Who Wouldn't Want To Be Me

It only took a few minutes for Cam to drift off to sleep, and I couldn’t help but smile looking down at her cuddled up on my lap, her hand on my chest and her ring shining in the light from the window.

I heard a click and looked up, wondering what had happened, and realized that my mom had snapped a picture of us. I felt my cheeks heating up then, and mom just smiled as she looked at the picture on the digital camera’s screen.

“I couldn’t resist; you two are just too adorable,” she sighed, and Tanya tipped the camera so she could see.

“Jesus, you two look like a commercial or a Hallmark card or something,” she agreed, and Jared chuckled at her.

“It’s true,” he nodded, and I just shrugged carefully, making sure not to wake Cam up. We talked quietly, and Parker crawled onto the chair beside me, curling into my side opposite from Cam. I put my hand on his back and minutes later he was asleep as well.

“He needed a nap,” Tanya commented, and mom nodded.

“He was going pretty hard this morning, but he was bound and determined he didn’t need one,”

“He just doesn’t want to miss any time with Cam and everybody being here,” she explained, and we all nodded. Lindsay nodded as she rocked Mike, who’d slept quite nicely since I’d got home. Levi was asleep in his car seat, curled up with his blankie and his binkie hanging out of his mouth.
“I could see that,” Jared suddenly chirped, catching me by surprise.

“See what?”

“The two of you having a kid,” he said, motioning towards the three of us curled up in the chair. I looked down at Cam and Parker, and again shrugged, not wanting to admit to my family just how badly I wanted that to happen.

“He’d have dark hair,” I mumbled, softly running my hand through my nephew’s hair.

“Aww,” Lindsay gushed, and I blushed when I realized she’d heard me.

“What?” mom asked, obviously thinking she’d missed something.

“Jordan said he’d have dark hair instead of blonde,” she said, and mom nodded.

“Probably true; Cam’s hair is so dark, it’s so pretty,” she agreed, and I felt my face heat up even more.

“Yeah,” I agreed, and ran my hand through her hair; it was just below her chin now, and I smiled slightly when I remembered her telling me she was going to grow it out. Once her bangs grew out to something a little more feminine I had no doubts she’d be a total supermodel knockout, but then I’d have to worry about all the other guys chasing after her.

“Well, why don’t we go find something to do so those two can have their nap?” Mom suggested quietly, and the girls, Marc and Jared nodded.

“I’ll just stay here; maybe I can fall asleep for a bit,” I told them, and they all nodded. I leaned my head against Cam’s, and in her sleep she made a small sound and nuzzled against me. I smiled then, and as she shifted so did Parker, his little hands grabbed my shirt tighter and he curled into me too. Something just clicked inside, and I realized just how right this felt, just how badly I wanted to be able to come home with her from the rink and curl up with her and our little guy in the chair for an afternoon nap. I softly touched the ring on her finger, and wished I’d just went with my guts when I gave it to her earlier. I know my dad had said it was too early and all, but nothing was going to change the way I felt about her. When I pulled the box out of my pocket I wanted to drop to one knee when I turned it towards her, but being self-conscious about it and my dad’s words in mind I hadn’t managed to suck it up and just do it. That and the fear of being turned down kept me from just asking her to marry me, but maybe by the end of the summer I’d manage to grow a pair and do it.

I dozed on and off a little bit until Cam started to wake up. When she did I pressed a soft kiss to her lips before caressing her cheek softly.

“Sorry, I must’ve fell asleep on you,” she yawned.

“No it’s okay – you weren’t the only one,” I grinned, and she sighed as she saw Parker curled into my side and still out for the count.

“Aww, poor little guy,” she cooed, gently pushing some hair off of his face and playing with his hair. I kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back softly, getting a smile from her.

“He tired himself out wanting to spend all morning with his Aunty Cam,” I softly told her, and got a blush in response.

“It’s true, he loves you just about as much as I do,” I insisted, and kissed her again, letting my tongue trace her lip. She cuddled up, an arm around Parker and the other on my arm, her head tucked under my chin. We talked quietly for about twenty minutes or so, until Parker began to wake up.

“Hey there sleepy,” she said with a smile, and Parker yawned before nuzzling into my chest again and taking Cam’s hand.

“Mowning,” he replied, and we both chuckled a little. I smoothed his hair down, and he gave me a sleepy grin before yawning again.

“Should we go find mom?” Cam suggested after a few more minutes, and Parker nodded. Cam slowly got up, and I felt cold once she was away from my side. I stood up, carrying Parker with one arm and wrapping the other one around Cam’s waist as we headed out to the yard where everyone would be. I nearly stopped dead in my tracks when I saw one too many guys out there, and realized my oldest brother was over. I swallowed hard and squeezed Cam a little tighter before readjusting Parker on my arm and continuing walking towards my family.