Page 62 of Power Play

“I know, and I agree. But I still think taking it slowly is the best idea. At least for now. We’ve spent weeks dancing around this, playing the will they, won’t they game, and now that we finally are, I just want to live in that moment for a bit. Ya know?”

“I get it. I just want you to know that everything will be okay.” Looking down at her watch, a quick moment of panic hits her. “Shit. I forgot I was supposed to be at the bakery twenty minutes ago to help with the cookies. Sorry, Rex, I’ve gotta run,” Stella says, quickly grabbing her things.

“Not a problem, Stell. Thanks for watching Rory for me, and for, uh, talking,” I tell her, ready to stop talking about my emotions.

“Of course, big bro. Someone has to watch out for you. You may seem like a big dummy, but you’ve got a big heart,” Stella says with a smile. After a quick hug to Rory, she’s running out the door.

Leaving me with my thoughts and the mess.

Luckily, clean-up is quick, and Rory and I were able to squeeze in a little pedicure before heading to Central Park for the rest of the morning. I don’t have to be at the arena until four for the game tonight, so we still have some time to walk around.

“Daddy, where can we go next?” Rory asks as we cross the street into central park.

“I don’t know, princess. We still have some time to kill. I figured we could walk around until we find something to do.”

“Can we get dessert, daddy? I ate breakfast real good,” she pleads, doing her best to bat her eyelashes. I really have to talk to my sister about teaching her this shit. I already have a hard time telling her no, and this makes it damn near impossible.

“Didn’t you have enough sugar with Auntie Lala last night? Plus, we already had chocolate chips with our pancakes today,” I try to argue, but in reality, I’ve already given in to her.

“No, daddy. Not enough. Ms. Daniels tells me about ice cream. Says it’s by Auntie Lala’s work, can we go?” she implores.

“We can try, but I’m not sure where it is. Did she tell you the name?” I ask as we start walking towards Stella’s bakery in search of the mysterious ice cream cart.

“Nope. But we can find it. I believe in us,” Rory says, a happy smile on her face at the fact that she gets ice cream before lunch. Hopefully some of her happiness comes from spending the day together, because I know that’s why I’m happy.

“We can look for a little bit longer, but we don’t want to go too far. Remember Grandma and Grandpa are meeting us to take you to lunch before daddy has his hockey game,” I remind her.

My little girl’s eyes light up like it’s Christmas morning. She loves spending time with her family, which makes my job so much easier. I don’t feel like an absolute asshole every time she can’t sleep in her own bed because she’s so excited to spend time with them.

Twenty minutes later, we’ve walked all around Stella’s bakery and haven’t gotten any closer to figuring out where this damn ice cream place is. The smell of all the baked cookies and cinnamon rolls has filled the air, and I’m to the point now that if I don’t get some dessert soon, I might lose it.

I’m just about to break it to Rory that we have to give up when she stops walking suddenly and tries to pull her hand from mine.

“Ms. Daniels!” Rory squeals excitedly and runs in front of me before I even realize what’s happening.

Looking up, I see a surprised Sawyer standing in front of us, her eyes quickly bouncing between Rory and I, probably having the same internal battle that I am.

What do we do? How do we act?

I try to remind myself that I told Stella I would just let everything happen naturally. At least that way, I won’t feel like I’m forcing anything on Rory. Which is so much easier said than done.

“Hi, sweet girl! How are you?” Sawyer says, quickly recovering from her moment of panic.

As soon as Rory is in front of her, she leans down, wrapping my daughter in a giant bear hug. “Missed you, sweet girl. Are you out spending time with your daddy today?” Sawyer questions, looking over Rory’s shoulder to sneak me a quick smile, which is enough to make me feel unsettled.

I’m not even sure if that’s what I’m feeling. I feel anxious all the time, like I’m going to screw this all up. My stomach gets all fluttery every time I’m nervous or excited to see her.

I’m a grown ass man, there’s no fucking way I have butterflies... right?

Yeah, there’s no way.

“Yup! It’s a daddy daughter date. Daddy and I made breakfast, then we went and got our nails done. I got purple and daddy got pink. I didn’t know which one to get, so we each got one,” Rory starts rambling excitedly, and I love the way Sawyer immediately gives all her attention to my daughter.

You don’t always see adults giving their undivided attention to kids, especially when they aren’t your own children. To watch Sawyer completely engrossed in what my daughter is telling her does something to me. It makes me feel shit that I wasn’t even aware I could feel anymore. It’s like she’s awoken something inside of me that’s been sleeping for a long, long time.

But now that it’s awake, I want more. More time, more of her, just... more.

Fuck, what the hell is happening to me? It’s always just been me and Rory.

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