July 5th
Look too pretty.
Ainsley
I wake up slowly, happy I don’t have to work today. I roll over, looking for Damon but find his side of the bed empty.
His side of the bed.
And he actually does have a side. He always chooses the left side of the bed, which means I’m able to snuggle up in my favorite spot, tucked under his right shoulder with my head on his chest. Even though not directly above his heart, I can still feel his heartbeat.
And something I’ve noticed is that Damon’s resting heart rate must be quite low because his always beats much slower than mine.
And its gentle rhythm is quite soothing.
A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand causes my eyes to go wide.
It’s a little after ten. I can’t believe I slept in this long.
One thing I’ve noticed about being pregnant is that I sleep so hard.
And even with my little nap yesterday, I was exhausted by the time we got back from the fireworks.
I remember Damon kissing me as my head hit the pillow.
I hear a noise come from the other side of the bedroom door and then suddenly smell the wonderful scent of food cooking. Something fried. And I don’t know what is going on, but I love fried food right now—which is weird because it’s something I normally avoid.
My tummy immediately growls. I’ve also been hungrier than usual. Well, for the most part. Sometimes, I can’t get enough food. Other times, nothing sounds good.
I stretch out my body and then get up, donning a robe, and patter out to the kitchen.
Damon is again shirtless, wearing the apron. And it makes me smile.
“Morning,” he says. “Sleep well?”
“Obviously,” I tease. “How long have you been up?”
“Believe it or not, I slept in too. Which is not something I usually do. I got up about an hour ago and decided to whip up breakfast.”
I sit down at the breakfast bar and say, “It smells good. Whatcha cooking?”
“Gravy,” he says. “I asked Mimi to teach me how to make it during the family reunion. It’s one of my favorite things. Everyone says gravy is so hard to make, but it’s really pretty simple. I’ve got the biscuits in the oven, and the hash browns are cooked and waiting in the pan.”
“That sounds really good,” I tell him.
He smiles. “Since I’m in the Ozarks, I thought I’d make chicken fried steak too.
Although you didn’t have any steak, so I made chicken fried chicken instead.
I had to pound it out thin and everything.
My batter,” he says, pulling some tin foil off a platter on the island and showing me the chicken cutlets, “leaves a little to be desired, but it tastes good even if it doesn’t look too pretty. ”
Just then, the timer dings, and he goes, “Oh, the biscuits should be ready.”
And when he turns around and bends over to open the oven door, I get a shock and start laughing.
“You’re cooking naked!” I hoot.
His sexy, naked butt is clearly visible.
He pulls the golden-brown biscuits from the oven, sets them on the stovetop, and then turns around to face me. Cue the big grin.
“You’re naughty,” I tell him, still laughing.
“Hey, you’re not supposed to laugh about that. Me naked around you is very serious.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I thought you had on shorts, like the other day, but then you turned around.”
“Butt being the keyword,” he says with a chuckle.
“I mean, you saw my naked butt on my wild night—only fitting I see yours as often as possible.”
He comes around to my side of the counter, pulls me to my feet, undoes my robe, then sets me up on the counter.
Very quickly, my legs are wrapped around his waist, and he’s kissing me hard.
But hunger gets the best of me. “Do you mind if we eat first?”
He reluctantly nods and lets go of me.
We fill our plates and then sit at the kitchen table and eat.
“I’m not ready for you to leave,” I tell him, feeling emotional. “This weekend was so much fun.”
“It was, and thanks to Sammy, I’ll be back down here in just a few weeks.”
“That should be interesting. Thankfully, the other bedrooms are upstairs, above the kitchen, on the opposite side of the house from our room.”
“Our room,” he says, looking at me dreamily. “I can’t wait until we can live together. Be together all the time.”
“I can’t wait for that either,” I tell him. “I know our goal is for me to move to Lincoln with you after graduation, but I’m worried about finding a job there.”
“Whatever happens, we’ll make it work,” he says reassuringly.
Which makes me feel good. Like we’re a team.
“By the way, Mimi taught you right. This is all delicious. In fact, I’m going in for seconds.”
He smiles and says, “Me too,” then surprises me when he picks me up and carries me into the bedroom.
Damon slowly explores my body, looking at it like he’ll never see it again or maybe just tucking away the memories for when we’re apart. And when he kisses down my belly, tears form in my eyes, and I think about the fact that he’s sort of kissing his baby. Our baby.
I run my fingers through his hair, and the words almost form on my lips. But I know I can’t tell him. Not yet. I have to be strong.
And a few hours later, I’m teary again when he gets loaded up in his car and kisses me goodbye.
“I wish you didn’t have to go,” I tell him.
“I wish I didn’t have to either. I keep thinking the last time I saw you was the best time of my life, but things just keep getting better. I love you, Champ.”
“I love you too, Damon,” I say.