Not Without You

nineteen

Leo

Aria stays late into the night before her dad comes and picks her up. But it's not her fault. After we agreed to go out on a date, Mom and Aunty Tenille came back into the living room with the decision about dinner made: takeout. It took a while for us to all figure something out, but we eventually decided on Vietnamese. During the time we waited for our food to be delivered, we got into a heated round of cribbage. I've never been good at the game, but I enjoy playing it. Aria, however, is a master. I swear that she cheated, though. No one gets two eighteen-point hands in a row without hiding cards up their sleeves.

For about an hour now, Aria and I have been laying on the couch together, stealing kisses and talking about the bucket list. I have to admit, it's been hard to stick to just kissing her. What really holds me back, though, is my fear of screwing up. I don't know the first thing about dating someone or a relationship that's a step above being friends.

Despite my circumstances, I have to deal with it and just hope I don't screw this up somehow. If my dad was able to win my mom over again, then who's to say I can't make this work?

"My dad's here," Aria says, propping herself up on her elbow.

I reach up and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "You have to go."

"Yeah," she sighs. "I don't want to, but I have to. He drove all the way up here this late at night..."

She trails off, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, and it isn't difficult for me to tell that she's hiding something from me. "What is it?" I ask.

Her stunning eyes flick up to mine. "My dad wants to talk to you about something. I honestly don't know what. And I hate having to ask this of you after the interrogation Scarlett put you through, but will you talk to him? I'll stand there, ready to stop him if he starts asking too much."

I laugh, getting to my feet and brushing my shirt off. I then reach my hand out for Aria to take and help her to her feet. "Aria. I am anti-social, but that doesn't mean I can't handle answering questions. To be honest, Scarlett was kind of funny. She really cares about you."

"She always has," Aria replies, slipping her phone into her pocket. "Scar acts more like my older sister than my teammate. Come on. Let's get this over with."

Aria and I arrive at the front door in no time flat. Surprisingly, I'm not as nervous as I thought I'd be. Perhaps that because I met Luke briefly at the beginning of all of this.

"Aria," he smiles. "You ready to go?"

I side-glance Aria. She's blushing a little bit, probably embarrassed by the fact that her dad has walked up to the front door as if she's a seven-year-old that was over for a play date with her best friend. "Yeah," she replies, turning to me. She holds up her bag of creamsicle-scented soaps. "Thanks for teaching me how to make soap, and thanks for dinner. We'll have to do this again sometime."

The mischievous grin on her face is something only I can see, which is why I know she's referring to something much different than simply making soap again. "Uh, yeah," I reply. "That'd be a lot of fun. Maybe next time you won't burn yourself."

"You burned yourself?" Luke asks, displaying immense concern for his daughter.

Aria holds up her arm and peels back the bandage. "It's just a small one, Dad. Eliza, Leo's mom, made sure everything was okay. I didn't get the powder on my skin so there was no major damage. She told me to watch for any signs of infection, but I'm sure I'll be fine. Leo gave me some antibacterial ointment for it."

Luke shakes his head, shifting his gaze to mine. "Leo!" he says, holding out his hand for me to shake. "I almost forgot about you. How's it going?"

I shake his hand, making sure my grip is firm and confident. Now that I'm dating Aria, being around her dad is a little intimidating. Although he wasn't much of a fighter when he played for the Flames, there were the few times he did. And after watching all the videos, I don't want to know what he's like when he's upset. "It's good to see you again, Luke," I reply, subconsciously trying to remember if he said to call him Luke the first time we met or not. "It's going good. Typical summer, you know?"

He nods, his eyes twinkling with a look I continuously see in Aria's eyes. Aside from having hockey in their blood, I believe the Maddens are also constantly happy and optimistic. I haven't really seen Aria in a bad mood. Ever. "Speaking of the summer," he continues. "I was wondering if you wanted to join my family and me for a summer barbeque at my sister-in-law's house this Saturday."

I glance at Aria again, a definite look of surprise in my eyes. I thought for sure Luke was going to give me a stern talking-to about dating or even being friends with his daughter. I was definitely not expecting to be invited to a family barbeque.

Before I can say anything, Aria butts in. "You don't have to if you don't want to, Leo," she says, giving me a look of understanding. "I know you're not big on parties."

"I'm not," I reply, running a hand through my hair. Parties have never been my thing. Mainly because I tend to dissipate into the corners and wait it out, being as antisocial as possible, but also because I'm just awkward as hell. But then I think about everything I've done since I arrived in Whistler. Essentially, the decision I make all comes down to the fact that I've actually been able to make some friends. Aria, Benn, and Kolby seem to like me enough, and Aria's family was super sweet the first time I met them. "But it would be rude of me to deny an invitation, so count me in. "

Luke claps me on the shoulder, a broad grin on his face. "Excellent. Well, Leo, thank you for taking good care of my daughter. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday."

Aria rolls her eyes. "Dad. I'm not five."

Luke slips his arm around Aria's shoulder and presses a kiss to her temple. "You'll always be my little girl."

Aria's cheeks turn pink with embarrassment, but this time I don't feel any hard feelings against her as I did the first time. I overreacted that night, high on nothing but emotions, and I had no right to become agitated. Just because she's embarrassed, doesn't mean she doesn't appreciate having a father.

"Dad," she says, her tone exasperated. However, despite her embarrassment, I notice that she doesn't push him away. "We should get going. Now."

"Sure thing," he replies, winking at me.

I can't stop myself from chuckling, which I cover with a cough when Aria gives me a death stare. "I'll see you tomorrow, Aria," I say. "At work."

"Right," she replies, more focused on getting her dad off the front porch. "Tomorrow."

Once the final goodbyes are said, Aria ushers her dad off the porch and down to the truck that's parked out front. A pang of jealousy goes through me as I watch them banter back and forth. It's moments like these ones where I wonder if that's what my dad and I would have been like. Would we have had endless banter and inside jokes? Would we have even gotten along?

I like to tell myself yes in regards to these questions. After all the stories I've heard about the well-liked Leon Saint-Laurent, I can see us in Aria and Luke's shoes, happy and relaxed. We would be the kind of father-son relationship people envied.

As I turn around, waving one last time at Aria and Luke, I realize that this is one of the first times the jealousy hasn't completely taken over and betrayed my emotions.

A small smile works its way onto my lips.

Maybe coming here wasn't such a bad idea after all.