Zane & Lucky's First Christmas

“These two fools think that you would actually give them a chance if I wasn’t in the picture.” Zane walked over to her and grabbed her hand. I smiled to myself as I watched him pull her into the crook of his arms. It was amazing to see Zane so protective and caring with Lucky.

“Oh, Leo. You’re here.” Lucky pulled away from Zane and ran up to Leo with a delighted face. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“Zane texted and said pizza was on the way.” He laughed. “I couldn’t say no to that, plus I haven’t seen Noah since he’s been back. I wanted to lay my eyes on him.” He hugged her back tightly, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. “You’re looking positively radiant, Lucky. Probably the most beautiful mother-to-be I’ve ever seen. You almost make me want kids.”

“You’ll have gorgeous kids.” Lucky blushed and grinned and I laughed at the murderous look on Zane’s face as he watched her with his friend.

“It’s a pity Zane got to you before me.”

“That’s enough, Leo.” Zane walked over and stood next to Lucky. “Maybe it’s time to get your own girl.”

“No thanks.” Leo shuddered. “I don’t have time for the stress and drama that comes along with relationships – no offense, Lucky.”

“None taken.” She laughed and put her arms around Zane’s waist. “Trust me, sometimes I wonder how I put up with this guy.”

“Because you love me, duh.”

“I won’t love you so much if you keep embarrassing me.”

“Sure.” Zane laughed and walked into the kitchen. “You guys want a beer while we wait on the pizza?”

“I’ll take a Bud.” Leo lounged down on the chair and stared at me. “So, you dating anyone?” He gave me a quick look and I shook my head.

“Nah, not really. Not now that I have a kid to look after.”

“A kid?” His eyes bulged wide open and I laughed.

“I adopted a little girl.” I smiled. “You’ll have to meet her.”

“Whoa, I go away for a few weeks and I miss everything.” Leo shook his head in wonderment and I was about to tell him more about Skylar when the doorbell rang. My heart thudded as I walked over to it quickly, hoping to see Robin on the other side.

“Hey,” I opened the door with a wide smile and sighed when I saw the pizza deliveryman.

“Hey, pizza delivery.” He said in a monotone voice. I tried not to roll my eyes at him or say something smart like “I thought you were the paperboy.”

“What’s the damage?” I took out my wallet and pulled out some bills.

“There is no damage to your pizza, sir.” The pimply-faced teenager looked at me with a blank expression.

“What?” I frowned and then realized he had misunderstood my question. “What’s the total?”

“I didn’t total anything, Sir. I only tapped the back of that car. It wasn’t totaled at all.” He stammered as he held the boxes in his hands, and it was at this point that I realized that he was either high or the biggest idiot I had ever met.

“How much money do I owe you?”

“You don’t owe me, oh wait.” He paused as he realized what I was asking. “A hundred should do it.”

“A hundred dollars?” I asked him incredulously.

“Yes, sir.” He beamed at me and nodded. “A hundred dollars will take care of the bill nicely. Plus tip of course.”

I grabbed the boxes from his hand and handed him $40, before glaring at him. “You better believe I’m going to call your boss and report you. Now get out of here. And don’t try to pull this scam on anyone else.”

“But sir,” his eyes widened in panic. “The bill is $55.”

“Then I suggest you find $15 from somewhere.” I smirked at him and slammed the door shut before he could say anything else. I turned around and saw that Lucky was standing right behind me, with a surprised expression, but laughter in her eyes. “Did that just happen?” I asked her and she burst out laughing.

“That was hilarious.” She grinned, while wiping tears away. “If I hadn’t just witnessed that, I would never have believed it.”

“They’re letting any old fool be a pizza delivery guy these days.”

“What is the world coming to?” She grinned and shook her head. And then the doorbell rang again and she smiled at me. “You go and take those boxes to the kitchen and I’ll take care of him this time.”

“Okay,” I grinned and walked back to the kitchen, sad that I wasn’t going to get to hear Lucky give Dopey a piece of her mind. I put the boxes on the counter and pulled out some plates, while Zane opened up the bottles of beer.

“Shit, that pizza smells good.” Zane groaned and opened up a box. “It tastes good too,” he mumbled through a mouthful of pepperoni.

“Thanks for waiting on us all to get a plate before you started, greedy bear.”

“Whatever.” He laughed and handed me a beer. I took a swig of Bud and then froze as I heard a tinkle of feminine laughter that didn’t belong to Lucky. Robin was here. I quickly placed the bottle back down and ran my hands through my hair. My heart started beating rapidly, and I turned around slowly before walking back into the living room with a big smile on my face. Joy poured through me when my eyes fell upon her – she looked as beautiful as I remembered her, and she looked happy as she stood there laughing. I stared at her for a moment, just memorizing her features, when a feeling of jealousy spread through me. Robin wasn’t just laughing at some random joke. She was laughing up at Leo, who was laughing down at her, and very obviously admiring her goods. I felt a surge of anger as I stared at handsome Leo flirting with her. He was a blond Adonis and I knew that to most women, he was one of the most handsome and charismatic men they had ever met. I was scared that now that Robin had seen him, that she wouldn’t be interested in me; especially as we had already had a bit of a rocky start. I stood there for a moment more just glaring at Leo, and then I caught myself. I was being just like Zane, only I didn’t yet have the girl.

“Hi, Robin,” I gave her a wide smile, trying to mask my jealousy, and she turned to look at me in what seemed like slow motion.

“Hi, Noah.” She gave me a light smile and my heart flipped as our eyes met. All of a sudden, the room seemed empty. There was no one else in this moment than her and I, and every fiber of my body was aware of that fact. I walked over to her slowly, and she moved towards me as well until we stopped in front of each other and just stood there in front of each other, smiling like idiots.

“I’m starving.” Leo’s voice interrupted our moment and I looked up and saw a tinge of disappointment in his eyes.

“Me too.” Robin turned towards him and smiled and his eyes lit up again. I frowned as they exchanged a small look. What was going on here?

“You always did love pizza.” Leo laughed and I froze.

“You guys know each other?” I looked back and forth at them and noticed that Robin was blushing.

“Kinda.” She mumbled and Leo nodded.

“We went on a few dates.” Leo shrugged as he looked at me and I looked back at Robin.

“And then he just never called me again.” She laughed, but I could tell that she was still hurt. “I guess that’s what happens when you don’t put out right away.”

“That wasn’t why I didn’t call.” Leo’s voice was soft. “That wasn’t why at all.”

“Oh well, let’s eat before the pizza gets cold.” Lucky looked at Zane with a worried expression and ushered us all into the kitchen. “We can all catch up later after we eat.”

“Hungry, are we Lucky?” Zane raised an eyebrow at her suggestively and she hit him in the arm.

“Yes, but not for you.”

“That’s hurtful.” He pouted. “You better not try and jump on me tonight, I have a feeling I will be too tired.”

“You’re never too tired.”

“Tonight I will be.”

“Children, children.” Robin grinned and walked past me and quickly into the kitchen behind them. I stood there for a moment and tried to control my breathing. Leo came and stood next to me and gave me a look.

“I didn’t know you were dating Robin.”

“I didn’t know you dated Robin.” I gave him a side look and his eyes looked pained.

“I didn’t dump her because she wouldn’t sleep with me.” He sighed. “I really like her.”

“Like or liked?” I frowned at his words.

“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I didn’t expect to see her tonight.”

“I like her a lot.” I bit my lower lip. “I can see her in my life forever.”

“So could I.” Leo looked away from me and mumbled under his breath. “That was the problem.” I pretended that I didn’t hear him and looked away quickly.

“Well, it’s good that you’re a confirmed bachelor or this could have been a problem.” I faked a laugh and gave him one quick glance before I walked into the kitchen. I looked back at Leo, who was just standing there, and my stomach flipped with worry. Leo looked like anything but a confirmed bachelor at that moment and I had a feeling that my attempt to win over Robin over was about to get a lot more complicated.

Chapter 3

Lucky

I was dreading going in to look at wedding dresses. I wasn’t sure what size to get, since I wasn’t sure how quickly I was going to grow. I also didn’t know what color dress to get. Could I get a white dress if I was showing up to the altar with a big belly full of babies? The fact that I was a pregnant bride took away from the whole virginal maiden concept, and I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. I was certainly no virgin.

“Whatcha doing?” Zane slid down on the couch next to me and picked up one of the magazines from the coffee table.

“Deciding what to wear to the wedding.” I made a face at him and showed him the magazine in my hand. “I can’t decide if I should dress traditionally or if I should get a short red dress, with a high slit and lace over the breasts.”

“Hmm, do I get to decide?” Zane’s hand slid around my waist and I giggled as I pushed him off.

“No, you don’t.”

“Is this going to be a striptease-type wedding?” His eyes sparkled at me. “Because if it is, I’d rather no one else be there but us.”

“Uh huh.” I rolled my eyes at him and his fingers slid up my torso again.

“If you want we can practice the stripping part right now.” His fingers crept across my right breast and paused. “You can start with your top if you want.”

“I don’t want.”

“Aw, you’re no fun, Lucky.”

“All you think about is sex.” I hit his fingers and shook my head. “I’m sure you’d love it if it was a striptease wedding. Maybe you’d like the wedding to be in the bedroom and officiated online. Maybe we can even be na**d. That way you don’t have to wait for the dress to come off.”

“Uh oh.” Zane pulled away from me and made a face. “What did I do now? Is this your PMS talking?”

“I’m pregnant, Zane. I’m not getting a period any time soon.” I jumped up and threw the magazine on the couch. “And if you knew anything you would know that, you insensitive jerk. All you care about is sex.”

“Oh God.” Zane jumped up and made a face. “Are we going to have this conversation again?” He reached over and grabbed me, and grabbed my chin until I was looking up at him. “Do you really think I only want sex?” His blue eyes pierced into my soul as he stared at me tenderly and I could feel my heart melting as my anger dissipated. “Because you’d be right.” He laughed at me, his eyes crinkling and I shook my head at him as I joined him in his laughter.

“You’re lucky I don’t take you seriously, Mr. Beaumont.”

“What fun would that be, Mrs. Beaumont-to-be?”

“You can’t say such things to a pregnant woman. We are emotional beings, you know.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell.” He bent down and kissed me before pulling away. “Now how can I help you with your dress? Do you want me to come with you to try on dresses?”

“You can’t see me in my wedding dress before we get married.” I shook my head.

“Why not?”

“It’s not allowed.”

“Says who?”

“Says tradition. It’s bad luck for the groom to see me in my wedding dress before the wedding.”

“I’ve already seen your birthday suit, what does some dress matter?” He laughed.

“That’s not the point.” I groaned. “Everyone will know you’ve seen my birthday suit already, because I’ll be fat at my wedding.”

“You won’t be fat.”

“I’m going to look like a bloated pig. People are going to say it was a shotgun wedding.” I sighed.

“It doesn’t matter what people say.”

“Yeah, to you. You’re not the one that the priest is going to look at disapprovingly because you had sex before marriage.”

“At least you’re getting married and not going to raise them alone.” Zane shrugged.

“Most women don’t choose to be single mothers.” I pushed him away from me. “That’s the sort of attitude I’m talking about. You men have it so easy. You choose whether.”