Audrey
"Thomas! Your mom!" I shouted from the kitchen. It's been a week since we've gotten back from our getaway. I fully moved into Thomas' room. He had to throw out a few things- including that random bucket of shoes that was stuffed into his closet.
Moving in was good and bad. Thomas and I had lunch together everyday, since he'll be up earlier so we won't have breakfast. We mostly had dinner together, but sometimes he would be working. Which was fine. We always went to bed together and somehow we always end up falling asleep during a conversation. We were making it work.
The only problem was Stacy. I don't mean to be rude, but that woman is obsessed. She's going grandma-crazy. And she's not even a grandma. For example, she's baby-proofing cabinets at the moment. "Mom. There's not a baby" Thomas came into the room and pried his mother from the dishwasher.
She swatted his hands away. "There might be" she retorted. We both gave her a look. "Too much. Sorry" she apologized, leaving the kitchen.
I sighed, laying my head on the cool countertop. I really wanted to sleep. I was exhausted. Thomas came over and began massaging my shoulders. "I'll have my dad talk to her. This is too much now" he informed me. I hummed in response. This shoulder massage felt really nice. "Hey. Don't fall asleep here. Want me to carry you upstairs?" he offered.
Nodding, I peeled my head off of the counter and turned to face him. With my eyes still closed, I held my arms up. Thomas chuckled before lifting me into his arms. My body bounced as he walked. I rested my head on his chest and began to fall asleep again. Once placed on the bed, I curled up in the covers.
My mate placed his hand on my forehead. "Are you sick?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No. I'm just tired" I informed him with a yawn. I didn't have coffee today, so I didn't have any caffeine my system. That's probably why. He nodded before pressing a kiss to my head. "I love you" I muttered as he moved away from the bed.
"I love you too"
***
I woke up and the room was pitch black. Thomas was sleeping next to me, snoring as usual. I slipped out of his arms, replacing my body with my pillow. He pulled it closer to him as I walked out of the room. My stomach growled, so I went to the kitchen. "Hey" I spun around to face Jesse. "What are you doing up?" he inquired.
"I could ask you the same thing"
Jesse shrugged. "Sammie and I got in a fight" he admitted, plopping down on a barstool. Late night drama! I sat down next to him, waiting for him to elaborate. "She's mad that I'm working. But I need to catch up with work. And when I have time to hang out, she's just conveniently busy at that time" he informed me.
I stood up and grabbed a bag of chips from the pantry. "Sorry. I'm hungry" I said sheepishly. Jesse laughed and shook his head in amusement. "You two just need to work out some type of system. Save time for each other. You don't need to catch up all at once. And you're allowed to take some breaks. Thomas and I have lunch together everyday. Then we talk before we go to sleep. It's not much, but he makes some days work-free. Do something similar. Take a day off. Suggest this stuff to her. Make a system" I suggested.
He nodded as I stuffed my face with chips. "Thanks for the advice. How will I ever repay you?" he asked, being the normal, dramatic Jesse that I love.
"You can drive me to McDonalds"
He raised his eyebrows at me. "Right now?" he questioned.
I nodded my head. "I really want some fries" I stated. He sighed and motioned for me to get up. Jesse snatched his keys off the counter before we both slipped on some shoes. "How far is McDonalds?" I questioned as we hopped into his pickup truck. It was one of those vintage-like pickups. But it was still clean like it just got freshly painted. It was a gorgeous vehicle.
Jesse started driving away from the packhouse. "Like twenty minutes?" It sounded like a question. "Hey. You never told me why you're awake at two a.m." he reminded me.
"It's two a.m.?!" I exclaimed. Jesse laughed and pointed to the radio, which proved his statement true. I looked out the window at the twinkling stars. I knew it was late, but not this late. "I slept early. When I woke up, I was hungry" I informed him.
Jesse pouted. "No dramatic reason? Nothing that keeps you up at night?" he wondered.
I shrugged. "Stacy is a bit much" I admitted. I know I shouldn't speak about my mate's mother like that. But it's really true. Jesse told me to continue. "Well, you know that Thomas and I mated-"
"Congratulations, by the way" he interrupted me.
I thanked him. "Now she's hell bent on there being a baby growing inside of me. She's crazy about what I eat. She's been telling me about pregnancy stages. She was babyproofing the kitchen today!" I ranted. I knew the woman was energetic, but what she's been doing is just too much. We're not even sure I'm pregnant. It's only been a week. If I am pregnant, signs will just now be showing up.
Jesse hummed. "Have you considered the possibility of you being pregnant?" he asked.
I nodded my head. "Of course. But I haven't shown any signs so far. And even if I am pregnant, there's four months to get all of that stuff done" I stated. Four months didn't sound that long. But at Stacy-pace, that's plenty time. "I just don't want to be preparing all of this stuff for nothing, you know?"
Jesse stopped at a light and turned to look at me. "It won't be for nothing. We all know that you and Thomas will have babies. It might not be right now, but it's bound to happen. Don't think of this as unneeded planning. Think of it was being prepared in advance" he suggested. "Very, very early in advance" he added after a moment.
Laughing, I pointed at the light that just turned green. Jesse turned back to the road and continued to drive. "Thank you for the advice. How will I ever repay you?" I mocked his earlier words.
He chuckled. "Buy me McDonalds" he offered. I nodded my head in agreement. We were silent the rest of the way until we got to the drive-thru of McDonalds. I told Jesse my order and we relayed it to the machine. "Really? Two large fries for one tiny person?" he asked, driving forward.
I nodded my head. "I'm a hungry, tiny person" I reminded him. I handed him money, which he handed to the worker. "Thank you" I told the worker, since Jesse didn't. I slapped his chest as we moved to the next window. "Have manners" I scolded him.
He huffed and rolled his eyes. The next worker handed us our bags. "Thank you" Jesse said quickly before driving off. He glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. "Happy?"
I stuffed some fries in my mouth and nodded. "Very"
He cringed. "You and Thomas are definitely meant to be. You both eat like cavemen" he teased. I narrowed my eyes at him and threw a fry at his face. It bounced off and landed on the floor. "Hey! Don't make a mess in my truck!" he whined.
I rolled my eyes and continued eating while Jesse drove. Every once in awhile he made me stuff a few fries into his mouth. Being the nice person I am, I complied and fed the big baby. Finally, we made it back to the packhouse in one piece.
It was about three a.m. We went straight to the kitchen and finished eating our food in silence. "You're known for your late-night adventures. And I can now tell why. That was kinda fun" Jesse admitted.
"What late-night adventures?"
He laughed. "At first you snuck out with Jacobs to get coffee. Then you and Thomas went for coffee at night. You just go out at night a lot" he explained. I shrugged and nodded in agreement. Night drives are the best. It's always quiet and the moonlight just makes everything seem better. It's comforting. I got up from the bar stool and began walking out the kitchen. "Hey! Where you going?" Jesse questioned.
I turned around and told him to shush. "I just have to pee" I stated, continuing to walk to the bathroom. I returned and found Jesse wasn't alone anymore. Sam had joined him. "Hey. What are you doing up?" I asked, hugging him.
Jesse pointed at his best friend with a fry. "He's having the same issue as me. But with Veronica" Jesse informed me. I nodded, asking Jesse if he told Sam what I told him. Jesse shook his head before telling Sam the gist of what I told him. "Dude. We need a guys' day, though. We haven't hung out in awhile" he pointed out.
I nodded in agreement. "You guys should. I think it'll be good for Thomas too" I said honestly. They were the three musketeers, now they all just hang out with their mates- Thomas included.
"Hey. Do you think Keith would be up for it?" Sam asked me. "He should be included in this"
I grinned at his idea. They wanted to include my best friend! "I'm sure he will be" I stated. I pushed the rest of my food over to Sam. "Finish it. I ate too much. It feels like I'm gonna burst" I patted my belly. We sat at the counter and chatted until the sun began to come up. I even made myself a couple cups of coffee.
And they were weak either. They were stronger than that mutant chick on Deadpool. I was instantly on a coffee high. I couldn't sit still, which was why I was pacing around as I spoke to the guys.
"Thomas is gonna be mad that we let her drink all of that coffee" Jesse mumbled to his friend.
I turned to both of them and pointed a finger at the pair. "Thomas doesn't control me! I'm my own person!" I exclaimed. I had a feeling in my stomach. "And right now, I'm a person who needs to pee" I rushed off to the bathroom with the guys cackling as I ran.
Jerks. After I did my business, I returned to the kitchen. I wasn't as hyper as before. "Did you pee the caffeine all out of your system?" Sam questioned. I shrugged and lifted myself onto a barstool. My stomach growled. "You just had McDonalds!" he exclaimed.
I looked down at my stomach. "That was like five hours ago!" I defended as I went to the fridge. "Oh! You know what sounds good? Tacos! Tacos sound good!" I exclaimed.
I went to Jesse and jutted my bottom lip out. "Tacos do sound good" he admitted. I smiled at him as he sighed. "Come on. We'll go get tacos" I fist pumped and did an small happy dance before putting on my shoes. Maybe the caffeine didn't go away.
We walked to the door, passing by my mate on the way. "Good morning, my lovely mate! We're gonna go get tacos! See you when we get back" I chirped, kissing his cheek before exiting the house. Jesse and Sam shook their heads in amusement as we hopped into Jesse's truck. I was in the middle, purposefully bumping shoulders with each of the guys.
"Stop moving" Sam whined. I pouted, but stopped swaying my body. I started bouncing my leg, grinning at the promise of tacos. "Stop bouncing" he complained.
I smiled sheepishly and stopped all movement. Jesse ordered the tacos through the drive-thru machine. We pulled up to the window and I recognized the worker. "Hey! You work at McDonalds!" I exclaimed.
The guy chuckled and nodded. "You're the girl with two large fries" he stated. I nodded proudly, asking him how he works at both fast food restaurants. "I'm just trying to pay bills. Two jobs. Both shitty if I'm honest" he told us.
I nodded and pulled a single bill out of my pocket. "I'm paying" I announced, leaning over Jesse to hand the guy the bill. "Keep the change" His eyes widened at the hundred dollar bill before he smiled at me. "Thank you" I said before Jesse began driving to the next window.
"No. Thank you!" the worker corrected, shouting at the truck. The next worker asked us to wait a few moments.
"I'm such a good person. Because of my generosity, that guy has more money to pay his bills" I stated as we waited for the worker to give us our food. The window opened and the worker handed Jesse the food. "Tacos! My long lost love!" I exclaimed, inhaling the scent.
Jesse shook his head at me. "And people say I'm dramatic" he muttered.
_______________
"You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep rereading the last one"
-Michael McMillan
So, I know some of you are upset over this book ending. But I feel like everything is already being tied together. And I've had the next book planned out since the beginning. I'm really excited about it. I just need to get the words on paper.
Kayyyyzzz Byeeezzz
~A.J.