Turning The Page

Fifty

"Are you sure you don't want us to just get you guys something to go?" I have to say that I do approve of Adrian's newest set of friends, the way Aurie and Cricket have taken to babying my sweet Bean just as much as I do certainly earning them both brownie points as my Princess clings to me while we walk into the tiny diner Cricket had led us to... We had taken separate cars, and they had been nice enough to wait for the two of us to get in a very heated yet soothing kiss before getting out of the truck without staring at us or rushing the two of us... 

"We'll be okay..." It's more of a whisper to the two of us than it is a response to Cricket, but before I get to answer him more directly his phone starts to ring and he chooses to step away from the group as we find a table to linger by the front door and croon to whoever had taken a moment to call him, the giant smile that settles itself on his face one that makes me hold my beautiful Addy-Baby just a bit closer as we settle into the chair that Lukas is kind enough to pull out for us. 

It takes a bit of maneuvering to pull his wonderfully warm thighs from around my waist to settle him into a position that will allow him to either be fed by me or feed himself depending on how much loving my sweet boy might need right now... With how vulnerable we both feel at the moment...But eventually, we get settled down the right way, his face still seeking out my neck every few minutes in order to pull in big heaping draws of my scent in order to help keep himself calm... Just now he can see the others enough to feel a tiny bit more included in the conversation... One that is shortly joined by a very happy looking Cricket who surprisingly enough snuggles himself right up to Harper as though he hasn't been caught pushing his mate away more than once during previous mealtimes.

...

Adrian

...

"Is everything alright, Babybug?" The last thing I had seen on his face before joining us was a frown when he had to hang up the phone, not that it had stopped him from getting cozy with Harper at our two tables that had been pushed together with permission from a waitress in passing and whispering something to his mate so softly that my ears can't pick it out of all of the rest of the quiet chatter floating around the cute little diner. 

"Yeah..." Cricket's smile is sheepish for a moment, his eyes hitting the table before raising themselves up to meet mine, an action that makes both of us flinch just a tiny bit with how direct it is, "My brother is watching our kids right now and Jack needed a bit of advice on how to get Elijah to eat his peas... Nothing to worry about."

I can't help but find myself giving an even bigger flinch than when I had reacted to our direct eye contact... Cricket has babies... I don't have babies but Cricket has babies already and I didn't even know about them... "You never told me you had kids!" 

I try and use my words to soften the look of hurt on his face from the way I had curled away from him in order to shelter my aching heart, and thankfully it works, my jealousy over the fact that not only does his body look perfect enough to have never figured it out... But he already has babies of his own because his heats have better timing than mine... I know that it's not logical to be jealous that my friend has kids and I don't yet... I shouldn't be hurt over Babybug's happiness. 

"Yeah... The conference is our only chance at having adult time, and Jack loves spending time with the kids, so it just never kind of came up I guess... Do you want to see them?" His words get so happy... And both his face and Harper's light up in a way that makes me melt on the inside, no answer from Silas or I needed as he unlocks his phone and pulls up his picture gallery before handing it over, "The oldest is Charlie, he just turned 4, and then we have Cody, he's three in the fall, and then the twins Elijah and Nicky... And they turned one over the summer and still have that yummy new baby smell if you sniff the tops of their heads in just the right spot..."

...

Silas

...

I never thought I would croon over somebody else's kids... But I have to hand it to Harper and Cricket for actually making pretty cute babies together... Though in some of the pictures it's hard to tell due to what looks to be a looted bag of makeup in some of them, and what looks to be copious servings of baby food and mac and cheese... A lot of the pictures featuring what must be Lukas and Aurie in the background. 

I almost think that Adrian won't be willing to actually let go of the phone when we get to the end of the album that had been opened for us to scroll through... And for a few minutes, he simply stares at a few of the pictures, his eyes going misty... But eventually, he hands the device back to its owner and shuffles himself closer to me, his baby fever blossoming into an even bigger craving than it had been before, his tears falling once he hides his face in my shoulder, "T-They're so cute Bug!"

"Oh, Adrian! Don't cry! Cricket I thought we agreed not to mention the kids while he was still in heat!"  Aurie is up out of his seat the instant he hears the sniffles falling into my shoulder, his hands up as he approaches with a napkin pulled from where it was wrapped around one of the bundles of silverware, "Crick didn't mean to upset you, Babycakes! Come on, Hun... We should talk for a minute, just us..."

He doesn't get super close to us... But when he offers the napkin to use as a tissue right under my sweet Mama's line of sight his palm stays in an upright position, an offering that to my surprise Adrian takes only to find him pulled from my lap... And when he realizes that Adrian won't allow himself to be pulled more than a few feet away from me as I watch the two of them alarmed and listless as they slide into a booth not too far from our table... 

A growl tries to rumble itself from my chest at the separation, my teeth just a bit bared... Only to be silenced with a single raise of Lukas's hand, "I wouldn't let them near each other if Aurie was going to hurt him. Breathe."