Seasons (31 page)

“You are always saying how much you miss your mom, and I thought, why not bring them on the trip?”

“Thank you,” I mouth to Chris.

The next thing I know, there is more squealing when Melanie comes running into our room with Austin in tow. We are in the midst of jumping up and down, hugging and squealing, when Trevor comes in and joins our huddle. Everyone says their hellos, and we decide to grab lunch, and then spend the day lounging on the beach.

We eat lunch at a café located under a waterfall. “Everything here is so stunning.” I address everyone at the table. It makes me so happy to be here. Not just here as in the Caribbean, but to be sitting at a table with my mom wrapped under her wonderful husband Hank’s arm, Mel and Austin sharing loving glances, Trevor and Adam happily holding hands, and all chatting merrily over a meal. It makes my heart smile being surrounded by all the most important people to me. I notice the most important one of all keeps looking around and checking his phone. “What’s up?” Chris just looks over at me with a smile, and then I see what he’s been up to come into my view. I jump out of my seat and throw my arms around Brett’s neck first, jumping his wife Kate next, and wrapping her in a hug. I was wrong,
now
everyone I love is here.

“How are the boys, Mel?”

“Monsters! They’re with my mom this week, God bless her soul. Twins are nuts. They’re always into something, and they outnumber me when I’m alone. They’re like a gang, and some days I swear they’re trying to kill me. Trev, Adam, how is little miss Olivia?” Mel asks.

“She is a living doll,” Adam boasts.

“He never sleeps. She keeps him up all night, every night. But he’s right. She’s a dream, always happy and beautiful. Looks like her father,” Trevor says, smiling over at Adam.

“I thought you didn’t actually know which of you…which of your swimmers, well, you know.” I chuckle.

“Look at her?” he says, pulling a picture out of his wallet. “She is like a mini-Adam. There is no doubt in my mind his swimmers won. She’s perfect.”

“She’s so pretty, and yes, she definitely looks like Adam now that she’s a little bit older.”

“What about you guys?” Austin chimes in. “Do you want any little monsters of your own?”

“Maybe one day,” Chris throws out, knowing panic will set in if I have to talk about it. “How were your flights, everyone?” He smoothly changes the subject.

After lunch, we spend the day swimming and lounging in chaises on the beach. Sipping a slushy, fruity drink through my straw while the sun shines down warming my face feels like heaven. My eyes are closed, and I’m completely relaxed when cool little droplets rain down on my stomach. I blink eyes open to see my handsome husband standing over me. His skin is perfectly tanned and water is dripping from his sun-kissed hair, running down his face and body. A few droplets land on me.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

We share a knowing look, and I put my drink down on the table before standing up to follow him to our bungalow. “I’m exhausted.” I stretch and feign a yawn. “We’re going to go nap. We’ll see you guys at dinner tonight.”

As we walk away, I hear giggles and someone say ‘
Yeah, nap, I bet.’

I don’t care. Hand in hand, Chris and I nearly sprint to our room. The door isn’t even closed before we’re both ripping off our suits. He’s faster than I am, and as I bend to slide my suit off my legs, I feel him slip right in me from behind. I cry out from the shock, and thankfully, he catches me so I don’t fall forward as he continues to spear into me fast and hard. Grabbing a handful of my hair at the nape of my neck, he stands me up. He gently kisses my neck while holding me to him by my hair. With his other hand, he reaches around to put just the right amount of pressure on my clit while he takes me from behind.

Now this, this is ‘fuck me until I’m blue in the face’ Chris. This Chris doesn’t take his time. He rams into me as fast and hard as he can. This Chris tugs my hair, slaps my ass, all the while still holding me making me feel safe, loved. It’s exhilarating knowing that seeing me lounging on the beach made him this ravenous and that he needed to be in me right now, right this second. So I let him take control…this time.

Satisfied, laying across Chris’s chest, I walk my fingers through the sprinkle of hair scattered down his sternum. Looking around, I giggle when I realize we’re on the floor behind a couch not very far inside of the door. “We didn’t even make it to the bedroom.”

“No worries. We’ll go in there for rounds two and three.” He shoots me his boyish, gleaming white smile that still melts my panties every single time. Good thing I’m not wearing any.

Sitting up, I throw a leg over him so I’m straddling him. I grab both his hands holding them above his head. Lifting up, “Maybe we’ll make it in there for round three anyway,” I say before I lower myself onto him. I ride him with our hands clasped together above his head. To get a better angle, I let go of his hands, pull back, and flip around into my favorite position. I ride him back and forth giving him a view of my ass as I go. When we’re nearing our peaks, he grips either hip slamming me to him while thrusting up to meet me each time I come down forcefully on him until we both shatter in a screaming orgasm.

After a nap and a shower, I slip into a slinky, mint colored dress. I slide my feet into some gold sandals before running some gloss across my lips. Chris walks in while I’m still primping in the mirror, running my fingers through my waves to separate them. I hear a slow whistle and look over to see he’s standing in the doorway to our room. He has on white linen pants, a light blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up, and boat shoes. “You’re looking mighty fine, Mrs. Madden.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Truth is he looks like he just stepped off the pages of the Sexiest Man issue of
People
magazine. “Where are we meeting everyone?”

“Errr, actually…we aren’t.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, we spent the day with them, so I had kind of planned something special for just us tonight.”

“Something special?”

“You’ll see, come on. If we stay here much longer, I’m going to tear that dress off you, and that will mean we miss what I have planned.”

We walk out of our bungalow, off the pier, and down the beach a ways. The sun is starting to set and the scenery is gorgeous. There is a lone table with two chairs standing on the beach with no one around. The table is covered in a white tablecloth and seems to be set for dinner. Chris walks me over to a chair, pulling it out for me to have a seat before taking his across from me. He reaches out taking my hands, and I hear the low sound of a violin playing get closer and closer.

“I thought a nice romantic dinner on the beach would be more fun than dinner with the gang tonight. We can spend the day with them tomorrow.”

“Chris, thank you, for the trip, for everything, for being you. I love you.”

“I love you, Brynn and that never-ending smile on your face the past week made it all more than worth it,” he says as a cart comes down the beach toward us. The person pushing it stops at our table serving us and then filling our glasses with wine and leaving it in a bucket of ice on the table. We eat and polish off two bottles of wine before the sun goes down. Two torches are placed in the sand, and the violinist pauses to light them before continuing. “Dance with me.”

“Gladly.” I take his offered hand, and we slow dance chatting and laughing the night away. It’s a perfectly romantic evening. When the torches have almost burned out, we thank the violinist and walk back to our villa where we make love under the stars.

*   *   *

The week passes much too quickly. During the day the group drinks and lounges on the beach, minus one day we spent zip lining. It has been the ultimate in fun and relaxing vacations. The last night, we all have a formal dinner together. We walk into a fancy restaurant that is set up like a ballroom. There are dressed tables and giant crystal chandeliers hanging over a dance floor. My favorite flowers, confetti roses, decorate the center of each table.

The girls sit on one end and the boys on the other end. I’m sandwiched between Mom and Mel at dinner. When our food is served, I notice Melanie looks like she’s about to ralph. “Excuse me,” she says before running off toward the ladies’ room.

Standing, I place my napkin on my seat. “I’ll go check on her, be right back.”

The distinct sound of vomiting is echoing through the bathroom when I walk in. I grab some paper towels and wait outside the stall for Melanie to finish. She finally opens the door, and she still looks green. “Honey, are you okay? Did you eat something bad?”

Pushing past me, she goes to the sink and rinses her face with cool water. She turns around to face me, and I notice her face is still wet as tears course down her cheeks. “Mel, what is it?”

“I’m pregnant…again. What am I going to do with a third baby? Oh, my God. What if it’s twins again? I swear, it’s like Austin breathes the same air as me and I get knocked up. The twins keep me so busy already, and I’m so sick with the pregnancy, I can barely keep up. I’m just exhausted.”

I wrap Mel in a huge hug and then pull back to look her in the eye. “You are a great mom. You and Austin make the most beautiful babies I’ve ever seen. I’m sure you’re struggling and are tired, but it will be okay, I promise you. And maybe you’ll get a little girl this time?”

A sob escapes her mouth. “What if it’s another boy? I don’t think Austin’s sperm is capable of creating a girl. He made two boys on the first try!”

“I don’t know if this will cheer you up, but maybe we’ll end up having a baby together…”

“You guys are trying again? Are you sure you don’t want to just take mine instead?”

“It might be too late. We’ve been trying our hearts out this trip.” I giggle. “I’m both terrified and hopeful that it worked.”

“Oh, girl, it will be fine. It happens to women all the time, and they end up going on to have normal pregnancies. Oh, my God. I hope it worked! They could be best friends like us!”

“See, this could be a good thing,” I say cheerfully. “Is the sickness always this bad?”

“This is nothing, it’s just started. With the boys, I spent most of every day for about six weeks worshiping the porcelain gods.”

“Things to look forward to.”

“I’m praying it’s not as bad this time. I’m also praying there is only one in there! Seriously, though, B, I hope you are pregnant. It would be amazing to do this together.”

Strangely, the idea of having someone else pregnant at the same time as me is comforting. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m not pregnant yet. How does Austin feel about all of this?”

Giving me a look like I’m stupid. “Really? It’s Austin. He beat his chest like an ape when he found out. Thinks he has manly sperm. Too bad he isn’t the one that is going to be giving birth or be up all night nursing.”

“Men.”

“Not all men. I bet Chris would be the one getting up or rubbing your feet while you’re nursing.”

“He is pretty great.” I smile thinking about him. “Are you feeling better? We should get back out there.”

“Yeah, for now anyway.”

Mom smiles at us knowingly when we have a seat at the table. She leans over to Melanie and whispers something in her ear. I’m assuming congratulations of sorts.

“Thanks, Mom,” Mel responds, hugging her.

After dinner, there is dancing. I’m resting my feet at the table while Chris grabs us drinks when I look around the dance floor. Brett and Kate are looking into each other’s eyes lovingly. Hank dips Mom, and then spins her before bringing her back to him. Years ago, my family was torn apart. When my dad walked out on us, Mom was broken. I never thought things would be right again, but in the end, it worked out. We’re all…happy. Seeing Austin and Melanie both settled down is surreal. I guess that maybe some people just need someone as wild as they are to settle down with. Trevor and Adam finally getting their bundle of joy after waiting so many years makes anything seem possible.

It breaks my heart to say goodbye to Mom and Brett, after an amazing week together not knowing when we will see each other again. Brett is in Washington now, Mom is still living in Maine, and I’m in New York, so I don’t see either of them as often as I would like. At least I’m blessed enough to have my self-made family of friends in the city with me.

*   *   *

A couple weeks later, I wake up in the morning and it’s the big day. I’m due for my period, but Auntie Flow hasn’t made an appearance yet. “I can pee alone. It will take a few minutes anyway until it gives us results.”

“Nuh, uh. I’m not going anywhere. I want to be here. Just pee already!”

“You’re nuts. Turn around at least, would you?”

“Just pee!”

Shaking my head, I start to tinkle on the stick. I place the cap back on so carefully and place it on the side of the sink. Chris dives for it. “NO! Don’t touch it! It has to process!”

“Oh, okay.” He stands over it watching and waiting. I stand up and come to stand next to him. Our hands always magnetically entwine when we’re this close. We watch like hawks as the pee passes over the test window leaving behind a positive sign in its wake. We both stand there just staring at it. A tear trickles down my cheek. I’m the most scared I have ever been in my life. Chris turns my face up to his. “It will work, it has to,” he says simply. As if because he said it, it must be so. Oddly, I believe him.