"Delly" Paisley squealed at the sound of the doorbell. I lightly laughed as she began to dance on the spot.
"You want to come and get the door, Princess?" she nodded, bouncing over to me so that I could lift her onto my hip. I headed to the front door, Batman and Ella already waiting impatiently. Paisley clasped her hands together under her chin, a wide smile spread across her face. The excitement she felt to see Odell completely warmed my heart. I unlocked the door and smiled at what I was greeted with. Odell stood on the doorstep with a bouquet of pink roses in his hand. My heart swelled.
"Happy birthday, Gorgeous" the corners of my lips tugged into a smile and I swear my cheeks reddened. "You're getting old" I rolled my eyes as he lightly chuckled.
"You're not too far behind me, Mister" he leant to press his lips to mine, handing me the roses as Paisley threw herself at him.
"Hi Paisley."
"Hi Delly" she placed her hand on his cheek and giggled at the feel of his beard against her hand.
"Did you get mommy something nice for her birthday?"
"You got me this necklace, didn't you, Princess?"
"Daddy got it" she shook her head and lowered it onto Odell's shoulder. I rolled my eyes and Odell lightly chuckled.
"Daddy told me that you got it" she shook her head and giggled as I lightly poked her in the tummy. "It has Paisley's footprint on it from when she was a baby. It also has her date of birth and her birthstone on it. I never plan on taking it off" I ran my fingers through Paisley's hair.
"It's beautiful. Your daddy did a good job, huh, Pais?" I rolled my eyes as Paisley nodded with a giggle.
"You can come in" Odell stepped into the house and I shut the door behind him. He lowered Paisley to the floor so that he could fuss Batman and Ella. Paisley was stood waiting patiently for him to finishing fussing the dogs so that she could pull him into the living room where she was previously playing with her baby doll. I lowered the roses onto the table and took a quick photo, posting it onto my Instagram story.
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I glanced up when I heard a giggle and I smiled at the sight that I was greeted with. Odell was sat on the couch, cradling Paisley's baby doll in his arms. The sight had me feeling a need I hadn't felt in a while and I couldn't help but to imagine him holding our baby in the future. My stomach clenched at the thought and I had this desire to strip him naked. I shook my head to rid of the thoughts as I remembered Paisley.
"Shall we get you dressed, Pais?" she glanced to me with a shake of her head. My mouth dropped open and I placed my hands on my hips which caused her to giggle. "What do you mean no, Little Miss?" her giggle loudened as I stepped towards her. She scurried onto Odell's lap and curled into him. "You using Delly against me, Princess?"
"I'll protect you, Paisley" he locked his arms around her and playfully glared up at me.
"You stealing my daughter now?" I stuck out my lower lip. Odell rolled his eyes and lightly chuckled. Paisley pulled herself from his grip and threw herself at me.
"I sorry, Mommy" I stuck my tongue out over Paisley's shoulder and Odell just laughed harder.
"You ready to get dressed now?" she nodded into my neck, giggling as I poked her lightly in the tummy.
—
After we had dropped Paisley off at Matthew's and the dogs off at my parents, we headed out of town.
"Where are we going?" I glanced to Odell who was focused on the road. His mouth twitched into a smirk as he glanced to me.
"It's a surprise" I rolled my eyes and sighed. "And I know that you don't like surprises, but I promise that you'll like this one" my lips tugged into a smile as I stared out the window.
"Can you believe we've been dating for 5 months?"
"Best 5 months of my life, honestly."
"Aww Baby" he rolled his eyes as I turned to him and lightly caressed his cheek. "Have I turned you into a softie?" I bit down on my lip as his eyes turned to meet mine.
"There's just something about you that I've never felt with anyone before" my heart swelled. "You're different, D" in that moment I knew that I loved him. We haven't exactly said the 3 little words yet because I don't want to jinx it. I don't want to say them early and then we fall apart. I told Max I loved him after like a month and look what happened there. I'm not taking that risk this time. "I see my future with ya" a lump formed in my throat and I had to look away from him as I felt my eyes beginning to well up. He lightly chuckled as he slid his hand along my thigh, the touch causing my insides to quiver. I slid my hand along his and intertwined our fingers. We didn't need to say anything as we drove in a comfortable silence towards the secret destination. We drove for hours. We stopped off numerous times to stretch our legs and grab a bite to eat. It wasn't until mid-afternoon that we pulled into the parking lot of the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur. Odell wrapped his arms around me as we stood in our room, staring out at the ocean.
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"We're staying here for the weekend, call it an extended birthday celebration" I slid my hands along his arms that were wrapped around my waist. I slid my fingers between his and smiled wider as I leant back into him, unable to think of anything to say other than those three little words.
