Jenn's Pov
It was a warm, starry 4th of July evening, and Ben was out in the backyard, wearing his "Grillmaster" apron, barbecuing up a storm. I had just finished whipping up a delicious rice and chicken pasta salad, and the smell of sizzling food filled the air.
Our children were splashing around in the pool, their laughter and shouts of joy creating the perfect soundtrack to the day. My mom and mother-in-law had embarked on a Dunkin' Donuts mission for dessert, leaving me to check in on Ben.I strolled out to the backyard, where Ben was tending to the grill. "Hi," I greeted him with a bright smile and gave him a warm hug. He set down the tongs and embraced me, his strong arms making me feel safe and loved.
"Hi, gorgeous. Aren't you going to hop into the pool?" he asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
"No, I'm okay," I teased. "I'll wait until you and I can go alone."
Ben grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Food's almost done," he informed me before pulling me closer for a sweet kiss. I returned the kiss, my fingers gently caressing his beard.
"Okay," I nodded, my heart fluttering with affection.
Then Ben's expression turned serious, and he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. "So, I have a question for you... and I completely understand if you say no," he began, his fingers tracing soft circles on my sides.
"I'm listening," I replied, gazing up at him while continuing to caress his beard.
"Would you like to go to the Flash premiere with me on the 6th of July? I have to do some interviews, and I would love for mi esposa to be there," he said with a loving smile.
My heart swelled with warmth. "I'd love to, honey. You know I love supporting my husband," I replied, my affection for him overflowing.
"Good. I can't wait to have a little date with you next week," he said, his hands now on my back, and he leaned in to kiss my neck.
"Ben, the kids are in the pool," I reminded him, biting my lip softly. He had already started leaving a hickey on my skin, and I tried to maintain some decorum. I ran my fingers through his hair, trying to resist the urge to utter anything too provocative. He pulled away with an innocent smile, then leaned in to kiss my lips.
"God, you're so perfect," he murmured, planting another sweet kiss on my lips before turning his attention back to the grill.
"I know I am," I teased, and he rolled his eyes playfully. We teamed up to finish cooking the food, and once it was done, I prepared hamburgers and hot dogs for the kids. My mom and Chris returned from Dunkin' with a bag of donuts, both of them giggling like schoolgirls.
"I see you two are getting along great," I teased.
"We're best friends, honey. Chris and I have a lot in common," my mom explained.
"Interesting," Ben chimed in, chuckling, as he snatched a donut from the bag.
"Benjamin, not until after dinner," I scolded, swiping the donut away before he could take a bite.
"Babe, those are my favorite things to eat," he whined like a little kid.
"I thought I was your favorite thing to eat," I teased, and he smirked mischievously.
"Eew! Jennifer!!" my mom laughed.
"Oops... sorry," I chuckled, and Ben winked at me, taking the plates with ready food outside to the kids. The kids hopped out of the pool to enjoy their meal, and my mom and Chris joined them. I went to check on Juni, who was still sound asleep.
"We're going to have to take turns watching her when we do the fireworks," I said to Ben as I returned with Juni in my arms.
"I think she'll probably sleep through them or won't mind, since we're always noisy around her and we vacuum around her," Ben mused as he took his and my plate.
"Mhm," I agreed, carefully placing Juni in the playpen Ben had set up for her in the shade.I settled down on a blanket beside the playpen and accepted the plate from Ben, beginning to eat.
"Oh... spread them," Ben suddenly quipped, getting a glimpse from under my dress where he was standing. In response, I playfully flipped him off as I continued to munch on my burger and laughed.
Ben joined me, sitting behind me and pulling me into his lap. "Hey, you're going to make me leak through my dress," I half-jokingly protested as he gently caressed my breasts.
"I'll clean it up... with my tongue," he whispered in my ear, rubbing my belly softly.
"You seem so calm for someone who just got robbed," I giggled.
"Huh?" Ben blinked, looking at his plate, which was now mysteriously empty.
"The heck? Lady!!" he exclaimed, spotting Cy's dog, Lady, munching away on his burger.
I laughed heartily as Ben tried to reclaim his stolen burger. The kids, enjoying the jacuzzi, were thoroughly entertained by our wrestling match.
"You little rascal!" I said to Ben, who had me in a playful headlock.
"Let me go!" I demanded, pulling his leg. Somehow, I managed to flip him over, freeing myself.
"Holy smokes," Ben panted, lying back on the blanket, breathless.
"Make me another burger, you goof," I demanded, pouting playfully.
"Give me a kiss first, you goof," he teased, chuckling.
"You guys are like teenagers in love," my mom quipped, laughing heartily.
Ben and I got back on our feet and headed to the kitchen to get some extra patties for our burgers.
"That's right. Make my sandwich," I teased, watching him closely. He peered down at me with a wicked grin. "You really want to play that game, Affleck?"
He looked down at me, his eyes narrowing. "Mhm," I nodded, playfully stubborn.
"You asked for it," he warned, pulling my bikini bottoms and giving me a wedgie.
"Ben!!" I yelped, pushing him away while laughing and fixing my bikini bottoms.
"Ha ha ha!" Ben laughed in my face, his playful energy infectious.
I smacked him with a piece of lettuce, and we both began wrestling again, finding our way to the couch. He was about to body slam me on the couch but held me gently, keeping me safe."Babe!" I laughed, gripping his arms. We continued to wrestle, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.
"That's not fair," Ben said, laughing as he attempted to loosen my grip.
"Who's laughing now?" I teased, laughing and enjoying the playful struggle.
"You goof, you're leaking," he pointed out, causing me to giggle.
I had to fix my dress after that playful encounter. We heard the door open, and Ben quickly I had to fix my dress after that playful encounter. We heard the door open, and Ben quickly pulled away from me, pretending to search for my "lost" ring.
"Babe, it's not here," he said.
""Ugh. I can't believe it," I exclaimed, crossing my legs and shielding my face with my hands.
My mother entered the room and found Ben and me in an unusual situation. She surveyed the mess in the kitchen.
"What happened in the kitchen? There are scattered tomatoes and lettuce all over the floor," she questioned while picking up the lettuce and sliced tomatoes.
Immediately, I shifted the blame to Ben with a laugh. "It was Ben!"
Ben quickly retorted, "Nu-uh! It was you!" Laughter filled the room as my mom joined in.
"You two play too much," Lupe chimed in, her laughter blending with ours.
Ben shot me a sly look before resuming a composed expression. We both got up and headed to the kitchen to retrieve our hamburgers before returning outside.
Whispering to Ben, I said, "I want you inside of me," which brought a hint of excitement to his eyes and a subtle smirk.
We savored our burgers and engaged in light conversation.
"Mommy!! Watch me!" Sammy's voice rang out from the pool as he performed an impressive flip before diving in. I was captivated and cheered loudly as he emerged from the water.
"Good job, baby! So proud of you!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands.
"Good job, bud!" Ben smiled, applauding Sammy's performance.
"Now that I think of it... could you imagine if we met years ago, and my three kids were yours, and Cy and Max were mine?" Ben mused softly. I nodded in agreement.
"I think life would've been different for us, in a good way, like it is now. Maybe we would've been living in Boston," I giggled.
"I think the kids would look more like you, but now we have two kids of our own," Ben whispered, planting a soft kiss on my temple and wrapping his arm around me. I beamed at him, overwhelmed with love.
"What if we have twins and have 8 kids in total?" I pondered.
"I would be so happy. Having 3 kids of our own? That would be amazing," Ben replied, his eyes filled with affection.
"Momma, it's 7:30. When are we doing fireworks?" Violet inquired as she wrapped a towel around herself. I pulled her onto my lap and held her close.
"Around 8:30 or as soon as it gets a bit darker, my love bug," I reassured her, planting a kiss on her cheek before adjusting her glasses."
Want me to fix your braids?" I offered, and she nodded eagerly.
"I love how Vivi will be 18 in December, and you still baby her," Ben chuckled softly.
"Because she's my baby, and I don't care how old she is; she'll always be my little teenager in my eyes," I declared, and Violet beamed.
"I think if I met you when I was younger, I would've loved you. I never liked any of Dad's girlfriends," Violet confessed.
"Awww. Me too, baby. I would've loved you as much as I do now," I assured her, planting a kiss on her cheek as I finished braiding her hair. She snuggled against me, and Ben watched with a smile.
"My girls are so cute," he remarked, his eyes filled with affection.
"I want some hugs too!" Cy exclaimed, giving us a wet hug as they approached. I laughed and hugged them back, and we all wrapped ourselves in towels and cuddled up with Ben.
"Dad, is it time for fireworks yet?" Cy asked Ben.
"Not yet, love bug. Soon," Ben replied, playing with Cy's hair and planting a soft kiss on their head.
"Okay. Did Mom or Grandma get any sweets?" Cy inquired.
"They both brought donuts from Dunkin'," Ben confirmed.
"Even coffee?" Violet asked, her excitement evident.
"Yes, coffee too," Ben assured.
"I'll go bring them," Cy offered, taking the dirty dishes inside and returning with a box of donuts.
"Momma, I'm tired," Violet yawned softly.
"Take a nap, baby," I suggested, and she nodded before lying down on the blanket beside the playpen and drifting off to sleep.Cy snuggled up with her, engrossed in their phone and enjoying a donut. Sera emerged from the pool, wrapped a towel around herself, and made her way over to me, settling in my lap.
"I need cuddles from Mom to warm me up," Sera requested as she snuggled with me. I held her close.
"Did you have fun, baby?" I asked her.
"Yes. The food was good too. You're a great cook, Mama," she complimented.
"Hey. I cooked it," Ben interjected.
"Oh, alright," Sera giggled and smiled.
I played with Sera's hair, and she shifted from talking to her dad to falling asleep in my arms."You're the kid whisperer," Ben teased. I chuckled softly and held her close, continuing to play with her hair.
The boys continued swimming in the pool until 8:30.
I woke up the girls and Cy. "Come on, my loves. It's firework time," I announced, kissing their heads as I roused them. Juni was wide awake, gazing at the night sky. Ben changed her diaper and provided her with noise-canceling headphones, holding her close.
The kids, my mom, Chris, and I gathered in the front yard to set up the fireworks. Max readied the stand and retrieved the fireworks from the garage. Ben handed me Juni, and they both worked on getting everything set up. I held Juni close while we watched the boys.
Sitting in a lawn chair, I kept Juni near me, feeding her. Ben ignited the first firework, and it burst into a dazzling display, filling the sky with vibrant colors.
"WOOOOOAAAAHHHH!" the kids exclaimed in awe.
Juni remained unperturbed, continuing to nurse as I looked down at her with a smile before returning my gaze to the dazzling sky as another firework burst into bloom.In the first 10 minutes, we enjoyed a grand spectacle of dazzling fireworks, which we had prepared for our own exclusive show. Afterward, the kids played with sparklers.Juni had finished her meal, so I adjusted my dress and began to burp her. Ben approached me and kissed me, prompting a warm smile on my lips.
"My princess and my queen look gorgeous under this moonlight," Ben whispered, his eyes filled with love as he caressed my cheek gently. We exchanged affectionate glances and expressed our admiration for each other.
Violet grabbed her phone and took pictures of us. She posted one on her story for her close friends, captioned with, "One day, I hope to have a love like the one my parents share. 🫶🏻"
Ben leaned in for another kiss, and we shared a playful moment, giggling softly.
Juni burped and let out a cute sigh. Ben and I chuckled softly, gazing at her, and my mom asked to hold her. Carefully, I handed Juni to my mom, and Juni let out a soft yawn.I stood up, lit some sparklers, and danced around the front yard with them. Ben laughed and took a video of me, smiling with delight. Chris played music, and "Baby You Got It" by Brenton Wood started playing. I gasped, looked at Ben, and began singing the lyrics while dancing. He continued recording, chuckling softly as he did.
I smiled widely, savoring the moment with my kids, my moms, and Ben.
Ben stopped recording as the sparklers went out, and we continued with the fireworks, watching in awe with the kids.
To be continued...