"Okay, we should probably go out there." I laugh to Hardin. We've been in here for a while, and numerous people have been pounding on the door to use the bathroom.
"You're right. Landon is probably so confused right now." Hardin says as he helps me down off the changing table. I look quickly into the dirty mirror to fix my dress and hair.
"How do I look?" I turn around back to Hardin. I already know what he's gonna say. The huge grin on his face gives it away.
"Freshly fucked." He whispers, and I shove at his shoulder.
"Let's just go." Hardin opens the door, and we are startled by a man standing there.
"Jesus Christ! It's about fucking time, man!" He complains to Hardin, throwing his arms around. I assume this is the man that's been banging on the door for the past ten minutes. "What the fuck took so-" He stops when he notices me walk out beside him. He looks me up and down with a scowl.
"Oh, I see. Well, next time, go fuck your bitch somewhere else."
There is nothing more in this world that I hate more than being called a 'bitch' just for being a woman, and Hardin knows that.
"Watch it." He says, and steps closer to this man, but I grab Hardin's shoulder. The last way I would want to start the New Year is with Hardin fighting some random asshole at a bar.
"All I said was to take her, and go fuck her somewhere else. Some of us actually use bathrooms to pee and shit, not to fuck whores."
Damn, this guy is really pulling out every derogatory word in the book.
"Don't you fucking dare speak about her that way." Hardin steps even closer, but I pull him back.
"Hardin, don't. It's not worth it." He turns his head back towards me, and I can see the internal debate in his eyes. "Let's just go. It's not worth it." I say again, and thankfully, Hardin takes a step back.
"Yeah, that's right. Listen to your little bitch."
I physically pull Hardin away now because I can feel the tension radiating off him in waves.
"Hope she was at least tight, bro!" He yells behind us. I stop dead in my tracks. I don't want Hardin to get in a physical altercation with this jackass, but that doesn't mean that I can't do something about it. I leave Hardin in the middle of the bar, and walk back over to the guy who feels like it's okay to degrade women.
"Who hurt you?" I say as he's laughing with his friends.
He looks at me, surprised that I came back to defend myself. "Excuse me?"
"Did someone hurt you?" I ask again.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" He steps towards me, but I can feel Hardin behind me, so I'm not scared.
"Did your Mom not love you enough? Did a girlfriend dump you? Did you get bullied? Did you peak in high school? Let me know when I'm getting warm..."
"The fuck? Of course not! Not that it's any of your goddamn business." He yells in my face.
"Then what do you think gives you the right to talk about women that way? Because from where I'm standing, I'm the woman who just had amazing sex in that bathroom with my husband while you're the lonely drunk asshole who probably hasn't gotten any in months and finds joy in bringing others down. You're sure as hell not getting any woman with that attitude. So the next time you speak that way about a woman, look in the goddamn mirror and check yourself. "
His face pales as his friends around him laugh.
"It's a New Year. Why don't you try fixing whatever is broken inside of you before it's too late. You don't want to spend the rest of your life coming to the same bar, getting blackout drunk with the same friends, and degrading the same women, do you? I would think about that. Have a nice night, and Happy New Year." I grab Hardin's hand and pull him away from the asshole who still has his mouth wide open.
I feel empowered, and I'm proud that I put that man in his place. Men like him need to know that women won't take their degrading comments like they would expect us to.
"I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself like that." Hardin says as we walk back to our table to find Landon and Nora.
"I'm proud of you for not punching the guy." I tease because I know if I wasn't there to stop him, Hardin would have had him on the floor so fast. Hardin's better now, and hasn't fought in four years, but he still has the temper of a land mine. One small thing will completely set him off.
"I was tempted, trust me." He laughs as we see Landon and Nora.
"Where the hell were you two? You guys missed the ball drop!" Landon yells once we get to the table.
"Sorry. We had some... trouble... getting into the bar." Hardin tells him, but Nora just smiles at me like she knows exactly what we just did. Landon, of course, is more oblivious.
"Well, Happy New Year bro." Landon brings Hardin in for a brief hug, just slapping his back before letting him go. It was the usual man-to-man hug.
"Happy News Years!" I hug Nora tightly as she wishes me the same.
"How was it?" She whispers in my ear, and I pull back with a confused expression on my face.
"What are you talking about?"
She smirks at me. "You know exactly what I'm talking about." Nora's good at telling when we're lying. It's hard to get anything by her.
"It was amazing." I whisper into her ear, and she laughs loudly.
"I knew it. I always know when you two are lying."
I put my index finger up to my mouth as Landon comes over to hug me.
"Happy New Year, Tessa." He hugs me just as tight as his wife.
"Happy New Year, Landon."
He lets me go, and we sit down.
"What a crazy year it's been." He sighs and drinks more of his beer.
"You're not wrong. I can't believe everything that's happened for all of us in this time frame." I shake my head in utter disbelief.
"A marriage, a baby, a pregnancy! This next year is going to be eventful for all of us."
"I had a dream..." Hardin begins saying, then closes his mouth. I don't think he meant to say that out loud.
"About what?" Landon asks, and I can tell Hardin is uncomfortable. I grab his arm, and give it a light squeeze to encourage him to tell us. He usually doesn't like sharing stuff with other people besides me. Even getting him to tell me things is like pulling teeth.
"I... had a dream about our child." He says looking directly at me. I did not expect him to say that. "It was much further in the future. I was pushing her on a swing, then she got mad because we forced her to eat vegetables and she got mad."
"She? You dreamt you had a daughter." Nora smiles, and I didn't even realize he said 'she'. Hardin always told me how he never pictures himself with a daughter, so the fact that he dreamt that is really surprising.
"Yeah... it was... nice. Weird, but nice." Hardin pulls my stool closer to him and wraps his arm around my waist.
"Having a daughter is amazing, but absolutely terrifying. You don't want anything to hurt her, or anyone." Landon says.
"Shit..." I hear Hardin whisper next to me, and he buries his head in my shoulder.
"Well, we have our appointent today, actually, so we should probably get going." I tell them. I know Hardin just got here, but I am already exhausted, and we have a long day tomorrow.
"Yeah, we'll head out too." Landon and Hardin walk over to pay for the drinks, while Nora and I head towards the door.
"I can tell Hardin is becoming more comfortable with the idea of being a father." Nora says as we wait by the door.
"You think so?" I ask her, even though I see it. There is something about this pregnancy that just feels different. I have a feeling that this pregnancy is gonna work.
"I really do."
"I was just so scared with the miscarriage that he wouldn't want to try for kids again. I felt terrible that I let him down..."
"Oh please. I can see the change in the both of you with this pregnancy, and I have a good feeling this will be it for the both of you."
"Thanks, Nora." I hug her tightly again as our men meet up with us.
"Okay, let's go."
We walk out into the cold New York street. I could still hear the music and cheers of people down in Times Square. The city was so alive, and it was such an amazing feeling being here.
"Call us after your meeting tomorrow!"
"We will!" I wave goodbye as we walk in the seperate direction towards our car.
"That was fun!"
"I was only there for like twenty minutes."
"Well, it was a fun twenty minutes..." I giggle, and squeeze his ass.
"Yes. Very." He swats my hand away.
We get to the car, and hop in quickly to turn on the heat.
"Fuck! It's freezing out." Hardin says as he starts the car, immediately turning up the heat.
I can't stop staring at him. After Hardin told me about the dream he had about our child, it made me feel so amazing. He sees it too, and he's just as excited for it as I am. He continues to be the fire that keeps me hope burning.
"Why are you staring at me?" He questions.
"I just love you." I lean over, and kiss him. "And I can't wait to start this family with you."
Hardin places his cold hand on my cheeks. "I love you."