Insane Love

I tapped the rim of the steering wheel, impatiently, staring out the window in front of me. I put my hands on my lap again and let out a sigh. My car was sandwiched in the parking lot between two other cars at the Shell gas station. I had added more fuel while Mia left to go to the bathroom, and now I was waiting for her to come back.

The four-day holiday break helped me spend more time with Mia, relaxing and enjoying the long weekend until the next game on Thursday. We had been together for more than a month. One month of happiness, hot sex and comfort. We always found a way to make every moment last, whether there was a movie on the screen, blood on my face after a fight on the ice, food on the table or our bodies touching. The past five weeks were everything I never had until she became mine.

Yesterday, I learned something new about her. She explained that it was a family tradition to spend Easter together in Kingston. Every year, the Stone family would gather in the eastern Ontario city. My folks never made a deal out of the holiday, so this was different to me but I thought it was cool. This all meant that I had to meet them. So, we were now only an hour away from Kingston.

She rushed over out of the building and opened the car door. Mia set the plastic grocery bag on her lap, I turned the key in the hole and my Mercedes started up again.

"And you were the one who told me to hurry this morning.." I mumbled, jokingly. I drove out of the lot and glanced at my GPS, as the lady said to head straight.

"I wanted to get some snacks for the trip and the line was big," she slapped my arm lightly and then dug into the bag, looking for something. She pulled out a large bag of Lays original chips and ripped it open.

I felt her eyes on me as she lifted a chip up and dropped it into my open mouth, while I kept focusing on the road. I smiled at her and she then attached the radio cord to her iPhone, sliding through songs on iTunes. She stopped on Both Of Us by B.O.B and Taylor Swift. The volume wasn't high enough so I couldn't hear the GPS system, it was just right.

Moments passed by of us eating chips and listening to music. After a while, she gazed out the window, at the wheat fields where the snow was melting. The farms, the barns, the blue skies and sound of birds chirping.

Mia slightly rolled down her window, and looked at me to see if I was cold. It was chilly but overall a warm noon Spring day. I wondered what Kingston held, in terms of her family. I was nervous to be meeting her dad, especially. Even though she told me that he works in the Kingston Frontenacs organization, as the assistant GM. It was a sigh of relief knowing that at least her family lives for hockey, too.

Her uncle, on the other hand, doesn't like fighting. He never was a fan of that part in hockey, so I hoped that it wouldn't cause a problem. I wanted all of her family members to like me in order for this relationship to keep going.

I glanced over at her once I stopped at a red light. Her head was resting on her folded sweater against the window, and she was sound asleep. I then continued driving for another kilometer, entering the city.

Once I was in a peaceful neighborhood with small water streams and bridges, my system told me to turn right into the driveway of a large house. A couple cars were parked beside the sidewalk, and another one was by the garage door. It had two garage doors and lanes, flowers in the front yard and a brick wall by the white door.

"Mia," I gently shook her awake. Her eyes fluttered and she smiled one she saw we arrived.

"Yes! Home!" she undid her seatbelt, and put the empty bag of chips back in the plastic bag. I saw a lady with short white-blonde hair tied in a bun, come down the rocky pathway which led to the front door. She put her arms out and Mia ran and hugged her.

I closed the car door and walked toward her as well. She was wearing a light blue cardigan over a pink shirt with black pants. She looked middle-aged, thin and in shape, with brown eyes just like Mia's, and I quickly assumed she was her mother.

"I've missed you so much, mom!" Mia pulled back from the hug, grinning.

"Me too, honey," she put her hand on Mia's cheek. "I'm so glad you're here." She then saw me standing a couple steps beside Mia.

"You must be Colton," she said warmly.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Stone." I responded with a smile, holding my hand out.

"Oh please, call me Terra." she reached out and hugged me. I did the same and then she put her hand on my arm, squeezing it lightly and smiling at both me and Mia.

"Come," she gestured the path to the front door. "Everyone's waiting inside."

I put my hand on Mia's back as all three of us then walked up the four steps. Terra pulled the door handle and stepped aside.

"Daddy!" Mia rushed inside quickly, leaping into the arms of a tall gray haired man which stood by the staircase. He wore a buttoned blue shirt which was tucked into his cream colored pants.

"Sweetheart," he kissed her hair. "Welcome back home."

"This is Colton," Mia introduced me, coming to my side and putting one hand on my back and the other on my chest.

"Nice to meet you, sir." I said nervously as he took a couple steps closer.

His eyes were hazel, more on the green tone, and he smiled kindly as he held his hand out, "Nice to meet the man in my daughter's life." he glanced at Mia and then back up at me, staring me down. "And call me Tom."

I nodded, giving my best polite smile. Mia then broke the silence and asked, "Are the cousins here?"

"Yeah," Tom put his hand in his pocket. "They're in the living room, I'll be right there shortly."

"Okay," Mia grinned. "Let's go, mom." she linked her arm with Terra's and they walked away.

I then put my hands in my side pockets of my blue loose jeans, hoping for a good first impression. Her mom liked me already, and her dad looked more protective, but also seemed nice.

"So," Tom stood beside me and placed his hand on my shoulder, as we walked toward the living room as well. "I want to congratulate you on the season so far. I'm hoping this will be the end to our playoff drought."

I smiled, remembering that he was a die-hard Toronto fan. I replied with, "Thank you, Mr-- er, Tom." I corrected myself. We were walking down the hall slowly, and I could sense he wanted to talk alone before going to meet the rest of the relatives.

"Mia tells me that you work for the Frontenacs?" I tried to keep the conversation going.

"Yes," he said with confidence. We turned to face the living room, now, and Mia stood up from the couch and came over.

There were ten people chatting, and they stopped and smiled at me. It had nice brown leather couches, a large red rug and a fireplace, with a flat screen TV attached to the wall above it. Tom went to sit on the singular sofa and crossed one leg over the other.

I put my right arm around Mia's waist, and she introduced me. "Guys, this is Colton."

"Holy shit!" a young man, who looked about 22 years old, shouted. "You didn't tell us you were dating Orr!"

Mia laughed. She looked at me and said, "That's my cousin, Cody."

"Leafs family, eh?" I grinned at everyone in the room. Cody smiled and we shook hands.

She then introduced me to her other relatives. I met her aunt Beth, who was as sweet as could be. Then I sat down beside Beth's husband, Jim, and we got along as well. They had two kids. One was Mia's niece, 5 year old Caren, and the other was her 8 year old nephew, Timothy.

I also talked with her grandparents on her mom's side, Berta and John. Half an hour later, her uncle, Robert-- the one who hates hockey fights, came. Mia sat on the couch beside me and Robert gave me an uneasy look. After a while of drinking tea, the questions began.

"How long have you and Mia been together?" her grandmother, Berta, asked nicely.

"A bit longer than a month," Mia replied.

"How's it like in the Leafs locker room?" Cody bursted excitedly.

I laughed a little and said, "It's nice, you should come by and I'll give you a pass so you can visit in there after a game."

"That's awesome, I would love to!" Cody grinned. "Don't lose him." he wagged his finger at Mia and she rolled her eyes, smiling.

"So, Colton," Robert took a sip of his green tea. "How many noses have you broken this season?"

"Uncle Rob!" Mia shot back, angrily.

I licked my lips and glanced at Mia beside me, who gave me an apologetic look. I swallowed before replying, "I don't do it to injure players on purpose, I defend my own teammates. I don't believe I've hurt anyone like that, anyway." I cleared my throat.

"Mhm," Robert still seemed unimpressed with the fact that his niece was with me. I sensed that it wasn't all about the hockey, but I felt as if he thought I would use my strength to hurt her. That's the last thing I would ever think of doing.

There was a loud silence. A pause, which involved Robert staring at me with his blue eyes and gray-black hair on the sofa across from us.

"Dinner's ready," Terra came back from the kitchen, saving me from the awkwardness.

"Great!" Tom stood up, along with everyone else.

The dining room was fairly large. The table was dark brown, with ten chairs. Tom sat on the end, with a good view on the 'man of the house' seat.

Terra had prepared chicken, cheese melted on top, vegetables and two big bowls of salad, fish sticks, cooked beef and more. It was all set perfectly, and I sat down beside Mia, near the end by Tom.

Once we dug into the delicious food, you could hear the sound of forks and knives clicking against the plate while cutting the meat. I wiped my mouth with a napkin and complimented it, "This is great, Terra."

"Thank you Colton," she nodded her head to the side and smiled bright, flashing the slight wrinkles by her pretty brown eyes.

We continued eating, drinking red wine and talking about random topics. The family was overall nice, besides Robert. I wondered what was going through his head for most of the night.

After dinner, we went back to the living room and sat by the fireplace again. Mia, Berta, Beth, and Terra put everything away in the kitchen, and Caren followed behind her mom, so it was just us men. Timothy leaped onto the cushion near me, playing with a small toy car.

"He seems to like you," Jim was seated beside Robert and Tom. "It's nice to see him get along with others, usually he's just mean."

At that, I laughed. I messed his blonde hair and he giggled, going back to rolling the cars on the sofa.

"My granddaughter seems to like you as well," John smiled. He was the oldest one here, and I didn't have a problem with the grandparents either.

"Yeah," I nodded, beaming. "We love each other." I hoped it wasn't too soon to tell them.

"I can tell that she's happy around you," Tom rested his hands on his knees. "I'm glad."

"I want nothing but happiness with her." I said honestly.

"I'm surprised she went with an enforcer like you," Robert ran his tongue across his front teeth. "I always thought she went for the more.. gentle type."

I tried to keep quiet, wanting to say something bad to him, but knowing that it would ruin everything. I bit my lip and exhaled, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you know." Robert crossed his arms. "I'm worried about her."

Tom and Cody stared at me, expecting me to lose my cool. Instead I responded. "I would never do anything to hurt her, ever."

Jim turned his eyes to the table keeping us apart. "What are your intentions towards her?" he questioned me.

"In what way?"

"What do you expect from her?" he simplified, nicely. I understood what he meant and knew he couldn't use certain terms because his son Timothy was here.

"I've never pressured her into doing something she didn't want." I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Have you ever laid a finger on her?" Robert tossed back in a rude manner.

"N-- well, yes, but not like--" I couldn't get it out of my mouth and they kept their eyes on me. "I haven't physically hurt her."

"So, you've emotionally hurt her?" Robert twisted my words.

That's when I couldn't take out any longer. "Look, I don't know what you want from me." my voice grew louder, almost a yell. "I'm not gonna lie by saying we haven't had our dips and falls in the emotion department, but I've never hurt her like that. Period." I added firmly, and Timothy stopped playing with his car.

Cody swallowed, nervously. The tension in the room was clear, but what had to be said was said. Everyone else liked me except for Robert and it was pissing me off. I wanted to get along, and as much as I tried, he just wouldn't let go of the thought of me abusing her.

"Just because I fight in hockey," I wasn't done just yet. "It doesn't mean I'm like that off the ice. I care about her and the only time I would ever use my strength, it would be to protect her."

Robert scrunched his nose, giving me another glare of disapproval. Tom on the other hand, looked amused and impressed by the way I handled his brother.

"Alright lay off of him, will ya?" Tom said to Rob, facing me one more. "I believe Colton."

"Why wou--" Robert was cut off.

"Hey honey," Beth walked into the living room while carrying Caren, who was sleeping on her shoulder. She tapped Jim's shoulder and added, "I think it's time to go."

"Okay," Jim stood up.

"I think we'll be heading home as well, sweetie." Berta put her hand on Terra's back. John zipped up his jacket and Berta did the same.

"Thanks for the lovely Easter, Terra." Robert hugged his sister-in-law along with Tom, followed by Mia, but didn't say anything to me. He left without a handshake or another word.

"I'm happy you could all make it." she smiled. Mia stood beside me as her relatives started heading out the door.

Jim and I shook hands first. "I wish you two the best," he winked. "Don't forget to come to Thunder Bay to visit us soon, alright?" he hugged Mia. He walked out, carrying Caren who was still sleeping, to the minivan. Beth waved goodbye and Timothy did the same, holding his mom's thumb.

"Goodnight, Colton." Berta wrapped her arms around me and I leaned down to do the same. "I'm so happy she chose a nice boy like you." she patted my cheek with her shaky hands. John pulled me in for a brief hug as well before he and Berta left.

"Go Leafs Go, man." Cody slapped a low-five on my hand, smiling.

"Always," I grinned. He then hugged Mia and then went to his black Chevy in the driveway.

"Are you two staying tonight?" Terra asked sweetly, putting one hand behind Tom's back as he kissed her head.

"Oh, uh," I glanced at Mia. We had never discussed it, and it was almost eight in the evening. It was almost a three hour drive back to Toronto so it was basically up to Mia.

"I guess we could stay the night and leave in the morning, if you're okay with that?" she bit her bottom lip.

"Anything you want," I pecked her forehead.

"Great!" Terra clasped her hands together. "Have a nice night." she smiled at me and winked at Mia.

"Goodnight," Tom nodded, and the parents walked together to their bedroom upstairs.

Mia and I also went up, hand in hand, and she guided me to the room she had when she lived here. I stepped inside and she locked the bedroom door behind us. I smiled at the Hannah Montana posters, the Mats Sundin banners and Justin Timberlake CDs on the rack.

The room had white curtains by the window, which had a view of the big backyard. Her queen sized bed had pink sheets and large white comfy pillows.

She walked into my arms and I gently hugged her for a moment, not saying anything. Meeting her family was good but I was still thinking about Robert's words. It annoyed me, everything he said, but I wondered if maybe Mia deserved better than me.

"What did you think of them?" she moved her head back an inch so she could look at me.

"They were nice."

"They really like you," she said quietly, licking her lips. "Aunt Beth, grandma and mom adored how you came to find me in Ottawa that time."

"That's good," I didn't know what else to say. I pushed her side bangs over with my free hand, and still kept my other one behind her back as her hands were on my shoulders.

"I hope daddy wasn't too hard on you," she squinted her eyes, curiously.

"Oh no, we get along just fine." I unworried her. "It's Robert, on the other hand."

"Shit." she placed her forehead against mine. "I told you he doesn't like fighting in hockey, right?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "He's just.. he thinks I might hurt you."

She opened her eyes to stare at me again. "I don't." she said. "I don't think you will because I know you won't."

"Okay," I nodded slightly.

"Hey," she scrunched my hair and I looked into her eyes now. "Don't let him get to you, baby."

"I know." I replied. We both paused and don't say anything for a couple seconds after that.

"I love you, that's all that matters." Mia re-positioned her hands around my neck more comfortably.

"And I love you." I exhaled. She was right. Just because her uncle was unsure about us, it doesn't make our relationship different. Her mom's parents and her parents liked me, along with Mia's relatives. I didn't need Robert's approval.

I looked at her from eye to eye again and pressed my lips against hers. She put her hand by my ear, so softly, and we kissed again gently but hungrily.

I rubbed my thumb on her cheek and she smiled. It was her turn to meet my parents back in Winnipeg, whenever the chance comes.

She leaned in for another kiss and she sealed it. Our lips were wet at the touch, colliding with each other repeatedly, not letting go. Not wanting to let go.