James was outside chatting with Paulie and loading their luggage into his car. Ali remained inside, finishing her phone call with her mom.

“I know, Mom. Trust me.”

“You’re in their house, so just remember you are a guest whether you’re the girlfriend or not.”

Ali rolled her eyes. “Jeeze, have some faith, would you? I got this!”

“Okay! Okay. That’s all I have. But above all – have fun.”

James came in through the front door and gave Ali the nod, signaling she should hurry.

“I will. I’ll call whenever I get back into Pittsburgh, k?” She saw James approaching and he held out his hand for the phone. “Hey Mom, hang on one sec.”

She passed the phone to James. “Hey Mrs. D.” He winked at Ali when they both heard her mom becoming giddy. “You don’t mind if I smuggle your daughter across the border, do you?”

Ali smirked at him. They were quiet as her mom continued talking and James let out a laugh.

“You’re welcome, it was really nothing. Glad you both liked them.” He smiled at Ali and mouthed the word ‘pucks’, and she nodded.

“Oh, I will. She’s in good hands. Good talking to you, Wendy. Tell Jeff I’ll shower him with compliments on the next phone call.”

Ali could hear her mom laughing on the other line. Any time her mom had the chance to talk to James, her voice seemed to go up an octave.

“You too. Later.” James handed the phone back to Ali.

“Hi Mom.” She listened for a few seconds, then laughed. “Okay, I will. Love you too. Bye.”

James’ face was serious as Ali hung up. “She has a boner for me, I know it.”

“Gross.” She grabbed her purse and her jacket. “We all set? Is Paul ready?”

“All set!” When she headed for the door, James gently pulled her back, giving her a quick kiss. “This means a lot to me…that you’re coming home, seeing where the greatness all began.” This made her laugh, but James was serious (kind of). “For real, babe. It’s big for me.”

“I know.” Ali ran her hands along the lapel of his gray pea coat. “It means a lot to me, too. And I’m excited.”

That made James the happiest. The fact that she was so excited, it made him feel amazing. He was nervous to show her his roots, but she seemed so game for it that he tried not to worry too much.

“Thank you.” He kissed her forehead. “Now let’s go before Paulie gets all whiny.”

* * *

One flight and a few hours later, they were on their way in a rental car to James’ hometown. He drove, of course…and Ali sat staring out her window, watching a much whiter landscape pass by outside. She’d been to Toronto, but that was about her extent of knowledge for Ontario. The weather was shitty in Pittsburgh when they left, but a sunny, brisk November day welcomed them as they pulled the rental car into Whitby.

“So be watching out your window” James said, peeking over her to see out the window as well. “It should be right over there….”

He turned the wheel and Ali watched as a giant frozen pond appeared in what looked like a city park. It was pretty sparse, with the snow being the only thing that occupied the field before them, but the pond was unmistakable.

“Don’t tell me” she said, smiling at him. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.” James had a longing in his eyes as he looked past her out at the park. “Grew up playing there with my brothers.”

The car slowed and Ali got a better look. She gazed out at the ice, it’s shiny surface reflecting the sunlight and making it glisten. “This is really cool, James. I can almost picture you out there as a kid.”

He nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m sure my mother will force pictures on you when we get there.”

As James pulled away, Ali took another glance at the pond, smiling to herself. They took a few more streets and came up on a cozy little neighborhood. Before she knew it, Ali was staring at James’ childhood home. It was expansive, but a totally normal looking house with multiple peaks and a large garage. He pulled the car up onto the driveway, then looked at Ali.

“Home” He felt nervous again, but Ali’s smile calmed him yet again.

“I love it” she said. “Now let’s go, I’m dying to see how dorky your old bedroom is.”

Before the pair could even get out of the car, a younger, blonde haired girl came bounding out the front door.

“James!”

He barely got out of the car before his sister was hugging him. Ali thought it was the cutest thing.

“Becca, you’re nuts!” he said, laughing at her enthusiasm. “We just saw each other like three months ago!”

“I don’t care!” She let him go, looking immediately at Ali. “Oh my god, you must be Ali?”

“And you must be Rebecca!” She accepted James’ younger sister in a giant hug. She noticed right away that even his sister was taller than her. “You’re gorgeous. Way cuter than James” she told Becca.

“I think so too!” she joked. Her blue eyes were as animated as the rest of her. “Wow, though. James wasn’t lying.” She was looking Ali up and down in approval. “Thank god, I can’t handle him bringing another dumb slut around the house.”

Ali raised her eyebrows, looking over and James. He shrugged.

“Don’t worry” Rebecca whispered, pulling her closer, “he never liked any of them anyways. I knew what he was after. But he hasn’t said anything like that about you.”

Not knowing exactly how to take that, Ali just laughed. “Well, I guess that’s good.”

“Oh hell yeah it is!” she replied. “You don’t understand. James is an idiot. You’re like the first girl he’s ever brought home that my parents actually liked. He doesn’t do this.”

“Hey, uh….I hate to ruin your girl time, but you want to at least carry something for me, Beck?” James yelled from behind an open trunk.

She rolled her eyes and hugged Ali one more time. “I couldn’t wait to meet you. You already seem cool.”

“Correction – she is better than cool.” James slammed the trunk and brought their luggage around, shoving a bag at his sister. “Becca’s a bit intense, babe, but she calms down after a while.”

“I actually hope she doesn’t.” She smiled at Rebecca, who made a face at James.

“She’s on my side already, see?”

James nudged her to start walking towards the door with his bag. “Is Mike here yet?”

“Ugh, don’t get me started on him” Rebecca said, leading them towards the house. “He pisses me off so bad. He called me during my date last night like eight times.”

“Stop!” James stopped walking, and Ali almost bumped into him. He was smiling, his mouth open and a look of surprise on his face. “You’re kidding me….a date!?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” His sister glared at him.

“I, just….” James searched for his words. “Just….wasn’t expecting that.”

“Don’t you start on me, either. Pete threatened to chaperon.”

She opened the front door and yelled to her parents that they arrived. James smiled at Ali, and took her hand in his as they went inside. It was another very animated greeting as Debra and Peter welcomed her into their home.

Peter gave Ali the grand tour of the house, spending extra time on showing her all of James’ awards and trophies from his childhood. James hung back, trying not to feel embarrassed that his father was smothering Ali, but she seemed to be enjoying herself. Every now and then, she glanced back at gave him a comforting smile, before turning her attention back his dad. If James could’ve told her right then that he loved her, he would have.

His father was pointing to an older picture of James, the one that he absolutely hated, from when he was in his minors. He braced himself as Ali leaned forward to get a closer look. She laughed out loud, looking back at him.

“Your HAIR!”

He scratched at the back of his head, trying to ignore how stupid he felt. “Yeah, well….I didn’t always have great hair.”

“Sorry, James.” Peter said. “I had to show her.”

Ali kept laughing. “I mean………is this a bowl cut?” She was trying so hard, but couldn’t help it. The picture of James was too much. His pale little face and his brownish-blonde floppy hair were too adorable, and his crooked smile made it all the more lovable.

“You can stop anytime now.”

She bit the knuckle of her index finger to try and stop. “From start to finish, you have always been adorable, James.”

Peter smiled at his son rather triumphantly. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Quit while you’re ahead, then” James quipped. His arm went around Ali as she came forward.

“Great tour, Peter; thank you! Now I understand the talent behind the pro.” She looked up at James, pride in her eyes.

“I enjoyed it” Peter said. “Well you two, I suppose I’ve sucked up enough of your time. I’m going to go help Deb with dinner; Mike should be here in the next 30 minutes, so it’s the last moment of peace for us all.”

When he left them, James gave a nod towards the steps. “Upstairs?”

“Sure.” Ali let him lead, and they went up to the second floor. They would be staying in what used to be James’ old room, but very little of his youth was still present. There were a few old hockey pennants still hung on the light blue walls, and a couple of trophies were lined along the top of his dresser. Other than that, it had become somewhat of a storage room. Boxes lined one of the walls, marked for various holidays.

After he closed the door, James fell back onto the bed with a heavy thump, and Ali joined him. They lay there, staring at the ceiling in silence for a moment. When Ali looked over, James’ eyes were closed.

“Tired?”

He nodded. “A little. You?”

“A little.” She felt a bit more keyed up since she was the guest and it was a whole new house and a whole new experience. Even if she wanted to nap, she probably couldn’t.

“Sorry about my dad.”

“Pfft, James…really?”

“I wouldn’t have shown you all that stuff” he said, turning his head to look at her. “I mean, there’s already plenty of evidence of my talent…”

Ali giggled softly. “Oh hush. I think it’s great. It’s cool to see how far you’ve come. Not a lot of people are lucky enough to get to see that, and I am.”

Their eyes met again and he smiled. “Thank you.”

She lifted a finger and traced his bottom lip. “Thank you for bringing me.”

James leaned in and kissed her, her fingers still lightly touching his face. Their kiss was just getting deeper as the door to the bedroom flew open abruptly, scaring them.

“Becca, you owe me twenty bucks!” Mike shouted. “I told you they were making out!”


* * *


Dinner went better than James expected. Mike and Rebecca held the conversation most of the time, with James interjecting now and then when it turned to hockey. Ali even got into the mix, getting a good back-and-forth going between her and Mike over various topics. James didn’t think he laughed as hard as he did when Mike tried challenging Ali on her hockey knowledge. She successfully obliterated any stereotype he formed prior to meeting her, leaving him speechless.

When they had all finished eating, Ali offered to help Debra clean up. This left Mike and James to catch what was left of the football game in the living room.

As soon as they were alone, Mike slapped James in the arm. “Dude. Ali.”

James looked at him as he settled onto the couch. “What?”

Mike looked as if something just him in the face. “You didn’t tell me she had an ass like that!”

“It’s not like I’m going to tell you shit like that” James said with a laugh. “Now give me the remote.”

Mike tossed it to him, his face still serious. “I can’t believe you hit that regularly.”

“Jesus, Mike!”

“I’m just saying...”

The brothers looked at each other. Back in the kitchen, James heard his mother and Ali laughing together, and then their voices lowered again.

“Just tell me one thing” Mike said, leaning towards him. “Tell me she’s fucking phenomenal. Just tell me that much.”

This was how it always was with Mike. James was used to his brothers being on him about the girls he brought home with him, mostly just to see them leave the next morning. It wasn’t often he brought a girl home who he had intentions of keeping longer than it took to fuck her. He supposed he understood why his brother was impressed.

Shifting his eyes to the kitchen, James nodded. “Yeah, she’s pretty fucking talented.”

Mike did a slow clap. “About time you FINALLY get it right.”


* * *

On the other side of the wall, Ali finished helping with the dishes and cleaning up with Debra. She excused herself to use the restroom, and checked her phone in the process. She thought she felt it vibrating a few times in her pocket during dinner, but waited until now to check. Upon doing so, she saw a text from Brittany, and two from Sid. Brittany’s was the standard OMG how is it going?!?, but Sid’s were a little unexpected, and a little different:

5:23pm: Hey! Thinking about ya…wondering if you made it okay. Whitby’s a pretty cool town, so I hope you enjoy it.

6:01pm: Not sure what I was thinking, but I probably shouldn’t text you when you’re busy. Just disregard the last text. Have fun, and we’ll talk soon.

The second text was typical Sidney. She figured he probably spent that half hour thinking about whether or not he should’ve sent it. It made her feel kind of bad, so she sent him a text back.

Hey you. No need to apologize! I’m busy, sure, but texts are freebies. :-) Text anytime, no rules, k?

Putting her phone back in her pocket, she finished up in the bathroom and then headed into the living room where James and Mike were.


* * *


James was in the process of trying to hide a guilty smile after Mike’s slow clap when Ali appeared in the living room. He noticed the sleeves of her navy blue sweater had been rolled up and her hair was tied back loosely. When she sat down next to him, James pulled on the elastic band that held her hair back, letting the length spill over her shoulders.

“Much better” he said with a grin. “Help Mom?”

“Yep! Did some dishes…earned some points…” she replied, leaning into him. “All in a day’s work.”

James let Ali lie down so her head was on his lap, which was when he caught Mike looking over at him. Mike’s eyes went to Ali’s ass, then back to him. James shot him a dirty look, hoping Ali didn’t notice.

Soon, the rest of the Neals joined them in the living room and they finished up watching the game together. Rebecca had class the next day, so she went to bed earlier than the rest of them, but James and Ali weren’t far behind. Since James was already pretty tired, they agreed the next night would be for going out.

As James showered and readied for sleep, Ali checked her phone before putting it away and charging it for the night. Sid sent a response to her earlier text, as she thought he would:

Again, Nealer is lucky to have such a sweet girl. Thanks for the text.

Two sentences, and they both made her smile. She deleted his and Brittany’s texts, then powered down left it to charge for the night. She was hopping into bed when James entered in a towel.

“You tease” Ali remarked, getting under the covers.

He dramatically let the towel fall, and everything that made James Jameswas on display before her. He smiled when her eyes moved south.

“Perv.”

Ali rolled her eyes.

He threw on some boxers and slid in next to Ali. It was somewhat of a tight fit, given the bed was a lot smaller than their king size bed back in Pittsburgh. It took him a second to find a comfortable position.

“Damn. Guess this means I’m just going to have to be all over you tonight” he joked.

“Better keep those boxers on, or I’ll do bad things to you, being this close.”

“Who’s the tease now?”

His arm went around her as she turned on her side, snuggling into an inner-spoon position. As they lay there quietly, Ali held onto James’ arm, running her nail along the lines of his tattoo.

“I really like your family” she said.

“They really love you.”

She smiled. “Good, I’m glad. Hopefully they think I’m as fun as I think they are.”

“I wouldn’t even worry about that.” The gentle feeling of Ali’s nail along his arm tickled him in a good way. “Feels good…” he mumbled sleepily.

Ali felt him press a kiss against her neck, and then his arms went slightly limp. She continued to run her nails along his arm, feeling his breathing slow as he fell asleep.


* * *


After a tour of the city and all of James’ favorite spots growing up, they grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to his house to get ready. James called up a few of his hometown buddies, as did Mike, with plans to meet at their go-to bar downtown.

When Ali and James made it back, the house was silent. James ran upstairs to see if either his sister or brother was home, but neither was. His parents’ car was in the garage, but from the looks of it, neither were home either.

“Strange” James said, coming into the living room.

Ali took a seat on the couch. “Everything cool?”

“Yeah, but silence in this house is so rare that it weirds me out a little when it happens.” He sat down next to her, resting his hand on her thigh. “But kind of nice, too.”

“So what’s left for us to do?” Ali asked. “I think you’ve shown me everything from your grade school, to the lake you love, to the different hockey rinks you’ve played in. Is there anything left?”

James grinned and stood up. He motioned for her to follow, and they went upstairs to the room they were staying in. When he closed the door, he pushed Ali on the bed, getting on top of her.

“Hey hey hey” Ali tried to protest, but her mouth was very quickly occupied. His firm body was pressing onto her in very good ways on a very small bed. The whole thing made her feel like she was in college again.

“You asked what’s left for us to do.” James had a twinkle in his eye as he said this. He nuzzled his nose next to hers. “This might be the only thing.”

“I’ve seen all this though” Ali said, giving his hard dick a squeeze. “You’re supposed to show me new things.”

James wanted more of her hand on his dick. In fact, he wanted more of her on his dick than just her hand, even if it was a little weird for him being in his old room with Ali. If told her how many times he had girls on this very bed in this very room, she’d probably kick his ass…but he at least wanted the one he actually loved to join the list.

Ali felt James press into her more, and her hand stayed firmly wrapped around the hardened silhouette beneath his jeans. He moved his mouth down to her stomach, lifting up her sweater to expose the area directly above her jeans. Ali was so easy to get a reaction out of, and when he ran his tongue around her belly button, it was no different. A soft little moan escaped her mouth.

“You’re not getting your way, James, I don’t care if you keep licking me all night and we never go out.” She stared at the ceiling as she felt him nip at the softness of her waist.

“Hey, that’s actually a really damn good idea” he mumbled from somewhere near her hip.

“Okay, switch me.”

James looked up. “Huh?”

“I want on top.”

With wide eyes, he gladly switched to lying on his back with Ali above him.

“If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right” she said, unzipping his jeans. “And you’re going in my mouth.”

James laughed, his hands covering his face and the grin he had out of sheer astonishment. “Are you even real?” he asked. “Ohhh FUCK yes…yes this is very real…” He lost himself in the feel of Ali’s warm, wet mouth as she started working him.

His eyes were about to roll back in his head as he felt her hand join her mouth when neither of them heard the front door close with a sharp thud. Neither of them heard Mike come up the stairs either, but when he knocked, Ali and James about fell off the bed.

“The fuck do you want?” James yelled, trying desperately to shove his dick back into his jeans despite the erection he was dealing with.

Ali hurried and held the door shut with one hand, watching to make sure James had it put away before she let go. She was still wiping her mouth when Mike stormed in.

With a pillow over his lap, James rested his hands behind his head. “Sup, Mike?”

Mike looked between the two, his sharp eyebrows creasing. “Hey, James……..” He looked at Ali, and she simply waved. “So, uh…we still on for later?” he asked James.

“10 o’clock go-time. Ty said he’d drive us if we needed a DD.” James glanced over at Ali, and she licked her lips slowly, teasing him.

“Sweet, I’ll take him up on the offer.” Mike turned to go, looking at Ali again. “You look guilty, by the way.”

“I am guilty, by the way.” She smiled.

Mike looked back at James. “You fucker.”

James shrugged. Mike left the two alone, shutting the door behind him. Ali looked at James.

“Continue?” she asked, smiling.

“You bet your sweet ass.”

Ali locked the door, then resumed her position over James on the bed. He remained relaxing against his hands, knowing full well he never had a blow job like the one he was about to get on that bed, nor would he allow another one again unless it was Ali.


* * *


A freshly showered and dressed James and Ali finally made it downstairs to join Mike and their hometown friend, Ty. Ali was starting to wonder if everyone in Whitby was tall, or if she was just short. Ty was built exactly like Mike and James: tall, lanky, but with short cut blonde hair and hazel eyes. His smile was super friendly, and he was really cordial to her when they met. She instantly liked him, especially seeing how much of a companion he was to James and his brother.

Ty drove the four of them to the bar, which was 15 minutes from James’ house. Walking in was like walking back in time, at least to James, as most of the people there were locals and they all knew the names James and Mike Neal. It was a large sized bar, with a vaulted ceiling made of shiny planks of cedar wood. Giant wooden beams stood here and there throughout the bar, adding to the rustic atmosphere. Several pool tables stood near the far end of the room, and an empty stage for live performances took up space near the corner.

“This place is great! I love the feel of it” Ali said, leaning in to James.

“Told ya.” He took her coat, setting it on one of the larger tables to claim it.

Though the crowd wasn’t huge there, the locals were out in full force, making it the reason James loved going there. He got to see everyone he wanted most often, all in one place.

When he and Ali made it up to the bar, two of his hometown friends were already standing there ordering drinks. There was a raucous greeting, then James snaked his arm around Ali’s waist, bringing her closer.

“Guys - this is my girlfriend, Allison. Ali – these are just two of the losers I went to high school with, Gary and Liam.”

Ali laughed at James, shaking her head at his introduction. “And I’m sorry for everything he just said” she replied, shaking their hands. “Nice to meet you two.”

Gary gave James a nod. “Nice catch, Nealer. How much did you have to pay her to pretend she’s yours?”

“Sorry, gentlemen…this one actually finds me tolerable.” He glanced at Ali, who patted him on the stomach.

“More than tolerable” she added.

“Not just out for the hockey money?” Liam asked. Something about the smirk on his face bothered Ali when she saw it.

“Listen man, she’s not like the others” James said, defending her.

“Uh huh.” Liam took a sip of his beer and pointed to Ali. “If you come back around next year, I’ll change my attitude.”

“Better pencil it into your calendar then, my friend” Ali replied, somewhat annoyed. “James, I’m gonna grab us a drink. Want anything?”

“I got it, babe.” He placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her away. “Catch you guys later.

Neither talked until they were well out of earshot. “Don’t worry about them” James said, fully aware that Ali was irritated.

She shrugged, pretending it wasn’t a big deal. “Whatever, I’ll just see them next year. I’ll play their game.”

“I love you, you know that?”

She smiled up at him. “Back at ya. Now let’s fucking drink or I’m going to start throwing punches at the next person who says I’m not legit.”

“And this is why I love you” James said with a laugh.

Once at the bar, James allowed Ali room to stand in front of him. His height made it easy to catch the attention of the bar tender from behind her while his other hand remained on her waist. Even in this position, it was clear to Ali how perfectly she fit right into James. She didn’t care if everyone in Whitby was seven feet tall, her 5’4” frame fit perfect in his 6’2”.

They started a tab and took their drinks back to the table to join Mike and Ty. James brought an extra pitcher of beer with him, and Ali had two mixed drinks for herself.

When Ali took a seat, Mike tossed her her phone.“Your phone is going off like crazy.”

“Really?” Ali scooted up onto the wooden stool, taking it from him.

“Yeah, like five texts from someone named Sid…And if it’s Sid Crosby, I’ll be impressed.”

Ali was shocked. “You looked?"

James stared at her, his eyes going dark. “Sid’s texting you?”

Ali glanced between James and his brother. “Yes, but you know it’s nothing like that.”

He felt anger flare within him. “So what the hell does he want?” He felt his jaw clench, but he told himself not to get angry. Sid was the one who fixed things for him and Ali when he needed him most…he couldn’t forget that.

“Really, James?”

“Yeah, really.”

Ali sighed, and brought up Sid’s texts. Quickly, she scanned them, and they were all very benign. If fact, it actually sounded like he was drinking….or that was the impression she got, but she didn’t think Sid went as hard as the other guys on the team.

As a result, she disregarded the first few texts until she came to the final one, and then she halted. Her heart felt like it jumped up into her throat, and the muscles tightened around it, restricting air.

James doesn’t deserve you, Ali.

Quickly, she looked up and saw that James was still staring at her. Thinking fast, she clicked out of the texts. “Sounds like he’s just wishing us a good time. He said to say hi to your folks for him.”

James saw Ali smile as she put her phone back in her purse. He really fucking hated how Crosby had to do that…just had to be friends with her….but he had to get over whatever insecurity he felt. Ali was his, she loved him, that was all.

“You can calm down now, babe” Ali said, sipping her drink. James rubbed her back.

“Sorry…You know how I get.”

“I do. But you don’t have to.” When she said this, she felt horrible. She took another drink and hoped that every sip after that would help her guilt to disappear.


* * *