by Box Set
I’ve never experienced the team’s arrival from this perspective. It’s overwhelming. The media slags and excited fans are all over the place, flashes from cell phone cameras go off like strobe lights. They yell at Alex, asking about the fight and me, wanting to know if the locker room rumors are true. I cower into his side, disturbed by how quickly news travels. As the lone female among the throng of giant males, I stick out like a pair of boobs in a sea of dicks, just as I feared.
I grip Alex’s arm tightly. “Please tell me there aren’t any pictures.”
He shakes his head. “It’s all speculation.”
His response doesn’t do much to alleviate my concern.
Through the spots in my eyes from the flashes, I search valiantly for my parents and Charlene in the crowd. All the faces are indistinct blurs.
Alex takes my hand and leans down so his mouth is close to my ear. “My family is here. I want to introduce you.”
Oh God. I have to meet the parents. I’m thankful I had time to manage my hair, otherwise I’d still be sporting the freshly fucked look. What if I say something dumb? This is me after all; I have a propensity for spewing idiocy. What if Alex’s mother hates me? What if rumors of the locker room lovin’ have already reached her?
My palm is sweaty as Alex slides his fingers between mine and gives it a squeeze. I squeeze back, unable to let up on my grip.
He pulls me close and kisses my temple. “They’re going to love you.”
We’ll see about that. Immediately after we enter the VIP section, a woman my mother’s age throws her arms around him.
Once she lets him go, I take in the rest of her. Holy shit. If there happened to be a Cougar Component for a beauty pageant, she’d be a prime candidate. Her stunning face and delicate features are overshadowed by her hair. It’s huge.
The complexity of the teased style must be held in place by seven cans of hairspray. If I lit a match within a ten-foot radius of her head, she would burst into flames. I just can’t get over it. As I stare in horrified awe, I snap my mouth shut and attempt a natural smile.
Alex is beaming. It would be cute if I wasn’t so damn stunned by the pageant queen before me.
“Mom, this is my girlfriend, Violet. Violet, this is my mother, Daisy.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” I say through my plastered-on smile.
How adorable. We’re both named after flowers. Her name is completely at odds with her crazy Aqua Net hair. Daisy is a name I attribute to flower children who wear tie-dye and smoke weed.
Beyond the hair and the discordant name, Alex introduced me as his girlfriend again. To his mother. At least he doesn’t have to tell her I’m not a prostitute, but this is crazy. I didn’t even get the chance to say I wanted to be his girlfriend—he just applied the label. Don’t people ask those sorts of questions nowadays? Or is it assumed once we reach the stage of weekend getaways? Does this qualify as a weekend getaway? I have too many questions.
“I had no idea Alex had a girlfriend.” She looks at Alex. “Why would you want to keep this one a secret?”
Oooh. I’m not liking Mrs. Waters so far.
“I haven’t been keeping Violet a secret.” He’s smiling, but there’s an edge to his tone and a warning in his eyes as he stares his mother down.
I can see the moment she decides I’m not good enough for her son. She extends her hand and gives me a limp-noodle handshake, like I have a disease. This is going so well.
Alex is either oblivious to the estrogen landmine we’ve dropped into, or he’s looking for a way to save me, because he introduces me to his father. Holy vowel sounds. Alex may have his mother’s eyes and hair color, but he has his dad’s looks. Mr. Waters’ is pulling a hard-core silver fox. His eyes are a stunning shade of blue. This family has been blessed with amazing eye genes. And everything else. His choice of clothing is something else. He’s sporting a pair of worn jeans and a white button-down. The top three buttons are undone, exposing a band T-shirt. He’s also wearing Birkenstocks—with socks.
He leans in so he doesn’t have to yell. “Don’t mind Daisy. She thinks she needs to know what Alex had for breakfast. She doesn’t like to be left out.” He winks and straightens. “I can see why he might be trying to keep you all to himself. You look feisty enough to keep him in line, which he seems to need after the stunt he pulled tonight. Fighting is for rookies, son.”
I hold in my sigh of relief, glad he’s not referring to the locker room.
Alex’s father is much warmer than his mother. His name is Robert, but he goes by Robbie. He’s all chilled-out and relaxed. He slings an arm over Daisy’s shoulder, and she rests her rock-hard hair on his chest. She doesn’t look like she wants to kill me anymore, maybe just maim me.
As Robbie asks me questions about how I met Alex, a girl closer to my age comes sauntering up to the bar with a fruity drink in her hand. She throws her arms around Alex’s neck.
My first inclination is to grab her by the hair, but I recognize her from the photos last week. She’s Alex’s sister. I have nothing to be jealous of. Apart from the fact that she’s all legs and has long, flowing sandy blonde hair. Damn her and her near perfection. She’s wearing distressed jeans and a T-shirt that says “100% Recycled Material.” She’s also sporting Birkenstocks with rainbow toe-socks. Alex’s sister is a certified hippie. She and her father are two peas in a pod.
“The amaretto sours are best!” she says to no one in particular.
Daisy looks at one of her hot pink nails. “Don’t get drunk and make a fool out of yourself.”
Alex’s sister either ignores Daisy or doesn’t hear her as she chugs the rest of her drink and finally notices me. “Oh my God, you’re the make out girl!” Her shriek is so loud all conversation around us stops. “You’re even prettier in real life! I can totally see why Alex stuck his tongue down your throat.”
I want to run away. I want to pretend this isn’t happening. Daisy’s confused expression tells me she hasn’t seen the photos of me and Alex making out. I can’t imagine how since they’re everywhere. Robbie’s cheeks flush and his ears go red. Alex’s father must have seen the pictures of me playing tonsil hockey with his son. That’s just wrong.
“Alex, not again!” Daisy exclaims with her hands on her hips. “When are you going to learn?”
As Daisy dives into a lecture about appropriate affection in public, Alex becomes more and more like a little boy being chastised. His shoulders hunch and he nods, apologizing repeatedly. It’s appalling. It’s then I understand his mother is in denial about her son being a player.
I’m suddenly very, very interested in the workings of the Waters family. It’s like watching a social experiment gone awry. I feel much less disturbed by my own mother’s behavior as I observe the interaction between Alex, Daisy, and the rest of his family.
“You know how the media twists things around. I was just kissing her goodnight,” Alex says.
“With tongue,” Sunny replies, batting her blonde lashes.
“Sunny!” Daisy gives her a disapproving look.
“I wasn’t the one tonguing someone else’s mouth for the whole world to see,” Sunny replies.
“Can we not talk about this right now?” Alex asks, shifting uncomfortably.
“Vi! There you are.”
Buck worms his way into the group, inadvertently saving us from further interrogation. Well, worm probably isn’t the right word. He’s too large to be able to worm into anything, so he barrels his yeti ass into the group and says hello to Alex’s parents. He even calls them Mr. and Mrs. Waters. Daisy giggles and tells him to call her by her first name. It’s reminiscent of my mom.
Then Buck introduces himself to Alex’s little sister. I have yet to be formally introduced to her; the focus having been on Alex sticking his tongue down my throat in widely-publicized pictures. Her name is Sunshine. She goes by Sunny. Sunshine and Daisy. Violet and Skye. I see a theme here. Alex is lucky his name wasn’t Woody, or Bark.
“You two could be sisters,” Buck says to Daisy as he kisses the back of Sunny’s hand.
Sunny and Daisy giggle. Alex looks like he’s going to have a coronary. Robbie is irritated and suspicious, glaring at Buck. Rightly so. I’m sure if he’s seen the pictures of Alex and me, he’s seen the ones of Buck. I hope he has, and more than that, I hope he cares. Buck is in full hockey-whore-wooing mode.
Sunny puts her hand on Buck’s arm. “You have such a strong aura.”
“I just use Axe after I shower,” Bucks says. “It’s not too much, is it?”
“It’s great.”
“Can I get you something to drink?”
I watch in horror as Buck threads his arm through hers and guides her to an open spot at the bar, and her family allows it to happen. What I want to tell Sunny is Buck’s strong aura is a result of his VD, or maybe the vast quantity of body hair he sports makes it look like he has an aura when he’s really masquerading as a Sasquatch.
Alex seems too stunned to move. I can relate. I’ve never seen Buck act like this. Ever. Robbie goes back to asking me questions, completely ignoring Sunny’s sudden departure with Buck.
Daisy is quiet and observant—it makes me nervous. Robbie’s questions about my family remind me I haven’t seen my parents or Charlene yet. I want to check my phone because it’s been vibrating in my pocket relentlessly for a while, but I don’t want to be rude.
“I assume you’ll be coming to the house tomorrow afternoon sometime, Alex?” Daisy sets her empty glass down on the bar.
The last part sounds more like an order than a question. Daisy Waters rules the roost.
“Actually, I’m going to stay in Toronto for an extra night. I want to show Violet around the city. I plan to take her to the Guelph campus on Saturday afternoon. We could come by afterward.”
“You’ll have dinner with us then?”
Alex rubs my back. “Sure, sounds great.”
I didn’t stop to think there would be a family visit included in this weekend. I wish I could pull Alex aside and tell him this isn’t an awesome idea at all. I came here thinking we’d be locked away together for the weekend, having sex in every conceivable position known to man and a few we can make up on our own. Follow it up with a whirlpool bath and some Epsom salts for what I am hoping will be my slightly worn-out cooter, and that’s what I would’ve called a plan. I should be happy he wants me to get to know his family, but this is way fast. I’m not ready to be appropriate for hours at a time.
“If you think you’ll be there earlier, just call and let us know.” Her smile looks forced. I want to cry. She hates me.
As if things aren’t bad enough, I hear my mom behind me. Meeting the parents is stressful. Having them meet each other, too, is going to be the hammer of death.
“Vi, baby girl, there you are!” My mom flails excitedly, almost smacking Sidney in the face as he comes up behind her. “I wasn’t worried about you. I knew you must have gone to find your man to make him feel better.” She says the last part in my ear, but she’s yelling, so everyone hears. Daisy’s eyes have gone wide. Robbie, who wears a perma-grin, appears suddenly uneasy. Understandable, since a crazy woman has crashed our party.
The real shame is coming. This is just a warm up. I check behind her for Charlene, my backup in these situations. She’s nowhere to be found.
“Hello.” My mom waves enthusiastically at Daisy and Robbie. I brace myself for the impact of her lunacy. She’s probably three sheets to the wind. There’s a flask poking out of her purse. Way to be discreet, Mom.
“You must be Alex’s parents. I’m Skye, Violet’s mother.” She extends a hand to Daisy in what can only be considered one of her more appropriate gestures. Daisy smiles politely as she introduces herself, her bouffant hair moving in tandem with the bob of her head.
“And you must be . . .” She turns her charm on Alex’s dad. She’s definitely drunk. I can tell by her slight sway. I silently pray she doesn’t flirt with him in front of me, his son, and his wife, not to mention Sidney. This is too much to ask, though.
“Robbie Waters.” He gives her a beaver-exploding smile.
It’s the same one Alex gave me the first night we met, right before he told me we didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want and subsequently got into my pants.
“What a pleasure.” She winks, but it looks like she’s strobe-blinking. “I can definitely see where Alex gets his looks.”
This is disgustingly mortifying. I contemplate ordering shots so I’m less lucid.
My mom gives Daisy a huge smile, as if she shouldn’t be offended by the blatant flirtatiousness going on. “And if the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, you must be a very, very satisfied woman.” She waggles her eyebrows.
For the love of Christ, is my mother talking about Alex’s dick abilities with his mother? I glance at Sidney, who’s just standing there. I mouth “do something.” He shrugs, obviously equally as drunk and entertained. I hate them both.
Daisy stares at my mom, looking almost as disturbed as I am by this comment. She flushes and pats her hard pageant hair nervously. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
I grab Alex’s arm, my fingernails digging into his skin. He regards me with disturbed panic.
“I’m so sorry,” I tell him, because it’s about to get worse.
My mom is too wasted to muzzle herself. She puts a hand on Daisy’s shoulder and leans in as if she’s about to tell her a secret. However, the bar is loud, and anything below a yell is too quiet.
“Sidney told me when Buck was born the nurses wanted to take pictures. They said he looked like he was sporting a kickstand. You know how it is: like father, like son.”
Daisy’s eyes widen until I fear she’s going to look like an anime character permanently.
“Oh! I see. I—uh, I suppose that’s the case then. Like father, like son.”
I’m not the only one who’ll die of embarrassment tonight.
Chapter 19
MOTHERS ARE EMBARRASSING
Violet
“Well, it’s time for us to be heading home,” Robbie says, his voice cracking.
“And you know”—Daisy leans in close to her new bestie, my mother, and yells over the noise—“I’m definitely satisfied.” Like my mom, she’s a hand-talker and accidentally whacks Robbie in the junk.
He’s up against the bar, so he can’t escape. This is appallingly entertaining. Robbie protects himself by wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against his chest. He puts his mouth to her hair and says something. The sound waves traveling around in there must be absorbed by hairspray because I hear nothing.
Whatever he says does the trick. Daisy abandons the conversation with my mom—to everyone’s relief—and grabs Alex. Kissing him on the cheek, she leaves behind pastel pink lip marks. Then she molests my mother—kidding, they just hug. Daisy invites her and Sidney to come over for dinner. Thankfully they’re leaving early tomorrow morning. I can’t imagine the gongshow Alex’s parents’ house would become if such an event transpired.
Daisy pat-hugs me. It’s limp like her handshake.
“What about your sister?” I ask Alex as she and Robbie traipse to the exit.
Alex plows through the crowd to stop them. They’re too far away for me to hear their brief conversation. Alex doesn’t look happy. I can’t believe his parents would willingly leave their daughter with the likes of Buck.
Sidney uses this as an opportunity to take my mother back to their room, saving Alex and I from further humiliation.
Alex returns a minute later, rubbing the back of his neck.
“What did they say?” I ask.
He surveys the bar with a frown. “She’s staying with friends in the city. I thought she’d be at the condo with my parents tonight.”
“Why don’t we see if we can find her? Maybe she’s with the team.”
“I fucking hope so.”
The VIP section is packed, but Sunny and Buck are nowhere to be found. Buck
better not be using this as a way to get back at Alex, otherwise a WWE match is likely to occur.
As gargantuan as Buck is, Alex is aggressive when he’s pissed. Now that I’ve borne witness to his temper, I’m not interested in watching it flare up in response to my thoughtless, yet sometimes lovable, stepbrother.
Glancing around, I spot Charlene sitting beside Darren. She’s not in his lap, but she’s close. Darren is the picture of a gentleman: arm wrapped loosely around the back of her chair, his attention totally focused on her while she talks animatedly. I point them out to Alex.
“Will wonders never cease.” He squints. “Isn’t that Charlene? What’s she doing here?”
“She came, too. Mostly to meet Darren.”
“She’s a good friend. She was extremely helpful when you weren’t talking to me.” He smoothes his tie.
That’s totally a jab. There’s a sharpness to his statement. He did a good job hiding his hurt before, although phone sex was likely helpful.
“I’m sorry.” It’s a long overdue apology. “I should’ve called and let you explain. I was worried you’d tell me you were hooking up with someone else and I was going to be your side bunny, so I avoided you altogether.” I stare at his chin as I ramble on. “Am I forgiven?”
If this relationship is going somewhere, I’ll have to learn how to deal with all the media crap, which means talking to Alex. My main concern is becoming one of those paranoid freak girlfriends who will require endless reassurance. It’s scary to be someone’s girlfriend, especially when that someone is a well-known hockey player with unlimited puck bunnies looking to take a ride on his monster cock.
He tilts my chin up and brushes his lips over mine. “You’re here aren’t you? I invited you. I want to be with you.”
“So I am forgiven?”
He grins. “Mostly.”
“Mostly?” My heart squeezes. I want to be totally forgiven.
