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No, I said. It came up, but they aren’t being pushy or weird.
Lucky you, he said with a laughing emoji. “Graham said that he’s going to have a whole baseball team of his own by the time we have one.”
He knows they have to bake for nine months, right? I texted back.
I mean, I think he knows, but he’s really excitable.
I love you, I said.
I love you too. Now go enjoy the party.
As I slid the phone back into my pocket, I heard my name called from across the room. The party games were beginning, and they wanted to make sure I was included. It warmed my heart as I smiled and jogged over to them.
I found myself so thankful for this group of friends and the other people that were there as well. They really were incredible, and to think that I wouldn’t have known any of them if it hadn’t been for meeting Camden was wild to me. Allison was quickly becoming one of my best friends ever, and if it hadn’t been for a cute boy in my class who I was desperately attracted to, I never would have known her.
As the party continued, I couldn’t help but to think about how it would be when I was the one at the center of it all. When it was my child, how would everyone react? Probably just the same, if not more excited because it would be my first. One thing I could be sure of was that I looked forward to that day and sharing it with these friends I had come to know, come to love, and come to depend on.
But for now, I would very much enjoy going home later, crossing over to the main house, shutting the door, and having my husband all to myself.
29
CAMDEN
The alarm going off was ruining a perfect moment of contented snuggling.
I reached over, grabbing my phone off the nightstand, and hit the snooze button. Ten more minutes like this was what I needed right now, regardless of what else was going on. I was happy to close my eyes and sink back into the deep waters of sleep, Kristen’s head on my chest and shoulder, one arm wrapped around my waist and one leg wrapped over one of mine. I was holding her close to me, able to breathe in her smell, and it calmed me in a way that nothing else ever had.
Bliss.
But Kristen lifted her head, sleepily blinking in the dim light of the morning outside.
“You have to get up,” she muttered.
“Ten more minutes,” I croaked. “I already set an alarm.”
“You’re going to be late for class,” she said.
“Not if I have a Pop Tart for breakfast. Close your eyes.”
“You can’t survive on Pop Tarts,” she said. “I’ll make you breakfast.”
“Shh,” I said. “I’ll get something after my first class. I have a half hour between them. Lie back down.”
Having exhausted her arguments, Kristen closed her eyes and nuzzled back in her spot in the crook of my arm and over my chest, sighing happily as she settled down. I squeezed her tightly and closed my own eyes, kissing the top of her head and laying my head back onto the pillow.
What seemed like ten seconds later, the alarm went off again.
“Come on,” Kristen said, removing her body from mine and tapping my chest, “time to get up.”
“All right,” I said reluctantly, sliding out of the covers and stretching as I faced the closed blinds and the small light that came through them even when shut.
I stood and turned to say something to Kristen, but the words disappeared when I looked at her. She was sprawled on the bed, mostly in the spot that I had left which I imagined must be warm. Like many nights recently, we had gone to bed naked, exhausted and satisfied. She lay in that spot, one pillow under her head and one curled into her bare chest. One breast sat on top of the pillow, and one bare leg stuck out of the blankets, curling over it too.
It would have been incredibly sexy if it weren’t for the fact that her mouth was wide open and the snoring sound that came out of her was like a chainsaw starting up. I chuckled to myself as she slept and then shifted a bit, which cut off the sound for a while, and patted her ass gently as I passed her. She made a happy noise at my touch but didn’t wake again, and I slid into the bathroom to get ready.
When I was dressed and ready, I went back into the bedroom and saw her still asleep, the sheet now pulled up tightly over her shoulder and her face relaxed. I pulled the blanket up too, making sure she was comfortable, and kissed her head again. She had class to teach that morning too, but it was all virtual for Van Hope. All she had to do was stumble out of bed, get ready, and then make it to the barn in time to log in.
That had been the whole point of building it out: to make it easier for her. Now she was going to get to use it without the worry of any more construction, since we had finally finished the façade. It was her own little world, and she seemed to love it. Plus, it meant that when I was home from classes, I could visit her anytime I wanted and didn’t have to wait for her to get back from Slater to do so.
