Becca
“Have you told Parker yet?” Ashlynn asks as she walks into the en-suite to the room Parker and I are in.
I’m leaning over the sink brushing my teeth as I try to brush the taste of vomit from my mouth.
I shake my head ‘no’ as I rinse out my mouth and then dab it with a wash cloth. Spinning around I prop myself against the sink and bring my eyes to Ashlynn’s who’s staring back at me with a sympathetic look.
“I haven’t found the right moment to. I’m going to try and tell him tonight. If I don’t he’ll find out eventually on his own. It’s not like it’s easy to hide. Pretty much every smell makes me want to hurl my brains out.”
She lets out a soft sigh as she walks over to me and stands beside me at the sink. “I’m here if you need me. I know it’s hard, but I know Parker will support you and this baby. He’s not like those irresponsible douchebags who duck out when things get tough. I know for certain if he even let the thought cross his mind for even one second that Chase would knock some sense into him.”
I suddenly find myself feeling queasy again as I begin to freak out trying to think of how the hell I’m going to break the news to him that we’re going to be parents come November.
A knock at the door causes us both to jump and let out a scream. “Who is it?” I ask between giggles.
Ashlynn and I both stare at each other, laughing at our foolishness.
“Parker. I just wanted to see how much longer you girls were going to be? We have a reservation for seven o’clock at a Crabby Joe’s.”
My wedged sandals click clack as I walk toward the bathroom door. Grabbing the doorknob I let out a shaky breath before pulling it open.
“We’re all ready to go,” I tell him as I slip my hand around his waist and walk towards the stairs with Ashlynn following behind.
I glance nervously back at her before walking into the living room where everyone is waiting for us.
“Finally! Let’s get out of here before I end up eating my damn arm off,” Vance says as he quickly yanks open the front door and disappears outside.
We all opt to walk down the boardwalk to the pier that Crabby Joe’s is at, instead of trying to find parking for all of us once we get there.
It’s a gorgeous night tonight with a cool gentle breeze. So we decide to eat outside on the pier at the picnic tables. The sky is a beautiful array of colors as the sun slowly sets in the horizon, slowly disappearing into the ocean off in the distance. It’s the perfect view as we all dine together.
We’re all finishing up our meals—I of course have spent the entire time trying to find excuses not to drink and trying to find something to eat that won’t come back up as soon as I get it down. I settled on shrimp alfredo and a bowl of assorted fruit. Luckily for me and everyone else, so far so good.
“We have a little surprise for you,” Parker says with a mischievous grin playing on his lips as we wait for the waiter to come take our dessert orders.
I look around and see that everyone is mirroring his expression.
Huffing out a slight groan I bring my attention back to Parker. “What did you do?” I ask nervously.
As my words come out, I hear the sound of people singing Happy Birthday. My eyes grow large as I turn and see the wait staff making their way over to us holding a cake with lit candles burning all over it.
Everyone at our table joins in singing as the cake is set down in front of me.
Blushing, I cover my face with my hands trying to hide my embarrassment. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me from the other people dining outside too.
Parker wraps his arm around my waist pulling me tightly against his side as he sings Happy Birthday softly down in my ear. His big brown eyes are twinkling in the overhead lighting.
Laughing, I smile up at him, “I cannot believe you did this. My birthday was over a month ago!”
He squeezes me tighter and presses a kiss to my temple. “I know it’s not your birthday—but I hate that I missed it, so I wanted to make it up to you. I thought what better way to celebrate it than here with all of our friends. Now blow out your candles and make a wish.”
I gaze down at the beautiful cake that is covered in decorative sea shells and says ‘Happy Birthday Becca’ in blue frosting, before closing my eyes to make a wish.
Making my wish I blow out the candles. Everyone erupts in cheers as soon as the flames of the candles are out. I feel Parker’s hand coming to rest on the small of my back and instantly my body tingles from head to toe. I love the feeling I get when he’s near me or touches me.
I’m falling in love with this man and I hope he loves me in return. I plan on telling him tonight because I want to hear him say it back to me before he knows about the baby. That way I know he truly loves me because of what he feels for me, not out of obligation.
We all enjoy a slice of cake and then head back to the beach house. As we’re walking back up Parker grabs my hand stopping me from following everyone up the sandy hill.
“Becca,” his voice is dark and rich, making goosebumps appear on my skin as I hear my name roll off of his tongue.
Turning back to him I take a step closer and wrap my arms around his waist, tilting my head back to gaze up him. I momentarily get lost in his eyes as the night sky twinkles above us and reflects in his gaze that’s staring straight back down at me.
“Yeah?” I say with a questionable tone.
I feel his hands roam slowly up and down my back, the heat burning through my thin long sleeve top. The breeze rolling off of the ocean causes me to shiver slightly as the scent of the ocean and wet sand whip past us. Instantly I feel my stomach flip flop and not in the good kind of way that I’m use to feeling while in his arms.
“I’m so happy that I’m here with you right now. Being apart has been harder than I ever imagined…but somehow we’ve made it work. I need to tell you something—I wanted to tell you when I was in Athens last month, but I couldn’t find the right time. I’ve spent all day stressing about it and keep playing over this moment in my head, and what I’ve come to realize is that all this time I’ve spent looking for the perfect moment and missed the fact that every moment with you is perfect.” He inhales deeply and lets out a nervous, shaky breath closing his eyes momentarily.
I’m breathing nervously too and not just because I’m nervous about what he’s trying to tell me, but also for the fact that I’m about to hurl my dinner and birthday cake all over the beach.
I squeeze the back of his biceps as I will him to keep going. “It’s okay, Parker. You don’t have to be nervous. You can tell me anything.” I lick my lips and breathe in another shaky breath before continuing, “I can’t agree more that every single moment with you is perfect. Every time we’re together it feels right—it feels like wherever you are is where I’m supposed to be.”
The words I love you are sitting on the tip of my tongue trying to force their way out, but I’m too scared—especially since I know I have his baby growing inside of my belly right now. I’m so afraid of getting my heart broken.
His hands come to rest at my face as he cups my cheeks and presses a soft kiss to my lips. It calms my nerves and makes my heart pitter-patter in my chest causing my lips to smile against his as he begins to pull away from our kiss. The love I feel radiating off of him at this very moment blankets my body making the wave of nausea suddenly cease to exist.
“I love you,” his voice is shaky as he says the three words I’ve waited eight months to hear. I’ve known I loved him since the moment we said goodbye the last day we were in Myrtle Beach. To know for certain that he loves me back makes all my anxiety float away.
Squealing with excitement I bounce up and down wrapping my hands around his neck. “Tell me again.”
“I love you more than I’ve loved anyone in my entire life. I hope this display of excitement means you love me too…” A sexy smirk curls up at the corner of his lips causing my heart to feel as if it’s going to explode out of my chest. This is amazing and completely overwhelming all at the same time.
I’m so damn hormonal because of this baby that I find myself tearing up and forcing the lump in my throat back down. Blinking the tears away, I run my fingers through his hair and whisper back up to him, “I love you too. I’ve loved you I think since the moment I met your cocky, arrogant ass on the beach. If I remember correctly, you told me to remember your name because I’d be screaming it for all of Myrtle Beach to hear me. I knew right then and there I wanted to get you into my bed. But I had no idea in the process you’d wiggle your way into my heart—all I know is I’m so happy you did.”
“I’m glad one of my stupid lines didn’t scare you away. I say the stupidest shit when I’m around hot chicks. Luckily for me you are crazy enough to find that kind of thing attractive.” He laughs as he brings his hands up to mine, pulling them away from his neck and lacing them together with mine. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get your fine ass upstairs, naked, and screaming my name for all of Daytona Beach to hear.”
I tug my right hand free from his and smack him in the chest giggling, “You’re too much sometimes I swear. But, I gotta say I really like that plan.”
I know I should take this moment to tell Parker about the baby, but I don’t want to ruin this moment dropping something like that on him. Now that I know he feels the same about me even with us living two different lives I can relax a little bit more. I feel confident that he’s going to be as happy about the baby as I am.
It was a complete and total shock when I found out. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified. It changes everything I had planned for my life. I have two years of college left and then my career I had all mapped out after college. Now with a baby being thrown into the mix I have a lot of thinking to do. I can only hope that Parker will be as open to the idea of keeping this baby as I am.