•Chapter Thirty-Three•
•Lane•
"Rafe, baby, wake up" I mumbled as I lightly nudged his side. He was still laying on top of me, his hands were recently holding mine but I moved them out so I could rub my eyes once my alarm went off.
He huffed and shuffled around, eventually snuggling up to my side. "We gotta go if you want to meet my family" I said as I looked down at him, massaging my hand through his hair.
"Five more minutes" He whispered and I smiled. "I'll leave you and I can come back to pick you up, if you want?" I suggested.
"No" He replied as he slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking over at me through peeking eyes as the sun was starting to shine in through his window.
"Let me just go down and get some water and then I'll be back up to get ready before we head to yours, okay?" He asked and I simply nodded before sitting up against his headboard.
•Topper•
As Sarah and I were laying in the movie room, we heard footsteps coming down the stairs so we both turned to see a shirtless Rafe who was rubbing his eyes.
He gave us a nod of acknowledgment and walked to the other end of the room. I glanced at him for a moment and did a double take as I saw the red scratch marks all across his back.
Sarah whipped her head to me and we both widened our eyes. "You don't think..." She trailed off and I smirked.
"Oh, they definitely did, I'll be making sure to get the juicy details from Lane, too" I said and she giggled.
Rafe came back in and scrunched his eyebrows together as he looked at us, "What?" He asked and me and Sarah both continued to laugh.
"Nothing" I lied. He looked curious for a moment before he continued on his way to the stairs.
"That's crazy" Sarah said from beside me. "Right" I agreed and we both smiled as we sat in silence for a moment, our imaginations going wild.
•Lane•
Rafe came back up a few minutes later and by now I was fully awake, ready to leave and get ready at my house.
"What should I wear?" He asked as he took a drink out of his water bottle.
"I don't know" I shrugged. He huffed and walked into his closet, shuffling around for a few minutes until he came back out with a pair of light blue jeans and a basic white collared shirt paired with his straight white Nike's.
I sent him a thumbs up and a smile before he started changing, no point in going anywhere else to do so as we both saw every part of one another yesterday.
"Should I slick back my hair?" He asked as he finished getting dressed. "You know I don't like it slicked back" I tilted my head to the side and he grinned.
He put his chain and rings on before going into his bathroom to brush his teeth and fix his hair so it draped over his forehead.
"Ready?" He asked once he came out. I was still sitting on his bed and nodded at him, carefully getting up and slipping on my jeans that I wore yesterday when I came over.
"You want your shirt?" He asked as he held up the shirt that I was wearing yesterday as well. I smiled and shook my head, grabbing his hand and walking down the stairs to see Topper and Sarah laying on the couch.
"Morning lovebirds" Sarah giggled and I playfully rolled my eyes. "We'll be back, have to go and eat breakfast with my family" I sighed and they both nodded before me and Rafe made our way out to my jeep.
"Can I drive?" He asked. "No" I blankly said and he huffed before sliding into the passenger seat. "I let you drive my truck" He whined and I grinned.
"I don't take any chances with this one" I said while drumming my fingers on the steering wheel.
——
"Good morning" My dad greeted me as me and Rafe walked through the door. "Morning, is it okay if Rafe comes along with us?" I asked and he smiled.
"I don't mind, just be careful with Tessa" He rolled his eyes at the thought of her. He knew all about the problems I had with Tessa, including the part where she hit on my boyfriends.
Rafe furrowed his eyebrows but I just smiled at my dad, "Thanks, where's mom?" I asked.
"Getting ready, we leave in thirty minutes so you better hurry" He winked at me. I nodded at him before pulling Rafe up the stairs and into my room.
"Your dad knows your cousin flirted with your past relationships" He asked as he sat on my bed, watching me walk into my closet. "Yep, she's crazy" I called out as I scanned through my clothes.
I picked out a pair of light blue bell bottoms and a white, cropped, long sleeved tank top that went up to my neck, almost like a turtleneck. I grabbed Rafe's beige jacket that I stole awhile ago and my white Nike's that matched his and walked back out see him laying on my bed, his head on top of his crossed arms and his eyes closed.
I stripped down to my bra and underwear and dressed into my clothes, rushing to the bathroom to brush my teeth and fix my wavy hair. I decided against wearing make-up so I walked back into my room and by now Rafe was asleep.
"Get your ass up, we're leaving in like five minutes" I shoved Rafe and he groaned before eventually sitting up while I put on my rings.
"Look at my cute girlfriend" He grinned and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me into him and placing a short but sweet kiss to my lips.
"I always wondered where my jacket went" He said and I giggled before pulling him down the stairs again.
The two of us and my parents all made our way outside and got into our own vehicles. I handed my phone to Rafe and I followed my parents as they backed out of the driveway.
I smiled as I heard one of The Weeknd's songs come on, "In Your Eyes" to be specific.
After a few minutes, I parked beside my parents and got out to see them already standing by the door, waiting for me and Rafe.
I felt my hand get grabbed and I leaned into Rafe once he interlocked our fingers together. "This is gonna be fun" I smiled sarcastically and he chuckled underneath his breath as we approached my parents.
My dad gave me a look of "Don't start anything" and I smirked before nodding at him. Rafe opened the door and followed behind me as he was the last one to enter.
We found my moms family at a table in the far corner and approached them slowly, already getting a headache at the sight of them.
"I'm already ready to leave" I mumbled to Rafe. He squeezed my hand and pressed a kiss to my forehead as they all noticed us and got up from their seats.
My grandparents greeted us first, loving that they got to meet Rafe. Jesse and her husband silently greeted us, knowing that I don't like them so they didn't make an effort to even try to be fake.
Andrew gave Rafe a small nod of acknowledgement before the most annoying person came over with a smirk along her lips.
"Lane" She greeted. "Who might this be?" She asked as she straightened up her posture, arching her back forwards so her breasts poked out of her revealing shirt.
I resisted the urge to push her back into the table and punch the living shit out of her face but instead, pursed my lips. "This is my boyfriend, Rafe" I said as Shay came over with Honey in her arms.
"Nice to meet you, might I say that you are a very charming guy" She winked at him and bit her lip. "I'm Tessa by the way, Lane's favorite cousin" She smirked and I looked at Shay so I didn't let into my intrusive thoughts.
"Aunt Shay, this is Rafe" I greeted the two and she smiled at him. "Rafe, this is my Aunt Shay, my favorite aunt" I whispered the last part and she grinned.
"Nice to meet you, Shay" Rafe smiled at her, totally ignoring Tessa as she was still standing in front of him.
"Likewise, I've heard a lot about you" She replied with a wink and I playfully rolled my eyes.
"Is she asleep?" I asked her before she could say anything, gesturing to Honey as she was covered with a blanket.
"Apparently, she was awake like a few minutes ago" She chuckled and I looked at Rafe. "This is Honey" I said and he smiled as he peeked above the blanket to look at her face.
"She's really cute" He smiled at her before looking up at Shay and then at me. "Thank you, she's a handful but she's the only thing that keeps me going these days" She sighed.
"Laneyyy" I heard the familiar giggle of Julie as I turned and saw her standing behind me. I grinned and picked her up, "Julie, this is my boyfriend, Rafe" I said and she grinned as a tint of red aligned her cheeks.
"Rafe, this is Julie, my actual favorite cousin" I smirked and her cheeks got even more flushed.
"Hi, Rafe" She greeted and he smiled as he looked over at me before holding out his hand towards her.
"Hi, Julie" He greeted her back as she took his hand in hers and shook it. "Alright, let's go eat" I said to the two.
"Want to sit with me?" I asked Julie and she eagerly nodded. I sat in in between Shay and Rafe, Julie in my lap as my dad was in front of me.
I rolled my eyes as Tessa sat in front of Rafe, poking her chest out again and applying an annoying amount of lipgloss to her already red-stained lips.
For most of the breakfast, everybody engaged in conversations. Some stories were shared, good and bad, as Tessa decided to point out most of the embarrassing stories about me to Rafe.
"Mom, do you think you can babysit Honey tonight, I want to go out" Shay asked my grandmother.
"Sorry sweetie, but I'm actually going out with your dad" She lightly smiled at her and Shay huffed.
I looked over at Rafe as if I was silently asking
"Is it okay if we watch her?" and he smiled, nodding his head so I looked over at Shay.
"We can watch her if you want, I'm not doing anything for the rest of the day and I'm sure my friends would love to meet her" I offered and she gasped.
"That would be great, thank you so much" She placed a kiss to my temple before looking at Honey. "You sure she won't be a bother?" She asked hesitantly.
"I'm sure" I reassured and she smiled. "Do you want me to drop her off at yours since you can't take her in your jeep, or?" She asked.
"Yeah that's fine, we're just going to go back to his" I pointed to Rafe and she nodded.
After breakfast was over, the rest of the family went off on their own, except for Shay as she followed us to our house.
"Do you want me to get my truck? Since you can't put a carseat in your jeep?" Rafe asked as we stepped outside of my jeep.
"That would be great, thank you" I smiled at him and he eyed the keys in my hand. I sighed and handed them to him, "I will murder you if you get so much as a speck of a scratch on her" I glared at him and he smirked.
"The lack of trust really hurts my feelings" He frowned and held a hand over his heart. I swatted my hand at him and gave him a kiss before he got in and drove off.
Shay pulled into the driveway and got out, going around the other side to unbuckle the carseat that Honey was asleep in. I grabbed her diaper back and the few other things that was left and headed inside with Shay right behind me.
"There's bottles already made, you just have to heat them up. She eats every two hours and every ounce, she needs to be burped. There's everything you need in here and she usually sleeps all the time so she shouldn't be too fussy while I'm gone" She said.
"I hope it's okay that I'll be out for the night, I really don't know when I'll be back" She sighed and I smiled.
"Go have fun tonight, stay out as late as you want. I'll take care of her and you already know she's in safe hands" I winked at her and she smiled.
"Thank you so much for this, seriously. I haven't been able to go out in awhile" She said. "It's no problem, I kinda like the practice" I shrugged and she laughed.
"You and Rafe plan on having kids?" She asked as she looked through the diaper bag one more time just in case. "Oh yeah, but we're not getting into that tonight" I said and she smirked.
"Okay then, you do know how to change a diaper right?" She quirked an eyebrow and I scoffed. "Yes, I know how to change a diaper, I used to babysit a few kids when I was 16" I said.
"Okay, okay. I'll be back tonight, love you" She gave me a hug and walked over to Honey. "Bye sweet girl, be good for Aunt Laney, okay" She grinned at her daughter and placed a kiss to her head. "Be safe" I called out right before she shut the door.
I stood over the couch and slowly unbuckled Honey, gently placing her in my arms and swaying side to side so I could keep her asleep.
Rafe walked in not even 5 minutes later, a smile on his face as he glanced at me. He came over and rubbed his thumb against her cheek, looking down at the 1-month old.
"Can't wait for this to actually be us" He sighed in content as he walked behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, setting his chin on my shoulder and staring down at the baby in my arms.
"You really want a baby, huh?" I asked and felt him nod. "I want our baby" He whispered and I smiled.
"This is just practice for now, I don't want a baby too soon" I said and turned my head to the side so I was looking right at his face.
He side eyed me and his lips turned upwards, inching his face even closer to mine and pressing his lips to mine.
"There's something I want you to know" He said and I furrowed my eyebrows. "Okay" I said.
"I kinda didn't tell you yesterday cause... y'know... we were busy" He chuckled and I grinned.
"I'm 5 months sober today" He said and I quietly gasped, trying not to startle the baby awake. "I'm so proud of you, congratulations" I whispered and placed a kiss to his cheek.
"I couldn't have done it without you. Ever since you've been here, you distracted me at first and then I just stopped because you were everything I thought about, 24/7" He smirked.
"Well I'm glad I could help, that's amazing" I said. "I love you" He whispered.
"I love you more" I leaned back into him and continued to sway side to side.
"Can I hold her now?" He asked in a whisper. I nodded and slowly placed her in his arms. He smiled and looked down at her, "The only time I've ever held a baby was Wheezie and Sarah" He admitted.
I lovingly stared at him, hoping that one day he would be holding our baby like that.
"Should we leave now? I kinda want to go over to yours and stay with Topper and Sarah" I asked and he nodded before gently placing the baby back into her car seat. He made sure the buckles were tight but not too tight, placing her blanket around her to make sure she was warm as the cold temperatures really affected babies. He placed her pacifier in her mouth and rubbed his thumb gently on her cheek.
I grabbed her diaper bag and he picked her carseat up before we both walked out the door and to his truck. He opened the back seat door and placed her in there, strapping the carseat in like he was an actual dad doing this for his daughter. He grabbed the bag from me and placed it on the floor before taking my hand and leading me to the passenger door.
"My love" He smirked as he helped me into his truck. "Thank you" I smiled at him before he shut the door and got into the drivers seat.
——
"Did you bring her?" I heard Topper's voice as we walked into the Cameron's house. Rafe was carrying Honey in his arms and I was right beside him.
"Yes, she's here" I replied once he appeared in the foyer area. He smiled warmly as he glanced at the baby in Rafe's arms, "You two look like you just got home from delivering your first baby" He snickered and I smiled.
"Rafe wanted practice" I said and he smirked. "Y'all better have a baby soon" He winked and it was Rafe's turn to smirk.
"I plan to" He said while turning to look at me. I giggled and we walked into the movie room, "Where's Sarah?" I asked.
"Taking a shower, she'll be done in a few minutes. Now, can I hold her, please?" He asked as he opened and closed his hands repeatedly while eyeing Honey.
Rafe hummed and carefully handed Honey to Topper who was now sat on the couch. "Hi, little one" He grinned as he gazed down at the baby in his arms.
"Do you really plan on having a baby soon?" He asked as he glanced up at us. I looked at Rafe and he looked at me with a smirk across his lips, "I want to, it's all up to her" He shrugged.
"Not quite yet, but I'd love to, too" I replied and he nodded.
"Lane, your birthday is coming up soon, do you have anything planned?" Topper asked as I now sat beside him, Rafe beside me as he pulled me onto his lap.
"Nope, I don't really want to do anything except stay with you guys" I said and he rolled his eyes. "That's boring" He said and I scoffed.
"Well yours is coming up too, our birthdays are literally two days apart so what will you be doing?" I asked and he huffed.
"I don't know, just focused on yours first" He said and I hummed as I laid my head back against Rafe's chest.
He wrapped his arms around me and placed both his hands on my stomach, "Can't wait til' you have a little bump" He whispered into my ear and I grinned.
"You have a lot of baby fever" I whispered back and felt him nod. "I have a few names picked out too" He admitted and I chuckled.
After a few short moments, we heard Sarah coming down the stairs and once she saw the baby, she coed and ran up to her. As she begged Topper to hold Honey, I checked over my phone and cleared all my notifications and saw something that peeked my interest.
"Did you know about this?" I questioned as I turned my head back to look up at Rafe who was staring down at my phone.
"Yeah, my dad was talking about it. I was going to ask you soon if you wanted to be my date" He wiggled his eyebrows up and down and I smiled.
"I'd love to" I pressed a short kiss to the corner of his lips and looked back down to my phone. It was an AD that displayed the Figure-Eight Winter Event. I looked at the details and it said it was next Friday, meaning I would have to get a dress soon.
——
After having spent most of the night with Honey, me and Rafe went back to my house and said our goodbyes to Shay.
"I'm exhausted" I sighed as we both walked up the stairs to my room. "Same here" He mumbled and plopped down on my bed.
I walked over to my dresser and got out a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt for me to wear for the night. I quickly changed and brushed my teeth before laying down in my bed next to Rafe.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and snuggled his head in my neck, placing delicate kisses along my tanned skin.
"I love you" He whispered which made a shiver run down my spine at the coolness of his breath on my neck. "I love you more" I whispered back and closed my eyes.
A/N
Decided to finish up this already half written filler chapter so I could start thinking of the future for this book.
It's very slowly coming to an end, maybe less than 20 chapters or so.
I seriously can't wait for it to be finished, although I'm going to miss it so much. But, I only say that because I can edit it and it can be finished for you all and new readers.
I hope you all are doing okay and please be patient with me for new updates as I still have writers block.
Love you all!🤍
Word count: 3,690