missed me? a long-awaited update is here :)

❆

"Thank you so much again for having me over." I thank his mother just as we're about to dig into the highly anticipated Thanksgiving dinner.

"Oh dear, don't worry about it. You being here and making my son happy is all I could ever want for him."

Del puts his hand on my thigh under the table as I speak to his mother. I feel like he shows that he agrees with his mom on this, and lets me know how much he appreciates that I'm here.

I give his mom a big smile in reply as I stick my fork into a Brussels sprout. I quickly pop it into my mouth, and my tastebuds identify the slightly bitter flavor.

They went all out for this, much bigger than any thanksgiving dinner I've ever done. Not that my family celebrated it, only during those rare times Tamara persuaded me to have her over for Thanksgiving.

I let my eyes scan over the table. The massive roasted turkey is the centerpiece and the main dish here today. Furthermore, there are mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, crab cakes, corn, cauliflower gratin, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and not to forget the Brussels sprouts I'm eating.

It's way too much for just the four of us. I had watched earlier as caterers came in to set it all up, I offered my assistance, but his mom wouldn't let me lift a hand.

"So, Kiya. What is it exactly, that you do?" His dad interrupts my stare at the impressive dinner.

"Oh, I'm a physiology student. I work as an assistant for the physician on Del's team. That's how we met." I add the last bit. I'm not sure if he already knew that or not.

Del might've told them about our relationship, but his dad might have forgotten it, assuming he didn't know what I do.

"You into hockey then?"

"Well, to be quite honest, I grew up only watching football, so I'm not really familiar with hockey, but after attending his matches, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it." I give him a slight smile.

"She is great at what she does," Del speaks up, "been helping our injured players, we can't go without her anymore, or maybe I can't go without her. But the team loves her too—she is our new lucky charm." He speaks of me with pride.

The conversation dies down after that, but I could catch the hint of a smile on his dad's lips. See, his dad is not that bad.

I try to eat as much as I can. Del is basically shoving it into his mouth like a bulldozer. I guess someone is hungry.

By the time we're onto the pies, his mom switches the conversational topic back to us.

"So, what have you two been up to?"

I look over at Del, letting him tell his mom about our adventures.

"We went to the big sightseeing points, you know, visit the empire state building, the statue of liberty, time square, and so on. We had some nice lunches and picnics and went to central park. You know the basic stuff."

"That's all?"

"Actually, Del took me ice-skating!" I cut in.

I don't know why he didn't just straight up told her that.

"Is that so?" Del's father cuts in.

Del clears his throat, "Yeah, took her to the old rink."

"That's good. Always go back to where your roots lay. However, you need to bring her to the big arena one day. To show her where you will end up getting drafted after college. She'll have to come with you here after college, so the least you can do is let her see your future."

The way he doesn't mention me by my name and only as she and her is coming across as a bit condescending, but I guess that's how middle-aged white men talk?

I turn to look at Del. His dad sees a future in us. Does he see that too? I mean, I do, but we haven't discussed what is to come after college. Del mentioned wanting to play for the rangers before, but we haven't spoken about it since. Is it still his plan?

"I'm only a sophomore now, so I'll still have a year left when he is done. We will need to see what happens to our relationship after that."

Don't get me wrong. I'd love to stay by his side—I'm happy in this relationship. But I'm not just going to move to New York City just because he wants it.

"Well, you could always transfer." His dad replies.

Does this man think I will just follow his son around for any reason? I have my own life and am my own person.

"Dad, cut it out, please." Del interrupts, he sounds annoyed, "I'm not even sure if I'm going back to New York after school. There have been rumors the Bruins have been watching me, and I would consider them if they have a serious offer. I haven't decided anything for certain yet."

Has he changed his mind?

"Who put that idea in your head? You have to come to the Rangers as I did."

Del flexes his jaw. I see the tension in his face as he stares at his dad. This time I put my hand on his thigh, calming him down, and he places his over mine.

Del lets the conversation go without a word, and so does his dad, but I know the conversation isn't over. For the sake of his mom and me, they are keeping it quiet now.

I look around the table, my eyes meeting his mom. She gives me a shallow smile, but it does not quite meet her eyes. I feel like this is something that occasionally used to happen when Del still lived at home. We've talked about his dad, and even though he never told any horror story about him, they still didn't have a class father-son relationship.

From the small bits I've gathered about his past, I think his uncle played more of a father figure for him. He went to every game and gave him his lucky charm, the picture in his room with his uncle.

Dinner ends quickly after that.

I offer to clean everything up, but she tells me the caterers will come back for that. It's still surreal I ate a thanksgiving dinner served by caterers. She sends me off to bed early since Del and I will leave tomorrow.

She planned for us to stop by the bakery before we leave. She wants to give us some pastries to bring home.

Getting to Del's room, he is already lying shirtless in his boxers on the bed. His arms behind his head, and his eyes close. He is not sleeping though, I know he is waiting up for me.

I make my way over to the bed and fall into his chest. His arms close around me, but he doesn't open his eyes for a while. I almost let myself drift off in the comfort of his arms. I can't believe how we started this trip off a little rough when I brought up the Chase situation. It all seems forgotten now, and I am definitely not bringing it up again.

"Del, I need to get ready for bed," I whisper.

He hums but makes no move to let go of me, he slips his hands lower on my back until they go underneath the elastic band of my skirt. His big hands cup my ass, pulling me on top of me. I can feel how hard he is on my thigh.

Before I know it we're kissing and engaging for it to be more in just a matter of seconds.

Clothes start flying through the room, and I end up riding him into oblivion, consumed by the pleasure I get from the sex. I try to stifle my moans by holding my hand in front of my mouth. I'd be mortified if his parents were listening in on us.

I come first and then does he.

He helps me get ready for bed, and that's how we ended our Thanksgiving and last night here in New York City.

❆

Back in my dorm, I'm still on a high from the past week. I can't believe I spent my week in New York City with my boyfriend. I had Thanksgiving dinner with his family—I actually met his parents.

We went ice skating, fucking ice skating.

I think that is my favorite memory of the trip. Despite seeing all the beautiful things, New York had to offer, being in an inside ice skating ring closed off from the city was the best. He knew I had never ice-skated before—he wanted to teach me.

After a week of being together, we separated when we got home. It's late at night, and we were both fatigued from the drive and just the week in general. I had so many new impressions. It took a lot of my energy.

Right now, I want to be in my shower, washing the long drive away. Entering my bathroom, my towel in hand, I'm met with familiarity and comfort. I take a deep breath, singing in another shower without the chance of hearing him.

How long has it been since I've spoken to him? Quite sometime now, hasn't it? Ever since he didn't show up for our first planned meeting.

With little hope, I put on a Wallows song. I put The 1975 and Cigarettes After Sex in the queue. I feel like those all fall into the genre of songs he favors. Don't get me wrong, I do too, but it feels like his music.

I hum along to the melody as I turn the shower on, carefully listening for any noise from the other side of the wall.

Still, the only thing my ears pick up is dead silence.

I quickly undress and step into the shower. If Chase isn't here, there is no need to take a long shower; there is nothing exhilarating about it then. I need to get to bed anyways. It's close to midnight. Del and I haven't mentioned meeting up after our separate showers, so I'm assuming we're sleeping alone—it wouldn't surprise me if one of us still wandered into the other's bed later tonight.

While shampooing my hair, I hear the drizzle of another shower, to my biggest surprise. It's Chase's shower.

Could it be him?

This far, I don't hear him sing.

Disappointment washes over me. It's probably one of his roommates. It happened before and probably won't be the last time I'll shower alongside his roommates. The difference with showing next to his roommates is that singing is never involved.

I continue my shower, scrubbing my body clean, not paying much attention to the other person anymore, although I turn the volume of my music down out of decency.

However, as my music cuts off—loud guitar music starts.

"Well, I guess it would be nice if I could touch your body
I know not everybody has got a body like you
But I gotta think twice before I give my heart away
And I know all the games you play because I played them, too"

George Michael's Faith floods my ears.

It's him. Chase.

"Oh, but I need some time off from that emotion
Time to pick my heart up off the floor
Oh, when that love comes down without devotion
Well, it takes a strong man, baby
But I'm showin' you the door

'Cause I gotta have faith
I gotta' have faith

Impeccable song choice. This man has so much different music up his sleeve.

He sounds so cheerful singing it. We always sing the weirdest songs together, the meaning of the lyrics long forgotten.

I can't help but sing along, of course. I've missed this man so much and was worried he was avoiding me. I guess he didn't or just needed a minor break.

"Before this river becomes an ocean
Before you throw my heart back on the floor
Oh, oh, baby, I reconsider my foolish notion
Well, I need someone to hold me but I'll wait for somethin' more

'Cause I gotta have faith
Ooh, I gotta have faith
Because I gotta have faith, faith, faith
I gotta have faith, faith, faith"

"Oh, my little nightingale, how I've missed your sweet voice echoing in this shower. Music to my ears always."

"You've got to stop with the compliments. I'm not that good of a singer."

"You sure are, darling." I can picture him grinning. After a pause, he speaks up again, "I should apologize for not showing up when we had agreed to meet. Something had come up, and I didn't exactly have the resources to contact you."

"Don't worry about it. You're here now."

"Good. Do you still want to talk about what you didn't have the chance to do before?"

"No, we don't have to. Not really wanting to bring the mood down." I say.

"How about you tell me about your Thanksgiving then? You spent some time with your boyfriend, didn't you? How was it?"

"Oh, Chase, it was the best thing ever. First of all, I got to see New York City. You hear me. New York City. Have you ever been? Because you should."

"I have been there, yeah." He answers shortly before allowing me to continue.

I don't hear any excitement in his voice, doesn't he like New York City? I can only imagine any tourist must love the experience, but maybe he is not really into traveling. However, I remember he used to go to Europe to visit his uncle.

"So my boyfriend took me to all these places, showing me his favorite parts of the city. He grew up there, you know, so he got all the good spots. Without him, my trip there wouldn't have nearly been as good.

"I also met his parents, which was very good—much better than expected. His mom was the nicest woman, and his dad was a bit grumpy, but he was nice enough to me."

"So you had a good time then?" He asks, perking up.

I smile at his interest, throwing my head back and letting the water rinse my hair.

"Yes, incredible. Absolutely my best Thanksgiving."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that, ice baby."

What?

//

Oh, I'm doing you so dirty for ending on that cliffhanger.
Anyways, any thoughts?

xx
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