Chapter Two-Hundred and Fifty-Nine
Clarissa smiled as Dominic and Jade prepared to set off the smoke-bombs that would show if they were having a boy or a girl. "Why are there four different bombs?" She asked, looking between the couple.
Dominic shrugged, glancing at Jade's belly bump with mischief in his eyes. "I put them together, so one or two might be a dud." He handed Jade a lighter, each of them taking turns lighting a bomb to show that three of them were pink and one was blue as the sky.
"We're having quadruplets!" The pair shouted, kissing each other's lips as camera flashes went off.
John smirked, patting his cousin on the back. "Congrats Pop's." He chuckled, placing his hand on Jade's belly and feeling the little ones wriggle around inside. "Does it feel funny?"
She laughed, letting each member of the family touch the little ones. "It feels like little lizards or something inside of me."
Clarissa chuckled, looking down at Jade's swollen stomach. "I remember that stage. It'll just get weirder feeling when they get bigger." She gave a sad smile, remembering her miscarriage that had made her infertile. "I had a miscarriage with my last pregnancy… they were going to be twins."
Steven watched as the photographer instructed John and Claire what to do for the pictures, biting his lip when he caught sight of the new scars lacing over John's back when he took his shirt off. "Hold up." He stepped toward the teen, touching the raised scars over his shoulders and mid back. "Did this happen in Mexico?" He asked, looking at the scarring on John's perfectly tanned skin.
John nodded, lifting his eyes as Claire's hands touched either side of his jaw. "That and a few of the fresher ones."
Claire pulled him forward, laying on the bed and adjusting until he was laying right next to her with her hand tangled in his hair. "J'aime chaque pouce de toi…" She breathed, letting his hands trace over her side and wrap around her. "You're not the only one who can speak two languages."
He gently kissed her lips, forgetting about the cameras for a moment. "Sì, mi corazón…"
Steven pulled the photographer away from the young couple. "Don't publish these… they're too intimate to show." He bit the inside of his cheek, thinking of another way they could show the couple's love without completely exposing John's softer side that he always hid. "John won't want them out there."
Clarissa smiled as John and Claire pressed against each other, wondering if John's therapy with Holly was helping. It certainly looked like he was getting a testosterone rush, the way he was kissing Claire was a sure sign of that. She leaned toward Ryan, stepping out of the room to leave the two alone together. "Do you think he's recovered enough to get an erection?"
Ryan shrugged, wrapping his hand around Kathrine's waist. "Hard to tell, but I'd say he's more than ready to be making babies."
Thomas shuddered, covering his ears. "I don't need to hear about John deflowering my baby girl."