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.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 button up shirts 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 shirts 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.I stare into the full length mirror on the back of the closet door, turning sideways so I can see my profile.My stomach isn’t huge by any means, but it’s slowly getting bigger each day.There’s a little pooch there that is slightly bigger than something I could play off as having just eaten a whole pizza by myself.I lift my shirt and rub my hands over the pooch, reminding myself there’s a growing baby in there.It’s insane, when you think about it.A baby.A real, life, human being will jump out of me in a few months’ time.Well.okay, maybe not jump.But I hope it’s quick, and I hope it doesn’t hurt as badly as it looks like on the movies.Jace leans against the doorway of the closet, watching me watch myself in the mirror.“I thought your stomach would get much bigger this far along,” he says, turning his head sideways.“We’re like, five months now, right?”“Twenty three weeks.They go by weeks for whatever reason,” I explain.“Too many things happen each week for it to be based on the month.”He eyes me in this appreciative way and suddenly I’m self-conscious.I turn away from the mirror, covering my belly with my hands.A moment later, his hands slide over mine as he hugs me from behind.His mouth presses against my neck, trailing kisses down to my collar bone.“I love you, Bay.” Chills wash over me when his breath tickles my skin.“I love you, Jace.” My words are a whispered reply and it’s all I can do to even speak coherently when he does this to me.His hands slide up my arms and then back down again, circling around my protruding stomach and then wandering back up to my breasts.He cups them and his lips linger on my neck just a moment longer than usual.“What is it?” I ask, twisting around to see him better.His face is shadowed from the dim light in the closet, but the naughty way he smiles lets me know exactly what he’s thinking.“Your boobs get bigger every day,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows.“I like it.”I roll my eyes.“You’re such a pig.”His hands slide around my waist and tug me toward him.I press against his chest and take special care to make sure my boobs get squished in a way that makes the cleavage from my tank top look as sexy as possible.“I’m your pig,” he says with that goofy grin of his that I love so much.Fifteen minutes later, my suitcase holds exactly one pair of jeans and two pairs of pajamas.I guess that can be considered progress.Jace lies on his back on the bed, tossing the remote control from one hand to the other.“So tell me about California.” I toss a blue shirt at him and he catches it but drops the remote.“What would you like to know?” he asks.He folds my shirt in half and then in half again, setting it inside my suitcase.“Well, the only thing I know about California is that it’s really big and full of celebrities.Also, I’m not packing that shirt,” I say, taking out the blue shirt and tossing it on the bed.“Why not? You look awesome in it.” Jace refolds the shirt and puts it back in my suitcase.I think the words he meant was that I used to look awesome in it.Now the shimmery blue fabric that’s meant to hang loose at the stomach fits tightly around my midsection, stretching the thin fabric and making it look awful.If I tell Jace this, he’ll probably ask me to try it on to prove it to him and that is so not happening.So I just leave it in the suitcase.I’ll bring more than enough shirts to ensure that I won’t be wearing that one on our short trip.“So, California,” I say again.“You grew up there and you never even talk about it.”“There’s nothing worth saying,” he says.“I had an average childhood.went to school and raced dirt bikes.My whole life was dirt bikes.Same as it is here.”“You were pro though.That had to be different.I mean, you’re famous here in Texas so I bet you’re really famous in California.”Jace shrugs.“I haven’t raced on the west side in two years.No one cares about me anymore.And that’s exactly how I want things to be.”“Why’s that?”He looks at me.“Because I want things to be here with you.”Warmth spreads through me when I hear his cheesy answer.I don’t know if he really means that or if it’s just something a guy says to his pregnant fiancé to make her feel better, but it makes me all emotionally gooey anyhow.I lay out three dresses on the bed and try to determine which one I should choose to bring along.Jace points to the middle one, a black knit dress with long sleeves and a plunging neckline.“Good call,” I say, taking the dress and folding it neatly into the suitcase.Black is a slimming color and I desperately need all the slimming illusions I can get.“Tell me about your parents.”This makes Jace laugh for some reason.I frown.“Why won’t you talk about them? I need to know about them so I won’t go in blindly.I need some topics I can talk about with them [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]