31. Chapter 31
Cole
Sadie was stressed, and I couldn’t figure out why. Things appeared to be going well at the gym and at school, but she’d started picking at her fingernails and keeping quiet. It had been a week, and she seemed to be folding in on herself.
Whatever it was, I couldn’t even tease her out of it. When I asked about work, she said it was fine and that she was getting the hang of it.
At night, she went to bed early and stayed far on her side. I thought about asking Alyssa, but I didn’t want to worry her if she hadn’t noticed.
Today was a school assembly—a competition between the cheerleaders and the football players. I’d tried to kill the tradition because years ago it was the reason my sister Nayvee and her now-husband Van didn’t speak for years. Joanne, however, refused to let it die.
The cheerleaders had been given an opportunity to go to a competition, and it just happened to land on this day, so now we were squaring up against the pep club.
I didn’t know what pep clubs were like at other schools, but here it seemed to be all the kids who weren’t into sports and just wanted somewhere to hang.
I watched the competition with little interest. Even the audience was bored. The football players were dominating.
“Now,” the kid with the mic said. “The score is twenty to two. Whoever wins this next competition gets twenty points.”
I rolled my eyes. Way to stack the odds. Not that we needed luck or anything. The pep club was unfortunately going down—and going down hard.
“Hula hoop!” the kid said.
I cringed. My players probably weren’t skilled in that.
“Let’s have Coach H against the lovely Mrs. H!”
The assembly cheered. I glanced at Sadie. She was frowning. This seemed just like something she would hate.
“Dude,” one of the players said, leaning in. “Don’t let her win just because she’s your wife.”
“I haven’t hula-hooped since I was ten,” I muttered.
Sadie met me on the stage, and we were both handed a hoop.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said, hating the stress in her eyes.
The corner of her lips moved up. “Are you trying to get me to forfeit? You’re going down, son.”
The room burst into cheers.
I smiled and put my hula hoop into position. Sadie did the same.
“Ready?” the mic kid said. “Set? Go!”
We both started spinning the hoop around our waists. It felt awkward, but familiar. The awkward was winning out. I glanced at Sadie.
She smiled as the hoop flew around her waist. “Nice day, isn’t it?”
My hoop clattered to the floor. She kept going.
“Good effort, coach. I believe we won?”
The pep club burst into cheers, and the football players groaned. It hadn’t been fair, giving all those points at the end, but I’d take it to see that smile on Sadie.
She stopped the hoop and handed it to someone, then did a bow. The crowd applauded, and she got a few catcalls.
She came over and held out her hand. “Good game.”
I shook her hand and smiled like a man completely in love with his wife.
“Oh man, he did it on purpose,” someone said.
I laughed. “Not on purpose. This thing was rigged.”
I didn’t get a chance to walk Sadie home because I had to go to the gym. When I got home, dinner was in the fridge, Alyssa was playing the Switch, and Sadie was in bed. I hoped that wouldn’t be our lives.
I got ready for bed and crawled in beside her. “Sadie?” I said quietly.
She didn’t answer. Her breathing was steady.
Almost too steady.
“Talk to me, Sadie. What’s wrong?”
Still no answer. Maybe she really was asleep. I put my arm over her and hoped she wouldn’t mind.
Sadie
I felt bad pretending to be asleep, but I didn’t feel like I could talk to Cole about my problems. The gym and pep club were already wearing on me. I had to push through it. Cole deserved my help. I couldn’t even figure out why I hated it so badly.
A tear ran into my pillow, and I sniffed before I could think.
Cole froze next to me, then pulled me closer. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” I said, more high-pitched than I’d like.
“Liar. Tell me.”
The tears came faster. Was I seriously crying because I hated my job? I’d hated my job before, and it was a lot more stressful back then.
He kissed the side of my face. “Sadie, let me help you. What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“This isn’t nothing. Do I need to ask Alyssa?”
“She doesn’t know.” I sniffed again and wiped my nose on the sheet. That was lovely. I hoped he couldn’t tell in the dark. I’d change them first thing in the morning.
“Trust me, Sadie. I care. I love you.”
I froze. “Really?”
“Really.”
For some reason, that made me cry more.
“Talk to me.”
“I… hate the gym. People hit on me, and the trainers don’t take me seriously. No one takes me seriously. And pep club? I’m not peppy. But this is your dream. I don’t want to disappoint you… because… because I owe you everything.”
Everything was quiet for a minute. Unless you counted my unattractive sniffing and nose wiping. The poor sheet.
“Sadie, I don’t need you to live my dream. I thought you might enjoy it. I can figure something else out. Hire someone.”
“But you gave me so much.” I turned and buried my head against his chest.
“Everything I got was because you married me. If anything, I owe you. Actually, scratch that. When people get married, it’s not an owing thing. We are building a life together. It might have started out as fake, but you can’t tell me that’s what you want. I love you. I think you love me.”
“I do,” I cried. Dang it, my nose ran onto his shirt. This was the least romantic declaration in history.
“Then we agree?” he said. “This is real?”
“If you can take me the disgusting way I am.”
“There’s nothing disgusting about you.”
“I just got snot on your shirt.”
He hesitated for a minute, then chuckled. “You can use all of my shirts if you need to.”
“I also wiped my nose on the sheet.” Why was I suddenly confessing? Maybe I figured he would figure it out eventually, and it was better to say it.
“I’ll change the bedding for you,” he said.
We got up, and he turned on the light. I hurried to the bathroom to blow my nose and wash my face. I wasn’t sure why I washed my face, but that was what people in my books always did when they’d been crying.
I looked in the mirror at my splotchy cheeks and red eyes. I was going to have to stay in here until I looked less like Medusa. A smile crept onto my face and my fingers touched my lips. Cole loved me. That meant he had to love me when I looked like this.
I went out and found Cole pulling the comforter back onto the bed.
“I look scary,” I said.
He grinned. “You look beautiful.”
“Now who’s the liar?”
I moved over and fell into his arms. I hoped he’d changed his shirt.
“I love you,” I said, feeling all my stress vanish. “Way more than should be possible at this point.”
He ran a hand through my hair. “And I love you. No more secrets?”
“No more secrets.”
I tilted my head up, and he bent down, letting his lips softly brush over mine.
“You know when you kiss me, I have a hard time sleeping?” I admitted. “I can’t stop thinking about it.” I might as well get it all out. My pride was knocked down, and everything felt raw.
He ran a finger over my cheek. “That’s too bad, because I’ve been saving up my best kisses.”
I smiled. “I think I’m willing to risk it.”