I quickly packed my last bag for the summer while he was sitting in the empty chair staring out the window.

The drive home was unbearable.

I wasn't sure if I should talk or wait for him, either way, I wish I wasn't there.

James pulled up to the house, the lights turning on as we pulled into the garage. He popped the trunk and carried my bags inside. The house was a mess, he didn't even attempt to clean up, the sink was flooded with dirty dishes and the couch had crumbs on it.

How am I suppose to deal with this clutter every day?

I start cleaning, a brush in one hand and the mini vacuum in the other, I was on a mission to get this house spotless before we left tomorrow even if it meant staying up all night.

"So are we going to pretend like tonight didn't happen or are we going to talk about it?" James was sitting at the island in the kitchen, his Pirates snapback facing backwards. He wasn't making eye contact.

I grabbed the bare plate sitting on the placemat in front of him. He stopped me.

"Tess, we need to talk." He pleads.

"I'm sorry but there's nothing to talk about." The drive home made me realize that I didn't do anything wrong. Okay, so I might have lied about who I was with but it's not like I was with Sid to make out or anything.

Just two friends eating dinner. I don't freak out when he goes out with Paulie or Kuni.

"You lied to me. You were with Sid not Max. Why didn't you just tell me you were going with him?"

"I knew you'd overreact. You haven't been the same since you told me you....since you guys got eliminated."

"It fucking sucks losing, babe. I've never been this close to the Stanley, ya know? But lying to me about being with Sid is what really pisses me off." He huffs.

"I don't know why you're making a big deal about this. It's just Sid." Clearly he doesn't understand that.

"That's my point. It's Sid. Sidney Crosby, the guy who really wants to be with you."

I slam the dishes into the water-filled sink, turning to him with fiery eyes. "Are you kidding me right now? You're bringing this up again?!"

This wasn't the first time that Sid became an issue. I literally just found out that Sid was responsible for James' lack of confidence around me but to find out that my boyfriend is worried my friend might try to steal me from him is just ridiculous.

"Yeah I am. Tess, he has it bad for you! You don't know how bad but we barely talk anymore since you and I started dating. The fact that you even have to hide that you guys hang out, it makes me fucking worried!"

"Worried about what? Me leaving you for him? Get real James, I'd never do that." On the verge of tears, I turn my back away from him, hiding my vulnerability. Showing emotion was always a hard thing for me to do but recently, I've been on this gigantic emotional roller coaster.

"Babe, don't cry, come on. I'm sorry I'd accuse you of that, guess I'm just some insecure punk when it comes to you." He laughs it off.

"For the last time. Sid and I are JUST friends, I wish people would understand that!" The past few years were always like this. I'd go home for a holiday and my family would ask how Sid was and my mom would badger me into why I wasn't dating him.

His folks would do the exact same thing, though Troy was more laid-back about it than Trina or Taylor.

Both Sid and I always laughed it off because we liked to play our friendship up. We always flirt with each other and at the time, we were both single so we could get away with it. But now that I'm in a relationship, it's getting harder to deal with and I can tell it's even worse for Sid.

"I'll never bring it up again, Tess. I know you two are close but I just wish that you could be that close with me." He sighs, his arms wrapping around my stomach and his head resting on my right shoulder.

"Maybe a vacation away from Pittsburgh will do the trick." I turn around in his arms. "I can't wait to spend the summer with your family and more importantly, you." He smiles and I kiss his lips, his arms wrapping tighter around me.

"You're gonna live Whitby. Maybe you can even get some training in with me in Toronto. Gary said he'd love to work with you!" His eyes widened in excitement. I nod yes and he pulls me into a hug.

We spent the rest of the night talking about Whitby, he wants to give me the grand tour. He was telling me about the lake he usually hangs out at with his childhood friends and he was bragging about his sister, Becca. He was like a little school boy, the way he talked about his home, his friends and his family was just the cutest thing ever.


*** The next day ***


The flight to Toronto from Pittsburgh was a short one, only about an hour and a half total. We arrived at TPIA just after 1:35pm and he had a rental car waiting for us since his only other car was back in the 'Burgh.

The drive to Whitby took about 30 minutes. The town was pretty nice and modern, I could picture James running around wreaking havoc. He pulled up to this giant house right on the lake, cars were everywhere, preventing us from finding a decent spot close to the house.

"Having a party or something?" I ask looking around for an empty lot.

"Just my friends and family, they do this every year I come back home." He pulls the rental Jeep into a tiny spot located infront of a huge tree.

I climb out of the Jeep, stretching my stiffened legs from the flight in. I've always felt uncomfortable in airplanes with my long legs. James grabs the luggage from behind our seats and grabs my hand.

"You ready?" He looks at me, his sunglasses hiding his eyes. I've only met James' parents once, when they came to town and it was before we even started dating. It was after he had signed a six-year contract with the Pens.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I take a deep breath.

"WELCOME HOME!" At least 100 people were packed into the living room, each of them holding up a beer in the air. It was a bit overwhelming to see all these people who are probably wondering who the hell am I.

The first people I spot out are his parents, Peter and Deborah. His mom rushes over planting a hug and a kiss on his cheek.

"Nice to see you again, Tess." Peter flashes me a smug grin before Deborah moves him out of the way to look at me.

"So he finally snatched you up! Welcome to Whitby, dear." She wraps her arms around me. I catch James staring, trying not to laugh.

"Mom, please don't suffocate my girlfriend." He pleads and she unleashes me from her grip.

"Girlfriend? Are you going to introduce us, bro?" Three guys were standing in front of me, alongside James.

"Tess, these are my idiot brothers, Nick, Pete and Mike." They lend their hands out for a shake and I couldn't stop staring at the resemblance between James and Pete. Holy shit this is weird.

"Nice to meet you guys, outside of twitter."

"Sorry you have to put up with Jamesy's bad hygiene habits." Mike rubs his hand over James' head, referring to how he only washes his hair once a week. That boy will never live that down.

"Hey! Since we started dating, I've been getting better when it comes to my hair thank you very much." So defensive he was. "I just don't want my hair to fall out." James runs his fingers through his brown, now shoulder length, hair.

"Sometimes I freak myself out by imagining what he'd look like bald. It's hilarious." I say and everyone bursts into laughter except James who just stands there looking annoyed.

"Very funny, guys." He looks to his mom, "Where's Beck?" She points to the back patio where all the younger kids are at. He grabs my hand and leads me through the huge crowd. Everyone wants to stop James and chat but he politely turns them down momentarily.

We get outside, the view of Lake Ontario basking in the sun was absolutely beautiful. It's not as pretty as Halifax Harbour but it's pretty damn close.

"Beck!" James yells and a tall girl with long blonde hair turns around. She smiles and starts running towards us. I felt James drop my hand and she jumps on James as he twirls her around, his arms holding her tightly like he was afraid to drop her.

"I've missed you!" She tells him. It was refreshing to see how close James and his sister was, to be honest, it made me miss my brothers like crazy. It's been MONTHS since I last seen them all.

"Beck, I want you to meet someone special. This is Tess." She turns to me, shaking my hand with a smile as big as the lake behind her. "Nice to finally meet you! I'm a huge fan, that goal you scored for Canada in the World Cup was breathtaking!"

"James didn't tell me you were a soccer fan." I was humbled. It's not everyday I get people walking up to and telling me their a fan, especially in the company of a Pittsburgh Penguin.

"Oh Jamesy. I'm a huge fan, I play at my school."

"She never took to hockey like the rest of us." James said looking proud as he hugged his little sister.\

"You played hockey though, didn't you?" She must have done her homework.

"I played for 8 years then I decided I loved soccer a bit more."

"Well, you're an amazing player. I wish I was a good as you." She confesses.

"Looks like we might have more competition in two-touch now, huh James?" His brothers form a line behind me, Pete wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Care for a little game, Tess?" He asks.

"Of course. Bring it on." There was six of us, three on each team. Myself, Pete and Mike while Becca, James and Nick took the other team. Each team had a designated soccer player (i.e Becca and I) and a guy who sucked which was James and Mike.

We play for about 10 minutes, quickly eliminating Mike, Nick and Becca. It was James, Pete and myself, I was facing the look-a-likes and Pete was my competition.

"You're pretty good for a hockey player." My insult hits Pete hard because when I kicked the ball to him, he dropped it.

"Fuck!" He yells. Then it was just me and James, facing off. The guy with bad hips who isn't very limber.

"And here we have, Canada's Women's National Team Soccer player Tess Mariot facing her scrawny boyfriend, Pittsburgh Penguins star, James 'The Real Deal' Neal; the man who has no future as a two-touch champion!" Nick commentates.

Everyone who was once inside mingling, is now outside checking out the commotion.

I tried to take it easy on James, keeping the ball as straight as I could, I couldn't let him feel embarrassed infront of his hometown crowd. I flipped the ball under my leg and popped it forward towards him, a classic freestyle soccer move.

"Quit showing off, babe." He quips.

"The tension between the two is very high, not sure if it's professional or sexual, hard to tell." Mike joins in the commentary.

"Perhaps a bit of both!" Pete chimes in. Becca starts laughing. I kick the ball with the top of my foot which curved the ball to the right. James scrambles to find the rebound.

"Mariot wins! As usual." I throw my hands in the air in victory.

"Next time, Nealer." I hug my competitor as he buries his head in my neck as a sign of defeat.

"You owe me." He whispers seductively in my ear making me blush quite noticeably.

James grabs my hand, kissing the top of it making the entire crowd swoon.

"Speech, speech, speech!" A chant erupts from the people surrounding us. James hushes everyone, still holding my hand he walks over to the stairs of the back patio.

"I just want to thank you all for all your support. I love coming home and seeing everyone again." The crowd claps. "I'd just like to introduce you all to this amazing woman standing next to me," he shifts his eyes to me. I feel exposed up here.

"Tess Mariot, one of the kindest person I've met while in Pittsburgh. As most of you know, she's a VERY talented soccer player for the Canadian Women's team," some of the party-goers whistle while so shout 'Go Canada'!

"She comes from a huge hockey family, her dad being a NHL legend and one of my hockey idols growing up and her two oldest brothers respectfully playing in the NHL too. I just want you all to treat her like she's a part of the Whitby community, even if she's from the Maritimes." Some people burst out in joking 'boos!' Some people just don't like Eastern Canada but it's not like I'm from Newfoundland.

"I love her," he pauses. I glance over at him, tightening my grip around his hand. "I hope that one day, she'll be a part of my life for good." He looks at me worried of my reaction. I stand beside him showing no emotion until I shift my eyes to his. The corners of my mouth curl, surprised and relieved that he felt the same way I felt about him.

"Thank you all for everything, the support and love, I'm proud to be a Whitby boy!" The crowd cheers and claps. I lean into James and whisper in his ear.

"You have some explaining to do, Nealer." I giggle.

James and I were separated most of the night talking to every single person in the room. They wanted to know what it was like growing up with my family, how it was playing with the National team and some of them even asked if I was friends with Sidney Crosby. I assume they just asked him about hockey stuff.

I had a couple seconds of alone time when Deborah waved to me to follow her into the kitchen. I opened the saloon style doors and she was standing there pouring two glasses of red wine.

"You look a bit overwhelmed, dear. Have some wine, relax." I graciously cup the glass in my hands and take a long sip.

"Thank you." I take a seat at the stool next to me.

"James really likes you. Looks like everyone here does too." She says casually.

"The people here are so genuine, I've never been here before but it's very homey." I take another drink. "James is an amazing guy, really."

"He's never brought home a girl before, not to an event as big as this. I can tell he is really enamored with you. It's so cute." She smiles.

"I am of him as well."

"I just hope this relationship will last longer than his other relationships. We all really like you, Tess. You fit him perfectly and it would be a shame to see this fall apart." She touches the top of my hand which was resting on the granite tabletop. Deborah grabs her glass of wine and heads back to the living room where the party is settling down.

I wasn't sure what she meant by his last relationships because he told me his last girlfriend was over 4 years ago.

Unless he has his own little secret.