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We were sitting in the living room, still thinking about what to do for the game next week when her phone rang.

"It's my dad, one second." She answered it, putting it to her ear and a smile automatically appeared on her face. "Hi, Dad." I grabbed her wrist, pulling her into me as I lay down on the couch. She shifted and sat up, straddling me.

My brows furrowed and I grabbed her shirt, yanking her forward.

She smiled, brushing my hair back. "What do you mean?" she asked, blinking in confusion, her fingers stopping in my hair. She sat up abruptly. "You're here?! Where? Why? When? How come?"

I sighed, sitting up. I forget about getting cuddles for the rest of the day. We have a new problem at hand. Her parents. Actually, I shouldn't be calling my future in-laws a problem. We have new guests at hand.

"You're at Boston Logan International Airport?" She stared at me in disbelief before climbing off quickly. She pinched the bridge of her nose and ran a hand through her hair. "Please tell me you've booked a hotel room... No? No?!"

I shot up, taking the phone out of her hands and putting it to my ear.

"Vince!" she hissed.

"Hello, Mr. Tim."

She watched me in surprise. She never told me her parents' name but of course, I know it. I know her parents' names.

"Uh... hello?"

"This is Vince," I cleared my throat.

"Hunter?!"

"If you could tell me which gate you're waiting at, we'll be right there to pick you up."

"Gate three."

"We'll be right there."

"We're looking forward to meeting you!" I heard Mrs. Lilly calling out.

I chuckled softly, grabbing my keys. "So am I. See you soon." I let them hang up and then turned to Demi.

"Are you crazy?!" she yelled.

"Shh!" I scolded, putting a finger to her lips. "They can stay here."

"Vince—"

"They can stay here, Demi. I live in a penthouse, I have my room, you have your room despite staying with me, and I still have two guest rooms down here. We'll be fine. Plus, I'm sure it's just for a few days. Don't you miss them? They'll be here for my game, they'll have fun. Come on. Let's pick up your parents."

"But I don't want you to—"

"It's okay. I want to meet them and I want them to like me, okay? What did they say to you when you answered?"

She stared at me and then laughed softly, "Surprise!" she mocked.

I chuckled, "So let them have their surprise!" I sang. "Let's pick them up, come on." I pulled her with me and we got into the car, driving to the airport. "Tell me when you see them," I said, slowing down the car.

"Right over there," she pointed to the bench near the gate.

I drove over and parked the car, climbing out while Demi did the same. She grinned, running over.

"Demi!" They exclaimed in sync.

She let out a soft squeal and hugged both of them together before hugging them one at a time while I walked over. She pulled back and grabbed my hand, bringing me closer. "Mom, Dad, this is Vince, as you know. My boyfriend."

"Hmm, of course, we know who he is," Mrs. Lilly smiled, patting my cheek.

"But I will say, it was disappointing to find you two were together through the press," Mr. Tim said, shaking my hand.

"You should have told us, Demi," her mom frowned.

"I didn't want it to be a big deal," she chuckled awkwardly. "I thought you'd ask but you never did."

"We didn't want to interfere," her dad replied.

"It's really nice to meet you both," I smiled, "here, I'll take your bags."

"Oh, no that's—"

"It's okay," I cut him off, taking the bags and heading to the car. I opened the trunk and tucked them inside before closing the automatic door while Demi settled them into the backseat.

Demi and I climbed in at the same time, shooting each other pointed looks. I started driving us back when Demi turned in her seat. "How come you guys decided to give me this surprise?" She glanced at me, amused.

"Well, we haven't come to Boston since you left home for college, honey," Mrs. Lilly explained.

"And you come see us every year. We wanted to see you for once and stay with you. I know you said no last time, but we couldn't wait," Mr. Tim added. "So, where are we staying? With you?"

"About that," Demi mumbled. "Actually, uh..."

"You'll be staying with us," I glanced at them in the rearview mirror.

Silence.

"Demi's... staying with you?" Mrs. Lilly asked.

"Yeah," Demi answered sheepishly. "I've been staying with him for a while."

"How long is a while?" her dad asked.

"A little before we went public with our relationship," I replied.

"I see," he mumbled. Demi and I waited silently for his response, waiting to see how they'd react. "All right," he shrugged.

Demi turned to look at them again. "Really?"

"Sure. Why not? I mean, you both have been together for a year, haven't you?"

"Uh... a year?" Demi stuttered.

"Haven't you been keeping track? Three months before that New York article, six months after that, and now three months more. That's twelve months, sweetheart," Mrs. Lilly explained.

Demi and I looked at each other. A year...? Whoa.

"Actually, two," I blurted out.

"What?" Mr. Tim asked.

"Demi's worked for me for two years and I've always liked her, so things were different. I couldn't do anything until this year, I had to keep things to myself. But I've wanted her for two years." I felt Demi's eyes on me. When I turned to look at her, she seemed happy and she was blushing. She hit my arm lightly as I pulled up to our apartment building.

"Two years is a long time, no? We got married after a year together didn't we, Lilly?"

"Yeah, around a year," she nodded in agreement.

I glanced at Demi. Maybe the whole marriage thing isn't as crazy as it feels. But it still feels so crazy.

After taking them up to my apartment and helping Demi settle them in, I knew what to do. I'd give Demi my own surprise at the game, a Christmas gift. A ring. An engagement ring. It would be for her, to show her, her parents, and the world that even if what we started off with was a lie, our feelings and our love now were real.

I loved her and she was my girlfriend. Contract or no contract. And one day, she'd be my wife. There's a difference between a wedding ring and an engagement ring. We could get engaged now and wait a few years for marriage and people would still know how real this was. And so would Demi.

The three of them were in the living room when I entered, sitting beside Demi. "Demi," I mumbled.

"Hmm?" She turned to me, smiling. She seems so happy that her parents are actually here. And she was going to tell them to stay at a hotel.

"I'm going out for a bit, I need to see James and tell him what's going to happen at the next game. Maybe he could help, yeah?"

She nodded, holding my gaze. "Come back soon. They really want to talk to you."

I nodded, kissing her quickly while her parents were busy talking. I stood up, kissing her hand before dropping it.

"Drive safe," she grinned.

"You're going somewhere?" Mr. Tim asked.

"Yeah, I'll be back soon, it's just something with work." So I left, heading to some jewelry stores. On my way there, I called James and gave him a heads up for next week's game. I told him what I would do and told him not to tell another soul.

And then I walked into Tiffany and Co. and bought her a ring.

I know Demi's a simple girl in terms of jewelry, so I bought an elegant ring. It was a simple gold band with a small round diamond in the middle and tiny diamonds on its left and right, crowning in. The store employee said a wedding band could be bought separately in the future. So, I kept that in mind and bought the damn ring.

The ring size, I knew. When I was thinking about this plan earlier, I stole one of Demi's rings from her jewelry box in my room and pocketed it. I brought that with me for the size and got a ring in the same size. And I found the perfect ring for her.

I know it's fast and I know it's rushed, and I know even though she said she'd say yes if I asked her to marry me, she might get cold feet and say no. But I love her. I love her more than anything in the world, she's my person, she's the one I'd do anything for. I know it with every bone in my body that she's the one for me, so why am I waiting?

People get married after a few months and sometimes, it's a happy ending. I've known this girl for two years and I've loved her. I do love her. I want to marry her. Now, tomorrow, next year, or years later, I don't care and it makes no difference to me. I love her and I know I want to marry her.

I want to spend the rest of my life with her, I want her by my side all the fucking time and I don't want anything to come between us. That's hard when the whole world thinks our relationship is their business but we'll tie the knot one day and this should be the first step. Proposing.

We're really doing this, I'm really doing this. Proposing to her. I'm going to marry her.

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