“Hey, sis.”
“How was the meeting? You ready for the big games coming up?” I ask.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He smiles, and it’s the most relaxed I’ve seen him in a while. I think bonding with his teammates and having genuine friendships has done wonders for him, and I couldn’t be happier for him.
“Mind if I say hi to my girl?” Quentin cuts in, and before anyone can respond, he wraps his arms around the small of my back and lifts me so that he can press his lips to mine.
I smile into the kiss, then kiss him once more before he sets me down. The room is eerily silent as we turn to face our friends and family, because not everyone knows about this development in our relationship.
“I knew it!” Camille smiles.
“Uncle Q and Teagan are going to get married,” Olivia announces, making all of us laugh.
From behind me, Quentin wraps his arms around my belly as he kisses my cheek.
“So this is new,” Ian comments, but where I would expect anger, I only see acceptance and happiness.
“I’m happy and we’re going to figure it out as we go,” I tell him.
“If you’re happy, then I’m happy,” Ian replies, then looks at Quentin with a death stare. “Hurt her and I’ll hurt you.”
“If I hurt her, I’ll let you hurt me, got it?” Quentin says as he squeezes me tighter to him.
“Relax, you two, there’s no hurting anyone,” I say with a flip of my hand.
We all chuckle as the group slips into conversations, and I take a moment to take it all in.
Even though it’s a small group, it’s still the biggest group of support I’ve ever had.
All my life it’s been Ian, Clara, Kaya, and me, and until my grandparents died, my grams and pops.
Now I have Camille, Olivia, Ryker, Quentin, and my daughter.
Although this isn’t what I predicted or envisioned for my future, it was the perfect twist I needed.
I was so scared to be without gymnastics because I didn’t know who I’d be.
And guess what? I like that version of myself a lot.
I’m not just a gymnast. I’m a friend, a mother, a sister, a girlfriend, a coach, and a person who’s just trying to find out what hobbies she likes and doesn’t like.
“All right, we’re dying to know. What are you guys having?” Clara asks over the groups of people talking, drawing all of their attention to us.
“Clara, you can’t just ask people what they’re having,” Kaya scolds her.
“We’re best friends. Those rules don’t apply,” Clara defends herself.
“It’s okay. We planned on announcing it tonight to everyone anyways,” I say, and with a deep breath, I grab Quentin’s hand. “It’s a girl.”
The room explodes into cheers of joy and congratulations as we’re greeted by our friends and family, and by the end of it, I’m fighting back tears. Because why wouldn’t I be crying at this point?
I turn around away from the group as I wipe my eyes, with Quentin whispering in my ear, “Don’t worry, we’ll pretend it never happened.”
His comment makes me laugh because it reminds me of the first time I cried in front of him and just how far we’ve come.
And I can’t wait to see how far we go together.
Chapter 46
