Thrills To Spare

“Uh oh, I’m thinking maybe we came back too early…” Sidney commented as he poked his head into Phoebe and Jordan’s villa to see the two adults still dead asleep and unfortunately Jordan’s pale ass from under the hotel sheets.

“I want Daddy.” Chloe pouted from Sidney’s hip, not able to see into the room.

“I know baby girl, but how about we go get some breakfast first?” Sidney asked, ushering Dylan along as he held onto his two little brother’s hands as they exited the villa, making their way back to Sidney’s own suite.

“Sid-ney.” Chloe whined, turning and reaching back towards the hotel room. “I want Daddy!” She insisted.

“Chlo, don’t whine.” Dylan said, looking back at his little sister who was quick to stick out her tongue at him.

“We’ll get some breakfast and then Auntie Kara can take you and Emmy shopping. How fun would that be, huh?” Sidney asked, kissing her cheek softly and hiking her further up on his hip. “Then you can spend the day with all the girls while we go out and fish on the boat, huh boys?” Sidney asked to which Dylan nodded his head excitedly, his two little brothers fairly clueless as they looked around the hotel.

The Crosby family as well as the Staal children sat around the dining room table in their suite after room service brought up a plethora of breakfast foods. Emmy sat in her mother’s lap quietly, eyeing Spencer and Gavin warily as she nibbled on a bit of fruit. Spencer and Gavin liked to gang up on her, chasing her around the beach and poking her when she wasn’t looking.

It wasn’t for another hour that Jordan and Phoebe finally showed their faces in the Crosby suite looking well rested and sated.

“Daddy!” Chloe squealed, hopping from Sidney’s lap and running full force towards Jordan who was happy to scoop her into his arms and blow a raspberry into her neck. “I missed you.” She pouted out her lips for a kiss to which he happily obliged.

“Mm, what’s for breakfast sweet cheeks?” Jordan asked, taking a seat at the table, making Kara laugh and shake her head.

“Waffles, sausage, eggs, you name it.” She said, ushering to the table.

“Actually, I was talking to Sidney…” Jordan commented, making the adults laugh and Sidney blush, always feeling like people were giving him shit for his extra large derriere. It wasn’t long until both of the families were all situated around the dining table, smiles and laughs to spare. Soon enough they were all sated and full of a delicious meal when Jordan cleared his throat.

“Should we tell them?” He asked, holding Phoebe’s hand above the table as Chloe crawled into his lap, resting her head on his shoulder as he immediately began to rub his big hand over her soft, wispy hair.

“Sure.” Phoebe smiled with a gentle blush as he husband gave her that same lovesick smile that she had seen on their first real date.

“Well Mommy and I have an announcement to make.” Jordan smiled, turning his attention back to the table, squeezing Phoebe’s hand softly.

“You gonna get me a pony?” Chloe asked, tilting her head at her father who was quick to laugh and shake his head in the negative. “Sidney’s gonna get me a pony?” She squealed, looking to her favorite person in the world. Sidney looked surprise as he shook his head as well. She huffed, crossing her tiny, tanned arms over her chest with a huff as Jordan finally got to speak again.

“We just found out this morning, well… I just found out this morning.” He laughed softly, looking at Phoebe once more before exhaling loudly. “But Mommy is going to have another baby.” He grinned to which the three Staal boys immediately cheered along with the Crosby family who were thrilled for their friends.

“Ugh another?” Chloe whined. “Well it better be a girl ‘cause I’m tired of stinky boys everywhere.” She sighed exasperatedly, making the adults at the table laugh and Dylan frown, her other two brothers too young to really understand what had just happened.

The rest of the morning, the adults were all atwitter with the exciting news and Phoebe couldn’t help but notice the looks exchanged between her best friend and her husband, knowing that they too were ready for their next addition.

Soon they were cuddled around the plush couches of the expansive living room in the Crosby suite, watching Nemo to get the kids in the mood for the glass bottom boat tour they’d be going on.

“Aw, you made me ink.” Sidney quoted, making Kara and Brianna both crack up at the way he could get his voice just squeaky enough to sound like Nemo’s friend.

“They said ‘butt’.” Chloe giggled wildly from Sidney’s lap. It was probably a fire hazard to have so many little children in one room. All three Staal boys spawned from Brianna and Eric were present as well as the three Staal boys Phoebe and Jordan had to offer plus their one girl and the Crosby girl. It was weird to think that a year from now there would be at least two more children in the room. It was never safe to predict how many children Brianna and Eric would have because to be frank, they loved having kids and they were damn good at it.

“Marc and Kate want to know what we’re up to.” Phoebe read from her cell phone about forty-five minutes into the movie. It was only two in the afternoon, but the small children were already dead asleep for what was past time for their usual afternoon nap.

Jordan knew that if they came in, they’d be loud enough to wake his two boys along with Brianna and Eric’s youngest. Besides, Marc had nearly destroyed their fun the other day with his aggressive nature towards Sidney and he wouldn’t willingly bring that into the room that his children were in.

“Just tell him we’re taking naps and we’ll see him at the hotel restaurant tonight for dinner.” Jordan advised to which Phoebe agreed to with a nod. He wouldn’t let his brother ruin their good time.

•••

“Daddy watch me swim!” Chloe giggled in her swimsuit as she practiced her backstroke in the Staal’s master tub. They had only been home from their tropical vacation for a week, and Chloe was already dying to go back.

“I see you, baby.” Jordan laughed as he attempted to get some shampoo into her hair. She declared that every time she took a bath, she was going to practice her swimming for the next time they’d return to Florida. She picked out a set of tropical looking fish bath toys that she insisted on playing with during every bath.

A few moments later, he lowered Spencer and Gavin into the bath as well in their tiny Swimmers, thinking he could kill three birds with one stone in this case seeing as he was going to have to give them a bath later today anyways.

“When’s Mama home?’ Chloe asked, tilting her head as Jordan finally got her to sit still long enough to build a lather in her long blonde hair.

“Mama is out with Auntie Brianna before she and Uncle Eric go back home and then we’re all going out to dinner at a really fancy restaurant. Doesn’t that sound fun?” Jordan asked.

“…But will I get to wear my dress?” Chloe asked with a pointed look that made Jordan laughed and nodded while he lathered up Spencer and Gavin’s hair at the same time with his two dinner-plate sized hands.

“Yes, you will get to wear your dress.” He nodded, plucking her from the water and wrapping her up in a towel before patting her on the butt softly. “I’m going to finish cleaning these two up, you go wait for me in your room and I’ll come get your hair.” He said, pointing to the door to the hall where her room was nearby.

“Don’t worry, Daddy, I got it.” Phoebe smiled as she poked her head into the bathroom before scooping Chloe up into her arms, leaning down to kiss his cheek gently before sweeping her little girl back into her horribly pink and feminine room.

That night, Phoebe giggled softly as Jordan placed several soft kisses up and down her neck, twirling her in her elegant dress across the open dance floor of Murray’s. A very upscale, hoity-toity steakhouse in downtown Pitt. The children were sitting at the table on their best behavior with Uncle Sidney. That weekend was Kara’s parent’s fiftieth wedding anniversary and she took Emmy back up to Minnesota to see her grandparents. Sidney wanted to attend but he had two prior commitments he made with his agent in Pittsburgh and Kara reassured him that it was no big deal whether he attended or not. After another hour or so of persuasion he finally felt okay with them going up to Minnesota alone and not an hour later was he invited out to dinner that night with the Staals.

“I wanna dance.” Chloe sighed wistfully as she watched her Daddy twirl her Mommy gracefully the same way that Belle was twirled like the Beast in her favorite Disney movie. “Mama looks so pretty.” She rest her tiny head on her even smaller fists as she watched them move about the dance floor.

“You want to dance, babe?” Sidney asked as he slung an arm around her shoulder gently. Chloe nodded pathetically. Her Mama had even let her wear the lightest brush of lip gloss on her tiny pink lips as well as her favorite silky pink dress complete with tiny sequins and beading. “I’ll take you dancing as soon as your Mom and Dad come back, how does that sound? We can’t leave these two handsome little devils on their own.” He said, ushering to Spencer and Gavin, who, in their matching booster seats also wore matching black slacks, black button-down shirts, and yellow bowties. Dylan got to choose his own outfit but ended up looking rather dapper in black slacks, and dark blue shirt with a white tie, his hair parted and styled cutely. It was painfully obvious that he wished he had his Game Boy that his Dad bought him for their trip, but he understood when it was appropriate to play it and when it wasn’t.

Soon enough Chloe got her wish as she stood on Sidney’s shiny shoes, her hands held snugly by his as they swayed back and forth to the slow, smooth piano while Phoebe and Jordan watched lovingly from their table, each with a boy in their lap.

“So you never did tell me exactly what we were celebrating.” Phoebe smiled, resting her forehead against Jordan’s after they shared a sweet kiss.

“I figured, we have every reason to celebrate. We have four beautiful children, another on the way, and years later, I’m still completely enamored with everything you do.” He grinned lopsidedly, bringing the cleft of his chin just to the side, tempting her to kiss it while she had the chance.

“Come on, you have to have some kind of motive.” She bit her lip, knowing that at this very moment, he was studying they way her eyes sparkled in the prism light of the chandelier that hung above their table.

“I don’t know, just celebrating a new chapter of our life. I’ll be home with you and the babies and we’ll be living the family life.” He shrugged. “I’m ready to focus on us full time instead of part-time.” He finished as the waiter arrived with their dinners. Jordan cut up the filet Dylan insisted on ordering into small pieces while he tasted his mashed potatoes and thankfully, the twins chicken came shredded into small pieces as per Phoebe’s request. “Should we wave them in?” He wondered as Phoebe eyed her steak and salmon hungrily.

“No, let them do what they want, this is something Chloe will remember forever.” Phoebe grinned as she watched her little girl giggle and flirt with Sidney while he twirled her effortlessly around the floor before swinging her up to his hip, smiling contently as she rest her head in the crook of his neck. “No one ever forgets their first love.” She finished.

Jordan looked to his wife who was looking absolutely breathtaking that evening, her hair pulled into an elegant chignon at the base of her neck, her diamond earrings sparkling in the dim light of the restaurant. Her long lashes brushed the tops of her cheek as she blinked slowly, savoring the taste of her dinner, and he couldn’t help but smile while her red lips pulled into a smile as well. Her eyes locking with his as she caught him staring.

“No, you never do.”