Game Changer (13 page)

Chapter 19

Christmas had always been my favorite time of year.  I mean, who doesn’t love Christmas? I really don’t know why I loved it so much though, I mean, I hated getting gifts with a passion. I guess it was mostly for the smells, the way it felt giving to others and just being with your loved ones.

Either way, Christmas was a special time of year for me. This year, however, had my stomach in knots. I was meeting Aiden’s family for the first time on Christmas in Wisconsin, then we were going to spend New Year’s in Austin with Erica and Kane. I hadn’t seen or spoken to either of them since the wedding, and I wasn’t looking forward to it.

I picked up my phone and called Aiden, we were leaving for Wisconsin soon and I was still packing.

“Hey baby, what’s up,” Aiden said as he answered the phone.

“What the heck do you people wear in Wisconsin?”

I was nervous and that caused me to be a little snappy. I knew Aiden understood this though.

“What do you mean? They wear clothes just like they do here in Texas.”

“Aiden!”

He laughed and I knew he was highly amused.

“Sorry babe, but it’s just so much fun to mess with you when you’re stressed.”

“I hate you.”

“Nope, you love me. And just pack really warm things. It’s cold there. It might even snow.”

“I hate cold weather.”

He laughed again.

“I know honey, but I’ll be with you and you’ll be fine, I promise. I’m leaving my house now, so I’ll see you soon.”

“Fine, I love you.”

“Love you too.” He blew a kiss through the phone and hung up.

I shook my head and sighed, running a hand through my hair and looked at my suitcase, which was lying open on my bed. I already had two pairs of sweat pants, three long sleeved shirts, a couple undershirts, four bras, underwear, six pairs of socks, two of my thickest hoodies, one of my thinner ones, four pairs of skinny jeans, because for some reason I no longer owned any other kind, a pair of long johns, two pairs of mittens, a couple pairs of boots, three hats, two scarves, and my jacket was waiting for me to put it on.

I looked around my room and realized I forgot something to sleep in; I pulled out a pair of shorts and a pair of pajama pants, not sure if I’d be warm enough in my normal sleeping attire, and a t-shirt.

I went into the bathroom and grabbed my makeup, flat iron, shampoo and conditioner, and my shaver. I was so nervous to meet his family that I could barely breathe.

Back in my bedroom, I zipped up my bag and grabbed my purse, double checking that my boarding info was ready and my ID was with it. By the time that I managed to haul my huge suitcase down the steps, Aiden was opening my front door. “Emily Smith, what did the doctor say about heavy lifting?” He chastised me as he made his way over and took the bag.

“Hello, to you too,” I mumbled sarcastically.

“Emm, you know you’re not supposed to be carrying heavy things,” he chided.

I let out a harsh breath, “Aiden, shut up.”

“You’re in an especially cranky mood today,” he observed as he set the bag down by the door, “Anything you’d like to talk about?”

“I’m not cranky!” I snapped, crossing my arms. I was biting my lip, realizing that I contradicted myself but I wasn’t willing to show it.

Aiden walked over and wrapped his arms around me, “I’m sorry. You’re not cranky.” He said in a condescending voice.

I huffed and pushed him away, “You know? So what if I am?! I’m pregnant and nervous, and pregnant,” I argued.

“You said pregnant twice.”

The death glare I sent him shut his mouth.

“Look baby,” He said as he pulled me into a hug, “There’s really not much I can change about your being pregnant, in fact, there’s really nothing I want to change about that. The nerves though, those I can help.”

I was about to ask him how before his lips met mine in a slow, calming kiss. It didn’t last long, but its effect was obvious. I sighed and relaxed against his body.

“I’m crazy, aren’t I?”

“Yes, but I love you.”

I could feel him grinning into the top of my head, where his lips were kissing my temple.

“Aiden, what if they don’t like me or they kick us out when they find out about the baby?”

He pulled back and looked down on me with compassionate eyes.

“Is that what you’re worried about? I thought it was just the plane.” He kissed my forehead. “They’re going to love you, because I love you. My family would never kick me, their twenty-six year old son, out of their house. I’ll admit they’re probably going to be shocked at first, especially since you’re only nineteen and we’re not married, but I think that after that shock wears off, they’re going to be fine.”

“I hope so,” I grumbled.

Aiden checked his phone for the time. “Emm, we’ve got to go now if we want to make our flight.”

Aiden grabbed my bag and carried it outside, then helped me into the truck. He got in and started it up when I remembered something. “Oh shit, I left something upstairs,” I said quickly, unbuckling my seatbelt.

“Stay here, what is it?” he asked, already opening the door.

“A small blue box on my desk.” I said, and then yelled at him not to open it as he ran away. For Christmas, I’d gotten Aiden a little pouch with silver tokens in it that read off things like ‘Massage Token’ which was good for one massage, or ‘Love token’ which was good for all my love. It was cheesy, but we’d get to give them back and forth.

He came running back to the car and carefully handed the gift over to me. Two hours later, we were boarding our flight. I ended up with a window seat and Aiden was next to me. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “This reminds me of how we met.”

I smiled and kissed him, thinking about how lucky I was to have a guy so great. An hour and a half later, we were leaving the airport in a rented car. The flight had been a little turbulent because of the weather, but it wasn’t too bad.

The weather here was colder than anything I’d ever felt. My cheeks burned after only a few minutes outside. Houston just never got as cold as it did in Wisconsin. I don’t think it ever snowed back home my entire life.

“How do you live in a place so cold?” I shivered, putting my hands up to the heat that was spewing from the air vents. Aiden laughed, “It feels like home again.”

I sent a glare his way. Aiden seemed to know his way around and handled the icy roads like a pro. We held hands and I started drifting off to sleep, but was awakened when Aiden kissed my nose and told me we were there. I jolted awake and looked around, immediately awing at the landscape. It was a beautiful home in the middle of the woods with snow everywhere and Christmas lights.

“This is gorgeous.” I admitted.

As I said this, two kids, a boy and a girl, ran from the house in boots and coats screaming “Uncle Aiden!” At the top of their lungs. Aiden smiled a huge smile and jumped out of the car, picking them both up at the same time and swinging them around.

“Ah, I missed you guys.” He said in his rough voice, telling me he was emotional about finally seeing them again. I grinned and stepped out of the car and walked over to meet them.

Aiden set them down and turned to me with a smile. “Guys, this is my girlfriend Emily. Emily these are my nephew and niece, Hunter and Katarina. Their little brother Ryder is probably inside; he’s only three.”

Katarina looked to be about four or five and Hunter seemed about five or six.

“My Auntie has a cat named Emily.” Katarina informed me. “We call her Emm Cat.”

I knelt down and smiled at her, “Does she? Is she pretty?”

She nodded softly, looking shy. Hunter rolled his eyes and shook his head, reminding me slightly of Aiden with his lack of shyness, “Auntie Hailey picks out stupid cats. Emm Cat is always running into things and breaking stuff.”

I looked up at Aiden when he began to laugh. He sent me a wink and said, “Emm Cat is a blind rescue cat. Hails adopted her.” I held back my own laughter and looked at Hunter again, “Well she sounds like a silly cat to me.” He nodded, agreeing.

“Hey guys, why don’t you bring Emily inside while I get our bags?” Aiden suggested. They each grabbed my hand, Hunter holding on tighter than Katarina, and led me to the door. I looked back at Aiden with wide eyes and he smiled innocently. I wanted to kick him.

Hunter ran ahead of us when we got inside and I heard him tell everybody excitedly, “Uncle Aiden brought his girlfriend and she’s really pretty.”

I blushed and squeezed Katarina’s hand, finding the support of a little girl more than helpful. She seemed to understand in a way because she smiled up at me. She tugged on my hand and I knelt down closer to her, “I like you because you’re pretty too.”

I smiled and winked at her, “Thanks sweetie, but I think you are the prettiest of us all.”

She giggled and ran into what I assume is a family room. I had an awkward moment where I glanced between the door and the entrance to where everybody else was and I decided what to do. I slowly made my way into the heart of the house and found a large group of people, their conversation stopped as they looked at me. I felt my cheeks burn and I bit my lip.

“Sorry to just let myself in, but Aiden sent me in with the kids.” I announced.

An older woman jumped up and walked over to me, “You must be Emily; we’ve heard so much about you!” She said with a huge smile and she hugged me. I was a little shocked but I hugged her back.

“I’ve heard a lot about you all too, you’re all Aiden ever talks about.” I replied. It was the truth too. There wasn’t a day that went by where I didn’t get to hear a story about ‘back home’.

“Well that can’t be good.” I heard from a guy who looked nearly identical to Aiden. My eyes widened when I saw how similar they were. He laughed when he saw that, “I’m Seth, Aiden’s twin.”

“Aiden has a twin?” I asked, surprised. How could Aiden not have told me about this?

He looked wary, “Has he never mentioned me?”

My eyes widened as I tried to figure out what to say, “N-no, of course he has. He’s told me more stories about his brother Seth than I can count; he just never specified that you were his twin.” I explained.

“That’s probably because he’s jealous of my insanely good looks.” Seth nodded understandingly. I tilted my head, wondering if he was joking. When he burst out laughing, I knew he was and started giggling.

“Where is Aiden anyhow?” An older man asked.

“He’s grabbing our bags. He seems to think that I’m incapable of carrying my own things.” I shook my head, still fairly irritated about that. They chuckled and the woman led me over to an empty seat on the couch, beside Seth and the armrest.

“I’m Marjorie by the way, and this is my husband, Dale. This is Owen, and you’ve already met his kids, Katarina and Hunter.” She was rambling. “Samantha was just waking Ryder up from his nap before you walked in, so you’ll get to meet her soon. Hailey couldn’t make it today, such a shame. This is our other daughter, Grace. She’s the baby of the family.”

“Mom!” A girl who looked to be around my age exclaimed, “You make it sound like I’m five or something.” She looked at me and smiled, “I’m Grace, as she already said. Although I’m the baby of the family, I’m eighteen.”

“Anyways,” She threw her daughter a pointed look. “Welcome to the family.” As she said this, there was a rattling at the door. “Dale, Owen, go help Aiden. Seth, make her feel welcome.” Marjorie announced before moving back to the kitchen.

“So, what exactly do you see in my brother anyways?” Seth asked, slinging his arm around me. I expected it to feel weird, but it didn’t. “You know, I’m really not sure.” I admitted, getting a loud laugh from him.

“I like you already.” He said, pulling me to his side.

“Hey, hands off my girlfriend.” Aiden called out. Everybody shot up and hugged him. Aiden was smiling so big that I had to smile too. Once they stopped, Dale and Owen brought our bags upstairs and everybody else took the same places they had before. Aiden walked over and pulled me up was going wear, only to take my seat and pull me down onto his lap. I settled in comfortably, with his arms wrapped around my waist and his chin resting on my shoulder.

“Did Mom attack you and introduce everybody?” I grinned and nodded, “It was very sweet.” I smacked his arm and he looked surprised, “Why did you never mention that Seth is your twin?”

“Did I never mention that?” He asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

“No, you didn’t.” I glared.

“I just figured it would be funny to see your reaction. I mean, for twins we look nothing alike.” They both gave me a wide eyed innocent look that seemed like a mirror image.

“Pft. Shut up, Aiden.” Seth elbowed him softly and they both laughed.

Chapter 20

Soon after we got there, Marjorie announced that it was time for dinner, which made me very happy. Now that I was pregnant, I wasn’t starving all the time, but I definitely got hungry. I sat between Aiden, who was on my right, and Seth, who was on my left. They were so funny together, and from how his family acted, I could see how they got that way. Everybody finished each other’s sentences and they were basically a huge group of ‘me’s and Ethan’s’.

Marjorie made what was possibly the most delicious chicken I’d ever eaten. However, the stuffing argued with my stomach to the point where I almost ran to the bathroom. Aiden noticed and subtly rubbed my belly which always helped with the sickness; I think the baby knew, and was comforted by its daddy.

After dinner, Aiden pulled me outside after making sure I was warm enough. “What are we doing?” I exclaimed, as he forced me to the middle of the yard. It seemed like a waste to ruin the perfectly settled snow with our footprints.

“We’re making snow angels and snowmen!” He was grinning like a child.

I laughed, “I am not making a snowman. And I’m not lying in the snow only to flail my arms around like an idiot.” I said, putting my hands on my hips.

“Please baby?” He begged, laying down and moving his legs and feet like he was doing jumping jacks while on the ground.

“Aiden, I haven’t played in snow since I was like eight.” I said, shaking my head.

He gasped and stopped the movement of his arms and legs. “You’re joking.” He accused. I gave him a confused look and shook my head, “Why would you joke about something like that?” He sounded appalled.

“I’m as serious as a heart attack.” I told him, hoping that’d make it clear to him.

“Emily Smith, Lay down NOW!” He demanded, apparently offended that I hadn’t played in the snow for ten years.

“No.” I shrieked as he started chasing after me. He caught up with me since my legs were long, though much shorter than his. The next thing I knew, he was carefully picking me up, bridal style, and plopped me down on the ground, pushing me back and kissing me. I was laughing and the kiss drew it down to a smile.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, not comprehending what he was doing to my legs. The next thing I knew, he was pushing my arms away and moving them in the snow for me.

“What are you…” I started laughing when I realized without an answer.

He was forcing me to make an angel. “You’re too adorable.” I announced, taking over the movement, making the wings and dress by myself. He pecked my lips once more before turning over and making his own beside me.

The stars were high in the sky and brighter than I’d ever seen them before. In the city, you’d never know how many there truly were. It seemed that there wasn’t an empty space in the sky.

“Wow.” I breathed.

Aiden jumped up and helped me stand, then brought me over to fresh snow and started piling snow into a large ball, then he began to roll it.

“You should start one too.” He said, pointing to the snow in front of me.

I shook my head and smiled, but did it anyways. Within an hour, we had a very large, very creepy looking snowman. I named him Aiden Jr. which wasn’t too appreciated and got me tickled.

Inside, Marjorie threatened our lives if we dragged snow through her house, which made us giggle like children and we stripped down to our long-johns before running upstairs to change. I pulled on a pair of Aiden’s sweatpants and one of his hoodies, which seemed to be so much more comfortable to me. Dressing took a while since we kept distracting ourselves with happy kisses. It’d been a fairly long time since Aiden and I had felt so carefree.

“I think we should tell your family about Sobri,” I suggested, when we reached for the door.

He nodded and kissed my nose, grinning. Once we were downstairs, we saw that everybody but Hailey, Marjorie, and Dale had left.

“Hey guys? Emm and I need to talk to you.” Aiden said as we sat down on the couch.

His arm was wrapped around my shoulder. Hailey seemed to realize that she should go upstairs, so she said goodnight and went upstairs.

“What’s up?” Dale asked as Marjorie came back from the kitchen, where she was making hot cocoa for us.

Aiden looked at me, silently asking if I wanted to be the one to tell them. My eyes widened and I shook my head, I was not going to tell practical strangers that their son knocked me up. That was his honor. He grinned understandingly and faced them.

“Emm’s about two months pregnant,” he announced without preamble.

Marjorie nearly dropped her coffee mug and Dale’s jaw dropped. I basically curled up in a ball, pulling my knees to my chest and burying my face to my legs. “What?” Marjorie gasped, looking between us.

“I’m pregnant.” I whispered. “It wasn’t planned or anything, but we’re keeping the baby.”

“You’re so young though.” Aiden’s parents looked so compassionate, I was expecting outrage.

I nodded, “I know. It wasn’t easy deciding what to do, but as soon as my doctor confirmed that I was pregnant, Sobri was my baby.”

“Sobri?” Dale asked, raising his eyebrows.

“It’s a bit of a story, but basically it’s the name we’re calling the baby until it’s born,” Aiden explained.

There was a few seconds of silence, as Marjorie and Dale absorbed the news.

“So, are you guys okay with this?” Aiden asked softly, completely impatient. I elbowed him in the side.

“Don’t rush them!” I hissed.

“What? It’s not their baby,” he whispered back.

“No, but you are. If my kid came to me telling me that he knocked up the girl he’d only known for less than two months, I’d be worried.” I whispered back.

His eyes narrowed but instead of a smart comment, he pecked my lips quickly and focused on his parents. They were looking at each other intently, communicating in silence.

“I believe we’re quite alright about it.” Marjorie announced finally.

“Aiden’s been going on and on about you for so long that you’re already family. This only enforces it,” Dale added.

I sighed and felt tears fill my eyes, feeling completely relieved. “Thank you.” I whispered. Aiden’s arms surrounded me and he pulled me onto his lap to hold me.

“You two are adorable together,” Marjorie said whimsically.

I blushed and buried my face in his shoulder. Aiden picked me up bridal style yet again and told his parents we were hitting the hay. He set me gently on the bed and went back to turn off the lights and close the door.

The next morning, we woke up to our door being knocked on. I got up to answer it, feeling incredibly groggy. Aiden hardly even moved. As soon as I flicked the lock, the door swung open, nearly hitting me in the process and I was lifted off my feet into the arms of Seth, who had the biggest smile ever on his face.

“Congratulations, Mommy!” He practically yelled.

I laughed and thanked him, feeling happy that Marjorie had taken the liberty to tell everyone else, so I wouldn’t have to go through it all a second time. Seth set me on my feet and ran to the bed, flying onto Aiden, who grunted and attempted to do a pushup to get his brother off of him.

“Aiden’s gonna be a Daddy, Aiden’s gonna be a Daddy,” he started singing as he messed up Aiden’s hair. Aiden swung his arms at Seth and it soon turned into a punch contest.

“Boys, knock it off.” I said, trying not to laugh.

“He started it!” Aiden pouted, making me burst out laughing.

“You two are such children!” I said with wide eyes.

“Am not.” Seth whined, getting off the bed and walking to the door.

“Mom says breakfast is in twenty minutes.” He added before closing the door. I climbed into bed with Aiden and cuddled up to his chest. “You win.” I grinned.

“I told you they’d be happy.” He brushed his hands through my hair.

I kissed him and got out of bed again, this time I changed. I wore my jeans and a tank top and cardigan. I also wore my slippers that I made in home ec, back in the ninth grade. They were made of yarn and were warm and fuzzy.

“Well that’s adorable.” Aiden said, grinning, as he looked down at my feet.

I looked down and smiled. “They’re so comfortable.”

At home, in Houston, I usually walked around in normal socks since it was always warm there. But here in Wisconsin it was cold and I needed more layers to keep me warm.

Downstairs at the table, I sat next to Aiden and Katarina, who was such a beautiful little girl. She was shy but sweet and honestly reminded me a lot of myself. I cut up her sausages and helped her mix them with some eggs, which is apparently the only way she’d eat them. I had done all I could do not to puke, but it was worth it for her.

My pregnancy was apparently the main topic of discussion over breakfast, because people kept congratulating me and asking when I was due. I thanked them and explained that my appointment wasn’t for another couple of weeks. Katarina tugged on my hand and asked what ‘pegnat’ was.

I did my best to give her a child version of pregnancy, “I’m having a baby.”

She grinned and looked at her mommy, “The tork is commin to her!” She exclaimed, making us all laugh, it was so adorable. I forgot that some parents tell their children about storks… mine never did.

The next day was Christmas and it was so much fun to see Katarina, Hunter, and Ryder get excited over their presents. Aiden had bought them a snowmobile at one of the local shops the day before. It was specifically made for younger children.

Everybody found my gift to Aiden adorable and I blushed. He kissed me several times at the thoughtfulness of it all. I could have killed him when he gave me my present.

Did the guy have no concept for me being on a budget and that getting me such an insane gift would make me feel like I gave him a pile of crap?

Apparently not, because he got me a car, a freaking car. How were tokens supposed to compare to a damn car? It wasn’t even just any car, it was a brand new Ford Explorer; A car I’d casually mentioned liking when we watched a commercial for it.

“Aiden, you can’t be serious.” I said with wide eyes as I covered my mouth. I was staring at the picture he’d given to me; apparently it was still at the dealership, waiting for us to pick it up when we got back home.

“I’m very serious.” He said. This told me he was telling the truth. “When the baby comes along, you’re going to need a bigger car. I’ll be busy with practice during the day and the Ford will have more room than my truck.

I exhaled before I spoke, “You can’t just buy me a car. That’s… I don’t know what that is. It’s crazy.” I said, rambling.

“I want you in something safe, and I feel like this is the perfect car.”

“Okay, but I can’t afford insurance on a brand new car, let alone the gas that it’ll take to fill it up. I can barely handle the car I’ve had since I was sixteen.” I shook my head.

“I already thought of that; I added the car to my insurance and a gas card is in the mail already.” He was smiling like the idiot he was. I wanted to smack the smile off his face.

“I can’t accept this, it’s too much. I got you freaking tokens and you bought me a car. You can’t just buy people cars, Aiden!” I was freaking out just a little bit. It’s not that I didn’t like the car, I really did. But it was just too much.

Aiden, like usual, seemed to sense that I was overwhelmed and he grabbed my hands and led me to the front door, where the boots and coats were. Aiden’s hugs could make any day a brighter one, and now was no exception.

“You can’t deny the car, baby. I intend to marry you sometime in the future anyway, so why not start supporting my family now? I can’t have you driving my kid around in that clunker you call a car.” He whispered and I shrugged, understanding what he meant, but still unsure about what to do.

“It’s a car though. It’s not even a used one, it’s brand new.” I said, sighing.

He started kissing up my jaw line until he reached my ear, where he started nibbling. “I want you to take it Emi. I’ve been so excited to give it to you, so please, be excited to?” He whispered in my ear. I sighed breathily and gripped his shoulders; he knew my ear was a weak spot for me.

“This isn’t fair.” I moaned, tilting my head to the side to give him better access.

“It’s perfectly fair.” I could feel his grin against my skin. “Now, say you’ll take it and act super happy,” he demanded playfully.

I pulled back and narrowed my eyes at him, but as soon as I looked into his baby blues, my knees felt weak and I knew I had to give in.

“Thank you for the car.”

I sighed as I wrapped my arms around his neck before kissing him, showing my true gratitude.

If we hadn’t been in the entryway, I’m sure things would have gone much farther, but as it was, we pulled apart with a groan and rested our foreheads together.

“I can’t wait for you to see it. I’m actually pretty jealous.”

Aiden was smiling like a child and it made me happy.

“Yeah, well…” I paused, thinking of something to tell him, “If you ever buy me something like this again, I’m kicking you where it hurts and you’ll never be able to make a child again.”