When we break apart, I run my hand over his thigh, gently feathering near his knee.
“How is it?” I ask.
“Doesn’t hurt enough to stop me from doing this,” he says, pulling me onto his lap. My knees hit either side of the couch as I straddle him, my arms wrapping around the back of his neck.
“Who would’ve thought?” I laugh.
“What?”
“It just goes to show… if you’re really patient and wait, like, a decade, anyone can get the chance with the love of their life.”
His lips spread into a smile and his head falls onto my chest as he holds my body against his.
“By the way, my jersey you wore the other night… I’m going to need to see you in it again.” He runs his tongue over his bottom lip and I shake my head, laughing against him. “And to think, I was sure I had it all figured out,” he says with a shake of his head.
“Did I mess with your little playbook?” My smirk matches his.
“You kinda did, Kincaid.” His hands roam down my back before he steadies them on my thighs. “Worth it,” he whispers against my lips just before he kisses me.
I think somewhere between a late night kiss during a storm and finding the perfect Christmas tree, Chase started to see the good in people again. It only took him over a decade to notice me, but I’d have waited even longer if I had to.
Previous relationships made me wonder if I’d have to change things about myself to find something real and true.
Maybe I shouldn’t be so loud.
Or maybe I should just keep my opinions to myself.
I could try just going with the flow instead of being so bold.
But in reality, I don’t know how to be less than I am and dimming pieces of myself to fit into a mold of what someoneelse wants would only hurt me in the long run. I’ve been so conditioned to think I’m hard to love, but Chase makes it seem so easy.
SIX MONTHS LATER
“It’s really not that big of a deal, Chase.” Summer’s hands press on my shoulder blades as she finishes giving me a much needed massage.
“I fucking hate doing media. Coach even said he didn’t want to do it, but since we haven’t been featured at all in the last ten or so years, we were basically forced to participate.”
Every off-season for the last couple of decades, a camera crew will choose a team to follow around for training camp leading up to the next season.
Fans love it, I’ll admit it. But as a player it feels distracting.
We’ve been able to skirt by it on multiple occasions for numerous reasons, but this season our backs were against a wall.And even though Coach Aarons tried to have the film team go in a different direction, his swaying wasn’t successful.
“Come on.” Summer runs her nails in my hair as she moves off of me.
“Oh, but we were just getting to the good part,” I pout, watching the strap of her nightgown hang from her shoulder.
She stares at me with those crystal blue eyes, a temptation I’ve been having a hard time ignoring for too many slow mornings now. Having Summer in my life and CeCe’s life has been the biggest blessing we could’ve hoped for. She treats CeCe as her own and we make a damn good team when it comes to handling work and life balance, plus having a toddler. I know CeCe isn’t her daughter, she knows that too. But damn, if she doesn’t treat her like she is.
Summer doesn’t miss a single gymnastics practice or meet. She makes CeCe’s favorite breakfast when she’s off from the hospital, takes her shopping, they even went and had her first nail appointment the other day. CeCe couldn’t wait to show me her glittery pink fingers when she came barreling into the kitchen when they got home.
“We have forever for all the good parts,” she whispers against my lips before pressing her lips to mine in a slow, steady kiss.
I study her body as she moves from the bed and into the bathroom. The swell of Summer’s hips still sends my pulse into a frenzy and watching her move across my bedroom floor almost daily is a reminder that I never want her to leave. She leaves the bathroom door slightly ajar as she undresses to hop in the shower, but before she gets in, she looks back at me over her shoulder with a smile that has my heart aching in my chest. Praying that mornings like this, and nights like the last, never come to an end.
Summer doesn’t live with CeCe and I yet, but it’s something I’m hoping will change soon. This apartment has served us well.It’s been our safe space, a space of comfort and familiarity. But I want more for CeCe. Maybe a big yard where she can have a swing set and kick around a soccer ball. With some space for a dog to run, because ever since my sister and Ford expanded their family by four legs when they adopted their puppy, Thor, she’s been begging me for one. I knew that would happen, though. The first words from her mouth after she spent exactly three seconds with him were “I want one.” I made sure to thank Ford and Abby for that. They’re still waiting for their time as parents to arrive and I think the addition of a dog was a long time coming and a needed companion for my sister.
As I pull myself from the bed, I can hear the faint sound of CeCe’s voice coming from across the hall. Her sound machine automatically turns off at nine in the morning, making her morning solo singing sessions very clear.
