There Was You

“Iker?” Riley called out as she nudged the front door closed, her hands working at removing the light jacket that she wore. She was back late, with her arriving late at work after their appointment with Alma, she had chosen to work a little later to make up for it, and whilst it had been her decision, she already knew that she regretted it, feeling more than a little exhausted. It had been a long day, with her having been apprehensive about the appointment with Alma, she had woken up a lot earlier than normal, and it had left her feeling tired, something she was sure was a combination of relief, being pregnant and the long day.

Hanging her coat up on the hook beside the door, she hesitated for a couple of seconds in the quiet hall, listening for any sound in the house before she padded through towards the kitchen, a soft smile lighting up her features as she spotted Iker who stood with his back towards her, stirring a pot on the stove. “You’ve not eaten yet?” she asked quietly.

Iker startled at the sound of her voice before he shook his head, offering her a little look over his shoulder. “Not yet” he replied “You’re not too late home, so I thought I’d wait for you” he added.

Riley shook her head, trying, and failing, to hide the little smile which tugged up the corner of her lips. “You didn’t have to do that” she noted.

Iker shrugged nonchalantly. “I like having dinner with my girlfriend, is that ok?” he quipped playfully.

Riley shook her head before she stepped a little closer to him, leaning up to press a soft kiss against his cheek. “Fiancée” she corrected, smirking against his skin for a brief second before she stepped away, plopping down into a seat beside the kitchen table.

Iker laughed. “I like having dinner with my fiancée” he corrected “Is that better?” he asked, glancing at her over his shoulder.

Riley just flashed him a grin, allowing a couple of moments of silence to pass between the two of them, before Iker moved towards the table, sitting down in the chair opposite her. “Are you Ok?” he asked gently.

Riley nodded. “A little tired” she replied “But that’s probably a little bit my fault. I worked myself up so much about the appointment this morning that I couldn’t get back to sleep” she added.

Iker smiled. “You had nothing to be worried about” he noted.

“I know that now” Riley replied, teasingly rolling her eyes.

Iker laughed gently. “I told you it would be fine” he played along.

Riley offered him a playful glare before she shook her head, gently tucking her hair behind her ear. “We have a lot of things to figure out” she murmured after a couple of seconds of quiet “I mean, I’m nearly twelve weeks, that’s the end of the first trimester. We’ve got to tell people before my bump becomes too noticeable. We’ve got to read baby books. We’ve got to start clearing out one of the spares bedrooms to make room for a nursery. And then there is the wedding...” she trailed off as Iker stood up slightly, leaning across the table so that he could steal a brief kiss.

Closing her eyes, she felt him peck her lips a couple of times before she heard him sat back down, something which caused her to smile sheepishly, her cheeks flushing a light shade of pink. “I was talking too much, wasn’t I?” she asked.

Iker shrugged. “I’m used to it” he replied.

Riley shook her head. “Sorry” she muttered “I just...There’s a lot to think about” she added.

Iker nodded. “And nearly seven months to think about it all” he noted “I mean, you do know that we don’t have to have everything figured out tonight, don’t you?” he asked, his voice caught between soft and playful.

He wasn’t surprised by it, after the way that she had reacted to finding out that she was pregnant, he knew that there was still a large part of her that was anxious about the pregnancy and how it would change things for them, but he wanted to reassure her. They had time, with her only being about ten weeks pregnant, they had plenty of time to think things through and get things ready ahead of the baby’s arrival, and he wanted Riley to know it. There was no pressure on them to have things figured out immediately.

Riley’s lips quirked upwards ever so slightly.

Iker reached across the table, his hand gently taking a hold of hers. “We’ve got a couple of weeks before you reach twelve weeks” he noted “And when you do, we’ll come up with some credible excuse for both of our parents to come out and visit, or we can go there. There’s international break coming up” he explained.

Riley, who was watching their hands, nodded her head. “We’ll go there” she replied “It’ll be less suspicious” she added.

Iker laughed gently. “Alright” he noted “As for the other things, we’ve got time to do it. You’re not giving birth for months yet, Ry. We’ve got plenty of time to do all of the preparation. Right now, all you need to worry about is providing the best home for the little boy or girl in there” he added, nodding towards her stomach.

Riley followed his nod, glancing down towards her stomach, before she lifted her head slightly, glancing at him through her eyelashes. “What about the wedding?” she asked quietly.

Iker sat back slightly in his seat, mulling the question over for a few moments, before he gently shrugged his shoulders. “We’ve not made a ton of plans” he noted “And I don’t think we really settled on a clear date, just next summer. It’d be really easy to postpone” he added.

Riley nodded her head slowly, something which made Iker tilt his head, his forehead furrowing slightly. “Was that the wrong thing to say?” he asked.

Riley shook her head quickly, a little too quickly. “No, you’re right” she noted “I mean, I’d have given birth a couple of months previous, but I don’t want to feel under pressure to lose the baby weight. Postponing it would be the best thing” she insisted.

“Then why do I feel like I just said the worst thing I could have said?” Iker countered.

Riley opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, trying to think of how to reply, before she limply shrugged her shoulders. “I guess...I guess I was kind of thinking that instead of pushing it back, we could maybe...you know what? It’s stupid. Postponing is the best thing” she insisted.

“Riley” Iker complained, a little irked that she couldn’t get the words out.

Riley sighed. “I don’t have much of a bump right now” she mumbled “And I thought maybe we...we could bring the date forwards, but it’s a silly idea. I know it is. We’ll put it off, wait until baby’s here. It’s for the best” she insisted.

Iker just stared at her, something which caused Riley to shift in her seat before she turned towards the stove, gesturing to the pot that still sat on top of it. “How long until the food is ready?” she asked.

Iker blinked, surprised by the question, before he shrugged. “Ten minutes or so” he noted.

Riley nodded, pushing herself back to her feet. “Enough time for me to go and get changed” she noted.

Iker opened his mouth to object, to try and steer the conversation back to the topic of their wedding, but Riley was quicker, padding out of the room before he had a chance to get another word out of his mouth. Watching her out of the room, he briefly contemplated following, before he shook his head, not quite sure what he would say to her if he did catch up to her. She had surprised him, and he didn’t quite know what to make of it.