sweetheart - e. dolan✔️

i

six years later...

"what? afraid to hold your wife's hand in public?" i tease him as i feel his grip loosen around mine. we're standing in line at chipotle with raelei for lunch before she has to go back to school for the second half of the day.

"no." he says coolly, squeezing my hand as if to assure me he isn't lying.

we order our food, sit at a table to eat, and raelei pipes up, asking how ethan asked me to marry him all those years ago.

"why in the school gym?" she asks curiously as ethan finishes up the story and she takes the last bite of her burrito.

"it was something really special between mom and i at the time." his hand sneaks to my knee underneath the table, his fingers squeezing it as if to say 'i love you' without verbalizing it.

i like it.

"it was. it was the most romantic place he could've taken me." i joke, punching his arm. he gives me a scowl and raelei and i start laughing.

"i'm just kidding." i laugh, putting my lips on his quickly, and when i feel his teeth bite down on my bottom one gently, i feel it go up and down my spine.

"i'm gonna go potty. don't leave." raelei says the last two words sternly to make sure she gets her point across. i watch as she walks to the restrooms, disappearing into the women's restroom.

"she's growing up too fast." i comment to ethan as he's sitting with his back against the wall in his chair. i lock eyes with him as he nods in agreement.

"i've got work from one to seven tonight. so you're gonna have to pick her up and possibly figure out dinner."

"okay. not a problem."

raelei comes back, wiping her hands on her pants. i assumed there was no paper toweling in the bathroom.

"ready to go back to school?" i ask, putting excitement into my voice for her. she shakes her head, sticking her lip out in a pout as ethan dumps our tray in the trash.

"why? you get to see all your friends!" i don't blame her. the only reason i was ever excited to go to school was the see ethan. but that was only in high school. in elementary school i had tons of friends, in middle school not so many, and in high school, my attention was focused on my boyfriend.

"i wanna stay with you and dad." her gaze falls on her father, but he's looking at his phone so i nudge him hard with my elbow, motioning to raelei with my eyes, pressing my lips together.

"listen, honey. school is important and you should go do it keeps you distracted from...other things." he looks up at me as he says this. from the day she could have conversations with us, we have both stressed to raelei the importance of focusing on her education and the things that she's passionate about to keep her focus from ever drifting to going to high school parities one day, or having sex after prom that ends up in a baby at 17.

"what other things?" she cocks her head to the side.

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the sequel to baby is here!!