Tongue Tied

Nathan hadn't talked to Alex, besides text, since Tuesday night. He had long, hard practices that were causing him to pass out for the entire day as soon as he got back to his hotel room. Kathy was worried about him. He had barely spoken the family as well as his girlfriend. She was told by the team that he seemed a bit distant, which wasn't Nathan at all. She knew he wasn't one to not call Alex constantly when they were apart. She suspected he was lovesick and homesick, both because of the same person. That's when she got an idea, that she was going to run over Graham first, although she was doing it regardless.

"Hun, crazy idea." She called to her husband.

"The last crazy idea you had was a second kid." He mumbled while watching TV.

She smacked his leg. "I think we should fly Alex out." She said with a smile. He burst into laughter. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "That's not the response I was hoping."

"Hun, I already booked everything. She'll be here for the game." He explained.

"Why wasn't I informed?" She frowned.

"I thought you'd say no!" He exclaimed, sitting up.

"Does her mother know?" Kathy asked.

"Yeah. She said she's going to tell her she's going tonight." He furthered the information he had.

Kathy grinned and pulled out her phone. She sent Alex a text.

Miss you hun. Text back when you can.

Alex's face lit up when she saw a text from Kathy. She had been moping in her bed previous to it. She was used to being with the MacKinnon clan everyday and she hadn't seen them in over a week. Kathy and Alex began texting back and forth. Nathan walked into his parents' room, moping as well. Kathy laughed and Nathan looked at her in confusion.

"Alex is so funny, Nate." She shook her head as she continued to type.

He furrowed his brows in a mix of horror and shock. "Why are you texting my girlfriend?"

"Alex is my friend." Kathy stated.

He shook his head. He typed a message about the situation to Alex. She replied with a joke about how she was going to text his dad next. He laughed a bit when he read it but it quickly faded. He looked up at his parents in their own worlds.

"I'm gonna go do something and kill time." He mumbled as he turned away.

Kathy frowned, still texting Alex. She told her to call Nathan and she agreed. Nathan walked down the hall as his phone began to ring. He saw the caller id and sped up to get outside. He answered as he stepped out the doors.

"Hey." He greeted.

"I didn't know if you still had a voice or not." She teased.

"Yeah, I've just been busy and avoiding calling you." He admitted.

"Oh, ouch." She huffed.

"It's not why you think." He sighed. "I just know if I talk to you and hear your voice or if I FaceTime you and see your face, I'll miss you more than I already do."

She frowned. "How many more days?"

"Like four, babe. We'll be together soon." He reassured her.

Alex's bedroom door opened. Bridgette, Leah, Marina, Dana, and Denise walked in. She furrowed her brows at them as Nathan told her a story. Leah laid down beside her and held her ear to the phone. She looked to the other four and mouthed 'Nathan'.

"Hang up the phone." Marina demanded.

"What? No way. This is the first time we've talked in two days." Alex argued.

"I swear it'll be worth it." Dana piped in.

Nathan overheard the conversation. "Al, I have to go meet up with the guys so it's fine if they want you to hang up." He said.

"Are you sure?" She questioned.

"Of course. I love you." He hummed.

She smiled. "I love you too. See you soon."

"We'll talk sooner." He told her before he hung up.

Alex glared at her friends. They all looked around at each other. Their faces had devious grins across them. They were scheming and Alex didn't like it. She crossed her arms to challenge them. They all just laughed.

"Talk." She spat.

"You should probably start packing." Denise shrugged.

"Why?" Alex narrowed her eyes.

"You're going on a little trip." Leah sang as she walked over to Alex's closet.

"What?"

Bridgette smiled as she walked over to her bedroom door. "You're taking a flight to lovely," She pulled the door open to reveal Alex's mom. "Saskatoon! Wait, is it lovely?"

"What?" Alex cried in confusion.

Linda ran in and sat beside Alex. She had everything Graham had sent and paid for. Alex was in shock. She sat up beside her mom as she slowly reached for the tickets in front of her.

"Graham called and said Nathan was bummed out and it was boost his spirits of you were there for the championship. How could I say no?" Linda chuckled.

"Oh my god!" Alex yelped and hugged her mom.

She reached for her phone but Denise grabbed it. "Nathan doesn't know."

Alex nodded. "So I'm surprising him?" She smiled.

"Yes, his parents planned it all." Dana dished.

"God, they're too good to him." Alex shook her head as she stared at the tickets.

"Nathan loves you and they love him so they're clearly gonna bring what keeps him happy." Marina stated.

"Hun, I am happy for you and Nathan. I didn't mean to make you feel different. I just need to keep your head out of the clouds sometimes." Linda told Alex, squeezing her knee.

"I know." Alex smiled, hugging her mom again. "Thank you for letting me go."

"I couldn't say no after Graham paid for it all." Linda winked as she walked out.

All the girls stared at each other as the door shut behind Linda. They all had different thoughts in their heads. Bridgette was wondering how many times Nathan and Alex would do it her first night there. Marina was curious to what sexual greetings they would give each other. Leah was hopeful that Alex would talk to Jo and tell her all about how he was. Dana wanted cute pictures of Nathan and Alex. Denise was just happy for her friends. And Alex? Well she just wanted to see Nathan.

Yeah, she had a great time with the girls the past week, but she missed her boy. She missed his gross beard rubbing against her face when they kissed. She missed running her fingers through his hair. She missed his smelly hugs after games. The things she missed most were falling asleep and waking up in his arms. Or when he'd wake up before her and give her raspberries until she woke up. The thing she missed most of all was his presence. It was different without him around.

"Alex is already fantasizing about their reunion." Bridgette mocked.

Alex rolled her eyes. "How much did you have to convince my mom?" She smirked.

"Well, Sarah texted me about it and told us to persuade Mama Linda." Denise explained.

"So we did a shit load of convincing." Leah added.

"We even made a PowerPoint." Marina cried.

Alex laughed. "You guys are seriously the best." She sighed.

"Who are we to stand in the way of true love?" Dana cocked a brow.

"Okay, seriously. You leave at seven tomorrow so let's go. Get packing." Leah instructed as she tossed Alex's suitcase. "You're there for like four days so we need fifteen outfits."

"That doesn't add up." Marina hissed.

"When you're at a hockey tournament it does." Leah rolled her eyes.

"Not when she's there with her boyfriend." Denise intervened.

"What do you mean seven? Like, in the evening?" Alex finally spoke.

"Seven a.m. Gotta go to Toronto where you'll have a layover for a bit then to Saskatoon goes the loon." Bridgette chimed.

"You'll be there by dinner time, where you'll show up at the team dinner the Mooseheads are having and you'll sit down beside Nathan and act casual." Marina grinned at her own plan.

"Or make a joke, after you sit down beside him, about him looking like your boyfriend from back home." Dana told her idea.

"I'll probably just sit down beside him and like kiss his face." Alex said, a smile on her face. "I seriously can't wait to see him."

"Text him and tell him you're gonna have an early night so he won't text you and you won't spill." Dana demanded.

"Just bullshit and be like, 'feeling sick so I'm gonna head to bed. I love you xoxoxo. Think of me when you jerk it tonight.', along those lines." Denise finished.

"I'm saying everything up to the last part." Alex shook her head as she typed.

"Oh, where's fun Alex?" Bridgette ticked as she helped Leah find clothes.

Nathan read her text and frowned. He usually texted her until he fell asleep. He replied that he loved her too and put his phone face down on the table. Jo looked over at him as he chomped on something. He looked over to some of the guys. They were all fully aware of Alex flying in, they had convinced Graham to do it. Nathan moved some food around with his fork.

"Eat, man! You can't keep up your meaty thighs if you're not eating." Mack teased as he mowed through his steak.

Nathan rolled his eyes as he began to eat. Zach watched him, a frown on his face. All the guys knew Nathan was down because he wasn't with Alex. He was always down when he wasn't with Alex. Zach wanted to tell Nathan that she'd be here soon but he also didn't want the team to kill him. He patted Nathan's shoulder.

"You'll see her soon." Zach reassured him.

"Sooner than you think." Stefan mumbled.

Nathan shook his head. "It's not that I miss her,"

"Oh, c'mon," Jo scoffed.

"No, really! Like, I miss her but we've been apart before. I just feel like her mom hates me." Nathan explained.

"Yeah, it's the law of junior players." Darcy stated. All the guys furrowed their brows at him. "When you're a junior player and dating a girl, you're either constantly taking her away from her family or constantly away from her so automatically, one of parents hate you."

"That does make sense. Surprisingly." Zach said, confused as to Darcy making sense.

"You just have to hang out around her house all summer and get to know her mom." Darcy shrugged.

"I have draft shit and training all summer." Nathan sighed.

Darcy shrugged again. "If you love her, you'll make it work."

Nathan couldn't get Darcy's words out of his head. He thought about them while he laid in bed that night. If you love her, you'll make it work. They way he said if echoed. It was like Darcy was challenging him to prove it over the summer. The next day, Nathan was still hung on it. He thought of it when he went to practice, he thought of it when Alex didn't text him good morning. It was all he thought about.

Alex, on the other hand, could only think about when she'd get to sleep. She had none the night before, which was entirely understandable. She was too excited. The girls stayed over but had all passed out before three. They were all tripping to the airport together. The perks of having a mini-van. Alex said bye to her sister before she left. Partly because she didn't want her sister to come to the airport and partly because she didn't really like her sister. The ride consisted of music blaring out of the speakers and the girls singing along to every song. They were all really sad to be separating after their time together, but they could also tell that Alex wasn't herself without Nathan around.

And now she sat at the Pearson International Airport for her third hour. She was fine sitting on her phone for the time being, but she was getting agitated. Her phone began ringing in the middle of one of her games. It was Nathan. She panicked. She knew she had to think of a reason why she hadn't texted him. She bit her lip as she answered, covering her other ear.

"Hello?" She answered with her best 'sick' voice.

"Holy shit, Al. You sound terrible." He told her.

"Thanks. I feel worse." She sighed.

"That's why I haven't heard from you today." He connected everything.

"I'm sorry. I just hav,"

"Babe, it's okay. Just go back to sleep. Drink lots of fluids." He instructed.

She smiled. "I miss you."

"I miss you. Probably more than you can imagine." He admitted.

"Three days?" She smirked as she said that.

"Yes. I love you." He called.

The speaker announced her flight was ready to board.

She smiled. "I love you too."

Alex slept the entire flight. A nice three hour nap before she got to see Nathan. As the plane began to lower, she smiled to herself. It landed and she felt her stomach flutter. She was almost nervous. She didn't know why. Nathan sounded like he wanted to be with her, yet she was nervous. She let majority of her flight file out before her. The older people and those with children. She smiled at the flight attendants as she stepped off.

Inside the airport, Graham, Kathy, and Sarah were waiting for her. She turned and spotted them. Smiles spread across all three of their faces. She ran the rest of the way to them. She hugged Graham first, thanking him the entire time. She moved onto Kathy who let out a shriek. Alex went to Sarah last who actually lifted her off the ground. They filed over to the luggage claim. Alex found her bag in no time and now they were off to the restaurant the team was at.

"He's probably gonna cry." Sarah stated as the got closer.

"He won't cry. He'll be speechless though." Graham argued.

"Do you think he'll be happy to see me?" Alex asked.

"Oh, hun. You have no idea." Kathy chuckled.

Sarah texted Jo that they were in the parking lot. Jo had made sure to put Nathan with his back to the door by sitting him at the bar. Jo stood from his spot and excused him, pretending he had a call. He walked to the door and opened it. Alex climbed out of the car. She looked up at him and smiled. She walked over, giving him a hug. He smiled as he hugged her tight. She saw Nathan sitting with his head down. She took a deep breath as she approached him. She pulled out the chair Jo was once sitting in and lifted herself onto it.

"I hope this seat wasn't taken." She spoke.

"It is." Nathan mumbled, not looking up.

"That's a shame." She sighed. "I thought I'd sit with you because you kinda look like my boyfriend." His head shot up. She threw out her hands. "You are my boyfriend!"

Nathan grabbed her so quickly, it was almost inhuman. He hugged her tighter than he ever had. She inhaled as she nuzzled her face into his chest. He lifted her off her stool and onto his lap. She chuckled as she sat back. His lips met hers in an instance. He kissed her with everything in him. She pulled away slowly.

"We're in public." She whispered.

"I don't care. I missed you." He breathed as he pressed his forehead to hers. "You're incredible."

"Hey, your parents paid for me to come." She said as she climbed off him.

He looked over to where they were standing. They were at the door still with Jo and Sarah. They were smiling at Nathan and Alex. He walked over, grabbing Alex's hand to pull her along. He let go when he reached his dad so he could hug him. Sarah followed, and then his mom. He got to Jo and shook his head.

"You knew!" Nathan cried.

"Is that fucking Alex?" Matt called from the back. She turned and waved. "Well, shit! I didn't know you were coming today!"

Nathan furrowed his brows. "The entire team knew and kept it from me? Mack kept it from me?" He gasped.

"It was their idea." Sarah pointed out.

"We're the best team ever, kid. Haven't you realized it yet?" Stefan said, wrapping an arm around Nathan's shoulders.

"What's the big occasion? Why is everyone being nice to me?" Nathan asked.

"You're our brother and you've been down. We know that girl over there keeps your mug of a face smiling so obviously we'd bring her out for ya." Stefan explained, squeezing Nathan's face.

Alex looked over from the group of his team mates surrounding her. She tilted her head to the side with a frown as he smiled at her. He waved her off so she turned back to the guys. Nathan was in love. He was head over heels and he was fine with it.

Notes