Working For It

by BJ Harvey

  “I was comfortable,” I grumble half-heartedly as he lets go of my foot and slides himself between me and the back of his couch. “Thank heavens for big bachelor sofas.”

  He grins down at me, dipping his head to give me a soft open-mouthed kiss. “Some things have just got to be big.”

  “You won’t hear me complaining about that,” I murmur, wondering if baby-name-hunting can wait for just long enough for a mutually satisfying orgasm or two.

  His eyes sparkle with amusement as if he can read my thoughts. “Later, baby. Our son needs a name. Peanut is cute and all, but something real would be so much better.”

  He rolls me onto my side and slides an arm under my head, holding the tablet out so we can both see it. He brings up his profile and scrolls down to a list he’s created.

  “You made a board?” I squeak.

  “Go big or go home. This is serious business we’re dealing with here.”

  “I’m seeing you in a whole new light now, Ezra Baker.”

  He touches his lips to the curve of my neck. “A good one, I hope.”

  “An amazing one. Now show me what you’ve got.”

  We spend what seems like forever looking at different lists: popular for the year, old names making a comeback, weird monikers, strange, unique ones, and slightly out there but definitely cool unisex names. When we finally see the one we like, it’s an instant unanimous decision. It feels right, perfect even, and when Ezra asks if I’d consider having James as the middle name in honor of Jamie, I agree without question.

  “Do you go on Pinterest?”

  “Is there a woman alive who knows about it and doesn’t?” I ask back. “But I gotta admit, I haven’t used it to hunt for baby names.”

  “What have you been looking at then?”

  “Interior design concepts, clothes, nail colors, nursery ideas, sleep routines, parenting tips, and tricks.”

  He’s quiet for a moment. “Show me your nursery board. We’ve got a whole empty room to decorate.”

  “It was dependent on the name we chose.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Let me show you,” I say, reaching out to the tablet and bringing up my name, adding Ezra as a friend in the process. When I find what I’m looking for, I bring up my favorite boys’ room idea. I turn my head to watch Ezra’s expression.

  “This is cool. It’s not your standard blue, and it’s not boats or planes or cars. It’s unique.” I can’t wipe the smile off my face. “And Faith will wanna move in because the zoo theme is totally her jam.”

  “I know. I just like the neutral browns and greens, and I like the idea of the feature wall with his name on it.”

  “Name in flashing lights.”

  “Yep. Which is why we had to choose a kickass name.”

  “Well, we definitely have that,” he murmurs, leaning over and kissing my lips. “And I’ll totally win points with Jamie.”

  I giggle at that. “It is the first boy baby, so technically that gives you first dibs.”

  “Yeah,” he says just as a yawn escapes me.

  “You want to go to bed? We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

  My mouth twitches. “Well, you do, since I’m not allowed to lift anything.”

  “Exactly.”

  I roll in his arms so I’m facing him and loop my arms around his neck. “That means you should rest tonight.”

  He frowns. “I’m fine.”

  I bite my lip. “You’re missing my point, Ez.” I lift my head to lightly touch my mouth to his. “You need to rest. That means I need to get to work to help you do that,” I say seductively, peppering his jaw with kisses before working my way down to his throat.

  “Mmm,” he groans, rolling his hips against my side, letting me feel just how on board he is for my plans.

  “Here or in bed?”

  “Bed involves moving, and I like where I am right now.”

  “More room on my mattress.”

  “Ez?” I whisper, my lips curved into a smile as I touch them just below his ear.

  “Mmm?”

  “Lie back and take it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Ezra

  A lot can happen in six months.

  You can find out you’ve made a baby with the woman you’re casually sleeping with and propose like an idiot.

  You can take a chance at love and make a family with one of the best women you’ve ever met and shack up, knowing your life will never be the same again.

  And for the first time ever, you can decide to give yourself and the woman you’re having a child with a taste of life to come by babysitting a certain mischievous nine-year-old boy for your best friend so he can have date night with his wife.

  That’s the reason Gilly and I are walking hand in hand toward Jamie and April’s front porch on a Friday night instead of relaxing at home after a long week at work.

  Gilly looks over at me after I knock on the door. “Are you sure we’re ready for this?”

  I scoff. “It’s Axel. He can talk, he can wipe his own ass—unlike Joey—and he’s a good kid. How hard can it be? We’ll eat pizza, play games, and then he’ll crash. Then we can sit back and take it easy.”

  She eyes me skeptically. “Somehow, I don’t think it’s that straight forward.”

  I flash her a grin. “Axel’s awesome. You’ll see.”

  Moments after we knock, Jamie swings the door open with a huge smile. “Hey guys. Come in. April is almost ready, so it’s good timing.” He steps aside, and we stop in the entryway to take off our shoes. “Look at you. How are you doing?” Jamie asks Gilly.

  “I’m really good. Thanks,” I reply.

  He rolls his eyes. “You’ve never been good.”

  I laugh and wiggle my brows. “Oh, I dunno, Gilly might say otherwise.” The pregnant woman in question elbows me in response.

  “I’m doing okay.” She rubs her bump. “Beginning to wonder if I’ll have to be rolled into the delivery room though. He’s a big boy.”

  “Aww, baby, Jamie doesn’t need to know that about me,” I reply with a smirk.

  Jamie barks out a laugh. “The only thing big about you is your ego.”

  “I heard my husband teasing someone. It must mean Ez is here,” April says, appearing at the top of the stairs.

  Jamie looks up and smirks at his wife, watching as she walks down to join us. “He makes it easy.”

  April rolls her eyes and catches Gilly’s gaze. “I swear these men will never quit giving each other shit. They’ll be eighty, sitting on the porch in their rocking chairs, bickering like a bunch of old ladies.”

  I grin at April. “You make that sound like it’s a bad thing.”

  “It’s a funny thing, that’s for sure,” she replies. “Now, let’s go find Axel, and we’ll leave you to it.”

  We all walk down toward the back of the house, hearing Ax before we see him, turning the corner and find him shouting at the TV as he plays some shoot-’em-up game on his Xbox.

  I follow Gilly as she slowly sits down on the corner of the couch. “Hey, Ax.”

  “Hey,” he says, right before shouting, “Take that, sucker!”

  “Axel,” April gasps.

  Jamie intervenes. “C’mon, buddy. Time to switch that off. We agreed that you’d hop off there when Ez and Gilly got here.”

  “Yeah, Dad,” the boy says, logging out of the game and switching it off. He places the controller on top of the entertainment unit and turns to where we are.

  “Whoa. Your belly is huge,” he says, wide eyes on my girlfriend.

  “Heaven help me,” April groans, shaking her head. “I’m so sorry, Gilly. Our son doesn’t seem to have a filter.”

  Jamie and I look at each other and chuckle, earning a disapproving look from April as if to say ‘don’t encourage him.’

  Gilly just giggles though. “He’s not wrong,” she says, shooting the boy a wink.

  “I do too!” he replies. “I’m always hungry. Mom and Gra
n always say I’m going to eat them out of house and home.” He grins and puffs his chest. “I bet your baby will eat lots too.”

  “If he’s anything like Uncle Ezra, I think you might be right,” Jamie says.

  Axel studies Gilly’s stomach before lifting his eyes to mine where I stand behind her. “How does the baby come out?”

  “Uh… um…” I say, waiting for one of the women to step in and help me out, but no assistance is offered.

  “Because Mom said I came out of the sunroof.” He looks back at Gilly. “Do you have a sunroof like Mom does? Hers is closed now though. She said no more babies are coming out that way.”

  Gilly giggles, April, Jamie, and myself joining in too. It’s then that April decides to wade in. “Ax, we can talk tomorrow about how babies are born if you still want to know.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I like to know these things. It makes me sound really smart when I tell my school teacher.”

  April looks up at the roof, muttering, “Heaven help me.”

  “Alright,” Jamie says, meeting my eyes. “We’re going to leave now, but we won’t be too late.”

  April sidles up to her husband and wraps her arm around his waist. “I remember how hard the third trimester is, so we don’t want to keep you up too late. Especially after our monster wears you out.”

  Axel’s mouth drops open. “I’m not a monster. I’m awesome.”

  “You totally are. You’re an awesome monster,” April replies with a smirk.

  That seems to appease her son because he turns his attention back to me. “Dad said we could play Battleship. Nana Marcy brought a bunch of games over that you all used to play in the old days.”

  I bite my lip, willing myself not to comment on the ‘old days’ reference. “Did she also tell you I’m the reigning Battleship champion?”

  He scrunches his face up. “Well, we’re not playing in the rain. We can play inside, which means I’m bound to win.”

  “Have fun,” Jamie says, looking like he’s struggling not to laugh. Axel seems to have that effect on all of us. It’s a fine line between laughing at his antics and gently correcting him. “We suggested pizza for dinner, so we left the takeout menu on the kitchen counter.”

  I nod. “As long as they have pasta as well, we’ll all be happy.”

  Gilly looks over her shoulder to where we are standing. “Hey. I can eat pizza too. Your son isn’t fussy right now, just really hungry.”

  “Me too! See, Mom? I’m already friends with Uncle Ezra and Gilly’s baby already.” Axel beams, and it makes me wonder—maybe even hope—that our son will be as cool as him.

  “Hey, Jamie. Remember when we met that six-year-old pizza thief?”

  Axel turns sheepish, but there’s no mistaking his impish grin. “I was hungry.”

  “Just like you are now, right?” Gilly says. “Why don’t you go get the takeout menu, Ax, and you and I can choose which pizza we want.”

  “Okay,” he yells, halfway out of the room.

  “Good luck,” Jamie says, his eyes crinkled.

  April playfully whacks his chest. “Stop it.” She meets my eyes, her gaze speaking to me without saying a word. “We’re just going to grab some dinner, so we shouldn’t be long.”

  Oblivious, Gilly turns in her seat, reaches out for my hand, and gives my fingers a squeeze. “No rush. Ezra has a plan of attack. I’m just here as backup.”

  Jamie barks out a laugh. “Yeah. Let me know how that plan goes with Axel. He’s a tornado wrapped in a cyclone, surrounded by a hurricane. I think he might wear you out before crashing himself.”

  “Oh, ye of little faith,” I retort.

  April grins. “Yeah… of all the kids to offer to babysit, you chose the Energizer Bunny. But feed him till he can’t eat any more then watch a movie, and I guarantee he’ll be a lot more agreeable to the idea of going to sleep before we get home.”

  I nod. “Thanks for the advice.”

  The mini ball of energy returns and rolls over the back of the couch to land with a thump next to Gilly’s legs, shooting her a cheeky grin.

  “Ax, we’re going to leave now,” Jamie says.

  The boy waves his arm in the air, too focused on the brochures in his hands. “Bye!”

  I look at his parents, all three of us trying not to laugh.

  Leaning over the back of the couch, I cup Gilly’s cheek and tilt her chin my way. “I’ll just see them out. You okay here for a minute?”

  “As long as I’m not asked about the birds and the bees, I’ll be fine,” she whispers.

  “Oh, I know about the birds and the bees. That’s old news,” Axel says.

  Gilly’s eyes widen before she giggles and shakes her head. I straighten and ruffle the boy’s hair.

  “Maybe you can explain it to me then,” I suggest.

  Axel sighs. “If I have to. It’s not that interesting.”

  “I’ll remind you of that in a few years’ time,” April says, laughing.

  “Probably around the time tissue boxes and moisturizer bottles start to go missing,” I reply, earning gasps from the women and causing Jamie to burst out laughing.

  “See you in the morning, Ax.” April gives her son a kiss on the cheek before grabbing hold of Jamie’s outstretched hand and moving down the hallway. I follow them, waiting until we’re out of earshot before speaking.

  “Here’s the house key,” I say, handing over my copy for Gilly’s front door lock. “Everything is where we left it.” I look to Jamie. “Bry, Mom, Dad, and Cohen and Skye are meeting you there. Once you’re done, just leave the front light on before you come back here.”

  “She truly has no idea?”

  “Nope.”

  “Are you sure she’s going to be okay with this?” April asks, quirking a brow.

  “Yep.”

  “Okay. I’m excited,” she says, clapping her hands together softly. “I haven’t done this in years.”

  “I haven’t done this ever, so you’re one up on me.”

  April reaches out and gives my arm a squeeze. “We’ve got this.”

  “Thank you. I can’t wait.”

  “See you soon, and any problems with Ax, just call us. Okay?”

  “Have some faith. We’ll be fine.”

  Jamie eyes me skeptically. “He’s a handful.”

  “No more than you are,” I say, bumping his shoulder. “Now go and grab yourselves some dinner on the way. I’ll fix you up later to say thank you.”

  “Have fun then,” Jamie says with a wink, opening the door and ushering his wife outside, leaving us in charge of their son.

  I walk back into the living area and round the couch, taking a seat next to Axel. “Okay. What are we ordering for dinner?”

  “Gilly said the baby was really hungry,” he says, grinning up at me. “And I’m super hungry.”

  “We better get lots of food. Got to keep my baby and my favorite nine-year-old well fed, don’t we?”

  “Yeah!”

  I pull my phone out of my pocket and hand it over to a now wide-eyed Axel. “Then you better order whatever you and the baby want.”

  “Really?” he asks, bouncing in his seat with excitement.

  I lean back against the cushions and nod. “Have at it, Ax. I’ll find us a movie to watch.”

  “Do we still get to play Battleship?”

  “Absolutely. I can’t wait to win.”

  “I’m sooooooo going to beat you.”

  I jerk my head at the phone in his hand. “You better order dinner so we can start.”

  “Okay,” he replies quickly before carefully dialing the phone number and lifting the phone to his ear. Five minutes and a couple of corrections later, the pizza and pasta are ordered, and all three of us are moving to the dining room table to start a game of Battleship, Gilly acting as referee.

  By the time the delivery driver rings the doorbell, it is one win apiece, with promises of a tie-breaker the next time we come to babysit.

  I take the fact that A
xel has asked us to look after him again as a good sign that we were doing okay.

  “I can’t believe you bribed him,” Gilly says, giggling in the passenger seat beside me.

  “What? It was the only way I could think of to guarantee his silence.”

  We’re halfway home, having left Jamie and April’s house with a finally asleep Axel, who didn’t quite enjoy my movie choice like I’d hoped.

  I’d thought for sure that a nine-year-old boy who loves everything boy-like—cars, video games, animals, planes—would love Jurassic Park.

  It all went downhill when the T-Rex escaped and attacked the cars. Axel burrowed into my side, and it should’ve been a warning sign, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

  Straight away, movie night was over, and Gilly and I were left to try anything we could think of to calm him down.

  In the end, I stuffed a twenty into his swear jar and swore him to secrecy before lying in his bed beside him while he clung to my side and finally fell asleep.

  I did tell Jamie and April what happened as soon as they got home, to which Jamie burst out laughing, and April just shook her head at me with a smirk on her face.

  “Why buy his silence if you told his parents anyway?”

  “To stop him telling anybody else.” I glance sideways at her. “Do you know how much crap the guys would give me?”

  “It was kind of funny, looking back on it,” she muses.

  “I’ve never heard a kid scream like that. I think I’ll be the one having nightmares tonight,” I say, pulling into our road.

  Gilly reaches out and pats my thigh. “Aww, baby. It’s okay. I’ll scare the big, bad T-Rex away if he comes to get you.” She lets out a huge yawn and gives my leg a gentle squeeze. “I’m wiped.”

  I slow the car down and pull into the driveway, pressing the garage door remote and coming to a stop beside Gilly’s car.

  I turn her way. “Let’s get my baby mama inside then.”

  “You’re a good man. I might keep you around,” she says with curved lips.

  I snort. “Good to know, because I’m not going anywhere.” She quirks her brow. “Except to take you to bed.”