Chapter 157 Anywhere with you

Chapter 157 Anywhere with you
Emma's POV

Dawn is awake in her crib, rubbing her eyes with her tiny fists and making soft, unhappy noises. The moment she sees us, her expression changes.

Dylan's entire face softens. “Hey, baby girl.”

He reaches into the crib and lifts her into his arms. Dawn immediately grabs his shirt.

“Look at that,” I say. “She missed you.”

“Of course. It's me. Who wouldn't?”

I give him a look.

He kisses Dawn's cheek. “I think your mama's a little jealous of my awesomeness.”

“You wish.” I laugh, walking over to them.

Dawn is hungry, so we feed her together. Dylan insists on holding her bottle for a while, even when she keeps pushing his hand away.

“She has very strong opinions,” he says.

“She gets that from you.”

He looks at me. “You think I have strong opinions?”

I just stare at him.

He laughs.

Later, we bathe Dawn together, and it is surprisingly chaotic. Dylan gets water splashed directly in the face and looks personally betrayed while Dawn, of course, finds the whole thing hilarious.

“She did that on purpose,” he says.

“She is a baby.”

“She knows what she did.”

I laugh so hard I have to hold on to the edge of the bathtub.

By the time we finish, Dawn is clean, sleepy, and wrapped in a soft towel. Dylan carries her while I prepare her clothes, and then we change her together before settling her back into her crib.

This time, she falls asleep almost immediately.

We stand beside the crib for a moment, both of us looking down at her. Dylan reaches for my hand, and our fingers intertwine.

“She really is perfect,” he whispers.

I look at him. “She is.”

His thumb brushes over mine. “This is perfect. I don't want to lose this again.”

My chest tightens, but I smile softly. “We won't.”

For a while, neither of us says anything. Then Dylan checks the time, and the smile slowly fades from his face.

I immediately know that look.

“What?”

He sighs. “I have to go.”

My heart sinks. “Already?”

“I have to be back in Montreal tomorrow.”

I know he's right. I know he has to go. But that doesn't stop the disappointment from settling heavily inside my chest.

“Right.”

His expression softens. “Emma...”

“I know.” I force a smile. “You have training.”

“And if I keep using more days than I'm supposed to, I might have a hard time convincing my coach to let me travel every weekend.”

I sigh. “I know.”

He pulls me into his arms, and I immediately wrap mine around him.

“I don't want to go,” he murmurs against my hair.

I pull back enough to look at him. “You know you have to. You already explained why.”

“What if I don't?” he asks. “I can leave early tomorrow instead.”

“Dylan.” I say his name with just enough warning to let him know how tempted I am to tell him to stay.

He sighs.

I place my hands on his chest. “You need to go. I don't want your coach deciding you're irresponsible because you keep disappearing every weekend.”

His mouth twists.

“I hate when you're reasonable.”

“I know.”

He looks down at me. “So this is it?”

I raise an eyebrow. “This is what?”

“Our first night as a couple again, and you're sending me away.”

I smile. “You're being dramatic.”

“I'm suffering.”

“You'll survive.”

He stares at me.

I laugh.

The truth is, I don't want him to leave either. I want him to stay. I want to spend the night with him, wake up beside him, make breakfast with him, argue over what to watch on television, and have him annoy me until I threaten to throw something at him.

But I also know this can't become another situation where one of us starts sacrificing everything without thinking about the consequences.

We are together again.

That doesn't mean we have to lose ourselves again.

Dylan seems to understand that too.

Eventually, he grabs his jacket, and I walk him to the door. The moment he turns to face me, the goodbye suddenly feels much harder than it should.

He reaches for me.

I step into his arms.

His kiss is soft and slow, nothing like the desperate kisses from earlier. This one feels like a promise.

When he pulls back, his forehead rests against mine.

“Goodnight, girlfriend.”

My heart immediately melts.

I smile. “Goodnight, boyfriend.”

His smile is so wide that I almost laugh.

He kisses me one more time before finally stepping into the hallway.

I watch him walk away. He turns around twice before reaching the elevator, and I wave at him both times.

Then the elevator doors close.

I shut my door and lock it.

The apartment immediately feels too quiet.

I stand there for a moment, staring at the door he just walked through.

Then I sigh.

I miss him already.

I've been without him for months. So why does the apartment feel so empty now?

I walk toward the living room.

Ten minutes later, someone knocks on the door.

I freeze for a second, wondering who it could be before finally walking over and pulling it open.

I can't stop staring.

Dylan is standing on the other side with a sheepish smile on his face.

“I forgot something.”

I blink and glance behind me. “I didn't see anything of yours.” Then I look back at him. “What did you forget?”

His smile slowly widens. “You.”

I gasp, unable to form a reply for a few seconds. When I finally remember how the alphabet works again, all I can come up with is: “Pardon?”

He laughs. “Go get dressed, baby.”

I stare at him. “What?”

“I'll come back for you when Carmen takes over.”

“Dylan.”

“I'm taking you on the date I promised.”

For a moment, I can only stare at him. Then my heart begins beating so fast that I feel it everywhere.

“You're serious?”

“Very.”

I lean against the door. “You just said you had to go.”

“I do.”

“And you have to be back in Montreal tomorrow.”

“I know.”

“Then what are you doing?”

He steps closer.

“Taking my girlfriend on a date.” Dylan reaches for my hand. “Go get dressed, Emma.”

I squeeze his fingers. “Where are we going?”

He grins. “I don't know. Anywhere. We'll figure it out. I can go anywhere, as long as you're there.”

“Dylan, that's...” I shake my head, trying my best not to blush. Because when the hell did he become this poetic?

He lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “I'll be back.”

Then he lets go.

I stand in the doorway, watching him walk away again. This time, I don't feel sad. Because this time, I know he's coming back.

I close the door and turn around. Then I look toward the bedroom.

A grin slowly spreads across my face.

I have a date.

With my boyfriend.

My actual boyfriend.

Fuck, I might need to scream for a full minute.