To Have, To Hold, and To Leave: A Bryce Hall FanFiction «completed»

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"Hey, babies. How are you?" I turned to greet them. 
"I thought that this was my time. Did you follow us here?" Bryce asked defensively.
"Honestly, Bryce, this is all a little misunderstanding. My friend and I were going out to lunch, and I didn't think that you would be here with the kids," I explained. Cade was standing closer than normal friends do, but I couldn't figure out a way to signal that to him. 
"Your friend, huh?" Bryce repeated skeptically. 
"My friend. We met at a support group, and as it turns out, he went to high school with Jaden."
"Of course he did."

Cade stepped in, and I felt myself groaning internally. "Hi. Cade Allen. It's nice to meet you," he said, his outstretched hand hanging in the air and waiting for Bryce to shake it. 
Bryce looked at his hand, up at me, and back down to the table where our kids were staring at him, hanging on his every word and action. "We should get back to our lunch, and you guys should probably get yours started," he finally muttered. 
I felt the panic creep across my face, but Cade handled it like a pro. "Thanks, man. Have fun."

As Cade and I sat at our own table, I couldn't help but stare at their table, searching for signs of discomfort. 
"I think that that went really well," Cade was saying. 
"Shh," I replied, ignoring him. "I'm trying to see if I can hear anything."
"Kate. Kate," he repeated, trying desperately to get my attention, "babe, it's fine. That went better than anyone could have hoped. Let's just try to enjoy lunch, huh?" 

I reluctantly agreed, and I let out a sigh of relief as I watched Bryce herd the kids up and out of the cafe. "Oh, I can relax now."
"You could've relaxed before. It really wasn't that big of a deal. Sure, Bryce didn't shake my hand, but it was pretty obvious that we kind of dropped a bomb on him," Cade replied. 
"Stop," I mumbled.
"Stop? Stop what?" he asked for clarification. 
"Saying we. When it comes to Bryce, you can't take responsibility for how he reacts to anything. That's on me. Not on us," I explained. 

Cade didn't respond, and I was silently kicking myself for having screwed that up so bad. We had been seeing each other for two months, so I was shocked that I hadn't ruined it way before now.
"Can I talk to you about that, actually?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.
I was confused, but I nodded. "Sure. What do you want to talk to me about?" 
"I want it to be on us."
"What?" I asked, even more confused than before.
"I want it to be on us," he repeated. "I want to be with you, Kate. Maybe you're not quite at that point, but I want to talk about you as my girlfriend, not just some woman that I've been seeing. I'm ready for you to meet my kids."
"Okay, one point at a time. Meeting your kids is a really big step. Like, huge. I don't know if I'm ready to do that. I'm definitely not ready for you to meet my kids," I sighed, taking his hand in mine, "but I wouldn't mind it if we put a label on this. We've been taking this so much slower than I ever have with anyone else, and I'm ready to say it. I want to see people that I know in public and introduce you as my boyfriend."

He exhaled as if he had been holding his breath. "I cannot even begin to put into words how happy that hearing you say that makes me. I was really worried that it was going to ruin everything."
"The truth is, Cade, I like you a lot. I'm terrified to get hurt again, but we'll cross that bridge if we come to it," I answered, taking a sip of my water.

Lunch was spent in a comfortable silence until my phone rang. "Hello?" 
"Hey. We're headed back to your house now. I mean, if you're busy, I can keep them for a little while longer," Bryce hinted on the other end of the phone. 
"Um, no, that's okay. I'll be there soon. Thanks for keeping me updated, Bryce."
"Well, I figured that was kind of the terms of our agreement, huh?" he said. 
"Right. I'll see you in a little bit. Bye, Bryce."

"He's bringing the kids home?" Cade asked. 
I nodded. "Sorry to cut this short. Duty calls, though."
"I know how it is. Let's go," he assured me, standing up and putting some cash down on the table.
"Alright," I replied, letting him hold my hand as we walked out.
"Are you worried about getting photographed together? I mean, Bryce was just here. There could still be reporters here, right?" Cade asked. 
"It's fine. We're just holding hands. It's not that serious." 

The car ride was quieter than lunch had been, and I was worried that maybe we were rushing into this. "Hey, Cade, can I ask you something?" 
"Yeah, of course. What are you thinking about?"
"You've been kind of silent. Well, I guess we've both been kind of silent. I guess that my anxiety is just getting the better of me for right now. Are we ruining this with a label, or are we making it better?"

He pulled into my driveway, and he turned to look at me as he parked. "Does it feel right or does it feel wrong?" 
"It feels pretty right to me. I don't know. I guess that I'm just stressing out about it. I don't know. Forget I said anything. I sound ridiculous," I replied. 
"You don't sound ridiculous. You sound like someone who went through a really bad heartbreak and hadn't had the experience in healing that others have. That doesn't make you ridiculous. That makes you cautious, and I admire that," he said, his voice trailing off as he leaned in. "I admire you."
I pecked him on the lips quickly. "I also admire you," I teased, unbuckling my seatbelt. Call me later."

I really hoped that he was right.