Chapter Thirty Three

**To say it's been "a while" since I last udpated would probably be the biggest understatement in the world. I know that it's been way too long and I'm incredibly sorry. I won't even say that things "got in the way" or that I was "busy" because that's not entirely true. With both of my stories I just got to this point where I was completely uninspired and I had absolutely nothing to say. My other writers can (hopefully?) see where I'm coming from. I didn't want to fill the story with nonsense just because I had no idea what I was doing and no direction for it. But hopefully I've put a harness on this bad boy and maybe I can reign it in. This update is really just short, blah, and disconnected, but I thought that if I could get an update out there, it might inspire me to keep on trucking. And to those of you who are still keeping up with this story, reading and commenting, thank you so much, truly. I hope you know that it means the world to me and I'm glad that you enjoy this madness(:


When I opened my eyes the next morning, the comforter was on the floor along with three of the four pillows that had once adorned the bed. Max was sleeping soundly next to me, his arm draped across my bare stomach. I watched him sleeping and couldn’t help but think how peaceful and innocent he looked. It was enough to melt my heart inside my chest. I ran my hand through his hair and pressed a kiss to the side of his head where a bruise was healing nicely. A dull thudding at the door caused him to stir and his eyes fluttered open.

“I’ll get it,” I said before hopping up, throwing on a robe and opening the door. Jordan was standing in the doorway with a shit eating grin on his face.

“And how is the happy couple this morning?” he asked, brightly.

“Never better,” I replied, “And to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you so early?”

“Well, the team’s leaving in 30 minutes so I just wanted to make sure Max got up,” he answered. “And to see if I could catch a glimpse of you in that lingerie thing. That was so hot.”

“There’s always a catch with you,” I laughed, rolling my eyes. “I’ll make sure Max gets up, thanks for stopping by.”

“No problemo!” He did a faux bow, and turned to go. Just as I was about to close the door he stuck his head in the entryway and screamed “Get some!” before running down the hallway. I swear these boys stopped mentally maturing at 15. I walked back into the room and saw that Max had pulled the comforter back onto the bed and over his face.

“Get up, Champ,” I said, grabbing the end of the blanket and giving it a sharp tug. But Max didn’t relent and kept a tight grip on it.

“I don’t feel like moving,” he muttered into his pillow. “Why can’t we just stay here all day, eh?”

“Because you have a flight to catch and I have a house to clean, so let’s get a move on,” I replied, grabbing my overnight bag and taking it into the bathroom with me.

“But it’s so early! You are aware that this is a ridiculous hour, right?”

“You’re a hockey player. Waking up at ridiculous hours and feeling tired every second of every day is in your job description, buddy. Sorry if you overlooked that part of the contract.” As I turned the shower on, I heard Max’s heavy footsteps crossing the hotel room and over towards the bathroom.

“Why is this door locked?”

“Because, if you haven’t been paying attention, we have things to do today. Like catching flights and cleaning houses. You know exactly what will happen if I open that door and it’ll make us both late.”

“Come on, let’s just shower together. It’ll save time.” I thought about this for a second and almost caved. But I knew better. The man was very handsy afterall.

“Sorry, babe. I’ll be out in ten.” I showered quickly, wrapped myself in a towel, and made my way back out to the room. Max was sitting on the bed, fully clothed, and watching TV. “No shower?”

“I’ll take one when I get home, since you’re so intent on saving time.”

“Max, please. Don’t start with me. I just want you to be on time and I’m starting to get stressed because my parents’ flight is coming in this afternoon. I have so many things to do it’s not even funny.” He frowned a little, then walked over to me and wrapped me tightly in his arms.

“It’ll be okay, love. You know you don’t have to impress them. They are your parents after all. If anyone should be worrying and stressing it should be me.”

“And I told you, that you have nothing to worry about. They’re going to love you, Max. You already passed the hard part of this whole thing.”

“And what was that?”

“Winning me over, of course!” He smiled and smacked me on the backside before releasing me so I could get dressed. Once I was finally decent we grabbed our things and went down to the lobby where the rest of the team was waiting. “Don’t forget, dinner at my house tonight at seven. And don’t freak. They’re gonna love you.” I kissed him quickly when no one was looking and ducked out the back door before any of the guys had a chance to see. When I got to the parking lot, Vero was already waiting in her car with the radio blasting. She turned it down once I slid in next to her.

“How’d last night go?” she asked as she began pulling out of the parking lot.

“It went well. Your plan was perfect. Max couldn’t keep his hands off,” I laughed. “How was your night?”

“It was lovely, as it always is with Marc. You know, sometimes I just wish the man would propose already.”

“Vero!” I was shocked at the boldness of her statement, but after spending time with her, I really shouldn’t have been shocked at anything she said.

“What? Is that so wrong? Listen, Riley. I’ve been with him since we were fourteen. And we’re what? Twenty five? I’m pretty sure it’s time to take things to the next level.”

“You know, you’re right. I guess I never really thought about it with Max throwing out marriage proposals left and right. I’m not going to take him seriously though until he actually gets down on one knee. I love him, but when it comes to things like this, I’m more of a traditional.”

“I’m totally with you on that. I’ve always dreamed that Marc would be the one I married. You know, I honestly think I’ve loved him since I first met him. Isn’t that pathetic? He’s the only guy I’ve ever been with. But sometimes I feel like he gets bored with me. Like it’s too comfortable. I don’t know.”

“Oh, V. It’s not pathetic at all! It’s sweet. And you know that Marc’s absolutely crazy about you. I don’t know how you could ever question that. He’s just waiting for the right time to propose. You know he wants to make it special and something you’ll never forget. I’ve trusted you on a lot of things, so trust me on this.” She nodded and smiled before turning the radio back up and speeding along towards Pittsburgh. Once I was finally home, I hopped in car and high-tailed it to Pier 1 Imports to stock up on “home-y” things before my parents arrived. I found some picture frames and shoved various photos in them. There was a three-slotted picture frame that I ended up placing dead center on the mantel. Max and I were the focus of each picture. On the far left was a black and white far away shot of us holding hands with our backs to the camera. In the middle was a close up of us smiling these ridiculously dorky smiles with our faces pressed close together. In the last shot I had my arms wrapped around his neck and he had his arms around my waist. We were staring intently into each other’s eyes and Max was smiling while I bit my lip. I found that one on my camera and didn’t have the slightest memory of it being taken. I owed a big thank you to whoever my personal paparazzo was. When I was finally done with cleaning and running around, it was time to head over to the airport to pick up my parents.