My girlfriend's boyfriends 2

My girlfriend's boyfriends 2
There were few things that felt as good as sitting next to her, watching the notes I wrote just for her flow between us. There was a beautiful calm that came over her as we turned my feelings for her into music. Sometimes I even let her add or change things.
When the song was over, she said, “Okay, Troy, you win. Bart from now on.”
I turned to her and took her hands in mine, looking at her with affection.
“While I appreciate that, the song wasn't for Bartholomew. It was for the kid, Aria. It's messing with you. Let's go and see him, just for a little bit. We can leave whenever you want to.”
Her eyes wavered.
“50/50, right? For every half hour you spend with him, I'll answer one question. Anything you want to know.”
She smiled and squeezed my hands. I wouldn't make her do it, wouldn't force my way into the moment if she didn't want me there. But I got the feeling that she did want me there, and she'd put it off too long already. Besides, I didn't give up information easily. This opportunity was not to be missed.
“Anything?”
Didn't she know by now I would give her absolutely anything? I had no power over it. To make her happy, to help her grieve and accept this child, I would do just about anything.
“Anything at all.”
I entered the nursery first. I took baby Ethan out of his crib and sat down with him on the carpet.
“Hey, kid. You've been waiting a long time for your Aunt Aria, haven't you? I know how you feel. I think I've been waiting a long time for her, too.”
This earned me an eye roll and a smile.
“You're that guy now? You're going to use your mad baby skills to hit on me?”
I shrugged, holding out my hand to her.
“Not much else he can do at this point, other than get me into your pants.”
Her eyes widened, and I chuckled. Taking my hand was as effortless as the night I offered it to her for the first time, even as she faced this difficult situation. I sat across from her, the baby in between us as we held hands.

She seemed content. It would always hurt that Ethan was gone, that they all were, but this was her family now. The little guy laying his hand into hers and me, watching her and the baby, always watching.

She looked like she wanted to hold him, but she was hesitant. So I picked him up for her and put him in her arms. The way she held on, clung to him, stroked his back, I just had to laugh.
“Am I doing something wrong?” she asked, genuinely concerned.
Damn, she was doing things to me. Is this what the rest of my life was going to look like? Could I really look at her forever? How many of ours would she hold and love the way she did the one in her arms right now? This was a different kind of trap. I didn't believe in happily ever after, but she was something else. Her I had to have.
“No,” I smiled warmly, getting up. “I just feel the teeny tiniest bit jealous right now.”
“What? Of the baby? For goodness sake, Troy!” she giggled, kissing baby Ethan's forehead.
I went to her and kissed her, fell just a little in love with the fantasy this kid was creating in my head. I wasn't worried or planning or scared. I was just happy. When I got back up again, she grabbed my hand and pulled insistently on it.
“Where do you think you're going?”
“You guys just seem to be getting on so well. I thought I'd give you a minute.”
“Well, I don't want one. I want you here. We both do, don't we, Ethan?”
I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to use the kid to get to her. I thought it was cheating, like when I pulled her into my arms that first night. But Aria was doing it too, getting swept up in Ethan and I and the idea of us being a family. And I wanted to give that to her, wanted to be her family. She'd even finally called the baby Ethan, was finally letting him in. Even if she didn't end up with me, I wanted her to have the child in her life.
So I sat back down, this time behind her as we both stroked the baby's back, our hands overlapping until he fell asleep. It gave her such joy that she'd put him to sleep for the first time that my heart exploded a few hundred times over. So what if I cheated a little? She was happy, and that made me happy, so insanely happy.
It hadn't seemed that long to me, but apparently we had been in there a while.
“Three hours?! Bullshit!” I protested.
“That's six questions, Troy,” she said as they sat down to brunch. “Oh, but don't worry, I'll be spreading them out throughout the day.”
I sighed. This had been the deal. I still wasn't sure she wasn't lying about the time, but it didn't matter much. For the first time, someone wanted to know about me because she cared about me. She didn't have a hidden agenda. I was her only agenda.
“Good then! First question. Tell me about Dean.”
I knew she was going to go there, but she wasn't pulling any punches. She could've started me off easier. It was astounding, though, because I wanted to tell her. I wanted her to know.
Dean and I were as close as two brothers could be. But when our mom died, our dad, King Edward, poured all of his grief into the wars. Unfortunately, Dean followed suit. Unlike King Edward, however, it wasn't just about power for Dean. He hungered for war, had attained something of a bloodlust. The next time I saw my brother during my first Warlandian war, he had already become this thing, this ruthless monster. Because of our bond and me being only 16, I followed Dean everywhere. It took my little time to realize that there was no glory in what my father and brother had been doing, only senseless murder.