Chapter 31:

Sophia's POV:

I awake to find Jake's right arm under my waist, pulling me closer to him. He places his head on my belly, while stroking it at the same time with his left hand. He places several small, dry kisses around my belly button.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty!" he breaths lightly in my ear, making me shiver with pleasure. My smile widens slightly.

"Morning, baby!" He always wakes me up in the sweetest ways possible. As I lie peacefully on our bed, I feel his soft, delicate fingers running down my belly with feather like touches and his lips brush across my shoulder lightly, his breath making me tingle all over. I look down at him and lace my fingers through his before looking into his eyes. He gazes deeply into my eyes and at that moment, I could see the man he is inside. The man I am so deeply in love with, the man who is so sweet, kind, caring, understanding, talented and absolutely perfect. Words cannot describe how much I love him.

He buries his face in my neck, wraps his arms around me and kisses my cheek. His face leans closer to my lips. He smiles and tilts his head. Then, ever so softly, his lips kiss mine. He presses forward and his lips touch my lips again. Still captivated by his eyes, I turn just a bit to see his eyes better. His lips brush against mine with the softness of a feather. My lips tingle and my stomach flutters with excitement. Nothing exists but him at the moment.

My heart races and I stare at him with love on my face and in my eyes. Every kiss always makes me flutter with excitement, I love being in love. He chuckles at me and smiles. Those beautiful dimples melt my heart every time. He strokes my belly one last time and wraps both arms around me. I feel so protected and loved in his arms that I never want to leave.

"I love you," he whispers and I grin with happiness. My life is fulfilled. "How are you today?"

"Great and you?" I ask.

"Amazing, I'm so happy to be finishing school today, finally the holidays are here."

"I know, now I can stay in bed all day starting from tonight." Jake chuckles and lifts his body up, stretching his arms and rotating his head and neck.

"We better get ready," he notes, getting out of the bed and going over to my side of the bed. I lie up and place my feet on the floor. Jake takes my back and arms and pulls me up slowly. I thank him and we get ready for school. He guides me down the stairs and we sit down to have our breakfast.

"Finally, Summer time," Zach exclaims with joy, "Woo-hoo!" He throws his hands up to the air and shakes them wildly.

"Zach, can you get me some cold water? It's really warm," I request, waving a newspaper in my face to try to cool me down. The Summer heat is making my pregnancy even harder.

"Lazy-ass," Zach mumbles. Zoey hits him with a cloth and places a cold glass of water in front of me.

"There you go, sweetie, and shut up, Zach, she's just turned thirty five weeks, the heat is tough on her," Zoey reminds, running a hand down my swollen belly.

"Thank you, Zoey," I say, sticking my tongue out at Zach. "I'm going for a nap later," I yawn.

"You should go back to bed. You don't need to come in today, it's the last day of school," Jake proposes.

"I'll be fine, I'll have one as soon as I get home," I promise.

"I don't know, I think you should go to sleep, you look tired," Jake declares, stroking my cheek. "You and the babies need the rest."

"Honestly, I'll be fine, baby," I assure him.

"Okay, if you're sure. Are you all ready?" Jake questions Zach and I.

"Let's go!" James chimes in, entering the room and spinning his car keys on his finger. "I see Sleeping Beauty's awake." James kisses the top of my head and I give him a hug.

"Help me up while you're at it, James," I order.

"Yes, boss," James answers, chuckling lightly. He stands me up and Jake walks me to the car. We arrive at school and it finishes early because it's the last day. I meet up with Jake and all the others at the end but before they noticed me, I hear something odd and suspicious.

"Okay, so tomorrow, and don't tell her," Jake tells them quietly. I cough loudly and they see me.

"Don't tell me what?" I demand to know, waiting impatiently.

"What makes you think we were talking about you?" Liam asks sheepishly.

"Oh, come on, I know it's about me. Tell me," I command. No one says a word and I get even more annoyed. "Jake, you better tell me, you know how moody I get with these mood swings."

"It's nothing, darling," Jake denies, taking my hands and squeezing them.

"Nothing is always something. There's no point hiding something from me, I'll always find out what it is," I confide.

"It's a surprise," Alex cuts in.

"Alex! Why did you have to tell her that?" Austin mutters, glaring at him.

"Aw, a surprise, please tell me," I plead. I always need to find out what's going to happen, it irritates me when I don't know what's going to happen.

"No, now forget you ever heard anything," Brad instructs.

"But I can't do that now that I know there's a surprise," I complain.

"You'll have to wait and see," Jake says, then, kisses my nose. I pout and look at each and every one of them with sadness.

"Don't give us that look," Bennett dictates.

"You're not going to make us feel guilty," Danny remarks.

"Honey, you'll love it, don't ruin the surprise," Emily informs.

"Okay, I won't, I'm sorry, thanks, everyone," I smile and give them all a hug each.

"You'll be happy you kept it a surprise once you find out what it is," Cameron promises.

"Now, let's all go for that meal we arranged," Charlie suggests, taking Emily's hand.

"Oh, I forgot about that. I'm exhausted, so I think I'm just going to go home," I mention.

"Aw, but we'll have fun, it won't be the same without you," Avril confesses, rubbing my arm up and down.

"Thanks but I'm so tired, I'll just meet up with all of you tomorrow," I compromise.

"Oh yeah, you will," Danny chuckles and Bennett hits his arm violently. "Ow!" Danny murmurs, rubbing over his bruised arm.

"Um, okay," I say with confusion.

"Never mind them, honey," Jake interjects quickly.

"Okay then. Bye, everyone! Have a good dinner and fun time," I announce. They all kiss my cheek and hug me goodbye.

"And you have a good rest. Make sure she does, Jake," Jayden insists, giving me a warm smile.

"I will, bye!" Jake says, waving goodbye.

"Bye!" they all chorus. Jake and I get into James' car and he drives home. I go straight up to bed with Jake and we undress.

"You don't have to sleep as well," I state, fluffing up a pillow before laying my head on it.

"I want to lie next to you and watch you sleep," Jake admits, lying up on his elbow.

"Creep," I joke and he laughs. "Kidding, it's sweet. Goodnight, honey."

"Night, my perfect girl, have a lovely sleep," he whispers as he leans into my ear. He lowers his head and kisses my cheek before moving over to my mouth. He gives me a prolonged, passionate, gentle kiss on the lips. He cups my cheek, pulls in closer to me and my baby bump hits off his hard chest and belly. I bite his lower lip for entrance and he happily grants me it by opening it. Our tongues mingle with each other and Jake runs his hands down my body, stopping at my waist. The babies kick Jake's belly and he chuckles into the kiss while I giggle. "I think the babies want me to stop hogging their mommy," Jake beams and I nod with agreement.

He pulls the sheets off us and looks down at my exposed, protruding belly. Jake lays a hand on my belly and kisses it twice. They respond back by kicking his hand. He nuzzles his nose against my belly then rests his cheek against it. He emits a gasp when they kick his cheek and then smiles proudly. He tackles my belly with soft kisses and whispers sweet words to them.

"I'm going to miss this," Jake acknowledges softly. "You know what I love most about you?" He strokes my hair and I lean up by my elbow also and stare at him as I wait for his answer. "Everything." I giggle and peck him on the lips. He runs his hands over my belly and kisses it nonstop. "And Daddy loves you both too. He really does, more than anything, little babies." I beam with happiness as I watch my boyfriend caressing my belly so lovingly. In that moment, I wanted to bury my face in his neck, wrap my arms around him and never let him go. "I can't wait to kiss you both, hug you to my chest, give you cuddles every day, play with you, feed you, watch you say your first words, watch you take your first steps, read to you, lift you, give you piggy back rides, watch you grow up, teach you how to ride a bike, take you to the beach and park for the first time and so much more. I can't wait to show you how much I love you both."

The more he goes on talking to them, the more I feel like he forgets I am in the room too. I never knew I could fall in love with someone this much. I love him too much to ever want to let him go. He has given me the best life possible. I have a perfect and loving fiancé, two little babies, caring and amazing family and friends and a huge house to live in. I'm so grateful to be given all this and I know I'm scared and worried for the future but I know everything will be fine as long as I have all those people in my life. I was too caught up in my thoughts to notice Jake had stopped kissing and talking to the babies and was instead staring at me with concern.

"What's wrong, baby? You're staring at the ceiling, there's nothing on it."

"I'm just thinking."

"About?" He cups my cheek and begins to caress it, each touch causing a gently tingle to overcome my body.

"You," I confide, gazing into his eyes. I look down as he laces my fingers through his and I look back up into his deep, dark brown eyes. He has never looked so beautiful before. He looks better than handsome, he looks drop dead orgasmic. The way his hair flops, the twinkle in his eye, his smile that makes me smile also; everything about him is just perfect and since I'm pregnant, my hormones are all over the place, I get quite turned on very easily. He grins and rests his head against my belly again. I tangle my fingers in his messy hair which completes his perfect look and then ruffle it up.

"Guess what?" I furrow my eyebrows down at him. "I love you."

"I love you too," I laugh. I love how he always tells me he loves me regardless if he just said it a minute beforehand. The man I love was staring right back at me with such love in his eyes. He has completed my life; it would be nothing without him.

"Go asleep now, darling." I comply by closing my eyes. I feel him kiss my lips one last time before hugging me to him. I fall asleep in his arms and awake a few hours later. I flutter my eyes a few times to fully wake up and when I feel fully awake and active, I check the alarm clock beside me for the time. It's eight thirty P.M. which means I slept for four hours. That was a really long nap; this pregnancy is taking it out of me. I turn my head to check on my Jake, expecting him to be watching me but, surprisingly, I find him asleep beside me with his hand resting on my belly.

I take his hand off me slowly so I don't wake him up and hold onto the counter beside my bed to help me up. After standing up, I reach over the bed and kiss Jake's forehead. I go to my dressing closet and take out one of Jake's jersey shirts. I pull it over my head and belly. I like wearing Jake's shirts because I can smell him off it and Jake told me before he loves when I wear them because he finds it sexy. It only goes past my ass just barely because of my baby bump sticking out so I put some shorts on underneath. I leave my bedroom and hold onto the barrister as I walk down the stairs. I go to the sitting room because I see a light on. My Mum looks up at me and smiles; she's doing some business work.

"Sorry, Mum, I won't disturb you," I say, about to head back out the door.

"Don't be silly, come here, sweetie," she proffers, moving over on the couch for me.

"Thanks." I sit beside her and she wraps an arm around my side. I have to do this weird crouch thing now to sit down and it's really annoying.

"Lie back, honey, I want a cuddle." I rest my head on her lap and she strokes my belly. "You've gotten so big. Time has flown by."

"I know," I sigh. She plays with my hair and kisses my forehead.

"My little girl's all grown up. Where did the time go?" she muses.

"I don't know, Mum, I say it'll continue to go by quickly," I assume.

"I hope not, I want to cherish every moment with you, Jake and the twins."

"Mum, I'm scared," I disclose, holding onto her tightly.

"Of what, baby?" she inquiries, hugging me back.

"Well, firstly of giving birth because that seems so painful and then I'm also afraid of being a bad mother."

"Are you kidding me? You're going to be a wonderful mother, honey. You already are and we all believe you'll be the best mother ever. As for giving birth, it's not that bad, people make it out to be worse than it is."

"But my labour could be really long and sore."

"My first one was the worst; the other two weren't so bad."

"Mum! That's not helping, I'm having my first!"

"Yes but, honey, you'll be fine. Everyone woman's different. We'll all be beside you and supporting you, you're strong and I believe you'll get through it fine," she reassures, poking my nose.

"I'm not looking forward to it," I utter.

"Just keep thinking about the twins and that'll get you through it. Jake had a chat with me too about being scared about the exact same things."

"I can understand why he'd be afraid of being a dad but why would he be nervous about the labour?"

"Because he doesn't want to see you in pain," she explains, "He loves you as much as it's possible, Soph, and he is dreading seeing you go through something that hurts you. He wants to take all the pain away from you and make him endure it instead."

"He's such a worry-guts."

"As are you, you're perfect for each other." I smirk at her and sit up.

"Should I say something to him and bring it up?"

"Well, as much as I tried to tell him you'd be fine, he was still worried. So, I would bring it up and make sure he knows you'll be fine and you don't mind. He got really upset; it took a while to cheer him up. Tell him that when he sees you go through it to not be scared or upset. As long as he knows everything will be okay, he'll be fine," she advises. I had no idea Jake was having thoughts like this. I don't want him getting upset at the thought of me going through pain.

"You should have told me, Mum," I point out.

"I know but he said not to tell you because he doesn't want to worry you. He knows you worry as much as he does."

"He's worse and he knows it."

"Be that as it may, you're still a pretty bad worrier. When the babies arrive, I don't want you to be worrying anymore, it affects your health and I'm concerned for you, honey, I don't want stress to overcome your life."

"I won't let it." Zach and James enter the room, pause to look at Mum and I and then sit down beside me.

"Is someone in trouble?" James sneers, tickling my sides. I laugh and slap his hands away.

"No, we're just having mother-daughter bonding time," Mum replies.

"You never have bonding time with me, Mum," Zach comments.

"We went to the cinema yesterday, Zach," she recalls.

"She loves Sophia more than me," Zach jests with a fake pout.

"Zach, you know I love you all equally, I have no favourites and I don't love one of you more than the others," she objects.

"If you did have favourites though, it would be Sophia," Zach says.

"No, it wouldn't be anyone because I'll never have favourites, now, shush for once, Zach," she interrupts, getting back to her business papers. I mumble as I try get into a comfortable position, this extra weight is making it difficult.

"Do you want us to get off so you can have more space, Soph?" James proffers.

"No, thanks, I feel tired again, do you mind if I rest my head against you?"

"Of course you can, there's no need to ask." I smile and place my head on his chest. He wraps his arms around me for warmth and I close my eyes to rest them for a bit. Unexpectedly, I wake back up in my bedroom the next morning. I didn't mean to fall asleep; I just wanted a little relaxation and rest.

"You never told me you got back up," Jake observes from the other side of the bed, fully dressed. He's wearing something a bit formal which is odd, since we're just staying at home for the next five weeks.

"I didn't want to wake up, you looked peaceful."

"I woke up about an hour ago, I had a long sleep and so did you. You needed it; you should have longer sleeps like that from now on."

"I'm turning into a slob," I grumble and he grins at me.

"You're not, Soph, you're just pregnant."

"I've never experienced fatigue this bad before."

"Hopefully you won't have to for long."

"But now I feel quite energised, well, as energised a pregnant woman can get."

"We have to get going now; it's really late in the day." I check the alarm clock beside me and I almost have a heart attack when I see the time. It's 1:37 P.M!

"Jakey, you should have woke me up!"

"I couldn't, you needed your sleep. The surprise is on in less than an hour, so we should really get ready about now."

"Please tell me the surprise," I beg, giving him my puppy dog eyes that I know he can't resist.

"Ah-ah, you're not playing that trick on me," Jake chortles, covering his eyes. I lean over to him and kiss him while he can't see and he kisses back. "Thank you."

"For what, Jakey?"

"For being you and giving me everything I could ever hope for in life." If he keeps this up, I'll be in tears soon. "I was a player which I regret so much, but I have you to thank for making me a better man, I love you, darling."

"I love you too, Jakey, you'll never know how important you are to me."

"I do, because you're just as important to me, probably even more than I am to you. Without you, I'm nothing, sweetie, you're my rock." A move from our babies makes me take his hand and hold it to my baby bump.

"Guess who's moving again?" He smiles and kisses me passionately. "They adore their Daddy's touch."

"And I adore touching them, it's magical, I love this whole experience," he adds, caressing our babies. He leans over me and whispers loving words into my ear before biting at the sensitive spot behind my ear. I prevent myself from moaning by biting my lips and Jake leans over me. "I see you're wearing my shirt, you look very sexy, baby."

"Thank you, as do you," I say softly and seductively, pulling him by the shirt to my lips as he leans on all fours on top of me. One hand goes down to my shorts and the other starts to remove his shirt from me.

"Jake, you better wake Sophia up now," Zach calls, opening up the door after knocking on it quickly. "EW!" Jake gets off me and I pull my shirt down that was only showing my belly so far, thank God for that.

"Zach! Knock first!" I growl.

"I did!" Zach retorts.

"Yeah but you didn't wait for us to say if you could come in, instead you barged in here like it was your room!" I snarl and look over at Jake who is sheepishly looking at the floor.