Madeline's POV- June 2017

"You're up early"

I glanced up as I took a sip of my coffee.

"Yeah, Cody's coming over" I stated.

She smiled.

"So I take it things are going well"

Things were going real well actually.

"You mean to tell me the twins didn't tell you?" I asked.

"Ahh yes how could I forget that. You don't kiss and tell though"

I rolled my eyes and looked at her as the doorbell rang.

"Are you heading out or are you joining us?" I wondered.

"Sadly I'm heading out. I will take your coffee though"

I frowned as she kept to her word and stole my coffee.

"What time are you out?" I questioned.

"I have two surgeries scheduled today, but I should be done by 4PM. Mike took the twins with him to work, but he should be back before 2PM"

I nodded as she unlocked the door. Once the door was opened she smiled.

"Well good morning Cody"

Cody smiled at my mom.

"Good morning Dr. Mendes"

She frowned as she stepped forward to greet him.

"We've discussed this already. Call me Maia"

He accepted the hug and kiss on the cheek.

"You are kind of dating my daughter, so you don't have to be formal with me"

I watched as he nodded.

"Well I'll leave you two to enjoy your brunch"

"Bye mom" I said.

I smiled at Cody once my mom got into her car.

"Come on in" I told him.

He stepped inside and once I closed the door I laughed as he hugged me.

"Morning"

I accepted the kiss he was leaning in for.

"Good morning" I greeted.

He looked away when he heard a soft meow.

"You're up" I said to Poppy.

He had been napping when I got up. Poppy was your typical kitten who woke up at 5AM and looked out the window. When he got bored he would play with his toys he had scattered through the room. I had learned to sleep through his shuffling because I knew eventually he'd get tired and nap.

"You are much smaller than I thought you'd be"

Cody smiled as Poppy rubbed himself against his legs. Once he finished he looked up at me and purred lightly and jumped up a bit.

"Come here you" I said.

I picked Poppy up and nuzzled him close to me.

"If you could follow me" I stated.

I led him to the kitchen and set Poppy in front of his food. He began eating away as I made my way to the kitchen sink.

"Coffee?" I asked Cody.

"Yes please"

I washed my hands and reached for the paper towels. Once my hands were dried, I pulled two mugs out.

"Is no one home?"

I glanced up and shook my head. Cody let out a sigh of relief as he touched his chest.

"Oh thank god"

I laughed as I poured coffee into the mugs.

"I can assure you that Mike will do nothing to you" I said.

"I'd rather not tempt him"

I rolled my eyes and handed him a mug.

"Thank you"

He took a sip of the coffee and nodded.

"I promised you breakfast" I began saying.

"I smelled food the second your mom opened the front door"

"I made Frenchtoast, scrambled eggs, and bacon" I informed him.

"You're my favorite at the moment"

"And cut up fruit" I added.

I moved the towel to reveal our breakfast.

"Help yourself, let me get the fruit from the fridge" I told him.

My phone chimed just as I opened the fridge door.

"Can you check that for me?" I asked.

"Uh yeah"

I glanced to see Cody reaching for my phone as I grabbed the fruit.

"You have a text from William Nylander. He wants to know if you got the keys in the mail"

Closing the door, I made my way back. He handed me my phone after I placed the fruit on the table. I read the texts that said.

I was about to reply but I noticed I forgot the syrup so I placed my phone on the counter. Just as I opened the door to the fridge my phone chimed again.

"Can you check that?" I called out.

"He's asking if he can call you"

I found the syrup and closed the door before making my way.

"William is one of three people who I'm living with coming September" I informed Cody as I read the text,

I replied to William,

I looked a Cody who raised an eyebrow as he smiled.

"You shouldn't feel the need to give me an explanation. You're allowed to have friends of the opposite sex"

Things were never going to work out with Auston and I. He easily got jealous and never let me give him an explanation. I had let him down easily yesterday before I headed to the Dodgers game. Cody knew about this, I told him about it yesterday when we hung out after the game.

"So is William the blonde?"

I nodded, last night I had shown him a picture of Will and Kasperi.

"Yes, he's the Swedish one" I stated.

Cody nodded and reached for the syrup.

"If you don't mind me asking"

I hummed for him to continue as I placed some food on my plate.

"What does Auston think about this?"

"About me living with his teammates?" I asked.

"Yeah"

"He didn't really like the idea" I admitted.

I shrugged.

"Will and Kasperi are harmless though" I told him.

"Well you did say one of them has a girlfriend"

I nodded.

"Kasperi has a girlfriend, and she'll be living with us as well" I said.

"That's nice, you will keep each other company when they're on the road"

He took a bite of the French toast and nodded.

"This is really good"

"Thank you" I accepted.

"When do you move to Toronto?"

"Late September" I answered.

He smiled.

"It's June, so you have a while till you have to go"

I nodded.

"Is Poppy going with you?"

"Yes" I answered.

We both turned to look at Poppy who had just finished eating. He was now licking his paw clean, oblivious to us staring.

"You know I used to think I was a dog person" I told him.

I looked away from Poppy, at Cody who was taking a sip of his coffee.

"I wanted to adopt a beagle after graduation, but I found Poppy before that" I added.

"Did you have pets growing up?"

"Not until after my parents divorced. Mike likes fostering animals and when my stepmom, Malin moved in with my dad she brought her Pitbull, Penny" I said.

"Is Penny still alive?"

"No, they put her to sleep last year. She got really bad arthritis, and it was hard for her to breath because of how old she was. Malin decided it would be best to not let her dog go through that pain anymore" I explained.

"How old was Penny?"

"Sixteen" I answered.

"Oh wow, isn't the average age for a Pittbull like fifteen"

I nodded.

"Well at least she lived a long life"

"Her whole name was Penny Lane" I informed him.

"Like the Beatles song"

"Malin loves the Beatles, Ella's full name is Eleanor" I said.

Breakfast went by smoothly, but sadly all good things had to come to an end.

"I'll call you tomorrow? Before the game, like at noon"

"Ok" I said as I handed him a tupperware container.

"What's this?"

"Muffins, mom made some last night" I replied.

"Well I'm sure I will devour these tonight"

He looked down at Poppy and I watched as he squatted down.

"Aren't you a little purring monster?"

Poppy purred louder as Cody pet him. He stopped purring when he heard a familiar car alarm. I smiled as he bolted towards the door and immediately began meowing.

"Are you expecting anyone?"

"Yeah, Mel's actually dropping by" I told Cody who stood up.

He nodded as I picked Poppy up. I opened the front door and led him out.

"Madeline!"

I smiled as Mel set her carrier on the floor and pulled me into a hug.

"I missed you"

"I missed you too, but these two missed each other more" I stated.

Poppy was wiggling in my arms trying to get down. Mel nodded agreeing and made eye contact with Cody.

"Well hello there"

I looked at Cody who offered Mel a smile.

"Hi, I'm Melanie. We've talked on the phone, but I have to admit it's nice to put a face to a voice"

He chuckled and accepted her hug.

"I'll give you two privacy"

She shamelessly winked at me once she had taken Poppy from me. He chuckled as the door closed.

"She's what I expected her to be"

I laughed.

"So I get back Sunday night, I was hoping I could see you then?"

"Of course, just let me know" I replied.

He smiled.

"You should head out, or else you'll be late" I pointed out when I noticed he was staring at me.

"Yeah, I should do that"

He scratched his neck and leaned down. I smiled as he kissed my cheek first and then pecked my lips.

"GRAB HER AND KISS HER LIKE YOU MEAN IT!"

His cheeks began turning to turn a bright shade of red. I stepped forward and pulled him down from his neck. He clumsily placed one hand on my hip and the other on my cheek as our lips collided. We pulled away for air and he let out an airy laugh.

"Feel free to do that as often as you want...whenever you want"

I lightly smacked his arm.

"You're going to miss your flight" I told him.

He blinked and smiled.

"I'll call you?"

I nodded and accepted the embrace he pulled me into.

"See you in a week" I said as he pulled away.

He gave me one last peck before stepping back. I smiled and crossed my arms as I watched him walk to his car. Once he drove off, I made my way back inside where Mel was waiting for me.

"Well that was hot"