When Saturday morning rolled around, the skies were clear and blue, and the air was filled with an excited energy.
I had woken up early and began getting everything ready. Tables were set up outside and I had games pulled out and breakable items put away.
Ari and Jason arrived after I had sent Ender outside to walk Bear, her carrying two bags in her hands while Jason held a long box containing the cake.
"Hi." I greeted them with a big smile and took the cake from Jason before giving him a hug.
"Okay, one of these bags is Ender's present and the other is your mail so where would I put them?" Ari asked as she side stepped into the kitchen.
"Mail can go on the counter, present can go on the table outside." I instructed her and she nodded, rushing off.
"So how are you?" I asked Jason as I opened the fridge and began to shuffle around its contents to make room for the cake.
"Good. Works been busy which is good. How about you?" He replied as he leaned against the counter.
"Great, everything's been going great." I smiled and found a space for the cake.
Ari came back in along with Ender and Bear.
"Ender can you go change clothes for me, please?" I asked as he came in with dirt on his shorts from what must have been a play session with Bear.
"Ugh why?" He groaned.
I opened my mouth to retort but Jason stepped in.
"How about I go help you pick something out?" He suggested and Ender nodded, him and Jason heading upstairs.
"My god." I sighed and shook my head and grabbed for the mail bag.
I flipped through the stack of junk and scam mail until I came onto a bill. Inwardly cringing I began to read, my jaw dropping.
Apparently our mortgage bill had not cleared by the date due and so they had void it, though I had to send in a new mortgage check along with a penalty fee they were charging for too many late payments.
This meant I owed $700.
"Seriously?" I huffed and chucked the bill onto the counter.
I only had around a thousand dollars in our account and that was all our money for the month. If I paid the seven hundred directly from that we would only have three hundred dollars for groceries, necessities, accidents or whatever else.
I inwardly whimpered when I realised I would have to take the money from the savings account I had for my car.
Pushing all of my anger and annoyance out of my mind, I put on a happy, smiling face for Ender's party. This was his day and I wouldn't take my anger with the billing company out on him.
A few minutes later Jason and Ender came down stairs with Ender looking very nice. Jason had got him into a light blue button down and some khaki shorts, the shirt untucked.
"Very handsome." I patted his head as he passed by me and mouthed a thank you to Jason.
Through the open front door I could hear some voices and knew that the first few kids had arrived.
Ender bolted out the door, Bear leaping up from his napping position on the floor and following him, to see who was there.
Following suit I saw Trey and Reid with both of their mothers walking up.
The two boys ran up to Ender and I waved at their moms who both greeted me with loving hugs.
Not long after that the rest of the people flooded in. Ender's entire footie team was here and so were a lot of his other class mates.
Bear had to inspect everyone as they came in to make sure they were to his liking which I found hilarious, and then began making his rounds of the people, wagging around happily. He was definitely quite the celebrity.
The present table was stacked high and Ari was organising it and taking the gifts as people arrived.
Jason had set up a few games for the kids to play too while the parents stood around sipping drinks.
After a while the kids started a footie match in the clearing next to the house and I went inside to refill the snack bowls.
I found a bag of chips in the pantry and began to pour it in a bowl when I felt something soft press against my cheek.
"What the- oh my god." I shoved whoever had kissed my cheek away from me, my eyes wide and turned around ready to yell at whoever did it.
The moment my eyes met the mysterious kisser my jaw dropped and a loud gasp escaped my lips.
A pair of hazel eyes were dancing before me and a mischievous grin was playing on my assailants lips.
"Surprise." Ashton smirked at me and he barely got the word out before I launched myself into his arms.
"Oh my God." I squealed as his arms wound tightly around my body and his laughter filled my ear.
"So I'm guessing you had no idea I was showing up?" He giggled and pressed his lips up to my ear.
"No!" I almost gasped, "Was this your plan the whole time?"
"I didn't want to miss his birthday," Ashton pulled back so he could look at me properly, "And I missed you too much."
My heart fluttered in my chest and I pulled him closer to me in another hug.
"I missed you too." I said against his shirt.
"Really, I couldn't tell?" He said with a smirk and I rolled my eyes before leaning up on my tip toes to kiss him.
Immediately my lips were enveloped by the warmth of his and his hand came to cradle my face.
My breathing became more erratic as he deepened the kiss, his other hand landing at my waist.
When I was no longer able to breathe I detached my lips from his, his forehead resting against mine.
"How long are you staying? Tell me now so I can get over it and enjoy the rest of the day." I bit my lip.
"Just tonight." He pressed his lips to mine quickly. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer."
"No it's okay. You're here, that's all I want." I gave him a smile and he grinned back at me.
"Should we go outside?" He squeezed my hip and I nodded.
Taking my hand in his we walked outside and to the field where everyone was standing around watching the kids play footie.
Ari looked up and burst into a bright smile when she saw us and elbowed Jason who was apparently the referee along with one of the other kids dad.
Jason tapped the dad on the shoulder and then jogged over to where we were standing.
"Hey man, how's it going?" Jason came up and clapped Ashton on the shoulder.
"Going great." Ashton smiled. "How's business?"
"Good, good." Jason smiled. "Ender know you're here?"
"Nope, I snuck in around the shop." Ashton explained.
"Ah okay." Jason nodded.
We stood by watching the game and Ender didn't even glance up in our direction at all.
"Hmm, how do you think I should surprise him?" Ashton hummed next to me.
"Well don't sneak up behind him and kiss him on the cheek. You almost gave me a heart attack. I thought some creepy person had snuck in." I smacked his arm gently.
"You loved it." He chuckled and leaned down to kiss me under my ear.
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes.
"Just go out there and surprise him." I shrugged and he did the same, squeezing my hand before jogging out onto the grass.
Ashton swerved between kids who stopped to give him strange looks and then Trey and Reid recognised him, they gasped and then opened their mouths to shout his name but Ashton was too fast and ran behind Ender, picking him up.
Ender whipped his head around trying to see who did it and after a moment Ashton set him down and Ender flung around, pouncing on Ashton when he saw him.
"Ashton, you came!" Ender yelled as Ashton laughed loudly.
"Of course I did! I couldn't miss your birthday!" Ashton exclaimed and Ender gave him a hug.
I couldn't help the smile that was on my face. They both made me incredibly happy.
After that the game kind of died down and I called everyone inside for the birthday cake.
Ari took pictures of Ender blowing out the candles and Ashton sang happy birthday with the other kids.
"Happy birthday, End." I leaned down to kiss his cheek after he had blown out the candles.
I moved the cake outside to a table with plates and napkins on it and began to cut the dessert, the kids and parents lining up to get a piece.
Ashton came by and swiped a chocolate piece of cake before being dragged over to a table with Ender, Trey, Reid, and a few other boys.
Bear came by and scoped out Ashton who was very excited to meet Bear. Ashton scratched behind Bear's ears a bit and Bear ended up laying down beneath Ashton's feet.
As I was cleaning up the left over cake I heard Ashton say something I couldn't quite decipher and then a table full of giggles.
Suddenly there was a tap on my shoulder and I turned only to have icing swiped down my nose.
I gasped as Ashton stood in front of me, a proud expression on his face.
"I'm going to kill you." I tried not to laugh.
He shot me a wink and I quickly reached behind me, grabbing one of the pieces of cake and holding it up.
"Wait no! No no no no no!" He became wide eyed and dashed to the side.
Ender's table squealed as I ran after him, chasing him around the concrete area and then into the house.
He ran upstairs and into my room, looking for somewhere to go but realised he was trapped.
"Oh, looks like someone is stuck." I faked sympathy.
"Don't do it, Carter." He held out his hands in protection. I could tell he was trying not to smile.
"Just accept your fate, Irwin." I shook my head and leapt forward. My hand reached out to smear the cake on him but he grabbed my hand instead, turning my wrist so he smashed the cake into my face instead.
"Oh my God." Ashton gasped with laughter.
My mouth dropped open in shock.
"Carter, I'm so sorry." He was struggling for air as laughs spilled from his lips.
"You are so dead." I said in a low voice and he came towards me.
"Here." He murmured as he leaned in and ducked down to press his lips to mine, frosting on his mouth when he pulled away.
"That's sweet. But you're still sleeping on the couch tonight." I leaned up and barely touched my lips to his, then spinning and slinking down the stairs. I wasn't mad but I was definitely going to make him pay.
"Wait no, Car!" He called after me as I grabbed a towel and wiped the icing off my face.
Smirking I went outside to the kids that were playing Jason's games.
"Hey End, want to open presents now?" I called and he popped his head up, running over to the gift table.
Ashton appeared at my side and I turned to give him a sweet smile which he returned.
Ari was still on picture duty and Ashton and I each took a side of Ender, sitting next to him while he opened his gifts that mostly consisted of anything ninja turtle or Marvel related.
Once presents were opened and thank you's were said, people began to head out.
I stood outside, Ashton by my side and gave hugs and my thanks to everyone as they left. All of the kids gave Ash a high five too which seemed to make him happy.
When everyone was gone besides Jason and Ari, Ashton helped get Bear inside who was strutting around outside looking for left over snacks and then assist Ender in taking all of his new toys upstairs.
Jason took down the tables outside and loaded them back into the shop storage room while Ari and I worked on the kitchen.
"Car, you have to see some of the pictures I took." She said as she leaned against the counter, flicking through the shots she had taken on the screen.
Setting my dish towel down I walked over and began to look over her shoulder. She was currently on the photos of Ash and I sitting with Ender as he opened presents and I couldn't help but think how we looked so happy.
"You guys look like a family." Ari almost whispered and my head snapped up at her words.
"Sorry," She shrugged, "But you do, it's really something." She gave me a little smile.
I hugged her neck and then continued cleaning until Ashton, Ender, and Bear thumped downstairs.
"So how long are you in town?" Ari asked Ashton.
"Just for tonight." He gave her a half smile.
"Oh. Oh my God, why don't Jason and I stay here and you two can go out for a little bit?" She suggested, a light coming to her eyes and I glanced at Ashton who shrugged.
"Ender would you care if Ash and I went out for a little bit?" I called to him as he was settling down on the sofa.
"Nah, I want to play the new video game Trey got me." He waved back at me and I looked back toward Ashton.
"I'll go get dressed then." I chuckled and began to make my way to my room, Ari following quickly behind me.
"Please let me help pick out your outfit." She begged and I allowed her to lead the way into my closet.
We stood there for a few seconds until my eyes gravitated towards a particular hanger.
"How about this?" I took hold of the blue plastic and held up the garment.
"That's so cute! Where did you get that?" She gasped.
"In Sydney." I smiled back, looking down at the dress I had bought there. "And I can wear the Doc Martins you got me for Christmas with it."
"Yes!" She clapped her hands together and I began to change clothes.
When I was dressed I took my hair down from its ponytail and braided it quickly over my shoulder.
"Wow, you look hot." She folded her arms across her chest and popped her hip out, nodding approvingly at me.
"Thanks." I blushed and then returned downstairs.
Ashton was chatting with Jason and did a double take at me when he heard my entrance.
A wide smile broke out on his lips and he reached out for my hand, which I happily took.
"Ready to go?" I asked and he nodded.
"Yeah. We'll see you guys later." Ashton waved at Jason and Ari.
I called out to Ender that I loved him as we left and then we began the walk up the docks.
Ashton had his jeep this time and opened the door for me like the gentleman he was. He had told me that on our first date and the thought of that made me smile.
He drove us to Main Street and parked in front of a random store. Without any particular destination in mind we just walked around, stopping occasionally to look in a shop window.
"You look really pretty." Ashton commented as we strolled along, causing my cheeks to heat up.
"You look very pretty too." I giggled up at him and he rolled his eyes before throwing his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer to him.
"Why don't we go get dinner and then go for a walk on the beach?" He suggested and I agreed, letting him lead the way to the Chinese restaurant a few buildings away.
We had a nice dinner, even though I judged him again for his poor choice of lo mien while he mocked my classic chicken fried rice.
When we were done he payed for our meal and we went back to the jeep so he could drive us over to the beach. He drove onto the sand and went a little ways down the shore before stopping the car.
It was dark outside now so you could see the millions of stars that twinkled up in the night sky.
We climbed out of the jeep and I took a few steps forward to get closer to the water. I missed being in the ocean, maybe tomorrow I would take the boat out and go dive at my favourite place.
"So beautiful." Ashton murmured next to me and I turned expecting to see him gazing up at the sky but instead he was looking at me.
My cheeks blazed and he seemed to notice because he came closer, wrapping his arms around me so my back was to his chest.
"I'm glad you came...even if it was just for today...I needed this." I said as I leant back into him.
He tightened his arms around my waist a little, holding me to him.
"I needed you too." He nestled his face into the crook of my neck.
We stayed like that for the longest time, him placing the occasional feather light kiss against my skin, and me eventually closing my eyes, relaxing into him.
After what seemed like hours we finally got back in the jeep. We were quiet the entire ride back to the house but he held my hand like he almost always did.
When we walked through the front door of the house, three heads popped up from the sofa.
"You're back!" Ari smiled.
"Hey, how was video games?" I asked as Ashton closed the door behind me and I moved to lean over the back of the sofa.
"Ender beat me every round so I'm about ready to crawl into the corner and cry." Jason stood up, tossing the controller down.
I laughed at that while Ender just smiled proudly.
"Okay End, it's late, you need to get to bed." I nodded my head upstairs.
"Okay." He turned off the PlayStation and gave Ari and Jason hugs, politely thanking them, then dashed up to his room.
"I'll be up there in a minute." I called after him as he disappeared down the hall.
Ari gathered her purse while Jason walked around to grab his wallet.
"Thanks for offering to watch him, that was very sweet of you." I gave Jason a hug.
"You know we'd always watch him." Jason hugged me back.
"I had fun." Ari said as she hugged my neck. "And I hope you two had a nice night."
"We did, thank you for the date idea." Ashton said and Ari let go of me to give him a hug as well.
"Have a good night you two, drive safely." I said as they began to walk out the door.
They both waved back at me and called out their goodbyes and then they were gone.
I closed the door and locked it, turning off the outside lights.
Making my way upstairs I walked into Ender's room where he was pulling on his Spider-Man pyjama top.
"So did you have fun today?" I asked as I sat down on the corner of the bed.
"Yeah, a lot." He smiled, "Thanks, Car."
Bear jumped up on the bed and I pet him as Ender crawled under the sheets.
"I'm glad you had a good party." I got up and pushed his hair back so I could give him a kiss on the forehead. "Night, End."
"Night, Car." He smiled up cheekily at me and I rubbed Bear's back as I walked out the door.
Ashton was downstairs and had changed into some basketball shorts and a different tee shirt.
"Ready for bed?" He asked as I started to turn off the lights in the kitchen.
"Mhmm." I hummed and then made my way to the stairs.
"Where do you think you're going?" I turned when Ashton began to follow me.
"Bed?" He raised an eyebrow like it was obvious.
"You're sleeping on the couch remember?" I gave him a look between a smirk and a sultry smile.
"You can't be serious?" He said wide-eyed.
"Goodnight, Ash." I leaned down since I was a few stairs above him and barely brushed my lips against his teasingly.
He stood there gawking as I turned around and tried not to laugh as I skirted up to my room. Quickly I prepared for bed and then laid down.
The sound of my phone going off made me grab it from the stand.
'Can I please come upstairs now?' Ashton had texted me.
'Nope.' I replied.
'Please? It's cold down here :('
'There's extra blankets in the hall.' I replied and then set my phone back on my nightstand.
I tried to settle down in my blankets but I couldn't seem to sleep knowing that he was downstairs. Giving up on punishing him for shoving the cake in my face earlier, I grabbed my phone again.
'Come upstairs, I'm lonely.' I sent him and waited to hear his footsteps but I heard nothing.
'Nope, you wanted me to sleep down here, now enjoy the consequences of your decision ;)' He replied and I flipped my covers back annoyed.
I quietly opened my door and padded halfway down the stairs.
"Ashton." I whisper shouted but heard nothing in reply.
"Ashton!" I tried again and when I saw and heard nothing I finished walking down the stairs and made my way to the sofa where he was facing the back of the couch, "sleeping".
I took a hold of the corner of his blanket and started to move under it to which he began to chuckle, reaching out his arms to pull me under the blanket with him.
"I'm sorry I made you sleep down here." I batted my eyelashes up at him and he giggled softly.
"Hmmm, you're forgiven." He nuzzled my nose with his and then placed a kiss to the corner of my lips. "Wanna go back up?"
"Yes please." I nodded and then rolled off the couch.
Silently we climbed back up the steps and into my bed.
Ashton cuddled me into his side and handed me his phone to set on my nightstand as well.
"Remind me to get a charger to keep here." He said into my hair.
"Mkay." I mumbled, my eyes drooping shut.
"You're warm." He commented as he got comfortable.
"Oh yeah?" I smirked and then placed the bottom of my icy feet on his legs.
"Oh my God, no!" He yanked his legs away and I laughed.
"You're mean." He muttered as he shifted onto my side so he could kiss at my throat.
"Shut up, you love it." I giggled tiredly at the tickling sensation on my neck.
"Yeah, I do." He gave me one more kiss on my neck and then one on my lips. "Goodnight, Car."
"G'night." I mumbled sleepily and nestled back into him.
--
"Halle Carter, dinner's ready!" The sweet sing-song like voice of my mother floated up from the kitchen.
"Coming Mommy!" I called back, dropping my book on knots and a practice rope that my dad had given me to study.
In the kitchen, two year old Ender was in his high chair, dad sitting at the bar twirling spaghetti around his fork.
"Hey, Hal." He ruffled my hair as I took the seat next to him.
Beaming up at him I almost didn't notice my mother placing my plate in front of me.
"So Hal, what do you want to do for your birthday, it's next week you know." My mom said as she sipped a glass of water.
"I want to drive the boat." I said proudly as my dad began to laugh next to me.
"Sure, that sounds like a plan." My dad bumped my shoulder with his, his green eyes twinkling behind the rim of his glasses.
"James, are you sure that's a good idea?" My mother asked and I began to worry.
"She'll be fine, Meg," He assured her, "I'll be right there, nothing can happen."
She gave him a small smile and we continued the rest of dinner with the occasional squeals from Ender.
--
"Car?" The sound of a small voice stirred me from my sleep and I cracked my eyes open to see Ender standing at my door frame, his stuffed Olaf in one hand and the other curled into a fist.
"Yeah?" I whispered groggily, and that's when I heard a clap of thunder in the distance and the pelting of rain on the roof.
"I'm scared." He said with wide eyes and a twinge of crying in his voice.
I took a deep breath and sat up, Ashton's warm arm sliding off me.
"There's nothing to be afraid of End. It's just a storm." I promised him.
"I know, but last time I broke my arm and I don't want that to happen again." He whimpered.
"It won't baby, the storm isn't as big this time." I tried to convince him but I could see I wasn't getting anywhere.
"Car?" Ashton's sleepy voice came from behind me and I turned to see him creaking his eyes open.
When he noticed me sitting up he sat up as well, then looked over at Ender who was in the doorway.
"What's wrong, bud?" He asked, pushing his hair back from his eyes.
"I'm scared of the storm." Ender answered. "Can I please sleep in here with you guys?"
There was no way three people could fit in my bed but Ashton beat me to it before I could suggest Ender sleep on the floor.
"Come on, we'll make it work." Ashton waved him over and Ender practically fled to the safety of my bed.
I shifted over so Ashton could squish back so that his back was against the wall under the window. My back was facing him and Ender curled himself into me, and I wrapped my arm around him like a shield.
"You're safe, baby, go to sleep." I yawned and closed my eyes.
The storm raged on around us but inside of each others arms, I knew we would always be safe.
--
Aaaaaaand it's up!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll have the next one up soon!
Don't forget to vote and comment if you'd like and remember I always love to hear your thoughts (: much love xx -M