The Beginning of Forever (Summer Unplugged Book 5)

by Sparling, Amy

  We’re going to be staying with them in California. At their house. Will they make us sleep in separate beds? Will his mom’s niceness be just an act meant to lure me to their home where she’ll then berate me for ruining her son’s life? What if she meets me and doesn’t like me and then demands that Jace call off the wedding?

  A heavy sadness presses into my chest as I stare at Jace’s phone. His background is a picture of us at the motocross track, him in his gear and me in my homemade T-shirt that says: The Future Mrs. Adams.

  I remember when that picture was taken. It was during spring break when I spent the week with Hana while our guys rode dirt bikes all day. We both made shirts like that, using a plain t-shirt and iron on glittery letters, only hers was about Ash, of course. I had had so much fun with Jace and my new motocross friends. It never occurred to me that my boyfriend’s sport is a dangerous one. I spent that whole week hanging out at the track and making fun of Jace for how smelly he got after a day of riding in the hot Texas sun. I never once thought that one day I’d be sitting next to him in the hospital.

  His phone beeps one last desperate cry to be plugged into a charger and then it dies. I frown. Bringing a charger is probably something I could have put on the list for Becca. After they let me see Jace and they gave him his own hospital room out of the emergency area, Becca had went back to our apartment and collected some items for me. Clothes, toothbrush, snacks and my tablet. The tablet’s charger also worked on my cell phone. I didn’t think to ask for Jace’s charger as well.

  “Hey beautiful.” Jace’s voice is groggy from sleep and probably the drugs in this IV bag. “Why do you look so sad?”

  I smile as my heart explodes with happiness over hearing my fiancé’s voice after what feels like years of not talking to him. I hold up his phone. “It’s dead.”

  He shrugs. “You’re here, so I don’t care to talk to anyone else.”

  I set the phone on a nearby table and stand up, leaning over him to kiss his lips, his cheek and his forehead. “I’m glad you’re alive,” I whisper. Jace reaches up and grabs my face, pulling me down for another kiss. “Oh yeah?” he asks playfully. I nod. “Because now I’m going to kill you for making me worry.”

  He smiles. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m fine, though. They’ll let me go home today.”

  I open my mouth to say something, but stop when Jace’s demeanor turns...sneaky? Or...smoldering? “What is it?” I ask. He gives me this lazy smile and pulls at my arm, tugging me closer to him. “You look really fucking hot right now,” he whispers. “I want you.”

  “Oh my gosh,” I say, rolling my eyes. “You are in the hospital and you’re thinking about sex?”

  He shrugs and makes this face like he can’t help it. “I always want to do you,” he says. “It’s your fault.”

  I stand up and put my hands on my hips. “And why is it my fault?”

  He reaches out and pokes me in the stomach. “Because you’re so prettyyyyy.”

  With one twist of his hand, he grabs me around the waist and pulls me to him, and then draws me in for a kiss. We make out in a hungry, eager way, but it’s not as satisfying as at home because now all I can focus on is being gentle so as not to rip out his IV, or touch any part of him that’s been injured. His torso is covered by a hospital gown and the sheets, but the doctor had told me that he was pretty banged up. No internal injuries though, so that’s a good thing. I groan and pull away from kissing him so I can look him in the eyes.

  “I’m sorry to ruin the mood, but I have something to tell you.”

  Jace winces as he shifts to the right in his bed. He pats the now empty space, motioning for me to lie down next to him. Carefully, I snuggle into the space next to him and rest my head on his shoulder. I take a deep breath.

  “Okay, now you’re scaring me,” he says. “What is it?”

  I take another deep breath. “Your mom called. I answered your phone. It was before the battery died.”

  He laughs. “Okay, what’s so bad about that? Wait...is everyone okay?”

  “What?” I snap, looking back at him. “You’re the one who’s not okay, mister!”

  “I’m fine, babe. I promise. Just have a headache, that’s all. So what’d Mom want?”

  “Well I told her you were in the hospital with a concussion, and she didn’t even seem to care.”

  He nods. “That’s my mother. She raised a motocross kid. We get hurt. That’s what we do.”

  “Why does everyone think this isn’t a big deal? You’re in the freaking hospital!”

  “I’m sorry, baby. I know this is hard on you.” He kisses the top of my head and I close my eyes as we cuddle on the stiff hospital bed. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I wasn’t supposed to crash, obviously. But I’m sorry you had to go through this. I’ll be okay, I promise.”

  “You’re about to be a father, you know. I can’t have you risking your life just to do what Ash called ‘freestyle tricks’ after work.”

  Jace stiffens. “Did he say what kind of freestyle?” I shake my head and he relaxes. “Good.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.

  “So what else did my mom want?” He’s changing the subject and doing a terrible job of being casual about it, but I’m definitely not in the mood to grill him on his definition of freestyling.

  “She wants us to come visit. Next week.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Jace says. “They should totally meet you before the wedding. Besides, now that I’m hurt, Mr. Fisher will let me take a couple of weeks off work to recover. So it’s perfect.”

  “I don’t know about this,” I say, feeling my stomach twist into knots.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s your parents. I’m nervous...What if they don’t like me?”

  Jace waves away my worries with a casual flick of his hand. “You’re insane. They’re going to love you.”

  Chapter 12

  When Jace is out of the hospital, we make a trip to the mall and purchase new luggage. I’ve never really had a proper suitcase, always opting to toss my stuff in a duffel bag or backpack when traveling, and Jace’s old luggage was from his motocross days and reeked of dried sweat and exhaust. He chooses this Oakley brand bag on wheels to be his new suitcase and I pick something more girly. A pink suitcase dotted with sparkly silver stars. It has pink wheels and a shiny pink handle.

  “You won’t have to worry about spotting this at the baggage claim,” Jace says once we get home and I’m fawning over it and all of its cool compartments. “I don’t know,” I say. “I think it might need more glitter.”

  Jace flips open his pocket knife and slices through the plastic tags that I was trying, but failing, to rip off with my hands. Then he cuts off the tags on his new bag as well. We plop them onto our bed and begin packing. Our return trip plane ticket is for three days after we arrive in California. Three whole days of hanging out with Jace’s parents. I’m not even sure my body can handle that amount of nervousness.

  “What’s bugging you?” Jace says as he swoops behind me in our shared closet, grabbing a few button up shirts off the hangers and tossing them over his shoulder. I shrug and flip through my clothes, unsure of what to bring. “I’m just nervous, that’s all.”

  “There's nothing to be worried about. Unless you’re scared of flying.” His eyes go wide in this evil way. “Wait, are you scared of flying?”

  “No,” I snap, making sure I sound confident so he won’t catch on that yeah, I’m a little scared of flying. But that fear is nothing compared to the gigantic ball of nerves that took up residence in my chest the moment his mother called and hasn’t left since. “I’m scared of your parents.”

  Jace laughs so hard and so loud that I jump and then immediately fake punch him in the arm. “Stop laughing at me!”

  “You’re so adorable, Bay. I love you so much,” he says between laughter. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. My parents are cool. I promise.”

  I draw
in a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. “I really hope you’re right.”

  Choosing enough clothes to last for three nights and three days with the potential of changing outfits halfway through the day poses the toughest task I’ve had to do in weeks. Planning a wedding feels like a cakewalk compared to choosing what outfits you want to be seen wearing around your future in-laws.

  Jace has his entire suitcase full and ready to go by the time I’ve finally chosen which outfits I think I might be taking with me. Guys have it so easy. They wear jeans and shirts and they can mix and match everything in their wardrobe. Plus Jace looks hot in everything. I have to do this delicate balance between something that looks nice but not like I’m trying too hard, and something that doesn’t show off my growing stomach.

  I stare into the full length mirror on the back of the closet door, turning sideways so I can see my profile. My stomach isn’t huge by any means, but it’s slowly getting bigger each day. There’s a little pooch there that is slightly bigger than something I could play off as having just eaten a whole pizza by myself. I lift my shirt and rub my hands over the pooch, reminding myself there’s a growing baby in there. It’s insane, when you think about it. A baby. A real, life, human being will jump out of me in a few months’ time. Well...okay, maybe not jump. But I hope it’s quick, and I hope it doesn’t hurt as badly as it looks like on the movies.

  Jace leans against the doorway of the closet, watching me watch myself in the mirror. “I thought your stomach would get much bigger this far along,” he says, turning his head sideways. “We’re like, five months now, right?”

  “Twenty three weeks. They go by weeks for whatever reason,” I explain. “Too many things happen each week for it to be based on the month.”

  He eyes me in this appreciative way and suddenly I’m self-conscious. I turn away from the mirror, covering my belly with my hands.

  A moment later, his hands slide over mine as he hugs me from behind. His mouth presses against my neck, trailing kisses down to my collar bone. “I love you, Bay.” Chills wash over me when his breath tickles my skin. “I love you, Jace.” My words are a whispered reply and it’s all I can do to even speak coherently when he does this to me. His hands slide up my arms and then back down again, circling around my protruding stomach and then wandering back up to my breasts. He cups them and his lips linger on my neck just a moment longer than usual.

  “What is it?” I ask, twisting around to see him better. His face is shadowed from the dim light in the closet, but the naughty way he smiles lets me know exactly what he’s thinking.

  “Your boobs get bigger every day,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows. “I like it.”

  I roll my eyes. “You’re such a pig.”

  His hands slide around my waist and tug me toward him. I press against his chest and take special care to make sure my boobs get squished in a way that makes the cleavage from my tank top look as sexy as possible. “I’m your pig,” he says with that goofy grin of his that I love so much.

  Fifteen minutes later, my suitcase holds exactly one pair of jeans and two pairs of pajamas. I guess that can be considered progress. Jace lies on his back on the bed, tossing the remote control from one hand to the other.

  “So tell me about California.” I toss a blue shirt at him and he catches it but drops the remote.

  “What would you like to know?” he asks. He folds my shirt in half and then in half again, setting it inside my suitcase.

  “Well, the only thing I know about California is that it’s really big and full of celebrities. Also, I’m not packing that shirt,” I say, taking out the blue shirt and tossing it on the bed.

  “Why not? You look awesome in it.” Jace refolds the shirt and puts it back in my suitcase. I think the words he meant was that I used to look awesome in it. Now the shimmery blue fabric that’s meant to hang loose at the stomach fits tightly around my midsection, stretching the thin fabric and making it look awful. If I tell Jace this, he’ll probably ask me to try it on to prove it to him and that is so not happening. So I just leave it in the suitcase. I’ll bring more than enough shirts to ensure that I won’t be wearing that one on our short trip. “So, California,” I say again. “You grew up there and you never even talk about it.”

  “There’s nothing worth saying,” he says. “I had an average childhood...went to school and raced dirt bikes. My whole life was dirt bikes. Same as it is here.”

  “You were pro though. That had to be different. I mean, you’re famous here in Texas so I bet you’re really famous in California.”

  Jace shrugs. “I haven’t raced on the west side in two years. No one cares about me anymore. And that’s exactly how I want things to be.”

  “Why’s that?”

  He looks at me. “Because I want things to be here with you.”

  Warmth spreads through me when I hear his cheesy answer. I don’t know if he really means that or if it’s just something a guy says to his pregnant fiancé to make her feel better, but it makes me all emotionally gooey anyhow. I lay out three dresses on the bed and try to determine which one I should choose to bring along. Jace points to the middle one, a black knit dress with long sleeves and a plunging neckline. “Good call,” I say, taking the dress and folding it neatly into the suitcase. Black is a slimming color and I desperately need all the slimming illusions I can get.

  “Tell me about your parents.”

  This makes Jace laugh for some reason. I frown. “Why won’t you talk about them? I need to know about them so I won’t go in blindly. I need some topics I can talk about with them.”

  “They’re going to love you, babe. Their simple people, I promise. Dad works hard and Mom...well she’s a really good housewife. She works hard at...watching TV. And they aren’t going to talk about themselves, you know.”

  “And what are they going to talk about?”

  “You.” He says it all matter-of-factly and I lift an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I like that idea,” I say, feeling trepidation creep over me.

  I hold up a few more shirts for Jace and let him choose his favorites. He picks all the shirts with low necklines and I try not to make fun of him for his love of my new big assets. Jace helps me fold the clothes we picked for our trip and I hang the discarded options back in the closet.

  “Baby, I’m nervous,” I admit to him when my suitcase is finally packed enough for three days and nights.

  “I know. And I know there’s probably nothing I can say to make you feel better.”

  I shake my head. “There isn’t. I’m going to be freaking out about this the entire time, no matter what you say.”

  He smiles. “I think you’re more nervous about meeting my parents than you are about the wedding.”

  I nod. “Totally.”

  I zip up the suitcase and Jace sets mine on the floor next to his. “I know what will take your mind off it,” he says, stepping closer to me. I sit on the edge of the mattress and take his hands in mine, parting my knees so he can stand closer to me. “And what exactly is that?” I ask, giving him a coy smile.

  He leans forward and kisses me, slowly at first but then deeper, faster. My hands slide up his chest and cling around his neck, holding on tightly when he crawls on the bed, pulling me underneath him.

  He rests on his elbows, hovering over me and he smiles when I kiss him, moving all over his face to kiss every single part of it. When my lips find his again, I suck his bottom lip into mine, lightly grazing my teeth over it. He groans and presses into me, lighting me on fire. My back arches to meet him and I grind against him slowly, again and again.

  “That’s it,” he groans, sliding his hands down my sides. He slips his fingers under my tank top and slides it up and over my head. He lowers himself over me again and kisses my neck, my collarbone, my chest. His voice is raspy, desperate. “I’m gonna make you forget every single one of your worries.”

  Chapter 13

  I’m not sure what I was expecting when we landed in California. Okay
, maybe I did know what I was expecting. Celebrities. Fancy rich people. Paparazzi at every turn. You know, typical California stereotypes, because apparently that’s all I know about the state.

  “Sacramento International Airport?” The disappointment in my voice is impossible to miss. Jace looks at me funny as he winds an arm around my back and guides me through the throngs of people on our way to baggage claim.

  “Where did you think we were?” he asks.

  “You know. LAX. The airport that’s always on TMZ and stuff.”

  Jace snorts. “Sorry to break it to you, but my parents live in Sacramento, not Los Angeles.”

  I put on a fake pout, but soon realize that I’m not faking it at all. I really thought we’d be swimming in famous people by now. I mean, this is California.

  “What’s wrong?” Jace asks. The way he glides through the airport without even stopping to read the signs or look for directions is the sign of someone who flies a lot. Someone worldly and experienced. It makes me feel this mixture of embarrassment over my own sheltered life and admiration for my super sexy fiancé.

  I stop and watch the massive turning baggage claim belt as it turns around slowly, carrying people’s luggage until they come to take it. It really is just like in the movies. Jace nudges me with his elbow, letting me know he’s still waiting on an answer. “I don’t know...I just thought we’d see some famous people since we’re in California.”

  He smiles. “The day isn’t over yet.”

  The exhilaration of being in a new place comes to a screeching stop when we arrive at the waiting area. “What are we doing?” I ask, looking around as if there is something here I’m supposed to recognize. “Aren’t we renting a car or something?”

  Jace’s nose wrinkles. “You have to be twenty-five years old to rent a car, babe.”