Thirty Eight

Thirty minutes later and we were curled up in front of the TV. Joel had reheated my food for me, seeing as he wore me the hell out upstairs. I scarfed it down in no time, wishing I had even more to satiate my hunger. I swore they laced their food with something.

Joel started up a round of Call of Duty: Zombies for us to play together and I was eager to kick some zombie ass. I loved these moments with him. They were simple, fun, without worry for what was happening out of the game. We weren't Joel and Jennifer. We were soldiers battling the undead.

"What kind of games does Isaac make?" I spared a glance at Joel who had his tongue between his teeth, focused on the game in a way that should've annoyed me, but actually just made me want him more. He looked so damn sexy like that.

"Indie games. Ever heard of Dead Man's Hell?"

"The horror game?" No way. That game was badass! Insane graphics, realistic sound effects, hours of gameplay. It was said to compete with triple A's!

"Mhmm. Took him years to finish all the coding for it."

"Holy shit. I didn't take him for the horror type, but I guess he's a little more dangerous than I originally thought. Fuck, the teddy bear. The crate moved." I pulled my lip in, dodging angry zombies and shotgunning the ones that got too close.

"Have I ever mentioned how fucking hot you are?" I giggled.

"You're ridiculous. Hey, wait, what are you-?" I felt my controller being lifted from my hands, followed closely by Joel's lips on my neck. I squealed in excitement as he pushed me to my back, pulling the sherpa throw from my lap as he ascended over me. "Joel!" I laughed out, trying to swat at his hands which were poking and tickling my belly. But he kept at it, before finally lifting up the base of my shirt and lowering his lips to me. He pressed feathery kisses to my flat belly, making me smile bigger than I ever had.

"I can't wait for you to grow, little one." He mumbled, following with more kisses.

"You're going to be such a great daddy." He stopped, lifting his eyes to mine. I could see it all; the adoration, the excitement, the love. He truly was ecstatic about being a father. His lips lifted into a soft and warm smile, and he opened his mouth to respond, but was drowned out by the loud tone of my cellphone.

I smiled apologetically, but he just chuckled, lifting himself just enough to reach my cell on the coffee table. He read the ID, and his eyes widened a bit.

"Your mom, baby. Need me to step out?" I shook my head.

"No. Please, stay." He nodded, handing it to me, but lifting us both to a sitting position. His arms snaked around my sides to settle on my tummy, my back snuggled up to his front. With one last sigh, I answered.

"Hello?"

"Oh, thank God. I was worried you wouldn't answer." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'd never ignore you, mom. Are you okay? How's, um, dad?"

"Well, sweetie, I was hoping you could give us that address for Joel's?" What?

"You're still in Columbia?" I thought they'd be back home by now.

"Oh, yes. We don't want to miss the opportunity to visit with you. We're by the university now." I looked around the room at our mess. My reheated lasagna plate was on the table, the blankets were on the floor, and our controllers were tossed haphazardly on the sofa.

"Oh, okay. Um, yea, it's thirteen o' six Redford Blvd." I pulled away from Joel, rushing to pick up for my parents. He didn't complain, but rose behind me and headed for the stairway.

"Okay. Thirteen o' six Redford Blvd. Yea, I think that's it. Good. Okay honey, I think we got it in the GPS. It says about five minutes. We'll see you soon." I smiled, balancing it on my shoulder as I walked my plate to the kitchen sink.

"Okay, mom. I love you. Bye."

"Love you, too. Bye bye."

"Shit." My phone slipped, and I stuck out my leg to somehow slow the descent, but it hit me right on the ankle. "Son of a-"

"You okay, baby?" Joel jogged in, our empty bottle and can in hand. He tossed them into the recycling on his way over to me.

"I'm fine." I set my plate beside the sink, and hopped over to pick up my phone. He knelt down beside me.

"Hold onto my shoulders." I obeyed, allowing him to lift my leg for a closer look. "Your poor ankles have been through a lot." He chuckled, kissing the red spot and rubbing his thumb gently over it. I winced at the contact. "Let's get you back to the couch, baby. I'll clean up. You should probably put on a bra. And pants."

I looked down. Shit, I was practically naked, only wearing one of his t-shirts and panties.

"I need to go upstairs!"

"I set some clothes on the couch for you." He stood, offering to carry me, but I refused, using his arm for support instead. I didn't want him to hurt himself with too much activity in one day. By the time I hobbled my way back, my ankle was starting to feel a little better. I slipped on the yoga pants and wireless bra he brought out, smiling at his attention to my sore breasts. Afterwards, I focused on turning off the television and Playstation.

Ding, ding, ding, dong.

The elaborate door chime sounded, pulling my attention to the door. They were here. Joel wiped his hands from cleaning the dish, then crossed to the front door where I met him.

"You okay?" He asked, looking down at my swollen ankle.

"Yea, it's feeling better. Should you answer, or me?" On one hand, it was his house. On the other hand, they were my parents. He gestured for me to go ahead, and I nodded. Right. I didn't want my dad knocking him on his ass if he was still pissed. Better to introduce me first.

I unlocked the front door, opening it anxiously to see my parents waiting with their bags on the other side. My mom stepped in first, wrapping me up in her warm embrace before she even fully crossed the threshold.

"Oh, look at you. My baby girl." She released me, grabbing my face between her palms and meeting my eyes with watery ones. "You are so beautiful. And heavens, this house. My God." She finally moved onto Joel, but this time, he was more prepared and opened his arms for her hug. "This is such a beautiful house!" She leaned up, kissing Joel on the cheek before making herself at home. I shook my head, smirking. She continued to rant about Joel's home, commenting on everything from the hardwood to the lighting fixtures as Joel accompanied her.

"It, uh, is a pretty nice house. He must make a pretty penny." I turned to face my dad, who was watching me nervously.

"Come in, dad." I held my hand out in a gesture, opening the door all the way for him. He hesitated, putting his head down before grunting quietly and ascending the rest of the stairway. I closed the heavy wood behind him.

"Here, let me show you where to take those."

"Alright." I led him down the downstairs hallway, just shy of the painting studio where one of the three guest rooms was located. I chose this one for them because of the en suite bathroom and proximity to the kitchen, in case they got hungry at night. Now, I was glad because I wouldn't have to drag my ass upstairs to take him there.

I turned on the light.

"There are towels in the bathroom and you can set your bags in the closet. Or on the dresser, whichever you want. Spare blankets are here." I crossed to the chest in the corner, patting the wooden dome.

"Jen."

"Hm?" I hadn't even realized how much I was shaking until I stopped moving, but now, watching my dad watch me, had me swimming in an ocean of nerves.

"Darlin', I…" He cleared his throat, stepping forward. "I'm sorry for being a jackass earlier. I didn't mean it. I don't think you're stupid or ruining your life. And… if you really love this boy, er, man, then I'll support you." His brown eyes were filled with remorse, tugging at my heart.

"Dad." I sobbed, bounding over to him and throwing my arms around his neck. The relief I found at his simple words was overwhelming, and I could barely keep up with the rush of emotions. "Thank you." He brought his hands up to pat my back. We had his support. Joel was right.

"So, this is our room? Oh." My mom stopped in the doorway, smiling sweetly at our embrace. I let out a soft laugh, pulling away so I could wipe my tears.

"Yea. Come in, mom." I showed her all the amenities I set in place for their one night stay, which she naturally fawned over. I saw my dad speaking to Joel from the corner of my eye, but he seemed to be faring fine, so I let them be. It wasn't until we were on our way back to the living room that I smelled a familiar minty scent.

"You needed gum?" I whispered. He smiled guiltily.

"Yea. Your mom is very… energetic." I let out a giggle. What an understatement.

By the time 6pm came around, my dad had gone down for a nap while my mom was in the kitchen teaching Joel how to cook her famous chicken wings, because apparently that's what she craved while carrying me and she thought he would need to know. Naturally, I took the time to put on FRIENDS and veg on the couch. I was just starting to doze off when I heard the front door lock click open unexpectedly.

Who the hell could that be? I sat up, my eyes widening when it finally clicked.

Oh my God.