Wait Another Day (Ender Inciarte)

7

Remi frowned as Ender stepped closer to her. She wasn't sure what to feel, other than shaken. Not only had the fire in the living room made her nervous, the fire in the bathroom had been equally as bad. She slightly calmed down mentally, even though her body still reeled. She felt tears stinging her eyes. Thankfully, the pup had stopped what would have been a horrible mistake, "I need to lay down-" She didn't give him a chance to speak, and briskly walked towards her room.

"Remi?" Ender sighed as the room filled with sounds of her slamming the door behind her. Hopefully, she would come around. It was a very intense moment, and maybe she had trouble processing it. He'd give her time and hope that she'd feel better after a nap. He ran his hands over his now dry hair and sighed, "I know, boy-" The dog nudged his hand and whined, "Women are confusing..."

_____

A couple hours had gone by and to pass time Ender had decided to clear the snow off the hot tub and enjoy it. Sure it was freezing outside, but what good was a hot tub if you couldn't use it on the chilliest of days. The sun had started to set, and he was hungry, but part of him just couldn't move. His mind was on Remi and the way she'd looked at him earlier. He should have stopped her. He shouldn't have lost control.

"Care if I join?" Remi shyly slid off her robe and stepped down into the hot tub. They must have looked crazy in the snow, but neither seemed to care. She avoided looking at Ender's gaze as she sank down into the water and closed her eyes. Being close to him comforted her, and she both loved and hated the feeling.

"I'm sorry, Remi," Ender spoke softly, "I shouldn't have.... allowed that to happen. I want you to know I respect you..."

She was a bit taken back by his words. If anything, she expected him to be angry. Her head shot up and she stared over at him in confusion, "You're...sorry? I can't say a guy has ever- I mean- I was clearly being a tease... by accident, sure, but still."

"You weren't a tease," He bit his bottom lip, unsure if he should move closer or not. Ender didn't have to think long though, she took it upon herself to close the gap between them, "You just had second thoughts-"

"It's not even that," She felt comfortable enough to rest her head on his shoulder. A few tears slipped from her eyes as she gathered her thoughts and tried to keep the emotions in check, "I'm scared, Ender. I'll just be honest with you. I'm not a damsel in distress, and I don't want pity, but I'm scared..."

"Tell me what happened," Ender boldly questioned and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "I want to understand your heart. Who hurt you, Remi?"

She felt like she could hyperventilate. Remi needed to do this. She needed to talk. She'd never told anyone, "My childhood wasn't perfect, and my mother was rarely around. I was forced to grow up too early-" She paused to catch her breath again, "So I think that's why when I turned nineteen I just went for whoever would have me..."

Ender didn't speak, he just ran his hand up and down her arm to soothe her as she continued on.

"My ex-came into my life at a really vulnerable time. I thought he was golden..." She couldn't suppress the tears that now slipped down her cheek, "He gave me everything, even a home, but it came at a price..."

Ender kissed the top of her head and held her close. The thought of someone hurting her in any way made him sick. He'd only known her a few days, but during that time, he'd come to know and care for her deeply. He wanted to be her protector now, and make sure it never happened again.

"After three years, I finally knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to write, so I started my novel-" She paused, "He told me he could get it published, but I'd have to pay---" Remi sniffled, her eyes slipped closed as she recalled the awful moments, "I changed my mind once his friends showed up, but he said there was no going back. It wasn't just once either. The bruises healed but the mental trauma-" Remi had never been loved in the proper way, which is why the realness of kissing Ender had sent her over the top with emotions.

She was full on crying and Ender turned to hold her completely against him. What a jerk he'd almost been! There was no way he could take advantage of her in such a way. He cared about her, and her feelings, "Shhhh," He whispered. He had no idea that it was possible to feel extremely sympathetic and pissed off in the same moment, "Where is this guy? How do I find him?"

Remi heard the anger in his voice and cried softly against him, "Ender, no. It doesn't matter... I ended up getting a book deal elsewhere. He's out of my life for good and he doesn't even know I'm in Miami-"

"Miami, huh?" He smiled sweetly, hopefully taking the attention off the pain she was feeling, "I love Miami. Sometimes, my work takes me there."

"Your work," She wiped her eyes and glanced up at him, "What did you say you did, anyway?"

"I didn't say," He shrugged, unsure if he should tell her. She had opened up to him though, so it was really only fair, "But if you really want to know.... I'm an athlete."

"Athlete-" She moved her hand to his chest and playfully punched him, "You're athletic alright. Still, doesn't help me."

"Fine, you win," He snuggled her closer to him, kissing her head again, "I'm a baseball player."

"Baseball player?" She paused a brief moment, before erupting into laughter. She kept it going for a moment, only to see he wasn't joining her, "A baseball player. Really, Ender? You expect me to believe that? I mean, not that you don't have the body for one but-- I've been to Marlins' games a couple of times."

"So you know the Marlins?" He mused, "That's nice, but I don't play for the Marlins.... the Braves."

She thought for a long moment, but couldn't place it, "Where... are they again? I'm sorry, I went to games with some of the publishers for business. I couldn't tell you the first thing about it. Other than those pants are nice-"

"Atlanta," Ender pushed back to stare down at her, "And just wait until you see me in those pants."

"Atlanta. Nice city. So you live there?" Remi questioned, still not sure if he was serious or pulling her leg. She figured time would tell, and if it were true, she did want to see those baseball pants on him.

"Yes," Ender nodded, before hearing a scratch at the door, "I think someone misses us-"

"He just doesn't want to give us a chance, does he?" Remi leaned back to see the dog pawing at the window.

"What did you just say?"

Remi thought, before repeating herself, "I said he doesn't want to give us a chance..."

"That's it!" Ender smiled, "Chance. His name is Chance. I knew the perfect name would come to us."

Remi grinned at his excitement and watched him as he stood and extended his hand to help her out, "Chance, huh? I like it," Ender wrapped a towel around her shoulders and began to usher her in, "He took a chance on us like we are taking a chance on each other-"

Ender stopped just inside the door and grasp her face sweetly. Her attention was on him and he grinned, "And it's by chance we're here together." In a sweet motion, he kissed her unlike he had before. It was slow and passionate, and even though the flame still burned, the urgency was gone and the reassurance that he deeply cared for the girl in his arms showed. This was all he could ask for and more, he wasn't going to let her get away without showing her what she'd been missing.