"Pop
Life"
Chapter 97
"Wake up sleepy head."
I throw an arm over my eyes. "I must be dreaming," I say out loud.
Then I hear a chuckle and my eyes fly open.
"Brad?"
He smiles and nods as he sits next to me on my bed.
"Oh my God," I say as I sit up and hug him. "What are you doing here? You're a day early."
He holds me tight. "I missed you, I couldn't stay away another day."
I pull back, but still hold on to his shoulders. "You're mom is here with you, isn't she?"
He nods. "Yeah, of course. She's downstairs talking to your mom and dad."
"Oh gosh," I say suddenly realizing how awful I must look. I start to run my fingers through my hair. "I'll go take a shower so I can look presentable when I see her."
I start to get up but Brad grabs my arm and shakes his head.
"She told me to tell you to take your time. She thinks you need your rest."
"But she's a guest and it's rude..."
He puts a finger against my lips to stop me.
"I'm a guest too and I think it's rude..."
"What's rude?" I ask, with his finger still against my lips.
"That you haven't kissed me yet." He cocks that adorable smile at me.
"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" I tease as I lean into him and tenderly kiss his mouth.
He pulls me closer, opens his mouth a little and closes it over mine. I feel like I'm being devoured.
"This is a nice way to wake up," I say when we pull apart.
"I'd have to agree," he says, leaning in toward me for another kiss.
I push his chest until we break apart.
"You have to go so I can go get ready."
He pouts so I quickly kiss him on the lips again. "Go," I say, waving my hands at him.
"Okay okay, I get the hint," he laughs. "I'll see you downstairs."
~*~
"I can't thank you enough for letting us stay here," Anne says as she sits at the kitchen table with Britney.
"We couldn't let you stay in a hotel when there's so much room here. We're glad to have you. This was important to Adriana."
Anne smiles when her name is mentioned. "She's such a beautiful young lady. I have to admit when Brad told me he was dating your daughter, I didn't know much about her and I thought she'd be spoiled or bratty. I mean you just hear stories from other celebrities and their children. I'm so glad that I was wrong."
Britney nods. "I know what you mean. Trust me, we know a lot of them. Justin and I tried to raise our children in as much of a normal setting as we could. Of course that's difficult when you're raising them on a tour bus," she chuckles. "But I don't think it's where the children are raised, it's how they're raised."
Anne nods. "I agree. I mean it was tough for Brad and I being alone while he was growing up, but I tried to be there for him when he needed me. I can't replace his father but I didn't want him to suffer because of that."
Britney looks down at her hands that are resting on the table. "I admire him. He's a strong individual and that takes a strong person to raise him that way."
Anne blushes slightly and bows her head. "Well thank you."
"Are you sure you're not hungry?" Britney asks, standing up and walking over to the pantry. "I'm starving," she says.
"Well you are eating for two. But really, I'm fine."
"Well, if you need anything to eat or drink, our house is your house...just help yourself," Britney says before she takes a bite of a cookie.
"Am I interrupting anything?" Brad asks as he stands in the doorway.
Britney shakes her head as she takes another bite. "No, join us. Is my daughter awake? God these are good," she says looking at the cookie.
Brad chuckles. "Yes, your daughter is awake now. She's freshening up and will be down in a few. She can't wait to see you, mom."
Anne smiles.
"I'm going to make pancakes, if that's okay," Brad says, pointing to the stove.
"Mm, help yourself, you know that."
Britney gets a few things out that Brad will need and she turns to Anne and asks, "Anne, did you get to see the beautiful necklace Brad sent Adriana for Christmas?"
"No, he sent it to her before he came home. He told me about it though."
"It's very unique. I think he scored big points with that one," Britney winks.
"With her or her mother?" Anne teases.
"Both," Britney laughs.
Brad smiles at the interaction between the mothers as he starts mixing the batter.
"You know, I have to hand it to you. You're having a party here tomorrow and you don't seem to be worried or anxious about it. If it were my child's birthday party and it was New Year's Eve, I'd be a nervous wreck," Anne says.
Britney waves a hand in front her face once. "We do this almost every year. It's only close family and friends anyway. Besides, I get a lot of help this year," she says rubbing her stomach. "You get pregnant at an older age and people tend to wait on you."
"I'm back," Justin says as he enters the rear door with a few grocery bags in hand.
"See," Britney says laughing as she takes a bag from him and sets it on the counter.
"What?" he asks, looking around.
"Ohhh do I smell pancakes?" I ask as I enter the kitchen.
I glance around the room. I seemed to have walked into a small commotion. Daddy goes back outside and mama starts emptying the grocery bags. Brad's standing over the stove getting ready to flip a pancake. I then glance over to Anne who is sitting at the kitchen table looking a bit overwhelmed so I walk over to her.
She stands up when she sees me approaching.
"I'm so glad you could make it," I say, wrapping my arms around her.
"I'm so glad to be invited. I can't believe you'll be seventeen tomorrow. So beautiful," she says, touching my face.
"Momm, quit embarrassing her," Brad says over his shoulder.
I laugh. "Hey, if it gets me compliments then let her. Thank you."
I squeeze her hands before I walk over to Brad. I wrap my arms around him from behind and rest my cheek against the back of his shoulder.
"I am so lucky to have a boyfriend who makes me pancakes."
"Who says these are for you? Your mom got hungry," he kids.
Mama looks over at us and smiles. "I'll take one, if that's an offer."
Brad laughs. "Don't worry, there will be plenty."
I pour a couple of glasses of milk and lean against the counter. Daddy walks in with a few more bags.
"That's all of them," he says, setting them down. He leans over and kisses my cheek. "Morning."
"Morning daddy."
We start to sort out what he bought when I feel a nudge.
"Hmm? Oh, my pancake," I say taking the plate from Brad. I glance down at it and smile. "Awwww, you're so sweet," I say leaning up to kiss his cheek.
Mama glances over her shoulder as I walk by. Brad formed a heart out of chocolate chips on top of the pancake. "Cute," she says.
I sit down next to Anne and take a bite. "And it's good too."
"Of course," Brad says. He puts another one on a plate and hands it to mama. "Mom, you want one?" he asks.
"Sure, if there's enough left."
"Okay."
"Where's Cody and Ashleigh?" I ask, looking around.
"I told them to clean up their Christmas gifts from under the tree a couple of days ago and they didn't do it. So they're doing it now," mama says before she takes a bite.
Brad sits down next to me while daddy still unpacks the groceries.
"Do I smell pancakes?" Cody asks as he walks into the kitchen.
"Yeah, there's some extras over there on the plate," Brad tells him.
"Cool, thanks," he says walking over to the counter. He picks up the whole plate and gets a fork and walks to the table.
Mama stares at him as he sits down.
"What are you doing?" she asks.
"Going to have some pancakes."
She starts shaking her head. "Nuh uh. You take a couple and leave some for other people," she says.
"Aww mommm," he says as he stands up and takes the plate back over to the counter.
Mama looks over at Anne and rolls her eyes.
"Growing boys," Anne says. "Brad was the same way," she says softly, patting mama's hand.
I laugh. "He's still that way."
"What?" he asks.
"You can eat like a horse," I say.
"Only before shows, to boost my energy," he smiles.
We all laugh.
"If thinking that makes you feel better," I wink at him.
"Dad, are we going to the store later?" Cody asks as he sits back down.
Daddy walks over to us with a cup of coffee in his hands.
"We can, why?"
"Because I need to pick up some stuff for the theme, remember?"
Daddy places a hand on mama's shoulder and nods. "Oh yeah. We can go whenever you're ready."
"The theme?" Brad asks.
"Every year when we have one of these we have a theme for the decorations," I explain. "Cody's usually in charge since he's good with that kind of stuff."
"Oh...want some help?" he asks.
Cody smiles and nods. "Okay."
~*~
The rest of the day is spent getting ready for the party and entertaining our guests.
Ashleigh shows Anne her room where she does most of her paintings and drawings. She's impressed, I can tell.
"This one is beautiful," Anne says pointing to a pastel on the wall.
"You can have it if you want," Ashleigh says.
"Oh...no, I couldn't take that. Isn't it for school or a project or something?" Anne asks.
"No, I just did it," Ashleigh shrugs.
Anne looks at me. "Go ahead, she wants you to have it," I encourage her.
"It's beautiful. I have the perfect room for it to go in. Is that your signature?"
Ashleigh nods.
I chuckle. "Ash worked a long time on getting a signature she liked, didn't you?" I ask, running my fingers through her hair.
Ashleigh nods again. "Yep."
"Well it's very lovely, thank you."
"You're welcome."
~*~
After dinner Brad and I sit out on the patio.
"You cold?" he asks, wrapping an arm around me.
"It's a little chilly, but the sweater helps," I say. "Have I told you how glad I am that you're here for my birthday...and for New Year's Eve?"
"Not today," he says before he kisses my temple.
"You know, this will be my first New Years where I actually have someone to kiss besides my family."
"Oh, I don't kiss my girlfriends in front of my mom."
I look over at him and stare at him until his face breaks into a smile.
I let out my breath. "Whew, I thought you were serious for a second."
He laughs. "No way. There's no way you're getting out of a kiss from me at the stroke of midnight."
"Good."
His face moves closer to mine and I close my eyes, waiting to feel his lips. When they finally reach mine, I move my hand up to rest against the back of his head. Our mouths open slowly and our tongues tease.
When we pull apart I say. "Okay, as much as I liked that, we can't do that in front of my parents." We both laugh.