AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay.”
Together, we set the table for the two of us and sit down together. He works on the food while I put ice in our glasses and fill them with water. It feels… strange. Truthfully, I never thought I’d be around Briggs again and now we’re sitting down and eating a meal while our daughter sleeps peacefully just feet away.
“Your friends are hilarious,” I tell him. “The tall one, with the blond hair and light blue eyes? He’s obviously the funny one out of all of you macho guys.”
I’m teasing him, but he pretends to be offended. “Are you saying that I’m not funny Maddison?”
His dimpled grin makes my heart flutter. I love when he teases me like this, especially over his friends or hockey. We don’t talk about his job much. For obvious reasons, it’s a bit of grey area that we haven’t ever really discussed, but bringing them here today, it opened a new door that we can’t sit silent and ignore. Even after the time we’ve spent together, there’s still a whole side of Briggs, a large part of his life that I don’t know anything about.
“No,” I laugh, “I can just tell he’s definitely the most outgoing.”
Briggs takes a sip of his ice water from the only actual nice glasses that I own, a housewarming gift from Ty and Kyle when I moved into this apartment and out of the one that we shared together, then he nods. “Graham Adams. He’s the rookie. Kid doesn’t have bad days, he’s always like this hyper-ass chihuahua with an endless amount of energy that seems to recycle into even more.”
“That is a terrible analogy, Briggs.”
He shrugs and laughs, deep and low, “Yeah, but it’s true. He’s a good kid, works harder than anyone I know to be better at hockey. Trying constantly to improve. I respect it. I mean, he’s going to hit on anything with two legs, but mostly, we just ignore that.
“That, I can see.” I laugh. “It was nice of them... you know...to come here and help out. Graham seems enamored with Olive.”
“Trust me, he is. Better someone else’s kid than his own. That’s the last thing he needs.”
I swallow thickly. “I used to say that too. But, I wouldn’t trade Olive for anything.”
“Me either. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Sincerity shines in his eyes as he speaks, and it causes my already pounding heart to feel like it might come out of my chest.
We finish our meal in comfortable silence. After dinner, Briggs clears the table for me, just as my breasts begin to ache, signaling it’s time to pump or to feed Olive. I glance at the clock and realize it’s time for her feeding.
“I’m going to feed Olive before I head to bed. If it’s fine with you, I’m going to feed her in here,” I say, nodding toward the couch.
“Of course. Our daughter’s hungry, she needs to eat.” His eyes hold mine and he steps closer, brushing his fingers lightly over the pink of Olive’s cheeks. “Don’t ever feel you have to hide it from me unless it makes you feel uncomfortable.”
Why do emotions suddenly clog my throat? I don’t know. I know that the close proximity of Briggs has my heart racing a mile a minute, and when he throws in his charm and ridiculously sweet, attentive words, I feel like putty in his hands.
I clear my throat. “Thank you. I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable.”
He tidies up the kitchen while I situate both myself and Olive on the couch, placing her Boppy underneath her, and sliding my tank top up to begin our nightly feeding routine. She’s fussy and eating her little fists because she’s hungry.
“I’m sorry my sweet Olive. Mama had to eat something too.” Guiding her toward my full breast, she latches on easily and begins to suckle.
Watching her eat, I’m in complete awe. It’s hard to believe that she’s so beautiful, and that Briggs and I were able to create this perfect, tiny little baby. I feel eyes on me and look up to see Briggs leaning against the wall opposite of us, with his arms folded over his chest. The thick, corded muscles of his forearms peeking out the sleeves of his faded black t-shirt.
“I know I probably look so much different… you know then back then.” My cheeks heat in embarrassment saying it, but I feel like I should probably put that out there. “I’m pretty much walking around with two-day old hair, leaky boobs… more stretch marks than ever. You sure you wanna be here with me and not out with some super hot model?”
Briggs shakes his head and walks over to where I’m sitting next to Olive, squatting down in front of us. “Do you have any idea how in awe I am of you? How fucking strong and beautiful, I think you are? I know, co-parenting, but… don’t ever talk about yourself like that again Maddison.”
His eyes are full of heat, and I swallow thickly at the intensity of the moment.
“You’re feeding my daughter, and it’s the best thing in the entire world. I think you are amazing and there is nowhere else I’d rather be. Nowhere. Know that.”
He reaches out and rubs his thumb along Olive’s cheek and smiles, the most beautiful, blinding smile that takes my breath away. Even when it shouldn’t. Resisting him, and his charm, will be the thing that’s the hardest, I already know that and I have since the day he walked back into our lives.
“Thank you, for being here.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’ll always be here. The season’s ending soon, so I’ll have more time on my hands, more time to spend with Olive.”
“That’ll be good. I took the semester off, but I uh, I have some work that I do online for a news station, so I’ll try and take care of that when you are here.”
“I can come over in the mornings before practice, or after,” he says.
I nod. “If you want... the couch is always open, I mean, totally up to you. I just, it keeps from you having to go back and forth so much, and all of Olive’s things are here.”
Offering the couch up seems like something small… but for us? It’s a giant step. Together.
