After having an extended vacation to get everybody moved in and settled down, I returned to work on the second day of the new year, while Jessica and Liam stayed at our new apartment. Jessica started her new job at Weber State University that Monday, and Liam started to go to daycare by his mom's work.
Since I worked a much earlier and a set shift compared to Jessica, we quickly settled into a routine of her dropping Liam off and me picking him up. We were able to spend most of our nights tonight, except for when Jessica had a basketball game to attend. When she was at a road game with the team, Liam's dad usually took him. Having a bigger place now also meant that I was able to get my daughters every other weekend, and we were able to time it so that the weekends that I didn't have my kids, Liam also went to his dad's, giving me and Jessica every other weekend alone.
We tried to make sure that we were going on pretty regular dates and making plans for our future. We quickly got in touch with a mortgage leader to see how close we were to buying a house. While we both made good money and had no debt, Jessica needed at least six months at her job before they could add her to a loan, so we put that on hold.
Hannah started to date a guy she met at the gym and told me that we had to stop whatever we had been doing, and I agreed. We double dated with them a few times, and it was good to see her happy.
With Valentine's Day coming up, me and Jessica were excited to spend our first one together. Unfortunately, her basketball team had a road game that night. It was up in Bozeman, Montana, a short six-hour drive from us, so we decided that I should drive up there, attend the game, and we'll get a hotel room afterwards instead of driving home with the team.
I took the day off work and set off in the late morning, making the drive by myself, as Jessica was lucky enough to fly with the team. I arrived a few hours before the game started, met Jessica at the arena to get my ticket, and went to check in to our hotel before going back to the arena. Jessica had gotten me a ticket just a few rows behind the team bench, so I got to keep my eyes on her while I watched the game.
She had her brown hair braided into a ponytail behind behind her head. A tight, purple polo with the Weber State logo in the upper left corner stretched across her chest, while her fit butt stood out in a pair of black athletic pants. As she helped warm up the guys on her team, I caught more than one member of the opposite team checking her out, which made me smile, knowing the things I would be doing to her after the game.
During a timeout in the third quarter, the Montana State mascot went around the crowd, handing out roses to a bunch of women. As the timeout ended and the players went back on the court, the mascot walked over to the Weber State bench, and handed a rose to Jessica, pretending to kiss her hand afterwards. Jessica took it as she turned red, turning and holding it up to me afterwards.
After the game ended, with Weber State getting the victory, I waved goodbye to Jessica, telling her that I would meet her outside, and headed out to my car. A short time later, Jessica came bouncing out of the tunnel, going into the arena, with a smile on her face. I could tell she was laughing and heard it as she got into the car. "You'll never guess what just happened," she said to me after kissing my cheek.
I asked what, and she said, "I got stopped in the hallway outside of our locker room by some random kid. He told me that he was in the mascot costume and that he thought that I was the most beautiful girl in the world and asked me for my number."
"I mean, he's not wrong," I replied back. "So, why are you laughing? Did you break his heart?"
"I thought I was going to! No, I told him that I was flattered but that I had a boyfriend. He then offered me a hundred bucks if I would flash him! And five hundred to blow him!" Jessica said as I started to drive out of the arena parking lot.
"So you laughed at him and walked away?" I said.
"No! Before I could even respond, two guys that are on the cheer team for them walked over. One of them bear hugged this kid from behind and walked away with him while the other one told me that he was sorry, that kid does that kind of crap all the time, he's been warned multiple times not to, and that he was probably going to get kicked out from being the mascot," Jessica said.
"Wow. That is crazy. I'm glad they're doing something about it," I said.
"Me too. I'm laughing, but it was a little worrisome," Jessica said as I pulled into the hotel parking lot. "I'm sorry this is a lame Valentine's Day. You spent all day driving just to eat dinner alone and watch me at work."
"I thought it was great getting to see you in action," I told her as we walked into the hotel. "Plus, we still get the night together."
"Yeah, I got a lot of hoots and hollers when the team found out that I was coming to the hotel with you and not back on the plane with them," Jessica said as we got onto the elevator to our floor.
Entering our room a few minutes later, Jessica let out a gasp and covered her mouth, as I had set out a Valentine's Day surprise for her in the room. The hallway and floor going to the bedroom were covered with rose pedals; the bed had two gifts on it, plus a box of chocolates. There was a bouquet of roses sitting on the table next to the bed, along with her favorite drink, Dr. Pepper.
Jessica turned and threw her arms around my neck, giving me a kiss and saying, "Oh, Danny, I love you!"
"I love you, too," I said, returning the kiss, before we let go of each other and she walked over to the bed.
Jessica picked up both gifts before saying, "I didn't even think to bring your gift with me. It's at our apartment. I was going to wait until tomorrow."
"That's OK. Both of these are kind of for me, as well," I told her. Jessica had a confused look on her face, so I said, "Go ahead and open them, and you'll see what I mean."
Jessica sat down on the bed as we started to open up the presents. They were both wrapped in pink wrapping paper, under which was a white box. The first box that she opened up contained an envelope, which she again looked at me with a confused look. I just smiled as she opened up the envelope and pulled out two tickets to see Luke Combs, one of her favorite singers, in concert. She again threw her arms around my neck and told me thank you.
She gently sat the tickets down before turning back to the second gift. She quickly unwrapped it, opened the box, and giggled as she pulled out a new lingerie set. She held it up and said, "When you said that they are kind of for both of us, did you mean that you were going to put this on and model it for me?"
I laughed and said, "Nope, it's all for you to wear and me to take off."
Jessica leaned over to me and gave me a kiss and said, "Thank you," before standing up and walking over to the hotel room's bathroom with the lingerie still in her hand.
