Thanks for the support that you guys are showing towards this story so far. This chapter continues from where the previous one ended.
Lucy was pleasantly surprised when Chris carefully placed the bouquet of flowers on the coffee table opposite her.
"They're lovely" she exclaimed as she leant towards them, then looked up at Chris with a worried expression, "What have you done?" she asked cautiously
Chris laughed, "Nothing, they're not from me" he replied, "They're from Jem"
Lucy glanced at him quizzically, "'Jem?' You mean Jeremy Simmons?"
Chris nodded, "He heard about the pregnancy and wanted to congratulate you"
Lucy smiled, "That's really thoughtful"
Chris nodded in agreement and there was a pause before he asked, "How do you know him?"
"Well he lives around here but he's been touring the states promoting wheelchair basketball" she told him, "Lassiter's has been endorsing him and we let him use one of our halls for his lessons"
Chris smiled thoughtfully, "That's great"
Lucy nodded in agreement, "You're still into basketball, aren't you? You should go to one of his lessons" she suggested excitedly, "They're every Wednesday evening in Conference Room 2"
Chris shook his head dismissively and Lucy raised an eyebrow, "Why not?" she questioned, "You need to go and enjoy yourself before the baby comes along. Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't"
"I'm happy with you, and I'll be happy once the baby's born" Chris informed her, feeling hesitant about facing Jem after their run-in earlier on.
"Chris, you're young, you need to be interacting with other young people. And no, your baby does not count as a 'young person'" she pointed out, "I'm twenty years older than you, your child will be twenty years younger than you. That's not an appropriate age gap to have between people that you interact with"
Chris chuckled and Lucy continued, "You never know, you might just meet that special someone"
Chris shook his head, "I thought I had" he muttered
Lucy looked confused, "What do you mean?"
"I already knew Jem before he gave me those flowers for you" he admitted, "We met a couple of days ago and hit it off, but now it's gone wrong"
"Gone wrong how?" she questioned
"I told him that I was the father of your child, and he couldn't get away quick enough" Chris replied
Lucy pulled a face, "Ok, so not the best start" she joked, "But if you go along to his lesson then it'll be showing him that there are no hard feelings between you"
Chris considered this, "I guess I could give it a try" he murmured, which caused Lucy to grin in satisfaction.
xxx
Jeremy was surprised – and a combination of pleased and uncomfortable – to see Chris arrive at his class. He was unsure how he was supposed to act around him, but realised that he had to treat him in the same way that he would treat any of his students, so he smiled at Chris as he approached.
"Hey" Chris greeted hesitantly, "Is it ok for me to be here?"
Jem scoffed, "Well you work here too" he pointed out
Chris chuckled, "I know, but I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me"
Jem shrugged, "To be honest, the class isn't exactly teeming with participants, even with the offer of the first class being free" he replied dryly, "So yes, I'm glad you're here"
Chris smiled and allowed Jem to lead him into the hall, hesitant about what would happen during and after the class.
xxx
After the session had ended, Jem watched Chris, who had parked his wheelchair with the others and was stretching. The other participants waved to him as they left and Jem waited until they had moved off before approaching Chris.
"Hey" Jem began, "How was it?"
Chris exhaled, "It was pretty intense" he replied, "Trying to steer the chair whilst using the basketball skills is not as easy as it looks"
Jem shook his head, "You did pretty well for a first lesson, considering you've never been in a wheelchair before"
Chris pulled a face, "Actually, I have been in a wheelchair briefly" he admitted, "But not in the same way, obviously"
Jem nodded in understanding, realising that there was some kind of story there that was too personal to ask Chris about, "So do you think you'll come back next week?"
Chris nodded eagerly, "Definitely, I loved it"
Jem beamed at Chris' enthusiasm and the young man continued, "I forgot about the rush that you get when you play, that adrenaline. It makes me wonder why I gave it up in the first place"
Jem gazed at him thoughtfully and there was a lingering pause before he cleared his throat, "Look, I'm really sorry about how I reacted the other day about Lucy and the baby thing"
Chris shook his head, "Don't worry about it, I know it's kind of full-on. Trust me, I was freaked out too at first"
Jem still looked sheepish, "It still doesn't excuse me being rude and rushing off like I did" he argued, "How about I make it up to you?"
Chris grinned wickedly, "What do you have in mind?"
Jem smiled, "Well I think I've already mentioned that I'm pretty nifty when it comes to cooking, so how about I make us dinner sometime?"
Chris was pleasantly surprised, "Like a date?" he asked cautiously
Still smiling, Jem nodded, "If that's ok with you"
Chris beamed, "Yeah, that sounds awesome"
"Cool" Jem replied, "How about tomorrow at seven?"
Chris nodded, "Sure, that works for me"
"Ok, I'll text you with the details" Jem replied happily, "See you tomorrow"
"Yeah, see you" Chris responded, and watched Jem leave again. Unlike last time, however, Chris wasn't watching him with regret. Instead, he was watching him with happiness, excitement and hope.
xxx
"Ooh, you got a hot date?" Lucy cooed as Chris emerged from his bedroom, wearing a smart shirt and jeans, with his hair styled neatly.
Chris raised any eyebrow, "How did you guess?"
"Because I think that's the most effort I've ever seen you put into your appearance the whole time we've known each other" Lucy replied
Chris looked confused, "Uh, thanks I guess" he responded uncertainly, wondering whether that was a compliment or an insult.
"It's Jem that you're going on your date with, isn't it?" Lucy enquired knowlingly
Chris held back a smile as he checked himself in the mirror, "Maybe, maybe not"
Lucy chuckled, "You're really into him, aren't you?"
Chris shrugged as his smile became more obvious, "How can you tell?"
"Well that smug little grin on your adorable freckled face kind of gives it away" Lucy retorted
Chris sniggered before looking more serious, "I just don't want to mess this up" he murmured
Lucy shook her head, "You won't" she assured him, "Just don't mention the 'L' word and you'll be fine"
Chris raised an eyebrow and wandered over to the coffee table, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna tell him I love him on our first date" he assured her as he picked up his keys, phone and wallet.
Lucy shook her head again, "No, not that 'L' word" she corrected, "'I meant 'Lucy'. You said that he freaked out when he found out you were the father of my baby, so just don't mention me and the night should go smoothly"
Chris considered this as he put his items in his pockets, "Well we kind of agreed to put that behind us, so hopefully that won't be an issue. Besides, there's plenty for us to talk about aside from the baby"
Lucy nodded in agreement, but was slightly worried about what the future had in store for all of them if Chris was involved in a new relationship with a baby on the way.
Thanks for reading: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and the next one will be up in due course! Anyway - as previously mentioned - if anyone wants to put their own ideas in, I'll definitely take them on board. In the meantime, reviews are always welcome!
