The Games We Play

Ali shut the door, feeling both excited and nervous. She looked over at James, who was his usual cool, casual self. He sat in the passenger seat, looking quite comfortable.

"Mrs. Neal."

She smiled. "Mr. Neal. Ready?"

"As ever."

James let his girl drive him to her hometown, even though he normally liked to be the one to drive. He was going to take in the sights of a part of Pennsylvania he wasn't familiar with, learning every corner of every road so he could impress Ali later with his knowledge.

"Where's your auxiliary cord?" he asked, cueing up his ipod.

Ali was busy trying to merge onto the parkway. She thumbed towards the middle console and James went to hooking them up with some tunes. When she glanced over, she first noticed how impeccable James' hair looked as he leaned towards her, digging in the compartment separating them. Secondly, she noticed he brought his ipod.

He hooked the cord to the MP3 player and his eyes looked up at her. "Tunage."

"A soundtrack for the trip?"

"You'll like what I have picked out first" James said. "So the question is: are you ready?"

"Fire away, baby!"

James scrolled to the playlist he made last night after Ali was asleep. He titled it "D-Town" and hit play on the first song on the list. The first few notes started to play over the speakers, so he turned it up a little and watched Ali for her reaction.

Her mouth opened when she recognized the song. She looked over abruptly, her dark hair tossing over her shoulders. "What the hell?!?"

James started slapping his knee. "Come on, Als, get into it."

"Mountain Music?" she exclaimed.

"Alabama! A classic!" James bit his bottom lip, moving his head with the twangy country song. When he started tapping his toe obnoxiously, Ali couldn't hold it in. She burst out laughing.

"I do NOT live in the sticks, James!"

"You don't?" He was still into the music, feeling his way through it with every note. "Thought for sure you did."

She looked over, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Not digging it? I got others."

"Oh yes, and I bet they're all gems like this one."

James willingly obliged. He hit the next song, also anticipating her reaction as much as he did during the previous song. Once again, Ali heard the first couple of notes and started laughing once more.

"Babe!"

"Not a fan of Alan Jackson either?" He feigned surprise. The whole purpose of putting together the list was songs was to get her going.

"Gone Country? Really?" Ali looked over at him. "I guess that's a littlebetter..."

"Ahhh! Seeeee?" James let the country song play, sitting half on his side to he could just look at Ali and see all her reactions. "You're fun, you know that?"

She smiled, but kept her eyes on the road. "Thank you."

"No, really."

They looked at one another and smiled, but then James started to head-bob again, and Ali went into a new fit of giggles.

"Stop! Country isn't a good look on you..."

James totally disagreed. "It doesn't GET any better than this! There was no way I was heading to north central PA and not listening to at least some country music." He caught her dark brown eyes flicking over at him, so he reached over and took her hand that had been resting on her thigh. "We are going into the woods, aren't we?"

Ali sighed in defeat. "Yes....."

"So when we go back to the Burgh, I can say I've officially--"

"--Gone country?!?" They said it in unison, and they both laughed.

James couldn't wait to get there.

* * *

They rolled into Ali's hometown a few hours later, and James couldn't stop looking out the window. He was actually leaning forward, looking everywhere he could, imagining a young little Allison growing up there. He could totally see it.

"What's that?" He pointed to what looked like a field surrounded by trees, with a small covered stage near the one end.

"That....that's where the fair is usually held." She checked James' reaction, but he made none. He was still looking out the window. "And that tiny ass stage is where they crown the princess and the queen of the fair."

His blue eyes shot in her direction. "Please tell me..."

"No, I didn't win" Ali answered him. "I didn't even sign up."

"What?!?! Babe!"

"I wasn't always this cute, James."

He rolled his eyes, looking back at the stage as they continued by.

"Although this shouldn't surprise you....But Brittany did, AND she won."

"What!" He laughed heartily. "Damn! I should've guessed! She was my next choice anyway, although I bet you would have beat her." He gave her a wink, but Ali merely shook her head.

"Just wait 'til we get home, you'll see why I didn't bother trying out for it."

It was the one thing Ali was most uncomfortable about, especially whenever she brought a boyfriend home. Though there'd only been a handful who'd met her parents in the past, none of them were as gorgeous as James, and none of them could even spell hockey, let alone play it. So while their opinions mattered in thinking she was a dorky ugly duckling back in the day, James' opinion seemed to weigh a little heavier. The ring on her finger didn't matter.

"Your church?" James asked. They traveled past a stately white building, steeple and all, with tidy landscaping even in the midst of winter.

"Yeah...but I don't go anymore. Obviously."

He looked over, smirking. "Bad girl."

"Whatever." She met his naughty stare. "You're one to talk."

"Yeah, but I'm the one who dishes out the spankings."

"Don't turn me on when there's nothing I can do about it." Ali turned onto a new road; one that was more residential.

"There's always that stage back there--"

Her mouth opened. "Haven't we pushed the limits already with public fucking?"

"You call the locker room public fucking?" James clicked his tongue. "Shame. I had such plans beyond that, because I thought that was for beginners."

Ali knew he was all talk. He was all talk for the entire night following their romp about how awesome it had been, how he had new jerk-off material, how he always wondered what it would be like, how he'd never tell and it would always be there little secret, and on and on and on. Ali wondered about that, because she was absolutely dyingto tell Brittany. If she told Becky, Becky would pass right out...so she thought Brittany was the safe choice. But if James wasn't telling, she wouldn't either.

I'll never be able to watch another In The Room episode ever againshe had thought to herself that night. She also decided it was a good problem to have.

As they drove through a series of streets in Ali's quaint neighborhood, James went quiet again. She looked over to see him nodding his head in approval.

"I like it already. It's cute."

Ali pulled onto a dirt road. "Well get ready, because here we are." They went a bit of a distance more, and then entered a paved driveway that led up to a comfortable cedar and stone house. As James first set his eyes on Ali's childhood home, it was very close to how he always envisioned it. It was a nice home, humble in size but in tip-top shape and nestled into a thicket of trees covered in a light dusting of snow.

James looked over at Ali and smiled. "Nice locale, babe."

She put the car in park and waited for the madness. When the front door opened, first came a very bouncy, wiggly Chester; his little nub of a tail wagging so quickly his entire backside was moving. James bent at the knees and let the little guy jump into his lap, scratching and petting and taking excited kisses from the Corgi.

Ali came around to his side and watched as her parent's dog and her fiancé had a full conversation in between kisses. While Chester stayed standing on his tiny legs with his two front paws on James' lap, James looked up at Ali with a huge grin. "Coolest little guy ever."

She mussed up James' hair, enjoying the sight and feeling her heart nearly burst from the cuteness.

Wendy and Jeff were next to come out to greet her and James. It was the usual hugging and fussing by Wendy over both her daughter and James. The big story upon this particular welcoming was Ali's brand new engagement ring.

"My GOD" Wendy said, holding Ali's hand out. Her eyes started to glisten. "Oh, Jeff...look..."

James stood back, arms crossed over his chest and his posture straightening a little. He was proud of that ring, and was proud of the woman who wore it. Any time he got to see someone gush over it, he knew he'd chosen well...in both the ring and the woman.

Jeff was equally impressed. He patted James on the back in a congratulatory manner, which also made James feel good.

They all moved inside, and Jeff retrieved the few pieces of luggage that his daughter and James had brought. Wendy had really cleaned the place up, Ali noticed. Everything was tidy and clean and straightened up. She also noticed her father had gotten a haircut. Ali and her mom winked at one another when James took a second to comment on how sharp Jeff looked. When he'd given Jeff the compliment, James looked over at Ali, hoping she picked up on the extra points he was trying to score. Judging by her smile and the light in her eyes, he knew she did.

They gave James the tour, though it was short since it was a smaller house. Then, it was time for Ali to show James her old room, which she was both excited to show and nervous to show. While Wendy had rearranged things quite a bit and it was much more bare than it used to be, it still had a lot of "old", dorky mementos Ali had from her high school days. Before she led James into the room, she halted him.

"You are only allowed to make fun of me for a limited amount of minutes in a day for what you're about to see."

James nodded. "Sure thing, Als."

He had the look on his face that meant he intended on making fun of her as much as he wanted. Ali figured it was no use anyways, so in they went.

The first thing James noticed was the amount of pictures that were still in frames and hanging up on an old bulletin board on the wall near the computer desk. He recognized a younger Brittany in some of the pics, but a lot of the others were strangers to him. Glancing around, he saw Ali's diploma from college in a bold frame hanging on an opposite wall. There was a pennant from her high school, and a towel from a Steelers game. Her bed was covered in a plain lilac colored comforter, with darker lilac sheets and white pillows.

"Nice bed" James muttered. He tapped her on the lower back to let her know he was joking.

"At least it's not a twin bed."

James got a hard nudge in his side, and it was deserved. Ali was right: hers was at least a full, if not a queen, bed...His bed in Whitby was still the same old too-small twin he always had.

Wendy and Jeff had left them alone, so James was free to say a little more than if her parents were still with them. He leaned in to one of the pictures in a black frame with silver letters that spelled outGirlfriends. It was a teenage Ali, a teenage Brittany, and another girl. They were all in formal dresses with fancy up-dos.

"Whoa, was this high school?" he asked, surprise in his tone.

"Mm hm." Ali stepped up, bending over with James. "Brittany, obviously. And her sister, Brooke."

"Brittany doesn't look any different. Is that bad?" He looked over to see Ali shaking her head 'no'.

"She's always been tall, gorgeous, and smiley."

"Pfft." James picked up the frame and pointed to Ali on the far left of the photo. "THIS is a gorgeous, smiley girl." He meant it, too. While the younger Ali in the picture was a looker, he could see that, he still thought the slightly more mature woman standing next to him was way better.

Ali rolled her eyes. "You don't have to flatter me."

"I'm not!" He set the frame down and went over to her small bulletin board. He pointed at another picture of Ali in college at a football game, surrounded by friends. "You know who I spot first?"

She laughed. "Well duh, James - I'm the only one you know!"

"FALSE." He pointed at another girl in the group who was posing for the picture. "She's pretty cute. You know. Blonde, nice rack..."

"Ugh."

"Hang on!" he said, tapping Ali on the nose. "But do you see her smile compared to....say....oh, I don't know, this one?" He pointed at Ali in the picture, who still had the same bright smile as she always had; the one James had fallen in love with.

"Thanks" Ali responded bashfully. "Really."

He came over and kissed her; just a short one, but a tender one. "This is so cool, by the way. SO cool to see all this, and to be here."

"But I haven't showed you the ugly pictures yet."

"They don't exist, that's why."

"OHH yes they do." Ali laughed a little, wondering if she should show him the uber-dork pics that were in her parents' room. "Maybe later though. There's so much else I want to show you."

"Yeah?" James was excited. He wanted it all. He wanted every thing Ali wanted to show him, everyone she wanted to introduce to him, everywhere she wanted to take him. Being there and learning more about Ali was one of the coolest experiences, with maybe the exception of having sex with her in his locker room.

"You know I've never been taken home by a girl, right?" he said.

"What?" Ali's eyes went wide. "You lie."

"Nope. Never."

Ali's mouth opened and a laugh came out. "How can that be?"

He shrugged, and his face fell a little. "Guess they only cared about one thing." James read the confused look on Ali's face and smiled. The fact she didn't know what he was talking about told him he was truly in a real relationship. "The NHL, babe."

"Ahhh." That made Ali a little sad. She immediately wrapped her arms around James' waist, lacing her fingers together against his hard back. "Fuck those bitches. You're in your future mother and father in law's house now."

I'll never deserve you, but I'll never let you go either. James thought this as his and Ali's lips met once more.

* * *

Dinner was served and Ali and James spent most of it listening to stories of Ali as a child. James was loving it. Ali could've done without it, but muscled through as happily as she could. She could tell James was just sitting there memorizing every tale her mom and dad told for future joking. She knew him too well; all of it would come back to haunt her at some point at James' choosing.

When dinner was finished and James had some lap-time time with Chester in the living room, the couple got ready to head into town. Ali wanted to take James and show him her high school, and all the locations she used to frequent as a teen. Even now, whenever she came home for holidays or during college breaks, she would head down to one of the local bars to hook up with friends she hadn't seen in a while.

This was their plan tonight.

"So you think we'll see some of your old classmates?" James asked her. He tugged a v-neck sweater over his head, straightening it over the white shirt he wore beneath. "And if so, do I look good enough?"

Ali could've slapped him for even asking such a thing. He looked as handsome as ever. Spiked hair, stubble that framed his delicious mouth, all the way down to the hard body that was still noticeably strong and cut beneath his sweater.

"Yep....I'dddd say you look good" she said, eyeing him. "And me?"

Ali turned and lifted her hands to give James a full view of the cable knit, form fitting, gray sweater dress she had on. She left her legs bare, but wore tall socks that fell just below her knees, peeking out from her favorite tall leather boots. While she looked fucking outstanding, James was mostly distracted by the thighs that were begging him to spread that very second.

"Yeah." His voice cracked a little. "Yeah, you put me and every person on this planet to shame, babe."

She smiled. "Good. Let's go impress them."

They went hand in hand out to say goodnight to Wendy and Jeff, telling them they would be back late. James gave Chester a final scratch behind his ear and then the couple headed into town.

While night had replaced day, James could still absorb quite a bit of Ali's hometown. She definitely lived well outside the main part of town, and it took them ten minutes to get from her parent's house to where they would be grabbing drinks. Even though it was the downtown area, it was still pretty small, yet had plenty of character. It was a typical small town in Pennsylvania, but James adored it nonetheless. If it involved Ali, he couldn't hate it.

The bar Ali was taking James to was the place she knew most of her old friends frequented, and was actually one of the better hangouts in town. When they arrived, she put the SUV in park but left the engine running.

"Are you worried someone will recognize you?" It was something Ali was worried about, if only for James.

"Nah. If they do, they do." He looked at her, face calm and eyes cool. "I kind of hope they do, so their friend Allison can brag a little, if she wants."

She smiled. He really is perfect. Feeling a little more relaxed, Ali still had butterflies in her stomach; the same damn ones that always popped up when it came to James. She glanced down at the ring on her finger, realizing she was about to walk into a hometown bar with a professional hockey player as her fiancé. No one would have believed it, but the ring would prove it.

"Alright, let's go."

"One kiss" James requested, pulling her towards him so her lips were his to use. More than anything, he hoped he could help Ali relax a little through the kiss.

When they parted, Ali was smiling. "Thank you."

"Welcome, Mrs. Neal."

Ali pushed him gently. "Not yet!"

"But you have to practice!" James argued. "Fine. I'll hold back. But only tonight."

They left it at that, and together they walked into the bar. The first thing Ali noticed was that the bar was still decorated the same exact way it always was: Pittsburgh sports memorabilia hanging everywhere, neon beer signs, a pool table, and the signature large, square bar in the middle of the room. Country music blared over the speakers; the same songs they always played.

The second thing Ali noticed was her old friend Jackie.

"OH. MY. GOD." Jackie stood up from her seat at the bar. "Ali? Holy shit! When did you get home?"

The two friends hugged. It was the first time since the summer that Ali had seen her. They played volleyball together all four years of high school, and did a fair amount of partying on the weekends when they were in college. Jackie had gone to Slippery Rock, which wasn't too far from Pittsburgh, and often they would road trip to each others' campuses for a weekend of partying.

"Just got in today, actually" Ali answered. "Only here for one night, too."

"That's great!" Jackie was all smiles, but then looked next to Ali at the tall, athletic guy standing next to her. "Hi?"

"Jackie, this is James, my fiance. James - this is one of my best friends from high school, Jackie."

James shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Jackie's face seemed stuck in place. Her hazel eyes shifted over to Ali. "Please tell me you're dating him."

Ali laughed. "Yes..." She held up her hand and met the proud look in James' eyes. "Well....used to, until this happened."

With a gasp, Jackie stared at the ring. She looked up at James again, then back at the ring. "You fucking got engaged and didn't TELL me!?!? ALI!"

James was amused by the way all girls seemed to enjoy gushing over stuff like rings. This time though, he was happy he was the cause of it. As the two girls talked a little, James let his eyes drag across the room, scanning the rest of the large Friday night crowd that was gathered there. Quite a few people were staring at him, but just as many others weren't.

Ali touched his arm. "Want something to drink?"

"Definitely." He put his hand protectively on her back and they headed for the bar. Jackie went with them, but regained her spot where she'd originally been sitting. James noticed she leaned in to a guy sitting next to her, who was now watching him as Jackie talked. He smiled at him, then continued behind Ali.

As the pair stood at the busy counter and waited, James pressed his hips firmly against Ali, his hand sliding from her back to her waist.

"You didn't tell me the entire population of your town hung out here" he said into her ear.

His stubble tickled her ear and sent a chill down her neck. "I told you this was the hot spot here." She smiled back at him. "The ONLY hot spot."

Just as James pressed a kiss to the side of Ali's face, a dark haired guy with a button down striped shirt and worn jeans came up next to them. He pulled Ali's arm, moving her away from James. "Allison?"

"Tony?" Ali's eyes went wide and she laughed. "Oh my God, how areyou?!?"

James watched the two of them hug, noticing Tony's hands slide a little too far down the curve of Ali's back.

"Doing really well, but doing even better now." Tony stood back, holding Ali by the waist. He nodded, his sharp features giving away his state of awe. "Damn. Still look as amazing as I remember--"

"--Tony, did you say?" James stepped up and held out his hand. "James Neal."

Ali watched the two men shake hands, Tony taking a second to study James' face. She wondered if Tony recognized who he was.

"Tony, this is my fiancé, James." She snaked an arm around his waist, letting him know she was still his. "James, this is Tony. We used to go to high school together. He was a year ahead of me, but was close with a lot of us in our grade."

"Yeah, but we found ways to hang out" Tony replied with knowing grin. "Didn't we?"

Ali looked away, keeping her focus on James.

"High school, huh?" James was still gripping Tony's hand hard. He sized the punk up in a matter of seconds, deciding he didn't like the slimy look on his face. He was entirely too cocky.

"Yeah...you could say we were friends in high school" Tony said smartly. He was the first to end the handshake.

Oh Lord, please.... Ali stood between the two of them as they clearly studied one another in a predatory way. The tension was a little uncomfortable, so she squeezed James' waist with her hand.

"Drinks, babe?"

James brought his focus back to her, feeling her hand start to rub his back. "Yeah, let's go."

"I got this" Tony said, butting in. "My treat. It's the least I can do, since I haven't seen you in so long, Allison." Then he looked at James, his dark eyes narrowing in. "And it's the least I can do, since I just met your boyfriend."

"Fiance" James corrected.

"Right. My bad." Tony gave him a fake smile.

I'll kill him if he touches her again. I'll knock his ass out. James gritted his jaw, but Ali's hand was still rubbing his back and it reminded him to stay present. He looked at her and her bright smile and her long eyelashes....and his pounding heartbeat slowed.

"You good?" she asked him.

"Very."

"What do you want to drink?"

"A beer. Anything dark."

She smiled. "Same as always."

James took comfort in just that tiny statement. Ali knew him; they knew one another, and they knew one another well. Whoever this Tony was, or whatever he meant by his statement before, it meant nothing.

Ali leaned in and said hi to the bartender, who she also knew. As they talked and she ordered their drinks, James waited behind, keeping a close distance as Tony leaned against the bar cooly.

"James Neal, you said?"

"Yeah."

Tony nodded. "Pretty big boy for around here. You from here?"

"Canada." James needed him to step back and quit with the questions. Music continued to stream throughout the bar, which provided some noise in between the tense pauses in Tony's questioning.

He snapped his finger. "Ahhh....that's why I've heard of you before!"

James looked at him.

"You play some sport, right? What is it, uh.....soccer?"

"Hockey" James said flatly. It was painfully obvious that Tony was trying to get a reaction out of him. Tony knew damn well he played hockey, he knew damn well he played for the Pens...but James let him drone on.

Tony barked a laugh. "Right - hockey! Whatever...knew it was something weak."

I'll show you weak. One more word. Go ahead, Tony.

Ali turned around to see the two of them staring at one another. She went to hand James his beer, but he now stood facing Tony head on.

"So what's your story, bro?" With at least three inches on him, James had to look down to match his gaze.

Tony shrugged. "No story."

Ali looked between Tony and James. She nudged him with her elbow. "Babe, here's your--"

"--Just that I know your girlfriend has a thing for taking it from behind."

James punched Tony square in the face.

* * *

Notes