Leaving him had been easier than Lesly had thought. Yes, the sex had been great and feeling wanted had been just as great. But at the end fo the day she was still thinking about Chris and having him on her mind as much as she had only proved it wasn't over. It was interesting, however, to her that Gabe had withdrawn as fast as he had. He hadn't stopped by the shop at all. He hadn't texted or called. For someone as persistent as he'd been with her, Gabe DeAngeles had all but fallen off the face of the earth in the last three days, or so it seemed. 

Not that she'd really, really had time to notice. Keeping up with Sutton Chasez had been more than she thought it would be. For one, Sutton had ballet three times a week after school. And first grade in 2012 was a lot different than first grade had been when Lesly had gone through it. Sutton actually had homework to do. Granted, it was only a few worksheets here and there, but it took time after dinner and Lesly had had to remind herself that Sutton was still in the beginning stages of reading and writing and as much as Lesly sometimes wanted to take the pencil from Sutton and do it for her so that it would be done faster, she paced herself and let the little girl finish in her own time. 

At night, after Sutton had been properly bathed and tucked in - which included reading at least 2 stories from a wide selection of children's literature - Lesly would settle herself on the couch, take out her phone and text Chris back and forth. He wanted to know who he was competing with now. She wanted to know if he was still with Stephanie. He said they would talk. Soon. He was going to come to Grayson the following weekend and had already checked with Chad and Lane and would be staying at their house. 

It made her nervous and excited and cautious all at once. And a little nauseated if she was honest with herself. 

**
"You're what?!" Stephanie screeched over the phone, as Chris drove down I-4 and out of Orlando.

"I'm on my way to Grayson. So I can't go with you to your doctor's appointment tomorrow. Sorry," he looked in his rearview mirror and pulled swiftly into the left lane so that he could speed up somewhat.

"Fine. I'll just tell our baby when it's old enough that you cared more about your stupid hick girl in Georgia than you did about its well-being!" her voice seemed to have reached an even higher pitch and Chris held the phone away from his ear, trying to focus on the road.

"Ok. Also, since you're just going in to get another prescription of pre-natal vitamins, I don't think it matters that much,"

She was silent and Chris couldn't help but chuckle under his breath. He had her there and she knew it. "So, if we're done, I'm going to go because I need to focus on driving. See you when I get back." He didn't give her time to respond, simply hung up and put the phone in the cup holder.

He'd rehearsed in his head a thousand times how he was going to tell Lesly about Stephanie. How he was going to tell her that he didn't love Stephanie, but that they were having a baby together and that if that was going to be a problem, he would understand. He would leave out the part that it would devastate him, hurt him, and that he'd probably really never be in another relationship because he'd always be in love with her. All of those parts he would leave out because right now he just needed to see her and for once, be upfront and honest with her.

The closer he got to Grayson, the more his heart pounded. Soon it would all be over and soon she would know the truth and it would be up to her to know what to do with it now. He was at least giving her that option.

**
James assumed Greece was a beautiful country. She assumed the interior of the ship was nice, just as she assumed the pool on the top deck would be peaceful and refreshing. But since they'd boarded, James and JC had hardly left their room except for the occasional meal. It was bliss. Pure and utter bliss. They missed their children, but the pure ecstasy of just being with each other in every way possible was enough to make it okay that their daughter was with a friend and their twins were safely tucked away with grandparents. 

"I can't get enough of you," JC whispered, in the early afternoon. His body was lazily draped over hers and he placed soft kisses along the nape of her neck. They were docked in Santorini that day and he'd promised her they could go off the boat and take in the island. However, the boat would only be docked for another few hours and they'd spent the majority of their morning in bed. 

James giggled softly beneath him and sighed, turning so that he was spooning her against him. "Are we going to see Greece?" she wondered aloud.

JC kissed her shoulder blade, burying his face in the nape of her neck. "Mmhm. In a few minutes. Aren't you enjoying the silence? No babies crying. Nobody wandering in here uninvited. Just us, baby,"

James had to agree with him there. No interruptions. It had been a blissful reality as of late.

He kissed her again.

Greece would wait for them.
**

The doorbell rang. Her heart pounded hard against her chest. She knew he was there on the other side. Excitement ran throughout every inch of her body. It always did where Chris was involved. There was much to talk about. Much to decide. Slowly and all in good time of course. 

Slowly.

She had to keep telling herself that the closer she approached the door. 
Lesly opened it. He stood there, a smile on his face, his brown eyes looking into her own.

"Hi," he greeted her, running a hand nervously through his hair. He stepped towards her and Lesly suddenly couldn't remember what "slowly" even meant because the next thing she knew, they were headed towards the guest bedroom.

Chris wanted to tell her before this started happening.  Before the door closed, before clothes became strewn all over the floor, before they were underneath the sheets in the Chasez's guest bedroom. It was too late. She was too much for him and he couldn't handle not being with her like this. It seemed so perfect, like they were supposed to always be this way together. The nagging thought of Stephanie's pregnancy left him for the minutes he was in bed with Lesly and all he could think about was being with her. 

"I'm sorry, Chris," Lesly whispered, pulling him closer to her. "I'm sorry. I just, I didn't want to be that other girl, you know?"

"Don't apologize," Chris kissed her. "I was the stupid one."

"Chris," Lesly looked up at him, "Chris, I want you to know something. I was seeing someone but it's over. It's really over, okay? I just want to be with you. I couldn't stop thinking about you and-"

Chris silenced her again with a kiss. "Don't talk, okay? We have the rest of the weekend. Just be with me like this right now."

It was several minutes before either of them said anything again. Lesly picked up her phone and looked at the time. Sutton had a playdate with one of her friends from school and she'd be back any minute now. 

"Sutton's home soon," Lesly slowly got up from the bed and began to get dressed again. She looked over at Chris, who was deep in thought. "What is it?"

Chris had been pondering how in the world he'd break the news to her. Not now. He wasn't as stupid as he'd once been and there would've been a time when he would have blurted it right then and there when Lesly was most vulnerable and fragile. No. It would have to be later. But it would have to be before he left for Orlando on Monday. 

He shook his head quickly and gave her a reassured smile. "Nothing. Just tired," he winked at her and stood from the bed, following suit and quickly dressing again.

They walked out of the room together and back into the den. "I can go over to Chad's and Lane's and drop off my stuff and then I'll come back for dinner. Sound good?" he walked over towards her and wrapped her in his arms, kissing her lips softly.

"Yeah. I'm sure Sutton will be happy to have someone else around here. She's going to spend the night with James' parents tomorrow night," Lesly smirked at Chris and he laughed. "So you'll need to be around here, okay?"

"I'm not going anywhere," he felt his phone buzz and knew it was Stephanie before he even took out of his back pocket. He swiftly turned his phone off and placed it back in his pocket again. No need to bother with her right now. A part of him was feeling more alive than he had in a long, long time.

"You have to tell her. How is she gonna feel if you keep having sex and then spring on her that you're going to be a father," Joey was telling him as Chris drove over to Chad's and Lane's.

"We just slept together once. I don't know if it'll happen again," he was lying through his teeth and Joey knew it.

"You're full of shit," Joey called him out. "You know exactly what will happen. Don't be an idiot this time, dude. Tell her. And tell her soon,"

**
Sutton had just come home and Lesly was busy making her a snack and getting a movie on for her when Lesly's phone rang. It was Brianne, which was a rare thing because Brianne never called.

"Hey, Brianne-"

"Lesly, it's your dad. Dane found him just now. He's not breathing. We're gettin' an ambulance. Can you meet us at the hospital?"