Chapter 23

To everyone who reads this: I haven't said this as much as I should but seriously, thanks so much for reading my blog! It's been so much fun to write this during a summer that has been very hectic and full of change. I can't wait to go back to school knowing that I have this to write whenever I need a distraction. It means so much to see the comments that you guys leave and like everyone else, motivates me to write more and get the chapters out faster. I tried to think through the emotions of this chapter a lot since I've never been in Eliza's position so I didn't really know how to write it. I'm a bit of a commitment-phobe too so hopefully everything she's feeling makes sense. Onwards!



Eliza's POV:

I woke up late the next morning and both Max and I rushed around trying to get ready and get out the door on time. Me, to go to work and him to go to morning skate before the team left for an overnight game in Detroit this afternoon.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked kissing him goodbye in the garage before we both got in our cars and went our separate ways.

"Yep" he said settling his hands around my waist to hold me in place a little longer. "Do you want to go out to dinner or something? I don't have a game or anything tomorrow. Just some charity stuff during the day."

"Like a real date?" I asked unable to conceal my smile. We were both so busy that the entire time we had been dating, we hadn't ever really gone anywhere together except for each other's apartments.

"Why are you laughing? I take you places!" he said narrowing his eyes at me. It was sort of cute to see him get so defensive about it. It wasn't as if I needed to go out all of the time. I was happy most nights just to relax and watch TV or read.

"Tomorrow night would be great" I said deciding to let the subject go. Maybe he was used to girls just wanting to go out but I wasn't like that. I had a job that prohibited me from going out and partying all of the time anyway.

"I can't believe I have to leave today" he mumbled giving me one last kiss. Me either. Our schedules sucked this week.

"Good luck tonight" I smiled breaking the bad moods both of us seemed to be in now. I should be used to him coming and going by now but I guess I wasn't. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn't and I got into my car to head off to the office for what was sure to be a busy morning.

After a long and initially frustrating weekend, I found myself melting back into my work schedule without incident. I was getting so comfortable in my job here with the Pens and with the players and everyone else I worked with that it felt good to know that my job was to look out for all of these people. Despite how nice it was to be back, I was ready to go back to my apartment at the end of the day where I hadn't slept for almost a week. I still needed to talk to Max about the fact that we were basically living together and see if he had an opinion about it.

Frankly, I wasn't sure if I had an opinion about it. I didn't think it was a bad thing but it wasn't necessarily good either. So much was understated or unsaid in our relationship and so should I just sit back and bounce between my apartment and his house, or move in with him? Did he want me to move in with him? I mean, its not like he's cared so far. I even have a house key and garage door opener so that I can park my car in his garage. I guess he's indicated that things are heading in that direction but what am I supposed to say? 'Oh hey, can I move into your house since I'm there all of the time anyway?' I don't think so. He's got to be the one who asks if we're even going to do this. Besides, did that mean that I should sell my apartment? I would be completely screwed if we broke up and would have to find my own place all over again or move in with my Mom. I shuddered at the thought of this. I loved my Mom more than anything but did not want to be a failure of a daughter who has to move back home after a bad relationship.

I was also worried about how we would share expenses if our relationship was heading in that direction. There was no way that he was going to pay for everything with me just sitting back and doing nothing to contribue in some way. There was no way that I would be able to live with myself if he paid for everything and I just went along with it. Relationships were partnerships and that meant sharing the burdens of expenses too.


I spent the rest of the evening cleaning and straightening up my apartment while I finished laundry-mostly doing the things I hadn't been around to do last week and this past weekend. Max had called after his game but the Pens had lost and he wasn't in the best of moods making it hard to talk to him about anything else.

"I'll call you tomorrow when we're back so we can talk about dinner. We also need to figure out some stuff for this weekend" he said still sounding agitated.


"This weekend?" What was happening this weekend?

"Didn't anyone talk to you today? I told you last night that you're coming with the team to Montreal for the road trip at the end of this week. It's your birthday so I thought we could extend our weekend there a little bit and we're going out to dinner with my parents?" he asked obviously confused why I didn't remember.

"I remember, I just forgot because you told me so late and I didn't talk to anyone about it today. I'll get the details tomorrow." At this point, I just wanted to get off the phone. We were both irritated and this wasn't like the normal, nice conversations we usually had on the phone. We hung up shortly after and I ended the call putting my head in my hands. I'm meeting his parents? What the hell?

Max's POV:

I hung up the phone wondering why she was acting so strange again- the conversation had been strained and weird and I tried to remember if I had said something wrong. Yes, I had tricked her by asking her while she was half-asleep but she had woken up a little and agreed to it. It's not like a drugged her or anything. Part of me had been pissed off this morning as we said goodbye to each other just because she was going to be around and now I was leaving. I also noticed how she grabbed up all of her things and packed them in her bag to take them back to her apartment. Why didn't she just leave everything there and stay at my house? I thought I had been making it pretty obvious that she was welcome to just stay at my house even when I was away because I liked her there. I wanted to know that she was safe in my house at night instead of in her apartment alone. She had accepted the garage door opener and the key but taking my credit card for food definitely hadn't gone over well. She had flat out refused to use it and had left before I could stick it in her purse. Why is she resisting so much? Maybe I should just officially come out and ask her to move in with me because she was either oblivious or flat out ignoring my hints that she should. I'd talk to her about it tomorrow night at dinner and see what she thought. I didn't want to push her about it in case she still thought that we were moving too fast but like always, it was going to be hard for me not to push her a little. She needed a shove in the right direction sometimes even though she saw herself as invincible and independent.

Eliza's POV:

The next morning, Max called early to let me know that he was back in Pittsburgh and would be around my apartment at 7 to pick me up for dinner. He sounded busy so I didn't push the subject of our tension-filled conversation from the previous day and I knew that he had to focus on the charity event he was attending and I had about a zillion files to go over.

"Babe? Are you almost ready?" I was just putting the finishing touches on my outfit and wiggled into the dress I had decided on.

"Can you zip me up?" I asked walking into my living room and saw that he was already sitting down, patiently waiting for me. He was wearing a dark grey suit and white shirt with a blue tie. No other man looks as good as he does in a suit.

"Sure" he said standing up while I turned so he could reach the zipper. He zipped me up and kissed me on the back of the neck before turning me to give me a real kiss. I felt the sparks shoot down my spine at the feeling of his lips on mine in such an intense kiss.

"What was that for?" I asked after he had broken the kiss telling me to hurry it up.

"You look beautiful" he said surprising me. Max communicated a lot through actions instead of words- we both did when it came to our relationship and so while he had let the 'l' word slip to me, he didn't say things like this often. I wasn't one of those girls who needed to be complimented all of the time but this time when he said it I couldn't hold back the tears I knew had formed in my eyes.

"Hey" he said grabbing my hands to keep me from leaving. "What's this for?" he asked reaching up to wipe a tear that had escaped from my eye.

"Nothing, that was just sweet of you" I said planting a kiss on his jaw and giving into my urge to snuggle into his waiting arms.

"Okay, so let me go pick out shoes and I'll be ready to go" I said giving him one last squeeze and breaking away to fix my makeup.

He took me to an upscale Japanese restaurant that I had never heard of where we were seated at a private Hibachi table.

"Umm, Max? Don't you normally sit with other people at these things?" I said gesturing to the empty table in the crowded restaurant.

"Yeah, but I just wanted to eat with you" he said smiling and pulling out my chair for me before sitting down next to me and picking up the menu. I looked around the restaurant and saw that while it was busy, no one seemed to mind that we were obviously getting special treatment. I guess that's what happens with him.

"So, lets talk about this weekend" he said while we both munched on teriyaki vegetables and Miso soup. "I planned it so that we'll stay an extra day in Montreal for your birthday and to see my parents." He left the statement open obviously waiting for me to protest. Mario had popped into my office in the morning to explain the situation to me and why they had decided to bring me along. They figured that it wouldn't hurt to have a lawyer available in case something went wrong with passports and forms while they were in another country- even if it was just Canada. I didn't want to put up a fight since I was going along with the team anyway and also, it was really sweet for Max to want to do something for my birthday.

"You know, we really don't need to make a big deal out of my birthday" I commented feeling bad that I hadn't really gone through a lot of trouble for him on his birthday a few weeks prior. I had brought home Chinese and we had spent the night in bed anyway. All in all it was a simple birthday and I wanted mine to be low-key as well.

"I know but I want to. Montreal's a great city and I want to show it to you and my family really wants to meet you. It's good timing all around" he said giving me his familiar 'it's going to be okay' smile. I took a deep breath unable to ignore how much he had obviously thought about this. Even if this step scared the hell out of me, I had to do it simply because he wanted to.

"Okay" I said smiling and actually meaning it. I couldn't not smile at how thoughtful and sweet he was to me. "So have you talked to your Mom? Mario didn't really give me the itinerary for what would be happening."

He told me that the Pens would be playing a game on Friday night and on Saturday and that we would be able to celebrate my birthday after the game on Friday night and then spend time with his family on Saturday before and after his game.

"Are you okay?" he asked trailing off from what he was saying to look at me curiously while the chef innocently cooked our food in front of us.

"Yeah, I'm just nervous" I told him watching his confused expression. What if they hated me? I had never done the meeting the parents thing before because I had never been in a relationship this serious before. I didn't doubt that Mr. and Mrs. Talbot were going to be wary of me either given the fact that there son was a famous hockey player. They would definitely want to scope me out and make sure that I wasn't a floozy or something.

"Whoa, whoa. Why are we getting nervous? I promise you, you'll have fun. I wouldn't take you to meet them if I didn't think that you would hit it off with all of them. You'll love it, I promise" he said giving me another kiss on the cheek. I saw that we were being watched by a few people in the restaurant and felt uncomfortable from the attention we were receiving. All night people had been staring at us and especially Max. He seemed oblivious to the attention though which was surprising given his outgoing personality.

"So we're okay? Not nervous?" he said forcing me to look at him again. I nodded and we both dug into the food that had been placed in front of us, enjoying the rest of our meals before heading out.

"Do you think we can just stay here tonight?" I asked breaking my lips away from his outside my apartment door. We had been making out in front of my door for the past ten minutes and it was easier all around if we just went inside.

"I like my house better" his hands moved from their position on my hips sliding over my butt.

"Yeah, but we're already here" I said pulling back a little to see his face more clearly. Maybe we're finally going to have this conversation.

His hands slid more fully around my butt as he pulled me closer against his body. His teeth nipped my earlobe and I melted against him on a sigh wondering if and when I was ever going to be able to resist him. He reached around me to open the door so that we could stumble inside together, still not breaking the kiss.

I guess we weren't going to have that conversation yet afterall.