What a wild turn of events.

When Lia had called, my first thought was that my surprise for her had arrived an hour early. Which wasn't that big of a deal. Hopping in my truck, I headed for home, keeping an eye on my phone as I waited for a text to come through filled with glee and excitement.

Except what she sent me instead was a short sentence full of confusion.

Were your parents... supposed to visit this weekend?

The answer? No. Definitely not.

My foot hit the gas a bit harder the rest of the way to my condo, thoroughly thrown about this hitch in my plans. I'd talked to my mom two days ago, after landing back on the west coast, and she'd not given me one clue that her and my dad were planning to come down for a visit. She'd certainly mentioned wanting to come to a game since I'd been traded to the Royals, but nothing concrete. Not tonight.

Once I'd parked in my building's underground lot, I totally disregarded the elevator and hit the stairs. Climbing two at a time, I continued up until I reached the eighth floor doorway, ignoring the slight burn in my thighs after this morning's practice as I all but stumbled into my door, throwing it open with haste.

I heard my mom's voice trail off at the noise, asking "Derrick, is that you?" right before I skidded to a stop. There on my couch sat Lia and my mom, my dad taking the chair to the side, and it was an image I certainly hadn't expected to come home too.

It was strange, but not wholly unwelcome.

"Yeah," I replied, pausing to take a breath as my eyes flitted between the three of them. "When did you guys get here?"

My attempt at being nonchalant and confident didn't quite take despite my best effort, as I could hear the dazed tone wrapped around my words.

"Twenty minutes ago, maybe," my mom said, looking to my dad for confirmation. To which he nodded. "We had a free weekend and thought we'd come down to surprise you. To watch your game and see your new place." Her gaze settled back on Lia. "We didn't know you had company though, or else we would've called ahead."

Lia was quick to hop in. "Like I said already Mrs. Wellsley, don't even worry about it."

Her voice was confident and airy, but I didn't miss the message her eyes sent me as she glanced back at me. The what-the-hell-is-going-on look that had me nervously rubbing the back of my neck.

"Well, uh, I'm sure you guys already went through introductions, but Lia, this is my mom and dad, and mom, dad, this is Lia... my girlfriend."

My mom stood, laughing with amusement as she walked over to give me a hug. "Well, I'd hope so, considering she seemed pretty at home when she answered the door. But why didn't you tell us you were dating someone?" she asked, pulling back to pat me on the cheek. "Especially someone as smart and beautiful as Lia?"

Redness immediately colored Lia's cheeks and I felt my own embarrassment creep over me as I mumbled, "Mom."

"What?"

I sighed. "Nothing, it's just... new—this relationship. I wasn't going to mention anything until I was sure we could make it work, what with the distance and everything."

"Oh!" my mom responded, as though this was brand new information. She looked slightly guilty as she turned to Lia and asked, "Are you not from around here, dear?"

Lia shook her head. "I'm just out here for the weekend. I live in Boston, but I did grow up in San Francisco."

"Derrick too!"

"Yeah—" Lia's lips quirked upward. "—he's mentioned it."

My mom huffed. "Well now I feel like we're interrupting your weekend together. I'm sorry I didn't call first, I just thought—"

"Mom, it's fine, really," I said with reassurance despite the flurry of issues now floating through my head at their sudden appearance. "Though—" A sheepish expression formed on my face, knowing I'd have to come clean about my plans for the rest of the afternoon earlier than expected. "—we'll need to take two Ubers to lunch now."

Unsurprisingly, Lia's eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "What do you mean? We should all fit in one."

And as if they were given a perfect cue, the buzzer to my condo sounded.

"We will," I responded before pointing toward the door, "but they won't."

My mom's gaze turned back to me. "You had other guests coming?"

"I invited them," I hedged, moving over to buzz them into the building without using the speaker in an attempt to keep the surprise, "but they're really here for her."

My attention turned to Lia, whose eyes widened.

"M-me?" she asked, stuttering with surprise.

I nodded, watching as she stood up slowly, a frown creasing her forehead, and made her way to the door.

"What did you do?" she muttered as she passed by me.

"You'll see."

My parents' eyes were on me, wondering what the hell I'd done and what they'd walked into, but my focus was on Lia. Watching her face intently as she opened the door, looking out into the hall, curious as to what—or more specifically, who—she was looking for.

And I knew the exact moment the elevator doors opened to reveal her surprise.

Her mouth fell open and she jerked her gaze back to me, silently asking if this was for real. Which it was. "Oh my god!" she squealed at my grin before rushing out into the hall to greet her parents. "Mom! Dad! What are you doing here?"

As the three of them chatted quickly in the hall, I felt my mother's hand grip my elbow gently, turning my attention her way.

"You flew her parents out?" my mom asked quietly, surprise coating her words.

The corner of my mouth twitched upward. "I did," I replied. "Actually, you guys were probably on the same flight without knowing it."

She didn't respond right away, instead letting her eyes searched mine. Seeking. Assessing. It was only after a few moments that she hummed to herself, as though she'd uncovered a secret.

"What?" I asked warily.

"Oh nothing," she mused. "I just figured my boy would've told me he'd fallen in love again."

I rolled my eyes. "Mom."

"What?" She turned to my dad, who was still seated. "Joe, don't you agree with me?"

He shrugged, much more of a strong and silent type, unlike my mom. "If Derrick says he's not in love, then we don't have a reason to believe he's lying."

"Thank you."

"But," he was quick to continue, lowering his voice as he nodded out to the hall, "I do think that woman out there is one to hold on to."

"Well so do I. That's why we're trying to make things work despite living thousands of miles away from one another, but it's too soon for love. You're seeing things because you've just met her, but we've only actually been dating for a few weeks."

My mom lifted a brow. "And before that."

"We were seeing each other," I admitted, "but it was casual. Then I got traded and—"

"And..." my mom interrupted, reaching up to pat my cheek, "sometimes love comes around at the strangest of times. That doesn't mean it's not love; it just means it's harder to hold on to."

Left digesting her words of wisdom as she moved back to the couch, every part of my body was hyperaware when Lia brought her parents inside, looking at me as though I'd gifted her the world. Her eyes bright and filled with warmth, and there was no dampening the grin that split her lips.

It was a look that, if I'd been moving, would've stopped me in my tracks. Her beaming expression shot a spark directly toward my chest, and it dug deep, finding an ember of emotion that'd sat dormant for so long. So long that, in that crazy moment, I couldn't recognize it.

But I knew it wasn't love.

It couldn't be. Not yet.

***

"I don't know how you pulled this all off," Lia said with awe as she came into my bedroom later that night, dressed in pajamas and fastening her hair in an elastic.

Neither did I.

This morning, I'd thought I had planned everything to a T. The front office had found three open seats for Lia and her parents to enjoy the game from the stands, I'd booked a table at a popular restaurant down the street from the arena for them to eat dinner at while I skated warm-ups, and I'd gotten her parents a room at a hotel a five minute drive away from my condo, as they hadn't wanted to intrude further—their words, not mine—on my weekend with their daughter.

The moment my parents had been tossed into the equation, however, things turned on their head.

But I rolled with it.

Introductions were made, and weirdly, I found it comforting that the pressure of meeting the parents had been balanced on both our shoulders instead of just my own. And while she'd more or less been thrown into the deep end, Lia seemed to agree. Lunch had gone without a hitch—the time spent delving into stories old and new alike. About how Lia and I had met (the more PG version), where our careers were headed, and then hopping way back to stories our parents seemed keen to swap about embarrassing childhood tales.

All of which we sat through, laughing and enjoying the time we had with them.

And with the hour I had before heading back to the rink to prep for the game, I led everyone around my neighbourhood on foot, giving them a brief tour of the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles.

I'd also spent that time making last minute changes to my plans. I'd called the restaurant I'd booked for dinner and asked about adding two more to the reservation—which they accommodated, and I'd texted the assistant to the general manager of the Royals to make sure there was space in the family box, since it would've been next to impossible to find five seats grouped together in the stands so last minute. And there was.

So, when the time came, I'd left Lia with the keys to my truck and hopped in an Uber, hoping their night would go without a hitch as I turned my attention back to hockey.

Which proved prosperous given the fact I'd nabbed two assists and the Royals had gone up 3-2 on Dallas. And from the reaction the five of them had had once I'd met up with them after the game—cheering and seemingly at ease, still living off the high of the crowd—it would've been difficult to call the night anything other than a success.

Lia's reaction now only secured that.

"Like seriously," she continued, a smile unfurling, "today was amazing. Different and unexpected, but amazing."

"Well, I can't take all the credit." I chuckled, already situated in bed as I flipped up the comforter, inviting her to slide in and join. "My parents definitely weren't a part of the plan."

"Which is insane," she replied, shaking her head. "What are the odds that the one weekend I fly out, and you fly my parents out, is the same weekend yours decide to jump on a plane as well to surprise you?"

"If I could guess, probably very, very low."

"Yet you still rolled with the punches." She cracked a smile, turning so that our gazes were locked. "And I know I sound like a broken record, but I really did have the best day."

With a hand resting lightly on my chest, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to my lips. And there were no complaints from me. Gentle and slow, I let her lead, and despite the truly maddening rhythm, I didn't push further. Instead, I sunk into it, focusing only on her as I squeezed her waist and pulled her closer.

It didn't last all that long, however, and when she finally pulled back, her hand stayed centered on my bare chest, fingers moving slowly while her head fell into the pillow next to mine.

"In all of today's craziness, I never did ask," she whispered, "how did you even get ahold of my parents?"

"You have some pretty accommodating friends," I replied, my hand stroking her hip under the covers. "Esme told me the name of their restaurant and I rang them up once I'd bought your plane ticket."

"And they listened? To you?" she said with disbelief. "A total stranger?"

"I think your mom knew, despite you not mentioning me by name, that you'd been dating someone." Despite the lights being off, I could see the way her cheeks darkened with a blush. "Also, one of her customers had asked her about a picture of the two of us that'd ended up online."

Her eyes widened. "What picture?"

"I never looked," I replied honestly, "but there's going to be pictures out there. They'll never be front-page news, but if I've learned anything the last couple years in the league, it's that some fans like to have a bit too much information about our personal lives."

"That's... so strange."

"Agreed."

"They can't have moments like this though—" She cuddled closer. "—right?"

"No," I trailed off, "they can't have this."

No response followed; only a few long moments when neither of us said a word. Yet, I felt every curve of her body against mine. Every time her chest fell and rose against mine, and when her lips finally brushed against the corner of my jaw, my hand drifted upward to cup her breast.

Only for her to pull back with amusement glittering her irises.

"Sorry to disappoint," she drawled, "but as much as I'd like to get naked with you right now, it's not happening with your parents in the next room."

"Damn," I breathed. "Cockblocked by my own parents."

A soft chuckle escaped her. "They leave a few hours before me tomorrow." She craned her neck to kiss me. "I'll make it up to you before I fly out."

Those words should've been the cause of a cold shower, prompting my mind to run off in one hundred creative directions, but tonight, they didn't. Not when the suggestiveness was overshadowed by the fact that she was indeed flying back east tomorrow. Because her life was out there, and mine had brought me across the country.

And for the first time, I was hit in the face with the downside of this weekend. That three days with her was simply not enough. However, there was no ace up my sleeve, and nothing I could do to stop her from leaving.

So, I did all I could. I tightened my arm around her waist and pressed my lips against her forehead.

"I'm holding you to that." 

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