Love Never Felt So Good

“Shit, Sid, grab that, will you?” Bailey called from the bathroom as she heard the timer for her sweet potatoes go off. Sidney stood from the couch where he had been practicing acting natural for the last ten minutes.

“Okay!” He called back, grabbing two oven mitts from the kitchen counter top and taking the dish out of the oven. The stovetop was now covered in foil-topped pans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn casserole, stuffing… there was enough food here to feed his whole team, not to mention the turkey in the oven, the rolls already on the table and the three pies (store bought) that were ready to go in the oven once dinner was finished.

Sid had celebrated plenty of American Thanksgivings in the past with friends and teammates, but this was likely to be his most important. He really wanted to make a good impression on Bailey’s father and brother, both of which, were very important to her.

“Okay, everything’s ready to go except the turkey, which has fifteen minutes left, and will sit for twenty, table is set, place cards are out… Belle is ready.” She looked down to the sleeping pug on her bed with a tiny Pilgrim hat on and a turkey leg chew toy hanging out of her mouth.

“You look beautiful babe.” Sidney smiled, making her grin as she walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She donned a tasteful to-the-knee black dress, cranberry tights and black heels with little studded pumpkin earrings. Her hair was curled and she was wearing a dark, berry lipstick.

“You look very handsome, Mr. Crosby.” She complimented, pecking his lips just lightly enough that she wouldn’t smudge her lips. “I’m so excited for everyone to get here, you’ll love Travis, and you’ll get to my Mom and Dad.” She said, practically vibrating with excitement, jumping out of her skin as the doorbell rang. “That’s them!” She squealed, turning on her heel and scurrying to the door. Sidney took the moment to straighten out his shirt collar and take a few, cleansing breaths.

“Daddy!” He could hear Bailey cheer and he made his way to the foyer to see his girlfriend swept up into the arms of her father… who was surprisingly big for having such a small daughter. ‘Trav.” She moved on to her brother, who was also really tall… and buff. Finally, when Bailey’s mother was revealed to be equally as petite as his girlfriend, Sidney understood that she very strongly took after her mom.

“You must be Sidney.” Bailey’s mother, Donna, finally greeted him with a shake of his hand. She also had the same dimples as Bailey.

“Nice to meet you, Donna.” Sidney smiled, trying his best to be charming.

“Daddy,” Bailey took her father’s hand and led him over to where Sidney stood, “this is Sidney.” She introduced.

“Crosby.” Chris Bradford squeezed Sidney’s rather tightly. Sidney didn’t feel like it was much of a greeting.

“Nice to meet you, sir.” He replied with a nod. He turned to Travis to shake his hand as well, “nice you meet you, Travis.” Travis Bradford easily had three inches on Sidney.

“Nice to meet you, Sid, Bails has told me a lot about you.” He smiled, making Sidney’s ears turn red.

“Can I get everyone a drink? We have wine, beer, water…” He offered, Chris had already left the entryway and ventured further into the kitchen.

“Beer would be great.” Travis replied as he watched his mother follow his father, trailed by Bailey. “Hey, don’t let the old man give you too much grief. He’s never liked any of B’s boyfriends.” He explained. “That, and he’s been driving for four hours today, so he probably just needs a beer and a comfy chair.” He added, making a world of difference for Sidney who now felt like he had an ally.

“Thanks.” He grinned, “why don’t you kick back and relax, too? I’ll grab you a drink.” Travis clapped Sidney on the back before they parted ways, Travis joining his family in the family room while Sidney stepped into the kitchen moments before the timer for the turkey went off.

“Sid?” Bailey asked, pouring two glasses of red for she and her mother.

“Got it, babe.” He replied, already pulling on his oven mitts again and pulling the tin-covered turkey from the oven. “Looks good, Sherriff.” He smiled, excited for his girlfriend.

“Yay!” She cheered excitedly. “I’m going to hand drinks out, then should we start dressing up the table?” She asked, to which Sidney nodded.

Twenty minutes later, Sidney and the entire Bradford clan were gathered around the table as Sidney attempted to carve the turkey as Christ watched with a critical eye.

“Son, you ever carve a turkey before?” He asked, causing Sidney to pause and look up from the bird.

“Ah, no, this would be the first one.” He explained.

“You better let me handles this, wanna make sure we can eat sometime today.” Sidney was sure there was meant to be a bit of lightheartedness or a joke somewhere in there, somewhere buried deep, deep down. Sidney handed over the electric knife, taking his seat and promptly taking a drink of his beer as well. Ten minutes later, the main course was expertly carved and dishes were being passed all around the table.

Sidney was fine taking a step back from conversation, letting Bailey catch up with her family and tell them all about her recent overseas trip.

“Sid, how is the season going?” Donna smiled sweetly, taking a sip of he wine.

“The season is going well, it’s nice to have a few days off for the holidays before the regulars season points start getting tight for playoffs.” He recited off his usual response with a warm smile. “It’s also been nice to have more home games than away games this season.” He added.

“Bet you guys have a lot of fun at those away games.” Chris laid out the bait. “New city every night, must be exciting,”

“We’re really not there long enough to see the city. I catch a lot of flack from my teammates for going to bed early. I can’t do the late nights and early mornings like some of my friends.” He hoped at least his smile looked friendly. Bailey rest her hand on his knee, giving him a little squeeze of reassurance.

“Daddy loves his Devils.” She laughed, “wasn’t too happy when you guys beat them earlier this month.” She rolled her eyes.

“Everyone gets lucky – even a blind squirrel finds a nut eventually.” Chris took a big bite of his mashed potatoes.

Sidney was again, more than happy for the conversation to drift back towards the Bradford’s life. He felt mildly defeated – Bailey’s dad wasn’t even pretending to be nice – and though he rather liked Donna and Travis, he was already ready for the Bradfords to make their way back to New Jersey.

After dinner, Bailey and Sidney sat together on the loveseat while Chris and Donna shared the sofa and Travis took over the recliner in the corner, Belle on his lap as she slept soundly.

“So what’s the next big trip, Princess?” Chris asked, knowing his daughter traveled a fair bit for different appearances and workshops.

“I don’t know yet, I’ve enjoyed slowing down a bit, spending more time at the studio and at the apartment.” She placed her hand on Sidney’s knee, leaning into his side and giving him a warm smile.

“But you’re not going to stop traveling just to play house.” Chris insisted, rubbing Sidney the wrong way for the umpteenth time that night.

“Of course not.” Bailey shook her head. “I’ve just been committing myself to more of my work out of the studio here, and now I have someone to come home to – there’s more keeping me there than drawing me away than there used to be.” Sidney loved his girlfriend, but he couldn’t help but feel she was digging his grave.

“He’s living here?” Chris asked, surprised, and not in the pleasant way.

“Figuratively, Daddy.” She saved.

“How about we turn on the game?” Travis suggested, giving Sidney a break in the tension.

“Another beer, anyone?” Sidney asked. At least Chris couldn’t say he wasn’t accommodating.

- - -

Five hours later, Sidney was happy to usher the family out of the door, leaning his back against it as he let out a sigh. Bailey was going in the morning to meet them for breakfast before they drove back to New Jersey – Sidney was going to let her go alone. He wasn’t sure he could handle another encounter with Christ Bradford, especially that early in the morning.

“Babe, I’m making a turkey sandwich with stuffing, do you want one?” Bailey called from the kitchen. She had long since ditched her heels and was dancing around the kitchen. “There’s gonna be a James Bod marathon on TV starting in like 20 minutes and I don’t wanna miss the beginning.”

Sidney wandered back through the entyrway, unbuttoning his shirt at the collar and along the cuffs.

“I’m going to change, do you need anything from the bedroom?” He asked, popping his head into the kitchen.

“No, I’m gonna change, too.” She said, leaving her finished sandwich on the counter, following him down the hall. Sidney was quiet as they both stripped out of their nice clothes and into their lounge attire, sweatpants and a tee for Sidney and the same for Bailey. She wiped off her lipstick and twisted her hair into a bun on top of her head as she walked up and leaned her front against Sidney’s back as he stood in front of the bathroom sink. “What’s the matter, Sid?” She asked. Sidney wasn’t sure how to say what he was thinking without being an asshole.

“Your Dad can be pretty difficult.” He replied, trying not to smile as she laughed from behind him. He turned, leaning his butt against the bathroom counter as he wrapped his arms around her.

“My Dad is very difficult because he is very protective of me.” She replied, “he actually wasn’t that bad, today.” She added, making his jaw drop.

“If that’s him being not that bad, I don’t want to see him on a bad day.” Sidney pointed out, too happy to recount all the times that day he had made the Captain feel insufficient. It was one thing to be chirped by an opponent or commentators on TV, but to have to take it from his girlfriend’s father at a family holiday was a whole other story. Bailey ran her hands up his chest, rubbing slightly as she sighed.

“I know he can be difficult, but imagine this – it’s twenty years in the future and you have a cute, darling daughter who is bringing home her boyfriend – someone you know is actively having sex with her.” She explained. “Wait, better, Taylor is bringing home her first boyfriend –”

“Okay, okay, okay, story time is over, please, before you scar me forever.” Sidney insisted, putting his hand up. “I get it, girls are precious and boys are evil. I’d still rather think things in my head than be such an expressed asshole about it.” He added, making Bailey roll her eyes.

“Watch it.” She warned, “he might be testy, but he’s still my Daddy.” She gave him a warning. Sidney sighed, nodding his head as he headed back to the family room, dropping down to the couch. Belle wandered over, hopping onto the couch and waddled to his lap, setting her head down as she let out a heavy sigh and looked up at him with her big, bug eyes.

“I know, Belle.” He stroked her fur gently.

Bailey wasn’t shy about snuggling up right under his arm, eating her sandwich quietly as the opening credits to the first James Bond rolled across the screen.

“Bite?” She asked, offering her sandwich up to the cranky Captain. Sidney weighed his options before stretching his neck down and taking a big bite. She pecked his cheek. “I still love you, you know.” She smiled, “even though my Dad was an ass today.” She added.

“Love you, too, baby.” He dropped a kiss on her head. Luckily, he had about twenty-three friends would be more than willing to give him some advice on the future Father-in-Law.

To: Nealer, Duper
Flaw in the relationship, Bailey’s dad is a monumental asshole. Sidney text his friend and confidant later that evening as Bailey napped on the couch, exhausted from the day’s events and her large consumption of turkey.

From: Duper
That doesn’t mean a flaw in the relationship, it just means’ her dad is a dick. Pascal replied, having gone through something similar with Carole-Lynne’s father when they were just teens.

From: Nealer
How much do you really have to interact with him? You’re lucky he doesn’t live in Pitt. Neal pointed out, though he didn’t quite have the same problem with Missy’s dad – in fact – they actually got along quite well and even went golfing sometimes.

From: Nealer
No dad wants to meet the guy who is actively sticking his dick in his daughter. James added, always the eloquent thinker.

From: Duper
He’s not wrong, but give it some time, might just be a scare tactic. Pascal finished.

As if one disgruntled father was enough to keep him away from Bailey.