Part 6 (2/2)
I smile as my heart explodes with happiness over hearing my fiance's voice after what feels like years of not talking to him. I hold up his phone. ”It's dead.”
He shrugs. ”You're here, so I don't care to talk to anyone else.”
I set the phone on a nearby table and stand up, leaning over him to kiss his lips, his cheek and his forehead. ”I'm glad you're alive,” I whisper. Jace reaches up and grabs my face, pulling me down for another kiss. ”Oh yeah?” he asks playfully. I nod. ”Because now I'm going to kill you for making me worry.”
He smiles. ”I'm sorry, baby. I'm fine, though. They'll let me go home today.”
I open my mouth to say something, but stop when Jace's demeanor turns...sneaky? Or...smoldering? ”What is it?” I ask. He gives me this lazy smile and pulls at my arm, tugging me closer to him. ”You look really f.u.c.king hot right now,” he whispers. ”I want you.”
”Oh my gosh,” I say, rolling my eyes. ”You are in the hospital and you're thinking about s.e.x?”
He shrugs and makes this face like he can't help it. ”I always want to do you,” he says. ”It's your fault.”
I stand up and put my hands on my hips. ”And why is it my fault?”
He reaches out and pokes me in the stomach. ”Because you're so prettyyyyy.”
With one twist of his hand, he grabs me around the waist and pulls me to him, and then draws me in for a kiss. We make out in a hungry, eager way, but it's not as satisfying as at home because now all I can focus on is being gentle so as not to rip out his IV, or touch any part of him that's been injured. His torso is covered by a hospital gown and the sheets, but the doctor had told me that he was pretty banged up. No internal injuries though, so that's a good thing. I groan and pull away from kissing him so I can look him in the eyes.
”I'm sorry to ruin the mood, but I have something to tell you.”
Jace winces as he s.h.i.+fts to the right in his bed. He pats the now empty s.p.a.ce, motioning for me to lie down next to him. Carefully, I snuggle into the s.p.a.ce next to him and rest my head on his shoulder. I take a deep breath.
”Okay, now you're scaring me,” he says. ”What is it?”
I take another deep breath. ”Your mom called. I answered your phone. It was before the battery died.”
He laughs. ”Okay, what's so bad about that? Wait...is everyone okay?”
”What?” I snap, looking back at him. ”You're the one who's not okay, mister!”
”I'm fine, babe. I promise. Just have a headache, that's all. So what'd Mom want?”
”Well I told her you were in the hospital with a concussion, and she didn't even seem to care.”
He nods. ”That's my mother. She raised a motocross kid. We get hurt. That's what we do.”
”Why does everyone think this isn't a big deal? You're in the freaking hospital!”
”I'm sorry, baby. I know this is hard on you.” He kisses the top of my head and I close my eyes as we cuddle on the stiff hospital bed. ”I didn't mean to scare you. I wasn't supposed to crash, obviously. But I'm sorry you had to go through this. I'll be okay, I promise.”
”You're about to be a father, you know. I can't have you risking your life just to do what Ash called freestyle tricks' after work.”
Jace stiffens. ”Did he say what kind of freestyle?” I shake my head and he relaxes. ”Good.”
”What's that supposed to mean?” I ask.
”So what else did my mom want?” He's changing the subject and doing a terrible job of being casual about it, but I'm definitely not in the mood to grill him on his definition of freestyling.
”She wants us to come visit. Next week.”
”That's a good idea,” Jace says. ”They should totally meet you before the wedding. Besides, now that I'm hurt, Mr. Fisher will let me take a couple of weeks off work to recover. So it's perfect.”
”I don't know about this,” I say, feeling my stomach twist into knots.
”What's wrong?”
”It's your parents. I'm nervous...What if they don't like me?”
Jace waves away my worries with a casual flick of his hand. ”You're insane. They're going to love you.”
Chapter 12.
When Jace is out of the hospital, we make a trip to the mall and purchase new luggage. I've never really had a proper suitcase, always opting to toss my stuff in a duffel bag or backpack when traveling, and Jace's old luggage was from his motocross days and reeked of dried sweat and exhaust. He chooses this Oakley brand bag on wheels to be his new suitcase and I pick something more girly. A pink suitcase dotted with sparkly silver stars. It has pink wheels and a s.h.i.+ny pink handle.
”You won't have to worry about spotting this at the baggage claim,” Jace says once we get home and I'm fawning over it and all of its cool compartments. ”I don't know,” I say. ”I think it might need more glitter.”
Jace flips open his pocket knife and slices through the plastic tags that I was trying, but failing, to rip off with my hands. Then he cuts off the tags on his new bag as well. We plop them onto our bed and begin packing. Our return trip plane ticket is for three days after we arrive in California. Three whole days of hanging out with Jace's parents. I'm not even sure my body can handle that amount of nervousness.
”What's bugging you?” Jace says as he swoops behind me in our shared closet, grabbing a few b.u.t.ton up s.h.i.+rts off the hangers and tossing them over his shoulder. I shrug and flip through my clothes, unsure of what to bring. ”I'm just nervous, that's all.”
”There's nothing to be worried about. Unless you're scared of flying.” His eyes go wide in this evil way. ”Wait, are you scared of flying?”
”No,” I snap, making sure I sound confident so he won't catch on that yeah, I'm a little scared of flying. But that fear is nothing compared to the gigantic ball of nerves that took up residence in my chest the moment his mother called and hasn't left since. ”I'm scared of your parents.”
Jace laughs so hard and so loud that I jump and then immediately fake punch him in the arm. ”Stop laughing at me!”
”You're so adorable, Bay. I love you so much,” he says between laughter. ”You have absolutely nothing to worry about. My parents are cool. I promise.”
I draw in a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. ”I really hope you're right.”
Choosing enough clothes to last for three nights and three days with the potential of changing outfits halfway through the day poses the toughest task I've had to do in weeks. Planning a wedding feels like a cakewalk compared to choosing what outfits you want to be seen wearing around your future in-laws.
Jace has his entire suitcase full and ready to go by the time I've finally chosen which outfits I think I might be taking with me. Guys have it so easy. They wear jeans and s.h.i.+rts and they can mix and match everything in their wardrobe. Plus Jace looks hot in everything. I have to do this delicate balance between something that looks nice but not like I'm trying too hard, and something that doesn't show off my growing stomach.
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