Chapter 46 #2
“I beg to differ, Angel,” Briggs comments, erasing the distance between us and placing his hands on my stomach.
“There’s no amount of anything, in this world or any beyond it, that could ever be too much when it comes to the three of you.
” For someone so rough around the edges, Briggs sure does know what to say to pull at my heartstrings.
I drop my forehead to his chest, breathing in the scent of him and committing this moment to memory.
Briggs is constantly reminding me that my threshold for love is infinite, because every time I think I can’t possibly love him more, he proves me wrong.
“Providing for you, Hudson, and the baby isn’t a hardship for us, Sunshine,” Col adds, placing a kiss against my temple. “We’re exactly where we want to be, doing exactly what we want to do.”
“When we said forever, minha luz, we meant it,” Raiden states, striding towards us with Hudson still in his arms. “I think we’re all in agreement that living here is only temporary.
It’s not conducive to what we’re building for our family to be split into two homes.
Once we’ve adopted Hudson and no longer have to worry about Doreen stopping by, we’ll start looking for a place that fits us all.
” We. Such a simple word that means more than they could ever know.
The relief I feel at hearing it makes me want to press my lips to his, so that’s exactly what I do.
Knowing they’ve thought about our long-term living situation and that it’s been weighing on them just as heavily as it has me goes a long way in easing my worry.
“I don’t know what to say, just…thank you,” I force out, my throat growing thicker by the second.
“You don’t have to say anything, Butterfly. Just let us keep you and give you the life you’ve always been deserving of,” Dayton pleads, joining the huddle we’ve formed at the center of the room.
“You guys have already given me far more than I deserve,” I admit, looking pointedly around the beautiful space they’ve created for the baby.
I’m afraid to even know what the closet entails, especially if Briggs was the one left in charge of shopping for clothes.
I still have items with the tags attached because of how overboard he’s gone on buying me stuff.
“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one, Angel,” Briggs jests, plucking Hudson from Raiden’s arms. The two of them dance around the room to a beat only they can hear, laughing from the dizziness it causes them.
The sound of Colsen’s phone going off grabs my attention.
He reads the message, a smile stretching across his face before he pockets it once again.
“Rita just arrived, so I’m sure Mia won’t be too far behind her.
However, Royce is requesting our presence, as he’s in desperate need of some platonic male companionship.
Apparently, his balls have all but shriveled up from the excessive amount of feminine energy he’s been absorbing whilst being their bitch.
I’m paraphrasing, of course,” he tacks on, a shit-eating grin quirking his lips.
“I’m gonna tell him you said that,” Dayton teases, bolting for the stairs. “Let’s play a game of who’s unemployed now?” His cackling is still audible by the time he reaches the main floor and begins searching for Royce. It makes me so happy to see their friendship thriving once again.
“You’re a prick, D!” Col shouts, charging after him in hopes of intercepting his boss.
“Let’s go join them before they decide to turn the courtyard into their own personal wrestling match,” Raiden huffs, holding his hand out so he can help me down the stairs.
I happily take it, inhaling deeply in preparation for how painful this is going to be.
I let Briggs and Hudson go before us, knowing his astuteness will be to my detriment if he senses the slightest bit of unease.
Surprisingly, coming back down is easier than going up was.
I exhale in relief once my feet meet the polished concrete floors of the main level.
Just as we enter the living room, Rita, Royce, and Mia shove their way through the front door.
Royce’s arms are full of gift bags, puffs of tissue paper sticking up in every direction and hindering his line of sight.
Rita’s carrying two chafing dishes that she places on the kitchen counter, while Mia saunters in with her arms raised, orange juice in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, as she sings some sort of pop song horrendously off-key.
A few seconds later, Col and Dayton stumble in after them, their clothes slightly askew as they work to control their heavy breathing.
I stand there, completely clueless as to what’s happening, while chaos ensues around me.
Rita directs the guys to situate the gift bags on the coffee table, then turns her attention to me.
“Happy baby shower, love,” she announces, giving me a quick squeeze.
“Raiden, be a sweetheart and go grab the balloons we left outside.” He dips his chin in answer, giving her a mock salute, then carries out his marching orders.
Just as Rita spins on her heel to tend to something else, I lightly grab her arm to keep her in place.
“I’m sorry, did you say baby shower?” I question, glancing around at all the stuff in confusion while simultaneously trying to marry the two words I’ve never heard used together.
“Yes?” she replies, though her perplexity is just as apparent as mine.
I shuffle my feet uncomfortably, sensing this is one of those times where I’m ill-informed about something I should know.
Briggs, being observant as always, immediately homes in on my lack of understanding and rushes to fill in the blanks.
“A baby shower is like a party for mothers-to-be. The guests bring gifts for the baby and mom, which is why they call it a shower. They’re showering you both with love and things you’ll need, or simply stuff that’ll help make life a little easier with a newborn.
It’s a great way to help ease the financial burden for expecting parents because preparing for a new baby can get really expensive, really fast,” Brings explains.
“Oh,” I respond, my cheeks heating. It feels like my entire body is flushed with embarrassment. How is it, at the ripe age of twenty-four, I’m still learning about things that should’ve been common knowledge?
I tried my best with the limited resources available to me, but there's still a massive gap in my comprehension of everyday things. If I hadn’t seen so much of the country because of Danny and Prissy’s vagabond lifestyle, being locked behind a concrete fortress for eight years would have really set me back.
I wouldn’t say I’m ignorant of most things, but if I never had an opportunity to experience something, such as a baby shower, I wouldn’t have had a reason to learn about it.
My parents didn’t care enough to make sure I had the basic necessities, much less someone else’s kid.
“Well,” Rita starts, clapping her hands and trying her best to breeze past the awkward moment. “Today you’ll get to see exactly what a baby shower entails. Now, why don’t you kiss these men of yours goodbye and send them on their way? This event is strictly for the ladies.”
“You hear that, Huddy Buddy?” Briggs asks dejectedly, doing a superb job of feigning disappointment.
“Kicked out of our own house.” He shakes his head in dismay.
“I guess that means we’ll have to go kill some time at that new park across town.
And maybe stop for ice cream. Or cookies.
Or…” he starts, but I clamp my hand over his mouth.
“You will have exactly one treat and no more,” I voice sternly, knowing the sugar rush it’ll cause Hudson if Briggs goes overboard, which inevitably leads to him crashing early and then waking up at some ungodly hour that defies human function.
“Yes, ma’am,” Briggs mumbles, my hand still in place and hindering his speech.
He winks and licks my palm, causing me to roll my eyes.
“Scout’s honor, Angel. I’ll only give our boy a single treat, even though he’s the bestest son in the whole world and deserves so many more.
” His puppy-dog eyes are the equivalent of a bad party trick, but they sadly still work.
“If he decides the witching hour is playtime, you’re the one getting up with him,” I demand, poking his rock-hard chest for emphasis.
“Of course.” Briggs nods like a bobblehead. “Now give me a kiss and tap me on the ass so the two of us can go find ourselves some trouble.” I’d like to say he’s only kidding, but a part of me knows he’s not.
“No insulting other parents on the playground,” I insist, rising to my tiptoes to peck his lips.
Briggs takes the opportunity to drag me forward until I’m flush against him, his hand cupping the back of my head as his tongue prods the seam of my mouth, demanding entrance.
I capitulate far too easily, but that seems to be a common occurrence when it comes to the four of them.
“We’ll be on our best behavior,” Briggs promises, finally pulling away and allowing me to breathe. I snort, knowing it’s unlikely he’ll be anything less than a menace to society.
“Move over, Romeo,” Col interjects, forcing his way between us. Briggs scoffs indignantly, then blows me a kiss before grabbing some diapers and wipes for Hudson. “Don’t worry, Sunshine. I’ll tag along and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
“My hero.” I swoon dramatically, the two of us sharing a secret smile.