“Never.”
The photographers yell my name, and Kelsey freezes. I don’t know if she’ll ever get used to this or not, but she’s promised to try, and I’ve promised to make it as easy on her as possible. If at any time she doesn’t want her photo taken at an event, we can use the rear entrance. What I can’t stop are the people on the streets. She’s taken to wearing sunglasses or a hat most of the time.
I slip my arm around her and kiss her temple softly. “Are we good?” I keep my voice low so only she can hear me. One word from her and we’ll leave. She nods.
We pose, take a couple of steps, pose again, and take a few more steps. We do this until we’re safely inside the grand ballroom of the hotel.
“This place is magical,” Kelsey says. I happen to agree. Red ribbons and white lights adorn the entirety of the room. In one corner, there’s a massive Christmas tree, and in the other, a string quartet plays holiday music.
Right off, we see Peyton and Noah, and head to them. “The turnout is more than the organizers expected,” Peyton says after we exchange pleasantries.
“Everyone comes out when it’s time to help the kids at Christmas,” Kelsey adds. “My boss paid for a table as well, and we donated a ton of books to the center.”
“When does your book come out?” Noah asks me.
I shake my head and look at Kelsey. “Jonathan is playing around with a spring or summer release. He hasn’t decided yet, but it’s much sooner than planned. Originally it was going to be a year from now.”
“A tour?” I ask. “This is the first you’re mentioning it.”
“Well, I’m not your editor. Russ is. It’s his job.”
I hate that she’s not my editor, but I get it. She wanted to push as much of me aside as she could then. Russ is a great guy, but he’s not my Kelsey, who is the only reason I ever thought about writing the book to begin with.
“Will you go on this tour with me?”
Kelsey nods. “Of course.”
“What if I want to go?” Noah asks.
“I mean, I know we’re lovers, but sometimes you have to stay home.”
Peyton snorts. “I knew it!” She fake punches Noah in the arm. Instead of dodging her, he pulls her into his arms and whispers something into her ear. Within seconds, she’s a completely different person. I have no idea what he said to her, but the way she shifts, and her demeanor changes, makes me wonder what his magic words are.
Maybe it’s the way he loves her and she him or the fact that they grew up together. They just know what each other needs and when. It’s something I’ll have to ask him at practice this coming week. I like to think Kelsey looks at me the same way, more so when I whisper into her ear. Although, the only thing I seem to whisper are naughty thoughts.
For all I know, Noah’s doing the same thing.
The four of us find our seats and are happy to see Julius and Autumn at our table. They look haggard. “Hey,” Julius says when we sit down.
“Everything okay?” Peyton asks Autumn.
She yawns and nods. “The baby’s teething and thinks in the middle of the night is the best time to let us know about it. We’re taking shifts, but he wakes Reggie and Roxy up, so we have a bed full of squirrely arms and legs.”
“I used to do that,” Kelsey says. “There’s a magic comfort that comes from sleeping with your mom. She’s the only one who can cuddle away the pain.”
“I agree,” Peyton says. “Although Oliver is at the stage where everyone and everything is his, so if I try to hug my mom or dad, he butts in. What’s funny is if my dad tries to even touch my mom, Oliver lets him know he’s not allowed to do it.”
“I met him at the game,” Kelsey says. “He’s adorable. Can I ask why there’s such an age gap though?”
“Oliver isn’t a James yet. My parents are adopting him,” Peyton tells her. “He’s been with my parents for a year.”
“Oh, I heard your sister got married,” Autumn says.
Peyton nods. “Yes, she and Ben got married in Beaumont while he was in the hospital.”
“Wait, I know Ben,” I interject. “Why was he in the hospital?”
Peyton looks at Noah, who then looks at me. “Remember when I shaved my head on Instagram live?”
I nod.
“Ben’s got cancer. Well, he’s clear of it at the moment. Quinn, Mack, and I didn’t want Ben to feel alone, so we shaved our hair with him.”
“Is that why you told me to make that donation to the testicular cancer charity?”
Noah nods. “Yeah, and thanks for doing that. Hopefully with the amount of money the team sent in, we’re helping.”
“Okay, well now I’m going to cry,” Kelsey adds. “You guys are amazing to each other.”
“It’s one giant family,” Julius adds. His words remind me that I still need to speak to Noah about his future plans. He’s hinted that the Pioneers might not be it and I’d kind of like to know before my contract expires.
We eat dinner, and then the center for underprivileged kids brings all their kids in. Santa becomes the focal point and hands out a present to each child. It’s fun watching them open them, and it makes me miss my niece and nephew. I haven’t spent a holiday with them in a while and I think I’m long overdue. Maybe next year, depending on the football schedule, I can plan a family getaway for mine and Kelsey’s family. It’s too late this year. Besides, I want to spend all my free time with Kelsey, just the two of us.
As the night winds down, we start to make our way outside. Thankfully, most of the media is gone, but there are a few stragglers hanging around, snapping photos of people coming out of the hotel and getting into cars. The limo that brought us, takes us home. It’s a nice, relaxing drive, where I spend the majority of it staring at Kelsey. I’m so in love with her, it hurts sometimes. Even though I have her, I fear I’m going to lose her.
The limo drops us off and I follow Kelsey and stand behind her while she puts the code to the front door. She opens the door, walks in and gasps.
Rose petals go from the front door to our Christmas tree, which is lit up in white. Soft music plays through the sound system, and the fireplace glows. Kelsey follows the path to the tree, where a lone present sits.
“What’s this?” she asks of the medium sized box on the floor.
“Open it.”
Kelsey tears the paper slowly, showing me how long it’s going to take her to open the presents I bought her for the actual day. She opens the box, only to find another one.
“Alex.”
I shrug. Sometimes jokes are fun.
After the third box, she finally reaches the end. She pulls the black velvet box out and I drop to my knee. “I thought of a million and one ways to do this.”
“Alex!” She gasps and covers her mouth. I take the box from her hand and take the ring out of the velvet cushion and reach for her left hand.
“I know we haven’t been together long or even known each other long, but I’m a firm believer in when you know, you know, and I know. You’re the one for me, Kelsey. I’ve known from the first day you stepped into our practice facility. When I drew the piece of paper with ‘winner' written on it, I thought I would give whoever was there a quick run-down of the game, and then hightail it out of there, but then I saw you, and my world shifted.”