Chapter Text
“Honey, look! My second cousin’s grandbaby is turning one tomorrow.” Suzanne flashed her phone toward her husband. “We should go.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Coach didn’t look up from the sports section.
Suzanne tapped the phone’s screen. “Baby Jake is turning one. Let’s drive to Birmingham tomorrow for the party. You can buy a football or something at that giant sports store you’ve always wanted to visit.”
Coach forced his attention away from the newspaper. “Suzanne, you know darn well we can’t go. Junior’s hockey friend is coming tomorrow. It would be rude.”
“First, it’s not every day your second cousin’s grandbaby turns one. Second, the boys can fend for themselves. And we can spend the night in that bed and breakfast on the way home.”
“--And then, Dear Lord, help me, if all that wasn't bad enough, she winked at my father. Winked. Like she had--designs on him!” Bitty rolled onto his back and stretched lazily, alone now in his bed.
Jack laughed, tickled by Bitty’s shock. He padded back from the bathroom with a warm cloth and gently cleaned Bitty’s stomach before climbing back into the bed.
“Maybe they still have—sex,” Jack whispered as he kissed the constellation of freckles on Bitty’s shoulder.
“Jack, I’m still trying to get my heart back under control. You can’t say things like that. You’ll kill me.”
Jack laughed again, his breath tickling Bitty’s neck. “I don’t know, mon chéri. Your parents drove three hours to see a second cousin’s grandchild? That’s odd.”
Bitty yawned and wiggled his bottom back against Jack’s thighs. “It’s a Southern thing, honey. That’s basically immediate family.”
Before Jack could disagree again, Bitty was sound asleep.
Jack listened to the quiet in and out of Bitty’s breathing, barely audible over the constant hum of the air conditioner. Too keyed up to sleep, Jack offered a prayer of thanks for this privacy he and Bitty had been gifted. The Bittles’ trip to Birmingham was unexpected, allowing them to sleep in the same bed for the first time. And they wouldn’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. Jack was still smiling when he fell asleep, his lips resting against the back of Bitty’s head.