Playing For Keeps

13-Sea Foam Or Green?

Casey

I wave to Erin as I pass by the bakery. 

The hockey player beside me had his hand in mine and everything seemed perfect. Maybe even too perfect. 

I wasn't going to read too much into it as we stopped in the middle of town square as the sun began to set. 

Eric turns to me, a smile on his handsome face, "You look so pretty." He tells me making me blush.

Cupping my face in his hand he leans down to rest his forehead against mine. 

"I think this is the perfect time."

My brows furrow in confusion, "The perfect time for what?"

Slowly I watch in shock as Eric gets down on my one, claiming my hands in his. 

There are gasps from the townspeople as I slides a box out of his pocket and pops it open to show a stunning ring. 

"Casey Meadows will you marry me?"

I gasp as I sit upright in bed.

Most people would love to dream about the time they were proposed to, but me? It's a reoccurring nightmare.

I think talking to Rowan about everything is making it all resurface and I hate it.  

Groaning a fall back onto the bed and huff as I turn to see it's four in the morning. 

Today is going to be a long day. 

Rowan

I was having an internal war with myself. 

After hearing what Casey told me at the lake I wanted to fly over to California and strangle my brother. Find every video he recorded and erase it from existence. 

How someone could be so conniving I didn't understand. 

I knew he played dirty, I've seen how he is on the ice, but that was something that blindsided me. 

The fact that Casey was living with all of this and still managed to laugh and smile made me adore her even more. 

It made me want to punch my brother even more. 

"What do you think, Ro?" Her soft voice drags me out of my thats, "Sea foam or green?" She holds the two cards against the bathroom wall. 

I look between the two different shades of green. 

"They're both green." I point and and she rolls her eyes, "Yes, but this one is sea foam green and this other one just is labeled green."

I didn't understand the need for different shades that almost looked exactly the same but I wasn't going to tell her that. 

We were focused on the bathroom today. Picking color samples to go over the old chipped cream colored walls. 

"Well what do you think?" I ask her. 

I've been doing that a lot because I've found that I never pick the right one, Casey is just really indecisive until I manage to pick the one she doesn't want. 

Then we always go with the other option. 

"I don't know." She huffs. 

"Green, then." I tell her and her nose scrunches up. See. 

She eyes the two cards, "You really think that fits in here?"

"Sea foam, then." I tell her and she nods, "I think that one works better in here. It's lighter and will give it a more open appeal."

Grateful that she has finally set the color for the bathrooms, we leave the house and head to the store to get her paints. 

On the way back we stop and get some lunch, Casey telling me the entire way how much she can't wait to show the house to all the girls. 

I'm excited for her, I know she's worked hard on this and she deserves to feel good about it. 

We get back to the house and open the windows before we start painting the bathroom. 

Casey puts on a playlist, so we aren't painting in silence. 

She rolls the first strip of paint on the wall and a smile lights up her face. 

"This is exactly what I was looking for." She says, but all I'm staring at is her smile. 

When I was seventeen I met the most beautiful girl in the world and at twenty two I realized she wasn't just beautiful on the outside but the inside as well. 

I know eventually this will end and I'll be forced to return to my life without Casey. The thought guts me and I wonder how I ever lived without her in my life before. 

She's been there for me way before I went pro. 

"Oh my God, Ro." She turns to me, "You know what today is right?"

I stare at her confused. 

I have no idea what today is. 

"It's Fourth of July." Just ask she says that, I hear fireworks in the distance. 

How did I not even realize what today was?

"We should run to the store and get those sparklers and the fun glasses."

Without even acknowledging whether or not I was following her, she takes off down the stairs. 

"We haven't even finished painting the bathroom." I call out but she's took far gone to hear me. 

🏒 🏒 🏒

After a trip to the store where we bought a cart full of sparklers, poppers, ingredients to make s'mores, a pack Fourth of July glow in the dark bracelets, the Fourth of July glasses and hats, we were finally headed back to the house. 

"No matter the holiday I go all out." Casey informs me as I carry the multiple bags up the stairs towards the front door. 

"I can see that." I tell her as I twist the bags in my hands making her roll her eyes, "You won't be hating when we look cool as hell in those shades."

In the kitchen she pulls the glasses out and slides one onto my face before putting the other one on herself. 

"Oh we so need photos of these." She pulls her phone out and walks over beside me. 

"Smile for the camera, Ro." She smiles, resting her elbow on her shoulder which makes me smile because it looks goofy the way her she's stretching to get her elbow to my shoulder. 

She takes a few pictures before taking them off of us. 

We finish painting the bathroom before Casey declares we need to make some s'mores and head outside for the sparkler and poppers. 

I watch her run around the backyard, the sparkler in hand as she watches the sparks fly. 

Something squeezes in my chest at the image before me. 

I think Casey lets a lot of things bare down on her but right now are the moments I love most. Watching her being so carefree. 

"Come on Rowan." She calls out and I grab one of the sparkers before joining her. 

We spend the rest of the night eating s'mores, talking, and lighting a lot of sparkers that I am sure aren't good for the air. 

I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. 

With our time running out I know if I ever make a move it needs to be soon. 

I just want to know what it would feel like to be with her, to have her. 

My brother had her once and he lost her, if I had her. 

I would never let her go.