He has just always been a bit quieter about it. I half expect one day to get an invitation to a wedding without knowing he was seeing someone.”
Scottie glanced back at them as they slowly made their way out of the stands, coming to a stop at the base of the escalator that would lead them to the family room.
“Nate wants us to meet him back in the family room.”
“I like that room,” Tyler piped up.
“Is it the activity area you maybe like best?” Octavia’s mother asked, earning a sly grin from her grandson.
“Do you want kids, Octavia?” Nathan’s mom inquired quietly.
Emma groaned, leaning into Octavia. “Ignore her. She is obsessed with the idea of having a whole hockey team worth of grand kids.”
“I don’t blame her, it’s pretty great,” Octavia’s mom said dreamily. “Even though I became a grandmother a bit sooner than I expected.” She lowered her chin and whispered, “Flora got pregnant in her senior year of high school.”
“Mom.” Octavia groaned.
“Oh sorry, is that not what happened?” She grinned up at her daughter.
“At this rate, I’ll be great-grandmother age by the time one of my kids gets there.”
Octavia was ready to hear a snarky response from Emma, but instead she watched as she blinked rapidly, as if warding off tears, before stepping off the escalator and taking the lead as the group moved toward the family room.
Their mothers continued to complain about a lack of grandchildren, seemingly unaware that Emma was obviously bothered by it.
Scottie noticed though and picked up his pace, catching up with his sister quickly despite the slight uneven gait—the result of the neuropathy still present in his right foot.
Scottie said something and Emma glanced at him before shaking her head, a sad smile playing on her lips.
Emma’s husband had died a year and a half earlier, and Octavia imagined that losing her husband had something to do with her sudden change in demeanour.
“It’s really too bad your sister couldn’t make it,” Judy said. “I assume she’s single?” Her gaze moved from Octavia to Scottie and Octavia had to bite the inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing out loud.
Flora hadn’t dated in years, she always said she wouldn’t until Tyler was out of the house. Between her job and being as present as she could be as a mom, she had no time to give to a relationship.
She had to admit though, she could see them as a couple. Scottie’s hot nerd vibe would fit with Flora’s ever-changing hair, tattoos, and piercings.
“Aunt Vee,” Tyler said as they walked into the family room that was now nearly empty aside from a couple people cleaning up the buffet area.
“Yeah, bud?”
“Wanna come build some Lego?”
The very last thing Octavia wanted to do was build Lego, but Nathan wouldn’t be too much longer so she figured she could suck it up for a few minutes.
“Lead the way.”
Octavia released a small gasp before she was yanked into the hall. Seconds later, she was up against the wall and Nathan’s lips were on hers.
“Nathan.” She giggled, about to tell him off but choosing to melt into his greedy touches instead.
His left hand slid around to her lower back, pulling her tighter against his body. His right hand found the base of her skull, his fingers tangling in her hair, making her smile against his lips as the sensation of his possessiveness travelled across her body.
“We’re staying at your place tonight,” he rasped. “I need to hear you scream my name when I’m deep insid—”
“You two going to join us or should we head to the restaurant without you?”
Octavia wanted to sink into the floor, but Nathan barely acknowledged his brother, keeping her close as he nodded.
“We’ll be in in a minute,” he said, dropping another kiss to her lips.
She barely heard Scottie’s grumbled response as the pounding of her blood drowned out all noise outside of the bubble she was currently in with Nathan.
“You were saying,” she murmured, sliding her fingers through his belt loops and pulling him back into her.
Nathan smirked back, taking his time before leaning in until his lips were right next to her ear.
“I need to hear you scream my name when I’m deep inside of your needy cunt.”
“Need to, eh?” she teased.
“Yes, Autumn, need.” He pulled back, levelling her with a look that made her breath catch.
It was torturous to know how badly he wanted her right then, knowing they couldn’t immediately go home.
He had yet to meet her mother and nephew after all, and she wanted that to happen.
She also happened to want to drag him out of the arena, straight to his car, and have him fuck her across the back seat.
“Behave yourself at dinner and I’ll do anything you want me to do tonight,” she challenged.
“I’ll be on my best behaviour, baby.” He stepped away, taking her hand and leading her back into the family room.