Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Trey's House
27 weeks...
Lexi was drifting off when she heard voices downstairs and concluding that the others had returned from the last court session where Ethan's final sentence had been read, she sat up. She was eager to know his sentence and how long she could breathe freely for.
With Trey's office stunt proving how urgent it was to deal with the case, the court had agreed to adjust their schedule such that between the previous week and this one, anyone involved had been sentenced.
She, Samantha and Sierra had been left at home while the others went on. Her because she was on bed rest, and Samantha because she was two weeks away from her due date. Sierra had offered to stay though they'd told her they didn't need babysitting.
The door to her room opened, and she looked to see Sierra walking in with two trays of food. She let out a sigh, smiling a little. "You didn't have to do all that. I hate that you are the one waiting on me when it should be the other way around. You're the guest."
Sierra set the tray down on the bedside table and straightened, looking down at Alexandra. "For the last time Lexi, I chose to do this. So instead of complaining about who's serving who, why don't you ask what I brought you?"
As if on cue, her stomach grumbled, and she closed her eyes as heat crawled up her neck. "What did you make?"
Sierra laughed, walking to the wall right opposite the bed. She wheeled the bed table over, settling it above Lexi's thighs. Then she put one of the trays on it. "I made turkey sandwiches with gluten free bread, and mustard baked chips."
"Sounds interesting," she murmured, looking over the food in the tray. Sierra had added an apple too. "Thank you very much."
"My pleasure," she replied, pressing a kiss to Lexi's head. "I'm taking Samantha's food up to her as well, and I think Trey and Melissa will be up soon. In the meantime, will you be okay?"
"Of course," Lexi replied, waving her away. "I'll be fine. Thank you." Sierra smiled, then taking the second tray off the table, she left, closing the door softly after her.
Melissa came in with Trey a little after she'd left, and Lexi smiled at them. Melissa told her she was hungry herself, so after hugging and asking how she was feeling, she left to find herself something to eat.
Trey closed the door after his sister, approaching the bed with a tired smile. "Hey," he whispered, dropping onto the bed.
"Hi," she replied softly, trying not to smile as she watched him lay down on his back. The flutters this man still gave her. . . "Tired?"
"Beat," he agreed, closing his eyes and throwing an arm over them. "Starving too, but Maya hasn't finished with lunch yet."
"Sorry," Alexandra murmured, biting into one sandwich. "You could have one of my sandwiches if you'd like."
He shook his head, yawning. "Don't worry. You need to eat more. I'm more tired than hungry anyway so I might pass out on your bed." He shifted his arm upwards and popped an eye open to look at her with a crooked smile. "Hope you don't mind?"
"No," she said with a smile, shaking her head when she felt her cheeks heat up.
Amused, he pushed off his back and scooted forward till he was in front of her. She swallowed what she'd been chewing and held his gaze while trying to hide her smile under his intense look.
"Do I make you nervous?" She closed her eyes when her cheeks heated even more, the smile growing wider. Then Trey said, "Give me a kiss."
She drew back in surprise at the random request, but leaned in to press a quick kiss to his cheek then went back to wolfing down her food. He scoffed. "What was that? I want a kiss kiss."
"Trey I'm eating," she complained with a half-full mouth. After swallowing, she added, "Unless you want already chewed bits of turkey sandwich in your mouth, I suggest you let me finish."
She reached for the glass of water on the table, drinking a little off it to wash down the food she'd eaten so far. As soon as she set the glass back down, Trey cupped her cheeks, taking his kiss.
She sat shocked for a moment—eyes wide—then responded as eagerly as he did, all thoughts of food forgotten. But he stopped too soon, earning himself a pout. He only smirked unapologetically, grabbing one of her chips to chew on.
"You're mean," she grumbled, going back to her food. He only laughed, falling back on the bed. "So?"
Confused, he propped himself up on an elbow and lifted a brow, echoing, "So...?" Lexi rolled her eyes, swatting his hand away when he reached for another chip. He frowned. "I thought you were up for sharing with me."
"The offer expired the moment you declined," she said seriously, glaring down at him while he sighed dramatically, patting his tummy. Then he crawled over to Alexandra, making her wonder what he was up to.
He settled by her side, pulling her shirt up to press a kiss to her belly. Her heart skipped. "Your mum doesn't want to share her chips with me. Stop taking too much so I can have the rest," he grumbled in a low, deep voice, and she couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of her.
"Trey," still laughing, she paused when it felt like she was about to choke on her own spit. "Get away from me."
He looked up at her and blinked, giving her an innocent smile. "But I was just talking to my babies." He kissed her belly again, pulled down her shirt and got off the bed, grabbing the whole bowl of chips.
"Trey! Put that down right now!"
He shoved a few into his mouth and set the bowl down, grabbing another handful. "Thank you," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her lips. He pulled back to find her glaring at him and that made him smile.
"I swear Trey, I'm never sharing my food with you throughout the rest of this pregnancy." She looked annoyed, hugging the bowl of chips to her chest.
"What about during another pregnancy?"
She gave him an incredulous look that had him trying to hold in his laugh. "Who says I would want more? I'm yet to have these two," she continued, pointing to her bump, "so focus on these. Or else you're getting a vasectomy."
He laughed, catching the pillow she chucked at his head. When he quieted down a bit, he tossed the pillow onto the bed, his eyes shining with mirth. "What had you been asking before?"
"Yeah," she responded, swallowing, then turned her attention to him. "How did today go? His sentence?"
"Safe to say we won't be seeing him in a very long time," Trey assured with a tired smile.
"Well, I can't help but feel it isn't over," she muttered. "He did say it wasn't. What do you think?"
He stepped closer and tilted her chin up so he could look her in the eye. "We're not going to worry about that now. I've upped security, taken extra measures..." he trailed off at the uncertainty in her eyes.
"I'm not hoping something happens, but if it does, we'll deal with it, hmm?" She nodded somberly. "I love you."
"I love you too," she murmured, a ghost of a smile appearing on her lips.
He dropped her chin, going to the door. "Now cheer up. When you're done eating, and having a nap, dress comfortably. We'll be going out in the evening."
"Why?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.
"You haven't forgotten the date I asked you on, have you?" Her eyes went wide. "I want to show you something," he finished, smiling softly.
"What is it?"
"It's a surprise Alexandra," he groaned. "You know what those are? I'm leaving so you don't persuade me into spilling." He yanked the door open and stepped out, "Enjoy the rest of your meal, love."
Then he shut the door after him, and on her protests.
"You... You son of a gun!"
*
"Are we there yet?" she asked for the umpteenth time, turning towards the general direction of the driver's seat.
Trey chuckled, giving her the same answer he had before. "Relax, we'll be there soon."
"You said that the last time," she complained, "and the time before that, and the time before—"
"Point made," he cut in, going up the driveway—a path between the few trees scattered on the estate. "We should be stopping..." he expertly maneuvered around the last of the trees to the front, killing the engine, "now."
He stepped out of the driver's side and kicked the door shut, going around the hood to get her out. He took her hand as soon as he opened the door, guiding her out.
She rose too high, and upon realizing late that her head would hit the edge of the car's roof, he put his hand there so that her head hit his hand instead. She still scowled, glaring at where she thought he would be.
He was in fact very grateful for the blindfold covering her eyes. "Remind me again why you thought it was a good idea to take your already clumsy and now pregnant wife to a surprise location blindfolded."
He shook his head but said nothing as he guided her a little away from the car. When they paused, he went behind her, and with hands on the blindfold, he asked, "Ready?"
"I guess." She actually sounded nervous. Deciding not to dwell on that, he pulled the blindfold off and watched her adjust to the light.
Then she frowned.
Not the reaction he was expecting.
"What is this place Trey?"
He pulled out the keys, dangling them in front of her. "Welcome to your new home," he whispered, locking gazes with her.
Then it sank in.
Her eyes went wide and she gaped. "You've got to be kidding me," she whispered. "The old place is enough. You didn't have to buy another house."
"Lexi, that place is more of a mansion than a home, and you know that. I want somewhere smaller, so we don't raise snobby kids."
A laugh fell out of her lips as she went back to staring at the house. "It's modern," then she looked back at him with the sweetest smile, "—so modern I feel it would be expensive."
"It is modern, bet you that," he agreed, missing the biting quality of her voice. "I also installed my personal AI Amaris for better security and for help with work so I can spend more time with you."
She sighed, touched by his display of care. But. . . "Trey?" He hummed in response. "How much did it cost?"
He stiffened. "It's not really necessary—"
"But I want to know," she cut in, turning to face him. "How much did it cost? Be honest with me."
"Twenty-one million pounds to buy it and another quarter of a million to childproof, set up and stock up the..." he trailed off, eyes wide.
"Set up what?"
"It's best if I show you," he replied, taking her hand and leading her inside. Going up the two steps, she followed as he pulled her after him into the one story house, and she gasped.
The place was beautiful with a minimalist design—nothing intimidating like the mansion they were in at the moment. "Amaris," Trey called out.
"Mr Robinson, welcome back," a voice much similar to Melissa's with a slightly robotic tinge to it responded.
"Amaris, I'd like you to meet my wife, Alexandra Robinson." Alexandra watched in awe as a camera descended and was pointed in her face. Then it was moving down, emitting blue light as it scanned her.
When the camera retracted back into the ceiling, Amaris spoke again. "Hello Mrs Robinson. Nice to meet you. I have saved every detail about you and your appearance in my database so I can detect when someone tries to impersonate you." Alexandra looked at Trey and he smiled, nodding once in her direction. "Again, welcome. Just call for me anytime you need me."
"Thank you Amaris," she replied, watching as the light in the ceiling blinked off. "That was cool. Why does it sound like Melissa?"
"I used Melissa's voice to program it." Then he grinned, striking a pose with both hands on his hips. "I made it myself."
She snorted with laughter. "Is that what you wanted to show me?"
"No," he replied, taking her hand again. "That would be the last thing."
"Trey..."
So he went on showing her the features of the house; the lounge area, the wonderfully modern kitchen, the indoor pool and sauna, and the movie room. Then upstairs was the master bedroom with an amazing view of the outside, with its own bathroom.
There were other bedrooms upstairs, of course, but Trey said they were unnecessary. He pulled her towards the one next to the master bedroom, then stopped, dropping her hand because his was shaking.
He was nervous.
"So, I know you liked the idea of being able to work on this yourself, but I had to take over because you can't really do much in your current condition." He took a deep breath, clutching the doorknob. "Just don't get mad. I wanted to do something nice for you."
"Just show me what it is," she said impatiently, trying to ignore the way her heart was filled with dread.
illed with dread.
"Okay." He pushed open the door and stood aside for her to take it in.
(think of a double crib instead of one)
"A nursery?!" she squeaked, turning to him. "You were right. I wanted to do this; I wanted a part in it."
"Lexi—" She held up a hand to silence him, and when he stayed silent, she strode into the room, heading straight for the two-in-one crib.
"It's beautiful though," she murmured, clutching one of the blankets to her chest. A tear fell out of her eyes when she realized he'd gone with the plan she'd picked when she first got pregnant. "I didn't know you still remembered."
She felt his arms slide around her from behind, and hesitantly, he set his chin on her on her shoulder, his warm breath caressing her neck. "I do remember. And I thought 'why not do it in memory of the two we'd lost?'"
When he saw her screw her eyes shut, he straightened, turning her to face him. "We didn't get to hold the first two, but we've been given another chance at it. We would never forget them, I know, but I don't want to lose everything that reminds me of them. Which is why I persuaded you to keep the clothes we got while getting ready for them."
She was shedding tears now, refusing to meet his gaze. "What if it gets too much? What if it scares me into thinking we might lose these ones?"
That gave him a pause. "Well, I'll admit I didn't think of it that way." Then he tilted her chin up to look her right in the eye. "Anytime you think you want us to change them, we can. Just say the word."
She buried her face in his chest. "Okay," she mumbled, clutching at his waist as he hugged her to himself.
He laughed a little, and watched as she pulled away a moment later, wiping at her eyes. "Now, how about we get to that date? I was thinking we could do a movie marathon and eat a few of the things you've been craving—Dr. Morris said once a while was fine."
Her eyes went wide with excitement. "Really? Here?"
"Of course—I packed us overnight bags. Then from tomorrow, you can go back to being wheeled around." She smacked him in the chest, bending to pick the discarded blanket off the floor. Trey stopped her, taking it. "I've got you."
Nodding, she led the way out of the room and towards the elevator. Yes, even with a one-story house, Trey had installed an elevator and she would take advantage of it. Once in it, Trey hit a different button instead of the descend and she turned to find him smiling.
"Where are you taking me?"
"The roof," he said, nodding toward the button. And surely, there it was, written in bold. She could've sworn it hadn't been there before.
"What for?" The elevator ground to halt and Trey stepped off, smirking.
"I guess you'll find out."
When he led her to a side of the roof, she braced herself on the glass barricading and looked down, her breath catching. "It's beautiful."
"It is," Trey agreed quietly. "That's the back of the house. Security will be based there somewhere—haven't decided where yet."
He sounded proud of his purchase, but Lexi's heart still felt heavy. "Trey, twenty-one million pounds on a house is a bit too much, isn't it? It could be used to do other things and I don't want to accept this while people are elsewhere in need."
Trey sighed, turning to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Would you accept it if I donated the same amount to those in need—anonymously of course?"
"You'd do that?" He nodded with a smile. "Isn't it going to reduce your money?"
"Money isn't everything," he replied. "In fact, we have more than enough, and I still work. Now that I think about it, donating to the less fortunate is something we should've been doing a long time ago.
"I just never liked how it's broadcast to the whole world that this 'rich man' donated this sum of money to charity. So, with your permission, we'll donate anonymously at regular intervals. Deal?"
Instead, she hugged him as tight as she could. "I love you so much, you know that? Thank you."
He squeezed her back, kissing the top of her head. "I know, I love you too." Then he pulled away. "Now what do you say we go on our movie date?"
"Finally."