Hadley's outfit pictured above.
After taking a shower, I put on a pair of jean shorts and a cute white top. When I'm finished with my makeup, I curl my hair. It falls down my back in loose curls. I wear wedges to finish the outfit. Caleb wears a pair of blue jeans and a white button up. When he stands in front of me, I untuck his shirt. "You look great babe," he says, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
"Thanks," I smile. "You do too."
We take a cab to a little store not far from my parents house. Since it's their anniversary, I get them a card, a balloon and a $100 gift card to a nice restaurant. "I'm nervous," Caleb admits quietly.
"Don't be. If anything, my mom will kill you with love," I chuckle. "She's the sweetest woman you'll ever meet."
Before I can give the cashier money, he hands over his black credit card. Giving him a quick kiss, I grab the bag and walk back out to the cab. When we get to the house, I see both of their cars out in the driveway. I squeal in excitement as I quickly scribble down a message on the card. After grabbing the card and balloon, we walk up to the door. "Maybe I should wait out here for a minute. To give you a chance to tell them," Caleb says, taking a step back.
Grabbing his hand, I tug him towards me. "It'll be okay. Just calm down," I say, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.
When I ring the doorbell, I almost jump in excitement. I haven't seen them since before college.
Damn. I'm a horrible daughter. But in my defence, I was busy with school and my job which takes up almost all of my time.
The door opens, revealing my mom. She's smiling but when she realizes it's me, it fades away. "Hadley?" she asks in disbelief.
"Surprise," I smile.
Wearing the biggest smile I've ever seen, she gives me a hug. "I'm so glad your here! Oh my gosh! I missed you so much!"
"I missed you too mom," I smile, patting her back.
She pulls away and looks at Caleb. "Who is this?"
"Mom, this is Caleb - my fiancé. Caleb, this is my mom, Heather."
My mother's eyes just about pop out of her head. "You got engaged? I never even knew you were dating anyone," she frowns.
Guilt washes over me. "I know. I'm sorry."
Waving us in, she leads the way to the kitchen. Caleb sits in a chair and I sit on his lap. "I'm going to tell Jason you're here. Maddox should be over soon," she says as she walks away.
Maddox. How awkward will that be? I just hope he doesn't act weird. "Your mother seems nice," Caleb says.
I nod. "She is. Everyone loves her."
"She cares about you a lot. You're lucky to be the only child."
"I know. I loved the attention," I chuckle.
He smiles. "How many kids do you want?"
This is something we've talked about but never really settled on an answer for. "I want one but the most I'll have is two," I reply.
I slip my arms loosely around his neck and look into his eyes. "When do you want to start?" he asks.
I smile. "The night of our wedding we'll make a baby."
His eyes widen and he smiles. "You don't even know how much I want take you Las Vegas right now."
Chuckling, I press my lips to his. "After we get married, we won't use anything because we'll spend as long as it takes to make a baby," I smile. "So we have an agreement?"
He nods. "Hell yeah. I can't wait to take your dress off of you."
Before I can kiss him, I hear footsteps. My mom and Jason enter the room and I stand up. Caleb stands beside me as I hug Jason. "It's about damn time you've visited," he says.
I pull away. "I thought I was long overdue for a visit. So here I am."
"Who is this?" he nods to Caleb.
"This is my fiancé, Caleb. Caleb, this is my step dad, Jason."
They shake hands with Jason staring Caleb down. "Nice to meet you sir," Caleb says.
"You're not pregnant, are you?" Jason asks, looking at me.
My eyes widen. "No! We haven't even - just, no!"
He shrugs. "Just wondering."
"Let me see your ring," my mom grins. When she lifts my hand, her eyes widen. "Oh my gosh! It's huge."
"I know. It's beautiful. I love it," I smile, glancing at Caleb.
"You look so happy," my mother states, looking over me. "And you've changed so much. My daughter is beautiful."
"Thanks, mom," I say, kissing her cheek. "I'm going to show him my old room."
"Okay. Don't be long. Maddox will be here soon. He'll be surprised to see you."
Nodding, I pull Caleb along with me, climbing the stairs. When I enter the room, I realize nothing has changed except the layer of dust covering the abandoned objects in my room. "This is cute," Caleb smirks. "But our race-car beds were way better."
I laugh at the memory. He got more than five dates - he got me. Five dates and I was a goner. It was odd going on a first date then going home with the person. But we lived together, so there was nothing we could do. So instead of just dinner, our dates lasted all night. We'd go out for dinner then we'd go back to the dorms and watch a movie.
After a few minutes, we head downstairs. About halfway down the stairs, the front door door opens and Maddox steps in. "Dad?" he calls.
I freeze on the steps and his eyes land on mine. His eyes widen and he stands in shock. They flicker to Caleb momentarily then return to me. "This is Jason's son, Maddox," I tell Caleb. "Maddox, this is Caleb - my fiancé."
His lips part and he just stares. "F-fiancé?"
I hold up my left hand, putting the diamond ring on display. "Yeah."
"Good for you," he nods.
One thing I never told Caleb was how I was with Maddox. He'd see me differently - I just know it. I know if I go through with this, I'll have to tell him eventually. But I can't do it. Not yet.
"Hadley?" Caleb says, gently shaking my arm. "Are you okay?"
Pulling my gaze away from Maddox, I force a smile. "I'm fine. Let's go back into the kitchen."
Caleb and I finish going down the stairs and I plaster a fake smile on my face when I make eye contact with Maddox again. The way he looks at me makes my stomach churn. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Hopefully we can steer clear of each other while I'm here.
When we get to the kitchen, we sit at the table - me on Caleb's lap again. My mom asks about how we met and I tell her about the day we met and the whole bed situation. She finds it incredibly funny and cute. Maddox stays quiet the whole time, sitting there expressionlessly. "Thanks for the anniversary gift," Jason says. "It was extremely generous."
"It was no problem," I wave it off.
Him and my mom talk about when they could use the card and I lean back against Caleb's chest. Placing my lips by his ear, I whisper, "Can we take them all out for dinner?"
He nods before kissing the tip of my nose. "If that's what you want, sweetheart."
Smiling, I return my attention back to them. "Would you guys like to join us for dinner?"
"That'd be great," my mom nods.
"Wear something nice. I'm going to treat you guys," I say, standing. "We're gooing to run back to the hotel so we can change. We can meet up at... that nice restaurant on sixty in an hour."
My mom's eyebrows furrow. Jason frowns. "Why don't you just stay here?" he asks.
"I have a twin sized bed upstairs. That won't be comfortable for us," I shrug. "Don't worry. You'll see me everyday."
Slowly, my mom nods. "Right. You two probably want your privacy, anyways."
Caleb slips his hand around my waist. "I'll call a taxi."
Maddox stands up and clears his throat. "I have to run to town for some things. I can drop you both off."
Caleb smiles. "Thanks."
After saying our goodbyes, Maddox, Caleb and I are on our way. We thank him before going inside. As we walk inside the hotel, I feel his gaze on me, but I refuse to look back.
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