What's The Name Of The Game

Tianna, Patrick, and Kara all stared back at Jon with dumbfounded expressions.

“What?” They all asked Jon simultaneously.

“You don’t want to stay here, but you can’t spend Christmas alone, so just come spend it with me,” Jon reiterated.

“T-Bag, this is perfect!” Pat said, slapping Jon on the back and then grabbing Kara’s hand. He ran out of the room excitedly, lugging Kara with him.

Jon started to gather his things, and Tianna was still rooted to her spot.

“I can’t,” she suddenly announced. Jonathan stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

“Why not?”

“I would feel so bad,” she explained. “I mean, it’s Christmas. You should be with your family, not having to worry about some outsider. It’s not my place.”

“I’m an outsider here for Christmas,” he shrugged. “No one really seemed to mind.”

“Yeah, but you were here for a Christmas party. I would be with you guys for the actual holiday, and that’s not right. I have no business being there,” she told him.

“Will you just get over yourself? I’m trying to be nice here, so just suck it up and pack a bag,” he remarked, going back to his own packing.

Jon didn’t want to admit it, but he missed the girl Tianna was when he first met her.

That girl was a spitfire. She was spunky, confident, vivacious and…sexy.

Not that she wasn’t still sexy, but it was different. She was sad now, and needy. Jon thought needy chicks were hot, yeah, especially when they gave you their ‘I need you now’ look, and Tianna had given Jon the look a few times.

It had taken all his strength not to give in.

But he preferred the old Tianna.

The one who wouldn’t give him the ‘I need you now’ look, she would just take him.

The one who wouldn’t let herself be talked down to, she would use that mouth of hers to snap back.

The one who wouldn’t get slapped in the face because the other person would already be nursing a black eye.

Jon glanced over at Tianna, who was, in fact, attempting to pack a bag. She had to go through all the stuff she had already packed, so it was taking her awhile to find everything she needed. A little while later, Patrick and Kara came back in, looking ready to drive Jonathan and Tianna to the airport.

“Okay T-Bag, so while you’re with Jon, Kara and I will bring your stuff back to the apartment…sound good?” Patrick announced. Tianna just nodded and continued packing. After she was finished and said goodbye to a few people, they were all off.

Jon and Pat sat up front while Kara and Tianna sat in the back so they could all have their own little chats. The boys talked about hockey, while the girls were talking about what just happened at the house.

Or, rather, Kara was talking about it, because Tianna stayed quiet pretty much the whole time.

It wasn’t exactly something she wanted to talk about.

After Pat and Kara dropped Jon and Tianna off, Tianna’s silence didn’t leave with them. It kind of annoyed Jon, but then he remembered what she just had to endure. He opted for staying quiet as well, hoping it would give both of them some quality thinking time.

Throughout their journey they had both noticed people giving them odd looks, but they both chalked it up to Jon being on the Blackhawks.

A few hours later, the plane landed, and Jon woke Tianna up and led her through the airport. As soon as they got in the cab she started dozing off again, so Jon just pulled her against him so she could sleep. He woke her up again when they arrived at his house.

He grabbed both of their bags and led her to the front door, where he rang the bell and waited.

A few moments later the door opened, revealing a sweet looking woman.

“Jonathan!” She exclaimed pulling him in for a hug and planting kisses all over his face.

“Moooom,” he groaned embarrassedly, glancing at Tianna. Jon’s mom followed his gaze and suddenly her eyes brightened.

“Why hello,” she said politely, nudging Jon suggestively.

“Mom, stop, it’s not like that,” Jon said, pulling Tianna inside. Jon’s mom shut the door behind them and called for Jon’s dad. He came strolling in soon after, followed by another younger guy.

“Jonny,” his dad greeted, giving him a quick hug. The other guy hugged Jon as well, and Jon ruffled his hair. They shared a laugh, and Jon pulled Tianna further into the house so they could take their coats off and stuff. Tianna and Jon both took off all their winter gear, including hats, and then turned back around to Jon’s family.

Jon and Tianna couldn’t figure out why they were looking at the two of them so strangely. It was the same look the people in the airport had given them, and now they both knew it wasn’t because they recognized Jon as a Hawk.

“What?” Jon asked. His three family members just stood there staring, until the young guy couldn’t take it anymore.

“So, either you guys got into a huge fight or had some angry sex,” he chortled. Jonathan’s mom gasped and knocked the guy in the back of the head.

Jon and Tianna both looked at each other confused until they saw each others bruises.

“Ohhh,” they both realized.

“No, mine’s from hockey,” Jon explained.

“And yours…?” Jon’s mom asked.

“Um,” Tianna sounded. She didn’t want to tell them what happened, but she couldn’t exactly avoid it.

“It’s a long story,” Jonathan intervened.

“Jonathan I swear to God if you did this-”

“No! No, it wasn’t Jon,” Tianna interrupted, noticing Jon paled a little bit. “It was a family issue. “

“That’s why she’s here,” Jon asserted. “This is Tianna, she’s Kaner’s cousin. Tianna, these are my parents Andree and Bryan, and my brother David.”

They all said their hellos and then an awkward silence took over.

“Well, I’m sure everyone’s tired,” Jonathan’s dad announced. “Let’s all go to bed, eh?” Everybody nodded and Jon grabbed the bags again. “Jon, why don’t you show Tianna here her room and then come back down. I want to talk to you about something.” Jonathan nodded, and led Tianna upstairs to his old room.

“Hope you don’t mind that we’re sharing,” he stated.

“Nah, I’m pretty used to it by now,” she smiled. Jon put their stuff down and nodded at her.

“I’ll be right back,” he told her, leaving the room. Tianna took this opportunity to shower and get ready for bed, and Jon went to talk to his dad.

He went downstairs and saw his whole family waiting in the kitchen.

“Uh…hey,” Jonathan greeted, catching their attention.

“Is she your girlfriend?” His mom asked immediately.

“No,” Jon answered, causing his mother’s shoulders to slump.

“Friends with benefits then eh?” David teased, earning another smack from his mother.

“No,” Jon glared.

“So she’s single then?” David added.

“No,” Jon said through gritted teeth, glare hardening.

“But you said-”

“David, just go to bed,” Jon’s dad ordered, shaking his head. There was no hiding his amusement at his sons, however.

David trudged out of the room and Jon’s parents looked at him expectantly.

“Well?” His mom asked.

“Well what?”

“Who is she?” She clarified.

“I told you, she’s Kaner’s cousin,” Jon reiterated.

“Who gave her that bruise on her cheek?” His dad asked. Jon hesitated, not knowing if it was his place.

“…Her mom,” he whispered, looking at the floor. When he looked back up at his parents they prompted him to continue, and he spilled the whole story, from start to finish.

“Oh, that poor girl,” Jon’s mom cooed once he was finished.

“I figured you guys wouldn’t mind if I brought her, I mean-”

“Of course we don’t mind, Jon. You did the right thing,” his dad assured him. “Alright. We’ll talk more later. Go get some sleep,” he finished, patting Jon on the back. Jon obliged and said goodnight to his parents, and then headed back upstairs.

“Jon,” David called as his older brother passed by his room.

“Yeah,” Jon said, halting and turning back to David.

“You know I was just joking with you, right?”

“Yeah, I know,” Jon nodded.

“You like her?” David asked. Jon scratched the back of his neck.

“I don’t know, man. Honestly, I don’t even know what to think or what I want when it comes to her,” Jon remarked, looking at the closed door. What he didn’t know was that Tianna was listening on the other side.

“But you care about her, obviously,” David noticed.

“Yeah,” Jon admitted. “I do.”

Tianna smiled genuinely for the first time in what felt like forever, and when she heard Jon and David wrapping up their conversation she hopped back into bed. She turned on her side and pretended to be asleep, and Jon didn’t seem to notice any different.

He got ready for bed and slipped under the covers, and they both laid there tensely for a moment. Ironically, they both knew that it would be less awkward if they just curled up against each other.

Jon, unable to take it any longer, slid his arm around Tianna’s waist and pulled her closer so her back was against his chest. She smiled to herself again, and they both drifted off to sleep after Jon nuzzled his face against her neck.