She laughed and said, “Yeah, I guess there really is no place like home.”
When I was ready, we both walked out of the bedroom and headed downstairs. I was a little caught off-guard with how many people were there. There could have been at least a hundred different guests.
As soon as we were down we were flooded with people greeting us, congratulating Amy, commenting on how beautiful we were and how nice our dresses were. It was a little nauseating but also heart-melting just to see how many friends we had.
That was when I saw Jackson hanging out with the one man I never thought I’d see again. Awkwardly for me, they both spotted me and my brother hauled me close before I could run off and engage with someone else for a conversation.
I stood there like an idiot, moping around and looking down at my feet instead of greeting my brother and Damon eye-to-eye.
“Hey, little sister,” Jackson greeted as he pulled me over. “Damon’s here too.”
“I can see that,” I told my brother with the driest, most sarcastic tone I could muster. I then looked up at Damon real quick and gave him a smile.
“It’s nice to see you. Uhm, I got to go though, okay? Amy’s making rounds with her family guests and I need to go with her.”
“Oh no, no, let me do that,” Jackson told me as he gave me a wicked wink and smile. He pushed me back towards Damon and whispered into my ear, “He’s single now. Here’s your
chance, sis.”
I rolled my eyes and watched desperately as he walked away. I then looked back at Damon with a weak grin, “Well, how have you been doing?”
He looked back at me with squinted eyes and it took a moment for me to realize he was checking me out. I blushed and looked down in an attempt to hide my face. He didn’t settle for that, though, and lifted my face up with a finger.
“I’ve been doing pretty well,” he replied. “You’ve been out of the country for so long. I hope you’ve still been able to watch my games over there in France.”
I bit down on my lip and gazed back at him. Even after five years, he was still as handsome as one could ever be. Just being this close to him made me feel a little warm and uneasy. I felt this heavy knot in my chest but at the same time, I once again felt a little queasy between the legs.
“I-I have, actually,” I admitted. I looked up shyly and teased, “To be honest, I still watch your games religiously.”
That confession took him back and I saw his face twist with both surprise and joy. He then took my hand and asked, “Say, how about we sit down somewhere and get some drinks to catch up, eh?”
I nodded and let him lead me off. We passed by Trevor and Jasmine Wild, folks I really admired, and he took me to the gazebo out in the back yard. No one was there, surprisingly, as most of our guests were across the yard having barbecued snacks and beer.
Once we were alone I turned to him and asked, “Will you be staying here long? I’m going to stay here for a few months. I don’t really know what I want to do now that I’m done with France.”
“I’m free for a month or two,” Damon answered. “The next NFL season is still a long way off but the agents want us to be training soon. I did sign a contract with my manager and the team but to be honest… I’m getting a little sick and tired of it.”
“Really?” I looked at him with surprise. I never thought I’d hear him say that. “Isn’t football your life?”
He shrugged and shot back, “Wasn’t your hotel business in France your life too? You gave it up to come back here. I’m thinking of doing the same thing –”
Damon barely got to finish speaking when a little four-year old boy came running into the gazebo with his arms wide open. I hugged the child and sat him on my lap.
“Jeremy, this is Damon,” I told the young boy. “Be a good boy and say hi.”
“Okay mommy,” Jeremy answered and he turned to Damon. He reached out to shake Damon’s hand and said, “I’m Jeremy. Are you friends with my mommy?”
Damon looked at my kid with wide eyes. It must have been so shocking for him to see me with a kid. He took Jeremy’s hand, shook it and stuttered back, “Yes, I am. We went to school together. How old are you?”
My son smiled back at Damon and replied, “Four. Okay, I got to go now. We’re playing cops and robbers.”
Without so much as a wave goodbye he dashed off to play with his friends. I watched a bit just to make sure he wouldn’t stumble while running. When I saw him reunite with the other kids I turned to Damon. I was surprised to see him studying my son with observant eyes.
“Yeah, shocking huh?”
Damon nodded and said, “Yeah, it is. I never thought you’d be a mommy.”
“Me neither,” I said, perhaps with a tone too melancholic for my liking. We both felt it and a moment of silence passed between us.