"Frankie Cheeks," Ian said as Erin climbed into the van after picking up some more of her clothes from her parents' home. "Franklin Cheeks bit the dust today."
Erin frowned and tossed her suitcase in the back of the van. "Frankie's dead?" she asked, collapsing in her seat and pulling on her seatbelt. "He got off that ride, too, didn't he?"
"Yeah," Ian said, pulling out of the driveway and heading back to his house. "Fucking crazy. Some guy lost control of a moving van and it crashed into the back of Kevin Fischer's truck. Knocked the engine out of it and into the back of Frankie's head."
She wrinkled her nose, rubbing her stomach when she became nauseated. "That's odd," she murmured. "Lewis was behind him, right? Then it was us. What if-"
"Don't," Ian said, cutting her off with a laugh. "That's ridiculous. Frankie actually deserved to die. He was a pig. He used to come onto you all the time in school, remember?"
Erin laughed and nodded. "Yeah, he was fucking gross. He was video taping the Ashes in line, remember?" she recalled, unhooking her seatbelt as the van rolled to a stop. She reached back to grab her suitcase and he swatted her hand away. She sighed and climbed out, walking to the door and slipping her keys from her apron to unlock it. "He was definitely a pig, but I don't know if that means he deserves to die." She walked inside and held the door for him as he lugged her bag to the bedroom. She followed him in and sat on the bed, making a quick grab for a cigarette while his back was turned.
"No. ma'am," Ian said over his shoulder before she even touched the lighter. "No smoking for either of us for nine months." She grumbled to herself and threw the box back onto the nightstand, watching him open her suitcase. She smiled brightly as he started putting her clothes away, watching him dig through the fabric and quickly finding her lingerie. "You did that on purpose," he mumbled, pulling out her thongs one by one and placing them in a drawer.
"You can't prove that," she replied, laying back and laughing softly. She gazed up at the rafters and thought for a while. "Why'd you kiss me that day?"
"What day?" Ian grunted, finishing her clothes and crawling onto the bed next to her, pulling the Build it apron from her neck. He tossed it on the floor and laid his head on her left breast as though it were a pillow. She poked his nose and laughed when he bit her finger, latching on gently.
"When we met," she answered, wiggling her finger from his mouth and wiping it off on his shirt. "You followed me home and kissed me. Why?"
"Uh, because I wanted to?" he asked, sitting up a bit and looking at her. "Why else?"
"Okay, why did you want to?"
"Easy. You're beautiful. You always have been, Pip. You were new to McKinley and you're different. You're smart, talented, funny, sarcastic...dark. Mysterious. Plus we like all the same things. I can insult you and you come back with something ten times worse than what I said without a single regret. I mean, I guess I didn't know all of that on your first day at the high school, but I knew most of it."
"Then why didn't you just ask to take me on a date?" she asked, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, you didn't have to kiss me right away."
"In my experience with girls, just asking you on a date wouldn't have worked," he replied, closing his eyes and making a sound of content when she touched him. "I wanted you, babe. I had to make sure you wanted me, too. The drawings weren't enough. For all I knew, you drew everyone you saw. Which you do, by the way. You draw everyone that comes along and makes an impression on you."
Erin laughed and nodded, happy with his response. She closed her eyes and yawned softly. "Damn, I'm tired," she whispered, rolling onto her side and curling up into a ball.
"Oh, no," Ian said, resting his chin on her hip and pinching her legs gently. "You're not getting off that easy. You did kiss me back, you know. Dish it." He pulled her jeans down a bit to bite down on her hip bone, making her squirm and laugh.
"That tickles, Ian," she muttered, trying to push him off. "Of course I kissed you back. I was terrified. This crazy kid had followed me around all day, followed me home! If I didn't kiss him back, he could have killed me." She grinned and wrapped her legs around his head playfully. "I mean, he could have been a psychopath. I didn't wanna make him angry."
Ian chuckled and bit her through her jeans. "Oh, yeah," he agreed, placing his hands on her sides. "You're right. I totally would have hacked you up with an ax if you had denied me." He rolled onto his back, pulling her into a sitting position above him. "Good perception."
She laughed and sat up on her knees, scooting down to sit on his chest. "I'm just good like that," she teased, running her fingers through his hair before leaning down to peck a kiss onto his lips. "No, but seriously. I drew you for a reason. I thought you were cute. I mean, here was this weird kid-pale as a motherfucker-that was glaring at me in all my classes. Clearly he's smart because he's challenging me in every class to see who can answer the most questions correctly. My initial thought was 'he hates me,' and then he defends me at lunch. He teases and makes fun of me, but I absolutely love it. Then he follows me home and tells me about my new hometown. He tells me about his life. He cares. Then he presses his lips to mine and what else am I gonna do? Shove the only friend I have away from me? No. No, I'm gonna kiss him back because I want him as much as, if not more than, he wants me." She smiled and laced her fingers with his, wrestling to overpower him playfully.
"Well, clearly, kissing you was the best decision I ever made," he replied, rolling over and flipping her onto her back. She laughed and rolled them back over, pinning him down. They wrestled on the bed for a while, unafraid to hurt each other. Erin noticed how wary Ian was of her stomach and it made her smile. Just from the way he acted around her now showed how excellent of a father he was going to be. She knew that he wanted to be so much more than his dad and she wished she could show him that he already was.
After being punched in the face for the fifth time, Ian laughed and held up his hands in defeat. "Uncle," he said. "I give! I give." He placed his hands on her face and yanked her down into a warm kiss before glancing at the clock. "Dinner time."
Erin fell back on the bed and watched him get up. She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind and kissed his cheek before he could get to his feet. "Can't I just have you for dinner?" she asked, nibbling on his ear. She smiled when he leaned his head back slightly to press his lips to hers.
"As excellent as that sounds, I think you two need something substantial for dinner," he replied, rubbing her arms and standing up. She sighed and hopped off the bed, following him to the small kitchen. "How does breakfast sound?"
Erin nodded and stood in the doorway for a while, watching him cook. She laughed as he flipped the pancakes, dropping the first two on the floor. He started to throw it out, but she stopped him. "We'll put it out for the birds and squirrels," she called as she walked to the door. She opened it to throw the food out and yelped in surprise. James McKinley stood in front of her, fist up as if he were about to knock. She tossed the pancakes out the door the leaned on the doorframe. "Mr. McKinley. What can I do for you?"
"I came to discuss the well being of the baby," he replied, straightening his jacket and pushing past her into the small house. "Wow, it smells good in here. Breakfast for dinner?"
"What do you want, Dad?" Ian said, walking out of the kitchen and drying his hands. He looked at Erin and she shrugged, closing the door and leaning back against it. She rested her hand on her stomach, rubbing it slowly. She took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen, pulling the eggs and bacon from the fridge. She started frying the bacon and listened to the conversation that was beginning at the kitchen table.
"As I said before, I came to discuss the well being of the baby," James said, sitting in Erin's chair and folding his legs. "I want to adopt him."
"What?" Erin snapped, turning away from the stove slightly. "No, you're not taking my baby. You must be insane if you think you're taking our child."
Ian held up his hand to stop her from going off on a rant. She huffed and turned back to the bacon, trying harder to focus on not burning it. "Well, I think Erin spoke for both of us," he said calmly. "You're not taking it."
"I'm prepared to give you whatever money you want," James replied, making Erin grit her teeth roughly. "If that doesn't work, I am also prepared to take you to court. I will be a more fit parent than either of you. I can afford the baby, whereas you can't. You guys are going off to college at the end of the summer, you currently live in a shack. The way I see it, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"Do you really think you can buy our child?" Ian asked, sounding appalled. He sat across from his father and folded his arms. "I've never given two shits about your money before, so what makes you think I will give up my child so you can adopt him?"
"The hard way it is, then," James said, standing to his feet. "I hope it's a boy. Someone needs to inherit the town and since I happened to fail with you, I'm hoping this child can take the job."
"You'll fail with it, too," Ian replied, raising an eyebrow. "Unless you miraculously learn how to be a father to your children."
Erin started the eggs and cleared her throat loudly. "James, why don't you stay for dinner?" she asked, ignoring Ian's glare. "We have more than enough and I'd like to talk a little bit more about your proposal."
Ian jumped to his feet and moved to Erin's side. "What are you doing?" he murmured in her ear. He glared at her, looking betrayed and hurt. It killed her to see the look on his face so she pulled him down into a soft kiss.
"Trust me," she whispered. She forced a smile and looked over at her future father-in-law.
James looked back and forth between them, an eyebrow raised. "Well, I may have underestimated you, Miss Ulmer," he replied. "You seem to have your head screwed on straight. I would love to stay and discuss this." He sat back down and pulled out his cell phone, making Erin's stomach churn.
"I'm so nervous," she muttered, waving her hands to provide air to her neck. "Ian, what if he hates me?"
Ian snorted and tugged on the back of her ponytail. "No one on this planet could ever hate you," he replied. "They would have to be insane. Much like you are for wanting him to like you so badly. He's a sleazeball and not even close to worth your time." He curled his fingers in her belt loops and tugged her closer, pressing his lips to hers.
She smiled and kissed him back, placing a hand on the back of his neck. She jumped back as a timer went off. "Shit, that's the brownies," she murmured, turning around and grabbing a potholder. She pulled the pan from the oven and cut the brownies into even squares.
"You know, someone should really taste those to make sure they taste alright," Ian said, leaning over her shoulder and taking a deep breath. "Oh, and you look absolutely irresistible with your hair in a ponytail. Do that more often." He pressed his lips to her neck, sucking softly.
"Ian," she protested. She tilted her head to give him better access before shaking it off. "No. After dinner." She picked up a brownie and stuffed it halfway into his mouth before taking a bite of the rest. "Mm, gah. That's delicious."
She made three plates and carried them out into the large dining room. The expansion of the McKinley mansion was incredibly intimidating and it only made her more nervous. She took a deep breath and poured three glasses of wine, lighting candles on the table. Ian followed her into the room and sat down at one end of the table. She smoothed out her blouse and sat in the middle of the table, taking a sip of the wine. James McKinley was the last to enter and he sat at the head of the table, across from his son. She smiled brightly and watched him take a sip of the wine, pulling out his phone.
Erin glanced at Ian who was already eating his ham. He winked and gave her a thumbs up to let her know it was good. She smiled and started in on her food. "So, Mr. McKinley, how's work?" she asked, trying to make conversation.
"Great," he answered bluntly. She waited for him to elaborate, but he said nothing. He took another swig of the wine and continued playing with his phone.
This continued for another ten minutes. Long enough for James McKinley to finish his wine and excuse himself, his dinner untouched. Erin watched him leave and swallowed. She looked back at Ian, who looked murderous. She finished her ham and drank her entire glass in one sitting.
Ian got up and walked over to her, pulling her chair out and dropping to his knees in front of her. "I'm so sorry, babe," he murmured, reaching up and rubbing her cheeks softly. She simply nodded, staring at him blankly. "He's a pig. Don't give him another thought. Your dinner is lovely. Let's just finish eating and take those brownies back to the house. We'll pig out and go to bed, okay?" She nodded and smiled as he pulled her down, kissing her forehead lightly.
