Playing House

When I woke up, I was in my bed. I sat up a little, and tried to remember what had happened before I fell asleep. All the fort stuff came crashing back to me and I got out of bed. I poked my head into the living room, where Ben was coloring with the kids.

“Hey,” I greeted. All three of them turned to look at me.

“Hey,” Ben replied, standing up and walking over to me. The twins just kept coloring. “You were like, knocked out, and I felt bad waking you up. So, I let you have some much needed sleep.”

“Thanks,” I smiled. “I needed it more than I thought, apparently. Thanks for watching them,” I said, motioning to my children.

“Oh, that was definitely no problem. They’re great kids,” he replied. We both watched them color for a little before he turned to me again. “I talked to a few of my teammates. They said they’d help with the move. They’re bringing a bunch of boxes over now for you to have for whenever you start packing.”

Then, forty-five minutes later, just like Ben said, five of Ben’s teammates brought a crap load of boxes to my apartment. I met Adam Burish, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, Marty Havlat, and Duncan Keith. My kids, especially Beau, were on sensory overload.

I know they’re only two, but they are diehard Hawk fans.

Okay, maybe not diehard, but they like watching it with me.

And when Ben told them they all played for the Hawks, they freaked out.

Beau started jumping all over them and shooting out millions upon millions of questions, while Madeline just jumped all over them while giggling. Ben grinned and walked over to me while his teammates kept my children busy.

“So, when did you want to do this?” He asked.

“Well, that all depends on when you want me to start,” I shrugged.

“Uh, well, as soon as you can, I guess,” he noted. I nodded and grabbed a box.

“I’d better get started then,” I smiled.

“Do you want help?” Ben asked, suddenly very close to me.

“Sure,” I nodded, smiling again.

All the other guys started helping me too, except Marty. He was watching the kids, because they liked listening to him talk with his accent. He would say something, and completely send them into a fit of giggles.

A few hours later, I was surprised to find most of my stuff packed away. It was more than likely that I’d be completely moved into Ben’s within a few days.

Sure enough, just a couple days later it was moving day. By now, I had met all of Ben’s teammates, and many of them were helping with the move. I couldn’t figure out why they were all putting in so much effort for their teammate’s new maid. I mean, this shouldn’t be as big of a deal as they were making it, right?

Well, either way, I was grateful. I had a job, my employer loved my kids, I would be living in a freakin’ mansion, and my employer was uber-gorgeous. What more could a girl ask for?

Well, a father for my children would be nice, but besides that.

So, as the guys were all unloading my stuff from the moving truck, I was sitting with Maddie and Beau just hanging out in Ben’s living room. Actually, Beau was constantly hovering around Ben, mimicking his movements, so Ben would give him little odd jobs to do to feel like he was helping with the moving. I offered to help, but none of the guys would let me.

Not that I minded watching a bunch of buff men carry heavy boxes. I didn’t mind one bit.

A lot of my stuff, like my plates and silver ware and a few pieces of furniture just went in Ben’s basement, since there was no use for it anywhere else. I didn’t want to get rid of it though, just in case.

Eventually all my stuff was unloaded, and I just had to unpack it whenever I got the chance. The other guys had left, and Ben collapsed next to me on the couch. Beau was borderline about to fall asleep in my arms, and Madeline was staring at the TV.

“Hey,” I smiled.

“Hey,” he replied. He looked at Beau and smirked. “He’s done for.”

I smiled down at him and ran my fingers through his hair.

“Thanks for including him today,” I told him. “He really enjoyed it."

“No problem,” he said to me. Suddenly, Maddie jumped up into the couch and looked at me like she wanted something.

“What’s up baby girl?” I inquired. She pointed at the TV, and then looked at me again. “Apparently she doesn’t like the news,” I noted. Ben laughed, grabbing the remote.

“I think I have something she’ll like,” Ben said, going to his ‘on demand’ button. He went to the kids section and hit the TV show Madeline.

She sat there for a moment, not understanding what was going on, but once she realized she and the main character shared the same name her eyes got as wide as saucers.

A grin broke onto her face and she giggled.

Ben and I laughed at her excited-ness, and she crawled onto his lap and then pushed herself up so that she was nose to nose with him. She touched her forehead to his, and then pulled back and smiled. She continued to stare at him, waiting, and he looked at me confused.

“That’s how she says thank you,” I said softly. “With her forehead.” He looked back over to her and kissed her forehead.

“You’re welcome, Madeline,” he told her. She contentedly settled down on his lap and continued to watch her show.

Meanwhile, I, being the emotional wreck I always was when it came to my children, was trying to hold back tears. No guy had ever been this sweet with my children, not even their father. And here was Ben, and even his teammates too, and they were all just so perfect.

Thankfully by the time Ben looked at me again, I had composed myself.

“What do you want to do for dinner?” He asked.

“Aren’t I supposed to be asking you that?” I replied, raising a teasing eyebrow. “Aren’t I supposed to cook for you?”

“Oh, uh, well,” he stammered. “When I told my aunt I was looking for a housekeeper, I jokingly added ‘It wouldn’t hurt if she could cook.’ But I was kidding. Not that I wouldn’t mind some home cooked meals…but not tonight. I’m hungry, and I’m hungry now.”

Get your mind out of the gutter Amalia. Get your mind out of the gutter. Get your mind out of the-

“Pizza?” He asked, snapping me out of it.

“Sure,” I murmured. He grabbed his cell phone and ordered it in for delivery. I woke Beau up, not wanting him to sleep through dinner. He watched Madeline with his sister, and had the same reaction as she did when he made the name connection.

A few hours later we had all eaten and were sitting on the couch again and watching TV. Beau and Maddie fell asleep on the floor, and I noticed it was getting late.

“I should get them to bed,” I said to Ben. He didn’t answer, so I looked over at him. He was sleeping too, and he looked so adorable. I bit my lip and shook him lightly. “Ben,” I whispered, smiling. He grunted awake, and looked at me. “Sleepy?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, rubbing his face. “All that moving wore me out.”

“Sorry to wake you, but I should get them to bed,” I repeated. He looked over at them sleeping on the carpet in front of the TV.

“Oh, yeah. Of course. Come on,” he said, getting up and scooping them both into his arms.

“Oh, I can take-”

He turned around and shot me a look, silencing me.

“I can handle it,” he smiled. I bit my lip and nodded, following him upstairs. Both of the rooms were guest rooms, but thankfully they had set up Beau and Maddie’s room to suit them. It was a temporary fix, but I could unpack their stuff tomorrow. He set them in bed and tucked them in, since they were already in clothes they could sleep in. They were both out cold though, so they didn’t care either way.

He kissed them both on the forehead, which made me swoon.

No joke. I swooned.

He pulled back and started setting up their night light, and while he did that I gave them my own kisses. We left the room soon after and he showed me where they had set me up.

“Hope this is good for you,” he said, ushering me inside.

“Perfect,” I smiled. He pointed out where his room was and then stood awkwardly in my doorframe.

“Well, uh. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” I replied. He left and I shut the door behind him, getting ready for bed. Once my head hit the pillow I was out like a light, until I suddenly jolted awake.

My vision was kind of cloudy, and rubbing my eyes didn’t help. There was an urge in the pit of my stomach to go check on Beau and Maddie, but I was reluctant to get up. The bed was just, so warm. I eventually sighed and got up, letting my maternal instincts get the best of me. I cracked their door open and there they both were, sleeping soundly.

I breathed a sigh of relief and shut the door, heading back to my room.

“Couldn’t sleep?” I heard. I knew it was Ben, but it still startled me. Plus, there was this fog in my vision that kept me from seeing him clearly.

I must’ve forgotten to take my contacts out before going to bed.

“Yeah, just worried about the kids I guess. You know, with the new environment and everything,” I told him. He approached me and that’s when I saw he was only in sweatpants. He didn’t halt in his steps though, he just kept coming toward me. I looked at him strangely, backing up against the door to my room. He suddenly pressed his body against mine and his lips captured mine soon after. I nearly melted on the spot. He reached blindly behind me for my doorknob, and we both went tumbling into my room. He closed it hurriedly behind him, attacking my lips once more.

He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around him, not breaking the kiss. We both collapsed onto the bed, and then-

I woke up.

I had to blink a few times, before it all registered with me.

It was a dream? Damn. That explained the ever present haze I was in.

I laid there and stared at the ceiling, breathing heavy. There was no way I was going to get back to sleep after that.

I had an urge to check on the children, much like in the dream, but this time I hopped out of bed right away. I mean hey, what if my dream was like, a premonition?

I definitely wasn’t going to miss that.

I approached the kid’s room, and was a little surprised to see the door slightly ajar. Had we left it open?

I opened the door a little more and peeked inside.

The beds were empty.