Fantasy World

Restraining himself had never been as hard as when Maci found him in the crowd of people at the graduation. He wanted so badly to kiss her, but he knew he couldn't. Someone would be sure to see him. 

So he settled for wrapping her in a tight hug and lifting her feet off the ground. "I'm so proud of you!" he exclaimed as her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. 

"I can't believe I did it!" she stated. 

He grudgingly put her down on her feet. Steven forced himself to step away from her. Stephanie jumped forward to hug her best friend. "You did it!" she cheered out. 

The two girls jabbered excitedly while the two sets of parents walked over. Maci hugged her second parents before hugging her mother. She gave her dad an awkward smile and a one armed hug. "Good job, kid," he mumbled awkwardly. She nodded her head in a thank you. 

"Now! Are we having a barbeque?" Mrs. Stamkos asked excitedly. 

Everyone headed to the parking lot, but stopped to plan on who would go where. "Well, I need Maci to come with me to the store. Why don't the rest of you head to Steven's and get ready?" Mrs. Stamkos asked. 

Everyone seemed to generally agree, so she nodded her head. "Steven, you'll drive us?" she asked sweetly. 

Steven being the mama's boy he was automatically nodded his head. Mrs. Stamkos walked with the two to his car, purposely 'leaving a blind eye to them'. 

When they were far enough out of sight of Stephanie, Steven leaned down and pressed a hard kiss against Maci's lips. "I'm proud of you," he whispered against her lips. 

She grinned up at him. "Thanks," she mumbled. She slid out of her graduation robe and draped it over her arm. Steven eyed the navy blue summer dress she was wearing with a pair of simple heels. He quickly reached over and took the cap and gown from her, insisting on carrying it to his car. Maci blushed, but didn't argue it. 

He put it in his trunk after unlocking the car. When he slid into the driver's seat, he found his mother in the back seat. "Are you sure? I don't mind sitting back there," Maci told her warily. 

Mrs. Stamkos brushed it off. "You two sit up front. Don't worry about it," she told the young girl with a wink. 

Maci turned bright red as she sat next to the blonde hockey player. He put the roof of his car back and joined the queue to get on the road. 

There was a slight awkward tension in the front of the car. Steven's hand itched to pick up hers, but he wasn't sure how his mother would react. "Just relax, I'm not going to snitch," Mrs. Stamkos stated with a huff. 

Maci's head snapped to Steven in surprise. He simply smirked and reached over to take her hand, letting their hands rest in her lap. Maci glanced back at his mother, feeling embarrassed as the woman she'd grown up around smiled widely at her. 

She slowly relaxed into the warm seat of his car, a smile dancing across her lips. She'd done it. She'd graduated college and a year ahead of schedule. 

She could already feel herself itching to keep going, to work on her masters degree. She still needed to look into how she would pay for it, but that wasn't going to bring down her bright mood. 

"What are you going to do now, Mace?" Steven's mother asked curiously. "Take a few years off?"

Maci gave her a small smile. "I'm going to try to go back in the fall and start working in my masters. I just have to figure out the whole money part," she admitted. 

The mother's eyebrows rose. "No break?" Maci shook her head. "Well, I applaud you. You're doing more than a lot of people will ever do."

Maci gave her a bright smile before her eyes drifted down to her lap where her hand was entwined with Steven's. "Mrs. Stamkos... Can I ask you something?" she questioned softly. 

"Of course, hun."

Maci glanced over at Steven as his hand squeezed hers lightly. "Are you really okay with this?" she asked finally.

Mrs. Stamkos shrugged. "I'll be honest with you. I don't think I've ever seen my son as happy as when he's around you or as happy as he's been these past few months. When you two are around each other, it's hard to ignore the chemistry. You two have always had that, but it's only obvious now. You two interact on the same plain. I think if you can have that kind of connection with anyone, you need to hold on to it. It's rare," she told her. "Even if it means you might have to beg for forgiveness."

Maci nodded her head and looked at the road. Steven was teasingly squeezing her fingers between his. She giggled softly and poked his arm. "Wanna play a game?" she asked him when he continued to squeeze her fingers. 

"What's that?" he asked. 

"Even or odd."

"No!" he exclaimed as he ripped his arm away from her. She giggled beside him as he hesitantly relaxed his arm. Her hand slid down his forearm to grasp his hand again. Just to tease her further, he squeezed her fingers once more. 

Maci let her head roll to the side to give him a look. Steven simply smirked, knowing she was in too good of a mood. He kept an eye on her smile as he drove down the roads to a super market. 

She flicked on the radio and began humming along with the songs. He pulled up to a stop light just as an infamous song came on the radio. "Oh god..." he muttered. 

"Cause you had a bad day!" Maci sang out obnoxiously. 

Maci sang the whole song through, knowing perfectly well he wanted to change the station. After the last chord was struck, she leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered. Maci giggled as they exchanged smiles.