Rhys
Holy shit, my hands are shaking like a fucking leaf.
I'm standing outside Maeve and Ava's door, flowers held tightly in my sweaty hands.
Maeve already told me she had to work tonight so she wouldn't be home when I pick Liam up but Ava, her roommate that I've only met a couple times, will be.
I hear shouting and loud feet stomping against the floor after I knock along with Ava shouting something like, "You're not allowed to open the door!"
But Liam doesn't seem to listen as he's the one to open it any way, his little cheeks red from excitement.
"Look at my outfit! And Ava did my hair!" He exclaims, pointing down at himself.
He's wearing a little suit with a Transformers bow tie, his blonde hair gelled back and combed through.
"Buddy, you look amazing!" I tell him, crouching down so I can hand him his small bouquet of blue and red flowers.
He giggles, running back into the apartment with them, frowning when he drops a few.
"Ava! Look! Rhysie got me flowers!"
Ava comes out from down the hall, taking the flowers and putting them in a vase.
"They'll be here when you get back, bud." She tells him, letting him take one last sniff before placing them in the middle of the counter.
I clear my throat, the room feeling suddenly small as I shove Ava her own flowers, the bouquet much larger than Liam's.
"These are for you. I thought you deserved some flowers of your own."
She blinks, clearly surprised before she gives me a sideways hug, still smiling as she lays them beside Liam's.
"Thank you. Oh! I have Liam's car seat. It's pretty easy to install. It's just a block of plastic." She shrugs, handing it to me.
I haul Liam up into my arms when Ava asks if she can take a photo to send to Nova, Liam's smiles so big he closes his eyes.
"Have fun Liam! Be back before bed." Ava winks at me, still laughing as she closes the door behind us when Liam boos her.
Once Liam's settled into my truck, his feet kicking the air and eyes glued out the window as I drive to the ice cream shack just minutes away, he mumbles something I don't quite catch.
I glance at him through the rear view mirror, eyebrow raised. "What was that?"
"I was just trying to figure out what type of ice cream I want." He giggles.
He ends up getting chocolate, most of the ice cream all over our table on the patio.
"Rhys?" He asks, his feet kicking mine under the table, wooden spoon flicking ice cream everywhere.
"Yes?"
"Will you sleepover tonight and read me a story? Mae works really late tonight and she won't have time." His eyes meet mine, a slight gloss to them.
I pull his chair closer to mine, grinning when he uses the opportunity to reach over to my bowl to taste my ice cream.
It's a good thing I chose to wear sweats after practice tonight 'cuz I didn't bring an extra pair of clothes.
"I will definitely be sleeping over." Not just because I love this kid to death but so I might be able to see Maeve when she gets home.
He pats my cheek. "Good. You can borrow some of my pj's if you need them."
I laugh. "Thanks, bud."
He's quiet for a moment, staring off into the distance. "Mae used to talk about you a lot."
My smiles drops off my face, my hands curling into tight fists on the table. My knee starts bouncing as I wait for him to explain, but he doesn't, suddenly looking much older than six.
"Yeah? And what'd she say?" I ask as calmly as I can.
His chubby fingers wrap around my one pointer finger, his nose scrunching with thought.
"Well, do you know when you're telling a secret? And your voice is all quiet?"
I nod.
"She used to talk about you like that. Like a secret. She wouldn't really tell me the secret, it was always the air."
I lean closer, intrigued. "And what did she tell the air?"
He leans so close our nose are almost brushing which makes him jolt back into a fit hiccups and giggles, his laugh something I never knew I needed to hear.
"She used to tell the air that she wished you were there. That she wished you were there to help her. To love her."
My knee stops bouncing, throat going dry.
Liam doesn't seem to notice my drowning as he scrunches his nose and says,
"But that's silly. You're right here! And you do love Maeve." Sudden tears flood his eyes. "You do love Mae right?"
I do. I love Maeve so much it hurts. So much that I can't see straight. So much it feels like when she's not by my side, I feel like I'm walking a lonely path that we should be walking together.
But instead I say, "I do. I love Maeve. And you."
Liam doesn't seem to hear me though as he takes the last bite of his ice cream before declaring he's done and ready to move onto the next part of our date.
"I think you'll like where we're going next."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A bike?! You're getting me a bike?" Liam asks, suddenly shy which is fucking adorable since he's standing in Crappy Tire wearing a suit.
"Do you want one? I thought I could help teach you." I gesture to the blue and orange blue sitting in front of us, the perfect size for him.
He nods so hard I swear his heads going to fall off. "I would like if you taught me. But I need a helmet."
I agree with him, finding a good helmet that will keep him safe that happens to have trains printed on it. I also find him a horn and training wheels that can easily be taken off and on when he doesn't need them anymore.
He pushes the bike to the front of the store, waiting in line with the biggest fucking grin on his face, making a grin of my own spread.
The woman at the register, around my age, blinks at me before recognition hits her.
"Holy shit, you're Rhys Beckett! You play for WCC right?" She asks, suddenly swirling a piece of loose hair.
I give her a tight smile. "Yep. If you could just ring me up-"
"Totally! Oh my god, does that mean you know Cam and Noah? And-holy shit-isn't Noah hooking up with that Olympic gymnast? Or is that Tyler?" She rambles, clearly not giving a shit about our time and completely missing the fact that Tyler is openly gay.
Liam gives me a weird glance, his hand gripping my sweats uncomfortably.
I clear my throat, glancing around to see if any other registers are open. "Lady, if you're not going to do your job, then we can go to a different register."
Her eyes widen at my harsh tone, blinking before she grabs the scanner thing. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I ramble." She chuckles nervously when I don't laugh.
She hands me the receipt nervously so I give her another tight lipped smile before guiding Liam back to my truck.
I help buckle him in, pausing when he grabs my hand. "Thank you for the bike, Rhysie. I love it so much. And the ice cream."
I tilt my head at him, watching him trace the pattern on his helmet with a giddy expression on his face.
"Anything you want is yours, Liam. Just ask."
I fucking love I can help give him opportunities I didn't have as a kid, along with being able to just feel safe, which I believe he does feel when I'm around.
He taps my lips, laughing when I pretend to bite his finger. "You're still tucking me in tonight, right? So tomorrow morning can you teach me how to ride?"
I nod, suddenly even more thankful we don't have practice on Sundays. "And Nova can help as well."
He smiles at that, looking tired from his big day. I pull back so I can close his door but he cries, flailing his arms until I lean back in.
"Come closer." He demands, trying to adjust against the seatbelt. I chuckle at how serious he is.
So I lean closer, waiting to see what he needs.
He finally adjusts to how he likes, leaning sideways so he can hug my neck. I recuperate, wrapping my arms around him.
We hold like that for a moment before he pulls away, inspecting me.
And then he does something that has my heart fucking bursting.
He kisses my nose. Softly, like he thinks it's going to hurt.
And it's the second best kiss I've ever had in my life.