Enjoying the Chase (71 page)

Wait
… fuck it! 

“Damn it, Rose! Seriously, you had to say
that right now? Your timing sucks!”

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
“Huh?”

I sighed dramatically. “I had two things I
wanted to do as soon as you said those three words, and now I can
’
t do either of them. Way to ruin it for me,
Stripes,” I grumbled, frowning playfully.

 “And what where the two things?” she
inquired. “I can guess one of them, actually,” she added, bending her head and
kissing the edge of my jaw.

I laughed.
“Well yeah,
we were waiting for the ‘L’ word to be exchanged before I ravaged you to within
an inch of your life. Looks like that
’
s not gonna happen for a while,” I grumbled, frowning at the thought
of the injuries that would put a stop to that for a while. They
’
d already told me that I wouldn
’
t be back to normal for up to four months.
Karma was a bitch if I was going to have to wait for four months to finally do
the nasty with my girlfriend.

She giggled against my neck. “Well, you can
still lie on your back, can
’
t
you?” she teased, biting on my earlobe gently. I groaned trying not to let her
turn me on, but I was fighting a losing battle. I had broken bones, cuts, burns
and bruises all over, but she still managed to make me horny. She really had a
talent. I bit my lip, trying not to think about it.
Rosie
pulled back and smi
led
at me.
“You don
’
t always have
to be in control, you know. I could take advantage of you not being able to
move. In fact, as soon as you get discharged, I think I might take advantage of
it a lot,” she teased.

Oh, hell yeah.

“We could play doctors and nurses,”
I suggested excitedly.  

“Or we could play helpless guy in hospital
bed, and girl that thinks he
’
s the
hottest thing that ever rocked a pair of boxers,” she flirted.

“Kinky, I like it.” I really liked where
this conversation was going. But then I remembered the other thing that I had
wanted to do when she said those three words. “So about the other thing that I
wanted to do once you fell for me.” I could feel the nerves building up inside
me; I was actually more scared of this than when I thought I was going to die
in that fire.

“What
’
s that then?”

I took a deep breath, willing myself not to
mess it up. “As soon as you said those three words to me, I was going to drop
down on one knee and propose to you.” I said it quickly before I wimped out and
didn
’
t do it.

She didn
’
t react how I thought she would though. She didn
’
t gasp and look at me shocked. Instead, she
burst out laughing, shaking her head.

“That
’
s a good one,” she replied around her giggles, settling herself back
down onto the bed next to me. I remained silent, waiting for her to catch on
that I wasn
’
t joking. Slowly, I
saw it sink in. The giggles stopped, and the smile slowly faded from her face
as her eyes widened. “Oh God, seriously?” she asked breathlessly.

I nodded in confirmation. “Seriously. But
your timing ruined that for me too. I can
’
t exactly get down on one knee right now because one
’
s busted and the other leg
’
s broken, so that plan
’
s out of the window
.
”
I laughed at my choice of words.
Out of
the window – yeah, it literally was.

“Nate, what the…” she trailed off, looking
at me like I was crazy. “You must have hit your head harder than they thought.
They said you had a mild concussion.”

I smiled and took her hand that was on my
chest. I knew I needed to man up and do it. I was already half way there, I
just needed to spit the words out and pray that she said yes. Or, at the very
least, that she said she
’
d think
about it in a few more months if I asked her again at a later date.

“Stripes, I know it
’
s not been long since we met. It
’
s only been just over five short months, but I know how I feel about
you. I
’
m crazy in love with you
and I have been for a while, I
’
ve
just been waiting for you to fall in love with me too. I know I
’
m not the most romantic guy in the world, I
mean, look at my idea of a proposal, this blows big time. But I promise to take
care of you and DJ forever if you
’
ll
let me. I love you, and I want to marry you, but if you need more time then
that
’
s okay, I understand that.” I
gulped as I watched her bewildered expression. Disappointment settled in the
pit of my stomach. “Christ, I
’
ve
totally blown it. That speech sucked, and Ashton was right, I should have made
some grand romantic gesture. Flowers, a restaurant, sky writing, anything would
have been better than this. I don
’
t
even have a fucking ring. Damn it, I
’
m such a cock with this romance stuff!” I grumbled, shaking my head
at myself.

 “That was a perfect Nate Peters proposal.
Though, you should have maybe thrown in a little slutty remark for good
measure,” she teased.

I looked back at her and couldn
’
t help but laugh. “See, I even forgot the sex
references,” I agreed, rolling my eyes playfully.

She smiled at me tenderly, her eyes locked
onto mine making me feel like I was the most special man on the planet. “I
’
d love to marry you,” she whispered.

My body jerked in surprise. Hope built in
my chest. “You would?” I asked, needing confirmation that I
’
d heard her right. Maybe I really had hit my
head harder than they thought.

“On one condition,” she bargained.

I smirked at her, already knowing what this
was going to be. My girl was developing a serious fetish. “Bring the uniform
home?” I asked, raising my hand to cup the side of her face.

She laughed and nodded. “At least once a
month. But, also, there
’
s
something else.” I nodded for her to continue with her conditions. I
’
d give her anything she wanted; she could make
a list as long as my arm, I would do anything to marry her. “Don
’
t ever change,” she whispered, looking at me
seriously.

I smiled. I wasn
’
t expecting that at all. “Okay.”

She bent forward looking at me sternly. “I
’
m being serious. I love that you can
’
t say anything romantic without messing it up.
I love that you have no idea how sweet you are sometimes. I love that you make
me laugh with the smut that overflows from your mouth. I just love everything
about you, Nate. So don
’
t ever
change.”

I grinned; happiness built inside to the
point where I wanted to jump out of the bed and do an awkward, broken happy
dance whilst shouting “
Booya!
”

“Conditions accepted!” I agreed
wholeheartedly. She laughed and bent forward placing her lips on mine. I
rejoiced
at the feel of it and kissed her back, tangling my one good hand
into her hair.

Before the fire I knew I loved her and DJ,
but as soon as I
’
d answered my
cell phone tonight and was told that her building was on fire, I knew that love
didn
’
t even cover what I felt for
the pair of them. I had never been more terrified of anything in my life than I
was during that short, speedy drive that I
’
d made to her apartment.

She pulled back and smiled, just staring at
me contentedly. A happy silence fell over us, neither of us moved. I just
couldn
’
t take my eyes off the girl
that had officially agreed to be mine. Part of me wished I
’
d met her years ago; if I
’
d just met her five years ago then DJ would be my blood. If I
’
d just met her four years ago then I would
have been the one she left Josh for. If I
’
d just met her three years ago then I would have been the one to
pick up their pieces after what that scumbag did. Then I would have seen DJ
’
s first step, heard his first word. Maybe DJ
would call
me
daddy instead of Josh.

None of that mattered right now though. You
couldn
’
t change the past; our
future was all that mattered.

After a few minutes, I smiled as details of
what needed to happen started rushing into my brain. “So, I guess I
’
d better get out the vacuum and tidy up if you
two are going to be moving in with me,” I teased, knowing my place was a
complete mess.

“You want us to move in with you?”

“No, I want to marry you but continue to
live in two separate apartments,” I replied sarcastically. “
Rosie, I don’
t want to wait forever to get
married. This whole thing just made me see how important things are. We shouldn
’
t waste time because you never know how long
you have left. Tonight proved that. I want to live with you, I want to marry
you, I want to have babies with you. Everything. And soon, because I don
’
t see the point in waiting,” I continued.

My words didn
’
t seem to shock her in the slightest. She nodded in agreement as if
she knew that life was too precious to take for granted too. “Whenever you
want. You just name it, and I
’
m
there. But don
’
t worry about the
vacuum, I can run that around until you
’
re back on your feet,” she teased, nodding down at my broken leg and
busted knee.

“Awesome. I
’
ll even buy you one of those little maid uniforms to wear while you
do it.”

She smiled and touched her lips to mine in
a gentle kiss. When she pulled back, I frowned as more things started playing
out inside my head.

“So, I guess I have some paperwork I
’
ll have to fill in then or something. You
’
ll help me with that, won
’
t you?” I mused, not really sure how it all works.

She frowned. “Paperwork?”

“Yeah, adoption papers.”

Her eyes widened. “You want to adopt DJ?”

I nodded, looking at her like she was
crazy. Hadn
’
t I just said all of
that stuff? Didn
’
t she just agree
to marry me? “Well, yeah. I can
’
t
very well make you a Peters and not him, can I?” I teased, wondering why she
looked so shocked.

She sighed, closing her eyes. “This is
another one of those moments where you have no idea how special you are, Nate.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Whatever.
Anyway, I guess I have two people I need to talk to before we make this
official,” I said, wincing slightly. One of them I was terrified of speaking
to, but I had to.

“And who
’
s that?”

“Well, I need to ask your dad if I can
steal his daughter.” That was the easy one. “And I need to speak to DJ to make
sure that it
’
s okay with him that
I marry his mom.” That was the one I was worried about. What if he said no?

She sighed dreamily.
“I
love you, Nate.”

I smiled happily. I still wasn
’
t used to hearing those incredible words. “I
love you too, Stripes.”

She smiled and pressed her lips to mine for
a split second before pulling back and snapping the mask back on my face, smirking
at me with her
‘I
’
m the
nurse, and you
’
ll do as you
’
re told
’
face. I laughed quietly. I liked that face; I could see we would
have a lot of fun with that one!

Chapter
Thirty-Seven

After a little while, Rosie had to
excuse herself to go back up to DJ. My parents and Ashton kept me busy, fussing
over me for a few hours, before they left too so I could get some rest.

Once I was alone, I tried my hardest to
sleep, but sleep didn
’
t come easy,
and even when it did, I was plagued with dreams of the fire. Memories flooded
my brain, images of Rosie shaking and mumbling words that I couldn
’
t understand while she was standing by the
ambulance. I dreamt of DJ and the look he gave me when he understood that we
were going to die. Thankfully, the hospital was busy, so I was woken often by
talking or doctors banging around. The noises brought me out of my nightmares
before they reached the climax.

That afternoon, after I
’
d finished choking down some hospital garbage
that they called ‘
food
’
the door opened and my beautiful girlfriend stood there with a huge
smile stretched across her face.

“Hey, you,” she greeted.

I smiled, happy to see her again. “Hi.”

She closed the door behind her and leant
against it, looking at me worriedly. “So, I have someone that wants to see you.
I was just wondering if you were up to a little visitor.” She raised one
eyebrow curiously.

“DJ?” I couldn
’
t stop the grin that stretched across my face.

“Yeah, but if you
’
d rather wait a little while then I can just tell him no. I don
’
t want him to hurt you or anything if you
’
re not up to it.”

I shook my head fiercely. “Bring him in, I
want to see him too.”

She smiled and chewed on her lip worriedly
before turning and opening the door. I couldn
’
t see him yet, but I could hear Rosie telling him that he needed to
be careful and that he wasn
’
t to
fool around in my room. When she drew back, he stepped into the room with a
nervous smile on his face, as if he was scared of what he was going to see.

He looked adorable. There were little cuts
on his cheek and forehead. There were grazes on his arms. He limped as he
stepped into the room, probably from his twisted ankle. All in all, he looked
great, and he was seriously lucky that all that came out of it was some smoke
inhalation and a few scrapes. He was wearing new clothes because, although
Rosie had protested, my mom had been out and bought a load of clothes for them
both this morning. He also had a brand new Woody doll hanging from one hand.

Feelings bubbled up inside me, making my
stomach flutter. The last time I
’
d
seen him properly was in that room, when I
’
d told him I loved him. Seeing him now, I knew I would run into a
burning building for him any day of the week, the same as I would for his mom.

“Hey, Kid.”

His eyes scanned my body and his eyes
filled with tears. “You got hurted.”

“I
’
m okay.” He didn
’
t need
to get upset over me, it probably looked a lot worse than it was.

He pointed to my cast on my arm and a smile
appeared on his face. “Momma said that you
’
d broked your arm and leg like I did. Are you gonna get Anna to draw
on yours too?” he asked. “I could help you find a good picture if you want,” he
offered. I could already see his brain ticking over with the images that I
would have drawn on my cast.

I laughed and nodded. “I
’
d like that. Though, I don
’
t think I
’
ll get Buzz or Woody on mine.”

“
Kung-fu Panda?
” he offered helpfully.

Rosie giggled next to him, squeezing his
shoulder. “I think Nate would rather have
The Little Mermaid
,” she
countered, winking at me. I laughed, and DJ frowned, looking at her like she
was crazy.

“But that
’
s a girls
’
movie!” he
protested.

“You
’
ll like it when you
’
re
older, Kid,” I added quickly, which just made Rosie laugh harder.

DJ hobbled over to the side of the bed and
raised his leg, about to climb up, but Rosie grabbed him and shook her head
fiercely. “No, Baby. You need to be really careful with Nate. Remember what we
said?” she said quickly as she pulled him away, lifting him into her arms.

“I just wants to give him a hug,”
DJ pouted.

My heart melted again at his words. “Come
give me a hug, Kid. Momma
’
s just
being overprotective.” I patted the bed encouragingly. Rosie sighed, looking
like she really didn
’
t want to let
him, but then set him down on the bed. Immediately, he scooted over to me,
wrapping his arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. I had never known my
place in the world as surely as I knew it in that moment.

He pulled back and kissed my cheek. “Does
you hurt bad?” he asked, frowning worriedly.

I smiled and flicked his nose. “I
’
m all good. Stop worrying. A couple of days of
hospital food and then I
’
ll be
out. It
’
s no big deal,” I assured
him. He smiled and settled on the bed next to me. I glanced up at Rosie, she
was just smiling down at the pair of us with an adoring expression plastered on
her face. “Think maybe I could have a quick word with DJ in private?” I asked
her hopefully. I really needed to speak to him and see how he felt about us
getting married. I wanted him to be able to tell me if he didn
’
t want that. I just prayed with every bone in
my body that he did.

Rosie chewed on her lip and nodded, her
eyes flicking to DJ for a split second before coming back to me. “You want to
do that on your own?” she asked. I nodded in confirmation, and she smiled
warmly. “Okay.” She looked back to DJ. “You be extra careful, okay? I
’
ll just be right outside with Nanna and
Grandad,” she told him, looking at him sternly.

“I will, Momma,” DJ vowed. She smiled
weakly and bent to kiss his forehead, before she placed her lips on mine
gently.

Once the door closed, I looked down at DJ
and smiled nervously. “So, I have something I wanted to talk to you about,” I
started, unsure how I should phrase it. He looked at me curiously, his big
brown eyes wide and waiting. “So, you know that I told you that I loved you and
Momma, right?”

He nodded, a smile tugging at the corners
of his mouth. “Yeah, I tolded Momma for you, exactly like you said. I said that
you love us more than chocolate cake,” he replied, looking a little proud of
himself for remembering to do what I told him.

I smiled.
“Right.
Well, because I love you and Momma more than chocolate cake, I was wondering if
you minded if your momma and I got married. Like… be a family.” I winced,
waiting for his answer.

He frowned. “Married? Like Auntie Anna and
Uncle Ashton are married?”

“Yeah,” I confirmed. “I know I
’
m not your daddy, but I want to be like your
daddy. If that
’
s okay with you.”

His eyes widened, and he shook his head
fiercely. “
I don’
t want you to be
like my daddy.”

My heart sank. I was probably asking too
much. I couldn
’
t really come in
and expect the kid to accept me after five months. I obviously still had a long
way to go to establish that relationship.

“You don
’
t? That
’
s okay,” I
replied, trying to hide my disappointment.

He shook his head firmly. “
I don’
t want you to be like my daddy is. My
daddy never comes to see me, he doesn
’
t play with me like you do, and he always makes Momma cry. I don
’
t want to not see you if you turns like Daddy.
I love seeing you all the time; I
’
d
miss you otherwise. Don
’
t be like
Daddy,” he begged, his eyes glistening with tears.

Wait, what? He thought me wanting to be
‘like
’
his daddy, meant that I wasn
’
t going to bother with him anymore and that I
was going to make his mom cry?

“DJ, I didn
’
t mean it like that,” I said, shaking my head and wiping the tear
that ran down his cheek. “I meant that I want to live with you and take care of
you and your momma, just like a daddy should. I know I
’
m not your real daddy because your daddy is Josh, but I want to be
like what a daddy should be. We
’
ll
all live together; Momma and I will get married. Maybe one day you
’
d get a little brother or sister?”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “If you
gets married, we
’
d get to live
with you? Like all the times?”

“Yeah. We
’
d be a family like Anna, Ashton and Cameron are.”

He grinned then and nodded eagerly. “Yeah!
We could play building all the time, and you could showed me how to ride my
bike some more, and you can let me eat candy for breakfast!”

I laughed at that. “Yeah, I
’
ll do that, apart from the candy for breakfast
one.” I winked at him. He grinned happily, so I flicked his nose teasingly.
“You should have been born a Peters.”

“I
’
m not Peter, I
’
m DJ,”
he replied, shaking his head.

I smiled. “Yeah, I know. So, there
’
s something else I want to talk to you about
too. I
’
d really like to adopt you.
How do you feel about that?” I asked, wincing again.

He looked at me like a curious little
puppy, his head cocking to the side. “What
’
s a-dot?”

“Adopt,” I corrected, grinning. “
Well, it
’
s a piece of
paper that says I would be your daddy. It would mean that your name would
change to be the same as mine,” I explained, shifting on the bed, trying to get
more comfortable. Where he was pressed against me, it was making my ribs hurt.

He frowned. “
So, we
’
ll both be called Nate?” he asked sceptically.

I burst out laughing and shook my head.
“No, Kid. Your last name. Your name is Damon Josh York, right? Well, if I were
to adopt you, you
’
d be Damon Josh
Peters. When Momma and I get married, she
’
ll change her name too, then we
’
ll all have the same last name of Peters,” I explained.

“I getted your name?” he asked, he looked
down at his Woody doll. “Can Woody getted it too? He
’
ll feel left out otherwise.”

I grinned as my heart swelled. “Yeah, I
’
ll adopt Woody too.”

His mouth stretched into a huge smile as he
nodded. “Okay, cool beans.”

I ruffled his hair and smiled down at him.
He
’
d just agreed and, although it
wasn
’
t yet official, I was now a
dad. I had never been more terrified, or proud, of anything than having that
title. I could barely even comprehend the emotions that were crashing over me
as I looked at him, so I didn
’
t
even try to work it out; instead, I just leant forward and kissed the side of
his head softly. His resulting smile made my heart ache. 

After a couple of minutes of us just
sitting on the bed, talking about what pictures I was going to ask Anna to draw
on my casts, Rosie poked her head in the door. She looked a little nervous as
she chewed on her lip. When I smiled reassuringly and waved her in, she seemed
to breathe a sigh of relief.

“You two okay in here?” she asked, stepping
in.

DJ grinned and nodded. “Momma, Nate wants
to a-dot me and Woody. He wants to be my daddy,” he boasted. “We all getted new
names!”

Rosie laughed to herself, her eyes
sparkling as they met mine. “He wants to adopt both of you? Wow, that
’
s nice of Nate, huh? Peters is a pretty nice
name,” she said breathlessly, heading over to sit on the bed with us. She took
my hand and I interlaced our fingers, grinning.