Falling Fast and Breathing Hard

The next six days passed by in a flash and now, it's New Year's Eve. There's gonna be another party tonight and I have another beautiful dress up my sleeves; Kris has never even seen it, and boy, is he in for a surprise!

"How ya feelin'?" Kris asked as he does every morning.

"Really good." I said with a smile.

He nodded and kissed me.

"Are you excited about tonight?"

"You have no idea."

Minutes later, I was in the kitchen making French toast and bacon; I was thankful my mom was letting me cook.

"Cela sent très bon." he asked, coming behind me and wrapping his arms around me.

"Thank you. Vous savez, je suis surpris qu'elle permettez-moi de faire cuire."(You know, I'm surprised she let me cook.)

"Is that so?"

"Yes." I said, giggling.

"Vous savez, J'aime quand vous parlez français, tout comme vous l'aimez quand vous parlez français.(I love when you speak French just like you love it when I speak French.)"

I smiled.

"Thank you." I said, leaning back into him.

"My pleasure." he said, kissing my neck.

About ten minutes later, I had breakfast ready for everyybody.

"Ready to eat, Mom?" I asked.

"Of course." she said with a smile.

Kris and I took our plates out to the living room and began eating.

"These are delicious, Athena." my mom said through chewing.

I shook my head while trying not to laugh.

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, sweetie. So, I heard some French back there. It sounded great. How long have you been teaching her?" she said to me before directing her attention to Kris.

"Since the week she met my parents."

"Wow. That long ago? That's awesome."

I nodded and smiled.

"Hey, I gotta tell you happy I am to tell you how happy I am about you letting me cook. I've been dying to cook."

"Oh, you're welcome, honey. I figured I'd make you happy and let you cook."

Fifteen minutes later, I jumped in the shower, but I had Kris come in the door.

"Can I join you?"

"Maybe." I said, biting my lip.

"Maybe?" he asked, walking closer.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"You said can I."

I heard sigh and could tell that he was rolling his eyes.

"Athena, may I come in?"

"Yes. Yes, you may."

"Thank you." he said, getting into the shower.

"You're welcome." I said, standing on my tippy toes and kissing him.

The kissing got heavier and hands began to roam. I linked one leg at a time around his waist. Just a split second later, he was inside me and I let out a moan that I hoped my mother couldn't hear.

"You have no idea how much I've needed this." I said, leaning my head back.

"I think I do. You've probably needed this as much as me." he said out of breath as he was pounding into me as much as he could.

"Yeah."

After the long shower, we came out the bathroom feeling fantastic.

"What time is it?" I asked, getting dressed.

"About 10."

"Ugh." I said, trying to get my pants on.

Key word being: trying.

"Kris, could you help me?"

I heard him laugh before he came to help me.

"Thank you." I said once they were up and buttoned.

"You're welcome. So, what are your plans today?" he said, kissing me.

"I'm gonna go out shopping a little with my mom and Vero before we come home to get ready for the party. What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna go and watch some football with the guys."

"Ok. Sounds good." I said, nodding.

"You have fun today, alright?"

"I will. You too."

By noon, Vero had picked us up and we were off to the mall.

"Hi Mrs. Halloway, it's nice to see you again." she said, hugging her.

"Nice to see you too. The party the other night was fantastic. I don't know the last time I had that much fun."

Before Dad got sick. I was feeling a little sad, but I tried my best to not let the tears flow.

"How are you feeling, Athena?"

"Pretty good." I said, smirking.

She knew what that meant and I knew that she'd wanna talk about it later. We arrived there minutes later and as usual, I had trouble getting out of the car.

"I wish it was March."

I must've said that a million times; people had to have been annoyed by it now. My mom and Vero just laughed. Before we did anything, we headed to the food court. Boy, was I hungry. In the middle of us eating, my mom excused herself to the restroom.

"So, you said you were feelin' pretty good this morning?" she asked with a smirk.

"Yeah. I uh... had some fun in the shower today." I said, blushing.

"How'd you keep quiet?"

"I don't know to tell you the truth. Maybe my mom heard and just hasn't said anything and doesn't plan to."

She laughed.

"I hope not."

"Yeah, me either."

Only a couple of minutes later, my mom came back and sat down beside me.

"So, what's going on?"

"What'd ya mean, Mom?"

"Where are we going?"

"I wanted to go look at some baby clothes and other stuff for Kalea."

"Ok."

Walking to the store, I could feel eyes on me and I could hear whispers. Why?

"What is wrong with these people? Why are they starin' at me?"

"I don't know what's wrong with them. They're probably just jealous. You have Kris and you're having his babies and they're not."

I laughed.

"You're probably right."

After a nice trip to the mall, my mom and I headed back home. It was three and I wanted a nap before I got ready for the party tonight. An hour-and-a-half later, I felt an arm on my shoulder which woke me up.

"Athena?"

It was clearly Kris.

"No." I mumbled.

"It's nearly five."

"I don't care."

"Well, you're gonna have to get up soon if you wanna eat and get ready."

"Mmm... help me up." I said, moving onto my back.

He helped me up before taking a seat beside me.

"How'd your trip to the mall go?"

"Good. A lot of girls stared at me and were gossiping. Vero said they were probably just jealous because I have you and I'm having your babies." I said, laughing.

He laughed too.

"It's like I'm famous or something."

"In Pittsburgh, you are."

"Yeah. Girls like that are hilarious."

I nodded and leaned into him.

"So, good nap?"

"Great nap. Did you have fun?"

"Yep, but I'll have more fun tonight."

Time soon passed and I had dinner and was getting dressed. I was a little too excited as I slipped into my dress. After fixing my hair and checking my make-up, I walked out into the living room where my mom and Kris were sitting.

"Mom, Kris."

Kris stood up and walked over to where I was. He had nothing to say, so all he did was kiss me.

"I love you." he asked, pulling apart.

"I love you, too."

"You are so beautiful. You have no idea."

I smile, but I was a little teary.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure." he said again, kissing me on the lips.

"Mom, what do you think?"

"Beautiful. You look amazing."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it, honey."

Then, off we were to the party. It was an even greater party than at Christmas.

"This is wonderful." I said, leaning against shortly before the countdown.

"It is." he said, rubbing my stomach.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

The second we said one, we kissed.

"Happy New Year." I said.

"Happy New Year."

Back home, I sat on the couch. It was one in the morning and I wanted to talk to my mom before heading to bed.

"Did you have fun, Mom?"

"So much fun. It's a bummer I have to go back home tomorrow."

"Yeah. Well, you'll be here in a couple of months when Kalea is born."

She smiled.

"I can't wait."

Minutes later, I was off to bed and beyond ready to sleep.

"Did you have fun?" he asked.

"A lot. You?"

"Yep. How's your mom?"

"Good. She had fun, but she's not ready to leave tomorrow. I told her that she'd be back up here in March when Kalea is born." I said, smiling.

He smiled too.

"That's gonna be a great day."

"It's gonna be more great. It's gonna be amazing."

It wasn't too long until I fell asleep and dreamed of what this year had to bring.

Notes

Chapter title courtesy of Auld Lang Syne aka another timeless classic.