Curveball

Chapter 43

Jenna hears the buzzer and groans, knowing it's Shawn, letting him in and going and sitting back on the couch wearing a pair of boyshorts and a tank top, her hair twisted up messily. There's an open bottle of vodka and an open bottle of whiskey on the coffee table in front of her, a cup in her hand. She watches as Shawn walks to her kitchen and grabbing a cup himself, sitting down and pouring some of the whiskey in it and taking a long pull. The room silent. She takes a sip of the drink, a mix of the two, Jenna never being a huge drinker, not even when they were younger, staring at nothing, not saying anything.

Shawn leans back on the couch and finally speaks up. "I remember when I first saw you and I was scared to talk to you. Me?Shawn Rhosen afraid to talk to a girl," he smiles staring at the bottles on the table. "I was afraid of messing up any sort of relationship or friendship up with you because some of me just wanted a friendship and another part of me wanted you because you were just so damn gorgeous.

Then it got to the point where you did say yes to my girlfriend proposal, and I kissed you without asking and hugged you when I felt like it," he chuckles to himself. "Talking so much that I remember you telling me to shut up and then kissing me afterward. And I guess that's when I fell in love with you. You knew things about me that my parents or family didn't know about. I will not beg you to be with me, and I will not try to persuade you to choose me. But in all honesty, I want to have a routine with you, I do," he nods his head.

"I want to wake up in the morning to the sun shining in the windows or rain pouring outside with you beside me. I want late nights where we sit up and talk and get drunk. I want to slow dance in the kitchen with you at two in the morning when you're just in my shirt. I want you. I'm hopelessly in love with you. I know I'm a broken record when it comes to that but I don't care. I fell in love with you, and now I don't know how to fall out of love. And you know the first time I heard you laugh, I knew I wanted that in my life and you know all the sudden, you changed my life. I can't leave you. You're the one I want to come too after a bad game. You're the one I want to roll over to in the middle of the night then pull you closer to me and fall back asleep. You're the one I want to love and to hold when times get tough, and I want to be the one that's there for you when everything in your world comes crashing down.

"I want to spend all my good and bad days with you. We're going to have problems, we're going to argue, and we're going to stop talking to each other for a few hours. But, at the end of the day, the question is are you gonna let the bad times outweigh the good ones?" he looks at her, downing the rest of the whiskey and setting the glass on the table before standing up and walking to her front door, scratching the back of his head.

"What if I can't give you another baby..." Jenna says loud enough for him to hear. She sees him turn. She swallows the last of her drink, pouring more, not saying anything else, looking up at him, then looking away.

"I'm not with you for that Jenna..."

"It's the first thing you asked me when I got to Florida..." she says softly looking over at him.

"Babe I love you, and baby or no baby I want you," he says. "I have Cora."

Tears stream down her cheeks. "I don't..." she says softly.

Shawn regrets saying it the moment it comes out. He slides his arm around her and pulling her closer, kissing Jenna's temple. He notices she begins to fall asleep. He gets up, covering her up with the throw blanket before picking up the two glasses and the alcohol bottles and walking into the kitchen. His phone ringing in his pocket.

"Yep," he answers, his mom on the other end.

"Your daughter wants to know if we can go out for dinner."