Last Love | Book 3

Chapter 18

(Jennifer)

I flip the switch on my curling iron to on and plug it in. I listen to the quiet buzzing sound it makes as it heats up, and start getting my makeup set out on the counter. I moisturize my face and apply foundation. Then I put on brown eyeshadow, a thick layer of eyeliner, and mascara on my eyes. I brush some bronzer and blush onto my cheeks. Then I stuff all my makeup back into its drawer and get to work on my hair.

I pull one of Josh's sweatshirts out of the closet and throw it on over my t-shirt. Then I change out of my sweatpants and into jeans. I pick up my boots from off the closet floor, sit down on the edge of the bed, and slip my boots on. I glance down at my phone and see that it's already five. I've only got about thirty minutes to get myself and the kids ready to go to the basketball game at Josh's work. I shove my phone in my pocket and take one last look at myself in the mirror. I run my fingers through my curly hair and turn to look at myself from both sides, then I walk down the hallway to Ava and Cole's bedrooms. I get them each a warm outfit and shoes, and walk downstairs to the living room.

I dress Ava first in a pair of leggings, a skirt, and a sweater. "You need your hair brushed don't you, sweetie?" Her hair is a mess. "Mhmmm." She nods, her eyes wide. I laugh, she always takes every question I ask her so seriously. "Okay. Can you go get a hairbrush while I get your brother dressed?" I ask. "Yeah!" She jumps up, almost falling over in the process and runs into the hallway. "Cole, come here, baby. It's time to get dressed." He doesn't even look up from the toy train he's playing with. "Cole! You wanna go see daddy at work?" He looks up at that. "Dad?" He looks around for Josh. "Yes, we're gonna go to his work and see him, but you gotta come get dressed first." I explain. "Okayyyyyy..." He runs over to me and I scoop him up in my arms. "Arms up." He lifts his arms for me and I change his shirt for him.

Ava jumps into the living room carrying a hairbrush just as I'm finishing getting Cole dressed. "Here, Mommy!" She throws me the brush and I catch it. "Come sit down." She sits on my lap and I carefully brush through her knotty hair. I pull her curls up into pigtails and hold them there with the rubber bands I found wrapped around the hairbrush. "There. You look adorable." I say, running my fingers through one of her pigtails. "Wanna see?" She nods and I pull my phone out. I open the front camera and show her. She screams, grabbing the phone from my hand to pull it closer to her face. I don't understand why she gets to excited by mirrors, I guess she's still fascinated by her own reflection. My phone vibrates and I take it from her to see what it is. It's a text from Meredith. "Aunt Mere and Uncle Ben are gonna be here soon with Theo and Bear. Then we'll leave." I tell them, excitedly. I really am I excited. I don't get a lot of chances to leave the house for stuff like this.

A car honks outside and I jump off the couch. "Let's go!" I run to the door with Ava and Cole right behind me and open the door. Just as we're walking out, Meredith gets out of the car. I run over to her and hug her. "Sorry we're late." She says. "It's fine." We're taking her car because it's the only one that has enough seats for all of us. I end up having to sit in the very back with Bear. There's not a lot of space, but I don't mind. It's only for about a ten minute drive anyway.

We walk inside together and find a seat on the bottom row of the bleachers that's just big enough to fit all of us. After everyone sits down I decide to get something to eat. "I'm gonna go to the concession stand. Do you guys want anything?" I ask to no one in particular. "No, thanks. We ate at home." Meredith answers. "Okay. Bear, Theo, do you want candy?" I look at both of them. "Yeah!" They both scream. "I want candy too, mommy!" Ava says. "I know, baby. I'll get you some. Just wait right here. I'll be back in a second." I get up and walk over to the concession stand and get in line. There's only two people in front of me, so it doesn't take very long. I order three cheeseburgers, nachos, and five packages of skittles. It takes me both hands to carry all the food I bought, but I eventually make it back to our seats with all of it. I hand Ava and Cole a cheeseburger, and give Theo and Bear their candy. "Mama, I wanted candy." Ava says, pouting at me. "I know. You can have some as soon as you eat your dinner." She frowns, but doesn't argue with me. I scan the room for Josh while I'm eating my cheeseburger, but I can't find him. I shove the empty wrapper in my sweatshirt pocket and take a bite of my nachos as I continue to search the room. I see Josh standing a couple feet away from me talking to another one of the coaches, and I smile at him with my chip still in my mouth. He smiles back and waves, then he goes back to talking. I try to focus on the basketball game, but I can't seem to pay attention. Without thinking about my eyes start to scan the room for someone else. I know it's stupid but I can't stop myself from trying to look for her. I have no idea what I'm looking for really, I have no idea who she is, only that her name is Naomi. My eyes sweep the crowds of people, but I don't have any idea how to know if any of the women I see are her. Instead, I look over at Josh, watching to see if any women approach him, but no one does. After a while, I give up, accepting that she probably isn't even here. I pull the package of skittles out of my pocket I got for myself and start eating them while I watch the scoreboard to see who's winning.

The game ends, and people instantly start flooding out, trying to get back to their cars, but I stay and wait for Josh. It was a close game. His team won by only two points. He walks over to me from across the room and immediately gives Ava and Cole a hug. "Hey." He greets me, once they finally let go. "Hey." I smile at him. "Thanks for coming to see them play. You really didn't have to." He says. "No, but I wanted to. I had fun." I pull him in for a hug. "Plus I wanted to see you." I whisper, tilting my face towards his ear. He leans in and kisses me, holding my face in his hands for a second. "Let's go home." He suggests.

I ride home with Josh instead of Meredith this time, and all of us sing along to the radio the whole drive home. Josh's voice cracks every time he tries to hit the high notes, making me laugh hysterically. "You're such a dork!" I scream over the music. "What? Can't hear you over my amazing singing!" I smack his arm, making both of us laugh. "I said I can't wait to get you home and test how good those vocal cords really are!" I scream, almost choking on my own laughter. "Oh, now that I heard." We both don't stop laughing even after we get home.

A/N: I know this was boring but it's been forever since I've updated and I wrote the chapter after this earlier so I had to wait even longer to update and yeah I just hope there are still people reading this.