Breathless (Less Is More Book 1)

by J. M. Lamp

  “I’m sure it will be a nice night.”

  “Hopefully,” I say.

  Will makes his way into the living room and sits down next to me on the couch.

  “Only a few more weeks,” he says.

  “I know.”

  “It’s gonna be exciting, Elliot.”

  “I know,” I say. “Sorry, I don’t mean to not seem enthused. It’s just a lot of changes and in the past, change this fast hasn’t always been great for me.”

  “Well,” he says, “you have me going through the changes with you. It will be fun. I’m excited to be honest.”

  “Did you get everything figured out with work then?”

  “Yeah,” he says. “I can do most of it from over there now that we have most of the positions filled and everything. I can do conference calls via web cam. There are a couple big events this summer that I’ll have to fly back for, but it will only be a day or two out of the week, so it will be fine.”

  “Well, maybe we’ll get over there and hate London and we’ll want to move back immediately.”

  “Maybe,” he says, “but I highly doubt it, so perk up. It will be nice to visit a new country that isn’t full of depressing places and people. Not that I didn’t love every moment I spent at those places, but this will be nice regardless.”

  “I’m glad you’re coming,” I say. I bury my head into his shoulder and he wraps his arm around me.

  “Lydia is about ready to have that baby any minute now,” he says, picking his phone up and reading a text message from her. “I might have to leave early.”

  “I know,” I say. “It’s OK. I can’t wait to see him.”

  “They still haven’t picked out a name.”

  “Maybe they’re going to surprise you by naming him after you,” I say.

  “I doubt it,” he says. “Still think a middle name would be nice, though.”

  “Is Abbey excited?”

  “As excited as she can be,” he says. “I don’t think she really knows what is going on fully. Just that her mom has gotten fatter.”

  “I’m surprised she isn’t bigger, honestly,” I say.

  “I know. When she had Abbey she was huge.”

  “Were you there when she had Abbey?”

  “Yeah,” he says. “Our parents were never the greatest, so I was the only one was there for her. Greg was there of course. He’s there now or I would be.”

  “Think he’ll slow down on working now that she’s excepting this one?”

  “No,” he says. “But that’s OK, she’ll have me.”

  “And me,” I say. He leans over and plants a kiss on my lips.

  “I love you,” he says.

  “Same.”

  ***

  “So, what made you become a nurse?” I ask Cody across the table from me.

  Cody is taller than Ethan and a lot more muscular than Ethan, which Ethan must love. Cody’s arms are bigger than Ethan’s thighs and I could only imagine the things he’s had those arms do.

  “My mom was one,” he says, smiling. “My freshman year in college I was trying to figure what I wanted to do and she got really sick and I ended up dropping out and taking care of her. Once she passed, I knew what I wanted to do and be.”

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “That’s an amazing story, though.”

  “He’s damn good at it, too,” Ethan says beside him.

  “I’m lucky,” Cody says. “It might not seem like it, because of the reasons I figured out what I wanted to do, but it helped me find my passion and help people in general. She would’ve liked the fact that I became one.”

  “Did you go to the university here for nursing?” Will asks Cody.

  “Yeah, just graduated a few years ago this June.”

  “I’m pretty sure I taught you in a comp class.”

  “I think you did,” he says, laughing. “Professor Everett, right? To be perfectly honest, I hated that class. Not because of you, you were a great teacher, but English was never one of my favorite things.”

  “Very few people end up loving it, so I understand.”

  “When are you guys leaving by the way?” Ethan asks.

  “Two weeks from now,” I say. “Next weekend I have that trip with Hadley and then the weekend after that we’re going.”

  “Are you excited?” Cody asks me.

  “Yeah,” I say looking over to Will. “I mean, mostly. Just hard leaving everything here behind I guess.”

  “We’ll be here when you get back,” Ethan says.

  “I know,” I say.

  “Honestly,” Will says, “I’m guessing the next few months will fly by. We’ll be back before you know it.”

  “I’ve always wanted to visit London,” Cody says. “Maybe I’ll come with Ethan to visit you guys one weekend this summer.”

  “Who said I was going to visit them?” Ethan says. “My god that’s a lot of money flying over there and back.”

  “Am I not worth it?” I ask him.

  “Of course, dear friend,” he says.

  “We’ll be there, don’t worry,” Cody says, laughing.

  Ethan looks over to Cody and a huge grin comes across his face. I haven’t seen a grin like that on his face in years and it warms me. He looks over to me and immediately glares as he sees me smiling.

  “Isn’t your sister having her baby soon, Will?” Ethan says.

  “Any minute now, yeah,” he says. “I told her to let me know once she starts actually having him and I’ll come over.”

  “Have they figured out a name for him yet?” Ethan asks.

  “No,” Will says. “They were that way with Abbey too though, so it will probably be a few days before they decide on something.”

  “Do you have any siblings, Cody?” I ask.

  “I have an older brother,” he says. “He lives in Texas. Moved away once he graduated high school. I talk to him sometimes, but he hasn’t been a part of my life really.”

  Ethan makes eye contact with me and very slowly shakes his head from side to side where Cody can’t notice. Cody doesn’t seem bothered by the question, but I’m guessing there is more to it that Ethan knows about, so he changes the subject.

  “Where are you and my sister going anyway?”

  “Pittsburgh,” I say. “She has her seminar Saturday and she’s speaking for something and then the rest of the weekend we’re just going to sight-see and enjoy the city.”

  “I couldn’t imagine working in law enforcement,” Cody says. “It’s hard enough seeing some of the people that come in from things that happen around the city. I wouldn’t want to actually be there in the thick of it all.”

  “I wish she’d do something else,” Ethan says.

  “She never will,” I say.

  “I know,” he says. “That will be fun, though, I guess. It’s a nice city.”

  “They have a nice campus there, too,” Will says.

  “It will be nice to get away,” I say. “Mainly spend some time with her alone since I’m leaving soon.”

  “I think she’s the most upset out of all of us,” Ethan says. “She’s beyond happy for you, but you know how close you guys are.”

  “I know,” I say.

  An hour passes and we all finish our food. Ethan’s happiness doesn’t waver and Cody sends nothing but positive vibes towards me and Will.

  Will’s phone dings and I see the screen brighten up on his lap as he looks down at it.

  He looks over at me and smiles and says, “It’s time.”

  “I’ll go with you,” I say.

  “No,” he says, “it’s fine. You—“

  “We have to go anyway,” Ethan says. “Cody has to work a shift in an hour and I’d like to spend a second with him before he leaves.”

  I smile at Will and he says, “Okay.”

  “It was really nice meeting you, Cody,” I say as Will and I make our ways out of the booth.

  “You guys, too,” he says, shaking my hand. “I hope everything goes well over ther
e. And congratulations on the new baby.”

  “Thank you,” Will says, shaking his hand as well.

  Ethan gives Will a hug and stops me as Will and Cody make their way outside.

  “So?”

  “He’s really nice,” I say. “And very nice to look at.”

  “Those arms, right?”

  I smile at him and he pulls me in for a hug.

  “Make sure I see you before you go,” he says.

  “Of course, bud,” I say.

  We make our way outside and Will is waiting by the car talking to Cody. Cody waves goodbye to us as he makes his way back to Ethan. Will gets in the car and I get in seconds after.

  “Let’s go see Will Jr,” I say as Will looks over to me and smiles.

  ***

  We get to the hospital and find Lydia’s room, but they won’t let us back to see her.

  “I’m her brother,” Will says, leaning on the counter.

  “Sir,” the woman behind the counter says, “we haven’t gotten an update on her yet, so I can’t let you back to her room.”

  “Well, can you check right now and then you’ll know?”

  “Sir—“

  “Is there someone who could find out for me instead?”

  “Will,” I hear a man say behind us. It must be Greg. He’s wearing a cap and gown and he has a huge smile on his face.

  “Did she have it?”

  “Yeah,” he says, coming to Will for a hug. Will looks at me and rolls his eyes and I laugh a little as they stand there celebrating the new baby.

  “Can we go see her?”

  “Yeah, he says. “Come on.”

  Will looks at the woman at the counter again and smiles.

  “Got it,” he says, “but thanks anyway.”

  She smiles back and watches us as we make our way back to Lydia’s room.

  We make our way down a few hallways and several rooms until finally we walk in to see Lydia holding a beautiful baby boy.

  “He’s so beautiful,” Will says, walking over to her.

  He kisses her on top of her head and touches the baby’s finger as he kneels down closer to it. Abbey runs over to me and gives me a huge hug as I sit down in one of the chairs to the side of the room.

  “Did you name him?” Will says, not taking his eyes off the baby.

  Lydia looks over at me and back to Will and says, “We did.”

  Will looks up to her and says, “And?”

  “Evan Alexander Morgan.”

  Will looks over at me and his eyes instantly start to water. He looks back down to the baby and smiles through the tears.

  “That’s even better than my name,” he says, laughing. “Thank you.”

  “How’s Elliot doing tonight?” Lydia asks me.

  “He’s doing good,” I say, smiling. “Kind of exhausted, but I’m sure you win on that one.”

  “Oh, yes,” she says, laying her head back. “Pushing him out has drained me of all my energy for awhile I’d say. Way more energy than Abbey, I swear.”

  She looks over to Will and says, “Did you guys at least get to finish dinner?”

  “You started having him just in time,” he says. “Literally perfect timing.”

  Will picks him up and brings him over to me. I’ve never held a baby before or really been around one in general since I’ve had no siblings and don’t have a lot of family. He sits down beside me and Abbey touches the baby’s face gently and laughs.

  “Do you want to hold him?” Will asks me.

  I don’t say anything and instead just hold out my hands. Will doesn’t notice my un-comfortableness in the moment and gently sets him in my arms. A warmth runs through me like I’ve never experienced before and I get lost in the baby’s features.

  The idea that something this small will one day grow into something so big is beautiful, and magical even, and it’s beyond hard to explain how complex the idea is. I’ve never really thought about kids in a serious way, but instead have liked the idea in a general sense.

  I know Will wants kids because we’ve talked about it, but also because of the way he reacted when he met this one. My mind wanders quickly to us having kids again and having vacations at the beach and building sandcastles and moving away from the waves. I know in this moment that a life with Will is more than anything I could have ever imagined and I wonder if he wants the same things as badly as I do.

  I hand the baby back to Will and Will hands him back to Lydia.

  “I think we’re going to go,” Will says to her. “Let you get some rest.”

  “Okay,” she says. “Thanks for coming, baby brother.”

  “I’ll be back tomorrow to see how you’re doing. I love you.

  “Love you too, Will,” she says. “Bye, Elliot.”

  “Bye,” I say. “Bye, Abbey.”

  “Bye,” she says, snickering.

  Will shakes Greg’s hand and we wave goodbye as we make our way out of the room and down the hallways back to the waiting room. As we makes our way past the nurses station again, the woman we were talking to earlier doesn’t even look up from her desk as we walk by and Will is so lost in thought that he doesn’t notice me laughing to myself about the situation.

  We get to the car and Will doesn’t start the car as I shut my door and buckle my seat belt. He rests his hands on the steering wheel and looks straight ahead as he seems to be lost in his own thoughts.

  “You alright?” I ask him.

  “Yeah,” he says. “Just holding the baby…I realized that things do get better. Things have gotten better in my life and there’s a lot of reasons why, but you’re the main reason and I’m just beyond thrilled to start our life together.”

  He looks over to me and kisses me as he starts the car. He puts on his seat belt and laughs.

  “This has been a good day,” he says.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Will

  S EEING THE BABY GOT ME thinking about all the wonderful things I have now, but also about all of the wonderful things that I don’t have but want.

  When I look at Elliot, I see kids and marriage and a dog and a picket fence and a pool. All I can do is wonder if Elliot wants the same things, too.

  I never thought I would even want to get married again after Evan, but moving on has only made the thought torment me every time I’m around Elliot or thinking about Elliot in general since I held the baby.

  Lydia is back home with the baby and doing fine, so I told her I would come over and see her today. On my way there, I see a jewelry store along the highway and I immediately swerve into the next lane and pull into the parking lot.

  My hands are rested on the steering wheel and the car is still on and all I can think about is whether or not I should go in. Proposing to Elliot is something that terrifies me more than anything because I don’t know where he is completely at with us. I know he loves me and wants to be with me, but marriage is a whole other layer that he may or may not be ready for.

  I get out of the car and go inside. There’s no one around besides the guy behind the register, so he instantly comes to me and asks, “What can I help you with today?”

  “I’m looking for engagement rings,” I say.

  “Oh,” he says. “Wonderful! Right this way.”

  “Do you have an idea of what she would want?”

  “Oh,” I say, “it’s actually a he and I really just want a matching set I guess.”

  The guy smiles and walks towards the other rings that are two cases down.

  “I’m not sure what you’re looking to spend,” he says. “Here’s our newest collection. As you move down this way they’ll get cheaper and cheaper. I’ll let you look and just get me if you see something you like or if you have any questions in general.”

  Every ring I look at, I imagine on Elliot and I’s fingers and I don’t like any of them. When I finally set my eyes on one set I like, the price tag makes me gag a tad. It’s affordable, but I’m not sure if getting them will be beneficial and I don’t
want to waste the time.

  I don’t move from the case for some time and the worker eventually makes his way back over to see what I’m looking at.

  “You want to try it on?” he asks.

  I set my finger out and he puts the ring on it. A shiver runs through me and I smile as thoughts of Elliot and I, hand and hand getting married, flash through my mind. I realize that the only problem is that I don’t know the size of Elliot’s finger and the thoughts quickly disappear.

  “Something wrong?” he says.

  “I just have no idea what size his fingers are to be honest,” I say.

  “That’s OK,” he says. “You could still get them and let us know later today what size it is.”

  “If I brought you in a random ring of his, like a class ring or something, would that work? I just want to make sure it’s the right fit.”

  I remember that Elliot has a class ring stowed away in a box with a bunch of random school things he saved years ago.

  “Yep,” he says.

  I don’t say anything and continue to look at the ring.

  “So,” he says, “what’s it gonna be?”

  ***

  “You were supposed to be here an hour ago,” Lydia says as I walk through the front door.

  “I know,” I say. “I forgot something and had to run back to the apartment once I was mostly here. Then I had to get gas and, yeah.”

  Lydia doesn’t say anything more and walks over to the kitchen table where Abbey is eating lunch.

  “Where’s the baby?” I ask her.

  “In his crib,” she says. “He literally just fell asleep about ten minutes ago. I was hoping you’d be here before that because I knew it was gonna happen.”

  “It’s OK,” I say. “How are you doing?”

  “Fine,” she says. “He’s been surprisingly good. Doesn’t cry a whole lot. The opposite of Abbey when she was born.”

  “Has Greg been home more?”

  “He took yesterday off,” she says. “We actually talked when I left the hospital. I told him I wasn’t doing all of this on my own and he didn’t realize how he basically hasn’t been here to see Abbey grow up. He’s going to try.”