All in the Game

Chapter twenty-one || I love you...maybe

𝐀𝐛𝐛𝐛𝐲 

Sunlight peaks through the window. My eyes open then close again, breathing in the scent of Nathan. His arm is wrapped around my middle pulling me in closer to him. Leaning into the familiarity of it, of him butterflies fill my stomach. Like I'm a teenager again liking a boy for the first time. Which is crazy because Nathan isn't just some boy, he's...well I guess you say in a way he's a soulmate. 

My eyes open again, and this time I look at the alarm clock. It's still early in the morning  shifting in his arms so that I'm facing him, he breathes heavily opening his eyes slightly checking to see that I'm still there. 

"What time is it?" He asks hugging me even closer to him. 

"Still early," a blush works it's way onto my face, and I press my lips together to keep from laughing as I feel him pressed up against me. "But not that early."

He chuckles kissing my cheek, moving down trying to kiss my lips as well. "No," I scoot away from him so he can't reach me. "As long as morning breath is a thing, I don't want you kissing me until I have brushed my teeth." 

"Are you serious?" He laughs, "Abby you have kissed me while I'm covered in sweat how is this anyway different?" 

First eww who says that when they're trying to kiss someone? That's the polar opposite of trying to get a girl to kiss you. Second it's different on so many accounts, one being his lips weren't sweaty he was. My breath probably smells like horse shit and no one wants to taste that. 

"It just is," I tell him pushing hair out of my face. My hair looks a mess, and I have morning breath why does he even want to kiss me right now? 

During our dispute I forgot how strong he is. He grabs me, moving to hover above me. "You look absolutely beautiful." Which makes my heart tingle, "and your breath could smell like rotten eggs and I'd still want to kiss you." Which draws laughter from me. 

He takes that time to bring his lips to mine, and I give in kissing him back. "I love you..." Nathan whispers pulling away from my lips. He said it so quickly and quickly that for a moment I think I imagined it. 

Staring up at him, at his eyes. He looks down at me awaiting an answer, an answer that I can't give him not right now at least. "When did you get that?" I ask as my fingers find their way to his shoulder tracing the tattoo. 

I don't miss his disappointment when I don't say it back, yet he doesn't press the subject. It must mean something special to him if he's hesitant to give me an answer, either that or it doesn't have an interesting story. Which irritates the hell out of me. If someone gets a tattoo it should have a cool story to go with it. 

"After my third week in Wilmington. I was just getting the hang of things, and I missed you...a lot." He pauses for a moment tracing tiny circles on my arm. "You were wrong before. It took me almost a year to let you go, and even then, you were never truly gone from me." 

His words make me feel things all over. Nathan has always been a sweet talker; he knows how to make a person swoon but he also knows how to break someone's heart and leave them still wanting him. 

Shaking the memory of the way him leaving affected me I say, "that's sweet and all but what does that have to do with your baseball number?" 

Lucky number twenty-two maybe that's all it is just a random number he picked up and stuck with. Shaking those thoughts from my head instantly, no Nathan isn't the type of person to just get some silly tattoo that means absolutely nothing to him. 

He smiles, "two is our number." Is all he says. "What?"

Seeing the confusion on my face he elaborates. "Two meetings, two weeks until I got you to go out with me, after pinning over you for two years, my birthday is November second, yours is January second, the twins of course, and a second chance at loving you."