The Flashbacks

Chapter Nine: One Week to Go

I rang the doorbell at Elyse and Ethan's, shifting on my feet. I had Ava's car seat hanging on one arm and Jax was standing next to me. I got Ethan a succulent from the store and Jax got candy for both him and Luna. Ethan was the one who answered the door. He smiled down as Jax ran past his legs and into the house.

"Hi." Ethan smiled up at me, leaning against the doorway with his hands in his pockets.

"Hi." I found myself looking down below the waistline. Now that I had seen it, his jeans didn't leave much to the imagination. I caught myself and shook my head. I knew my face had to be bright red. I hoped my makeup was doing its job. "Sorry, I'm so sorry." I held out the plant to him. "This is for you. To apologize for last night. I saw that you left me on read and I'm sure I crossed a line." I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat.

"Oh, Stephanie." He put his fingers under my chin and lifted my face so that I could look into those beautiful baby blues of his. "You don't have to hide from me, gorgeous. You didn't cross the line. I fell asleep with my phone open. I didn't mean to leave you on read. Come on in." He moved out of the way so I could come into the house. Alex was helping Luna and Jax build a fort in the living room. "Elyse left to go pick up some pizza for lunch. She had ordered ahead, so she should be back soon." He closed the door behind me and took Ava's car seat for me. He put it on the table behind the couch and unstrapped her. I didn't mind when he took Ava out of the car seat. She already loved Ethan from all of the times we had been here. "I'll go put her down in Elyse's bedroom so that she can get some sleep away from the noise." He rested her head on his chest and I could see her snuggle up to him. Was I really jealous of my 3-month-old right now?

Elyse's POV

I was grateful to have Monday off from work for Veteran's Day. We were going to have a small BBQ here at the house later. Alex and I were hanging out in my bedroom. Ethan took the dogs and Luna out for a walk and to the park. I was still debating on whether to give into my physical urges to Alex. Stephanie had recommended I buy a sexy lingerie set and surprise, Alex, one day after work. I thought it was a good plan. I adjusted the way we were sitting so that I was sitting in his lap, straddling him. I held his face in both of my hands and I could feel him harden through his sweatpants. This wasn't the first time we made out like this, but something about this time was more urgent and passionate. Alex cupped my butt in his hands and gave it a soft squeeze. I wasn't sure if I was doing it on purpose or if it was just a natural reaction, but I was rubbing myself against him.

"Unless you want to have to change that pretty dress of yours, you need to stop." I could hear Alex's breath catching in his throat. I was wearing a floral long-sleeve dress. Alex hadn't gotten ready yet. I smirked as I looked down at him.

"I have other dresses," I whispered, pressing my lips to his. I could feel Alex's body twitching under mine as he moaned into my mouth. I bit his bottom lip softly before pulling away. Alex brushed his fingers against my cheek, pushing my hair back.

"I love you; you know that?" He asked me with a smile. This wasn't the first time we said it, but it was still nice to hear.

"I love you, too." I pecked him one last time before climbing off his lap. I tried not to laugh when I realized there was a wet spot on the front of his sweatpants.

"You owe me a shower now." Before he could move to jump out the bed, I ran down the hall with him chasing me.

Steph's POV

I was glad that they invited us to the BBQ at their house, but the more time I spent with Ethan, the harder it was not to jump his bones. Sarah drove so that Ryan and I could drink if we wanted to. Sarah took Ava from the car and I took Jax. I rang the doorbell and Elyse was the one who answered the door. She was wearing a pretty brown sweater dress.

"Hey, come on in. Luna and the boys are out back." She moved out of the way, taking the coconut cream pie that Sarah made for the day so that she could take it to the kitchen. Ryan took Jax and Daisy out to the backyard while Sarah and I followed Elyse into the kitchen.

"How has everything been?" I asked, wondering if Alex and Elyse had taken any new steps yet.

"Good. Ethan's been spending a lot of time with Luna because of his suspension. It's only been three days, but he's already going crazy. Would you like a glass of wine, Steph?" She asked after grabbing Sarah a water bottle from the fridge.

"Just a small one. I'm honestly not fully over my hangover from yesterday." I admitted, nibbling on the chips and dip on the counter.

"We also have sweet tea." She told me while looking in the fridge. I kind of felt relieved. I wasn't ready to drink again yet.

"Oh, thank the Lord. I'll take the tea." I laughed slightly and Elyse smiled, serving three glasses of tea. She also served two sippy cups, holding them out to the kids when they ran by. They both took them without missing a step. "So, have there been any new developments with Alex yet?" I asked her, smiling behind my cup as I took a drink.

"Not yet, but soon." She licked some dip off her thumb. I could see that her face was a slight pink color, but she wasn't super embarrassed. We made our way outside into the little backyard. The kids were running around in the grass with the dogs. Well, Daisy and Star. I looked for Spike and found him sitting next to Ethan's legs. Ethan and Alex were at the grill. Ryan and Alex had beers in their hands and I noticed that Ethan had a bottle of water. In the three and a half weeks I had been in the house, I had never seen him drink alcohol.

"Is your brother sober?" I asked Elyse quietly when we sat on the patio furniture. She pulled her legs up on the chair with her and got comfortable.

"Yes and no. Our dad was an alcoholic. Ethan only drinks on special occasions." She replied quietly. Alex came around and kissed the top of Elyse's head on the way back into the house.

"How long have you and Alex been together now?" Sarah asked Elyse. It was still hard for me to believe that my sister knew my new best friend. After Sarah had the baby and was ready to return to work, she and Elyse were going to open their own practice together.

"Three months, almost four. I can't believe it's only been three months though. I've known Alex since I was 17 when he and Ethan joined the police academy together at 18. That's 13 years." Elyse took a drink of her tea and pulled Luna into her lap when she came running up to her. Alex served Luna a hot dog with a side of strawberries and Doritos. Jax came running up to me and Ethan served him a plate similar to Luna's.

"Is this okay?" He asked me and I smiled, nodding my head. It was nice of him to serve Jax for me.

"Alex has had heart eyes for you since before you met Finn. I'm shocked you didn't see it sooner." Sarah smiled, rubbing Ava's back. Ethan brought over the platter of BBQ chicken, burgers, and hot dogs. We passed around the potato salad, bags of chips, and grabbed the meat from the middle using tongs.

"This looks amazing. Thank you so much for inviting us." Sarah smiled and put Ava in the little bassinet that Ethan brought out from the house.

"You kept Luna's bassinet?" Elyse looked like she could cry. Alex rubbed her back softly and Luna looked up at her mom because of the mention of her name.

"You've always talked about wanting a big family. I wasn't just going to toss it out." Ethan took the empty seat next to me and I hoped that I could keep myself together.

"How big of a family did you want?" Alex asked her and I could tell that he was being curious and not trying to make her uncomfortable.

"Maybe like 3 or 4 kids. I know that's not like a "big" big family, but a lot of people are only having one or two these days. I want Luna to have siblings to play with. People who are going to love and support her as she grows up." She kissed the top of Luna's head. Luna was just enjoying her food, oblivious to the conversation.

"You came from a big family, didn't you, Alex?" Sarah asked. If she's known Elyse for a while, then she knew Ethan and Alex for a while too.

"Yeah, I'm the middle child of 7 kids." Alex smiled slightly, glancing at Elyse. "My oldest sibling is my only brother. I have 5 sisters." He took a drink of his beer. "3 to 4 kids doesn't sound so bad." He didn't look at Elyse but I saw her glance at him, a small smile on her face. I really hoped I would find love like theirs, sooner rather than later.