"You're so beautiful," Christian whispered into Elena's ear, as she cuddled into his side. His hot breath against her sensitive skin gave her goosebumps, but she tried not to think about the feelings the sensation stirred in her too deeply.
It had been two months since Christian fell asleep in Elena's bed for the first time, and, since then, they were spending most nights together when Christian was playing at home at Miller Park. Continuing to enjoy each other's company. Getting closer every day. Falling for one another. An attraction that took a still grieving Elena by surprise, but also filled her with so much happiness.
Christian rarely saw the inside of his own apartment in the Third Ward, and he didn't miss it. He finally felt like he was a part of something bigger than baseball. He almost felt like he had his own family . . .
Christian hated leaving her for road trips, but tomorrow morning she'd be leaving him on business to San Francisco. Leaving him and trusting him to take care of Jonas for four whole days while she implemented a new analytics system with the Giants. And Christian was excited for the opportunity. He wanted nothing more than for Elena to trust him with her son, a little boy he was beginning to love so deeply. Christian and Jonas had built some elaborate forts over the summer, growing closer every day. Jonas really looked up to the 6'4" baseball player.
"I restocked the pantry for you two. You should be good to go," she said quietly, ensuring she locked eyes with the tall, lanky man who had been sharing her bed. No sex, no funny business – just pure warmth.
"You're the best," Christian replied, kissing her temple. The couple hadn't done much more than sweet kisses on the mouth, and he didn't mind. It was nice to finally be in a position to not be used for money. To not be used for sex or status.
Elena smiled. "Just make sure he eats some vegetables."
Christian chuckled. "I promise he'll eat his veggies, Ley. I'll do you proud."
***
Christian read the instructions to the large LEGO set of Buckingham Palace he and Jonas were trying to construct. "Can you get me this piece, Jonas?" Christian asked his buddy with a smile, pointing to the piece he was looking for on the diagram included with the model.
"Here it is," Jonas said, finding the piece almost immediately.
"You're so good at this," Christian informed the boy.
"Don't worry, Mister Christian, mama is bad at LEGOs too," Jonas said with a shake of his head, causing Christian to laugh.
"You know you can just call me Christian, bud," he explained. "Do you think we'll finish this before your mom gets home?"
"No, this will take us one million years," Jonas said, his tone casual, like a million years was a logical amount of time to take to build a LEGO model.
"Probably," Christian agreed. "How about we take a break and eat some dinner?" Christian had an afternoon game, so he was excited to finally spend an evening with Jonas outside of Miller Park.
"What are we having?" Jonas asked, looking at the picture and finding another necessary piece. He really was very good at LEGOs for his age.
"What do you want?" Christian asked, realizing quickly that he should have probably offered a suggestion first.
"Kopp's!" Jonas responded excitedly.
"What if I made macaroni and cheese instead?" Christian coaxed
"We should have Kopp's. They have frozen custard, my mom's favorite." The boy's eyes lit up at the idea of eating ice cream with his friend.
"Okay, but if we have Kopp's tonight, we have to cook food tomorrow, okay?"
YOU ARE READING
Cough Syrup
RomanceWhen Elena lost her husband, she had accepted that life was just going to be her and her son, Jonas. That was until she met Christian Yelich -- Milwaukee Brewers superstar and surprisingly great man. Now her life was changed forever.
