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“Ihopeyouknowthat you owe me for this, Jess.” Nora sits beside me on the bench, shivering and clutching a hot chocolate like her life depends on it.
Liam asked if we wanted to come and watch his Little League rugby team play. The only drawback is that it’s 8 am on a Sunday and we’ve been up for hours already since practice was on the other side of London.
I yawn loudly. “I know, I know. I owe you a big, fat burger after this. Promised, didn’t I?”
“Damn straight. It’s so cold even my hot chocolate is barely hot.” She shoots me a scowl, while puffs of air stream from her mouth, but I ignore her. Mostly because she’s just not a morning person and it’s easier to let her be grumpy sometimes. I’ll feed her and she’ll warm up and be good as new.
Liam and another guy walk out of the clubhouse laughing. They both duck through the doorframe of the rugby club, wearing black jumpers that sayCoach. Their long strides confidently eat up the space between the club and the bench we are sitting on.
Liam walks straight up to me and leans in to kiss me, giving me a peck that’s seemingly so insignificant, yet has my heart doing a little happy dance in my chest.
“Nora, Jess, this is Grayson.”
Grayson rubs his tattooed hands together like he has just been given the keys to a sweet shop. He smiles at me and then extends his hand to Nora. None of us miss the blush that creeps across her cold cheeks as he kisses the back of her hand. “You must be Nora. Liam’s told me all about you.” He winks, and I’m surprised to see Nora temporarily speechless.
She pulls her huge parka coat towards her blazing cheeks, puts her hood up, and smiles a forced smile as she clutches her hot chocolate. “I’m not a morning person.” She states it like it’s fact.
Liam huffs a laugh next to Grayson and slaps him on the back and Grayson removes his hand, shaking off her chilly mood this morning.
“Sorry about her. She’ll warm up, I promise.” I look at Grayson, who is still staring at Nora as she scoffs at my comment and mumbles something about her warm bed.
He finally looks at me and smiles. “So, you’re the wife to be? Come to check out if he’s father material too?”
My face blanches at his comment, and the laugh that barks from my mouth is scathing. When I get a confused look from everyone standing in front of me, I swallow thickly, unable to formulate an appropriate response that isn’t followed by me fleeing the pitch. My eyes flick over the field, hoping for a distraction from my lack of response to Grayson’s comment.
Liam’s brows pinch as he looks at me, hurt flashing across his eyes.
Fuck.
Grayson taps Liam’s shoulder, telling him the kids are done with their laps. He jogs off but turns again to say, “Oh, and Nora, if you need warming up, I’m available to help in any way I can.”
Nora barks a laugh and Grayson winks at her.
Liam eyes me for a second longer before dropping my gaze, his head shaking slightly before he turns and walks onto the pitch.
Shit, shit, shit. Why do I have to be so fucking stupid?
I groan and throw my hands into my glove covered hands when Nora’s hand comes to comfort me. Not that I deserve it. That was a dick move.
“You okay?” she asks.
No. I’m stupid and not okay, but I bury that shameful feeling coursing through me and nod. “Yeah, I was just… surprised at what Grayson said.”
Nora nods. Knowing when I want to talk about something, I will, but right now I just want to crawl away and hide. Liam and I have only been seeing each other for a month, so kids… marriage? Well, fuck, that shit is scary, and I freaked. Stupid really, because all I ever wanted when we were younger was to marry him and have a family of our own. But we’re not those kids anymore and thingshavebeen happening really quickly between us.Does he want all of that still?
I settle into the bench next to Nora and watch Liam and Grayson warming up with the kids. Grayson is setting up cones and Liam has the kids huddled up in a group, talking to them, but I can’t hear a word. All the kids start to laugh and Liam taps every other boy’s head, telling them they are either team mouse or team cat. He then yells 'go' very loudly and all the team who are mice run around like looneys as Liam chuckles at them. He brings the team cats in and talks for a second before telling them to run too. The field is a mess with kids squealing, laughing, dodging one another. The game of cat and mouse is in full swing and I watch Liam as he yells compliments at the mice who haven’t been caught yet.
Seeing him do something he loves makes my chest tight. He would be an amazing dad, but I just didn’t think we were anywhere near there yet to even discuss it.
At half time, Grayson sends the kids over to their parents to get water and a snack. Liam jogs over to me, an unreadable expression on his face. When Nora realises he’s coming over, she stands. “I’m going to the bathroom real quick.”
Liam’s breath bellows out as he stops a few feet away from me. “You okay?” he asks with none of his usual warmth.
I nod my head robotically, unsure what to say.
Liam downs some water, keeping his eyes on me, assessing every micro expression I’m sure my face is giving him right now. When he twists the lid back on his bottle, sucking the moisture from his top lip, his sharp inhale slices through the tension building between us. “Look, he didn’t mean anything by what he said earlier. Grayson likes to shoot the shit and get a rise out of people.”
I nod again, still not sure what should come out of my mouth.
