Page 41 of Anywhere with You
I show him my phone, which has a picture of Allison on the screen. “Allie’s up, she’s putting the turkey on and can’t get back to sleep, so I’m going over to keep her company.” That’s my story anyway. I know if I tell him I can’t stand to be away from her a minute longer he would razz me about it all day. Although by the look in his eye, he already knows the real reason.
“What time is it?” he asks, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
“It’s a little after six.” I step to the left to walk around him and hear him chuckle behind me.
“Whipped bastard,” he mutters as he laughs.
“Love sick bastard,” I call back to him. Might as well call a zebra a zebra and not a horse, I’m madly in love with the girl and want to be with her every second of the day.
Allison’s waiting at the door for me when I get there. I immediately pick her up and hold her close. She buries her face in my neck. “I missed you,” I whisper in her ear.
She leans away, and I set her back on her feet. “Come in, I made coffee and cinnamon rolls.”
We end up in the den, her on my lap, eating cinnamon rolls and drinking coffee. At a little after seven, Allie hears Gran starting to stir, so she goes to help her out of bed and into the den. While she does that, I make Gran a plate of fresh fruit and oatmeal and pour her a cup of black coffee. I have everything ready and waiting on the TV tray beside her chair by the time they make their way into the den.
“Liam—How did? How did you know?” Allison asks me.
I shrug my shoulders. “I pay attention and I listen when you talk.”
She carefully helps Gran into her chair, then turns and launches herself at me. I catch her in my arms and hug her tight. “I love your hugs,” she whispers to me. She pulls back and touches her hand to my face. “I love you more every day, you’re amazing.” Then she kisses me.
She kisses me full on lips with tongue right in front of her gran. I’m not sure how her gran feels about intimate displays of affection,and I don’t want to disrespect her, but there’s no way I can tell Allison no. We’ll just have to ask for forgiveness later. Allison pulls away and smiles at me. I’m lost in her eyes, the emotion I see in them. She finally breaks the trance when she pulls me to the couch and plops down beside me, never letting go of my hand.
“Allie girl, can you get me my medication?” Gran asks her. Allison nods, gets up, and walks toward the kitchen.
I’m a little nervous, I just made out with this woman’s granddaughter right in front of her and now she’s obviously trying to get me alone. I clear my throat and rub my hands together. My palms are sweaty.
“Liam,” her gran says my name so softly I almost don’t hear her.
“Yes, ma’am?” Okay, now I’m really worried.
“You love her, you love my Allie?” she questions me.
I nod my head vigorously. “I do, more than I ever thought possible,” I tell her.
“Good, can you promise me something?” she asks. Her voice is laced with so much emotion, sadness or concern, maybe. I can’t really tell.
“That depends, ma’am. If you’re going to ask me to stay away from Allison, I’m sorry I just can’t do that.” I’m not sure what she’s going to ask of me, but I’m sure it has to do with Allison and me. Agreeing to stay away from her isn’t an option.
Gran laughs softly. “No, I see the way you look at her and her at you. I would never take that away from either of you.” She smiles at me. “Although, after your statement my fear of what I’m about to ask you is no longer palpable.” She reaches her hand out to me, so I stand up and walk over to her chair. I kneel down in front of her, taking her hand in mine while her other rests on my cheek. “Take care of her for me, Liam. I’m her only family and, well, I won’t be on this earth forever. All Allie has ever wanted was to have a family.” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “I was never able to give that to her. After her parents died, it was just us. It has always been just us. I need to know she’ll have someone who will be there for her forever after I’mgone.” She’s looking at me as if she can see inside my soul. “Can you love her for me, give her the life she deserves?”
I have to fight to hide the fact that her words have me choked up. Allison’s grandmother is asking me to love Allie forever, to give her the family and life she has always dreamed of. I have to gather my wits before I can respond. “I love Allison with everything I am. She has changed my life in ways I never thought possible. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with her. I’m honored I have your blessing.” I lean over and kiss her cheek.
Gran nods, tears in her eyes. “I met my late husband and knew by the end of our first date he was the one. Love like that is hard to find. I see it in the two of you.”
I hear Allison and Hailey coming down the hall. I nod my head, letting her know I’ll cherish Allison always and rush back to the couch. When Allison walks in, she offers me her genuineI’m happysmile. The one she reserves for me, I smile back. The old Liam would have been out the door and running for the hills after that speech. The new Liam is elated to have her blessing. I want to go look at rings today, although I know that’s not possible. Allison and I have talked about the draft, but never what it’s going to mean for our relationship. To me, it doesn’t change things, I love her. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, and I want her to go with me. I need her with me always. I’ve been afraid to broach the subject with her. Afraid I would be pushing things too far too fast, but after last weekend, my mind is made up. Allison is mine, always, and I’ll do everything in my power to show her she belongs with me. I can give her the love and the family she has always wanted. My mind veers to a pregnant Allison, and I have to readjust my position to hide the evidence of my erection. I want it all with Allison. I want to give her the family she’s always craved.
The rest of the day goes off without a hitch. Hailey, Allison, and Aiden’s mom make dinner while Aiden and I keep Gran entertained. Aiden’s mom made the desserts. She really outdid herself, but Aiden and I graciously volunteer to take the extras back with us. Hailey andI clean up the kitchen while Allie and Aiden spend time with his folks and her gran. We stay in the kitchen longer than necessary, giving them all time to visit.
“So, how you feeling about the draft?” Aiden asks me later.
I shrug. “I’m nervous, man. How about you? Nervous?”
He nods. “Yeah, I am. I mean, coach says you and I are in line for first round picks. It would be bad ass if we could go to the same team.”
I laugh. “Hell, yeah, it would, but the chances of that happening are slim and none.”
Aiden clears his throat. “So, what about you and Allison?”
