Frozen Barriers (18 page)

“I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you. What did you ask?”

“I asked if you had any plans for Sunday evening?”

Thinking for a moment, I say, “Well, I have something Sunday morning, but no, nothing on Sunday evening, why?”

“My family has Sunday dinner every week, and my mother asked me to invite you over. Would you maybe want to come by? Courtney and Josh will be here, so it won’t be too painful.”

He seriously thinks that meeting his family would be painful. Everyone so far has been sweet and loving. Now, if I was to invite him to have dinner with my family, that would be painful, but I don’t tell him that.

“Of course, I’d love to come over. I can’t wait to meet your parents.”
“You say that now, but my mom will probably force you to eat a ton of carbs and my dad will drop more swear words in one dinner than you’ve probably heard in your life.”

“Sounds perfect,” I say just above a whisper because it does sound perfect. It sounds like a
real
family.

Last night after hanging up with Emily on the phone, a strange feeling came over me. I couldn’t place it, but I knew in more ways than one I missed her. I missed her smile and her laugh. I just missed the little things she has no idea she does when she’s around that absolutely drive me wild.

I didn’t have any practice with the team this morning, so I made my rounds around town. I managed to get a haircut, clean out the truck, and pick up the most beautiful bouquet of flowers for Emily. I said to the florist that I wanted something elegant, but simple. Once she was done mixing and matching flowers, I ended up with a large arrangement of sunflowers, calla lilies, and daisies.

It’s now Friday afternoon, and I’m at my place sitting in the backyard with Dad and Josh as we toss Aspen some toys in the yard. Dad’s been busy cleaning the hot tub, and Josh and I have been helping with the yard work. Apparently, Dad got wind that he is going to have a special guest at the house on Sunday afternoon, so he wants to make a good first impression. I’m not sure who’s going to be more nervous, Emily or my parents. This will be a first for everyone. I’ve never had any girl back here, ever.

“Do you think I ought to go buy new seat cushions for the patio furniture?” Dad asks. He is trying too hard to make the house presentable.

“Dad, everything is fine. Emily won’t care about any of that stuff. Trust me,” I state firmly.

Josh makes his way over toward us after putting away the lawn mower. Standing next to Dad, he tells him, “You know, Dad, you never did anything like this when I brought my girlfriends around.”

With a loud deep laugh that only a Page man can evoke, Dad emphasizes, “Yeah, well, none of those girls you ever brought around made it to the front page of the sports section of the
Globe
.” Josh laughs because we know he’s just kidding with Dad.

It’s true, though. Emily made the cover of the sports section of the
Globe
this morning. I have no doubt her parents were behind the article, which sells her out as being the next favorite to win the US Figure Skating National Championship in Boston in January. It discusses her achievements since last year’s World Championship, where she placed fourth, and how she has the potential to medal at the Olympic games in February.

Her picture is nothing but stunning. She’s wearing long leggings that go over her boots and a tight high-necked long-sleeved top, which shows off her curves. My father bolted from the kitchen table this morning with his coffee in hand just to show the picture to my mom.

“Grace! Grace! I can’t believe it. We’ve got a major athlete coming to the house on Sunday! Look.” He shoved the paper in her hands, and she took one look at Emily’s picture and then glanced up at me as I was putting my coffee cup into the dishwasher.

I’m not sure, but I could almost say I saw tears in her eyes as she whispered, “She’s beautiful.”

I know Mom, I know. I’m just hoping not to screw it up again.

Leaving Dad and Josh to the backyard affairs, Aspen and I return to the apartment because I have to get ready for my date. I putter around in my closet, looking for something to wear tonight as Aspen curls up on his bed on the floor in my bedroom. Standing there in front of my closet, I run my fingers over the slight stubble on my jaw.

“What should I wear, buddy?” Aspen’s ears perk up. Grabbing a black button-down shirt and gray dress pants, I lay them out on the bed. I forego the tie because I know my plans for the night aren’t that formal.

Checking the time, I realize that I’ve got about an hour before I need to leave, so I quickly hop into the shower. I skip shaving, deciding to leave a slight amount of stubble on my face, and throw some gel into my hair to tussle it a bit. I dress quickly and grab everything I need from the kitchen counter, ensuring three times that I haven’t forgotten anything.

I head out to my truck, and as I’m about to shut the door, I see Mom and Dad on the front porch. Dad’s arm is hung over Mom’s shoulder, and Mom has her arms wrapped around his waist. She smiles as she sees me leaving and then blows me a kiss. As I pull out of the driveway, I see my dad place a kiss on her forehead as they turn around and head back inside. I absolutely love my parents. Not a day goes by that I don’t envy what they have going for them. After all these years, they are still in love with each other and want nothing but happiness for Josh, Courtney, and me. I hope one day that will be me.

Pulling up outside of Emily’s garage, I rub my hands together, trying to dry the nervous sweat from my palms. I know. I’ve already had my hands down her pants, and now I’m nervous. It’s just the fact that this is the date that we should have had years ago. This is my shot to finally make Emily Cameron my girlfriend. Taking the flowers from the passenger seat, I make my way out of the truck and through the garage door that’s already open. Once at her door, I knock softly, hearing movement on the other side.

“Be right there,” she says. A few seconds later, the door opens, and I’m at a loss for words. Emily stands before me as she finishes placing an earring in her ear. She’s wearing black leggings with brown knee-high riding boots and a low-cut white blouse underneath a blazer matched with a cheetah print scarf. Her blonde hair is all loose and curled at the ends. She’s absolutely breathtaking. She normally is regardless, but tonight there just aren’t words.

She gives me a questioning look as if she’s wondering why I still haven’t said anything, and I snap out of my daze. “What?” she asks with a slight pitch to her voice. “Am I not dressed up enough?” Really? How could she think she’s not dressed up enough?

Bringing the flowers in front of me, I start making my way closer to her. When I’m right in front of her, she softly takes them in her hands as I lean down toward her ear and say, “You could be wearing a plastic poncho, and you’d still be gorgeous.” I slowly place a soft kiss on her cheek before pulling away, never taking my eyes from hers.

“Are these for me?” she asks as she smiles and then glances to the flowers.

“I wasn’t sure what your favorite was, so I went with a variety.”

She smiles even brighter. “Well, you’re in luck because gerbera daisies are my favorite!” Why doesn’t that shock me? Of course, she loves daisies, simple and cheerful, not stuffy and formal like roses. She walks to the kitchen, opening a cabinet and pulling out a vase before arranging the flowers on her kitchen table. She grabs her purse from the counter and heads back my way. Placing her hand gently on my chest, she looks up at me and says, “Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful.” I’m pretty sure she can feel my heart beating through my shirt at the moment, because if I didn’t already have the perfect night already planned out, I’d be content just sitting here all night with her in my arms.

“We should get going if we’re going to make our reservation,” I tell her, trying to get her out of the apartment before I change my mind and just strip off her clothes and our first date never happens.

“Where are we going?” she asks, while walking out the door. Placing my hand at the small of her back, I close the door behind me.

“You’ll find out soon enough, but it’s going to be the best first date you’ve ever had!” Glancing back up at me, she points out, “Well, that won’t be hard. I’ve never gone on a date before.”
Shit. I forgot she’s never dated, kissed, or even been with a guy before me. I’m a total ass.

As we make our way out through the garage, another car pulls up just as Emily presses the button to shut the door to her stall. The woman gets out of the car and begins walking toward Emily. As my eyes dart between Emily and her, I wonder how this is going to play out. Emily’s body goes completely rigid. Then, the woman, whom I can now only assume is her mom, stares directly at me. Those eyes are not kind, and I know I’m not anything she wants her daughter to be involved with. She quickly snaps her head back to Emily before expressing her disapproval.

“Emily, where do you think you’re going? Who is this guy?” Thinking there is no way she’s about to ruin my night, I head back close to Emily, wrap my arm around her waist and reach my hand out to her mom.

“Mrs. Cameron, my name is Jeremy Page. It’s nice to meet you, but if you’ll excuse us, Emily and I have to be going. We have dinner reservations that we must get to.” She doesn’t make any effort to take my offered hand, so I pull Emily back toward my truck and open the door to allow her in. Making my way back to the driver side, I see Emily’s mom still standing there, staring in disgust and anger. “Have a good evening, Mrs. Cameron, always a pleasure running into you,” I say sharply before shutting my door and starting up my truck. Because I’m a complete ass sometimes, I drive over the dusty gravel driveway close enough that the plume of dust engulfs that wretched woman as I watch her in my rearview mirror. I laugh at my brazenness, but once I glance over at Emily, I realize the smile that was on her face back in her apartment has disappeared. Grabbing her hand, I bring it up to my lips, giving it a soft kiss.

“Hey, first date, remember. I will not allow you to be unhappy. It’s you and me tonight.”

A slight smile forms at the corners of her lips, and I know she’s back from wherever her mom just sent her mind. “Let’s get this date started then.”

With that, I chuckle and turn on the radio as The Black Eyed Peas sing about tonight being a good night. Fuck yeah, it is!