* baby just say yes ;;

[ana isabel bailey]

WITH A BEMUSED LITTLE SMILE, ANNIE WATCHED
Dylan rush past Jason into the house, having not caught what the boy had been saying to his parents before as she watched the couple. She really hoped she was still that in love twenty, even fifty years from now and didn't just lose it all like so many others seemed to do. Becoming just another statistic was not something Ana wanted to do, nor did she want to marry in a passionate fever like her parents had done. For all passion was worth it wasn't enough; Annie knew that, knew it all too well, but she didn't need to worry about that. She knew she was more than just his lover, she was his friend and they were virtually inseparable most of the time because of it. They had a good thing, she knew that. She smiled at him as he sat beside her, shifting closer as he lifted an arm that he looped around her shoulders as she snuggled up to him in silence, still listening to his parents talk for lack of anything better to do, at least until she heard the fast race of his heart, quietly asking him. A blond eyebrow raised at his shrug and kiss on the cheek, though she again let it go. It could be nothing, of course. That just happened occasionally.

SHE TURNED AT THE SOUND OF THE DOOR OPENING
again, gazing intrigued at the box in his hands, clearing containing a board game though she couldn't tell what it was. When he set it down she finally saw the title and she giggled, grinning. Shifting to sit up straighter, more than ready to join in the game, though she'd never played it before. As the little boy took everything out of the box, she picked up the lid, reading the sub-title 'The case of the missing chocolate cake.' Glancing at the age range she noticed it was for ages five to eight and looking over at Dylan as she set the box top back down, she wondered if like his big brother he was going to always be a little kid in some ways. Annie had always been like that herself, didn't really want to grow up in a lot of ways. It was slightly ironic that with that thought she picked up the old gray haired Mrs. White for her token. Picking up the cardboard cut out of Miss Scarlett she grinned at Jason's mom, "She looks just like you, Sophie," she exclaimed with a laugh. As they finished setting the game up she glanced over when Jason suggested they just conclude he ate the cake, laughing.

AFTER WINNING A SECOND GAME, DYLAN SEEMED
satisfied and all the pieces went back in the box. Leaning back on the cushioned love seat she sighed contentedly, dropping her head back against her boyfriend's chest and looking up at the crescent moon. Covering her mouth she yawned, the tired feeling beginning to come back even though her time was two hours behind that of New York's. She didn't want to be a spoil sport though and go to bed and so she stifled the next one, clamping her jaw. Focussed on suppressing her body's desire to sleep she wasn't paying much attention to Jason or any of his vital signs, nevermind how or why he was shifting a bit beside her, simply moving off of him a bit so he could get more comfortable or whatever he was trying to do. Feeling his lips on her cheek she smiled a bit, surprised as began to murmur odd things to her, not catching on at first what he was working up to. Even when he said she didn't have to say anything then she wasn't quite thinking along the lines of proposal. For too long she'd been determined not to let her mind go there and get disappointed when that wasn't what he had to say at all, and she just hadn't even considered he would ask her here or now. In fact she'd always guessed he'd go the public proposal route for some reason or another; down on one knee, velvet box, the works.

SEEING THE SPLENDID LITTLE PLATINUM BAND AND
the diamonds that decorated it catch the dim light out of the bottom of her vision she glanced down, her breath catching in her throat as he perfectly timed those words. She looked up at him a bit disbelievingly, seeing the very sure emotion in his dark eyes. And then she squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck with a completely thrilled look on her face, pulling back and taking his slightly stubbly cheeks between her hands and kissing him square on the lips. "Yes," she told him with an excited bubble of laughter and yet a very clear look in her eye that said she meant it. She wasn't even thinking about their audience as she kissed him again, a bit more intensely than her previous enthusiastic show of affection, her lips pulling back after a brief moment with her lips still on his to tell him, "I love you," giving one last gentle caress of his lips with her own and ending the kiss. She grinned at him, already looking like the glowing bride she soon would be, practically jumping up and down beside him. She hadn't really expected to be this excited, but now that it had actually happened she felt simply ecstatic, especially in light of how only two months ago she thought that ring was going to forever be in his possession. Not to mention that she hadn't been expecting it at all. Looking back pieces sort of fell together; his antsiness at security and seeming to almost guard the bag from her, why he'd had to 'take his stuff into the room' right then, the reason his heart had seemed like it was going to come out of his chest when he'd first sat down.

IT TOOK HIS PROMPTING TO REMIND HER OF THE
ring still in his hand and she laughed, holding out both hands and pausing for a moment before drawing the right hand back, her mind swarming with too many thoughts to process left from right as quickly as she normally would. She let him slide it onto her short but slender finger, her heart fluttering as he did because she realized he'd do it again in the future. She looked up at him with a smile that shone in her eyes as much as on her lips, wrapping him in another hug. Pulling back something drew her attention to his family, having almost forgot they were there, lost in her own little world where it was just the two of them. She just grinned, a slightly lop-sided attempt for having forgot their presense. She didn't know what to say exactly, figuring she'd let Jason do the talking, not that they really had to explain the words he'd whispered in her ear.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1170
( WEARING )
this

[jason andrew irving]

Watching the little eight year old who looked quite pleased with himself as he finished putting the little figures back into the box, Jason couldn’t help but smile. Leaning back against the loveseat as the little boy headed back in the house to put the game away, he sighed and rested his arm around his girlfriend once again, his heartbeat steadily increasing as he thought more and more about what he was going to say. He chuckled quietly as she stifled a yawn, wondering if it would be better if they skipped dessert tonight and went out the next night; even he was getting tired as the excitement of seeing his family began to wear off as he spent more time with them. Oh, it was great to see them, but now that he was here, there wasn’t much of a reason to be excited other than actually spending time with them. And the possibility of Ana saying yes to the question that was brewing on his mind.

Glancing up at the starlit sky, a little smile spread across his face. It was gorgeous, that was for sure. His dark eyes rested on the moon and a little sigh slipped from him; he could actually feel his heart pounding in his chest now. Letting his lips brush against her cheek, he murmured his little, not-so rehearsed speech, not quite sure what her reaction was going to be. His expression was slightly surprised as Annie threw her arms around his neck and it took him a moment before he wrapped his arms around her, too. He was a little worried that it might have been too early to ask her since they hadn’t been a couple for that long since their break up, but it was what he wanted and he was thrilled to see that it was clearly what she wanted as well. His parents were forgotten as she kissed him for the second time, his arms tightening around her waist. His lips curved upwards as she said his three favorite words to hear from her, knowing there was really no need to respond since the last four words he had asked her made it clear enough.

A little laugh slipped from him as she seemed to completely forget the ring was still in his hands, his words quiet but holding back the excitement he once again felt. “I think you might want this.” She seemed to hesitated briefly, like she wasn’t quite thinking clearly before she held out her right, well actually her left, hand for the ring to go on. As he slipped the band on, it made his heart flutter a bit to see the ring on her finger again and not just because they were simply trying them on to see how they looked, but because it actually belonged there now. Only after the platinum band was in place on her finger did he remember his parents and his little brother who had rejoined the group and he glanced up at them, a huge smile on his handsome face and he just shrugged, giving them a look that said they had seen what they thought they had. Dylan looked a bit confused, like any eight year old would who didn’t really know what was going on, while Sophie simply looked thrilled, a few clearly happy tears brimming her eyes. With his arm around his wife, Jake smiled, looking at Annie. “Well, welcome to the family, Ana.”

Jason couldn’t quite believe that she had actually said yes. Sure, they had talked about it what seemed like ages ago, but ever since his almost-affair, he had questioned whether or not it was ever going to happen. She seemed to trust him again, which was definitely a good thing, but no matter how clear she made it that she had forgiven him, he still didn’t trust himself. No, cheating was not on his list of things to do before he died, but it had happened and he knew all too well that people seemed to believe the whole ‘once a cheater always a cheater’ spiel. It was more of that, as well as the guilt that still seemed to gnaw at him, that kept him from being completely trusting of himself. It was nice, though, to know that she still wanted to spend the rest of how ever long forever would last with him, even after his mistake. Now he just had to find the time to admit to his parents what had happened; he wasn’t the kind of guy to keep things from them. He knew this wasn’t the right time, not after Annie agreed to marry him. Perhaps he’d wait until she was asleep if his parents were still up and they could chat then. It wasn’t going to be an easy conversation, that he already knew since he was admitting both to cheating on his girlfriend and turning into an alcoholic, something they both frowned upon, but it was something he felt that he needed to do.

Looking over at his now-fiancé, Jason smiled, laughing a little bit. “I know it wasn’t super-romantic or anything, I just didn’t want you to feel pressured,” he said with a little shrug, explaining why he hadn’t gone down on one knee in front of his parents. His eyes shifted over to his little brother who still looked rather perplexed and he grinned at the little eight year old, summing up what had just happened in a way the young boy would understand. “Go give your sister a hug.” It took a second, but the little boy’s eyes lit up only a moment later as he finally understood what had happened, doing as Jason suggested and coming over to the loveseat where the two sat, giving Ana a big hug. “Well, we have Dylan’s approval, I think we’re good,” Jason teased as the little boy climbed into his lap, kissing Annie on the cheek again.

As Sophie composed herself, taking a deep breath, she looked over at her oldest son who was fighting back a yawn. “How about instead of going out for dessert tonight we go out for dinner and dessert tomorrow to celebrate? You both look like you could use a good rest,” she suggested kindly. Jason’s dark eyebrows rose a little bit as he shrugged and nodded, thinking that made more sense. He could wait another day for cheesecake. Giving Annie another little squeeze, Jason smiled, asking her opinion. “What do you think? Go to bed earlier tonight and then go out for some New York style food and dessert tomorrow? Or would you rather have that fantastic cheesecake tonight?”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WORD COUNT : 1,113
WEARING : click
DR. AND DR. IRVING'S HOUSE : clicky

[ana isabel bailey]

SLIDING AN ARM AROUND HER FIANCÉ'S WAIST,
Ana's grin lost it's awkward tilt and she flat out beamed at Jake's words, shrugging a bit. "It's about time," she said with a little laugh, glancing at Jason with a teasing look, merely meaning it had been what felt like ages, though was really only five or six months, since she'd first brought it up and they'd made up their minds it was what they wanted. That had never really changed for Annie, even after their fall-out. She had still wanted things to be different, she just hadn't been able to see how they could be, so long as Jason's mistake was wrapped up with her father's similar one. She didn't really expect the guilt or the pain of it to ever be completely gone for either of them, that sort of hurt just wasn't something that could be entirely wiped away. But she also knew in hindsight it hadn't been something he'd done because he didn't love her anymore or anything of the sort. Despite the adage that swore it would happen again, she didn't really think it would. She knew how he still internally loathed himself, though it was waning, and as long as he had a tiny piece of the guilt, as he probably always would, she knew his eye wouldn't wander and in a way that was a comfort.

HER MUSINGS ON THE NATURE OF THEIR CHANGED
relationship fell away when he sort of apologized for the proposal not being insanely romantic. She smirked a bit, "Better than mine," she pointed out, remembering quite fondly the way he'd held her against him with a rather adoring look on his face, their breath still a bit heavy and their bodies glistening with sweat when she'd popped the question. Not that she could be blamed for the timing; it had been spontaneous and anyone that knew the sort of passion Jason was capable of could understand why. She darted a nervous look at his parents, hoping they wouldn't ask about her proposal, supposing she could clean it up if necessary so it was clean for Dylan's ears and his parents' too. Though she knew Jason was right when he said they knew good and well that they'd been together in that sense, it wasn't something she'd want to say out straight or even allude to. It just made her uncomfortable. She shrugged a bit when she thought about the second bit he'd said, finding his doubt as to what she'd say a bit odd. "And you should have known I'd say yes, regardless," she told him a bit more quietly, giving his waist a little squeeze. Even though she was not entirely ready to marry him tomorrow, she knew by the time they actually did meet at the alter she would be and in the mean time the ring was merely a symbol affirming to everyone else what they meant to each other. Being engaged wasn't really going to change anything between them; they'd been practically so in the past and it hadn't then, she didn't see why an official bethrothment would.

HER BLUE EYES FOLLOWED HIS DARK ONES TO HIS
little brother's perplexed face, knowing Jason would know better than she how to make him understand. She laughed a bit at Jason's wording, though she supposed it was true, a delicate chortle escaping her as the boy took his older brother's suggestion. Wrapping her arms around his tiny torso she gave the kid a squeeze before letting him crawl into his brother's lap. Ana couldn't help but laugh when he mentioned Dylan's approval, reminded of when she'd said in doubt of herself she was at least positive she could win the eight year old over. "Plus I finally get the little brother I asked for for my sixth birthday," she joked with a grin, glancing around at her new family, her gaze warming when it came to rest on the man whose lips were brushing over her cheek.

LOOKING OVER AT HER FUTURE MOTHER-IN-LAW'S
kind face, her lips pursed thoughtfully. Though at the current moment she was still a bit too excited to sleep, she knew once she'd taken a shower she'd be more than ready to snuggle between the sheets and catch up on the sleep she'd been missing in her way too hot apartment. Glancing up at her fiancé as he tried to hold back a yawn she shrugged when he asked her, "Well I don't suppose it would be much of a celebration if we fall asleep," she teased, glancing over at his mom with a little grin, "So tomorrow is fine by me." Gazing at Sophia, she suddenly remembered they needed to call her mom to tell her the news. Really, Ana would happily hide it until her mother figured it out on her own, but she supposed it was better to get the horrors of marriage speech over now rather than later. Though she was hoping maybe, just maybe, her mother would be too happy about a wedding to stress Annie out with talk of divorce and heartbreak as though she hadn't seen nearly everything that had happened between them with her own two eyes. Sighing in a slightly distressed manner she let it go, settling back into the chatter for a while longer.

IT WASN'T UNTIL THE CONVERSATION HIT A
lull and Dylan was sent to bed that she smiled a bit and shifted off of Jason, glancing with sleepy eyes at everyone. "I think I'm going to slip off to bed," she announced, figuring she'd give Jason a bit of alone time with his parents if he wanted it. There wasn't much of a point in going to bed just because she was because he knew she showered before bed, rather than taking morning showers. She just didn't like going to bed feeling unclean. Standing, she kissed Jason on the forehead and then walked over to his parents, telling both goodnight before giving them each a hug, hoping she wasn't too forward. Dismissing the thought she headed for the door back inside, wandering back to the room they were staying in and shutting the door. Glancing around the room a bit she really took it in for the first time. It looked so much different from his room now; it was the room of a younger Jason, one she'd never known.

WALKING OVER TO THE BED, SHE FLIPPED OPEN HER
suitcase, digging through it for her toiletries bag. She started to head on into the bathroom before pausing and pulling out her cell phone for a moment to check for missed calls before tossing it in the center of the bed for later. She'd rather make the call with Jason, if he would, though she knew for her there wasn't a lot he wouldn't do. Picking the polka dotted bag that matched her suitcase up she headed into the bathroom, getting out the things she needed and putting them in the shower before searching around for a towel. Setting it on the counter she turned on the water and undressed, hopping in.

WHEN SHE FINALLY CAME OUT OF THE BATHROOM
she felt as she had expected, more than ready to crawl into bed. Walking over to her suitcase she dug through it, her towel tucked around her, her thick framed purple glasses perched on her nose, and her blond hair blown dry and flowing down her shoulders in gentle waves. Pulling out a pair of polka dotted underwear and a matching bra that looked like the pattern on her suitcase, she slid into the underwear with her towel still on on the off chance Jason happened to join her at that particular moment, before sliding it down to put on her bra and then a white camisole, finally letting the towel go to slide into her sweats. Zipping her suitcase back up she picked it up off the bed and carried it over out of the way. Flopping her tiny body down on the bed she picked up her phone, setting it on her belly as she gazed upside down at the pictures on the wall, selectively avoiding the one where he was kissing his ex. Glancing at the door to the hallway she wondered how much longer Jason intended to stay up, supposing as her gaze dropped adoringly to her ring she could wait until morning to call her mother and go on to bed. Shrugging she turned back to the photos on the wall, catching sight of the photo where he appeared to be trying to consume the Eiffel tower, a giggling snort of laughter escaping her as she shook her head. It was so like him she couldn't help but think, glancing up as the door opened, still laughing a bit.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1471
( WEARING )
this
( NOTES )
yesss. I like this much better.

[jason andrew irving]

Jake’s eyes were questioning when Annie said Jason’s proposal was more romantic than hers, a little grin appearing on Jason’s face as he gave a little shrug. “Hey, I liked it,” he murmured for her ears only, a teasing tone in his voice right before his mom spoke up, not really realizing she was going to create an awkward silence when she asked about Annie popping the question and why they hadn’t heard about it before. His smirk growing, Jason shrugged again as he nudged his fiancé’s side teasingly. “It was your proposal, you explain.” When she had brought up marriage, even though he had been sure about it, he had wondered briefly if it had just been their lust for each other speaking. Her chin on his chest as they had just laid there afterwards, their warm bodies next to each other had been a feeling he would never forget, though he was sure when he finally felt it again, it would be a million times better than his memory. Sitting there silently, his arm around Ana’s shoulders, he simply smiled as she cleaned up her proposal, giving her a little squeeze as he remembered how she had turned her face away from his, her fingers tickling his chest as she traced them around the hairs on his chest and how he hadn’t even had to think about his answer before he gave it to her.

Jason gave a little shrug of his shoulders when she said however he proposed to her, her answer would have been yes. He knew they had talked about it and everything was fine. Far from where they had been, but it was, well, better than fine, but to the point he still wasn’t completely sure if she was positive she wanted to stay with him. No matter how many times they talked about it, he would always have his doubts, on whether or not she was making the right choice being with him. Regardless of what she said, he was concerned about it. He didn’t want her to be with him if he ended up doing something stupid again; he knew he couldn’t live with himself if he hurt her again. Oh, he wasn’t going to let his eyes wander or anything, but he just didn’t completely trust himself yet. With a slightly stressed sigh, feeling the slight depressed feeling beginning to wash over him as it tended to do anytime those thoughts slipped into his mind, he fought them back and forced a smile, knowing now was not the time to be thinking about that. Turning his dark eyes to his baby brother, he summed up what had just happened in a few simple words, smiling as the little boy climbed into his lap afterwards.

He laughed at Ana’s comment about getting a little brother and as he gave Dylan a big hug, he grinned at her. “It’s a good thing you’re just getting one now. You couldn’t ask for a better little brother.” In his eyes, it was true. Just like with his entire family, his little brother meant the world to him. He had definitely missed the little boy and it was crazy to see just how big he had gotten in two years. Turning his attention back to his girlfriend as he stifled a yawn, he nodded his head in agreement. He was definitely starting to feel the effects of their busy day. Even though Utah was two hours behind New York, he was tired enough he could fall asleep right then without much effort. As his mom nodded her head, clearly agreeing with two of them, he couldn’t help but smile yet again, actually taking it in that this was his family. Ana wasn’t just his girlfriend anymore; just as his father had stated, she too was part of their family.

After their conversation seemed to die off a bit, Jake had looked at his watch, surprised at how late it really was and sent Dylan off to bed. He went with only a little complaining and the promise that Jason and Annie would spend the next day with him. Looking away from his parents when Ana spoke up, he smiled and gave her a little kiss on her cheek in reply, nodding his head. After she kissed his forehead and walked over to his parents, his smile grew as she gave them a hug, both of them looking slightly surprised but clearly happy about it. He knew it was better that Ana was forward than the kind of girl who didn’t want anything to do with his family; he couldn’t be in a long term relationship with someone who didn’t like his family since they meant so much to him. Turning back to his parents as the door behind Ana closed, he grinned at his dad’s comment. “She’s really nice, Jason.” “And that was a wonderful surprise,” Sophie added on. He gave a little shrug, saying that he missed them and he felt bad about cancelling the plans on Dylan coming out. As his mom questioned him about that, he sighed, his right hand folding over his left wrist in a sort of protective way. After such a good day it wasn’t something he really wanted to talk about, but he knew sooner or later he was going to have to tell him everything he had done wrong and that it hadn’t just been a spontaneous break up.

It seemed like it took forever to explain everything he was so clearly ashamed about, his parents seeming to alternate who gave him the concerned look from time to time, but once the conversation was over and they both made it clear that some point in the next day or two he would be going to the hospital to get his wrist checked out, it didn’t take too long for the conversation to change to something much happier. Even with a more upbeat discussion, Jason could feel the little bit of guilt and hatred forming a little ball of depression in the pit of his stomach; it was what tended to happen after he thought about what he did. Clenching his jaw, he forced a little smile and said that he, too, needed to get some sleep. After he gave them both a hug, he stepped back into the house, closing the door and letting out a long, slow sigh, the smile almost immediately wiped from his face. Heading towards his old room, a fleeting thought crossed his mind, and he wondered if it would be better if he slept on the couch, but he quickly decided against it. Ana would want to know why his sudden change of heart. Taking a deep breath, he found it was unnecessary to force a smile when he heard her laughing from inside his room.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, a real smile on his face as he stepped over to the other side of his bed where his bag was, pulling his shirt off over his head and tossing it off to the side a bit, his back to his girlfriend as he pulled a loose t-shirt from his large duffel bag, slipping it on over his head. As his jeans joined his shirt beside his bag, he climbed into his old bed next to Ana, sliding an arm around her and pulling her against him with a smile.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WORD COUNT : 1,238
WEARING : click
DR. AND DR. IRVING'S HOUSE : clicky

[ana isabel bailey]

ANNIE SNICKERED A BIT AT JASON'S MURMURED
words, shaking her head a bit, glancing over at him with the same smirk. Her lust for him had certainly had a thing or two to do with her asking, though she'd wanted it anyway. That had just determined the timing in a way. A reddish tint flushed Ana's cheeks at Sophia's question and the younger woman cleared her throat a bit, glancing up unsurely at Jason. She let out a little sigh when he told her to explain, loathing him silently as she looked over at his questioning parents and put on a smile. Trying to sound casual, she tossed her hand dismissively, "Oh, it wasn't really anything official," she said with a shrug, not wanting them to feel bad that their son hadn't mentioned it. "But we were," she faltered a bit before picking a truthful enough interpretation, "Cuddling one morning and I'd kinda been thinking about it for a little while so I just asked him." She shrugged a bit and laughed lightly, a simper lingering on her lips, "And he said yes, obviously." Kissing him on the cheek she recalled the way things had really gone, sighing wistfully. How she did miss that. Shaking her head a bit she rested it on his shoulder, glad that five months later they were even better off than they'd been before in a lot of ways.

SHE GAZED AT HIM AS HE STEPPED INTO THE
room, loving his smile as she sat up, answering his question simply, "You." Crossing her legs Indian style, she picked her phone up from where it had fallen off her stomach, explaining her answer as she set her phone on the bedside table, "I was looking at your pictures." Glancing up she watched his torso curve as he pulled his shirt over his head, enjoying the view even as he turned to pull the other shirt on. Setting her elbow on her thigh and her chin in her hand, still watching him undress, she glanced back at the pictures for a moment before facing him again, "Do they know you're home yet?" She wasn't sure if he'd sent a text or something of the like when she wasn't paying attention or if Jason wanted to surprise them too. She was looking forward to meeting them, after all the times he'd mentioned them.

PULLING THE COVERS BACK, SHE MOVED AND SLID
beneath them as he did, sharing in his smile as he pulled her to him, feeling the warmth of his body in her proximity. Resting a hand on his hip at the hem of his shirt she gazed at him with an affectionate look in her blue eyes, murmuring, "I've missed this." It was one thing to snuggle on the couch, but it felt so much different like this, so much closer. Closing the gap, she pressed her lips to his, her fingers sliding beneath his t-shirt onto the bare skin of his stomach. The kiss was brief and she sighed, debating whether she still wanted to call her mom now or put it off until later and just enjoy the last few minutes of her day with him. And yet she knew she would be a bit offended if her own daughter didn't bother to call her and it wouldn't take long, only a couple of minutes. Resting her head on his pillow she watched him for a moment, biting her lip. "Think you can handle my mom for like three minutes," she asked hesitantly, figuring he wouldn't have to say much, just be there for her more than anything if her mother said something negative. Ana couldn't be sure what to expect from her mom; though the older woman had had a bit of a change of heart in many aspects, that didn't necessarily mean she'd be especially excited about her daughter's engagement.

SLIPPING AWAY SHE STRETCHED TO GRAB HOLD OF
the phone, flopping back next to him and giving him an assuring smile though even she was not particularly certain. Dialing the second speed dial, she pressed the button for speaker phone and set the phone on top of the covers, shifting down a bit so her cheek rested on his chest as it rang, her fingers curling around his shirt. She could feel the anxiety building within her as it rang. After several rings though one of the woman's blond eyebrows raised and she lifted her head to look up at Jason with an almost mischievous look, "I think we're getting voice-mail," she said in a sing-song relieved voice, smiling when it did in fact kick over to voice-mail. Turning back when it finally dinged she left a short but sweet message, dropping the 'We're engaged!' bomb over a recorded message so she would hopefully take any potential emotion out on something or someone else before bothering to call back. Hitting the end button Ana set her phone back where it had been before, letting out a little sigh as she turned off the lamp on the table, leaving them in near darkness. "Well that was easy," she said with a smile as she snuggled back up to him, not entirely ready to doze off yet, wanting to savor the feeling of him lying beside her after not having it in so long.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
890
( WEARING )
this
( NOTES )
short but sweet, I suppose? I'm sick and therefore museless. 0.o

[jason andrew irving]

Jason‘s eyes drifted towards his walls, looking around at the pictures as Ana explained that had been what she was doing, a little snort of laughter slipped from him as he looked at the picture of himself with the Eiffel Tower in the background, his head tilted backwards like he was attempting to devour the large building. He had always been a bit quirky; taking pictures like that was something he enjoyed doing. They were better memories than just having the famous landmark in the background, the family or friends standing around it smiling. Or maybe that was just his goofy personality speaking. After getting momentarily distracted by the pictures on the wall, he shrugged and continued undressing, his jeans now joining his shirt in a little pile. Even though he was comfortable in jeans, he was much more comfortable like this. Momentarily, he thought to just remain shirtless, but even when he was sleeping home with nothing more than his dog to keep him company in his bed, he’d usually sleep with his shirt on. Stepping towards the bed, his attention was once more turned to the pictures hanging on his wall when Annie questioned him, motioning towards a picture of his friends. He answered simply with a shake of his head before he decided to explain a bit. “I’ll either text them sometime tomorrow or give one of them a call. Maybe they could join us for dinner and dessert,” he thought aloud with a little shrug.

With a little smile to his girlfriend, he slid into his old bed with a little sigh, immediately comfortable in it. Maybe it was because he was simply tired or maybe the bed was still comfortable, two years after it had last been regularly used. Whatever the reason, he wasn’t going to complain, especially as Ana slid closer to him. With a long, content sigh, he smiled as she rested her hand at the hem of his shirt, nodding his head in agreement. “I have, too.” His memories were nothing compared to how good it felt to have her against him like this again and his eyelids flickered shut as she kissed him, a little shiver running up his spine as her hand slid up under his shirt. As she pulled away, he sighed, wanting it to last much longer. As she bit her lip, he looked at her curiously, wondering what it was that she was so uncomfortable with. When she questioned him about her mom, he shrugged and nodded his head. “We’re not telling her face to face, I think I can survive,” he said with a little smile, giving her a quick kiss. He knew that there were times he wasn’t at all Mariana’s favorite person and he knew he deserved that, and he had a feeling trapping her daughter into what she saw as the horrors of marriage was going to put him once again as one of the people she wasn’t fond of yet again.

Returning her reassuring smile, he kissed her forehead before she rested her cheek against his chest; he was certain she could feel his heart as it began to beat a little faster as he became more nervous with each ring the phone made. To try to calm himself down, he asked himself what was the worst that could happen. The answer to that wasn’t too hard; Mariana would probably just give Ana the whole marriage means heartbreak speech with Jason right there. That wasn’t too bad. As the phone rang again, he realized with a slight pang that that wasn’t the worst possibility; she could downright refuse it. Even though he had talked to her long ago, it was possible she changed her mind after his mistake. If it was going to cause any tension between Ana and her mom, Jason wouldn’t have it, no matter how much it hurt. Relief washed over him at Annie’s sweet sing-song voice, though he knew there was still a slight possibility Miss Villalobos could get to the phone on the last ring. When it did finally kick over to voicemail, he sighed quietly, obviously relieved. After Ana left her short, sweet message and set her phone aside, he smiled, nodding his head in agreement when she said it had been easy. Easier than he had expected, that was for sure.

As she snuggled back against him, he smiled and wrapped his arms around her, a slightly perplexed look crossing his face as he felt her bra clasp against her back. He never understood how it could be comfortable to wear one during the day, much less sleep in one. Deciding not to vocalize his curiosity, he instead rested his head on top of hers, simply enjoying being that close to her again. His memories never seemed to compare to the real thing, no matter how realistic they seemed to be. Pulling his head away from on top of hers, he gave her a short, sweet little kiss before he pulled his lips away from hers, his forehead resting on hers as he looked into her bright blue eyes with his nearly black ones. After a moment of that, his lips curved up into a smile again and he kissed her again, this time much different than the previous one. Parting his lips, he couldn’t help but smile as his tongue brushed against hers, pulling her body even closer to his, though it seemed impossible. When he finally pulled away from her, he sighed and rested his head on top of hers again. “I guess we probably need to get some sleep,” he laughed quietly. “Goodnight, honey.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Jason first woke up the next morning, he couldn’t quite remember why he was waking up with a human body beside of him instead of the fuzzy canine body he had woke up beside for the last couple months. His first thought was to panic, at least until he reminded himself he had stopped drinking a while ago. When he finally opened his eyes, he remembered that it was his girlfriend, or rather his fiancé, who was beside him. A moment later, he remembered why exactly he wasn’t at his bed at his house and he couldn’t help but smile as he remembered what all had happened the day before. Untangling his limbs from Annie’s carefully so he didn’t wake her up, he gave her a soft kiss on the forehead before he rolled out of bed and stepped over to his large bag that he was planning on living out of for the next week and a half. Grabbing the stuff he’d need in the shower, he headed into the bathroom to get ready for their first full day in New York.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WORD COUNT : 1,126
WEARING : click
DR. AND DR. IRVING'S HOUSE : clicky

[ana isabel bailey]

IT DIDN'T PARTICULARLY PERPLEX ANA THAT
Jason was putting a shirt on to sleep. He usually had in the past, she'd always assumed to hide his scars, even from her. If he slept otherwise it was usually because she had removed his shirt herself... as well as everything else he was wearing, but that was another story altogether. Gazing up at him as he simply shook his head she pulled her thick framed glasses off her nose, and set them on the table with her phone, pausing the motion and glancing back at him, his features not as clear as she set her things down and turned all the way back, turning a triangular corner of the covers down and scooting back until she ran into the pillows. "That would be fun," she said in her typical perky tone as she slid under the covers and shifted closer. She couldn't deny that a part of her was still apprehensive about meeting his ex, though she knew the worst scenario she'd imagined, that Jason would see her and be overwhelmed by his love for her, wasn't likely to happen. Possible, perhaps, but not likely. Even so she knew she was probably going to come off as possessive to his friends, but it wasn't something she could help. She was always going to fear it happening again on some level, though it had nothing really to do with him.

A HAPPY LITTLE SIGH ESCAPED HER WHEN HE SAID
he'd missed it, too. It felt good to know he had missed the closeness of their relationship as much as she had. She'd feared it wouldn't feel right lying beside him again, that it was too soon, but it hadn't felt wrong in the slightest. If anything it felt like a piece of their relationship had fallen back into place. She gave him a short kiss, her eyes shutting like his in enjoyment. She kept her kiss short though, feeling the shiver that passed up his spine at her touch and not wanting desire to take over. She figured it was better as she rested her head beside his to go ahead and break their affections up with a chat with her mom. Taking her hand from his stomach she gave his hand a squeeze as he said he could handle it, unable to keep from laughing a bit at his joke. "You're too good," she cooed teasingly, knowing he didn't really have to tolerate Mariana if he didn't want to. Her lips curved in a smile as he kissed her, leaning across the bed for her phone once he'd broken it off.

SETTING THE RINGING PHONE DOWN ON TOP OF
the covers she slid down so her head was on his chest, listening to the ringing in one ear and the speedy thud of Jason's heart, so like her own, in the other. She wasn't looking forward to her mother's response to their news. She knew it should be a joyous thing, but she didn't know if her mom was going to feel that way. She wouldn't deny her daughter though, she did know that; Ana had always been left to figure out life on her own and to make her own mistakes, though this was definitely not a mistake. She had no doubt about that, no matter Jason's worries. When the voice-mail message came on Annie couldn't help but be elated, leaving a sweet little message for her mother that she hoped made it clear just how excited she was. As long as it made Anabel happy, she'd pretty much had free reign and she was hoping Mariana didn't renege on that policy.

LAYING THE PHONE BACK DOWN ON THE TABLE SHE
turned back to him, moving her body near to his with an optimistic remark on how easy it had been to tell her. It was the response that worried her. Her worries slipped away though as Jason wrapped his arms around her, her own hand resting on his stomach, though his shirt now stood between his flesh and her fingertips. She shrugged when she saw his face contort in confusion as his fingers touched the clasp of her bra. She always put one on when she put her pajamas on, a habit she'd picked up her first year in college when she had gone from an A cup to a C in only a summer. Of course she had been pleased, as any girl would be, but she'd fast figured out she didn't like letting them flop about, even right before bed, so she'd always left her bra on until she actually laid down. "I just forgot to take it off," she said quietly, though really she hadn't forgotten so much as she hadn't wanted to flash him. Not that she really cared since he'd seen her boobs plenty of times and was to all appearances very fond of them, but the latter was also exactly why she'd not taken it off then. Since they were at the moment not sleeping together she didn't want to tempt him and possibly lead them to resume that too soon. She didn't want that first time to be something they regretted and she knew if they didn't allow enough time for their emotional wounds to heal it would be like it had with his physical wounds before. Since it was dark in the room now though, aside from the slight light that trickled in through the blinds, she sat up and angling her front from him slid her arms from the camisole's straps and pushed the shirt itself down. Reaching back she undid the metal clasp, pulling the top back up once the bra was off before tossing the undergarment over the bed to her suitcase by the wall. She giggled as it landed on top of it, falling back next to him and enjoying his warm embrace and the feeling of his head resting on top of hers.

AS HE MOVED TO GIVE HER A QUICK KISS, SHE
smiled, gazing in his dark eyes as he pulled away. A thought occurred to her as she watched him, one that brought a smile to her pink lips. Unable to keep it to herself, she murmured quietly, "You know we're going to be falling asleep like this for a long time." She took in his expression at her words, not seeing his lips before they were on hers. He'd be kissing her like that for a long time, too, she thought as her tongue met his before giving a little suck, his arms tightening and holding her closer. She certainly wouldn't have any objection to receiving these goodnight kisses for an eternity. She sighed as he pulled away and rested his head on top of hers again, her lips still tingling with the sweet taste of him. Ana nodded her head in agreement when he said they needed to get some sleep. "'Night, babe," she returned, shutting her eyes and breathing in the scent of the detergent his shirt had been washed in, falling asleep as quickly as she had suspected.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

EVEN AFTER MONTHS OF NOT OCCUPYING THE SAME
bed, Annie still stirred when he did. Her eyes didn't open though, trying to hold on to the last strands of the first decent sleep she'd had in the three days since the air conditioning had stopped working in her apartment. She moaned quietly as he pulled away from her, drawing the arm she'd tossed over him to herself and rolling onto her belly as he disentangled their legs. A smile crossed her face as his soft lips kissed her forehead, turning her face into the pillow to block the sunlight as the bed shifted with him getting up. She listened to the shower turn on and, knowing his showers were typically not the most environmentally friendly, negotiated with herself to get up when he got out.

WHEN THE SOUND OF THE FALLING WATER
ceased, she groaned, slowly rolling over. Was it just her, or had he become more aware of his copious water usage? Sitting up, she moved over to the edge of the bed, lingering there for a moment before hopping off and kneeling beside her suitcase, her butt on her heels. Picking up her bra she giggled, setting it back in the bag. She glanced at the shut bathroom door before turning back to her suitcase, debating over what to wear. She wasn't sure what they were doing today, aside from hanging with Dylan. What that entailed exactly though she wasn't sure. Running her fingers through her messy blond locks she shrugged, waiting for him to appear. When the door opened she smiled sunnily at him, her voice equally perky, "Good morning." She let him say it back before asking him, "So, how are we amusing Dylan today?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1503
( WEARING )
this

[jason andrew irving]

Even in the stressful event of telling her mom that they were doing something she was so very against, having her head resting on his chest felt amazing. Sure they had spent time cuddling on the couch, but this was different and it definitely felt good as they listened to the phone ring, crying out on the other end for Mariana to pick it up. When it did finally switch over to voicemail and Ana left a sweet message for her mother to hear, he relaxed, squeezing her gently with the arm that was around her. After she set the phone down on the table, Jason grinned and nodded, agreeing that telling her mother had been easy. He was just concerned about what her response was going to be; he wasn’t quite sure what to expect. He assumed as long as Anabel was happy, Mariana would be okay with whatever it was even if she wasn’t thrilled but he also knew Mariana’s view of him changed quite frequently and he couldn’t really blame her if for once she wasn’t going to let her daughter do something that she wanted to. He wouldn’t be overjoyed if his daughter told him she was marrying a guy who had cheated on her in the past, especially if he had seen what a wreck she was after he hurt her. The more he thought about it, he realized if he and Ana ever did have a daughter, he’d probably be that protective dad, the one sitting around cleaning his gun when the boyfriend walked in the house for the first time. Only it would have to be a figurative gun since owning one would lead Jason to the hospital in one way or another.

He gave a little shrug of his shoulders at her explanation of not taking of her bra, a bit reluctant to let her out of his hold as she slipped out of it to remove it. A little, quiet laugh slipped from him as he realized he was rather thankful the room was almost pitch black. The last thing they needed was to rush into anything they didn’t want to, especially something that could bring back some sour memories if they weren’t careful. After she tossed her bra into the blackness and laid down beside him, his arms wrapped around her in a very possessive way. It wasn’t because there was anything in the dark that could take her away from him, it was because it had been so long since they had simply fallen asleep beside each other in a bed and if he could hold her long enough, even though he knew it wasn’t true, he felt like he could make up for the time they were apart. Watching her sweet lips curve upwards, his eyes became curious before she voiced her thought and his own lips mimicked hers, his dark eyes warming up at the thought before his lips met hers, a much more intimate kiss than their last one. Only when he began to feel a little too lusty did he pull his lips from hers, telling himself that would have to wait; he definitely wasn’t ready. When he rested his head on top of hers again, he remembered the next day was promised to Dylan and if they were planning on keeping up with the eight year old, they probably needed to get some sleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Jason was brought out of his sleep without an alarm clock or a long, wet dog’s tongue against his face, it was a different, much more relaxed feeling than what he had the past couple months. As Annie began to stir when he did, he sighed quietly, knowing without the air conditioning in Utah’s hot weather, it had been difficult for her to sleep lately. He hadn’t even planned on waking her up; he figured he’d just go downstairs and she could come down when she finally woke up on her own to catch up on sleep. Giving her a little kiss on her forehead, he saw a smile form on her face as he pulled away and he couldn’t help but smile a little bit, too. Whether she was awake or smiling in her sleep, it was nice to see. Moving his lips over to her ear he breathed a quiet “Good morning, beautiful,” to her before turning away to grab what he needed for a nice morning shower.

The warm water felt fantastic as it ran down his back and he sighed, tilting his head back to let it run down his face. Standing like this for a few minutes, he let the steam build up in the bathroom as the warmth woke up him even more, laughing to himself as his hair became wet and hung way down in his eyes. The curls definitely took off a lot of length compared to when his hair was wet or straightened. Finally, he gave a little sigh and decided he needed to actually get cleaned up instead of looking like he was trying to drown himself. Letting out a yawn that had been building for a while, he grabbed his shampoo and started working it through his dark curls, not taking as long as he would have liked; he wasn’t sure if Dylan was up yet and if he’d want to get cleaned up now or wait until after they spent the day out.

Stepping back into the bedroom after his shower in nothing but his boxers, little water droplets still falling from the ends of the curls that had already started to form on his head. He decided against shaving right then, one because the mirror had been quite fogged up and he didn’t feel like waiting and two because he figured he could wait another day. Hearing a perky good morning, he looked down at his girlfriend, sitting on her heels in front of her suit case with a little laugh, returning her greeting. His head tilted a little bit to the right when she questioned him about how they were entertaining the eight year old and he grinned. “How about a trip to the zoo? There’s one a little more than a half hour away and Dad told me not too long ago Dylan kept trying to get them to go but they couldn’t find a good weekend to go. The one weekend mom and dad had good hours off, it stormed all weekend, I guess.” The zoo was always fun, even Jason still liked to go, though that could have something to do with his childish behavior, even now at twenty-two.

Crouching down at his suit case, he pulled out a pair of plaid shorts, a tank top and a gray button up shirt as well as a couple of the little beaded and rope bracelets he always had, sliding them on his left wrist without much of a problem. Hopefully his parents didn’t want him to go to the hospital to get it looked at right away, not after he promised Dylan he and Ana would spend today with him. Tossing the clothes on the bed, he started with his shorts as he put them on, checking in the mirror to make sure everything matched as well on him as it did in the duffle bag. Satisfied it matched well enough, he dug through his bag, looking for a plastic Wal-Mart bag he had put a pair of flip flops in. He had brought two pairs of flip flops as well as a pair of tennis shoes with him. Of course the bag with the flip flops he wanted was the last one he found and he grabbed them, sitting on the edge of the bed as he waited for Ana, bouncing up and down a little bit as he tended to do when he was excited.

When she was ready, he grinned, ready to head downstairs. It was only about eight in the morning in the time zone they were use to, but in New York it was closer to ten, so he knew his parents were already up. Bounding down the steps with one hand on the railing just in case, he landed safely and headed into the kitchen, his hand in Annie’s. Seeing his mom sitting at the table he grinned, his hand slipping from his girlfriend’s and walked over to her, giving her a hug. “’Morning, Mommy,” he said with a little laugh before returning to Ana’s side. “We’re taking Dylan to the zoo today, do you need anything done before we leave?” Sitting down at the table across from his mom, he smiled as she shook her head, telling them there wasn’t much that needed to be done and asking them if they minded waiting a little bit, she was waiting for them to get up to make breakfast. Almost immediately after she said that, Dylan came into the kitchen, grinning as he saw Jason and Ana, asking what they were doing for the day. With a teasing grin, Jason let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “Well, we were thinking..." he said slowly, dragging it out as Dylan began to bounce just like his older brother had earlier, only he was sitting on one of the kitchen's hardwood chairs. Laughing, Jason gave in. “We were thinking about going to the zoo, how's that sound?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WORD COUNT : 1,587
WEARING : click
DR. AND DR. IRVING'S HOUSE : clicky

[ana isabel bailey]

A PLEASED SMILE CROSSED ANA'S FACE WHEN
she looked up from her suitcase, suddenly quite happy she'd went ahead and woke up lest she had missed the view she was now enjoying. Taking her eyes off his body she looked up to his face, smiling as he again told her good morning, having already done so before climbing out of bed. She nodded her head when he suggested the zoo, listening to his explanation of the choice before chirping a simple, "Sounds good to me." As she dug through her suitcase for a lightweight top and a pair of cut offs she couldn't help but wonder if she and Jason would scarcely see each other with him working strange hours. She supposed though things would work out one way or another and they'd have to deal with that when they got there. And anyway, her job would be a simple five-day-a-week nine to five so working around her schedule would not be difficult at all, unlike trying to negotiate time off with two doctors.

PICKING UP HER CLOTHES SHE STOOD, HEADING
into the bathroom to change. Taking a step in she paused at the heat of the room, setting her clothes on the lavatory before looking out the doorframe at her fiancé. "You know if you like heat like this you should move in with me," she teased him, already feeling the moist heat clinging to her. She couldn't help but think for a moment that she actually kind of liked her suggestion, even though she'd made it jokingly. She'd been thinking of it for a while, but not really seriously because she hadn't thought they were ready. That was practically what they were doing now and it was certainly going fine and now with the platinum band on her finger, worries of their relationship failing again were basically gone.

FORGETTING THE MATTER FOR NOW BEFORE SHE
made anything in her mind that he might be opposed to she shut the door and stripped down, changing into the blue tank top and shorts as quickly as she could so the door could be opened again. Sweat had already formed on her body in the short time it took her to change. See changed her necklace and put a pair of star earrings in before picking up her toiletries bag and wandering back into the bedroom to do her make-up. She didn't intend on wearing much, just the basics, but without those she felt rather plain, unpretty even. Flopping down on the sheets beside him she lifted the billowing front of her shirt, exposing her tummy, as she mopped at the prespiration on her face. Finding a mirror she applied a simple line of black around her eyes and darkened her eyelashes with some difficulty due to the bouncing twenty-two year old beside her. Luckily she was a bit of an expert with eye make-up so her hand remained steady enough. Though she shot him the evil eye once or twice, she was merely kidding, unable to imagine him not being his easily excited self. Hating to make him wait any longer she quickly applied her lip gloss and tossed her things back in her bag, leaving the bag on the bedside table. Walking over to her suitcase for the tote she'd brought as a replacement for her leather purse, she quickly dumped all her things in it, thinking for a moment she was ready. "Oh," she said quietly when she remembered she would burn in a moment if she didn't put any sunscreen on. Glancing over at Jason she shrugged, instead just tossing the bottle in her purse. She could put it on in the car quite easily if she slid the seat back a bit, it wasn't as though she needed to stretch out much. "I'll just put it on later," she concluded, opening the door to their room as if to say they could go. She didn't like being all greasy for any longer than necessary anyway.

TROTTING BEHIND HER QUICK FOOTED FIANCÉ SHE
made her way down a bit slower, taking his hand when he offered it to her at the foot of the stairs. It was too early to be going that fast for her, never having been much of a morning person. Wandering into the kitchen with him she smiled at his mother, saying a good morning that overlapped with his. She let him go to give her a hug, smiling at how he addressed her. Her blond eyebrows rose playfully as she stepped closer to the table, leaning on the back of the chair opposite to Sophie's, "Will-be mommy-in-law," she added to her greeting jokingly. As Jason rejoined her she listened to him speak, moving to the side so he could sit down and taking the chair next to him. Her gaze went from the other woman at the table to the boy hopping up into one of the chairs at the table, glancing over at Jason as he drew it out, unable to keep from laughing as Dylan bounced with anticipation. The two of them, though several years apart, were undoubtedly brothers, impossibly similar. Smiling slightly Ana nudged him, "Tell him," she said, figuring he'd drag it out a lot longer otherwise.

WHEN SOPHIA ROSE TO START ON BREAKFAST ANNIE
pushed her chair back. "Let me help," she offered, figuring if she insisted long enough she would be allowed to help. She knew his parents were just trying to be nice, but she really did hate being served, aside from when she was in a restaurant. With a tiny laugh she added, "Anyway, I could use some lessons in cooking breakfast. Your son would appreciate it," she said teasingly with a glance at Jason, who had to make his own breakfast when he wanted bacon and eggs or pancakes that weren't out of a box. Not that Annie hadn't tried, she had, but it hadn't gone well because she'd just sort of guessed how to do things and after burning the bacon to the point their house had reaked for over a day even with all the windows open she wasn't willing to try on her own again. It wasn't as though cookbooks instructed on how to scramble eggs and since her mother had never taught her she was rather clueless to anything other than churros and torrijas.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1065
( WEARING )
this

[jason andrew irving]

Jason’s eyebrows rose when she said she’d put her sunscreen on later and he shook his head, smirking slightly. “But I like it when you look like a lobster,” he protested with a grin, thinking back rather fondly to the one day they had spent in his pool and how she had forgotten her sunscreen. That wasn’t the fun part, that had happened later, when they had gone back inside and realized just how red she was. Shaking his head again, he sighed giving her a little kiss on her forehead along with his warning. “Just don’t forget, you don’t need to get skin cancer.” No, he wouldn’t wish that on his worst enemy, there was no way he wanted the woman he was in love with suffering like that.

Looking over at Ana, his eyebrows raised just as hers had a moment before as she addressed his mom. He couldn’t help but smile, knowing Sophia would like that, as she clearly did, looking up at Annie with a smile. She was clearly happy for her son, seeing as the last time she had seen him he had been running from a broken heart. Looking back now, he knew it had been kind of a stupid thing, leaving town wasn’t going to ease the hurt, but he was glad he did. If he had just stuck around sulking, he wouldn’t be engaged now. Oh well, everything happened for a reason, or at least most everything. He knew now why he had gone through the pain of the wreck, because if he hadn’t, again, he wouldn’t be engaged now. If there was one thing that threw his belief out the window, it was when he had cheated on her. He still couldn’t figure out why that happened. It hadn’t strengthened their relationship, at least not yet. He realized his eyes had begun to glaze over as they tended to do anytime he thought about that and he snapped out of it, looking across the table at his mom and giving her a little smile. It had been so hard to admit to her and his father, too, when they had been alone on their patio the previous night everything he had done wrong. He had gone against so many things they had taught him and telling them had only made him feel worse. It wasn’t something he had been planning on keeping from them; they weren’t the kind of family that hid things from each other so he knew he’d have to tell them eventually. After Annie had agreed to marry him seemed like the wrong time, but one of the comments his mom had made about Dylan’s trip to Utah being cancelled, he knew he couldn’t really hide it any longer. For the majority of the conversation, he had kept his head in his hands, too afraid to see the looks on his parents’ faces. He didn’t want to see their concern or their disgust or their pity, but what he really didn’t want to see was the look of disappointment that he knew would be there somewhere. He knew it would make him feel even worse about the situation than he already did, if that was even possible.

Chewing on his lip, he let out a quiet, slightly stressed sigh, a smile forming on his face as he saw his brother bouncing up and down with the excitement of simply not knowing what was in store for the day. Yes, it was better that he had waited to see his family. They wouldn’t want to see the low life alcoholic he had turned into and that was not the sort of role model any eight year old needed. Glancing over at his girlfriend as she told him to just let Dylan in on their plans for the day, he gave a very sarcastic, exasperated sigh. “Fine,” he whined, dragging out the word. Glancing up at his girlfriend as she stood to help his mom make breakfast, he rolled his eyes playfully. “The only reason I don’t make anything is because you don’t seem to trust me,” he teased, sticking out his tongue. The look that Sophie gave Ana made it quite clear she didn’t really blame her. She had good reason not to trust him with anything sharp or excessively hot; she had seen the damaged he caused trying to cut up mushrooms for dinner one night and they had ended up in the hospital. When they had left, he had four stitches in his left thumb. On the way back to their house, he had been in one of his moods, teasing her when he had said she was lucky he didn’t lose part of his thumb.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The day had gone by rather fast for Jason, and it seemed like only an hour or so after they arrived at the zoo, they were leaving with the rest of the crowd as it closed for the evening. After going home and getting cleaned up, they went out to dinner as promised. And of course Jason ended up gorging himself with cheesecake afterwards. His friends had joined them, and it hadn’t been too bad. It had been nice to see Hayley again, even though the last time he had seen her she had broke his heart. It was a bit odd to see her hand and hand with Ethan, but it was kind of a relief in a way. Chase had a girlfriend, too, but he hadn’t brought her along. Two of her cousins were in town and like Jason, they didn’t live very close so she was spending some time with them.

It had been great to see them again. Things had been a bit awkward at first, when Hayley had seen him and threw her arms around his neck; as he expected he felt a slight pang when the smell of her shampoo hit him, but it didn’t last long. Things had worked out for the better for both of them. Besides, it wasn’t like she had given Annie the cold shoulder; it had been quite the opposite, really. She had given her a hug, too, and with a little, happy laugh told her how much they had all heard about her. When his friends told him they needed to hang out again before he left for the city, he definitely agreed, but he was beginning to wonder how he was going to cram everything into the week they were staying at his parents’ house.

After Ana had slipped away to get her shower, Jason stayed with his parents for a little while longer, asking them if they had plans the next day. They both were off for the day, luckily enough, and they agreed that they could spend the day out on their boat. He knew Ana was rather excited for that, so when he had gone upstairs to go to sleep, he did to her what he had done to Dylan, dragging out their plans for the next day, finally giving in and telling her with a little laugh, holding her close to him again. It was nice to have her back in his arms at the end of the day; he really had missed it. He was beginning to think that that was his favorite part of the day, simply holding her in his arms until they both fell asleep.

When the sunlight flowing through the window pulled him out of his slumber, he woke Annie up with a little kiss on her forehead, reminding her with a big grin that they’d be spending the day out on his boat. “And I promise, I won’t drown,” he teased her as he pulled on a striped sleeveless shirt. When they walked into the kitchen, his mom already had breakfast made, eggs and toast on the plates sitting their waiting for them. Sitting down next to his brother, who looked more than ready to go swimming, Jason grinned and stole a bite of eggs from the little boy’s plate. Laughing as the eight year old whined for his mom, Jason stuck his tongue out at him before starting on his breakfast.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A happy smile crossed his face as he stepped onto his parents sailboat, taking Ana’s hand to help her on. The little plank could be a bit wobbly at times, though he probably wasn’t the best person to be helping her. He hadn’t managed to fall off since they had bought the boat, but it wouldn’t be a surprise for anyone who knew him if he managed to. As he sat down on one of the seats, bringing Ana with him, he gave her an adoring look, squeezing her hand gently. He bit his bottom lip for a moment, debating on whether or not he wanted to take off his shirt. H e was with his family, they wouldn’t care that he had a couple scars on his side; his parents knew what he had been through. It wasn’t really them he was concerned about it, it was Dylan. He didn’t want to frighten the eight year old in any way. Looking over at Annie again, he gave her a little kiss on the cheek as his dad turned on the engine to get their boat out into open water.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WORD COUNT : 1,554
WEARING : click
NOTES : It sucks. I hope you can do something with it =/

[ana isabel bailey]

ANA LAUGHED WHEN HE SAID HE LIKED IT
when she looked like a lobster, slipping her arm around his waist. "Exactly why I'd better put it on," she said with a smirk, remembering the warm trace of his lips along the skin that hadn't been exposed to the sun and the feel of his hands pressing into the heat of her bright red skin. He had seemed to find her irresistible and she had no doubt completely forgotten how badly nearly every inch of her hurt. Of course after that she'd just plain hurt all over, but at least for a short while she'd felt wonderful, beyond wonderful actually. A pang of desire hit her and she bit her lip, pushing it from her mind. A little smile crossed her face at his tender reminder and she reached up, twirling her finger around a curl with an affectionate gaze, "Neither do you, you know." She had already seen him suffer more that she'd ever wanted to and she'd hate for anything else to happen to him, especially something as terrible as cancer. Even though his complexion was much darker, he should still probably be cautious, though Annie always was very protective.

SITTING AT THE KITCHEN TABLE, ANA'S EYEBROWS
rose at the somewhat muted sound of her cell ringing, the tune it played the one she'd assigned to her mother. She'd just had to check her phone before mass hadn't she? Nibbling her lip Ana thought for a moment to answer it, but she chickened out, hoping Sophie and Jason weren't paying the music any mind. She expected a look from her fiancé trying to implore as to why she wasn't answering the phone. It was simple though; she was terrified. Not that her mother couldn't have expected this, they had wanted this for a long time, but she supposed she could see why it was a surprise... maybe. It was kind of soon to an outsider, but Annie didn't think you could put a time-line on love. Anyway, they didn't even have a date or anything picked out. She figured they could start talking about it when they were in the city or when they got home. Whenever, really; there was no rush for her.

ANNIE SNAPPED FROM HER THOUGHTS AT HIS
little sigh, sensing a change in his mood. Gently she placed her small hand on the inner part of his lower thigh beneath the table, giving him a tiny smile. She could guess with some certainty what had invaded his thoughts because that was always the way he got. She questioned why it had happened just as much as he did, but she'd given up on that one after a while. She figured they'd find out someday, or maybe there really was no reason and it was just a mistake. She didn't know now, and figured it would be a while before she did so she just kind of blocked it and didn't let herself think about it when she didn't have to. It was much easier that way.

WITH THEIR PLANS FOR THE DAY DECIDED ANA
stood making her case for her need to learn how to make scrambled eggs. She shook her head and rolled her eyes right back when he said it was only because she didn't trust him. "I did for a while," she said as she wandered away from the table, "Until you tried to cut off your thumb." She smiled at the look Sophie gave her, turning to look at Jason with a laugh, "Show your mom your scar," she told him with a roll of her eyes. Leaning back against the counter-top, she glanced at Sophie's cutting-board, "When you guys come out to Utah remind me to show you my cutting-board," she said with a smirk. Her eyes dragging over to Jason she winked at him, glad he hadn't lost his thumb. Turning to give his mother a hand, she snorted as she remembered the comment he'd made in the car, her cheeks blushing.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

HER FINGERS CURLED AROUND HIS AS THEY WALKED
out the front gate of the zoo, Anabel sighed contentedly, watching the still energetic little boy walking ahead of them. She had enjoyed their day with Dylan and though apprehensive was looking forward to going out tonight to celebrate their engagement and meet his friends. A few hours later though she realized there was nothing to really sweat over. Oh she had noticed his eyes shut when Hayley's arms had wrapped around him, but she wasn't about to hold that against him. She knew what that was like, having experienced it with him while they were over. It was unavoidable and she knew that. Compared to the awful thought she'd had this morning it was a relief anyway. When the brunette had hugged her, too, she had been a bit surprised but just laughed when she told her how much they'd heard about her, able to say truthfully the same thing back.

THE FOOD HAD BEEN DELICIOUS AND THE TALK AT
the table rather amusing. Jason had been right, she fit in fine. She didn't get any of the inside jokes, obviously, her bright blue eyes wide and an amused smile on her face when they said something she didn't get. Her belly full of good food and cheesecake she'd smiled as they parted, happy to meet up with them again if they could. She almost suggested they come to the city, too, but she didn't really know if that meshed with Jason's plans so she didn't say it. She'd left their trip itinerary up to him and if he wanted to do that he'd bring it up. When they got home she retired to get another shower and put on her pajamas when Dylan was sent to bed. She ended up skipping the shower though since she'd bathed after the zoo, just changing back into her sweats and finally playing the voice-mail message on her phone. As she had expected there was a warning against the state of holy matrimony, but Mariana hadn't said no, so that surely meant something. Shutting her eyes she flashed back for a brief moment, her face with a dark expression before she opened her eyes again and curled into a ball. No, that was the past and this was the present. They didn't mix, and neither did the past and the future. One didn't determine the other, she knew that, and she also knew how much Jason loved her. When he slipped into the room to join her she confirmed to herself that her mother was most definitely wrong and she wanted to be married to him, wanted it more than she'd ever wanted anything because regardless of the things that had happened it still felt right with him, and she wasn't going to find that with anyone else or on her own.

EXCITEMENT FILLED HER WHEN HE FINALLY
admitted they planned to take the boat out the next day and she struggled to curb her enthusiasm enough to fall asleep, even with his strong arms so securely about her. It took a while but she finally relaxed and with her face in his curls and a hand beneath his shirt she fell asleep to his slow breathing. When he kissed her forehead to wake her up she moved a bit, her eyes staying shut as he reminded her about the boat. "It's not a yacht," she murmured with a teasing smile, finally opening her eyes and starting to get out of bed. This morning she didn't bother disappearing into the bathroom as she changed telling him jokingly to cover his eyes. She kept her back to him though so he saw little of much excitement as she very quickly changed into a purple plaid bikini, jean shorts, and a white tank. Annie rolled her eyes when he said he wouldn't drown, examining herself in the mirror and making sure she looked ok. "I don't think you can make promises like that, Jay," she told him with a teasing gaze, snatching a pony tail holder for her hair and slipping a short-sleeved jacket on. When they walked into the kitchen to find breakfast already on the table she shook her head, glancing over at Sophie, "I'm not so bad at cooking that you got up early to avoid it, am I," she asked with a laugh, not at all serious as she took the chair across from her fiancé, watching with a smile as he stole from Dylan's plate.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SQUINTING IN THE BRIGHT SUN ANNIE STEPPED
onto the little plank, holding Jason's hand as she stepped down onto the deck very carefully. "I gotta say," she said loud enough for everyone to hear, "I like the smell of you guys' boat much better than my dad's." She chuckled a bit at the inquisitive looks from his parents, "He caught shrimp in his spare time," she said with a shrug, figuring that said it all. Anabel smiled as he pulled her into his lap, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "Sailboat boy," she murmured with a loving smile, planting another kiss on his full lips. Leaning back against him, she glanced quizzically at his pensive look. "What," she asked him as the boat shifted away from the dock. A big smile crossed her face and she bounced a bit with excitement, pulling away to take off her jacket. She was waiting until they decided to go swimming to take off the shirt and shorts. She didn't want to be running around in her string bikini the whole time, not with Jason's little brother and his parents around.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1670
( WEARING )
this

[jason andrew irving]

Jason Irving rolled his eyes again when Ana told him to show Sophia the scar on his thumb. “It wasn’t bad,” he told his mom. “I only needed four stitches.” Standing up, he walked over to her and showed her the pale line across his thumb. Like he just said, it hadn’t been anything serious. Unlike the time when he was ten and had managed to cut his heel open while riding his bicycle, well, falling off of the bike. Somehow he had managed to fall off of the bike while going over the curb from the street to his driveway, and against his mother’s wishes, he had been wearing flip flops. Well, when he had fallen, he managed to hit his foot against part of his bike and it had immediately started gushing blood. Luckily enough, Sophie had been outside doing something or another and had seen him fall from the corner of her eye; with him, it was always good to have one eye on him. The entire way back from the hospital, his foot stitched closed and wrapped up, his mom had lectured him about how she told him to always wear tennis shoes when he was riding his bike. Yes, he had learned his lesson. The next time he got on his bike, he had on shoes that actually covered his feet.

The first few words out of her mouth the next morning made him burst out laughing and his lips brushed against her forehead. He loved how she could always bring a smile to his face. As she told him to close his eyes, his eyebrows rose and he chuckled to himself, knowing it was probably better if he did what she requested. Turning away from her instead of closing his eyes, he chose to change at the same time. “Hey!” he protested when she said he shouldn’t be making promises about his survival. “I’ve been on that boat hundreds of times and I haven’t fa-well… No, I haven’t fallen over,” he teased her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind her as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. When they stepped into the kitchen, Sophie’s eyes widen a little bit before she realized Ana was kidding. “Not at all, honey,” she said honestly before flashing her a teasing smile. “Just so you can enjoy your vacation.”

[/color]

Feeling the boat rock a little bit with the tiny waves that were bumping against it’s sides, Jason smiled. He was ready to get back out onto open water; he missed having a boat. Maybe once they were back in Salt Lake, he’d go boat shopping. Sophie and Jake looked at Ana with a slightly puzzled expression when she said their boat smelled better than her dad’s, though the quizzical look on Jason’s face was more because she brought up her dad than anything. He shrugged it off, smiling as she called him sailboat boy and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, bringing up the idea that had just popped into his mind. “We should get a boat when we get back to Utah.” Smirking slightly, he rested his forehead against her blond hair, his words now only for her ears. “One like this, with a couple beds down below.” Laughing, he shook his head, knowing she’d find some way that he’d manage to cause something to go wrong, probably forgetting to actually stop the boat and they’d end up on a large pile of rocks.

He looked sideways at Annie and shrugged when she questioned why he appeared so thoughtful. He didn’t want to voice what he was thinking about because he didn’t want her to become concerned like she had last time. As the motor purred when Jake turned it on to get them out into open water, Jason rested his head on Annie‘s shoulder, looking rather backwards to anyone who would see them. Though it was an affectionate gesture, he had really done it so he wouldn‘t have to talk any louder than necessary and risk his parents over hearing. “I don’t want to scare Dylan…” he murmured quietly, hoping she’d figure out what he meant. The little eight year old was smart and if he didn’t know what all Jason had been through, he’d fast figure it out when he saw the scars; he knew what their parents did for a living, even at eight he‘d know that those scars weren‘t because Jason tripped over himself or ran into a wall. He sighed, wondering if he had made it clear enough. “I just…I don’t know.” He shrugged and picked his head up from her shoulder as the sound from the motor cut off and the boat actual began to sail.

They sailed around aimlessly for a little bit, Jake in charge of the boat, until he decided it was time for a swim. Jason watched his mom as she helped Dylan into a life vest. It wasn’t that the boy couldn’t swim, it was simply because they were in deep water and he couldn’t put his feet down if he got tired. Dylan was young enough, he could have been wearing one the entire trip without much thought coming from anyone, but the way his parents looked at it, they had been out on the boat enough, Dylan knew what he could and couldn’t do. Looking at his girlfriend with a little smirk, Jason held out his hand. “Hand it over,” he teased, talking about the sun screen. He wasn’t going to let her go swimming without any on; he knew very well how easily she burned. “We don’t need you turning into a lobster again.”

Jason turned his head to look at his little brother and he smirked, debating whether or not he wanted to toss him over the side of the boat. Before he really had the chance to contemplate it too long, Dylan jumped off the side himself and Jason shook his head, grinning. “Ready?’ he asked Ana, biting his lip as he thought for a moment, his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt. Sighing, he gave in and pulled it over his head, tossing it on the seat where he had been sitting. He’d be in the water with Dylan and once he got out, he could just throw his shirt back on. He knew his stomach was paler than the rest of his skin that was showing, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been. Swimming in his backyard with Annie could be done shirtless, and that was really where he swam most of the time. He stood on the seat next to where his shirt was sitting and offered Annie his hand to help her up. As soon as she was on the seat next to him, he picked her up and laughed, tempted to just drop her overboard right then and there. “Hold on,” he teased as he stepped over the bar and onto the outer part of the boat with her in his arms. Standing on the edge as the boat rocked a little, he grinned at her and jumped, laughing as soon as his head came above the water as he waited for her reaction, his curls plastered against his head and dripping down his face.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WORD COUNT : 1,217
WEARING : click
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]

[ana isabel bailey]

ANNIE IGNORED JASON'S PERPLEXED LOOK AT
the reference to her dad. She wouldn't not acknowledge him, she just didn't like to, especially when she was in a sour mood because it just brought her lower. But she was too high right now to be brought down much, even by mention of him. Stepping onto the boat though had hit her kind of hard; the gentle rocking brought back a lot of memories of the times he'd dragged her along with him when she was younger. Her nose had always wrinkled at the sight of the nasty crustaceans with their heads still on, and she'd squeal when her dad would bite them off. Still, she could eat more shrimp than anyone she knew. Nibbling her lip a bit she headed over to where Jason was with a little shrug. She was probably talking a bit much because of her excitement and annoying his parents so it would be better if she just stayed quiet with him.

PULLING BACK FROM HER SWEET KISSES
she gazed at him smiling a tiny bit at his suggestion but saying nothing. She relaxed back against him with a happy little sigh, feeling his forehead pressed against the side of her blond head. Her eyes flickered shut as she thought about it, "Sounds good to me," she murmured back. Turning a bit so she was looking at him she rested her forehead against his, "Shouldn't we start saving for our honeymoon, though," she asked with a little smile, pressing her pink lips to his nose. She knew it was a bit premature, but she couldn't help looking forward to that, where ever they went. She didn't have her heart set on any place in particular, really that was one area she was glad to let Jason decide upon.

NOTICING HIS NERVOUS PONDERING SHE
couldn't help but ask what had him acting so odd, giving him his time to answer when he felt comfortable. As the boat began to hum, ready to come away from the dock, she knew why he had moved his chin to her shoulder, even as his mom looked over like a proud mother hen at the two of them. She just smiled slightly, tuning in to what he was saying, having to think for a moment before she understood what he meant. Even if Dylan knew that his brother had been in a car wreck, even if he knew there had been two surgeries, he was young and those marks could make what he knew all too real. Not that the scars now were bad at all, or at least not to Annie, but she could see his point and she always tried to be understanding even though she couldn't entirely because she had no major scars to speak of. Turning a bit she looked at him with an empathetic gaze, "Oh, honey," she murmured, picking up his free hand and giving it a squeeze. Her head turned as he stammered a bit, smiling a tiny bit and telling him in her sweet voice, "It's ok. I get it." It was his decision to make and for once she wasn't going to tell him what to do. Normally she'd just say to take it off like nothing was out of the ordinary, but they were talking about his kid brother here and that was a whole new situation.

SHE JUST RELAXED AS THE WIND GUIDED THE BOAT,
sitting in almost silence with her fiancé. It was nice, just enjoying him and the weather and being with his family. She almost hated to go back to Utah at this point, though she knew, as he did, that that wasn't an option right now. When they stopped the boat a ways off from the shore Ana slid from his lap and pulled her tank top over her head, dropping it with her other things. Standing she slid out of her shorts, the denim catching on her bikini and pulling the butt of it down, too. Pulling the fabric back up she flushed, checking to make sure his parents hadn't noticed her talent for undressing. She looked at Jason, who clearly had noticed, with a little shake of her head, "You didn't see that," she whispered conspiratorially.

SITTING BACK ON THE BENCH, SHE LEANED DOWN
for her bottle of sunscreen, beginning to put it on her arms and legs. She felt sort of awkward as she rubbed it onto her chest, though she didn't have much of a choice lest she wanted to burn there. A smile crossed her face when he told her to hand it over, passing the bottle to him and, carefully holding her top to her, she undid the string, giggling at his tease. "But I'm such a cute lobster," she said back with a pouty look over her shoulder as he rubbed the protectorate into her practically porcelain skin. When he finished she asked him to retie it for her so as to not risk flashing her future in-laws and then tossed the bottle down with her other things, ready to go.

AS HE STOOD ON THE SEAT AND HELD OUT HIS HAND
Ana smiled, answering his question, "Yes." Sliding off the bench and taking his hand, she stood up next to him. She gazed with amusement at how pale his torso was, though next to her he would always look tan. As he swooped her up she squealed his name, taken off guard but slowly wrapping her arms around his neck for balance. When he stepped over the bar onto the rim of the boat and it rocked she pressed her face to his shoulder, shutting her eyes. She let out another little yelp as he jumped, catapulting both of them into the water. It wasn't far down and she hit the warm water with a splash. Flipping back up from beneath the waves, she pushed the strands of her hair that had escaped from her ponytail back with a laugh. Pulling her hand back she sent a little splash at him before darting her eyes to look for Dylan and seeing he was for the moment not looking at them, swam closer and gave him an open-mouthed kiss.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1039
( WEARING )
this

[jason andrew irving]

His eyes lit up as she mentioned their honeymoon, smiling as she kissed his nose. To answer her question, he simply shrugged. “Don‘t worry about it, I‘ve got it.” It was definitely nice to come from a family like his; money wasn’t much of an issue. Ever. After his BMW had been totaled, he had gone out and bought his new car, paying for it in full and when Ana’s old car had left her stranded, he had done the same thing then and honestly, it hadn’t been much of a problem. It was more of a security blanket than to spend and flaunt about; he knew if anything ever happened to him to where he couldn‘t work or worse, Annie wouldn’t have to work her butt off to keep them on their feet; her and their kids would have more than enough, they wouldn’t have to count every last penny to make sure they’d get through the month.

Tilting his head a bit, he grinned. “Speaking of our honeymoon, any ideas where you‘d like to go?” He had a few ideas, but he wasn’t quite sure what she’d want. Hawaii or the Bahamas would be nice - he was a sucker for the island paradise, but Australia could be nice, too. It was suppose to be absolutely gorgeous, especially if they went diving by the coral reefs. He knew she wanted to visit Spain at some point in time, so that was another option. And if they went to Spain, they could visit a few other countries around there, too. It really didn’t matter to him; he’d go to the moon and back for her. He laughed as he remembered their conversation after she had first asked him if he wanted to marry her. “Cancun?” he teased, his hand resting on her thigh.

He shrugged a little bit as she called him honey, still not quite sure what to do. If he didn’t take off his shirt, his parents would question him. Not in any hard way, just curious. He had always enjoyed swimming and as long as they could remember, he would swim shirtless. On the other hand, he didn’t want to scare Dylan like he told Ana. He didn’t know how much the boy knew other than he had been in a car accident. Little kids often had peculiar behaviors and the last thing Jason wanted was for Dylan to see those and decide he didn’t want to go in the car anymore. Of course, that was a bit extreme. He figured the most that would happen is that Dylan would question them and he wasn’t sure he really wanted to talk about it, even to his baby brother. It was one of those things he had sort of pushed to the back of his mind and the less he thought about it, the better.

As Ana slid from his lap, Jason gave her a little squeeze, smiling as she stood and stripped her shirt from her body, Jason smirking, unable to pull his eyes away from her. No, they had some time before they would be together in that sense still, but it didn’t make him any less lustier when she did this or when she had changed with him in the room with her, even if her back was to him. He chuckled as she accidentally undressed herself a bit more than she intended, her whisper making it hard for him not to burst out laughing. Standing up beside her, he grinned, a mischievous look in his eyes. “Didn‘t see what?” he asked, his hand coming to rest on the bottom of her bikini as he gave her butt a gentle squeeze. It wasn’t a gesture he had ever really made before, but it was just sort of fitting at the time.

Chuckling when Ana claimed she was a cute lobster, he took the sun block from her and squirted some of it onto his hands, rubbing his hands together before he pressed them against her back, kissing her cheek as she turned to look at him. “Cutest one I‘ve ever seen. But you‘re just as cute when you‘re not beet red.” He couldn’t help but laugh when she asked him to retie her top, having seen what could happen if she tied it by herself. Or when she was sunbathing and forgot to retie it. Not that he could say he minded it at all. The only time it really bothered him at all was when they were at the beach and he wasn’t the only guy who saw. Not to say that wasn’t understandable; no guy would want another staring at his half naked girlfriend. Well, most guys anyways.

Standing beside her on the seats, he grinned, excited to be back home, swimming in one of his favorite places with his girlfriend. He tilted his head slightly as he caught her amused look, not quite understanding it until he saw where her eyes were. If it weren’t Ana, he would have been rather self conscious. And he knew it wasn’t his scars that were amusing her, it was the lack of sun on his chest and stomach. As long as he had the scars, he hadn’t really been comfortable taking off his shirt in public. There had been times he was even a bit awkward around Ana. It was just something he’d have to get use to, though it was going to take a while. He had plenty of scars from his unintentional self inflicted injuries, but none of them were nearly as noticeable as the two on his side. Now, though, it was more of his little brother’s reaction he was concerned about than anyone’s curious or sympathetic gaze.

As she squealed his name, he laughed, unable to help himself. He wouldn’t hurt her, it was all in good fun, though if he slipped and fell that could land them both in the hospital where his parents worked. It felt good as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he sighed contently as he stepped onto the outer part of the boat. For a while he had been so afraid that they weren’t doing the right thing by getting back together and there were still times where the thought would flicker through his mind, usually when they were arguing about something or another, but now that they really were engaged, he knew that they had done something right to be where they were now.

The water around him felt wonderful; swimming in a pool was so different from swimming in a lake or the ocean. Hearing his girlfriend’s laugh, he turned to look at her only to be greeted by a small wave Ana had sent at him. Wiping the water from his eyes, he didn’t seen Ana before her lips were against his. Out of habit, his arms found her waist and wrapped around it, his lips curling up into a smile as she kissed him. Only when he heard Dylan squeal in protest did he pull away with a little sigh, not letting her out of his grip quite yet. “Well that was hot,” he teased, tilting his head towards her to give her a little kiss again. “Watch this,” he murmured to her, swimming over to the side of the boat and climbing back on it, calling to Dylan to come over to him for a minute. Grinning, he stepped over to the edge of the boat just as he had with Ana. As Dylan came scurrying over to him, Jason scooped him up like it was nothing, laughing as he told Dylan to hold his breath and tossed him into the water, shaking his head in an amused way as the life vest pulled him back to the surface almost immediately.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WORD COUNT : 1,217
WEARING : click
NOTES : eh, not my best.

[ana isabel bailey]

SHE HALF-SMILED WHEN HE ASSURED HER IT WASN'T
a problem that she needed to worry about. With a little sigh she rested her head back against his shoulder, tilting her head so her forehead was pressed to his neck. There was certainly a comfort in knowing he had them covered no matter what, though coming from a poor family she couldn't help but be hesitant. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be completely comfortable with the kind of money he had, but then again she never complained when he wanted to spoil her one way or the other. Maybe that was why some people made the assumption she was with him for his money, but that just wasn't it. She'd been attracted to him before she'd realized that and it just hadn't made much of a difference. She saw it in the same light he did, just an assurance that they'd never really have to stress over money like she'd so often seen her parents do. She'd still be with him if things weren't made so easy by his family's money or by his career choice. She was shallow, but not that shallow.

SHE PULLED AWAY SLIGHTLY WHEN HE SPOKE,
thoughtful. She really had intended to let him pick, unless of course he chose something she would just plain hate. Then she might have to step in. She really didn't have any especial idea of what she wanted, just someplace unlike Utah. Annie didn't plan on not leaving the hotel room like most everyone joked they would do. She didn't see the point in that unless you had waited for marriage, and even then she didn't think spending the entire week was necessary. She'd rather just have fun with her new husband and enjoy that when they got back to their hotel. Opening her lips to speak, she burst out laughing when he suggested Cancún, wondering how things would be if they had in fact eloped like she'd briefly feared he wanted to do. "Sounds perfect," she replied once she stopped laughing, loving the feel of his hand on her thigh. She gazed at him for a moment before shrugging, "I don't know where I want to go. I was kind of going to make you pick," she admitted with a laugh. She thought for a moment, "Why don't we get a magazine at the airport and try to find something nice on the flight." It seemed like a good plan to her. She would settle for Hawaii or some place else treacherously cliché, but she was sure there had to be a lesser known paradise they wouldn't have normally thought of. The less overcrowded the better she figured.

SHE LET OUT A LITTLE SIGH AT THE END OF THEIR
inconclusive conversation over what he should do about the shirt situation. He'd do what he was comfortable with. She still maintained the opinion that they weren't as bad looking as he let himself think, and she really doubted Dylan would notice or care. She didn't really anymore, though even around her he didn't always take his shirt off. When they anchored the boat to swim she slid from his lap and pulled her shirt off, glancing over at him as she dropped her shirt to the floor of the boat and noting his hungry gaze, unable to keep from smirking herself. The bikini truly didn't cover a whole lot, but she didn't own anything but bikinis and hadn't had time to buy something else. Slipping her shorts off she hastily fixed her bottom so at least it did cover something, responding to his humored chuckling beside her. She raised an eyebrow at his innocent reply as he stood up next to her, her face registering her surprise as his hand rested on her butt and gave it a squeeze. She gazed at him with wide blue eyes, half laughing, really kind of surprised since he'd never done that before and yet she sort of liked it.

AT HIS PROMPTING SHE HANDED HIM THE BOTTLE
of sunscreen that she'd already lathered over the rest of herself, giving her a coconut scent. She smiled when he kissed her cheek at the lobster comment, her smile growing when he said she was just as cute being her pale self. She supposed it was good that he liked her being pasty, since it was unlikely she'd ever be anything but. Once they finished with making sure she wasn't going to burn she hopped up next to him on the bench, somewhat surprised by his decision to pull the shirt off though not minding in the slightest since he was so outright sexy without it. She hadn't seen him much without it since that beach party which she supposed made it that much more enjoyable.

LANDING IN THE COOL WATER SHE POPPED UP
above its surface, sniffing the heady scent of the water. It certainly smelled better than the Great Salt Lake which sort of wreaked especially during the summer and different from the chlorinated scent of his pool. Unable to help herself she splashed him with the water, dousing his curls so they fell in his eyes and, as she'd wanted to do all morning, moved to kiss him. A happy little sigh escaped her as her mouth met his and her eyes shut as they habitually seemed to, his arms pulling her tiny body to his. The waves around them just made it that much better, that much more special, at least until Dylan spotted his brother lip locked with her and expressed his disgust. A laugh had already bubbled up in her as she pulled her lips back and she looked up at the little boy with a roll of her eyes, knowing someday that would be their reality anytime they wanted to share a kiss and weren't really alone. "Wasn't it though," she teased right back, though it really had been a touch arousing, just the spontaneity of it. She gently smiled when he gave her a tiny kiss and then splashed off, telling her to watch. She knew what he was doing the moment he hopped up on the side and called the boy over to him, having had it done to her many times when she was little, and by Jason, too, since throwing people into bodies of water seemed to be his specialty and she was light enough to be tossed by him with ease. She laughed as the eight year old was catapulted into the waves, just barely making a splash. She swam a bit closer to where he was on the boat, looking up at him. "Well you got us. Whose next," she asked him with a laugh, already debating over hopping back on the boat with him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

( WORD COUNT )
1132
( WEARING )
this
( NOTES )
hmm, hit another block. shall they head for the city?
and i can add something or another on if you want. i know there's virtually nothing to work with but i left it there in case you had some brilliant boat plottage.