Page 73 of Skating the Blue Line
And her and Christian bonded over their shared experiences of growing up in a Latino household. It was in that conversation that I learned that Chloe comes from a mixed family.
I learned so much about her in such a short time, that I didn’t know that I should be pissed or glad that she was sharing all this information with my friends and not with me.
I’m going with glad.
No matter what, I’m still learning about this woman, and it shouldn’t matter how I do.
Somewhere close to nine at night, my teammates and Sophia head home and it’s just me and Chloe left sitting on the couch, eating a pizza we had ordered.
I’m about to grab another slice, my cheat meal of the week, when Chloe leans over and presses a kiss against my cheek.
For a solid second I sit there frozen trying to comprehend what just happened.
I eventually unfreeze and turn to the woman next to me.
“What was that for?” I ask, a smile playing on my lips.
“A thank you,” she answers shyly. I raise an eyebrow at her in question. “For today. You didn’t have to pull out all the stops, but I definitely appreciate it. It’s like a little piece of home.”
She looks around the room in awe, like she has a love for Christmas, and I knocked it out of the park.
“You’re welcome.” I say, reaching over and giving her knee a squeeze.
If she likes what we did today, she will love my mom’s house.
Which springs up an idea.
“You don’t have to say yes to this, but do you want to go with me to my parents for Christmas?”
She looks at me a little shocked. “Would that be a good idea? Do they know?” her hand falling to her stomach.
I don’t think I have seen her do that before.
“They know and I know they would love to meet you, no matter our situation. So if you would like to, we can go down for a few days and celebrate Christmas.”
I’m not the one that came up with the idea. My mom actually called and asked me to bring Chloe for the holiday when I talked to her earlier in the week.
Honestly, I was going to turn her suggestion down, not wanting to throw Chloe into something unknown. Now that I think of it, it might be a good idea though.
“You wouldn’t mind? I don’t want to intrude on your family time. Besides, I was going to ask Betty if I could celebrate with her family.”
A part of my heart breaks at knowing that I wasn’t going to be her option number one.
I give her a nod. “No, I wouldn't mind at all. I want you to come.”
I should let her go with Betty. I should let her stay here and celebrate with her friend but a selfish part of me wants her near me and within arm’s reach.
Chloe thinks about it for a moment and I’m almost positive she is about to say no, she gives me a smile.
“I would love to go with you. But you can’t be over-barring when I do things.” She throws an accusatory finger at me.
“When have I been over barring?” I haven’t been too bad, have I?
“Every time I cook, clean, or even try to do my own laundry. The doctor told me to rest, he didn’t put me on bedrest.”
Okay, maybe I have been a little over-barring. But only because I want her to be healthy.
“Fine, I won’t be over barring. At least not while we’re with my parents. Inside these four walls is fair game.”
