Luckless Lover

Chapter 18

Zake's pov

The party ended at 2 in the morning. After everyone left he and Steff went upstairs and left the mess for the morning. They covered the extra food and put the cold things in the fridge. He gave Kendra a fifty and she left with Scott and Addy.

They put Aly's pajamas on and got themselves ready for bed. When they were done, Steff took a hand towel and tied it around his eyes. She lead him to the kitchen and sat him at the table. "Oh, no." He joked. "No more food." He heard her giggle and walk away.

"Stay here." He sat for a few minutes and then she came back. "Open." He took the fold away from his eyes and looked right at Steff's face then down at the table in front of him. A box sat on the table. "Open it."

He did as he was told. Inside the box was the photo album she had made. He saw the picture on the front and laughed nervously. He pulled the book out of the box and a paper fell out of it. He picked it up and read it out loud. 

"Dear Zake,

I wanted you to remember the times we had anytime you want. When you get old, and your memory fades, you can look at these and remember. I also wanted you to see how our relationship grew from day one." His voice cracked. "I hope you had a great 31st birthday, and I hope you know you are loved by people that surround you." He stopped reading and set the letter on the table resting his head on the table. He sniffed and caughed trying not to show her his tears.  

She took the letter and read to him. "Know that Aly loves you, Rian loves you(even though you can't see her she is there), and know that I love you. I can't even put it down in words. I feel so safe when you. I love how driven you are. How you feel you HAVE to protect Aly. And me. I love seeing you play with Aly. Your playful side is so sexy. I really love that you can cut loose and have fun sometimes. Aly looks at you like, without you she'd fall apart. And I feel the same way. Anyways what I'm saying is you are the first man I ever came to love. And I can't even see myself with anyone else. I love you Zake. I love you SO much.

Love,

Your Steff"

Zake was still laying on the table when she finished. He looked up at her with his teary eyes. "Oh, Steff." He hugged her and cried in her arms. She hugged him back and waited for him to stop. When he did stop he took the book off the table and opened it. The first picture was of Aly and him, it was taken on Steff's first day. He looked through the rest of the pictures and the tears came back. "Stefanie Elaine Heart," He said, with a cracked voice. Standing up, he took her hands and pulled her to him. "I love you so, so much. I don't think Rian ever made me feel this way. I loved her but-"

"In a different way?"

"Yeah." He kissed her head and sighed. "Thank you Steff. This is the best birthday ever." 

She stood on her tiptoes and planted a gentile kiss on his lips. "You're welcome."

They went back into the room and laid on the bed. They listened to each other's breaths until they fell asleep.

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Steff's pov

She woke up with the sun. Zake wasn't in the bed next to her, making her panic. When she heard his voice in the hall. She breathed in relief, not even knowing why she felt so worried. He was on the phone in the hall, she knew because he doesn't talk to Aly that way.

"Really?" He said excitedly. "Saturday? okay. I'll have to figure a few things out first. How long do you think you'll need me? Okay. Thank you for this opportunity. Bye." He came back into the room and hopped on her bed. "So guess what."

"What." She said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

He sat up. "I got a job!"

"Really!?" she sat up too. "That's great!"

"Yeah." He looked at his feet. "But there is a downside."

"Yeah?"

"it5's in Florida."

"Florida?" Her eyes widened. "Okay." She immediately hid her disappointment. 

He held her chin in his hand. "Hey." he smiled. "We can Skype."

She shrugged. "Are you taking Aly?" 

"Nah." Now he shrugged. "I kinda don't want to take her to a new city until I scope the place out. I'm going to have my mother watch her for a month." 

"Okay."

"Daddy! Daddy!" Aly came in jumping on him. "Did you like the present Steff gave you?"

He hugged her. "Yes I did. I loved it." He sat Aly on the bed next to them and she climbed under the covers. "So, Aly,  you are going to stay with grams for a month. You will go there on Saturday a..."

"No!" She pouted

"Aly?" He looked at her with a confused look. "Daddy has to go to work."

"I want to stay with Steff!" 

"Not this time." He said patting Aly's head. 

"Please?"

"Not this time."

"Fine." She said, sliding off the bed and stomping out of the room.

Steff  got up and went to the bathroom, saying. "She can stay with me you know. I-if you want."

"No it's fine." He said coming to the door of the bathroom and leaning against the frame. "She is spoiled by  you." 

She got her tooth brush from her cup and put paste on it. "Okay."

"However, the on the weekends she can stay her if you want her to. My mom comes to the city for the weekends because she has work." He shrugged. "Usually we bring her to a daycare or we have a nanny."

"Yeah." She said with her toothbrush. Finishing up, she went to her closet. "I think she'll like that."

 "Thank you." He said and hugged her from behind. "For letting us stay here and for being the best girlfriend ever."

"Yeah." She turned and kissed him. "And thank you for being the best boyfriend." He went out to make breakfast while she got dressed. She wore a pair of cut of jeans and a plaid sleeveless blouse.