The Hockey Life - A Patrick Kane Fanfic

Part Twenty-Eight - Meet the Parents

PART TWENTY-EIGHT: MEET THE PARENTS

The next couple weeks were relatively uneventful other than my casual dates with Patrick (all of which were at either his place or mine, in order to avoid paparazzi in public places). However, by the end of them, we prepared for a big step in our relationship: meeting each other’s parents.

After we had talked to each other about the fact that we both had parents who wanted to meet us, I knew that it would be happening soon. I just didn’t know how soon. Even though two weeks seemed like a relatively long time, I found out that no amount of time could completely prepare me for it.

Patrick got to meet my parents first. We found time for both of us to go to my parent’s house on a weekend. He had practice in the morning but no game that night, and he was in Chicago. I didn’t have hockey or class to go to, so we figured it would work out well. I made plans with my parents a few days beforehand and we decided that we would come for dinner. I immediately started to internally freak out about it. I knew my parents would be embarrassing. I knew something would go wrong. But when they mentioned that Brian would be there too, it soothed my mind. For some reason, the thought of my older brother being there was comforting. He had always been my protector, and that wasn’t going to change now.

Even with the safety blanket, I was still on edge the whole drive there. Patrick could tell, and he finally said something when we only had about ten minutes left of driving.

“Why are you acting so crazy and weird?” he asked. I glanced over at him, taking in his usual blonde curls and mesmerizing blue eyes.

“I don’t know. Maybe because I’m freaking out a little,” I answered quickly.

“YOU’RE freaking out? How do you think I feel?! This should be the least of your worries. You don’t have anyone to impress. I’m the one who has to try to make a good first impression here,” Patrick said.

“Oh, please. As if you have anything to worry about. My parents already love you and they haven’t even met you yet. You could mess up everything and they’d still accept you. Maybe I don’t have to make a first impression tonight, but my parents do. They’re extra excited and they’re going to come off as really overbearing, I just know it. I don’t want them to screw this up,” I explained. For some reason I was on the verge of tears, I could feel it. I was really concerned about everything, honestly. Patrick was different from anyone I had ever dated before, and not because he was a celebrity. He was more important to me than any of my previous boyfriends ever had been. I wasn’t really sure why yet, but he was. This “meet the parents” night couldn’t be screwed up.

“It’s okay, Lean. It’s great that you care so much about this, but I swear I won’t be mad or offended if they come off a certain way or if they say something wrong. We’re all nervous here. Please don’t get so stressed out about this.” As he finished his last sentence, I felt him take my free hand in his, since I had been driving lazily with only one. The combination of his words and actions calmed me, and I let myself cool down as I pulled into my driveway.

“Well, we’re here,” I announced, even though it was obvious.