Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
EVAN
Isaac’s ribs are much better and at his appointment this morning, the doctor told him he can start light workouts today.
If those go well, he will be able to return to practice in a few days and play in next Sunday’s game.
The relief in Isaac’s voice when he called me with the news was a welcome sound.
Being off the field has been weighing heavy on him these past weeks.
He feels like he’s letting his team down, especially because the injury could have been avoided if he hadn’t let his anger get the best of him.
I’ve been trying to come up with a way to celebrate the good news from the doctor and do something fun and different for our date tonight.
We’ve fallen into this routine of taking turns planning what to do each night.
Most of the time, one of us cooks and we stay in because we’re tired from the day.
I decided I like the idea of staying home tonight but wanted to do more than simply cook and watch TV.
When I hear Isaac’s key in the door, I scramble up off the floor to greet him.
A couple of weeks ago we exchanged keys.
It was a big step and one I don’t take lightly.
I’ve never given anyone a key to my place before for two reasons.
One, my place was my parents’ place and two, I’ve never trusted anyone the way I trust Isaac.
I can’t hide the huge grin on my face when Isaac opens the door. He takes three steps into the apartment and freezes, eyes going wide with wonder and excitement as he takes in the living room that’s been transformed into one hell of a blanket fort. I’m damn proud of my work.
“It’s our date.”
“What exactly are we doing on this date?”
“Well.” I take his hand, leading him to the fort entrance.
“This is a blanket fort. It’s a special place built only for the one I love most. No one else has ever been inside one of my famous blanket forts.
Unless you count my parents, who joined me a few times when I was a little kid.
” Isaac stares as me unblinking as I continue.
“Blanket forts are magical places where anything you dream can happen.” I drop to my knees and crawl inside, motioning for Isaac to follow.
He crawls in behind and looks all around in complete disbelief.
“You did all of this today? It must have taken hours.”
Blankets cover almost the entire room, giving us plenty of space to stretch out and relax.
On the side that borders the wall, I have pillows lined up.
White Christmas lights are strung across the top of the fort and down the sides, giving us some soft, romantic light.
A large blanket is laid out on the floor with a picnic basket and bottle of wine.
“Sit,” I command, pointing to the pillows.
While Isaac gets comfortable, I open the bottle of red wine and pour each of us a glass.
After handing one to Isaac, I prop myself up next to him and hand him several small strips of paper and a pen.
“So, here’s what I’m thinking. While we sip on our wine, we each choose ten questions we want to ask the other person and write each one on a strip of paper.
Then we fold them up and put them in this bowl.
While we have our picnic dinner, we play a slightly altered version of Twenty Questions.
We will take turns drawing a question and reading it out loud then we both have to answer. ”
“What kind of questions?”
“Anything you want to ask. It can be simple like ‘What is your favorite color?’ or it can be dirty,” I add with a wink.
“Okay, we each write ten?” he questions.
“Yes.” Isaac takes the paper and pen and immediately writes three questions. What the hell? I’ve known all day I was planning this date and I haven’t come up with one single question. I need to get to work.
We spend the next fifteen minutes or so writing down our questions in silence.
Concentrating is difficult with Isaac steadily writing.
How is he so good at this? When we both have the questions written and folded, I pile two plates with egg salad and pimento cheese sandwiches, chips, pickles and olives, and a scoop of fruit salad.
After handing a plate to Isaac, I refill our wine glasses and move back to sit next to him.
“Are you ready to play?” I ask a little unsure about this idea of mine.
“Fuck, yeah, I’m ready.”
Great, his excitement has me even more concerned about the kind of questions he wrote down.
“You draw first.” I hand Isaac the bowl. He pulls a strip out and opens it, laughing when he reads the paper.
“I guess we’re starting a little intense.” He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. I wonder who wrote the question and what it can possibly be. I don’t think any of mine were intense, funny, maybe, but not intense. My heart races with anticipation. “Do you want kids and if so, how many?”
Shit. He definitely wrote that question and it is… intense. This is something I know the answer to, but I’m not sure I’m ready to have this talk. It was my idea, so there is no way I’m getting out of this.
“Yes. I want kids. I’m not sure how many, but I’m thinking two or three at least.”
Isaac stares at me for a beat them beams. “Really! You want kids?”
“Yeah. Do you?”
“Absolutely. I’ve always imagined having a big family but never thought I would meet someone who wanted them, too.”
“How many kids are in ‘a big family’?”
“Five or six.” I choke on my wine at his answer.
“You want five or six kids?”
“Yep. And I want to adopt them. There are so many kids who need good homes. They deserve to have a family who loves them. No surrogates for me.”
I didn’t know it was possible to love this man more, but listening to him talk about adopting kids is causing all kinds of feelings to stir. I’m not sure about six kids, but I can see us having four.
“Wow, that’s a great idea. I always knew I wanted to have kids. I never thought about how I would have those kids. You’re right, there are a lot of kids who need a family. I would be open to adopting.”
“I think we just implied that we should adopt children together.” Isaac looks at me with so much love then leans over and give me a chaste kiss. “I would love nothing more than having a family with you.”
I can’t breathe for a second. Isaac Flores wants to have children with me. This might be the best date idea in the history of date ideas and we’re only on question one.
“Your turn.” Isaac shakes the bowl in front of me, pulling me out of my daydream.
I grab a strip of paper, reading the question silently. These papers need to be shuffled. This is another Isaac question. Trying not to be embarrassed, I read it out loud. “How old were you when you lost your virginity?”
He stares at me for long seconds. The longer he takes to answer the question, the more I worry about the answer. Was he that young? Finally, he drops his head and whispers, “Twenty.”
Shock. Complete shock is all I feel. There’s nothing wrong with being twenty when you lose your virginity, but I was positive Isaac would have lost it a lot younger. I mean look at him.
“I didn’t see that coming,” I joke.
He smirks at me. “And how old were you?”
“I don’t think you want to know the answer.”
“Oh, no, it doesn’t matter if you were older. You have to play. Spill.”
I look him in the eye, confidence coursing through me and say in my sassiest voice, “Fifteen. I’ve got five whole years on you, smart ass.”
“Oh, you think you’re so much better than me. Let’s skip to another one of my questions,” he playfully snaps, tossing the bowl on the floor. “How many sexual partners have you had?”
“You don’t play by the rules.”
“Rules be damned. Answer the question,” he growls.
“Five.”
Hmmm, five in twelve years. Not bad. Not as impressive as my ten in four years, but not everyone can be me.”
“Cocky bastard,” I whisper.
Isaac tackles me, hovering over my body, causing all sorts of fireworks to ping through my body.
He leans down, crashing his lips onto mine and pushing his tongue into my mouth.
My arms wrap around him, pulling him closer so I can feel his erection against my leg.
He breaks the kiss and pushes himself off of me and sits back against the pillows.
“Let’s see what else we can learn. This is fun,” he states calmly as if I’m not completely worked up.
How can he go from a passionate kiss to acting like we’re two buddies hanging out?
“My turn.” He picks up the bowl and grabs another strip.
“Ooh, this one’s good. If you had to completely change careers, what would your new job be? ”
“Teacher.”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah. When I was a kid, I loved going to school and helping the teacher. For a while I thought about becoming a teacher then decided not to go to college. When I was offered my first promotion at the stadium, I realized I actually liked working there, so I changed my mind about college and got a degree in hospitality management.”
“Cool. I think you’d make a great teacher.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve never given it much thought. If I hadn’t gotten drafted out of high school, I would have gone to college, but I have no idea what I would have majored in.
I am interested in how the body heals and any time I’ve been injured and had to go to PT, I’ve always asked a lot of in-depth questions.
Physical therapist might be a cool job if I wasn’t playing ball. ”
“If we ever need new career, we have a starting point.”
“That we do.” Isaac hands me the bowl and I draw again.
Yes! I definitely want to know the answer to this one.
It’s something I’ve wanted to bring up for weeks, but never got the courage, so I wrote it down tonight.
“Have you ever played with a sex toy?” Isaac chokes on his wine when I read the question.
Interesting. The words ‘sex toy’ get him flustered.
He clears his throat, “Um, actually, no, not unless my hand counts.”
“It doesn’t. Why not?”
“That’s a whole new question.”
“I don’t care. Answer it.”
“I’ve thought about it, but it felt weird to play with one alone even though that’s sort of the point of a toy. You’re only my second boyfriend and it isn’t something that’s ever come up before. I’m not opposed to them.”
“Good,” I exclaim with a satisfied smile.
“Wait. Have you played with them? Are you saying you want us to play with them?” Isaac’s face is a mix of interest and fear. I get it. I wasn’t sure the first time I tried to use a toy, but when Mike lost interest in the sex part of our relationship, I decided to take care of myself.
“Yes, and yes. They’re fun alone, so I can only imagine how much fun they’ll be together.”
Isaac lets out a frustrated growl and, not so discreetly, adjusts himself. “You’re killing me,” he groans. “We can’t keep talking about sex.”
“Why not?” I ask in the most innocent voice I can muster.
“Because if we do, I’m going to take you right here.”
“We’re definitely having fort sex, but not until after we answer all the questions,” I tell him shaking the bowl of paper in his face.
Isaac grabs it from me and opens a question, “What is one place you’ve always wanted to visit? Ireland,” he answers quickly as he pulls the next one.
“When do you feel most loved by me? Always.”
He reads another one, “Do you need anything more from me in our relationship? No. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a man.”
He unfolds another slip, “What do you find sexy about me. Everything.” He tosses the bowl aside. “I can’t wait any longer.”
Then he’s on top of me and clothes are flying.