Hustle and Heart

Ch.23

The family dinner was at 6:30 and it was 5. Carey told me that the dinner would just be his mom, dad, his sister, Kayla, and her boyfriend Yannick Weber. The fact that three different hockey players will be together at the same time is just weird... I'm so used to being with my team that being with other players is weird. The only time I'm with other players is when I'm with Carey or my friend Maddy whose engaged to Jonathan Toews and her brother is the man himself, Tyler. I haven't seen or spoken to him since the awards... I never knew that he was like that and now I'm terrified of him. I won't return any of his calls and just by his name I shutter. He reminded me so much of mike when he was like that and that scares me...
"Babe you should probably start getting ready so we get there on time." Carey said with a chuckle, interrupting my thoughts. I glanced over to the clock which read 5:20.
"We have to leave the house by 6:10 okay." He said while walking over to me, placing a gentle kiss on my lips.
"Okay sounds good." I said while walking over to my suitcase. Since it was a little chillier here then in Tampa, I decided on some leggings, a white t-shirt, some ankle boots, and a maroon coat. (Outfit above). For my  makeup, I decided on a very neutral eye and lip. Also, for my hair, I brushed through it creating gentle waves. I walked out of Carey's bedroom and started making my way over to the front door. Carey was dressed in plain jeans, a button up shirt, and a cowboy hat. (Outfit above).
"Well are you ready to go?" He asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be!" I said clearly a little nervous as I jumped into his truck.
"Bree you'll be fine! They will love you and if they don't then that's there lost." Carey said while grabbing my hand, giving it a squeeze. He pulled out of his driveway and began making the drive from his house to his parents house.
-------*skip car ride*--------
We pulled into Carey's parents driveway and the nerves all came back to me.
"Okay well let's go!" He said, jumping out of the car and running over to the passenger side to open my door. I stepped out of the truck and right away Carey grabbed my hand. We walked up to the front door and paused once we reached the porch.
"Bree I want you to know that whatever happens in there I still love you and I always will." Carey said while placing a kiss on my cheek.
"I love you too Carey." I said.
Carey slowly opened the door to reveal the front room. Right then I heard talking and someone making there way over to us. A women appeared who I assumed was Carey's mother.
"Carey! I missed you so much honey and I'm glad you could make it!" Carey's mom said while hugging him.
"And you must be Brianna! Carey has told me so much about you!" She said while running over to hug me.
"It's a pleasure meeting you Mrs. Price." I said while hugging her back.
"Oh please honey call me Lynda!" She said pulling away. "Please come and sit! Dinner will be ready shortly!" His mother exclaimed while running over to the kitchen. Carey and slowly took off our shoes and he grabbed my hand.
"Don't worry babe I didn't tell her about hockey. I figured we could tell them together." He whispered into my ear. I nodded and entered the dining room to see Carey's father, his sister, and her boyfriend.
"Son I'm glad you could make it!" Carey's father exclaimed while walking over.
"I'm glad we could make it too." Carey said while smiling down to me.
"And you must be Brianna." Carey's dad said while hugging me. "Carey has told us a lot about you." He said while pulling away.
"It's nice meeting you too Mr. Price." I said with a smile.
"Oh please you are dating my son which means it's Jerry to you!" He said with a laugh. I saw a very pretty brunette walk over to where Carey and I were and so I assumed that it was his sister.
"I'm Kayla, Carey's sister! It's great finally meeting you!" She said while pulling me into a hug.
"It's great to finally meet you!" I said with a smile. I already loved his family.
"This is my boyfriend Yannick! He plays for Vancouver!" She says clearly proud. Yannick eyes me, clearly knowing me from somewhere.
"It's great to meet you." I said while extending my hand. He slowly shook it still trying to figure out how he knew me.
"Dinners ready!" Carey's mother screamed. We all pilled into the kitchen and served ourselves. Once everyone received there food, the questions started.
"So Brianna where are you from?" Lynda asked.
"I'm from Windsor, Ontario. My parents were there for a hockey tournament and I guess I was a little early." I said. No one really knows that I'm Canadian because most just assume that because Ben is American then so am I. That isn't the case though.
"Oh nice. So who plays hockey in your family?" Jerry asked.
"Both my brother and I. My brother plays net and I'm a right wing." I said. Right when that came out of my mouth, Yannick looked up at me clearly realizing who I was.
"I think I know you..." Yannick said a little unsure and that's when I started panicking.
"What do you mean babe?" Kayla asked, clearly confused.
"Okay before you say anything just let her explain." Carey said, receiving a nod from all of them.
"Yes Yannick you definitely know who I am..." I began. "My full name is Brianna Bishop and my brother is Ben Bishop. We both play for the Tampa Bay Lightning." I said, glad that I could finally let that out. "I completely understand if you don't like me anymore because of my career." I said a little disappointed.
"Oh honey! That is great!" Lynda exclaimed. "You and Carey know how crazy one another's schedule is and quite frankly we don't care who you play for... It's amazing that you play in the NHL and we just love seeing Carey happy..." Lynda said with a smile.
"Now we have three different teams in the family!" Kayla exclaimed, earning a laugh from all of us.
------*skip the dinner*-----
We were all lounged around Carey's parents living room until about 11 pm.
"Hey babe I think we should head out." Carey whispered.
"Yeah me too." I responded.
"Okay mom and dad I think Bree and I are going to head out." Carey said while standing up. He reached his hand out to help me up also.
"Well thank you for coming out! It was a pleasure meeting you Bree! I wish you the best of luck next season, even though I'm sure I'll see you before then." Lynda said while shooting a wink in my direction.
"You for sure will!" I said giving her a hug.
"We could all plan a shopping trip before you leave!" Kayla said while jumping up.
"That sounds great!" I said. Carey and I said goodbye to Jerry and Yannick while making our way to his truck.
"See babe... I told you that they would love you." He said while placing his hand on top of mine.
"I love your family Carey." I said while placing a kiss on his cheek.
"Well that's good. I can already tell that they love you too." He said while starting the truck. I just only hope that my parents will accept Carey like Carey's parents excepted me...