The Girl Next Door

Part Thirty-Five

And everything that they have been through, secret relationship, instructive boys, death, a breakup, coming out, fights and reconciliation, it all boils down to this moment. This exact day that flipped their world upside down....

The sweat is trickling down her chest, between the tight valley of her cleavage, creating an uncomfortable pool at the bottom of her bra. Her arm grazes across her forehead to wipe away any droplets that dare to fall in her eyes and risk any potential mistakes. She needs to strike this girl out. Just one more out to end this game.

Why is she so worked up over this? This is recreational softball, it's supposed to be fun.

Off in the distance, she hears his tiny little voice, screaming from the bleachers, grasping her full attention and forcing her to look up in his direction. He's standing on the metal bench, in his bright neon green tank top and jersey shorts. His brown hair is styled to perfection with a firm amount of gel, thanks to her girlfriend. He's sporting a pair of sunglasses that are way too big for his tiny head, but it makes her smile.

"Come on, Em! Come on!" He screams across the park, forcing a grin to erupt that will in fact, cause pain to her cheeks.

Her girlfriend is beaming as she watches the little boy with nothing but love in her eyes. Her thick raven locks are piled high into a messy bun on top of her head and she too is wearing dark sunglasses, that are too big for her face. She's modeling a breathtaking white summer dress that exposes so much skin, there's hardly anything left to the imagination. Regina Mills is heart stopping, breath-taking, fumble on words, beautiful. She's just as beautiful as she was all those years ago in high school, when she would come to Emma's games to cheer her on during their secret relationship. They have come a long way since then.

She focuses her attention back onto the batter and releases the ball without another thought. The ball slices through the thick humidity, that they call air, and smacks into the catcher's glove with a loud thump. She exhales all the air from her lungs and jogs her way back to the dugout, with her teammates happily slapping their hands onto her back with appreciation and praise.

Emma begins gathering all her stuff when she hears the chain link fence rattling fiercely. She snaps her head up to find Henry climbing up the fence as Regina is reaching out to pull him down.

"Momm-uh, Em," Henry stutters as Regina fights the squirming boy to rest upon her hip.

It's been a year and a half since he first called her and Regina, mom, and he still has a hard time understanding. They correct the young boy all the time and explain that Milah is his mother, but he just doesn't seem to grasp the concept or maybe he really doesn't care what they say and he's simply following his heart.

"Hey kid! I heard you cheering for me, thank you! I needed that. I'm pretty sure it helped me win," she enthusiastically exclaims just for him.

She leans into the fence, pursing her thin lips through a small hole and Regina guides Henry forward as well so he can happily plant a wet kiss to Emma's lips. When Regina reels Henry back, Emma lingers there for a moment, encouraging her girlfriend to dive right in and gently pecks her lips as well.

"We get ice cream now, right Momma Gina?"

Her girlfriend pouts knowing she has to let down their little guy, but Emma also believes that frown is because he called her momma, yet again. It's always a bittersweet moment when the affectionate name falls so effortlessly from his lips. They absolutely love knowing that they mean that much to him and that he thinks of them in that way. Yet, then there's the ever-disappointing harsh sting of reality that always smacks them across the face. He's not theirs and he will never be theirs.