accidental love • n.maloley「✓」| EDITING

twenty-three

so no one gets confused, anderson's stepdad adopted her, giving her his last name, which is ford. so her (step)dad, her mom, herself, and carrington, all have the same last name: ford.

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anderson

"maybe it was a bad idea introducing them," i murmur to emily, the two of us watching as nate and brandon talk enthusiastically about something, natalia fast asleep in my arms. today is the day we all fly out to mine and emily's hometown for carrington and elizabeth's graduation, and we're all currently sitting in starbucks at the airport to blow some time.

"i think they like each other more than they like us," she replies, and i nod in agreement. "but hey, i always hoped that our boyfriend's would get along and like each other."

"he's not my boyfriend, em," i remind her.

"not yet anyways."

××

"i'm nervous," nate admits with a short chuckle.

"aw, why're you nervous?" i ask, moving so i'm standing in front of him as we wait for mine and emily's parents to pick us up from the airport.

"because andy," he says as if the reason he's nervous is the most obvious thing in the world - which is kinda is. "i'm about to meet the parents of the only girl i've ever actually liked. but hey, i guess if i do it now i won't have to worry about doing it once we get together."

"once we get together?" i repeat his words, raising an eyebrow questioningly. not if, but once. nate doesn't have any time to respond though as i hear carrington call out my name. spinning on my heels, i smile as my gaze sets on carrington, my mom and my dad, before closing the distance and pulling them all in one big hug.

pulling back out of the hug, i decide to take this time to introduce nate as emily and brandon greet her family. "nate, this is my mom, my dad, and my little sister carrington. guys, this is nate."

"ah, so this is who mamaw was going on about last time anderson was in," dad says, stepping forward and holding his hand out. "it's a pleasure to meet you, nate."

"you too, mr. ford," nate says and dad chuckles.

"oh no, call me steven," dad tells him. nate nods and dad releases his hand.

"oh, and this is natalia!" i say, pulling their attention away from nate. i unfasten natalia and pull her out of her carrier, cradling her in my arms instead.

"oh my goodness, she's adorable," carrington coos, stepping closer so she can get a better look at the sleeping baby.

"your kid, i would assume?" my mom questions, looking over at nate.

"yes, ma'am."

"how old is she?" she then asks.

"just turned a month old exactly two weeks ago on the second," i inform her. "she was born the day before my birthday," i add, unable to stop from smiling. mom grins as well, glancing up at me.

"well, i'm sure y'all are tired, so we better get to the house so y'all can get settled," dad says.

"actually, we're gonna stay at the hotel in town," i tell them and mom raises an eyebrow. "y'know, so we don't take up a bunch of space at the house."

"nonsense anderson -" mom cuts herself off as i give her a pointed look, and she sighs. "okay well, we still have to go to the house so you can get a car to drive, so let's go."

××

"so are y'all dating or what?" carrington asks as the two of us watch as nate take our bags from mom's car and places them over in carrington's car that we're going to borrow while we're here.

"no, we're talking carrington."

"do you like him?"

"i do," i nod, looking over at her as she holds natalia, playing with her as she's finally awake. "i like him a lot."

"who's natalia's mom?"

"just an underage girl who pretended to be older. i was by nate's side throughout the whole pregnancy, though."

"do you consider yourself natalia's mom?"

glancing down at the brown-haired baby, i nod. "i do."

××

"i hope you don't mind sharing, they didn't have any rooms available with two beds," i tell nate as i push the hotel door open, natalia's carrier and diaper bag in my hands as nate pushes our other bags on the cart.

"that's fine," he says, and i nod, holding the door open as he pushes the cart inside. i place natalia's carrier and diaper bag on the bed, along with my purse, as nate takes our bags off the cart, placing them in the corner.

"i'm gonna bathe natalia that way i can feed her and put her to bed, okay?" i tell nate as i gather all her bath things.

"okay, i'm gonna go put this cart back. i'll be right back," he says, and i nod, taking natalia and her things into the bathroom as he exits the room.

once i've got her all bathed, i wrap her in her towel and bring her back into the room, only to find nate spread across the bed wearing only a pair of ball shorts, scrolling through his phone. with a light laugh and a shake of my head, i place natalia down on the opposite side of the bed.

"can you prepare her bottle while i dress her?" i ask.

"of course," nate says, dropping his phone onto the bed before standing and preparing her bottle. just as i snap her onesie on, nate holds the bottle out for me. i flash him a smile as i take it, cradling natalia in my arm as i take a seat on the bed, leaning against the headboard.

it doesn't take long for her to finish the bottle and fall asleep, and i place her between me and nate on the bed before getting up and rinsing her bottle. once i've rinsed it, i gather a clean pair of shorts and a t-shirt and head into the bathroom to change.

"so, was it as bad as you thought it'd be?" i ask nate once i exit, pulling his attention away from the tv.

"what, meeting your parents?" i nod. "oh no, it wasn't nearly as bad as i thought it'd be," he chuckles. "they're pretty chill."

i nod, pulling the covers back and sliding into bed, making sure that natalia's covered as well. "carrington's graduation is tomorrow at noon, but i figured we could go over to my parents' around nine for breakfast. does that sound okay?"

"sounds perfect," he says, glancing over at me with a smile, to which i happily return.