Page 74 of Dirty Play

“They are my parents,” I say with a sigh. “Apparently, two world-class surgeons are unable to figure out how a cell phone works. Or just don’t care enough to reach out. The worst part is I absolutely don’t want to see them right now. After the last two weeks with your family… I’m not ready to get asked by my own parents how the hospital is, what my career plans are, or whatever else they want to ask me about work—never about me.”

“That’s frustrating,” Cade says, turning the car off. “As for not wanting to see them, we can always go drop your things off, talk to them for a few, and then head to my place. They don’t need to know we aren’t going anywhere. Besides, if they didn’t give you a heads up when you asked them to, you’re not obligated to spend more time with them than you’d like.”

I look out the window at my parents, who have grabbed one bag each and are now heading inside, and I realize I really don’t want to see them. I’m so frustrated with them that I don’t feel like spending any extra time with them, pretending to be someone I’m not—pretending to be okay with their lack of interest in my life.

Plus, I definitely like the idea of being with Cade tonight.

“Are you sure you don’t mind if I come over?” I ask nervously, not wanting to overstep. Sometimes when you come home from a trip, you just want to be left alone, and I respect that.

“Tink, if I have it my way, you’d come over tonight and never leave,” he says, a smile on his face and sincerity in his eyes, and dammit, I want to say yes.

I don’t care if it’s moving fast. We’ve danced around this for so long, all the while these feelings were building deep inside. They were always there—it just took us a while to come to terms with everything. Moving in with Cade feels right because being away from him is no longer an option.

“Don’t tease me unless you mean it.”

“I mean it.”

“Promise?” I ask.

“Pinky promise,” he says, extending his pinky to me.

“Then I’m in,” I say, wrapping my pinky around his and leaning across the center console to seal it again with a kiss. “Now, let’s go grab some of my stuff and piss off my parents.”

When we get inside my building, my parents are nowhere to be found. After a quick elevator ride to my floor we find my mom knocking nonstop on my door.

“Gwen!” she says loudly. “Your father and I don’t have forever.”

“Um, hi?” I say, surprising both of them. “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t be silly. I told you weeks ago that we were going to visit. Where have you been, I know you didn’t work today.”

I hear Cade scoff behind me, my mother is only shocking the first time you meet her. After that, you sort of come to expect her usual bullshit and the fact that she believes the world actually revolves around her. She’s not a bad person, though, in fact, she’s kind, sweet, and really does love her family a lot. She just doesn’t make time to have a relationship with me, and at this point, she just needs to recognize that.

“No, a month ago, you told me you might come visit, and I specifically asked you to let me know before. As for where I was… that’s not really any of your business. Now, let’s take this inside, I have to get some stuff together, and it’d probably be better to have this conversation somewhere outside of the hallway.”

She looks shocked, but agrees, and we all go inside my place.

“We are busy, Gwen, we don’t always have time to call,” my dad says, settling onto my couch.

“Hello to you, too, dad,” I say. “You’re not the only ones who are busy. You just think that no one else’s lives are as important as your own. It doesn't make you bad people—I’m just not going to plan my life around people who don’t plan with me.”

When I look at Cade, his lips are turned up, his hand covering his mouth like he’s trying not to laugh. I don’t think either of us expected this from me—I’m just so over their shit.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell them all, and my dad uses this time to turn to Cade.

“Hello… you look familiar, have we met before?” my father asks as I slip into my room.

I don’t take long. I just need to grab my work clothes for tomorrow and a couple of other changes of clothes because everything else is still packed. Standing by my door, I can hear the interaction between my parents and Cade.

“Hello, sir,” Cade says politely. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Cade Williams.”

“Cade Williams? As in the Cyclones goalie?” he asks, a little excitement in his voice.

I’ve never told my parents that I’m friends with a group of the biggest hockey players in New York. But truthfully, my parents have never even asked the name of one of my friends, so I didn’t think they’d care.

“The one and only,” he replies.

“It’s very nice to meet you. I’m a big fan of yours. How do you know my daughter?”

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