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Chapter Eleven - The Perfect Valentine


Nick

I woke up to the feeling of a little hand smooshing into my face. I blinked my eyes open slowly, battling the sunlight streaming in through the bay window that overlooked the ocean outback. And then the squishy little hand came down on my cheeks again, smooshing my lips and my cheek and my nose. Followed by a giggle.

My eyes struggled to focus until they settled on Zoey.

"Hey baby girl," I whispered. I reached up and caught her hand before she could shove two fingers up my nostrils. "Hey baby, baby girl." I scooped her to my chest and she squealed, laughing excitedly.

It was almost a full minute of this before I realized that when I'd fallen asleep Zoey had not been there. I looked over. Ashley was alseep in the bed, wearing pajamas that covered every inch of her, the blankets wrapped around her, her hair a mess. I looked at Zoey. "Shh," I whispered, "Mummy's sleepin'." I wrapped my arms around Zoey and carefully rolled off the bed with her. She giggled and waved her arms as I got up and carried her downstairs after a quick stop by her room to get Pink Giraffe.

In the kitchen, I set Zoey down in her chair and poured some dry Cheerios on her tray, then I shrugged on the dirty, wrinkled blue shirt from the day before over my boxer shorts and sat down on one of the stools by the counter beside Zoey. "Ugh," I groaned, leaning my head down on the counter top. My arms ached and my legs hurt and my eyes felt heavy. The only part of me that hadn't gotten a work out at all had been my ---

"Nick?"

"Kitchen," I called.

Ashley appeared in the doorway, holding closed a bathrobe. She stare at me and Zoey. "Hey," she said tentatively.

"Hey," I answered.

She stepped in slowly. "I'm sorry about last night," she said quietly.

"Don't be sorry, I'm sure you didn't choose to spend half the night puking," I answered.

"Of course not, it was sex night." Ashley pouted.

"Or fall asleep night." I looked at Zoey. "How did our little princess get home anyways?" I asked, "Or was it like those really loyal dogs like in Homeward Bound, and she just came walking up out of the woods to some dramatic musical score?"

"That."

I laughed.

"AJ and Rochelle dropped her off when we weren't there on time," Ashley said. "I just brought her to bed because I was exhausted and every time I tried to leave her in her crib she started feaking out."

I smirked at Zoey. "Always gotta be the center of attention, huh? Even on Valentine's Day?"




Ashley

I could see it in Nick's eyes that he was disappointed, however much he smiled. He sighed as he sat there in his battered shirt, the neck undone and hanging limply against his chest. He had his chin in his hand as he sat all forlornly at the breakfast bar. Zoey whimpered from her seat, waving her arms at him, throwing pink giraffe at him, trying whatever tricks she could to get Daddy to look at her. It wasn't usual for him to be able to resist looking at her. Which was a serious gauge of how upset he was.

"It's okay, Nick," I said, pulling two plates out of the cupboard. "There's lots of Valentine's Days to celebrate. We can go out next week. It's not a big deal."

"Yeah-huh, it is," he argued. "Today is Valentine's Day. Not next week." He pouted up at me. "Babe, I ain't never really celebrated today right, you know? I've always half-assed it, or avoided it altogether. And this is the first time I really -- really -- wanted it to be perfect and I just -- it's ruined." He frowned severely.

"It's not ruined," I said.

I reached into the cupboard and pulled out a box of pancake mix. When I turned around, Nick had leaned back so his head hung back and his neck curled up like a reverse swan. I put the stuff on the counter. "We can do this old school, home style," I suggested. "Movies and dinner. Maybe light some candles."

"I just had so many plans," he mumbled.

"I had plans, too," I said.

"And the sex," he added, looking up, "We were gonna have sex without getting interrupted." He glanced at Zoey, then back at me. "So. Much. Sex."

"I wore a bra that was like a torture device, specifically for the sex," I pointed out. I pulled a pan out of the dishwasher and tossed some butter on it, setting it on the stove to heat up for the pancakes. Then I turned and leaned against the bar across from him. "We'll make it work," I said.

"I wanted to do you in the jacuzzi at the hotel," he confessed.

"There was a jacuzzi?"

"In the room," he answered, nodding. "But I'd rather think of it as a love tub."

I laughed. "You're dirty."

"Which is why we needed the tub. Think about them water jets... hittin' all... the right... places."

"So fluffin' dirty," I whispered.

"I had a whole list of places I wanted to do you," he whispered, "I was stupid not to take you up on the roadside sex."

With that, I leaned across to kiss him and just as our lips were about to meet, just before our skins touched and the kiss made itself solid and real and the magic moment occurred...

"Oliver."

I pulled back in surprise. Nick did, too. We both turned to look at Zoey.

Zoey giggle-cooed, pleased because with one action she'd managed to get both our attentions turned to her.

Nick looked at me. "Did she just...?"

"I think so," I whispered, awed, afraid to speak aloud, afraid the spell would break.

We both stood there, waiting. Staring. Zoey laughed and blew a big spit bubble, which popped and dribbled saliva over her chin. She stuck her fingers in her mouth and kicked her legs and grinned up at us over her hand, her eyes twinkling, as though she knew a secret that neither of us did. I looked at Nick, "Maybe not," I said.

"Yeah. We probably just... thought..." he nodded, an almost concerned look on his face, "I mean." He paused, biting his lip.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Yeah."

We paused, then Nick shrugged, and leaned back in to kiss me like before we were interrupted, and I turned back to him again, too, and once more we were just about to kiss when --

"Oliver!"

Nick leaped up from his chair, "SHE DID SAY IT! SHE DID! I SAW HER LIPS MOVE! SHE SAID IT!" He pointed at her frantically, the way someone might if they were in a courtroom and they were pointing at the witness with a crucial piece of evidence. "Holy fluffin' cow!"

Zoey's eyes were wide at Nick's excited shouting, and she stared at him, her little mouth dropped in awe as he danced around the room. Then she looked at me with an expression on her face that I totally could picture when she was a teenager, annoyed by something Nick was doing to embarass her. I had a feeling I'd get a lot of those looks in the future. "It's okay, Zozozozo," I laughed, and I pulled her up out of the chair and hugged her to my chest.

Nick was dancing like he would if the Buccs just won the Superbowl.

Not that that would be happening anytime soon.

I smiled, though, watching as he cawed and crowed in excitement.

"Just think, Zozozo," I whispered as Nick reveled, "If our plans had all worked out like we'd wanted to, we might have missed your first word. Silly Zozo." I kissed her forehead. "Oliver, baby girl," I said.

"Oliver," Zoey replied, grinning.

I put a hand over my stomach... and a smile spread across my face, too.

Our baby's first words were I love you. It was the perfect Valentine after all.