Love Was Easy When We Didn't Make It So Hard

"Sleep tight, baby boy." I murmured to Jordan as I put him down for his afternoon nap, thankful that he decided to take one compared to the last couple days where he was too edgy and crabby to be put down. I thought he would make a fuss again because his dad still wasn't home from practice, but he surprised me and fell asleep while he was playing with his toys on the floor.

I pulled the door shut quietly after making sure the baby monitor was on before I headed down the stairs, yawning as I stretched out my muscles. I looked around the kitchen, frowning at the pile of dishes that had accumulated from last nights dinner when we had another couple on the team over. I spent the next twenty minutes unloading and then loading the dishwasher, swiping the counters off with a wet cloth as well. I gave Gabby fresh water before grabbing my book and plopping down on the couch, waiting for Eric to walk through the door.

He came home a half hour later, chatting on the phone, dressed in all of his Bears gear, laughing as he waved to me with his fingers that weren't occupied by his fingers. I smiled at him before dropping my gaze again, but watching to make sure he didn't drop his bag in my clean kitchen. He didn't, knowing well enough to jog briefly up the stairs to throw it in our bedroom closet- on his side of course. When he came back down, he was off the phone and changed into a t-shirt and the same pair of sweats. My eyes fell right to his upper lip though, where the dreaded no shave November stache was still present. I tried to tell him earlier in the week that November was over, so he could feel free to shave, but he actually liked the way it looked. I didn't.

"Jord is out. I went in there to check on him and give him a kiss. He didn't move at all when I was running my hand over his head. He must be exhausted." Eric chuckled as he plopped onto the couch next to me, taking a sip of the water I had on the coffee table. I gave him a look before shaking my head at him and returning to my book. "I've been gone all day and you're going to read that book instead of talk to me?" He pouted, nose wrinkling up as he grabbed it from my hands, dog-earing a page before throwing it onto the ground.

"It's a good story." I shrugged, snuggling into his side as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, holding me just the way I liked it. I rested my head against his shoulder, sighing quietly and gently tracing hearts onto his thigh.

"What's it about?" He murmured, tangling his hand into my hair and beginning to massage the muscles at the very base of my skull.

"About two people falling in love." I shrugged. "You know, the best kind of story." I gave him a grin as he kissed my nose softly, my eyes fluttering shut and I sighed contently. This felt so right, so perfect. Being with him like this, doing something so simple, felt like the best feeling in the world. I wouldn't trade this or our life for anything, not even for a perfect relationship with no conflicts or quarrels. That wasn't perfect anyway, I would rather fight with him than be perfect with anyone else.

"Sound like us." He mused softly as I tucked my head under his chin, closing my eyes as he fell back against the couch, pulling me so that I was laying against his chest. I sighed and placed my hand against the opposite side of his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart and looking at my large wedding ring.

"Tell me a story." I requested quietly, wanting to hear his chest vibrate when he spoke.

"About what?" He asked me, fingers tugging gently at the tangles in my hair.

"I don't know. Pick something. A story from practice, or something, just talk to me." He chuckled quietly but began to speak.

"Well, Adam called me yesterday and he had some news for me that I thought you would be interested in. Apparently, he bought a certain kind of ring, for a certain lady in his life, who has been dropping hints about a certain event that she wants to happen."

"No kidding?" I murmured, "I guess I expected them to tie the knot earlier. When is he going to do it?" I asked.

"It seems to me like he is a little freaked out to do it, which makes sense eve if he knows she is going to say yes. I understand the pressure of wanting it to be perfect." He laughed, making me bounce lightly on his chest.

"Well he should do it soon if he doesn't want to be overshadowed by some news I know." I insisted, drawing a heart over his pec.

"What is that?" He asked, moving me over an inch so that his arm could move better.

"Kara is pregnant again." I told him, peaking my head up so that I was looking down into his face.

"Really? Wow, they make fast work." He chuckled. His laughter began to die when he saw that I wasn't laughing, making his eyebrows furrow. "What?" I sighed and shook my head, looking across the room before wrinkling my nose. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know." I bit my lip. I looked down at his chest, not wanting to look into his brown eyes. He nudged me though, making my eyes meet his. He tilted his head to look at me as I rolled my eyes. "Maybe I'm jealous." I wrinkled my nose again.

"You're jealous that Kara is having another baby?"

"Yes, okay! I don't know why! I know Jordan is still too young and we haven't even really experienced all that there is with parenthood, but I'm jealous that she is about to have another bundle or joy." I huffed out, reluctantly looking into his eyes.

"Honey, I want more children, but we haven't even gone through the terrible twos yet." He chuckled lightly, being cautious because he knew I was serious about how I felt.

"I know, but that doesn't change the bouncing of my ovaries every time you walk into the room." I huffed out, pouting down at him as he chuckled.

"Well, I can think of a way we can sooth them until we're ready for more children." His voice was rough and raspy as he pulled my lips down to his, hands beginning to wander to inappropriate places that made my nipples harden immediately.

"Please." I whimpered to him, pulling my knees up so that they were even with his hips and I was straddling his lap. His tongue probed at mine as I moaned loudly, our heat reaching one another through the layers of our pants.

"Here? Or bedroom?" He asked against my neck as I began to pant.

"Here." I whimpered to him as his hands slid up my shirt, brushing over my hard nipples over the satin of my bra. I arched my swollen breasts into his hands, tilting my head back and letting out a long moan.

"Baby." He whispered breathlessly, tearing my shirt over my head and throwing it to the floor, before grabbing my breasts and smashing his face into them. His wet tongue traced a line along my skin against the edge of my bra, making me squirm as I unclipped it, the bands slacking. He tugged the fabric off, groaning as my breasts and ruby red nipples were exposed to him. He pulled one of the tight buds between his teeth, making me grip his shoulders for support as warmth pooled in my panties.

"Eric." I groaned out his name, stretching out the letters as I tilted my head back, opening my eyes and holding his head against my chest. He grinned and flicked his tongue out again, making me squeal in delight as he flipped us quickly so that I was laying back against the couch. I was still overcoming the surprise when he was pulling off my yoga pants along with my panties.

"You kill me with those pants." He groaned as he looked down at my slick flesh, making the anticipation build inside my body. He looked at me as he lowered his face, making my eyes open wide as his tongue made one pass over my sensitive skin.

"Oh god!" I groaned out as his thick fingers teased my opening, making my eyes squeeze shut as he thrust them into me. I couldn't breathe as his mouth dipped down, sucking and tugging my skin into his mouth, making my head tilt back as I screamed out in pleasure. My hands were tugging his hair in fist fulls, glad he had let it grow out for now, as my abdominal muscles began to twitch. My hips jerked off the couch as he grinned, sucking harder and thrusting deeper as my orgasm gripped my being and his fingers.

"Damn." Eric wheezed as I tried to yell to him how good it felt. My chest was heaving and I swear stars were dancing before my eyes as they crossed before sliding shut.

"Fuck." I breathed out, taking in a shaky breath as I let go of his hair, allowing him to pull away. "Eric." I shook my head as he grinned, crawling on top of me and giving me a cocky tilt to his lips.

"I know, I know. I just rocked your fucking world." He snapped his teeth as he nipped at my neck. I rolled my eyes, trying to form the words I wanted to say to him. "My turn."

"No." I insisted, a grin pulling at my lips as he reared his head to look at me, frowning deeply.

"I can not suffer with this for more than a couple minutes."

"You need to do something before I'm letting that go anywhere near me." I insisted, reaching for my pants and t-shirt pulling them on as Eric watched with frantic eyes.

"What!? this is not fair!" He huffed as he tried to keep me on the couch unsuccessfully. He whined as he watched me walk towards the stairs, giving him a come-hither look.

"Shave your stache, and you can have your way with me as many times as you want, Decker." I winked at him, licking my lips slowly before running my tongue along my teeth. I had his undivided attention as he watched, transfixed by my actions, before he bolted up from the couch.

"Get your ass in bed." He growled as he bounded past me up the stairs, slapping my ass and giving it a firm squeeze as he went.

I laughed loudly, my shoulders shaking as I wheeled my way into the bedroom, diving onto the bed as I watched from the open doorway as he slapped shaving cream on the hair I hated.

"Tick tock." I snapped loudly, grinning like a cat as he threw me a glare, razor poised over his upper lip.

"Quiet." He insisted, before he began to shave it off, the hair finally disappearing into the sink.

"I'm trying to make sure you get some before your son wakes up." I shrugged, knowing we probably had about a half hour to finish our deeds.

"Either way, I'm taking you in two minutes. He can wait." Eric growled, splashing water on his face before scrubbing the towel over his face. I braced myself as he pounced onto the bed, shirt thrown on the floor as he grabbed at my shirt, practically tearing it from my body. I yelped as he pulled my nipple between his lips again as I laughed at the teasing touch of his tongue.

"Mmm." I pushed out through my lips as I reached down to grope at the bulge of his package. He jerked his hips up into my hand, whimpering for release as I fingered his waistband teasingly. "Come here." I murmured as I wrapped my hand around the base of his hot length.

"Yes." He hissed loudly, groaning as he melted into my touch. He began to thrust into my hand, warning me that he needed me now, just like I needed him.

"Come on baby boy." I murmured, tugging him away from my chest where he had laid his forehead in surrender. I helped him shove his pants down his legs, smiling as he began to nip at my neck, knees in between my spread legs as he wrapped them around his waist.

"I am so in love with you. It takes my breath away." He whimpered as he thrust slowly into me, his sentence ending with a loud, long, strangled groan. I let out a moan as he slid all the way to the hilt, his hot, pulsing length gently brushing against the spot that unwound me.

"Oh, Eric." I breathed out, eyes screwing shut tightly as I wrapped my arms around his neck, moving my hips in rhythm with him. "Fuck." I hissed out as he began to pull out only to thrust himself all the way in once again. My eyes stayed shut as our breathing quickened immediately, both of us being pushed forcefully towards the cliff.

"B-babe, I'm g-going..." He didn't get to finish as I arched my back and he arched his hips further into me, both of us letting out long, loud moans. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as my fingernails dug into his skin as he pumped his way through both of our orgasms. He let out a happy sigh as he pulled out of me, falling onto his sigh as he rolled my over with him. "That was incredible." He moaned out, kissing my forehead numerous times as I grinned softly.

"You're incredible." I told him, kissing the underside of his chin. He closed his eyes as he left out a soft mhm of approval, fingers stroking at my bare back. "Give me a kiss." I whined, propping myself up and kissing his puckered lips softly. His eyes turned into tiny slits as he looked at me, throwing a sleepy smile my way.

"Love you." He mumbled, eyes dipping shut as I shook my head at him, kissing the corners of his mouth before tucking my head against his shoulder.

"I love you too, baby. Sleep tight."
***

I walked off of the airplane in Tampa Bay, Florida, holding Jordan in his carrier. Today was Jordan's first birthday and it was also Eric's first playoff game against the Tampa Bay Bucs. It was kind of a crappy time of year for Jordan to have a birthday which we figured out on his actual day of birth last year. But Eric insisted that he was not going to miss out on a milestone of this kind like the previous year, and flew both of us down to Florida.

"Are you excited to see daddy?" I asked Jord as we made our way down the terminal to where Eric was supposed to be waiting for us. Jordan cooed his happy response to me, excited after his plane ride where he had been surprisingly good. I expected him to be restless and fussy, but he fell asleep shortly after takeoff.

I made my way down to our baggage claim area, looking on the way for Eric and sighing when I didn't see him. I bit my lip, rolling my eyes at how he could never be on time. I set Jordan down, stretching my arm and waiting for my suitcase while adjusting my carry-on that had all of Jordan's stuff in it. I saw my red luggage spinning around the metal contrapment, grabbing Jordan and reaching for it. A large hand beat me to it, his other one braced on the small of my back as he pulled the heavy bag off the carousel.

"Hey beautiful." He grinned at me, pecking my lips before handing me the coffee he had set on the ground in order to grab my bag. "And my little, big man!" He crouched down before Jordan who squealed with delight when he saw his dad. "Happy birthday bud!" He exclaimed, wiggling his fingers against our son's potbelly tummy. "We're going to have fun today. We're going to take you to the beach so you can swim in the ocean. Then we'll go out to dinner and get you a big cupcake that you can smash into your face. Daddy will get you hopped up on sugar before the game and then you can crash in mommy's arms during the game. How does that sound?" He asked as he buckled him into the Range Rover he had rented so we could go out. Jordan cooed to his dad, reaching for his nose and grinning when Eric honked at him. I laughed and settled into the passenger seat as Eric ran around the car to get in as well.

"How was the flight?" He asked once we were on the road, heading to drop our stuff off at the hotel before heading down to the beach. We had a view of the Gulf from our room and I couldn't wait to spread out on the light sand.

"It was fine. Jordan was great; he slept basically the whole way. He was a little freaked out when we took off, but he didn't cry once I started talking to him. He was startled when we landed though. It was kind of funny to watch him jump in his car seat." I giggled as Eric smiled softly, eyes on the road. "Is everything okay with your coach?" I asked nervously, wondering if we really had the clear for him to be with us the whole day.

"For the most part. I already had practice and our meeting. A bunch of the guys are in the hotel, but a few are roaming around town. Coach doesn't mind as long as I play well tonight and am back within a reasonable time to catch the bus to the arena. We'll have a few hours." He shrugged his shoulders, looking over at me as I smiled.

"I'm glad he was nice enough to let you out of his clutches." I giggled as we pulled into the hotel parking lot. Eric threw the car in park, smiling and leaning over the console to kiss me.

"I'm glad you two are here." He mused against my lips. "I would feel terrible if I missed today like I almost did last year." He blushed sheepishly.

"You made it and that is all that matters." I reminded him.

We headed into the hotel, throwing our stuff down and changing quickly into our beach gear. I pulled on a navy blue bikini along with a white cover up, throwing my hair up into a bun and my sunglasses on my head. I grabbed a pair of flip flops before checking on Eric's progress with change Jordan. I laughed as the baby squirmed away from his dad on the bed, crawling about and giggling at the game he was playing with Eric.

"Okay, I know its your birthday, but you don't get to do whatever you want." Eric glared, hopping onto the bed and pulling Jordan against his chest so he couldn't move. Jordan looked down as his dad pulled on his little swimmers along with his fishy swim trunks before a matching fishy t-shirt. "Why do you make him wear this?" My husband wrinkled his nose at me, eyes narrowed in distaste as he fastened the hat on our son's head.

"It protects him from the sun." I shrugged, grabbing the sunscreen and beginning to rub it into Jordan's soft skin. He stayed still and watched with pursed lips, making both Eric and I giggle as Eric got his face while I got his arms and legs.

A few minutes later we were down along the beach, white sand squishing under our sandals as Jordan pointed and screeched when he saw the beautiful, blue water. We set up out spot a few yard up the beach from the water, an umbrella, two towels and two chairs along with some beach toys for Jordan. The baby crawled in the sand, patting at it and wondering why he was sinking as he crawled about. He didn't dare try to walk on the unfamiliar surface as he looked up at his dad, grasping his calf softly.

"Do you want to go swim bud?" Eric asked as I plopped down in my chair, looking at my two boys from behind my sunglasses. Eric scooped up the baby, heading towards the water and asking if I was coming.

"I'm too lazy." I chuckled, waving him along. "Be careful, Eric."

"I know, Ry." He insisted, giving me an eye roll that I didn't have to see to know he was doing.

We spent the next few hours in and out of the water, tanning and talking, and eating ice cream which Jordan loved. True to his word, Eric had a cupcake ready for Jordan along with a candle that we helped him blow out when he got distracted by a puppy walking by. Jordan smashed the sweetness into his face, laughing when he saw the two of us smiling at our bundle of joy. We ate a lunch of sandwiches and popsicles, cooling off in the deliciously warm weather. I made sure to lather Jordan with sunscreen repeatedly, not wanting him to burn with how fair skinned he was despite the fact that his dad wasn't burning at all. It was a little before three when Jordan began to burn out, causing us to pack up our stuff and head back to the hotel. By the time we made it into our room, the baby was out cold in Eric's arms.

"I think he had fun." Eric insisted as he cradled our son to his chest while I laid on my side, gently running my fingers over Jordan's hair.

"I think he did too. He got cake, he got to see you, he got to ride in a plane. What more could he want?"

"Presents. He thinks we're terrible parents because we didn't have presents for him." Eric insisted, shaking his head along with his words. I rolled my eyes and shook my head kissing Jordan's cheek.

"He'll get them when we go home." I murmured, looking over the sleepy baby, cheeks red and puffed out while his lips drew in soft breaths. "Now, make like the baby and sleep." I chuckled, kissing my husband's lips and nuzzling his nose softly.

"Alright." He sighed quietly. "I love you baby."

"I love you too Eric." I smiled as he shut his eyes, leaving me as the only one awake.

I wasn't sure if i was because Jordan was getting older or if I was just in denial, but I couldn't help but feel the longing for another child. And as the days passed, I wasn't sure if I could wait another year or two to add on to our tiny, little family.