off the table

nineteen

tw ⚠️

a month later...

"Baby, come here," I called Dalton. "Yes baby?"

"Do you remember when I recorded a song called Stuck With U with Justin last week?" I asked him.

"Of course baby," he smiled.

"Justin and I wrote this about you and Hailey, so I want you to have a listen," I smiled. I decided to pull out my phone and record his reaction.

"What's that? Are you gonna pull a prank on me?" he chuckled.

"That's just for fun," I smiled and I heard him say something but not loud quite loud enough for me to hear.

"What?"

"I was kidding," he chuckled and I let out a giggle. I clicked play and the song started playing. I was still recording him, wanting to capture his reaction to the entire song. He was basically smiling the whole time, giving me a kiss every once in a while, such a cutie.

"What do you think?" I asked him.

"I love it!" he smiled and once again kissed me, making me smile. I then ended the video.

"Wait, I have an idea," I said to him, "Would you mind if I include our small conversation at the beginning of the video in the song?"

"Not at all," he smiled, "I think it's gonna match the vibe of being at home."

"Yay!" I beamed and kissed his cheek. I then converted the video into an audio and cropped our small conversation then included it into the track.

"We'll also have a home-recorded music video that will include our friends, family and also our fans. I know this sounds crazy, but do you want to announce our relationship in this music video?" I asked nervously, not knowing whether he wants it.

"I'm actually ready, but are you ready?" he asked me, "I don't want you to feel pressured to announce anything."

"I-I don't know, we've been together for three months, and there had been tons of speculations for two months now. I just don't know if I can keep our relationship a secret for any longer," I said quietly.

"Oh baby," he wrapped his arms around me, softly rubbing my back.

"I'm so scared, I feel like there's a weight on my shoulders keeping this relationship a secret, but at the same time, I don't want people to know about you because there's a chance that they're gonna start hating on you."

"Follow your heart baby, do whatever feels right for you."

"I guess we have to, but do you want to?"

"Of course baby, anything for you," he smiled, making me smile.

"Do you have an idea on how to announce it though?"

"How about I make a short appearance at the end of the video, just for a few seconds?" he suggested.

"Yes! And maybe we can dance together," I smiled.

"Sure baby," he smiled.

"Let's record it now," I pulled his hand and led him to our room, "but first let's wear something comfortable to give more vibes of being at home."

I put on an oversized sweatshirt while Dalton wore a black hoodie, my favorite hoodie of his to steal.

"Baby, you're wearing my favorite hoodie," I beamed.

"Of course little one, I know you're probably gonna steal it after this," he chuckled.

"Of course I will," I grinned, "and can we cuddle after this?"

"Definitely," he smiled. We decided to let him dance for a couple of seconds before I'll appear onscreen and dance with him. I then began setting up the camera as he got into position.

"You ready?" I asked him and he nodded. I started the video along with a clip of the song and he began dancing to it. When it was my turn, I headed over to him and gave him a hug before I stood on my toes and kissed his lips. He then spun me around and we ended the video.

"Let's see the result," I said, playing the video and he scooted closer to me.

"Oh my gosh, you look so tiny!"  he gushed, giving me a goofy face. I giggled.

"Do you think it's good enough? Or should we retake it?" I asked him.

"I think it's amazing, I still can't get over how tiny you look," he beamed and I blushed.

"Okay, I'm sending it to Fredo so that he can edit it."

"Okay baby," he smiled. I sent the clip to Fredo and put my phone away. I climbed onto the bed next to Dalton and placed my head on his shoulder.

"My tiny bean," he smiled, booping on my nose.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Giraffe."

"Hey, where did that come from?" he frowned, pretending to get offended.

"You're always teasing me for being tiny, so it's my time to start teasing you for being tall, boop," I giggled, booping on his nose.

"You're mean," he pouted.

"As if you're not the one teasing me 24/7," I playfully crossed my arms.

"Babyyy," he whined and I laughed.

"You're such a baby," I kissed his cheek.

"And you're such a tiny bean."

"And Mr. Giraffe decided to call me a tiny bean again."

"I was just telling the truth though."

"Yeah, yeah," I playfully rolled my eyes. I placed my head on his chest and he wrapped his arm around my body, making me smile.

"Do you want kids one day?" I blurted out of nowhere.

"Yeah, with you," he smiled, making me blush.

"Do you want them though?" he asked.

"I do, but I'm scared because of you know," I said quietly, referring to my miscarriage back in 2018 because of what Pete did to me. Although I wasn't ready when I found out I was pregnant, my miscarriage still hurts me a lot. I'm still haunted by guilt, thinking whether my baby would still be alive if I would've done something different. My miscarriage and everything else that happened those couple of months still traumatized me up to now.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry baby," he softly whispered into my ear, running his fingers through my hair.

"You don't have to be sorry baby, I'm still trying to heal. I'm still not ready for a child. We can have kids one day, I promise, just in a few years."

"Just take your time baby, I understand," he gently rubbed my back, "we can wait until we're both ready, we don't have to rush. Besides, we had only been together for three months, I don't think it's a good idea to have a baby right now."

"We haven't even had sex either and it's all my fault," I said quietly.

"Baby, stop blaming yourself," he frowned, "you don't owe me anything, you know? Not even sex, so take it easy, okay?"

I lightly nodded and buried my face onto his chest. He softly rubbed my back and planted a kiss on my forehead. His smell made me feel safe and comfortable. I placed my hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat, and in no time, I was fast asleep in his arms.