Who Knew Then? (What We Know Now?)

“So, um, this is the living room, and, uh, the kitchen,” I stuttered, showing her around my small apartment in Raleigh. I’d been flabbergasted when she’d called and told me she wanted to come back to Raleigh, and I couldn’t imagine what Stepan and my siblings thought, but I was ecstatic. I’d never slept better that night than in my whole life, dreaming of her finally being back. I’d torn through my apartment trying to clean then, and I’d moved all of my stuff into the second bedroom so she could take the master, because I had a feeling she wouldn’t want to be sharing a room with me off the get-go.

“Here’s the bathroom, and um… towels and stuff are in here… and uh, this is my room,” I opened the door to my much smaller bedroom, half of my shit still waiting to be put away, she looked at it in confusion before I quickly shut the door and led her down the hall.

“And this is, um, your room,” her eyes widened and she turned on me.

“What the?”

“Well I figured you probably wouldn’t want to share a room with me, so, I um,”

“Jared I could’ve taken the spare room,” she quietly told me.

“No, that room’s got a better bed, and um, you need to be comfortable,” I insisted, but she shook her head.

“So do you – you can’t be sore and stiff before games Jared,”

“I’ll be fine, it’s really not that bad,”

“Well then I can take it.”

“You’re not sleeping in that bed Kass,” I put my foot down, and she got quiet again.

“Sorry, I know I’m acting like a tool, I just… I um, I’ve been waiting for this for a long time and I don’t know how to act,” I finally admitted, and before I knew it she’d flung herself at me and her arms were tight around me.

“I missed you so much,” she said, letting me hug her tight to me.

“I missed you too, every day,” I agreed, and when she pulled away slightly I leaned in and kissed her. Her lips felt the same, so soft and perfect as they melded to mine. She didn’t pull away or stop the kiss in any way, and when it ended she nuzzled my neck, as close to me as was possible.

“We can share a room Jared, if you want,” she offered, and I swallowed hard.

“As long as it’s what you want,” I replied, and she nodded.

“Okay, well then we’ll get your stuff all moved in there first, and I’ll worry about mine whenever there’s time,” I decided, and she nodded, running a hand through my slightly long and unruly hair.

“You need a haircut,” she mumbled, and I nodded, turning my head to kiss the inside of her wrist.

“I know, I just haven’t got around to it,” I chuckled, making her smile. I felt Izzy – as all the New York guys called our baby – kick against my stomach a few times, making me smile.

“Hey Izzy, did you have a good nap? You better be nice for mom,” I spoke to her belly, and when I pressed my hand to her stomach felt the slight pressure of a hand or foot against my palm, but it wasn’t a full-on kick like before.

“Jesus, are you and Derek the only people Izzy listens to about kicking momma?” she complained, looking down at her stomach, and earning her another kick from the baby. Izzy had a strong personality already, that much was clear.

“Come on Izzy,” I warned her stomach, and there wasn’t another kick. I chuckled before wrapping my arms back around her, and eagerly met her lips when she lifted her face to mine.

“Well, why don’t you lay down for a bit and I’ll unpack some stuff for you, okay?” I suggested, but she shook her head.

“You don’t have to do that Jared,”

“But I want to, and besides, your feet probably hurt and were swelling from the drive down. Just go put your feet up for a while, I’ll join you in like a half hour, okay?” I suggested, and finally she agreed, heading to the living room and easing herself onto the couch. At eight months pregnant things like that were a bit difficult for her, so I hoped I could be here as much as possible to help her out.

I heard her talking on the phone, and listened for a moment until I heard the voices coming from the speaker phone and realized who it was. Brody and Brett Sutter had called to see if she really was back in Carolina with me, and wondering how she was and the whole bit. I had to chuckle to myself when I heard their gasps when she informed them about being pregnant, and more so that she was eight months pregnant. Their conversation was hilarious, and I was glad that Brody was still such a good friend to her. I’d been a little pissed at him after I’d learned that he’d driven her to the airport and not told anybody, but I was slowly getting over that, because his and his brothers’ antics could make Kassy laugh like none other, and he meant a lot to her.

Stepan phoned her too, and while I felt myself getting ridiculously jealous I kept to unpacking, not wanting to upset her. I tried to keep from overhearing, but all I could picture was him talking her into coming back to New York. I hoped that she wouldn’t, but I knew it would be a long time before that fear would subside for me. But she kept that call fairly short, and I could finally breathe again once she’d hung up.

True to my word, I only spent around a half-hour unpacking her things. I hung most of her clothes up in the closet, set her things in her night stand, and unpacked everything into her half of the drawers except her underwear, which I figured was way overstepping my boundaries. I had most of the bedroom unpacking done when I joined her on the couch, sitting down by her feet and starting to rub them for her. She looked over at me in surprise, before a content sigh left her lips.

“You have no idea how good that feels,” she told me, and I couldn’t help but smile as I passed her the TV remote. This was how our life was supposed to be.