Two weeks later....
AJ and Lynn had spent the whole day together on a boat ride with the other Brian, Emily, Nick, Howie, and Kevin. The rest of the guys were a little stunned when they saw Lynn again, but they showed her they didn't think any less of her. When AJ told them what happened with Lynn and the father of the baby, they were completely sympathetic.
"You know what I could use right now?" Lynn asked.
"And what would that be, Ms. Ortiz?" AJ replied.
"Ice cream," Lynn answered. "I want 'Cookies 'N Cream' really bad."
AJ looked at his watch. "It's almost midnight. There aren't any ice cream stores open."
"But there are twenty-four stores open that sell ice cream."
"Okay, if you really want it that bad...."
"I really want it that bad."
"Then let's go."
The two of them went into AJ's house to get their jackets. AJ grabbed the keys to one of the cars and they took off to the store. When they got there, there were a couple of other pregnant women with their husbands walking around getting something to eat. Lynn felt a little bad that AJ was the one with her and not Dwayne, but she quickly shook the feeling off. It wasn't her fault that Dwayne couldn't handle becoming a father. Then she looked at AJ, who was studying the different kinds of ice cream. Now here was a guy who went out of his way for her. And he still seemed as interested in her as he was the last time they were together. He even went with her to her doctor's appointments.
"Do you see what you want anywhere around?" AJ asked her, still looking at the ice cream.
"Yeah, it's up there," Lynn said, pointing to the top shelf.
AJ opened the glass door, reached up and grabbed the ice cream. "Alright, let's go."
"Oh, there's 'Strawberry Swirl' right there. That has real strawberries in it." Lynn opened the door and grabbed that one, too.
As they headed to the register, Lynn made a beeline toward the fruit section where there was a bunch of strawberries. She also got some peaches, nectarines, oranges, bananas, and cherries. It was almost one in the morning by the time they headed back to the car.
"I thought you just wanted ice cream," AJ said, as he put the bags in the backseat of the car.
"I did," Lynn said. "But that was before we got here. I saw all that fruit and thought I'd make a fruit salad when we get back and top it with some ice cream."
"Man, I swear you get hungry at the weirdest times of the day."
"You should've seen me the first couple of months. One time I ate eight pieces of chicken within eight hours."
AJ opened the passenger door for Lynn and waited for her to get in. "You are a vacuum, woman."
"And you like that, don't you?" Lynn blushed as soon as the words came out of her mouth. Luckily, it was dark enough so he couldn't see.
AJ was just as surprised at her comment as she was. He smiled flirtatiously. "You know it."
They stood still, just looking at each other, for a few moments. Then AJ leaned down and kissed her. It was just a short kiss, but they both felt like the embers of their attraction just burst into a wildfire. When AJ pulled away, he saw Lynn's eyes shining brightly as she looked up at him. Lynn smiled at him shyly, then got into the car.
AJ closed the door for her and ran to the driver side. He drove them home as quick as possible. They walked into Lynn's house quietly and went straight to the kitchen.
"I'm gonna go check to see if Em is home," Lynn said.
"Okay," AJ said putting the ice cream in the freezer.
Lynn walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving the kitchen. AJ watched her leave and smiled. Kiss number two, he thought happily. Finally, my work is paying off. Not that it's bad work. I love it. Lynn came back in and started making her fruit salad. AJ got to work on helping her cut up some of the fruit. Lynn put down her knife and went to grab some bowls for her and AJ. On her way back, she felt a sharp pain go through her, then another, and another. Lynn dropped the bowls and they shattered on the floor. AJ looked behind him to see Lynn holding her stomach.
"What is it, Lynn?" AJ said, rushing to her side. "What's wrong?"
"I think it's starting," Lynn said breathlessly.
"Well, come on, let's get you to the couch." AJ led her to the couch so she could sit down. "Sit down and I'll get your bag."
"You know where it's at?"
"Of course. The child care class instructor said to always know where that stuff is so you don't waste time looking for it."
On the way to Lynn's room, AJ saw Emily and Brian walking out of Emily's room.
"What are you doing here, Rok?" he asked.
"We were watching a movie in Em's room and we fell asleep," Brian explained. "What are you doing here?"
"Lynn and I were making fruit salad when she started going into labor," said AJ.
"Fruit salad at one in the morning?" Brian said. Then he realized what AJ just said. "Lynn's going into labor?"
"Yeah, she's in the living room," AJ told them. "Here are the keys to the car outside. Go help her to the car. I'm gonna get her bag."
"No, you guys go help her," Emily said. "I'll get her bag."
With all that settled, Brian and AJ helped Lynn to the car while Emily got Lynn's packed bag.