15. Aiden
Aiden
The party is in full swing. Blue looks beautiful in a baby blue dress that is tight and shows off her small baby bump. The dress fits her curves perfectly. I have had a hard time not constantly staring at her. She really is glowing, and today she looks so beautiful it hurts.
Our house is decked out in pink and blue decorations with a hint of Winnie the Pooh.
There are streamers and balloons everywhere.
There’s an assortment of finger foods, mini cakes, and cookies on the counter with the gender reveal cake in the center.
Charlotte did such a good job with the decorations, and I know she spent the entire last week baking everything for today after school.
She ended up baking the reveal cake last night after everyone was asleep so as not to spoil the secret.
Charly has Bailey cutting a cake and the inside of the cake will be either pink or blue based on the gender of the baby. I’ve never been so excited in my life. I truly don’t care what this baby is. As long as everyone is healthy, boy or girl, I’m going to love this baby.
“Alright everyone! Let’s gather around. It’s time to figure out what Little Bear is going to be.” Charly calls to everyone and we all gather around the island in the kitchen where the cake has been displayed.
Bailey grabs the knife from Charly and steps up behind the cake, “So I just cut a piece and it will tell me what I’m having?” She asks, her voice a little shaky. I see a slight tremble in her hands, and have to resist the urge to take the knife out of her hand.
“Yes ma’am!” Charly claps her hands, “whenever you’re ready, so are we.”
Bailey gives a curt nod before she puts the knife into the cake, slides it out and puts it back in to cut the piece.
The biggest smile hits her face as she sees the color inside before we do.
She grabs the spatula to pull the piece out, and when the bright pink cake shines for us all to see tears begin to stream down my face.
I didn’t think I would cry, but this little girl already has me wrapped around her finger.
“I knew it!” Bailey exclaims, and we all cheer and clap. Hugs are being passed around as well. I walk around the island and wrap my arms around Bailey.
“You going to tell me her name now?” I ask teasingly.
She leans into me and whispers right into my ear, “Her name is Rowan Elizabeth,” her hot breath brushes against my ear and a full blown shiver works its way through my body.
I pull back to look in her eyes. I don’t know if she knows how much it means to me that she is using my mothers name as her baby’s middle name. More tears try to escape from my eyes. “It’s beautiful. I love it.” I give her my brightest smile.
Momma walks up next to congratulate Bailey and the rest of our family and friends follow. She doesn’t tell anyone Little Bear’s name yet, and now that I know the name I get why she wanted to tell Momma first, and why there were tears this morning.
Earlier, after Bailey went upstairs to take a shower I grilled Momma to make sure Blue really was okay.
She assured me she was, and not to worry.
Then she grilled me as to why I haven’t told Bailey how I feel yet.
I'm not ready to tell her how Bailey ran away from the almost kiss in the kitchen that night, so I dodged the question.
I don't have a plan to get over her yet, and honestly, I'm not sure I ever will.
Later that night I’m laying in my childhood bed. I outgrew the twin a long time ago, but I never said anything. I wanted Blue in my room, and knew if we got a queen they’d put her in the room with Charly so we didn’t have to share a bed.
It was an amazing day. After Bailey cut the cake, we all just hung out and mingled. We ended up playing a huge game of Charades with our friend group and Charly.
Blue walks into the room wearing one of my old long sleeved t-shirts and a pair of pajama shorts.
She wears some version of this to bed every night, but it never gets easier to control my dick when I see her in those short shorts that show off her long legs and hug her ass in the most perfect way.
Bailey looks good all the time, but right before bed and first thing in the morning are my favorite versions of her.
The version when she has taken her make up off, she’s got a relaxed expression on her face, ready to snuggle in and go to sleep.
Or when she wakes up first thing in the morning, hair messy from tossing in her sleep, the crease of her pillow creating little lines on her face, and the soft smile that only I ever see as she opens her eyes for the day.
Those versions are the best, and I’m the only person in the world that gets to see them. They’re special to us.
She turns off the light before climbing into my much too small bed.
She will switch over to her bed before we fall asleep, but I’m not going to complain about the closeness.
She lays her head on my chest as I wrap my arm around her.
She’s got a hand on my stomach, and she starts absentmindedly drawing circles on my abs with one finger.
“Today was amazing.” She says after a few moments of silence.
“It really was. I think Little Bear’s name means a lot to Momma.” I say into her hair. This is my happy place. Right here with my girl in my arms the smell of her cherry blossom shampoo hitting my nose.
I’ve basically given up on the idea that I could ever get over Bailey Michaels.
Maybe someday, long after she’s married with a few more babies, a woman will come into the picture that will be able to take my mind off of the girl in front of me.
Until then, I will love her in silence, continue to be the coward I’ve always been, unwilling to ruin the friendship that means everything to me.
“She cried when I asked her if I could use Elizabeth as her middle name. If she had been a boy, I was going to name him Rowan Matthew, but I was so confident that she was going to be a girl, and Momma was there, it felt like the right moment to ask her. I knew she would say yes, but I wanted to be one hundred percent sure she was okay with it before I made my final decision on her name. I love it though.” She rambles.
“It’s a beautiful name, Blue. I couldn’t have picked a better one.” I start to rub circles on her back. “You’re going to be such an amazing mom.”
“Thanks Bear. I’m so scared, but also so fucking excited to meet her.
” She sounds so happy as she says it. I can only imagine how terrifying it is for her to be a single mom while in college.
She won’t be alone, not by a long shot, but I know she has to be feeling a lot right now.
“Thank you for everything you have done, and continue to do for us. You’ve taken on so much for us, and I don’t know how I will ever repay you for it. ”
“Hey, there is nothing to repay, Blue. You should know that by now. I don’t do things I don’t want to do, but also I love you both so much, and I would do absolutely anything for you both.
This little one is wrapped around my finger just like her momma has been for seventeen years.
” She looks up at me and I look into her eyes through the little bit of light the moon is shining through the windows.
My gaze flicks to her lips, and then back to her eyes.
I have the almost unbearable urge to kiss her in this moment, but I don’t.
So many emotions pass through her eyes that I don’t catch them all, but I have to convince myself that longing isn’t one of them.
Could she possibly feel the same way about me? Is that too much to hope for?
We chat for a bit longer about the things we are excited about. About Little Bear, and everything we need to be prepared for her arrival. Bailey may only be almost fifteen weeks pregnant, but the next 25 weeks will go by fast.
I walk into the apartment after class a few days later and am greeted with the sound of heartbreaking sobs. I'm immediately rushing through the apartment in search of Bailey.
I find her curled up in her bed, her laptop propped up on a pillow, tears streaking down her face, incoherently mumbling at her phone.
"Blue, sweetheart, what happened?" My tone soft, but urgent. I need to know what happened.
"They're best friends," The words are drawn out as she sobs into her pillow.
I take the laptop, set it aside and pull Bailey into my arms, "Bailey, are you watching Zeus and Roxanne again?"
"Don't judge me, Aiden. It's a great movie!" When she buries her face in my shirt, the fabric is immediately wet with her tears.
"Yes, it is, but you cry at this movie on a normal day," I don't say the rest of my sentence, but her pregnancy hormones have made her extra emotional. Watching her go to I need to cry movie was a severely bad idea.
The movie is about a man whose dog strikes up an unlikely friendship with a dolphin that a woman is working to rehabilitate after an injury.
Not only do the dog, Zeus, and the dolphin, Roxanne, become the best of friends, but the man, Terry, and the woman, Mary Beth, end up falling in love as well.
It's a sweet movie, but Bailey cries every single time.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asks, affronted.
I open and close my mouth a couple times, trying to think of an answer that isn't going to get me in trouble, but let's be honest, anything I say at this moment is going to put me in the metaphorical doghouse.
"Do you want to finish the movie? I can order ice cream?" I say instead of answering her question.
"Can you get popsicles instead? And maybe pickles? Ooh, you know what sounds amazing?" She says, and I cringe a little, because that combination already sounds revolting, but if that's what my girl and Little Bear want, that's what they'll get.
"What's that?" I'm scared to ask her.
"Tacos!" She groans, "Tacos sound amazing."
"Anything you want, sweetheart," I say, getting out of the bed, "I'm going to go put on sweats and order all of this for you. I'll be right back."
I turn to walk out the room, pausing at the door to look at her for a moment.
She's already grabbed her laptop back and pressed play.
I make a mental note to bring the box of tissues into the room with me when I come back, knowing I'm about to get sucked into a night of watching movies that make my girl cry.