“They’re better than last night. I’ll still have them for the next few days, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“You don’t have to handle it alone anymore.”
He leans over and places a soft kiss on my lips.
This is my favorite way to wake up, in his arms, surrounded by his warmth and love. I never want this feeling to end.
He pulls away from the kiss and sits up, the covers pooling in his lap. “How about we order some breakfast and relax until we have to get on the bus?”
“Sounds perfect.” Rolling over, I start to get up, making my way over to the bathroom as I pee and brush my teeth, making sure to take my birth control before walking back out to him still sitting up in the bed, a lazy smile on his face as he watches me. “What are you looking at?”
“Oh, I’m just admiring the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
I blush, laughing lightly as I make my way back over to him and crawl into bed. “Oh, shut up.”
He pulls me into him, resting his head on top of mine as we lay there, waiting for the food.
We relax into each other, relishing in the silence and peace until there's a knock on the door, signaling that our food is here. Wordlessly, Jake gets up and makes his way to the door, grabbing the food and then bringing it back to the bed, setting everything up and handing me my camomile tea that is perfectly made.
Once he’s back in bed, we tuck into the food, and I feel so giddy at this moment. It’s so easy to sit here with him and not feel like I have to fill the silence or be anything but myself.
He collects the trays once we’re both done with our food and takes them to the desk, setting them there before joining me in bed again. “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Sure, what’s up?”
He leans down, resting his forehead on mine. “With all of the Eric shit that we’re dealing with plus your job on the line, I think we need to talk to Coach again. I want to tell him about us in-person and make sure we’re clear with HR and get an answer from him on how to handle this.”
I nod along. “I agree. Eric’s behavior is escalating, and I’m starting to get scared about what he could do.”
“Did he do something last night?” I shake my head at him.
“No, he hasn’t done anything since I told you, but I still have an uneasy feeling. What he said, what he made me feel in that moment,” I close my eyes, trying to stave off the tears that have started to build, “It tore at everything that I’ve worked so hard at. I feel like he was inside my head, pulling at every insecurity and forcing me back into this dark place that I already escaped once. I don’t know if I can do it again.”
His hands cup my cheeks, fingers tangling in my hair as he rubs soothing circles on my neck. “Don’t let him take your power away. Kailyn, you are so much stronger than that asshole’s attempts to make you smaller. You are anything but small, because you shine so much brighter than anyone I’ve ever met.”
I feel a press of his soft lips on my forehead as I let his words sink in. “You just said it yourself, you fought like hell to overcome all of those demons and insecurities. If you were able to do it once, you can do it again. I believe in you.”
The words sink into my bones, sliding through me like a soothing balm. Jake is one hundred percent right. I put in the work, fought to find myself, my confidence, my voice.
I am good enough.
I am strong enough.
I am confident enough.
No one gets to take my power away again.
“Thank you, Jake.” I pull back slightly, my lips hovering over his as I just let them press together. This feeling is all I need from him, the reassurance that he gives me by just being here, and the confidence that he’s always had in me.
“Always, Kailyn.”
We settle into each other, just breathing in themoment until we’re interrupted by the ringing of Jake’s phone. He reaches to the nightstand and grabs it before flipping it over to see an incoming text from Connor, letting us know we have to load the bus in an hour. With a soft kiss, he helps me off the bed as we make our way around the room, getting dressed and packing before leaving.
“Should one of us walk out first and make sure the coast is clear?” I ask, and he looks less than impressed. “What? You wanna get caught before we go to HR?”
Sighing, he reluctantly agrees. “Fine.”
He walks out the door before looking left and right, then signaling that it’s safe to leave my room. We walk side by side to the elevator, and make our way down to the lobby. Luckily, we don’t run into any other players on the way down.
