Love & Football

Chapter 11

:: Emma’s POV ::

“Noah, come on bud… we’re gonna be late!”

I heard the pitter patter of his little feet coming from upstairs as I checked the time on my cell phone. 3:37pm. I suddenly felt the anxiety that was coming with the events that were set to take place around four o’ clock. Meeting JJ’s parents.

JJ had asked Noah and me to come over for dinner and to meet his mother and father who were in town to catch his game on Sunday. A game they would be attending with Noah and me. I really hoped they liked us, or me I should say. I don’t know anyone that couldn’t love Noah; he was certainly a charmer with that adorable little smile and his respectful manners. I was so proud. As the mother of a little boy I knew the feeling of not wanting to think about another woman in his life. I know it sounds silly, and of course I would want Noah to grow up and find a wonderful woman; but there’s a bond between mother and son that just cannot be explained. Very much like the bond a father shares with his daughter, I’m sure most of us girls can relate to an over protective father that we’re scared to introduce our boyfriends to for the first time.

“Did you get what you needed?” I looked at Noah as he skipped down the stairs, his Buzz Lightyear clutched to his chest.

“Yup!” He gave me a proud nod as he hopped off the last stair, “Did you get our cookies we made?”

“I sure did.” I held up the cookie tin I had placed the cookies in once they had cooled.

I smiled at him as I rustled his hair, ushering him towards the doorway. I locked the door before pulling it shut behind me. I helped Noah get into my Tahoe, making sure to get him buckled in and making sure our cookies had a safe place to rest while I drove. Normally I place things on my passenger seat but today I needed to play it safe, the last thing I needed was the cookies sliding off the seat and falling all over the floor of my car. I was being extra careful to make sure things went perfectly. Besides, Noah worked really hard on decorating those cookies, he’d be devastated.

I got myself into the car, got situated and backed out of my driveway. I turned on the radio station hoping the music would clear my mind momentarily. I don’t have any idea why but I always tend to over think about things. I knew I really had nothing to worry about but I would feel better once I could see JJ. He always seemed to have a calming affect over me in most stressful situations.

“Momma, how long till we’re at J’s?” Noah’s little voice came from behind me as I looked into my rearview to see his eyes.

“Just a little bit monkey. Maybe ten minutes. It won’t take long.”

Our music was interrupted by the ringing of my phone coming over the car speakers. I looked at my navi screen to see JJ’s name lighting up and hit the button to answer his call.

“Hey babe.” I pulled my sunglasses down over my eyes as the Houston sun decided to make an appearance this afternoon.

“Hey, you guys on the way?”

“Yes, we just left the house like 2 minutes ago. We should be there soon. Do you need to me to grab anything?”

“No. We’re good. Mom and dad hit the grocery store earlier while I was at practice. They’re just anxious to meet you guys, I thought I’d make sure you guys were okay.”

“You mean you wanted to make sure I wasn’t chickening out…” I laughed; I knew JJ knew I was anxious about this meeting.

His laugh came over the speakers of my car and I loved the way it sounded. It warmed my heart. He was so comforting and he didn’t even know it. That was the best part about it. He made me feel secure just by being him.