Chapter 18
LAINEY
I’m already untangling the scarf from around my neck as I step off the elevator.
February has not been kind to Illinois citizens.
Every time I go outside, it takes a few hours to feel my toes again.
With the game schedule and moving slow around Enzo, my options for using a bristly hockey player as my heating solutions are limited.
I’m already searching in my purse for my keys and feel exhaustion taking over.
Helping little hands paint hearts at preschool drains my energy.
Despite the paint smocks, almost all of the class ended up with paint everywhere other than where it was supposed to go.
The week of Valentine’s is always a mixed bag.
It’s prime season for kids to be sick with a cold or other bugs.
It’s also a holiday that has never really been on my radar to enjoy.
Enzo has always come first, dating second.
I also never wanted the reminder of my solo status.
I always stuck to Galentine’s celebrations and never ventured further.
This year? It’s a struggle to shake what is no longer true. A dislike for Valentine’s Day was just too deep inside of me. I’m doing my best to shake it away.
Yawning, I unlock my door with full intention to enjoy an hour or two of calm. Luckily, today wasn’t my carpool day for Enzo and his friend’s karate class.
The moment I walk through my door, I’m hit with a balloon in my face. I jump, startled, and I bring a hand to my heart while I yelp.
What the hell?
This morning, the team sent chocolates to all the wives and girlfriends of the team, I thought that was my present of the day.
Pushing the balloon angrily to the side, I drop my keys on the side table and quickly hang up my coat, as I’m only confronted with more heart-shaped balloons. Pink, red, more pink. My arm gets tangled in the string of one balloon, and I try to shake it off because I’m annoyed.
Maybe I should be concerned about walking into a home with balloons that I didn’t place there, but a burglar wouldn’t take his time to cause this fiasco.
The flicker in the bottom of my vision causes me to look down and see candles. Creating a path on the floor in the direction of the kitchen.
“Uhh, okay, I’ll go with this,” I say aloud. I’m too distracted by the Valentine explosion happening in my house. “Really? Rose petals on the ground?” I grumble.
Following the trail, I reach my destination in the kitchen where a giant heart-shaped box of chocolates is on the kitchen counter, along with a dozen roses and paper confetti scattered around the counter.
Now it’s beyond obvious that Tyler is determined to go overboard. Someone did this all in my apartment and it’s Valentine’s Day. “Tyler?” I know the answer but still feel inclined to ask.
My entire heart sinks straight into my stomach, and I shriek when he jumps up from behind the other side of the kitchen island holding a bottle of champagne.
“Fuck,” I bring my hand to my chest and curl over. “Scare me, why don’t you?”
He laughs and grins. “Surprise.” Not really. But still, this balloon fest was not on my bingo card.
My heartrate is speeding. “What is this?” I sound a little agitated, I admit. Maybe it’s because I already had it in my head that he would forget what today is, and even though it wouldn’t bother me, making him squirm is kind of fun. I even went lingerie shopping for the occasion.
He circles around the island, setting his very-expensive-looking bottle of champagne down in the process then comes straight to me and cups my face.
So infuriatingly sexy. “It’s Valentine’s Day, baby.
” I stare at him, unresponsive, and it only causes him to smirk in satisfaction.
“Oh yeah, Miss Cheery December Holidays hates Valentine’s Day. ”
“It’s not that I hate it.”
“You do,” he reminds me firmly. “Hence, why going over the top and adding confetti to piss you off came so easily to me.”
I feign shock. “Wanting to piss off your girlfriend for Valentine’s Day with actual valentines, huh. At least you didn’t get me a teddy bear, because then you will have really gone the extra step to piss me off.”
He gives me an overdone smile. “Might want to check your bed later. I just couldn’t lead the rose petals there in case Enzo came home early.” He makes a funny face. “Gotta keep the kid innocent for as long as we can.”
I nod in agreement, but my brows are raised and my face sours. “Come on, really? All of this?”
That devilish chuckle under his breath nearly melts me. He taps my lips with the pad of his thumb. “Don’t be grumpy. You have a reason to enjoy this holiday now.”
“With a boyfriend who gets his thrills by planting my equivalent of creepy clowns in my home.”
He ignores my dry humor and instead begins to work on the cork of the bottle. “Of course I’m going to take pleasure in this day. You gave me hell for not being bright and chipper for every holiday from October to January first. So yeah, karma is not your friend today.”
His confidence right now and my own ridiculousness causes a tiny smile to seep through me. “Better be some damn good champagne.”
“I was kind of hoping you would tell me to save the champagne for later and we could go straight to your room since we have a window of opportunity.”
That breaks me.
I giggle once, and my cheeks already hurt from my smile. “Is that my cue? Because I didn’t know we were doing this Valentine’s thing, so I haven’t done any special shopping.” A lie. My lingerie receipt was beyond average.
Tyler gives up on the bottle and opts to grab my wrists. “I leave no Valentine’s stone unturned. I took care of that. You have a box waiting for you next time we have a sleepover.”
“Well, didn’t you think of everything.” I pinch him playfully.
Enzo understands that Tyler sometimes stays over after we watch a movie. But with Tyler’s schedule, it hasn’t happened much. When it does, absolutely no toys and special lingerie come out. I much rather opt for pajamas in case Enzo needs something during the night.
“Well, I’m going to enjoy every moment of today. Teasing you and punishing you are two of my favorite pastimes, you know.”
He tugs me along straight to my bedroom where we collapse on my bed, and I fall onto a white teddy bear. I grab it and throw it to the floor. Tyler takes the opportunity to hover over me, and it feels electrifying.
All smiles and laughs aside, we sink into a moment of quiet, lost in each other’s eyes. I tip my mouth up to capture a kiss from him.
And it’s everything I want and then some.
“This isn’t so bad, is it? Over-the-top hearts. You can add this day to your calendar and get all excited.”
I roll my eyes. “Perhaps…” The feeling of him near and my strained cheeks from my joy is what I always imagined this day would be like. “You are right,” I reply quietly.
His fingers begin to tickle my side. “What was that? Did you say I’m right?”
I shove him off and roll us so I can straddle him. “Yes. Now you can drop the act. I know you hate this holiday.”
He brings his hands behind his head and gets comfortable as he stares up at me. “Meh. It’s kind of fun, to be honest.”
My eyes bug out, and my mouth parts open. “You just said that?” And he was serious.
He shrugs. “Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of fun taking a moment to celebrate the one you love.”
I circle my hips around his middle and throw my arms up. “Ah yes, and you love me.” I love being reminded of that part.
“And you love me, so here we are. Now will you kiss me, spank me, or go down on me? Because I’m losing it here.” He lifts his hips, and I feel his hard bulge.
I give him a sultry smirk. “I guess flowers and chocolates can be rewarded,” I rasp. My eyes sink down to watch my fingers crawl up his abs, dragging the fabric of his shirt with them. I’m going slow to antagonize him a tad.
“Remind me to break out the piece de resistance first to avoid this torture that you’re putting me through,” he says. I stall my fingers just under his chest. “Check under your pillow,” he suggests.
Now he has me intrigued again.
I study him for a second because I’m not sure what I will find. My hips stay square to his, but I lean across him to reach under the pillow. In the process, my body brushes along his mouth, and he takes the opportunity to give me a little playful bite.
My fingers search under the case and instantly my body freezes.
It’s a key with my name on the keychain. Feels a little more official than the spare key that I use sometimes.
“What’s this?” I choke out.
Tyler cooly remains unaffected. “Just your very own key for when you move in.”
“Move in?”
He grips my waist and flips us so he is on top.
“Yeah. We’re long game, and the next step would be living together.
I know it might sometimes feel that way because we’re neighbors, but we are also not living together.
Enzo has to be comfortable, of course. It’s just…
not living together doesn’t feel like enough, you know? ”
Every word he just said was dripping warmth and honesty. “I get it. It’s crossed my mind. I mean, when the season ends then you are off for months, and will our dynamics change or…?”
Tyler kisses the corner of my mouth, keeping our bodies close. “I mean, if I were to get traded or something, I want you and Enzo with me. If I can’t marry you yet, then live with me, it’s the next best thing. Maybe you’re not ready now, but I’m waiting when you are.”
I freeze when I repeat his sentence back in my head. “You want to marry me?” It peeps out.
“Well, obviously that’s the game plan, but we said to go slow, so I’m trying to find some middle ground.”
“And one day marry me?” I can’t let this go.
Why? I’m the queen of slow and responsible decision-making. Filling my head with this thought is neither one of those.
Tyler is unfazed. “I want you guys by my side. Living under one roof is the way to go, and then I can hide a ring in your Halloween candy or something. Not sure I’ll make it to the fall holidays. Not sure how I feel about rings stuck in Easter Eggs, either.” He’s rambling, and it’s so perfect.
“Tyler,” I whisper his name. He realizes that he needs to give me a moment to speak. “I’m happy to hear about the long-game plans.”
“You’re on board, right?”
I nod my head. “We’re going at our own pace, but all of those things are for us. I want them too,” I confirm.
Our mouths fuse together, and we kiss our breaths away. “I love you,” I breathe out before we kiss again.
“I fucking love you,” he laments before his mouth runs down my neck.
It seems I can add Valentine’s Day as a new holiday to like.