[thirty-two]

Lillianah's POV

Exhausted, I crashed on my couch. I looked over my shoulder and saw I didn't close the front door all the way. Cursing to myself I got up and shut and locked the door. I knew this was coming, with all the time I had taken off that I'd be working a lot. Three days in a row of fourteen hour shifts was a little extreme though, but if that's what it took to catch up on rent money, that's what I needed to do. I knew I needed to get to sleep considering the next day I'd be going to lunch with Max and his parents. I couldn't bring myself up off the couch though, my cast felt like it weighed eighty pounds, and I felt like I weighed at least five hundred alone. I couldn't move. I glanced at the clock on the DVD player, 2:33 AM. I hadn't seen Max since we got back from Phillie and I was missing him. I didn't think that was possible, to miss someone. I grabbed my phone, just taking the chance, are you still awake? I set the phone down on my stomach and I laid down on the couch. Yeah, I was hoping you'd text me. Can I come over? A smile came over my face, how did he know?

A knock on the door brought me out of my light sleep. I jumped up from the couch and hobbled to the door. The minute I swung the door open I collapsed in his arms. "Will you sleep here tonight? I've missed you," I whispered in to his ear. "Of course, come on, you look exhausted." He picked me up, shutting and locking the door behind him and took me in to my bedroom. "Well yeah, I've worked 42 hours the past three days. I work tomorrow night too, luckily just 10 to 2." "Lil, you're really tired, come on let's get you changed and go to bed." I was getting emotional, probably from the lack of sleep. I didn't want to move from the bed when he approached me with shorts and a tank top. "Lil, why are you crying?" He sat down next to me and pulled me in to his arms. "I don't know, I'm just tired, and I've missed you, and I'm scared for tomorrow." I felt him kiss my temple and he helped me out of clothes, changing me in to my pajamas. "You have nothing to be scared about tomorrow, now come on, let's go to bed." He held me in his arms and I quickly fell asleep. 

The numbers slapped me across the face, how in the world did I wake up so early? 8:30 AM was unheard of in this apartment. I rolled over to see I was alone. A note was left on the pillow next to me and I picked it up. 'Hey baby, there was something I needed to take care of this morning. I will be back around 11:00 to pick you up to get my parents. Just relax okay? Everything will be okay. Love you, Max.' I smiled and got out of bed, I knew I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. Taking a shower had become a chore, sitting on the edge of the tub and wrapping my cast in plastic wasn't fun. I took my time to get ready though, I needed to make a good first impression. I wasn't worried about meeting his family until I got back from Phillie, then I realized that yeah, this is a big deal. I really want them to like me, just as much as my family likes Max. I did my hair, minimal makeup and once again pulled on my tights. It was the only thing I could wear that was comfortable. As I looked through my closet for a top there was a knock on the door. I glanced at the clock, he was right on time. I opened the door for him and he did a one over on me. "You shouldn't answer the door like that, especially right before we're suppose to leave to get my parents." I couldn't help but laugh. I headed back in to my closet and pulled down a heather grey turtle neck sweater dress. I wrapped a thick black belt around my waist, took a deep breath and I was ready to go. 

"Where were you this morning?" I asked as we drove away from my building, I really didn't care, I was just curious. "I . . . um, I wanted to make sure the hotel was ready for my folks." I knew he was lying. Just the way he hesitated, and the tone of his voice, he was lying. Why would Max be lying to me? I just let it go, I'm sure whatever the real reason was, it wasn't that big of a deal. I nodded my head and just kept my eyes on the road in front of us. We pulled into the airport and I watched as Max turned a corner and a big smile climbed on to his face. "There they are," he smiled as he pulled up to the curb. Now I know where he gets the smile, a petite woman, smiling ear to ear was waving frantically to us as Max parked the car. Max pulled his parents into quick hugs before helping me out of the car. "Lillianah these are my parents Serge and Lucie. Mom, Dad, this is my Lillianah." His grip around my waist tightened and he kissed my cheek. I held my hand out to shake theirs but his mother quickly pushed my hand aside and pulled me in to a hug. "It's so nice to finally meet you." Her accent was thicker than Max's and it sounded like she was struggling with her English, but she played it off very well. "It's nice to meet you too," I smiled after she pulled away and his father pulled me in to a hug as well. "Eccentric, remember?" Max whispered laughing in to my ear. Max loaded their luggage in the back and we were on our way to grab some lunch. 

"Max says your a DJ?" Lucie asked as we sat in a cafe for lunch. "Yes, at a night club, it's a fun job," I smiled. I knew it wasn't a respectable job, or one someone would keep for the rest of their lives so I was a little worried about what they would think. "Hey as long as you're having fun that's all that matters. Max wouldn't be playing hockey if he wasn't having fun." She had a point. She went on to ask about my family and where I grew up, just the usual stuff. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Now I know how Max felt meeting my parents. It's a very stressful process. "Oh mom, Flower is asking Vero to marry him on Valentine's day." Oh crap, Valentine's day, that's coming up. What do girlfriends do on Valentine's day? I've never had to worry about it before. I snapped myself out of my mini-freak out and brought my attention back to the conversation. "Oh, that's wonderful, and it's about time. I will have to tell him good luck at the game tomorrow." Max's hand found mine underneath the table and he gave me a gentle squeeze before looking at me and smiling. "You okay?" He whispered and I nodded my head with a smile. "So are we all going to dinner tonight?" Serge asked after a few moments of silence. "We can yeah, Lil was going to head back to her place and take a nap before she goes to work at 10. Oh yeah, I meant to ask you, when do you see the doctor for your ankle again?" "Monday. Hopefully they will take it off," I smiled and he gave me a quick kiss before we left the cafe. 

We dropped his parents off at the hotel and headed back toward my place. "They like you. A lot." "You think so?" "Oh yeah, especially my mom, I'm surprised she didn't try and kid nap you or something to go shopping or go get your hair and nails done. You know, what's it called, a spa day." I started laughing and grabbed his free hand, tangling my fingers in his. "Can I take my nap at your place?" I asked as we started getting closer to my apartment. "Why my place?" He asked with a smirk on his face. "To be truthfully honest, my sheets don't smell like you. Call me corny, I don't care, but I just sleep better in your bed." He squeezed my hand. "That's the best thing I've heard all day. Of course you can. Do you need to grab anything at your place?" "Yeah, just work clothes." He parked the car and we both headed up to my apartment. I watched as Max took out two of my duffel bags and stuffed as much clothes as he could in to the bags. I watched in amusement and grabbed all of my things out of my bathroom. "Just getting a head start on you moving in," he smiled before we headed out. 

I sat on his bed and watched as he placed all of my clothes into an empty drawer in his dresser. "So, Valentine's day, um . . ." I didn't know how to ask if we were doing something. "I actually have a game that night, but if you want to do something, I can definitely plan something. I actually have a few ideas in mind, that is if you don't mind." I couldn't help but smile, he was just as confused and worried about it as I was. "I'd like that." I pulled my dress and bra off and climbed underneath the covers of his bed. Inhaling his scent on the pillow case, I knew I'd get a few good hours of sleep before work. I felt him lay down next to me and I opened my eyes to see him smiling at me. "Have a good nap, will you come here after work?" "Yeah, if you want me too." "Of course, I will leave you a key on the kitchen counter." I leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. "Have a good dinner with your parents okay? Tell them sorry I couldn't join them, but just explain to them I've been working a lot lately." "They'll understand. Get some sleep. I love you." "Love you too." So it was happening. I have my own drawer, I have my own key, according to him his parents like me. For once I wasn't freaking out, Max truly was a life saviour for me. Reconnecting me with my family, showing me what true love feels like, showing me what I've been denying myself for so long. One thing was certain, I'm happy he's the one. He's the one. I hugged on to his spare pillow and drifted off to sleep. 

Max's POV

I knew she was pushing herself at work, but I also knew that she needed to make up for the hours she missed. I stayed up every night hoping she'd ask me to come over and when she finally did I was relieved. I just wanted to hold her in my arms, maybe massage out her overworked muscles. I couldn't believe it when I heard she had been scheduled for three 14-hour shifts. She was doing everything from planning theme nights, to cleaning, to setting up and then DJing at the end of the night. I knew she would be overworked, and it couldn't help that my parents would be in town in less than 24 hours. She collapsed in my arms the minute she opened the door and my heart broke, she was exhausted. I took her into her bedroom and found her pajamas, when I turned back around she was crying. The strongest woman I had ever met in my life, that's been through hell and back was breaking down on her bed. "Lil, why are you crying?" I sat down next to her and pulled her in to my arms. "I don't know, I'm just tired, and I've missed you, and I'm scared for tomorrow." I kissed her temple and helped her change. She was just tired and needed a good nights sleep.  "You have nothing to be scared about tomorrow, now come on, let's go to bed." I pulled down the covers and we crawled in and she quickly fell asleep with her head resting against my chest. I ran my fingers through her hair a few times, and could see myself doing this for the rest of my life. Falling asleep with her in my arms. I kissed her one last time on the forehead and fell asleep myself.

When I woke up in the morning I found myself in the same position as when I fell asleep. Lillianah's head was still resting against my chest and her arm was wrapped around my waist. I found a new peace inside of myself that morning. In the center of large city, in this apartment, in this bed, we were the only two people that existed. I chose the right girl to hand my heart to. I glanced over her shoulder and saw that it was just past 7 AM. I kissed her forehead and snuck out underneath her arm. I scribbled down a note and headed out her door. I had a certain agenda for the morning, and I was looking to spend some money, my first stop was Flower's house. 

She was a nervous wreck when we headed to the airport, she wouldn't admit it, but I could just tell. Her palms were clammy and she kept clenching her jaw. As we turned the corner at the airport I saw my parents standing at the curb, I was late, I hated that. A smile crept on to my face anyways as I saw my mom waving frantically. After introducing Lillianah to my parents I held back my laughter as she held out her hand to shake hands. I watched as my mom pulled her into a hug, and then my dad. She looked a little overwhelmed, "eccentric remember?" I whispered into her ear laughing. She looked up at me and smiled and we headed to the cafe for lunch. "How was the flight?" "Oh it was good, I just wished they had a one-way flight between Pittsburgh and Montreal, but they don't." "Yeah that is a pain in the ass." We got to the cafe and the 'get to know' questions started flowing out, and the more and more my mother talked the calmer Lillianah became. This alone was a huge thing for me, my parents haven't met a girl since juniors some eight years ago. There never was a girl worthy of meeting of my parents, not until Lillianah. After a good lunch and lots of laughter I finally spoke up, "Oh mom, Flower is asking Vero to marry him on Valentine's day." I looked at Lillianah to see what her reaction would be, to my surprise it was one of complete horror and confusion. Interesting. She probably forgot all about Valentine's day too. I squeezed her hand under the table and asked if she was okay, she only smiled and nodded her head. 

After grabbing two bags of her clothes, we found ourselves back in my place and I happily unpacked her clothes into the drawer I had cleared out for her. I actually had cleared out one whole side of the dresser for her. I couldn't wait for her to move in, this was a start. "So, Valentine's day, um . . ." I smiled to myself, she was just as lost and confused about the day as I was. "I actually have a game that night, but if you want to do something, I can definitely plan something. I actually have a few ideas in mind, that is if you don't mind." I actually had nothing in mind, I didn't know if she wanted to celebrate or not. Now I knew I better think of something quick, it was only a week away. I watched her as she undressed and climbed in to bed. I laid down next to her, on top of the covers and kissed her. I knew she needed her sleep, so I headed out in to the living room to hang out before I had to leave to get my parents for dinner. I looked around my apartment as I sat on my couch. What once was a dark, lonely apartment is now all of a sudden filled with life. Life couldn't get any better.

Sitting at dinner with my parents was nice, I got to hear all the nice things about Lillianah from my mother, and I was beaming. "She's been working a lot of hours this week, so she's back at the apartment sleeping before she has to head to work," I explained. "Her apartment?" "No, actually, mine. She's moving in." A smile slowly crept it's way on to my mom's face. "That's wonderful Maxime, I am so happy for you. I haven't seen you this happy in a very long time." I order another bottle of wine as our food came, I knew I would need it. I picked at my pasta and could feel my fork slipping around in my hand, my palms were sweaty. "Max, what's bothering you? Is there something else you need to tell us?" My dad asked looking very concerned. "So this morning, before I came and picked you up, I sort of invested in something." I started playing with my fingers nervously looking back and forth between my mom and my dad. My mom raised her eyebrows at me to continue and I grabbed my wine and took a swig. I pulled the box out of my coat pocket and slid it across the table, placing it between the two. I kept my hand on the box for a few seconds before releasing it. They both looked down at the box and looked at me. My mom finally picked up the box and opened it. "Maxime, this is an-" "It's a," I choked on my words, "3-carat round cut ring set in a 1-carat pave-set band." I described the ring, just like the salesman described it to me some 10 hours before. "I see that," my mom stated with her eyes wide. "So you plan on asking her to marry you?" My dad asked firmly. "I bought it on a whim. I went to Flower's this morning and we talked about it, and he came with me to buy it. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with her, but we're no where near that yet. We're far from that, I still can't believe I went out and bought a ring, but you know what, it just feels right. So no, there won't be an engagement any time soon, but I know she's the one." "Well son, I would say that's a good investment then," my dad smiled and I calmed down a little bit, not a lot though. My mom handed the ring back to me and I looked down at it, but when I looked at it, I could see it on her finger. I quickly closed the box, shoved it back in my coat and finished the nearly full glass of wine in front of me.

[thirty-one]

Lillianah's POV

Liz came and picked me up from the hotel a few hours before the game so we could grab dinner and properly get ready before the game. I kissed Max goodbye, wishing him luck and climbed into my sisters car. "So mom and I were out shopping last week and I found some things you might like, they are back at the house, and please don't act like you like them if you don't." "That's really nice of you Liz, I'm sure I'll like whatever you found," a genuine smile crept on to my face as she pulled on to the highway. "So are you going to marry him?" I choked on the air and went to grab the 'oh shit' bar, but there wasn't one in her car. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?" "You heard me, are you going to marry him?" How badly would it hurt for me to jump out of the car right now? I mean I already have a broken ankle, can't get any worse than that right? "Liz, you saw what happened to me when I realized I had feelings for him, now you're asking if I'm going to marry him?!" "Well you are moving in with him." "That doesn't mean I'm marrying him." She quickly looked over at me and smirked before directing her attention back on the road. She clearly has lost her mind since I last saw her a month ago. 

We pulled into my parents driveway and I hobbled my way up to the front door. "Oh Lily darling, that boyfriend of yours, we approve very much. Your father is still a little irritated that Max picked up the tab last night, but he was just being a gentleman, I've been trying to tell him. Anyways, I'm so happy for you, we're all happy for you." I looked like a deer in the headlights as my mom twirled around the kitchen as if she was Judy Garland. Drinking already? "Mom, you never did ask why I'm on this trip with Max," I brought the conversation down to a more serious level. I watched as Liz walked into the kitchen, arms full of clothes. I knew I needed to tell them, I knew I need to bring them back into my life. "There's a reason other than the fact that you're in love with him?" "Mom, Liz, can we get serious here for a minute. I almost relapsed." That's all it took, three words to get the full attention of my mother and sister. Liz set the clothes down on the kitchen table and sat down next to me at the breakfast bar as my mom stood on the other side, both of them starring at me. "You almost relapsed? How?" "Well I'm working with this guy Kevin, or was working with anyways. Well anywho, he brought some friends up to the lounge where I work and they started doing lines of coke. I was just about to join in but Max called me. That's when I realized I need to stop fighting with myself and just admit to not only myself but to him that I love him, and that's what I did. He flew me out to Boston the next day, and now I'm here." "So he saved you?" I looked over at Liz who looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Pretty much." "Well there's something else I need to thank him for," my mom smiled before grabbing some mugs out for the coffee. "Is that why you were talking to him last night? You were thanking him? For what though?" The smile stayed on her face as she handed me a cup of coffee, as well as the creamer. "He brought you back to us. Last month you came out here because of him, and now you're here again because of him." "I'm still scared mom. Terrified."

"There's are beautiful," I smiled as I held the blouses up in my hands. "Where did you find these?" Liz pulled a few out and admired them herself. "There's a new vintage shop downtown, and well we could see you wearing all of these, so we just had to get them for you." My smile grew as I looked at each piece they picked up. "Thank you guys, this is really sweet of you," I smiled as I hugged my sister and than my mom. "Oh Liz, this would look amazing on you, go try it on," I smiled holding up a blue cotton dress with a very deep v-neck and a white swirly design on the bottom of the dress. "Lily, I can't pull that off, it would look so much better on  you." I tossed the dress at her. "Please, just try it on, prove me wrong," I smiled at her and watched as she got up from the chair she was in and headed toward the bathroom. I continued to look through the clothes when Liz walked out holding her hands over her chest. "Put your hands down," I laughed and she glared at me before moving her hands to her sides. My jaw dropped in surprise, she looked damn good for having two kids. "Wow Liz, that looks really good on you." "It does sweetie, Charlie would stumble over his own feet if he saw you in that." "You have to keep it Liz." My mom and I gushed over her as a smile slowly formed on her lips. "Really? I feel really exposed." "No, it's sexy, classic, flattering, a definite date night dress." She walked up to me and wrapped her arms around me. "Thanks Lily," she whispered in my ear before pulling away. "Now, I want you to try this on," she smile digging through the pile and pulling out a white dress. It looked very form fitting, with a high neck, black trim around the neck, and then black again around the waist, with a small bow in front. It looked like something straight out of Jackie O's closet. I undressed right there, not feeling like walking all the way into the bathroom and slipped on the dress. The minute Liz zipped it up for me I felt like Betty Paige. "Now if I could just get this cast off, this would be perfect," I laughed looking at myself in the mirror from across the room.

Once again back in my black tights, I pulled on a long red sweater, with a deep v neck and headed back out into the living room to head to dinner before the game. "I love how you match your clothes to your cast," my mom laughed as she handed me a mixed drink. "What's this?" "Oh just a margarita to start things off. We're just waiting on your father to get home, then we're on our way." I slowly sipped on the margarita and with every word my mother or sister said the quieter they got, but then I realized it was just me blocking them out. All I could think about at that moment was Max and what he was doing. He was probably having his nap, I could see him sprawled out on the bed, on his stomach in just his boxers and socks. His stripped socks. It's the perfect image really. "LILY!" I snapped up from my margarita and looked over at my mom and sister who were now laughing at me. "We were just asking how old Max is," Liz laughed. "Oh, he's going to be 25 next Wednesday," I smiled finishing off my margarita. "Really? We were guessing closer to thirty." Then we heard the garage door open and my dad walk into the kitchen. "Let's go," he smiled with Charlie behind him. Still not understanding a single thing about hockey, I was excited for the game. I was excited I had my family with me too. Things seemed to be melting together, on how life was suppose to look like. Could it really be that easy? Could one single person really turn my life in to what it's suppose to be? 

Stairs. I hate stairs. Charlie helped me down the dozen or so stairs to our seats at the arena and I sat down just as the teams took to the ice for warmups. "He sure is taken by you Lily, he keeps looking at you," My mom leaned over and whispered in my ear. "Looks like he is too, who's that?" Liz who was on my other side asked pointing out on to the ice. I looked over to where Liz was pointing and saw Kris clearing pucks out of the net, and every time he would look up, he'd look around before his eyes met mine. "Kris Letang," I answered quietly before directing my attention back to Max. Max looked from me to Kris, then back to me before raising an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes before shaking my head as Charlie and my dad returned with the beer. 

Max's POV

"So how did meeting the parents go?" Flower asked as I joined up with the guys for lunch after Lillianah left for her parents. "Surprisingly well. We might have drank too much wine, but I'm not complaining. I think I'm in." A big smile was plastered on my face as I scanned over the menu. I order a club sandwich and zoned out at the table as the guys began making fun of each other. All I could think about was her. What she was doing with her family right now. Then I smiled, she was with her family. I chuckled to myself as I brought my attention back to the boys. "Max did you hear me?" I looked around the table to see everyone smiling, starring at me. I looked over at Flower, "sorry, what did you say?" "I bought a ring." It took me a minute to process what he said and then the smile on my face got bigger. "Flower baby!! You're growing up." I pulled him in to a hug and tried to make it look like a very manly hug, but it didn't work, I was very happy for my friend. "When do you plan on asking her?" "Valentine's day." "Oh crap, that's coming up, isn't it?" The guys all laughed at me, then I looked down at my phone as if it would give me the answer to every question I could ever ask. I don't know why I looked at it, that's just where my eyes ended up. I guess I was so wrapped up in Lillianah that I forgot all about the date. My birthday was coming up, Valentine's day, I don't even know when her birthday is for crying out loud! "Well Flower, all I have to say is 'it's about damn time'. How long have you two been together? Ten years?" "Yeah, about that. You of course will be my best man." "She has to say yes first Flower," I laughed just as our food arrived.

I looked down at my empty bed, trying to convince myself that my pre-game nap without her was going to be okay. I wasn't going to die if she wasn't in bed with me. I stripped down to my boxers, leaving my socks on and jumped on to the bed as if I was doing a belly flop. I grabbed on to the spare pillow and held it closely to my body, it didn't smell like strawberries, but it would do for the day. I tried my hardest to fall asleep, but I just couldn't do it. She was occupying my mind every minute I wasn't with her. I never thought it would be possible to calm me down, to stop my wandering eye, but she has. Could I see myself with her for the rest of my life? My head popped up off the pillow in surprise at how I don't even have to hesitate about that question. It's so easy to answer. Of course I do. I brought my head back down to my pillow and slowly fell asleep.

The ice felt good under my skates, and I was in my element. The place I was most comfortable. "Crutches and all man, she's looking hot tonight," Pas smiled as he skated around me. I looked up in to the stands and watched as her brother-in-law helped her down the stairs. With each step she went down, his grip on her arm would cause her sweater to rise. Sure she was wearing black tights, but knowing what was underneath was pure focus suicide. Not only that, but the sweater she wearing was extremely low cut, showing off her breasts, causing me to bite my lip. Luckily the cup I was wearing was restricting any excitement I was feeling at that moment, but it made me very uncomfortable. I squatted down on the ice next to Pas to stretch and try and pass the emotions in my pants but nothing was helping. Are you kidding me? This wasn't the time nor the place for this to be happening. I tried to peel my eyes away from her, knowing the longer I looked at her the worse off I would be. Then I saw Liz point to the goal, Lillianah's eyes followed, so did mine as my eyes laid on Tanger. I looked back and forth between the two before seeing Lillianah roll her eyes and shake her head. What the hell was that about? Well that cured my problem. 

Frustration built through my body, I couldn't handle the way Tanger kept looking up in to the stands at Lillianah, did he not think I would notice?  Late in the third period, losing four to two, I took my frustrations out on Lupul. He did nothing wrong, he was just the unfortunate one who was standing closest to me. The frustration only grew when he landed the only punch, straight to my jaw. The only thing that crossed my mind as I was escorted to the penalty box was if Tanger ever dared laid a finger on my girl, I'd kill him. What was this new found jealousy? I ran the cold water down my back in the shower and cleared my mind. Who was I kidding, when I got back to the hotel, she'd be in my bed, not his. She would never go for him, he wouldn't dare put up the fight I did to get her. 

I was met by Lillianah and her family outside of the locker room, and something came over me. I just had to be sure. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into me. She stumbled, as her crutches fell to the ground and I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her steady. "I love you," I whispered just before kissing her passionately on the lips. She was hesitant at first, and then I felt her arms wrap around my neck and she began kissing back. That was all I needed, she wasn't going anywhere. I felt her laugh against my lips and we pulled apart and I saw her cheeks were bright red, she lowered her head to my shoulder before looking up and over at her family. I couldn't help but blush myself. "I love you too," she whispered before kissing my cheek then running a hand over my aching jaw. I bent over and picked up her crutches before heading over to her family. "So I was thinking, maybe in the beginning of March you guys should come over to Pittsburgh. I'll have my family come down and we could just have a nice weekend, get to meet everyone." A big smile came on to Molly's face, "we would love that. We will definitely be in touch to plan that. It was so nice meeting you Max. Take care of my daughter for me." I smiled and hugged her as Lillianah and I said our goodbyes. 

"How in the world do you get those tights on over your cast?" I asked laughing as she sat on the bed. "They're very stretchy, I just have to keep pulling on them. Taking them off sucks though, pulling them up is a lot easier than pulling them down." "Well, I can help you with that." A devilish smile played on her face, and I didn't mean it the way she thought, but I had no problem with that. She lifted up her leg and I knelt down in front of her, placing her leg on my knee. I ran my hands up her thighs, up her sweater and grabbed the top of her tights. I slowly pulled them down, till they were at her knees. I grabbed the fabric at the top of her cast and stretched it all the way out, pulling it over her cast. Once I got it off, I pulled the rest off of her other leg and felt her hands in my hair. I looked up to see she was thoroughly enjoying this. I felt the emotions once again in my pants, and this time there was no cup to hold them back. Her hands went from my hair to the sides of my face and she pulled me up to her, falling back on the bed. I rested on top of her, slowly kissing her neck as my hands ran up her sides, pulling her sweater off. My mouth was doing one thing while my hands were doing another, I looked down and realized I had taken her bra off as well. I dipped my head down and gently kissed her breasts before sucking on her nipples, giving each equal attention. She arched her back and I knew she was ready to move forward, but I wanted to take my time, I wanted to enjoy every inch of her body. She pulled at my clothes, quickly taking each article off with force. I ran my hands down the sides of her body before pulling down her underwear. I stood up at the foot of the bed and just looked down at her. I couldn't say it enough, she was perfect, broken ankle and all. She placed her foot on my chest, gripping on to my skin with her toes. I went to grab her foot, but she moved it down to my growing erection, squeezing the tip of my head with her toes. I finally got a hold of her foot and moved it aside to climb back on top of her. I felt my penis brush against her entrance and she looked me dead in the eye. "You're mean, you know that," she smiled. I reached down between us and prepared myself. "I'm not-" thrust "-mean." I couldn't tell if the sound out of her mouth was a loud gasp or a quiet scream, but it quickly followed with her moaning my name. I stayed still for a moment with my eyes close, and she didn't protest from my lack of movement. I felt her arms wrap around my shoulders and she pulled me all the way down on top of her. "Thank you," she whispered in to my ear. I pulled back and looked in to her eyes and could tell she was thanking me for everything, not just the sex. She just doesn't understand I didn't do anything, everything that has gone in her favor lately, was because of her. She then rolled us over so she was now on top of me. I loved it when she took charge. There was a fire in her eyes, this wasn't just sex to her anymore. This was the connection of two souls, two bodies, two lives becoming one. At this point in our relationship this was the only way I knew how to get this close to her. I couldn't wait to see what else we could come across to make us feel like one being again. 

[thirty]

Max's POV

"Do I look okay?" I asked as I walked out of the bathroom to see Lillianah putting on some lipstick in front of the mirror, wearing just black tights and a black bra. She turned around and looked me up and down. "First off, you look amazing, you really do. Second off, you don't have to get dressed up for my parents. You actually look uncomfortable, wait, are you nervous?" "Yeah I'm nervous, I'm meeting your parents! So would it be alright if I changed into jeans?" She laughed and turned her attention back to the mirror. "Yes you can wear jeans, honestly I think you look better in jeans than suits anyways. Shows off that cute butt of yours." "Oh wow, I should just go naked." "As much as I would like that, and I'm sure my mom would too, my dad wouldn't." I grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater out of my suitcase and quickly changed out of my suit. When I turned back around Lillianah and I just started laughing at each other. We were both wearing black and grey stripped sweaters. "We look good together, you know that?" I asked as I walked up to her and kissed her. 

She ran her hand up and down my thigh on the cab ride to the restaurant. I found it soothing and it really calmed my nerves. All I wanted was for them to like me, and if they were Flyer fans at all I was screwed. We pulled up in front of a small restaurant named Friday, Saturday, Sunday and I smiled. I had heard of this place before and have always wanted to try it. I paid the cab driver and climbed out, helping Lillianah out of the cab. I handed her the crutches and opened the restaurant door for her. "There they are," I heard her mumble as I looked over at a table where two very familiar looking blondes were sitting. They were all dressed in bright colors and khakis, they belonged in a club house, not a steak house. "Max, I'd like you to meet my parents, Steve and Molly, and this is my sister Elizabeth and her husband Charlie. I didn't know you guys were coming." "Mom called said they were meeting you and Max for dinner, we couldn't pass that up." I went around the table and shook everyones hand. "It's nice to meet you all." I watched as Elizabeth whispered something in to her mothers ear and they both smiled. Lillianah's hand once again found my thigh  and I smiled looking over at her. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as expected.

After an amazing filet mignon I found my chair pushed up next to Lillianah's with my arm wrapped around her shoulders and her hand still on my thigh. I felt comfortable with her family, sure they were the complete opposite of Lillianah, but they were very welcoming. Not once did they bring up hockey, which was nice. The waitress approached us to see how dinner was and I took a quick look over the wine list. "Can we get a bottle of Pedro Ximenez, um, make it two bottles." She nodded her head and walked away. "I love dessert wine, excellent choice Max," Molly smiled to me before drawing her eyes to Lillianah. I looked down at her and she was smiling. "They love you," she whispered before kissing me. Carefully and secretly I deepened the kiss and felt her smile into my lips. "So we're moving in together," I smiled after pulling away from the kiss. Four shocked faces looked back at me and the grip on my thigh tightened. Well there we go, I knew this night wouldn't be perfect and I would screw up at some point. I wanted to take the fork in front of me and jab it in to my eye but luckily our waitress arrived with the wine. I quickly finished my glass before the waitress finished pouring the rest of the glasses and she filled mine back up with a little chuckle.  "Well I think that's a wonderful idea," Molly smiled breaking the silence. "What exactly are your intentions with my daughter?" Steve chimed in. "Well I'm very much in love with your daughter. Both of our schedules are very hectic and whenever I have free time I want to spend it with her. It just makes sense, in my mind, for her to move in with me." I felt Lillianah shift next to me and I looked at her and she kissed me quickly. "I love you too." I smiled and looked back at her family to see they were all smiling too. "So would you all like to come to the game tomorrow night?" The brother-in-law, Charlie I believe, nearly jumped out of his seat and I couldn't help but laugh. "If it isn't a problem, we would love to come." "Then it's done."

We all gathered outside of the restaurant after finishing off a third bottle of dessert wine and Molly pulled me aside. Lillianah gave me a questioning look, but I just laughed and winked at her. "Thank you Max." I looked over at Molly who was grinning. "I'm sorry?" "Thank you, for bringing my baby girl back to me. Twice in little over a month I've seen her. I don't know if she's told you, but she's only been home twice in five years." I nodded my head, "yeah she did tell me" Then the smile on her face grew wider. "When she came out here last month it was because she was scared she was falling in love. I never remember her having a boyfriend, so I can understand why she was scared. Anyways, seeing her again tonight, and the way you two look at each other makes me so happy. Take care of her, and thank you, really, for bringing her back to us." I didn't know what to say, I could only smile and allow her to pull me in to a hug. "I love your daughter, I'll never let anything happen to her." She pulled away from the hug and we rejoined the group. Lillianah quickly grabbed my hand. "What was that about?" she whispered into my ear. "Don't worry about it," I laughed just before wishing everyone a goodnight. 

I watched Lillianah as she stripped out of her clothes sitting on the edge of the bed. "Okay really, what did my mom tell you?" I smiled and approached her, lifting her up in my arms and then sitting down on the bed. I sat her on my lap so her legs were wrapped around my waist. "How come you never visited your parents?" The strong eye contact we were just holding was now gone as she tried to climb off my lap but I held her tighter. "I was just the outcast, all throughout high school I was more into art than cheerleading, I did the exact opposite of my sister. I moved to Pittsburgh because I just figured life for my parents would be better if I wasn't around to put damper on things. You saw them, they're plastic dolls, I didn't need to be the black cloud." Her words made me sad. How could she think that she was a black cloud. "You never even went back for holidays though?" "The drugs. It wasn't long after moving to Pittsburgh that I got deep into drugs. Most the time I didn't even know what month it was, so how would I know when the holidays were. I sobered up Thanksgiving 2007 and just never made it over here to come see them. Not until you forced me to come see them." A smile came over her face when she stopped talking and I kissed her. "I never forced you, I scared you. Your mom just thanked me, that's all we talked about. She really wants you in their lives. I'm thinking if we survive my parents visit at the end of the week, we should have everyone come out to Pittsburgh for a weekend." She kissed me, "we'll see about that. Now about that dessert I owe you. Everything on the menu tonight comes with a side of annoyingly large cast stuffed with a broken ankle." "Your funny, did you know that?"

Lillianah's POV

This was going to be a disaster, I could just sense it. My mom was going to eat Max alive, she was going to tear him down. My nerves settled as I watched Max pull on a black and grey stripped sweater. I was wearing a black and grey stripped tunic over the black tights I had managed to pull on over my cast. Sure the stripes in my sweater were about four or fives inches wide, and his were only an inch or so, but we couldn't help but laugh."We look good together, you know that?" Yeah actually, I do know that. I smiled as he approached me and kissed me. I took a deep breath and we made our way out of the hotel. I could feel he was tense on the cab ride to the restaurant, so I ran my hand up and down my thigh. I rested my head on his shoulder and for a split second in the cab my life was perfect. Max was the guy for me, the one that would make everything bright and sunny again.

He helped me into the restaurant and I growled under my breath as I saw my sister and brother-in-law sitting at the table with my parents. I know this was all my idea for Max to meet my parents, but I didn't plan on bringing Liz and Charlie into this too. We made our way over to the table and Charlie and my dad stood up as they greeted us, being the perfect Ivy league gentleman that they are."Max, I'd like you to meet my parents, Steve and Molly, and this is my sister Elizabeth and her husband Charlie. I didn't know you guys were coming." I smirked to my sister and a huge smile came onto her face. "Mom called said they were meeting you and Max for dinner, we couldn't pass that up." Of course she couldn't pass that up. Max went around the table, shaking everyone's hands and I watched as Liz whispered into mom's ear. So it begins. My hand landed on Max's thigh again, and it was in that position that I felt like everything would be okay. We shared smiles quickly before turning our attention back to the table.

"Lily, how on earth did you break your leg?" I couldn't help but laugh as I looked down at my cast. Max looked over at me shocked that I hadn't told my mom about my ankle. "Well Max was walking me home one night, it was pretty late and I had just met his friends. I hit some ice and fell awkwardly on my foot and ended up breaking my ankle," I continued to laugh as I squeezed Max's thigh remember the rest of the night. "She insisted she was okay, but her ankle swelled up so quick. Luckily we were right in front of my apartment building so I took her up and was able to get ice on it right away." "Max was nice enough to go get King and some clothes for me. Then he took me to the hospital that morning and went home with a cast." I looked over at Max and we kept eye contact for awhile before I could hear my mom 'awwing' from across the table. I felt myself blush as I brought my attention back to my family. "So we want to know more, Lily you never did tell us how you met." I laughed and allowed Max to tell them how we met, and as I listened to him tell them our history it occurred to me that we just met, not that long ago. I was already moving in with him? I was crazy! I pushed the thoughts out of my mind, for once I was enjoying an evening with my family, I didn't want to worry about how fast Max and I were moving. 

"So we're moving in together." My gentle grip on his thigh turned in to a death grip. Luckily the waitress arrived with the wine Max had ordered just minutes before. I held my glass up for her to quickly fill, which she did. I drank half of it before realizing Max's glass was being filled for a second time. It was then I realized he wasn't planning on telling my family, that it had just slipped out. I looked around the table and saw that my family was just as shocked as I was, but for different reasons. "Well I think that's a wonderful idea," my mom smiled breaking the silence. Of course she thought it was a wonderful idea, the sooner I get married the happier she will be. "What exactly are your intentions with my daughter?" I looked over at my dad in disbelief that he had just asked Max that. He ignored my look and kept his eyes on Max. "Well I'm very much in love with your daughter. Both of our schedules are very hectic and whenever I have free time I want to spend it with her. It just makes sense, in my mind, for her to move in with me." I squirmed in my seat as his answer sent chills down my spine. "I love you too," I whispered before quickly kissing him. We were back to perfect.

We all stood around outside of the restaurant making plans for the game the following night. I watched as my mom dragged Max away and I looked in horror. He only laughed and winked at me. We all had too much wine, I didn't like the looks of the smirk on my mom's face. "So he's perfect." "I know," I said to my sister while still watching Max and my mom talk. "He's handsome, charming, has a cute accent." "He's Max Talbot," Charlie chimed in. "You know who he is?" "Of course I know who he is, my father is the biggest Penguins fan you could ever meet, so naturally I grew up a fan as well." I couldn't help but laugh. "I think he was scared you guys would be Flyer fans, but yeah, why am I scared mom is talking to him?" We all turned and looked at them, they were now hugging. "Your mother likes him very much, she's just happy," my dad answered as we watched them walk back. "What was that about?" I whispered to Max as I grabbed his hand. "Don't worry about it," he laughed placing a quick kiss on my forehead. 

[twenty-nine]

Lillianah's POV

I watched as our chests rose and fell at the same quick pace. I rolled over on to my side after taking a few deep breaths and tangled my fingers in with his chest hair. "That was exactly what I needed, thank you Max." "It's going to be weird having sex without worrying about your ankle," he laughed wrapping his arm around my shoulders pulling me in closer to him. "So are you going to finish out the trip with us, or do you want me to get you a flight home tomorrow?" "Where's your next game?" "Philadelphia." An idea popped into my head, and as my life was changing for the better, I knew this would be something that I would want to do. It's something most couples do isn't it? "Do you want to meet my parents?" His grip around me tightened and he pulled me on top of him, my cast leaning against his calf. "Of course I want to meet your parents, they do know about me right?" A smile crept on to my face and I leaned down and kissed him. "All they know is what I told them back in January when I ran," kiss, "I haven't talked to them since," kiss, "they're going to love you," kiss, "just like I do." "Lil, I love you too." A huge smile crept over my face, it sounded so natural to hear him say that to me.

Once again I was woken up by a hand running over my hair. "Max, ten more minutes, please?" I rolled on to my stomach and wrapped my arm around his waist. Suddenly the stroking of my hair stopped and his weight on the bed shifted, trying to get out of my reach. "Max!" I moaned just wanting some more sleep. "Lil?" His accent isn't that thick. I rolled over and rubbed my eyes only to see Kris sitting on my bed. I quickly looked down, happy to see the blankets were still covering my naked body. "What are you doing in here? Where's Max?" "He had to go talk to coach, he wanted me to make sure you were awake, we have to leave in twenty minutes for the airport." I stayed there waiting for Kris to get up and leave, so I could get up and get ready, but he didn't budge. He stayed starring down at his hands in his lap. "Is something wrong Kris?" "Oh no, nothing, sorry I'll leave now." I waited until the door clicked behind him to get up and get ready. 

Once in the lobby I felt a strong grip around my waist from behind me. I leaned my head back onto his shoulder and felt him kiss my neck. "I tried waking you up this morning, but you wouldn't have any of that," he laughed kissing me again. "And sorry for sending Tanger to wake you up, sounded like you thought it was me." "Um, well yeah, he was running his fingers through my hair, how could I not think it was you." I laughed, I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but Max's grip around me got tighter and he kissed me before walking away. I almost fell, but I managed to hold myself up on my crutches. I looked over my shoulder to see Max walking around, probably looking for Kris. Was he mad?

Max's POV

"TANGER!! What are you doing right now?" I ran after him down the hallway. "Nothing, what's up?" "Can you go make sure Lil is awake, we have to leave soon and coach wants to talk to me right now, here's my room key. Thanks." I ran off down the hall toward the elevator and headed down a floor to Coach Therrien's room. I lightly knocked on the door only to have it open a few seconds later. "Come in Maxime." I followed him into the room and he motioned for me to take a seat on the coach in the corner of the room. "Well, I want to throw you on the top line tomorrow night. You, Crosby and Satan. Maybe even toss you into the second line too. Do you think you're ready to play over twenty minutes?" "Yeah, I think I am. You can put me wherever you want coach, as long as I'm logging minutes I'll be fine. I honestly think the chemistry between Crosby, Satan and myself is the best, but whatever you think is the best for the team is what I will do." A smile, a rare one at that, crept on to coach's face and he leaned back into the chair he was sitting on. "So that's settled, one other thing. Who's the girl?" Now it was my time to smile. "That's my girlfriend, she was having some issues back in Pittsburgh and needed to get out of the city so I flew her out. I hope that's okay." His eyebrow raised up. "Girlfriend Maxime? Is that why you've settled down in the locker room these last few weeks." "Yeah I guess you can say so," I laughed and he got up from his chair and showed me to the door. "See you on the plane." I turned around and smiled before heading back down to the lobby.

I saw her hunched over on her crutches and walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She straightened her back and placed her head on my shoulder. At that moment I wanted to tell her all the reasons I loved her, what she did to me that made me fall in love with her. How she made me feel when we first met, how I felt so stupid around her. How it took me six months to grow the balls to even talk to her. Diana Ross filled my ears and I kissed her neck. "I tried waking you up this morning, but you wouldn't have any of that, and sorry for sending Tanger to wake you up, sounded like you thought it was me." I allowed my lips to brush over her neck, her hair smelt like strawberries as usual and it took ever muscle in my body to not drag her back up to the room."Um, well yeah, he was running his fingers through my hair, how could I not think it was you." Excuse me? She was laughing, which meant she didn't think it was that big of a deal, but Tanger's been acting weird around Lillianah lately, now he's running his fingers through my girls hair? I quickly kissed her cheek and headed off to find him. 

"Where is he hiding?" Flower looked at me like I was crazy. "Bathroom," he finally muttered out when he saw how serious I was being. I thought it was kind of strange he knew exactly who I was talking about. I headed into the bathroom to see Tanger washing his hands. "Hey Tanger, how's it going?" "Oh you know, just going, tired." I looked at him through the mirror and I ran water over my hands. He kept his eyes focused on his hands. "I asked you to make sure Lil was awake, not to climb into the bed with her." He stopped washing his hands and looked up at me. "I didn't climb into bed with her." "Sitting on the bed and running your fingers through her hair is the same damn thing. What's going on Tanger? What was that about?" He turned the water to the sink off and grabbed a few paper towels. "I just want to be there for her when you break her heart like you have done to the dozens of other women I have seen you with." He threw the paper towels away and walked out of the bathroom. I stood there dumbfounded. I didn't know what to say, all I knew was that I wanted to beat the crap out of him.

Lillianah's POV

I watched as the guys started leaving the hotel lobby out to the bus. I turned around to see where Max went and Kris walked by. A sad smiled crawled across his face and he whispered, "I'm sorry," as he walked by. Confused I watched him as he continued walking and finally saw Max appear across the lobby. He approached me with a dozen or so emotions in his eyes. He placed his hands on either side of my face and opened his mouth to talk, but stopped and thought about what he wanted to say. "Lil, I love you. You are the first woman I have ever felt this way about before. I will never, ever break your heart. Never. I love you, okay?" What was going on? He leaned forward and kissed me passionately before breaking away and grabbing our bags. I could only wonder if this had something to do with Kris. I was so confused. 

I fell back asleep on the plane, knowing in just a few short hours I'd be taking Max to dinner with my parents. Why wasn't I freaking out? There were a lot of things lately that had been confusing me. There were only a few things I was certain about, being with Max kept my mind off the drugs, just being with him made me completely forget about almost relapsing just a few days prior. Then of course there was the big, old age topic of love. I wasn't looking for it, I wasn't asking for it, but it came to me, and I was enjoying it. Of all the men to bring love in to my life, Max was the perfect fit. I felt a hand squeeze on to my thigh and I slowly opened my eyes to see Max sitting next to me smiling, looking at me through his glasses with tired eyes. "Did I ever tell you how I love it when you wear your glasses?" "Serious? I think I look like a dork." "I don't. You look hot," I couldn't help but laugh, I couldn't find the right word, and that's the word that came out. He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss just as the pilot came on over the speakers informing us we were about to land. "Is everything okay? Things seemed weird earlier," I whispered and I kept his face close to mine. "Yeah, everything is fine, I just wanted to tell you I love you and I will do whatever I can to not screw this up, and when we get back to Pittsburgh I will help you start packing up." I tried to keep the expression on my face as normal as possible, but it was a struggle. I forgot about the whole moving in together thing. I was a big mixture of emotions on the topic. Yes I wanted to move in with him, it would be good for the both of us, and just being with him all the time sounds like paradise. But honestly!? 'Hey let's move in together'. Is it really that simply and straight forward? Is there no logic behind it? "Lil?" He laughed snapping me out of my trance. I smiled and kissed him before I would say or do anything stupid. I pulled away and saw his eyes were still closed and a smile was on his face. "Max, go ahead and make fun of me, but you are gorgeous. Scruff on your face, fresh short hair, glasses and a huge smile. You sure are a thing of beauty." He started laughing, which caught the attention of the two guys sitting in front of us. "Not as beautiful as you." How come every time I look at him now all I can hear is Harry Connick Jr singing 'We Are In Love' in my ear?

Max's POV

We were going to be okay, this really was for the long haul. Was I ready to settle down? Was this the girl I was going to settle down with? Well, yeah, I can only hope so. She's perfect, in my eyes she is perfect. I was still filled with rage at the thought that Tanger thought I was going to screw this relationship up. More so that he thought he could sweep Lillianah up off her feet if I break her heart. The boy has balls. I squeezed her hand as the bus pulled up in front of our hotel and I grabbed her bags, helping her off the bus. "When do you get the cast off?" I heard Crosby ask her as he too helped her off the bus. "No idea, hopefully it will only be another two weeks. It, well, it's a pain in the ass," she laughed before hobbling into the lobby. I managed to call ahead of time and book a room so Flower wouldn't get ran out of the room again. "What time are we meeting your parents for dinner?" I asked as we walked into our room. "Oh, um, I don't know, let me call my mom." She smiled when she noticed the balcony and headed outside to make her phone call. I wasn't nervous until that very moment. From what she's told me about her family they were very straight forward, Barbie and Ken type of family. How were they going to accept me? I'm not exactly 'Ken' material. "Not until 7, want to take a nap with me before we get ready?" I turned around and saw her sit down on the edge of the bed, taking her shoe off. "I know of something else we can do." I didn't mean to say that, I knew she was tired, but I couldn't help myself, it just came out. 

She didn't think twice before grabbing me by my belt and pulling me between her legs. Her hands slipped up underneath my shirt in the back and she ran her fingers all over my lower back. If she kept this up I would be ready to go in a matter of seconds. "What do you want me to do to you Max?" Oh wrong question, I don't have that much time to even think. "Make me the happiest man alive." She laughed, in which I soon laughed too. What a lame answer. She unbuckled my belt, unbutton my pants and unzipped them. Her hands wrapped around my waist, resting just above my ass. She pulled me in closer to her and then dipped her hands down my pants, pulling them down. I ran my fingers through her hair and dipped down and kissed her on the lips. She pulled away, "no, no. No touching." She hooked her fingers into my boxers and slipped them down to the ground, all while taking my penis in her hand, making me grow bigger and harder by the second. Satisfied with herself she hopped off the bed and looked around, before walking to the other side of the bed. She crawled back on, on her back and rested her head over the side of the bed, right in front of me. "You have full control, that's why you're the ring leader." She held my penis in her hand before guiding it into her mouth. Wow. There was a sensation I had never felt before, her tongue on the top of my penis instead of on the bottom, her throat was opened up completely to me. I had complete control of depth and speed as well. After a few slow thrusts she would pinch the back of my thigh, forcing me to pull out so she could catch her breath. She took me back in her mouth and I massaged her breasts. This was my new favorite position. Her perfect body, although fully dressed, was lying out in front of me, and she was pleasuring me with her mouth. I threw my head back as I felt myself spill into her. She was very happy with herself as she pulled me down on the bed next to her. "Ready to go meet my parents?" "You're forcing me to sit through a full dinner after that? Baby, I love you, but that's cruel." "Well just think about it this way, that was the appetizer, we'll have our dinner, then come back for dessert." I leaned over and kissed her once more before the nerves re-entered my body. I was quickly becoming a wreck, I was about to meet the parents. 

yay for another update

So here's the lowdown ya'll. =)

Probably won't update this weekend, I'm going to try, but I'm going to three hockey games, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and I do plan on drinking as much beer as my DD will allow me for these games. I promise to not post a drunk update, that would be really messed up. "ANDHKJH THENNN MAX KISSED HER AND LIVVVED HAPPIOLY EVVVER AFTER. DA END" Yeah, we don't want that. 

Then on Tuesday my tonsils are getting yanked, and I'm taking two weeks of work off because I'm the biggest baby ever and when I saw how much liquid Vicodin my doctor prescribed me, I got scared. So updating next week will go one of two ways, either nothing at all for awhile, or a whole lot. Hopefully a whole lot, that will be nice, I won't be doing anything else anyways! =D

Well dare I say, Happy Valentine's Day! My valentine days have been cursed, long story =( but if you have a valentine, enjoy it!!

And have an awesome weekend!!!

Cheers

[twenty-eight]

Max's POV

"Is everything okay, is she alright?" I looked over at Tanger who looked concerned. "She'll be fine, she's headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. I think she just agreed to move in with me though." A smile was plastered on my face, but I was still worried about her, the last thing I wanted her to do was relapse. There were still so many questions flooding my head about her past now. I didn't want to hound her, I knew that when she was ready she would tell me. Then it hit me like a rock to the forehead. She told me she loves me. I was in my own element skating around the ice, and I was thankful that the guys were allowing me to enjoy the moment and not ruin it by slapping pucks at me.

Flower and I snuck into the hotel room to see Lillianah was fast asleep on Flower's bed. "Yes!" Flower whisper shouted pumping his fist in the air. I glared over at him, "Vero would kick your ass after I would." I crawled onto the bed behind Lillianah and ran my hand through her hair, making her move around a bit. "Lil, I know this sounds ridiculous but we need to change beds." She rolled over and squinted her eyes looking up at me. "Why?" "Flower is superstitious, he can't sleep next to the window." "Oh okay." She sat up on the bed and wiggled her way to the edge of the bed. "I thought this was your bed, why are your socks all over the room?" She asked holding up a pair of Flower's purple and black horizontal stripped socks. "Those are Flowers." She looked over at Flower and laughed. "You guys wear the same kind of socks, candy cane socks, really?" "What can I say, Max wishes he was like me," Flower smirked as he pulled my pant leg up, as well as his own displaying our nearly matching stripped socks. She laughed and pushed herself off his bed, only to fall onto mine. "Did you want to go to the game tonight?" I asked as I kicked my shoes off and crawled into the bed next to her. "Would you be okay if I said no? I'm drained, I don't know if I would be able to stay awake." "That is fine, you can just stay here." I wrapped my arms around her waist and dug my face into the crook of her neck before falling asleep.

I crawled over her to give her one last kiss goodbye, not wanting to wake her up. I lightly pressed my lips to hers, only to have her deepen it right away. I opened my eyes in shock to see her forcefully kissing me. Not wanting to ruin an amazing moment, I kissed back, lightly flicking my tongue at hers. "AHEM!" I pulled away to see Flower holding his hand over his eyes. "You must of been having a good dream," I smiled down at Lillianah as she peaked her eyes open. "It was a very good dream, I wish you could stay so I continue it." I looked up at Flower with pleading eyes, "we have to be in the lobby in five minutes." He knows me too well. I hung my head in defeat and kissed her one last time before saying goodbye.

There was no better feeling than winning a game, and knowing when I got back to my hotel room that my beautiful girlfriend would be there waiting for me. Asleep or not, I didn't care, I got to sleep with her in my arms that night. "Can we say hi to your girl tonight?" Crosby asked from across the aisle from me on the bus. "If she's awake, yeah, I have no problem with that. She's been sleeping all day though." We all piled out of the bus and headed up to our rooms. I went into my room alone first to see Lillianah sitting on the edge of the bed with a huge smile on her face. "Did you watch the game?" "I did, and I actually yelled when Kris scored the goal." I couldn't help but laugh, she was starting to get excited over my sport, over my team. I brought the guys in and she hopped over to Tanger, pulling him in a too tight of a hug for my liking. I watched as he dug his nose into her hair. "Smells like strawberries doesn't it Tanger?" He saw the look on my face and immediately knew to back off. "Not to be a bitch or anything, but can you guys leave?" Yes! I love her!

Lillianah's POV

I crawled into the back of the cab still in complete shock. It was already bad enough I was an emotional wreck and nearly screwed up my life for good the night before. Now all of a sudden Max, my boyfriend, my first real boyfriend, asked me to move in with him. At least I think that's what he asked me. That's what it sounded like. "Move in with me." The cab driver looked in his rear view mirror at me as if I was crazy. "Sorry, but I think my boyfriend just asked me to move in with him." He laughed a little, I didn't find this funny at all. "How long have you two been together?" I looked down at my hands, counting with my fingers, "two and a half months." "Do you love him?" Ah the question of the century. "Yes, I do." "Then what's the problem?" I looked out the window. What was the problem? "I'm scared." "Someone once told me, 'to fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead'. That will be twenty-five dollars please." I smiled and pulled out the wad of cash Max had given me for the cab ride. I handed over thirty-five and headed into the hotel.

I made my way up to the hotel room and laughed as there were clothes thrown everywhere already, and they had only been there for some twenty-four hours. Looking at the beds, I figured the one closest to the bathroom was his, since I saw his black and purple stripped socks he loves to wear. I kicked my one shoe off and crawled under the covers. I tried to lull myself to sleep, but it was no good, I was wide awake. Did he really ask me to move in with him? I tried to replay the whole conversation in my head, but I couldn't remember it fully. Better yet, if that is what he asked, would I really move in with him? Am I ready for that? Am I even ready for a serious relationship?!

I felt a strong hand weave through my hair and I rolled over a little to see the outline of Max above me. We moved beds and when he wrapped his arm securely around my waist I knew at that moment that maybe I should move in with him. He makes me feel safe and loved, something I'm not use to, but am quickly getting use to. I felt his lips on my neck and there was no where else I wanted to be at that very moment. As screwed up as my past was, my future was looking very bright.

I watched the hockey game, still barely knowing anything about the sport, but I did my best to try and understand. I pulled my cheat sheet out of my wallet and looked back and forth between it and the TV. 'Max, number 25. Eyelashes, goalie, number 29. Baby, number 87. Old Cutie, number 48. New Cutie, number 58. Euro, number 71.' Number 58 scored a goal a few minutes in to the second period and I quickly looked down. "KRIS!!" I couldn't believe that I was getting excited over hockey. As the game went on, no one else scored. Kris' goal stood as the winning goal and now I couldn't wait for Max to get back so we could celebrate. I heard the door slowly open and Max's smiling face appear in the hall. I gave him a quick kiss before telling him how excited I got over the game. He turned around and headed back to the door, bringing in Sidney, Kris, Marc and Tyler. I jumped up and pulled Kris into a hug, congratulating him on his goal. I felt his arms around my middle tighten and his nose dig in by my ear. "Smells like strawberries doesn't it Tanger?" Max asked and I couldn't help but laugh as I watched Kris blush. "Not to be a bitch or anything, but can you guys leave?" I looked around and they started laughing. "I was planning on staying with Crosby tonight anyways, you didn't have to kick me out," Marc said trying to act like he was hurt. As soon as the door shut and Max walked back in after locking the door I wrapped him up in my arms. "Did you really ask me to move in with you?" I couldn't help hide the smile that came on to my face. As emotional distraught as I was some twenty-four hours ago, there wasn't a single worry in the world right at this moment. "I did, I think you agreed, but I really don't know. Will you?" I went to kiss him but he pulled back. "That's what you did earlier, I don't know if a kiss means yes or no." I went for the next best thing, I kissed his neck, tugging at his dress shirt on his back, pulling it out of his slacks. "Yes or no Lil?" I pulled his shirt out and looked into his eyes. "That's a huge step Max, are you sure we're not moving too fast?" "I don't feel like we're moving to fast, I just want to be with you all the time, I want to come home to you in my bed-" "Our bed." A huge smile came on to his face and leaned down and kissed me. He quickly pulled back though before the kiss escalated. "No Lil, yes or no?" "Yes, of course, I feel safe with you. Being with you would keep me away from a lot of things that are bad for me." "Like your neighbor." A smirk came on to his face and he lifted me up and placed me on his bed. I felt his lips on my neck and I could only hope that we weren't rushing in to this and that I made the right decision.

A hockey post - because I'm still celebrating!

So, this is a celebratory post, has nothing to do with the story, but has everything to do with hockey. I haven't cried tears of joy at a hockey game in I don't know how long. Tonight my friends, my team, the Seattle Thunderbirds, a team that a lot of people were giving up on due to a very, VERY slow start to the season, beat the best junior team I have EVER seen, the Vancouver Giants, in regulation, 4-3. Thomas Hickey, who was the captain of Team Canada, scored two goals for the TBirds, including the game winner. I went to the game expecting a blow out. On paper, the Giants win 10-2, just like they did back in October. Tonight though, I don't know, the fire was lit, and yes I cried, all while spilling beer all over myself from jumping so damn much. I can't even think about falling asleep due to the excitement that is still running through my body!! I still want to cry, this is such an exciting time for this Seattle team, with a new home and all. Even though the team moved some twenty miles south from their old home, I still go to every game, 120 miles round trip. And to think I almost didn't go tonight . . .

Okay, I will quit rambling.

=D

(photo courtesy of Mick White down at Kent Valley Sports)

[twenty-seven]

Max's POV

This definitely wasn't the way I wanted her to tell me she loves me for the first time. I could only sit and wonder what was going on. "Come on Max, we're heading out for dinner!" I popped my head up and saw Tanger starring at me. "Have you talked to her again?" I could only shake my head no. "C'mon Max, I'll buy you a beer." I shook my head again and got up from the bed. "Are you even old enough to buy me a beer Tanger? You can't be a day over 18, honestly." I watched as he rolled his eyes at me and walked out of the hotel room. I pulled my cellphone out as I followed behind Tanger. That phone call was a little weird, is everything okay? I sent the text message off to Lillianah hoping she'd reply soon. By the time we hit the elevator I heard my phone ringing in my pocket. Still in meeting, I just miss you. Can't wait til you get home. I smiled to myself and shoved my phone back into my pocket. "Everything good?" Flower asked from the back corner of the elevator. "Yeah, but what's this shit about Tanger buying me a beer, he's not old enough!" "You're mistaken, he's old enough, he still has that baby face though. It's confusing I know." We all laughed as Tanger glared at Flower.

We all crowded around a table in the restaurant and a very cute waitress approached us to take our drink orders. She looked down at Tanger and I could only lean back in my chair and watch, and see if he would actually buy me a beer after giving him such a hard time. "Yeah, I'll take a Grasshopper, and I owe that guy over there a Hefeweizen." Wait for it, wait for it. "Sure thing, if I can just see some ID." There wasn't a dry eye at the table from laughing so hard, well except for the very confused cute waitress and the very angry Tanger. "Sorry sweetie, we're just giving Tanger here a bad time, didn't mean to scare you or anything," I managed to laugh towards the waitress. She laughed awkwardly with us and then tried to get the rest of the drinks orders. After she left Whit was starring me down pretty hard. "What's up Whit?" "She was a hottie there Max, you going to go after that?" I looked back over toward the waitress and a smirk climbed it's way on to my face. By some greater force, right at that moment I heard, "crash and burn girl, going down, down, down, down, down. Crash and burn girl, you don't mind the fall until your face hits the ground." The guys all looked at me and started laughing as I pulled my cell phone out. "Hi Lil," I smiled into the phone as I got up from the table to find a quiet corner. Any other time this were to happen, I'd hit ignore and go after the waitress. I'm a new Max though, I'm a tamed Max. "Max, I'm sorry I keep bugging you." I could tell she was either crying or had just recently stopped crying, my heart sank to my gut. "You're not bugging me, you will never bug me. What's wrong Lil, something doesn't seem right." I braced myself for the worst possible news ever and was hating the fact that I was in Boston and not there with her. "Max, there's something about me that you don't know. I don't know, when do you get home?" She was struggling with herself, she didn't want to tell me over the phone, I could tell. "What if I got you the next flight out here? I won't be back for another five days." Please say okay, please say okay. "I don't know Max, I can't just up and leave, I have work and Kevin wants to work with me tonight to see if we have a professional chemistry. I can't just leave." "What about first thing tomorrow morning?" I heard her take a deep breath and I knew she was thinking about it. "I guess getting away from here will help. I can't afford to buy a plane ticket right now though." "Baby, I will not, nor will I ever make you pay for a plane ticket to come see me. I'll get you a flight for in the morning, then I'll send a car to pick you up because I won't be able to. That work for you?" "Okay. Thank you Max, but I have to go. See you tomorrow." I smiled into the phone hoping she could sense it from hundreds of miles away. "See you tomorrow."

I kicked my legs back and forth against the edge of the bed, starring up at the ceiling. "Will you stop that, it's annoying," Flower growled as he got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom. "I'm flying her out here tomorrow morning, something is wrong, and she won't tell me over the phone." Flowers head popped out of the bathroom door, looking at me like I was crazy. "I will not sleep in this bed while you're having sex with her in that bed just so you know. I know we're best friends and all, but it's bad enough I sleep in fear that you'll rape me." I sat up on the bed and looked at him in disbelief before we both started laughing. "I'd only rape you if I was desperate. Sorry Flower, I just don't like skinny guys like you. I need meat." He laughed before he started brushing his teeth. "So what do you think is wrong?" I sat there looking down at my hands folded in my lap, I truly had no idea. "She had a meeting with some rock star today named Kevin, maybe he did something to her." The light bulb went off. "What if she slept with him?" The blood started to boil in my veins. "I don't think she would fly all the way out here to tell you she cheated on you." Flower had a point, she would have just told me over the phone. "What if he made her sleep with him, she'd want to get away right?" "Well yeah I suppose so, but let's not jump to conclusions okay, it could be anything."

I waited patiently at the arena for her arrival. She sent a text message telling me that she had landed and was struggling getting around the airport on crutches, but she would see me soon. I skated circles around the rink, trying to shake the nerves away. I did one more lap when I saw a beautiful women with pure black hair and red highlights watching me from the corner. A huge smile crept onto my face as I skated towards her and noticed her eyes were puffy and it looked like she didn't get any sleep the night before. I motioned for her to open the door in front of her and she managed to lift the lever and I slowly pushed the door forward, allowing her to move so it wouldn't hit her. "Lil, you're scaring me, what's wrong?" She looked down at her feet and then looked over at a chair that was in the walkway. She hobbled over and sat down. I took my helmet off, along with my gloves and tossed them to the side. The area she was sitting in was all concrete so I quickly unlaced my skates and walked up to her. "Lil, you can tell me anything." She looked up at me with fear in her eyes, and I knew that whatever she was about to tell me was a really big deal to her. "I, well . . . Max, I use to have a drug problem."

Lillanah's POV

I was scared, tempted, I didn't know what to do. I removed all the people from my life that were a bad influence on me. I never wanted to see drugs again, I didn't want to be anywhere near cocaine ever again. There I found myself relaxing in the lounge after messing with music for awhile with Kevin and five of his male friends. He wasn't touching it, the other guys were going crazy with it. I could feel the affects it would give me, and it took every bone, muscle, thought and prayer to keep myself away from the cocaine sitting in front of me. "You can have some you know," the guy sitting next to Kevin said to me as I broke my concentration on the white line in front of me. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and pulled it out to see Max was calling. I waited as long as possible before answering it. "Hi Max, I'm really sorry but I have to go. Hope you had a good flight, good luck at your game. I love you." I shut my phone and crept closer to the edge of the couch, leaning over the table. I picked up the hotel card key that was lying on the table and started dividing up the coke. The motion of my wrist quickly came back to me, reminding me of the countless nights and days where I never remember being sober. Then all of a sudden my head sprung up and I dropped the key. I just told Max I loved him.

I quickly told Kevin that I had to leave, and the tears fell from my face the minute I turned my back to them. I called a cab and cried the whole way home. I almost felt like sleeping in the street rather than climbing the three flights of stairs up to my apartment. Of course it started to snow so I began my trek up the stairs. Once I was in my apartment I locked the door and crashed on my couch, sleep quickly coming over me.

When I woke up a few hours later I just wanted to hear his voice. I dialed Max's number and waited for him to answer, I had no idea what I was going to tell him, I just wanted to hear his voice. "Hi Lil," I could tell he was smiling as he answered the phone. "Max, I'm sorry I keep bugging you." "You're not bugging me, you will never bug me. What's wrong Lil, something doesn't seem right." How could he tell? I thought I was keeping my voice as calm as I could. "Max, there's something about me that you don't know. I don't know, when do you get home?" This was something I couldn't drop on him over the phone. If we were getting as serious as Alicia told me we are, then I knew he needed to know this about me. "What if I got you the next flight out here? I won't be back for another five days." What? Five days might be too long for me, I might relapse, I can feel the drugs on my fingertips still, but to fly out to wherever he was, that's a little extreme. "I don't know Max, I can't just up and leave, I have work and Kevin wants to work with me tonight to see if we have a professional chemistry. I can't just leave." I couldn't believe the lie that just came out of my mouth. I didn't have to work, as long as I kept Kevin happy while he was in Pittsburgh, that was my work. I was starting to fall back in to old habits. I finally allowed Max to fly me out to Boston, the only thing I needed to do was survive the night.

My fingers trembled the whole 2 hour flight into Boston. The minute I stepped off the flight, I almost stepped right back on. I didn't know what was going on with me, I had been sober for a little over a year, now all of a sudden I see it in front of me and I want to dive in nose first. The ride to the arena felt like it took hours, but I finally found myself walking into the massive rink, I was escorted down to ice level and watched as Max skated in circles around the open ice. He caught sight of me and headed over and I took one last deep breath. It was now or never. I took a seat in the hallway only because I felt like I could collapse at any minute. "Lil, you can tell me anything." I looked up into his eyes only to find pure fear and concern. "I, well . . . Max, I use to have a drug problem." There it was, out there in the open. Now I could only prepare myself for what he would say. "What kind of drug problem?" He spoke his words slowly and softly. "It started out with pot, then I went through an LSD phase, but mostly cocaine. Yesterday when you called, Max, you probably saved my life with that phone call." He knelt down in front of me and pulled me into a tight hug. I felt the tears start to build up again as he pulled away, holding my shoulders in his hands. "Lil, did you relapse yesterday? Is that why you were so short on the phone? What happened at the club?" I choked back a sob and wiped away the few tears that managed to escape. "No, I didn't relapse, but I almost did. It was right there in front of me, I could taste it. Then I realized I told you I loved you, and I do. I love you so much Max. I am so in love with you it's fucking scary. I've been denying it to myself for so long, because I honestly didn't believe that I was capable of being in love, but I am. That's when I left though, I knew that if I touched the coke in front of me I would have thrown my life away. I would have lost you, and I don't want to know what life will be like without you in it." He pulled me tight in to his chest, and I fell to my knees in front of him, flinching at the pain in my leg as my cast hit the concrete awkwardly. His hand ran through my hair and I cried into his shoulder. "Move in with me." I pulled back a little to look him in the eye. "Wh-what?" "Lil, move in with me." I wasn't in the right state of mind to answer that question, I actually didn't really understand it. The only thing I could do was smile and kiss him.

[twenty-six]

Max's POV

"You are such a dork, I don't have an accent, you're the one with the accent Mr. French-Canadian." I couldn't believe we were having an argument over who had the accent in this relationship. "In my ears, you have an accent, I'm sorry if I've offended you and your very thick American accent," I couldn't help but laugh, how we even got on this subject, I have no idea. "Yeah okay, don't you have a flight to catch?" "I do, I will call you when we land. Have fun at your meeting." "Sure thing, have fun on your trip. Kick someones ass for me." She was perfect, absolutely perfect.

I took my usual seat next to Tanger on the flight as Flower and Crosby took the seats across the aisle from us. "Flower, I'm going to ask her. It just makes sense." I didn't look at him, I just leaned my head back and hoped for his support. "Whatever you want to do Maxy, I'll stock my fridge with ice cream and crap now." There's the support I need! Tanger held his finger up, "wait a second, what exactly are you going to ask her?" "I'm going to ask her to move in with me." He took his hand down and redirected his attention back to the magazine in his hands. "Did you tell her about you parents?" Flower asked. "Yeah, no sweat. Didn't even phase her. I don't think she's ever gone through this process though. I don't think she realizes that meeting the parents is a big deal. I haven't introduced a girl to my parents since juniors." I shut off my phone, and prepared myself for take off. 

Lillianah's POV

I still had an hour or so before this Kevin guy was to show up so I fiddled around with my lap top. I continued to laugh to myself about the silly argument Max and I had just had about who has an accent. He just didn't understand, he's not in Quebec, so automatically he's the one with the accent not me. It's stupid, silly stupid. I pulled up a few songs I wanted to work with Kevin on and then sat down in the lounge and called Alicia. "I'm meeting his parents at the end of next week." I simply said like it was no big deal, which it wasn't. "Lil, that's huge. I'm sure for Max, this is a big deal." I couldn't help but laugh. "No it's not. How is it a big deal? It wasn't a big deal when I met your parents, or when I met Aaron's parents." "You are in a committed relationship with Max though, it's a big deal. It's good your not nervous I guess, but you need to step back and look at this relationship. That's a serious move on his part, and I'm sure since he was such a playboy, he's probably never introduced a girl to his parents before." Was it really that big of a deal? I guess I've never had to go through this before, so I really didn't know. Until the time came, I wasn't going to treat it like a big deal, I would just be excited. 

I heard a commotion downstairs by the entrance to the club and looked down to see Kevin chatting with the owner. Did the guy ever take his sunglasses off? I watched as he made his way up to me. We exchanged smiles and he sat down on the spare stool I had dragged in. "So before we start, I have to know, what's with the cast?" I laughed a bit and looked down at the massive red cast on my leg. "Broke my ankle, hit a patch of ice and landed on it wrong." "Wow, well a girl like you needs to be living in Miami. It's a shame to have a body like yours, only to have it covered it up with winter clothes. Plus, the only ice down there is in drinks." I didn't know what to say, I just hid my blushing cheeks behind the hood of my sweatshirt and woke my laptop up. After playing around with a few of his songs for a little over an hour, he finally pulled his sunglasses off. I looked into his eyes for the first time, and they were just your plain brown eyes, but something was very powerful about them. "Yes, I do have eyes," he laughed snapping me out of my starring contest with him. "I was starting to think you had a really bad lazy eye or something," I smiled and turned my attention back to the music.

Max's POV

It wasn't a long flight to Boston, but it was long enough that I just wanted to crash into my bed when we got to the hotel. As we boarded the bus to take us to the hotel I pulled my phone out and called Lillianah, as promised. It rang a few times and she answered just above a whisper. "Hi Max, I'm really sorry but I have to go. Hope you had a good flight, good luck at your game. I love you." With that the line went dead and I looked down at my phone confused. "What's wrong Max?" Flower asked as I took the seat next to him on the bus. "I am confused about so many things right now." I finally closed my phone and held it tightly in my hand hoping she'd call me back. "What did she say?" I looked at Flower, hoping I'd find the answer somewhere around his face. "First off, she sounded like something was wrong, she was whispering. Second off she said 'I love you'." Flower scrunched his eyebrows together, instantly becoming confused with me. Yet my confused state quickly turned into one of worry. "She would tell me if something was wrong right?" He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Seeing his reaction I quickly called her phone once again. No answer.