"She threatened you, didn't she?" I deadpan once we leave Mama Maria's diner. It doesn't take a genius to know what she meant when she asked to talk to Blake privately.

"Not at all." Blake denies, averting his gaze from mine. Liar. "It's not a threat when I don't intend on doing the forbidden."

"And that is?"

"Hurting you." Blake pulls me into his side, pressing a firm kiss on the top of my head. "I would never do that, but I understand why they feel the need to ensure I treat you right."

"They?! – I exclaim before sighing, exasperated – Let me guess, the guys did the same thing while you were here." I roll my eyes, making a mental note to give the guys an earful. How dare they antagonize my boyfriend!

"It's fine kitten. If a few threats are all it takes for them to accept me, then I'd listen to them all day." Blake assures. We walk aimlessly along the streets of Chicago, with me occasionally showing Blake my favorite places.

The rest of the week in Chicago is spent mostly sightseeing, meeting with my family, visiting few interesting spots, and spending time with my dad and Mama Maria.

Today's Sunday and we're getting ready for our flight to Atlantic City. We'll meet our friends at the airport here and go together to Long Beach Island.

"What time is your flight?" Dad asks from the doorway, watching me and Blake pack with a sad smile. He woke up earlier just to drive us to the airport.

"We still have about 4 hours." I answer, carefully folding my clothes and placing them in the suitcase. I actually bought a few things during our stay here, causing Blake to tease me, but it didn't last, cause I denied him 'fun in the bathtub' as punishment. He whined like a baby, going as far as begging, but I was inconsolable. I specifically didn't take a lot of clothes with me, planning to buy some here, and he made fun of me. Cheeky Cakey.

"The guys and Layla have already left. They'll be here in over an hour." Blake informs, checking his phone.

"Okay, so maybe we'll be able to eat some breakfast." I grin pointedly at my dad, who chuckles in amusement before leaving.

"Did we take everything?" I turn to Blake, glancing around the room to see if I didn't leave anything behind.

"Yeah, I think so." He sighs quietly, setting our baggage in the hallway, before taking my hand and leading me to the kitchen. "Come on, kitten, we got everything, I'm sure of it." He teases when I stop to look back to check the room again.

"Okay, okay." I give up.

"LIA!!!" Layla crushes into me, hugging me tightly. "I missed you!" She exclaims, making the guys laugh behind her.

"Hey guys." I greet everyone, unable to get out of Layla's tight hold. "Hi Squirrel." I quietly greet my affectionate friend.

"Layla, can I get my girl back, please?" Blake teases, getting a firm 'no' in response as Layla squeezes me tighter.

"Our flight leaves in an hour, so we can get some coffee. How was your visit at your father-in-law's?" Nathan laughs as we walk towards a café.

"And what's with the beard?!" Tyler booms with laughter, pointing at Blake's face. During his training with dad, Blake grew out a short beard. And I love it, he looks so mature with it. And so HOT! If he ever shaves it off, he'll sleep on a couch.

Blake absentmindedly strokes his chin - a gesture I noticed became a habit over the summer - before shrugging indifferently. "It just grew out. And my girl likes it, so..." He finishes with a knowing smirk, aware of my fondness of his new look.

"Whipped." Tyler taunts, covering it up with a fake cough.

"I am going to tease you to death when you finally find someone. I swear to god. Just you wait you little rat." I warn him playfully.

Blake

We stay in the café until it's time to board the plane, just talking and drinking coffee. I use this free moment to confirm my reservation of the two SUVs Lia and I rented for the next two weeks. She's arranged for them to be waiting at the house we'll be staying at, and the keys will be in the mailbox. To the said house we'll go by bus, also rented specifically for this occasion.

Since the guys and I are pretty tall, we booked tickets in the first class, for comfort. Lia also got Layla's ticket, aware of her financial situation. Layla is not exactly rich, so Lia, being the amazing friend she is, made sure all the expenses are covered for the whole two weeks. Of course, I pitched in, but it didn't do much, cause Lia had already taken care of most of it when I found out about it.

The flight lasts for over 6 hours, so we decide to take a nap. I sit sideways on the double seat, with Lia curled up around me, laying her head on my chest. I cover her with my jacket – thank god I thought about taking it with me – And lean my back against the window and fall asleep.

We wake up few hours later, only to see we still have almost 2 hours to reach our destination, so we snuggle into each other and listen to some music from Lia's phone. We got a headphone splitter just for this.

As the sound of Sixx:A.M. fills our ears, we admire the beautiful scenery through the window. I rub Lia's shoulder, keeping her pressed into my side. My girl has one of her legs thrown over mine and draws some unintelligible patterns over my stomach under the shirt.

Few hours later we're finally at the house. Our two SUVs are not here yet, so I decide to check up on that. While I talk to the coordinator from the rental company, the guys take the baggage to the respective rooms, while the girls check the house out .

"What about our cars?" Lia hugs me from behind as I hang up, staring out the window. We have a really nice view of the beach from here and I can't wait to take Lia for a swim. The image of her in a swimsuit makes me hard like a nail and it's pure torture to be unable to touch her as much as I want, mainly because of our friends being here.

"There's a little delay. One of the drivers had a crash on the way here, so they're arranging another vehicle. They'll be here in 2-3 hours."

Lia presses a kiss to my back then leans her cheek against it. "Okay. Layla and I found a nice place around here, so we could go for dinner. We can't exactly go grocery shopping without a car."

"What does my kitten want to eat?" I take her small hands that are wrapped around my waist and pull them to my lips to leave kisses on her palms.

"Nothing. My stomach's not feeling well, so I'll probably get some smoothie and that's it. I don't really have an appetite." I turn around and cup my kitten's face gently before pressing my forehead against hers.

"You're not warm. How long have you been feeling sick?" I worriedly ask. Why didn't she tell me earlier?

"It's fine. It's probably some bug. I felt a little nauseous since the flight, but I'm feeling better now." She assures, pressing a kiss to my chest. "Don't worry."

"How can I not worry about you?" I quietly mumble into her hair, keeping her pressed to my chest.

"How about we go freshen up before leaving?" Lia suggests with a heavy look. This woman will be the death of me.

"Okay." I agree.

"Okay." With that she takes her arms off me, but before she can pull away completely, I grab her hand and lead her to our room. While the guys and Layla are going to occupy the bedrooms upstairs, Layla getting a single room obviously, my girl and I get the master bedroom downstairs with an en suite bathroom and a big terrace facing the beach.

Once we're both showered and ready, we meet our friends in front of the house before walking to the place the girls found. It's a busy little bistro, but we somehow manage to find a table big enough for all of us.

While we order, Lia leaves to go down the road to get her smoothie.

About 20 minutes later, she comes back.

But she's not alone.

I scowl at the sight of three guys walking in behind her as she heads straight to me. My kitten wordlessly sits down on my lap, leaning her side against me. She's actually quite pale, making me worried. I think she's getting worse.

"You damn tease, you could've told us you have someone waiting for you. I'm guessing you're her brother, huh? Mind if we borrow her for a while?" One of the fuckers asks with a lewd smirk. He's got balls, I'll give him that.

Lia sighs in annoyance before turning to the three fuckboys with a hard glare. "Are you fucking blind or stupid? I've been ignoring you the whole damn time! What could've possibly given you the idea that I'm even remotely interested in talking to you or engaging in any other activities with you?!" She puts sarcastic emphasis on 'activity' making me look at her questioningly.

"They hit on you?" I demand before sending a nasty glare the fuckers' way.

"Does spilling my smoothie, following me all the way here, giving perverted remarks about my supposed 'mouth skills' count as hitting on me?" Lia questions with a cute inquisitive frown.

"Yeah, it does." I deadpan.

"Then yes." Lia leans back against me, looking tired.

"You should fucking leave while you still can." Will harshly warns the three fuckboys, while everyone at our table glares at them. The fuckers seem to understand they wouldn't stand a chance against all of us, so they retreat.

"Fucking bitch." I catch one of them mutter and if it weren't for my girl in my lap, I would fucking beat him up.

"What's wrong, Lia?" Tyler must've noticed how pale Lia's face is, as he stares at her worriedly.

"It's nothing, I'm just feeling a little sick." Lia shrugs offhandedly.

"Lia's got some stomach bug, that's why she didn't want to eat." I add, pressing a kiss on my kitten's head.

For some reason, the news of Lia being sick makes the guys grin widely as they exchange strange looks.

"Yeah... sick... I think we all know what 'bug' she caught." Ty teases, looking at Lia's stomach pointedly and gesturing a pregnant belly with his hands.

No way!!! I place my hand on my girl's stomach. But she's on birth control!

It can't be!

Right?