December 24th
I’m in the picture.
Ainsley
“The next two days are going to be a bit of a whirlwind,” Damon says as we’re standing in the bathroom, getting ready.
“That’s the fun part of the holidays, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but I used to love it because then we got a nice long Christmas break to just chill.”
“Not this year. It really sucks that you’re going to a bowl game next week instead,” I tease.
“Hush, you,” he says, giving my butt a little slap.
I stop in my tracks and stare at him. “I have to say, that just turned me on.”
He stares back at me, his eyes squinting. Then he suddenly picks me up and carries me back into the bedroom.
My phone rings a while later.
“Shit, that’s probably my mom, wondering where we are.”
I quickly answer the call, purposefully trying to make my voice sound like I just woke up. “Hey,” I say.
“Oh, honey, did I wake you?”
“Uh, no. Just a little slow this morning,” I tell her.
“Well, Sammy and I are in the kitchen, and brunch is ready, whenever you want to come eat.”
“I’m starving, so we’ll be there quick.”
“Perfect,” she says.
“Time to go so soon, huh?” Damon purrs.
“Well, I know that Mom is heading to Hayes’s house after, and Sammy is driving down to his parents’. Everyone is on a schedule, I think.”
“And after brunch, we’re going to my dad’s. Which will be fun. I love Christmas Eve. Well, really, I love the food and the games.”
“Mostly the food, I bet,” I say as I get up and get dressed.
“You know me so well,” he says with a laugh.
“So,” I say to Sammy as soon as I walk through the back door, “tell us about last night.”
Sammy sighs. “Last night, once you guys left, so did Apollo. He was tired and had an early flight back home this morning. And he still hasn’t told his parents that he’s moving.”
“I suppose there wasn’t much time for him to tell anyone. Tripp called Buck Boone late, Buck called Apollo after midnight, and they had an early flight that day and were at the office most of the time.”
“He’s very excited to be working with you,” Sammy says.
“I know. He told me,” I reply.
“Yeah, but after you left, he was gushing about you. He might have a crush.”
To that, I laugh. “You mean you have a crush. I always thought his name was fitting.”
“Me too,” Sammy says. “And I might have resorted to googling the Greek god, wondering if they shared the same traits.”
“Wasn’t Apollo considered one of the most handsome of the Greek gods?” Damon asks. “And if I recall, he was quite athletic. When Chase and I had a course in high school where we studied Greek history, we joked that we were both Apollos.”
“And you would be right,” I say, giving Damon the eye.
“Oh, enough of that,” Sammy says, waving his hand. “He was also eternally youthful, which means if we’re going to grow old together, he’s going to be some silver fox and I’ll be getting Botox. But here’s the sad part. Apollo was unlucky in love, despite his beauty.”
“Lucky for you, Apollo isn’t a god,” I fire back. “And Merry Christmas!”
“Oh, of course,” Sammy says. “Who’s ready for a mimosa?!”
Mom comes out into the living room at just the right moment, raises her hand, and says, “Me, please!” Then she lets out a sigh. “Sorry I’m late. I just … changed again.”
“Because you’re going to be with Hayes and his family today? I thought you had already met them.”
“I have, but it was brief, not a holiday, and this just signals … well, it’s hard. Their mother passed when the kids were young, and Hayes raised them himself. He says they are happy he is happy, but one of his daughters isn’t exactly friendly toward me. And it just worries me.”
“Did she act like I did the first time I met Hayes?”
“Well, no, not that bad, but you might be right. I do think she was surprised by everything.”
“Just go have fun, Mom. They will love you.”
“Agree,” Sammy says, sipping on the mimosa he just made, “but not in that outfit.”
“Sammy!” I gasp, but he just goes, “I thought the one you had on earlier was much more sophisticated while still festive. And it highlighted your figure. This is a little too casual—dare I say, frumpy?”
I’m about to claw Sammy’s eyes out, but Mom rushes up to him and hugs him.
“Thank you! I needed some truthful advice.” Then she turns to me and Damon. “But if you all don’t mind, I think I will stay in this for our Christmas brunch. That way, I won’t get the other outfit wrinkled.”
Part of me can’t believe we are having this conversation, but then I look down at my own outfit and wonder if I should wear it to Damon’s house today.
I look Sammy in the eye and say, “And what about me?”
“You, my darling, are glowing. You can wear anything you want.”
I tilt my head at him and frown. “You’re just saying that because I’m pregnant.”
“All right, you want the truth? Here goes,” Sammy says, glaring at me defiantly.
Damon holds up his hand, probably knowing this is a horrible idea, but Sammy continues anyway.
“I think that dress is very flattering in the way it hugs your body. I also like that the scoop neck highlights your newfound cleavage and draws attention to your glowing face. Your hair is on point. All the time. It’s literally so thick and gorgeous.
And the red color is festive. I would add a teeny more blush and a red lip to make it perfection. ”
To which Damon claps. “Couldn’t agree more.”
We sit down, have a nice brunch, and then open our presents. One of the highlights being a pretty garnet bracelet—my birthstone—from my mom. After that, she and Sammy head off to their next engagements while Damon looks at his watch.
“You can’t wait to get home, can you?” I ask him.
“I am pretty excited to see my little sisters.”
“Then we should get going too. After I go grab some lipstick,” I say with a smirk.
When we get to his house, I see his car parked in the driveway. “Your orange sleigh awaits you, Santa,” I tease.
He grins. “I asked Jennifer to get it out of the garage. I want to take you for a ride before we go in the house. Once we do, I’ll never be able to get away until the girls are in bed.”
“I think what you meant to say was that I get to drive it,” I counter.
“Oh, yeah, sure, if you want,” he says, stumbling over his words a little.
“I’m just teasing. I wouldn’t ask Santa to drive his sleigh.”
We park in the street, and then he leads me to the passenger side and helps me get in. The car is gorgeous and still smells new.
“This is quite fancy,” I tell him when he slips in on the other side.
“It’s a really cool car. I’m very fortunate,” he says.
“I somehow doubt we can fit a car seat in here.”
“No, and I was thinking about that. But you have your car here, and I have an SUV at school, so we should be all right. At least until we have more kids. Then we might have to get something bigger.”
“A minivan?”
“Maybe.” He chuckles. “Depends on how many kids you want.”
“How many do you want?”
“I was thinking somewhere between two and six,” he says seriously. “Figured we could worry about that later though. See how we get through the first one.”
“What do you mean by that?” I ask.
“Well, honestly, I’m not sure. But Jennifer says that you never know how a woman will handle pregnancy—like not the woman herself, but her body. I guess it’s easier for some than for others, just like anything in life, I suppose. You seem like you’ve been doing well, but I just found out, so—”
“I think I’m doing pretty good. I wasn’t really sick. Just hungry. And so far, so good, I’d say. But we’ll see how the actual birth goes.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he says as he starts the car and revs the motor.
“It’s got both a purr and a rumble. Pretty sexy.”
He backs out of the driveway and takes me around the neighborhood and then out onto the highway, where we quickly go from zero to fifty before he backs off the throttle.
It launched so fast that it sort of tossed my head back against the headrest.
“Thank you for not showing me its top speed,” I say with a laugh.
“Jennifer rented a track one time, and we got to see what it could do. In a safe environment. Certainly not going to do that on the highway. Last thing I need to do is get kicked off the team because I’m in jail.”
I shake my head. “No, that wouldn’t be too much fun.”
He gets off on the next exit and cruises through town, showing me where he went to high school and his favorite places to eat, before pulling back into his driveway.
“That was fun. I loved seeing where you grew up a little. And I’m excited to see your house. Has it changed much since Jadyn redid it?”
“Just a little. They redecorated the upstairs guest room into a nursery when Weston was born, and the downstairs playroom is much more girlie. And I will warn you, Jennifer loves decorating for Christmas.”
“Does it look like your mom’s house? All decked out?”
“It’s all decked out, but definitely not like my mom’s.”
“Now, I’m intrigued,” I say with a laugh as he gets out of the car and comes around to open my door.
Of course, I love his manners, but when he holds his hand out to help me, I sort of wave it off. I can surely get out of a car by myself.
But then I try.
And I realize how low this car sits to the ground. I try a couple of times, then start laughing.
“I’m going to have to stay here. I don’t think I can get out.”
Damon laughs along with me and holds out his hand again.
This time, I wisely take it and use the momentum of his pull to lift myself off the seat.
But then I lose his grip and sit back down.
Which makes me really laugh. Like so hard that I’m practically crying. And then I am crying.
Because when did I get this big?
“You’re going to have to hire a crane,” I say, and I’m quite serious, even at the same time I know that I’m being ridiculous.
“Take my hand again,” he says and hoists me out of the car.
I stand up fully and let out a sigh. “It shouldn’t have been that hard. Maybe I’m not cut out for pregnancy.”
“You’re doing beautifully, Champ,” he says, pulling me into a sweet kiss.
I roll my eyes at him but smile regardless, just as another car pulls into the driveway, and Treyvon jumps out.
“Dude, is this your car?”