The Perfect Love Story

Chapter 1

Melody pulled up to the front of the house in our rental car and took a deep breath as she put it in park. I brought her with me all the way from Wisconsin and I knew she was nervous. She was a lot shyer than I was and I was not sure how she felt about moving and changing her whole life. She had just graduated recently from school and did not know what she wanted to do yet and that played a factor in why she was so willing to move with me. I saw JJ come running down the front steps so that he could help me out of the car before I could get out on my own.

"JJ, I am only 5 months. I'm okay." I tried not to laugh as he took my hand. Melody opened the back of the SUV and started pulling out our bags.

"I know, you are just carrying precious cargo. I just want to help." He grinned and I took a deep breath. It was amazing how quickly we had fallen in love with each other. As soon as he found out I was pregnant, he wanted to try and make this work. It was not like I could cheerlead anymore anyway. "Hey Mel, let me help you with that." Melody froze as soon as JJ walked over to help her. She hated it when people called her Mel. She would not correct him though. She was too shy.

"Melody, come walk with me into the house?" I asked her and she came to my side right away. I linked my arm with hers and the two of us walked inside together. I was taken back by the pretty tile under my feet and the chandelier that hung above the staircase. "Wow." I whispered and I could tell that Melody was just as amazed as I was.

"I have the guest house all set up for you, Melody. Do you want me to walk you out?" JJ asked as soon as he came into the house.

"I think I should be able to find it okay. Thank you." She grabbed her suitcase and started wheeling it to the back door.

"Don't take it personally. She is just shy." I smiled at JJ and kissed his cheek. "Thank you so much for letting her come. I do not know what I'd do without my sister." I rubbed my stomach softly as I felt the baby kicking furiously. We would be finding out the gender this weekend and I couldn't be more excited. "Here, feel." I took his hand and placed it on the left side of my stomach. This was the first time JJ got to feel the baby. His hand almost took up my whole stomach.

"Wow." JJ whispered, smiling slightly. He looked genuinely amazed. I really loved seeing that look on his face. "Come on, I'll show you up to the bedroom." He picked me up with ease and I smiled as I wrapped my arm around his shoulder. This was honestly one of the best decisions that I had made in months.

Melody's POV

The guest house was the size of a large cottage. I guess being an NFL football player had its advantages. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life yet and both Leanna and JJ said that I could stay if I wanted to. I started unpacking my clothes and I took a deep breath. I had a picture of me and Leanna together wrapped in one of my t-shirts. I ran my fingers over the glass and smiled slightly. It was my high school graduation. It was hard to believe that four years had passed since that day.

"Hey, Melody?" I heard Leanna's voice, followed by the front door to the guest house being closed. I came out of the bedroom, and she smiled slightly at me. I could tell that she had showered and put on some new clothes since we got here. "JJ wants to take us out to dinner tonight. I told him I would see if you wanted to go but I would respect you if you didn't." She smiled slightly and I could tell that she was still feeling nervous about moving to a new place.

"Yeah, I'll go. Unless you two wanted the time alone." I shoved my hands in the back pockets of my jeans.

"I want you to go. We can see the city together. JJ says he knows a place that serves the best Texas BBQ, so it'll be casual. We will have plenty of time for date nights as time goes on." She smiled at me and took a deep breath. "Well, I will leave you to get settled. I'll come back in a little while to check on you. We will leave around five."

"Okay, thanks." I smiled slightly and watched as she headed back out of the house. I could tell based on the look on her face that she was concerned about me. Leanna was really good at that. She had basically become my mom when our parents died, and I was so young. I would not have graduated high school without her.

I followed behind Jj and Leanna as we walked through town. The paparazzi were giving us enough space, staying on the other side of the road. We did have two huge bodyguards with us though, along with JJ who is a defensive end in the NFL. One of JJ's bodyguards opened the door to the restaurant for us and he flashed me a white smile as I walked past him.

"Thanks." I whispered before following JJ and Leanna inside. The hostess walked us to the back patio after JJ told her that we wanted a more private space. The back patio had netting around it unlike the restaurant that had massive clear, clean windows. No one was sitting back there. The server gave us three menus and headed back into the restaurant to give us some space. She seemed starstruck by the fact that JJ was here. I glanced up at JJ's bodyguard that had opened the door for us, and he gave me a small smirk and then went back to staring ahead.

"The cornbread here is the best. You will have to try it." JJ flashed Leanna a smile and I could tell that she was completely in love with him. They had only spent the one night together and then spent the last 5 months video chatting, calling, and texting.

"That sounds great." Leanna smiled and rested her head in the palm of her hand as she looked at him.

"We can get some plates for the table to share. They do family meals here." JJ thought out loud as he looked over the menu. I tucked some hair behind my ear and watched the two of them.

"Would you want to do that, Melody?" Leanna asked me and I gave her a small smile, nodding my head.

"Yeah, you can get whatever. I'll eat it." I answered as the server came to bring out some water glasses.

"What can I get you guys to drink?" She asked softly, pulling out her menu book. She looked directly at Jj when asked and I could tell that Leanna was staring daggers at her. Poor thing had no idea who she was messing with.

"Can we get a pitcher of sweet tea for the table and three glasses with ice?" Jj did not even give her a second look. I could tell that she was slightly disappointed as she walked back into the restaurant to fulfill the drink order.

"I'll eat whatever you get for the main course, but can we get a Caesar salad to start?" I asked as I looked through the menu. The picture was appealing.

"Oh yeah, a salad and some cheese fries." Leanna smiled as she looked at him. She rubbed the top of her stomach and took a deep breath. "Wanna feel?" She asked him and he put his hand where her's was. He did not even know the baby yet and I could tell that he was in love. We would be finding out the gender tomorrow. Well, they would. I already knew. I oversaw putting the whole thing together. JJ was going to throw a football on a white Watt jersey, and it was going to pop with either pink or blue. That was going to kick off the party. And then we'd go to the backyard for a gender reveal, baby shower combo. The baby shower was going to have themed food for whatever gender the baby was. Either a football player or a cheerleader. The NFL was the theme. I spaced out a little while thinking about the party and when I came to, we were already being served our salad and cheese fries. "You okay Melody?" Leanna asked as she served herself a small plate of both.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about tomorrow." I smiled slightly. The day I found out the gender, Leanna had tried so hard to get me to tell her about it. Now, she was a little calmer and kept it to herself.

"I'm so excited. I know that you're going to outdo yourself." Leanna sipped her sweet tea and I smiled shyly at her. I really hoped that she was right because I worked hard on it.

"Alright, here's your main course." The server brought out a rack of ribs, macaroni and cheese, baked potatoes, and a huge plate of cornbread. "Just let me know if you need anything else." She disappeared back inside, and I finished my salad.

"Thanks for bringing us out to dinner, JJ." I knew that Leanna would appreciate that I was being polite. She smiled at me as I said it. I smiled slightly back at her and Jj got a little bashful.

"Yeah, of course. We will have to make this a weekly thing." He smiled slightly and we got quiet as we started eating. I was starting to feel a little more comfortable with being here.