Forced to have the Player's Kid (Book One of The Great Age Plague Series)

Chapter Twenty One

The next day, Josh and I watched the news in our underwear. I had continously attempted to call my mother but it was to no avail-- luckily, Josh did I very good job of "distracting" me over and over and over... After watching the news, we both breathed a sigh of relief-- the plague had been nipped in the bud, with only a few cases and nationwide house arrest for a few days. Josh assured me that my mother would answer her phone soon. In the meantime, we could work on getting me pregnant, which we had already been doing all night.

"So, what else is there to do in this mansion?" I asked calmly. Now that I knew that my mother had proper medical care, and that the plague wasn't back for good, I had much higher hopes that I would see her once the house arrest lifted. I tried to put it out of my mind and enjoy getting to know my husband. Josh smiled cockily, a familiar smile I remembered from my days before this mess.

"What isn't there to do in this house?" he said with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes.

"Please. Is the amount of money you spent on pointless things going to disgust me?" I asked as Josh stood up, holding out his hand to help me up. I took it gratefully, but instead of pulling me up Josh pulled me to his chest and our bodies were flush against each other. I blushed a deep red. Despite having lost my virginity to him, Josh's body still amazed me and made my stomach turn to butterflies. He kissed me softly. When I pulled back, though, he was smiling a devilish grin.

"Oh yeah," he mumbled. I couldn't help but laugh as he grabbed my hand, pulling me to the other side of the house. There, surrounded by a glass roof, was an indoor pool. Josh let go of my hand, jumping in eagerly and causing me to squeal as I got splashed with water. As he resurfaced, my breath seemed to lift from my chest. From his boyish grin to his shining, floppy wet hair, as well as a toned body that glistened from the water, Josh made my stomach set afire and I was hit with the realization that he was mine. I looked away and attempted to hide my grin of pride.

"Wow, a pool," I said sarcastically "Didn't expect that in richy-riches mansion." Josh chuckled and hit the water, trying to splash me, but I dodged the wave. With a scoff, Josh swam to the latter, climbing up it as the water fell off him. He shook his head like a dog as he walked past me, causing both of us to giggle like children. Cursiously, I watched him go to a metal box and dry his hands on the towel nearby. After that, Josh opened the box, flipped a switch, and stepped back. Moments later, the whole pool changed as panels came up to cover the glass sun roof, and I eyed Josh curiously while he solemnly watched the cieling. Once the panels were up, Josh flipped a different switch which caused me to gasp in shock.

The room was filled with a multitude of rainbow lights were bounced inside the pool. Above us, the panel lit up with fake stars, and I could vaguly make out the little dipper straight above my head. The rainbow light danced with the fake stars, creating a faux aurora borealis that looked almost real. Quietly, Josh walked over, sitting beside me while watching the beauty before us. We were silent for a moment, in awe of the little light show that was so simple, yet so wonderful.

"My parents loved the stars," Josh said softly. I turned to face him. All of the playfullness from earlier had vanished and in its place was seriousness-- a calm, collected look on Josh's beautiful face with a tinge of sadness. Cautiously, I took his hand. Josh lifted my hand up, kissing it genlty before going on.

"Back when I was a kid, they would take me camping all the time away from any cities. You wouldn't believe how many stars were up there. The sky really did look like spilled milk, the stars were that thick," Josh said, keeping his eyes trained up "When they died, they sent a fourth of the money away to NASA. They were so worried it would stop running.... which it did, but maybe one day...." Josh paused, his eyes staring up but not seeing the stars. He looked lost and thoughtful, a kind of intelligence in his eyes I only got to see on rare occasions. It was as if all his barriers were down-- barriers that had once made me hate him. It made me wonder why he even had those walls up in the first place.

"Anyway, they always made sure I would appreciate the stars, even up to their dying days. In fact, sometimes, when I was visiting my dad in the hospital, I would read to him from this big astronomy book we had. He went blind first, before he passed, and even though he couldn't see the stars, he said when I read to him it was like they were right there. I like to think that's where he is now, out there in the stars," Josh said. To my shock he sniffed, rubbing his eyes hastily before standing up. I stood too, alarmed. Josh turned from me before taking a deep breath, after which he turned back to face me. He had on a cheery grin, which seemd so out of place after the story he just told. I stood there, unsure what to do.

"That's why I want to be an astronomer, once all this is done. I want to bring NASA back, for my old man," Josh said, approaching me. I stood still as he bent down, kissing my belly gently.

"Adira, can you promise me something?" asked Josh, not pausing from kissing my stomach gently. I flushed red, trying to form a sentence while he kissed my sensitive tummy, biting my lip to stop from making lewd noises.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered. Josh kissed me once more before standing up.

"Promise me you will help me teach our kid to love the stars," said Josh. His beautiful eyes bore into mine with the utmost seriousness, and I felt my heart squeeze tighter the ever before. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I whispered an emotional "yes." Josh hugged me, his hair dripping onto my mostly-naked form, and I sighed deeply.

"Adira.... I love you," whispered Josh, stroking my hair. At that, the tears burst forth and I squeezed him tighter.

"I love you too," I whispered back. At this Josh laughed and I laughed too; although, it came out sounding chokey due to the tears streaming down my face. Sniffingly, I pulled back, but Josh held my face in his hands and looked deeply into my eyes.

"Took us a while, didn't it?" he said playfully and I couldn't help but laugh again. Carefully, Josh kissed my forehead, then looked into my eyes like I was the most beautiful thing in the world. In that moment, I felt like I was.

There it was-- the answer to what I had been worrying about all along. Josh was here for me-- in love with me-- and together we would make it work. Together we would go to college, raising our baby as I earned my English degree and him, an Astronomy degree. Together we would settle down in the beautiful mansion, close to my mother, the ocean, and my best friend. Together we would watch our child grow up alongside Cally's, a child with his eyes and my face. Together we would defeat Crystal and form a real friend group, the kind I saw glittering under the surface. Together we would make this love last.

Then, all at once, I felt my happiness shatter as I looked down at my phone, seeing a text from Cally. It read:

Adira, I just saw the news. I'm so sorry about your mom.

A/N-- Hey guys! Sorry for the emotional chapter, I promise it will get lighter soon. Also I can't believe I'm on chapter 21 and she's not pregnant yet. I'm kind of taking a while, sorry. Oh and I recently got a film callback for another indie, so I may be busy this week with that. I'll still try to update when I can though! Thanks for your patience everyone, don't forget to vote and leave a comment!