by Raquel Belle
“You don’t feel sick, do you?” Josh asked.
“What? No,” I said. He kissed my neck and walked me to my bed. Josh laid me down and slipped his hand underneath my shirt. Josh kissed along my neck and collar bone until he pushed my shirt off, over my head. He pulled the cups of my bra down and massaged my breasts in his hands. He kissed me again, with more urgency, our tongues met and he bit my bottom lip. Josh’s mouth lowered to my breast and he pulled my nipple between his teeth. Pleasure spread through me like lightning. I reached for him and he pecked me on the lips again. Josh pulled off his shirt and unbuckled his jeans. He pulled my cotton shorts off in one motion and my panties went with them.
“I missed seeing you like this,” Josh said. He quickly kicked off his jeans and boxers then climbed over me. His cock was almost completely hard and nearly brushed my thighs when he stretched up to nibble at my neck. I brushed my hands over his defined back, shoulders, and arms. Then I pushed myself up onto my knees, forcing him to sit back against the headboard. I straddled his hips and pumped his cock. Josh groaned and cupped my face in his hands. We made out like teenagers and I was sure he gave me a hickie along my neck. When neither of us could wait anymore, I slowly lowered onto his cock until he filled me up. Josh held me and bounced me on his cock. I held onto his shoulders tight and closed my eyes against the onslaught of sensation.
He filled me up and hit deep in a spot that made me quiver over and over again. Josh grunted and cursed, I cupped his neck and pushed my fingers into his hair. Our foreheads touched and then my orgasm cascaded over me. I cried out and tightened my fingers in his hair unconsciously. Josh let out a quick breath and soon I felt his muscles tighten and his cock spasm. We clung to each other until we both came down from our climax. My legs trembled as I got off of him. Josh pulled me to his side and I rested my head on his shoulder.
“I see how we made a baby so quickly,” Josh said while still out of breath. I laughed and he grinned, cupped my cheek and softly brushed his lips over mine. I shook my head at him and he kissed me again. “You haven’t been to the doctor yet?” he asked.
“No, my appointment is for next week…” I hesitated and he quirked his brow. “Do you want to come with me?” I asked slowly.
“Of course. I told you, I’m all in. Anything and everything you need, I’m here for you,” he said. “Are you taking those prenatal vitamins?” he asked as an afterthought.
“Yeah my sister gave them to me…what do you know about prenatal vitamins?” I asked.
Josh shrugged. “When my sister was pregnant she talked about how important they were,” he said. “So…your family knows, then?” I glanced down at my fingers, normally I wouldn’t talk about my family much but Josh was suddenly part of my family. It was crazy just to think about, how one little bean inside of me could make us family all of a sudden.
“My sister does. She was the one here when I took the test,” I said. “That and my best friend knows…I didn’t tell Jess not to tell my brother or parents, though,” I added.
“Jess is your sister?” I nodded. “What’s your best friend’s name?”
“V,” I said. Again, it was weird for me to share so much with him. Before I was still grappling with how much of a real relationship we had. We didn’t know that much about each other.
“What’s your nephew’s name?” I asked.
“Kaden,” Josh said. We both tensed when we heard knocking on the door. I rolled my eyes and sighed harshly. I wish people would call before showing up at my apartment. We hopped out of bed and got dressed fast. I combed my fingers through my hair hastily, as did Josh. We walked out of the bedroom and he sat down on the couch while I went to the door to check the peephole.
“Who is it?” Josh asked.
I closed my eyes briefly and took a slow breath. “It’s my brother, Casey,” I said and then opened the door. “Hey,” I said. Casey smirked and gave me a hug, which was weird, to say the least. “Do you not have my number?” I asked.
“I do but Jess told me to drop in on you because you aren’t returning her calls,” he said. Casey stepped in around me and scanned the apartment. When he spotted Josh, he looked surprised. Josh walked over and extended his hand to Casey.
“Hi, I’m Josh, nice to meet you,” he said.
Casey shook his hand and nodded politely. “So you must be the guy that knocked my sister up,” he said. Josh, looking sheepish as ever, chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck. “You guys keeping the baby, or what?” Casey glanced at me then back at Josh.
“Yeah…we sort of just decided,” I said.
“Oh, great. So, you guys getting married?” he stared at Josh, meanwhile my face resembled a tomato, I was sure.
“Casey, just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean we have to get married,” I said and laughed nervously. “One step at a time,” I added.
“I’m not saying it to be a dick, I’m trying to look out for you,” Casey told me in a lower voice. He met my eyes and I could tell that he was a little unsure whether he’d pissed me off or not.
“That’s okay, Case, you don’t have to go all out.” I assured him.
Casey pressed his lips together and glanced at Josh again. “How’d you guys meet?” he asked.
Josh looked at me, as if asking for permission. I shrugged. “He’s my developmental psychology professor,” I said. Casey’s eyebrows rose into his hairline. He stared at me and I nodded slowly. “We fought it…for a week and then—it just happened,” I said.
Casey took a deep breath and glanced at Josh again. “You weren’t prowling for my sister, were you?”
“No. I make it a point to keep distance between me and my students. But…everything was different with Naomi,” Josh said. I couldn’t hide my smirk.
“It’s not just sex with you guys?” Casey was just getting all of the tough questions out of the way. I didn’t mind, someone had to do it. I just hoped he’d relay the answers to Jess so Josh wouldn’t have to go through such questioning again.
“I don’t think so. I’ve always wanted more between us but…Naomi’s struggled with that,” Josh said honestly. Casey was surprised, he glanced at me for a second again.
“Before, I’m good now,” I said.
“Well as long as you guys figure it out. A kid needs both parents,” Casey said. He sat down at the breakfast bar and I quickly offered him something to snack on or drink. All he wanted was water. Josh leaned over the counter near the bar.
“When are you gonna tell Mom and Dad?” Casey asked.
“I have no idea,” I sighed. I leaned against the counter next to the fridge. “They aren’t exactly in a stable place right now and news like that…” I shook my head, imagining the catastrophe. “I don’t think it’ll be good right now.”
“Yeah, Jess and I were thinking the same thing. Maybe you should just wait to tell them and let the excuse be that you wanted to make sure everything was okay with the baby before telling people, or something,” Casey suggested.
“I told my sister already,” Josh chimed.
“How…what did she say?” I asked cautiously. I’d only seen his sister from afar once but I knew that he cared a lot about her from how often he mentioned her.
“She’s the one who knocked me out of shock mode,” he said. I hoped she would approve of me. From the way Jess treated any of Casey’s serious girlfriends at first, I knew the welcoming process was bumpy. Not to mention she’d tried to set Josh up twice already.
“Sorry to keep being so blunt, but how does this work? You getting your student pregnant?” Casey asked Josh.
“Casey,” I looked at him incredulously and he held his hands up as if innocent.
“It’s valid, don’t worry,” Josh said. “Naomi isn’t just a student. She’s my girlfriend and that’s all that the university has to know…we will have to report our relationship at this point, though,” Josh said.
“Yeah…about that?” I glanced at Josh. “How’s that going to work?”<
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“If Naomi risks getting kicked out, I don’t think you guys should chance it,” Casey said. I shook my head adamantly and he quirked his brow at me.
“We might have to. One of my friends, Jacob, has his suspicions. He thinks Josh likes me,” I said.
Josh sucked his teeth and for the first time, I saw real annoyance and disdain on his face. “That kid likes you is the problem,” he said.
I shrugged. “It’s just something to consider. I don’t think he’d do anything if he somehow got hard evidence that we’re seeing each other but I don’t know him too well,” I said.
“You wouldn’t be penalized if there is a penalty to go around. I’d be the one that gets fired if the ethics board thinks something of our relationship,” Josh said.
“And you wouldn’t be allowed to teach anywhere else?” Casey asked.
“I would but that will be on my record and weigh heavily when applying to work at other universities. It’d just make it damn impossible for me to find another good job like this one,” Josh said. He looked at my belly for a split second then met my eyes. “That can’t exactly happen now either,” he said, his voice softer.
“Do you have a copy of the ethics code? I can take a look for you, let you know what legal options you could take in case anything goes south,” Casey said.
I was completely stunned by Casey for a moment, I was so surprised. “Are you serious? You’d do that?” I asked, unable to keep the question in.
Casey rolled his eyes at me. “Of course, you’re my baby sister. I’ll always have your back,” he said. I tried to hide my smile but couldn’t. It was a nice feeling to realize I had the older brother I always wanted. All we had to do was get over our bullshit. Casey and Josh exchanged cards and Josh thanked him for the favor.
Casey stood up and put his hand on my back. “So uh, since you’ve got company and all, I guess I’ll beat feet out of here. You, Josh, me and Jess should get together and have dinner or something soon,” he said, then glanced at Josh, “Jess is ten times more curious about you than me.”
“I can’t wait to meet the whole family,” Josh said.
That made both Casey and I laugh. “Yeah, you can,” I said. Casey shook Josh’s hand and I walked my brother to the door, stepping out into the hall with him. “Thanks for offering to look over the ethics book,” I said. He waved his hand. “It’s like I said,” he said. Casey ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, I’m ah…I’m here for you. You can call me anytime like you do Jess. If I’m gonna be an uncle, I’d like to be close to you and my future niece or nephew,” he said.
“Of course, Casey,” I said and hugged him, unsure of what else to say or do. I understood where he was coming from, though. I understood that he didn’t want that distance between us anymore.
“Cool…so I’ll plan dinner with Jess for like, Friday? When do you work?” he asked.
“I work Friday, how about Thursday?”
“Cool, that’ll work,” he said. Casey waved and I watched him walk down the hall until I couldn’t see him anymore. I stepped inside and closed the door quietly. Josh was still in the kitchen, tapping his fingers on the counter.
“That’s not exactly how I wanted you to meet my brother but he’s setting up dinner for Thursday, is that okay?” I asked.
“No, that could’ve been a lot worse. He could’ve punched me in the face or something,” Josh said, waving away my concern, “and Thursday is great…”
“What?” I asked. Josh paused and pushed his fingers over the laminate of the counter.
“I want you to meet Amy and Kaden, officially,” he said. My eyes popped a bit and Josh saw the panic flash in my eyes. “She’s not going to judge you or anything if that’s what you’re worried about,” Josh said.
“She tried to set you up twice with people she’s obviously approved for you, Josh. There was no pre-approval when you met me,” I said.
Josh chuckled but quickly sobered when I didn’t laugh in return. “Amy isn’t like that. She tried to set me up with a couple of her friends she thought I’d get along with. You’re family now, she wouldn’t make you feel uncomfortable, I promise,” Josh said.
I bit my lip, even though my heart was already beating fast at the thought of meeting her, I nodded.
“Okay,” I said. Josh’s grin could have lit up a room.
“Cool,” he said. I took a deep breath, my mind was racing at how fast everything seemed to be moving all of a sudden. Josh and I were just broken up and yet there he was. Smiling in my kitchen making everything a thousand times better. It hit me then that I really had feelings for him. Feelings that I’d stifled and refused to let grow.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Joshua
Naomi was up and out of bed before I was. I knew she was nervous before I found her in the kitchen, anxiously rubbing the handle of her tea mug. She looked a little better than yesterday, her hair was brushed into a smooth bun, she wore high waisted shorts and a tucked in t-shirt. But her eyes were still tired and anxiety was set between her brows.
“Good morning,” I said. I walked over and hugged my arms around her waist. I kissed her neck, her chin, then her lips and she sighed.
“I’m nervous. Aren’t you nervous? Why aren’t you dressed?” she said on one breath. I rubbed her arms and looked into her eyes for a second.
“I’m not nervous but I do need you to calm down. It can’t be good for your morning sickness if you’re stressed,” I said. Naomi put her mug down, the scent of mint wafted up. “I’ll be back,” I said and went to shower and get dressed. I’d left last night for a second to grab a change of clothes and my briefcase. My mind was oddly blank, I wasn’t sure how this would go one way or the other.
I got ready quickly and grabbed a granola bar from Naomi’s pantry. As we walked through the front door, Naomi’s eyes popped.
“What?” I asked.
“Do we take the same car or…?”
“Naomi, babe, relax,” I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her. “We have different schedules so we should take separate cars,” I said. She pressed her lips together, looking embarrassed and I had to chuckle at her expression.
“I’m overthinking. My mind is moving at a million miles per hour,” she sighed.
“Focus on something scarier, like telling your parents about us and that you’re pregnant,” I said. Naomi’s expression fell and I took her hand, leading her stoically down the hall.
“I don’t know how the hell that’s going to pan out,” she muttered. “The last time I spoke to them it ended up in an argument, as usual.”
I looked at her face and saw regret in the pinch of her brow and how she pressed her lips together. We reached the elevators, I pressed the call button and we waited barely five seconds until the doors opened. We stepped inside alone. “Have you ever had a pleasant experience or conversation with them?” I asked.
“Yeah, they were a lot…warmer when I was young. They became really disapproving only when I decided to study philosophy in school,” she said and shrugged flippantly. I knew she cared though. If my parents got a divorce I’d be an honest-to-god wreck.
“I’m sure that was fueled by what they were going through in their relationship,” I said. “It just sucks that they took it out on you,” I added. Naomi snorted but didn’t respond after that.
We separated at the parking lot and for once, I didn’t turn on music in the car, didn’t call my sister or listen to an audio book or podcast. I drove in silence and prayed like heck that me and Naomi wouldn’t be penalized for having a relationship. The anxiety had set in from the moment I parked and started walking towards the Psychology building. I knew that my department head was in his office and would be for the next few hours. Naomi was supposed to meet me in my office, I wondered if she’d parked and made it up there already.
As I walked to the building, various students of mine called my attention to say good morning or ask passing questions about class. By the time I stepped into my of
fice, I was sweating a little bit and Naomi was sitting at my desk, pinching the bridge of her nose with an intense look on her face.
“Hey, sorry, it took forever for me to get here,” I said. She waved her hand absently.
“It’s okay, it gave me time to calm myself down a little,” she said.
I walked to my desk and put my briefcase down then quickly logged into the desktop computer.
“I forgot to e-mail the class that I was going to be late,” I murmured.
“Shouldn’t you just cancel?” she asked.
“It might not take that long, it’s the first step of this process,” I said. I quickly drafted an e-mail and sent it. “Alright, I’ll go talk to Dr. Prescben and call you if he wants to see you too.” She nodded. I ran my fingers through my hair, took a deep breath, then walked to Prescben’s office, it was at the end of the hall. I faced the door— it was stained to give it a mahogany color—and knocked.
“Come in,” he called. I poked my head in and Prescben, a round, older man with grey streaks in his hair and a slight Texan drawl, put his newspaper down and waved me into the office vigorously. “Dr. James, come in, come in,” he said. “How’s everything?”
“Everything’s uh…” I closed the door behind me and sat across from him at his desk. He sat forward, picking up on my tone immediately. “I’ll just come out and say it. I have a girlfriend and she’s my student—my current student,” I said. Prescben blinked rapidly, his mouth opened and closed like a fish for a few breaths, then he sat back in his chair.
“How old is she?” he asked slowly. Prescben opened the bottom drawer of his desk and rummaged through it until he unearthed a stapled packet. The top of it read, “Ethics Report” in bold letters.
“She’s twenty-five,” I said. Prescben let out a deep sigh of relief.
“That makes things easier,” he murmured. “Alright, lay it out, tell me the beginnings of this relationship and how serious it is,” he said.