Powerful Impact [a Roman Reigns story]

11 Mistletoe and soup

Larissa POV

As I sat on Roman's lap, I couldn't help but wonder if any of us really knew what we were doing. As he ate, I was still playing with his hair, which was now curling as it dried.

The question was whether I was brave enough to throw myself back into this kind of life. After all, I had been hurt badly. And not just me, actually. My daughter too, although of course, or rather thank God, she knew nothing about it. To what extent was I prepared to open up and risk being hurt again? It was my duty to protect my little girl, wasn't it? 

God... Everything inside me was mixed up. Because one look from Roman, one touch was enough to give me butterflies in my stomach. I liked him a lot... Maybe already too much more than I wanted to admit and I knew that Clem felt the same way. It all came down to trust in the end I guess. And so far, this man had done nothing to break my trust in him. Quite the opposite. So he definitely deserved it that I gave us a chance. Whatever this us would look like in the future.

"What's on your mind?" he asked suddenly, pulling me out of my bubble.

"That I really hope we can work it out." I confessed shyly.

"I have a good feeling." he replied and then gave me a kiss on the nose.

I immediately giggled. It was such a small gesture, but at the same time it spoke a thousand words. 

"All right then... Would the boss like to help me put away the Christmas decorations? We still have time until lunch," I wanted to know.

"Sure. I could have sworn I saw mistletoe somewhere." he replied with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh? Well, I think you'd best go and look for it then." I said with a laugh and stood up.

Roman did the same before unexpectedly lifting me up and throwing me onto his shoulder. I gasped in shock as I clung to his shirt.

"Ah! What are you doing?" I asked, startled.

"Looking for the mistletoe. There it is!" he said as he left the kitchen with me until he quickly found what he was supposedly looking for.

He pulled me off his shoulder and sat me back on my feet. I was still a little breathless as I followed his gaze. And sure enough, there above the door hung the object of his desire.

"As if you didn't know exactly where it was." I replied as he placed one of his large hands on my back to pull me closer to him.

Then he cupped my chin as he leaned towards me at the same time. I stood on my tiptoes as our lips met. It was probably only meant to be a little peck, but when he pulled away from me I put my hand on his cheek to make it last longer.

*****

"How's the sandwich? I only ever have soup here." I wanted to know as we sat next to each other at one of the tables and enjoyed our lunch.

It wasn't too busy for it being lunchtime. There weren't many people around us.

Roman had ordered a roasted turkey and avocado BLT while I had my favorite soup. Broccoli Cheddar was unbeatable in my opinion, even though they had many other delicious options to choose from.

"One of the best, I'd say. Do you want to try it?" Roman replied.

I gladly tried the sandwich and was impressed. It was really delicious. Almost so delicious that it made me waver in my decision to have soup. I pushed my bowl towards him so that he could try it too. 

"Ouch... Hot! You could have warned me, baby girl." he said.

"Ro... it's soup with cheese. Of course it's hot." I laughed and wiped his lips with my napkin, which I had just dipped in the cold water.

"Better?" I wanted to know.

"Hmm, not quite yet. I think I need a kiss to make it better." he replied.

"Cheeky boy. But you've earned it." I laughed and then gave him a kiss.

It was so nice to spend time with him and get to know this other side of him. But I still missed my little girl a lot. And Roman must have sensed that. Because as we were walking hand in hand, enjoying the sunshine, he suddenly said that it was time to pick Clem up from my mother.

And as I had expected, Little Miss was very happy to see me, but not as happy as she was to see Roman. Judging by the look on my mom's face, she was just as happy. The grin on her face told me it was probably best to turn my phone off tonight.