Skylar:
Did I just hear what I thought I heard? Brian can't love Gabe. They are friends, just friends, nothing more than friends. Brian loves me, right? He doesn't love Gabe. As my brain clouded with thoughts of Brian and I and then glimpses of Gabe, I became confused and scared. Is Brian going to leave me? This can't be happening! We were going to set a wedding date. We were going to start a family and grow old together. Tears began silently streaming down my face as his words repeated like a broken record in my mind. "I love you, too, Gabe."
"NO!" I screamed.
Suddenly, I sat bolt upright in bed. It was only a dream... more like a nightmare. But it was so real, so lifelike. Tears were actually streaming down my sweat-lined face and my body was tensed. As I sat up, Brian awoke, extremely concerned.
"Baby! What's wrong? Sky? Sky, tell me what's wrong!" I looked over at him and put my arms around him. Gently, he asked, "I heard you yell 'no'...did you have a bad dream?" I couldn't speak for a few seconds. I just clung to him like a lifeline to my heart.
"Promise me that you'll always love me. Promise me that you'll always be here with me."
"I promised you that a long time ago, and I don't renege on my promises. Skylar Jeffries, I will always love you, always." he reassured me. He smoothed the hair around my face and kissed my forehead. He laid back down on his pillow and I put my head on his chest as small sobs continued to escape my body. "Shh." he hushed me. "You're safe here in my arms. I'm never going to leave you." ~~~~
Dakota:
Brightness. The sign that my short night sleep is officially over. I opened my eyes and was greeted by sunbeams shining through my window. It's such a beautiful day outside and then suddenly a nagging feeling engulfed me. There's something I was had to do today, but I can't really remember what it was. Out of no where I heard a thump and then the pitter-patter of tiny feet running my way. Lacey's up.
"Let's go! Pooh! Go see Pooh!!" she gleefully shouted. That's right.
We're going to Disney World with Nick. How could I have forgotten a thing like that? Glancing at the clock on my nightstand, I realized that I'm running late. Great.
"Okay, Lacey we've got to hurry! Nick's going to be here in under an hour," I shrieked and quickly picked her up. In quite a rush, I dressed her in a pair of Gap jean overalls and a white T-shirt. Then I braided her hair into two pigtails and dropped her off on the couch in front of the TV to watch Sesame Street. "Be good, Lace. Mama needs to go get ready." Trying to move as fast as possible, I hopped in the shower and was out in about 10 minutes. With lightening speed, I threw on a light purple spaghetti sun dress with a pair of white Keds. After drying my hair, I brushed it into a high pony tail and then applied some mascara and lip gloss. I'm done! As soon as I walked back into the living room where Lacey was, the door bell rang. "This is it, Lace." I took her into my arms and then went to open the door.
"Hi Dakota," Nick smiled and handed me a light yellow tulip. He looked quite attractive in a pair of baggy, khaki shorts and a short sleeve, green button-down shirt.
"Hi Nick," I replied with a shy smile. For some reason he was making me very nervous.
"And hello to you, kiddo," he said, bending down to Lacey's level. He took Lacey's tiny hand and placed a small kiss upon it.
"Hello," Lacey giggled and gave his leg a hug.
"Ready to go?" Nick asked me.
"As ready as I'll ever be...." Nick scooped Lacey up and I followed them out the door. Here goes nothing.
It took us forever and a day to find a parking spot but I didn't mind. Just being able to be in the same area as Nick is quite an accomplishment for me. As nervous as I am that I'm going to screw something up, I just feel happy knowing that I have another chance with him. A chance that I few months ago I never thought would be possible. While driving, Nick gently touch my leg and then reached for my hand. When our fingers finally linked, I looked over at him with a surprised little smile.
"Okay, here we are," Nick finally announced when he found his perfect spot. I hopped out of the car and then stuck my head into the back seat to help get Lacey out.
"You finally get to meet Pooh, Lacey!" I smiled and Lacey nodded excitedly.
"Yay Pooh!!" she shrieked and Nick just chuckled Lacey jumped into my arms and then we headed to the entrance of the park. Almost immediately out of the corner of her eye, Lacey spotted Winnie the Pooh. She leaped out of my arms and ran full speed towards the fictional bear. Nick and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.
"It's going to be a long day," he laughed and I nodded in agreement.
Before she got to far away from us, we ran after the animated two year old. ~~~~
Skylar:
Unable to fall back asleep, I snuggled closer to Brian's warm body. "
Baby? You still awake?" I asked quietly.
Brian kissed my forehead and whispered, "Umm, hmm."
"Just checking."
Silence surrounded us and he began caressing my back as we laid there. A few minutes passed before he softly said, "A penny for your thoughts."
I smiled and looked up at him. "I was just thinking about you and me. You know... sunny day, lots of flowers, beautiful cake, white dress..."
"Steamy honeymoon." Brian added.
"You'd better believe it!" I said as I lifted my head up and rested an elbow lightly on his chest. I leaned down and passionately kissed him. "I think we should get married soon."
"How about now?" he asked seriously. I looked at him in astonishment. "We could hop a plane to Las Vegas and be married by dinnertime." For a moment I considered it.
"Nah. We've waited this long, I want to do it right... with all of our close friends here. I still want to have that quiet little ceremony out on the beach that we planned years ago with our feet in the sand and the waves lapping on the shore, not some stuffy little chapel playing corny Elvis tunes." Brian brought his head up to mine and placed a sweet kiss on my lips.
"As you wish." We quieted down and just laid there for awhile until I let my conscience get the better of me.
"Honey?"
"Yeah?" he asked kind of groggily.
"How good of a friend is Gabe?"
"What?!" he asked, suddenly waking up.
"I'm just wondering how good of friends the two of you are... or were."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you guys used to go out and all... did you ever... you know...?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Sky? Do you really want to know?" "Probably not, but tell me anyway." I admitted.
"Well, yeah. Gabe and I went out for a long time. It was during those confusing teenage years and..." he trailed off.
"It's okay, I understand." Like hell I understand! How can he still be such good friends with her after they slept together?
"We mutually decided that we weren't meant to be." he said, answering my unspoken question. "We thought that our friendship was more important than sex, so we broke up." Well isn't that sweet? She's not only my fiance's ex-girlfriend, they're ex-lovers, too. I rolled off of Brian and faced the opposite direction. I laid there motionless while my mind tried to cope with this new information.
"Honey?" Brian asked, but I didn't respond. "Sky? Please don't be mad. You asked... and we promised to be honest." he said, trying to justify himself. I just laid there, tears silently streaming across my cheek. I can't deny that this hurts me, although, I know that it shouldn't. I quickly wiped away the tears and rolled back into Brian's arms.
"I'm not mad. She's ancient history... I know that. I guess it's just weird that you guys are still such good friends after sleeping together, that's all." "
I'm sorry if I hurt you." he said solemnly.
"Brian, you didn't do anything wrong. I asked you to tell me. Plus, I'm not hurt. Nothing has changed." I lied. "The fact that you slept with her years ago doesn't impact the way I feel about you now." I still love you. But Gabe, on the other hand, I want to rip her head off. How can I kiss you and love you knowing that she's done it before? ~~~~
Dakota:
The day has been going pretty well. Nick and Lacey got to have some bonding time while I got more comfortable with Nick again. I think that this might work out eventually but its still going to take time. At least now I know that Nick is what I'm going to want eventually for the rest of my life. He is in fact my soul mate. I love him with all my heart yet there's still something holding me back. Maybe its the fear of the future or maybe its the fact that I've found everything I want at such a young age. Either way, I'm not letting my fears ruin the best possible future I can have. Lacey needs a father and I need a good man to be my partner in life. Walking ahead of me with a sleeping Lacey in his arms, Nick turned around and gave me a smile.
"I think she's had way too much excitement for one day. Maybe I should take you two home," Nick suggested and I nodded disappointed.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I don't need her being crabby tomorrow." I stretched up and gave Nick a kiss on the check before we headed over to the car. When Nick finally dropped us off at our house, he helped me get Lacey into her bed. After she was settled, I walked him to the door and gave him a huge hug.
"Wow, what was that for?" he chuckled.
"It's a thank you hug. I had a great day and I really appreciate you taking us out. It was a really sweet thing to do."
"Hey, its no problem. I wish I could spend more time with you guys. I want us to eventually be a family, Dakota." I stepped back from him and gave him a blank look.
"Maybe someday, but like I said before....we need some time first. We need to learn about each other again, we're not the same people."
"Ok, how about I take you out to dinner tomorrow? We can talk about things and see what lies in the future. Will you go?" Nick asked me with the brush of his hand against my cheek. A wave of excitement ran through my body from the touch of his skin on mine. Hiding my feelings, I looked at my feet and took a deep breath.
"That sounds great. I'll be ready at 7." And with that I turned around and shut the door. It took all my will power not to jump on him. I definitely think we have a future together.