The Pickup (Imperfect Love 1)

Nick’s face lights up like a little boy who has just been told he can stay up late and eat too much candy. “You’re right…I can. And I have plenty of money now, so there isn’t a damn thing my dad could do to stop me.”

“Of course he can’t! Are you going to still major in English Lit?”

“Hell yes! And the first class I’m going to take will be the creative writing class I never got to take.”

“You can totally do it!”

I lay back down and wrap my arms around him. We lay together in silence for a few minutes, and I think about Nick and me and how far we’ve come from being the people we were in that hotel room almost a year ago.

“Hey Nick…”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I left with only a note to say goodbye.” And I am sorry. If I would’ve known he was looking for more, I never would’ve left the way I did. Yes, I was only looking for a one-night stand, but once we were together, I felt something more, and the thought scared me into running, never for a second believing he felt something as well.

“It’s all good, Brown-Eyes.” Nick gives me a kiss on my forehead, then on my nose. “Just please…in the future, if you’re going to leave a note, always tell me where you’re going so I can find you.”

“Deal! Now let’s look up colleges. With football ending this week, you can probably take an express spring class or even take a couple summer classes.”

Twenty

Nick

I’ve yet to take Olivia out on a date, and having her family here means we have willing babysitters. It’s Thursday night and we’re free for the evening after practicing all morning and going over tapes and plays this afternoon. I shoot a text to Stephen and ask if there’s any way he and Corrine can watch Reed. He texts me back that they would love to.

I put a call in to a recommended restaurant to see if it’s possible to have private seating. With the Super Bowl in three days, anywhere we go we’ll have fans trying to get photos and autographs. The paparazzi and media are everywhere. The manager tells me they can get us into a private booth near the back at seven o’clock, so I let Stephen know to come over to Olivia’s room at six.

I get back to her room—which might as well be mine since I’ve slept here every night—and she’s on the floor with Reed singing to him about baking a cake. He’s lying on a large blue blanket and his legs and hands are flailing every which way. Every day he becomes more alert…more like a real person. I can’t believe I almost gave up my right to watch him grow up.

Olivia looks up when she hears the door close. “Hey you. How was practice?”

“Good.” I drop onto the floor next to her and give her a quick kiss before leaning over and giving one to Reed. His face moves side to side as he makes a soft cooing sound that has me grinning. These two are quickly becoming my entire world.

“Why don’t you go shower while I watch him?”

Her nose scrunches up. “Do I smell that bad? I showered this morning.”

My fingers grip her nape, and I pull her into me, my mouth slanting over hers. “No, you don’t smell. We’re going out to dinner.”

“I thought you said you didn’t want Reed going out too much because of the media.”

“Not Reed. Just us. I’m taking you out on a date, and before you argue, your dad and Corrine are coming down to watch Reed while we go.”

“Hmm…” She taps her finger against her bottom lip. “A date, huh? Why do I feel like we’ve done this all wrong? Sex, pregnancy, foreplay, and now a date?” Her eyes light up telling me she’s joking, but I also know deep down the way all this played out bothers her.

“We’re not doing anything wrong. We’re doing things our way…our story, remember? We get to write the chapters. And this is chapter two: Date night.”

While she’s getting ready, her dad and Corrine show up. They take over with Reed, so I can get dressed. Once I’m ready to go, I rejoin them in the living room to wait on Olivia. She comes out of the bathroom about thirty minutes later, dressed in a pair of tight—extremely tight—dark jeans. She’s been working out every day—switching between yoga and Tae Bo—with Giselle in their living room, and it’s showing. The woman almost looks like her pre-pregnancy self. Her hips are a bit wider now, but there’s nothing wrong with giving a man something to hold onto. She’s wearing a teal off-the-shoulder sweater and some fuzzy-looking boots women always wear when it’s cold outside. Her hair is down in loose waves, and her makeup, like always, is the bare minimum. She looks breathtakingly beautiful except…