Tongue Tied

"Okay." Alex frowned as she replied to her mom.

"I haven't seen you in weeks. I'm kinda worried about you." Linda Roy sighed.

"Mom, I swear I'm okay. I just really want to be with Nathan right now. He needs me." Alex explained, sitting beside him on the plane.

It wasn't a long flight. She had slept most of it, while the guys bothered her. Now, they were sleeping and she was up. She sat and played with Nathan's hair. He was letting it grow out. She dragged her fingers along his jaw line, feeling the stubble he was growing out as well. She smiled to herself.

"I get you're in love, but you have a family that cares about you and misses you." Linda began. "Nathan won't always be around, Hun."

Alex furrowed her brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nathan's the hockey guy. He's going to go where he can and where he needs for hockey." Linda explained. "He isn't going to be thinking about where you're going when he's making the choices to further his career."

"Doesn't mean we can't make it work, ma." Alex rolled her eyes.

"I'm not saying you can't, but you two wouldn't be able to act this way. You and I both know that you won't chase him." Linda lectured.

"But I'm willing to make the distance work." Alex pouted, crossing her arms. "Can we talk about this when I'm home and not sitting beside my boyfriend?"

"When are you home, Alexandria?" Linda raised her voice.

"Mom, seriously?" Alex growled.

"How's your schooling?" Linda changed subjects. "Nathan's not distracting you, right?"

"I'm ahead in my classes and he helps me." Alex told her. "What has he done to make you resent him so much?"

"I don't resent him, hun. I just think you need to be home more." Linda sighed.

"Have you ever thought that maybe I don't want to be home?" Alex pointed out. Her mom stayed silent. "I like being with Nathan, mom. For the first time in a long time, I'm happy and it's because of him. He's the reason I'm out of the slump I was in."

"You need to be happy because of yourself, not because of a boy." Linda hissed.

"I am happy because of myself! I found someone who finally made me realize what I deserve. Why can't you be okay with that?" Alex raised her voice.

"I'm glad you're happy, but you're also seventeen, Alexandria. You're off in this fantasy world when you should be focusing on your future." Linda ranted.

"Fantasy world? Mom, I'm with my boyfriend and his family everyday, that's pretty normal. You won't let me work so if that's what you were getting to, I don,"

"I'm talking about going everywhere with his team. You can't expect to be able to manage on your own when you're off chasing hockey players!" Linda yelled.

"I'll talk to you later." Alex said through gritted teeth before she hung up.

She sighed, turning her phone off. She slid it into her bag, sliding down her seat. She lifted her knees up and put them against the seat in front of her. That woke Jo up. He sat up, spinning around to look at her. She gasped, realizing she had woke him up. She sat up quickly.

"Sorry. I forgot you were sitting in front of me." She frowned.

"It's okay." He argued. "I needed to wake up anyway."

She nodded. She sat with her arms crossed over her chest. He rested his head on the head of his chair, watching her. Jo and Alex were pretty close. He was constantly with her, since she and Nathan were attached at the hip. Jo could tell something was wrong with her. She was usually peppy and full of witty comments, but not right now.

"Are you okay?" He asked, breaking the silence.

She shrugged. "My mom's mad because I'm never home and she's convinced Nathan's going to abandon me, or something." She explained.

Jo's eyebrows furrowed. His eyes shifted to Nathan. Nathan was awake, his eyes shifting from Alex to Jo. Nathan brought his finger to his lip, telling Jo to keep quiet. Jo looked back to Alex. She was frowning as she held herself. Nathan wanted to hear.

"Do you think that?" Jo questioned.

She shook her head. "No. I trust him and I know if something wasn't working or needed to change, he'd talk to me first." She spoke, not looking up. "My mom's just mad I'm happy, or something, because all she does is yell at me."

"I don't think she's mad you're happy. You're the youngest, right?" He paused as she nodded. "She just doesn't want to believe her baby is grown up." Jo smiled. She shrugged. "I don't understand why you'd be unhappy with yourself."

She took a deep breath, red positioning herself crossed-leg. "Don't start preaching to me or arguing this, because you asked," She point her finger at him. "But for a really long time, I just wasn't comfortable with myself. Like, I'm not in great shape, but I'm not in terrible shape. That affected me a lot when I was younger," She rambled. She looked at Nathan, who was pretending to be asleep, and played with the hair on the back of his neck. "But Nathan's done nothing but make me feel great about myself since I met him."

"That kid loves you more than anything." Jo chuckled.

Alex nodded. "I've heard." She smiled.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Alex. You're great, really. You have a good head on your shoulders." Jo reassured her. "And people actually like Nathan now."

Alex smiled again as Jo turned back around. Nathan decided he needed to play out that he was still asleep. She looked at him and rolled her eyes. He had his head resting on the side, his mouth slightly open. She turned to face him, leaning forward so she was resting her head against him. He slowly sat up, stretching. She sat up as he did so.

"Hi." He greeted, pecking her lips. "Did you have a nice sleep?"

She nodded, leaning into him. He wrapped his arms around her. He knew she was still upset, despite talking to Jo. He rested his chin on top of her head and rubbed her arms. She let out a deep breath as he held her.

"Is everything okay?" He frowned, knowing the answer.

"I'll be fine." She waved it off.

"Babe, don't do that. Don't belittle your problems." He begged.

"We can talk at the hotel, deal?" She offered.

"Yeah, whenever you're ready." He smiled at her.

She smiled back, pecking his lips. He deepened it. She pulled back slowly, holding his face. He made a duck face at her. She rolled her eyes, wiping her hand down his face. He licked her hand as it passed his mouth. She gasped, wiping it on his shirt. He just laughed.

They decided to watch a movie on Nathan's laptop. Sharing a pair of headphones was something they did frequently. As more guys began to wake up as they got closer to Baie-Comeau, it was harder to hear with only one head phone. They decided to give up on the movie and start talking to the guys.

A few hours later, they reached their destination and drove to their hotel. Nathan offered to carry Alex's bag up. She argued since he had his own, his suit, and his equipment. He didn't let her and continued walking with all their things. She shook her head at him. Nathan's parents had booked a suite, like usual. They'd be coming a little later than the team, since they were driving, meaning Nathan and Alex had the room to themselves.

Usually, Nathan would be making passes. Alex was just as bad as him, he was just known as the one to instigate any action between them. Today, he knew she was upset. All he wanted was to have her tell him what was wrong. He put their things down before he walked over to her. He exhaled as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Her arms trailed up his back, rubbing it slowly.

"Do you wanna talk now?" He whispered to her as they hugged.

She nodded, pulling away slowly. She looked up at him, waiting for him to make his way to the bed. He rolled his eyes, stepping over to the bed. He laid down and waited for Alex to come over. She did, crawling over to him. She rested her head on his stomach, draping an arm over his thighs. His hand sat on the back of her head, playing with her hair.

"My mom called while we were flying. She's upset because I'm never home and she thinks you're going to fuck me over, or something." Alex began. "Jo thinks she's just worried because I'm the youngest but I think it's something more."

"Baby, no. I swear I would never do that to you." He frowned, holding her closer. "I get your mom thinking that, but I promise you, I couldn't do that to you."

"I know, I don't doubt that. She's just so upset and I don't understand why. I mean, I was so unhappy with everything and myself and being with you has totally turned it around. I don't see why it's so hard for her to accept it." She cried, tightening her grip on Nathan.

"Look, this probably isn't the best thing to say, but our relationship is ours. Your mom can think what she needs to think to feel better but you're also old enough to make your own decisions." Nathan breathed. "I'm not saying it's the right choice for you, but if you prefer being with me over your family, then she'll have to accept it."

Alex sat up. She looked at Nathan and smiled. She leaned forward, bringing him into a kiss. She pulled away slowly, leaving her lips hovering. She didn't know what to say. She had one thing on her mind.

"I love you." She blurted without a second thought.

They both stared at each other in shock. Nathan was stunned. He knew he felt the same, but he knew he wasn't ready to say it. Alex was glad it was out. For weeks, she'd been wanting to say it, but she didn't want to scare Nathan away. He leaned forward, bringing his lips to hers for a long kiss. She pulled back.

"It's fine if you aren't ready to say it back, I wasn't expecting it. I just know it's been building up for a long time and I,"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Al." Nathan cut her off. "I'll try to get it o,"

"No." She stopped him. He furrowed his brows. "If you have to 'get it out', it isn't genuine. Wait until you're ready. I won't get mad."

He let our a growl. "I'm actually the worst." He scolded himself. "You deser,"

"I don't care what I deserve. I only want you." She grabbed his face. "Everything's fine. We're fine."

Shortly after, the pair were asleep. Nathan woke up an hour or so later to his phone. It was the guys asking if he was coming out. He told them he was staying in with Alex. He shut his phone off, not waking her. He watched her sleep, holding him tight. He played with her hair as she breathed slowly beside him.

He was mad at himself. Laying against him was the girl he could see himself with for the rest of his life. She had just told him she loved him and he sat there like an idiot. He was more than mad at himself. He hated himself right now. He was pulled from his thoughts when Alex rolled away from him. He frowned, rolling into her and wrapping his arms around her waist. She moved into him when she felt him come closer. He smiled at how natural it was to her.

He decided he did enough self-loathing for one night. He closed his eyes, rubbing Alex's stomach gently with his thumb. He remembered what she said on the bus about her shape. He sighed, shaking his head. She was right, she wasn't in perfect shape. He didn't care at all. Yeah, Nathan had been with his share of girls. He'd be lying if he said they weren't all skinny with chests and asses. That was before Alex.

At the first game he saw, all he could see was her face. She was beautiful. He couldn't get his mind off her the entire game. He felt the need to impress her. The first time they met up, he was blown away. Her brown hair was straight, down to her mid back. She had a hoop in her nose and her eyes were focused on her phone. She was in black yoga pants, something he was now accustomed to seeing her in everyday, with another Mooseheads shirt under a jean jacket.

She looked up and her brown eyes met his eyes with a smile. He was hooked. He walked right over to her, going for a hug. She gave him one without a problem. She introduced him to her friends before he asked to take her away from the group. She obliged, following behind him. He looked back and caught her still smiling, her dimples full blown.

He smiled thinking back to that day. She was curvy and had some body to her. He didn't think there was a problem with her. She had voiced her concerns with her weight to him before. They had gotten into screaming matches over it. Alex was a confident girl, except when it came to her body. She did the most to keep fit, but playing full-time hockey girlfriend didn't make it simple.

Sometimes, Nathan thought about the toll he took on Alex's life. She had basically uprooted to be with him. She did online schooling just to be with him and go everywhere for his games. He thought about the fighting between her and her mother constantly because of him. He felt like shit when he thought about it. At the end of day, she chose it. Not once had he tried to force her into any travels.

"Nate?" Her voice broke his thoughts.

"You alright?" He asked, concern in his voice.

She rolled over in his arms to face him. "I could tell you were awake. You play with your fingers when you're worried." She explained, cuddling into him. "If it's about what I said, just don't think about it if it's driving you that crazy."

"It's the only thing I can think about. It's the best thing that's ever been said to me." He confessed.

"Well, put it in the back of your mind so you can get some sleep for your game." She sighed against him.

"Can you please stop acting like me sitting there like an idiot when you just confessed your feelings to me isn't a big deal?" He said, his tone angry.

She looked up, confused. "It isn't. If you're not r,"

"Stop! I'm a fucking idiot!" He yelled.

She sat up, straddling him, then grabbed his face. "Nathan, listen to me! It's not a big deal!" She shouted, her face in his. "You're acting like a child." She spat as she climbed off. "If anyone should be this upset, it should be me." She mumbled as she laid with her back to him.

"So you're mad!" He exclaimed.

"No! I don't care!" She yelped, rolling back to face him. "Look, it's okay. I swear to you. Just please go to sleep."

"I'm sorry." He frowned.

"It's okay. I still love you." She said, pecking his lips.

She cuddled into him. He wrapped his arms around her. He held her as tight as possible without making her uncomfortable. She rubbed his back to soothe him as they both dosed off.

I love you too. Nathan thought. He thought but couldn't speak.

With a heavy sigh, he brushed it away. It would come to him. There was no way it wouldn't with a girl like Alex. As she rubbed his back, he smiled to himself. He was lucky. He was more than lucky.