12 years later

A cool breeze danced through the air, providing a few precious seconds of relief from the scorching heat. It was a blazing hot Saturday morning, and instead of residing myself to my nice warm bed, I was at a Kindergarten field watching a bunch of four-year-olds trip up after a ball. 

It's not as weird as it sounds.... 

One of them was mine. 

My ears pricked as I heard a faint rustling sound coming from beside me. I snapped my head to the side and was met with a wide-eyed, guilty looking May.

 Her hand was dug deep into her pocket, and her cheeks were all puffed out, indicating she had something in her mouth. 

"What the fuck, May? You said you didn't have food!" I yelled.

 I must have said this a tad too loudly as some of the other parents turned in my direction to give me disapproving glances. 

Judgy assholes, like they didn't swear... 

May pulled her lips into her mouth in an attempt not to laugh. "Well, I lied," she shrugged. "And you really should stop swearing. That putty mouth of yours is exactly why little Zoe's first words were 'motherfucker'," she snorted.

 I bowed my head. "Oh, god, don't remind me," I muttered. "And just for the record, it was all Ethan's fault. He just laughed like an idiot, and more or less encouraged her," I protested. 

May laughed. "You kinda have to admit, it was kind of funny."

 The corner of my lips lifted slightly. "Maybe a little," I muttered.

 I looked out in the distance, to try and find that cute but naughty little girl of mine. I smiled as soon as I saw her. She seemed to be faster than the others at chasing after the ball, as she was leading the mob of children. I could scarcely believe she was mine sometimes since she was so beautiful. 

She had these striking baby blue eyes and wavy chocolate-colored hair that I had tied up into two cute little pigtails. She resembled Ethan far more than me, and I didn't mind one bit. 

We'd named her Zoe after Ethan's grandmother.

  Yes, the bat-shit crazy one...

We figured since she'd been waiting for a grandchild for so long, she deserved name rights. I remember the day we told her I was pregnant perfectly. She started laughing, then crying, and then she picked up her newspaper and started furiously whacking Ethan saying, 'About fucking time, Ethan, what took you so long?'

 And I'm not gonna lie, it was incredibly entertaining to watch my husband splutter out excuses as he got beat up by his grandma. 

I don't think she'd be too pleased to find out that Zoe was an accident. An adorable accident, but an accident none the less. 

Let's just say Ethan thinks it's an invitation when you forget to lock the bathroom door when you're having a shower. 

And in my defense, I was taking birth control. I swear to god, Ethan must have some kind of demonic, freakishly athletic sperm or some shit.

 Or, more realistically I might have skipped a day taking my birth control. 

Anyway, I could hardly complain about something which had blessed us with a little angel. 

Our little angel. Even after five years of marriage, and four years of having her, I still felt stupidly happy that I actually had a child with Ethan Blythe. 

I turned to face May with a scowl. "Where are the others? I thought they were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago?" I grumbled.

"Relax drama pants, we're here? I was hardly going to miss my son's game," Lucas' announced obnoxiously loudly from behind us. 

I didn't get a chance to turn around before I felt two long arms swoop themselves around my waist, and a head nuzzles itself into my neck. I breathed in his smell and relaxed into him. 

"Hey Chubs, why are we all grumpy?" Ethan whispered as he planted a kiss against my neck. I sighed. 

"I can't help it, I'm hot, hungry and h-"

"Horny?" he whispered ever so quietly into my ear. I didn't even need to look at the idiot to know he was smirking against my ear. 

I elbowed him hard in the stomach. "Ouch," he cried in between cackles of laughter. 

I ripped myself out of his arms and turned to face him with a scowl. "You're an idiot, you know that, right?" I snapped.

 His laughter eased down and looked down at me fondly. "An idiot, that you married," he mumbled as he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

 I returned his smile, and my heart stupidly fluttered. It was ridiculous how after all this time, his touch still had the same effect. Through high school, college, married life my feelings never changed. And I certainly didn't want them to, not now and not ever. 

I raised an eyebrow. "Be honest, Ethan. Were you really going to settle for any other answer but yes, when you asked me to marry you?" I teased.

 His eyes lit up with amusement, and he grabbed my hips and pulled me closer to him. "Mia Collins, are you accusing me of bullying you into marrying me," he gasped dramatically. 

"Yes, yes, I am," I remarked bluntly. "After your proposal speech your exact words were, 'I swear to god, Mia if you say no, I will repeat this speech to you every day until you get fed up of me annoying you and say, yes," I said intimidating in him in a ridiculously deep voice. 

He paused and then frowned. "Shut up," he mumbled.

 I laughed and stood on my tiptoes, so my mouth brushed up by his ears. "Don't worry, I would have always said, yes," I whispered before pecking him on the lips.

"Eww, PDA, gross," we heard Lucas call. As he said that we suddenly felt popcorn hitting hard against the side of our face. 

We pulled apart and saw Lucas eyeing both of us with disgust while holding a packet of popcorn in his hands. 

I scoffed."I'm not sure who's more of a four-year-old, you or your son?" I said shaking my head at him in disbelief.

 "Definitely, Lucas, trust me," May laughed.

 Lucas rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the field. "Where's my little rascal anyway?" he asked as his eyes darted around the field to try and locate him. 

"Will, looked close to wetting himself, so Chloe took him to the bathroom a couple of minutes ago," I chuckled. 

Even though Chloe didn't have any children yet, she was more maternal than both of us combined. May and I instantly bagsied not being the one who had to take him, but Chloe just shrugged her shoulders and didn't seem to mind at all.

 So, in short-Chloe was a much better person than us. 

"Wait, where's Ben? I thought he was going to come around to ours tonight." Lucas asked in confusion. 

"He is, he says he's gonna meet us there," I explained. "Apparently, he needs to get his hair just right to impress Chloe," I teased. 

"No fucking way! He likes Chloe?" Lucas laughed. 

I bit my lip and nodded my head. 

"God, I'm gonna tease the shit out of him when we see him at work," he said with a fond smile. I just laughed. 

Strangely, enough Ethan, Lucas, and Ben all work at the same hospital. Ethan was a pediatrician; Ben was a cardiologist, and Lucas was the clown they brought in to entertain the sick people. 

No, I'm kidding, Lucas was a research scientist at the hospital. 

The boy was smarter than he presented himself...

And since working there all three of them were now best buddies. It was strange, considering there was a time Ethan punched Ben in the face. 

"Did you hear that Ethan, we've got to put our best bullying hats on," Lucas called out with a laugh. 

I didn't hear Ethan respond, so I turned to him in confusion. His eyes were fixedly staring at the field, with a proud smile on his face. 

"Yo, Ethan," Lucas said as he waved his hand in front of Ethan's face. 

Ethan just continued to stare forward, his concentration not wavering for a second. "God, Zoe's amazing for a four-year-old, isn't she? She takes after me in soccer, for sure," he murmured in amazement. 

I raised a hand. "Hold on, Mr cocky pants, I have you know, I think she takes a little after me with her athleticism," I scoffed as I flicked my hair over my shoulder.

 As soon as I said that everyone stopped what they were doing, turned to face me, and raised their eyebrows. 

"Chubs, babe, love you, but no," Ethan smiled. 

"Well, that was rude...," I frowned. 

Ethan moved beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, I didn't fall in love with you for your athleticism," he chuckled.

 I crossed my arms in a huff. "Wonderful, since we're confessing, I didn't fall in love with you for your kindness, either," I snapped. 

"Oh, come on, don't be petty Chubs," he laughed.

I'll be as fucking petty as I want to... 

He leaned down to my ear. "I think your very athletic in the bedroom if that counts," he whispered gruffly. 

His words caused my body to heat up in excitement. 

Stupid, sexy, seductive piece of crap... 

I pushed him away from me angrily. "That's it, you're sleeping on the couch," I snapped. Ethan's eyes shined with amusement, as though I had just said something funny. "Well, that's not going to happen, is it?" he snorted. 

"And why not?" I spat. 

"Because last time you told me to sleep on the couch, you came back downstairs literally five minutes later and yelled at me to come back to bed and cuddle you. I think your exact words were, 'Come cuddle me, you bitch!" he teased, intimidating me an overly high falsetto voice. 

"Only because I was cold," I protested. 

"We live in California!" he laughed. 

I opened my mouth to argue, but then I stopped myself when I couldn't come up with a good response. 

"Whatever, fine, sleep in the bed. I just hope you're aware that nothing more exciting than cuddling is gonna be happening tonight," I sneered. 

Ethan's smile was instantly wiped clean from his face and was instead replaced with one of fear. "But-but that's not fair," he whined. "Oh, come on, Mia. Are you sure you've thought this through? You promi-"

"Hey, Ethan, look at Zoe. She's about to make a goal," Lucas interrupted in an overly excited voice. 

Ethan turned his attention back to the field, and a radiant smile stretched over his face as he spotted his daughter. I glanced over his face fondly.

 Ethan had certainly aged well, and he'd lost his last few boyish features over the decade. His jawline has sharpened, and his hair was more polished and clean-cut giving him a more sophisticated look.

 So, basically, he'd gotten hotter. 

He cupped his hand over his mouth. "Go, Zoe! Go! Aim straight, and don't overthink!" he yelled out like he was some kind of professional soccer coach. Our little Zoe looked towards us and gave us a big toothy grin before kicking the ball with all her might. 

All four of us cheered as it whizzed past the clueless 4-year old goalkeeper and into the goal. 

"THAT'S MY GIRL! YES!" Ethan yelled in such an aggressively loud voice that some of the other parents gave us funny looks. 

The coach (aka their kindergarten teacher) soon blew the whistle to indicate the match was over. 

Zoe immediately pushed herself off the ground, and her little legs ran their way towards us as fast as they could.

 I opened my arms wide for me, but then she ran right past me. 

"Daddyyyy," she screamed as she ran into Ethan's waiting arms. 

What the fuck am I then, a tree? 

Honestly, you push someone out of your vagina for three hours straight, and then they forget you exist...

Ethan tightened his arms around her and then pulled her high and up into his arms. He kissed her cheek.

 "You were amazing Zoe! I was so impressed. I hate to admit it, but you were almost as good as me," he lied as he smiled up at her with an affectionate smile. 

 Her small little face lit up with excitement. "Really?" she gasped.

 Ethan nodded his head. "Really, Zoe. And you are for sure better than your, Uncle Lucas," he joked as he winked at a very peeved off looking Lucas. 

He put her down with a sigh. "Now show your mummy some affection because she looks seconds away from killing me," he teased. 

She looked towards me with a big goofy smile, and any resentment I felt was instantly evaporated. 

She could melt the coldest of hearts with that cute little face.

 "Why do you want to kill Daddy," she giggled.

 I bent down to her level and straightened out her pigtails with a smile. "Because he's a very naughty boy, and he's very cheeky to Mummy," I explained. 

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "I'm naughty, am I?" he chuckled. "Well, you're always welcome to punish me, Chubs. I hear there's a lot of effective kinds. Methods in which I'm more than happy to demonstrate on you if you'd like," he winked.

 My jaw dropped, shocked by the kinky shit that was leaving his mouth in front of our innocent little four-year-old.

 Zoe's face scrunched up in confusion. "What's he talking about, Mummy?" 

I scowled at Ethan. "Absolutely nothing. Your Daddy is a very silly boy," I scolded. 

Zoe looked up at Ethan with a smile. "Haha, you got told off by Mummy, now you have to sit on the naughty step," she taunted as she pointed at Ethan accusingly. 

Ethan playfully gasped. "Why you cheeky little devil!" Zoe squealed as Ethan grabbed her around the waist and lifted her in the air before flipping her upside down. 

She threw about her small little arms and legs frantically as she screamed in excitement. I just watched the two of them interact with a wildly happy smile on my face.

"Oh, what's going on here. Is Zoe being attacked by her very own father," I heard Chloe gasp in an overly animated voice from behind me. 

I turned around and took in the sight of Chloe leading little Will towards us by his hand. Will, was an absolutely gorgeous mixed-race child with wide brown eyes, and bucket loads of curly brown hair. He seemed quite shy at first, but then when he opened up he was quite loud and bossy. 

Ethan returned Zoe back down to the ground with a chuckle. "She was being cheeky, that's why," he teased as he playfully ruffled her hair. 

"Zoe's always being cheeky!" Will randomly and loudly retorted.

 "No, I'm not," Zoe protested as she stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

 I frowned. "Zoe, we do not stick our tongues out at people; it's very immature," I scolded. 

 "But you did it to Daddy just last week," she argued. 

Well shit. 

"You should do as I say not do as I do," I said quickly. 

I'd reached a new level of low where I was throwing out some cheaply thought out, recycled shit that I'd heard my parents say. 

Lucas cleared his throat. "Before any more bad parenting goes on, I think it's about time to leave," he interrupted. "Is everyone ready?" he asked. 

There was a chorus of yeah's, some more enthusiastic than others before everyone headed over to the parking lot.

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

Everyone was gathered and scattered around the sofas at Lucas and May's house. Ben had finally graced us with his presence and was sat next to Chloe on one of the sofas.

 And it hadn't gone unnoticed by me, how closely he had decided to squish himself up by her side. And, it also hadn't gone unnoticed by me that she hadn't moved away.

 If anything, she had moved closer.

 Chloe was a very much a workaholic and had worked herself up the business ladder of a fashion magazine company. She was more than content with life and hadn't very much been into long term relationships. Just short flings and that was it.

 Even though this was all good and seemed to be working for her, I had a feeling that things were about to change...

I looked back at Lucas with a sigh. He was standing bang smack in the center of the room and was making weird growling sounds and throwing his arms around wildly. 

Don't worry, he hadn't lost his mind, we were playing charades. 

"Beauty and the Beast," Ethan yelled out. Lucas shook his head.

 "Harry Potter," Zoe called out loudly from her position on the floor beside my feet.

 I bit my lip and tried to suppress the urge to laugh. Lucas just kindly smiled at her and shook his head. 

My poor confused little girl was yelling out Harry potter for every single round, no matter what the person was doing.

 I cupped my hand around my mouth. "The incredible hulk," I called out. 

"Yes!" Lucas said as he pointed to me in excitement. "Your go next," he said as he gestured to the hat full of paper in the center of the table.

 I pulled myself off the sofa with a sigh and clambered my way over to the table. 

I had no idea why, but I was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea as I stood up. I just ignored the feeling and picked out a piece of paper before holding it up to my face. 

I barely got a chance to read it at all before I suddenly felt bile rising up my throat. I instinctively cupped a hand over my mouth and dashed out of the room. 

I rushed quickly to their upside bathroom, before emptying my entire fried breakfast into the empty toilet bowl. I groaned after the retch and rubbed my head. Then more bile rose, and I bent over the toilet once again. On my third retch, I heard the bathroom door swing open wider, and footsteps approach. 

I heard a clatter as something was placed down on the countertop by the sink. Then, whoever it was, knelt beside me and pulled the hair away from my face. 

"That's it, Chubs, not much more now," I heard Ethan whispered comfortingly from behind me as he rubbed soothing circles against my back. 

When I had finally emptied my entire stomach, I groaned and slammed the lid down of the toilet. I wiped my mouth and twisted around to face a concerned-looking Ethan. I leaned back against the wall with a sigh. 

"God, I hate throwing up. It's so disgusting," I croaked.

 Ethan gave me a kind smile. "Well, it's over now," he whispered.

 He quickly stood up, plucked a glass of water off the counter, and knelt back down beside me. He held up the glass to my lips 

"Here, have some water before you get dehydrated," he said softly.

 I nodded my head, and took the cup off of him, and started to gulp it down slowly. When I was finished, I placed it down onto the ground and leaned my head back against the tiled walls of the bathroom. 

"So, doctor, Ethan, do you reckon I've got food poisoning, or do you think I caught another bug," I chuckled weakly. 

I held a finger up before he could speak. "And do not say bug. Honestly, Ethan, I'll cry like a baby if I have to miss another day at my restaurant," I grumbled. 

 My restaurant was my absolute pride and joy and was something I'd work hard on over the years. It was incredibly apprehensive at starting my own business because I knew the potential for failure was huge. 

But, Ethan refused to let me give up on the idea and hit me with persuasive speech after persuasive speech. He kept saying, 'They always say do what you love, Chubs, and you really love food.'

 And he had a point. 

But what eventually won me over was when he bargained that if I gave it a shot, he'd never sleep with a top again.

  And, that ladies and gentleman was an offer, I wasn't about to refuse... 

It started as a small bakery with only May and I working there, but then the demand grew stronger, and more and