raising it » david dobrik

9

Our night at the Airbnb was odd, but great. Jason served us pizza that I could tell was Pizza Hut and then left us alone for most of the night, telling us he was "preparing the bed" for him and Trisha. I wasn't positive what that meant, but I also didn't want to find out.

We returned to the Walkers at around nine thirty to pick up Luke, and we found them wide awake and waiting for us, excited grins on their faces. I debated making them think I said no, but then decided that was a little heartless. Their excitement caught on quickly, and I was eagerly shoving the ring in Aaliyah's face while squealing as soon as they opened their front door. The ring, though ridiculously overpriced, was growing on me.

"My bitch!" Aaliyah wrapped her arms around me and forced us to jump up and down, despite my towering heels. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you," I smiled, kissing her on the cheek. "I love you."

"Damn," Michael said, grasping my wrist to get a better look at the literal rock resting on my finger. "You really are rich, huh?"

"Yes sir," David awkwardly laughed, looking down at the ring sparkling under the light of the chandelier. "She deserves the best."

"Yes, she does," Aaliyah looked at David with a soft, but there smile. "Remember what I told you?"

"How could I forget? You threatened to kill me," David joked and I laughed, remembering Aaliyah's intense speech about how she wasn't scared of him or going to jail.

"The offer still stands, and now it does for the rest of your life," she gestured down to my ring. "But I love you. Thank you for making my girl so happy."

"I love you too, Aaliyah," David laughed, pulling her in for a quick hug. "Even if you do scare me."

"We're going to go now," I pushed David a step back from the pair who could tear him limb from limb if they really wanted to. I didn't doubt them for a second. "Thank you both so much for taking care of Luke and for lying to me the entire night. It's been perfect, really."

"You know I'll always be around to lie to you," Aaliyah giggled, pulling me in for a suffocating hug. "I love you. Let me know when you want me to start picking my maid of honor dress."

"Will do," I chuckled, moving onto her dad. "Bye, Mr. Walker. Thank you!"

"I'll see you soon, okay? You need to start coming over more," he smiled. David shook his hand once again (I was sure it was an intimidation strategy on Michael's part), then hugged Aaliyah, and we were off with Luke safely sleeping in his car seat.

The next day was the day we planned to tell everyone, partially because it was the day everyone could get together at Jason and Todd's and partially because David had a big mouth and probably couldn't hold it any longer. He had done good to keep the baby hidden for as long as he did.

We Facetimed his family that morning, who couldn't talk for long because his dad had to go to work, but they said they were very excited for us and told me I needed to convince David to visit more. "I will," I replied with a laugh. "I loved Chicago."

David didn't want to do anything special for the engagement announcement with his friends; he instructed me to just wait until someone noticed the ring, just like with our second baby bump surprise. It was easy enough on my part, despite my wanting to show off the ring to everyone I had come across, including our Starbucks barista. Aaliyah offered to stay at David's with Luke to make the announcement as smooth as possible, as long as David stocked the fridge before she came over.