Worlds Apart

Chapter 16

"We're going to Italy."

~~~~~

I blinked my eyes a few times before taking a deep breath. I rolled over to see Brooke still asleep. Her hair was sprawled out on her pillow and her mouth was open slightly. Our bedsheet was still covering her but exposing her bare back. I laid my hand on her jaw and ran my thumb along her cheek.

She'd been home for three weeks and was still sleeping off all her travelling. It had been so much for her. She even refused to sing for another week so she could rest. Today was the last game for Manchester before holiday, meaning I'd head to the stadium before Brooklyn would.

I sat up, throwing my legs off our bed. I stretched a little bit before getting up. I found Brooke's white-collared shirt on the floor and slipped it on. I buttoned it up a little before going to our windows and opening our curtains, letting the sunlight in.

I took a quick shower but didn't bother to change out of my girlfriend's shirt. I washed my face and brushed my teeth before heading downstairs to the kitchen. I started making myself a pre-match smoothie. I put some veggies and other ingredients into the blender and started blending it.

When I was almost finished, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. "Good morning," I whispered.

"Good morning." Brooke placed soft kisses on my neck. "How'd you sleep?"

"Pretty good. You?"

"I'm still tired."

"Maybe you should stay home today."

"No way. I want to see you kick ass."

"Well, if you don't feel up to it, I won't be upset."

"I know." I turned my face to kiss her. "I love you, Russel."

"I love you too, babe." I softly kissed her again. "Hand me a cup would you?" She let go of me and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. I poured some of my smoothie into it.

"That doesn't look good." She said.

"Just try." I handed it to her.

Brooke took a sip. "It's okay." She handed it back. She leaned against the counter. "I have a thought."

"What?"

"I say we get a personal chef."

"Why?"

"We're always out doing something and I think it'd be nice to come home to an already cooked meal."

I shrugged. "I don't know. What if we come home and say we want to cook together?"

"Well, we can give him or her the night off."

"I don't know."

"How about this," she folded her arms. "What if we got a chef for game days? Someone who knows your nutritional needs. Night before the game, they prep a dinner for us based on you. Then in the morning, you have a real meal instead of this smoothie. Then when you get home in the evening, you get a recovery meal."

"I'd be open to that." I slung my arms around her neck. "I like doing those couplie things with you."

"Then we can hire a chef for game days and I'll promise to be home every night in time for us to make something together."

"So, you'll tell Mark to end a meeting so you can come cook with me?"

"Promise."

"If it's three in the morning?"