The Bad Boy's Little Pumpkin

Bad Boys and Bonfires

By the middle of October, I was getting way too big to do anything. I could still move a little bit, but not a ton. Instead of going to a party, we decided to have a little bonfire fun so I could rest up and have enough energy for the Fall Carnival the following weekend.

We went over to Damien's best friend Cane's house with some of the other football team members and all my cheerleading friends.

We hadn't done a bonfire night in a while because Cane's parents couldn't travel, but now that they were gone, it was time to par-tay. However, bonfires don't feel the same when you're pregnant and can't enjoy all the stuff everyone else is enjoying.

Apple was next to me, enjoying some gummy edibles with Damien, who was the one that brought them. My cheer friends were across from us, clinking bottles of beer. I would've loved to take a few drags from the many blunts that were being passed around or a few beers. Being pregnant was stressful.

At this point, my whole body was hurting and my emotions were everywhere. I was normally pretty bitchy but now I was completely off the wall.

"Hey, how's my two little pumpkins?" Damien asked, putting his arm around me.

"Shitty."

"Huh, how come?" he asked, sitting up.

"I'm freezing cold and this sucks. I want to be drunk and baked like everyone else," I said, pouting.

"Hang on. I'll fix everything," he said, getting to his feet. "Hey, Cane! I'm going into your place and stealing a bunch of your stuff."

"Got it," Cane said, letting out a big puff of smoke.

"I'll be right back, babe," Damien said.

I put my hands out towards the fire to warm up. Other than the fact that everything sucked, it was a nice night. The wind was blowing some leaves off the trees, the air was crisp—freezing, but crisp.

The sky was cloudless and full of stars. It was the perfect night to sit in front of a crackling fire, tell stories, then get plastered and somehow find our way into Cane's house, then wake up on the floor somewhere inside the next morning.

I loved my baby, but I couldn't wait until they were out of me so I could do a bunch of dumb things again. It was all I really wanted.

"Okay, here's everything my little Pumpkin could ever need," Damien said, coming up behind me.

He wrapped a warm flannel blanket around me and handed over a big cup of steaming hot chocolate.

"Babe, this is perfect!" I said.

"Just like you," he said, sitting back down.

He scooted his chair even closer to mine and I rested my head on his shoulder. I gave him some of the blanket, too. I was in a cuddling mood, and so was he. Damien kissed the top of my head and slid his hand back and forth over my massive baby bump.

I took a sip of my hot chocolate and looked out over the crackling fire as everyone smoked, drank, and actually enjoyed themselves. Then my little baby started moving and kicking. It reminded me that missing out on part of the fun just this once wasn't actually that bad.