The Rookie and Me (COMPLETE)

seven.

I hopped down from the counter and looked up at Tyler, towering over me. I let go of his hands and walked back to the living room to get Cameron's bag. I can't stand the look of disappointment on Tyler's face as he realizes what my silence means. He grabbed the keys to his truck off of the counter.

"I guess I'll go start the truck." He said as he walked toward the door to the garage.

I ran upstairs and changed back into my work clothes. I folded the black V-neck that Tyler loaned me, and put the pair of boxers that I was wearing in Cameron's bag. I don't think he'll be missing these any time soon, and honestly, I wanted to keep them to remind me of our little snowed-in sleepover. It's not realistic for me to think that this could ever happen again. I gently rubbed Cam's cheek to wake him up.

"Cameron..." I said in a soft tone. "Bug, it's time to get up. We have to get home to Toby."

He slowly opened his eyes and stretched his arms out. "I don't want to leave, mommy."

"I know, bug, but we can't stay here forever... it's not our house." I said as I pulled the covers off of him.

"Can't we just go get Toby and bring him here? Then he can have a sleepover with us, too!" He said as he jumped down out of the bed.

"No, baby. I'm sorry. We're going home." I said as I handed him his shoes.

The same look of disappointment that Tyler had on his face just minutes ago appeared on my son's face. Am I really the only one that knows this could never work out? I mean, I know Cameron is only four-years-old, but he knows me well enough to know that this isn't the kind of life we were meant for. If only Tyler could see that...

I quickly made the bed and found a piece of paper and a pen in my purse. I write a note for Tyler that says:

"Thank you for being our knight in shining armor last night. I had an incredible time... -Ali"

I laid the note on the freshly made bed, and headed downstairs. Tyler is leaning against the back of the couch waiting for us.

"All set?" He asked quietly.

I nodded my head and said, "Yeah. We're all set."

Cameron and I followed behind Tyler to the garage. I helped Cam climb into the backseat and strapped him into his car seat. Tyler is waiting for me with the passenger door wide open. I climbed in the incredibly tall truck and buckled up as Tyler closed the door behind me. Tyler got in the driver's seat with ease and started backing up out of the garage. He pushed a button on his sun visor and I watched the garage door close slowly.

It was a pretty quiet ride home, aside from the GPS telling him the way to our apartment. We pulled up on the side of the street and parked.

"Can I help you carry your bags up?" Tyler asked me.

"I'm used to carrying all of this alone so it's no biggie. Thank you though." I said while unbuckling my seatbelt and gathering our bags.

Tyler unbuckled himself, slid out of the truck and ran around to the passenger side before I could even reach for the door. He opened the door for me and held his hand out to help me down. I opened up the backdoor and unbuckled Cameron. He climbed down and grabbed his backpack out of my hands. Disappointment still on his little face... I unbuckled all of the straps on his car seat and struggled, once again, to get it out of the truck.

"Here. You get your purse, I will carry this up for you." Tyler said as he maneuvered his way past me and grabbed the car seat.

"Thank you."

"Mmhmm." He said, avoiding eye contact with me.

He followed us upstairs and waited for me to unlock the door. Toby is whining at the baby gate in Whitney's room. Poor little guy is probably starving. I scooped a cup full of dog food and handed it to Cam.