MAYBE BABY:
CHAPTER- 18
POV: Alice
It'd been a long 2 days. Jasper drove the entire time even though I offered many times. I wasn't exactly eager to drive the mammoth moving van though Jasper swore it wasn't much different from driving a truck with a horse trailer behind it. We'd stopped into our hotel long enough to change for dinner and freshen up. Ryan sent word that my mom, grandma and Ian would be joining us and Ian assured us mom would behave.
I slipped on the one thing I had been able to retrieve from one of my clothing boxes, a short casual dress. It was green, black and yellow and hid my baby bump, Rose and I couldn't truly bring ourselves to buy too much maternity wear and wound up finding quite a few dresses and tops that would look find with my baby bump or hide it all together, this dress was a dress we'd both thought would be comfortable to wear around.
"You look nice" Jasper said coming towards the bathroom with his toiletries bag.
"Thank you" I smiled pecking his lips, he had quite the stubble growing in after our 2 days on the road and I knew he hadn't shaved before heading to Atlanta, Jasper was like clockwork, he shaved every other day unless he had something important he should shave for. "Don't worry about shaving" I said and he chuckled. "I find the stubble hot"
A knock on the door a few moments later alerted me to my brother's arrival. With a warm hug I invited Ryan in and he and Jasper talked while I tried to decide what shoes to wear, I hadn't unpacked any and I had a pair of trainers and flip flops. Jasper brought in the closest box he'd found labeled shoes so I was now tearing through that. Jasper and Ryan took Millie for a walk while I tried to figure out which pair.
When I finally found a pair of black sandals I slipped those on and slipped my cell phone into Jasper's back pocket, no need to take my purse, for one it didn't match and I didn't need my ID or any money because Jasper never lets me pay when we go out so I usually only bring a clutch for touch ups and to hold my ID and a little cash just in case.
Ryan let me drive since it was my car he was in and we arrived 20 minutes later, business was booming but Ryan assured me that Becca had already gotten a table.
I felt bad that my niece couldn't make it, but she was at a friend's birthday sleep over. My mom gave me a warm hug and even greeted Jasper politely, my grandma hugged us both and Ian gave Jasper a slap on the back with his hand shake making a crack about how sure he was I had been the reason we were late. We weren't late, they had simply beaten us there and I made sure to tell my uncle who only laughed and hugged me.
After dinner I was exhausted and Jasper didn't look much better. We all said our goodbyes and I was once more thankful my mother minded her manners, told Jasper to drive safely and told Ryan the same, I'd never really realized my mother always kept Ryan at a distance, I think I'd seen her hug him 3 times, at their wedding, when Becca got pregnant, and when she'd became a nana. Ryan pointed this out in the car on the way to dinner and I guess I just grew used to it. It wasn't that my mom didn't like Ryan, she did like him, she was just wary that he'd hurt her little girl.
"I'm so tired" I said when we entered our hotel room. I'd decided to send Ryan home for the night, he'd made sure he could change his flight arrangements before agreeing and Jasper didn't argue with me, since Ryan would be following us anyways we decided to just let him spend the night at home while his daughter wasn't there, some alone couple time, I'd just follow Jasper.
"We'll sleep in" he said kicking off his shoes.
"Promise?" I asked hugging him. He nodded and kissed my head.
True to his word we didn't set any alarms and once we'd both dressed and made a quick stop for food we were back on the road. I'd been sad not to be able to talk to him the whole time but instead I plugged in my IPod and only called when I needed a break to pee or Millie did.
We arrived at Jasper's house around 8 that evening, we were both tired but I was excited to see Jasper's surprise. We'd made good time and only made 3 stops, once for food and two because the pee sized bladder wasn't a help, I drank entirely too much water but Millie was enjoying sticking her head out the window entirely too much, she wasn't used to being in a car.
POV: Jasper
When we'd finally pulled into the drive I told Alice to pull into the second garage, I'd cleared it out for her and wondered if she'd say anything about the house. The surprise was very obvious and had taken a lot of effort to get done before she got here, thankfully it was something I'd been playing around with already, trying to get right before doing it so I hadn't had to work too much on the plans.
"Oh my god!" she said when I got out of the truck, having backed it in so it would be a straight shot inside. "And it's done?" she asked surprised. She had Millie on a leash and Millie seemed a little annoyed at all the rocks before she finally marked a spot.
I smiled and marveled at it myself, I'd yet to see how the interior looked but Darcy and Rick assured me it had been properly cleaned and was ready. I'd added a partial second story to the house. Since I wanted Alice's car to be in the garage I needed a place to put my office so I created an office upstairs with a small bathroom and shower next to a spare bedroom. I figured we could decide which room downstairs could be the baby's and could make the other a playroom or office if Alice didn't want to share.
"I love it" she smiled.
"You haven't even seen the inside" I said and lead her through the garage door. It'd been a bear deciding where the stairs should be so we lost some of the living room and a little of the closet in the hallway but I figured I could suggest Alice pick out some new furniture and decorate the rooms to keep her busy since I knew how bored she had been not working the past few weeks.
"New carpet" she said when we entered and I laughed, she'd commented on the old carpet the last time she'd been here and I'd finally gotten around to updating the flooring throughout the house, I'd done that part myself, I'd had the bathroom and kitchen tiles stacked in the shed out back for the past 8 months but meeting Alice and wanting to be in New York with her had caused them to take a back seat. "Tile!" she squealed when she saw the kitchen. She picked up Millie and went to inspect the flooring.
"All new flooring" I said happy to see she liked the changes.
"Oh my god! You've been busy" she said and I smiled.
"Rick helped, my dad helped, I got a contractor from work to help and I've been working on this since you came to visit" I admitted.
"Sneaky" she said turning to me with an amused smirk.
"It's something I've been meaning to do" I said.
"You never procrastinate" she said sounding shocked.
"Yes and then I met this sexy little thing on a business trip and spent all my spare time visiting her" I reminded unclipping Millie's leash and setting her down before wrapping Alice in my arms. Millie was instantly off to investigate the place.
"You can really get this all done in a month?" she asked.
"I've got connections" I said with a smile. I wasn't dare going to tell her how much it cost to get all this done in such a short time frame, the exterior addition and the stairs were what took the longest, my brothers had really helped out me out with the interior, painting, putting in trim and doors, Darcy even chipped in, she kept everyone fed and kept the place clean.
"Show me upstairs" she said giddy and I took her hand to lead her up the stairs. They were a little steep but I had to make do with what space I could afford to give up, once the baby got to being mobile I'd put a kid gate up on them.
"So I was thinking this could be the guest room" I said leading her to the right where there was a room with a moderate sized closet. I showed her the bathroom and then my office. "I moved my stuff up here so your car could be in the garage" I added.
"I love it, I mean its great Jasper" she said and opened up the closet in the room, it was not very large but I set it up so I could keep my work related items inside. "I love my surprise" she said wrapping her arms around me and kissing me.
Before we could get to swept up in the kiss I showed her the rest of the house, I'd really only changed the flooring and updated all the trim work, I'd opted to wait until she decided which room downstairs she wanted to be for the baby before I got rid of any furniture or moved anything, though I had cleared out the old guest room, I figured we'd put Alice's bedroom furniture in the guest room upstairs and use this room to store all the boxes until we got everything sorted.
Once we finished the tour Millie had joined us. "Why don't you go ahead and take a bath, I'll unload the suitcases from truck and Millie's stuff" I said.
"I can help" she said and I shook my head.
"Relax, it won't take long" I said and kissed her forehead.
I decided to let Millie check out the backyard on her own while I unloaded the truck, I left the sliding glass door open a bit to the house so Millie could come inside if she wanted and once I moved all the things we needed into the living room I locked the trailer and front door before going outside to check on Millie, she was in heaven, laying sprawled out in the grass panting, poor thing had run herself out in the last 10 minutes. I opened the door wider and she got up and bolted inside before diving onto the living room couch and sprawling back out. I shook my head and went to bring Alice's bags into our room, wow it was weird saying that and knowing from now on this was really our house, till now it had just been an idea.
"You done?" Alice asked as I walked past the bathroom door to put her makeup and toiletries suitcase beside the door. I looked up to see her smiling from the tub. Standing up awarded me quite a view of her body and I tried to remind myself I needed to behave, I still had to feed Millie and put out her toys before she found something to chew on.
"Just gotta put out Millie's things then I'll be done" I said eyeing her, she smirked and made a show of washing her leg.
POV: Alice
I hated that Jasper wouldn't let me help but I was relieved since I really just wanted to be able to finally, fully, relax. I took my time running the bath, sad I didn't have my shampoo or anything unpacked yet but I'd ask Jasper to grab them or just use his stuff. I could tell one of his sister's had been in here because the corner ledge of the tub had a 3 candles and the ledge by the vanity had body wash next to it.
Jasper came in and set my travel bag on the toilet. He placed my shampoo on the ledge and I thanked him before he set the smaller bag on the counter. Stripping out of his t-shirt and khaki shorts he opened the shower door and reached in before setting his shampoo on the ledge beside mine before removing his boxer briefs. I leant forward so he could sit behind me and tried not to stare at his body, I always stared, and he was quite a site. I loved his tattoos even though the stories behind almost all of them revolved around Maria.
"Where's Millie?" I asked when I settled back against him.
"Stuffing her face" he said and I giggled, that sounded like Millie, I didn't want to feed her while we were on the road and she only got a few treats to tide her over in the car since I didn't know if she'd get car sick, she only got in cabs when we went to the vet, other than that she hadn't been on a really long car ride.
"Thank you" I said turning my head to kiss him.
"For what?" he asked.
"Everything" I said.
We didn't get up to much in the tub though I wanted to and I could tell he did too. We washed one another's bodies, stealing kisses and then one another's hair before wrapping up in towels. His family would be by in the morning to help us unload the truck and I was definitely ready for a good night's sleep in a real bed, the hotels hadn't been bad but there was just something about your bed and well I guess now this was our bed.
We decided to forgo pajamas and I slipped between the sheets while Jasper set the alarm so we would have enough time to get dressed before his family arrived, they were arriving around 8 so we could get as much done before it got really hot out as possible.
Jasper slipped into bed and I instantly curled myself into him. It was then I felt the baby move and resting my hand on my stomach I giggled, she must be getting comfortable cause I swear she was doing somersaults. Jasper turned onto his side and placed a hand on either side of my tummy, on the road the baby seemed to always stop when Jasper would touch my stomach and it kinda saddened him but I knew he'd feel her soon.
"She didn't stop" he said with a huge grin on his face as he held his hands where she was kicking, moving them to find where she'd gone.
"I'd say stop kicking daddy but I think he's enjoying it" I said to my tummy with a smile.
"You better let mommy sleep" he said and I felt something inside me, other than the baby, sort of flutter. It was probably the first time Jasper or I had said anything like that to one another. He'd called me mommy and I'd called him daddy. It was kind of surreal. I studied his face as he continued staring at my stomach, she was putting on quite the acrobatic number for him right now and while it was getting irritating for me I was happy he was so happy right now.
When it seemed as though she finally got comfortable and her kicks became too faint for Jasper to feel he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me hard.
I quickly wrapped my arms around his shoulders and returned his kiss.
"I love you" he said.
"I love you so much" I said and before I knew it we were once again making love. Everything was slow and all his touches were soft and gentle, there was absolutely nothing hurried or needy like there had been in New York.
As soon as we both came down from our high I curled back up against him and with a few more kisses and touches I started to fall back asleep, even with our baby kicking a little, I'm sure she was startled by her mommy's mood change, she always got mobile when I would talk to Jasper on the phone or when he had sang with the radio in the car, she definitely liked her daddy's voice though for a while there it seemed like the opposite when he'd try to feel her move and she'd stop.
Jasper chuckled suddenly and gently rubbed his hand around my belly, this made the baby calm down and after a few moments all was well.
"Was she kicking you again?" I asked with a silly grin.
"Yeah" he laughed. "I think she'll go to sleep now" he said and I smiled knowing that was likely true since I couldn't feel her moving anymore.
About 10 minutes later Millie wasn't too happy about how high up Jasper's bed was and after whining for a good 5 minutes Jasper rolled over and put her on the bed, she instantly curled up above both our heads and we fell asleep quickly.
AN: gonna do a little jump, not far ahead but a good 2 weeks or so.