The next chapter is posted! Enjoy!
The summer was drifting by at a somewhat slow, yet fast pace.
Mia and Aerin spent each day enjoying the lovely weather. While at the same time, working on other things in the home.
She was currently on chapter five in her second book while he had finally started a prologue in his own story on his laptop. He already had a storyline down for the general story, he had finished writing one down not long ago.
The book's idea he had in mind was akin to fairytales, with some made-up characters involved.
He figured he'd go with this idea, because he thought maybe memoirs about his life experiences would've been too dark and they were something he also wasn't sure he wanted to really share.
So, he decided to delve into fantasy stories instead.
While Aerin knows just about everything there is to know about Middle Earth, he didn't want to write about anything from it. A new life meant a clean slate.
So, in his story he would not mention anything about Elves or Uruks and some of the other creatures and races that inhabited Middle Earth. Instead, he preferred writing about fantasy creatures that were well known on Earth. Certain creatures like sea serpents, water nymphs, sprites, and griffins fascinated him. He would also like to add tales that involved dragons, even though he had not so fond memories of them in the past.
The main characters he involved in his story centered around a couple human children and how they found a trinket in the woods that surrounded their home that unlocked a passage to an amazing land where these mythical creatures' dwell.
When Mia looked at the outline for his story, she was pretty impressed by it.
It kind of reminded her a little of one of her favorite childhood fantasy movies, The Never-Ending Story. Where something was going wrong within the amazing land filled with the fantasy creatures and it was up to the kids to figure out why that was.
Aerin was careful not to make his story like movies and stories that were already created. He even made sure to read some popular ones so not to incidentally seem like he was copying them. Books like 'A Wrinkle in Time' or 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' to name a few.
He has also seen movies like The Never-Ending Story and Labyrinth too, so that his story didn't hold any similarities to them, yet at the same time, gave him ideas on what kids may like to read about and explore.
Mia was relieved that he was smart enough to know how serious copyright infringements can be if you write something that appears to be like other stories that are out or use characters very similar to ones that were already used in said stories.
It was one of the first major things she learned about when she first started writing stories. You needed to make sure your own storyline, plot, and characters were original and not too loosely based off someone else's work.
What was allowed is gaining some inspiration and ideas from other stories. But that was just about it.
Today though, they wouldn't really be able to work on much, because today they were going to head out soon to her brother's house to celebrate Robin's Birthday.
Mia was doing some last-minute wrapping in her room. She got a couple nice gifts for her niece. One she placed in a gift bag, the other she was wrapping.
Aerin had bought her a gift too, though he just put it in a gift bag.
They will be leaving soon to go to the party and Mia wanted to make sure everything was ready, including the food she had to bring over. She made homemade mac and cheese, which was one of Robin's favorites.
"Can't believe it's the end of August already. I feel like this summer really did go by pretty fast." She says, as she finishes applying tape to the gift she had just finished wrapping.
"I agree, but we still have plenty of warm weather before we come around to winter again." He replied.
"This is true. And that is why I like to spend as much time as possible outside during these warmer months." Mia said.
"And we have. The deep tan you have gotten over these last few months proves it." Aerin joked.
"Same as you. You went from looking like Casper the Friendly Ghost to some tanned dude from the show Baywatch." She jokes.
He snorted at that, "I doubt I have gained that much color to m complexion."
He saw at least a couple episodes of the show, but didn't really enjoy them. Apparently, it was one of Tess's favorite shows and she introduced him to it not long ago during a summer BBQ at her brother's home.
"If you say so." She said, with a playful smile.
"I know so. Certainly not going to run down the beach like a bumbling fool with one of those bright red safety flotational devices in matching red swim trunks, that's for sure." He retorted.
Mia tried not to laugh at the mental image of him doing just that in slow motion, like they do on the show.
"Too bad, it would've been hilarious to see." She teased.
"And I like a good joke as much as the next person, but I'm not doing something silly like that." He stated, with some laughter in his tone.
"Yet, you'll hold up a pair of women's undies and mistaken them for men's." She joked, with a wide smirk.
"I did not mistake them, I merely did it as a joke. Pretty sure I told you this on the car ride home this past winter from the shopping mall." He pointed out, as he fiddled with the sparkly tissue paper in the gift bag.
"Sure, keep telling yourself that. A part of me still thinks you merely said that to cover up an embarrassing mistake." She continued teasing him.
"As I said, it was no mistake at all. I knew what they were, since we went past that store that had feminine mannequins on display sporting them." Aerin countered.
Mia silently laughed at the little exchange.
Certainly, it was a good distraction from other things that have been on her mind lately. Things that were proving distracting as of late.
Hopefully, this party they were going to will help also.
"Anyways, I think I'll go pull the mac and cheese tray out of the fridge and place it on the counter for when were ready. Can I trust you not to sneak a small serving for yourself before we go?" She asked, with an amused grin.
"I won't touch it. Especially since I know it's for a party. Plus, I think someone would notice if a good chunk of the corner of the platter were missing." He jokes.
"This is true, seeing as you tend to take big portions." Mia says.
"May as well take out that filet mignon I made last night too for the occasion." He stated.
Yes, she will agree he has come a long way with cooking since he came here.
Now, a lot of the dishes he does make are actually very good. This included some of the meals he found in a cookbook that he tried his hand at making and the recipes turned out to be great.
He actually made a rabbit stew not that long ago that she surprisingly really enjoyed.
Mia never thought she'd find herself eating rabbit. The only meat she ever really ate was mostly chicken and occasionally steak or shrimp. She didn't believe she would actually like rabbit meat when she tried it.
"I kind of hope they have a good selection of dessert there. Been wanting something sweet as of late. Must be one of my cravings I get from time to time." She says.
Sometimes she has gone through phases where she craved certain foods throughout the year. It's always been that way for her since she was a teen. Yet, being a professional ballerina, she was a bit limited on what kind of foods she could eat because dancers had to be in tip top shape and maintain a certain weight.
"So, when we get there, I should tell John and Tess to hide the dark chocolate then if they have it as part of the menu?" He joked.
"Funny. But no. I'll just see for myself what's being served. Then grab a plate, quickly fill it and go run off into a secluded corner and eat it out of sight." She jokes back.
Aerin couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image of her doing just that.
"If you do, I will sneak up with my phone in hand and snap a picture of you doing that." He said, with laughter in his tone.
Mia had bought him an iPhone back in late June.
"Don't even think about it or the phone get's confiscated." She warns.
They continued back and forth a little longer, before grabbing the gifts and leaving the bedroom.
Then they brought everything to the living room. Before going into the kitchen and pulling the food trays they made up out of the fridge and putting them on the counter.
Tundra came trotting over and stood next to them by the counter. Then he lifted his snout and started sniffing the air, clearly smelling the tray of mac and cheese and the tray of filet mignon.
"Don't even think about it, buster. None of this is for you. All you're getting is a can of Caesar's dog food for the special occasion." Mia told the pooch.
Even when the large Alusky gave her his famous puppy dog eyes, she didn't relent and gave in.
"To be fair, we can always give him one of those bacon dog treats afterwards." Aerin added.
At the mention of that, Tundra licked his chops.
Mia sighed, "Yeah, I suppose that won't hurt. I'll go put a couple strips of 'Beggin' Dog Treats in a little plastic baggy for him."
After she packed them, they started grabbing everything and heading for the front door.
She grabbed the gifts, while he grabbed the two trays. Then the couple and the dog left the house and got into the car.
Mia actually gave Aerin the keys and let him drive this time.
He has come a very long way these last two and a half months since she taught him how to drive and this wouldn't be the first time he drove on the roads through town.
At first, she was worried about it because as good as he was, she was concerned about him getting pulled over and then arrested for driving without a license. But he surprised her when he drove very carefully, obeying all the road laws and paying attention to the street signs and traffic lights.
Still, one of these days, she wants to try and figure out a way for him to get a license. That way, she wouldn't have to worry about him getting pulled over and arrested for not having one. It was just hard to do because he still didn't have the proper paperwork needed to obtain one.
Aerin had become very familiar with the residential roads around town from all the times he was with Mia in the car. He also knew where her brother's home was and how to get there because they have been there a couple times before in the past.
He placed the food trays in the large trunk of the SUV, while she placed the gifts next to them.
Then he got into the driver's seat. Mia opened one of the back doors to let Tundra in, before she got into the passenger seat. Not long after, he started up the car and they left.
It was amazing, he drove like someone who had been driving for years. She doubts anyone would've guessed that he only started learning how not too long ago.
"So, how long is this party again?" He asks, as they drove down one of the residential roads.
"Only a few hours. Start's at 1pm and goes to about 6pm. Doesn't mean everyone has to stay until then though. People can leave earlier if they want." She replied.
Kids' parties never tend to last very long as it is.
He nodded, "And you say it's mostly going to be family and a few friends?" He inquired.
"Yeah, though these friends are mainly Robin's friends. Which means we'll most likely see the ballet class there along with a couple other friends from her school." Mia said.
"So, the whole gang will be there then." He stated with a small, amused grin.
"Most likely, and I'm sure they will be very happy to see us." She says, with a smirk.
After fifteen minutes, they were pulling up to John and Tess's home.
The driveway was obviously occupied by the two family cars. So, they had to park out in front of the house on the road with a couple of other cars already there.
Then the pair exited the car, let Tundra out, and went around to the back of the car and opened the hatch to the trunk, pulling the food trays and gifts out, before closing it and locking up the car.
The dog ran ahead of them as they walked around the lovely two-story home to the gate that led into the backyard.
Mia unlatched the wooden gate and opened it, letting them in.
Once they entered, they saw the small serving tent off to the side was already set up and the collapsable folding table was already open with a couple of food trays sat upon it.
She could see her parents were already there. Her mom was chatting with Tess as they sat at the large wooden picnic table on the patio while her dad was chatting with her brother as John stood in front of the grill, making burgers and hot dogs.
The kids were hanging about outside too.
Camden was kicking around a soccer ball and kicking it into a mini goal near the fence at the back of the yard. While Robin and a couple of her friends were already here. By the looks of it, it was Charlotte and Dylan.
They had the large jump rope out and they were taking turns jumping over it on the grass.
Tundra ran over to play with the two family dogs, Pogo and Addy.
"Hey guys!" Tess said, as she came walking over to greet them with a bug smile.
Mia's mom came walking over with her. The two women came to a stop before her and Aerin and gave them both brief hugs.
"Here, Aerin, I can take those trays and put them on the table over there." Tess says, while gesturing to the food table under the serving tent.
"It's alright, I got it. Just show me where to place them on the table." He told her.
The young blonde led him over to the wide-open serving tent and showed him where on the table he could put them.
"How is everything at home lately, Sweetie? How's the writing coming along?" Her mother asked.
"It's coming along great. I'm already a good five chapters in. And I'm still dividing my time between that and spending a lot of time with Aerin and outside and at the beach. And of course, teaching ballet. So, as always, I'm balancing everything out just fine." Mia informed her.
"Glad to hear it. And your boyfriend, how's everything going with him? Still good?" The older woman inquired.
Yes, Mia had declared her and Aerin a couple back in June not long after the kids' dance recital.
Something her family was happy about because they have come to really like him and thought he was good for her.
"Everything is great. He's amazing." Mia says, with a soft smile.
Her mother smiled back and gave her another small hug.
"I'm glad to hear it. You deserve to have a good man in your life and now, you finally have him." The older woman said, as she pulls back from the embrace.
"I know, just as I know he's lucky to have me. So, we're lucky to have each other." Mia tells her.
Then her gaze swept over the yard, and she saw Aerin had gone over to say 'hi' to her brother and dad over by the grill.
Once he did, she saw her dad reach into one of the coolers by the grill and pull out a bottler of beer and offer it to him. The three men then hung around with their beers chatting like a bunch of good friends.
"Even your father is quite taken with him. As you know, that is not an easy feat, when it comes to your dad." Her mom said.
Mia couldn't help but grin in amusement.
Yeah, ever since she was a teen, her dad always came off as intimidating whenever it came to guys. Though in truth, her hectic schedule as a dancer meant she hardly had much time to form a relationship with a guy.
Besides Lucas, there was maybe only one other man before him she had a relationship with. His name was Hector, and he was a concert violinist who was part of the band that played musical scores at quite a few of her and her dance team's performances.
Unfortunately, due to their crazy schedules and hardly having time for themselves, they ended up breaking it off after about eight months. Which was a shame, because he really was a nice guy and very sweet.
Still, she doesn't believe any guy could really hold a candle to Aerin. He was truly special and unique, and the two of them have shared a close connection from the start.
It wasn't long before more people started arriving at the party.
Tess's parents were the next ones to show up and she introduced them to Aerin for the first time. Unfortunately, she didn't see her parents a lot. They lived way up in north Jersey in Bergen County. So, it was a bit of a drive for them.
Then the rest of the ballet class and a couple of school friends came.
It wasn't long before the festivities began. All the kids had their bathing suits on, and the sprinklers started up. They also had a slip and slide that they were using as well and were filling up plastic beach buckets with water and tossing it at each other.
A couple of the adults found it funny when no less than three of the girls chased Camden down and drenched him with a few buckets of water.
They all played in the sprinklers until it was time to eat. Then they all went running to the serving table and grabbed a paper plate and plastic fork and spoon and waited in line as each person walked down the row of food trays filling it with food.
Jordyn's mom, who was the only one of the kids' parents to come started showing her what she can have on her plate. She also made sure she bolus herself before she starts eating.
After the kids went and got what they wanted, the adults started coming up and grabbing what they wanted.
Mia grabbed a breaded chicken leg and a small serving of penne with vodka sauce. She wasn't crazy about vodka sauce, but she'll eat it if it's being served. She knew Tess's mom, Maggie, made it and the older woman does make it very good. She also grabbed a can of Bubly Sparkling Water, lime flavored.
While Aerin grabbed some filet mignon, a couple breaded chicken wings, and a serving of dirty rice. For a drink, he grabbed an ice-cold bottle of Poland Spring Water.
Then the couple went and sat down at the large wooden picnic table.
It wasn't big enough for every person there. John had set up another folding table for the kids to sit at and eat. While the adults took the picnic table.
Everyone at the table was conversing over many different topics.
Some were work related and some were things they were doing in their personal time. Like Tess's father, Dave, who is a retired law enforcement officer, talked about how he did a ton of fishing in his spare time this summer and caught quite a few big fish out on the water on his buddy's boat.
While Maggie explained how she got bored of retirement, she left it to work part time at a local floral shop. Before retirement she was both a florist and arborist.
Aerin actually found her line of work with flowers and trees to be intriguing and inquired more about it with the older woman.
Both Mia and John's parents, Elizabeth and Mike were discussing some vacation plans they had coming up with John, informing him that they planned on taking a cruise to the Virgin Islands right after Christmas.
As Mia just about finished eating the breaded chicken leg on her plate, her stomach started feeling funny. She paused and took a deep breath.
Weird, the same feeling happened this morning after she had breakfast and she actually felt a little queasy there for a moment, before it dissipated.
She tried taking some sips of her sparkling water to help quell her upset stomach.
Sadly, it didn't seem to be working. She took a few slow steady breaths. When that didn't seem to work either, she finally got up and crossed the patio and went through the sliding glass doors that led into the house.
Mia was maybe ten feet from the bathroom when the nausea really started hitting her hard and she had to run the last few steps to the bathroom. She barely got the door closed all the way, before she bent over the toilet and threw back up her lunch.
It was truly a disgusting sight seeing the undigested chewed up chicken and penne with vodka sauce floating around in the toilet bowl. She quickly flushed it soon after, hopefully, it won't clog up the toilet.
Her stomach still felt a little tense afterwards.
She stood there in the bathroom taking slow steady breaths. As she did this, the things that had been weighing on her mind as of late, came to the forefront of her mind again.
Like the fact that she hasn't had a period since June and now it is the end of August, and it has yet to make its appearance known. Between that and the bout of nausea she has experienced, it had her thoughts racing.
Ever since she retired from ballet, she had quit taking birth control.
There just was no reason to because after everything that happened with the assault and rape, she didn't see herself being in a relationship for a long while.
Even after first encountering Aerin and letting him live with her, she didn't expect to form a relationship with him. But they ended up doing so.
Mia cursed herself for being so careless.
Sure, she eventually wanted kids. Though she wasn't expecting to have them this soon and with someone she had just started a relationship with.
Before jumping the gun, she needed to grab a pregnancy test.
Then Mia remembered that Tess had grabbed a few boxes of the 'Clear Blue' Pregnancy Tests a few months back when she had a pregnancy scare.
Perhaps, she didn't use them all.
Mia went into the medicine cabinet and looked around. Then she spotted two unopen boxes of the test off to the side on the second shelf.
She told herself that Tess most likely didn't need them anymore because when she took a few of these tests several months back, her sister-in-law had informed her they thankfully came up negative.
With that in mind, Mia took both the tests out and ripped open the boxes.
She carefully read through the instructions. Then she pulled down her shorts and undies and sat on the toilet. Afterwards, she parted her legs and stuck the tests one at a time down there and pissed on them.
Once she finished, she flushed the toilet and pulled her bottoms back up. She placed the tests face down on the counter and set a timer on her iPhone.
Mia anxiously waited for the timer to go off. The whole time she was on pins and needles. If she is, how will she tell Aerin? She knew he liked kids and was very good with them. But this was different.
She was so deep in thought that she jumped in alarm when the timer finally went off.
The young woman got up from sitting on the closed toilet lid and grabbed her iPhone off the sink and turned it off. Then her gaze slowly drifted to the two tests that were still lying face down on the counter space on the opposite side of the sink.
Mia slowly reached over to pick them up. Her hand paused over them, and she closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. Then after what seemed like minutes, she finally picked them up.
She then slowly turned them over in her hand to look at the results.
When she did, a couple tears came to her eyes when she saw the word in black bold letters on both tiny screens.
'PREGNANT'
Her other hand flew to her mouth, and she closed her eyes as a few hot tears rolled down her cheeks.
This really changes things, for them both. How was she going to tell him? Hell, how was she going to tell her family?
Then there was a knock on the bathroom door.
"Mia? You alright?" Aerin's muffled voice came through the door.
Her stomach sank, and she quickly wiped her cheeks. Then she took a deep breath.
"Yeah." She replied.
Mia then reached up and grabbed the doorknob, opening the bathroom door.
Aerin was standing in front of the door and his gaze dropped down to meet hers. Only she couldn't really meet his eyes.
"Were you in here the whole time? You were gone for at least fifteen minutes." He said, in concern.
"Sorry, my stomach was acting up. I got…queasy. Stomach is feeling better now." She told him, while still not directly meeting his gaze, something he clearly noticed.
He went to say something, when he saw she was holding something in her left hand.
"What's that?" He asked, gesturing to the object in her hand.
Mia froze, she momentarily forgot that she still had the tests in her hand when she opened the door.
She tried to keep the tears at bay.
"They're…tests." That was all she could get out.
He furrowed his eyebrows, not expecting that response.
"I don't understand. What do you mean, tests? You told me tests are usually on paper or online. So, how can those sticks be tests?" He asked, a little confused.
She took a deep breath before speaking again.
"Not all tests…are like that. These are…a special kind of test for…something else." Mia says, in a low tone, while getting more nervous by the second.
She still couldn't get herself to meet his gaze and was staring off to the side at the corner of the floor.
Then she felt a couple fingers beneath her chin, and they slowly tilted her head back. It was only then she was able to meet his gaze. He was a little surprised and concerned when he saw tears in her eyes.
"Mia what is it? What are you not telling me?" He softly asks, as he shifts his hand from her chin too cup her cheek.
She didn't say anything, just held up her left hand to him.
His gaze shifted from her to the sticks in her hand. He reached up with his other hand and took them. He shifted them around in his hand and saw they each had a tiny rectangular screen on them and there was what appeared to be a word on them.
When he read the word, his eyes slowly widened, and his gaze shifted from the sticks back to Mia.
"Is this real? Are you really…pregnant?" He asks.
A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Yeah." She replied, barely above a whisper.
Not a few moments after the word left her mouth, she was enveloped within his arms in a soft embrace. Mia tightly wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed the side of her face against his chest as a few more tears escaped her eyes.
"You're not…mad? It is…very unexpected." She says.
A warm smile appears on his face.
"No, how could I be? I know it was unexpected and sudden, but I'm not angry. Is this why you were afraid to tell me?" He inquired.
Mia was silent for a moment, before speaking.
"Yeah, and…I guess it's because I'm still shocked over the news. I really wasn't expecting this. I don't know what to expect and I'm afraid." She admits.
Aerin tightened his embrace around her, then he tilted his head down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head.
"Don't be afraid. Everything will be alright. We'll get through this together, I promise." He softly assured her.
His words brought her a sense of comfort and relief.
They were really going to do this. They were going to be parents.
Her heart started thumping in her chest, and that fear started to ebb away and become replaced with happiness. It was sudden, quick, and unexpected. But she knew in her heart that despite only knowing him for seven months, he was the one for her.
"I love you, Mia." He added, pressing another soft kiss to the top of her head.
She couldn't help but smile, as another tear rolled down her cheek.
"I love you too, Aerin." She told him.
After a few more moments, they finally pulled back from the embrace.
Her gaze finally met his, the smile still present on her face. He returned the smile and reached up and lightly brushed the tears off her cheeks.
"I guess I should wash my face, I probably look a mess." She says.
"No, you look fine. But if it will help you feel better, then go ahead." He said.
Mia turned on the sink and splashed some cool water on her cheeks.
Then she dried off her face on one of the towels, before turning back to him.
"Just please, don't say anything to the family. At least not yet. Don't want to steal any attention away from Robin on her birthday. I rather wait until the time is right." She requested.
He understood completely.
"Of course." He replied.
Then his gaze went back to the tests that were still in his hand.
"What about these?" He asked.
"I can just put those in my pocket for now. Don't want anyone to see them during the party." She said.
Aerin gave her a brief nod and handed them back to her. Mia shoved them deep down into the pocket of her cotton shorts. Then she grabbed her iPhone off the sink's counter.
Afterwards, they left together and went back outside.
Everyone was still at the table, conversing when they returned. Mia and Aerin sat back down in their seats. She did her best to pretend like everything was normal.
"You ok, Sweetie? Where were you?" Her mom asked.
"I was in the bathroom. I had some stomach issues. I'm better now though." She told the older woman.
Her mom seemed to have bought it and nodded. Then she told her daughter to drink some more water.
The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Tess brought out the large birthday cake that was lined in pink and purple frosting with Robin's name on it. Then they lit the candles and sang happy birthday to her.
Mia declined a piece of cake, worried she may get nauseous again while eating it.
Everyone else enjoyed the cake and other pastries that were set out. No doubt the kids will be bouncing off the wall later after eating all this sugar.
The best part came though when Robin opened her birthday presents. She got a lot of neat new things. One of which was a razor scooter from her grandparents.
Mia had given her a cute new outfit for school when it starts next week, as well as a few books from the series, The Babysitters Club'. Which was one of her favorite book series to read.
Aerin had got her a couple of books. One was on horses, seeing as he learned horses were something else she liked. The other was another favorite of hers, The Story of Frog and Toad.
Robin loved all the presents she received.
She especially liked the box of nail polish she got from her friend and ballet classmate, Penny. There easily had to be about ten to fifteen bottles of different color nail polish in there.
For the next ten minutes, they all started giving each other lovely little manicures.
Afterwards, the girls started whispering to one another, a few of them shot quick glances at Aerin, who was still sitting next to Mia at the table.
Afterwards, they approached the table with wide smiles on their faces.
"Hey Aerin, it's your turn." Robin says.
He shifted his gaze and saw all the girls standing there with mischievous grins on their little faces.
"My turn for what?" He cautiously asked.
"A manicure. Remember during ballet class we told you once that we may paint your nails? Well, now we can." Dylan reminded him.
A good portion of the adults at the table had amused looks on their faces when they heard that.
"I thought you all were joking about that." He pointed out.
"Nope, we made your hair look pretty once, now we're going to make your nails look pretty." Keagan said.
His gaze flickered to Mia, only to see her trying not to laugh. Before his gaze went back to the girls.
"Do I at least get a running head start?" He asked.
"No!" Some of them said, while others shook their head.
Then a couple of the girls came over and grabbed his arm and started tugging him.
Aerin stood up from his seat and they ended up leading him over to the folding table that was set out for them to eat at. Then they had him sit down there.
The look on his face was hilarious, it screamed, 'Help Me!'
Mia then went over with her iPhone and went into the camera setting. Then she walked around to the other side of the table to stand in front of him and the girls as they sat around him.
The poor man really did look like he was about to bolt from the table.
Then the girls started fiddling over the colors. Many of them were bright and glittery or metallic. At one point, he asked if he could pick a color. Preferably the least embarrassing one in the bunch. He's certain there was a medium blue one in there that he saw.
Again, the girls said no.
To his horror, they pulled out a bright neon, metallic pink nail polish and set it down on the table. Then Robin opened it and told him to flatten his hands on the table in front of him.
While he put them down on the table, his gaze shifted back to Mia. Then he mouthed the word, 'Help'.
The young woman stifled a chuckle and shook her head. Then to his dismay, she lifted her iPhone and pointed it at him. He knew what she was doing, which made it even more embarrassing.
Then Robin started to carefully paint his nails with the disgustingly bright neon pink nail polish.
He could barely get himself to look at his hands as they covered up his fingernails with the stuff. The whole time, Mia had a hard time holding the iPhone steady as she both recorded and took pictures, because she was trying so hard not to laugh.
Even funnier when at the same time, Jordyn stood behind him and started braiding his hair into a single plait. She finished it off with a sparkly bright purple scrunchy with a large unicorn head charm on it.
By the time they finished, Aerin was sporting some pretty pink fingernails and a lovely braid with the scrunchie in it.
"They look so pretty!" Delaney said, while looking at his new little manicure.
When Aerin finally worked up the nerve to look down at his nails, he had wished he didn't.
"Oh my, god." He muttered under his breath.
Mia started laughing at the funny look on his face.
The rest of the adults didn't say anything, figuring the poor man was embarrassed enough. John felt for him, because his daughter had him sit down a couple times and did something like that to him. If anything, Aerin should count himself lucky that they didn't have makeup on them.
That was something terrible he unfortunately had to sit through with Robin. The end result, his wife and son laughing their asses off at his new makeover. But seeing the proud look on Robin's face when she finished her work, made the moment of embarrassment worth it.
By the time the party was over, Mia still couldn't keep the amused smile off her face, even as they walked back together to the car.
She opened the back door to let Tundra in, before closing it. Then turned her attention to Aerin.
"You want to drive back, or you want me to drive?" She asks.
"I'll drive us back." He said.
They both got in the car and closed the doors.
Before he started up the car, he turned to her. His gaze met hers, before he dragged his eyes down to her lower abdomen. He reached over with his right hand and lightly placed it over her lower abdomen and gently caressed it with a small smile.
Mia placed a hand over his and smiled back.
"Despite the news being unexpected and surprising, I really am happy for us." He tells her.
"Me too. And I can already see you're going to be a great dad. You really were great with them today and the other times you spent with them as well as the time spent with Robin and Camden." She said.
"Just as I know, you will be an excellent mother, because you are just as amazing with them as well." Aerin replied.
His gaze flickered back down to his hand, that still covered her lower abdomen.
"Though if this little one is a girl, do me a favor. Please hide all the nail polish from her." He says, in a joking tone.
Mia couldn't help but laugh a little at that remark.
"Ok, will do. But you still never said anything about the makeup." She said, with laughter in her voice.
"For the love of the Valar, please don't buy her makeup kits." He lightly pleaded.
The young woman just laughed again, and he couldn't help but laugh a little with her.
They felt they had much to be happy about and look forward to. While it wasn't something they imagined would happen this soon in their budding relationship, it was certainly not unwelcomed.
Until Next Time!