Page 40 of Defended By Bam
After a long day and the sun finally starting to hit the horizon, we packed up and headed back, stopping for fast food on the way. Being in the sun all day wore me out, and so did Sadie. Once she ate, though, she was out like a light. And instead of passing out on Brooklyn, her weight fell against me.
“I’ll grab her,” Brooklyn said, reaching her arms toward her.
“She’s fine. Let her sleep. She played hard today.”
“She really likes you.” Brooklyn smiled over at me.
“I like her, too. She’s a good kid. You did good. So, you think about what you want your names to be yet?”
Brooklyn blew out a heavy sigh. “It’s so hard. Especially for her. I asked her what she wanted to be called and she said Squidward.”
Chuckling, I said, “Well, sounds like a road name to me. What about you?”
“I don’t know. I’ve thought about some random names but none seem to fit. How do you guys pick your club names?”
“Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes it’s not. I went with my nickname and some of the others do, too. Like Rogers.”
“I don’t get it, is that short for something?” she asked.
“No, he thinks he looks like Captain America.”
“Oh, you know, I kinda see it now,” she said with a grin.
“What the hell?” I laughed. “You think he’s hot?”
“No.” She looked out the window.
“Hey, I’m just kidding. He’s a handsome motherfucker.” I looked down to make sure Sadie was still sleeping. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
She looked back over. “Sorry. I got accused of looking a lot before. I didn’t know how else to respond.”
“Hey, I don’t think you’re looking at him. I’m sorry I said that. I’m not an insecure prick.”
“I’m sorry. I just–”
“Don’t be sorry. But Rogersisa handsome motherfucker,” I whispered.
“Not as handsome as you,” she said.
Moving my arm carefully, I reached over for her hand and she threaded her fingers into mine. I loved the feel of her hand in mine.
Rubbing my thumb over her hand, I said, “So, names.”
“Oh yeah. Well, if nicknames are a thing, I had a friend in middle school that moved away. But while she was still in Georgia, she called me Linny. I liked it, but I never got it to stick with anyone else. It was usually Brooke or Brookie.”
“Linny. I like that.” It suited her. Cute and simple.
“Maybe. I still don’t know what to do about Sadie.”
“Maybe tomorrow we can figure it out together. But Crowne wanted to chat soon to get that finalized.” Rogers let me know she had checked in again and wanted to get that taken care of so she could be done.
“I’m sure they have a lot on their plate. I appreciate everything they’re doing for us. And you.” She squeezed my hand, so I pulled hers up and pressed my lips to the back of hers.
“Once that’s done, you can really start fresh. And I need you to know that means anywhere, but I really hope it’s with me.” The last couple of weeks, especially after that first kiss, were the best I could think of in recent memory.
“Is it crazy that I can’t remember before I met you? I mean, I remember things that happened, but I can’t remember not knowing you. Is that strange?” she asked, her gaze fixed on me.
“No, because I know what you mean. You two just fit with me. And that’s why I don’t want you to leave. But I’ll do whatever is best for you both.”
