just after 9am lillie pulled into the guest carpark of joe's building and shot the boy a quick text that they had arrived.
"you ready ase?" she questioned, as joe texted back saying he'd buzz them in once they got into the elevator.
"yeah." asa replied, and lillie grinned.
"let's go see joe then."
she climbed out of the car and let asa out of her seat, before picking the three year old up and making their way up to joe's floor.
lillie's heart was racing as she knocked on the door to joe's apartment, waiting patiently until the door opened, revealing joe, a tea towel thrown over his shoulder.
"hey." lillie grinned, as joe moved to kiss her cheek in a greeting. he stepped back, smiling sweetly at asa.
"hi asa! my name is joe." he said, his tone soft.
"hi." asa smiled shyly, leaning into her mother.
"she'll take a little bit to warm up." lillie informed him.
"that's okay." joe grinned. "you wanna come in? i'm just finishing washing the dishes."
"how very normal and domestic of you, superstar." lillie teased, entering the small apartment.
"my maid was busy today." he joked. lillie laughed, putting asa down on the ground.
"i made some sandwiches by the way. i figured we could take them with us to eat, instead of buying food for lunch. there's ham and cheese, cheese and tomato, egg, and peanut butter. i wasn't sure what asa would eat so i made a few different types." joe said. lillie's heart skipped in adoration, her eyes firmly on asa, who had wandered over to the window and was now pressing her face to the glass.
"that's really sweet of you." lillie smiled. "as for ase, she'll happily eat ham and cheese. and i love a good cheese and tomato sandwich."
"i'll keep that in mind." joe replied, putting the last plate away before turning back around, his eyes landing on asa, a grin appearing on his face.
"we live in a one story house, she's never seen a view like this before." lillie explained.
"you'll have to bring her over one night then. the lights are beautiful." joe said, and lillie smiled.
"i'm sure she'd love that." she agreed.
"mama, look!" asa called. lillie moved over to where the three year old was, cringing at the tiny hand and face prints that now covered joe's window.
"what is it?" lillie questioned. asa pointed a tiny finger.
"there's a puppy." she said, and lillie squinted, trying to find the dog in question.
"that's zeus." joe's voice came from behind them. "he lives downstairs."
"zeus?" asa repeated, looking up at joe shyly. he nodded.
"he's very nice. and he loves to play, especially with his ball." he said, and asa grinned, her shyness already forgotten. "maybe you can meet him another day."
"i wanna play with him." she agreed, and joe smiled.
"i'll talk to his dad then and see what we can organise. if that's okay with you, of course." he shot lillie a questioning look and the young mother nodded.
"as long as his family don't mind." she replied.
"they won't, i know they won't." joe assured her.
"wow!" asa gasped, and lillie and joe focused their attention back on the three year old, who was now watching the cars across the street.
"so it looks like a ride on the ferris wheel is a must." joe joked, and lillie laughed.
"i think so." she agreed.
"i'm ready to leave now if you wanna get going?" he asked, and lillie nodded.
"sounds good." she said, turning back to asa. "come on ase, we're gonna go back to the car now."
joe grabbed the bag of food, making sure his wallet was shoved in his pocket before grabbing a hat and sunglasses off the bench.
"shall we?" he spoke, as lillie and asa joined him. lillie nodded, stepping forward to open the door for him.
asa hovered at her mother's feet, glancing up at joe before grabbing onto his spare hand. his eyes widened slightly as he made eye contact with lillie, who looked just as shocked.
"you good ase?" lillie asked, and the three year old nodded happily, her blonde hair bouncing in her pigtails.
"yep." she grinned, looking up at joe who smiled back at her.
"clearly her getting used to you won't take long at all." lillie laughed, her heart swelling at the pair in front of her.
"apparently not." joe said, clearly trying to hide his excitement at the acceptance of the three year old. he had been worried that she wouldn't like him, not that he would ever tell lillie that.
the group of three made their way back down to lillie's car and before they knew it they were on the road, music playing loudly as joe and asa sang along. a large grin appeared on lillie's face as she glanced between the man next to her and her daughter in the rear view mirror.
finally her world felt complete.
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uncle_jezzy added to their story
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tagged: uncle_jezzy
♥ liked by teehampton and 7 others
lillianajhampton and here we have the moment asa realised she never wants to walk on her own again 😂
view all comments...
teehampton she's probably loving being tall for once
↳ lillianajhampton and with our genetics there's no way she'll ever get there on her own
rom.com asa living the dream of millions of teenage girls
↳ uncle_jezzy speaking from experience i presume
↳ rom.com you know me, obsessed with men
uncle_jezzy i couldnt say no to those eyes
↳ lillianajhampton now you know how it feels speaking to you
↳ uncle_jezzy oh i see good to know
↳ lillianajhampton do NOT use that to your advantage
↳ uncle_jezzy me? never
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sister sister
lills, roms, tee
roms
how's it going with
lover boy and ase?
lills
she LOVES him
lills
i literally can't
separate them
tee
how long did it
take her to settle?
lills
literally 10 minutes
lills
she grabbed onto him
as we left his apartment
roms
it took her WEEKS
before she even
looked at me what
the fuck is this shit
roms
attractive white men
get everything in this
world i hate this sm
tee
damn tell us how
you really feel romy
lills
he said to say "cant help
it that i'm irresistible romy"
roms
ugh i hate him
tee
stay strong romy, you're
doing this for maya remember
roms
true
roms
maya will be worth it
lills
hahaha
lills
i gotta go, ase wants to
go to the petting zoo
i'll text later xxx
roms
have fun!
tee
ditto ^
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after a full day of following joe and asa around as they went on as many rides as possible, lillie declared it was time to settle down and go on the ferris wheel before they left.
lillie took asa and the rest of their stuff, joining the line as joe went over to purchase the tickets, rejoining them quickly.
"want me to take that?" joe questioned, nudging the large stuffed tiger he had won for asa with his knee. lillie nodded, letting him take the toy, and their bags, from the floor in front of her.
asa snuggled her head into her mother's shoulder and lillie squeezed her tightly.
"she's tired." she mouthed to joe, who smiled softly.
"don't blame her." he whispered. "its been a long day."
the line moved and they stepped forward, now the next group to get onto the ride.
"i should let you take care of her more often." lillie joked quietly. "she's gonna pass out in the car and that'll be that."
"you're welcome." joe grinned.
the ride stopped and the worker gestured for them to climb in. joe handed him their tickets before stepping up into the capsule, holding his hand out to help lillie climb in.
"you wanna sit on the chair ase?" lillie questioned, and asa nodded, settling into lillie's side as the ride started up again.
lillie and joe watched on in silence as asa peered out of the window, her face lighting up with excitement, despite her clear sleepiness.
"pretty cool, huh?" lillie said, and asa nodded, her eyes glued to the view outside of the window.
lillie pulled her phone out, snapping a few photos of asa, as well as a couple of joe, as the ride stopped with them on the top.
"woah." lillie mumbled, looking around. "it is pretty cool up here."
"waiting until evening was a great idea." joe agreed, reaching across to take lillie's hand, and lillie squeezed his hand lightly.
"thank you for today." she said. "we've had a great time."
"me too. i can't wait to do something like this again." joe agreed, shifting so that he could kiss her softly, the height of the ferris wheel providing them with a sliver of privacy. they pulled apart and their eyes met, joe's eyes filled with a look of adoration.
"i love you." he said softly, and lillie tensed up slightly. "you don't have to say it back, i just had to say it."
lillie bit her lip. she couldn't deny that her feelings for joe were strong, but the last time she had let someone in enough to fall in love they had left her broken. how could she be certain that this wouldn't end the same way.
"i can't." she breathed out. "not yet, i'm sorry."
joe shook his head, moving to kiss her softly.
"you don't have to say sorry. you know i understand." he promised.
"i just-"
joe cut her off with a soft kiss.
"i told you before, i'm in this for the long haul. we do things on your time, okay? never feel like you have to apologise for that." he said softly, and lillie nodded.
"okay." she replied, but the guilty feeling still lingered in her chest, long after the moment until she was tucked into her bed that night, staring at the ceiling.
she sighed, rolling over in her bed to glance at her phone, her newly set wallpaper a photo of joe and asa on the teacup ride. her finger grazed across the screen, staring into joe's smiling face.
"i just wish i could tell you i love you too."