Lover

Chapter 17: Imminent

I get dressed in a red stain short dress and heels, I'm scared I might be overdressed.
I finish apply lip gloss when there's a knock on my doors I open it to find him smiling, awkwardly holding a bouquet of sunflowers.
"Hi." I smile letting him inside my place.
"These are for you." He says handing me the flowers.
"Thank you!" I smile taking them from his hands. "They're gorgeous, and you look really nice too." I smile seeing him dressed in a suit with a light pink button up shirt, his hair perfectly done, he's thick, I like it.
"Thank you! I was nervous I got too dressed up, but I'm glad we were on the same page." I smile.
"Me too." He says with a sweet smile.
He leads me out to his Sierra truck where I can smell food. Odd.
"How was the rest of your day?" He asks as he begins to drive.
"It wasn't bad, did some cleaning." I shrug. "How was yours?" I ask turning to look at him.
"Well, I finished practicing and did some negotiating with the team."
"Ah." I nod. "How's that going?" I ask.
"Really well." He smiles. "Play me a song you love to listen to." He says handing me the aux cord.
"Wow, suddenly every song I've ever heard left my mind." I laugh as I plug my phone in. "Oh, I know, but it's a little sad." I smile as I play Believe by Mumford & Sons.

The song begins to play and something about the song or maybe the trees surrounding us or the night sky but I find myself really emotional. It reminds me of James and how he always had to guess what was on my mind, or so he thought. Why do I have to be so closed off?
"Is this about someone?" He asks, making me laugh breathlessly.
"No." I lie. "It's not."
"Are you sure?" He playfully asks.
"Positive." I say not wanting to have James or the thought of him ruin this date.
"Unattached?" He asks.
"Completely." I smile.
"Wonderful." He smirks and reaches over to hold my hand. His hand is warm and inviting.
"So where are we going?" I ask as I notice we're up in the mountains. "You're not going to kill me right?" I joke.
"No." He laughs. "You'll see. Not long now."
"That's exactly what a serial killer would say." I say making us both laugh.

He pulls up into a cabin and I'm in awe of it all.
"Wow." I sigh as he leads me inside along with a bag from the back. "It's beautiful." I say as we head towards the back.
"Thank you. It's been in my familys for 6 generations." He says and I'm even more surprised.
"That's great." I say as he takes me to the back. He flips a the light switch and the back is illuminated by a ton of fairy lights. The table is set for two and I'm so impressed. I take a seat and he comes over with wine.
"I wanted to impress you so I decided not to cook." He says making me laugh. "Amy made dinner." He says bringing out styrofoam to go plates from a bag.
"Amy?" I question.
"My sister." He says. "She's a chef."
"Oh that's really cool."
The food is Mexican and really yummy.
"So." He drags with a playful smile. "I googled you."
"Oh no." I sigh with a smile. "What do you know about me?"
"You graduated from Ohio state with a bachelor degree in speech pathology, your brothers are Nick and Joey Bosa so you come from a pretty pristine football family, you're a cheerleader for the 49ers, and you married Jimmy G at a Taco Bell." I smile throughout his research until he gets to the last part.
"I also divorced Jimmy G." I add seeing him smile.
"So it's true?"
"Embarrassingly so." I nod as I eat my fajitas.
"Is there a story there?" He asks.
"Nope."
"I'm sure there is." He presses.
"Nothing of relevance." I shrug.
"That's cold." He says making me laugh.
"We got really drunk and I wanted to piss my brother off, it seemed like the right thing to do." I say.
(Authors Note: play Night train)
"Do you want to make him angry tonight?" He asks, making me laugh.
"Oh, I think he'd be thrilled."
"Why's that?"
"He's a big baseball fan."
"Oh well then, it's a win win." He winks making me shake my head as I sip my wine and see him smile.
"Can I take you somewhere?" He asks.
"Where?" I curiously ask.
"It's a surprise." He shrugs before smiling.
"Hmmm.Sure." I nod.

He leads me back to his truck and drives further up the mountain until we stop at an even grassy area. He gets out and I see him jump in the tailgate. I furrow my brows before coming out and seeing the back had blankets and pillows.
"Care to join me?" He asks, extending a hand towards me. I nod immediately before kicking my heels off and holding his hand. He pulls me up easily. I sit down leaning my back on the mountain of pillows he had. He goes to turn the truck off leaving the radio on. I shiver and he's quick to pull a blanket on me.
"Thank you." I blush as he puts an arm around me.
I look up at the sky seeing the stars in a way I've never been able to see before. I'm shocked that there could be so many. I shift so I'm laying on my back and he moves with me. I cuddle a little close to him and he holds me tighter.
"You okay?" Chris asks.
"Yeah." I laugh "I've just never seen anything so beautiful and complicated." I say as I try not to blink as much.
"A moon and a billion stars." He says quoting the song.
"And no night train." I tease turning to look up at him.
"This song is actually perfect, I was really excited to see you again." He says making me blush. "I can see the moon reflecting your eyes." He says as he continues to stare at me. I smile and desperately want him to lean in. I take a quick glance at his lips and it's like something clicks in his mind. He smiles before leaning in to press his lips to mine gently. He pecks my lips and pulls away slowly. I smile and bring a hand to the back of his head bringing him back down to me.
"Oh wow." He smiles before moving so it's easier on both of us. "This is nice." I laugh and pull away from him slightly. "Sorry, am I talking too much?" He nervously asks.
"No." I laugh leaning back into him. He kisses me slowly and I decide to add my tongue to the mix.
"Oh." I hear him whisper before following my lead. His hand goes from my cheek to my waist before I pull away and smile at him.
"Tell me about yourself." I say as I rest my head on his chest.
"Hmmm, well I grew up in Lexington Massachusetts. I got a passion for baseball at an early age. My family had a place in the Cape and I remember my grandpa just throwing balls at me and I would hit them out far. He was so proud of me and told everyone I would be a major league player." He says with a sweet smile.
"And now look at you." I say.
"Yeah." He shyly says. 
He talks to me about his mom, dad, sister and best friends before he asks me to talk about myself. I tell him everything from college to my mom to Jimmy, to the miscarriage and it feels good to be able to talk about this.
"Jimmy is kind of an asshole." He says. "I mean that's a lot to put you through after knowing how hurt you already were."
"I wasn't the most open person with him."
"But for a reason, he shouldn't have acted that way."
"Well it's over now." I shrug suddenly feeling tired.
We sleep there for the night and he drives us to the cabin for breakfast before I decide it's time to go back home.
"I had a wonderful time." I smile as we go up in the elevator.
"Me too, thank you for saying yes."
"Thank you for asking." I reply leaning in to kiss him.
The elevator door opens and James is sitting by my door.
"Is that Garoppolo?" Chris asks as he steps off the elevator.