Chapter Thirty-Four
Sawyer
For the last picture, I sat cross-legged on the floor surrounded by sticky notes, notebooks, and organization bins. George sat not too far off from me with Kurt’s sock in his mouth. Behind me was a mess. I wore a cute little outfit that accentuated the baby. We’d made funny faces, smiling faces, faux-serious faces. It had been a blast.
“Okay, can we get one more of Kurt kneeling and touching the baby.”
“Sure!” I said.
I stood, and George came to my side and sat. “You’ve been such a good boy. I’m going to get you a special treat.”
“Do you care if I give him a treat? I had some delivered,” Anna said. She had been with the photographer throughout the entire shoot, checking the pictures after we took them.
“Yes, of course.”
One of the assistants called George, who ran over to get his treat. Kurt walked up to me and touched my abdomen. I placed my hands on his. “You having fun?” he asked.
“Recreating our life? Yeah, it’s fun. These scenes feel like us. And I like that. It gives a glimpse of who we are before people make judgments.”
Kurt knelt and kissed my stomach. “I think so, too. I hope you’re not too tired.”
“I’m good, I promise.”
Throughout this entire process, Kurt had been hands-on, making sure I was comfortable with everything. Anna was good, keeping it tasteful, fun, and romantic all at the same time.
Looking back over his shoulder, he asked, “What do you want me to do?”
Anna looked at the display on the camera. “It’s a wrap. I think we got it. Give me a minute to check the photos to see if there’s anything else we need.”
Wow, that was fast.
We stepped away from the mess that was about to drive me insane. Seriously, I had the urge to pick up Kurt’s shit and rearrange all the sticky notes according to color and size.
Luckily, a young girl approached us. “Would you like a cupcake?”
“Umm…preggers. That’s like asking if a dog wants a bone.”
We laughed as George munched on his treat, oblivious to the world. The cute cupcakes were decorated with large fondant bows. Adorable. I took one off the tray. “Mmm, that’s good.”
Without any warning, Kurt took a huge bite of my cupcake. “Oh my gosh! You cupcake thief! You stole my cupcake. You took food from your unborn child.”
I rubbed my stomach, and Kurt grinned. “I’ll make it up to him tonight.”
“He wants chop suey, watermelon, and some of those orange rolls that were heavenly.” I tapped my finger to my chin. “And a foot rub.”
“Done.”
“Oh, you’re a good baby daddy. For that, I’ll give you another small bite.”
I held out the cupcake, and Kurt took a bite so big he left nothing but the small bit between my fingers.
“I’ll add cupcakes to the list, too,” he said around a mouth full of sugar.
In shock, I gaped at him. And then something came over me like it always did. I took the icing that remained on my finger and swiped it on his cheek.
His eyes grew wide. “You did not just smear icing on me.”
“Oh, I so did!”
Kurt picked me up and cradled me in his arms, kissing me hard while transferring some of the icing to me. I giggled as Kurt said, “Anna, it’s been wonderful. Did you have everything you needed?”
“I do.” She chuckled. “I’ll have a rough draft for you to look over later this evening. It won’t be edited, but we don’t have any time to lose if we go to print in less than three days.”
“No problem. We’re going to head out.”
“It was nice meeting you,” I called over Kurt’s shoulder with a wave.
“It was truly a pleasure, Sawyer. I hope to see you again.”
* * *
I writhed underneath Kurt as he thrust into me. Everything was so sensitive after he’d made me come with his fingers and his mouth in the back of the limo on the way to our bus.
“Kurt! Please.”
“Together, Sawyer. Keep your eyes open.”
He pushed in one more time, and I exploded around him. As Kurt poured himself into me, something passed between us. It was intense.
Gently, he lay off to the side and cradled me against his chest. Our breaths were heavy as our heartbeats calmed. The cool air sent a shiver across my sweaty skin. “Is it me or does it get better every time?”
“It does.”
Suddenly, I was exhausted. My eyes grew heavy.
“Sleep, baby. I just want to hold you for a while.”
“Mmmkay. I don’t ever want to lose this.”
“We won’t.”
I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
The sound of a phone vibrating woke me up, and I lifted my head. Kurt answered my silent query. “That’s Anna. We have the initial layout.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“About four hours.”
Whoa. It had to be early evening. The sound check must have been moved to tomorrow. I sat up and stretched. “Let’s go see it. My computer is on the table.”
I threw on some clothes and then stood at the door. “I’m going to walk fast, so don’t yell at me for jiggling the baby.”
We grinned at each other. This was love, no doubt about it. When will we say it? I wanted to blurt it out now. But I knew Kurt needed to do this in his own time. Once he said it, he was done; it was the ultimate commitment from him.
I pulled up the email and read it aloud.
Hope you like how this turned out. It’s a true testament to what I’ve witnessed today. Let me know your thoughts. Everything is rough, but you’ll get the gist for preliminary approval.
–Anna
I opened the layout and was instantly blown away. It was a rough mock-up, and the first picture was the one of me sitting on the floor, surrounded by organization. My eyes were wide, my expression saying, “Can you believe how messy he is? I can’t, but I love him anyway.” Kurt grinned at me like he knew it annoyed me so he did it more. And George was simply adorable.
I read the article out loud. “Kurt Hendrix and Sawyer Wade showed up today with a bundle of surprise—news of a baby.”
From there, the article turned into the Q&A part. And it was truly us. Anna had done a magnificent job.
In closing, it read, “The pictures are a mixture of both staged and candid. At one point, they had no idea the camera was still clicking. I want to close with a poetic statement Ms. Wade made that shows the depth of love these two feel for each other.
“I asked if we would hear wedding bells in the future, and the answer was no. When asked why, this was her response, ‘Because what we have feels like perfection. We’re the same in so many ways, opposite in the ways that keep life fun and exciting, and we’re confident in what we have. Changing anything would be tempting perfection. And I’m happy. Truly happy.’”
I stared at the words. “I meant it, Kurt. I am happy.”
“Me, too, Sawyer.”
No comment was made about love. I was glad. Having another woman prompt him to say it wouldn’t be us. It needed to be in our own time.
I scrolled down and saw pictures of Kurt kneeling, kissing my tummy, and staring into my eyes. Another with him biting a huge chunk of my cupcake and me with a huge grin. The last one was of Kurt holding me while he walked out of the studio with George on his heels.
Touching the screen, I was overcome with emotion. This was my life.