Arabella walked down the stairs, pulling her hair up into a messy bun. As soon as she got to the bottom of the stairs, the dogs started running around her legs and Piggy sat back with a piggy grin on her face. She had just gotten out of the shower and she really felt like cleaning the kitchen. With the wedding only a week away, she was starting to feel a lot of stress and when she was stressed like that, she cleaned. As Arabella bent down to get all of her cleaning supplies out from under the sink, she wondered if Hunter would be home from work soon. She wanted to talk to him about a few things and ontop of that, she missed him during the day.
"Okay. See you, Jodie." Hunter waved as another student left. Hunter finally fell back into a chair and took a deep breath. He looked around and saw Tyler and Gwen talking in the corner. Hunter sighed a little and thought about it. He still didn't know what it was that was bothering Tyler. He would barely even look at him anymore and he stopped talking to Arabella. Hunter finally stood and ran his fingers through his hair. He yawned a little and started to pack up of stuff. He wanted to get home and see Arabella. They had tried for a child again a few times, but had no luck. They tried last night and Hunter didn't know what the result was yet. Hunter stretched a little then shouldered his bags and walked out to his car. He got in and started his drive back. He was a little nervous, but he was excited. Seeing Arabella always made his day better no matter how long it felt.
After she finished scrubbing the counter and the backsplash, sweeping and mopping, scrubbing the sink and polishing the stainless appliances, Arabella knelt down on the floor so that she could really scrub at the cupboard doors and handles. With a little yip, Jolie ran over to Arabella and she jumped up, putting her paws on Arabella's side. She smiled a little and scratched under her chin. Arabella nudged Jolie away a little bit so that she could go back to cleaning. At that moment, she heard the front door open and her heart skipped, knowing that Hunter was home.
Hunter sighed a little as he stepped onto the porch, a bag slung over his shoulder. He was about to open the door when it swung open and Arabella threw her arms around his neck. Hunter smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He was so glad to see her and being welcomed home in such a way made him feel so much more loved. He kissed her hair and then waddled inside, closing the door with his foot. "Hey, sweetheart." Hunter said with a grin as Piggy, Ajax, and Jolie came by to welcome him home as well. "It feels good to be home." Hunter said , kissing her forehead.
"It's good to have you home" Arabella sighed, letting herself melt into his arms and the tension that she was feeling wash away. "I missed you today" She added in a soft tone and she closed her eyes, her arms dropping from his neck and slipping around his middle, holding herself as close to him as possible. "Did you have a good day?" She asked him and she turned her head a little to look up at him.
Hunter took a deep breath. "Yeah. It was good enough. I think that the kids are trying to run me into the ground since they know I'm getting married." Hunter said with a laugh as he leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, letting their lips touch again. "It was good though. And it's not done, yet." Hunter smiled again and pulled away to hanging his bag on the back of a kitchen chair. He paused and glanced around. "Wait a minute...You cleaned. What's wrong?"
Arabella let out a sigh and she looked around the kitchen, placing her hand on her forhead for a moment. She looked over at Hunter and she let her hand drop to her side. "There's just a lot going on with the wedding and everything and I..." She told him and she looked down at Jolie, who had sat on Arabella's foot. "I took another pregnancy test today, just to be sure, you know? And it.." She started then cleared her throat, not really sure how to go on so she just shook her head instead. Arabella didn't understand why it was taking so long for them. They were both young and healthy. It just didn't make any sense.
Hunter sighed a little then smiled a little. "It's okay, honey bunch." Hunter said, leaning against the counter and grabbing the sleeve of her sweater. He pulled her over to him and held her between his legs, placing his hands on waist. "Ellie, don't worry about it. You said it yourself. We'll just keep trying. It's not like it's something difficult to do. And if push comes to shove we have our honeymoon to keep trying." Hunter said with a grin as he pulled her closer. "The wedding is fine and you did a great job on the kitchen. Thank you, baby." Hunter said, placing a kiss on her nose.
Arabella smiled a little bit when he kissed her nose and she placed her hands on his arms. "Thanks" She said softly and she leaned into him a little bit. "Maybe it's just stress over the wedding. Once everything is done and we can relax, maybe it'll happen a bit easier" She said, trying to sound as confident as possible. Arabella pulled away just a little bit so that she could look at him. "It'll happen. It has to happen." She said and she nodded.
Hunter sighed and pulled her back, placing a hand on her cheek. "Ellie, listen. The wedding is going to happen perfectly. Everyone is going to cry at how beautiful you are in your wedding dress. We're going to have a lovely reception. We're going to drink a little bit then be on the next flight out to Greece where we will be having the best 2 weeks of our lives and if we get pregnant during that time then so be it. If not then we wait until we're home and try again. And we keep trying and trying until we are just having so much fun that we barely even see the outside world anymore and we have to get even more books to go through because the other one will be used up." Hunter shook her a little and then pulled her in for a kiss on the lips, letting his lips fit perfectly against hers, pouring all of his passion into one kiss.
Arabella closed her eyes, letting herself melt into the kiss and into Hunter. She smiled a little bit and she nodded softly. "You always know just what to say and do, Hunter" She said softly and she pulled away a little bit, brushing her thumb across her lips. Arabella smiled a little bit and she placed her hands on either side of his face. "Let's not worry about this tonight. Let's just...go for a walk or spend a night on the couch with the dogs or we could go up to the tub" She said and she winked at him.
Hunter smiled and raised an eyebrow, brushing his lips against her skin. "Well, why can't we do all of that?" Hunter said with a smile as he ran his fingers through her hair. Hunter glanced at his watch and then placed a kiss on her forehead. "It is 5:30, however and we are going to have dinner. I am going to make it and you are going to pick out a movie for us and make some tea and make cookies and do all the other stuff that you want to prepare to relax." Hunter kissed her, humming a little and pulling her closer. He smiled against her lips and leaned into her running his hands down to her butt then giving it a squeeze.
With a small smile against his lips, Arabella placed her hands on his shoulder and she kissed him tightly before she pulled away a tiny bit. "That sounds like an amazing night" She said softly and she grazed her lips against his jaw. She felt something bump up against her ankle and she looked down to see Piggy looking up at her with big eyes. Arabella laughed softly and she bent down to pick him up. "I think that Piggy is feeling a little left out" She said with a small giggle.
Hunter sighed a little. "Well, Piggy should feel a little left out. We might be eating a relative of his tonight." Hunter said, reaching into the fridge and pulling out the bacon and everything else he might need for dinner. He walked over to Arabella and then bent over to kiss her lightly on the forehead. He then looked at Piggy and smiled a little, scratching under his chin a little. "I love you, Piggy, but I love bacon more."
Arabella looked at Piggy and she wrinkled her nose. As soon as she did that, Piggy wrinkled his nose too. "Yeah, maybe you should hang out in the living room for now, buddy" She said with a small nod and she put him down on the ground. He pressed her nose against her leg in a piggy kiss before he trotted off to join Jolie and Ajax in the living room. Arabella giggled a little bit and she walked over to Hunter. "What are you making?"
Hunter quickly turned on a pan and started on mashed potatoes before adding a few other pans to the stove, He turned them on and quickly prepared everything a little. Hunter grabbed Arabella and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Bacon-wrapped stick and mashed potatoes." Hunter said with a smile. "Does that sound okay?"
"As in..the first meal that you ever made for me?" Arabella asked and she grinned, nodding. "That sounds amazing" She said softly and she leaned into him, kissing him tightly. She ran a hand down his arm then pulled away a little bit. "See, I do remember these things" She teased with a huff and she walked over to the kettle, filling it up and plugging it in to boil some water. Arabella reached into the cupboards and pulled out a box of mint Oreo's and she quickly opened it up, eating one.
Hunter grabbed a couple of Oreo's and twisted them open. He ate half and left the frosting side on the counter next to Arabella. He started to cook the steak and brushed some of the sauce onto it when he realized Arabella was glaring at him. Hunter looked over and raised an eyebrow. "What? I only like the cookie part." He said with a little chuckle. She quickly licked all the frosting off of them and then handed the cookie to Hunter who ate it. "See?" Hunter said, sidling up next to her. "That's proof that we're meant to be." Hunter said, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "A sign from the gods themselves!"
Arabella laughed a little bit and she took another cookie, opening it up and passing the part without the frosting to him. "We are like two peas in a pod" She said with a little giggle and she stood up on her toes, pressing her lips against his in a playful kiss. "I think that you might just be the only person that I have ever met who doesn't like the frosting part" She said before she licked the frosting off of the cookie, getting as much as she could then offered the cookie part to Hunter.
"Well, let's think about it." Hunter grabbed an Oreo and split it. "If you were having a salad. You have the vegetables and then you have the dressing." Hunter handed her the frosting side. "Now the frosting is the dressing. The cookie is the vegetables. Now, who do you give more credit? The guy who spends months growing the vegetables or the person who takes 30 minutes to make the dressing?" Hunter raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. "As an honor to the people who make the cookies, I only like the cookie part."
"You are such a thoughtful guy" Arabella teased and she placed a gentle kiss against his lips. She reached over when the kettle went off and she poured the hot water into a teapot. "I wonder if I can find Oreo cookies without the frosting in the middle..." She said, her voice trailing off a little bit. Arabella looked up at him and smiled.
Hunter turned around and quickly flipped the steaks. "Well, you like the frosting though. If we just never eat Oreo's alone then we'll be fine." Hunter said, leaning over and kissing her lightly on the cheek. Hunter pulled the mashed potatoes out and started mashing them, keeping an eye on the steaks. Hunter stopped and smiled a little, grabbing Arabella's hand and then spinning her in so her back was to him. He put his arms on hers and then started mashing the potatoes again. "You're a natural." Hunter said, kissing her gently on the ear lobe.
Arabella leaned back into bit and she bit her bottom lip, smiling a little bit. She loved cooking with Hunter, even if she didn't really do too much. It felt so grown up and so much more serious than ordering Thai food. Arabella was so happy to be living with him and making food with him. It felt pretty fantastic. "How do you know when the steaks are done?" She asked him in a curious voice, keeping her eyes on the potatoes.
Hunter waited until Arabella had a good rhythm with the potatoes, then pulled away. "Well, the steaks are a little tricky. I mean, after a while you can kind of tell just by pressing on it, but the only surefire way," Hunter said before taking his spatula and cutting it in half a little. "Is to check the inside." He bent it and it revealed the perfectly cooked rare steak. He grabbed a plate and then slid the steak onto the plate then pressed on the other steak, getting it to just medium rare. "Alright. Steaks are done." Hunter said with a smile as he handed her the rare one. "You like your steak rare, right?"
Arabella grinned at him and she nodded. "Yeah, I do" She said and she kissed him tightly. It was little things like that that made Arabella's heart skip a beat. The fact that he remembered how she liked her steak meant more to her than it probably would to most people. But after all of the terrible boyfriends that Arabella had, every little nice thing that Hunter did felt so much more special. Arabella finished mashing the potatoes and she took a step back so that Hunter could do any little touches or anything that he wanted to do before they went to the living room to eat.
Hunter smiled and grabbed some milk. He splashed some into the potatoes and then stirred it, adding in some other ingredients. He finished and then scooped some onto his plate and some onto her plate. "There you go." Hunter said with a smile. "Did you pick up a movie?" Hunter said grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge.
Arabella shook her head and she shrugged a little bit. "I'm sure that we'll find something...I have so many DVDs, it's crazy" She said with a little roll of her eyes. She walked over to the living room and she put her plate down on the coffee table. Piggy was sleeping on the couch, stretched out so much, he was taking up much more space than a pig his size should. Arabella gave him a little nudge and he didn't move, so she picked him up and plopped him down on the arm chair. Piggy grunted but just kept on sleeping. Arabella laughed a little and sat down on the couch, folding her legs under her.
Hunter smiled and set his plate down on the table and grabbed a random movie. Hunter grabbed the remote then sat down next to Arabella, putting an arm around her. "Let's see what movie we got this time." Hunter said, hitting play then grabbing his food again. Hunter took a bite of potatoes and smiled. "Ellie, you make wonderful potatoes." He said, kissing her cheek and leaning into her a little.
"Oh, thanks..I worked really hard on them" Arabella said with a little giggle and she took a bite of the steak. "This is the best steak ever made, just so you know" She told him with a little nod and and she turned towards the TV. She gasped a little out of happiness when she saw the DVD menu pop up. ''I am so happy that you picked out Dirty Dancing" She said with a little giggle and she pressed play happily.
Hunter raised an eyebrow. "Dirty Dancing." He said with a small nod as he leaned back into the couch. He ate a piece of steak and sighed a little, adjusting in the seat. Hunter quickly finished the rest of his food and took a sip of water before wrapping his arms around her. "I love you." Hunter muttered into her ear.
Arabella smiled and she closed her eyes, leaning into him and she put a hand on his arm. "I love you" Arabella breathed and she opened her eyes, turning her head to look at him. "So much more than I would ever be able to say" She added and she kissed him tightly, leaning into him.
Hunter pulled her back and leaned back onto the couch, letting her lay on top of him. She snuggled into him and put her head down on his chest, turning toward the movie. Hunter gently ran his fingers through her hair and tickled around her neck causing her to giggle softly as the movie played. Hunter took a deep breath and carefully ran his nails down her back, barely grazing her with his fingers.
Arabella watched the movie for a little while but she ended up slowly closing her eyes as Hunter ran his fingers down her back. It felt so good and it was relaxing and it was perfect. "You know.." Arabella whispered, a small smile spreading across her lips. "If you keep doing that, I'm going to fall asleep"
Hunter smiled and brushed the hair out of her face. "Well, feel free. You did talk about going for a walk earlier." Hunter said softly, placing a kiss on her hair. "You also said something about-" Hunter stopped when he felt a nose against his shoulder. He looked over and saw Ajax and Jolie sniffing around. "You also said something about spending a night on the couch with the dogs." She looked up at him and Hunter leaned down to kiss her lightly on the lips. "It's up to you, darling."
Arabella smiled softly and she gave him a small kiss. She turned her head and looked over at the dogs. Jolie was walking around quickly then she turned and trotted over to Ajax, her tail wagging like crazy. Arabella giggled and turned to Hunter. "What time is it? We could take the dogs for a walk and then spend the rest of the night on the couch with the dogs, if they're not all wet and gross from the snow.."
"Well, there was also mention spending some time in the tub." Hunter said quietly, running his hand across her cheek. He carefully sat up and wrapped his arms around her. "So which do you want to do? Put clothes on or take clothes off?" He laughed a little and placed a kiss on her shoulder.
"Well, I think that you know how much I like the whole..'taking clothes off' thing" Arabella said with laugh and she slipped her arms around his middle. She stretched up a tiny bit and she kissed him before resting her head on his shoulder. Arabella yawned then giggled a little bit. "Maybe the tub would be best"
Hunter laughed a little and ran his fingers down her back. "Ellie, Come on." Hunter said with a little laugh as he grabbed her and lifted her up. He headed up the stairs and into the bathroom where he set her down on the edge and then pulled off his shirt. "Alright. Go ahead and undress. I won't peek." Hunter said as he knelt down and turned on the jacuzzi before blatantly looking at her, seeing if she was undressing.
Arabella wolf whistled when he took off his shirt and she burst out into giggles when he looked down at her. Still laughing a little bit to herself, she pulled her legs out of the empty tub and she started to fill it up with water. Arabella then pushed herself off of the floor and she grabbed a small bottle and she walked back to the tub. She sat back down by the edge and she slowly added a few drops of the bath oil. Right away, the whole bathroom started to smell like the oil and Arabella took a happy deep breath.
Hunter smiled and moved behind her, sliding his arms around her waist. With one hand he pulled her shirt off then ran his fingers along her stomach, caressing her soft skin. "You're such a beautiful fiancee." Hunter said with a grin as he started placing kisses on her shoulder. She giggled and shifted a little in his arms and Hunter moved his hands up and down her stomach. He felt her lean back into him when he looked down and noticed the tub was finally full.
Arabella turned the water off and she straightened up again, turning around in Hunter's arms to face him. She smiled up at him and she kissed him lightly. With a little giggle, Arabella turned around so her back was to him and she quickly slipped out of her clothes then slid down into the water. "You better hurry up, the waters going to get cold" She teased, not turning around to look at him.
Hunter quickly took off his clothes while she wasn't looking then slipped inside right behind her, sitting down next to her. He immediately slipped his arm around her and held her close. "Well, maybe we should keep it warm then." Hunter said with a small laugh as he traced kisses up her shoulder and neck to her cheek. "This was a good choice." Hunter said, putting his head down on hers gently and closing his eyes.
Arabella smiled and she rested her hand on his arm. "Yes, it was" She whispered. She took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes, leaning into Hunter. "Can you believe that we're actually getting married in a week?" She asked him in a soft voice. It still felt so surreal. It felt like it was out of someone elses life and the rug was going to be pulled out from under her at any moment.
Hunter placed a hand on her stomach a moment before pinching her a little. "It's not a dream, beautiful." Hunter said with a smile, rubbing her arm a little. "I will tell you that everything looks perfect. We did a good job." Hunter said with a smile as he kissed her temple. "I'm more worried about the bachelor party that Kyle is saying he's going to throw for me though." Hunter laughed a little and then leaned back in the tub a little.
Arabella laughed and she turned her head a little to look at him. "I hope that the stripper he gets for you is really hot and she doesn't look like...dirty" She said with a little giggle and she placed a kiss against his jaw. In all honesty, she was a little nervous about the whole bachelor and bachelorette parties. Arabella didn't know what Hunter's party was going to be like but she knew that Daniel was going to throw a very crazy party for her and she was worried about how Hunter would feel about that.
Hunter laughed a little nervously and took a deep breath. "Well, I told Kyle and Will no strippers, but we'll see how much they listen. I think we're just going to go to a casino and spend the night or something. Do some gambling. More than likely one of us will end up drunk." Hunter shrugged. "Is it bad that I kind of just want to spend the night with you?" Hunter said with a smile.
Arabella smiled a little bit and she shrugged. "I don't think so. Will and Kyle might hate you for it, though" She said with a little giggle and she looked up at him with big eyes. "I trust you, Hunter. I know that you're not going to do anything stupid, so...just have fun, okay? I'm sure that they have a really awesome night for you and I just want you to enjoy it"
Hunter smiled and pulled her legs onto his lap. "I'll enjoy it." Hunter said with a grin. "That is, as long as you enjoy yours. I know Danny is planning it and that more than likely will mean one or more strippers and a lot of alcohol. You've been kind of cooped up in this house and surely you miss just having fun, so please. Go out. Get drunk. Go wild. Just don't...I don't know. Forget to show up to the wedding or something." Hunter said with a smile. "I'm pretty sure at the end of the night I'll end up taking care of one of either Will or Kyle. Will also said that Penny was going to be at the party as well, so it'll be nice to see her."
Arabella laughed a little bit and she put her hand ontop of Hunter's hand and she took a small breath. ''I promise that I won't forget to show up to the wedding" She said and nodded once then rested her head on his shoulder. "I can't wait to go to Greece" she said with a sigh and she closed her eyes. "It's going to be the best honeymoon ever"
Hunter smiled and ran his fingers up and down her legs. "I'm just excited to leave the country. Or get on a plane. Or see an airport." Hunter cleared his throat, feeling a little embarrassed. "I'm very excited for our honeymoon though and you know why?" Arabella giggled a little and put her hands on his neck. "It's because that means you'll finally be Mrs. Hunter Reed." Hunter said with a smile as he pulled her in for a gentle kiss on the lips.
"And you'll be Mr. Arabella Foster" Arabella giggled and she pulled herself closer to Hunter, kissing him gently. She brushed her lips against his then trailed kisses down his chin, down his neck and across his shoulder. She placed a few gentle kisses against his skin then rested her forhead on his shoulder. "This is so perfect" She breathed.
"I couldn't ask for anything else." Hunter said with a smile. He pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him and he carefully put an arm under her. He picked her up and stood, carefully stepping out of the tub and then walking into the bedroom. He could feel her, snuggling into him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I think it's time for bed, sweetheart." Hunter said, gently bending down and placing her in bed, then quickly getting into bed next to her.
Arabella rolled over so that she was on her side, facing Hunter. She moved over so that she could be as close to him as possible. She didn't want to be away from him. When she wasn't with him, she felt cold and vulnerable but being by side made her feel warm and safe and complete. Arabella didn't care that they weren't wearing any clothes or that they were getting the blankets wet, she just wanted to be with Hunter. She took a deep breath and she placed her hand on his chest, grazing her fingers down his skin and tracing the lines of every muscle.
Hunter carefully brushed the hair out of her face and let her arm rest across his middle. She traced his muscles gently with her fingers and then snuggled into him, resting her face on his chest. Hunter softly ran his fingers through her hair then left a kiss on the top of her head. "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Hunter asked quietly as he closed his eyes and smiled when she placed a kiss on his chest.
Arabella shrugged and she brushed her lips across his chest, running her fingers down his abdomen, pressing her fingertips into his skin lightly. "Do you have to work tomorrow?" she breathed, hoping that he would say that he didn't. Arabella liked the fact that he was working and she was glad that he was doing something and working on his archery again. But she did really enjoy his days off, when they didn't have to do anything but enjoy each other's company.
Hunter lifted her head up and kissed her gently on the lips. "I have to work for an hour. I have two lessons and then I'm right back here. And then I have the day off. And then I have another day off. And then we're getting married." Hunter said with a smile as he ran his fingers up and down her arm.
"That sounds pretty perfect" Arabella said softly and she looked up at him, her eyes locking with his. She smiled a little bit and she ran her fingers along his jaw. "Well, since you're only working for an hour, we should do something fun tomorrow" She said with a small giggle and she kissed him lightly.
Hunter grinned and yawned a little before placing a kiss on her cheek. "I think that's a wonderful idea." Hunter said with a nod as he held her a little closer. "I think that's such a wonderful idea that we should think about it tomorrow." Hunter said with another yawn as he leaned his head back into the pillow. "Is that okay?"
Arabella smiled softly up at him and she nodded. "Yeah, that's okay" She breathed and she placed a kiss on his collarbone before resting her head down on his chest. "Good night, Hunter" She said in a soft voice and she closed her eyes, focusing on the sound of his heartbeat and the feeling of his chest rising and falling with each breath. She was comfortable and she was warm and there was no where else she wanted to be.