by Aleo, Toni
Posey licks her lips, looking over to my mom as she places her water glass down. I wish we had some alcohol for this; I think it would calm her down. But with our game tomorrow, neither of us wants to drink. “No, my mom had a Cabbage Patch doll named Posey when she was little. She wanted to name her daughter that, and I was the lucky winner.”
I smile, thinking that’s cute, but by the way my mom is looking at her, she doesn’t think so.
“How nice.”
Her gaze moves to me, and I glare back, to which she looks away quickly. “I named Boon, Boon, because it means blessing. I knew that, no matter what, I was blessed to have him.”
Posey smiles curtly. “Yeah, I wish that were the case for me. Alas, I’m named after a doll my mom pulled out of a cabbage patch.”
I chuckle lightly, moving my hand along her shoulders, squeezing her neck.
“I like my name, though,” she says, meeting my gaze, and I nod.
“I love it,” I admit, and her eyes light up. I want to say the nerves fly away, but that leg is still bouncing. She’s getting one hell of a calf workout for sure.
I look back at my mom and see how she is scrutinizing us. “So, with your mom as the owner of the Assassins, did she just give you the job? Or did you finish college?”
I’m legit confused right now. Posey swallows hard and I want to stop her from answering, but she doesn’t seem affected by my mother. “I did finish college but decided not to pursue a career in my major since I was offered this job. I’ve been running plays for the Assassins for a couple years now, and our head coach of special teams thought I would be a good fit on a more official basis.”
“Oh, so your mother didn’t hire you?”
“Well, it was ultimately her decision, but the head coach suggested it.”
“Interesting.”
I can only blink, and when Posey looks at me, an expression of pure panic in her eyes, I shake my head. It’s fine, I mouth, but she doesn’t look convinced.
I’m not either.
Back and forth, they go, my mom grilling her as Posey answers. It continues throughout the appetizers, and if my looks could kill, my mom would be in trouble. I don’t understand what is going on here. I don’t know why she is treating Posey like this. I didn’t do this to Wilbur! My girl, though, she’s a champ, answering with nothing but respect. I can tell she is totally anxious, but she won’t back down.
“Mom, you good?” I ask once dinner is served.
I feel Posey’s gaze on my face as my mom meets my gaze. “Of course, sweetheart. Why?”
My eyes burn into hers, and I look toward Wilbur, who is more into his meatloaf than he is this conversation. “Just making sure.”
“I’m fine, honey,” she says as Posey’s phone sounds. She rushes to put it on silent and then brings her brows in. “I hate when people have cell phones at dinner.”
I gawk at my mom. “Seriously?”
Posey pushes back from the table. “I’m so sorry. Excuse me.” She answers the phone and gets up, heading toward the lobby, and I direct my gaze to my mom.
“What the hell is your problem?”
Mom shakes her head, laying down her fork and setting me with a look. “My problem is that girl is not for you.”
My jaw actually drops. “I’m sorry, what?”
“For one, she’s what? Ten?”
I glare. “Not that her age matters, but you know she’s twenty-one. You asked her!”
“I don’t care,” she whisper-scolds. “She doesn’t even look like your type. When did you get into thicker girls?”
“Wow. What the ever-loving fuck? Have you looked at Wilbur?” He doesn’t even look up; he just continues to eat. “That is not okay. She’s fucking perfect.”
But my mom actually shakes her head. “I don’t get it, Boon. I thought Julia was swimming in money, but Posey gives her a run for her money. She comes in here in shoes that cost more than my car payment!”
I blink. “What in the world are you talking about?”
“Her family, Boon. They’re crazy rich. The owner of a hockey team? A Hall of Famer? Her sister was on Broadway? Honey, why can’t you stay in your lane? Do we not remember how things played out with Julia?”
I run my hand down my face, completely and utterly flabbergasted. “This isn’t happening.”
“Do you think they’re gonna accept you? Julia’s family barely did, but I don’t think this one will. You are an employee, not husband material for their child. And I love you, baby, you know I do, but I can’t let you get hurt again.”
I’ve never experienced the kind of anger that is coursing through my bloodstream right now. All the insecurities I have when it comes to my relationship with Posey are being thrown in my face, and I almost don’t know how to handle it.
“Boon, it’s obvious you care for her way more than she does you. She doesn’t even look at you. She just sits there, rigid. You made her out to be funny and fun, but she has hardly talked—”
Okay. Talk about me all you want, but not Posey.
“Because you’ve been grilling the hell out of her!” I yell, and I don’t care who hears me. “That’s unfair. The moment she said what her parents did, you decided she wasn’t for me. She was nervous as hell to meet you, and you—”
My words drop off when Posey comes up beside my mother, her phone down at her side. Mom looks up at her, and Posey takes a deep breath. “I’m so sorry for taking that call. One of the questions you missed was about my health. I have a thyroid disease, and that was my pharmacy with news they couldn’t fill my prescription, so I had to deal with that immediately.”
Mom seems caught off guard. “Oh, it’s fine.”
But it’s isn’t fine. Posey’s eyes are dark and focused on my mother. “And while my parents haven’t met Boon as my boyfriend, they will absolutely adore him because he is a good man,” she says, her shoulders back, and I want to scream out in victory. “They don’t care about money or social standing. This isn’t the 1920s. They care about how he treats me. And he treats me like the queen I am.”
There’s my girl.
My mom is speechless as she looks away. “With our experience—”
“I am not Julia. Boon knows that, and I thought you would give me the benefit of the doubt to realize I’m not either.”
Mom presses her lips together, her eyes cutting back to Posey’s. “You can understand my worries.”
She shrugs. “Sure, but I would hope you’d give me a chance before you cast judgment,” she says simply. “Yes, I’m not showing my feelings for Boon all out in the open like he does with me. He’s comfortable with you. I am not. You have no clue what I feel for him because I haven’t shown you. I shouldn’t have to, in all honesty, because as long as he is happy, then what is the issue?”
A silence falls over the table, and my mom scoots her chair back, standing up so that she isn’t being looked down on. I stand up with them, just as she says, “I don’t like your tone, missy.”
“My name is Posey,” she says sternly. “And I apologize for my tone. I hadn’t realized I had one, but I don’t like my relationship with Boon being questioned. I have never in my life met anyone like him. No one has ever touched my soul the way he does. He makes me feel like I am the only person in the world he wants to see, touch, and talk to, and that is something I’m not willing to allow anyone to doubt. You can doubt me all you want, but my feelings for Boon, you are not allowed to touch.”
“I can and I will if I feel you don’t feel for—”
“I love him,” she says very firmly. Holy shit, did Posey just say that? Everything inside me explodes, and my heart screams for her. My body tingles, and I wish she’d look at me. I’d tell her I feel the exact same and wrap her in my arms, but she keeps her eyes on my mother.
“I love him more than I love myself most days, and I would never hurt him. I have the bar set crazy high for my romantic expectations, given how much my parents love each other, and Boon exceeds them. I pus
h him to be a better player, and he pushes me to be a better coach. We challenge each other, but we love even harder. My day doesn’t start if I don’t speak with him. You can think what you want about me, but as long as he loves me and wants to be with me, I will be with him.” She’s holding her breath as she turns, walking around the table to where her bag is hanging off her chair. Not meeting my gaze, she takes her purse and says, “Baby, I’m sorry, but I need to go get my meds taken care of. Can you call me later?”
I grab hold of her bag, stopping her. She looks up at me, and she’s shaking. Lord, she’s killing me. I grab her jaw, and her wide-eyed gaze meets mine. “No.”
“No?” she says, and I can see the anxiety swimming in her blue depths. “I’m sorry. I know she’s your mom and my mom is probably gonna kill me, but—”
“No, love. I’m not saying no because of that. I’m saying no because I’m coming with you.”
Her lip wobbles, but tears don’t fall. “Oh.”
“Posey, I love you. I love you so damn much.”
She leans into me, her hand coming up to trace the scar along my cheek. That’s one of the things I absolutely love about her—she doesn’t just see my scar; she sees me. “You do?”
“Oh, lovely, I always have. Been a while now, ever since the night you weren’t feeling well and I held you in that white dress I still dream about.”
Her breath catches, her eyes burning into mine, and the emotion is almost too much to handle. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was waiting for you.”
She grins. “I was waiting for you.” We both chuckle a bit as our gazes stay locked together. I feel like I’m being hit by a wave of her love. I feel it crashing into me, and I welcome it. I crave it. I bring her in closer as she says, “I wish I had told you instead of telling your mom.”
I shrug. “It doesn’t matter how you said it as long as you do.”
Her eyes flash with tenderness. “I love you, Boon.”
“I love you too, lovely.”
She then pulls me down for a lusty kiss.
I wrap my arms around her, swallowing her with my arms as our mouths move together perfectly. I feel her kiss all over my body, and I wouldn’t want anything else. As we part, her eyes are gleaming so brightly, so beautifully, they leave me breathless. “Wanna get out of here?”
She nods. “I kind of need to. I need to go to the pharmacy.”
I kiss her nose. “Let’s go.” I don’t let her go far as I take out my wallet, throwing two hundreds on the table. I feel kind of badass doing so, just to show my mom I’m in my lane and I’m kicking ass. I clear my throat as my gaze meets my mom’s. “I like the lane I’m in.”
“Boon—”
“I can’t speak to you right now. Maybe tomorrow.” I look to Wilbur, who has contributed nothing and is still eating like someone is about to take that plate away. “Wilbur, see ya, man.”
“See ya,” he says, waving his fork at us. “Nice meeting you, Posey.”
Posey looks at me incredulously, and I shrug just as my mom says, “I think we need to talk about this. I may have been wrong.”
“Correction. You were wrong,” I snap, setting her with a look. “But my girlfriend needs to go, and I want to go with her. And I don’t want to be near you.”
Mom’s mouth snaps shut, but her eyes are on fire. I know that look, I know she wants to fight, but I don’t have the time or energy. I’m unsure how I feel about how she treated Posey just now, but I am sure that her opinion on us doesn’t matter. I love Posey, and she loves me. I lace my fingers with Posey’s, moving her arm so I can hold her body and her hand at the same time while she’s tucked into my side.
Right where she belongs.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Boon
“So, let me get this straight,” Wes says as he passes the puck to me and I send it to Aiden. We have our little routine in warmups. Reminds me of the beginning of hockey practice when I was growing up. For some reason, the nostalgia of it usually gets me hyped, but I don’t know if I can get hyped today. I’m still so upset with my mom. “Mom said she didn’t like her because she has money?”
Aiden makes a face as I nod. “Yeah, she’s so hung up on it, and I don’t understand it. Julia had money, her parents flashed that all the time, so I don’t know how wearing a pair of shoes makes her different.”
Since Aiden has found out about Posey and me, we’ve all done really well about saying her or she instead of her name. “I mean, my boo be buying some fancy shoes, but did your mom know your girl borrowed them from her sister?” he asks.
I nod. “I told her this morning, and she apologized and said she hates how she acted. But I still have mixed feelings about it. She wanted to go to lunch with her today, but she had a doctor’s appointment.”
Wes gives me a look. “Would she have gone?”
“I’m actually not sure,” I admit. “Though, I can’t blame her if not. Mom was so fucking rude.”
I pick up the puck on my blade and then pass it through the air to Aiden. He catches it on his blade with ease, dancing a bit to be a showboater before tossing it to Wes.
“What are you thinking?”
“What do you mean?” I ask him as Wes tosses it back to me. I catch it, and now I feel like showboating a bit. I quickly fling the puck through the air, making sure to be fast enough so it doesn’t move off my blade. It’s a cool trick.
“I mean, can you be with someone your mom doesn’t like?”
I drop the puck. I gawk at him before Aiden steals it, moving it through my legs. “I could,” he admits before passing it to Wes. “Good thing my mom loves Shelli like she’s hers.”
Wes rolls his eyes. “Not everyone falls in love with their childhood friend, so you don’t count.” He steals the puck from Aiden and then glances back at me. “I mean, I could be with whoever I want, but I didn’t love any of my dad’s exes. They didn’t care for me the way your mom did, you know what I’m saying?”
I do know what he’s saying, and it annoys me that I’ve known this dude for a while but I still don’t know that story. He always gets this pained look on his face, and Aiden told me he saw Wes going to therapy the other day. I assume he goes to deal with his parent situation since he seems like a pretty healthy, happy dude. That’s the thing about mental illness, though; it can be invisible.
“I feel like my mom didn’t give her a chance, and it’s unfair.”
Aiden nods as Wes shrugs. “You’re right, and really, I’m not saying this because you’re my boy, but she is awesome. She is nothing like that cuntbag you were with, and she treats you good. Except for that damn peppermint tea. If I could get rid of that, I would be good.”
I appreciate his love for my girlfriend, but I don’t understand the tea. “What is up with the tea?”
“My dad had a girlfriend who drank tea like that. It gives me PTSD.”
My eyes widen. “Oh.”
He exhales heavily. “But that’s a drunken story for another day.” He sends the puck to me. “I know your mom, I know she’s stubborn, and fuck, you’re just like her. So I’m unsure if she’s going to change her way of thinking about her.”
Aiden steals the puck from me. “And you have to figure out what that means for you.”
I shrug. “Means nothing. I love her.”
“Mom or her?” Wes asks.
“Her,” I say simply. I wait for the guilt, but it doesn’t come. “I love my mom, but my relationship with her is something I can’t give up.”
Aiden takes a deep breath. “I’d never tell my mom this, but I would pick Shelli over her.”
We share a knowing look. Never in my days did I think I would say that.
My mom may have given me life, but Posey, she gives me purpose.
“I would choose a rock over any girlfriend of my dad’s, so I think you guys are way better dudes than me,” Wes jokes, and I grin over at him.
“Hush it. You’ll find a girl instead of a rock.”
<
br /> He makes a face. “Probably not. But still, I don’t think you’re wrong for how you feel.”
Aiden nods. “Me either. I think your mom is wrong. We’d let you know if she wasn’t good for you, but it’s obvious she is.”
I swallow hard. “I get nervous about her parents, but she insists they’ll love me.”
“Her mom will,” Aiden says confidently. “Her dad, different story. He loves his kids all the same, but she has always been his little buddy. My girl used to be jealous of that, but then I reminded her that he left everyone behind to stay in New York with her. So, he distributes his love evenly. Except with his wife—she gets it all. Dude, I don’t even know how he does it. I worry I don’t give my girl enough attention, but he pulls it off and also with his kids. It’s really annoying and a very high bar to try to reach that I still struggle with.”
Wes and I just blink at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you insecure about something,” I admit, and Aiden laughs.
“When you have that epic love of her parents—and shit, mine—flashing in your face, it hard to live up to. I don’t ever want to lose her.”
I feel him on that, but then I hear Posey’s words in my head. I have the bar set crazy high for my romantic expectations, given how much my parents love each other, and Boon exceeds them.
Ha, I’m winning in that department, and I hadn’t even realized I was.
“And that fucker, I’ll hate him always for stealing her from me.”
We both look to where Aiden is pointing his stick very blatantly at the IceCats’ goalie.
Wes moves his gaze to Aiden as he scrunches up his face. “In all reality, didn’t you steal her from him?”
Aiden whips his head to Wes, fire in his gray gaze. “For one, she loved me, not him. She was using his body, probably thinking of me as he ineffectively tried to bang her.” He pauses, and his face reminds me of a tomato. “Great. Now I’m thinking of that tall bastard fucking my girl.”
I shake my head, chuckling at him, but before I can try to change the subject, I hear, “Got something to say, Brooks?”
I look over to see the goalie, Merryweather, standing at the blue line, his gaze focused like a laser on Aiden.
