Selena’s POV (Point Of View):
Justin let out a strange sound and pulled me gently into his chest. I pillowed my head on his arm and snuggled closer.
“I’m so happy,” Justin whispered finally. “I’m so happy that you’re happy. I can’t believe you turned such a horrible night into something so amazing.”
I chuckled softly under my breath, pulling away slightly from his grip. “Sorry, I was just teasing. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll stop.”
Justin just shook his head and leaned forward slowly, extremely slowly. I tried to control my panting breaths as his lips hovered inches above me, but I couldn’t.
He leaned forward another inch and our lips brushed. My senses went into overdrive. My lips parted of their own volition and then Justin’s were there. He caught my bottom lip between his own, and very softly, kissed.
His lips were dry and warm and I felt like I had come home and gone to heaven in the same instant. I could have stayed like that, unmoving, all night, but Justin just pulled gently away and back to look at me.
“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Justin said quietly, his eyes intent on my lips while he spoke.
I was just about to lean back in when Justin’s mother entered the room, passing by us swiftly before saying, “Keep it PG-13 kids.”
I chuckled lightly while Justin rolled his eyes. I noticed Pattie had yet another brown box in her hands.
“What’s that?” I asked, gesturing to the box.
“Some old videos from the past few years,” she replied, suddenly very distracted by the old VCR tapes.
She slid one of the tapes into the vintage VCR player and hit play. “You two should remember this one,” she said with a smile, casting a sidelong glance at Justin and I.
Selena wore a blue bikini and sat on a beach chair by the pool. Justin was laying next to her on the next chair. His left leg was wrapped in a bandage to shield the tattoo under it from the blazing sun. They were in Florida, taking a much needed break from work and were in together for Sharon LaRossi’s wedding.
“Justin, Sel, say hi to the camera,” Alfredo called from his position in the pool, his infamous camera in his wet hands.
The couple looked up and flashed a smile to Alfredo.
“Hey,” Selena said, waving her hand at the camera.
“Swag!” Justin called out, inciting a laugh from the group of people by the pool.
“I remember that. Good times,” Justin smiled, glancing at me. I could tell from the look on his face that he remembered a lot more than what was shown in the video. A lot of good things happened while in our stay in Florida.
“Me too,” I smiled back, turning to Pattie, “Put another one in.”
She complied, randomly taking another tape from the box and placing it in the slot before pressing play again.
A young Pattie came into view and there was a flurry of movement in the background. The camera came into focus as the person behind it shuffled closer.
“We’re on our way to the hospital,” said a low, masculine voice. “Looks like our Justin is coming soon. We can”t wait to finally see you buddy.”
“Jeremy, turn that thing off!” Pattie said, using one hand to hold her bloated stomach and the other to shield her face from the camera.
The screen faded black for a second before a new picture spread across the screen.
Jeremy grabbed her hand as he knelt next to her. “This baby is ready to come out.” she said.
“I’ll check to see how much you are dilated.” the Nurse said.
He put a blanket over Pattie despite the fact that she was sweating. When he helped her remove her skirt, he nearly turned tomato red. The Nurse rummaged in his backpack for a pair of gloves. Pattie was beginning to pant as she spread her legs open.
Pattie paused the tape and looked over at us nervously. Time seemed suspended as we waited anxiously for someone to break the awkward silence. The only sounds in the entire room were our breathing and the faded noise from outside. Neither of us had been expecting it – we hadn’t gotten enough out of the first scene to expect anything else. My heart flew up into my throat as I glanced at Justin, but for a few short seconds he just seemed frozen.
“Um - press play,” I said finally.
“What? No, I don’t want to watch my Mom’s birth,” Justin argued.
“It’s not that bad,” Pattie replied quickly, backing me up. “I don’t think it shows too much. Let’s just continue the tape.”
The Nurse put on a fresh pair of gloves. He checked again to see how many centimeters she was. Ten.
“Ok when you feel the next contractions push.” He ordered.
“Alright.” Pattie replied, weakly.
“You can do this, baby. You kicked my ass at sparring-” Jeremy was cut off as Pattie screamed, “Don’t scream Patt, push!”
She was panting. The camera showed barely the side of her thigh.
“You’re doing great!” He encouraged. He felt somewhat like a father already. After several more minutes of failed attempts, Pattie was getting very close.
“I think one more, Patt! Come on, one more!” The baby’s head was emerging. “That’s it!” He shouted happily.
“Turn the camera off!” Pattie yelled, her face red.
Time seemed suspended again as the tape cut off once more.
“Can we watch another one?” I asked excitedly. Pattie complied, smiling through her movements. I faintly heard Justin groan as the next tape came into view.
