Page 88 of One Short Summer

Monica

THREE MONTHS LATER

The crowdahead of us finally thins out as we make our way down the escalator, to the lower level of the airport and the baggage claim. I head straight to carousel number four where our luggage from Paris is supposed to be waiting for us.

Gabe walks next to me, his stride strong and rhythmic, and I know he’s just as eager as I am to be done with this trip. Transatlantic trips are never as much fun as they sound. At least we got lucky and landed earlier than planned.

A hand on my arm stops me, and I look over at Gabe to see what’s going on. With a grin on his tired face, he nods his chin toward the left of us, where a row of glass windows frame the terminal.

Several people are huddled together, some of them drawing on big pieces of cardboard, all of them either engrossed in their writing or talking to each other.

The laugh bubbles out of my mouth before I can stop it, making several of the heads turn my way.

Charlie is the first to overcome the shock, her eyes still wide, crinkling at the corners as her smile grows bigger. She looks tired, but gosh, it’s so good to see her. My gaze immediately flicks down to her chest, where her arms are tightly wrapped around a tiny blanketed bundle.

My heart expands, already anticipating to finally see her new baby boy for the first time in real life and not just on the phone or laptop screen.

I’m not sure who moves toward whom first, but in less than thirty seconds, Charlie has one arm around me, squeezing me as tightly as she can without crushing her precious baby.

“I’m so happy you’re here.” Her words fill a void in my heart that’s been getting bigger and bigger the longer I was gone from Brooksville.

“Me too.” I squeeze her one more time before pulling back, mirroring her big, goofy smile.

My dance team and I are at the halfway point of our tour, having just finished our European leg before we continue with our North American part over the next three months.

I didn’t think I’d ever be able to miss anyone as much as I’ve missed all of these guys.

Thankfully, Gabe’s been with me most of the time, turning the ache in my chest to a low simmer. He charms me around the clock with his never-ending attention and love confessions, on top of being my biggest cheerleader. He comes to almost all of my shows, despite me telling him more than once already that it must be getting boring.

He insists on loving it though, and not wanting to miss one moment of the “magic,” as he likes to call it.

And who am I to resist this man?

The sweetest, most precious squeak in the history of squeaks pulls my attention away from my best friend and down to her arms. Jaxon moves around for a moment before settling in again, happily sucking on a pacifier in his mouth.

“Look at him. He’s so beautiful.” I can’t pry my eyes off his perfect little face. Eyes closed, tiny button nose, and light-pink lips steadily sucking away. His brown hair matches Hudson’s, who I can hear talking to Gabe. I think, at least. I don’t feel like anything is more important right now than staring some more at this precious human being.

“Do you want to hold him?”

That gets my attention, and my gaze snaps up to Charlie’s. Her eyes are filled with wonder and excitement, completely overshadowing the dark circles under her eyes.

“Really?”

She nods, already getting ready to place Jaxon in my waiting arms.

“Hi, little monkey.” Unable to resist, I lean in closer, inhaling his intoxicating scent, and listening to his little gurgles and sucking noises.

Something makes me look up, straight into Gabe’s eyes, his gaze already on me.

There’s heat in them but also longing.

Seeing me with a baby probably just intensifies his baby hunger, but that’s okay. We’ve had several long conversations about our future together, and we agreed to wait a few more years before we settle down. It’s something that works for both of us and allows me to do a few more tours before deepening my roots in Brooksville and joining the academy as an instructor, much to Dahlia’s delight.

Lifting up Jaxon so I can snuggle him into my shoulder, I’m startled when Charlie shrieks before slapping her hand over her mouth. The damage has already been done though—Jaxon’s awake, spitting out his binky before crying into my shoulder.

This is, without a doubt, the saddest sound I’ve ever heard.

Charlie takes him back, shushing him, and magically pulling another binky out of her jacket pocket to put in his mouth. She keeps sending me silent glares, her frown threatening to leave a permanent mark on her face.

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