Therapy is Good for the Soul

Tyler dropped Bailey off at her apartment so she could change before heading to TD Garden. Freddy picked her up about an hour later, and then went to get Tyler’s family to grab a light dinner before the game. As soon as Freddy retrieved their tickets from will call, they decided to head to their seats. Since they arrived in the middle of warm-ups there was no time to visit Tyler before the game.

“Where are you taking us?” Ms. Seguin asked Freddy.

“To our seats.”

“You mean we aren’t sitting in the family box?” Candace appeared to be irritated by that notion.

“Tyler and several guys on the team think Bailey is their lucky charm so they like us to sit close to the ice so they can see her.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Candace, watch your language!” Ms. Seguin snapped at her daughter.

“You know how superstitious the guys can get. They’ve been playing extremely well and don’t want to jinx anything.”

“I think it’s crazy too, but the team insists we sit down here. They’ve even upgraded the seats for Bergy’s program to be closer to the ice.”

“Bailey, that must make you feel very special.” Ms. Seguin said as they continued making their way down to loge section 21.

“Actually, it makes me a bit nervous. That’s a lot of pressure if they don’t win. I don’t want them to hate me.”

“Like that would ever happen.” Freddy chimed in.

“They don’t have a perfect record, so clearly the team still thinks you’re lucky.”Cassidy added.

“Either that, or it’s just an excuse my son uses to get you to come to all of his games and keep an eye on you. I know he’s very protective of you, Bailey.”

“Go ahead Bailey, tell them the record for games you’ve attended”

Bailey’s pale skin once again turned rosy as she began to fiddle with her fingers. “They haven’t lost in regulation any time I’ve been here this season.”

“Tell them everything.”

“Fine, they’ve won all but 3 games in regulation and only lost those in a shootout. It has nothin to do with me; the team is just incredible this year!”

“Wow! That’s impressive on any level, but I can see why the boys don’t want to take any chances. It’s quite cute that these grown men still have superstitions.” Ms. Seguin gave Bailey’s hand a squeeze.

When they finally reached their seats Freddy sat next to Candace with Cassidy flanking her other side, while Bailey sat between Tyler’s mom and Cassidy. Tyler’s mother and sister were surprised that Bailey actually understood the game, considering the previous girls he introduced them to, could care less. The more time they spent with Bailey, the more they liked her and believed she was a perfect fit for Tyler. The game was a close one, but in the end the Bruins were victorious, defeating the Penguins 3-2. After the game they met Tyler in the family room and chatted for a short bit. Freddy drove Ms. Seguin back to the hotel because it was on his way to Christina’s. Everyone else went back home with Tyler.

“So where are we going tonight?” Candace asked as they stepped into Tyler’s condo and took off their coats.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to sit right here and cuddle with my girlfriend while we watch a movie.” Tyler plopped down on the couch and wrapped his arm around Bailey’ shoulder pulling her into his chest. Bailey and Cassidy both laughed.

“I want to go out!”

“Too bad, we’re in for the night.”

“Tyler that’s not fair! We’re only here one more day.”

“And?”

“And, that means we have to go out tonight!”

“Candace, what do you not understand? I don’t want to go out.”

Candace walked over to stand in front of her brother and Bailey. “Why? Because of her?” She spat out, pointing to Bailey.

“No, I just don’t feel like it! Now stop being such a bitch!”

“Bitch? The only bitch here is your girlfriend!”

Bailey got up from the couch. “I think maybe I should leave.”

Tyler grabbed Bailey’s wrist and pulled her back down. “NO! You’re not leaving! If anyone leaves it’s going to be her!”

“That’s right, kick me out; your own flesh and blood! I shouldn’t be surprised since you obviously think her family is more important than your own.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You’ve never missed practice for us, but you did for her! You chose her over us for Christmas.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! You were on a cruise for Christ’s sake! We celebrated before you left. Excuse me for not wanting to be alone on a holiday.”

“You don’t get it! She’s changed you and you’re just too blind to see it. We use to always go out and have fun together. She’s taking away my fun loving, likes to have a good time brother.” Candace broke down in tears.

Tyler stood up and tried to pull his sister into a hug, but she pushed him away. “I’m still that guy! I’ve just grown up a lot in these past 5 months and yes Bailey is a big reason for that. Candace, she makes me a better man. I wish you could see that.”

Bailey wasn’t sure if she’d make things worse or not, but she had to try. “Candace, I promise I would never take Tyler away from his family! I know how much y’all mean to him!I’m sorry if I’ve done somethin to give you the impression otherwise.”

“Bay, you didn’t” Bailey put her finger up to stop Tyler.

“Tyler, you may not think so, but obviously Candace does. It sounds like y’all normally go out when she’s here. I don’t want you to change your traditions just because of me. Your sisters don’t get to see you as much as I do; so you should spend as much time with them as you can when they’re here. Look, if Michael ditched me for a girl he saw all the time, I’d probably be pissed too. Please try to see her side.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m sayin, you need to take your sister out and show her a good time.”

“Really?” Candace wiped her eyes and stared at Bailey in shock.

“Yes, really. Now go change.”

“What about Cassidy?” Tyler asked.

“She’ll be fine watching a movie or something. Won’t you Cass?

“Cassidy and I can hang out getting to know each other better while y’all are out. If that’s ok with her?”

“Sounds like fun to me!” Cassidy replied.

“So you’re not coming with us?”

“Candace, I’m not Tyler’s keeper. We do separate things all the time. Go have fun with your brother!”

“Thanks!” Candace smiled as she ran off to the guest room.

Tyler looked at Bailey stunned by the gesture she just gave his sister before pulling her into an embrace. “You’re a saint! I can’t believe how calm you were after all the crap she said about you and has yet to apologize for by the way.”

“I get it; she loves you and is afraid to lose you. I think she needs more time to decide if she can trust me. Hopefully we can be friends over time, but in order to make that happen you have to go get ready. Now scoot!” She pushed Tyler towards his bedroom.

Tyler and Candace cleaned up and caught a cab about 20 minutes later to go to the Greatest Bar. While they were away, Bailey and Cassidy enjoyed getting to know each other better. They talked about everything from music, to fashion and boys. As the girls became hungry, the topic eventually transitioned to being all about food and cooking.

“Cassidy get in here, I’m going to teach you how to bake my famous brownies.”

“Oooh, trust me when I say you don’t want my help. I take after my mom and I know you know what a disaster she is in the kitchen by your little accident this afternoon” Cassidy used air quotes when she said “accident”.

Bailey laughed. “You knew?”

“Please, we all knew. Sorry to break it to you, but you’re not that good of an actress. Nobody’s that clumsy, plus that God awful smell had my mom written all over it.”

“Well dang! I thought I covered pretty well.”

“It’s ok, that was really sweet of you to cover for my mom though.”

“I couldn’t exactly call out my boyfriend’s mom, now could I?”

“Yeah, that probably wouldn’t be a good idea. Although my mom adores you, so I bet she wouldn’t have cared.”

“Well that wasn’t a chance I was willing to take.”

“So, you really think you can teach me to cook?”

“YES! If I can teach Tyler and Freddy, I can certainly teach you.”

“Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you if they come out bad.”

“They won’t, I promise.”

The girls got to work and Bailey really let Cassidy do most of the work with her guidance along the way. Knowing how much Tyler and Freddy loved them, they made 2 batches of the brownies. Once they were done, the girls sat on the couch, began watching “Silver Linings Playbook” , and enjoying a few brownies while they were still nice and warm. Tyler and Candace came home a little after 1:00.

“Y’all are back early, how come?”

“Ask her” Tyler said as he joined Bailey on the couch, kissing her cheek.

“Because you’re a jerk! Tyler scared off every guy that came within 10 feet of me all night. It was ridiculous!”

“That’s not true.”

“It is so! You grabbed the only guy I spoke to, that wasn’t your friend by the back of his shirt and told him to fuck off!”

“He was a creep that was grinding on you. He was too old for you too.”

“We were just dancing! And how the fuck do you know how old he was?"

“He just was! I’m not going to let some asshole take advantage of my baby sister!”

“I’m not a fucking baby! I should be able to talk to anyone I want! UGHHHH! I hate you right now!!!” Candace stormed off into the guest room and slammed the door.


“WOW! Did you really pull a guy by his shirt and cuss at him?”

“Bay, I had too! You didn’t see him; he was all over her. I had to protect her!” Bailey and Cassidy both laughed. “It’s not funny! What was I suppose to do, just let him grope her?”

“I doubt it was that bad. Candace isn’t stupid!” Cassidy said as she and Bailey continued to laugh at Tyler’s expense.

“Whatever, you can believe what you want. I’m going to get a brownie.”

“It’s sweet that you want to protect her. Is this what our… I… I mean your daughters get to look forward to in the future?”

“No, cause that’s not an issue.”

Bailey turned to look at Tyler. “What do you mean, not an issue? Don’t you want kids one day?”

“Of course, but it’s not an issue because I’m not having girls. They’re too much drama!”

Bailey and Cassidy both busted out laughing at his remark.

“You do realize, it doesn’t work that way, right? You don’t exactly have a choice on if you have a boy or girl.”Cassidy ribbed her brother.

Tyler placed the carton of vanilla ice cream he topped his brownie with back in the freezer before plopping back down on the couch. He took Bailey’s hand in his as he spoke. “Fine, but it’s still not an issue because OUR daughters won’t be allowed to date until they’re 30! I’ll lock them in their room if I have too.” Tyler placed an emphasis on the word “our” catching how Bailey stumbled on it earlier and kissed her hand.

“You’re too cute!” Bailey giggled before kissing Tyler’s cheek.

“Glad you think so, ‘cause you’re stuck with me.” He smiled and continued eating his brownie sundae. “Mmmm, this is so good!”

“Glad you like it, because Cassidy made them.”

“Yeah right.”

“It’s true, I really did!”

“Seriously? How? I’ve seen your attempts to bake on Instagram.”

“Bailey taught me. She said she’d teach me more the next time we visit too.”

“Bay, that’s impressive! Maybe you can help our mom.”

“Sorry, but I’m not a miracle worker. I think she may be beyond any help I can offer.” Tyler almost choked on the bite in his mouth at her humorous but truthful remark.

Cassidy’s phone beeped; Candace sent her a text. “Sorry guys, Candace needs me. Thanks again for sharing your secret recipe with me Bailey. Tyler, I’ll see you in the morning. Night!” Cassidy gave Bailey and Tyler a hug before she went into the guestroom to console her sister.


Tyler ate the last bite of his sundae and placed the bowl on the table. He turned to face Bailey and pulled her in his lap. “Alone at last!” He leaned in as she closed her eyes and their lips met. As the heat behind their kiss grew, Tyler’s hands started to wander under Bailey’s shirt and up to the clasp of her bra. She slowly pulled away.

“What are you doin? Your sisters are in the other room. What if they come out and see us?”

“Right, so lets take this to my room and have some fun!” He playfully nipped the side of Bailey’s neck.

“I think you’ve had too much to drink. I should probably get goin.”

“Going? Going where?”

“Home, Tyler. I can’t spend the night with your sisters here.”

“Why not? They’re in the guest room.”

“It just wouldn’t be right. What would they think?”

“They wouldn’t care. Come on, please stay!” Tyler begged while trailing more kisses along her jawline.

“Tyler, I just can’t! Cassidy is still young and impressionable and I’m already on a rocky slope with Candace. And Heaven forbid, they told your mom. I’d be mortified!”

“God, Bay! Why do you have to be such a fucking prude and tease all the time?”

Bailey was stunned by Tyler’s words and just sat there staring at him for a moment. “You think I’m a prude and a tease?” Her shoulders dropped in resignation as she bit her bottom lip and tried to look away. “I… I thought you were ok with waiting.” She stood taking a long, shuddering breath and began blinking rapidly to see past the rim of warm wetness threatening to overspill her eyes. She walked over to the coat closet to grab her coat, scarf, and mittens.

“Come on Bay, don’t be ridiculous and leave!”

“I wouldn’t want to lead you on, so it’s best that I go home. Night.” As soon as the front door closed behind her, she could no longer contain her tears.

Notes

Had to add a bit of drama; hope you like it! Please let me know your thoughts.