New Light || Chris Taylor

Thirty-Eight

Nora's POV- September 2019

Chris and I decided to have our gender reveal at the stadium since Chris and his teammates would already be there. Those who were not driving home, we're being picked up, so I got Chris to give his teammates a heads up. Ella and Theo were also in town for the weekend, so I had my whole family here. The plan was to Facetime Chris' parents and Noel and have them be a part of it. 

Even though we already knew the gender of our baby, I wanted to know what our close friends and family thought we were expecting so I had them place a pebble in one of two bowls. While everyone dug in on their cupcakes/ dairy-free deserts I made my way over to Chris who was staring at his bat.

"Ready?" I asked.

He looked away from the bat, at me and nodded.

"Yeah"

I smiled and accepted the kiss he was leaning in for. 

"Quit it you two!"

Leave it to Josie for ruining the moment. Chris pecked my lips one more time before he made his way to home plate and I walked over to the mound. I picked up the ball and took a deep breath as I looked at Chris who was right across from me. In one quick movement, I threw it and smiled at the popping sound. A small white cloud formed in between us earning a groan from those watching. I had another 'tester', but I chose not to get that one, instead, I grabbed the one I knew had the pink powder inside. I crouched down and underhand pitched it to Chris who thankfully hit the ball. A magenta pink cloud formed and I grabbed the lone ball before making my way over to Chris who wrapped his arms around me.

"I gotta say, your velocity is still there"

He kissed my forehead and gently rubbed my back.

"Didn't know you had that in yah, Nora"

Kelsey, Joc's wife narrowed her eyes as she looked at her husband.

"Babe, she played collegiate softball"

He looked at me a bit surprised.

"Shut up,  you did not"

I laughed.

"What program?"

"UCLA" I answered.

"No fucking way, what position did you play?"

"I was a pitcher" I replied.

"But you're so small"

I shrugged.

"Don't believe me, ask your sister" I noted.

His sister, Jaycee played collegiate soccer for the Bruins.

"Well maybe you can teach your little girl, and Poppy a few things about softball"

"Of course" I said as I accepted his highfive.

"Congrats, Nor....and I guess you too Chris"

Chris chuckled.

"She's doing all the work"

"Where's Gavin?" I asked Chris once I had been hugged and congratulated by mostly everyone.

He looked around.

"I have no clue"

Thankfully, that cockatoo hairstyle of his helped me find him. He was seated in the dugout, scrolling through his phone.

"There you are," I said loud enough to get his attention.

He looked up from his phone.

"Ready to head out?" I questioned.

He nodded and stood up.

"Hungry?" I wondered.

"Starving"

"My mom and Josie cooked us up something, I don't know what it is, but it's always delicious" I stated.

I had been craving my mom's chicken enchiladas, so I was pretty thrilled when I saw that's what she had made. Turns out I was not the only one craving this meal, Chris literally cheered when he smelled what had been cooked. We devoured our food and then moved over to the living room. Gavin quickly excused himself when his phone started ringing.

"We should get out of your way"

It was pretty late, and my parents had work in the morning.

"I can drop you two off at the airport" I offered.

Ella smiled.

"Josie likes to wake up at the crack of dawn"

True, that fucking weirdo.

"You'll be home for Thanksgiving, right?"

I nodded as I stood up.

"So I'll see you then"

"Shut up, I'm not going that long without seeing you two," I said as I hugged her.

"I'm going to take you up on that offer on that calculus notebook"

I kissed her forehead and smiled at Theo as he playfully shoved Ella away. There was still a bit of tension between them.

"Stop stressing," I told Theo.

He nodded as he leaned down for a hug.

"I'll try"

I squeezed him and kissed his cheek.

"Everything will work out, and if it doesn't then it wasn't meant to be" I mumbled against his ear.

He was struggling with balancing school, skating, and having a girlfriend. There was trouble in paradise, and as much as I adored his girlfriend, she was not on my good side at the moment. Ella and Theo didn't argue, yet they nearly withdrew from the competition because they weren't speaking to each other. Their coach who resides here in LA found out and gave them both an earful scold. He chose not to tell mom and dad, only if they pushed their arguments aside and acted like adults. It seemed to be working, but Theo's relationship and grades were suffering. Ella was moving on from her breakup with James and was balancing school and figure skating.