Live, Laugh, Loathe

Chapter 29: Damon

I'm nearly bouncing in my seat, waiting for Drew to notice what I did to our schedule today. It's Friday, exactly three days, five hours, and twenty-six minutes after I thought our world was ending, and I am scrambling to get my mind off it by planning this surprise for Drew.

Because if I think about anything other than what I have planned this weekend, I'm going to explode.

"Damon?" Her voice floats in through the open door. "What the hell did you do to our calendars?" She sounds alarmed, no doubt looking at our suddenly meeting-free afternoon.

She turns in her chair to look at me wide-eyed. I can almost see her running through her mental schedule, trying to remember all our meetings.

"We're going on a baby-moon. I had a few people agree to cover us for the rest of the day today, so I can take you away for the weekend."

Her mouth is hanging open, too stunned to speak. I hope it's the good kind of stunned.

"But. What? How? Where?" Her confusion is adorable.

"It's a surprise. I asked Matilda to pack you a bag, and it's in the car, so finish up whatever you need to. We're leaving in thirty minutes."

"So that's why you insisted on driving us this morning." Drew chews on her lip, clearly trying to hide the smile that is breaking across her face. I smile myself, positively giddy for our weekend away.

Even though we live and work together, we have very little time to just be us. When we aren't working, we're talking about baby stuff or visiting with friends. This weekend is just for us. Sure, the baby will be there, we can't exactly leave her here, but by being away from the city and work, I'm hoping we can connect on a different level.

Precisely thirty minutes later, I shut down my office and help Drew clean up her desk. She wasn't quite ready to leave yet, but we have a long drive ahead, and work can wait until Monday.

"Are you seriously not going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope."

"Since when do we need a baby-moon anyways?" She's trying really hard to seem like she isn't extremely excited to be going away this weekend.

I just laugh and shake my head. Once in the elevator, I take her hand in mine and savor the feeling. Now that we're actually on our way, I'm a little nervous. What if she hates it?

---

There are very few things that will bring you joy the way listening to your partner sing in the car will.

I've heard Drew hum songs occasionally and sing a bit in the shower. But it's always fragmented and quiet like she doesn't want to disturb me or something. But in the car? She's belting out, not holding back, while we listen to her road trip playlist. And if I wasn't already in love, I would have fallen hard today.

Her voice is husky and warm. She's actually really good, only missing the high notes. Hopefully, our kid will inherit her singing voice because mine? Leaves a lot to be desired. But that doesn't stop me from singing along too. When I tentatively joined during a Panic! At the Disco song, Drew nearly shit herself; she was so happy. I'll sing for her every day as long as it keeps that smile on her face.

---

We're idling in front of the little cabin I secured, and I'm sweating bullets. After our concert, Drew fell asleep and stayed cashed out until we arrived. So, she really had no idea where we were. And now I'm sitting here wondering if I overstepped.

She hasn't said a word and is just sitting there staring out the windshield.

I brought her back to the Finger Lakes because she said it was one of her best memories growing up. Now I'm worried bringing her here is only highlighting the bad. I chose Otisco Lake because it was small, and a buddy of mine from college had a connection to this lake. Since fall is in full swing, all the rentals are usually taken because the fall leaf color is phenomenal.

I open my mouth to say we can go back, that this was a bad idea, but Drew just reaches over and covers my mouth with her hand. I find myself staring into her eyes, watching as her expression goes from shock to pure, unhindered happiness.

"I love it." She whispers before removing her hand and replacing it with her lips. Phew, operation baby-moon is a success.

---

Hours later, Drew rests between my legs while we share a bath. Her back rests against my chest, and I can rest my chin on the top of her head. Our tub at home is pretty small, so we've never done this before. I make a mental note to see if we can get a bigger tub into our bathroom. Or maybe we should just move?

Whoever designed this tub did it with couples in mind. Partway up the sides, there's a small shelf to rest your arms. Drew runs her fingers up and down my forearms as they rest there, occasionally interlacing our fingers before resuming her movements. We found bath oil and dried rose petals in a cabinet, and I like it way more than I thought I would. Maybe Matilda will know where to get this kind of stuff for home.

She shifts slightly, her body growing heavy as she relaxes more. Her voice is sleepy sounding. "Maybe we can come here more often. Once the baby is born."

"I think that sounds perfect." She hums her approval, slipping further into the water as she falls asleep. I wrap one arm around her torso, just under her breasts, to keep her from dropping further. My other arm goes to the bottom of her belly.

We rest there together until the water cools.Then I help my sleepy love get dry and rub lotion into her body before pullingmy T-shirt over her head and helping her under the covers. And as I lay there,holding her body close to mine, listening to her soft breathing, I think aboutwhat our lives will be like once the baby is here. Will we still do this? Holdeach other while we sleep, casually hold hands, snuggle? Fuck, I hope so.