Getting to Know You // Braddison

Nineteen.

~ addison pov

We walked hand-in-hand back outside to meet the others who were still hanging around the pool. My thoughts were still absorbed by the conversation that Bryce and I just had of sharing each other's feelings. My heart felt full knowing that he held the same feelings as I did. I felt lucky and blessed to have him in my life.

As we met up with the boys, they asked about Jacob. I assured them that he would be up and running soon as his naps never lasted too long. He only needed to rest for a bit before coming back with full energy. We all ate and had some drinks as time began to pass.

"He's still asleep!" Bryce said surprisingly as he walked back towards me. He had just checked on Jacob as he was worried about him. It was cute actually, he had asked about him twice already in the past thirty minutes. Jacob was surprisingly still asleep, the pool had probably made him overly exhausted.

Bryce took the seat next to me on a sofa as he pulled me close to him and I cuddled into his arms. Some of the boys were playing ping pong, while Jaden and Josh were cooking some left over food. Bryce and I laid in silence as I felt myself begin to doze off.. I was also exhausted. I felt his hand running up and down my back which felt so relaxing. He kissed my forehead and told me to fall asleep. "I got you baby, and i'll watch Jacob.." he whispered in my ear as he kissed my temple.

I opened my eyes weakly to see the beautiful man before me. I smiled at him as I pulled him down by his collar. I kissed him without saying a word, I just felt the desire to do so. My lips always longed for his. He smiled before pulling away. "I know you're tired baby.." he whispered. I nodded, he was right. Pools made me tired too. I made myself comfortable again in his arms as I wrapped my arms around him and he held me close.

I dozed off into sleep, waking up to an empty sofa. I didn't know how long I had slept for but I could see the sun now beginning to set. My ringing phone is what woke me up. I looked for it and saw two missed calls from an unknown number. It was weird but I didn't give it much thought. I set my phone down and didn't even bother to return the call.

I looked up to see the boys running around with Jacob. Jacob ran directly into Bryce's arms full of laughter as Bryce picked him up and threw him in the air. I couldn't help but smile to see my little boy so happy. I knew there was always something missing from Jacob's life with his father being absent. I had always wanted to provide that for him, but it couldn't just be anyone which is why I was always so careful with dating. But Bryce really proved himself and continued to show me that I made the right decision introducing them to each other.

As I watched them, my phone rang again. I groaned as it was the same unknown number from before, but I decided to pick it up. "Hello?" I heard silence for a while before speaking once again. The person on the other line finally spoke and I felt my heart sink. I knew exactly who this was.. I could never forget that voice.

"So you didn't think to invite me to Jacob's second birthday party?" I heard Keith ask me over the phone. I was shocked by this phone call, but the reason for the call shocked me even more.

Keith was my ex who hadn't bothered to call in months. The last time he saw Jacob was nine months ago when his mother begged him to visit. It was clear that he didn't care about him. I had lost hope in him a long time and didn't ask him for anything, not even one dime. This was my child and my priority was to protect him, I didn't want to have Keith come in and out of his life with how unreliable he was, it wasn't fair to Jacob.

I hadn't invited Keith for clear reasons. Even if I wanted to invite him, I didn't even have his number to do so. But I did invite his grandparents. They were going to be flying in just for his party which I appreciated. They had a good relationship with Jacob and cared about him deeply, so I of course wanted them there. Keith was a different story though.