Bring Her On Page 18

  “Are you serious right now?”

  I chewed and put my burger down again. “No, I’m not serious, Echo. I’m not that much of an asshole.”

  Her eyes narrowed slowly. “But you’re a little bit of an asshole.”

  “I am. I’m an asshole who loves you.”

  She made the cutest squealing noise in the world and jumped off her stool and grabbed me into her arms. I had no choice but to be swept up by her.

  “Really? You love me?” She set me down on my feet and gazed into my eyes as the most adorable smile graced her lips.

  “Yeah, Echo, I love you. I think I’ve always loved you, from that first moment. It was like gravity shifted.” That was how it had felt, anyway.

  “I knew it too. Knew it when I saw you. I didn’t know who you were, or anything about you, but I knew I had to be around you. Near you. I’m so lucky you feel the same way.”

  I wanted to argue with her that I was the lucky one, but I couldn’t because she started kissing me and I was completely lost for a little while. There were hoots and hollers in the restaurant, and we broke apart and giggled.

  “I’m so glad you’re in my life, Kiri Kentwood,” she said.

  “I’m so glad you’re in my life, Echo Rosenthal. Even if you make it way more complicated.” She definitely did that. My life had been cozy and comfortable before her. There would be hard times together, I knew that. We would face obstacles together that would try and drag us apart. We’d managed to come back together after ten years though, and that was saying something.

  I wanted her by my side for the next ten years, and the years after that. Wherever she was, that’s where I wanted to be.

  “Do you think Murphy is going to be okay with having a few more siblings?” I asked as her fingers dug into my hips and made me think of all the things we were going to do to end this night right.

  “I think he’s going to have to get over it,” she said. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

  I shook my head. “No. Not yet.”

  I met Echo’s friends and she’d been right to warn me. They were a lot. I’d thought my friends were something, but hanging with Echo’s was on a whole other level. First of all, each one of them was more gorgeous than the last. I’d never seen so many beautiful people outside of a movie or an influencer group selfie.

  Then there was the absolute energy. They all talked over each other and riled each other up and had no issues with confrontation. I sat there a little stunned as two of them went at it about what appetizers we should order.

  “We fight about the small stuff so we don't fight about the big stuff,” Echo said.

  “Got it.”

  Once I adjusted, it was fine, but I definitely needed a few hours to recover after being around so much. Echo came home with me that night because my kitties had been showing some separation anxiety with me being gone so much.

  “But you’ll hang out with them again?” she asked as we curled together on the couch and she ran her hands on my undercut.

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll get used to it. They all seem really great.” That was the other thing about Echo’s friends: they were all seriously accomplished. Two of them had doctorates in fields I’d never even heard of, and one had just moved back to the U.S. after working overseas for a year for some tech company. A bunch of beautiful high achievers.

  “They are, and they all really liked you. Just so you know.” She pinched one of my toes and I yelped.

  “Good. They’re really intimidating, just so you know.”

  “I guess,” she said, thinking about that. “I guess I’ve just known them for so long that it doesn’t register.”

  “You’re intimidating, Echo.”

  She didn’t seem to be aware of the effect she had on people. Eyes went wide and followed her when she entered a room. People seemed to have opposite reactions: either they checked her out, or scurried to get out of her way.

  “I am not. That’s just silly.”

  “You are. Have you seen your arms?”

  Echo lifted one arm and flexed, muscles popping. “You mean this arm?”

  “Yup, that one. And the other one.”

  “These arms?” She flexed both and stuck her tongue out at me.

  “Mmmm, yes, those arms.” I lost my train of thought. All I could think about now was what those arms could do. Both of us forgot about her friends for a good long while.

  Somehow, even though I wasn’t coaching at the moment, I felt like I was busier than ever. Being in a relationship apparently took up a lot of time. I had to move things around and reprioritize. I’d gotten out of practice at dating.

  “I’m really bad at this,” I said as we rushed to get in the car. We were picking up Dom and Heath from the airport with Marissa. Katie and the rest of the gang were at the house, putting together a nursery. Katie had literally been storing shit in her garage since she found out they wanted to have a baby, even though she said she wouldn’t. Couldn’t help herself.

  All of us had chipped in to fund the nursery as our impromptu baby gift, but we were throwing a baby shower for them as well. Any excuse to buy more cute baby clothes.

  “Bad at what, baby?” Echo said, calmly waiting for me to get my shit together. I found my wallet at last, threw it in my bag, and we were out the door.

  “Bad at dating,” I said as I backed out of the driveway.

  “I don’t think you’re bad at dating. You seem to be doing well to me.”

  “You’re just saying that because you love me. You have to say that.” She laughed and turned the radio on.

  “And because I love you, I’m going to tell you that you need to be more confident in your abilities, Kiri.”

  I knew that. I knew she knew that. I knew she knew I was working on it.

  “Right, you’re right. Sorry.” I pressed my lips together to stop disparaging myself further. I hadn’t known how often I had negative thoughts about myself until Echo pointed it out, and I wanted that to change. I didn’t want to feel like shit about myself. I didn’t want to be so bad at handling compliments.

  “Hey, don’t apologize. It’s okay.” She took my hand, squeezed it, and then kissed it. “Which of my flaws should we talk about, just to make it fair?”

  “How about the fact that you put ketchup on everything? What is up with that? It’s disgusting. Also: you have got to start cleaning your hair out of my shower drain. It’s a real problem.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Okay, let’s go back to talking about your flaws, I don’t like this,” she said.

  We somehow managed to get to the airport and pick up the new dads with their tiny little bundle all wrapped up in a carrier. It was a comedy of errors as we all tried to get the damn thing in the backseat of the car, and much consulting of the internet for the right way to do it. Health and Dom were nervous as hell, and I couldn’t blame them.

  “Oh my god, this is the most stressed I’ve been driving since I took my driver’s test,” I said as I drove exactly the speed limit and cars honked and passed me in anger.

  “Just keep your eyes on the road, baby,” Echo said in the seat next to me. “I can take the wheel if you want.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m fine.” I looked in the rearview to see the new dads just staring in wonder at the sleeping baby.

  “Hey, Echo, how do you feel about kids?” I asked.

  “Other people’s kids, or my own?”

  “Your own,” I said. This was an important question, and I should have asked it sooner.

  “I’d like to have some. Not sure if I want to actually give birth, but yeah, kids would be great. What about you?” She was definitely nervous about the answer, but I was relieved.

  “I’m definitely up for kids someday. It’s always been my dream to coach my own kids. I’m sure they’ll hate it at the time, but I think it would be awesome. If they don’t want to cheer, that’s going to break my heart.”

  Echo laughed. “Same. It’s good to kno
w that you want kids. That’s kind of a big thing for me. I mean, if you didn’t, I’m not sure if we could move forward. I would never want to force someone to have kids they didn’t want. That’s basically what my parents did.” She shuddered.

  I hated any mention of her parents. I couldn’t wait for her to meet mine. They’d sweep her right into our family, whether she wanted it or not.

  “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t want that either. A few of my friends don’t want kids, but I definitely do,” I said.

  “Same page?” she asked.

  “Same page,” I said.

  We made it back to Heath and Dom’s without any incident, and there was a huge party and banner waiting for them. They both cried as they carried the baby through the house to the nursery, which was decorated in soft grays and yellows and with little animal decals on the walls, and a mobile with elephants and foxes on it.

  Dom held the tiny baby in his arms and placed her into her crib.

  “It’s perfect,” he said, holding Heath close. “Thank you all so much. This is exactly what we wanted.”

  He turned on the mobile, and the adults moved into the living area to let sweet Marissa sleep, but one of the dads had to check her every two minutes to make sure she was breathing, even though they had a baby monitor.

  “I’m so happy for you,” I said, giving Dom the biggest hug.

  “I’m so happy, but I'm so scared,” he said, his eyes a little wild. “I feel like I haven’t slept in a thousand years.”

  “Why don’t you and Heath go and take a few minutes? Everyone can watch her.”

  Dom shook his head vigorously. “No way. I don't trust anyone else with my daughter.”

  I put my hands up. “Okay, okay. But the offer is there.”

  Heath came back and informed Dom that Marissa was still breathing.

  The party was short-lived, since we didn’t want to intrude for too long on the exhausted dads’ hospitality. Echo and I stayed to help. She tackled the kitchen and put away the food that everyone had brought, and I threw their laundry in the wash.

  Heath fed Marissa while he rocked in the nursery, and Dom came out to grab one of the new burp cloths they’d received as a gift.

  “You’re doing so great,” I said as I moved some of the wash to the dryer.

  “I don’t feel like I am, but thank you. Just wait until it’s your turn. Have you and Echo talked about that yet?”

  I smiled. “We did today, but you were too busy with baby fever that you didn’t notice.”

  “Just you wait, K. Just you wait until it’s you. It’s fucking terrifying.”

  Marissa let out the tiniest of cries and Dom was gone, bolting to the nursery even though Heath was already there.

  “They’re so cute together,” Echo said when I finished the laundry and set the baskets of clean, folded clothes in Dom and Heath’s bedroom.

  “They are. You think we should head out?” Everything that could be done was done.

  “Yeah.”

  We said goodbye to the little family and headed back to my place.

  “So, how many kids are we talking?” Echo asked as we walked into the house. The cats did their usual scream welcome, but now they did it to both of us. They adored Echo, maybe more than they loved me.

  “You mean for us? Don’t you think it’s a little soon for that?” We’d been dating for less than a month. Even in lesbian terms, that was too soon.

  “I mean, it’s good to be on the same page, right?”

  She did have a point.

  “Two? Three? More than one, but not enough to form a basketball team,” I said.

  “What would you say if I said I wanted ten?”

  I almost fell over. “Are you fucking serious? You want ten kids?” My voice squeaked.

  Echo burst out laughing. “No, but it was totally worth it to see your face. No, I’m good with two or three.”

  “Thank fuck,” I said, putting my hand on my racing heart. “Don’t scare me like that.”

  She put her arms around me. “But it’s so much fun.”

  “Yeah, fun for you.”

  “Don’t pout, baby,” she said, and then she kissed me and bit my bottom lip. I stopped thinking about kids. “Come on, let’s go practice making a baby.”

  I gave her a look. “Do we need to talk about how babies are made?”

  “Do you want to be talking right now?” She stepped away from me and stripped off her shirt.

  “You can’t just take your shirt off to shut me up,” I said, crossing my arms and trying not to drool.

  “It works, though,” she said, undoing her bra and tossing it away. “Come on, follow the clothes.” Her shorts were next, and then her underwear. She paused right in front of my bedroom door and crooked her finger at me.

  “Come and get it.”

  “Yes, you will come,” I said, following her. Echo let me toss her on the bed, and then it was my turn to strip.

  I got naked and reached into the fun drawer. Echo had added her own supply of toys and I knew which ones were her favorites by now. We were both adventurous in the bedroom, so we were completely on the same page.

  “You ready?” I said, holding up the scarf.

  “I’m always ready for you.”

  “That’s what you think,” I said, and tied the blindfold around her face.

  A few hours—and a shower—later, we lay on my bed, passing a container of ice cream back and forth.

  “Do you always want to live in Maine?” she asked me. I paused, with my spoon about to dig out a big chunk of chocolate.

  “I don’t know. This is where I grew up, so I’ve never known anything different. I might be open to living somewhere else.”

  “Somewhere warmer, hopefully?” she asked.

  “My parents live in Arizona. I’m sure they’d love it.” Oh my god, what a nightmare. I loved them, but I couldn’t be around them like that all the time.

  “I’m thinking more like California. Or maybe Seattle?” she said.

  “It rains all the time there.”

  “A little rain never hurt anyone,” she said.

  We talked and argued and decided that we weren’t ready to move anywhere. Besides, we didn’t even live together yet.

  “How would you feel about giving up that gorgeous apartment?” This had been a sticking point for me. I adored my house, and I didn’t want to give it up. Plus, I’d have to sell it, which would take time if I went forward.

  “I think I could do it for the right person,” she said, scraping the bottom of the ice cream container.

  “Am I the right person?”

  She held the last spoonful of ice cream up for me. “Yeah, baby. You are. You’ve always been the right person. Just took me a long time to figure it out.”

  “That makes two of us,” I said. “But we got here in the end.”

  She set the empty container and spoons on my nightstand and kissed me. “This is right where I want to be. With you.”

  “Everything is better with you,” I said.

  Epilogue

  “Our second daughter!” my mom said after she’d hugged me. Echo and I had come to pick them up from the airport, and Echo had looked like a deer in the headlights, but she put her arms around my mom anyway.

  Dad was more subdued, but he hugged Echo as well.

  “I told you not to do that,” I said in my mom’s ear. “You promised.”

  Mom waved me off and Echo showed off her athletic prowess by loading the bags into the trunk of my car.

  “Are you okay?” I asked as my parents got in the backseat.

  “Yeah, it’s fine,” she said. “I’m really good, I promise.”

  “Just used the safe word if you need to bail.” That made her laugh.

  We were still together and my parents had come up, partially to help Echo move all her shit into my house. She’d given up the lease on her apartment, and we were moving in together. I’d gotten rid of some of my “old lady shit” as she called it, and so
she was moving some of her sleek and fancy pieces to my cottage. Our styles were completely different, but Katie was going to help us merge them somehow. Murphy had already moved in, and he got along with his kitty siblings really well.

  School was starting soon, and Echo was going to have a longer commute, but she swore she didn’t mind. She’d made a lot of sacrifices for me, so I was trying my best to give her space in our home.

  Meshing of two lives was bound to cause some bumps in the road, but we were committed. She was still going to coach the Bulldogs and I was still going to coach the Tigers. People would talk, there would be rumors, but we didn’t care. We were gross and in love and all that other crap didn’t matter.

  “So now that you’re living together, that means it’s not long until we’ll be having a wedding and then some grandbabies? I’m not getting any younger.” I locked eyes with my mother in the backseat. She had a terrifying gleam in her eyes.

  “Mom! Seriously. Too soon.” I looked at Echo, but she was trying to hide a smile.

  “I’m just saying,” Mom said, getting huffy.

  “Not the time, Mom. Can you just cool it?”

  She stared out the window. “Fine, fine.”

  Five minutes passed.

  “But can you maybe give me a timeline?” she asked.

  “Mom!”

  Acknowledgements: Wow, this book was fun to write. It was a bit of a whirlwind. When the Netflix series Cheer came out, I ended up spending two days watching the six-hour documentary twice. If you don’t know, I was a cheerleader in junior high and high school. I loved it. I still love it. There is a passion for cheer that still beats loudly in my heart. Someday, my dream is to coach.

  Well, I got bit by the cheer bug and I thought about writing a cheer book. Not a young adult book, I wasn’t looking to go in that direction (someday I might!), but what about another aspect of cheer? COACHES. So I took a shower, and the idea for this book was born. Within an hour I had a title, a basic plot, and I’d found the image for the cover. I completely changed my writing schedule for this book and I have no regrets.

  I have loved every second of writing this book from beginning to end. It has been a complete pleasure. I wanted to cram in as much cheer as I could get away with, along with some sexy things, of course. Kiri and Echo took me on a ride and I can’t believe my part of the journey is over.