Chapter 121

Chapter 45 I jumped when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around me while I was in the kitchen. "So, I was thinking..." Grayson said, resting his chin on my head. "That you like scaring me?" I asked. "No," Grayson said. "Well, yes, but not that. I was thinking that we can go out somewhere as a family. You know, me, you, and Ryder. It's New Year's Eve and I don't want to be coped up in the house all day." I turned around to face him. "Well, what do you want to do?" I asked. Grayson shrugged. "I don't know. Go to the arcade. A restaurant. Anything." "I kind of want to go to a restaurant," I said. "Maybe eat some poutine." Grayson gave me a smile. "You really like poutine now, don't you?" "Maybe a little," I said. "So, what time are we leaving then?" "How about six?" Grayson asked. "And no, you don't have to get all dressed up. Just wear what you're wearing." "Fine," I said, even though I really didn't want to go out wearing a pair of sweats and one of Grayson's shirts. I would probably get changed anyway. "I actually have to go run to the store to get some groceries," Grayson said. "We're running low. Want anything specific?" I thought for a bit. "Chocolate." "Of course you do," Grayson said. He leaned down and kissed my cheek before grabbing his keys off the counter and walking out the apartment. I grabbed a bag of chips and went to the living room, where Ryder was crawling around on the floor. For seven months old, he was quite the active baby. Whenever he wasn't being held by me or Grayson, he was crawling around on the floor, normally chasing a ball he kept pushing away. I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. A few seconds later, Ryder crawled over to me and pulled on my leg. "Mama!" I smiled and picked him up, holding him in front of me. "You are getting too big," I said. Ryder started babbling, as if he was trying to talk to me. That just made me smile even wider before he snuggled into me. Grayson didn't take too long to get groceries. As soon as he got home, he put all the new groceries away before sitting beside me on the couch. He looked at Ryder snuggling with me and smiled as he wrapped his arm around me. "I love seeing the two of you together," he said, kissing the side of my head. "Not as much as I love seeing you two together," I said. "Seriously, you are an amazing dad to Ryder and he loves you a whole lot. You definitely don't have to worry about turning out like your dad." "Thanks, Flower," Grayson said. Ryder, hearing Grayson's voice, looked at him and moved out of my arms to climb on Grayson's lap. "Dada!" Seeing Grayson's smile was one of the best things in the world. In our senior year of high school, it was hard for him to be happy or even smile. But now, with Ryder, he smiled all the time. Someone knocked on the front door, so I got up to answer it. When I opened the door, I was completely shocked at who was standing there. Dedrick. "Hi," Dedrick said in a somewhat quiet voice. "Is Grayson here?" "Uh, y-yeah," I said. I turned to face the living room. "Grayson?!" Grayson got up from the couch, still holding Ryder, and walked over. When he saw Dedrick, he looked just as shocked as I felt. "What are you doing here?" Grayson asked, a bit of fear in his voice. Even though Grayson was twenty years old, almost twenty-one, he was scared of Dedrick. I didn't blame him. Dedrick didn't reply for a while. His focus was mainly on Ryder, and he had a soft expression on his face. Dedrick cleared his throat. "Is this your son?" he asked. "Yeah," Grayson said. "I can definitely see it," Dedrick said. "He looks just like the both of you." "What are you doing here?" Grayson asked again. Dedrick tore his eyes away from Ryder and looked at Grayson. "Devon thought I should apologize," he said. "I was messed up for the longest time. I had no idea what was going on in my head when I tried killing you twice and threatened your girlfriend as well. I'm getting the help I need now, so you won't have to worry about me bothering you anymore. And I really am sorry. So... I guess I'll leave now." He turned around and walked away. I closed the door and faced Grayson, who still looked a bit shocked. He finally snapped out of it. "I did not expect that at all," he said honestly. "Yeah, same here," I said. "At least we don't have to worry about him anymore." "Yeah, I guess," Grayson said. "But, really, I never thought Dedrick would ever apologize for what he did." "Same," I said again. "I'm going to get changed. It's almost six and, no matter what you say, I'm not going to the restaurant wearing this." Grayson started to object, but I continued talking. "Don't worry, I'm just going to wear something a bit nicer. You won't have to worry about me doing my makeup or anything." "Good," Grayson said. "Because you really don't need makeup." I rolled my eyes. "Thank you," I said, going on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek before heading into our bedroom. After changing into something a bit nicer, I walked back outside of the room where Grayson was putting Ryder's sweater and shoes on. I got on my shoes and sweater as well. When we were all ready to leave, Grayson grabbed his keys and wallet before we left our apartment, locking the door behind us. We ended up going to the restaurant we went to for our two year anniversary, which I agreed with because I really wanted to have the poutine there. When we got to the restaurant, Grayson took Ryder out of the car seat and I grabbed the diaper bag. We walked in the restaurant and got a table for two, as well as a highchair. Grayson put Ryder in the highchair and buckled him up. A waitress walked over and gave us a menu before asking what we wanted for drinks. I got water and Grayson got a Diet Coke, mainly because if we ordered soda, we got free refills. As soon as the waitress took our orders after handing us our drinks, Grayson opened the diaper bag and got a jar of Ryder's baby food out. Grayson tried finding bacon flavored baby food for Ryder, but he couldn't find it anywhere. Believe it or not, whenever Grayson made bacon for breakfast, he fed it to Ryder. Ryder loved bacon a whole lot, even though he was only seven months. The waitress came back with our food and we thanked her before she walked off. I hadn't had poutine in so long and I definitely wanted to have it more. "We definitely have to get out more often," Grayson said. "It sucks being stuck in the apartment all day." "It's not that bad," I said. Grayson raised an eyebrow. "Not that bad? Flower, the only time you leave the apartment is for class or when all of us is going grocery shopping. The only time I leave is for class, work, or grocery shopping. We really have to do more fun things." "Maybe," I said. "It should be easier, though, since Ryder's getting older." "Exactly," Grayson said. "Although, I really wish he would just stop growing. He's getting too big." "I know," I said. There were times I really wanted Ryder to stay a baby, but other times, I couldn't wait to see what he would be like as a kid or even a teen. "But, then again," Grayson said. "We can always have more. Of course, not now. After university, of course. And maybe after Ryder's a bit grown up so we won't have to deal with two babies. And..." "Grayson," I interrupted. "You're rambling again." He always did that when he brought up us having more kids. Of course, I wanted more, but not until after university and our lives settled down a bit. University had been a bit more difficult since we only had classes three times a week and we also had Ryder to take care of. "Sorry," Grayson said. "I... sorry." I gave him a reassuring smile and leaned over the table to give him a kiss. "Don't worry. It's kind of cute when you ramble." Grayson rolled his eyes as he continued feeding Ryder the baby food. After we finished eating, the waitress came back and we order dessert as well. I got chocolate cake, one of my favorites, while Grayson got a blueberry cheesecake. And Grayson, being Grayson, decided to feed Ryder small pieces of his cheesecake. Ryder seemed to like it because he was smiling widely and opening his mouth wide for another piece. "Flower, you should let him try your chocolate cake," Grayson said. "I would, but..." I looked down at my empty plate. "Seriously?" Grayson asked. "You finished it already?" "Don't blame me," I said. "Blame the cake. It was so good." Grayson chuckled. "Yeah, and you got some on your mouth again." "You know, I have a hard time believing you," I said with a smile. "But, to be on the safe side, you might have to get it for me." Grayson leaned over the table, resting one hand on my cheek as he pressed his lips on mine. He then pulled away and gave me a cheeky smile. "There. All gone." Grayson sat back down and finished his cheesecake. He then called for the check and paid for our meal, adding a tip for the waitress as well. He then took Ryder out of the highchair and headed out of the restaurant. When we got home, we both sat on the couch with Ryder sitting between us, chewing on his stuffed otter. Then, we spent the rest of the night watching movies, welcoming the new year, wondering what was going to come for us.