Page 37 of Three Not-So-Little Words (The Lawson’s #3)

thirty-seven

Flowers and Toys

Drew

“ C ome on in, beautiful," I say to Ronnie as she stands in my doorway.

She has a duffel bag slung over each shoulder, and I offer to take them as she steps inside. I look her up and down. It isn't often that I see Ronnie looking nervous, but right now, she looks as unsure as ever. I don't think she's ever stayed with a guy for more than a single night.

I hope we can make her feel comfortable enough for her not to be traumatized when it's all said and done.

When I picked up Colton from school, l explained to him why Ronnie would be staying with us.

I thought maybe he would be upset, or maybe he would have a lot of questions.

But the only thing he asked was if we were going to eat pizza every night.

When I told him no, I think it bothered him more than having a houseguest for a week.

Kids never ceased to amaze me. That's especially true for Colton because he has the biggest heart. He definitely got that from his mom. It certainly wasn't me.

When I was explaining to him why we should try to make Ronnie feel at home, he made it his mission to do just that.

He suggested we stop and get her flowers and asked if we could make her favorite meal for dinner. He even put together a care package for her.

I take Ronnie's bags and drop them off in my bedroom really quick. On the way back, I pop my head into Colton's room to tell him Ronnie is here.

He grabs a couple things and comes running out behind me.

"Hi, Ronnie!"

"Hey, Colton. What's up, little dude?"

"I'm sorry bugs are eating your house."

Ronnie nods. "Me too. But thanks!"

I tell her, "Colton picked out a few things that he thought would make you feel better while you're here."

I'm not quite sure how to describe the look on her face. She looks surprised and somehow honored.

“You did that for me ?" She asks.

Instead of directly answering her, I say, "Colton, why don't you see if Ronnie wants to sit down at the table, so you can show her what you got?”

Immediately, he grabs Ronnie's hand and leads her to a chair. She looks completely confused but just goes with it. She stares at me, silently asking what's going on, but I give her no hints.

First, he walks to the couch and brings back a fuzzy blanket with Spiderman on it and the giant teddy bear his grandma got him. He's barely able to carry both of them at once.

Pushing them into Ronnie's hands, he tells her, "Here's a blanket so you don't get cold, and a stuffy so you don't get scared.”

"Whoa! That's awesome! Thanks, little dude."

Without replying, he runs over to the coffee table and returns with two action figures. "And here are some toys for you to play with."

In typical Ronnie fashion, her quick, witty response comes out almost immediately. “I love toys! I brought some of my own."

"Superheroes?"

"I like to think so!"

She doesn't quite get her jokes won't quite land with a six-year-old…until he says, "Can I see them?"

The tip of her tongue licks her top lip as she tries to think of an answer. "Maybe later. They are... tired.... from doing all of their good work."

Nice save.

"Maybe we can play with them tomorrow," Colton says,

"Sounds great," Ronnie agrees.

I jump in. "Colton also made sure we were stocked up on some of your favorite snacks, and we ordered your favorite Chinese food for dinner.”

“I feel honored," she says,

“And just one more thing."

Colton looks confused, so I gesture to the kitchen counter, and he quickly remembers and goes to grab the flowers. He comes back and hands Ronnie the giant bouquet.

Her eyes light up. " You got me flowers?"

Colton excitedly nods.

It isn't often that I see Ronnie show some raw emotion. She's usually all sass and confidence. But in this moment, she wears her emotions all over her face.

Staring at the bouquet, she says, "No one has ever given me flowers before."

"Never?" I ask.

She still doesn't look at me. "No. Never."

Colton says, "My mom used to love flowers."

One thing I always tried to instill in Colton was the urge to take care of and support his mom. She was a saint, and I wanted him to recognize that. So, whenever I would take him back home, we would bring her flowers.

Every time.

Colton's statement pulls Ronnie out of her thoughts.

"Did you pick these out?" She asks,

"Yeah."

"I love them. They are the prettiest flowers I've ever seen. Thank you so much, Colton. I love all of it... especially the flowers."

"You're welcome." Without missing a beat, he asks, "Do you want to play Mario Kart?"

The question catches her off guard, but she says, "Uh, sure.”

He runs over to the TV while Ronnie makes her way over to me. "Did you have anything to do with all the goodies?"

"I wish I could take full credit," I say. "But when I told him what was going on, he wanted to do something to make you happy. I just provided the funding."

"Well, thank you." She links her arms around my neck before giving me a quick kiss.

"Have you really never gotten flowers?" I ask.

"My dad would get them for all of us girls every Valentine's Day, but I don't think that counts.

"I'm honored to be your first." I tell her. "I'm just surprised no one else has ever gotten them for you."

She shrugs. "It never bothered me, I guess. It always seemed more of a thing a boyfriend would do rather than a fuck buddy or a one-night-stand."

Silently worried, I ask, "Did I overstep a boundary here? Because I really didn't mean to–"

She cuts me off with another kiss.

"You didn't do anything wrong," she tells me. “I guess it’s safe to say that you are my... boyfriend”

"You okay?" I ask, knowing how hard that word is for her. "If that weirds you out, you don't need to call me that."

"Drew, we've been seeing each other for a couple of months now. I'm here staying with you and your kid. I think boyfriend is the appropriate term. And I'm okay with that. I just need to get used to it."

"Have I told you how incredible you are?".

"Yes, but I am always up for hearing it again."

"How about I show you later tonight when we are alone?"

She grins.

"Deal"

Our lips touch once again, and we get lost in the kiss for a moment before Colton is calling for Ronnie.

“Are you any good at Mario Kart?" I ask.

"Oh, your kid is going down."

I laugh "Good luck. Oh, and nice save with the toy conversation"

"Yeah. I kind of forgot I was talking to a kid." She starts to walk into the living room but turns around. "Remind me that I need to go buy some action figures tomorrow."