Cinematic Confessions

Autumn woke up, feeling a nice, warm body next to her. She scooted closer to Corey, wondering what time it was. She could see the sun streaming in through the window, and she turned her head over to glance at the clock to see it was after ten in the morning. She heard Corey stir as he wrapped his arms around her. "Good morning," he said, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

"What time is practice today?" she asked him.

Corey chuckled. "Game tonight, remember?"

She leaned her forehead against his bare chest. "Oh, that's right!" she said, remembering that they had this and another home game before going on another road trip. "I close tonight, but I'll watch the end of the game when I get home," she promised.

"So…" he trailed off, and Autumn looked up at him, wondering what was on his mind. "There's a WAGs trip coming up on this next road trip. When we play in Nashville," he told her. This was the first time he had mentioned it to her, and she hadn't heard any of the other wives and girlfriends say anything just yet.

"Oh?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow up.

He nodded his head. "Yeah, I know it's last minute notice, but I'd like it if you came. I mean, if you're feeling up to it," he added.

Autumn laughed. "If I feel up to it? Corey, you know I'm feeling fine," she reminded him. He had been concerned about her since she had her trip to the hospital, even though she hadn't had a problem since then.

"So you'll come?" he asked her hopefully. He saw her hesitation, and he knew what was going through her mind. While she was friends with Brianna and Abby, she wasn't so close with several of the other wives and girlfriends. And, she tended to hang out with the team with Katherine with her, but Katherine wouldn't be going on this trip, so she was concerned she'd be left out of the rest of the WAGs. "Brianna will be there," he added, hoping it would help convince her to go.

"She's leaving Ryan?" Autumn asked, surprised.

Corey nodded his head. "First time leaving him," he told her. "I think Kat's going to watch him for the weekend," he said, remembering Brent say something about it earlier that week. Autumn nodded her head at his remark but didn't say anything. Corey waited several moments before finally breaking the silence. "You know you don't have to go if you don't want to," he told her.

Autumn turned her head to look at him. She could see that he really wanted her there, and she wasn't about to disappoint him. "I'll be there," she said with a smile as she put her hand on his forearm.

He looked in her eyes before kissing her forehead. "Thank you," he told her. "Now what do you say about me going to make breakfast?" he suggested. Right at that moment, Autumn's stomach growled, and they both laughed. "I think that's the baby saying yes," he chuckled as he climbed out of bed, grabbing his shorts off of the floor and slipping them on.

He walked out to the kitchen, getting the ingredients out to make French toast, knowing thatwere Autumn's favorite breakfast food, but she didn't have them very often because she was usually trying to rush to work and didn't have the time. He grabbed the milk out of the refrigerator and shut the door, seeing Autumn walk into the kitchen. "You could have stayed in bed," he told her.

"I wanted to spend time with you," she shrugged her shoulders as she got the orange juice out of the refrigerator and poured herself a glass before going over to make coffee for Corey. "I still hate that I can't have any of this," she muttered as she put the coffee grounds into the coffee maker.

Corey laughed as he dipped the bread into the egg and milk mixture before putting them on the pan. "I've got decaf," he reminded her. He had gotten decaf at the store a while ago, knowing how badly Autumn missed her coffee, but she kept telling him that decaf just wasn't the same and she refused to drink it.

"Decaf," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I'll stick with orange juice these next three and a half months," she said as she took a big sip of the juice. "That smells really good," she commented as she stood up and looked over Corey's shoulder at the French toast he was making. "And that smells even better," she said, looking longingly at the coffee that was brewing.

"Stop thinking about the coffee and sit down and wait for breakfast," he ordered with a smile. She grudgingly did as told, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a playful glare as she waited for breakfast to be ready.



Autumn had told Katherine about Corey's invitation to go on the wives and girlfriends' trip to Nashville that weekend, and Katherine had encouraged Autumn to go, and now she was helping her pack as she continued to tell Autumn all the reasons she should go. "But you won't be there," Autumn argued.

Katherine laughed, shaking her head. "Nope, I'll be here watching Ryan. But, I think it'll do you good to go. Corey really wants you there, and Bri and Abby will be there to take you under their wing," she told her. Autumn may have been dating Corey for several months, but she still didn't feel like she was a true part of the WAGs group. Part of that was because she was unable to attend all of the games due to work. Another part was that Autumn tended to be shy around people she didn't know. No matter the reason, she knew Katherine had a point about going.

"You're right," Autumn admitted. "So is Cade off this weekend?" she asked, changing subjects.

Katherine nodded her head as she pulled a loose fitting shirt out of the bag she had brought over after going shopping for Autumn some knew pregnancy clothes since all of her clothes were starting to get tighter on her. "Yes, and I'm so excited for us to be watching Ryan together," she said, the excitement evident in her eyes. "It's kinda like a trial run," she added as she pulled a pair of stretch pants out of the bag. "Oh, you can wear these to the game with Corey's jersey!" she exclaimed, completely forgetting what she had been saying before.

Autumn smiled. "I needed a new pair of pants," she said, trying to remember if she had told Katherine that or if her best friend had simply used her intuition when she went shopping today.

"Well good thing I bought them then!" Katherine told her. "So, Cade and I have been talking about names," she said slyly. Autumn had been asking her about names for the baby since they found out that they were having a girl, but Katherine had continued to tell her that she and Cade hadn't discussed it yet.

Autumn spun around excitedly. "Yeah? And?" she asked impatiently.

Katherine bit her lip. "What do you think of the name Harper?" she asked slowly. While the baby may be hers and Cade, she still wanted Autumn to like the name. She had a connection with the baby that no one else would have.

A giant grin spread across her lips. "Harper? I love it!" she exclaimed.

Katherine looked at her. "Yeah?" she asked hopefully. "Are you sure you don't want the name?" she asked. "You know for that baby you and Corey are bound to have."

"Hold your horses there, Kat!" Autumn told her with a laugh. "Corey and I are not having a baby anytime soon! Hell, I'm still pregnant with yours! I'm not going to immediately get pregnant again as soon as this one pops out," she said, still laughing, thinking how funny that would be.

Katherine shrugged her shoulders. "You never know," she said simply, and Autumn rolled her eyes at her friend. Just wait until she filled Corey in on this conversation. He was bound to get a good laugh of it as well.

"Harper Woods is going to be perfect," Autumn beamed at her friend, bringing the conversation back to the baby's name. She put her hand on her belly. "I can't wait til she's here," she told Katherine.

"So you can have your coffee again?" Katherine joked.

"Well that sure will be a benefit," Autumn agreed as she sat down on the bed, taking a break from packing. She had procrastinated the entire week of getting her suitcase ready, and now she really had no choice, as they were leaving tomorrow for Nashville, and Katherine was there to make sure it got finished. "But, I just really want you and Cade to have your baby."

Katherine sat down next to her. "Me, too," she smiled as she grabbed the suitcase off the floor and added in the new clothes she had just bought Autumn. They heard the front door open, and Katherine looked over at Autumn. "Corey?" she asked, wondering who else would just come through the front door without knocking.

"Probably," Autumn replied before calling out Corey's name, letting him know they were in the bedroom.

"Hey babe," he gave her a quick kiss when he entered the room before acknowledging Katherine. "Hey Kat, you here helping her pack?" he asked, noticing the clothes and luggage scattered around the room.

"Yep!" Katherine nodded her head. "How excited are you for this trip?" she asked him.

"It'll be nice to have her with me rather than here. I'm always a little nervous when I'm on the road, even if you and Cade are just down the block," he admitted. Katherine couldn’t help but smile at Corey's protectiveness of Autumn. She and Corey may not have gotten off on the best foot when he first found out about Autumn's pregnancy, but since then, he had really grown on Katherine, and she had to admit, she was very happy he was with Autumn.

"Yeah, well I expect you to keep me updated on her status," Katherine told him.

"Guys, you act like I need a babysitter!" Autumn spoke up, wondering if they forgot she was in the room with them. "I'm pregnant with a baby, I'm not a baby myself! I can take care of myself," she reminded them.

Katherine leaned over and bumped her shoulder with Autumn's. "You're gonna miss us fawning all over you once the baby is here," she joked.

"Not even a little bit!" Autumn insisted. "We'll have little Harper here to fawn over, and I'll be over the moon!"

"Harper?" Corey asked.

Autumn nodded her head as she looked up at her boyfriend, remembering that he hadn't been there earlier when she and Katherine had discussed it. "They're naming her Harper," she smiled. She really did think it was a wonderful name.

"Very nice," Corey commented. "I'll let you get back to packing. I was just stopping by. I've actually got to pack myself," he said with a chuckle. Autumn wasn't surprised by that, he tended to put off packing until the last minute, and usually he just threw clothes into his bag, hoping he had what he would need on the road.

"There's nothing special that I need to pack, is there?" she asked him as he started to leave.

He turned back around. "Not really," he shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you want to wear to the game, and then you can pick something comfortable when you're around the hotel. I'm not sure where we're going to dinner or what we're doing in the afternoon before the game."

"You're a big help," Autumn said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at him.

Corey opened his mouth to respond, but Katherine interrupted. "Don’t worry, I've got it," she assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll make sure she has everything she needs."

"Thanks, Kat," he told her as he waved goodbye to Autumn and made his way out of her apartment.

Katherine returned to Autumn's side. "We should finish packing," she told her. "We'll throw a few different outfits in here so you'll be ready for whatever you do since your boyfriend is clearly out of the loop," she said with a laugh. She looked at Autumn, who was peering at the ground. "Why are you so nervous about this trip?" she asked her.

Autumn shrugged. "I just don't want to feel like I don't belong, you know?" she said quietly.

"Autumn, I'm telling you, you're going to have a good time!" Katherine insisted. "You'll hang out with Bri and Abby. Bri said they're super excited that you're going. The other girls too! Since they don't get to see you that often, though they hear about you a lot from Corey and the other guys. You're not going to be the odd one out. I guarantee you that! Just have fun, okay? And when you get back, we can go and buy some things for Harper. How does that sound?"

A smile formed on Autumn's face. "Can I get her a little headband with a bow?"

Katherine grinned. "You can buy her one in every color," she said, happy to see Autumn might be warming up to the idea of the wives and girlfriends' trip. She knew she was nervous, but Katherine knew she would have a good time, and she couldn't wait until Autumn got back and she could tell her all about the weekend.