by Stone, Nora
“I mean he’s your coach, not your father or something. Maybe when it’s just you and me, you tell me what’s happening in your head instead of in his?” I said, standing.
“What makes you say that wasn’t what I think?” he said, standing to meet me.
“The fact that I just asked you and you didn’t even bother answering the damn question!” I said, yelling now.
“I can’t believe…” I stopped, turned and walked outside to the back patio. Sometimes Patrick made me wish that I smoked.
“Jacinta, don’t walk away from me,” he said, coming outside after me.
“Funny, here I thought I was a grown-ass woman with full control of my own legs and where they walk,” I hissed.
“Look, all Coach meant was…” I stopped him.
“He is not my Coach. And pulling Joey in there just so he can witness me having my ass chewed off for something that Charlotte did too! What the hell?” I said, throwing my hands in the air.
“Coach wasn’t Coach then,” Patrick said. I’d forgotten that bit.
“That’s not really the point.”
“No, it’s not. The point is that if you are going to be in my life, you’re going to have to keep your temper, Jacinta. I’m not saying that it’s right or fair that they can do whatever the hell they want and we’re just expected to deal with it. I’m saying that’s just how it is,” Patrick said, his hands on my shoulders as his expression softened. I sighed and calmed my temper.
“That’s stupid,” I said. Patrick laughed.
“Yes, it is. But I’ve learned that it’s just something that I have to deal with,” he said. “Joey and Char deal with it too, and after all of that drama a few months ago, Char got the fast track lesson.”
I thought back over just a little bit of what she’d been through with the media since she’d started dating Joey and winced. Patrick was right. I was at least being allowed to take my time with it.
“Look, I’ll make a deal with you. When they piss you off, you come home to me and fuss at me about it,” he said. I looked up at him, shocked.
“What?” I said with a laugh.
“Take it out on me, get it all out of your system. Then we’ll decide what to do about it together, and move on. Okay?” he said. I sighed and smiled.
“Alright,” I muttered, giving in and wrapping my arms around him. We stood there together in the peace of the evening for a while, until I started giggling.
“What?” he asked.
“I must really love you. I am not good at compromising on my opinions, and yet I just did.”
“You are so sexy when you let me have my way and then tell me that you love me,” he said. I snorted.
“Oh really? Sexy, huh?” I asked. He nodded and whipped off his shirt.
“Very,” he said. I squealed.
“What are you doing?” I laughed.
“Getting ready to take advantage of your virtue out here on this patio,” he said with a rather scandalous grin as he pulled me to him yet again.
“Wait! Can’t the neighbors see us?” I asked, halfheartedly pushing him away.
“Let them look,” Patrick said, kissing me deeply.
Chapter 22
“Char?” I said, barely hearing her answer over the sounds of a wailing baby.
“Hang on,” she said. The sound of the hysterics faded until finally, I could hear her.
“What was that all about? Al never cries like that,” I asked. Char sighed, the stress clear in her voice as she spoke.
“He has an ear infection. I took him to the doctor earlier today and he has meds, but for right now, he’s got a fever, his ear probably hurts and he is all sorts of cranky.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Thanks, but it’s not your fault. It comes with the territory of being a mom I guess. Joey went out to get him a few things. I’m pretty sure I’d be tearing my hair out if I had to deal with this alone,” she said with a laugh.
“How are his injuries from the plane?”
“A lot better, thanks for asking. How about Patrick?”
“Oh, tons better.”
“So, what’s up? I can’t leave him in there, bawling his eyes out forever,” Char said with a grin that I could hear.
“I was going to see if you wanted to grab lunch, but you’re busy.”
“Oh. Yeah, I can’t leave right now, I’m sorry. You can come out here if you don’t mind grumpy baby and disheveled and exhausted parents,” she said. I laughed.
“I’ll wait until the epidemic has passed, thanks.”
“Aww, I was hoping I could pawn him off on you for an hour and go nap somewhere.”
“Nope. I will pass.”
“Damn,” she said softly.
“Mmhm, talk to you later,” I said, grinning as I ended the call.
I’d wanted to have lunch because Patrick had asked me to move in with him. I was hesitant, I’d been in my apartment for years, it was my space and I was comfortable. I wasn’t sure I wanted to give that up yet. But, Al being sick was way more important, and Izzy still wasn’t talking to me, so I was on my own. I sighed and looked around.
My apartment wasn’t the biggest or the most expensive. It was actually rather small, just the right size for a single person and decorated in my style. It had me all over it. Not that I disliked Patrick’s taste or anything, quite the opposite. There was just something about it being… mine.
But on the other hand, asking him to sell his house and move in with me was silly for several reasons. First, it was a house that he was buying, while I was still renting. Second, it was big enough for both of our things, whereas my place barely held all of mine. I wouldn’t even have space for his clothes in my closet. Third, if we decided to start a family, we wouldn’t have to uproot because we’d have the extra bedrooms, bathrooms and the yard that I’d want to accompany children.
It made sense for me to move out there. But it scared the hell out of me to let go of something that was mine. I wanted someone with a clear head to help me think my way through this, but I was on my own. I thought back to the conversation that I’d had with Coach and Joey, about compromise. I thought about what they said about how they worked things out in their marriages, and how they worked to keep everyone happy. Then I called Patrick.
“Hey,” he said as soon as he picked up the phone. I grinned, I couldn’t help it.
“Hey, are you busy?” I asked.
“Not really,” he said. “I’m out at the gym at the practice grounds. My hand is doing a lot better, so I wanted to catch one of the trainers and see what exercises they thought I’d be safe to do so that I don’t lose strength.”
“That sounds like a good way to go about it. I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself again.”
“Right, me neither. It wasn’t really fun,” he said. I giggled.
“Are you with the trainers now? We can talk later.”
“Nope, I just left them. I was about to go into the gym but I stopped when I saw that you were calling. I can’t talk to you with the guys around, they just give me crap. Loudly,” he said. I laughed; he was right. Half the time, I could barely hear him once they really got going.
“I wanted to talk about moving in together.”
“Oh. Hang on, let me go outside.”
“Okay.” I waited, listening to the background sounds come and go as he walked through the area and outside, somewhere. The sound of a door closing was the last thing I heard.
“Okay, I should be safe from interruption out here. Lay it on me,” he said. I took a deep breath.
“I wanted you to know that the reason that I didn’t answer right away was not me doubting you or this relationship. It’s just, I’ve been here in this apartment for years. It’s mine, it’s me and part of me is scared to give that up. It kind of feels like I’m losing a piece of me,” I said, laying myself on the line.
“Babe, I don’t want to make you feel like that.”
“I know. I just want you to know
where I’m coming from, okay? That’s why I’m telling you.”
“Alright. I can understand you feeling that way.”
“So, I’ve been thinking about it,” I began. “You know that room next to your bedroom, right off of the den? The one that you said is probably supposed to be an office, but you don’t really want to close yourself off like that so it’s just sitting there and you have no idea what to do with it?”
“Yeah,” he said, hesitant. Well, he hadn’t shut me down yet. That was good right?
“Can I have that space?” I asked. There was half a moment of silence, and then a loud exhale.
“Oh my goodness, is that all? Yes, you can have it and any other spot you want in the house, Jacinta,” he said, a laugh just there under the surface of his words. I giggled.
“What did you think I was going to say?”
“No idea, but I was afraid it was going to be way more painful than that. I thought maybe you were coming up with this intricate way to turn me down that involved some euphemism about that room or something,” he said. I laughed.
“No! I just… Sometimes, I need my own space. I figure, since it makes total sense for me to move out there, and that room is just sitting there, maybe I can make that my space when I just need some peace.”
“It’s yours,” he said. “And if you need to buy furniture or something for it, I’ll give you my card and you can go get it. Make a day of it, you, Char and Izzy.”
“Isobel still isn’t talking to us.” I sighed.
“Oh, I’m sorry, hun. I didn’t know.”
“I know. I haven’t really talked about it.”
“Why don’t you come out to the house tonight and we’ll go over to Joey and Char’s, and brainstorm over trying to get her to talk to you, hm?”
“Al’s sick, they are totally out of it,” I said. Patrick laughed.
“Yeah I know,” Patrick said. “It’s funny to me, because I used to take care of my little brothers when they had ear infections. I told them I’d come out there and give them a break tonight, let them go out to dinner. You can come along. He’s got meds now, he’ll probably still be cranky tonight, but he won’t be screaming.”
I grinned to myself and got up, trotting into the bedroom to pack an overnight bag. “I’ll meet you at your house at 5.”
“Perfect.”
~~~
A week later, Char and I were talking as we put my things into boxes for the impending move. I’d try to call Isobel, but she wasn’t taking my call. They didn’t even ring anymore. I was pretty sure that she had me blocked now.
“Is Patrick hiring movers for all of this, or do I need to steal Joey’s truck and some big burly guys?” Char asked, wrapping a crystal picture frame that contained a picture of my parents in a thick towel before placing it in the box in front of her.
“He’s hiring the same movers that you guys needed. He said Joey was very happy with their service,” I said. Al squealed from where he sat, rocking back and forth in the middle of the floor. His obsession with gravity had abated, so for now he could sit on the floor on a blanket. We just kept an eye on him.
“That’s good, one less thing for you to worry about,” Char replied with a grin.
“Right.”
“I’m surprised that you said yes as soon as you did, honestly.”
I slipped a book into the small box I was using and looked up at her. “Why?”
“I know you love Patrick, but you also love your independence too. I figured you might waffle on it a bit more than you did.” She was right; honestly I was shocked that I’d agreed as quickly as I had too.
“I thought about what Coach and Joey said about compromise and working on their marriages all the time, so I came to a compromise that I was hoping would work for both of us. Apparently, he was expecting something much more difficult, so me asking for a room to have as my own space was easy for him to agree to,” I said with a laugh.
“I’m so glad that the two of you are together. I told Joey the night that you guys met that I thought you two were perfect for each other.”
I stopped and looked up at her from across the room. “You did?”
She stopped and grinned.
“Yes, I did. As soon as he walked over to you, Joey came up beside me and asked what was going on. Even he said that you two were the perfect match. Either absolutely perfect, made for each other, or a massive train wreck waiting to happen,” she said. I snorted.
“It is rather reassuring that you guys thought it would work out so well. Other than the train wreck bit,” I said, starting to pack again. Al giggled and fell over, Char rolled her eyes, and I laughed with him. It was the perfect afternoon.
“I’m hungry. Do you want to order something?” she asked.
“There’s a Pho place that delivers around here now.”
“I could totally go for some Pho,” Char said. I wandered into the kitchen and pulled out the delivery menu.
“Alright, but we can’t stop to eat and then not do anything else, I really need to get the rest of this packed,” I said. Char nodded.
“Right. We’re just taking a break, we can totally be grownups about getting this done.”
“Of course we can,” I said, starting to dial the number.
“Ooo! SpongeBob is on!” Char said as Al clapped his hands and let out a crystal shattering squeal of happiness. I sighed and shook my head, laughing to myself.
“Sure, we can be grownups,” I said.
“Shh!” Char shushed me.
Chapter 23
I loved being at Patrick’s house. I loved waking up with him in the mornings and making coffee while he got ready for practice, then seeing him off with his mobile breakfast of some sort of fruit and a peanut butter sandwich (for the protein, of course). He usually forgot his coffee, but after the first few times he came tearing back into the house for it, I got in the habit of checking quickly enough to run out after him before he’d pulled off.
I loved the peace and quiet that we had there. There wasn’t street noise or sirens blaring as they tore down the street. It was something that I’d learned to shut out at my apartment, but Patrick’s house was so far from the main road that unless they were literally in the complex, you couldn’t hear them. I loved the high fence that he had around his back yard and the pool that he’d had installed, because that meant that I could go swimming and then lay out and warm my skin a bit on really nice, hot days. I spent a lot of my free time out back reading, honestly. It was so nice to sit out there with something cool to drink and a good book.
I loved that he had every channel known to man unlocked on the cable box, so if I wanted to embarrass myself by watching a chick flick alone in the house with a glass of wine and a box of tissues, I could. Or if I wanted to see something explode, I could see that too. Or I could crank up the stereo and dance around in my underwear. That, I loved doing. It’s rather freeing.
And on the nights when we got on each other’s nerves, Patrick would give me my space and I could go into my room and close the door. He respected that space and I loved him for it. If he needed me for something, he knocked and that wasn’t something that I’d had to ask for. He simply did it for me.
But there was still something wrong. Something that was driving a wedge between us. Maybe it was routine, that we’d gotten used to always being around each other. There was still a spark and heat between us, it was just… less.
“Hey, can we talk for a second?” Patrick said, coming out back. I glanced down at my phone.
“Oh! You’re early,” I said. Patrick grinned and nodded.
“Coach let us out early, it’s supposed to be well over 100 degrees in about an hour and he doesn’t want anyone getting sick,” he said, taking the lounger across from me. I placed the bookmark in my page and closed the book, putting it to the side and taking off my sunglasses.
“What’s up?” I asked. Patrick looked down at his hands and sighed. And that made me nervous.
“J
acinta, I think that things have changed between us since we moved in together.”
I blinked at him for a moment. “What do you mean?”
“I still love you, and I know you love me too. I still want you as soon as I see you and all that, nothing like that has changed. It’s just like, things have cooled between us,” he said. I immediately felt a bit of an uncomfortable flush creeping onto my face.
“I don’t think they have,” I lied. Suddenly, I didn’t want to talk about this. Like, I really didn’t want to talk about it.