Dinner with everyone

Lucky for you Rebecca did not forget, so a little over 40 minutes later you were sitting at the dinner table, happily munching away at the disk of dough. Rose giggled as you fed her bites of pizza, clearly enjoying your company and that of your family.

"So, you two seem happy" your mom said.

"Yep" you said with a grin as Rose tried to feed you pizza in return, gnawing on it.

"Almost annoyingly so" Rebecca added.

"Oh, come on Becca, John's obviously happy with Rose" Dawn said.

"Yep" you said between bites.

"Just yep?" Rose asked.

"I'm eating" you told her. Rose giggled and stopped feeding you for a while.

"Well?" she said. You rolled your eyes and turned to look at her.

"Rose, I love you. Better?" you asked.

"Much" she said, leaning in to kiss you.

"Come on guys, not at the dinner table" your mom said.

"Sorry mom" you said with a smirk that said you were anything but.

"Sorry Maria" Rose said, looking properly abashed but grinning as soon as her eyes met yours.

"Mom, was I ever this bad with Gillian?" Rebecca asked.

"Don't think you two ever ate here with us that often" your mom said.

"No, I don't think you did" you agreed.

"Aren't you glad I didn't? You two are pretty annoying" Rebecca teased.

"I wouldn't say annoying, but I want to focus on my food" Dawn said.

"Alright, alright" you replied, "we'll stop. For now."

"For now is right" Rose told you with a smile.

After dinner you were lounging by the pool, sitting on the lounger together with your girlfriend.

"So do you take a lot of girls back here?" Rose asked.

"Not really" you said, "just my ex and one or two squeezes."

"And now me" Rose said. "Anybody else coming after me?"

"I hope not" you said. "I'm having fun with you so far."

"So far?" the brunette asked with a sly grin.

"Well, I hope we can last a while yet" you told her.

"I'm sure we can" Rose replied. "You know I'm madly in love with you."

"And so am I" you said, smiling as you gave her hand a squeeze.

"Good" she told you, bringing your hand to her lips and giving it a kiss. "Shouldn't you be turning in soon?" she asked after.

"Nah, tomorrow's match is in the afternoon. We've got time to relax" you told her.

"Relax or 'relax'?" Rose asked, grinning again.

"Just relax. I'm more than happy just to sit here with you in my arms" you told her.

"Aw, you're so sweet" your girlfriend said, smiling up at you.

"Go John!" Rose called from the stands. Around her, your friends and family laughed then cheered you on. After shooting a wink at your girlfriend you focused your attention on the game again. You took a few steps, threw the ball upwards, then hit it with the flat of your hand. You heard the whistle, telling you you'd scored another point. Another ace! That was three in a row!

"Keep it up, Doe" your coach called, "you're trashing them!" You scored one more ace before the opposing team managed to counter you, allowing them to regain the attack. Lucky for your team, the other team didn't quite get their act together and were unable to catch up with you. In the end, your team won and you were hailed as the man of the match because of your four aces. "Congratulations, Doe" your coach said as you walked off the field to get your water bottle. "A guy who plays like that deserves to date my niece."

"Gee, thanks coach" you said with a smirk, managing to hide it by taking a swig of water.

"Well done, dude, that was great" Mark, one of the substitutes said.

"Thanks Mark" you said, accepting his compliment and others besides. When you passed your team you were met by Rose, who grinned.

"I don't really want to hug you but I also do" she said. "You did so well!"

"Just come here" you said, hugging her tight before kissing your girl.

"Oh, gross! Now I'm all sweaty too!" she exclaimed. Around you people laughed as they crowded in to congratulate you. "I'll get you back for that" she said with a grin just before you were swamped by your teammates.

Later, when you were back at your place, you saw a handwritten note on the table. Walking over to it you read it, of course.

'Baby, put your phone down and meet me by the pool. Love, your Rose' it said. Frowning, you took your phone out of your pocket and put it down on the table before walking out.

"Rose?" you called. There was no answer. You tried again. "Rose?" Still nothing. You were about to go back inside when you suddenly saw someone charging at you from behind the nearby pool supply shed. There was just enough time to recognise it was Rose in her bathing suit before she bowled you over and sent the two of you falling into the pool.

"Got you" Rose said when you both had surfaced. She closed her arms and legs around you and held you close.

"So you did" you said, kissing her lips. "I'm a bit confused, though" you told her after.

"How come?" Rose asked.

"How does this constitute getting back at me?" you replied.

"I was thinking of turning you on and leaving you hanging" the brunette told you.

"You know you can't control yourself" you told her.

"Ah, damn. You're right" Rose said. "Oh well" she added before kissing you hard on the lips.