Taking Shots (Assassins)

by Toni Aleo

  Shea had never cried in front of a woman. Okay, well, he did cry in front of Grace once, and his mom was always there when he cried, but he had never cried in front of a woman he was dating, but he felt like the tears were about to fall. He tried so hard to keep them at bay because he didn’t want to seem weak, but she wasn’t saying anything, she was just looking at him, tears rolling down her cheeks onto his hands. He could except the fact that she didn’t love him, because he knew she would later, but the fact that she wanted to break up, no he couldn’t except that, wouldn’t except that.

  She took a deep breath, and then said “I don’t deserve you Shea.”

  His heart melted, “Of course, you do, baby.”

  “No, I really don’t, you’re too patient, too nice. You deal with my craziness, my insecurities, why Shea? Why do I deserve you?”

  He smiled, moving his thumbs back and forth against her cheeks, “Because, I said so,” he said with a wink, “Now stop over thinking us. I’ll leave the moving thing alone; let you make the decision, okay?”

  She nodded before wrapping her arms around his middle, nuzzling her nose in his neck, getting snot and tears all over him, but he didn’t care. He held her close, kissing her wet hair, inhaling her scent. They stayed like that for a long time, just holding each other until his phone rang. He pulled back a little pulling the phone out of his pocket.

  “Shit,” he said, “Its Grace.”

  “Crap, I gotta finish my hair!” she placed a quick kiss to his lips before turning back around going to the sink.

  “Hey.”

  “Where the hell are you?”

  “We’re running late.”

  “I mean Jesus, can’t you guys wait until tonight?!”

  “For your information we weren’t having sex, we did that earlier in her office.”

  She let out a disgusted cry, “Wonderful, now if I’m ever in her office that’s what I’ll imagine.”

  “Hey, it was good stuff.”

  “Ugh, anyways, when will you be here? Mom is waiting…and she is not happy about it.”

  “Sorry, we’ll stay later, Elli’s doing her hair now, we should be out of here in…hey, baby, how long you going to be?” he asked Elli.

  “Give me fifteen, I promise I’m hurrying.”

  Yeah right, fifteen minutes?

  “We’ll be over within the hour,” he said instead.

  “Fine!” Grace hung up, as he shook his head.

  Damn women in his life drove him nuts!

  Elli wanted to call Harper, not go to Grace’s house to meet Shea’s parents. She was still on edge from their fight, from almost throwing away the most amazing man in the world. She just didn’t understand what her problem was, why couldn’t she just let it go. Shea was not going to hurt her, but it didn’t matter how many times she told herself that, it still sat in the back of her mind.

  Elli wasn’t happy with the way she looked either, she only had time to straighten her hair when she wanted to put big curls in, and she didn’t get to spend much time on her makeup, so she knew Shea’s family was gonna think she was a ugly, frumpy, gold digging whore not worthy of their amazing son. She was more nervous about meeting his family than she was about him meeting hers.

  Gosh, this sucked.

  When they pulled into Grace’s driveway, Shea cut the truck off but didn’t get out. He still had her hand in his, moving his thumb back and forth on the back of her hand as he looked up at Grace’s house. He looked over at her, and she looked at him, nervously.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked.

  She gave him a shaky smile, “Yeah.”

  He smiled back, taking a deep breath. “I’m not, they’re going to love you. I just hope they don’t embarrass me too much,” he said before kissing the back of her hand and getting out, coming around to the other side to help her out.

  Elli really should have rethought the heels, yes, they were super beautiful, but her feet already hurt, and it was just the beginning of the night. As they made their way up the walkway to the door, Shea held Elli’s hand, running his thumb along the back of her hand. She was starting to think he was lying about not being nervous.

  The door opened before they even reached it, and Grace stood with her hands on her hips.

  “I mean people around here do like to eat,” she said with a huff.

  “Be quiet; we’re what, fifteen minutes late?” Shea said, kissing her cheek before pulling Elli past her and into the house. He let go of her hand when who she guessed was his dad came into the room, with grin on his face that was as big as Shea’s. “Hey, Dad!” Shea said wrapping his arms around his dad, giving him a back slapping hug before pulling back. Shea reached for Elli and she came willingly to his side, smiling up at his dad.

  “Dad, this is Elli, this is my dad, Mark.” Elli held out her hand, and Mark took it eagerly, grinning ear to ear at her. Mark was a good looking man, tall like Shea, not thick but not skinny, he was a good healthy size. Shea and Grace must have gotten their nose and eyes from Mark, since his eyes were the exact same color as Mark’s.

  “Hey, how are you?” she asked with a nervous grin, Mark started laughing, looking over at Shea.

  “You weren’t kidding about the country accent, it’s thick,” he looked back at Elli as she turned deep red, “I’m fine, thank you, and you?”

  “Good, thank you.”

  “It's about damn time!” Elli turned to see Shea’s mother coming in the room. Elli had remembered Shea saying that people thought she was Grace’s sister instead of her mother, and it was the truth. She didn’t look a day over thirty. When she set her eyes on Elli, she grinned so fully that Elli thought she was gonna be blinded by the whites of her teeth. “Well, hello! I’m Jenna Adler, you must be Elli.” Elli nodded as Jenna took her hand in hers, shaking it slowly, looking Elli over.

  “Yes, ma’am I am, it’s nice to meet you.”

  Jenna grinned widely up at Shea, and Elli saw where Shea got the one dimple from. Jenna had hers on the exact same cheeks as he did, and it made Elli smile.

  “Shea told us you were Southern, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so thick, I like it, though.” She added quickly.

  Elli smiled, “Yes ma’am, I’m country to the core.”

  Shea smiled, wrapping his arm around Elli, “I love her accent.”

  Both his parents beamed and Elli looked up at him, biting her lip. He smiled down at her, before bring his finger to her lip, pushing it out of the hold her teeth had it in.

  “Obviously, can we eat?” Grace said. Shea looked over at her, glaring.

  “Grace, what’s your deal?”

  “I’m freaking hungry!”

  “Obviously. God!” Shea complained as he put his hand on the small of Elli’s back and walked into Grace’s dining room as everyone laughed.

  They all sat down as the people Grace hired came to bring the food out. Elli slowly slid her shoes off, running her aching feet along the hardwood of Grace’s floor. The floors were so cold that it soothed Elli’s feet and she found herself sighing in pleasure. Shea cut her a questioning look.

  “You okay?” he asked, leaning over towards her.

  “My feet are killing me.”

  He gave her a cute little smirk before his mother started talking, “So Elli, you take pictures for a living, right?”

  “Yes ma’am. I’ve been doing it for almost seven years now.”

  “I’ve seen some of your work. You’re very good, I must say.”

  “Thank you,” Elli gushed with a grin; Jenna smiled sweetly before reaching for her fork.

  Elli looked over at Grace, and she was giving her a sweet smile. “I meant to tell you Elli, I love your shoes.”

  Elli smiled back, “Thank you, they are Christian Louboutin, and let me tell you, they hurt like the dickens.” Grace started laughing as the rest of the table joined in and that’s when Elli felt comfortable.

  The rest of the dinner went without a hitch. Elli adored Mark and Jenna. They were am
azing, she had never seen two people love their children, or even their son in law, the way Mark and Jenna loved Shea, Grace, and James. Jenna teased Grace and Shea lovely, and not hatefully the way Elli’s family teased her. Mark would always make it a point to talk to James; he would smack him on the arm, or ask him about work. Elli’s mom never talked to Adina or Lauren, only time she ever acknowledged them was when she needed to know something about the kids, but not Mark and Jenna, they loved James like he was one of theirs.

  They even treated Elli like that, and she had just met them. Jenna fired questions all night, even Mark did. They wanted to know everything, and it wasn’t to have information on Elli, like her mother tried to have on Shea, it was to get to know her. Elli actually felt like Mark and Jenna liked her for her, not because of her profession or because of who her uncle was, but because they liked her.

  And it was such a refreshing feeling.

  After dinner, everyone went into the living room for coffee and cake. James was in the middle of a story about one of his co workers when Elli leaned over to Grace asking, “Hey where’s Amelia and Ryan?”

  Grace smiled, “They are staying with a friend of mine. They attack my parents, and mom wanted to get to know you, so I had my friend take them.”

  “Oh, that’s nice. I was looking forward to seeing them, though; I haven’t seen them since before Shea left.”

  “Yeah, well maybe you can visit while Shea’s gone these next two weeks. I don’t mind, I would love it actually,” she said with a grin, Elli smiled.

  “I would, too.”

  When Shea moved his hand into hers, she smiled up at him and he returned it just as his mom said, “So Elli, you and Shea would make beautiful babies, do you want children?”

  Elli head whip over to Jenna, as Shea used his other hand to cover his face.

  “Mom!” Grace complained, “You just met her a couple hours ago, can you not get her barefoot and pregnant in your mind, yet?”

  Everyone laughed as Jenna turned deep red, “I was just asking.”

  “We know, baby, we know.” Mark said, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her temple.

  Shea had done it so many times to Elli that it brought a smile to her face. Elli had always thought Shea was a good man, and now meeting Mark and seeing that his relationship with Jenna has lasted this long, it made Elli’s heart swell. She noticed all through the night how Mark would touch Jenna lovely, or how they would share a private joke, causing Grace and Shea to make a face while it made Elli smile. Elli wasn’t even sure her father really loved her mother, she was convinced her daddy only stayed with her mother because he didn’t get her to sign a pre-nup, but with Mark and Jenna, it was obvious that they were crazy in love.

  Elli watched as Mark moved his hand into Jenna’s as she glared at him, then she smiled, as if holding Mark’s hand had made the embarrassment of her question for Elli go away. If Shea and Elli’s relationship could be anything like Mark and Jenna’s, they were golden.

  “Elli, the last game we came to, Shea showed me your seats, they must be nice. I’ve never been that close,” Mark said with a grin, “Even when Shea played in the AHL, we were always up in a box, I think the last time I was on the ice was when he was in high school, maybe some college.”

  A small smile crossed Elli’s lips, “They are amazin’, and I’ve sat there since the Assassins started. I love ‘em.”

  “You’re uncle owns the team, is that right?” Mark said looking over at Shea.

  Shea nodded as Elli said, “Yes, he has loved hockey his whole life, him and my daddy also played some. My brothers never did play, but I did a little, I wasn’t very good though.”

  Everyone laughed as Shea smiled down at her. “I didn’t know you played before.” She smiled back.

  “Just a little, no big deal,” she said with a shrugged, he shook his head, a smirk pulling at his lips.

  “You guys are just too cute!” Jenna exclaimed, clapping her hands. Elli watched as Grace shook her head and Shea looked everywhere but at her.

  “Jenna, we are talking hockey, quiet now!” Mark joked as he looked back over at Elli, “It's really great having a female in the family that knows hockey,” he said with a laugh.

  In the family? They already considered her family?

  Shea squeezed her hand, and she smiled up at him, showing him that she was okay.

  “You should sit with us tomorrow, sweetie.” Jenna said, taking a sip of her coffee.

  “Oh, thank you so much Jenna, but I don’t sit anywhere but in my seats,” Elli said with a grin, hoping that wouldn’t get her kicked out of the family she had just been added too. Mark just smiled, shaking his head.

  “I wouldn’t sit with us either, if I had your seats.”

  Elli thought for a moment, Harper wouldn’t be going to the game with her tomorrow since Jakob wasn’t coming home till Sunday, so she looked up at Mark with a winning grin on her face, “You wanna sit with me tomorrow?”

  Being decked out in Shea Adler gear, when Shea Adler’s father sat beside Elli, was a tad bit embarrassing but not enough to make her change. She even had Shea’s number on her cheek, and a big grin on her face as Mark and her watched Shea warm up. Mark kept his eyes on Shea and the rest of the guys just as intently as Elli did. They had gotten beers and hot dogs before the guys had come out and the conversation never stopped. Mark was full of stories of Shea’s childhood. Shea had once told Elli he was a busy child, and he wasn’t lying. Mark had a story for every year of Shea’s life and Elli loved hearing them.

  “Did he ever tell you the first time he held a stick?” Elli looked over at Mark, shaking her head.

  “No, sir, he hasn’t,” she answered taking a swig of her beer, Mark smiled over at her.

  “We lived in a crappy apartment on the rough side of town at the time. Jenna started screaming that there was a rat in the kitchen. She yelled at Shea to go get something to kill it, he was four at the time,” Mark chuckled for a moment, reminiscing Elli guessed. “Well, I stood in the doorway, shaking my head at my young wife that stood on our busted kitchen table screaming at the top of her lungs, when Shea come barreling into the kitchen with my old hockey stick from high school. I actually laughed, but then he pulled back when that rat came out and swung that stick so damn hard, that he killed the rat instantly.” Mark slapped his leg as he let out a gut busting laugh, he wiped his eyes after a few moments, still laughing and Elli couldn’t help but laugh along, “Poor Jenna, she was freaking out about the rat blood all over the place, while I just stood there gawking at the perfect slap shot my four year old son had just done. I signed him up the next day, and look, hardest slap shot in the NHL for the last three years. I could kiss that rat if it was alive.”

  That had them both laughing. When Elli was able to breathe again, she looked over at Mark, “That’s some story,” she said with a big grin, “Had Shea told you that he was my favorite player before we started dating?”

  Mark nodded, “He did, that’s how I knew you are a keeper,” he said with a wink. “Plus, you have these amazing seats.”

  That had them both laughing just as the lights went off for the start of the game. Shea skated out when he was announced grinning over at her and Mark.

  When she waved at him, something she did at every game, Mark said, “He really likes you.”

  Elli looked up at him, a shy smile on her face, “I like him, too.”

  “Good, I have a real good feeling about you. You’re a good person, something Shea needs.”

  “Thank you, sir,” she said as she turned catching Shea smirking at her just before he turned to get ready for the puck to be dropped, “He’s something I need, too.”

  Shea knew he needed to get up and start packing, but he just couldn’t let Elli go to do it. He thought leaving last time was hard, this time was gonna be hell. She nuzzled her nose up against his throat just as the sun started coming up. Shea pulled her naked, warm body closer to him, kissing the top of her head. It didn’t see
m fair, after having such a great weekend with someone, having to leave, but this was his career, and he knew he had too.

  Shea pressed his lips against her hair once more, taking in Elli’s scent before letting her go, and slowly scooting out the bed. He picked up his boxers from beside the bed, pulling them on before going to get his suitcase. When he came back from the laundry room with all his clothes in his arms, Elli was sitting up in the bed, rubbing her eyes, her beautiful milky breast showing for his viewing pleasure.

  “Hey,” she said sleepily, he smiled, dropping the clothes at the end of the bed, before kissing her cheek.

  “Hey, beautiful, sorry for waking you.”

  “Don’t be, its fine,” she said before pulling the blanket up over her breast, “Do you want me to fold all that while you take a shower?”

  A slow grin went across his lips before he leaned over, pulling the blanket down, and nuzzling his face in her breasts. She giggled as he crawled on top of her as he became harder with every passing second.

  “I was thinking you should join me,” he said against her skin as he licked and nibbled. She took in a sharp breath when he took her nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around her growing peek.

  “We would never get out of here, plus I’m still worn out from last night. So go on,” she said pushing him away with a sleepy grin on her face. He kissed her stomach before getting up. He did need to go and she was right, they would never get out of there if he got her in that shower. He shot her a smirk before going towards the bathroom as she sat up, looking for her clothes. He admired her naked body, memorizing every curve, all her beautiful skin, everything and anything to keep him warm at night while he was on the road.