Page 69 of Out of Bounds

“Gunnar,” she whispered, reaching for him. He pulled her in close, inhaling the scent of her chamomile and bergamot bubble bath. Her body was warm and damp, yet a shiver ran through her as their bodies met. He placed a kiss on her forehead, hoping that it would offer her some comfort. He hated seeing her in this much pain and wished there was something more that he could do besides just drawing a bubble bath and turning on her favorite movie.

“I got you, baby,” he whispered in return, running his hand up and down her back. She shivered again, so he let go, turning around to try and find the shirt she’d been wearing. He found it folded next to the sink, so he grabbed it and slipped it over her head before helping her step into the sweatpants.

Once he’d gotten her in bed, he pulled up the streaming service and typed in “Beauty and the Beast.”

“Live action or cartoon?” he asked.

“Live action. I love Luke Evans as Gaston,” she commented, burrowing down into the pillows.

Gunnar hit play on the movie and then wrapped his arms around Felicity, pulling her into him so her head was resting on his chest. She fit perfectly against him, and he took a moment to enjoy the feel of her there. Her tears seemed to have stopped, at least for the time being, but there was no missing the sad cloud that hung over her still. He remembered the feeling well—the heavy weight that sat on his chest making every breath feel like it took more effort than it should, the bone-tired ache through his entire body, and the fuzzy head that had muted the entire world around him, with the exception of the thoughts of how his world was ending. He hated that Felicity was feeling it now. He hated it even more that it was over someone who had treated her as poorly as her father had. At least when he’d experienced the loss of Anya, he’d known that she loved him with her whole heart and that she hated to leave him just as much as he hated her leaving. But Big D hadn’t left Felicity with anything but questions.

“I was always a little envious of Belle,” Felicity said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“You wanted your very own singing candelabra?”

“I think every little girl did,” she giggled. The sound lit him up inside. He loved her laugh, but he loved knowing even more that it was him who had made her laugh. Especially in this moment. “But that’s not why. I was jealous of how close she was with Maurice. How they cared for each other.”

“I always thought their relationship was a little over the top,” he commented.

“Maybe. But when you’re a girl who is desperate for your father to pay any kind of attention to you, over the top seems like perfection.”

“That’s fair.”

“Promise me something?” she asked, shifting so she could look up at him. Her eyes were still puffy from her crying earlier, but now they also held something else. A little tiny glimmer of hope.

“What?” he asked in return, willing to give her pretty much anything right now if it would help lift her spirits.

“That you’ll always support Talia. That you’ll be there for her, no matter what. And if she wants to be a teacher, or an astronaut, or an underwater basket weaver, that you’ll support that dream and help her achieve it. Make sure she always knows that she's a priority to you.”

Gunnar’s heart skipped a beat at her request. That was the promise she wanted? Of all the things she could have asked for, for all the places for her mind to be at this moment, it was on his daughter. The more he got to know this amazing woman, the more he was surprised by her, but this—this took the cake. Her heart was bigger than anyone would ever know. Hell, it was probably bigger than she even knew, or at least was willing to admit. It really was no wonder that she kept those walls up so high. Something had to protect her gooey center.

Her big blue eyes were still staring up at him, waiting for him to say something. He smiled, placed a kiss on her forehead, and gave her a squeeze.

“I promise,” he said. It was an easy promise to make, especially after watching Felicity with Big D and all the pain their relationship had caused her. He never wanted to be the source of that for Talia. “She and I are still figuring each other out, but I think we’ve already formed a pretty good bond. I’d do anything for her. And whatever she wants out of life, I will do everything in my power to make sure she gets it. Except dating a football player. We’re bad news.”

Felicity snort-laughed, throwing her head back. The sound caught him off guard for a moment, but he couldn’t hold back his own laughter once he realized exactly what she’d done.

“It wasn’t meant to be funny,” he told her. He tickled the sides of her torso, finding the spot he’d learned was particularly sensitive on their first night together. She let out another snort as his fingers danced along her skin, her body wriggling under the touch. Her laughter only lasted a moment, but knowing that he was able to give her that moment made him happy. She needed a place to be herself right now, and he loved that he was able to be that for her.

“You were a footie player,” she said, catching her breath and snuggling back into him.

“Yes, and I’m bad news. I thought you had figured this out by now.”

“You are not. You’re my safe space. You thought of everything tonight. Everything I could possibly need.”

“Not even close. I just knew what I needed when Anya passed and tried to make sure that I had it for you, that’s all.”

It was his turn now to let out a sigh, letting the weight of the moment sink in. It was true, he’d gone into some sort of protector mode the second he saw her legs start to wobble on the tarmac this morning. Thankfully he’d made it to her in time to catch her as her knees gave way. From there, his thoughts had been all about making sure she was taken care of. Cullen and Cowboy had done the same for him after he’d called to give them the news.

“Is this how you felt after she died? Just utterly dumbfounded and numb inside?”

“I felt like the whole world had been tipped off its axis,” he answered without even thinking about it. “Numb doesn’t even begin to cover it. I was a zombie. If it hadn’t been for Cullen and Cowboy reminding me that I had promised Anya that I would continue to live out our dreams, then who knows what would have happened.”

“I’d say that I wish that you’d never experienced that, but then I wouldn’t have gotten to experience this…you. And right about now I can’t think of anything worse than a Gunnar-shaped hole in my life.”

“Baby,” he exhaled, tightening his grip around her. “I get it. I wish I hadn’t lost her, but at the same time, I’m pretty sure she’s the one pulling the strings behind the scenes when it comes to me and you.”

“Do you talk to her about me?” Felicity asked, a yawn escaping at the end of her question.