Page 47 of False Start
“She’s alive,” Bryant says.
I open one eye, then the other, and turn over to find him at the small table in the room with a breakfast feast in front of him.
“It took 5.6 seconds for you to wake after I took the cover off the bacon. Impressive.”
“You ordered me bacon?” I ask.
“And much, much more. Come eat, babe. I wore you out last night. You must be starving.”
I wrap the sheet around me and leave the bed to sit in his lap and give him a good morning kiss. And then I grab a piece of bacon and chow down.
“Mrs. Hudson, did you use me for my bacon?”
I pick up another strip and inhale it. “Yes, yes, I did.” I can’t stop the giggle escaping me at him calling me Mrs. Hudson.
“Best sound in the world,” he says as he nuzzles his face into my neck. “I could listen to you laugh all day.”
“I love you, hubby.”
“Mmm, I like the way that sounds. Say if again.”
“Which part?”
“Both.”
“I love you, hubby. What time is it?”
He presses a kiss to my neck. “Seven. Our flight leaves at noon. Are you ready to head home?”
We decided to finish out our leases until the end of the school year since we already committed to providing half the rent for Zina and Ben. It would be wonderful if Zina and Ben did a swap, but things are strained between them. I thought it best not to push the envelope, so we’ll crash between both places. We don’t want either one of them to feel abandoned because we got married. They’re our best friends. I just hate it’s not working out between them right now.
“What are you thinking about?” he asks as he often does.
“Why do you ask?”
“I can see the wheels to your brain turning just by looking at your eyes.”
“I was thinking of Ben and Zina and where we’re going to call home when we land. I don’t want one to think we chose the other over them.”
“Being in the middle of their drama sucks.”
I hold up my glass of orange juice. “Here, here.” Being between two people we love sucks. Zina isn’t just my best friend, she’s my sister, and Ben is the best friend and brother Bryant never had as an only child.
After we devour breakfast, we take a long bath together in the hotel, claw foot tub. It’s nice to relax. When we return, Bryant will go straight back into football and school, and I’ll be logging clinical hours, a course load, and being a wife to a football player. At the pro level, wives have their own clubs. Thankfully, it’s not the case at the college level.
I don’t know why I’m nervous about returning home. The only thing that should change is my last name and the fact we both wear a ring. We’re already cohabitating and spending every moment together.
“What’s wrong?”he asks, always perceptive of my moods as we walk through the concourse of the airport. “You’re frowning.”
“Why did you want to marry me?”
He chuckles and slides his arm around my shoulders as he leans in and kisses me above the temple. “Babe, we’ve been married less than 24 hours and you’re already busting my balls about it?” He stops us, turns me to face him, and frowns back at me. “What’s wrong?”
“I was wondering what would change now that we’re married. I don’t want us to change.”
“Oh, baby, change is inevitable. Next year, we’ll likely be living somewhere else. You’ll be at a new school, and as long as all goes according to plan, I’ll be playing in the league. We’ll grow older and wiser together. Change is good. Change is progress. But it’s okay to be a little unsure of the future. We’re young, and there’s a lot to look forward to and be unsure about.”
He always says the right thing to calm me when I worry. “You’re right. Change is inevitable. I just need a moment to adjust.”
