It's Always Been You

Chapter 7

I pull my sunglasses down over my eyes. Scotty is playing on the jungle gym with another boy while my dad pushes Emily on the swing.

"How do you like being back in Chicago?" His deep, husky voice brings me from my thoughts.

I turn my head and meet his eyes. He's so much taller than me so I have to tilt my head up. "I love being back. It almost feels like I never left."

Kelly smiles. "Yeah." He chuckles and watches Scotty as he swings on the monkey bars. "Are we still on for that drink tonight?"

I nod my head up and down. "Of course." I smile and follow Kelly's eyes to my adorable son. "I'll have to put the little rascals to bed and then I should be able to sneak out."

"Good." Kelly approves.

"So are you going to tell me why you showed up at my breakfast table?" I question, putting a hand on my hip as I look back at Kelly.

He rubs the back of his neck. "Ah.." He mumbles with an embarrassed grin. "I actually pass your house on my way home and I haven't stopped since I was a kid. I figured why not since I knew someone would be home."

"That's awfully sweet of you." I compliment while I can't stop looking at him.

"I still can't believe how much things have changed but stayed the same."

"How do you mean?" I raise a brow with question.

He shrugs nonchalantly. "It's just funny how we're in our thirties now. You have a family but we're back at the same fire house we grew up in and you're back in the house you grew up in. Do you remember when we would come to this park when we were kids?"

I bob my head up and down. "Yeah," I let out a chuckle. "I cracked my head open when I was eleven when I fell off the top of the slide."

Kelly laughs too. "There's so many good memories in this park."

I blush when I think about my first kiss. With Kelly underneath the same slide I fell off of a week later.

"Yeah." I agree and look back up at him.

He looks down at me with a smile. "If I'm not mistaken, we both had our first kiss here too."

My face heats up as I think about the first kiss I ever had. My first, extremely awkward, extremely uncoordinated kiss with Kelly Severide.

"If I'm not mistaken, we bumped foreheads trying to kiss as well." I laugh as I scout the playground for Scotty.

"Yeah." Kelly laughs some more. "We definitely did."

My heart starts to race when I can't find Scotty. "Did you see Scotty go somewhere else?" I ask frantically as I start to walk closer to the jungle gym that Scotty was just on.

"He was just on the jungle gym." Kelly says as he follows me.

"I don't see him anywhere!" I start to panic. Kelly jogs further past the jungle gym. I go to the other side and weave in between laughing kids.

My heart is pounding in my ears. I still don't see Scotty anywhere.

"Scotty!" I scream. "Scotty!" I'm still looking for him frantically.

Kelly finds me and grabs my hand. "I don't see him anywhere." He says with worry in his voice.

"Oh my God." I want to cry, but I keep scouting the play ground.

"We'll find him." Kelly assures me with a shaky voice.

"Mom!" Scotty screeches and grabs onto my leg.