Smile (Kris Bryant)

Chapter Seventeen| You Got Me?

Kris

I roll over in bed to see Alex laying there bright eyed and already wide awake. I move some hair out of her beautiful face as the sun from outside shines in on us. It looked like she had a halo above her head as she blesses me with her presence. We lay there silently just staring each other as if we hadn't seen each other a day in our life before just now. Soaking up every detail as I touch her perfect face.

Last night was the first night we slept together so this is the first time I woke up to such a beautiful sight. I mean we've fallen asleep on the couch before but that is just us being lazy and not wanting to get up. Nothing special really happened. But to be honest I haven't slept with another girl before. It was nice, real nice. And the best part was waking up to the prettiest sight I've ever seen.

"Morning beautiful" I whisper as she moves in closer. She wraps her arms around me as her vanilla scent fills my head.

"Good morning Kris. How did you sleep" she asks softly.

"Great. Best sleep I've had in years" I admit.

"I can say the same thing" she smiles. God how that smile melts me inside.

"What's the plans for today" I wonder.

"Workout, eat, game, fly to LA to take on the Dodgers" she says assuredly.

"I heard lie in bed and cuddle all day" I smirk.

"Well then you need your hearing checked" she giggles. I kiss her forehead as she nuzzles her face in my chest. I wrap my arms around her as we laid there in the still of the early morning.

"You ready to get up" I ask.

"Nuh uh" she mumbles and I smile. How do I say no to that?

After a while we do get up because we were adults and had to do adult things. We do a little training and have lunch with some of the guys. We had a 6 pm game before taking the late flight to LA for a series there. This is the first trip Alex would be joining us on and to say the least she was really excited. I hadn't been to LA before either and I was excited to get to explore the city together.

"You know you don't have to pack everything" I laugh as she tries to squeeze everything into her suitcase.

"I wasn't sure what to bring, I've never done something like this. I'd rather be over packed than under packed" she claims.

"Why do you need my sweatshirts for LA in the summer" I ask holding up one of my San Diego sweatshirts.

"It's comfy and smells like you" she huffs taking the sweatshirt and putting it back.

"Okay then. And the heels" I ask.

"If I get attacked by someone I can stab them with it" she claims and I laugh.

"If you're getting attacked why is it your heels the first think you think of" I ask.

"I don't know, I'm just making up excuses for bringing all of this shit" she shrugs and I roll my eyes. She sits on top of the suit case while I get it zipped up and it all fit. Barley.

"Are you all set now" I ask.

"Physically, yes. Mentally, I'm not sure" she admits.

"Hey, if anything happens please come find me. If someone asks a question you're not comfortable with don't answer it. Change the subject or come find me. Please" I beg.

"I'm not a child Kris. I'm not scared of my past anymore. I'm scared of the future" she shrugs.

"The future is what you make it. You can't change what happened but you can make things happen. That's the beauty of this world. And Alex, you have the power to make some amazing memories. Touch the lives of others. Travel the country and make friends along the way. All chains are gone" I say.

"When I took this job that's exactly how I imagine it would be. I would be friends with everyone on the team. They would treat me as one of their own and show me the world. Then I would come home and everything would be amazing. But unfortunately it's not how it worked out" she sighs.

"But it can be like that. We can go to all the coolest places in the towns. We can shut it down in the workout room then find a nice burger to eat. Some days we won't have a set schedule, we can just walk around and see where our feet lead us. I promise that as long as you're with me nothing bad will happen to you" I insist.

"You got me" she asks.

"I got you, and I'm never letting go."

We go to the game and end up winning pretty easily. Our luggage gets loaded onto the plane and we all sit down. Alex sits next to me and stares out the window.

"Have you ridden in a plane before" I ask.

"Not since I was a little girl. And it was filled with old cranky people, not hyperactive man children" she laughs.

"That's offensive. We like to be called gentlemen" Anthony claims turning around in the seat in front of me.

"Then why don't you act like it" she asks.

"Why don't you act like it" he mimicked and she giggles.

"My point exactly" she laughs.

"So are you excited to be with the team" Davis asks her as he pops up from beside Anthony.

"Of course. You guys are like a second family. I know that wherever happens I won't be bored because you always make it interesting" she claims.

"See... I've always liked you" David says.

"Yeah, because I never make you do cardio" she teases.

"And let's keep it that way" he winks.

Everyone gets settled in and the Captain gives his usual speech. I take deep breaths as the plane takes off.

"Do you not like flying" she wonders.

"I hate it" I admit. She grabs my hand and kisses the back of it before resting it in her lap.

"Just look into my eyes" she instructs and I do so. She stares back at me as I forget everything I wanted to say. It was like I was lost in them. But I was finding everything I've ever wanted and more. She massages the back of my hand and suddenly I wasn't afraid. Because if we were to die in a fiery plane crash I would die beside the woman I love and I was okay with that.