Nina's Pov-
I woke up still intertwined with Ian. My head was buried in his chest and his arms were wrapped around me.
I didn't want to move. I just wanted to stay in this spot.
I laid there, with my head on Ian's chest, just thinking about our night.
We had so much fun. Being able to spend time with everybody and laugh. We always enjoyed being with each other. And we had so much fun reminiscing about our adventures together.
Most of all I was thinking about Ian and I. Between our conversation last night. And the love we made. I couldn't have asked for a better night with him. Or with our family.
"Are you thinking about last night my love?" Ian said in a raspy voice. Scaring the hell out of me. I didn't even know he was awake.
"How did you know that? And when did you wake up, you scared the hell out of me." I said. I lifted my head and rested my chin on mind, while keeping my hand on his stomach.
"I'm sorry baby. I've only been awake for like 3 minutes. I felt you smiling against my stomach. And was that a tear drop?" He said smiling down at me.
"I'm sorry babe. I didn't mean to wake you up. I didn't want to move from this spot yet. But yes I was thinking about last night. How'd you sleep?" I asked him with a small smile.
"It's fine love. I don't want to move from this spot either. I knew you were thinking about last night. And I slept like a baby. Like I was sleeping on a cloud." He answered.
"I slept like a baby too. What time is it?" I asked Ian. I hadn't even looked at the clock or my phone. I just laid there on his chest.
"I'm glad you got some sleep baby. And it is... 11:20." He said picking up his phone. He had a strange look on his face while looking at it.
"What's wrong baby?" I asked in a weary tone. I'm positive he picked up on it.
"Just a few missed calls from Mark. I'm sure everything is fine. I'll call him back after we get some coffee." Ian answered. He sat his phone back down and leaned his head down to kiss me.
"Good morning my love." He said after parting our lips.
"Good morning my love. Are you ready to get our day started?" I asked as I kissed him quickly again.
"I am. We have to figure out what we're doing today. Are you ready?" He asked.
"Yes. I'm just gonna use the restroom and brush my teeth. I'll shower after I have some coffee and we figure out what our plans are for the day." I answered him.
We both sat up and Ian got out of bed holding his hand out for me. I grabbed his hand a got up.
We went into the bathroom, taking turns, and brushed our teeth together.
When we came out of our bathroom Ian walked over to the dresser and grabbed some basketball shorts and a tank top to throw on.
"Baby can you toss me that green summer dress out of my drawer please?" I asked as I slipped my night shirt off and put my bra on.
"Here you go babe." Ian said as he walked over and handed me the dress.
I slipped it over my head and let it fall down to my ankles. I looked up too see Ian smiling at me.
"What?" I asked tucking my hair behind my ears and looking down. He was making me blush.
"You're so damn beautiful. Just naturally beautiful. And I'm just so damn lucky to that you're mine." He said lifting my head gently.
"You are perfect my love. And I am blessed to call you mine." He said looking in my eyes. I sweet saw a sparkle in his blue eyes.
"You're so perfect, you know that. I love you so much." I said as I leaned up to kiss him.
"I love you more baby." He said kissing me lovingly.
"Not possible. But whatevs." I said laughing. Ian laughed and I couldn't help but stare at him. His laugh was so beautiful and I loved it.
"Are you ready to go get some coffee? I don't think anybody's awake yet." He said holding his hand out for me.
"Yes I am. And I don't think so either. I haven't heard anybody since we've been awake." I said as we walked to the door.
"They probably had a late night. We'll just have to wait for them to get up to decide what we're doing today." He answered as we walked out of our room.
"That's fine. We can get our coffee and sit outside. Like we used to." I said smiling up at him.
"Ok. I used to love doing that with you. I've missed it." He smiled down at me and kissed my cheek.
"Uh. I don't think we'll be alone." I said looking outside. Our family was outside. Sitting around the table, laughing. And from the looks of it our moms cooked breakfast.
"Baby we should've known our moms would cook a big breakfast." He said with a small laugh.
"Yeah we definitely should have. I'm not to hungry though. Maybe just some fruit." I said as we walked towards the patio doors.
"Ok. Well let's go out and I'll get you some fruit if you make my cup of coffee?" Ian said.
"Deal. But uh.." I trailed off. Not sure how to ask what I wanted too.
"Nina come on. Just spit it out babe. I keep telling you, you don't have to worry about asking anything. This is your life too baby." He said giving me a loving smile. God I love him.
"Are you going to call Mark back and see why he called so many times already today?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yes. I was gonna call him after we ate. I was gonna pull you aside and call him. Or do you wanna do it now?" He asked. And I'm sure he seen the weird and questioning look on my face.
"Babe like I said it involves you too. Whatever Mark has to say effects us. It effects you. Our future, our life together. So yeah. You should be involved in every way. Or in whatever ways you're comfortable in baby." He said softly while putting his hand on my cheek.
I leaned into his hand and smiled as I placed mine over his.
"Ok. We can call after we eat baby." I said.
"Ok. Come on. I'm ready for coffee and family fun." He smiled as he took my hand in his.
"I love you." I said softly as we walked out of the door.
"I love you too baby." He replied softly and gave me a quick kiss.
"There you guys are. We were about to come wake you up." Candice said as she stood to hug us.
"No need, we're awake Candie." Ian said as he kissed her cheek.
"We just needed a minute before we came out. We thought you guys were still sleeping anyways." I said as she pulled back from our hug and Phoebe came over to me.
"Good morning brother." She smiled and hugged Ian.
He said good morning and kissed her cheek as he hugged her.
"Good morning Neens. Can we talk to you for a minute." She said as she broke our hug.
"Good morning Pheebs. Uh. Yeah. I guess. What's up?" I said looking puzzled, not sure as to what was going on.
"Um. It's kinda. Uh sensitive Neens." Candice said. And Phoebe and Kayla nodded their heads.
"Ooh ok. Yeah let me fix my coffee first. Ok?" I said any all nodded again.
I stepped to the table, said good morning to our parents and kissed them all on the cheeks. I made Ian and I a cup of coffee and handed him his.
"Can you make my bowl of fruit please baby? I'm gonna see what the girls need and I'll be right back." I said.
"I gotcha baby. Go see what the sisterhood needs. I'll be right here when you're done love." He said kissing me.
Our parents and the guys awed as we kissed. And I could hear was Mike and Matt tell Ian how happy it made them to see us back together and happy again.
I was kinda nervous about what the girls wanted to talk to me about. And why it had to be private. The fact that it had to be private was what was making me nervous about it.
"So what's wrong ladies?" I asked as we stopped by the pool.
"Nothing's wrong Neens. Why would you think that?" Kayla said with a little laugh.
"Well given what she's been dealing with the last couple of weeks you can't blame her for being cautious." Phoebe said and Candice agreed. I smiled at them and winked at Phoebe.
"But seriously nothing's wrong Nina. We just had a question." Candice asked.
"Oh. Ok. Well what's up?" I asked still kinda weary about it all.
"Are we uh. I mean..." Kayla kinda stuttered trying to get whatever she was trying to say out. What the hell was going on with them.
"She's nervous and doesn't know how to ask if we're, well really you and Ian, are going to leave the estate this week?" Candice said. And I honestly hadn't thought about it.
"Oh... Well we haven't really talked about it honestly. I mean we've been so wrapped up in each other that we haven't thought about that. Why?" I said. And I was being honest. We really hadn't talked about it. We've been so wrapped up in being back together and having our family here that we haven't talked about any of that.
"We wanted to go out on the bayou like we used to. Have some fun like the good old days." Candice said. And I have to admit it sounded like so much fun.
"Neens if you aren't comfortable I'll stay here with you. We can do some more shopping for the house. And watch some movies." Phoebe said taking my hand in hers.
"Do you wanna go?" I asked her.
"I wanna do whatever is gonna the most comfortable for you." She said. She really was my rock.
"I love you for that Pheebs. But do you wanna go?" I asked her again.
"Honestly, yeah I do. But only if you're going." She answered.
"I do wanna go. But like I said Ian and I haven't really talked about that. So let me talk to him first and I'll let you know. Ok?" I said as I looked at my 3 best friends who were being so supportive that it made my heart so happy.
"That's fine Neens. Paul is talking to Ian about it now. I'm pretty sure he's saying the same thing you are." Phoebe smiled and squeezed my hand.
"He probably is. Come on. Let me eat and I'll pull Ian aside and talk to him about it." I said as Phoebe and I turned to walk back to the table.
Kayla was showing Candice something on her phone about a restaurant she wanted to try while they were here. So I slowed my pace. Phoebe was still holding my hand so she did the same.
"Is everything ok Neens?" She asked her voice full of concern.
"Yeah. I just wanted to thank you Pheebs. Thank you for being my best friend. And for always having my back. And for being so supportive through all this crazy shit that's now mine and Ian's lives." I said as I looked over at her beautiful face. She had her hair pulled up into a messy bun and simple gold era rings in. She was stunning without a stitch of makeup on.
"Nina you don't have to thank me silly. You're my best friend too. This is what we do for each other. And as for you and Ian. Honey it'll get better. You know that. It's already amazing. It's just a little messy. But it'll be perfect, just give it some time. And until then I'm right here for you." She said as she pulled me into a side hug.
"I hope so. I just feel like there's something coming that we aren't gonna be able to avoid. And it's not setting well with me." I said. Mark calling Ian so many times and so early this morning kinda had me on edge. I know something is coming.
"Your intuition has always been strong Neens. But I have no doubt that whatever is coming you and Ian will get through it together. And I promise I'll be right here with you through it." She said squeezing me a little tighter.
"Thank you Pheebs. I really don't know what I'd do without you here. I love you bestie."
"I love you too bestie." She said kissing my cheek.
"Come on let's go eat. And then you can decide if you want to go or not. Either way, like I said, I'm with you." She smiled at me as we got to our seats.
We sat down in between Ian and Paul. With Ian next to me and Paul next to Phoebe. Most of the time when we were in a group outing this is how we sat. So it wasn't a surprise to anyone that this is how the boys were sitting, withing for us.
"Is everything ok baby?" Ian asked putting his arm around my lower back and whispering in my ear. I got chills at the touch of his hand on my body. God this man just does something to me.
"It's fine babe. We can talk after we eat." I whispered back to him. I pulled my head back and smiled lovingly at him so he'd know everything was ok.
I placed a hand on his cheek and leaned in to kiss him softly.
"I love you Nina." Ian said as we parted our lips.
"I love you Ian." I replied with a sweet smile on my face.
My smile quickly turned into blushing as we realized our family was watching us. Each having a smile on their faces.
I hid my face in Ian's neck. He lifted his hand and put it on my head.
"Sorry guys. We're making up for lost time, ya know?!" Ian said with a chuckle. Making me laugh too.
"You're fine. I don't think you guys really understand how much we've missed you two together." My dad said. And everyone agreed with him.
"Thanks Pop. But I can promise you it's not as much as I missed being with her." Ian said kissing my forehead.
"I feel the same way baby. I certainly doesn't compare to how much I missed being with you." I said kissing him.
"Either way I'm sure I speak for all the parents, hell everybody here, when I say it's an amazing thing to see. Seeing you two together and happy and in love again. It's enough happiness to last year's." Rob said. And everyone agreed with him.
"We really appreciate it. Having you guys, all of you, on board with this means everything to us. That's all we were worried about." I said smiling wide at all of them.
It really did mean so much to us both to have them on our side with this.
"Of course we're on board. Why wouldn't we be? This is what we've all wanted. And we all know you too have never stopped loving each other." Steven said with a smile on his face.
"He's right. We know you guys have never stopped loving each other. And having you guys back together and our little family back together is amazing." Matt said.
"I'm just happy to see you guys happy again. And like Matt said to have our little family back together. It's been way to long since we've been able to be a family." Candice said.
"Thank you guys. Really. And we completely agree. We love each other. We never stopped and we excited for our future. And having our family back together just makes it better." I said.
"Agreed. I've missed the love I feel when I'm with all of you. Especially you my love." Ian said as he put my hand in his and kissed it.
"I did too baby. You'll never have to miss it again though. I promise." I smiled at him.
"But enough of this. Mom's I have a request." I said changing the subject.
"Yes?!" They said together and laughed.
"Can we have a taco night for dinner? Please." I said and stuck my bottom lip out like a kid wanting candy.
"Ooo. Yes taco's and margaritas, pleeease mom's." Joe said. Making us all laugh.
"If that's what you kids want that's what we'll have." Edna said. And we all said yes at the same time.
"Then I guess we're having a taco bar and margarita night. Sounds good to me." My mom said.
"We'll Chelle we're gonna have to go to the store. We have to get everything." Edna said looking at my mom.
"Ok. I figured we'd have to shop anyways. Are we gonna do a variety of taco's?" My mom asked.
"Yes. I think we should. Maybe do regular, steak, chicken and shrimp. Kids what do you think?" Edna asked. And we all said yes at the same time.
"Sounds like a plan kids. We'll get all the stuff when we go to the store. I'll get the stuff to make some pico de gallo and guacamole." Edna said and I could already taste the amazing food.
"And we'll get stuff to make different margaritas. And chips and salsa. Sound good?" My mom said and we all said yes at the same time again, making us all chuckle.
"Mom's can you guys grab me some of that Minute Made Strawberry Kiwi juice too, please?" I asked.
"Of course doll. We'll get you some." Edna said.
For the next 20 minutes or so we all sat eating and talking. We were just talking about random things.
That was one of the things I've always loved about the group. We could talk about anything and be content. Plus we were all so close that no subject was really off limits. We didn't go into full details about our sex lives. But we still talked about it.
I was picking over the last of my fruit and waiting for Ian to get done eating so he could call Mark back.
I had an uneasy feeling. Like something was coming and it was going to be something crazy.
But I also knew that whatever it was we'd get through it together. I didn't have any doubt about that.
"Baby." Ian whispered in my ear, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Yes love?" I said softly.
"Are you up to making this call now?" He asked softly. I could tell he was hesitant and didn't really want to do it. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes and saw an uneasiness.
On one hand I was kind of relived that I wasn't alone in feeling uneasy for some reason. But on the other hand I was hurt. I didn't want him to have to keep going through this.
It went so far beyond wanting to start our life together. And be together finally. I wanted Ian to be ok. I didn't want him to have to hurt like this anymore.
I didn't want him to have to be reminded of the most painful experience of his life everyday. And that's what was happening. Every time Mark called he was reminded of it even more. And it's not like he even needed the reminder. I'm sure it was always on his mind.
I wanted him to be able to start healing. Even though he keeps telling me that I've already started that process for him.
Ian has told me everyday since Atlanta that I've made him happier than he's been in years.
He's told our parents that I was the reason he was doing so well. And that if it wasn't for me he'd be a complete mess.
He told me that I've already started healing him.
I'm happy that I can make him happy. And that he feels like I've helped him on this path to healing. But I know there's still a long path ahead of us.
I also know the sooner this divorce is done the sooner my love can start to really heal and truly be happy. And that's all I want for him.
"Uhm. Yeah baby. If you're ready? Plus I need to talk to you about something anyways."I I said snapping out of my thoughts of his happiness.
His facial expression changed when I told him I needed to talk to him about something.
"I'm ready. I mean he's called 8 times this morning. So something is up and I want to know what it is so we can deal with it and put this all behind us. What do you need to talk to me about? Is everything ok?" He asked with his brow furrowed.
"I feel the same way babe. And it's nothing bad I promise. It's just something the girls asked about. And I told them I needed to talk to you first. That's all love." I said caressing his cheek.
He gave me a small, soft yet beautiful smile.
"Ok baby. As long as you're ok." He said. He looked down at his phone to check the time. I could tell he was nervous.
"I am. I'll excuse us." I said as I grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. Ian intertwined our fingers and brought our hands up to gently kiss mine before I excused us.
"Guys Ian and I have to excuse ourselves. We, well Ian, has to call Mark back. And I have to talk to him about that thing." I said looking at the girls.
"Ok loves. Do you need anything else? Or is there anything we can do?" My mom asked.
"Oh no, we're fine. Mark called Ian a few times this morning. So he just needs to call him back." I answered as Ian and I stood up.
"Ok. If you guys need us just yell for us Nina and we'll be right there." Edna said.
"I will. And mom's thank you for the breakfast. It was, as usual, amazing." I said with Ian agreeing.
"We'll be right back. And yes, thank you for breakfast. This eggs and cheese grits with great." Ian said blowing our moms a kiss.
"You're welcome guys. And Chelle made those eggs. They were fantastic, weren't they?!" Edna said. Everybody agreed with her with mhms. As they had mouths full of food.
"Thanks guys." My mom said as she and Edna blew Ian a kiss.
"We'll be right back. Love y'all." Ian said as we started to walk towards the lake hand in hand.
"Do you want to talk first or?" Ian asked as we were walking.
"Uhm. No that's ok. I wanna know what Mark needs first. If that's ok?" I said. If he wanted to talk first we could.
"Yeah that's ok baby. I want to see what he wants too. I just wanted to make sure you didn't want to talk first." He said as we stopped and sat down on the wicker chairs overlooking the lake.
"Ok baby, so before I make this call I need to say something. And I need you to really hear me. Ok?" Ian said.
"Uhm. Ok baby. What's up?" I asked a bit unsure about what he was about to say.
He must have seen it on my face because he turned in his chair, grabbed my hand and kissed it before smiling at me.
"I just want you to know that no matter what Mark says we'll get through this. And we'll get through it together. And that no matter what he says I love you so much. With everything in me." He said giving me a beautiful soft smile. I had tears in my eyes now. He always knew exactly what to say and at the exact moment I needed him to say it.
"I know we will baby. I'll be by your side through whatever it is. And I'll love you with everything in me now matter what baby." I said smiling at him.
"It's you and me Nina. Through all of it. Through whatever gets thrown our way. There's nothing, not a single thing, that Nikki can say or do or threaten that's gonna make me walk away from you. It's you and me baby. I promise. I love you Nina." He said still holding my hand and staring in my eyes.
"And I promise the same thing baby. Nothing she says or does or threatens will make me walk away from you. I'm by your side, fighting and loving you, no matter what. I love you too Ian." I said holding back my tears. I couldn't help but let one or two fall.
Ian leaned over and wiped gently wiped my tears with his thumb before kissing me passionately. It was filled with love and longing.
We parted and he rested his forehead against mine for a minute. We sat silently just breathing each other in and taking in the moment.
"Ok. Are you ready?" Ian asked as he moved his head and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
"Yeah. Are you?" I asked.
"Yeah. It now or never, right?" He said with a small smile.
He unlocked his phone and pulled up his contacts. As he went to Mark's name he took a deep breath before tapping the screen and calling.
He put the phone on speaker band with each ring I felt my breath becoming more and more shallow.
And I felt the uneasy feeling get stronger and stronger.
God please let us get through whatever craziness this woman is pulling now. Let us come out the other side of this stronger as a couple. Just let us get through this.