Smile (Kris Bryant)

Chapter Twenty| Pretty Cheesy

Alexandria

"Okay, where to next" I ask as my feet pound the ground. Kris insisted on showing me all around the city on this here rare off day. Long ago when things were hard and he showed me the bean he promised me a tour and so far he's been a great guide. Even though I've been here longer he knows the city better than I do. I've always wanted to explore but was never allowed to si it was nice to see the city and all the hype around it.

As for today Kris has been a extraordinary tour guide, all day he's taken me places that he thinks I would like. We've been to the pier, the museum, a two story candy store, the park again, and even the sears tower.

"Honestly there's still so much to see but I have a special place I wanted to end this day at" he claims.

"Is that so" I smile.

"It is. Madam" he teases sticking his arm out so that I latch onto it. We drive a little ways and pull up to a beach. I smile bright as he digs stuff out of the back of his trunk and reveals a beach bag. We head to the beach which was pretty quiet for this time of day, thankfully for us. It's hard to hide a gigantic sports figure in Chicago. It just doesn't work.

He sets out a towel and we sit down on it. I lay my head in his lap as the sounds of waves crashing onto the beach calm me. It was a hot July day and the cool winds from the lake beats across my body. Kris plays with my hair as I look up to him.

"So, how are you likening Chicago so far" he asks.

"The views are great, and I have the greatest one" I smile up at him causing him to chuckle.

"That was pretty cheesy" he observed.

"You love it when I'm cheesy" I remind him.

"That I do" he smiles. We continue to lay there and I nearly fall asleep in his lap. Eventually I start to get bored and wonder what there is to do.

"Wanna get in the water" I ask.

"I didn't bring swim suits" he admits.

"We can go in our underwear" I suggest.

"You're okay with that" he asks.

"Well yeah. You've already seen me naked that one time at Wrigley. Plus I work out in a bra and spandex and you take your shirt off all the time when we work out. Why is this different" I ask and he shrugs.

"I guess it's not" he admits. We strip down to our underwear and walk into the water. It was freezing at first but I settle down. I look out over the city and smile. For years I've lived here and never noticed how nice it looked. It was so beautiful. I was broken out of my trance when a wave of cold water crashes into my legs nearly knocking me over.

"Gotta watch the waves, they're tricky" he laughs.

"So, do you come here often" I ask.

"Yeah. It's the quiet part of the beach. It's a great place to clear my head and find out what I need" he shrugs.

"Okay then. What are you thinking you need right about now?"

"You know, asking this many questions is dangerous..."

"I'm a dangerous woman" I smirk.

"Well then. I guess I've just been thinking about the future a lot lately."

"And what does the future hold for the brightest baseball star?"

"I'm talking about after baseball..."

"Oh. Well then what's going on after baseball?"

"In a perfect world I would be really old because I've played twenty good years in the league. That would make me 43. By then I'll still be in great shape because you will never take it easy on me. Even after we're married you'll still never cut me some slack because you want me to be my best. Thanks to you I will. We'll still have 3 kids at home but 2 have already gone off to college. We would be in a nice little house. Big enough to support all of our dreams but small enough our kids still have to talk to us. Our baby girl will look just like you, so curious and have the prettiest smile. Our little boy will be the kindest kid around. Always helping around the house and at school. And our teenager will be a handful but after every bad grade and heartbreak she'll know to come to us because we want to make her feel better. I might have some office roll with the Cubs but who knows, I'll probably want a few years off. This city will be ours until we die and we can spend each day seeing something new here. This place never gets old. And one day, long from now. I hope it's you who is laying in my arms late at night. And when I ask what's the one thing in this world you want, you'll say nothing because you have it all" he says finishing by staring deep into my eyes.

"Is that really what you are thinking" I ask softly.

"Well, yeah. I love you Alex. Always have. And although it's only been four months and we've been together for just three of them it doesn't feel like it. It didn't take much for me to realize that you are the one for me. Someone I want to grow up with, grow old with. Someone who I want to raise kids with. I want it all and I want it with you" he claims. A wave pushes against me and this time I fall right into his arms. I smile up at him and he smiles back.

"Kris that's beautiful" I whisper.

"You are" he says and I giggle.

"Now who's being cheesy" I tease.

"I guess we can be cheesy together" he smirks.

"Yeah, I guess we can" I admit.

After splashing around and him tossing me in the water we call it a day. We set off and head home for some ice cream. I make us sundaes on this hot Tuesday and we sit on the couch and watch whatever game was on TV. I turn to him and squint over dramatically.

"What" he laughs.

"You have something on your face" I claim.

"Where" he asks.

"Right here" I say pressing my lips to his. He smiles but pulls me closer. I go to break apart but he comes right back in making me laugh.

"I love you so much" I remind him.

"I love you too" he smiles.