So Sushi-Brain gave me a great idea for this book, and although most of you will probably hate me for writing it, I absolutely love it. I really hope you will, too. That's why this chapter is dedicated to her. And it would mean a lot to me if you checked out my new book One Night Stand.
The pitter- patter of rain against the window was the only sound in the apartment. Candles were lit around the living room, creating a soft glow. Jess was curled up on my side, fast asleep and no longer flinching due to the thunder and lightning. It rarely rained in LA, but when it did, it rained hard.
Resulting in a power outage.
I combed my fingers through her hair, covering the both of us with a blanket. Her cheeks were stained with tears, her nose just a bit red. She was terrified of thunderstorms, and I absolutely hated to see her so terrified. I was just grateful that thunderstorms were pretty rare.
Rapid knocking on the door jolted my body in shock, and as gently as possible, I re-situated Jess on the couch, making sure a pillow was under her head and the blanket completely over her body. I hurried towards the door, surprised to see Ross behind the door, shivering like a wet dog.
"What are you doing here?" I hissed, grabbing a towel from the bathroom. I wrapped it around his body. "Are you nuts? It's pouring out there."
"I just wanted to make sure you both were okay." He shivered, casting a glance at Jess. He smiled. "How is she sleeping through this?"
"Don't know, but I'm not questioning it." I chuckled. "She's terrified of thunderstorms. She actually cried herself to sleep. I'm just glad we don't get thunderstorms often."
He ran the towel through his hair, shaking his head like a dog. Water droplets landed on my forehead. "How long has the power been out?"
"A couple hours."
He nodded, wrapping the towel around his neck before grabbing the back of my own, pulling me closer and connecting our lips. I couldn't help but smile, wrapping my arms around his waist. With the soft glow of the candlelight, you would think we were about to have a romantic date. The sleeping toddler on the couch told a different story.
Disconnecting our lips, I played with the fabric of his wet shirt. "You want to change so you're not stuck in these clothes? You left a set here."
"Yes, please. I think I'm starting to chafe."
Chuckling, I watched as he retreated to my bedroom. The way he pulled on his pants as he practically waddled was adorable, and it reminded me of Jess whenever she got a wedgie.
"Mommy?"
My head turned towards my daughter, whose voice wavered as she spoke. She was slowly sitting up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. I smiled and walked towards her, picking her up and setting her down on my lap as I sat down. "Sleep well, baby?"
She nodded, burying her head in my chest. I kissed the top of her head and ran my fingers through her hair. A clap of thunder hit, eliciting a mix of a scream and cry from my little girl. I grabbed the blanket and covered her tiny body, rubbing her back as I whispered soothing words in her ear. It broke my heart to see her so scared, and I absolutely hated that there was nothing I could do about it.
Ross walked back into the room a few moments later, sporting sweatpants and a white t-shirt. How he managed to look good in sweats was beyond me. "She's awake?" He mouthed, gesturing towards Jess. I nodded, continuing to rub her back. He gently sat down next to me, murmuring a greeting at my little girl. She couldn't even muster up a smile, too frightened from the storm.
We sat in silence, the only sound being the thunder. Every time it hit, Jess would cry out, resulting in a little crack in my heart. Ross nudged me gently, silently asking me to hold her. I nodded, gently lifting her up and placing her on his lap. I smiled slightly as she nuzzled her face in his stomach, sticking her thumb in her mouth.
"You know, I used to be afraid of thunder." He spoke, his voice soft and low. "But you know what helped me get through it?" Jess shook her head, tilting her head to look up at him. "Music. Do you like music?"
"Yeah," She whispered, the word becoming mumbled due to her thumb in her mouth.
Ross reached into his pocket and pulled out earbuds, plugging it into his phone. "Then let's listen to some music." He gently placed the earbuds in her ears, bringing up his playlist before selecting a song.
"You better not be playing Fetty Wap." I warned, a teasing smirk appearing on my face.
He laughed, shaking his head. "My brothers and sister have kids. I have a playlist especially for them."
"How many siblings do you have?" I wasn't sure if we had already discussed this, but I couldn't remember. Oopsie.
"Four. There's Riker, Rydel, Rocky, me, and then Ryland."
"I'm sensing a trend with the names."
"A trend that continued with my nieces and nephews." He confirmed. "You don't realize how hard it is to come up with 'R' names until you actually start looking. They looked through so many baby books, and I really thought they were going to give up."
I chuckled. "How many nieces and nephews do you have?"
"Four." He smiled, unconsciously tightening the blanket around Jess. "There's Robin, Riker's five year old girl, Randy and Roman, Rocky's three year old twin boys, and Riley, Rydel's four year old little girl."
"Ryland doesn't have any kids?"
He shook his head. "Not yet. Though I think he and his wife are starting to consider it."
As he went on about his nieces and nephews, I found myself smiling as he couldn't contain his own. It was obvious that he loved those kids, and if he were a cartoon, his eyes would be hearts. I curled myself into his side, dropping a kiss on Jess' forehead. I let my eyes slip close, picturing a future where we could do this every day.
I just hoped it would be possible.
~*~
I leaned back in my seat, exhaustion wracking through my body. Alyssa laughed next to me, dropping her head on my shoulder. "I hate the dinner shift. I hate it so much."
"Agreed." I nodded. "Did you see the lady with her dog in her purse? She was feeding it scraps under the table. She wasn't even discreet about it. I don't understand why she wasn't kicked out."
"Because Gary loves dogs?" She guessed. Gary was our boss, though he was a pretty chill one. He wasn't the type of boss that would yell at his employees if they did something wrong. His calm demeanor was partly the reason why I was still working here. "And then she left a crappy tip for Max. I felt bad for the dude."
I couldn't help but laugh, propping my feet up on the chair in front of me. "When are you going to admit you like him? It's becoming very painful to watch you gawk at him whenever you have the chance."
Alyssa shifted in her seat, lifting her head so our eyes met. Her cheeks were a deep red. She sighed. "I do like him, Blake. I like him a lot, but he doesn't like me. Do you see how he stares at every girl with an ass?"
"Then I guess you haven't noticed."
"Noticed what?"
I smiled. "When he talks to you, he looks you straight in the eyes. When he talks to other girls, he looks at their boobs. He does that to make you jealous, which I know works. Max likes you, Lys. I just wish the two of you would grow a pair and go out. I swear, sometimes the sexual tension between you two is suffocating."
She let out a nervous laugh, biting down on her lip. "So, how's your hot doctor boyfriend?"
I laughed at the quick topic change. It was obvious that my comment made her somewhat uncomfortable, but she needed to hear the truth. "He's good. He's been busy at the hospital, so we haven't really seen each other the fast few days." The last time I had seen him was last week during the storm, where the two of us an Jess had fallen asleep on the couch. He was paged to the hospital shortly after it ended, and I had only seen him twice since.
Was it sad that I missed him like I hadn't seen him in weeks? It was like I couldn't be away from him for more than a day. I truly felt like a love sick teenager.
"Speaking of the devil." Alyssa smirked as my phone began to ring.
I rolled my eyes, reaching into the pocket of my apron. "You don't know that's him." His name appeared on the screen, and I cursed under my breath. Alyssa laughed, getting up and heading towards the break room to collect her things. "Wow, you actually had a break?" I teased, fiddling with the hem of my apron.
He laughed, and I could picture his nose crinkling as he did so. "I know, I'm sorry. The hospital's been swamped...I'm practically living here. But I should be able to stop by tonight, if it's not too late for you."
My heart skipped a beat. "Tonight's fine. Jess is staying the night at Morgan's, and I'm about to leave work. I'll leave the door unlocked so you can just come in."
"Okay, sounds good. I'll be done in an hour, and as long as I don't get paged I'll leave."
"Can't wait." I smiled. "See you soon."
"See you soon, Blake. Love you."
My body froze as he disconnected the call. My mouth hung open, my mind reeling over the words he just said. D-Did I hear correctly? Did he really say those words?
"Blake," I jumped as a hand landed on my shoulder. I looked up, Alyssa's eyes boring into mine. "You okay? I called you a few times."
I nodded, almost robotically and stood up. I hurried towards the back and grabbed my things, murmuring a quick goodbye as I practically ran out of the restaurant. I slammed my car door shut, my chest heaving as I gripped the steering wheel. Love you. Love you.
He actually said it.
Did he even realize he said it? I mean, he hung up almost immediately, not even waiting for my response. But if he did wait, what would I say? Thank you? I would rather punch myself in the face.
My mind went back to my first real conversation with Stormie, her observation on Ross and I and informing me that I loved him and he loved me. I had told her that we had only been dating for a few weeks, but the truth? She was right.
I love him.
What was not to love about him? He was caring, sweet...uh, hot, and he was amazing with Jess. He loved her and she loved him. He became the father figure in her life, and even though it was amazing for Jess, it was terrifying for me. I wouldn't know what to do if something happened between us, resulting in us never seeing each other again. The thought alone made my heart race.
The radio was silenced as I drove home, my headlights illuminating the dark road. I couldn't stop replaying Ross' words over and over, and it caused a smile to appear on my face.
Only to have it disappear as a car swerved into my lane, crashing head on and forcing me unconscious.
Cliffhanger! I hope you guys don't hate me, lol. Please vote and comment!