Beta

Savannah barely had time to think about her severely sprained wrist or concussion with everything that was going on. She was trying to sneak in work at home while Tyler wasn't looking since Dominic was following doctor's orders that she could only work limited hours, even if she insisted she was feeling fine.

She was still trying to work on last minute details of Shea and Audrey's wedding, which was now only three days away. She was still hoping that Tyler and the boys swept Winnipeg so he could accompany her to the wedding. They had won game number three, and now just needed to win tomorrow night to avoid having to travel to Winnipeg and play the day of Shea's wedding.

But, right now, her focus was on the impending parents' dinner. She had tried to explain to Tyler that while her parents were great, and she'd never trade them for anyone else, they were a lot to take in, especially the first time meeting them. They didn't always understand boundaries and had no reservations about asking blunt questions.

She had told Shea a number of time that Audrey and her parents had nothing to worry about. Except for maybe Mae and Dan Decker to ask the Mitchells how their daughter had informed them that she was gay. Shea never found the humor in Savannah's jokes, though. And, Savannah promised her that if they tried to ask Audrey or her parents embarrassing questions, she'd switch the focus to herself and Tyler. She was sure her parents could interrogate Tyler all night. There was no doubt where her interrogation skills had come from.

Tyler had gone into the rink to get some recovery work done after the game last night, and Savannah was waiting on him to come pick her up for dinner. She had gone back to her place to get ready. She chuckled to herself at how little she utilized her own apartment now. She and Tyler hadn't been dating for very long, but she had somehow practically moved in with him. Her phone buzzed, and she wondered if it was Alex and Shea or Tyler. She smiled when she saw Tyler's name pop up. Be there in five. Need me to pick up some wine on the way? ;)

Savannah quickly typed back. Three bottles of jack would be better

He didn't reply before he got to her place. He didn't bother knocking on her door, instead just walking right in. "Sorry, no Jack. You're going to have to do this one sober." He had been very resistant to having her drink at all with her concussion, though she continued to do so, though at a smaller volume than pre-concussion. But, she knew he was right, she couldn't get drunk tonight. Tonight's focus was keeping her parents from embarrassing Shea.

"Ugh. Fine. But can we have an after dinner drink?"

"We can have an after dinner something," he replied, though Savannah had no idea what he had in mind. "C'mon, let's go or we'll be late," she told him. "Now don't be using your concussion as an excuse to leave early tonight," Tyler told her with a wink.

She frowned at him. "Shea would kill me," she told him. "If I didn't love her, I'd never subject you to this," she added. She knew Tyler could handle himself just fine and wouldn't have a problem with her parents, but she still wished that they didn't have to go through a whole dinner where they would question him.

"So what you're saying is you love her more than me?" he asked jokingly.

"Oh totally," she replied easily. "You're there just to keep my parents preoccupied so they're not badgering Audrey's parents. And whatever you do, don't say anything about our personal lives. Because that'll just fuel the fire," she warned him.

He slid closer to her and lowered his voice. "So no mention of the shower sex in the locker room?"

She stared up at him. "You even think about that tonight in front of them and you're never getting sex again," she threatened.

"Oh babe, you can't stop me from thinking of that night," he winked at her for added effect. She rolled her eyes as she stood up. She was wearing a simple black and white dress, and it lifted up at just the right angle for him to see her tattoo at the top of her hip. It was something he had just noticed a few weeks ago, when they were having sex and he was exploring every inch of her body. It was small and simple but held a deep meaning for her. And he loved it.

He pulled her back close to him and lifted her dress up, rubbing his thumb over it. "Shit, you know your tattoos turn me on," he said, a growl in his voice. She had three of them, he'd come to find out. The one on her hip, one on her foot, and one on the inside of her wrist that she had gotten after her accident with Bartholomew. She'd even went to Tyler's tattoo artist per his suggestion, and he didn't disappoint in giving her exactly what she had envisioned in her mind.

"Well if you ever get over your fear of breaking me or whatever is stopping you from having sex with me, then you can see these tattoos up close and personal. But, right now, we're going to be late for dinner, so come on!" she told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door. "I'm gonna drive!" she exclaimed, grabbing her keys off the table.

Tyler caught up to her real quick, snatching the keys out of her hand. "Nuh uh," he said. It was an argument they had often. She decided not to fight him tonight. Her mind was more on Bartholomew escaping. She could worry more about that if she wasn't driving.

"So about those tattoos up close," Tyler said, raising an eyebrow suggestively at her. She rolled her eyes and looked out the window, watching the downtown Dallas scenery as they drove past the bars and restaurants. "Don't I get points for dinner tonight?" He turned the corner and pulled into the valet at the restaurant. He got out and handed the keys to the valet before meeting Savannah on the other side. He easily slid her hand into his as they walked inside.

"Behave," she said under her breath, knowing he was staring at her chest, which was only partly on display by the dress she was wearing.

His eyes shot to her face. "When do I ever misbehave!?" he asked incredulously. She gave him a look and he laughed. "Okay, point taken." He heard loud voices coming from the back room, and they didn't even need to see them to know it was Savannah's parents. He then heard Shea trying to get them to quiet down and he chuckled to himself.

"Glad we got here together," they heard a voice say behind them and Savannah spun around to see Alex and Jamie walking towards them. "Shea just sent the SOS text already."

Savannah peeked at her phone to see the text Alex was referring to. "Shit," Savannah cursed. She walked into the back, smiling when she saw her parents. "Mom, dad!" she said, walking over and giving them both hugs. "This is Tyler," she introduced. "And Alex's boyfriend, Jamie," she added.

Mae and Dan came over and hugged each one before having them sit down. Savannah sat next to Shea and across from Alex and Jamie. "Thank God you're here," Shea whispered.

"That bad?" Savannah asked.

Shea leaned over to keep her voice low. "They asked Audrey's parents about details of their honeymoon," she frowned.

Savannah tried not to laugh, knowing her parents were going to drive Shea crazy before the wedding. Suddenly, she heard Mae ask, "So tell me when you're going to make honest women of our girls?"

Alex choked on her water while Jamie froze. Savannah noticed Tyler just laugh. She wasn't sure if he was laughing at her parents or Jamie's reaction to the question. "Yeah, Captain, when you going to make an honest woman out of Alex?" Tyler inquired, egging the interrogation on.

Savannah elbowed Tyler in the rib cage, and he yelped while looking over at her. "Mom, don't you think you should worry about Shea's wedding first?" Savannah asked, trying to take the attention off of Jamie, who still looked like he wanted to be anywhere but sitting at this dinner right now.

"Oh please, we're all here for Shea's wedding! We just want to know when we'll need to plan another one!" Dan explained.

"Watch out, Segs is likely to propose right now," Shea joked.

"Well he has my blessing," Dan told them in all seriousness.

Savannah's eyes went wide. "Dad!" she exclaimed.

Dan stared at his daughter while Audrey's parents just watched the scene unfold in front of them. Savannah was sure they were happy to see that Dan and Mae acted this way with everyone and not just them. "Well why wouldn't I? He's got Alex and Shea's approval. Plus, he obviously passed your background check," he added casually.

Tyler's face went from elated to questioning as he turned towards Savannah. "You did a background check on me?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Savannah rolled her eyes. "I did that when you were first hitting on Shea," she admitted. "I'm not going to let someone get close to Shea or Alex and not know everything about them first," she said simply, as if it weren't a big deal.

"So you did it to Jamie too?" Tyler asked.

"Oh yeah, he passed with flying colors," Savannah replied, picking up her glass of water from in front of her. "So did Audrey," she added with a wink as she took a sip. "Now can I get a real drink?" she asked, hoping to move on from the subject. At least she had taken the heat off of Jamie. She would need to figure out what was going on and his reaction to proposing to Alex later on. But for now, she needed a stronger drink. She ordered wine, knowing her parents would get on her if she ordered her real drink of choice in a Jack and Diet Coke, and then she started talking to Audrey's parents.

The dinner got better with Dan and Mae not interrogating Audrey's parents any longer. They had moved on to the wedding details and now the Stars in the playoffs. "So you may not make it to the wedding?" Mae asked.

"We need to win tomorrow night and just sweep them," Jamie stated. Everyone knew he was in playoff mode. Savannah thought Tyler was bad, but after talking with Alex, she realized Jamie was worse.

"You better score the game winning goal for me," Shea joked. She hoped they won. She wanted them at her wedding.

Jamie chuckled, finally back to his normal self. "I'll try my best," he promised, putting a hand on Alex's knee.

Savannah's phone buzzed, and she looked at it under the table, trying to be stealthy. She tensed up when she read the text from Liam. Bartholomew has been spotted. A mile away from Odella's apartment.

Tyler looked over her shoulder and skimmed the text himself. He put a hand on her thigh and whispered, "You can't worry about that during dinner."

She frowned but resisted texting Liam back requesting more details. Dinner had arrived, and she tried to focus on eating and the conversation in front of her instead. She was there for her sister, and work would have to wait.

However, the more into the night they went, the louder everyone got, and the more off she felt. The overfilled glass of wine she had drank probably didn't help.

"You doing okay?" Tyler leaned over and asked her. She nodded her head but knew he didn't believe her. "You want to leave?"

"No, I need to stay for Shea," she said simply, resisting the urge to put her head in her hands.

"We're leaving after dessert," he responded, leaving no room for argument.

Alex looked over at the two of them and then sneakily texted under the table to Savannah and Shea.

Alex: Van, you okay?

Savannah: Yeah, just a little headache.

Shea: You can head out. Dinner is almost over anyways and Audrey and I are getting out of here ASAP

Shea: Alex, you too. I know Jamie is hating the wedding interrogation. Sorry about that!

Alex: I'll deal with it later. He's probably gonna be antsy now. He hates when people bring it up

Savannah: He loves you. He's just being super slow with the proposal.

Alex: Or we're not gonna get married ever. Doesn't really matter. I'm just happy being with him.

Shea: Awwwwwww

Savannah: Liar! You want to get married and you know it!

Alex: I'm not going to turn him down if he ever proposes but I'm not going to pressure him either. I'm not sure why he's hesitant but if he doesn't want to get married, I can't really do anything else. I'm happy just being with him. Really!

"Girls! Stop texting!" Mae's voice rang out and all three girls immediately put their phones away, embarrassed they had been caught.

Audrey's mom started making conversation about Audrey's wedding dress, and the focus shifted to that. Savannah zoned out unintentionally, something that had been happening more frequently.

"Van, you okay?" Alex's voice pulled her back in.

"Yeah, sorry," Savannah muttered an apology. Jamie was looking at her, concerned, and she looked around the table to see everyone else besides Tyler deep in conversation.

Tyler put a hand on her thigh. "Can we go now?" he asked, practically begging like a small child.

She heard Shea make a comment about needing to leave, and Savannah nodded her head in response to Tyler's question. "We're going to go, too," she announced to the table. She stood up and gave her mom and dad a hug. They moved on to Tyler, while she came around the table to Alex. "He'll propose eventually," she promised her quietly, finishing their text conversation that had gotten interrupted before.

Alex laughed. "Go home, get some sleep," she replied.

Jamie told Savannah and Tyler goodbye, before the couple moved on to Audrey and her parents. "It was so good to meet you," she told Audrey's parents sincerely. She really did like the couple and could see how Audrey had become such a caring person herself. "I'll see you at the wedding! And, Audrey, I'll see you before the wedding, I'm sure," she added with a grin.

Tyler came around and put his hand on Savannah's low back. "Ready to go?" he asked, and she nodded her head. She waved goodbye to Shea and followed Tyler out to get his car from the valet. As soon as they were outside, he asked, "So is it your concussion or are you worried about Bartholomew?"

She frowned. "Neither," she replied, though she knew she wasn't fooling him. She checked the clock to see it was just after 10 pm. "So, Mr. Hotshot, what are the odds that I can give you a little good luck tonight before the game tomorrow?" she asked suggestively, knowing full well that he knew what she was implying. He hesitated, like he had been doing since her accident. "Tyler, I'm capable of having sex," she said straightforward as the valet brought out his car.

He raised an eyebrow at her as he tipped the valet. Looking at her over the top of his car, he said, "Are you ready to prove that?"

She smirked. "Oh, I'm more than ready."

He took the shortcut home, getting there in record time. He quickly got out of the car and met her on the passenger side. She tried to get out and was surprised when he picked her up and put her over his shoulder, firefighter style. "Tyler!" she yelped. "What are you doing!?"

"Getting you upstairs the fastest way possible," he answered honestly. He even forwent the elevator, instead climbing the stairs two at a time. Savannah couldn't deny the man was in shape. He had no trouble unlocking his door and carrying her straight to the bedroom, tossing her on the bed.

"Damn, someone is in a mood," she smirked up at him. He paused as he looked down into her eyes, and she wondered if he was second guessing having sex with her right now. She was about to tell him for the millionth time since her accident that she wasn't too injured for sex when instead she said, "I swear to fucking God, Tyler Seguin, if you stop right now, I will break up with you and tell everyone you're terrible in bed."

Tyler laughed at her threat and leaned down to kiss her lips. "I'll show you just how good in bed I am," he remarked with a cocky grin on his face.

Notes