Last year, Tobin and I spent Christmas with her family, so this year, we're spending it with mine. Both parents, my sister, my niece, Tobin and myself.
"So where are we headed?" Tobin asks as we get out of Allie's car. "Thanks Harry." Tobin says as I continue to freeze my ass off because there's still fucking snow on the ground.
"We're flying to Dallas-Fortworth. Lydia, and my folks will be waiting for us there and we'll get the rest of the story from there." I say and Tobin nods, pulling me close as we walk into the airport.
When we land at DFW, Tobin and I grab our bags from claim and head over to where my sister said she was waiting with my folks. Our flight from PDX got delayed because the take off line was worse than the fucking DMV. I smile as Lydia hugs me before hugging my parents as Lydia hugs Tobin, turning and taking Bri from Lydia, smiling at my niece who stares at me like I'm strange.
"Okay, so, give me my offspring." Lydia says, walking past and taking her daughter back. "I've rented two cars. Mom, dad, you're with me, you two will drive the other one."
"I'm going with Y/N and Tobin." Dad says and I watch as Mom smacks his chest gently.
"Ethan. You're not riding with the girls, they can handle themselves." Mom says and I smile at her as Tobin slips her hand into mine. When we get outside, Lydia tosses me a set of keys and I watch Tobin catch them for me, when we get to the cars, there's a Jeep Wrangler and a Chevy Silverado. Tobin's got the keys to the Jeep, and I'm guessing that since Lydia has Bri, she's going to have the Silverado the whole time.
"So we're going to drive to Lubbock, spend the night there, and then in the morning, we're going to drive from there to where Jill took you guys for boot camp that one time? Starts with an R?"
"Ruidoso?"
"Yeah, that place, you made it sound fun." Lydia says and I shrug.
"We couldn't really do much besides practice, recover, and fuck around in the hotel and arcade, and do the zipline, and ride the paddle boats, and there was golf, but nobody went near that. Okay, it was fun. But the hotel was six miles from the field we practiced on. Usually they're closer than that."
"You could understand though. Security." Tobin says and I sigh, nodding.
"But, like, the middle school had a better field." I say as Tobin loads our bags into the back of the Jeep.
"It was turf, babe."
"I took a ball to the mouth, babe. I'd rather risk an ACL, than a lost tooth, these are permanent. Lose one you're fucked. If I wanted to lose teeth, I'd play lacrosse or hockey."
"But ACL surgery has long ass recovery."
"Tooth gone forever."
"I'm not going to argue with you."
"Yes, because you don't want a toothless girlfriend."
"They argue like they're married." Lydia says and I turn my attention to my sister.
"I will steal your child."
"You've got yourself a keeper there, Tobin." My dad says as I take the keys from Tobin, walking around the Jeep to the driver side.
"Actually, I'm a central attacking midfielder, a striker, and a keeper. List all positions and not just one." I say as I get in and smirk as my dad nods at me, silently telling me that that was a well played comeback. When Tobin gets in, she grabs my hand and kisses the back of it.
"I love you, please don't be mad."
"I'm not mad, Tobs. I promise."
"It sounded like you were mad." Tobin says as I start the jeep.
When we get to Lubbock, it's about six in the evening, so we pull up to a hotel close at the edge of town that Lydia booked for us, and head in, checking into our three rooms and settling in for the night as my dad and I both continue to grumble about the stupid toll we had to pay along the way here. Fucking, why? Like, just, why? What possesses whoever does toll booths for a living to even do them? Like seriously. It makes no sense.
"Okay, you both really need to shut up." Mom says and I sigh. We had gone out to grab some food to eat, we were tired, but we were hungrier, so as we ate, dad and I went on about the toll, while mom looked like she wants to strangle us. "If you don't I'll smother you both in your sleep."
"Sorry mom." I say and she nods, looking at dad.
"Sorry honey." He says and she smiles. The rest of the night we spoke only about the two week and a half we were going to spend at the hotel.
"So you two aren't going to gamble at all?" Lydia asks, looking at Tobin and I like we're insane. "Why?" She asks after we shake our heads.
"I'm sorry, have you forgotten our profession?" I ask my sister who rolls her eyes.
"So you'll build something for our old school, but you won't try your luck?" Lydia asks and I point at Tobin.
"I'm pretty damn lucky, but trusting your luck is a quick way to lose money you don't have. Also, if you're leaving your child with me, she's now mine, Tobin, meet our daughter. Bri." I say and Tobin chuckles a little.
Later that night, as Tobin and I settle into bed, I smile as she lays on top of me, so I poke her cheek.
"You alive?" I ask and she shakes her head.
"Nope. I died. My girlfriend is just so stunning that she stunned me to death."
"Shut up, you adorable goofball and cuddle me. I'm cold." I say and smile as Tobin lifts herself over me, kissing me softly before dropping to the side she claimed earlier, slipping under the blankets and pulling me close, I smile and rest my head on her chest and hold her the way I usually do, left hand under my head, my right one on her stomach.
In the morning, I pout as I wake up to Tobin poking my nose.
"Leave me alone." I mumble and she laughs.
"It woke you up. It worked. Come on, your family is down stairs waiting for us to go down so we can eat and leave."
"Damn you." I mumble, sitting up, and getting out of bed as Tobin laughs.
"What?"
"You mentioned food."
"Duh." Tobin says and I sigh, stretching before grabbing the change of clothes I brought, hopping in the shower and changing before letting Tobin have the bathroom.
"Don't look at me like that."
"That was the fastest shower you've ever taken."
"Food, babe. Now hurry up. I'm starving."
-
As we get to the hotel in Ruidoso, I groan as I lay on the bed and squeal as Tobin jumps on me and grab her hands as she starts to tickle me.
"Don't you dare, Tobin." I say and she smiles.
"You're cute when you're all serious and not wanting to be tickled." She says and I raise an eyebrow.
"Don't do it, Tobin, or you're sleeping on the floor." I say and Tobin smiles, kissing me. I smile against her lips and laugh as she pulls away with a groan.
"Stop smiling, I want to kiss you."
"Sorry, I can't help it." I say and she rolls her eyes, caressing my cheek and kissing me again, so I wrap my arms around her neck and let myself get lost in the kiss, looking up as Tobin pulls away, the hem of my shirt in her left hand. I nod and she raises a brow at me.
"Seriously?"
"No, I'm fucking freezing, are you kidding me? Thinking I'd let you strip me. Tu loca." I say, pushing Tobin off of me, onto her side of the bed so I can get up and go to the bathroom.
-
Tobin
-
I chuckle a little at Y/N as she disappears, and smile at her as she comes out of the bathroom, drying her hands with the towel hanging next to the sink.
"So, I'm starving, and Lydia just texted me while I was washing my hands, she says there's this concession stand on the opposite side of the casino, not inside of it, but on the outside. Wanna come check it out with me?"
"And have our nutritionists yell at us when we show up for preseason in February?"
"That's in a year."
"Already with the cheesy ass New Years joke and Christmas is still three days away." I say and Y/N shrugs.
"If I came without the cheesy ass New Years jokes, I wouldn't be me. Don't know who I'd be, but I wouldn't be me, and I can't have that." Y/N says as I get up and try to walk past her, but stop as she grabs the collar of my shirt, pulling me close. "Because you're mine. And only mine."
"Damn right I am." I say and she smiles before pecking me on the lips.
"So, like, I'm going to go down and get some food that doesn't cost a fucking fortune. If you want to eat tonight, I'd suggest you come with me, I'm sure we can find something for miss 'I'm scared of the Thorns' nutritionist'." Y/N teases and I roll my eyes.
"Okay, fine, I'm coming. Happy?"
"Very." Y/N says and I roll my eyes.
"That was a trap,"
"Oh yeah. Hell yes it was. I know how to get into your brain." Y/N says as we leave the room and head to the elevator. When we get to the main floor, Y/N heads off in a direction and I follow, we indeed pass the casino, and a gift with a Starbucks in it. "Don't. It's a bad idea to go in there. Shit's expensive." Y/N says as we get in line for a little concession stand on the far end of the front corridor to this massive place.
Once we have some food, we go back to the room and eat it there while Y/N argues with Ashlyn on FaceTime.
"You'll see her in two months and have her for eight months." I say and Ash chuckles.
"Is little Toby jealous?" Ash taunts and I roll my eyes at her.
"I'll put that snake back in your garage." I say and Y/N smacks my collarbone with the back of her hand.
"Don't you dare. This chicken shit was too scared to get him contained. So I had to. If I have to play crocodile hunter again, I'm leaving your ass for another year." Y/N says and I look at her to see that she's absolutely serious.
"Where to?" I ask and she scoffs a little.
"PSG, Lyon. Our Aussies say Australia's pretty decent."
"So you'd learn French in a span of ten months." I say and Y/N raises an eyebrow at me.
"Fuck oui, je le ferai." Y/N says and I just stare at her.
"Holy fuck."
"By the way, Tobs, your girlfriend has been learning French in Orlando."
"I would've thought that was Russian, thanks, Ash." I say before hanging up the call. Y/N looks at me and pecks me on the lips.
"You know I'd never leave the country. Not without you."
"That's good to know." I say and she nods. "So why have you been learning French?"
"Babe?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are we going to be spending a month of our lives in June?"
"Oh, shit, I forgot about that." I say and Y/N rolls her eyes.
"Of course, this'll only be your what? Third world cup?"
"This'll be your second."
"You got actual time in 2015. You'd been playing for seven damn years. Still playing. Take a break grandma."
"Ooh, the grandma card."
"Guess that'd make me one, too, huh?" Y/N asks and I nod. "Shit, I did not think this through."
"No, no you did not."
"Fuck you."
"Not yet."
"That is my line, I'm gonna have to mute your shit for that. That's copyrighted shit there."
"Or you could just steal the money I need." I say and Y/N smiles, kissing me quickly before we return to eating.