How We Are Meant to Be

When I parked my Cruze in the apartment’s parking lot, I was surprised to see Micah exiting the building and headed straight towards my car. He looked dazed, almost trance-like coming towards me. It was an usual look for him.
“Hey,” I said to him. He just nodded without a word.
“I assume there’s a crib or something? I thought I should probably carry it upstairs so you don’t have to,” I showed him the bassinet in the trunk and then went to gather Milo in his carrier and his diaper bag. Micah insisted that I go up the stairs first, so I did. I huffed it to the top with all the gear and let us into the open door. Micah followed close behind with the bassinet.
I set the carrier down on the coffee table in front of the TV that was running a sport broadcast on the local station. I was thankful that Milo continued to sleep, even after being jostled up the stairs. Micah disappeared with the baby bed and then started to head back to watch the TV. He noticed me standing there and diverted to the kitchen. I knew something was up and so I went to confront him.
“You have mail,” he blankly stated as he went to the fridge and peered into it. I walked to the breakfast bar and looked through the envelopes and noticed that nothing was important, so I left it all unopened for the moment.
“How’s your hangover?” I asked him, for one of the first times ever, I felt awkward being in the same room as Micah. Maybe it was his actions in the last twenty four hours that were throwing me off, but we weren’t on the same wavelength right now and it really bothered me.
“It’s gone, the toilet and I were good friends. But Tylenol cleared it all up once I could separate from Mr. Toilet Bowl. How did your shoots go?” he asked as he poured himself cereal for a snack which was not unusual. It was the healthy stuff, the stuff I detested with a passion.
“They were great. The Mahoney girls are adorable. They look a lot like their father, red hair and all. Thanks for cleaning up, by the way. Allie texted me while I was at my last shoot and when I called, she sounded stressed enough. I had to say yes. That baby really did not need to fly to Maine to spend time in the hospital, that’s gross. Besides, Tagger’s home tomorrow morning.”
“It is all good, Syd.” He used my nickname instead of my pet name which caused me to worry. For the last few weeks, all he has called me is babe or baby or something similar. Now I’m just Syd? What the hell is going on?
“So, are you going to tell me what’s up or do I have to guess? You went out all happy and excited last night, but came home drunker than a dog for the first time I can ever remember since we first tried alcohol. So, what’s going on? Or do I need to go on?”
“I hit on someone last night. I did not even realize that was what I was doing until she asked if I wanted to leave the bar. I told her no and excused myself to get a fresh drink. I felt really guilty, even though all I did was flirt. So I tried to drown my sorrows in alcohol. It didn’t go so well. Eventually, one of the guys noticed and put me in a cab. Today, I felt worse for not realizing what I was doing prior to when she asked to leave. I am really sorry. I was the one to say that I could not break your heart, but if I did, it is my entire fault. I never planned on that. It was not called for, I am truly sorry,” he quickly explained and his face read like a book and it said that he really did feel terrible.
“That is the only reason you are like this? You flirted with someone by accident? You feel guilty? Oh, Micah, baby, I thought it was much worse than that! I am definitely not mad. You are terrible at flirting, so if you really did it, she was just trying to get in your pants because of who you are, not because of your flirting. Babe, it is okay. I will not suggest that you do it again, but for now, it is no big deal. Things like that happen to athletes, a lot actually. Was that really the only reason?”
“Really, I thought you were going to break up with me or something? And you aren’t even mad? Wow, and yeah, that’s all this was about. I promise,” he looked to be telling the truth.
“Good, are you going to training today?”
“Tonight, after dinner. I will be gone for only two hours or so including drive time.”
“Okay, I’ll make an early dinner so you do not train on a full stomach,” I pressed a kiss to his lips before going to check on our sleeping house guest. Or so I thought he was sleeping. When I went back into the living space, I found that Milo had awoken and was squirming in his carrier. I dug the hand sanitizer out of Allie’s diaper bag and reached for the baby. I held him close to my chest and went back to the kitchen.
“Look who is finally awake,” I said to my boyfriend who was just finishing his cereal. He put his bowl in the sink, washed his hands, and then took the baby from me.
“Come to Uncle Micah,” he told the baby who just cooed and let himself be transferred from one set of arms to another. When Milo took hold of Micah’s finger, something inside of me clicked. I quickly snapped a picture of the two on my Droid Razor HD and zipped it off to Allie with a comment of ‘maybe he’s father material.’ She must have been on the plane because I received no response.
Micah kept Milo occupied while I cooked and made a bottle for Milo as well. I fed the baby while Micah ate and he took Milo back so I could eat. He then headed to his training session in the city, this meant that I could settle down for the night. I put Milo in a clean onesie and I changed into pajamas before I settled us onto the couch in front of the TV. He was fascinated by the colors and quickly fell asleep. I put him in the bassinet before I crashed in my own room tonight, not wanting to disturb Micah’s rest if Milo woke up in the middle of the night.