DAKOTA

Parker is passed out on my shoulder.

Normally, this is the opposite of a problem, however, I've had to pee for the last forty minutes, and the bumpiness of the plane is making it a much bigger issue. It's not like I can just move his head, either. One of his hands is holding my legs over one of his, and the other is wrapped around my middle, effectively attaching our bodies.

Removing my hand from the top of his head, I begin poking his shoulder hard, since he's a fairly heavy sleeper.

"Park, I have to pee, you need to let me get up."

He perks up a bit, leaving his hands where they are but lifts his head. "Can I come with you?"

"Absolutely," I pause, watching his eyebrows raise. "Not," and they go straight back down.

"Then, no," he puts his head back down, mumbling. "Rude ass."

Laughing, I push him off of me and look at him expectantly, waiting for him to stand so I can leave. To nobody's surprise, he remains right where he is, forcing me to climb over him while he cops a quick feel.

Men.

We land soon after I return, and Parker grabs our bags, refusing to let me push my suitcase through the airport. I have no idea how, but he manages to push them both with one hand, the other tangled with mine.

"There he is," Parker points to his dad pulling up to the curb, and we start heading in that direction.

Harper texted me earlier, very upset that she isn't able to come and get us from the airport today due to work. Aaron is a realtor, who is also his own boss, so he was more than happy to take a few hours off and come pick us up.

As Parker loads our bags into the trunk, Aaron jumps out to hug me quickly and usher me to the passenger seat before his son can steal it.

We spend the thirty-minute drive talking about, you guessed it, hockey. Parker kept his parents in the loop about Nashville, so his dad is eager to talk to him about how he'll be in the pros this time next year. His parents are very open about how much they love and support him.

Pulling up to the house, we have to be pretty quick about dropping our things off and getting ready since our flight was delayed and our hockey game is in only a few hours. That sense of urgency is quickly forgotten as soon as a Border Collie comes flying out their front door and into my legs.

"Layla!" Parker drops our bags, rushing over to me just as she starts peeing all over the pavement around me. "Sorry, she gets excited."

"All good," I giggle, continuing to scratch her belly as soon as she lays down and rolls over.

He kneels down to greet her, eliciting even more pee and groans just as I start laughing at her. "Let's go inside, she'll calm down once we do."

Following him slowly, I take in his childhood home, trying not to make it too obvious that I'm staring at the pictures on the wall.

It's very homey, and it's one of those places where you feel comfortable the second you step foot inside. I can see why he loves this place so deeply.

"How far is the guest room from yours?"

"Why does it matter?" He scoffs, "you're staying with me."

"No, I can't," I whisper-yell, not wanting Aaron to hear me.

"Why the fuck not?" He chuckles, "you sleep with me at least five nights a week."

"Not when I'm staying under your parent's roof."

His eyes bulge, "you're serious about this?"

Grabbing my bag from him, I look behind him, making sure Aaron doesn't pop up. "Yeah, I don't want your parents to think I'm being disrespectful."

Parker leans forward, pressing his mouth to mine quickly, "I'm only letting you win this because we have to leave soon."

I peck his lips again, smiling, "this is why I like you."

"Like," he mumbles, taking my bag once again and bringing it in the opposite direction to the guest room.

My eyebrows furrow as I stare at his back, trying to figure out what he meant by that.

"Dakota, you know Harper and I love you, but you need to change."

Aaron and Parker have been giving me the stink eye since I came into the kitchen wearing my Tampa Bay Lightning jersey. But listen, I bought tickets to this specific game so that I could wear it.

"I love you both, too, but I can't do that," I laugh at him, walking over to Parker who dodges me.

"Traitor," he whispers, shuddering.

I roll my eyes at him, "I'll just go by myself then."

"No!" He comes back to me, picking me up bridal style and walking towards the front door, "Dad, we're leaving!"

"Wait," Aaron comes over with a pen and paper. "If you don't mind, Dakota, Harper and I would really like for you to make cookies and stuff for the family tomorrow. We can run to the store tonight to get everything you need."

My feet hit the floor and I grab the paper from his hands. "I'd be happy to," I quickly use Parker's back as a table, jotting down everything I need for some of my favorite recipes.

We're out the door minutes later, and the entire drive, Parker points out all of his favorite places to me. Looking at him light up, I have the strongest urge to tell him that I love him, but I manage to keep it inside, wanting to wait a little longer.

~

If I thought Parker was aggressive on the ice, I was very wrong. He's on his feet with me after every missed goal, and even accidentally threw popcorn a few minutes ago.

During warmups, we came to a truce, deciding to cheer on both teams together. It probably helped that we couldn't stop fangirling whenever a player came near us, even more, when they'd glance in our direction.

Our tickets are next to the Lightning's penalty box, and I start bouncing in my seat when I notice Anthony Cirelli coming over after a fight. Parker chuckles at my reaction, knowing he's my favorite player, coincidentally, also the one whose jersey I'm wearing.

Not even thirty seconds into the penalty, his gloved hand knocks on the glass, getting my attention.

Nice jersey, he mouths, winking while tugging on his own.

My jaw drops, and I feel my face start to heat up. Parker obviously noticed the interaction, because I hear him choke on his beer behind me.

Right before the penalty ends, Cirelli stands and throws a puck over the glass and into my lap. When I realize that it's signed, I start laughing just as Parker whispers a low, what the fuck.

Over the rest of the period, any time 71 hits the ice, Parker's arm moves from my lap to my shoulders, making it obvious that we were together. The boy even convinced a camera guy to put us on the screen during the kiss cam so he could stake his claim.

"Parker Elliot, are you jealous?" I smirk at him.

"Me, jealous? Never, baby," he kisses my forehead.

I quickly squeeze his thigh, "you're a shit liar."

"You're the only person who can tell when I do," he admits.

Biting my lip, an idea pops into my brain. "You know, I think I'm going to make him my hall pass," Parker's face hardens. "That way, when you play them next year, I can cash in on-"

He actually growls, cutting me off by shoving popcorn into my mouth. "Don't test me, Lowen."

Laughing, I swallow the food quickly. "Wow, you even pulled out the last name."

"I don't like to share," he shrugs.

"I'm just messing with you," I peck his cheek. "You're it for me, Park."

"Yeah?" His eyebrows raise slightly.

"Yeah," I smile.

He nods at me thoughtfully, tugging me impossibly closer and turning back to the game just as the third period starts.

~

When we get back, I'm basically tackled the second we walk through the door.

"Dakota!" Harper wraps herself around me, "missed you, sweet girl."

"I missed you both, too. Thank you again for having me this weekend."

"Am I dogshit or something, mom?" Parker speaks up behind me, chuckling.

I feel her tense beneath my hands, realizing that she accidentally ignored her son. She detaches, giving me a quick smile before moving to hug him just as tight.

"We saw you guys on TV," Aaron yells from the couch.

"Yeah?" Parker responds.

"Oh yeah," he chuckles, "even saw that player flirt with Dakota."

Wrapping an arm around my shoulders, Parker leads me towards the guest room. "That'll be enough of that, thanks for re-opening the wound, dad." All of us laugh at his possessiveness.

While I do my usual nighttime routine, Parker sits on the bed, watching my every move. He does this a lot now as if watching me wash my face and do skincare is more interesting than playing on his phone or watching TV.

"Are you sure you want to sleep in here?"

"Yes, Park," I finish up quickly and sit on his lap. "As much as I'd like to sleep with you, I can't."

Grabbing my hips, he pulls my upper body flush against his and drops his head to my shoulder. "Then I have to go now before I start refusing to."

I hug him tight for a few extra minutes, pressing light kisses on his head before pushing off and walking him to the door. "Goodnight," I whisper.

"Come with me," he groans, trying to reach for my hips but I keep swatting his hands away.

"Nope, goodbye Parker," I kiss him and close the door in his face, laughing as I hear him lightly bang his forehead on it.

On a scale of one to ten, how embarrassing would I be if I went and snuck into Parker's room? I've been trying to sleep for an hour now but knowing he's less than fifty feet away is eating at my mind. If I don't go in there tonight, we won't get to sleep together until we get back to campus, because Brooks has already called dibs on sharing the bunk beds with him when he comes to Tampa.

Fuck it. I'm going.

Tip-toeing down the hall, I only vaguely know where his room is, so I'm opening every door I come across. My heart stops when the fourth door opens just as my hand touches the handle.

"Jesus," my hand flies to my chest, heart slowing down when my eyes hit Parker's green ones.

He grabs my wrist, yanking me inside. "Were you coming to see me, baby?"

"Shut up," I mumble, face heating up.

"You can admit it because I was just leaving to come and get you," he laughs.

"Really?"

"Fuck yes. You're sleeping in here whether you like it or not," he tries to pull me to the bed, but I veer off towards his bookshelf filled with picture frames.

With a light smile playing on my lips, I grab one of him all dressed up with a group of boys, standing in front of a limo. "Prom?"

Coming up behind me, Parker wraps his arms around my torso and rests his chin on my shoulder. "Yeah, senior year. I ended up going with the guys because the girl I wanted to go with turned me down."

Laughter escapes me, even though I try to keep it in. "I'm sorry, bub, I can't help it. Why'd she turn you down?"

"She said I bought the wrong kind of flowers when I asked. She wanted tulips, not roses," he kisses my shoulder a few times.

I turn around in his arms so that we're facing eachother, "I would've said yes to you no matter what flowers you got me."

His lips sit against my forehead, "and if you didn't, I would've tried again and again until I got it right."

Pulling back, I look at him, overcome with emotion. He always knows what to say to make my heart burst at the seams. I thought I loved my first boyfriend. We dated for almost my entire junior year of high school, but he never once made me feel the way Parker does.

He has every ounce of my trust, respect, and heart, and I know he feels the same about me.

"Ready for bed?" He whispers, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Yeah," I breathe out, "I've got a lot of baking on my schedule tomorrow."

He lays down first, holding the comforter open to me so that I have no voice but to lay near him. "You don't have to do it if you'd rather just relax."

"No, I'm happy to. Your parents gave me a free place to stay this weekend, and I want to thank them."

"Kota, they're so excited that you're here, I doubt they'd even care if you trashed the place before you left," he grumbles into my hair while I use his bare chest as a pillow.

Lightly squeezing his waist, I nuzzle closer. "Either way, I don't mind."

"Wait, don't fall asleep yet, I've been meaning to ask you something," his tone is relaxed, not wanting to make the statement worry me at all.

"Hmm," I mumble.

"Stanley cup finals. My team versus Connor's, whose jersey are you wearing?" I can physically hear his smile right now.

I slap him softly, "that's such a mean question."

His chest shakes under my cheek as he laughs, "you have to answer, or else I'm bringing you back to the guest room."

"I think I'd bring both and change every time either one of your teams takes the lead, that way I wouldn't look like a loser at the end of the night no matter what the outcome was."

Pinching my ass, he chastises me, "that's cheating, love. I'm only allowing it because I'm tired, and I really l-" he pauses, tensing, "-like you."

Biting my lip, I keep a smile at bay, easily able to figure out what he was about to say. I don't respond, though, and press one last kiss to his pink lips before drifting off.

I love you too, Parker Cadell.