I am so sorry about the long wait! Gosh, an entire month is so not a good look! Anyway, while working on another story, I pushed this chapter out quickly for you all so I hope you enjoy it. I find myself quite satisfied with it if I do say so myself :D
Steven Harris watched as Bianca interacted with the children. She seemed to be actually interested in what they were saying and it warmed his heart.
"Amazing, isn't it?" he heard from his left. He looked over, his eyes meeting Sam's in confusion,
"Come again?" he said. Sam chuckled, taking a swig of his fruit punch soda,
"Amazing, watching her. She seems to connect with them." he said nodding to Bianca. Steven's eyes slid back over to Bianca, who was laughing with the children as some of the other mother's came to join them,
"Yes." he relented. "Tell me about her?" he asked. Sam smiled a little, hiding behind his bottle,
"Well, as far as I can tell, she's single. She mentioned a divorce from some guy named Reese or something," he waved a hand, "She's a business woman, wears those power suits." he pulled a face. Steven laughed,
"You mean the one's that say 'Look at me you idiot, I'm in charge!'?" he asked. Sam grinned,
"Those'd be the ones." he admitted freely. "I dunno, from my understanding she's just a great mother living her life." he shrugged finally. Steven nodded, taking a slow, long sip of his root beer.
"I see." he said finally. Sam glanced over at him but didn't speak further.
"The girls and I had an amazing time." Bianca said several hours later, a relaxed smile on her face. Sam grinned,
"Didja really?" he asked hopefully. Bianca chuckled, nodding her head,
"We really did. We need to be going though; family calls and all that." she waved a hand. He nodded, smiling a bit as the girls darted past him to say goodbye to Claudette.
"Hey, I've gotta go. Early class tomorrow." Steven approached the duo. He smiled at Bianca, "It was a pleasure to meet you." he said offering his hand. Bianca smiled brightly,
"Same here!" she said, her voice chipper. "Maybe I'll see you around the neighborhood?" she offered. She figured it'd be a good idea to start networking with the parents; that always came in handy when the girls got bored of being in their own front yard. He smiled brightly,
"Definitely. We have different events around the neighborhood every week, so you'll see me around." he all but promised. Bianca smiled as her girls returned to her,
"Well, have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow, Sam." she said ushering them out.
"Bye!" both girls chirped, waving happily behind themselves. Steven watched them go, a small smile coloring his face.
"Well, the party wasn't so bad." Bianca said finally. JR snorted, obviously not believing her,
"Wasn't so bad? Is that your nice Bianca way of saying it completely sucked?" he questioned bluntly. Bianca sighed, laying back on her bed,
"Of course not. If it sucked, I'd say it sucked. It was actually kind of fun." she admitted softly. He sighed on his end, picking at his pillow that rested in his lap,
"Though I find it amazingly hard to believe," he began, "I'm glad you had some kind of fun." he said grudgingly. Bianca laughed a little,
"Gee, JR, a girl could start to think you want her to be miserable here." she joked. He fell silent,
"Part of me does." he said softly, "Cos if you're miserable there, then you'd be forced to move back here, even for a little while. But then you'd begin dating Marissa and wouldn't move after that." he added finally. Bianca let out a tired breath,
"J-"
"I know. 'JR, it's never going to happen'." he parroted, "But damn, Bianca, you would have thought living in this town would have taught you suspension of disbelief." he huffed. Bianca rolled her eyes,
"It did. I believed you weren't a pain in the ass didn't I?" she snapped. He rolled his own blue eyes,
"Typical Kane behavior. Someone hits a truth that's a little too close to home and you go on attack." he retorted.
"Let's not bring family names into this." she warned. JR remained silent for a long minute and she could imagine the squinted eye thing he did,
"Whatever." he finally relented. "I've got early meetings and I'm sure you do so...goodnight." he finished. Bianca puffed her cheeks,
"Night, JR." she said disconnecting the call. It wasn't five minutes later when a text buzzed her phone:
Even though I think you're dense sometimes, I love you to death. Goodnight for real.
She smiled at the sweetness he possessed. She couldn't leave it left unsaid:
I know, I'm awesome. Love you too, night.
With that, she turned over and laid her head down, ready for sleep.
"Bianca I can't believe you!" Marissa huffed. Bianca laughed, grabbing Marissa and wrapping her arms around her,
"What? C'mon, it's a used car and they have to share it." she said, nudging Marissa a little. The shorter woman pouted,
"Still, you should've discussed this with me. It was part of your wedding vows; 'never buy the kids impulsive things without talking to my wife about it.'" Marissa quoted. Bianca smiled sheepishly,
"I know, I'm sorry." she apologized sincerely. Marissa pouted a few seconds longer, before her face gave away to a smile.
"Well...it's really not so bad." she said finally, resting her arms on Bianca's shoulders. Bianca smiled brightly, leaning down to kiss her wife. Marissa grinned into the kiss before pulling away and kneeling,
"Yes, yes, I forgive you too, JT." she said to Bianca's swollen belly. Bianca rolled her eyes, pulling Marissa up,
"Stop that, you're going to make hi-" she stopped sighing, "-m active." she finished with a glare. She stomped off, as much as her overly pregnant body would allow and Marissa laughed.
"You're adorable when you waddle!" she called after her. She barely managed to dodge the paper towel roll that flew in her direction. She chuckled a little more, taking a breath and jogging after her pregnant wife.
Marissa woke with a start, breathing heavily as she looked around her room. Her eyes settled on the picture in her hands, her face confused as she looked at it.
It was a picture of her, Bianca, AJ, and the girls.