Everything I've Ever Wanted

"Hey beautiful, wake up!" Tony's voice greeted me before the start of our economics class. I opened one eye, glared at him and then tried to sleep once more, but a body plopped down next to me and no matter how much I wished it wasn't Tony, I knew it would be.

"Lucia, please go away. I did not have a good weekend," I moaned, my head pounding with every word I spoke.

"That's what happens when you drink too much." Tony concluded, "lightweights should stay away from lots of booze."

"Excuse me, I could totally out drink you," I challenged to which he snorted.

"Come on. The left side of my body weighs more than you." He chided me like I was a child.

"That means jack shit," I retorted, pulling my stuff out of my backpack, "and my headache has nothing to do with drinking."

"What's wrong?" He asked, worry actually pulling at his brows a bit. I rolled my eyes, for some reason annoyed by all this weirdness between us.

I was supposed to hate him, but I didn't. He wasn't supposed to make a big deal about me having a headache, but he was. I shouldn't have thought about him all weekend, but I did. And I definitely shouldn't have freaked out every time a Badger pounded him into the boards. The only action of mine I could approve of was when I jumped up and down like a crazy person when he scored on Saturday night and finished with a four point weekend.

"I was sick all weekend with a bad fever and now I have a raging headache to pile on to the stuffy nose I still have," I informed him, sliding down in my seat and getting comfortable.

"I'm sorry. That's rough stuff," he murmured, pulling out his laptop and flipping it open.

"Yeah," I sighed loudly, doing the same and settling in for the lecture.

I tried to pay attention to what the professor was saying, but like always my attention seemed to flutter over to Tony. I would glance at him out of the corner of my eye, watching him take notes or stretching his arms above his head, his sweatshirt riding up and seeing a slice of his skin. I blushed slightly, feeling like I was creeping on him and tried to buckle down on the lecture once more. Obviously that didn't happen because Tony tapped my shoulder.

"What?" I whispered, not taking my eyes off the professor.

"Come to lunch with me after class," He stated, not asking but telling.

I looked over at him, raising an eyebrow as my mind went through the steady debate of what the hell was wrong with me. I was supposed to hate this kid in front of me. Not go to lunch and coddle around with him. I needed to pull myself together and shut him down. I was not allowed to have butterflies for Tony Lucia or anyone on his team. They were players who had no respect for the girls they pulled around like dolls. I sighed and got ready to push out my argument when he spoke again.

"It's only lunch. Just as friends," He told me, smiling to set me at ease. And despite what I had just been preaching in my head, I nodded to him, instantly hating myself for giving in so easily.
***

Class ended fairly quickly after that and Tony and I headed down to Dinkytown where we walked into Potbelly and order some turkey sandwiches. Tony told me he would have taken me somewhere better but he really didn't have much time before practice. I said I didn't mind because I didn't, I was just glad to be sitting next to him.

"So are you from Minnesota?" He asked me, biting into his sandwich.

"Yeah, St. Cloud," I nodded.

"Oh, so why didn't you go to St. Cloud State?"

"Because I was too smart," I rolled my eyes playfully, smiling at his laugh that rang through the shop.

"I can see that. Do you have any siblings?"

"No, I used to though." I confessed, surprised that I actually admitted that out loud to him. He was silent, obviously waiting for me to say more, but I couldn't open my mouth. I struggled with the words in my head, wondering how I could tell him what happened.

"You don't have to tell me. It's fine." He assured me, grabbing my hand over the table and squeezing it.

"No, it's not that, I just don't really talk about it that much." I stuttered slightly.

"It's fine, we can change the subject."

"No, I want to tell you because it's something that really affected me and it's part of the reason I didn't got to St. Cloud State." I took a deep breath and then locked eyes on Tony. "I had a twin sister. She was just like me in the looks department and the brains department, but she always lacked my vibrant personality, so says my mother. She would always let the little things get to her. She didn't take teasing very well and she was always jealous that I could just let things roll off my back. She never had very much self-confidence and it didn't become a problem until she went off to college at SCSU."

"Her and her boyfriend were at a party together and she left him to go hang out with her roommate and some of her college friends. Well, her boyfriend, who was a tool in all areas, decided to take some trashy chick up to a room and have sex with her. Well, of course my sister found out about it while it was happening and she stormed up to the bedroom and watched from the doorway. For some sick and twisted reason, she wanted to watch him do it. So they were finishing up and then she made her presence known. She freaked out and told him they were done and then went home." I paused, biting my lip to stop the tears that formed in my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I continued. "She went into the bathroom and with a one of those big kitchen knifes. She slit one of her wrists. Nobody could have gotten to her in time."

I kept my gaze on the table, my last words repeating inside my head like they had in the three years after her death. It was hard to go from having a sister to all of a sudden being an only child who needs to help her parents get through the loss of someone that you loved as much as them. I realized after I told Tony the story that it might have been a little too intense to tell him, but for some reason, I trusted him with it. I didn't trust him with my heart, but I trusted him with the knowledge of what happened with my sister and how it forever changed my life.

"That must have been really hard," Tony whispered, grabbing both of my hands. I pursed my lips and nodded.

"Sorry that was kind of graphic," I muttered, shaking my head.

"No, I'm glad you told me that."

"Yeah, so do you have any siblings?" I asked him, desperate to change the subject.

"Yeah I've got two older sisters and a younger brother. We're all really close and I can't imagine losing one of them," Tony shook his head as I looked up at him.

"Well, I hope you never have to go through it."

"Me too." He nodded, glancing at his phone and grimacing.

"You have to go?" I smiled at him.

"Yeah," He muttered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wish I could stay but I have to talk to my dad before practice."

"As your coach or your dad?" I grinned, finding it amusing for some reason.

"As my dad." He laughed loudly.

"Oh! Is he gonna reprimand you!?" I questioned giggling uncontrollably.

"I'm glad you find this amusing," Tony rolled his eyes, "And no, it's just about my little brother's hockey game tonight. I think we're car pooling but I might just drive myself so I can leave when I want." He told me as we threw our trash away and walked onto the busy street. "It tends to get a little long when people know my dad is in the building."

"I'm sure," I nodded, "Well, have fun at practice and your brother's game." I told him, stepping into the sidewalk, only to be pulled back.

"You should come with me." He suggested to which I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Why?"

"So I can get to know you better," He dipped his head to look into my eyes.

"Um," I looked down at the ground and then back at Tony before dropping my gaze to my feet again. "I don't really understand why you're giving me all this attention all of a sudden," I confessed, needing to voice that.

"Because I want to know you. You're beautiful and quiet and you seem like such an incredible person. I don't know, I guess you could say you pull me in." He shrugged, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his jeans.

"Would I have to ride with you and your dad?" I asked, skeptical.

Tony laughed, "No, I'll drive."

I thought about it for a moment, trying to think about how I was going to get out of the house without Dakota noticing. But then I remembered that she went home for the week because she was sick. I grinned at Tony, "Yeah, I'd like that."

He grinned back at me and then leaned down to place a kiss on my cheek. "I'll pick you up at 5," he told me, before walking down the street and out of my line of sight.

For the next three hours, I switched between pacing around the house and getting ready for the game. I was so nervous about not only being enclosed in a car with Tony, but about most likely meeting his parents. I was never the kind of person who made bad impressions with parents, I just hated how much of a drag it was to be presenting yourself to these people who you want to like you so bad. It's very unnerving for me and pushes me out of my comfort zone.

Although I kept taking breaks, I made sure I was ready when the clock struck 5. Tony pulled in a couple minutes after the hour, shutting the car off and coming to the door. I opened it, smiling widely and locking everything behind me.

"Wow, I think you're the first girl I've ever picked up who's been ready on time," Tony concluded as we headed North towards Plymouth, a northern suburb where his family lived. "That's a good thing by the way," Tony told me when I didn't respond. "I brought you a sweatshirt to wear since no one in my family goes to the games without wearing some kind of Wayzata (Y-Zeh-taaa) gear," he laughed.

"But I'm not family," I giggled, grabbing the grey sweatshirt with Wayzata Trojans spelled out across the chest. I flipped it and noticed the Lucia written on the back.

"We'll just pretend for this game," He smiled, turning on the radio.

"So who am I going to meet today?" I asked.

"Just my parents, my sisters can't make it to the game. We'll probably leave before Mario gets out of the locker room," He answered, exiting the freeway.

"Okay," I responded, biting my lip nervously.

"Hey, don't be nervous. My parents are pretty chill." He assured me, patting my thigh in a comforting way.

We pulled into the Plymouth hockey arena, parked and then walked into the arena. Tony paid for both of our tickets before grabbing a program and holding the door for me to walk into the ice rink. I shuffled in, Tony coming up next to me and directing me over to where a pretty woman with light brow hair sat, Lucia on the back of her sweatshirt.

"Mom," Tony greeted. His mom turned and saw Tony, her green eyes, identical to his, sparkling when she took in her oldest son.

"Hi honey," she smiled brightly, pulling him into a tight hug. "Who'd you bring, hun?" She asked, giving me the same bright smile. I ducked my head, biting my lip again and gave her back a weak smile. My stomach fluttered as Tony introduced me.

"I'm Joyce, Tony's mom, it's nice to meet you, Molly." She told me, pulling me into a tight hug. I hesitated but hugged back once I realized what was going on. Tony chuckled lightly behind me and we settled into our seats, Tony sitting next to his mom and me on the outside of the row. I focused my attention out on the ice, looking to where the blue jerseys swarmed around the ice, the team that Mario was on.

"What number is your brother?" I asked, leaning into him.

"He's 8. The punk dangling the defenseman." Tony laughed, watching Mario flip the puck over the goalie's shoulder.

"Oh he already looks better than you," I teased, Joyce laughing from the other side of Tony.

"Ouch. That's another insult and another chip to my ego."

"Good, someone needs to keep you grounded," his mom laughed, greeting her husband with a kiss.

"You must be Molly," Don Lucia greeted me with a hand shake. I stood and shook his hand, blushing slightly and nodding. "Tony told me you would be coming to the game tonight."

"Yeah, he begged me," I shrugged nonchalantly. His parents laughed as Tony rolled his eyes, not looking away from the ice.

"You're going to fit in to this family just fine," Joyce laughed, leaning back and placing a motherly hand on my shoulder. I blushed slightly as Tony shifted nervously. I looked down at him as he turned towards me, shrugging at my questioning look.

The players filed off the ice and Tony sat back, turning his attention back to me. I stared into his green eyes, giving him a slight smirk. He shook his head at me and knocked his shoulder into me.

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop looking at me like that, it's unnerving." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Why's that?" I asked him, cocking my head to the side.

"Because you look like you have a secret and it's driving me nuts." He took his Gopher hat off his head and ran his hand through his long hair.

"You need a hair cut," I told him, reaching out and threading my hand lightly through his hair. His eyes fluttered closed and he leaned into my touch a bit. My heart skipped a beat at the simple gesture. I bit my lip, enjoying Tony's attention and presence way too much for my liking. We were already acting like a couple and for the umpteenth time that night, I wondered why I even agreed to come with him. My hand dropped back to my lap and I turned to watch the Zamboni coat the ice, making it shine with the vibrant lights of the arena.

"So Molly are you coming to the games this weekend?" Joyce asked me, looking past Tony. I stared back at her with a blank expression before dropping my gaze to Tony. "Surely Tony asked you?" She questioned, tilting her head to look at her son.

"I was getting there mom," Tony closed his eyes in slight embarrassment before turning back to me and raising his eyebrows. "Do you want to come?" He asked before leaning in close to me, dropping his voice so his mom couldn't hear, "and then we can hang out after?"

My brain went into overtime, immediately making a list of the pros and cons and all the reasons I should say no. My eyes fluttered to his mom where she was looking back at me, a smile on her face, waiting for my replay. I looked past her at Don who was writing on a piece of paper, ignoring the conversation on purpose. Finally, I took in Tony's hopeful look and all my doubt disappeared again, entranced by the way he looked at me, like I was the center of his attention. My heart skipped a dangerous beat and I knew I was a goner.

"I'd love to go," I assured him matching the huge grin that spread across his face. I licked my lips and looked away as Tony grabbed my hand, squeezing it. I expected him to pull away, but he didn't. His fingers stayed laced tightly in mine, confirming my worst fears, that Tony and I were most definitely falling for each other.