The Hockey Life
Welcome To Buffalo
PART TWENTY-NINE: WELCOME TO BUFFALO
Lena’s POV
It was a few weeks before I met Pat’s parents. There was a very inconvenient phase where he had a lot of traveling and key match ups and I was loaded with time-consuming schoolwork. For me, it was almost as frustrating as finals week usually was. For him, it was tiring. We got through it, though. Both of our schedules cleared up quite a bit one weekend, which was when we decided it was time for me to meet his family.
We made the decision to go to Buffalo, since it would be more convenient for his family, plus I’d get to see where he grew up. Also, as Tess had told me in the past, I needed to get out more. I had never been to New York before. I had barely even been out of the state of Illinois, so I was looking forward to going to Buffalo.
Patrick and I went there via plane. I felt bad for him. He was on planes constantly, going back and forth between cities, but he didn’t seem to care. The ride was pretty calm and smooth. When our flight attendant told us we had arrived, I began to get really nervous. I had a bad feeling in my stomach that only got worse as we gathered our things so we could exit the plane. I was in Patrick’s shoes then, trying to fix my appearance at the last minute as if it would help.
“Don’t be so nervous,” he told me.
“I can’t help it. I want this to go well,” I answered as I moved a few pieces of my hair around.
“Your hair looks good the way it is. You already looked beautiful before you started messing with it. Everything’s going to be fine,” Patrick assured me. I knew I would have to take his word for it. I took a deep breath and took his hand, which he was holding out for me. When we stepped off the plane, I exhaled.
The airport was a little busy, so a couple minutes passed before Patrick and I located his parents. I think we both found them at the same time. When we got to them, he said hello and hugged them. Once that was over, all eyes were on me.
“Hello! You must be Lena,” his mother said.
“Yep, that’s me!” I answered.
“It’s nice to finally meet you! I’m Donna,” she said, pulling me into a hug.
“She’s a hugger,” Patrick’s dad chuckled. “I’m Patrick Senior. Nice to meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you,” he said as he shook my hand.
“It’s nice to meet you too, both of you,” I answered, smiling. We left the airport and piled into the Kane’s car. I had grown so accustomed to Patrick’s Hummer and my Jeep that this car felt strange to me. I didn’t have time to be bothered by it, though. I was asked plenty of questions during the car ride to Pat’s old home, plus I had plenty of scenery to take in. Buffalo was great. I could see why Patrick missed it there.
After a relatively short drive, we got to his old home. It was a decent size, and it was attractive looking on the outside. It was outside the hustle and bustle of downtown, in what looked to be the perfect little neighborhood.
“Ready to meet my sisters?” Patrick asked as we pulled into the driveway.
“Yeah, definitely,” I said. I was a lot less intimidated by them than I was by his parents. Not that they were scary or anything, but I assumed it would be harder to please them. Patrick’s sisters were young and fun, from what I had heard. I was sure I wouldn’t have any trouble getting along with them.
“I’m home!” Patrick hollered when we entered the house. It seemed very homey and comfortable inside, but it looked appealing too. I forgot all about the looks of the house quickly, though. Suddenly there were girls running to the door from every angle. Or at least, from three angles. All three of Patrick’s sisters attacked him with a group hug before they noticed me.
“Well, are you going to introduce us or not?” Erica asked. She was the oldest of his sisters.
“Lena, these are my sisters. Erica, Jessica, and Jacqueline,” he said, pointing to each girl as he said their name. I couldn’t help but notice how stunning they all were. I had to admit, they were an attractive family, Patrick and his sisters and his mother as well, only excluding his father because I never saw anyone’s dad that way.
“Hey Lena, it’s nice to meet you!” they all said, smiling at me.
“Nice to meet you all too,” I answered.
“Well, would you like a tour of the place?” Patrick asked.
“Of course,” I replied.
“I don’t need your help, by the way,” he told his sisters, who seemed eager to come with. He led me through the house without them trailing behind. I couldn’t help but smile when we got to his old room. He still had all this old trophies and medals there. It was as if he had never left.
“Aw, look at you!” I said as I picked up a picture frame with an old photo in it. It was him with his sisters, when they all were younger.
“Oh, shut up!” he said, stealing the picture from me.
“What? You’re adorable in this picture!” I laughed.
“So I’m not adorable now?”
“Definitely not. Puberty did nothing for you,” I said sarcastically.
“Ouch, I better go get some ice for that burn,” he answered as he pretended to leave.
“Wait, come back! I’m only kidding!” He slowly made his way back into the room and placed his hands on my waist. “Can you forgive me?” I asked.
“I guess,” he decided after letting out an overly dramatic sigh. He pressed his lips against mine sweetly. I pulled away and tried to leave his grasp to check out more pictures, but he pulled me back in. “Hey! I’m not done!” he said. This time he kissed me a little more aggressively. Normally I would have been fine with it, but the fact that we were in his parents’ house was very clear in my mind when he prolonged the kiss.
“Hey! Your parents and sisters are downstairs!” I reminded him.
“So? They’re downstairs. We’re upstairs. What’s the difference?” I guessed he had a point, so I didn’t reject him when he kissed me again. Or at least, not until I realized that his hands were slowly moving lower.
“Okay, if you’re not going to keep it PG then I’ll just ditch you and hang out with your sisters,” I warned him.
“This is perfectly PG,” he said.
“Okay, whatever you say Mr. Wandering Hands.”
“My hands are clearly just touching your back!”
“Let’s be real here, your goal probably wasn’t to stop at my lower back,” I teased him.
“You don’t know that,” he smirked.
“I’ve got a pretty good feeling that I’m right,” I told him. After that I got to finish looking at his memories that had stayed in his room throughout the years and then we finished the tour. By then, his sisters had joined us and we decided to play Mariokart. We all were pretty competitive, but in the end it was Jessica who beat us all.
When our Mariokart tournament was over, it was time for dinner. Donna made a meal that included my favorite food: fettuccine alfredo. I knew that Patrick had told her it was my favorite and I was really grateful that she had made it. It actually was very good, and I made sure to let her know that.
After dinner, we had a game night, of sorts. We played Apples To Apples, Life, and a shortened version of Monopoly. I got to know Patrick’s family pretty well, and they made me feel at home. By the end of the day I actually felt comfortable talking with his parents and I was friends with his sisters. To me, it was a success.
Lena’s POV
It was a few weeks before I met Pat’s parents. There was a very inconvenient phase where he had a lot of traveling and key match ups and I was loaded with time-consuming schoolwork. For me, it was almost as frustrating as finals week usually was. For him, it was tiring. We got through it, though. Both of our schedules cleared up quite a bit one weekend, which was when we decided it was time for me to meet his family.
We made the decision to go to Buffalo, since it would be more convenient for his family, plus I’d get to see where he grew up. Also, as Tess had told me in the past, I needed to get out more. I had never been to New York before. I had barely even been out of the state of Illinois, so I was looking forward to going to Buffalo.
Patrick and I went there via plane. I felt bad for him. He was on planes constantly, going back and forth between cities, but he didn’t seem to care. The ride was pretty calm and smooth. When our flight attendant told us we had arrived, I began to get really nervous. I had a bad feeling in my stomach that only got worse as we gathered our things so we could exit the plane. I was in Patrick’s shoes then, trying to fix my appearance at the last minute as if it would help.
“Don’t be so nervous,” he told me.
“I can’t help it. I want this to go well,” I answered as I moved a few pieces of my hair around.
“Your hair looks good the way it is. You already looked beautiful before you started messing with it. Everything’s going to be fine,” Patrick assured me. I knew I would have to take his word for it. I took a deep breath and took his hand, which he was holding out for me. When we stepped off the plane, I exhaled.
The airport was a little busy, so a couple minutes passed before Patrick and I located his parents. I think we both found them at the same time. When we got to them, he said hello and hugged them. Once that was over, all eyes were on me.
“Hello! You must be Lena,” his mother said.
“Yep, that’s me!” I answered.
“It’s nice to finally meet you! I’m Donna,” she said, pulling me into a hug.
“She’s a hugger,” Patrick’s dad chuckled. “I’m Patrick Senior. Nice to meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you,” he said as he shook my hand.
“It’s nice to meet you too, both of you,” I answered, smiling. We left the airport and piled into the Kane’s car. I had grown so accustomed to Patrick’s Hummer and my Jeep that this car felt strange to me. I didn’t have time to be bothered by it, though. I was asked plenty of questions during the car ride to Pat’s old home, plus I had plenty of scenery to take in. Buffalo was great. I could see why Patrick missed it there.
After a relatively short drive, we got to his old home. It was a decent size, and it was attractive looking on the outside. It was outside the hustle and bustle of downtown, in what looked to be the perfect little neighborhood.
“Ready to meet my sisters?” Patrick asked as we pulled into the driveway.
“Yeah, definitely,” I said. I was a lot less intimidated by them than I was by his parents. Not that they were scary or anything, but I assumed it would be harder to please them. Patrick’s sisters were young and fun, from what I had heard. I was sure I wouldn’t have any trouble getting along with them.
“I’m home!” Patrick hollered when we entered the house. It seemed very homey and comfortable inside, but it looked appealing too. I forgot all about the looks of the house quickly, though. Suddenly there were girls running to the door from every angle. Or at least, from three angles. All three of Patrick’s sisters attacked him with a group hug before they noticed me.
“Well, are you going to introduce us or not?” Erica asked. She was the oldest of his sisters.
“Lena, these are my sisters. Erica, Jessica, and Jacqueline,” he said, pointing to each girl as he said their name. I couldn’t help but notice how stunning they all were. I had to admit, they were an attractive family, Patrick and his sisters and his mother as well, only excluding his father because I never saw anyone’s dad that way.
“Hey Lena, it’s nice to meet you!” they all said, smiling at me.
“Nice to meet you all too,” I answered.
“Well, would you like a tour of the place?” Patrick asked.
“Of course,” I replied.
“I don’t need your help, by the way,” he told his sisters, who seemed eager to come with. He led me through the house without them trailing behind. I couldn’t help but smile when we got to his old room. He still had all this old trophies and medals there. It was as if he had never left.
“Aw, look at you!” I said as I picked up a picture frame with an old photo in it. It was him with his sisters, when they all were younger.
“Oh, shut up!” he said, stealing the picture from me.
“What? You’re adorable in this picture!” I laughed.
“So I’m not adorable now?”
“Definitely not. Puberty did nothing for you,” I said sarcastically.
“Ouch, I better go get some ice for that burn,” he answered as he pretended to leave.
“Wait, come back! I’m only kidding!” He slowly made his way back into the room and placed his hands on my waist. “Can you forgive me?” I asked.
“I guess,” he decided after letting out an overly dramatic sigh. He pressed his lips against mine sweetly. I pulled away and tried to leave his grasp to check out more pictures, but he pulled me back in. “Hey! I’m not done!” he said. This time he kissed me a little more aggressively. Normally I would have been fine with it, but the fact that we were in his parents’ house was very clear in my mind when he prolonged the kiss.
“Hey! Your parents and sisters are downstairs!” I reminded him.
“So? They’re downstairs. We’re upstairs. What’s the difference?” I guessed he had a point, so I didn’t reject him when he kissed me again. Or at least, not until I realized that his hands were slowly moving lower.
“Okay, if you’re not going to keep it PG then I’ll just ditch you and hang out with your sisters,” I warned him.
“This is perfectly PG,” he said.
“Okay, whatever you say Mr. Wandering Hands.”
“My hands are clearly just touching your back!”
“Let’s be real here, your goal probably wasn’t to stop at my lower back,” I teased him.
“You don’t know that,” he smirked.
“I’ve got a pretty good feeling that I’m right,” I told him. After that I got to finish looking at his memories that had stayed in his room throughout the years and then we finished the tour. By then, his sisters had joined us and we decided to play Mariokart. We all were pretty competitive, but in the end it was Jessica who beat us all.
When our Mariokart tournament was over, it was time for dinner. Donna made a meal that included my favorite food: fettuccine alfredo. I knew that Patrick had told her it was my favorite and I was really grateful that she had made it. It actually was very good, and I made sure to let her know that.
After dinner, we had a game night, of sorts. We played Apples To Apples, Life, and a shortened version of Monopoly. I got to know Patrick’s family pretty well, and they made me feel at home. By the end of the day I actually felt comfortable talking with his parents and I was friends with his sisters. To me, it was a success.
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11/1/14