A Puck Between Us
Chapter 35
“Who wants food?” Chad screamed; as he slid open the door to the patio outside. I almost forgot how amazing the weather was here as I stepped out onto the deck to join everyone else.
I looked around until my eyes met with Addison, who was talking with Cody and Nolan. I saw Cam walking over to them from the other direction and decided that it would be okay for me to go over too.
“Jeff!” Nolan said, extending his arms towards me when I got to them.
I grabbed him from Cody and looked at the huge smile on his face. “Hey, bud!”
“Pool!!” He said, but it almost sounded like a demand, and Cody and Addison started laughing.
“What?”
“We told him that if he could find you, you would take him in the pool later. You came over here, so it is your fault!” Addison said, between laughs.
I didn’t think Nolan’s smile could get any bigger, but when I asked him if he wanted to go in the pool with me, he proved me wrong. “I’ll take that as a yes!” I joked.
“Nol, we have to eat first and then we can go in the pool, okay?” Cam said, taking him from me.
“Food! Pool! Food! Pool!” Nolan started screaming and we all laughed at him.
When the attention turned to the buffet styled tables, I walked closer to Addison and snuck a kiss. “How you holding up?” I quietly asked her.
“I’m doing great! Everyone is so nice!”
“Add, are you sure?”
“Yeah! Cody and Inna are so sweet! I think we really hit it off!”
“…And everyone else?” I asked her, somewhat sternly, but smiled to play it off.
I was afraid of this. Last season, the wives of some of the players- most of the players- tried to hook me up with Tanya Staal’s cousin. She was almost perfect, I had to admit; but being Tanya’s cousin, I wouldn’t expect anything less. She is nothing short of perfect herself, besides giving Addison a problem over nothing. The set-up didn’t work out, even though Morgan was really nice, funny and pretty, maybe even beautiful. She was exactly the kind of girl I could see myself with-- if it weren’t for Addison.
“Everyone is fine, Jeff. Don’t worry!” She said to me, calmly, as she rested her hand on my chest to reassure me.
I know her too well to know when she is hiding something. Whether she thought it was for my own good, or not, I couldn’t sit back and let this go on while she was bullied by women who were 10 years older than her.
“Come here, buddy.”
I grabbed Emerson from her so that she could get herself something to eat and so I could eventually use him as an excuse to do something that I knew I had to do.
~~~
We sat at a table with Cam, Cody, and Nolan, and Alexei, Inna, and their three kids- Alex, Jessica, and Max. When everyone was almost finished, I couldn’t help but notice Tanya and Melissa walk inside. I took Emerson with me and told everyone that I was gonna go fill his cup up with more water, but I obviously had other intentions in mind.
I walked into the house to see Melissa and Tanya sitting at the table looking at magazines and gossiping. Just what the two of them do best.
I quickly got Emerson water and instead of walking out the door, I made my way up to them and decided that I just had to say it.
“Is this all about Morgan? You guys know that I didn’t want a relationship- it wasn’t anything personal. And now you are being rude to Addison for no reason that she has any idea about. She didn’t do anything to you, so if you still have a problem with me declining your ‘set-up’ offer, then take it up with me, don’t give her the cold shoulder or give her any issue because you can’t get over something that never was.”
“You know what, Jeff, Morgan is an awesome girl and all she wanted was a friend. You couldn’t even give her that. You blamed it on a ‘breakup from a long relationship’ when it ended before you even came into the league. That was over a year and a half before this happened. You are such a – “ Melissa started to go off, but Tanya stopped her.
“Wait, Melis. Jeff is right. Addison didn’t do anything to us, so we should give her a chance, not blame her for what didn’t happen when she wasn’t even around.” Tanya said, thankfully being rational.
“Thanks guys. I really am sorry that nothing ever happened between Morgan and I, but I couldn’t get Addison out of my head. She is what I want.”
“I understand. This is why I am happy that Eric and I met before all of this NHL drama even had the chance to happen.”
“I am happy about that too. I never would have been with Brian if we weren’t together before he was drafted.” Melissa added in, finally talking in a clam tone. “Now can we get a real introduction to this cute little guy?”
I always liked Melissa and she was really great with kids, always babysitting Parker for Eric and Tanya, as well as Nolan. Her kids were older, 9 and 7, so I think she missed this.
“This is my son Emerson. Em, can you say ‘hi’?”
“Hi.” He said and his cheeks turned red, before he buried his face into my shoulder.
“He is just like you, Jeff… embarrassed and all. And I think I can speak for the two of us when I say that I am sorry about what happened, and we will just forget about what we wanted with you and Morgan.”
The four of us walked out the sliding door and Melissa and Tanya followed me to the table.
“Hey Addison! We just formally met your handsome man and he is absolutely adorable. My 2 girls would just eat him up if you ever need anyone to watch him. They’re in the pool now, but after we will definitely have to introduce all of the kids to this guy!” Melissa said and Tanya nodded in agreement, smiling.
"Parker will love him too! He just turned two, so it can't be much older than little Emerson here." Tanya added. "And speaking of that little maniac, I have to fun Eric so I can put him down for a nap. We will have to meet up later on so the boys can play!"
The two walked away and Addison immediately turned to me.
"What was that about?" She asked, smiling widely.
"What was what? I just showed them Emerson and they fell in love." I said back to her, as I sat down beside her.
"He gets that from me." I whispered in her ear as I leaned in to kiss her cheek before getting back up.
I handed her Emerson and went to the other side of the table to where Cam was with Nolan. I knelt down to Nolan's level, "You ready?". His smile said it all.
I looked around until my eyes met with Addison, who was talking with Cody and Nolan. I saw Cam walking over to them from the other direction and decided that it would be okay for me to go over too.
“Jeff!” Nolan said, extending his arms towards me when I got to them.
I grabbed him from Cody and looked at the huge smile on his face. “Hey, bud!”
“Pool!!” He said, but it almost sounded like a demand, and Cody and Addison started laughing.
“What?”
“We told him that if he could find you, you would take him in the pool later. You came over here, so it is your fault!” Addison said, between laughs.
I didn’t think Nolan’s smile could get any bigger, but when I asked him if he wanted to go in the pool with me, he proved me wrong. “I’ll take that as a yes!” I joked.
“Nol, we have to eat first and then we can go in the pool, okay?” Cam said, taking him from me.
“Food! Pool! Food! Pool!” Nolan started screaming and we all laughed at him.
When the attention turned to the buffet styled tables, I walked closer to Addison and snuck a kiss. “How you holding up?” I quietly asked her.
“I’m doing great! Everyone is so nice!”
“Add, are you sure?”
“Yeah! Cody and Inna are so sweet! I think we really hit it off!”
“…And everyone else?” I asked her, somewhat sternly, but smiled to play it off.
I was afraid of this. Last season, the wives of some of the players- most of the players- tried to hook me up with Tanya Staal’s cousin. She was almost perfect, I had to admit; but being Tanya’s cousin, I wouldn’t expect anything less. She is nothing short of perfect herself, besides giving Addison a problem over nothing. The set-up didn’t work out, even though Morgan was really nice, funny and pretty, maybe even beautiful. She was exactly the kind of girl I could see myself with-- if it weren’t for Addison.
“Everyone is fine, Jeff. Don’t worry!” She said to me, calmly, as she rested her hand on my chest to reassure me.
I know her too well to know when she is hiding something. Whether she thought it was for my own good, or not, I couldn’t sit back and let this go on while she was bullied by women who were 10 years older than her.
“Come here, buddy.”
I grabbed Emerson from her so that she could get herself something to eat and so I could eventually use him as an excuse to do something that I knew I had to do.
~~~
We sat at a table with Cam, Cody, and Nolan, and Alexei, Inna, and their three kids- Alex, Jessica, and Max. When everyone was almost finished, I couldn’t help but notice Tanya and Melissa walk inside. I took Emerson with me and told everyone that I was gonna go fill his cup up with more water, but I obviously had other intentions in mind.
I walked into the house to see Melissa and Tanya sitting at the table looking at magazines and gossiping. Just what the two of them do best.
I quickly got Emerson water and instead of walking out the door, I made my way up to them and decided that I just had to say it.
“Is this all about Morgan? You guys know that I didn’t want a relationship- it wasn’t anything personal. And now you are being rude to Addison for no reason that she has any idea about. She didn’t do anything to you, so if you still have a problem with me declining your ‘set-up’ offer, then take it up with me, don’t give her the cold shoulder or give her any issue because you can’t get over something that never was.”
“You know what, Jeff, Morgan is an awesome girl and all she wanted was a friend. You couldn’t even give her that. You blamed it on a ‘breakup from a long relationship’ when it ended before you even came into the league. That was over a year and a half before this happened. You are such a – “ Melissa started to go off, but Tanya stopped her.
“Wait, Melis. Jeff is right. Addison didn’t do anything to us, so we should give her a chance, not blame her for what didn’t happen when she wasn’t even around.” Tanya said, thankfully being rational.
“Thanks guys. I really am sorry that nothing ever happened between Morgan and I, but I couldn’t get Addison out of my head. She is what I want.”
“I understand. This is why I am happy that Eric and I met before all of this NHL drama even had the chance to happen.”
“I am happy about that too. I never would have been with Brian if we weren’t together before he was drafted.” Melissa added in, finally talking in a clam tone. “Now can we get a real introduction to this cute little guy?”
I always liked Melissa and she was really great with kids, always babysitting Parker for Eric and Tanya, as well as Nolan. Her kids were older, 9 and 7, so I think she missed this.
“This is my son Emerson. Em, can you say ‘hi’?”
“Hi.” He said and his cheeks turned red, before he buried his face into my shoulder.
“He is just like you, Jeff… embarrassed and all. And I think I can speak for the two of us when I say that I am sorry about what happened, and we will just forget about what we wanted with you and Morgan.”
The four of us walked out the sliding door and Melissa and Tanya followed me to the table.
“Hey Addison! We just formally met your handsome man and he is absolutely adorable. My 2 girls would just eat him up if you ever need anyone to watch him. They’re in the pool now, but after we will definitely have to introduce all of the kids to this guy!” Melissa said and Tanya nodded in agreement, smiling.
"Parker will love him too! He just turned two, so it can't be much older than little Emerson here." Tanya added. "And speaking of that little maniac, I have to fun Eric so I can put him down for a nap. We will have to meet up later on so the boys can play!"
The two walked away and Addison immediately turned to me.
"What was that about?" She asked, smiling widely.
"What was what? I just showed them Emerson and they fell in love." I said back to her, as I sat down beside her.
"He gets that from me." I whispered in her ear as I leaned in to kiss her cheek before getting back up.
I handed her Emerson and went to the other side of the table to where Cam was with Nolan. I knelt down to Nolan's level, "You ready?". His smile said it all.