Along The Way

A few days had passes and it was the morning of July fourth. Although Bam wasn't awake or even out of bed before at least 10, the house was full of commotion. Bailee, her mom and Angie helped April cut up vegetables and chicken/steak for skewers. April also began patting out big hamburgers to avoid having to rush when it was about time to eat and everyone was already drunk. In addition, Bailee made a huge fruit salad and a few different pies with the help of Angie. Since her back and feet ached if she stood for too long, most of her work was done from a pillow-covered bar stool at the counter.

A majority of the guys were outside screwing around in the pool or on Bam's personal skate park, save for the group that were still passed out around the house. Novak made the mistake of spending his first night on a chair beside the pool, for Raab and Dunn were obviously not going to miss the opportunity to dunk - well rather throw - him into the pool.

"Good morning." Bam mumbled sleepily into Bailee's neck as he hugged her from behind.

"Good morning sleepyhead." She smiled and kissed him as he moved to stand beside her and shoved fruit in his mouth.

"Fuck, I need a beer." He groaned.

"It's not even 12 yet, Bam." April rolled her eyes.

"So?" He laughed. "I need to find Dunnie Boy, we have another errand to run."

"Is anywhere even open today?" Angie asked.

"Should be." He shrugged. "We don't have enough booze."

"I'm sure there's plenty." Bailee laughed and washed her hands.

"Need anything?" He asked her.

"Not right now." She smiled. "Thanks baby."

"Of course. I'll be back in a while. Text me if you need anything." He said and kissed her.

While Bam was gone at the store with Dunn, the girls finished up food preparations and found room in the beer-cluttered fridge somehow. Bailee sat out in the sun for an hour or two but it was one of the hottest days of the summer so far and she didn't want to push her luck, even if there was a pool to dip in. Bam had been gone for a few hours, and the amount of people slowly started to increase as the day grew later, the real party starting when the sun went down. Bailee was doing her best to entertain their guests, but the Jackass boys commanded that task for the most part.

Phil showed up with Jess and his wife, the kids were inside watching movies in Bam and Bailee's room and the baby was with a babysitter. Phil helped April cook, since there were so many mouths to feed, and Jess didn't seem to mind helping either. Bailee was laying on a chair on the deck talking to Johnny when Bam and Dunn finally resurfaced at the house.

Though she had seen him, they didn't talk. There were too many other people, but Bailee didn't care as long as she had food and someone to talk to who she actually knew. She wished she could have at least one drink, something to loosen her up a bit, but she would never risk hurting her babies. Before she knew it, she wouldn't even have time to worry about drinking or partying with Bam.

The kids would be a good thing for her, perhaps even save her from making anymore mistakes. But she ofter wondered if Bam would change. Would he keep up with his overwhelming partying ways, or settle down and stay home more? The possibilities actually worried her. Who knows? Within a few months, they could be sick of each other and split, leaving her to care for them. She tried not to think that way, but at times it was difficult. Life was about to change. But whose would change more?

"Hey, sorry I missed you when I got back." Bam smiled as he kissed her.

"That's okay, you have so many guests."

"Have you talked to anyone?" He asked and chugged some of his beer.

"Yeah, a couple of people. For the most part I've just stuck with Johnny and Novak."

"Has Novak kept his hands off?"

"No Bam, we had sex while you were gone." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow, amused.

"Yup. In the pool, in the bed, on the counter, on the floor, in the-"

"Okay smartass, I get it." He laughed and shook his head.

Bailee smiled and sipped her lemonade. "When are the fireworks?"

"Probably in a little bit. Not exactly drunk enough to feel the need to play with fire."

All of a sudden there was a huge pop, and then a loud squeal and then a streak of light shot up into the sky and a small firework popped and fizzled out.

"I can't say the same for Steveo and Chris." She laughed and shook her head as there was yelling from out in the field.

"I guess I didn't do a good enough job in hiding those." He laughed. "Well, I am drunk enough to jump off the patio so I'm probably gonna go do that." He said and pulled off his shirt, handing it and his empty bottle to Bailee.

"Oh God Bam, no." She laughed as he took off.

Him, Dunn and Novak, virtually stripped down to nothing, proceeded to jump off the balcony and slide down the makeshift slip-and-slide into the pool. Eventually, most of the Jackass boys joined in.