Picture Us (Turn it Up Book 3)

by Natalie Parker

  Now, two days later, the muscle spasm seems to have gotten the message to fuck off, and we’re going to move what we can of her equipment to the apartment, turning it into a photo studio. I’m finishing breakfast at the table, which I’ve decided we’re never getting rid of, while she gets ready in the bedroom when stupid Mr. Meowgi saunters up to me, squinting his eyes and hissing like he’s making one last attempt to keep me from moving in. I shake my head at him, standing my ground. Time to end this.

  I walk over to a plastic bag I left sitting on the counter and pull out another thing I bought recently - a cat toy. It’s pretty much a fun-sized burlap bag stuffed with catnip. I break it out of the cellophane and dangle it in front of his face so that he gets a good whiff. His eyes widen and follow the toy as I swing it in front of him a couple of times before flinging it into the living room. The little demon zooms after it in a blur of black fluff. Moments later, I hear Annie’s footsteps pad out of the bedroom before coming to a halt in the living room.

  “Ty?” she calls, hesitatingly. “What’s wrong with Mr. Meowgi?”

  “Nothing. He’s chillin’ out, leave him alone,” I call back.

  “What did you give him? His pupils are dilated and he looks like an anime cartoon…” she responds, sounding totally aghast.

  “So what? He’s happy and he’s leaving me alone, that’s all that matters!” I holler as I rinse my plate off in the sink.

  “Oh my God, he looks coked-out…” she continues to muse in bewilderment. I sigh and mosey into the living room. Sure enough, the demons seem to have been exorcised out of Mr. Meowgi as he lies on the carpet with his fuzzy paws wrapped around the cat toy, his purr motor going at full throttle and his eyes huge, black and shiny. The damn thing looks orgasmic.

  I shrug. “He looks like Juan when he ate a whole pot brownie in high school. Let’s go,” I coax and take her by the hand, heading for the door as she continues to gape at the cat over her shoulder.

  Okay, this is truly a great location for taking photos. Tyler’s apartment is a decent size, very open, and has big windows that let in plenty of natural light. There’s so much room for my light fixtures, decorative furniture and backdrops.

  In the far-right corner is a small kitchen with up to date appliances, perfect for the times I would need to put in a full day, and there’s plenty of room for a pack-n-play if I need to have the baby with me. I look around the whole place as Tyler stands nearby, just letting me give myself a little tour.

  I check out the queen-sized bed in the far-left corner that rests on a simple frame with no headboard. A lightbulb flickers to life above my head.

  “Would the bed stay?” I ask, turning to him.

  “Everything can stay,” he shrugs. “Why?”

  “Well,” I say, stepping closer to the foot of the bed. “With a little decorating, I could maybe use it for boudoir photos.”

  “Boo-wha?” he asks with a smile, as he comes up to stand beside me.

  “Boudoir,” I enunciate giggling.

  “And what is that?”

  “It’s when a woman does a private photo session, posing in lingerie.” I chuckle as his eyebrows go up. Such a guy reaction. “Most women do it as a gift for their husband or boyfriend, although some of them do it just for themselves. It’s a thing. It’s empowering.”

  He nods approvingly.

  “Alright, now we have to do this,” he proclaims, waving his arm around the studio.

  I nod in agreement. “It would be a great thing to add to the list of services. It would bring in more business. Well, as soon as I add a headboard and burn the sheets,” I joke, gesturing my hand at the bed.

  Tyler’s expression grows serious.

  “Honey, I’m the only one that’s ever been in this bed.”

  I raise an eyebrow as I recall how he used to conduct his slutty activities. I admit, knowing he never brought anyone back here is reassuring.

  “Until now,” he adds, placing his hands on my hips and walking me backwards towards the bed.

  29

  Tyler and I spent the next week moving him out of his now-former apartment, and moving my photography equipment in. I haven’t finished buying what I need and setting up the boudoir section just yet, but Tyler helped me arrange everything just right to make the place seem professional, yet welcoming. After we finished, I snapped a few pictures of the new studio and then it was my turn to update my website and social media pages with new location photos.

  I’m just adding a graphic with the words Boudoir Sessions – Coming Soon! and rubbing my hand along my belly when I feel my baby girl start to move. She gives a solid kick… which I feel with my hand. Oh my God. I lightly press in the spot where I felt the movement and she does it again. I press again and she does it again as if we’re playing a game.

  I get giddy and excited as I start bouncing in my seat. Tyler has to feel this. I save my changes and close my laptop before slipping on my shoes and coat.

  Twenty minutes later I blow through the back door of The Cedar and head straight for Tyler’s office.

  “Hey gorgeous!” he happily greets me when I slink inside with a shit-eating grin on my face. He stands and kisses me. I love him so much.

  “Hey handsome,” I say back excitedly as I grab for his hand. “She’s kicking!”

  He rolls his eyes. “I know, you’ve been feeling her for weeks now. Rub it in some more why don’t you?”

  “No, she kicked my hand!” Ty’s eyebrows go up as his mouth opens in surprise. “Here, feel this,” I tell him as I place his hand in the spot I felt our still-nameless daughter kicking. And we stand there… and stand some more… nothing.

  Ty’s face is hopeful but looking slightly impatient. Join the club.

  “Hang on, let me poke her,” I say, as I press against the spot, and when that fails, press the places around it, getting increasingly frustrated.

  “Uggghh!” I grunt, throwing my hands down in a mini tantrum. “She must’ve fallen asleep on the car ride over here!” I feel so betrayed.

  Tyler chuckles affectionately as he wraps his arms around me. “It’s okay, honey. Obviously I’m going to feel her at some point, and,” he adds as he tilts my pouting face up to look at his, “it was incredibly sweet of you to rush over here because you wanted me to. Thank you.” He gives me a sweet kiss that makes me want to climb him, but I settle for wrapping my arms around his neck.

  “I love you,” I say quietly up at him.

  “I love you too,” he says back, giving me the sweet eyes. “I’ll be home in time for dinner. Maybe she’ll be awake for me then,” he says giving me an encouraging smile.

  And so it goes, for the next freaking week. Anytime Ty isn’t around, the baby throws a damn party in my belly. She’s plotting against me, I tell you. Tyler and I even tried playing music on my stomach and… nothing. When he goes to work is when she seems to wake up, the little fart. I’m letting her live in my uterus rent-free while I abstain from alcohol. The least she could do is not make me look like a jackass that’s imagining things.

  So far, she’s only kicked for me and no one else. Not Mayzie, Tyler’s mom, or even Mr. Meowgi. He put his little furry paw on my belly and looked at me like I was insane. True story.

  So I’m feeling especially cynical and annoyed when Ty comes home one night from the bar, exactly five minutes after the baby’s daily kickboxing session has ceased.

  “Hi honey,” Tyler leans down to kiss me where I sit on the couch with my feet up and House Hunters babbling on the TV. He follows the kiss up with a rub of my belly.

  “Let me guess, she was moving five minutes ago?”

  “Yes,” I say rolling my eyes. “And I’m not crazy.”

  “I know,” he says with a quiet reassurance as he kisses me again and takes my hand. “I need a shower. Why don’t you come with me?”

  Get wet and naked with the hot bar boss that impregnated me? If I must…

  I must be in a light cycle of sleep when I feel something
poking my stomach, bringing me to full consciousness. My eyes blink a couple of times before I decide I dreamed it or imagined it and close them again. Then I feel it again. A slow nudge right in the abs, and then it withdraws again. I open my eyes again and gauge my surroundings. It’s still dark, save for a sliver of street light that peeks from behind the blinds. I’m in bed with Annie, who’s lying on her side, fast asleep, facing me - with her round, protruding belly pressed up against me. I don’t move. I just wait… and then I feel it again.

  My baby is kicking, and I can feel it. I slowly move my hand down between mine and Annie’s bodies, afraid a sudden movement will scare the little one off. I press my hand against Annie’s stomach, and chuckle soundlessly to myself when she kicks again. I can’t believe it. I press my hand a little harder, not much because I don’t want to wake Annie, but enough so the baby knows I’m there. She gives me another nudge.

  Getting bolder, I shift down in the bed so that my face is level with Annie’s belly. I press my fingers softly against it again and am rewarded with another movement from inside.

  “Hey,” I whisper, a shit-eating grin spreading across my face that I couldn’t wipe off if I wanted to. “What are you up to?” I ask the little being, and chuckle again when I realize something. “I say that to your mommy all the time. What are you up to? Were you waiting for it to be just you and me before you let me feel you kick?”

  Look at me: the guy who never wanted to be tied down, talking to my baby like a sap, happy to be tied and locked down to both these precious ladies.

  30

  “She’s kicking!” I exclaim, as I run into the kitchen where Tyler’s sitting at the table with the baby name book and a sports magazine splayed out before him. “She’s moving right now, feel this!” I strut up to him holding a glass of root beer in one hand and shove my bump in his face. He places a hand on my stomach and smiles as he feels the baby having a dance party.

  “You feel it, right?” I prod. “I figured out that she goes crazy about twenty minutes after I drink root beer. She loves root beer!” I say excitedly.

  He nods, still smiling. “Yeah, I do. She’s going crazy in there,” and then he chuckles. “I could leave my hand here and feel her move all day.”

  While what he says is so sweet and makes my heart glow warm, I’m surprised he’s not jumping up and down.

  “Why aren’t you more excited?” My voice is high and exasperated. “You’ve been dying to feel her kick for weeks!”

  “I know, and I did. Last night.”

  WHAT?!

  “You were asleep and she was moving just for me. Weren’t you little girl?” he asks my belly in a tender, loving voice as he puts his other hand and his mouth against my stomach. “We had our own private chat, didn’t we?”

  Oh, for crying out loud. It sucks I missed his first reaction, but this is teeth-rottingly sweet.

  “What are you up to?” he playfully growls into my stomach as I roll my eyes before casting them down to the name book.

  “Did you find any you like yet?” Our baby girl isn’t even close to having a name, by no fault of mine. Tyler has not liked any of the thousand I’ve suggested. Since I like so many and he doesn’t like any, I’ve put him in charge of looking for some prospects.

  “No, not yet,” he admits as he moves his hand around to the places the baby is moving.

  “What are you on?”

  “The Ks,” he answers. I let out a hopeless sigh just as the doorbell rings, signaling my mom’s arrival. She drove down to spend the day baby shopping at the huge mall on the outskirts of town. I walk over to let her in, and she squeals and gushes over how big my belly is getting before hugging Tyler, who’s just walked over to greet her.

  “I can’t wait to finally meet Maureen,” she exclaims, clasping her hands together. “Is she coming here?”

  “She’s going to meet us at the mall,” I explain, pulling on my light-weight jacket.

  “Careful with all the walking okay?” Tyler murmurs in my ear before kissing my cheek and patting my belly.

  “I will, I promise,” I assure him as I open the door and lead my mom out to the car.

  Five hours later, Juan and I are tucked into a basketball game. It’s March Madness and State is annihilating Indiana. The second half has just commenced when the front door bursts open and in walks my gorgeous lady, loaded down with shopping bags.

  “Whoa,” I say, getting to my feet and rushing to take some from her. Between dancing and coming with me to the gym, Annie’s fit as can be, but after her muscle spasm, I still worry sometimes. “Where are the moms? Why aren’t they carrying any of this?” I ask, helping her set the bags down on the infamous kitchen table.

  “Oh they’re coming, and they’re carrying stuff,” she assures me, jerking her head in the direction of the door with an eye roll.

  I hear a muted sound of cackling laughter outside.

  “Okay, so how was the shopping and bonding and all that?”

  She places a hand on her hip and starts nodding to herself. “The shopping, as you can see,” she waves a hand at all the bags, “was a bigger success than anticipated. As for the bonding?” the sarcasm in her voice is thickening by the second. “I didn’t get in on a lot of that. You’ll have to ask them.” She jerks her chin towards the front door.

  “What do you mean? What happened?”

  “Three stores in, and those two decided it was time for an early lunch at The Outback, where they got hammered on Wallaby Darneds which I couldn’t have. They thought if they had the server make them virgin for me, I’d be fine and they could carry on,” she huffs bitterly as she continues. “The good news,” she holds up a finger and turns toward the bags, “is that it made them completely disinhibited with their wallets for the rest of the shopping trip, and they went nuts over every cutesy little girl thing they saw.”

  The laughter is getting closer to the front door and is joined by male laughter coming from our living room.

  “Shut the hell up,” I tell Juan as he roars from the couch. “Sorry they got tossed in front of you honey, but at least they got along.”

  “It’s true,” Juan offers, not standing up. “My mother and my sister’s mother-in-law? They hate each other’s guts. You don’t want that, trust me.”

  Annie looks from him back to me.

  “Yeah. And our girl is all set for pretty much everything for the first year. I did keep the receipts though, in case one or both of them wakes up tomorrow and freaks out,” she reports as she rummages through one of the bags. “And I saw something I thought you’d like.” She straightens up, pulling out a small, folded piece of clothing that she hands to me. I unfold the white cotton to see it’s a onesie with a black and pink design of a little panda with a bow on its head, driving a sports car, and written below it is Daddy’s Girl.

  My heart just exploded.

  I smile at my girl who is looking at me with hopeful eyes.

  “This is perfect, I love it,” I tell her, leaning in to give her a kiss just as the outside laughing gets louder and both our mothers come crashing through the door, each loaded down with shopping bags, and both cracking up like they just ran into Kevin Hart in our front yard. They are completely lit and hanging on to each other like lifelines.

  “Mitch does that too!” Charlotte howls, obviously in response to something my mom must’ve said about my dad. Tears of laughter stream down her face and she tries to wipe one away with one of her hands that’s lugging a shopping bag.

  “Get out!” my mom answers, her eyes wide and her mouth open as she stumbles.

  “Yeah, get out,” Annie mumbles under her breath as she pulls a bottle of water out of the fridge.

  Juan stays put on the couch, no longer taking in the game because he’s found something more amusing to entertain him. He’s smiling as he looks back and forth between the two drunk future grandmothers.

  “Tyler!” Both moms shriek when they lay eyes on me.

  Yikes.

  �
��There’s my boy,” my mom trills on adoringly, as she drops the shopping bags she was carrying and starts walking toward me to give me a hug, which I accept tentatively as I figure out what to do with her in this state.

  “Hey Mom,” I happily greet her, playing along while I try to assess just how many sheets to the wind she is.

  “Oh Maureen,” Charlotte looks emotional as she drops her own shopping bags and walks towards us. “I’m so glad you had him…” she continues and puts her arms around me on the other side, “because he found my Annieeee!” she squeals in my other ear.

  God, if you’re there, help me…

  Annie rolls her eyes as if to say this was my day.

  “And I’m so glad you had Annie!” my mom volleys back. “And we have Tyler’s super sperm to thank for them bringing us together!” my mom joyfully adds, releasing me and hugging her new soul mate.

  You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

  I scrub my hands down my face as I walk over to Annie, intent on letting her console me in the midst of this madness while Juan lets out a roar of laughter, slapping his leg.

  “Oh,” Charlotte looks up and over into the living room. “Who is this?”

  The grin on Juan’s face spreads as he stands from the couch and walks over to greet the drunken grandmothers.

  “This is my other boy, Juan,” my mom explains. “He’s Tyler’s best friend. Juan, meet my home-girl, Charlotte.”

  Great.

  “We had to leave her car at the mall, Ty,” Annie tells me, pointing to my mom as she and Annie’s mom fuss over Juan. “One of us should drive her home, but my mom lives too far. What should we do for her?”

  “Plenty of room at my house!” my mom announces at the top of her lungs, as Charlotte turns to her with an excited smile. “My new biff can stay the night with me! Ken and I have a spare room you can use and we’ll have a killer breakfast with mimosas in the morning!” They grab onto each other and happily start to jump up and down like long lost sorority sisters.