"Stop!"
Mayra looked up from the paperback novel in her hands. She squinted, even though she was wearing sunglasses, and put her hand up to shade her eyes as she looked at the two children who were playing a few yards away from her lounge chair. She watched as Aiden and Isabella sat, working together to build a sandcastle. Aiden reached over, trying to add sand to one of the towers, but Isabella pushed him away.
"Stop!" The little girl insisted again, loudly. "I said no more sand, Aiden." She told her brother.
Aiden pulled back, adding the sand in his hand to another tower. "My tower's gonna be bigger than yours is." He stated.
"Nu-uh." Isabella replied, her dark pigtails bouncing.
"Yes, huh." Aiden countered. "I'm gonna build the biggest and tallest tower ever!"
"Nu-uh." Isabella said-never one to allow her brother to have the last word.
"Yes, huh!" Aiden insisted, beginning to become really upset. Mayra watched as he reached over, pushing down the tower Isabella had pushed him away from moments before.
"Hey!" Isabella cried out. "Aiden, how could you?" She asked, reaching over to push his dark haired head away from her. Aiden stood and began running away. Isabella quickly stood up and followed after her brother.
Mayra chuckled as she continued to watch the children. Someone else might have jumped in to intervene between the children, but after a degree in Elementary Education and spending eighteen months as a nanny, Mayra knew that the five-year-olds' quarrel would be forgotten as quickly as it had arisen. She leaned her head back, keeping her eyes on the two kids as they began playing in the water. "Not too far!" Mayra called out to them. The twins turned to look at her, and Mayra felt a tug at her heart. She was still having a hard time believing they were going to be starting Kindergarten next month. Mis hijos estan creciendo. Her babies were growing up so fast! A shadow passed over her, drawing Mayra's eyes from the kids as she looked up and over to her right. She smiled and lifted her sunglasses.
"One Long Island Ice Tea." JC said, handing her the tall glass.
"What took you so long?" Mayra asked him, accepting the drink as he settled in beside her on the chair next to her.
"The waitress was cute." He replied with a shrug as he sipped his own drink.
"Wrong answer." Mayra said as she reached over and smacked his arm playfully at the teasing smirk on his face.
He laughed as he turned to look at her, his blue eyes sparkling. He switched his drink to his right hand as he reached out and took her hand with his left. He laced their fingers together and Mayra relaxed back against the lounge chair her eyes once more moving towards the water--watching as Aiden and Isabella continued splashing in the water and chasing after the sandpipers that hung out at surf line.
"Can you believe it's been five years?" JC said, bringing her eyes back to him.
Mayra looked down at his left hand in hers-smiling at the sight of the platinum wedding band on his ring finger. The ring she had placed there herself a little over five years ago. Her eyes traveled up to meet his and her heart gave a little skip. Her mind flashed back to the last time they had been here in Hawaii. The result of that night they had reunited after being separated for three years were the two dark-haired, blue-eyed five-year olds playing in front of them, and the matching wedding rings she and JC wore.
Although she had been the one to suggest it, Mayra hadn't thought he would agree to marrying her--especially after the way she had left him when he had mentioned it the first time. But he had. However, they both had jobs and--as much as she wanted to just elope--Mayra's practical side demanded that they wait and plan. It had been three years since they had last been together. Yes, the physical and sexual attraction was there full force like it always had been, but who was to say that the rest would still be there? A lot can change--a lot had changed--over the three years they had been together and Mayra convinced JC they needed to see if what they had once had was still there. All of it--not just the sex. Sex was great, but a marriage needed to be based on more than just sex.
At the end of the week, Mayra returned to New York with the Princeton's and JC flew home to L.A. A week later, however, JC flew to New York, Mayra arranged to have the week off, and the two of them spent seven blissful days together: rediscovering each other and establishing the fact that there was more between them than just the sex. Tentatively they set a date for a year away-giving them time to plan everything and figure out which coast they were going to live on. A monkey wrench had been thrown into their plans, however, when two weeks later Mayra discovered she was pregnant.
She still remembered that phone call.
JC had been speechless for about three minutes as she told him that according to the doctor she was three weeks along--meaning that the baby had been conceived in Hawaii. After stuttering and insisting they had been careful, Mayra reminded him that the first time had...happened a lot quicker than they had expected and it had only been the times following that first one that he had been wearing a condom.
After the initial shock wore off, JC had been excited. More excited than she had thought he would be and he had pushed her into moving their wedding plans up to before the baby was born. That insistence was multiplied when they found out she was having twins. Mayra had agreed and, six months after being reunited with the man she had met and fallen hopelessly and completely in love with on her twenty-first birthday, she found herself married to JC Chasez and anxiously awaiting the birth of their twins.
"No." She finally said, answering his questions. "They're getting so big." She said, gesturing with her head towards the kids though she kept her eyes locked with his. "They're not babies anymore and it...it kind of breaks my heart." She confessed.
"Well, do you--oof!" JC exclaimed, cutting off and dropping her hand as Isabella surprised him by jumping on him.
"Daddy!" Isabella exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Hi, baby." He said, putting his arms around his daughter. "Are you torturing, Aiden?" He asked with a smile.
"Mmmhmm." Isabella nodded.
"That's my girl." JC replied proudly.
"Dad!" Aiden said running up to him as well.
"Yeah, bud?" JC asked, turning his attention from Isabella to her brother. Mayra couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she observed JC with his children. He was a natural-just like she'd always known he would be-and the obvious love he had for his kids made her love him even more.
"Come play Frisbee with us." Aiden requested, pulling on JC's hand.
"Yeah, come play with us!" Isabella echoed. "Please?" She pouted, and looked up at him with those big blue eyes of hers and Mayra laughed as JC visibly crumbled.
"Alright." He said, giving in to the children's requested. The kids cheered and he laughed as he scooted Isabella off his lap. "You two go get started. I'll be right there." He promised.
Aiden and Isabella scampered off to retrieve the red Frisbee that had been packed in the beach bag Mayra had toted down with her a few hours ago and Mayra chuckled as she watched them began trying to throw it back and forth to each other.
"As I was saying." JC said, drawing her attention back to him. "Do you ever think about having another one?" He asked.
Mayra looked at him in surprise-her eyes wide. She blinked a few times. "Another baby?" She asked, completely shocked at the suggestion coming from his lips. "I-I-I..." She stammered. Truth be told she did think about it, but hadn't brought it up, not knowing how he would feel about it.
"Think about it." He said, a mischevious grin in his blue eyes as he stood up from his chair. He stepped towards her then leaned down, resting his hands on the arm rests of her chair and lowered his head to place a light, yet lingering kiss to her lips. "We're here for a few more night and it might be fun to have another souvenir from this place." He winked at her as he stood and jogged away--joining Aiden and Isabella in their game of Frisbee and leaving Mayra completely speechless.
"Damn you, JC Chasez!" She called out with a laugh.
"Uh-oh!" JC said, looking exaggeratedly at the kids. "Mommy said a bad word." He said. Aiden and Isabella giggled. "You know what that means." He said as he handed the Frisbee to Aiden and jogged back over to where Mayra was sitting. "She has to come play with us." He said as he grabbed her up--slinging her over his shoulder before she could protest and walked back to where the kids were giggling. Mayra laughed as JC finally put her feet down on the sand and stood in front of her, grinning. "Boys against girls?" He asked.
"Yeah!" The kids agreed with him.
"See, if we have another one, the teams will be uneven." Mayra told him as she reached up, combing her fingers through his hair.
"Maybe." He replied as his hands rested on her waist and pulled her up against him. "Unless we get another two-for-one deal." He said as he pressed his lips against hers. "We might get lucky again." He grinned.
"I am not have twins again!" Mayra replied with a laugh. "If you want another set of twins you can have them."
He laughed as he kissed her again. "Okay, how ‘bout just one?"
"Are you really sure about this?" She asked, searching his eyes.
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because we make damn cute kids together." He grinned and Mayra chuckled. "Come on, mama, what do you say?" He asked, nudging her with his hips.
"You really want another, baby, don't you?" She asked. He nodded and she smiled. "Okay." She said. "Let's have another one." She grinned as she kissed him.
"Come on, guys!" Aiden said, interrupting them and demanding his parent's attention. "Stop kissing and let's play!"
Mayra pulled away with a groan, putting a smile on her face as she turned to look at her children. She dropped her arms from JC and turned--taking a step away. She didn't get far however, before JC pulled her back to him. "You, me, tonight." He whispered, placing a kiss on her neck. Mayra was suddenly thankful for the two bedroom suite they were staying in as a shiver skirted down her spine. "And my two favorite words."
Mayra turned to look at him, lifting one brow in question at him.
"Don't." He said, holding up one finger and then another. "Stop."
