"Come on, he's your dad." Katelyn too pulled her sweater off, leaving her in a lacy bra, a tight black miniskirt that hugged her ass, and black tights that showed off the curves of her legs.
"I know, I know. He wants to come to the game and then get together after. It's an early game, six o'clock start." He took off his jeans and underwear, conscious of Katelyn watching him with increasing heat in her eyes.
"That's nice."
He watched her in turn as she peeled down the skirt and tights. "Will you come with us?"
She pursed her lips and straightened. "You want me to meet your dad?"
"You have met him."
"That was a long time ago. You know what I mean."
She'd met his dad in college once when he'd come to visit after the Spartans had made the playoffs. At that point, Tanner and Katelyn had been dating for months and had gotten pretty close. Dad had liked Katelyn … why wouldn't he, she was gorgeous and Dad loved the ladies. He'd flirted with her, which had pissed Tanner off. He hadn't seemed to realize that Tanner had been serious about Katelyn. Tanner had actually thought they were going to be together … okay, yeah, forever. He'd thought about forever with Katelyn even though they'd been young.
His dad had talked about her behind her back like she was a puck bunny who slept her way around the hockey team and Tanner was a lucky guy to have girls like that throwing themselves at him.
"Truthfully, I'm not sure I want you to meet him," he finally responded, moving to the bed and pulling back the duvet.
She frowned.
"But I kind of want you there for moral support."
"Why don't you want me to meet him?" she asked, sounding hurt. She didn't move, standing in an ivory bra and thong panties as he slid under the covers.
"Because he's an asshole."
She blinked. "Oh." Then she smiled. "Tanner. You're a grown man. You don't need moral support to meet with your dad."
"Yeah, I kinda do."
She climbed onto the bed and knelt beside him. "He's your dad. I only wish I could have dinner with my dad one more time."
"Ah, babe. You're right. I should appreciate the fact that he's still around and he's interested enough to come to my game."
She nodded. "But I'll come with you, if that's what you want."
"I do." He curved a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her head down for a kiss. Her mouth lingered on his, warm and soft.
"Want me to make a reservation somewhere?" she murmured.
"Sure. Thanks. Somewhere nice. He'll expect that."
She rolled her eyes and slid off the bed, padding to his bathroom in her sexy lingerie to wash her face. She reappeared naked, face bare of makeup, shutting off the bathroom light and leaving them in shadows.
He pulled her to him in the bed and kissed her temple. He liked having her there, in his bed. They'd been together every night this week. She'd had a job Wednesday night but had come to his place after. He'd had the lip-sync thing Thursday but had gone to her place after. Tonight they'd gone out with friends, like a couple. They were a couple. Again.
It was weird, and yet it felt totally natural.
-
Seeing his father went pretty much as he'd expected.
Dad brought his new fiancée, Helen, with him. This would be step-mom number four. Yay.
What did surprise him was that Dad didn't even remember Katelyn. Tanner'd had to remind him that they'd met before.
"Of course, of course, how could I forget a pretty face like yours." Dad flirted with her, holding her hand too long.
She was lovely to him, of course, polite and friendly, with impeccable manners. She'd made a late dinner reservation at Jack's, which was perfect, the kind of place Dad would enjoy … velvet curtains, a pricy menu of steaks and seafood, waiters in tuxes.
"Too bad about that turnover in the second period," Dad said as they perused the menu. "Cost your team a goal. And you were a little too focused on the puck when they got that second goal. You lost position on your man."
Tanner gritted his teeth. Trust Dad to focus on his mistakes. Of course, playing defense didn't get you the attention of the scorers. You didn't end up on highlight reels even though you'd made saves and laid some bone-crushing checks on opponents that changed the direction of the game. Whatever.
"I thought you played great," Katelyn said. "And you were on the ice for a lot of minutes."