Game Changer (15 page)

"Mm." I confirmed, indeed it does.

We kissed again, the uncomfortable feeling from before having disappeared.

"Let's get out of here now." He said, leading us down the stairs.

My parents were already in the car. They drove us to a local restaurant, where my father apparently spent a lot of money at which enabled us to get in without a reservation, and celebrated the New Year with a group of amazing strangers. For the rest of the night, we didn't discuss the baby other than my parents telling us that they were behind us 100%, and that they couldn't wait for their grandchild. However, along with their support, there was a promise to have a serious discussion the next day.

Chapter 22

Mom and Dad gave us a very long speech about how we should have been protected and that if we were going to engage in premarital sex, that we should have been smarter about it.

We wholeheartedly agreed and before we knew it, Ethan and Kira were joining us at Mom and Dad’s house before we made the drive back home a few days later.

We got to the house and stumbled up the stairs, practically sleep walking to our bedroom. Kira and Ethan decided to sleep on our pullout couch in the living room.

“I’m so tired!” I exclaimed, flopping down on the bed.

Aiden chuckled, somehow finding the energy to pull off my boots and his own shoes before lying beside me.

“Let’s get some sleep.” He murmured before pulling me to him so he was spooning my body from behind. I always slept best when he held me like this and he knew that.

Just as I was about to fall into dreamland, Aiden’s rough voice made me feel alert again, “Emm?”

“Mm?” I moaned sleepily.

“Move in with me.” He said, sounding just as tired as I felt.

“Can we talk about this tomorrow?” I groaned.

“No, I can’t sleep until you tell me.” He said immaturely, making me grin, despite me being so tired that I was about to pass out.

“Your apartment is too small for us to move into together. I don’t want to raise a baby in an apartment building.” I sighed, twisting in his arms until I was looking at him.

“Then it’s a good thing I put a down payment on a house before we left.” He said quickly. I heard him clearly by now.

I sat straight up and leaned over to turn on the lamp beside my bed, “You did what?!” I hollered as I turned to face him.

He sighed and sat up too, “I found a house that I really like and I want us to live there.” He said, not giving me any real information to go on.

“Aiden, what were you thinking when you made a decision like that?” I snapped. “What if I don’t like the house? Did you even consider me in this?”

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side; I tried to get away but he held me close.

“Of course I was thinking about you.” He sounded offended that I had asked that. “You’re all I ever think about. I want us to live in our own house and I wanted to surprise you with this. I didn’t expect you to react like this.” He mumbled.

I sighed, “I didn’t get any say in this and that’s not okay.”

“I’m sorry. Really, I am.” He ran his free hand through his hair, “Maybe I can talk to the guy and get my money back.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head, “No. You already made a commitment to it.”

I pushed his arm off of my shoulders and laid back down, scooting over to the far side of the bed.

“Emm, I said I’m sorry. Please don’t pull away like that.” Aiden’s voice was so soft that it broke my heart a little bit.

I turned until I was on my back and looked at him.

“The next time that you make a big decision like this, especially one that affects me, let alone our future child, you need to include me in it. I don’t want us to have a relationship built around you being the one who’s in charge. I want us to be equal and, to be honest, I’ve never felt like this around you until now.”

“And how do you feel now?” His voice was heavy and he was looking straight down at the bed.

I took a deep breath before answering, “Like a child and you’re deciding what I’m going to do with my life.”

“God,” He breathed out harshly, laying back down and grabbing my hand, “Emi, I never wanted to make you feel that way. I swear I didn’t. I want you to have your independence and I want to make our lives together something that we both want. I’m so sorry, for everything, but especially how I’ve made you feel.” Tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes.

That was my breaking point. Knowing that he cared enough to cry when I was upset made it seem silly that I was angry at him over something like a house. I wiggled across the bed until I was in his arms and wrapped my own arms around his waist.

“Let’s sleep, we’ll talk about this in the morning, okay?”

He nodded and kissed my forehead before whispering “I love you so much baby.” I told him that I loved him too and we both fell asleep.

In the morning, I was slightly calmer when it came to the subject of the house I’d never seen yet, and would be living in soon. “I want to see it.” I said to Aiden, who was busy lying between my legs with his hands holding my tiny baby bump, talking to Sobri.

He stopped mid coo to look up at me, “When?”

“Now.” I answered with a shrug.

He jumped up and carefully pulled me off the bed, making me laugh. When I said now, I meant that we should start getting ready any minute, not that we should jump up and go.

“Let me get changed first!” I exclaimed, looking down at my pajamas.

“Why? It’s not like we’re going anywhere fancy.” He looked like a typical guy, and sounded even more so.

“Fine, but if I see anybody I know, I’m kicking your butt,” I teased.

“That’s kinky.” He mused, making me laugh and push him out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to a, much to my relief, gorgeous house in a more upscale neighborhood than I was used to.

“Wow,” I whispered, in disbelief. River Oaks was probably the most prestigious neighborhood you could live in, inside the city itself.

“Is it okay?” He asked, sounding really nervous.

I felt bad for how I reacted the night before, not that it was at all okay for him to buy a house without consulting me since we would both be living there.

“So far,” I grinned. He took my hand and we made our way inside. It was all dark hard wood flooring and spacious. I loved it.

“I’m sorry for making you feel bad, I should have at least seen the house before getting so mad at you.” I said when we were standing on the balcony attached to our master bedroom.

My arms were around his waist and we looked over the backyard where our child would play eventually. He rubbed my back and kissed my neck.

“I’m sorry for doing this without you, you should have been a part of the whole process.” We pecked lips before heading back downstairs.

Aiden started driving towards his place, so I asked him why we were going to the apartment.

“A buddy of mine was watching Presley when we were away and I can’t wait to see her again.” He looked giddy. I tilted my head, in the entire time we’d been together, I hadn’t met his dog. I remembered him talking about her on the bus in Cancún, but I’d forgotten he even had a dog until now.

“Where was she all the other times I was there?”

“She moves from friend to friend when I’m out of town, and when I’m in town, she’s either here or at the neighbors.” I felt sad for the dog since it was always moving around.

“Well she’s welcome to stay with me any time, it can’t be easy on her.” I said, suddenly feeling like crying for the animal I hadn’t even met yet.

Aiden chuckled lightly, detecting what was about to happen, and grabbed my hand.

“Calm down honey. I make sure she’s comfortable with the other people before I leave, I call her and talk to her when I’m away even though I sound like a dumbass to the guys on my team, and I don’t know if there’s ever been a time when she comes home that I haven’t taken her out to play for some Aiden and Presley time. You better now?” He asked, smirking.

I nodded, wiping a tear away. We got to his apartment and could hear the pomeranian’s barking through the door.

“She’s happy to see me today.” He explained before we were attacked as the door opened.

Aiden bent down and talked to her, petting her fur and rough housing a bit, before she even realize I was there. She sniffed around me and nudged my hand, clearly telling me to pet her. I laughed and sat by Aiden and we both loved her up a bit.

“She’s beautiful.” I told Aiden with a smile.

“Yeah, she really is, isn’t she?” He said, sounding like a proud papa.

I nudged him with my arm and stood up. “How about you take her to the park and I’ll make lunch?” I offered.

“Sure.” He was about to walk away but turned back to me.

“How would you feel about going out to dinner tonight?” He asked.

“Sounds good, but why?”

“Because the team wants to meet you.” He said before leaving quickly, before I even had the chance to let that sink in.

Chapter 23

A few hours after Aiden got back with Presley, who looked delightfully content to have spent the day with him, we were heading out again to meet his friends and teammates at Griff’s, the sports bar Aiden and I first saw each other in after we came home from Cancún. Fortunately for me, I kept some clothes at Aiden’s apartment, so we didn’t need to stop by my house first.

“Are you nervous?” Aiden asked with a chuckle, running his thumb across my palm. I realized that I was squeezing his hand and immediately relaxed my grip.

“Sorry.” I mumbled.

We pulled up outside of the bar and Aiden ran around to open my door. Before I could climb out, Aiden put his hands on my face, cupping my cheeks.

“Baby, you have absolutely nothing to worry about, okay? The guys just know that you mean the world to me and want to meet you. That’s it.”

“Fine.” I grumbled.

There was something incredibly nerve wrecking about meeting a guy’s friends that I hadn’t experienced before. What if they didn’t like me? Would Aiden leave me if they told him to? No, of course he wouldn’t, but I really didn’t want him in the position where choosing between his friends and me would leave him on the outs with his team.

We walked inside, hand in hand, and were greeted by an incredibly loud group of guys. Aiden surprised me by shouting back at them from across the room, “This is a public place, KEEP YOUR VOICES DOWN!” He yelled, making everybody laugh. I started laughing, loving how playful he was around his friends. We got to the table and Aiden pulled me in front of him,

“Guys, this is Emily. Emily, these are the guys.” He said.

I rolled my eyes and elbowed his side. “Do ‘the guys’ have names per chance?” I asked pointedly.

An older looking guy, probably around thirty, stood up and guided me to the empty chair beside him. “Forgive Swift, he wouldn’t know what manners were if they kicked him in the ass. I’m Dominic.” He said, putting his hand on his chest. He pointed to a red headed guy across from me, “That’s Chase.” Next was a guy with dark brown hair and nearly black eyes, “Brandon,” A guy with light blonde hair and light brown eyes was after that, “Luke,” One more guy was left, and his name was Jesse. Jesse was the closest to my age and had medium brown hair and amazing green eyes. If I wasn’t so in love with Aiden, Jesse was definitely my type.

There were a few girls with the group too; one blonde named Courtney was hanging all over Chase, and a girl named Kimber, was Brandon’s sister.

Aiden sat down next to me and the conversation took off from there. They eventually moved to the topic of our new house. “So are you guys still down with helping us move?” Aiden asked.

The guys all nodded and my eyes widened. “You’re making your friends help us move?” I smacked his arm.

“Well yeah, why pay people when I have guys who will do it for free?” Sometimes Aiden was such a guy.

“Are you at least buying them dinner or something?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“Will me buying them something make you feel okay with them helping us?” He asked warily. When I nodded, so did he. “Sure, I’ll buy them dinner or something.”

Everybody around the table started laughing and Jesse high fived me.

“Thanks for feeding us, I think I’m going to like you.”

I fake scoffed, “Like you don’t already.” I saw his eyes widen slightly before he laughed and nodded, “Yeah, I definitely like you.”

“Don’t like her too much.” Aiden grumbled, making us all laugh again.

I secretly loved it when Aiden got jealous, not only did it show how much he cared, but he always ended up with this adorable pout that made me want to kiss him for the rest of our lives.

I used my pointer finger to pull his pouted lower lip down a little before I kissed his jaw.

“Don’t worry.” I whispered, which made him relax a bit. I don’t think that Aiden was honestly worried about Jesse, but after everything that happened between Cancún, Dylan, and Brittney, Aiden just happened to be on edge when it came to things that could possibly break us apart.

The night went by quickly and so did the next couple days. Before I knew it, my room and Aiden’s apartment were full of boxes. Even though I wasn’t very far along in the pregnancy, Aiden was very strict about me only lifting a couple pounds at a time, which was irritating and endearing at the same time.

The guys helped more than they really should have, there was way more to do than any of us figured there would be. I made Aiden buy them about twenty pizzas and a lot of beer. Of course the pizza was a bit much, but I wanted there to be enough for them to take home if they wanted.

At the end of the day, I felt like I had gained five brothers and a beautiful home.

Within the next week, Aiden and I worked on perfecting the master bedroom. In the end we had something neutral for both of us that looked really nice.

However, by the time that one room was finished, people at Ikea, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target all recognized us when we walked in the door. I know it sounds really spoiled, but it was amazing to walk into a store and not have a budget. It was something I never had before.

The first day, I kept telling Aiden I really wanted a few things, but it didn’t take him long to realize that everything that I pointed out was the cheapest on the rack. He made me put back everything and start new, much to my irritation.

“What do you think?” I asked, looking around the room from our balcony.

“I love it, do you?” Aiden asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“Um, yeah, you made sure of that.”

I poked his side.

“Well, you’re the one who will be here on the nights that I’m away. Plus, if we relied on my skills, it’d be a white room with everything I used to own.” He said.

My eyes widened, “I’m sorry! We didn’t need to get everything new. We can return all of this and use your old stuff.” I said quickly, feeling awful that he wanted his other things. Aiden kissed me quiet.

“Emily Smith, I love you. If I happen to get new furniture out of that love, then all the more power to you.” He winked.

I looked up at him, actually it was more like I was staring him down.

“Are you sure? Because it’s your room too Aiden, don’t let me just get my way all the time. I know you told me to do what I wanted, but if you have any opinion at all about the room, tell me now.” I told him softly.

“Emm, I love it. I’m serious.” He said, pulling a straight face.

I sighed and rested against him. “Sorry, I’m feeling a little on edge and I’m not sure why.” I said, finally admitting what I’d wanted to say all week.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

I shrugged, “Something just feels off and I don’t know what it is.”

“And how long have you felt this way?”

“A little over a week?” I offered, not sure when exactly it started.

“Do you want to see a doctor?” He looked so worried, I felt awful for telling him this.

“No, I think I just need a nap. Plus, Ethan and Kira are getting married in a couple days. If the feeling hasn’t passed by then, I’ll go in,” I promised.

It was three days after Aiden and I had our talk and I was standing in the country club’s dressing room with Kira. She looked beautiful in her white dress. It had a fitted bodice and the rest flows to the floor, making her look like a Greek goddess.

“You’re so beautiful Kira.” I told her as I grabbed her bouquet off of the desk. It was all light pink roses with three magnolia flowers in the mix.

“Are you sure? Will Ethan like the dress?” She asked, taking the flowers in one hand and rubbing down the dress with the other.

“Yes, he’ll love it. Now let’s get out of here.” I said, looking down at my own dress and huffing out a breath. As much as I loved Kira, I could kill her for her bridesmaids dress choice. It was yellow with black lace over it. It had cute elements, but it wasn’t my style at all.

We walked out of the room and towards the dining hall where the wedding was set up. We stopped in front of the double doors and I quickly straightened her hair out and made sure her Dad was holding her arm right before I walked down the aisle first, winking at Aiden in his seat.

Kira and Ethan took their places and began exchanging their vows. The whole room was hanging onto their every word. Towards the end of the ceremony, I started feeling a sharp pain in the side of my stomach. Fear instantly hit me, but I couldn’t let myself interrupt the bride and grooms moment, so I did my best to keep a neutral face and remain standing.

Luckily for me, the ceremony ended shortly after the pain started and I calmly walked over to Aiden, “We need to go, now.” I whispered, trying not to cry.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, panicked.

“It hurts Aiden, please help.” I whimpered, unable to help myself.

“Fuck Emm, I need more than that.” He put his arms around me though and lifted me into his arms, speed walking towards the door.

“Aiden, Emm!” We heard from behind us.

Aiden turned us to see Kira and Ethan racing towards us. “Where are you going?”

“I think there’s something wrong with Sobri.” I whispered, terrified.

“What?” They both practically shouted.

A shot of pain hit and I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. “Go, hurry. She needs a doctor.” Kira instructed Aiden.

He practically ran us to the truck and sped the entire way to the hospital. I was terrified that something would happen to my baby.

Nurses met us at the entrance, Ethan had called ahead for us, and they began running tests immediately.

Hours later, I was lying in a hospital bed with an IV drip in my arm and Aiden holding my hand. His forehead was resting lightly on my ribs with his face pointing towards the baby bump, he was talking lightly to Sobri. His free hand was rubbing my stomach softly.

“What if…” I started to question Sobri’s current existence but Aiden interrupted me, “No Emi.”

“Did I…”

He interrupted me again and turned to face me, “No.” He said slower, “Stop asking questions, it’s just going to scare us even more, okay baby? We need to stay positive.”

I swallowed back my tears and nodded. Aiden leaned up and kissed me softly.

The doctor entered the room a few minutes later carrying a chart. “Emily Smith?” I nodded and he stuck his hand out, introducing himself.

“Well, it looks like you had a clot. It should pass easily with the medications we’ve given you. The babies should be fine,” he said with a smile.

Aiden and I both looked at each other, relieved, until what he said clicked in our minds.

“Babies?” We both asked at the same time.

He looked at the chart again, “Yes, the ultrasound technician recorded two fetuses.”

“I’m having twins?” I practically yelled.

“Twins? Baby, we’re having twins!” Aiden jumped up, smiling like crazy.

“Oh my god.” I whispered, staring down at my stomach, almost expecting it to grow even larger to accommodate a new baby.

“There’s two babies inside of me right now?” I asked the doctor, sounding almost desperate.

He laughed and nodded, “Indeed there are two babies inside of you right now, Miss Smith. I’ll give you kids some alone time.”

The doctor walked out of the room still chuckling. I don’t blame him, we must have been quite the sight. Aiden was jumping around the room ‘whooping’ and fist pumping, while I stayed in bed feeling terrified.

“Aiden, shut up!” I called out after the fourth ‘hell yeah’.

He stopped and looked at me; his excitement dying down when he realized that I wasn’t having as much fun as him. He sat on the side of my bed and held my hand, “Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked, still smiling.

“I barely wrapped my mind around one baby, now there’s two. What am I supposed to do? How are we going to raise two babies?”

Aiden’s large hand pushed the hair away from my face, “Emm, we can do this. You want to know how I know?” He asked softly.

I nodded, swallowing back tears.

“It’s because you are the sweetest, most beautiful person I’ve ever met. We have about fifty people we can call when things get tough, who will be at our sides without any second thought. We have a beautiful home with a huge back yard where they can play and grow up together. Everything will be fine because nothing can be wrong, do you hear me?”

At that moment, I fell in love with Aiden all over again.

I nodded and leaned up to kiss him, “Thank you.” I whispered.

He kissed my forehead and started smiling again. “So can we be happy now?”

I nodded, unable to stop myself from smiling again.

We were practically laying on top of each other in the small hospital bed, talking about the babies, when the doors opened and the newlyweds walked in.

“Hey guys!” I said, smiling.

Kira was by my side in a flash, holding my hand and freaking out.

“When you guys were leaving the wedding, at first I was so pissed, but then I realized that Aiden was holding you and that you would never let that fly on normal circumstances. I’m so sorry I was mad at you!” She cried, after speaking so fast I barely caught what she said.