by Kat Obie
“She is. But her friends weren’t. Hell, I think a couple of the models I tried to bang and get cozy with could have gotten arrested for doing it.”
Jenna nearly lost her beer. She wasn’t expecting to hear that, or to even learn that he had a thing for older women from the start. “Seriously, at the model house? Please tell me you didn’t do all of them.”
“Not all of them. Maybe…okay, it might have been more than half of them,” he said with confusion on his face. He clearly couldn’t remember how many he slept with and was getting uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation. Then again, talking about exes in front of the current girlfriend was never a good conversation.
“So you, what, you did them orgy style with your sister watching?” asked Alice.
That was when both of them cracked up and Corey did actually mist his beer onto the bench behind him since he wasn’t expecting that question. And he was busting out laughing as he said, “No. Ugh…that would be wrong… Ugh…noooo,” he said with a clear distaste.
Jenna set her hand on his arm as if to comfort him but at the same time, she was laughing so hard that it was just as much to keep him upright. She felt like teasing him some more since it was fun to see him lose his balance. “So is this your way of saying no kinky stuff with your sister?”
“Yeah. Dear lord. Even thinking that she could have been watching is disgusting. That’s almost as bad as doing her. Ugh. I need to scrub that image from my mind.”
They were still just laughing. He was right, it was just a disgusting thought; but it was also so funny to see his reaction. It was rare to see him knocked off his game like that and not be able to control the conversation if he wanted to.
“Seems like the party moved into here,” said Scotty from the doorway with a bottle of water in his hand. “Hey, I thought I told you not to do anything, Al. I was going to do that in the morning.”
Jenna tried to suppress a giggle. Scotty was trying to do everything for the wedding and keep the stress off of Alice. The only bad thing was that it wasn’t working at all. Alice wanted to help and needed to know what was going on.
“It is the morning and it’s done,” Alice said as she started to stand up to give him a kiss. It was so sweet to see them interact. While she and Corey weren’t as lovey-dovey as Alice and Scotty, their feelings were running just as deep. She loved how Corey wrapped his arm around her and she was in a nice warm hug.
“Which is why we should dormir,” Scotty said and Alice shot him a look and he immediately corrected himself. “Sleep. Do you guys know where you’re sleeping?”
“Basement again?” asked Corey.
“Yup. I’m going to make sure this guy gets upstairs. Sleep well,” said Alice as they started to head toward the front staircase. Corey helped Jenna off the floor and they headed to the room in the basement that was saved for them.
15
Corey
Corey was surprised by how much fun he had at Scotty’s place. It was a toss-up between playing the hockey game with McCallister and LeCroy and overhearing how Jenna was enjoying living together on what was the best moment so far. The only bad thing about the trip was that it was hard to have private time with Jenna. At least he and Jenna had the basement to themselves and could try to sneak off.
It was the morning of the wedding and he still needed to talk to Scotty in private about an idea that he had. Knowing that Scotty liked routine—hell his home in Canada was a larger version of his house in Cleveland—he figured that Scotty would likely stick to his morning run even on his wedding day. So he woke up early and slowly tore himself from the bed that he was sharing with Jenna. As he was finished getting changed into his workout gear, Jenna woke up and asked, “Hey where are you going?”
“Going to go on a run with Scotty.” Thankfully, him wanting to train with Scotty wasn’t that unusual. He wouldn’t have to share his harebrained idea with her, since he wanted to surprise both Alice and Jenna.
“Better you than me,” said Jenna as she started to roll over in the covers and went back to sleep. He didn’t blame her; he didn’t want to work out this early and would much rather be snuggling up next to her.
He got upstairs to see Scotty starting to put the leashes on both of the dogs. So he got up just in time. “Hey, mind if I join you?”
“Nah. Come on,” Scotty said as he handed over Backup’s leash to him. “Just watch out for sudden stops. I don’t want him to pull your shoulder out.”
Corey took the leash and they started to head out to the door. Backup immediately tried to turn toward the lake, which made Corey say, “Not now, buddy. This way,”
Corey was following Scotty, who immediately said, “So what’s on your mind?”
“What makes you think there’s something on my mind?” asked Corey. While yes, he wanted to talk to Scotty one-on-one, he didn’t want Scotty to think he was desperate.
“You have skipped the run every day for the past two days. So the fact that you’re trying to join me tells me you have something on your mind.”
“Or just making sure you were okay sleeping solo since I know you didn’t think it was necessary to keep the bride and groom separated before the wedding.”
Scotty shook his head and said, “Bull…”
Corey laughed and said, “Alright. I did want to ask you a couple questions about tonight.”
“Okay,” Scotty said with a grin.
“You said there’s some live music tonight, right?”
“Yeah, why?” Scotty was clearly intrigued.
“Cool. Any chance you will let me sing a tribute song for you and Al?”
Scotty immediately stopped running and he paused hoping that Backup saw what was going on and didn’t try to keep running. Thankfully, the large dog started sniffing around to pick a spot to go to the bathroom. “You want to sing a song? Can you actually sing?” Scotty seemed super skeptical about everything but his tone said he was open to the idea.
“Would I be asking to sing at your wedding if I couldn’t?” asked Corey.
“I wouldn’t be asking if I knew you could. Lager has tried to pull you up for karaoke with him and you shot him down hard every time. So yes, I am unsure if you can.”
Corey bent down and started to scratch Backup’s ears and Scotty did the same thing to Chloe. Scotty had a point. He’s been pretty secretive about his music. But Alice knew about it, and Jenna loved his stuff, so it wouldn’t be a big deal to show it off to one of his best friends. The one thing he wouldn’t tell Scotty was the song was as much for Jenna as it was for the couple. So he said, “I’m not drunk asking for the mic. I woke up early to ask because I’m serious about the request. Yes, I can sing. What I can do justice to isn’t exactly good for karaoke. While I don’t think I’m ready to play the guitar on stage, there’s a song that I want to do for you guys.”
“Okay, however, there’s one condition. You have to tell me the song.”
Corey laughed. It was the most reasonable request in the world. “Do you know the song by George Ezra, ‘Hold My Girl’?”
Scotty shook his head. So Corey whipped out his cell phone and pulled up the song on Spotify and played it for Scotty. Scotty immediately smiled and started swaying to the music. “That is so perfect. Although, I’m almost disappointed that it’s not one of the songs from that Kennedy guy that Alice loves so much. I think it would be great as a first dance song for me and Al.”
“I know. I thought about trying to do one of his songs since she always skates to his stuff but I am still struggling with the lyrics. I didn’t want to bring my iPad up on stage to reference them."
“If you can also do that ‘Lost’ song, I’ll even pay you.”
“Okay. But can I do the one I know well?”
“Of course. I’m excited. So you sing the first two songs tonight. Right after the toasts. Got it?”
Corey shook his head. “Let’s head back. I will need to practice the song you want.”
Jenna
The wedding was absolutely beautiful. Everything went perfectly. Then again, the ceremonies were always pretty easy as long as the couple showed up, the ring bearer didn’t lose the wedding rings, and the priest said the names correctly. She was grateful that the Stanley Cup was only placed on the altar. At one point, there was talk about doing a unity candle out of it.
Then there were so many pictures between the ceremony and the reception. It was nice that both her and Corey were in the bridal party together. She ended up having to take a bunch of photos with Lager since he was Scotty’s best man. Yet Alice made sure to have a few of her and Corey together.
Then it was the reception. She noticed right away the reason why the unity candle wasn’t happening out of the Stanley Cup. It had been moved right next to the wedding cake for the reception and filled with champagne. People were filling their glasses from the Cup and it never seemed to empty.
She was nervous about the toast. She was so focused on going over everything in her head, she didn’t even hear Lager’s speech. But she could tell that he was his typical self since the whole crowd was eating out his hand and laughing at the end of his toast. She took a sip of champagne and Corey said, “You got this, babe,” as she stood up, giving her confidence.
She looked at Scotty and Alice; they were epitome of happiness. “So I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Alice for the past ten years. We met in college working intramurals. We bonded over the love of hockey and beer. It was just an easy friendship. It’s always fun to count on a friend to go to a couple Flyers games a year with.
“I won’t lie, at first I was pissed that it was Scotty’s Instagram that broke the news that Alice’s Scotty was the hockey player for the Sound. But he was the one who helped to put my best friend back together when she needed it. You guys can make anyone believe in romance. I wish you the very best.”
There were claps and the couple kissed. It went as well as she hoped. Then she couldn’t believe it but Corey went on stage. Scotty led Alice toward the dance floor. Alice looked confused but Scotty seemed to know what was going on. Corey leaned into the mic and said, “Hi. So I wanted to do a tribute to the Wheilands. One of things Jenna didn’t mention was how if it wasn’t for those two getting together, we wouldn’t be together. They are one of the most giving couples ever. So in honor of them, I am going to face this head-on.”
Jenna gasped. He was going to sing in front of a crowd. Immediately, she recognized the song after the first few bars of music was played by the band. It was “Hold My Girl” and his voice was so perfect for it. It had a slight rasp and clear tone. It sounded exactly like an album version. She almost could have cried and he was killing it on stage. While he dedicated it to Scotty and Alice, she knew that it was for her as much as it was them. He stared right at her the entire time he sung it. She loved to hear him sing and had been trying to get him to do it in front of a crowd for a while.
“So when I talked to Scotty about doing this, he wanted me to do this song for Alice. I had to learn it today so yeah.”
Then he launched into a version of “Lost” by Dermot Kennedy. He was using an iPad for some of the lyrics for this one. It was perfect. Then she looked over toward the couple. They were dancing and Alice was crying.
After the song, he turned away from the stages and jumped down. The crowd let loose with the cheers. Corey was like a heat-seeking missile and came up to her despite his teammates all trying to congratulate him. He kissed her with so much passion and she said, “You were amazing.”
“That was for you, babe. I love you.”
16
Jenna
They had the same routine pretty much each and every night. Although she learned pretty quickly that Corey was basic with his cooking skills, so he got pulled from making dinner. She was grilling meat as he couldn’t be trusted to grill. So she did have to make dinner when she got home from work but he usually got home from his CrossFit training a little before and was showered.
The only two things that caused any anxiety at the moment was the end of the summer and Corey’s day with the Stanley Cup. While she could push the idea of their post-summer living arrangements off for a couple months, she couldn’t say the same thing about his Cup day. They were leaving for that tonight. She knew it should really be a chill day in Burlington, Vermont, but she dreaded meeting his family. What would they say about her being ten years older than their son?
She got home from work and was surprised to see Corey just hanging out in the apartment in his workout tights and shorts. No shirt. It was a sight to behold but not the look she was expecting. She was expecting to see him fully dressed and ready to drive. She had to have been ogling him when he asked, “What’s with the eye fuck?”
She laughed ’cause what else could she do? It was just so crude and locker room talk. But then again, she was imagining all the things they could do in their new bed if it wasn’t for the fact that they were supposed to go to his parents’ place.
“Babe, your muscles are on complete display and it’s gorgeous. But don’t we have a flight to your hometown?”
He scooped her up and just started to kiss her. He was a little smelly and a bit sweaty. One of his hands was on her lower back and the other on the back of her neck. She groaned in pleasure. As she was starting to go breathless, he pulled back and said, “Yeah, we do. I know I need to get a shower.”
“You and me both.”
The grin that crept on his face was absolutely sinful. “Let’s shower together.”
Jenna nodded. He then immediately carried her upstairs to the tiny bathroom. It was a hot, steamy shower. She wasn’t sure if they got really clean but it was fun. They got dressed.
“Ready, babe?” asked Jenna as she grabbed the suitcase from the closet that she packed the previous evening. She looked up and saw Corey throwing clothes into his suitcase. She grabbed his ass. “Okay, I see that you are obviously aren’t ready yet.”
“Yeah. Sorry. Petey is always yelling at me for never being ready during road trips. But I’m almost ready, babe. Give me five minutes. I promise you that I will be ready.” He kissed her.
Then they were on the way to Vermont. It wasn’t a bad flight but as they got closer and closer to his home, her stomach knotted up. Corey must have sensed she was off cause he grabbed her hand and said in the sweetest voice, “What’s up, babe?”
“Can’t lie, I’m nervous about meeting your family.”
He let out a sigh and said, “Babe, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. It’s just my mom and dad. They are so chill and they can’t wait to meet you. Although they may come on a little strong. You might be the first girl I brought home. The only person who is hard to please is my sister and she won’t be there. I think she’s working in Europe. Don’t really care what she’s doing.”
Jenna stayed quiet on the last part. She felt bad that things were rough between him and his sister. She was a bitch and she didn’t really want to meet her again, especially not after finding out about her drug habit.
“The first one? What are they going to think?” Would they think she was robbing the cradle? Now she was the first girlfriend that he brought home. Her anxiety went up two-fold.
He kissed her temple. “Yes. You are the first one and they will love you. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re the golden boy who won the freaking Cup.”
He just laughed. “Babe, I know you will think I’m crazy. But my parents barely care about my hockey success and even less about my sis’s modeling success. They are professors at the University of Vermont. They’re disappointed I only did one year at Boston College. You got your degree and are working for one of the best schools in the nation. It’ll be fine.”
While she knew that his words should calm her nerves, she was anything but calm. But she tried to put on a brave face. She was actually super grateful that she got a few minutes to prep herself in the bath
room before getting into the rental car for the ride over to his parents’ place. She was surprised to see how understated the two-story colonial home was.
They walked up to the front door. He just walked into the home and said, “Hey Mom, we’re here.”
There was a scurry of activity and then they were approached by presumably his parents. His dad was basically a carbon copy of Corey with blond hair and a beard, he just had more wrinkles and about thirty pounds on Corey. His mom on the other hand looked like a stereotypical professor with gray frizzy hair and glasses.
“Oh Cor, how was the trip, and when are you going to introduce us to your girl?”
He laughed and shook his head, “Mom. Really? The flight was fine. As if it’s not obvious, Jenna, this is my mom and dad. Mom and Dad, this is Jenna.”
For whatever reason, hearing him laugh like that made her relax. They had the traditional awkward greetings.
Somehow, her and Corey got separated. She got pulled into a spacious but well-used kitchen with his mom, who immediately put her to work rolling some crescent rolls for dinner. “So how long have you guys known each other?”
“Oh, since the start of the year,” Jenna said casually. She savored the memory of hanging out with him at Evil Genius. She was able to smoothly roll the dough into the little half moons. There’s no way she was going to say how they met and as long as LeAnn wasn’t around, there was no reason to talk about the car accident. Plus she always felt the night at Evil Genius was their true meeting.
“Ohhhh,” said his mom. The last part, Jenna wasn’t supposed to hear. “So you weren’t to blame for helping him grow up?”
Jenna dropped the dough in surprise. “What do you mean?”
The thing was Jenna knew she was a little bit to blame for Corey’s maturity streak. There was no way she was going let his mom know that Corey once hit her with a car and that was the spark. They didn’t know each other then.