Push to the Limit (the sixth book in the Glee series)

Chapter 2: Ben's First Birthday

"Ok, cupcakes are officially frosted," Harmony announced as she finished preparing the last of the perfect batch of pastries she had made in preparation for Ben's first birthday party.

"Wonderful," Ryder responded, looking at them from his brand new kitchen. He carried over a trey with raw meat and said, "Now we just season this, drive it over to Bree's house, and get ready for an awesome BBQ."

"Sounds... awesome!" she exclaimed with a laugh, moving over some of the baking supplies she'd been using to make room for his barbecue items. "I'm so excited! It's going to be a great day; I can feel it."

"Yeah," Ryder agreed with a smile as he began to lay the meat out on large pieces of aluminum foil. "The best part is Ben is going to be over-the-moon. He won't remember this day in ten years but if he can have fun in the moment, that's all that matters, right?"

"Right!" Harmony agreed. She looked around and asked, "So how are you liking your new apartment?"

"It's great," he answered, spreading sauce on one side of the meat with a brush. "It's not ideal that Marley and Ben stayed with Bree and Stefan but it's not that far away so I'm fine. Besides, it's good practice for when I eventually move in with Julie and I'm even further away from them." 

"Oh," Harmony responded. "Speaking of Julie, what are you—"

"Hold that thought," he stopped her when a light knock on the door grabbed his attention. She nodded and watched as he walked over to open it, surprised by who he saw on the other side.

"Julie!" he exclaimed to Harmony's dismay. 

"Surprise!" she responded. "Can I come in?"

"Yes of course!" he said, letting her pass through and then giving her a hug after closing the door. "What are you doing here?"

Julie had failed to acknowledge Harmony, who cleared her throat and said, "I thought you weren't going to be able to make it."

"Well, I spoke to Nick personally," Julie explained, more to Ryder than to her. "And you know, Nick is just such an amazing guy. He is so incredibly understanding. And once I told him how important your son's birthday party was to me, he gave me the night off. He found a temporary replacement for me on tour and I get to spend some time with my loved ones. I went by my house and even Sam's place but then John told me that he, Sam and Alex took the girls out and wouldn't be back until the party so... This was my next stop. Nice place, by the way. Comfy."

"Thanks," he responded, thrilled to have her in his presence. "I'm really happy to hear that."

Feigning the same level of enthusiasm in her voice, Harmony added, "Yes, it's going to be so great now that you're here, Julie. How about I take this food we prepared so far down to Bree's house and let you two have some time alone to catch up?"

She started making her way to the door with the already-seasoned meat and cupcakes, struggling to carry it all, but Ryder was so mesmerized by his girlfriend that he didn't realize it, waving a quick goodbye to her and watching her go. 

As soon as the door was closed, Julie wrapped her arms around Ryder and gave him a long kiss. He stopped her when she started getting handsy and said, "How about I give you a tour of the new apartment?"

Julie looked around and, spotting the open bedroom door, said, "How about we start with your room?"

She pulled his hand towards it and he mumbled under his breath, "Oh great, she's horny again."

Julie didn't hear him, taking him inside the bedroom and pushing him onto the bed. "It's been more than two weeks since I last saw you," she reminded him. "And like 85 weeks since I've last gotten some real action."