Darker The Forbidden Berry

Aja leaned into the kiss and looked up at him with a wistful look.

“You are a dream come true, you know that?”

 “Stop that sh*t,” he said, though he was grinning.

Aja rolled onto her back and as she did Finn rolled onto his stomach, his hand immediately going to the tiniest bump there. She’d started to show a tiny bit, but only when she was laying down or slouched. Their first ultrasound had shown them what was, essentially a tiny bean. Her heart had nearly jumped out of her chest at the sight of it.

“You’re amazing, Finn. You really are. Why is that so hard for you to accept?”

“Because, I never saw myself as being amazing, as I was just some dude that liked to party. I feel like meeting you made me better.”

Her cheeks flushed red and she had to look away. She did not handle compliments well either. He turned her head back and kissed her gently.

“I’m happy in a way I did not think was possible. I did not think I’d want to be a dad, but I’m excited to raise a child with you. I’m excited to be on this adventure with you.”

Aja could understand that. Motherhood was not something that was on her radar. She was too focused on keeping her head above water to consider pregnancy. A baby was expensive and she just did not have the time or energy to expend… Until now anyway. Finn was taking care of everything and her capstone project was going smoothly. By the time she graduated, she would be ready to tackle having a family.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about my last project for school,” she hummed, her eyes closed.

She’d opted to work on her last semester online so that she could devote more time to her job. Now that she was nearing the end of her course work, she’d had to really think about what her final project was going to be.

“Yeah…? And what are you thinking?”

“I want to paint us,” she said softly, looking out at the lake. “I want to paint us and the baby.”

“Baby won’t be born yet,” he said, brows furrowed.

“I know. But I can still paint my bump,” she said, running her thin fingers over her belly.

“Why us, though?” He did not sound upset or surprised; just curious.

“Because art is supposed to inspire, right?” She asked, pushing herself up and looking at him. “This has easily been the most inspiring moments of my life. This changed my life and I want everyone to see it.”

She’d been talking about her final gallery show since they’d begun getting close with one another. Her final art piece would be displayed in the Detroit Museum of Art. It would be an open exhibit and art critics from all over the world would be there to view the submitted work. It felt important for people to see her and Finn’s love.

Love.

Her eyes widened as the thought rushed through her brain. They’d never mentioned love. It seemed too early for that…right?

“Aja?”

She jumped a little and turned to look at him, his brows furrowed. “Huh?”

“I asked you a question.”

“I did not hear…?”

“Was it a good change?” He asked with his chin in his hand.

Her gaze softened and she reached out, gently caressing the stubble on his chin. She liked it when he did not shave in the morning.

“It was one of the best changes that I’ve ever been through.”

“You’re happy, then?”

“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be happy?” Aja asked.

Finn rolled over and sat up, his long runner’s legs hanging over the edge.

“I’m asking you to be a mother. That isn’t something to be taken lightly.”

She reached over and took his hands, running her delicately manicured fingers over his hands. Aja looked up at him and placed a tender kiss on his jawline.

“I want this. I’m honestly more worried about you. Have you even told your parents yet?”

Finn sighed and shook his head. “No. I don’t know why either. They aren’t going to do anything but be pissed off.”

“You don’t think they’ll be excited to be grandparents? Besides…I’m not here to take your money. You know that, and I’ll sign whatever papers they want me to sign to prove it.”

“I know. I’ll tell them. I promise,” he sighed a little and looked over at her. “I guess I just wanted the chance to get to know you without any pressure. If they knew I had feelings for you they would start pushing me towards things I’m not ready for.”

“Like a baby?” She teased, wrapping her toned arms around one of his and giving it a squeeze.

“Like a baby,” he said with a laugh, kissing her temple.

Aja stood up and crouched near the bags of camping gear they had bought. Both of them were wearing jeans and jackets that would work to keep them warm, but they needed the boots Aja pulled out if they were going to go hiking.

“Let’s go for a walk outside.”

“A walk?” Finn asked, wrinkling his nose. “Why? The cabin is so nice.”

Aja turned and dropped the boots with a thud, smiling up at him and batting her eyelashes a little.

“Please?” She purred.

Finn grunted a little but kicked off the boat shoes he wore and traded them for the two-tone hiking boots.

“That’s not fair. You’re too powerful when you do that.”

She laughed and slipped her boots on as well before standing and offering her hands to them. He took them but did not stand. Instead, he pulled her into his lap and grinned at her, reaching out and brushing away a few loose strands that had fallen out of her messy ponytail. She felt the familiar heat that always came over her in those moments.

“Ready?” He asked, leaning down and offering a tender kiss.

She all but melted into him, returning the kiss and nodding with a hazy smile on her lips. They both finally stood and he tangled their fingers together as they stepped out of the cabin and onto the stone walkway that led up to the tiny porch. Just to the right was a well-traveled path and Aja tugged him over.

“What if we get lost?” Finn asked, saddling up beside her, swinging their hands.

“This park has great cell reception and a park ranger on duty. If we get lost we’ll call the emergency number and have them come to get us,” she said, leading him under the canopy of evergreens. “But we aren’t going to get lost because we’re going to stay on this trail.”

“Where does it go?”

“It does a short loop around some of the campsites,” she explained, pointing to a wooden sign that laid out the path in neon pink. “You really haven’t done anything like this?”

“God no. My parents aren’t really outdoorsy people. We went to the park a few times and they hated it, so they just bought park equipment and put it in the backyard.”