“Small world. My parents used to go there all the time for their romantic weekend getaways. It was perfect for me because I was able to throw some epic parties when I was in high school.”
She sputters a laugh. “Crossing my fingers that this kid isn’t a troublemaker.”
“He or she will, of course, be in skates as soon as they can walk.”
Her smile doesn’t wilt in the slightest. “I could be on board with that.”
Our vision connects, and a quiet overcomes us. Only the sound of Christmas carols in the distance somewhere fills our ears. This is us agreeing with our eyes that our fate has been changed, and we will embark on this road together.
“Well… maybe you want to go for a walk?” she suggests.
“Yeah, sure.”
“That’s good, because I would kind of like the blueberry muffin from Foxy Rox, and I can’t go in there because of the coffee smell, so really I’m just going to use you right now.”
I grin and stand then offer her my hand. Her delicate fingers plant on my palm, the mere touch a spark, but I ignore it. Gripping her hand, I yank her up. “I can accept that.”
A few minutes later, I emerge from the coffee shop, and she is busy scrolling on her phone but slides it into her bag when she sees me.
“Here you are.” I hand her the muffin, which she grabs with gusto and fishes into the paper bag.
“My hero,” she gushes before taking a giant bite of the muffin. “I didn’t realize that I was so hungry.”
I throw my thumb over my shoulder. “Do you want me to go back and get something else?”
She shakes her head only to lose a little balance, and I’m quick to sweep her arm up to steady her. “Are you okay?”
“Just a little dizzy, I guess.”
I look up and down the street and nobody takes notice of us. It had slipped my mind that rumors could fly; we’ll need to tamp those down for a while. “How about we get you home. A little rest.”
“Okay.”
Luckily, she doesn’t live too far and walked here. Her apartment is cute, but we’ll need more space when the baby comes.
It seems that I’m already assuming we are going to live together.
I have no time to contemplate that, as I need to focus on steadying Gracie.
Back at her place, we both take our coats off,and I help as she walks to her bedroom then crawls into bed and curls up on her side, pulling the duvet tight.
This is how the other night ended, except I left.
“Want me to get you something? Water?”
“Nah,” she mumbles then yawns. “I’m just tired.”
“Sure.” I’m about to step away, but her hand darts out to grab my wrist, and my eyes slide down because her touch is calming right now. “Want me to stay?” That is the instant thought that comes to mind.
“Yeah. Just for a little. I don’t want to be alone.”
Without hesitation, I crawl onto the bed and rest on my side behind her. Natural as the air I breathe, I wrap my arms around her. She pulls my arm tighter around her body, and I hear her sleepy sigh.
It’s late afternoon, but I can stay even if I don’t rest. “I’ll be gone when you wake up purely because we have 7am practice tomorrow and my spare clothes are at home. Sleep.”
“Yes, Coach,” she replies drowsily.
The corners of my mouth tug because the way she says it shoots a different feeling through me. It sounds a hell of a lot better when she calls me that, as opposed to the guys on the team.
