Choosing You (JJ Watt)

3.

Levi stared at herself in the bathroom mirror in nothing but her T-shirt and underwear. Her wet her hung limply, dampening her T-shirt. Steam billowed out of the shower where her husband still showered.

The mirror fogged up for the third time, causing the woman to wipe a towel over the surface again. The moments she felt like this, tired, numb, and not like herself, were fleeting, easily pushed from the surface until she was alone in the quiet.

Over the past couple of months, she and J.J. had slowly been working forward, going to counseling, having some of the hardest, most painful conversations imaginable. It hurt. It was hard, but they still remained true to their commitment to one another.

The tiredness, the numbness, it didn't happen as often as it had in the beginning though. Her own counseling helped. Their marriage counseling helped, but there was no compromise, no solution except to move forward and move past the resentment.

As Levi stared at her reflection and it grew cloudier from the steam, she realized she wanted to change something, have control over something in her life. Quickly, she opened the drawer searching through it until she felt the cool metal of her trimming shears. She tilted her head to the side, pausing for a few seconds to make sure she didn't completely mess this up.

Within seconds, hair fell onto her bathroom vanity. Laying her scissors down, Levi inspected her work. Her new bangs fell, a bit unevenly across her forehead, but it wasn't too noticeable. The woman smiled to herself. She hadn't had bangs since she was probably 8 years old. They were a little long, but she'd done that on purpose so that they could be fixed by a professional. Stella would no doubt fuss as her at her hair appointment tomorrow about the slight unevenness and using bad scissors, but she didn't care. It felt liberating. She felt in control of something.

The shower turned off and J.J. stepped out, wrapping a towel around his hips. Smiling to himself, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. Levi smiled softly, turning to face him. These sweet, tender moments were becoming natural again. The more they got back to them, the easier it was to talk through their issues. Right now, their number one goal was to speak their peace and their feelings to one another and go from there.

Levi turned to face J.J, who crossed his eyes. "Where did these come from?" He softly pushed his wife's bangs back before they fell back across her forehead.

Levi shrugged. "Me, just now."

"I like them," J.J. smiled.

"I needed to feel in control for a few minutes," Levi averted her gaze to the tattoo on J.J.'s chest.

J.J. pulled his wife into a tight hug, kissing her head. "I love you."

Levi relaxed, the scent of J.J.'s body wash fresh on his bare skin. The silly tingles and lovey-dovey feelings were slowly coming back to them. She couldn't decide if it made things easier or harder to figure out.

"Ya lyublyu tebya," Levi replied.

Confusion flashed crossed J.J.'s face. "I haven't heard that one before."

"Russian," Levi smiled. "You need to get going though, or you're going to be late."

"I know," J.J. sighed, releasing hold of his wife as he headed to their bedroom where he'd already laid out his outfit.

Levi quickly cleaned up the hair clippings scattered across her vanity before proceeding to her closet. She pulled on a pair of shorts before looking through her plethora of Texans' fan gear. Finding her 99 Texans' jersey that read Mrs. on the back, she slipped it over her head. It was cheesy and cliche. She knew that, but she also loved it.