Because I’m 2 seconds away from breaking Liam’s fingers one by one if he keeps staring at your ass in those shorts.
Ford
Also, you’re tempting me.
Says the guy in the backwards hat.
I shake my head and start to eat my plate full of tacos. The guys come trailing in one by one, with Nate taking a seat to my left and Chase to my right.
“Fuck yes, Abby! This looks so good!” Nate reaches over the table to grab the sour cream and salsa.
“Tacos are easy,” I say through a mouth full of food.
“Yeah, Abby, everything looks great.” Liam winks at the end of his sentence and I already know that’s got to be sending steam out of Ford's ears, so I don’t even look in his direction.
Growing up, I didn’t hang out with my brother and his friends a lot. We aren’t very far apart in age, only four years, but I spent all of my time with Summer and he either had a girlfriend he was with, or he was out with friends at parties or playing football. It’s nice to see him interact with the guys tonight, it’s a side of Chase I’ve only gotten glimpses of. He’s a great brother and spending time with these guys all together tonight proves that they’re all more than just teammates; they’re friends, close friends. The thought pulls at my chest a little harder than I’d like. I hate lying to him about Ford, we have to just tell him about us. For all we know, maybe he’ll be okay with it. It seems like out of all of them, Ford is the one he trusts the most, considering the whole pregnancy thing.
Once I start cleaning up in the kitchen, Ford comes to my side with some of the plates from the table. “You don’t have to do that. I’m just cleaning up a little and then going to bed. I have school in the morning, it’s the last week before Christmas break.” I yawn through my words and run my hand through my hair.
“You’re tired, let me help you.” My heart soars at his words. Simple, yet so genuine and thoughtful. Since the beginning, Ford has been doing and saying things that shouldn’t sweep me off my feet, because in reality, they’re normal things like holding my bags, opening my doors, staying with me when I don’t feel well. The fact of the matter is though, they just aren’t things I’m used to. I’ve never had a man, other than my father, put me first. Instead of a reply, I simply smile at Ford and continue loading up the dishwasher.
Thirty minutes later, everything is cleaned up and I’m just wiping down the counter. I can hear the guys yelling about something in the game, not arguing, but just yelling out directions to one another about something. It makes me laugh as I make my way to the side of the sofa. I watch on as they yell into headphones and fist bump each other over who knows what.
“Going to bed, Ab?” Chase stands up, still holding a controller, but walks over to kiss my forehead.
“Yeah, I’m beat.” I say goodnight to the guys, letting my eyes linger on Ford for longer than necessary but it doesn’t seem like anyone but him notices.
Once I’m in my room, I open up my closet to get out clothes for tomorrow. Three more days until Christmas break. I’m so ready to dive into all of the holiday festivities that I haven’t had time for recently. As I’m shuffling through my very limited selection of cardigans and blazers, I hear someone clear their throat behind me and I whip my head around to see Ford standing in my doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest. His hat is still snugly placed on his head and he’s got that stupid, sexy grin on his face as his eyes work up and down my body.
“Trying to get caught or something?” I whisper, walking over to him.
“Why? Are you going to try and throw me in your closet again?” He lets out a low laugh. His hand grips my waist and he pulls me in for a quick hug and I instantly relax into his embrace. “I told the guys I needed to use the bathroom.”
He places his hands on my cheeks. “I just wanted to say a proper goodnight to my girlfriend.”
I tilt my head at the word because even though I know that’s what this has become, it’s the first time he’s said it. He plants a quick kiss on my lips and my eyes flutter shut at the feeling. Right as the moment begins, it’s gone just as fast.
“Girlfriend, huh?” I pull back, smirking,
“Yeah. Didn’t you know? I’m dating this fucking knockout.”
He winks at me and caresses his thumb over my bottom lip,
“G’night, Princess”
“Night, Anderson.”
* * *
“I can’t wait to hear all about your break when you get back!” I call out as the children scatter out of my classroom for Christmas break. I’m itching to do some decorating around the apartment and I haven’t had the chance between work and spending Ford’s free time with him. Once my classroom is all tidied up from the day, I gather up my things and head out to the parking lot. Just as I’m reaching the double doors, I catch a glimpse of Ben. We haven’t actually seen each other since that disastrous night we all went out. He doesn’t seem to be phased by it as he nods in my direction and tells me, “Merry Christmas.”Thank God.I couldn’t handle an awkward co-worker situation.
Summer told me the other day that her parents will be in Greece for the holidays, so without hesitation, or asking Chase, I offered for her to come spend Christmas here. She’s on break from school and was able to take off a good chunk of time from the bar, so she’ll be here the whole week of Christmas and I’m so excited. The guys have two more regular season games and then they’ll have a better idea of what’s going on for the playoffs. I’ve tried to really pay attention this year, to understand the game better and overall to just be more interested. It turns out it’s not all that hard when your focus is on a 6’4 man who towers over opponents and wears tight pants for three straight hours. I should have been paying attention to it a lot sooner.
After spending the car ride mentally planning out where all of the Christmas decorations will go, I make a stop at a few craft stores. I saw this idea on Pinterest to make homemade ornaments. I’ll put my own spin on it, but I loved the idea of what I saw. Considering Chase hasn’t once mentioned anything about decorating, it’s probably safe to assume he’s not interested in it one way or another, which hopefully gives me full creativity to do as I please in the apartment. Searching through the aisles of this store, I finally find the string and small holiday bows I’m looking for and head to the checkout line.
As I’m walking up to the crowd of people at the checkout line, there’s a woman standing there who looks familiar the closer I get.
“Dolly?” I ask, smiling at her as I get in line. I’m probably going to be here for a while, it seems like everyone had the same idea to get creative today.
