Destiny's Detour (15 page)

I hear a few squeals, and then I see the look of disgust that Buffy gives me. I give up on trying to get along with her. We may be teammates, but we will never be friends. That is for sure. When Mandy explains how my role with the dance team will change further along in my pregnancy, the team, minus Buffy, is more than willing for me to stay.

After dance practice, I notice three missed calls from my mother and have three long voicemails about different things I need to call and discuss. Wedding planning has created a monster out of my mom, I am afraid to say.

The football players are still practicing, so I go sit in the stands to wait for my fiancé. How strange it is to even say that. I talk to my mom while I watch the guys practice. When Amy sits down next to me, I smile and continue talking to my mom. She has been busy searching for the red and white roses I want. And since the ceremony will be followed by a formal sit down meal, we’ve decided a buffet of finger foods and an open bar should be available for the rest of the evening. Last but not least, several selections for both my invitations and my wedding cake wait for me in my email. Before we hang up, she reminds me to decide ASAP on the invites because they need to go out by the end of the week.
I am going to go nuts.

When I finally get off the phone, I heave a heavy sigh and look over at Amy. “Remind me that I love Troy and that this is all worth it.”

“You love Troy and it is worth it!” She grins at me, and we share a laugh.

“My mom has gone insane with wedding planning.”

I pull up my email on my phone, find the one with invitations, and look at the three selections my mom sent. I choose the burgundy and cream one since those are my wedding colors, and send a quick text to my mom so she can order them. When I open the cake email, Amy and I narrow the choices down to two, but I want to get Troy’s opinion tonight. If I have to go crazy with all these plans, then Troy is going down with me.

With those decisions made, and my mom notified, I sit back and take a moment to watch my man practice. Troy makes several throws to various receivers on the field, and I can’t help but admire what a good arm he has. His chances of playing in the NFL in 2 years are great, so I better start preparing to be an NFL wife.

Since neither of us wants to go home, Amy and I sit watch rest of the practice like we have nothing better to do. With only three weeks left of classes, we have several projects that need to be finished. Instead of working on those, we choose to relax. I am feeling a little stressed between classes, planning a wedding, and being pregnant. The stress is starting to get to me. I can’t believe how crazy my life has become, and it is just the first semester of college.

As the team finishes practice, Amy and I head down the stands. When we reach the fence around the field, David calls out my name, so I walk toward him.

“Hey, you okay?” He takes a long look at me.

“I’m tired. Mom is driving me insane, but yes, I am okay.”

“Well, then you’ll probably like what I want to ask you.”

“What is that?”

“I want to take us all out for dinner tonight. Mark has a date, so I thought the four of us can go out to eat like old times.”

“You are the best brother ever.” I kiss him on the cheek and he smirks at me. I really do like the idea for more than one reason.

As we talk, Troy comes up and crooks his finger at me, motioning me to come closer. When I do, he leans over and gives me a kiss. One that makes my knees go weak.

My brother interrupts us. “Come on, Romeo. Let’s go shower, and then take the girls out to eat.”

Troy laughs but follows him off to the locker room. I greet a few of the players as they walk by Amy and me. We decide to go to her car and wait for the boys so that I can rest. I can only guess that this whole being pregnant thing is causing my bone-deep exhaustion. I don’t know. It’s not as if I have any experience being pregnant.

After about a twenty-minute wait, the guys walk out. The sight of Troy makes my heart leap, and all of a sudden, I need to be right next to him. Stupid hormones make me feel all kinds of crazy things. I run to Troy, jump, and tackle him in a hug.

“Did you miss me, Beautiful?” He laughs and easily catches me.

“Yes,” I purr.

“Destiny, not in front of your brother. He already gives me a hard time about us.”

“Who cares about him? What’s he going to do when we are married?”

Troy and Amy laugh; David, on the other hand, gives me a dirty look as we walk back to the car.

Dinner ends up being fun and relaxing, just what we all need. We hang out, laugh, and talk like we did back when we were in high school. After we get back to the house, we all settle down to do homework. Amy and I are able to finish both of our projects for our classes.

I am so tired that my bones hurt. I want a shower, and then bed. When I walk into the room, what I find surprises me. Soft candlelight and a warm bath are awaiting me. After a soft kiss, Troy slowly undresses me, and then himself. Taking my hand, he leads me to the tub, climbs in, and then helps me get settled. It feels so good to lean back against his solid chest. The warm water and soothing fragrance from the candles help wash all my tension away.

“Thank you, Troy. This is just what I needed.” I sigh as I snuggle deeper into his arms.

“Yeah, you looked kinda beat today. I thought this would help you and the peanut unwind.”

“You have no idea. I’m going to let you deal with my mom tomorrow on all the wedding stuff. She has become a wedding Nazi.”

“She can’t be that bad.”

“Yes, she is, trust me.”

He gently washes my body, making this the most comforting bath I have ever had. I am seeing a new side of Troy that I really like.

“Troy, when did you become so romantic?”

“Somewhere around the time I fell in love with you.” I turn toward him and give him a quick kiss. “Seriously Destiny, I never wanted to do these things for any other girl. You are the only one I want to make happy, and I don’t care if my friends think that I’m whipped, either.”

“Are you telling me your friends say you’re whipped?”

“Yes, they do and they’re right. I would do anything to make you happy.”

“You do make me happy. I am so glad that I have you. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Troy Daniels.”

He presses a small kiss on my neck. I sigh and we finish up our bath. After drying off, I slip on clean underwear, and he throws me one of his T-shirts to sleep in. I love wearing his shirts, especially since he said he finds me extremely sexy in them. We climb under the covers, and he pulls me close to him. He keeps talking to me about how lucky he is to have me.

As I lay there wrapped in his arms, I think of how life has changed for me since I have started college. I didn’t expect to sleep with Troy after a party, and I didn’t expect to start a relationship with him. I sure didn’t count on getting pregnant and married. I know my life has detoured from the path I had originally planned, but I wouldn’t change any of it. I love Troy so much, and I love our baby so much already. I want to make Troy as happy as he makes me. I know we are sure to have rough patches. What couple doesn’t? But I know our love will conquer it all.

I can’t seem to get my mind to shut off no matter how tired I am. I have so much I need to do to finish planning my wedding. Final exams are coming soon. I need to start shopping for the baby. Troy and I have to decide if we are going to get our own place. So many thoughts keep swirling around in my brain.

“Baby, stop thinking and worrying. Everything will work out. Get some sleep,” Troy whispers to me. He pulls me into him again and holds me tight, showing me that he is there for me. I slowly drift off to sleep.

Between final exams and wedding plans, time flies and weeks disappear. Christmas break is here, and suddenly, it is the day before my wedding. I am excited and nervous.
Oh my gosh, I am marrying Troy tomorrow. How crazy is that?
Dress rehearsal has just ended and it’s time for dinner with family and the wedding party at a local restaurant. After dinner, David has planned a bachelor party for Troy and Amy has planned my bachelorette party. This is the last time Troy and I will be together before we meet at the end of the church aisle tomorrow.

“Baby, are you okay?” Troy whispers in my ear as we sit at the table.

I nod my head to show him I am fine. Really, I don’t want to admit that I don’t want to be away from him. I am afraid I can’t make it through the next 24 hours without him by my side.

I whisper back to him, “Do you think we can find alone time before we are both kidnapped?”

“Yes, Princess. I think we can do that.”

His answer relaxes me a little more. Everyone around the table is laughing and having a good time, but I feel like I am going to be sick. That’s when I realize that I really am going to be sick. I bolt up, run to the bathroom, and barely make it into the stall before heaving up the entire contents of my stomach.

I don’t know if this is nerves, pregnancy, or a combination of both, but I feel so sick. After a few minutes, Amy joins me in the bathroom.

“Hey, Girlie, you okay?”

“No, I am throwing up per usual.”

“Well, your man made me come after you. He’s waiting in the hall for you. You know he hates you being sick and not being able to be with you.”

I know. Troy has been wonderful with me since this morning sickness started, even though I have all-day sickness. It doesn’t happen all day. It just hits me at any time during the day, and I’m never sure when or what will make it start.

“Go tell Troy I’m fine and I’ll be out in just a minute.”

Amy goes out to give Troy my message. I go to the sink, rinse my mouth out, and then wash my hands. As I walk out the door, Troy grabs me into a hug.

“Princess, are you okay? I hate that I can’t go in there with you.”

“I’m fine, Troy. I just think this sickness stuff needs to stop.”

We stand outside the bathroom, hugging as we talk. A few people give us strange looks as they go in and out of the restrooms.

“Come on, Troy. We better head back to our table before everyone thinks we eloped on them.”

He releases me from the hug but immediately takes hold of my hand.

As we sit back down at our table, my mom and Troy’s mom give me sympathetic looks. Troy doesn’t let go of my hand as we finish our meal. Finally, I can tell Amy and David are getting ready to separate us.

“David, I want to spend a little time with your sister before you take me away. So give me thirty minutes, and then come pick me up from your parents’ house,” Troy says quickly, knowing what is about to happen as well.

He drives us to my parents and we go straight to my room. Tears stream down my face as he moves closer to me.

“Princess?”

“I’ll be fine. I just hate that I am not going to see you again until we’re exchanging vows tomorrow.”

He gives me a tender kiss, and soon enough, it deepens. I am so in love with this guy. He moves us to my bed, and soon he is hovering over me, kissing me all over. Our thirty minutes flies by pretty fast, and David and Amy bust through my door.

“Eww, come on guys, break it up.” This is from my brother.

“Give each other a goodbye kiss because it’s time to go your separate ways,” Amy says.

Troy and I share a lingering kiss until he says, “I love you, Beautiful, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

David drags Troy out of my room. As soon as the door closes behind them, the sobs start and Amy immediately embraces me.

“Shh, girl. You’ll see him tomorrow, and then you’ll be together forever.”

We are still standing there, me crying on Amy's shoulder, when my parents come into my bedroom. I am an emotional wreck. Now I understand why you should not get married while pregnant.

My dad comes and gives me a hug. “I wanted to say goodbye before I head out to the bachelor party.”

“Wait, you’re going partying with the guys?” This causes a grin to come across my face.

“Yes, shocking isn’t it? I hope your old man can keep up.”

“Daddy, stay out of trouble. I know you.”

My dad gives me a small laugh. “I will see you tomorrow, Baby Girl. Enjoy your night.”

“Bye, Daddy.”

“Amy,” my mom says. “All the girls are waiting downstairs for us to join them.”

The guys have rented a suite at a hotel to party in, and we are staying at my parents’ house simply because I am pregnant and can’t party. I have no idea what Amy has planned, but I know we are going to have fun.

Fun is an understatement to describe my bachelorette party. She has hired three male strippers to come to the house, and I am almost embarrassed. They are hot and sexy as hell, but all I can think about is that these guys are giving me lap dances in front of my mother and future mother-in-law. All in all, my friends and family are drunk, and since I am the only sober one in the room, it probably enhances my embarrassment. It is 2 am before I finally make it upstairs to my room with Amy, and we giggle together for another hour before falling asleep.