Travis
"Stop pacing," Wren groaned.
"I can't help it," I mumbled. "She should have texted me by now."
Carter returned to the room with the popcorn Wren had asked for. "Maybe she's still at work," he suggested.
Wren shot him a grin I was pretty sure she hadn't meant me to see. "He already called to check. Hazel said she'd left an hour ago. He also managed to wrangle out of her that Ronnie had a visitor today at work. Her sister-in-law."
"Can you please stop talking about my life like it's an episode of a soap opera?" I rolled my eyes at her.
"Stop being such a grump." She rolled her eyes right back at me.
Every once in a while, Wren was more like an annoying older sister than a friend. The whole evening was turning into one of those moments. Not hearing from Ronnie had put me on edge, and Wren seemed to think my angst existed for her own personal amusement.
A soft knock on the front door stopped my pacing. I froze and stared.
"Dude, are you gonna answer that?" Carter took a step that way as if he was going to do it.
"I'm getting it."
I yanked the door open so hard it went flying against the wall with an audible bang. Just outside, Ronnie's eyebrows shot up. Admittedly, I'd been a little overenthusiastic. My eyes trailed down to Stella, who was unbothered by the loud bang.
"Daddy." She held her arms up for me, and I instantly obliged her.
Wren cooed as she swooped in. She had a major soft spot for babies. Stella became mesmerized by Wren's red hair. The second she stepped within grabbing distance, Stella did just that. She managed to grab ahold of a whole fistful of the curling strands.
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." Ronnie tried to step in to help release Stella's grip, but Wren waved her off.
"Give me that sweet baby." Wren made gimme hands until I handed the toddler over to her.
I looked back at Ronnie, noticing for the first time the worried way she wrung her hands together. I reached for her, but she side-stepped my grip. She looked past me, to Wren.
"Hey, do you think you all could start the movie without us?" Her eyes flickered back to me. "Travis and I need a few minutes to talk."
"Of course," Wren agreed cheerfully. She shot a questioning glance in my direction, but I shrugged. I was just as confused as she was.
Ronnie nodded her head towards the back door. I let her lead the way, my head throbbing as I imagined all the horrible things she could potentially be preparing to say. She stepped out on the porch, wrapping her arms protectively around herself. I shut the door behind us and joined her.
"I tried to text you today."
"I know. Sorry for not answering."
"Is everything okay?"
She took a deep breath. "It's time for us to talk, don't you think?"
"Maybe we should sit," I suggested, pointing out the chairs stationed around a fire pit out in the yard.
I offered her a hand to help her down the stairs from the deck, and I was relieved when she took it, holding on even as we moved across the yard. I helped her into her chair before taking the one next to her.
"So you want to talk about—"
"Our future," she rushed to say.
My eyes drifted out over the yard. I was glad she was open to talking about what the future might hold, but I'd assumed we needed to talk about things from the past first. It was obvious there were still things lingering because of the history we'd shared. Why the hell was she still avoiding that topic so thoroughly?
I settled in, figuring the only choice I had was to let her lead. "Okay, what about it?"
"I don't really know what your life looks like during the school year. You have football and classes, obviously. How much free time do you have?"
"I stay busy, but it doesn't stop me from making time for other people." I stretched my legs out far enough that they leaned against hers. "And it certainly isn't going to stop me from making time for you and Stella."
"Good. That's good. I do have a different little concern, though." She stared at something behind me. I turned, but all I saw was the brick exterior of…
"The house," I realized.
She grimaced. "I just keep imagining what this place is like when it's football season. I can't imagine it's a great place for a toddler."
"No, you're right about that." It was something I'd thought about, too. My options were far more limited than I wished they were. "I'll have to think on it, okay?"
"Fair enough."
"So, we're what? Co-parenting?"
"Well, I was sort of hoping it might be turning into more than that." Even in the dim light of night falling over us, I could see the way her cheeks flushed.
"What sort of more?" I couldn't help my grin. Her words felt like progress.
"I know we haven't really labeled what we've been doing the past two weeks, but we've definitely gotten close again very quickly. I'm hoping maybe that means we're… dating?"
"I'd like that."
Ronnie rose from her chair and sauntered over to me. I held her hips as she lowered herself into my lap. Her face tilted towards mine and I placed a chaste kiss on her lips. She returned it with one of her own.
"What about the other stuff we still need to talk about, Ronnie?"
She didn't want to answer me. That much was clear as her lips found mine again, deepening the kiss that time. We stayed glued together like that for a long while. When the sound of crickets started to fill the air around us, we finally went back to join the others inside.
"Everything good?" Wren asked later when Ronnie left to take Stella to the bathroom.
"I'm not sure, to be honest." I couldn't shake the feeling that something was still off, despite the fact that Ronnie had been so open to considering our future together.
"Carter and I leave again tomorrow. Will everything be okay here?"
There was no doubt in my mind that if I asked, Wren and Carter would postpone the rest of their trip. That wasn't something I would do. I offered her my most reassuring smile.
"You're only a phone call away if I need you."
"Always." Wren squeezed my bicep in a friendly gesture. "I think the two of you will figure it out. After all, Carter and I did."
"And you two are solid?"
"Perfect. Everything between us is perfect." She glanced fondly at the man who'd fallen asleep hunched over on the couch. "I can't wait to double-date in the fall." Her eyebrows danced suggestively.
I laughed at her enthusiasm. She'd spent the entire second semester trying to find me a suitable girlfriend for double-dating. She hadn't gotten far, obviously.
Ronnie showing up was like her dream come true. Especially since Ronnie was being much friendlier the second time around. I wasn't sure what had gotten into her, but she'd been much more open to Wren and Carter while we'd finished the G-rated movie. It couldn't have hurt that Stella was quite taken with Wren and had spent the length of the movie perched in her lap.
"Hey," Ronnie lightly called out, appearing at the end of the hallway. "I think someone had a little too much excitement."
Stella was nestled against her with her head on Ronnie's shoulder. She didn't move at all. The kid was knocked.
I moved to her side so that I could gently take Stella from her arms. "You probably ought to get her home, that way Stella can sleep in her own bed." I'd considering offering to put Stella up in one of the empty rooms for the night, but the idea of her sleeping in one of those beds had bothered me. Most of my teammates were nasty as hell. Even changing the sheets wouldn't have convinced me those beds were clean.
"Could you maybe drive us? I can always come back and get my car tomorrow, but I'm really too tired to be driving."
"Of course I will."
Ronnie said goodbye to Wren and Carter—and I followed suit. The two of them were leaving early in the morning to have breakfast with Wren's father, and then he was taking them back to the airport from there. I didn't anticipate seeing them again before they left.
The ride to take Ronnie home was quiet. She stayed awake, and her hand was in mine, but her eyes stayed on the darkness outside the car window. Soft music played in the background, acting like a lullaby as Stella drifted back to sleep in the car seat we'd moved from Ronnie's car to mine.
"Do you need me to help you get inside?" I asked as we pulled into the driveway a short drive later.
"Yes, please. Can you grab Stella?"
I did as she asked, struggling to figure out how to unhook the contraption until Stella woke, sighing and pointing at the buckle I'd missed. I chuckled quietly to myself.
"Love you, sweet girl. Go back to bed," I urged her as I finally carted her up into my arms.
Ronnie turned to me at the front door. "I'm pretty sure Gabby and Vinnie are both asleep, so just be quiet, okay?"
"Sure thing."
I followed her quietly into the house, careful not to make too much noise as I padded across the hardwood floors. I stayed close to Ronnie, following her path through the house lit only by the moonlight streaming in through the windows. When we reached Stella's room, I laid her on the bed with a kiss on the cheek. Ronnie tucked her in and kissed her in the same spot I had.
Following Ronnie back out of the room, I prepared to say goodbye. There wasn't a single part of me that was prepared when she grabbed my hand and led me to her bedroom.
"Is this a good idea?" I asked, my eyes nervously darting in the opposite direction as if Vinnie might materialize from thin air.
"I certainly don't think it's a bad one," she countered.
I let myself be pulled into the room and towards the bed. The blinds to her windows were wide open, feeding plenty of light into the room from the streetlights outside. My jaw tightened with the effort it took not to reach for her as she began to undress in front of me.
"Come to bed, Travis." She climbed on top of the mattress and beckoned for me to join her. My mouth was entirely too dry from the sight of her.
I would never get sick of seeing her like that, beautiful and wild, waiting for me to join her.