5. Brook
November 3, 2020 (7 weeks along)
"Brook, sweetie?" I heard my mother's sweet voice as she knocked on my door before poking her head in. "There's a Jacob here to see you." She raised a brow, making me bite my lip as I finished getting Grayson ready for our date with Jacob.
"Thank you, Mama. Can you let him know that we'll be down in a bit?" I asked, and she nodded.
"Is he, you know?" she asked, and I nodded in confirmation to her unspoken question, making her nod her head. "Does he know?"
"Yes," I answered, and she nodded again. I sighed. "He's understanding, and despite his bad-boy image, he's not that bad. He actually asked to bring Grayson on our date when I told him about him."
"Alright, if you say so," she said before smiling. "Just be careful, alright?"
"I know, Mama," I murmured, and she nodded, shaking her head.
"I'll go save that boy from being interrogated by your father and brother," she said before leaving, closing the door behind her. I rolled my eyes and looked down at my soon-to-be three-year-old son, smiling.
"Alright, baby, you ready to meet Mama's friend?" I asked, and he beamed, nodding his little head. "Then let's go."
I made sure I had my keys, wallet, and diaper bag before exiting my room with Grayson perched on my hip. I'm going to enjoy this as much as I can because once I begin showing, it'll be difficult to carry him. I climbed the stairs carefully with my arms full, and just as I got to the last step, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Jacob smiling as he took the diaper bag off my shoulder.
"Th-thank you," I whispered, feeling my face heat up with a blush, and he smiled. I could feel the eyes of my family staring and ignored them. "Sorry if I kept you waiting."
"No worries. I figured you were getting this little guy ready," he replied, looking down at Grayson, who blinked up at Jacob with his big round blue eyes before smiling around his pacifier.
"So where are you taking them?" I looked toward my dad, and Jacob smiled.
"I was thinking of taking them to the carnival that's in town and then to eat," he replied. I blinked. I haven't been to a carnival in a while—not since I had Grayson. Dad looked just as surprised as I was, while Mom, Wynter, and Vic smiled. My brother was looking at Jacob as if he were mentally communicating with him. "I'll have them both home by 10, no later."
My parents and Vic nodded, while Wynter wiggled her brows with a smirk, making me roll my eyes.
"Good," Dad said before looking at Grayson, who rested his head on my shoulder, smiling. "You be good for Mommy, okay?"
"Ready?" Jacob asked, and I nodded. After a few more words exchanged—Dad telling us to be safe and to have fun—Jacob held the door open for me. I smiled, thanked him, and let him lead us to his car.
"So, I kind of bought a car seat for Grayson," he said.
I blinked, surprised as I saw his tan face get a tint of pink. "You shouldn't have; I had one in my car."
"I know, but I was actually hoping that if this date goes well, we can do it again, and I don't want you to have to move his car seat from car to car when we take mine." He rubbed the back of his neck, and I shook my head with a smile.
"That was actually really thoughtful and sweet," I said as I placed Grayson into the car seat that Jacob had bought. "And you actually got one that's almost similar to the one I have in mine."
"Really?" he asked, surprised. I nodded.
"I googled to see what car seat was the safest for a two-year-old and went and got it."
"Did your mom ask you anything when she saw it?" I asked once I had securely strapped Grayson into the car seat before moving back to close the door. I thanked Jacob when he held the passenger door open.
"She doesn't know I bought one," he said after climbing into the driver's seat and driving down the long driveway toward the exit. The gates opened when we reached them, and I saw Tanner and Billy, our head security, at the exit, both nodding their heads when they saw us. "She did question why I wasn't taking my bike, so I told her I was taking you out, and that taking you on a motorcycle ride on our first date wasn't ideal."
"I agree."
A little gasp from the backseat had me smiling. I looked over at Grayson to see his eyes wide as he looked out the window at the lights from the various rides.
"Ready?" Jacob asked as he turned the car off. I nodded, taking my seatbelt off. But before I could open my door, Jacob was there doing it for me. I didn't even hear him get out. I shook my head and climbed out, giving him a smile as a thank-you before opening the back door to get Grayson out of his car seat.
"You wanna go on the rides, huh?" I cooed as I perched him on my hip, making him beam and kick his little legs on each side of me as we walked to the booth to get our bracelets. The girl at the booth didn't even pretend to not ogle at him, and I rolled my eyes.
"Ready, love?" Jacob asked, catching me off guard with the pet name, but I nodded nonetheless. The girl openly glared at me, but I ignored her and followed Jacob. "So what ride do you want to go on first?"
"Are there any kid-friendly ones?" I asked, and he nodded, leading me toward the rides for toddlers and up.
"Alright, bub," I said as I showed Grayson the rides. "Would you like to go on one of these?" His eyes watched the rides where kids his age and a bit older were, but he shook his head, making me smile. "Want to go on the choo-choo?"
We walked a little until we found the train rides, and he nodded his head, clapping his little hands. Jacob and I chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Alright."
We stood in line until it was our turn, and when it was, the guy in charge held the gate open for me so I could carry Grayson over to an open seat before strapping him in. "Mommy is going to be over there with Jacob, okay?"
I pressed a kiss on his temple before rejoining Jacob on the other side of the gate. I took out my phone and began snapping pictures as the ride started, watching as Grayson squealed and giggled while the ride spun in circles.
"You're a great mom, Brook," I heard Jacob say, and I turned to see him watching me. I bit my lip.
"Thank you," I whispered before turning back to the ride as it began to slow.
That's how our date went—going on every kid-friendly ride before taking a little break for lunch.
"So, what's your favorite color?" Jacob asked as we sat across from each other at a picnic table a few feet from the ticket booth. He had a triple bacon cheeseburger, sweet potato fries, and a Coke, while I had a chicken Caesar sandwich with curly sweet potato fries and a Sprite. For Grayson, I had brought his favorite snack—strawberries, blueberries, and bananas, along with crackers, yogurt, and chocolate milk. Luckily, they had a high chair that I was given for him to eat.
I bit my lip at his question. No one had really asked me simple questions like these before. It was strange. I had always been asked how much money I make or when my album will be released or if I was dating anyone—questions that always left me exhausted. I mean, who freakin’ asks someone how much money they make? Like seriously.
"Brook?" I blinked at Jacob's voice and realized I hadn't replied. My face heated up with a blush as he stared at me with concern. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, sorry," I said, and he didn’t look convinced, but I smiled. "I was just thinking—that's all."
"About?"
"Your question." He frowned, so I quickly elaborated. I explained that he was the first person to ask me something so unexpected that it had taken me by surprise. "But to answer your question, my favorite color is blue. But not just any blue—the color of Grayson's eyes is my favorite blue."
He nodded, and from there, we went back and forth, asking each other questions as we continued our walk around the park.
"What stuffed animal do you want?" Jacob asked as we stopped in front of a game, and I tilted my head, looking up to see all the stuffed animals hanging on strings. I glanced down at Grayson, who was staring at a huge stuffed animal—a wolf, his favorite animal.
"That one," I said, pointing to a bunny, but he raised a brow knowingly before nodding. He had caught me looking at the wolf.
The man explained the rules to Jacob before he got in position and began shooting water at the moving targets. Within seconds, the bell rang, signaling that he had won.
"Alright, pick any of these animals," the guy said, pointing at the big stuffed animals. Of course, Jacob picked the wolf stuffed animal I had been looking at.
"You could've picked anyone," I said, but he shook his head.
"Grayson was looking at it, so I figured if I won, I'll get it for him," he replied, making my heart explode in my chest at the answer. I smiled, and speaking of Grayson, the little boy was practically falling over in my arms as he rubbed his tired eyes and yawned while resting his head on my shoulder.
"Come on," Jacob said, "it's time to get you both home."
As we headed back, my heart swelled with warmth. This date was turning out to be everything I could have hoped for—as was Jacob, who had really stepped up and shown what kind of person he was.