Glow

Chapter 8

We were sitting at the food court in the mall, enjoying some New York Fries when a lady strolled pass with a baby. Thomas and I both watched as Luke strained to see the baby. It was odd behaviour.

He quickly got up and followed her, asking questions about her little bundle of joy. I looked down at my fries before pushing them away.

"You okay?" Thomas asked me.

"Just feeling a little queasy," I told him. "I'm a little nervous. What if she says no?"

Thomas chuckled and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Dude, relax. You have Luke and I to help you with the plan. And besides, it's not like you're asking her to marry you."

I was about to say something when Luke sat back down and we both gave him looks. "Hey, what's with you and these babies lately."

"Huh?" Luke asked as he looked away from a woman who was feeding her baby a bottle.

"Dude, you've been eyeing every baby in this mall. We're supposed to helping Brett ask a girl out not plan a baby shower," Thomas chuckled.

"Oh, I just miss having the boys that young," Luke shrugged.

"That's not it, are you having a baby?" I quizzed him.

"No, we're not expecting," Luke sighed. He seemed aggravated by that sentence.

"Wait," Thomas paused. "Are you and Caroline doing the do?"

Luke chuckled before shaking his head. I also thought it was funny. "You don't need to censor it, TR. But, yeah. We're trying for one. I'm just stressed out."

Thomas and I both looked at each other before turning back to Luke. "Why is it stressing you out?"

"Caroline is freaking out, she thanks Tate was her last chance for getting pregnant. She always wanted a little girl, so we didn't use anything to prevent that. I mean, she did use birth control and obviously I used condoms. It's just, she wanted one and didn't want to make me have one until I was ready with my job and all. Well, we're struggling to get pregnant and she thanks she's infertile and I just think I'm getting too old."

"Too old?" Thomas raised an eyebrow. "Dude, you're forty. You're not too old, it'll change when you're like sixty. That's when you can't have more."

"I want her to believe it's me, Thomas. I don't want her to think she'll never have a baby again. I want her to believe it's me and that another guy can get her what she wants."

I shook my head. "She's not going to leave you, Luke. She'll rather have you by her side than a new baby. Besides, she loves you for who you are."

Luke looked down and exhaled deeply. "I know, I'm just upset that it's taking so long. What if Tate really was our last chance at having a baby?"

I was honestly so surprised to see Luke so down about the whole thing. He really wanted to have another little one running around the house and I felt bad for him. Sometimes life isn't fair.

"Luke, remember how long it took Lauren and I to get pregnant? Maybe it's just going to take a little time. And remember the birth control needs to get out of her system."

"You're right, we just have to keep trying," Luke encouraged himself.

"Besides, she could already be expecting and you guys not realize it," I pointed out.

"Urg, enough about me. We're here to help Brett get with Lee!" Luke smiled.

We all laughed together before coming up with a plan. "So, what if you took her the Cubs first game?"

"I thought about that, but I feel like it'd be too much. Besides, I'm not sure if she'd want me to ask her out at a baseball game," I expressed. I would love it though, it be something I would do, but would she love it? I'm not sure. I looked over at the guys and they seemed skeptical.

"What if you were on like 'kiss cam' or something?" Luke quizzed.

"It'd be cute, but more for proposing. Don't ya think?"

"That's a good point," Thomas agreed.

"Well, what can we do then?" Luke questioned.

I shrugged and so did Thomas. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it goes."

I started picking with my fries, I was already nervous and now there wasn't a way for me to ask her. I couldn't help but fall so in love with her. She was the one, I knew it! After all these heartaches, I finally found my other half. And it was Rylee.

"Guys, we can't eff this up. I- I'm in love with her," I confessed.

Thomas and Luke both looked at each and nodded. "As your best friend, I promise to you that we'll make this work," Thomas reassured me.

"Just be honest with her, Brett. You don't have to make it something special. Just tell her exactly that, you love her," Luke advised.

They were right. I stated down at my food and a small smile was forming on my face. That's exactly what I'm going to do. As scared and nervous as I was, I was going to tell her how I felt and hope she feels the same.

I know she feels the same from missing me for so long. She did kiss me when she came back home. I think the feeling is mutual. Or at least, I hope it was.

I stood up from my chair and quickly pulled out my phone. "I'm gonna go call her and ask her to dinner with me tonight. Thank you guys, so much. I'm going to tell her that I love her!"

Quickly, I made my way towards the restrooms in the mall for a little more privacy.

"Good luck!" both Luke and Thomas called after me.

I walked into a washroom stall and dialed Rylee's number. Here goes nothing. The phone rang once, twice, and then three times before I heard it click. She answered.

"Hello," Rylee sweet voice echoed into the phone.

"Hey, Lee. I was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner with me tonight?" I nervously asked.

"Oh my gosh! Of course, Brett! I can't wait! See you tonight!" Rylee giggled, not able to hold in her excitement.

"I can't wait either, see you tonight!"