Jonathan
Before we all leave for Christmas the team has a little get together at Payton's place. Everyone knew her and her place was nicer than any of ours so that's where we decided to hang out.
Some of the guys play basketball and I had the joy of watching Payton move the tree all by herself because she didn't want any help, never does. It's one of my favorite things about her.
After the tree was removed we put our secret Santa gifts under the tree and roam around. A lot of the wives take in her paintings and pictures while the kids played on the Wii and the guys played basketball.
I sat with Duncs and Sharp and Hammer as the other guys make believe they are in the nba instead of the nhl.
"Patrick knows he's like 5'10 at best right" Sharpy asks as we watch him get pick pocketed yet again.
"You want to tell him that" I ask.
"Absolutely not" he admits and we all laugh.
"This place is so cool. It's like a Payton museum" Brent says joining in our little circle.
"You mean her home" Sharp asks.
"Well yeah. But she's like a open book. Even if you can't read into it she'll tell you if you ask nicely" he goes on.
"I get it, she's not like most girls" Duncan concludes.
"She's not like most people" I clarify.
"Yeah, she's got to be unique to understand you" Sharp chirps.
"I'm not that hard to understand" I defend.
"You kind of are" Hammer agrees and I frown.
"What's so hard to understand" I ask.
"Literally everything. Why you walk across the locker room like someone killed your dog. Why you have to do things certain ways. Why you go home and you still look like you want to take your skate to someone's throat. Why you think vegetables will give you a advantage over everyone else who eats them too" Brent lists off.
"Okay... maybe I'm different than other hockey players. But that doesn't mean I'm hard to read" I insist.
"You're practically in another language" Sharp adds.
"I'll prove it" Duncs insists. "Hey Payton, come here" Duncs yells. She comes from the group of wives and girlfriends she was talking to and stops when she's by my side.
"What's up" she asks.
"Do you think Jonny is easy to read" he asks.
"Not particularly" she admits.
"But you understand him" he asks.
"Well yeah" she claims.
"Thank you, that's all" he says and she looks at me. I just shrug before she returns from where she came from.
"What's your point to all of this" I ask.
"My point that if she gets away from you, you're screwed. I know you're being cautious and you don't want to hurt her but she doesn't care. She understands you, she knows you're going to make mistakes and she'll understand who you are and what that means to your relationship. She knows you're holding back" he insists.
"I don't want to say I love you and her not feel like I mean it. She'll know if I say it because I feel like I have to or because I need to. I want her to know that I really do love her and not just because she lets my friends hang out at her place or because I'm afraid to lose her. That's not right" I defend.
"And it's not right to love her and not tell her every chance you get" he claims.
"Look. For Christmas I got her this" I say digging my phone out and pulling up a picture. I look around to make sure there's no chance of seeing it or hearing me before showing it to them.
"Damn Jonny" Sharp says and I shush him. "Sorry, but even I'm impressed" he claims.
"How much did that cost you" Hammer asks.
"Does it matter" I ask.
"Most girls doesn't like when they get out spent on christmas" Duncan adds on.
"She's not most girls" I explain.
"Okay, you got me there" he admits.
"What does this have to do with anything" Brent asks.
"This is my way of showing her how much I love her. Not just dropping a bunch of money on a piece of jewelry, it's more than that. It's who she is, who we are. It's my way of showing her that I don't want to be with her just today or even tomorrow, but forever. It's my way of telling her things I can't say with my mouth. Some times when I talk to her it's all just mumbled in my head. I can't put two and two together and tell her how I'm feeling. So this will help me" I explain.
"I love it" Sharp admits.
"Yeah Jonny, that's pretty good" Duncs agreed.
"Thanks" I smile putting my phone away.
We continue to talk for a little before everyone gathers around the court.
"What's going on" I ask.
"Payton is embarrassing everyone on your team one by one" Abby says and I smirk. I peek over everyone's head because it wasn't that hard with how tall I was and look in there. It was just Patrick and her going one on one. She moves one way and Patrick follows them she cuts back sending Patrick flying. She easily shoots and scores and the guys go crazy. If there's one person they have a harder time than me, it was Patrick. He doesn't mess up a lot, that's why he was so cocky, and why it was so fun to see his mouth getting him in trouble.
As he laid there trying to figure out what just happpened the guys surround him just yelling at him. Not even words, just yelling.
I walk over to Payton and wrap my arm around her before pulling me into my side.
"Do you have any idea how good that felt" she asked.
"I've known the guys for five years, I think I have a clue" I admit.
"How much does he hate me right now" she wonders.
"He has bigger problems to worry about" I admit pointing to the guys on their phones watching the video over and over again.
"He had it coming. I said I didn't want to play him but he wouldn't leave me alone" she says.
"Sounds like Patrick" I admit.
Payton goes over and helps him off the floor because she felt bad and he returns to his feet.
"Alright alright leave him alone" she defends.
"This is the greatest Christmas present ever, thank you Payton" Sharp says giving her a hug.
"You're welcome" she laughs.
"That's not fair, you used to play basketball" he pouts.
"And you're a professional athlete" she counters.
"Still" he mumbles.
"I'm sorry, how can I make it better" she asks.
"A kiss" he smirks and I shake my head.
"Alright, we're done here" I say stepping between them. I pull Payton away from him and she smiles up at me.
"Are you jealous" she smirks.
"No" I reply way too quickly to be believable.
"I know you Jonathan, you're jealous" she says moving closer and I start to blush.
"I'm not" I try.
"You're lying" she insists.
"Prove it" I challenge. She walks over and runs her hands down my chest until she gets to my waist. She runs her hands around my waistband as she walks around me. She stops in front of me before wrapping her fingers in my sweater and pulling me close.
"Because if I was to leave you, right now, all hot and bothered to go hang out with Patrick, you would..." she trails off as she gets closer and closer.
"I would punch him in his face" I admit and she smirks. She presses her lips to mine and suddenly I wasn't mad anymore. I wasn't thinking about her with Patrick and all the reasons that was so wrong. I was worried about keeping her lips on mine.