Chapter 9
Ashley lay down, exhausted after the Christmas party. She leaned her head against the back of the couch and closed her sleepy eyes. Soon she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and Justin's warm lips brushed the side of her cheek. "I love you." He whispered barely audible, but she heard it.
"I love you too..." She smiled, happy and content. Justin came around the back of the couch and laid next to her, pulling her down to him. He snaked his arms around her waist and tugged at the hem of her shirt, exposing a patch of her stomach. Justin rubbed his hand along the patch her just created and marveled at it's new meaning.
"There's a baby in there....My baby....Our baby!" He spoke with childlike innocence that caused Ashley to beam with pride.
"Yea, that's our baby..." She placed her hand over his and felt giddy at the thought. There was a life inside her, a life she would cherish more than her own. She sighed and closed her eyes.
"Wait, before you sleep, I still haven't given you your present." Ashley sat up and Justin left the room, then came back in with a slip of paper in his hand.
"Don't tell me you're pregnant too...." She mused and Justin rolled his eyes.
"Ha ha...no, but you'll like this." He handed her the paper and watched her open in with anxious eyes.
The paper was a statement saying something about the purchase of the building at 557 Broadway, Orlando, FL.
"What is this? You didn't buy a house did you?" She looked confused, and her eyes darted from Justin to the paper.
"No! I bought the old Dance Hall. I'm going to repair it, and Wade and you are starting a charity dance hall. You'll get to teach your classes, twice a week, and one or two weekends a month, a celebrity will come in a teach the kids some of the dances they do." He excitedly relayed his news and his eyes were afire with ideas.
"You didn't? awww...thank you so much! This is the best, so I get my dance classes back? I can see the kids again?" She sat up and faced Justin, her excitement growing also.
"Exactly...You might not be able to start for a while, because we have to finish repair on the building for it to be safe to occupy again, and the baby might not be a dancer. But after that, it's all yours...and Wade's too, he's helping out." Ashley leaned over and placed a long, lingering kiss on his lips.
"You are the best I could ever ask for. I love you so much right now! You have just made my biggest wish come true." She kissed him again and Justin smile into her lips.
"It was the least I could do...and you deserve it." He pulled her to him and the sat in each other's arms. Ashley listened to Justin's heartbeat through his chest and soon fell asleep, the rhythm lulling her to sleep. Justin watched as her chest rose and fell, his hands lightly brushing her stomach. He had almost forgotten the way she could make him feel, but she made him fall in love all over again. She made him tingle with life, and he loved her for that, because she was the only one ever capable of doing that to him. Personally, that was just fine with him.
~*~
Ashley awoke the next morning feeling refreshed and alive. She had the best night's sleep, in Justin's arms, and she felt completely safe again. Since their fight, their bond had only grown stronger, and now with the baby, it was that much better. Ashley had long since last all fears of Justin accepting her news. He seemed more excited about this than she was.
She flipped through the pages of a Name For your baby book, and wrote down a few that she liked. Justin walked into the kitchen and grabbed himself a cup of coffee, then he sat down with her.
"What ya doing?" He asked between sips.
"I'm looking at names....How about Andrew?" She asked, looking at her list.
"Eh...I don't know. Maybe. Do you know it's a boy?"
"I have no clue what it is, but I son't think I want to either. I mean, home mant times in your life are you truly surprised? Let's just pick a few of each, and we can decided when it's born." Justin had grabbed the name book from her and was flipping through the pages.
"I like Alexandria...or Jessica. Jared isn't bad either...I don't know! This is so hard." He gave her back the book and finished off his coffee.
"Settle down babe, we have about 8 more months." She laughed as he offered a weak smile. He looked at the clock on the microwave and sighed.
"I have a meeting with Johnny at 1 today. I have a feeling it's about the baby, and that it wont be good."
"Why not?" Ashley was frightened that this might hurt Justin's career, and she didn't want anything to happen.
"Well, our PR isn't going to be happy, but don't worry. He needs to learn that I'm a big boy, and I can make my own choices. Anyway, I figured I can pick you up on my way back, and we can do a little baby shopping..." His eyes lit up with excitement and happiness, she just couldn't resist.
"Sounds like a plan. I'm gonna go take a shower." She leaned over and kissed him, and then headed up the stairs.
Chapter 10
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