"Carter. Hey. Baby. Wake up."
My eyes fluttered open to see Ashton sitting in his seat next to me.
"We're about to land. Look out your window." He smiled widely and I turned my head to look outside to see the city of Paris glimmering in the dark outside my window.
Then my eyes landed on a landmark everyone in the world knew.
"Oh my God that's the Eiffel tower." I said and Ashton moved to look. "That's amazing."
"Incredible." He agreed and I felt him press a kiss to my head and had a feeling he was describing me and not the picturesque scene before us.
The flight was only an hour long but Paris was also an hour ahead, so I was a bit groggy and tried to wake myself up as Ashton put away my blanket and we prepared to land.
He and I disembarked the plane with Brad and Dave trailing along with us.
"I think you're really going to like our hotel." Ashton said as we caught a cab.
"Do I even want to go look at our bank statement?" I asked him.
"No." He shook his head and I rolled my eyes before getting into the back seat of the cab.
Ashton and I held hands on the car ride to wherever our hotel was and I stared in awe at the beautiful and romantic city surrounding me.
"I never in a million years ever thought I would actually get to go to Paris." I whispered but Ashton heard me and slipped an arm around my shoulders to squeeze.
"I'm glad you're happy."
"You always go above and beyond to make me happy." I leaned my head on his shoulder.
After awhile of driving around we pulled up in front of what looked like a very nice hotel.
A man came and opened my door and one did the same for Ashton, my fiancé coming around to take my hand as the bellhop placed our luggage on a cart.
"Lets check in." Ashton walked me inside and to the managers desk where Ashton gave him our name.
"Ah, yes, Mr. and Mrs. Irwin we've been expecting you, please, right this way." The young man said with a French accent, wide eyes, and a plastered on cheerful smile, and he led us to the elevator along with the bellhop and Brad and Dave.
"Right this way, Mrs. Irwin." Ashton grinned cheekily at me as we walked and I shook my head at him with a smile of my own as we stepped into the elevator.
I held onto Ashton's arm as we rode up to the 9th floor and the manager walked up to a door and used a key card to let us in.
"I hope everything is to your satisfaction, and if you need anything please let us know." He said as we walked in.
The bellhop set down our suitcases and Ashton pulled out his wallet to tip him before he left and the manager followed along with Brad and Dave to show them to their room.
The door closed leaving Ashton and I alone and I was able to take in the immaculateness of the space.
We were in just the living room it seemed. There were two bay windows on the far wall showing the lights of the city outside, and fancy furniture decorated the space.
My feet led me to the bedroom where a four post king bed dominated the space and a fireplace was against another wall. In this room there was a balcony and I stepped up to the doors and opened them, my jaw dropping as a perfect straight on view of the Eiffel tower appeared before me.
I stepped up to the railing of the balcony and leaned forward, taking it all in.
This was incredible to me. I never thought a girl like me would ever be able to come to a place like this, yet here I was.
"I asked specifically for this room because of that view." Ashton said as he stepped up next to me.
"This is amazing." I shook my head. "This is wonderfully amazing, Ashton, thank you." I turned to hug him tightly and he chuckled as he hugged me back.
"I love you." He said to me in a honey sweet voice.
"I love you too. I can't even believe this."
"Let's go get some rest so we can start exploring the city tomorrow." He said and I nodded up at him, following him inside.
I slipped inside the marvellous bathroom to put my hair up, brush my teeth and change into some pyjamas before walking out to see Ashton in only boxers and a tee shirt.
He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth as well before the two of us climbed beneath the covers of the massive bed.
"Wow." I sighed happily as Ashton grabbed his phone and I watched him begin to do something but was then distracted by my phone going off.
I reached for it and moved back to my spot to see Harry had texted me.
'Are you in Paris?'
'Yeah.' I replied and immediately there was the bubble at the bottom the the screen signalling he was typing.
'Why didn't you tell me you were going?'
'It was really spur of the moment. Ashton and I weren't supposed to leave until Friday but after today we decided to leave early.'
'Well, I need to talk to you. In person.'
'Can it wait till I get back?'
'No.'
'Then just call me.'
'I'll fly out and come see you.'
'Is it that important?'
'Yes.'
Now I was worried.
'Okay then. Let me know when you arrive.'
"What does Harry want?" Ashton asked as I locked my phone and went to set it on the nightstand.
"He needs to talk to me about something." I said.
"Did you see the photo I posted?" He asked with a gleam in his eyes.
"No, let me see." I scooted closer to him.
He showed me a photo he had taken of me standing on the balcony looking out at the Eiffel tower and captioned it, 'I want to make all of her dreams come true.'
"You do." I leaned up to kiss him.
Ashton set his phone down and the two of us laid down and got situated.
It was quiet except for the sounds of the city outside and for some reason, I couldn't sleep.
"Ashton?" I asked after what seemed like twenty minutes.
"Yeah?" He answered.
"Do you want to make out?"
"What?" He lifted his head and I turned so I was flat on my back.
"Do you want to make out?"
He looked at me like I was crazy for a minute but then chuckled.
"You're so weird. So beautifully, beautifully weird."
"Thanks. I know."
He laughed and then leaned down to connect our lips.
His hands went to my face to cradle it as his tongue slipped into my mouth and I sighed happily.
I swiped my tongue against his and he pressed against me harder.
"How far are we taking this?" Ashton managed to get out between kisses.
"How far do you want to take this?"
"Well now you've got me in the mood and I am thinking about nothing other than seeing you naked underneath me."
I let out a very sensual laugh at this and he hitched my leg over his hip making me gasp before he began to attack my neck with his lips.
After Ashton and I had made love to each other for the second night in a row, he and I fell asleep with our bare bodies pressed against each other's.
Soft light filtering through the windows made me open my eyes and look out to see the Eiffel tower outside.
I could feel Ashton's arm around my waist and I adjusted my head on the pillow as I sighed happily.
"Are you awake?" Ashton's voice came softy from behind me.
"Mhmm." I moved my hand down to place it on his.
We laid there in silence for awhile before Ashton moved behind me.
"I'm gonna go hop in the shower, do you want to join me?"
"I can't want to get up." I whined childishly and he laughed before sliding one arm underneath my waist and one behind my knees and lifted me out of the bed.
I giggled as he carried me to the bathroom where we got into the shower.
After that Ashton wrapped a towel around his waist and took out his shaving kit while I put on a grey bra and panty set and covered up with a white silk robe.
"Do you want me to order some breakfast?" I asked Ashton.
"Sure." He smiled.
I called down to room service and ordered us breakfast and put up my drying hair in a bun.
I picked up my phone to see both Ender and Harry had texted me.
I responded to Harry and told him the name of our hotel.
Next I moved to Enders message.
'Are you and Dad in Paris?'
'Yeah, we got in last night. How is everything there?' I texted him back and saw him go to reply.
'Good.'
Then he sent me a photo of Luke holding Gracie like how we held her when she woke up.
'That's sweet! Be good for the guys and Ash and I will call you later today.'
As soon as I set my phone down there was a knock at the door.
I went over to get the door and opened it to reveal Harry on the other side.
"How did you get here so fast?"
"I figured this was where you were staying." He said. "And hello, by the way."
"Hi." I said and moved in to hug him.
I let Harry inside and shut the door.
"Where's Ashton?" He asked.
"He's getting ready in the other room." I answered. "So, what do you need to talk to me about in person?"
"I guess I just wanted to see you. We ended our last conversation on a weird note." He said.
"Yeah. Ender was upset that you had kissed me on the cheek and so I told him that I wouldn't do that anymore."
"Does it bother you when I kiss you on the cheek. I mean it's just a kiss."
"I know that, but it made Ender upset so I'm respecting his wishes."
Harry nodded.
"Is that all?" I asked.
"Well I-" He began but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
I went to answer the door and a man with a cart was there. The dishes were covered with silver covers and there was a silver pot that I assumed had coffee in it.
"Good morning, Mrs. Irwin." The guy smiled as he rolled the cart in.
"Good morning." I gave him a smile.
He rolled the cart to the centre of the room then bowed his head before leaving.
"Mrs. Irwin?" Harry asked as the door closed. "Did you and Ashton secretly get married or something?"
"No." I laughed. "They've called me that since we've arrived. I kind of like it, I guess i'll have to get used to having a new name soon."
"Did you set a date?"
"No." I shook my head. "What were you going to say earlier?"
"Just that...I had wanted to hang out with you this week."
"Oh. Well, this week probably isn't the best time. But definitely next week."
"Why not this week."
"Because Ashton and I are taking a vacation and we've never had one with just ourselves before, so we want to be alone together."
"Oh. Okay." Harry said and he seemed genuinely sad.
"I promise, next week."
"I know I just really wanted to hang out."
"Well...maybe we could meet for lunch."
"Hey baby, did you pack that red lingerie you wore the other night because that was hot as hell?"
Harry and I turned to see Ashton walking in the room, the towel still around his waist.
I blushed at this.
"Oh, hey." Ashton nodded at Harry.
"Hey." Harry nodded back. "I uhh guess i'll head off."
"I'll talk to you later." I gave Harry a small smile and waved as he left the hotel.
"So what did Harry want?" Ashton walked over to me.
"He wanted to hang out this week and I told him I'd meet him for lunch."
Ashton's face fell at this and I saw him roll his eyes as he turned away.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing." He said as he went to pour himself some coffee.
"No, tell me." I folded my arms across my stomach.
"It's nothing, Carter."
"No one rolls their eyes at nothing."
"I-" He said then sighed and turned around. "It's just that this was supposed to be our week alone together and now you're ditching me for your friend."
"If you don't want me to go then I won't go."
"I'm not going to tell you that."
"But that's the way you feel so why wouldn't you tell me?" I furrowed my eyebrows as I asked him.
"Because it's not my place to tell you what to do . Just like with the whole modeling thing." My eyes went wide and he sighed. "Shit. I didn't mean that."
"You don't want me to model?"
"I-"
He was struggling for words.
"Ashton I asked you if you would be okay with me modeling and you told me you were. If you weren't then why did you tell me to go for it."
"Because it's not my place to tell you what to do."
"You're my fiancé!" I exclaimed. "Believe it or not but I do give a damn about your opinion."
"Fine! Then what would you have done if I had said no?!"
"I wouldn't have done it!" I said exasperated.
"Fine; then I don't want you to go have lunch with Harry. This is our vacation and I want to spend the entire time with you, not our friends."
"Okay, then I won't go."
"Okay." Ashton said.
I watched him get his breakfast with tense shoulders and then sighed.
"Why is it so hard for you to tell me no?" I asked him and his shoulders dropped.
"Modeling was something you wanted to do and I didn't want to be the one who said you couldn't go for your dreams."
"Except that I told you it wasn't my dream. It was an idea and I asked you if I should do it because I wanted to know your honest thoughts." He looked down embarrassed. "So why don't you want me to model?"
"Because I liked it when you were just a normal girl that people didn't stalk with cameras. I've dated models before and all they ever cared about was their appearance and I didn't want you to be surrounded by that."
"You should've said something to me. The only reason I took to modeling was because that's what I thought you wanted."
"Why would you think that?"
"Because all the other girls you've dated are models and I thought you liked that!"
"No! I don't like that! I like you!" He practically yelled back. "I like how down to earth you are! I like how your not obsessed with money and fame! That's what attracts me to you!"
"Then you should've told me!"
Both of us were breathing hard at this point and I could feel the heat in my cheeks.
"Three months ago you asked me to marry you. Why?"
"Why did I ask you to marry me?" He questioned and I nodded. "Because I love you."
"And?"
"And because I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"So what do you plan on doing when we're married? What if one of us gets a job offer? Are we going to tell each other to go for it even if we don't really want them to? Or what if one of us wants another baby and the other doesn't. Or if we have to buy a house and we don't agree on the same one? We're going to have a lot of difficult conversations in our future, even in our near future, where we have to be honest with each other and talk things through as a couple. That's a part of marriage."
He nodded.
"Don't shelter me because you're afraid to hurt my feelings. I'm a big girl, I can take it."
"Okay." Ashton nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you how I felt."
"Thank you."
I uncrossed my arms and walked forward to get myself some breakfast.
I placed my hand on Ashton's arm as he passed to stop him and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
He gave me a little smile and then sat down.
"So what are you going to do about modeling?" He asked.
"I'm going to quit."
"You don't have to quit."
"Ashton. We just had this fight, do you really want to have it again?"
"...no."
"Then shut up."
He let out a laugh through his nose.
I got my food and sat down next to him.
"I never asked you how many kids you wanted."
"What?" I asked after swallowing a bite of toast.
"How many kids do you want?"
"I thought you wanted two."
"That's what I want, but what do you want?"
I sat back.
"When I was a little, I wanted like 12 kids, and then in school I learned how babies were made and born, and thought maybe 12 was a little much. So then I thought six would be nice, but then my parents died and I decided I would never be able to afford more than one child, and then we got Gracie. But after that, I always knew I wanted children with you that we made together, and I thought three would be nice."
"Three?" He asked and I nodded.
His face was calm and he looked in thought.
"We could do three, instead of two." He said after a minute.
"You would be okay with three?"
"Yeah. I mean it would be another mouth to feed and another kid to send to college, but that's just another piece of me and you in the world that we get to love."
I smiled at this. Ashton set down his plate and moved closer to me so I set mine down as he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me down next to him as he laid down.
"I want babies with you." He spoke into my neck.
"Not until we're married."
"Then let's get married."
"Not yet."
"Why not?"
"Because I want us to get some more time under our belts."
"Why does our age matter. Your parents were married at our age Carter."
"Yes but my parents had dated all throughout high school and had known each other their whole lives. We've known and dated each other for eight months, at least let us get to a year."
"A year."
"Yes."
"So once it's been a year we can get married?"
"We can start planning our wedding, yes."
"Okay then."
I could feel his lips smiling against my skin.
"Stop smirking, Irwin."
"Stop being so damn cute then."
I smiled.
"I'm hungry." I said and he loosed his arm around my waist.
"Let's finish eating and getting ready then go looking around the city."
"Okay." I said and then laughed. "Aren't you glad we got our fight out of the way so now we can enjoy the rest of our trip."
"Yes." He chuckled. "I really do hate fighting with you. And I promise to tell you how i'm honestly feeling from now on."
"Thank you." I squeezed his hand then sat up.
"Do you want some coffee?" He asked as he sat up.
"Sure."
Ashton stood up to pour me some coffee and I saw the towel around his waist and a thought came to my mind before I reached out with my foot and yanked it down.
I thought he had boxers on underneath but was met with his naked self and burst into laughter as he yanked the towel back up.
"Okay, I see how it is." He said with a playful smile as he adjusted the towel. "I'll get you back."
I continued to giggle like a schoolgirl as he poured my coffee and then sat back down next to me, his shoulder brushing against mine as we finished our food.
The two of us put our plates on the cart before heading to the bedroom to finish getting ready.
I went for a thin white sweater over black skinnies while Ashton did his usual black tee and black skinnies. I put my hair in a ponytail and went for the least amount of makeup I could.
Ashton phoned Brad and Dave to let them know we were ready and we went to meet them downstairs.
Brad walked in front and Dave behind us as Ashton and I began to explore the streets of Paris.
We held hands as we strolled along and
every once in a while (okay every few minutes)
we would share a kiss.
We were in the City of Love after all.
"We should send the kids something, ya know, let them know we're thinking of them." I said as we walked past a toy store.
"We have kids?" Ashton raised his eyebrows and then laughed. "What do you think, flowers and chocolate for Gracie and candy for Ender?"
"Sure."
We came upon a cute cafe and I went up to the
counter to order us drinks while Ashton ordered the gifts for the kids over the phone. We had typed out the notes for the kids on my phone and I looked back to see him reading it off to the person on the phone.
For Gracie we had wrote her a sweet little message.
'To our little Darcy Grace,
We already miss you so much, sweetheart. We can't wait to come home and see your beautiful smile and get Gracie hugs and kisses all day long. We know you'll have a fun week with your Uncles and big brother, and don't forget to take care of Sprinkles. We love you more than you could possibly imagine baby girl.
Love, Mommy and Daddy'
And for Ender we sent a little note as well,
'To our brave boy, Ender Chase-Irwin,
End, we know we left so suddenly and are sorry if we worried you, but we know you'll be able to take care of your little sister while we are gone. We are so proud of you. We really are. You've grown into such a responsible young man and we know you are capable of great things. We miss you and love you so much.
Love, Mom and Dad'
We really did love our kids.
I finally got our drinks and walked over to Ashton.
"Okay, I got us both a french press." I handed Ashton his cup.
"Thank you." He smiled.
"Where do you want to go next, baby?" Ash asked me.
"We could go to the Eiffel tower, or the Louvre, or the Arc de Triomphe?" I suggested.
"How about all three?" He said.
"Okay." I smiled up at him flirtatiously.
"Stop it." He laughed.
"Stop what?" I continued to flirt hard.
"Being cute." He continued to laugh and I stepped up closer and stood up on my tippy toes to kiss him.
I touched my heels back to the ground but Ashton leaned down to kiss me several more times.
"I love you." I smiled up at him.
"I love you more." He kissed the top of my head. "Okay, lets go."
He took my hand again and we left the cafe.
We began the walk to the Louvre and as nice as it felt to be here with Ashton, it still felt like something was missing with out the kids with us.
"I think i'm going through Gracie withdrawals." I said and Ashton laughed.
"I know what you mean. It felt weird waking up and not carrying her around the room for thirty minutes."
"And hearing her say she loves us about twenty times in a row because she's sleepy and forgot she said it already." I giggled.
"Or when she's tired and drinking her juice and falls asleep with her sippy cup still in her mouth."
"She's so cute." I laughed.
"We created a little monster, that's for sure." He shook his head.
"Could you imagine us...having a baby four years ago."
"You know i've actually thought about it." He said and I laughed. "Think about it, you would've been fifteen, I would've been seventeen, and we both would've been scared out of our minds."
"You'd be scared?! You're not the one pushing a baby out of you."
"Thanks for the visual. And yes I would've been scared; i'd be a dad."
"Would you have been in the delivery room with me?" I asked him playfully.
"Yes. I would've held your hand while you screamed."
"Scream? Hell no, i'm doing epidural, all the way."
He laughed.
"And then she would've been born, and we would've been able to hold her and kiss her and love her like we do."
"Exactly how I imagine it." He squeezed my hand and smiled at me before taking a sip of his coffee.
When we got to the Louvre there was a long line to get in so we decided to go the next day and get there early.
"Okay, let's do lunch then do the other stuff." Ashton said and the two of us found a restaurant to eat at.
As we waited for the check I pulled out my phone to see Luke had shared a photo of Ender and Gracie with the gifts we had sent them.
'Their Mommy and Daddy sent them presents so now I have the happiest niece and nephew in the world.'
I showed Ashton the photo and he smiled before he and I made our way to the Eiffel tower.
"We have to take pictures." I giddily placed my hands on Ashton's arm when we arrived and Brad and Dave laughed along with Ashton.
"Someone's excited." Brad chuckled.
"Yes, this is so cool!" I grinned and Ashton shook his head.
"I think I did good with this trip." Ashton laughed.
"You did amazing." I leaned up and kissed him.
"Would you mind taking some pictures?" Ashton asked Brad who nodded and Ashton handed him his phone.
Ash and I went to get into position, Brad instructing us and walking backward to get a better view of the tower behind us while Dave looked back and forth to scan the surrounding area.
Ash and I faced each other and I looped my arms around his neck while his hands went to my waist and Brad told us we were good so Ashton leaned in and kissed me for the photo.
We took a bunch of photos and even did one where I got on Ashton's shoulders and held my hands in the air.
He almost dropped me when he went to set me down but thankfully didn't.
Once the impromptu photo shoot was done we got in line to go up the elevator to go to the top of the Eiffel tower.
The elevator was a bit cramped so I pressed myself against Ashton and then we finally reached the top and we stepped out into the balcony.
"Woah." I said, taking in the view of Paris and Ashton had a wide eyed look.
"This is really cool." He smiled and we stepped up to the edge.
"I'm so happy right now." I leaned my head on Ashton's arm.
"Me too." He kissed the top of my head.
"Thank you for bringing me here, this is perfect."
"Thanks for coming with me." He said and put his arm around my shoulder to hold me close.
Ashton and I spent a really long time up there, staring out at the view and enjoying each other's company.
Finally we went down and got some dinner before heading back to the hotel.
"Let's call the kids." I said when we stepped inside and so we sat down on the sofa in the living room before pulling out my phone and Face-timing Ender.
He accepted the call and his face appeared on the screen.
"Hey, End!" I smiled brightly, Ashton doing the same.
"Hey, bud! How's it going?"
"Hi!" Ender smiled. "Everything is good here."
"Yeah? What did you do today?" I asked.
"We went to meetings with Michael, Calum, and Luke."
"Fun. How is Gracie?" Ashton asked.
"She's good. Calum is putting her in her pajamas right now." He said then looked to the side. "Hey Gracie, Mom and Dad are on the phone."
"I see!" We heard her shout and then Calum say "woah", and suddenly a wet haired Gracie showed up next to Ender.
"Hi baby girl!" Ashton and I both said and Gracie grinned like it was Christmas morning.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
Ashton and I laughed.
"We miss you sweetheart." I smiled at her.
"Miss you Mommy."
"What about me?" Ashton asked her playfully and Gracie cheekily shook her head no. "What? You don't miss me? You're gonna make me cry." He pouted and then began to fake cry, Gracie giggling joyfully.
"Gracie you made your Daddy cry." I smiled. "You better tell him you miss him."
"I miss you Daddy." Gracie laughed and Ashton uncovered his eyes and went to smile.
"Aw, yay!" Ashton laughed. "So how's hanging out with your Uncles, are you having fun?"
"Mhmm." She nodded.
"Are you being a good girl and taking care of Sprinkles?" I asked her.
"Yes, Mommy."
"Good girl. So did you get our presents?"
"Yes!" She giggled. "I like them."
"She's already eaten five of the chocolates, I had to hide them!" We heard Calum call out and laughed.
"What about you End?" I smiled at my brother.
"I liked the candy." He said but then made a weird face. "But I have a question."
"What?"
"You signed it Mom and Dad...does that mean you want me to call you Mom?"
"I just thought Mom and Dad sounded better than Carter and Ashton...but if you don't want me to do that anymore I won't." I said.
I felt a pang of hurt in my heart and Ashton turned to look at me.
"No, it was okay." He said and I looked up at him.
"You sure?" I asked.
"Mhmm." He nodded. "I liked it."
"Okay." I said with a small smile.
Ashton reached behind me and placed a hand on my back.
"Well it's late and you two need to get to bed, but we just wanted to call and say we love you and miss you." Ashton said.
"Okay." Ender said. "We miss you guys too."
"Goodnight, we love you." I smiled.
"Love you." Ender said.
"Love you Mommy. Love you Daddy." Gracie smiled.
"Love you sweetheart. We'll talk to you tomorrow." Ashton said and then we hung up.
I sat up and let out a sigh.
"You okay?" Ashton asked.
"Did I do the right thing?" I asked him.
"What do you mean?"
"Calling myself his mom..."
"Carter, if it was five years ago then yes, it would be weird and awkward for you to call yourself his mom, but things have changed and I think that since we've made ourselves his guardians and he calls me Dad, it's fine for him to call you Mom too."
"Okay..." I whispered and he sat up as well before pulling me in his arms.
"You're an amazing mother, Carter." He squeezed me softly.
"And you're an amazing Dad." I looked up at him and he bent down to kiss me.
His hand moved to my side and he began to rub it up and down, soothing my worries as we laid there looking out at the Paris skyline outside our window.
--
Awww Carter and Ender moments are my favorites.
Why do you think Harry really came to Paris?
Will this vacation really be what Carter and Ashton need?
More to come!
Much love xx-M