Back to You

Lauren laughed. “I think we have to let the birthday girl call the shots tonight,” she said before she unwrapped her arms from around his waist.

She looked up at him and he smiled, tucking a lock of hair that had fallen free from her ponytail behind her ear at the same time that two tiny hands clasped hers.

“Let’s swim, Miss Lauren!” Erin said, tugging her away from Michael.

He took a step back, holding his hands up in surrender, and Lauren couldn’t help but laugh before she turned toward Erin. “It’s not a pool, sweetheart. It’s something called a foam pit. You want to do something cool?”

Erin smiled broadly as she nodded, and Lauren walked her to the edge of the incline. “Okay, turn around and face Daddy. Put your back to the pit.”

As Erin did what she was told, Lauren knelt beside her, putting one hand on her lower back and the other behind her knees. “Okay, on the count of three, I want you to jump as high as you can. Ready?”

“Ready!”

“Here we go. One…two…three!”

As Erin jumped, Lauren supported her lower back as her other hand flipped Erin’s legs up over her head, sending her off the platform in a backflip. She sailed into the foam pit, bouncing into the multicolored cushions.

Erin squealed with hysterical laughter. “Again!” she called from the pit. “Do it to me again, Miss Lauren!” { display: block; text-indent: 5%; font-size: 0.88rem; margin-top: ing to ry

Lauren laughed. “Okay, get over to that ladder and climb out. Come back around.”

Michael approached the edge of the incline, looking into the pit beside Lauren. They watched Erin struggle through the large foam blocks, stumbling and giggling.

“So what do you think? You want to try taking lessons again?” Lauren asked as she bumped him with her shoulder.

“Nah. You can’t improve upon perfection,” he said, brushing his fingers over the top of his shoulder.

Lauren pursed her lips to hide her smile. “Come on. Give it a shot. At least this time you’ll land in the foam instead of on your ass.”

Before she could even process what had happened, Michael whirled and scooped her up bridal style, causing her to gasp.

He spun once and tossed her over the side and into the foam pit, and she flailed sloppily, her squealing laughter rivaling Erin’s as she bounced into the foam.

She looked up to see Michael standing at the edge of the incline, looking down at her. “Well, that wasn’t very graceful. And you call yourself a gymnast?”

She picked up one of the foam blocks and threw it at him, but he sidestepped it easily. Then he took a step back and did one of the worst cartwheels Lauren had ever seen off the edge of the incline, his legs splayed apart and bent like broken hangers.

When he plopped into the cushions next to her, she was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe.

“See?” he said, somewhat winded. “Perfection.”

“Hey!” a little voice called.

They both whipped their heads up to see Erin standing at the edge of the incline above them, hands on her hips, her expression stern.

“Sorry! We’re coming!” Lauren called up before she turned to Michael. “Stop distracting me. You’re getting me in trouble,” she scolded, and she could hear his laughter behind her as she made her way toward the ladder.

They spent the next hour playing in the foam pit and practicing cartwheels. When it was time to leave, Michael knelt in front of Erin, helping her on with her coat.

“So what do you think? Do you want to do this? You can take classes here.”

“Yes, please. Can Miss Lauren be my teacher?”

“Well, you’ll have a different teacher,” Lauren said. “But I’ll come here and practice with you some days if you want.”

“Okay!” Erin exclaimed, stepping into her shoes.

As they exited the lobby, Michael grabbed a pamphlet with class information and folded it into his jacket.

Once outside, he turned toward Lauren, stuffing both hands in his pockets. “So…”

“Can we get hotdogs, Daddy?” Erin asked, pointing to a vendor on the corner. “I’m hungry.”

Michael glanced at his watch before looking at Lauren. “We didn’t eat di

Lauren laughed. “Probably a good call.”

“You want to grab a bite with us?”

“Sure.”

Michael smiled as he reached down to take Erin’s hand. “Okay, birthday hotdogs it is.”

They walk { display: block; text-indent: 0%; font-size: 0.88rem; margin-top: a"> shouldered down the street toward the vendor, and Lauren zipped her jacket all the way up to her chin, crossing her arms in front of herself against the cold.

By the time they ordered their hotdogs, Lauren’s teeth were chattering. She could barely uncross her arms long enough to reach for the hotdog Michael handed her.

She looked down at Erin, standing next to her father, taking small, unhurried bites of her hotdog, and then back up to Michael, whose casual posture mirrored his daughter’s. His jacket wasn’t even zippered.

“My God, aren’t you freezing?” Lauren said through her tight jaw, curling her hands around the warmth of the bun.

Michael smiled. “I work outside, remember? I’m kind of immune to it.”

“Right,” Lauren said, a shudder ripping through her shoulders as she took a bite of her hotdog.

She heard Michael laugh, and then suddenly he was behind her, wrapping his arms around the front of her body.

For the slightest second, Lauren felt herself hesitate. But his body was shielding her from the cold wind, his chest broad and comfortable behind her, and when he began rubbing his hands up and down her arms, she lost the battle.

She dropped her head back onto his shoulder, pressing herself farther back against his chest.

Damn muscle memory.

“Better?” he asked softly, and she nodded.

“Much.”

He wrapped one arm tightly around her waist, holding her against him while he ate his hotdog with the other, and Lauren allowed herself to be enveloped by him as Erin skipped around them, singing to herself while she finished her di

Eventually, Michael released her to throw his napkin in the trash can, and she immediately mourned the loss of his warmth behind her.

“Okay baby,” he said, glancing down at his watch again. “We have to get home and get you in the tub. Say thank you to Lauren.”

“Hold on,” Lauren said. “I have her present in the car.”

“I get a present?” Erin asked excitedly. “I thought my present was the flips!”

“Well, there’s a little something else.”

“Daddy, can I go get my present? Please?”

Michael was looking at Lauren. “You know you didn’t have to do that.”

“I know. I wanted to. Is it okay?” She realized too late that maybe she should have run it by Michael first.

He smiled as Erin grabbed his hand and started towing him toward Lauren. “Yes, it’s okay. Where are you parked?”

“Right at the end of the street,” she said, starting to walk in the direction she indicated, and she felt Erin take one of her hands. She looked down at Erin, walking in between her and Michael with one of their hands clasped in each of hers, and then she looked up at Michael.

He was smiling down at his daughter with the same level of adoration that Erin had looked at him with earlier, and Lauren swallowed hard against the lump in her throat.

When they reached her car, Lauren started it and blasted the heat before pulling Erin’s present out of the backseat and shutting the door.

She walked around the front of the car to where Erin was standing on the sidewalk and handed her the pink bag with purple and silver ribbon curling from the handle.

“I believe y@. ck you toou said you needed one of these. Every princess should have one,” she added with a wink.

Erin reached in and pulled out the crown, a silver, sparkling tiara complete with purple and pink jewels.