Basketball Baby

• Chapter Eight •

Nathan aimed the basketball toward the net in his parents' backyard and missed again. He picked up the basketball and then stared at it angrily. He blamed basketball for ruining his marriage, he blamed himself for not telling Savannah about meeting with the Coach's daughter. Now Savannah hates him and there was nothing he could do to fix his marriage and it was all basketballs fault. He threw the basketball at the fence angrily and stared at the rattling fence in fury. "Nathan," His Mother said worriedly as she entered the backyard slowly. "It's been almost two months since you've talked to Diana or Savannah." She informed him and he looked down at his wedding ring. "Diana is on the phone, she knows you're here Nat. Please talk to your daughter?" She begged and Nat felt tears sting at his eyes.
Diana sat patiently on the phone while Savannah cooked dinner and stared at her worriedly. After a few minutes, Diana sighed and looked up at Savannah. "He doesn't wanna talk to me." She said sadly and handed the phone back to Savannah.
  "Diana?" A voice said lowly on the end of the phone and they both looked at each other surprised.
  "Daddy?" Diana asked as she put the phone back to her ear. Savannah couldn't help but smile at how happy she looked just talking to her Dad. After a few minutes, Diana looked up at Savannah and smiled. "I love you so much, Daddy! Please come home? Here's Mommy." Diana held out the phone and Savannah shook her head but Diana just shook the phone. "Please talk to him, Mommy?" She begged softly. Savannah stared at her daughter for a second and then let out a defeated sigh.
  "Alright." She muttered and then took the phone. "Go play upstairs, okay?" She asked Diana and Diana nodded then quickly exited the kitchen. "Hello?" She asked.
Nathan froze at the sound of her voice and his heart raced against his chest. "H-hi Savannah, how are you?" He asked softly and she felt her heart ache at the concern in his voice but she quickly stopped feeling sorry for him.
"I'm okay. Nat listen, we need to talk about splitting up. We need to work out when you'll see the kids and who gets the holidays every other year-"
"Wait, splitting up?" He said in disbelief and Savannah took in a ragged breath and tried to focus on the casserole she was making. "Savannah, I don't want to split up. Baby, please let me explain about what you saw, please?" He begged and Savannah placed her hand on her stomach as she thought about it.
"I guess so, you can come over tonight for dinner. I know Diana would love to see you." Nathan fist pumped the air and a huge grin appeared on his face.
"I'll be over soon I can't wait to see my little princess and talk things out with you! Thank you Savannah, I love you." He blurted out and then hung up. His Mom stared at him surprised and chuckled.
"Relax your intensity, Nat." His Mom teased and Nathan shrugged as he turned to go upstairs and shower.
  "Who cares Mom, she's my wife and the mother of my two children. I can tell her I love her." He said confidently and then jogged upstairs.
Diana sat in the living room waiting impatiently for Nathan to come through the door as Savannah set up the dinner table. "I can't wait for Daddy to get here, Mommy!" Diana exclaimed and Savannah giggled as Diana came running into the kitchen. She didn't want to admit it, but deep down she was excited to see Nathan too. The doorbell rang a moment later and Diana gasped in excitement.
  "Go get it, sweetie." Savannah said softly and Diana grinned as she ran to answer the door.
  "Daddy!" Diana squealed and Savannah's heart seemed to skip a beat as she slowly turned off the stove. She tried to focus on her breathing and the food as she heard footsteps approaching the kitchen. "Mommy, Daddy's here!" Diana exclaimed as she was being held in Nathan's arms and Savannah grinned at her.
  "I know baby," Savannah teased and then looked at Nat. She thought the whole world froze and it was just the two of them in their kitchen. It was like they were fourteen again and met each other at freshman orientation in high school, before dating, before having a baby, before getting married, before everything. Savannah was dumbfounded by how tired he looked and she felt herself start to worry. "Hello Nathan." Savannah said softly as he slowly walked over to her.
"Hello Savannah, how are you and the baby doing?" He asked and Savannah smiled as she looked down at her stomach.
"We're fine, but I can't decide on what to name him." She sighed as she turned off the stove and Diana was struggling to get on to the stool in front of the counter and Nathan helped her up.
"Well, what are the names you've chosen?" He asked curiously as he stroked Diana's hair.
"Well," Savannah turned to grab the plates from the cabinet next to the fridge then turned back and placed them on the counter. "I'm stuck between three names Theo, Aiden, and Mason." She admitted and started serving the mostacciolli.
"I really like the name Theo!" Diana exclaimed and Nathan grinned down at her.
"The funny thing is I also really like the name Theo, I was gonna suggest it to you tonight." He chuckled and Savannah smiled as she handed him a plate and Nat continued to smile at her. "You look beautiful, Sav." Nat whispered and Savannah blushed as she looked down at the plate in her hands.
"Yeah right, I look fat." She rolled her eyes then handed Diana a plate.
"No you don't, baby. You look exactly like the girl I met all those years ago back in high school." He said soothingly and Savannah grinned at him as she shook her head.
"I really hope I don't look like a fourteen year old." She teased and Diana giggled as she took a sip of her fruit punch.
"Yeah you do, Mommy! All of my friends tell me that you're younger than their mommies." Diana complimented and Nathan and Savannah laughed at this.
  "Well thank you, you guys." She sighed as she served herself a plate and then made her way to her seat next to Diana. After a few moments of eating in comfortable silence, Diana taps Nathan's shoulder and motions for him to come closer. Nathan grins as he leans down to her.
  "Tell Mommy," Diana whispers in his ear. "That you wanna come home, Daddy." Nathan stared at her eager face for a moment and then nodded his head.
  "Of course I will, Princess." He said sternly and Diana grins cheekily up at him and then continues eating. Savannah rolls her eyes at them, clearly hearing everything they said and couldn't help but smile. She really missed how Nathan always seemed to make them feel like a complete family and she desperately wanted him to come home.
Nathan and Savannah sat on the couch together and stared at each other silently. "I want you to know something, Sav." Nathan said softly as Savannah pulled her legs up on to the couch and then placed her hand on her stomach and continued to watch Nat intently. "I never cheated on you, that girl you saw me with on the TV was Coach O'Brian's daughter." He admitted and Savannah continued to stare at him with a blank face and Nathan waited patiently for a reaction. Once he realized he wasn't getting one, he continued, "We were talking about how I could endorse the team through marketing, like having my own shoe or clothing line. I want you to know I would never cheat on you, Savannah-"
"I know you wouldn't, Nathan." She said softly and Nathan's mouth hung open in confusion as he stared at her surprised.
  "Wait, what?" He asked and Savannah smiled as she looked down at her stomach.
  "Mr. O'Brian called a few weeks ago and told me all about it. He felt bad that we weren't talking because of his daughter and he saw it on TV that they were reporting about us getting a divorce, so he decided to call me and tell me who the young lady was." She admitted and played with her ring as she twisted it around her finger nervously. Nathan just stared at her in complete shock. She wasn't mad at him. She knew he hadn't been cheating on her, but Nathan couldn't help but still feel guilty. He sighed as he leaned forward and held his hands together.
"I still could have told you that it was, Abigail. I should've kept calling you and Diana, but I thought you just needed space because you were so upset and I didn't want to put any more stress on you or the baby. I'm sorry I should've told you from the start, I-" Savannah kissed him eagerly and tried to prove to him that she forgave him and that she was over it. Nat placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer to him. He didn't want to ever let her go again and he couldn't help but groan into the kiss once their tongues rubbed against each other. The tension between them seemed to evaporate from this heated kiss and every worry they had seemed to disappear. Savannah pulled away a bit and looked Nat deep into his eyes.
  "I forgive you, Nathan. Please come back home?" She asked softly and Nathan grinned at her as he pressed his forehead against hers and stared at her lovingly.
  "Of course, my love." He whispered and then pulled her in for another heart racing kiss.

*A/N: Hi my loves.! I have not written an author's note in such a long time and I completely apologize.! I'm just so focused on writing this story I've been writing ahead of myself and just post once I think the next chapter has been out long enough. I want to thank each and everyone of you for taking the time for reading my book.! It means the absolute world to me and I love all of you ❤️ This is not the end of the story, so keep on reading lol and vote and comment if you have any questions or if you just like the book hehe.! Thank you all again so so much.! Love yous.! ~Ariel💚💜*