NYLON ~ 83 ~ FANCY
Once again Hanna awoke with an upturned stomach. She rushed to the bathroom and Caleb followed closely behind as always fulfilling their daily ritual. After cleaning herself up, Hanna headed straight back to bed and crawled under the covers falling asleep almost immediately. Her eyes hadn't been closed for more than a minute when JT ran into her room and began jumping on the bed.
"Mama!" he cheered giving her a kiss.
"Hey buddy," Caleb picked him up.
"I need to get dressed," JT told her. "I'm seeing Ben and Ali today."
"Yes you are," Hanna laughed impressed with his attention to detail.
"Come on," Caleb rolled out of bed taking JT by the hand. "Let's get you dressed."
Hanna threw off the covers and stepped into the bathroom for a quick shower. When she was done, she wrapped herself in a towel and searched for something to wear that would fit over her growing stomach. She finally settled on a coral shirtdress over a pair of silver leggings.
"Hey," Caleb stood in the doorway, "you done in the shower?"
"Yeah," Hanna replied.
"Wow," Caleb stared at her for a moment, "you're like, really pregnant."
"I'm barely four months along," she sighed almost in tears.
"No," Caleb crossed over to hug her. "I didn't mean...I just..."
"It's fine," Hanna smiled. "It's just so hard to find clothes that fit and I'm not even halfway along."
"It's gonna be okay," he held her tightly. "It's a good thing you're a pro with the sewing machine."
"This is not the time for jokes," she protested.
"It wasn't a joke," he kissed her cheek. "You are very talented."
Pleased with his compliment, Hanna allowed him to shower in peace while she headed into the kitchen to find JT trying to pour himself a bowl of cereal. She intervened just in time and managed to get him settled at the table without making a mess. Caleb appeared dressed a few minutes later and then they all headed to Emily's new gym for the grand opening.
"Hi!" Emily hugged her friend when she saw her.
"This is amazing," Hanna looked around at the bright decorations and glowing faces that had shown up in support of Emily.
"I know," Emily smiled. "It's a huge turnout."
"I know, I'm late," Aria sighed running into the gym.
"You're fine," Emily told her. "It's an open house."
"Oh my gosh," Aria stared at Hanna's little bump. "You are totally showing."
"Don't remind me," Hanna sighed. "None of my clothes fit."
"You are gorgeous," Emily told her.
"Enough about me," Hanna said. "We're here to celebrate you."
"I couldn't have done it without you and Spencer," Emily assured her. "In fact, where is she?"
"She and Toby had to check on a site," Hanna replied. "She said she'll be a little late."
While they waited for Spencer to arrive, Emily gave them a quick tour of the gym and explained what all of the machines and equipment was for. She even showed them the private room where pole dancing classes were to take place.
"Fancy," Hanna smirked.
"Hey!" Spencer ran in the door as most of the guests were leaving. "Sorry I'm late."
"Don't worry about it," Emily hugged her. "You've already done so much for this place."
"Toby and I got stuck in traffic," she explained. "This hotel project is turning out to be much more complicated than we expected."
"Let's skip the business talk," Hanna said. "Can we just take a day off and hang out like old times?"
"You mean sleepovers in the barn, old times?" Aria asked. "Because I doubt we can find the time to do that again."
"No," Hanna explained. "I was thinking maybe we can bring the festivities back to our place and have a little barbecue or something."
"Caleb's okay with that?" Emily asked.
"He will be," Hanna smiled.
They all laughed and got to work helping Emily clean up the studio before heading across the park to Hanna's penthouse for a much needed reunion.
The following morning Hanna woke up to the sound of rustling trash bags and running water. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room to find Caleb's side of the bed empty. Then she glanced at the clock. It was nearly noon and for the first time in months she wasn't rushing to the toilet first thing in the morning.
She got up and stepped into the living room to find the remnants of her impromptu party the night before. Then she saw Caleb in the kitchen doing his best to clean up with JT's help.
"Hey," she yawned.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Caleb teased.
"Ha ha," she scoffed. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"It's Sunday," he explained, "and I thought you could use the sleep."
"You're the best husband ever," she kissed his cheek.
"I try," he laughed.
"No, seriously," she told him. "You've been amazing...And, the twins have been amazing. I haven't felt sick all morning."
"Well, you basically woke up at noon," Caleb reminded her.
"My point exactly," she explained.
Caleb laughed and pulled her in for a hug.
UP NEXT ~ I NEED MY THINGS
Caleb surprises Hanna with a sunny vacation to help get her mind off of work.
I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! In the meantime, help me pick a new story. Here are the top original ideas:
-One shots that flashback to Haleb's relationship over the years
-Hanna moves to a new city and needs a roommate but the only place she can find to live is with a sketchy dealer named Caleb
-It's the 17th century and Hanna and Caleb are in an arranged marriage but they hate each other
-Ten years after Caleb moves to Ravenswood, he and Hanna run into each other
-Hanna and Caleb work on a TV show and they fall in love when their characters start dating
Pick your favorite or submit a new one! We've still got 17 chapters before I have to decide on a story idea :)
