I‘m not usually someone who gets nervous, considering that I work best under high-pressure situations. However, this morning I did indeed wake up with a stomach full of nauseating nerves. The culprit—meeting Ava’s family.
A faint tap on my truck’s window makes me jump in surprise and smack the top of my head against the roof. Rubbing my injured crown, I roll my window down. Ava is standing by my truck, her arms crossed.
“Were you planning on staying out here all night?” she teases. The mischievous glint in her eyes seems to dance playfully as I curse myself. I have been parked in front of Ava’s family home for the past five minutes, daydreaming. What a great first impression.
The relatively large yet homely-looking house sits at the top of the cobblestone driveway. The light brick and massive floor to ceiling windows contrast perfectly. The lawn is neatly trimmed, despite the weather and time of year. The cobblestone driveway is illuminated by garden lights, all the way up to the porch.
“Maybe I was just waiting for you to come outside to greet me?” I say, my voice dripping in sarcasm. Ava rolls her eyes at me in response. I grab my keys from the ignition and pick up the flowers that Mom insisted I bring from the passenger seat.
Ava’s eyes widen in surprise. “Good call with the flowers. How did you know to get daisies?”
I hop out of the truck and smirk, oddly proud. “Have a little faith, babe.” She raises an eyebrow accusingly, unconvinced. “Fine. My mom told me to get them. Happy now?”
She lets out a light laugh and laces our fingers together. Leading the way up the driveway, she takes the flowers out of my hand, looking over at me curiously.
“You ready?”
“Let’s do this, baby doll.”
Ava wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. Squeezing my hand, she pushes the door open.
“Always the confident one.”
As soon as I step inside, the smell of turkey makes my stomach
growl.
Similar to my house, Ava’s has a very open floor plan. Straight
across from the front door is the living room, with a fireplace resting in between two built-in bookshelves. The kitchen is directly beside us. It’s beautiful, with its light oak cabinets, marble countertops that nearly match the floor to perfection.
“Take your shoes off,” Ava giggles, snapping me out of my reverie. I quickly do as she says and let her lead me past the kitchen and over to a lavishly decorated dining room.
Sitting in two of the eight chairs at the white wooden dining table is Ava’s mom and who I’m guessing is her brother’s girlfriend.
“Mom, Sydney, this is Oakley,” Ava says confidently, not letting go of my hand. Sydney gives me a simple wave of her hand while Ava’s mom stands with her hands on her hips, her brown eyes narrowed.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Layton.” I swallow past the lump in my throat and offer her my hand.
“You were right when you said he was handsome, Ava baby.”
My eyes widen as Ava’s cheeks flush. Lily lets out a loud laugh, her long auburn waves swinging behind her shoulders with the action. “Put that hand away and hug me. Save the manners for my husband,” she insists and pulls me in for a tight hug. “Oh, and call me Lily. Mrs. Layton makes me sound like my crazy mother-in-law.”
“Sounds good, Lily,” I chuckle and wink at Ava over her mom’s shoulder.
“Where did dad and Ben go?” she asks as soon as Lily releases me. “Oh, you know them. Ben insisted on your dad helping him fix the
piece of crap car that he still refuses to sell.”
As if on cue, loud footsteps sound from somewhere down the hall. “Son, that thing is a piece of shit. You’re going to end up stranded on
the road in no time,” a gravelly voice chides, getting louder the closer they get to us.
“It’s my baby. No way in hell am I giving her up,” a younger male voice says quickly.
The arguing men enter the dining room and I raise my eyebrows. Despite the apparent age gap between the two, they are almost identical: exceptionally tanned with chiselled features, tall frames, and light eyes. The older man—Ava’s father—is taller than her brother. He is easily the same height as me. His eyes are slits and his lips are pulled tight into a straight line. He stares at me intently for a few moments, trying to intimidate me. I stare back, unaffected. He nods slightly and looks away.
“Oakley, these two teenagers are my dad and brother.” Ava shoots both men a warning look as if daring them to insult me. She’s so cute.
Like I did with Lily, I offer her father my hand and wait for him to take it. He takes my hand almost immediately and grips it tightly. I smile and shake his hand firmly. He nods his head in approval.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Layton,” I say in a firm, steady voice, my nerves dissipating.
“Nice to finally put a name to the face, Oakley,” he says roughly. “Hope you’re hungry. Lily made enough food to feed an army.” He drops his hand to his side and stands next to his wife, his other arm tight around her waist.
“Um, hello? I’m still here. Nice to meet you, Oakley,” Ben jokes. He shakes my hand with a firm grip, like his father.
“Likewise.”
“Okay, introductions are over. Help me set the table, Ben,” Lily
orders.
Ben rolls his eyes, and I feel an immediate fondness for him. “Why
do I always have to set the table?”
 |
With food piled on our plates, we eat in a comfortable silence. Ava stares at me through her lashes, a small smile lighting up her face. I lift a brow and raise my glass to my lips.
“Oakley, Ava told us you play hockey. Is that something you’re serious about pursuing permanently?” Lily asks with genuine curiosity,
tearing my attention away from her daughter.
“Yes, I do. And absolutely. Hockey is something that I want to do for as long as I can,” I reply, my voice strong and steady.
“So you plan on making it to the big time? You want to play in the major league?” her dad asks, unhelpfully.
I can’t say I didn’t see this one coming.
“Yes, Sir. Quite a few teams have already approached me. It’s been my dream since I was little,” I admit. His jaw clenches as he leans closer to the table, his fiery gaze unwavering.
“You and Ava have talked about what’s going to happen when you’re jetting off all over North America while she’s still in college then? You’re serious enough about my daughter to come back for her?” His words are harsh, and I don’t miss the annoyance in his tone.
I turn to look at Ava as her fork clatters on her plate. Her hands are shaking, cheeks pink. I rest my hand on her thigh and rub my thumb back and forth in an attempt to soothe her.
“What is your problem?” she snaps at her dad through clenched
teeth.
“I can assure you that I’m very serious about your daughter. I
wouldn’t be here if I weren’t,” I promise, my hand still on Ava’s thigh.
“Are you ready for that, Ava? Never seeing him because he’s constantly hopping around from city to city? You deserve better than to be left in the dust until something better comes along,” he says, blatantly ignoring what I just told him.
“Sir, with all due respect, I don’t plan on leaving Ava in the dust. Nor do I plan on being gone for long periods of time. I’m also confident that I’m not going to find anyone better,” I tell him firmly, trying very hard to reign in my rising temper.
“And we’re supposed to trust you on that? I can’t just believe what you say with blind faith,” he snaps back. His words cut through me like knives as the room becomes dead silent.
Lily stares at her husband, open-mouthed as Sydney raises an eyebrow and takes a sip of her drink. Ava simply looks furious.
Ben glares at his father and shakes his head. “Dad, this isn’t the time or place. Drop it.”
“Ben’s right. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be upstairs,” Ava growls.
She shoots up from the table and storms out of the room, dragging me with her and leaving our half-eaten meals behind. Her breaths come out as short, angry puffs. I have no idea what to say. I simply follow her up a grand, spiral staircase.
I don’t blame her dad for asking those questions. Yes, they could have been phrased differently, but I would have asked the same things if I were in his position. The part that sucks the most about what just happened is that he wasn’t wrong about anything. Well, other than me finding someone better. I don’t think that’s even a possibility.
Ava comes to a stop outside of a white painted door at the end of the warm, inviting hallway.
“This is my room. Make yourself at home.” She pushes the door open and I hesitantly make my way inside.
Her room is exactly the opposite of her other room at the apartment. The room is clean and sleek, without a single thing out of place. The walls are painted a cool teal—matching her bed covers—and every piece of furniture is white. A neat, tidy desk sits under the window. The two white doors on the opposite wall must lead to a closet and bathroom.
My eyes follow Ava as she crosses the room and flops onto her bed.
I sit down beside her on the edge of the bed and rub her leg. “Are you okay?”
“He’s not usually like that. I’m sorry,” Ava sighs, staring at the pictures and prize ribbons hanging on her wall. “I don’t know what his deal is.”
bad.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m a big boy. I can deal with it. It wasn’t that
A few moments of silence pass between us before Ava speaks again.
“Do you think what he said will happen?”
My mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water as I try to respond. The last thing I want is for Ava to start doubting this—to start doubting us.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re going to be gone most of the time and I’m just going to be.. well here. Hockey is the only thing keeping you in Vancouver. What happens when you aren’t here anymore?” she mumbles, her voice barely audible.
“Come here,” I plead gently, my arm held outstretched. Slowly, she sits up and comes to sit beside me. She tucks her face into the side of my neck and wraps her arms tightly around me. “You’re insane if you think hockey is the only thing I have here.”
She draws in a shaky breath and nods her head as she leans into me, sighing. I rub my arm up and down her back and clear my throat.
“Besides, the odds of me being drafted at the end of this season are extremely slim. I’ll most likely be here for another year. There’s no use in worrying about it now.”
Ava nods her head again, and we just sit together in silence, both of us wishing that my words were true.
