You Had Me All Along

You Had Me All Along - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

"Mom?" I called out, walking through our foyer towards the kitchen, the next morning. The house smelled like coffee, which immediately calmed me.

   Carson and I had not gotten back to Seaside until close to midnight the night before, so we had gone right to his apartment. We were both physically and emotionally drained, and crashed pretty fast. The smell of the baby lotion we had put on Hunter that morning still lingered in in the air. Before I went down to the bedroom, I saw a tiny blanket on the edge of the sofa, which had been forgotten. I shut my eyes, trying not to let my emotions run wild.

   When we woke up, Carson's phone was ringing. Patrick, from the shop, was asking him to go in at 10A.M. instead of noon. He agreed, but it was already after 9A.M.

   "I'll miss you today," he mumbled, his eyes closing again.

   "Oh, you're such a softy now," I smiled, then kissed his cheek.

   "We were together for three days. Now we have to go back to work, apart," he whined, yawning.

   "I know," I replied, but nuzzled in closer. "We should get up."

   "Ugh, not yet."

   I knew he only needed a few minutes to get dressed and out the door for work, and I knew what I wanted to do would only take a few minutes.

   Turning in towards him, I ran my hand down his bare chest. He grunted, his eyes shut, before his hands came around to pull me closer. Suddenly he was touching me, everywhere, wildly, like he couldn't have stopped if he wanted to. It had been a busy few days, now it was obvious how badly we wanted each other. When his mouth found mine, it was sloppy and filled with yearning and want. He bit my bottom lip and mumbled how he wanted me, then reached down to pull off my shorts and underwear that I'd slept in.

   It was fast and hot and when he finished, he collapsed back onto the bed beside me, panting. I shut my eyes, still coming down from my own high.

   "God, that was..." Carson breathed out, stretching his arms above his head. "Fucking amazing."

   I nodded, glancing up at him, not saying anything. We were sweaty and now needed to shower before we both headed off to work.

   "Hey," he went on, his voice sounding tired and lazy. "You know that I wouldn't want to be living this crazy life with anyone else, right?"

   It was the sweetest thing he could have possibly said at that moment, so I kissed him again and told him, "Me either."

   Now, it was almost 10A.M. and I had gone home when Carson had left for work. I was nervous, entering the house . I hadn't been there in a few days and I hadn't seen my mom since Dylan's accident. Coffee was calling me, but I moved through the kitchen at the sound of her voice.

   "In here," she yelled back, from the living room.

   I found her sitting on the sofa, a coffee in her hand.  Her dark hair was in a braise, as usual. She was reading her reading glasses, and I noticed the newspaper was open on end table. The house was so quiet. 

   "Hey," I said, nearing her.

   "Arden, hi, sweetie" she said, looking over. "I'm glad you're here."

   I smiled, sitting down beside her. "I have to change and get ready for work, but..."

   "Oh, right. Of course," she sighed.  "How was your time with the baby?"  I wondering right away if that was what she really wanted to ask.

   "It was good," I said quickly. "It was all new, for Carson and I, but we managed. And... I mean... I miss him already. Hunter, I mean."

   My mom's face softened again. "Of course you do."

   "Dylan seemed okay, last night. And it's so great that Dalton and Trinity are able to stay with him for the summer," I changed the subject. 

   "Oh yes, I'm really glad about that." She seemed to relax a little bit more, but her voice sounded tired. "Dylan sure is a fighter. But, Arden, I was so worried."

   "I know," I nodded.

   She reached out and squeezed my hand. "So, what does my girl  want for her birthday?"

   The question surprised me, because we hadn't talked about it yet. My mom usually made a cake and gave me cash to go buy something I wanted. We usually had dinner together. But this year things were so different. I just wanted things to be calm, and good.

   "Oh, just a cake?" I suggested. "I have the day off, so Carson and Kaden and Rylee and I are going to do a beach day."

   "Oh, that sounds perfect," she said, after a beat. I watched as she sipped her coffee. "I'd love to make you and Carson dinner. Dad will still be in Jacksonville..."

   "Yes, of course," I smiled. "That would be great, Mom."

   "Great," she repeated, but I could tell she still had a lot on her mind.

   

When my birthday arrived a few days later, the excitement had been building. The week felt like it flew by - filled with work, and Rylee and the regular day to day stuff - but there was some moments of calm where I'd look at Carson and try to figure out how we got here, together. Somehow, he would grin at me, with some mischievous look on his face and I was reminded that he really was mine.

   The last few weeks had been so busy that Carson and I had only been to the beach together a few times, even though it was literally right under our noses. The beach that I referred to as "mine" was just ten minutes away, and usually pretty quiet. There was playground and of course, sand, water and lots of sun.

   Carson had mentioned more than once not to worry about packing anything, so I put my bathing suit on under my sundress and anxiously waited for him to pick me up, late that morning.

   My mom and I had eaten some of my birthday cake for breakfast, along with our coffees. We'd had a Facetime call with dad and Dylan, who were now settled in at Dylan's apartment. He was looking so much better and it felt like a birthday miracle, seeing his smiling face. Everyone seemed happy, excited, hopeful that morning.

   "Have a great day, Arden," Dylan grinned, before we ended the call.

   "Happy birthday honey," my dad chimed in. "See you in a few days."

   When Carson pulled up, I watched out the front window, as he got out of his car. Holding a bouquet of flowers, he grinned when he saw me. I pulled open the door before he could knock. He was wearing jean shorts and a tank top, blue and white. His hair was all over the place, as it always was.

   "Happy birthday," he said sweetly, passing me the flowers.

   We'd already texted earlier that morning, but I'd slept at home the night before so I could spent the morning with my mom. I knew she'd like that and it was the least I could do for her.

   I hugged Carson, inhaling as his arms came around to hold me close. He kissed me quickly before tugging one of the daisies out of the bouquet. My mom was in the doorway, eyes wide as Carson handed it to her.

   "Thank you, for Arden," he told her. "She's always been my reason to go on, since the moment I met her."

   My mom was teary eyed before I knew what was happening. She took the flower, smiling big. Her expression was saying something but I couldn't figure out what it is.

   "You two have an awesome day," she said, then wiped her eyes. "I'm making lasagna for dinner. We will celebrate then."

  "We already celebrated with cake, Mom," I laughed. "But thank you. I'll text you when we are on our way back."

   She stepped forward to hug me, holding me tight a bit longer than I expected. When we separated, she was crying again. I saw her glance at Carson, then she turned to to go back to the kitchen.