Looking Up

-----Elle's POV

With thoughts buzzing through my head, I open up my top drawer filled with underwear and mindlessly start stuffing them into my suitcase. Suddenly, I stop at my light pink lacey bra and matching panties with the tags still on them. I hold them up in front of me and sigh deeply. "I haven't worn anything like this in so long" I mumble to myself and cock my head to the side.

I used to like to wear things like this all the time- well- he told me I liked it. Thinking about him makes my stomach churn and I try to tear him out of my mind- but it's been impossible lately. It's been 2 years since my twisted relationship with John and after 2 years of denial and pushing the memory of him to the back of my head, it's come rushing back to the front. I'm so worried that in the process of breaking down my walls, Steve won't understand why they were there in the first place. I feel like these feelings of affection are all so unfamiliar- I can't even remember what a healthy relationship feels like- let alone know if I've even been in one. I've never been with someone who makes me feel so alive and loved like Steve does.

John obliterated every hope I had of finding someone to share my life with. After that night, I didn't want to get close to anyone ever again. It's hard breaking down the walls that I've spent years building. I take a sip of my coffee and stare at the newly bought matching panties and bra lying on my bed. "Why did I even buy this?" I laugh at myself. I pick them up once again, "To pack or not to pack, that is the-"

My train of thought is interrupted by a rapid knocking on my door. I look over to my clock, '6:45am', then at my phone, 2 missed calls and 3 messages from Steve. "Shoot, shoot, shoot, I'm late!" I stuff the bra and panties into my bag and throw in a couple more pairs of t-shirts and jeans into my other bag. I sprint over to my door in my pajamas, "I'm sooo sorry I got distracted and lost track of time!" I immediately say after I open the door.

"It's okay since I planned for you to be late, so really we're right on time," Steve chuckles as he steps inside.
""Oh! Awesome! I'll be right back let me just change and grab my bags!" I say and run back into my room.

------

The ride up to his house is fun and filled with talking. We take turns driving since it's such a long drive up to Oakville. I was scared at first driving his huge truck but after a while, I actually got the hang of it. The 8 hours surprisingly go by pretty fast and by the time we get to his house we're both ready to nap.

When we pull up to his house, I am completely taken aback. "Holy crap," I say as I get out of the truck and gape at the large brick house in front of us. "Steve, I think your garage is larger than my apartment!" He laughs and grabs his and my bags from the back seat while I scan the outside of his house more. A gray stone walk way leads us through a small garden and to a glass front door. Steve holds the door open for me and right away I am left breathless by the interior of his home.

"Welcome to my humble aboad!" Steve says cheerily as he wraps his arms around my waist.
"Psshh, humble?" I scoff.

The high ceilings make the entrance to the home seem larger than it already is, the light blue walls are adorned by family photos and random pieces of decor, and a thin tan patterned carpet leads us out of the doorway and into the main part of the house. Steve gives me a quick tour of his house which includes the basement, main floor, and second floor which contains the master bedroom with a master bath, a guest room with its own separate bathroom.

"Well," I start to say as we stand in the guest room, "I really love it in here; maybe I'll even hear you snoring from your room!" I say jokingly and give him a devilish smile.

"Oh no no no," Steve says and picks me up bridal style, "You'll be hearing it right next to you!" he yells and I let out a scream as he throws us down on the bed. When we land on the bed, Steve pushes my hair away from my face, slides his hand onto my neck and presses his lips hard onto mine. "Now, how does a nap sound? We have a big night" he says with a smirk.

"What do you mean 'big night'?" I ask, feeling my face get redder.

"Well, I already told my friends we'd go out with them tonight, it'll be fun- and don't worry their nice!"

"Oh, uh yeah sure sounds like fun," I say with a smile trying to hide my anxiety building up. It was a disaster meeting his teammates and I can't even imagine how this goes.

"Did you think I meant something else?" he says with that panty melting smirk, "Maybe some of that too" he chuckles lightly and kisses me lightly on the forehead.

------

After our nap, we go out to a small diner 15 minutes away since he didn't have any food at his house. Once we get back, we thoroughly unpack and do some cleaning since he hasn't been here since the Olympic break in February. He feels bad that I'm helping him do chores but I reassure him that I don't mind at all.

"You know, you're the best for helping me," Steve yells from the kitchen as I shut the vacuum off.
"It's really no problem at all, I swear," I laugh and smile at him. I kneel down to wrap the cord around the vacuum and brush my hair behind my ears. Something catches my attention from the corner of my eye and glance over- Steve is making his way over to me with one of his signature sweet crooked smiles on his face. I get back up to my feet, "what is it?" I cock my head to the side and smile back. Steve runs his hand through my hair and holds it lightly in his fingers.

Before I can say anything, Steve kisses me softly and exhales deeply, sending chills down my spine, "I love you, Elle," he whispers.

I feel myself freeze and can hear my heart pounding in my ears, I want to say it back but I can't find my voice. He steps further back but doesn't break eye contact with me. "I'm sorry I said that, I know you're probably so creeped out right now and panicking about what to say but - uh- don't worry about it, take your time," he gives me a smile and turns away, "I'm going to get ready now, we're leaving in about an hour or so."

As I watch Steve walk away from me passing through the turquoise doorway towards the stairs in slow motion, my mind races at the speed of light. I can't just stand here! What am I doing to myself? To Steve?! Looking up at him, watching and hearing him say those words pass his lips, is one of the best things to have happened in years. Yet, I watch him walk away from me and I can tell he's unhappy. The way his shoulders slump lower than before, his delight filled eyes lost some of their sheen.

What if I'm not ready to say it?

Wait, why wouldn't I be?

"Steve!" I yell just before he reaches the bottom step of the stairs. He turns around with a confused look on his face. I grab a hold on one of his hands, take a deep breath and look up into his eyes. "Listen, I'm sorry I froze up. I-I- I wasn't expecting you to say that. I've never been so happy in my life with anyone before. You make me feel like everything's going to be okay- even if it's not and we both know it. It's hard for me to open up- and I'm sure you know that by now better than a lot of people," he nods at me, searching my eyes to see where I'm going with this little speech of mine.

"Well, when you walked away you looked so disheartened, even though you tried to hide it- I could tell. It killed me because in your mind I know something was saying 'she doesn't love me' and even if you say no, I won't believe you because I saw it in your eyes. I can't just stand here and let you believe that I might not, because I do. I love you." I let out a deep sigh and smile as I watch Steve's smirk grow into huge grin.

He pulls me in close and kisses me hard, in between each kiss is a beaming smile from the both of us. Steve leans his forehead against mine, "I promise I won't hurt you, you don't have to be afraid of anything," he says softly, his breath tickling my nose. "I know you won't," I say with a huge smile that won't go away.

"Hey, I'd hate to end this but we have to get ready, I promised the guys I would get there on time," Steve says as he lets out a small chuckle. "Alrighty," I smile softly. We make our way upstairs and part ways when I take my suit case into the guest room to change. I didn't want him to see what I was going to wear until we left- plus I didn't want us to get side tracked with other things.

I open up my bag and tear through it, thank God I packed some nice clothes- I figured we go out at least once. After 15 minutes of putting on and taking off clothes I finally found a combination that I liked. I quickly throw on some light make up , and I hear Steve suddenly yell, "Bambi, we gotta leave!"

-----Steve's POV

"Okay! I'm coming!" I hear Elle yell as she closes her door shut. As she makes her way downstairs, my breath hitches when I see how sexy she looks in her outfit. The black skirt hugs her curves perfectly, and her top shows just the right amount of stomach, enticing me to ask to see more. She looks down and checks her outfit once more then looks back up to me, "What are you staring at?"

"Let's just say I don't think the nick name Bambi suits you when you dress like that," I say and bite my lip.

"Oh shut up it's not that sexy," she says as she hits me with her purse and walks towards the front door. "I think you underestimate yourself Elle, I thought you were a goody two shoes- but after this outfit, I'm not so sure," I say following her.

"I went out with you and the guys before, and we all know how that ended."

"Yeah but that didn't change my mind about you, you're still so... innocent. Once a good girl always a good girl," I say as I help her into the passenger seat to my truck.

Elle scoffs, "A goody two shoes though? Oh please Steve Mason, you're in for a ride tonight!"




(To Be Continued)

Notes

[Next chapter will be them going out with Steve's friends]

Hey guys! I'm SO sorry it took so long to update! I have a sculpture class that loads me up with so much homework so I've been so busy with trying to keep up with all of my classes. I will most likely be making updates more frequently since we won't be doing anymore sculptures outside of class.

ANYWAYS, I really hope you like the chapter! The next chapter and this one were only supposed to be one, but since this turned out to be so long I decided to split it! I feel kind of bad that nothing really happens but the next one will be better I promise!

Thanks so much for sticking with this story- I always worry that it's not all that great so feedback would be excellent- it's awesome seeing that people are actually reading the story!

Don't forget to comment and subscribe!

-Linds