Love's Suicide(94)

I hated when he had a point. “I’m still mad.”

He touched my nose. “No you’re not. You’re scared, but you’re not mad.”

We started driving again, except I wasn’t done with what I wanted to say to him. “I don’t think I like that you know what I’m thinking. A girl’s got a right to some private thoughts.”

“Get used to it. It’s never going to change.”

I decided to give up on being angry. It wasn’t going to get me anywhere when he apparently knew me better than I knew myself. “I think we should stop for the night and drive the rest of the way in the morning. We didn’t sleep good last night and could both use the rest before we see your parents.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I mean, when we go to hotels, you get pregnant. It’s scary.” He started laughing at himself immediately.

I hit him on the leg. “I should have never said anything to you.”

“You know it’s funny.”

“What’s going to be funny is when I don’t get my period in two weeks. Then I’m going to watch you crying.”

He looked at me. “I won’t be crying out of fear, beautiful. They’ll be tears of joy for me.” Then he added. “So, are we stopping at a hotel, or are you scared?”

I covered my face with my hands, remembering what it was like to grow up crushing on Brooks and dealing with his sense of humor. It also brought me peace knowing that we’d gotten back everything that I thought was gone forever, even the sarcasm. Every second spent with him was as if no time had passed. “I’m not scared of you.”

“You should be. I’ll steal your heart and you’ll never get it back,” he promised.

“I gave it to you years ago, and I don’t want it back.” I replied.

Brooks reached over and grabbed my hand. He pulled it up to his lips and held it there. “No matter what happens when we get there tomorrow, we’re a team. If something bad is said, which I don’t see happening, we’ll leave together, as a family. I promise.”

“I just don’t want to see the look of disappointment on their faces. I’m already feeling that about myself. Being reminded of it only makes things worse.”

“I guarantee that when we walk in there, and they take a look at that princess in the back seat, everything will change. Look at how she’s affected me.”

In a few short days I felt like everything in my life had changed. Not only had Brooks come back into my life, but he wanted me. I couldn’t have felt more complete knowing how happy he was to be a father, and how he’d somehow forgiven me. “I hope you’re right.”

A few minutes later, we were pulling into a restaurant that happened to have a hotel right across the street. Brooks ran across to make sure they had vacancies, while I took B inside to change her diaper and get us a table. By the time he came back, we were seated and I was looking at a menu. “I got us a room. Since you’re scared of getting knocked up, I took a room with one twin bed. We can all share, right?”

I cocked my eyebrow and looked at him, knowing he was full of shit. “You can sleep on the floor, I suppose.”

“I’m just playing. I got a honeymoon suite with a vibrating bed. Bug’s going to love it.”

I shook my head and kept looking at the menu, while he played peek-a-boo with B.

After we ate, Brooks drove us across the street and we headed inside to our room. Low and behold, it was a standard room in a regular hotel. Neither of the two beds vibrated, as I’d been told. Brooks tossed his things down and went into the bathroom. I heard the shower come on and knew he was getting in. Since the lady at the restaurant was kind enough to fill B’s sippy cup. She’d have enough to last her through the night. I got her little toys set up on the bed and watched as she pretended with them.

Brooks came out of the shower glistening with water, only wrapped in a towel. I couldn’t stop noticing the tattoo, and smiling from ear to ear every time I saw it.

He’d catch me and shake his head, having gotten it years ago and been used to it. I didn’t know if I’d ever get used to him branding my initial on his skin. He sat down on the bed next to me, looking for his boxer briefs. Considering that we weren’t alone, he turned around, and pulled them up. Once he turned back around, he was decent enough to lean over and see what she was doing. “Hey, bug. What are you doing over here?”

“Pincess.” She handed him a little princess doll.

“Where’s her prince?”

B looked around and finally spotted the prince. She handed it to Brooks. He moved them all around and then made them kiss. B started to giggle loudly, so he did it again. She laughed so hard that she fell back onto the bed. He reached up and kissed her tiny nose. “You may look like Daddy, but you act like Mama.”