NYLON ~ CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN ~ GO TO BED
Hanna bounced JT in her arms while her mother finished folding the laundry. Caleb was in the study putting together some files. JT was drifting to sleep and Hanna stepped into the nursery to put him down. When she came back into the living room Ashley was stacking piles of folded onesies into her arms before heading into the nursery to put them away. Soon Caleb appeared in the doorway.
"Are you ready to go?" Caleb smiled crossing the room to grab Hanna's waist.
"Is this really a good idea?" Hanna asked cradling JT in her arms. "I don't know if he's ready to be apart from me."
"It will only be a couple hours," Caleb assured her. "It's your birthday. We have to celebrate."
"But I'd rather celebrate as a family," she told him.
"Is that really what you want?" Caleb asked. "I'd be just as happy ordering Chinese and watching a movie. I'm just trying to make tonight special for you."
"No, you know what," she said straightening out her dress. "This is probably good. We'll only be gone a couple hours and he'll be asleep most of the time anyway."
"Hanna," Caleb tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with."
"It's okay," she said giving JT a big kiss and then placing him in his basinet. "I need to just bite the bullet and go."
"Is that a final decision I hear?" Ashley teased poking her head in.
"Yeah," Hanna smiled. She gave JT one last kiss and hugged her mother before she and Caleb headed out.
"You look gorgeous tonight," Caleb told her when they were sitting in a cozy booth at a rooftop lounge.
"Thanks," Hanna smiled. She leaned her head on Caleb's shoulder and placed her hand in his. "Thanks for taking me out tonight. I know the two of us don't get that much alone time anymore. This is nice."
"Yeah," he squeezed her hand. "I've missed the old crazy Hanna."
"Well, you sure aren't about to see her tonight," she laughed. "I think ol' crazy Hanna has gone away for good. This is new responsible soccer mom Hanna, unless of course JT is into football or something instead."
"Come on," he whispered in her ear. "Let's let loose for a night. What's that club you used to be obsessed with?"
"Luxe?" she laughed. "I don't think I can handle a night of clubbing anymore. Besides, I'm not even supposed to be drinking right now."
"I figured it was worth a shot," he smiled kissing her forehead. Then he breathed in sharply. "I guess I just never thought about you as a responsible settled in mom."
"Well," Hanna scoffed, "what did you expect? I know we didn't plan it but I'm a mom now so…it kind of comes with the territory."
"Hanna," he stroked her hand. "I didn't mean anything by that. It's just, we did move a little fast."
"Did we?" she asked upset. "We were together for most of high school. Maybe you don't remember, but you were my first."
"Yeah," he laughed, "but then there were others and then we went from not talking to having a baby in record time."
"No there weren't," Hanna said wiping the smile off his face.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"There was only you and Wren," she explained. "Other, just one."
"You've only been with two people?" he asked.
"Does it really matter?" she asked. "I'm with you now. Do we need to keep living in the past?"
"No," he replied. "I guess not. Sorry I mentioned it."
"It's okay," she smiled. "We should be able to talk about anything, but I also don't want to dwell on the past so much. With JT in our lives, we have so much to live for."
"You're right," he rubbed her shoulders as the cool night breeze brushed over them. "How about we order some dessert and head back home to relieve your mom?"
"Can we skip dessert?" Hanna squeaked. "I've still got a few pounds left to lose."
"Yeah," he kissed her cheek. "Let me just get the bill."
Caleb paid for their dinner and just a few minutes later they were in a cab headed back home. As soon as they arrived, Caleb jumped out to open her door and the two of them went inside where Ashley was dozing off on the couch with the baby monitor on the coffee table.
"Mom," Hanna whispered tapping her mother awake while Caleb disappeared into the bedroom.
"Hey," Ashley said rubbing her eyes open. "Did you guys have fun."
"Yeah," Hanna told her. "Thanks for watching him. Was he fussy?"
"He was an angel," Ashley assured her, "but he'll probably be up soon. He's been sleeping for almost four hours now."
"Thanks," Hanna hugged her mom. "You know, you can always stay in the guest room. You didn't have to sleep out here."
"I know," Ashley replied. "I didn't plan on falling asleep. I just forgot how much work it is to have an infant and I passed out."
"Well, do you want to stay here," Hanna offered, "or I can call you a car to get home tonight."
"If you don't mind," Ashley said standing up, "I think I'll take the guest room. Plus I can run a bath before I go to bed in your huge tub."
"Just be careful," Hanna said giving her a hug. "I don't want you falling asleep in there."
"I'll be fine," Ashley told her stepping toward the staircase. Hanna blew her a kiss and picked up the baby monitor before retreating to her own bedroom where Caleb was already in bed. She slipped out of her clothes and into one of Caleb's old t-shirts before sliding under the sheets next to him.
"Hey," he groaned rolling over to face her.
"Thanks for tonight," Hanna whispered before kissing him.
"Happy birthday," he whispered holding her close to his chest.
Thanks for the reviews guys! New chapter coming soon :)
