Jonathan
"Why is it so hot" I groan.
"Jonathan... we're in Florida" Payton giggles.
"Right" I nod.
We walk up to her parents house and set our things down. We were only here for one night because we had to get back to Chicago quickly but we also had gifts and stuff for Christmas tomorrow.
I raise my arm to knock but the door flies open before I make contact. William shows up in the doorway and smiles big when he sees us.
"Hell yeah, it's my favorite sister and her boyfriend" he claims.
"HEY" Bailey yells from inside the house and I shake my head.
"Come on in. I can take those" he claims taking the gifts.
"Thanks" I nod as we walk in. We kick off our shoes and coats and walk over to the kitchen. There a lady that looked a lot like Bailey and Payton standing in there. This was some type of trippy stuff. I know they're related, but damn.
"Hi momma" Payton says and the woman turns around.
"Baby girl, my God you have grown" she says rushing from behind the kitchen to hug her.
"I missed you too" Payton squeaks trying to breathe.
"And you must be Jonathan" she smiles turning to me. She pulls me into a hug and I couldn't help but smile.
"Please don't break my boyfriend" Payton begs. Her mom let's go and all the air enters my lungs once again. "I'm sorry, we're huggers" Payton claims.
I look down as her mom beams up at me.
"Oh I'm so excited to meet you. My little girl only says the sweetest things about you and she hardly did you justice" she claims.
"Moooom" Payton whines making me smile.
"She said you were cute, not handsome" her mom continues.
"Alright so that's my mom" Payton says grabbing me and pulling me away.
"You think I'm cute" I ask.
"Shut up" she blushes and I laugh.
She takes me out back and I see the boys out there with a guy I haven't seen before and the guy I am pressuming is her dad.
"Who's that" I ask pointing to the guy who looked closer to our age than anything.
"That's Bailey's boyfriend. His name is Fred and he is kinda quite. He's lasted a lot longer around us than I thought he would. I don't know if you've noticed, but we're kinda crazy" she giggles.
"Just a little" I joke.
I go out back and meet the rest of the guys. We all sit down in the back in some lawn chairs and we kick our feet up. We all grab a beer and chill out while the girls cook in the kitchen.
"Have you ever been outside at Christmas time" Payton's Dad, Michael, asks me.
"I'm from Canada sir, I barley went outside when it was summer" I claim and he laughs.
"I have to admit I do miss Chicago... but this is nice" he sighs. "So how are the boys doing this year" he asks me.
"We're doing good. We're hungry to get back to the playoffs and show what we have" I admit.
"That's good to hear. And how's my little girl" he asks.
"She's doing great. She has all the guys on her team wrapped around her finger, they love her. They treat her as a part of the family and she fits right in. Plus her place is nicer than all of ours and they guys find any excuse to play basketball" I admit.
"Have you seen her play before" he wonders.
"I've seen her play her brothers" I admit.
"We let her win" David claims.
"Sure" her Dad scoffs making me smile. "You know... she could have gone pro" her Dad informs me and I raise a eyebrow.
"Really" I ask.
"Yeah. She was amazing and she wasn't even trying. But she had a scholarship so she didn't have much of a choice but to play in college. But she was incredible even with her small size. She had a crazy accurate shot and she out thought her opponents. She had twelve WNBA teams looking at her" he claims and I nearly choke.
"That's amazing" I admit.
"It is. It's a shame she stopped playing" he admits.
"You know why she did it" William defends.
"I know, but I think it's a waste of talent" her dad claims.
"I don't think it is" I claim and it falls silent. When meeting the parents, picking a argument with the father isn't the best idea but I don't think he sees what I do. "I think what she is doing showcases who she is perfectly. She's a great photographer. She has a eye like no one else. She sees things that people like me often times over look. She pulls focus to something we might miss. She feels misunderstood but with photography people finally see things through her perspective. What makes her so special is how she sees the world and how she interprets it. If she isn't showing people how beautiful life is through her camera lens then that's a waste. The world needs more people like her and it's pretty cool to be able to watch her do what she loves. You can see the smile even from being the camera. She has pictures everywhere in the place and she looks so great in all of them. She loves what she does and I wouldn't change a thing about that" I explain.
Her dad stares at me as his blank expression turns into a smile.
"That was probably the nicest thing I've ever heard" he admits.
"I am very fond of your daughter" I admit.
"Do you love her" he wonders.
"More than anything" I admit.
"Does she know" he wonders.
"Not yet. I don't want her to feel like I'm saying it to her just so she would stay with me or move on from what happened" I defend.
"She told you about Ryan" William gasps.
"She did. She cried in my arms for hours" I explain.
"Wow, that's crazy. She won't even talk to us about him" David claims.
"It's because she loves him too" her dad claims.
"I sure hope so" I admit. I'm a little far in for her to not love me too.
"She defiantly does. I might not understand the girl but love is a universal language, it doesn't need words or actions to know it's there. You feel it, and I know you can. I hear it in the way you talk about her" he claims.
After a while we eat and open presents. I watch her brothers tear into their gifts and they almost cry when they see the personalized jersey signed by all the guys. William did end up crying but he said it was his allergies.
I set a little box in in Payton's lap and she looks up to me.
"Merry Christmas" I say. She opens it and and lets out a small gasp when she sees it. She picks it up and holds it in front of her face so she could see it.
It was a charm bracelet from pandora with a bunch of things on it. There was a camera for her love of photography, a building for her love for the city, a heart for her love for life, a hockey stick for me, a flower because every time I see one I think of her, and finally a charm that said "I love you".
"Jonathan, did you make this" she questions.
"I did. I didn't know what to get you and since you always wear your heart on your sleeve, I figured I would get you something so now you can wear it on your wrist" I shrug.
"This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever got me. I don't know what to say" she says softly.
"Do you want me to put it on" I ask and she nods. I put it on and she looks closely at the charms. She looks at me then back to bracelet before smiling big. She jumps off the couch and right into my arms.
"I love you too" she whispers sending shivers down my spine. I squeeze her tight and rub her back as we hold each other for a while. She eventually lets go and gives me a pointer finger telling me to hold on for a second. She returns with a scrap book and I smile.
"Here" she says pushing it towards me. I look at the front and it was a painting of us at the bean.
"Did you paint this" I gasp.
"Yeah, I haven't picked up a canvas in a while so I figured I would give it a shot" she shrugs.
"That's amazing. If this is just you messing around imagine what you could do for a living" I ask.
"It would be fun but I love photography. It takes me on trips I can't dream up. But I love knowing painting will always be there for me" she claims.
I sit on the floor and we go through the pictures. Her family gathers around as we tell them the stories behind the pictures.
We get to the last page and it was a blown up picture of us at the park. It was of our hands together and a bunch of flowers in the back. Around the picture it said "I love you for reasons I don't yet understand. I love you in ways I can't quite comprehend. I love you in ways that cannot be planned. And I love that you are my gentleman." I turn to her and smile big.
"I love you so much" I insist.
"I love you too."