More Than I Wanted (12 page)

The
ice seemed to help, but I was still sore for a little while. He was
right though, I wouldn’t be standing a lot that weekend. We
ended up in bed quite a bit. It was hard to leave the comfort of the
cozy room, snuggling under the covers. Between whispers and caresses,
our time was well spent.

Austin’s
soft hands traveled the full length of my body, gently massaging,
stroking, and exploring. He’d stop to draw lazy circles, or
lean in and kiss me in places like behind my knees, under the curve
of my bottom, at the nape of my neck. I was putty in his hands as he
teased me with delicate butterfly kisses all over.

We
took turns arousing the other, and then came together as one, tangled
in the sheets. Sitting on him, leaning in, my breasts swaying with
each movement, I watched as Austin reached his peak. Collapsing into
a heap beside him, I smiled with satisfaction, ready for a nap. An
afternoon of leisurely love making was all that was on our agenda.

I
woke to a tender, sweet kiss. “Hey,” I said.

“Hey,”
he smiled back, “are you hungry? I’m going to go
downstairs and see what snacks Rose has out. What can I get you?”

“Will
you grab me a diet soda or bottle of water?”

Climbing
out of bed, I watched as Austin slid his jeans on. I never got tired
of watching him dress or undress.

He
came back with a plate of cookies and a couple of drinks. “I
was talking to Rose about your ankle still being sore and not fitting
in your boots. She said she could make us something for dinner if you
didn’t want to go out. She also said she has a list of menus to
local restaurants if we want to do take-out. They were in a binder
all together.”

“Oh,
I don’t want to be a bother, I vote take-out. No need for the
owner to have to take care of our dinner. We can just get pizza.”

“I
flipped through a couple of the menus downstairs, but didn’t
look too closely. She mentioned a few of them are closed during the
off season down here, but said quite a few are still opened.”

“I
should just try to shove my foot back into my boot, and I’ll
hobble.”

“Nonsense,
there’s no need. We’ll scan the menus and find something.
I don’t mind picking up take-out.”

“You’re
so good to me.”

After
settling on a little seafood place, we went with something simple and
chose angel hair pasta with shrimp scampi. It was delightful, and we
enjoyed an intimate meal while sitting on the bed. As we ate out of
the tin foil take-out containers with plastic forks, we laughed and
shared stories of our childhoods.

We
didn’t see a lot of daylight. Most of our time was spent in bed
that weekend, and before we realized it our time was over and we were
driving home. Time seemed to be flying by as our relationship
continued to grow.

Watching
the calendar, I realized Austin’s birthday would be here soon.
I had no idea what to get him. When it came down to it, we were at
that point where we’d been together for a few months, but I was
still torn on gift ideas. If I did something too personal, would he
think I was expecting too much? If I didn’t do enough, would he
feel like I wasn’t committed?

I
went back and forth between picking out a nice watch for him and
opting for an experience like tickets to a ball game. Heather said I
was over thinking it, and anything would be fine, but I wanted to get
it right! If I got him a watch, he’d always have it, but a ball
game would be over as soon as it was over. On the other hand, our
ball teams were lining up for a game against one another and that
could be fun too – if I could score tickets.

Groaning,
I couldn’t decide what to do. After enough back and forth, I
went for the game tickets. When it came down to it, we would have a
fun day cheering on our own teams, and have a friendly little
competition. I hoped to God he wasn’t one of those guys that
painted his body in his team colors on the day of the game. Maybe I
should pick him up a casual team sweatshirt or jersey for game day –
it might sway him away from game day body paint if that was his
thing!

I
was so excited to give Austin his birthday gift, but I wanted to wait
until after dinner. I made lasagna and garlic bread for him, and
would give him the tickets after we ate. I was feeling really good
about my choice, and knew he’d be excited.

Funny,
I thought lasagna would be a great choice. I imagined us sipping
wine, dining, and then getting randy later. I didn’t anticipate
how heavy the pasta would feel in our bellies, and we were more tired
and sluggish after that meal, then ready to go get naked and busy.
Not to mention garlic, yeah, not a great choice! Live and learn.

When
I finally revealed Austin’s birthday gift surprise, I was
stunned when he hugged me and said, “Should I take Jake or
Scott?”

“What
do you mean?” This was hardly the reaction I was expecting.

“Well,
Scott is more into football, but Jake can be a blast to hang out
with,” he was oblivious.

“Umm,
hello,” I said, surprised he hadn’t thought of me first.

“Huh,
what? Did I forget to say thank-you? I’m so sorry,” he
said pulling me into another hug, “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Rolling
my eyes, “I sort of got the tickets for us, like for you and me
to go together.” I felt kind of foolish having to say it out
loud.

“Oh,
I didn’t realize, I’m so sorry.” He begged
forgiveness; he hadn’t even considered that the tickets were
supposed to be for the two of us.

I
stood looking at him. I almost felt guilty in that moment. He should
take who ever he wants. I just thought he would automatically think
of me, but I guess I’m just a girl and he didn’t see me
as a football buddy. I was kind of bummed, but hid it the best I was
able. Okay, who am I kidding; I hid it for all of a few minutes.

“You
really didn’t think of me?” I didn’t want to feel
hurt, but I kind of was. Why wouldn’t he automatically choose
me first?

He
pulled me close, “Oh honey, I’d love to go with you. I
guess I just don’t see you as a huge football fan. I mean, I
know you watch it time to time, but I figured you were just…I
don’t know what I thought. Of course I’d love going with
you.”

“I
thought it would be fun. Our teams are playing one another, the
rivalry, you know,” I felt like an idiot for still feeling
wounded. I guess my expectations were different. The worst part is he
did nothing wrong, not a damn thing, but my feelings still got hurt.
I hated how I blew up these little things out of proportion. I reeled
it in and swallowed my pride.

“It’ll
be great. Let me show you how much I appreciate you thinking of me
like this,” he said, sweetly kissing my lips. “We can go
into the bedroom…”

I
cut him off, “And what sleep? After all that lasagna and garlic
bread, all I want to do is nap.” So maybe I was holding a tiny
grudge, sue me. I felt badly. I shouldn’t do this, it’s
his birthday, he was happy, he didn’t do anything wrong…why
do I play these games?

I
got over myself and took his hand. “We can at least snuggle,”
I said, pasting a smile on my face.
Let it go
.

Napping
is exactly what we ended up doing; the hot sex was curtailed until
later.

I
woke up to heavy rain. Listening to it hit the window, I was glad to
be warm under the covers. I’d intended on getting in a long run
in the morning, but all I wanted to do was stay beside Austin. At
least it was still late and I could sleep. Maybe I’d still get
that run in, we’ll see. I made excuses while I curled into my
lover.

When
the phone rang, it took me by surprise. Who would be calling this
late? I crawled out of bed and grabbed my cell phone off of the
dresser. Weird, it was Scott. “Hello,” I whispered into
the phone.

“Kate,
it’s Scott, Heather was in an accident. We’re over at
Mercy General,” he sounded disjointed.

“Is
she okay, what about the baby?” I tried to remain calm.

“We
don’t know yet,” he finished. “She’s asking
for you, she’s scared. I need to call her parents, can you get
here?”

“I’m
on my way,” I quickly pulled on my jeans and woke up Austin.

“Austin,
baby, wake up,” I said trying to gently nudge him awake.
“Heather was in an accident, we need to go to the hospital.”

His
face went pale. “Is she okay?”

“I
don’t know, Scott just called,” I said pulling a shirt
over my head. “Can you drive me?”

“Yeah,”
he said, but something seemed off. I couldn’t place it.

Quickly
gathering our things, we headed out to his car and rushed over to the
hospital. Austin could wait with Scott and help him through, and
apparently she was asking for me. Her parents didn’t live
nearby, so maybe she just wanted those close to her around.”

“Do
you know how bad it is?” He asked.

“He
doesn’t know much yet, I asked about the baby, but I think they
were still checking things.”

“Oh,
I hope she doesn’t lose the baby, they were so happy.”

“I
know,” we drove the rest of the way in silence.

Pulling
up and parking, Austin stood at the car with his hands in his
pockets.

“Come
on, are you ready?” I prodded to get him moving. He seemed
stuck.

“I
don’t do hospitals well. Maybe I could just stay here, or wait
outside. Just let Scott know I’m here,” he said, looking
down.

“What?
You don’t want to go inside?”

“I
can’t…not right now. I know you don’t understand,
but please don’t press me.”

I
was confused, but if he can’t do hospitals he can’t do
hospitals. I left him behind and went inside. I texted Scott telling
him that I was here. He directed me to where he was, and then took me
to see Heather.

“What’s
going on?” I asked, worried about Heather.

He
looked drained, tired from the stressful situation. “I don’t
know all of the details. She was coming back from visiting friends,
and it was late with low visibility. I got a call that she was here
and rushed over. I’ve seen her, but she’s not sure of
everything, and just said it happened really fast. A car was coming
through a stop sign and didn’t stop, it clipped her car. She
hit a tree and the airbag deployed, but her mind went foggy from the
shock. She doesn’t remember much more. They’ve heard a
heart beat, so we think the baby is okay, but they’re running
some tests. They’ll probably keep her overnight, but she kept
asking for you. I told her I’d call you.”

When
she was back to her temporary room after a bunch of tests, I was
allowed to go sit with her. “Hey,” I said, quietly
walking behind the curtained space. “How are you doing?”

“Better
now, I was so scared. It looks like she’s going to be okay,”
she said, visibly relieved and rubbing her belly. I could tell she’d
been shaken. “I was worried about the baby.”

“Scott
said you were asking for me,” I said, wondering if there was
something she wanted to say.

“I
was so scared, what if something happened to me? I never got a chance
to tell you, I want you to be a part of our child’s life. If
something happened to me…” she stopped herself, not
wanting to cry. “Would you step in, help out Scott. He’d
be lost doing it all by himself. She could call you Aunt Kate,”
she said.

“Of
course I’d help out,” I said. “Don’t even let
something like that cross your mind.” I leaned in and kissed
her forehead. “I’m so glad to see you, and know you’re
okay. When he called, I was so scared…” I stopped for
the same reason she did, trying to control the crack in my voice.

“I
don’t have any brothers or sisters, being an only child, I
just… you’re my best friend.”

“And
you’re mine. Heather, I’ll be here, but so will you,”
I said, exhaling deeply. “Thank goodness you’re okay.”

“One
more thing, they did an ultrasound and I know the sex of the baby,”
she smiled softly.

“Yeah?”

“We’re
having a girl,” she whispered. “He doesn’t want to
know yet.”

“Congratulations,”
I whispered back. “Do you want me to go get Scott now?”

“That
would be great,” she said. She looked tired. “And thank
you for coming. I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to tell you
– it just happened so fast, my thoughts were clouded, and I
didn’t know what was going on. You could step in, be her Auntie
Kate, you know just sort of be in her life.”

After
Scott was back at her side, I headed out to greet Austin. He was
waiting outside of the sliding glass doors at the hospital entrance.

“Is
everything okay?” He asked, anxious to hear the news.

“She
seems to be, but they’ll keep her for observation. They ran
some tests, and it looks like their baby is okay. She was scared,
wanted to ask me to step in if something should happen to her, be a
part of their daughter’s life.” I slipped. “Oops,
sorry, I wasn’t supposed to say that part. They’re having
a girl, but Scott doesn’t know yet. He wants to wait. Please
don’t say anything to him.”

“That’s
a relief,” he said. “A girl, huh, if she’s anything
like Heather, she’ll be a treasure. She’s a sweet girl.”

“Yeah,
I felt so much better seeing her.” I exhaled letting the events
of the night go, knowing Heather would be resting safely tonight,
their daughter was okay, and Scott was sitting by her side.

Austin
started talking quietly as we walked to the car. “During my
last tour, I saw a hospital blow up, innocent children were hurt, and
there was nothing I could do. I went to help as many as I could, but
our unit was ordered to evacuate as quickly as possible because there
was heavy fire, and more bombs going off. I could hear cries,
screams,” he said quietly. “It’s one of the things
that still gives me nightmares time to time. It’s a brutal life
over there, tragic. It’s gorilla warfare and they don’t
care who they hurt, it’s truly horrific at times. The dead
bodies,” he stopped and took a breath, “I dread going
back.”