Make It Back to Me

Sitting at the kitchen table, Adam Burish watched as his girlfriend fluttered around their house, cleaning things up, straightening things out, and opening the brand new toys she had bought for baby Ben just for his evening at his ‘aunt and uncle’s’ house. He had tried to tell her there was no need to make sure their house was in pristine condition; the infant would not notice nor care, and more than likely, it would just get messed up anyway. He knew, though, that Kita looked at the night ahead of them like a trial run. If things went well in their adventure in babysitting their month and a half old nephew, he knew her desire to have a child of her own would more than double.

He saw her practically dance up their stairs to the second story of their house, making him shake his head as he stood up and headed toward the front of their house, just as the doorbell rang. He sighed and ran a hand over his face as he realized Ben and Evelyn were right on time to drop their son off. He swung the door open, waving a hand at his teammate and his wife, who was holding the baby carrier.

“Oh, look at his little winter coat!” Kita squealed, coming up behind Adam, and moving toward the tiny baby. Adam stared at her in confusion, wondering how she had gotten from upstairs to the front door so quickly and without him hearing her coming up behind him.

“Here’s everything you’re going to need,” Evelyn said, lugging a large bag over toward Adam. “I assume Kita knows most everything, but if you need anything, just give us a call.”

“Sounds great!” Kita grinned, bouncing the little baby lightly, while Adam looked uneasy. “We’ll handle it. You guys go have a good night, and take your time,” she continued, shoving them off of their doorstep before she shut the door after them. She smiled down at the baby in her arms, his big blue eyes staring back up at her, making her grin widely. “He’s so precious, isn’t he?” she asked, turning toward Adam, who couldn’t help but smile down at the scene in front of him.

“You’re crazy,” he laughed, not wanting to be too emotional about the little baby, making Kita roll her eyes as they stepped into the living room.

“Look what I got you, baby,” she gushed, sitting down on the coach, baby Ben in her lap, as she picked up a few toys and placed them on the coffee table in front of her. Baby Ben cooed in her lap as she pressed the keys of the small, plastic piano in front of her. Adam laughed, telling Kita he was going to order the pizza they had decided on for dinner a few minutes before Ben and Evelyn had dropped their son off.

He cursed to himself as he saw his hand shaking as he went to grab his cell phone from the kitchen counter, not realizing how nervous he was. He shook his hand out before he grabbed his cell and dialed the pizza place, quickly placing their order and joining his girlfriend back in the living room. “Is something wrong?” Kita asked, furrowing her eyebrows together as she looked up at her boyfriend as baby Ben hit his little hands against the piano that rested on his little legs.

“I’m fine,” Adam said, shaking his head as he sat down next to her and threw an arm over her shoulder. Kita gave him an odd look, almost silently asking if he was being honest, but he just laughed and pulled her closer to him. “I’m fine,” he stressed. “It seems the little guy loves his piano.”

The woman smiled, glancing down at the baby on her lap. “Ben and Evelyn are going to want to kill me for buying him this,” she laughed as the infant giggled as his hands made noise on the keyboard.

“He’s going to grow up into his dad, and you know it,” Adam commented, watching as the little baby balled up his tiny fists and swung around the air. Kita laughed, sending Adam a smile as the little boy began to squirm in her lap.

“He sure is, and I think he’s fussy just like his dad now, too,” she commented, standing up and setting the infant into his carrier. “Someone needs a nap,” she cooed, tucking him in and placing the blanket over him.

“You’re good at this,” Adam commented, standing up and stretching his arms over his head, just as the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of their pizza. She smiled lightly, shaking her head as she watched her boyfriend walk to the door to greet the delivery man. “In the kitchen or the living room?” he asked, holding the box toward the pretty brunette.

“The living room,” she grinned. “We can watch a movie. I’ll get plates, napkins, and drinks.” She skipped toward the kitchen, leaving Adam alone with the sleeping baby. He looked down at him and let a small smile grace his face.

“Kita’s going to take good care of you while your mommy and daddy are out,” Adam whispered, lifting the blanket up higher to cover the baby’s body. Kita bit her lip as she leaned against the doorway into the living room, behind Adam. Watching him interact with the baby Ben was more than she could handle, it seemed. Her heart was beating faster, and her breath had sped up. Shaking her head, she stepped into the living room and sat down on the couch next to her boyfriend.

Adam immediately snagged a plate from the Kentuckian’s hands, grabbing himself a few pieces of pizza a moment later. Kita smiled as she turned the TV on, scanning over their movie channels as she chewed a small bite of the pepperoni pizza. “What do you want to watch?” she asked, her big brown eyes looking up at Adam. When he shrugged, she frowned. Just what the hell was going on with him? “Adam,” she sighed, setting her pizza down. “What’s wrong?”

Adam’s blue eyes snapped up to meet her concerned gaze. “Really, nothing is wrong, Kita. I’ve just a million things on my mind.”

“Let’s talk about it,” she suggested, moving closer to him and placing a hand on his knee. “You know you can tell me anything.”

“I know,” he sighed, smiling lightly. “That’s why I love you so much.” Kita smiled, cutely tilting her head to the side as she urged Adam to continue. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” he motioned in between them and then toward the Evelyn and Ben’s son. Kita pulled her brows together in confusion, watching as Adam fidgeted with his hands. “You know how I was before I met you,” he commented. “We moved so fast, and I don’t regret that at all!” he told her, noticing the surprised look on her face. “I just… sometimes if I think too much about it, about us I start second guessing what it is I want.”

“Adam…”

“No,” he stopped her. “I do second guess this relationship sometimes,” he told her. “I have to be honest, but then you do something, or say something, and I end up laughing at myself wondering why the hell I would ever second guess this.” Kita smiled, as Adam took her hand in his. “I want to make you happy,” he told her.

“You do make me happy,” she interjected immediately. “I’ve never been happier.”

Adam grinned, giving her hand a squeeze as baby Ben moved slightly in his sleep. “But that, Kita… I’m not quite ready for kids,” he told her. “I know how much you want kids, and I do too, eventually; just not right now.”

“Adam, I know!” she laughed. “What’s this all about?” When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “Yeah, Adam, I would have kids tomorrow if I could, but I know you wouldn’t. You want to wait a while, and hey, that’s fine. It’ll happen eventually. I’m still young; I’ve got lots of time, Adam. I’m just happy being with you. Having kids is something big, and both of us need to be one hundred percent ready. I’m not rushing anything!”

Adam let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and smiled, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend. “You’re amazing,” he breathed into her ear, moving to give her a small kiss on the lips.

“I know,” she laughed. “You’re pretty amazing too. Is there anything else my handsome, wonderful boyfriend wanted to talk about?” she asked, running her hands through his shaggy locks of brown hair.

“Well,” Adam started. “There is one other thing.”

“And what’s that?”

“I’m sick of second guessing us,” he told her. “I don’t want to ever have to do that again, so I’m going to need you to do something for me.”

“Anything,” she sighed, watching as Adam kissed the back of her left hand.

Reaching into his pocket, Adam pulled out a small, shiny object that had been weighing him down all day. Holding it in his left hand, he let his deep blue eyes stare directly at Kita’s big brown and innocent eyes. Smiling, he nodded to himself, almost as if he needed reassurance, though he knew he didn’t. “I need you to be my wife,” he told her, opening his hand up to reveal a pretty platinum ring with a more than modest, square-cut diamond in the middle, surrounded by a band of much smaller diamonds.

Kita’s hand went to her mouth as her eyes instantly welled with tears as she stared directly at Adam. She glanced down on the ring, which he was now holding between his pointer and thumb. Nodding silently, she sucked in a breath as Adam slipped the ring onto her petite ring finger, grinning as it fit perfectly and looked more than beautiful.

“I figured if you have a wedding to plan, you might push the baby thing to the back of your head, too,” he laughed, reaching forward to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

Kita laughed too, nodding her head slightly. “That might help,” she agreed, running a finger over the diamond, almost as if she was checking if it was real. “I can’t imagine the female population of Chicago is going to be too happy about this.”

“What can I say?” he laughed. “You don’t get voted one of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors by being boring and ugly.”

Rolling her eyes, Kita laughed again, leaning up to give Adam a kiss just as baby Ben woke up and started to fuss. Kita cooed and ran a hand over the infant’s cheek, but his fussing soon turned into cries. Lifting him into her arms immediately, she bounced him against her chest, calming the little boy down.

“Yeah,” Adam commented. “Definitely not ready for that.”

Kita laughed and turned to her fiancé with an permanent grin on her face, shaking her head as she leaned down to kiss him again, whispering a small ‘I love you’ before she took baby Ben into the kitchen for a bottle.