Dance With Me {l.t.} ✔

Chapter Sixteen

“All good?” Louis asked.
Uh . . . “Yup, all good,” I answered, putting a smile on my face.
Liar.
There WAS a slight chance that I could have gotten pregnant tonight. A really slight chance, but it was there. Still, I stood by what I had told Louis: if it happened, it happened. We should have been worried about being careful before, not after.
“You want to watch a film?” I asked, and when Louis agreed, I left him with the remote, and I got up to get a few beers from the mini fridge. I handed him one and sat back down beside him. “Your mom and the girls are still coming tomorrow, right?”
“That’s the plan,” He grinned. “I’m thinking of using the time between rehearsal and the show to spend some time with them since we won’t have a Meet and Greet here. How does that sound to you?”
“Wonderful, of course. I’m just really excited to meet them!”
“Oh, Mum is absolutely great,” His eyes instantly lit up. “I know she’s just going to love you. I’ve already told her all about you.”
That made my heart swell. The fact that Louis, self-proclaimed Mommy’s Boy, was telling his mom all about me just really meant a lot. I knew that was just a testament to how he really felt about me. It made me feel safe. I felt loved.
Wait, what? The L-word? That word scared the literal shit out of me.

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Johannah was an absolutely amazing woman. Her hugs were even better than her son’s and although I had just met her, I was finding it hard to let go of her embrace. I could tell by the way that she looked at Louis that the bond and relationship between the two of them was just as strong as Louis made it seem. He was her first baby; he told me she was just eighteen years old when she had him.
“Milana, you are absolutely stunning,” She remarked, pulling away from the hug. “Just as beautiful as Louis has told me.” Cue my heated cheeks!
“Thank you, Mrs. Deakin,” I answered, a bit quietly. Everyone around me started laughing, including Lottie and Harry! I was so confused. Had I pronounced her name wrong?
“Dear, everyone just calls me Jay,” She smiled, squeezing my hand, “and I see no reason why you shouldn’t do the same.”
“Of course,” I relaxed. Whew, I thought I had really messed up!



We spent most of our time lounging around backstage and just enjoying having Jay, Phoebe, and Daisy with us tonight. The twins were absolutely gorgeous, just like their mother and Lottie. Jay was so kind, wanting to know all about what Louis had been up to and how I was getting along with the whole team.
“Have your parents popped in for a show yet, love?” She asked me. “I imagine they probably did back when you all were in the States.”
A totally innocent and off-handed question, I know, but it threw me for a complete loop. I froze in my seat, and I’m sure Louis felt me tense up in his arms. He had only been half-listening, though, as Daisy had been showing him something on her phone. I doubted his ability to swoop in and save me from this conversation.
“Oh, Mum, Milana hasn’t really spoken to her folks since she graduated and started working in the industry.” Okay, he had been listening enough. I let out a small breath of relief.
“Awe, well no worries,” She smiled so brightly, I almost couldn’t believe it. “You have family with us.” Cue my misty eyes.



Beside me, Louis had his arm around me, and when I looked at him and mouthed ‘thank you,’ he squeezed my shoulder. Bless him. I still have yet to tell him about the fallout I had with my parents. He never tried to push, though, and he just let things roll. I really appreciated it, and I made a mental note to myself that he did deserve to be told the truth.

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Being back with Louis and back on the tour was absolutely amazing, but I feel like I blinked, and it was suddenly all over. All the long months, and it was all about to end. We were currently piling into a bus to ride from our hotel to our very last show of the tour. I could cry, I was so sad about it all.
“This is it, lads,” Niall smiled, but we could all hear the sadness in his voice.
“This is it,” Louis huffed out. The air was heavy.
Their new album was set to release in November, but the boys had been talking. They weren’t sure they wanted to tour again, and I couldn’t really blame them. They had been doing this constantly for the past several years. They deserved a break.
I was just sad that the break wasn’t just from touring. They seemed to want a break from the band as a whole. Fights were easily picked more and more often during the song-writing and creative process. They were wanting to take their sound in four different places, and it was hardly meshing well together.
They didn’t want to keep fighting. They wanted to stay friends. To stay brothers. They didn’t want to burn out the way Zayn had, causing the lying and sneaking and lashing out against one another.
Again, I couldn’t blame them.
“One last time, boys,” Liam smiled at all of us as we walked into the venue. “Let’s make it a good one.”
“A fantastic one,” Harry corrected, tossing his arms around Niall and Liam’s shoulders.