What If I Told You I Love You

The ringing of my phone pulled me out of my peaceful sleep on an early morning in February. Without even opening my eyes, I grabbed my phone from the night stand and flipped it open, knowing there was only one person who would dare call me to wake me up.

"What!" I growled into the phone.

"I love that you're a morning person." Mel's cheery voice greeted me.

"God, Mel. Can you do me a favor and sleep in past 7?" I asked her, whispering for the sake of TJ, who was staying in the same room as me for our trip to Nashville.

I rolled over, looking at the blissful way he slept. His lips were slightly parted and his right cheek was resting on his pillow case because of the way he was turned towards me. His hand was draped over my waist and was once holding me to him, but I moved to get the phone, causing him to loosen his hold.

"What do you want this early anyway?" I asked her, raking my fingers through TJ's hair. He stirred a little bit but his breathing fell back to normal with my gentle strokes. He looked so amazing, even while he slept. It almost wasn't fair because I just knew my hair was all over the place and I had no make up on anymore. Great, that was sure to be attractive.

"When are you coming home?" Mel whined into the phone, "I miss you."

"No, you miss Bergie." I corrected her, laughing when she huffed out a sigh. "Is that what you called to tell me?"

"No, I was wondering if he was in the room with you." Mel asked.

"No, you moron. TJ doesn't room with him on the road anymore, remember?" I informed her, watching TJ's chest rise and fall. I smiled when some of his hair brushed across his forehead and he shuttered at the way it tickled his skin.

"Oh. Okay. So is TJ up?" She asked me. A devilish grin played onto my lips as I put her on speaker.

"I don't know," I lied, "let's find out."

I straddled TJ, pulling his face so that I could kiss him. "TeeeJaay" I called to him, placing butterfly kisses all over his face. I slowly made my way down his neck, nibbling at certain spots to lull him awake. I pressed my lips firmly to his, feeling him stir beneath me. Mel's laugh filled the room when she heard me cooing to him. "You're bad." She told me. I just rolled my eyes in response. No, if I had to get up, so did he.

TJ's eyelids fluttered as I made my way down his bare chest, trailing kisses up, down, and across his upper body. He refused to open his eyes but a different part of his body informed me that he was most definitely up. I smirked against his skin as his arms wound around my waist, holding me to his chest. I giggled when he grabbed my phone from the bed, eager to have some privacy.

"Bye Mel," TJ mumbled, pressing end before she could even respond.

"That wasn't very nice." I told him, sliding off the bed and gathering my stuff for a shower. I knew I was driving him crazy and I was going to enjoy this.

"Yeah, kind of like you being a tease." TJ mumbled.

I threw my head back and laughed at his obvious annoyance. He always got cranky when I messed with him. TJ got out of bed, not even trying to hide the disturbance I caused his body. He brushed past me, walking into the bathroom. I whirled around, ready to yell at him. But he held up his hand.

"Unless your going to take care of this?" He gestured to the front of his boxers, which I was trying to avoid looking at, "that's what I thought. I'm taking a cold shower." He shut the door before I could argue anymore.

I huffed out a sigh before I flipped the door off. I smiled smugly to myself, feeling some sort of satisfaction because even though he couldn't see me, I still told him. I jumped back into bed, pulling the covers up to my chest and turning the TV on. I aimlessly flipped through the channels, looking for something worth wasting my time on. I found The Notebook on one of the movie channels and I squealed in delight. The movie just got to the part where it's raining and Ally asks why Noah didn't write, when TJ emerged from the bathroom. He paused in the doorway, looking at the TV and then back at me.

"Are you serious?," He told me, pulling his shirt over his head. I swallowed, trying not to stare as the blue fabric slipped back over his chest and stomach. I just shrugged in response to the question and watched as Ally and Noah made out on the screen.

"Come watch with me baby," I patted the bed next to me and he grimaced when he looked back at the screen. "I'll wipe away any tears you cry." I told him, fluttering my eyelashes and sticking out my bottom lip. He gave a big sigh but he climbed onto the bed next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, and pulling me into his body. He was such a softy when it came to me.

"You smell good," I told him, rubbing my nose against his shirt, before turning back to watch the movie.

We watched the entire movie, just being lazy and laying together. I cried at the end when they died like I always do, but this time TJ was there to wipe them away. I rejoiced in how good it felt to have someone to do that for me. It made me feel complete, TJ made me feel complete, like a part of me had been missing until he came along.

"You are such a girl sometimes," TJ teased me lightly, wiping a few more tears off my cheeks.

"At least I have a heart," I countered, sticking my tongue out at him, and rolling my eyes.

"You should probably stop rolling your eyes so much. They are going to stay like that one day." He informed me, his eyebrows raised and his mouth twisted in amusement.

"Would you still like me?" I asked, looking down at our hands that were laced together.

"Of course I would," he told me, kissing the top of my head. "Hey, we gotta get going. The bus is going to leave soon."

The Blues ended up losing to Nashville in a tough 4-3 loss. But TJ did fine, earning an assist and ending the night with a +1 rating. I always felt a burst of pride when I saw him skating around on the ice, dropping guys and snapping the twine of the net. He played the game a lot like I used to and it was always fun to watch.

The team was forced to stay in Nashville for another night due to bad storms that were rolling through the town. I was freaked out by them but TJ seemed to love them. He stared out our hotel window and repeatedly told me how cool it was. That was until he turned around and saw the tears in my eyes.

"Oh hun, it's okay," TJ said, a smile forming on is face but he quickly squashed it as he walked towards me. I flicked him off as a laugh escaped his lips. "I'm sorry, I just don't understand how you can be afraid of something so fascinating." He continued, pulling me into his chest.

"Because it could cause my death," I snapped, "you aren't being very understanding." My bottom lip stuck out in my infamous pout.

"Come watch it with me," He spoke softly in my ear, "I'll protect you." Shivers ran up and down my spine as his hot breath on my neck made my body tingle. I nodded, but only because I wanted to be in his arms.

We watched the storm roll through the area, coming over us and then rumbling off to the east, leaving several puddles in it's wake. The second the thunder was no longer shaking the hotel, I let myself enjoy it just as much as TJ did. He was right, there was something amazing about the power the storms held, and the way they could change in an instant.

We flew back to St. Louis the following early the following morning. The day happened to be the 14th of February, Valentine's Day. TJ decided that he was going to get even cuter that day. He brought me Starbucks, and pampered me with kisses and a back rub on the plane. He carried my luggage for me and he didn't even complain when I said that I wanted to go home before we headed over to his apartment, to have a Valentine's dinner with Bergie and Mel. We all loved to get together and hang out since all of us were nearly inseparable with our partners in crime.

I took a quick shower while TJ waited for me downstairs. My dad had decided he was going to go see a movie, by himself, on a Saturday, on Valentine's day. It was obvious that he felt lonely, especially since I had been with TJ so much lately. He missed me and even though I did feel guilty about never being home anymore, It didn't make me stay home any more than before.

I pulled on a pair of skinny jeans and a cute, v-neck, red sweater that I had seen in a Victoria Secret catalog. It was great for accenting my boobage but not making me look like a total skank. I applied a light amount of makeup, just enough to highlight the natural beauty that I had received from my parents. I smiled at my reflection, enjoying the way my hair seemed to curl into natural curls with barely any mousse or hairspray. I leaned forward, putting on my mascara and then trading it for my eyeliner.

"Why are you putting that crap on?" TJ asked from his position, leaning against the door jam

I just shrugged, continuing to line my eyes with the black pencil, "because it makes me look perrttty." I gave him a huge grin, flashing my teeth and fluttering my newly mascaraed eyelashes. TJ just rolled his eyes and crossed my large bathroom.

"You don't need it, hun. I love the way you rolled out of bed this morning. Disheveled, totally undone, no make-up, just you. Thats how I love you, thats how I want you." His voice lowered, taking a sexy edge to it as his lips crashed onto mine.

My heart started to beat wildly in my chest and my mouth went completely dry. It didn't matter how many times TJ kissed me, I would always get the same reaction. Some days I felt the need to pinch myself just to make sure all of this was real.

"We are going to be late," I murmured against his lips, not really wanting him to pull away when he did.

"I guess you're right," He said, tugging me out of the bathroom and running down the stairs with me. I laughed, enjoying being pulled around by such a fantastic guy.

We drove the short distance to TJ's apartment, just chatting about random things. TJ had a smile on his face the whole drive to his apartment and that sent off the alerts in my brain that he was up to something. It was the way his mouth was turned up at the corners but his muscles were tight, trying to cover his obvious happiness.

His smile only got bigger when we pulled in the parking lot of his building and it spread out into a full on grin when we walked out of the elevator and onto his floor. He shoved the key into the lock, flipping it and throwing the door open. But when the door swung open, and he registered the people who littered his living room, he let out a loud groan.

"Now TJ, is that any way to great you parents and siblings?" A blonde woman asked him, crossing the room towards us.

Parents? FUCK.