by Lea Coll
She followed me to the truck’s bed where I pulled out a cooler and an equipment bag. We walked side by side down the dock where several small black DNR boats were docked. Each one was a small motorboat with a tiny roof over the Captain’s seat.
“Welcome to my office.” I held out my hand so she could board.
“It’s a nice office. When I worked at Planit, we had a view of the harbor and it was close to everything Baltimore had to offer, but this is better.”
I started the engine and turned on the equipment. I placed the fruit and a sleeve of crackers I’d packed on the bench next to me. “Eat before we take off. I don’t want you to feel sick.”
“You’re really bossy these days, but thanks.” Lucy reached for the fruit.
I had been different in high school. Lucy dumping me changed me. I was the nice guy, but she still walked away. This time, I’d make it clear what I wanted. I’d do everything I could to show her she belonged here with me.
I opened a large white binder and filled the log out before I patted the space next to me on the Captain’s chair. “Come sit next to me.”
The space was small so her entire leg touched mine as I maneuvered the boat out of the dock. From her reaction when I ran into her on the sidewalk a few weeks ago, I knew she appreciated me in uniform. I wanted her to see me in my element—show her that I was better for her than some buttoned-up guy in a suit.
The wind ruffled her hair as she looked out onto the water.
“So, what do you do? Drive around looking for boaters who are violating laws?” She sent me a teasing smile.
“We protect and regulate most species in Maryland but the top four are crabs, waterfowl, oysters, and striped bass—most people refer to them as rockfish. This time of year, we have a lot of issues with people poaching rockfish because they’re more plentiful here. They can only take one or two depending on their size, so we spend a lot of time conducting surveillance. I’ve seen people hiding as many as twenty rockfish in their boats, cars, kids’ backpacks—you name it. I also look for boaters drinking, driving erratically, speeding. I’ll stop and ask to see their license. It’s usually pretty quiet but sometimes you get a hard-partying group and I’ll need to call in back-up.”
I nodded at a boat traveling at a fast speed that crossed in front of us, the wave rocking our boat. “See that guy? He’s ignoring the rules of the water, speeding, and he passed in front of us causing a dangerous wake. The wake is the wave they created. Odds are they’re drinking and didn’t notice me.” I pulled out my radio and requested the boater stop. It took a few tries before they complied. I maneuvered the boat next to theirs before stepping on board to ask for their identification. I felt Lucy’s gaze on me the whole time.
There were no bottles or cups of alcohol around and their eyes were clear. It was just a bunch of younger guys showing off. I reminded them of the rules of the water before disembarking their boat.
When we pulled away, Lucy laid a hand on my leg. “That was interesting.”
“It was?”
“Yeah, I’ve never seen you in action. You’re all authoritative.” She paused smiling at me.
Hope bloomed in my chest that my plan to show her I was strong and capable of being the man for her was working.
“You’re good at what you do.”
“I love it. I’m outdoors every day. I get to drive a boat and ATVs as part of my job.”
“Are you happy?”
“I’ve been content. I have the job I always wanted, my cabin, and my family nearby, but I hadn’t found anyone to share my life with. I figured I had time. When you told me you were expecting my child, I realized I was just existing—not really living. You’ve made it possible for me to share my experiences with a child. I’ll have someone to teach how to ride a bike, how to play baseball, how to be polite, raise them to be a good person.”
I swung the boat into the slip, secured it to the dock, and helped Lucy onto the dock. I stopped at the marina office to introduce Lucy and update my co-worker, who was taking over for me.
“Ready for a swim?” I asked her as we headed toward my truck.
She lifted her hair drawing my eyes to her slender neck. “Yes, is the swimming hole still a hot spot?”
“It’s not anymore. We have a community pool so only us old-timers still go there.” I winked. “I’m going to stop in the bathroom and change into my swim trunks. Wait in the truck?”
“Sure.”
When I was dressed more casually, I drove to the park, walking down the well-worn dirt path into the woods until we came to the swimming hole. A rope still hung from a large tree. “It’s only us.”
Lucy pushed down her leggings and pulled her shirt over her head, revealing an olive green one-piece with cut-outs down the sides that emphasized her curves and revealed tan skin. She must be spending a lot of time outside now that she was home. I swallowed. Between the heat and the sight of her in that cut-out bathing suit I needed to cool off.
She grabbed the rope, wrapping her long legs around it, and swung herself expertly over the water, laughing. She dropped down into the middle of the creek with a loud splash.
“It’s cold!” she cried as she surfaced, pulling her long hair out of her face.
“Lucy.” My voice was slow and measured because the sight of her wet in that bathing suit was doing things to me.
“Yeah?” She treaded water watching me.
I cleared my throat because I couldn’t tell her what I was really thinking—that I wanted her to straddle me so I could move her bathing suit over and slide my cock inside her. “No more hanging from ropes. That’s my baby you’re carrying.”
She smiled and rolled her eyes. “It’s perfectly safe, caveman.”
I held her eyes as I pulled my shirt over my head with one hand, and then ran toward her doing a cannonball into the water, creating a splash.
Before surfacing, I tugged her ankles from below, hearing her screech in surprise as I pulled her under with me. I moved my hands from her ankles, to her calves, to the back of her legs until they encircled her waist. With a powerful surge, I pulled us back to the surface, Lucy’s legs wrapped around my waist, and her arms around my neck. We’d done this so many times as friends and later as lovers. We’d played around in the water until we were short of breath.
When we emerged, I took several deep breaths trying to calm my rapidly beating heart and to think of something else besides her core rubbing against my cock. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked quietly.
“Yes.” She smiled and rubbed against my cock.
I groaned. “I didn’t bring you here for this.” My forehead dropped to hers. What was I doing? I was supposed to be drawing her in, but this was dangerous—like that time on the boat. I wanted to show her we had more than a physical attraction. I unwrapped her legs and set her away from me. I needed distance from her or I’d take her right here in the water.
I took a few steps out of the water. “I’m hungry. Want to get something to eat?”
She dropped her head and closed her eyes briefly before answering, “Yes, actually.”
“I brought sandwiches and chips. In the cooler.” I gestured to the cooler, wrapping a towel around my waist.
Lucy towel-dried her hair before covering her body and pulling a sandwich and bag of chips out of the cooler. “There better be pickles on this turkey sub.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t forget.” I hadn’t forgotten anything about her over the years.
Lucy
“The one thing I’ve noticed since I returned home is the quiet. The only sound is the bugs buzzing around us, the flow of the water against the bank, the singing of the birds. It’s beautiful.”
“I’m sure I’ve mentioned this a few times but I’m happy you’re back.”
“If I hadn’t come back we wouldn’t be—” pregnant. I couldn’t say it out loud. Initially, I’d thought of the pregnancy as this setback that would derail my life, but if I could have mo
re quiet moments like this with people I cared about it was worth it, wasn’t it? When I was with Wyatt, anything seemed possible. I could have this baby, my dreams, and maybe something I hadn’t planned on—him.
He moved to face me fully, his gaze on me. “I know it was unexpected but I’m happy that you’re pregnant.”
He was saying all the right things about the pregnancy, but I felt uneasy about anything happening between us. In the water, I swore he wanted me until he placed me on the ground and suggested lunch. It felt like he was drawing a line between us that said we’d never be more than co-parents.
I glanced at him to find him staring reverently at me. His eyes slid from my face down my body and came to rest on my belly. His hand covered my stomach, I felt that warmth all the way to my toes, causing them to curl and my feet to flex. “You can’t even tell you’re pregnant.”
“I’ll pop out soon enough.” I tried to joke and lighten the moment, but it didn’t work.
I yearned for him to look at me the way he looked at the baby, for him to say that he’d be happy to have me as this amazing addition to his life.
“I have one more thing planned for us today.” His hand rested on my belly and he shifted closer. “I wanted to take you to the drive-in movie theater. They’re showing oldies tonight.”
“The location of our first date? What’s the movie?”
“Dirty Dancing.”
My heart picked up and my core began to pulse. The memory of the characters in that movie crawling on the floor to each other with music playing over the speakers in the dance studio instantly came to mind. “Is that a good idea?”
“I thought it would be nice to do some of the things we did as kids—to reconnect, I guess.”
But that movie wasn’t a friendly movie.
“Finish eating and we’ll swim some more. Then I’ll drop you off at home to shower and change and pick you up tonight.”
Maybe I could fit in a nap too. “Sounds good.”
I’d pushed down my feelings for this man after I left, which was a huge error in judgment. Instead of actively dealing with my emotions, I’d ignored them, and the end result was that every single emotion and feeling I’d ever felt came back to me with every memory from the past. I was immersed in what we were, and he seemed to be unaffected. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay here and pretend that I was okay with being around him only as friends, as co-parents.
Later that night, we sat on a blanket in his dad’s truck bed, leaning against the pillows Wyatt brought.
“Are you doing this on purpose?” I asked.
“What?” he asked innocently.
“Borrowing your dad’s truck like we did as kids to come here, laying on the same scratchy Penn State blankets your parents stole from their college dorm, same snacks we ate as teens.” I gestured at the tubs of buttery popcorn and the peppermint candies. The only difference was we were older and not together. The memory made me long for more—to go back and experience it all over again—the sweet relationship and living in that moment.
“Possibly.”
I raised my brows and sat up. “You reenacted our first official date to—” for what purpose? To make me feel bad that I walked away—to strengthen our relationship because we’d be co-parenting?
“I want you to fall in love with this place again.”
I noticed he didn’t say fall in love with me. I should have been relieved, but the longer I was home, the more I spent time with Wyatt, the memories were more vivid—the feeling I had when he’d hold my hand, wearing his jersey with his name on my back on game days, the way he made me feel like I was the only girl for him and always would be. How did I walk away from that?
“Remember what you loved.” He took my hand in his and my breath caught. The people walking around with their food and the murmurings before the movie began was background noise. Everything fell away until it was only Wyatt and me. I was riveted to his mouth as he formed the words. “Who you loved.”
“You?” I managed to croak.
“Yes me.”
“But why?” I wanted him to say it.
He brought my hand to his lips placing a light kiss on the palm. I sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes never left mine as he watched my reaction. Nothing had changed. He had the power to make me hypersensitive to his every move, his every touch sending a tingle through my body. The closer I got to him the more I longed to be his again. Was that his plan?
“Watch the movie.” He nodded at the large screen which was showing the previews. “Relax. Enjoy the moment. Don’t worry about what everything means.”
Every move seemed intentional and deliberate—riding in his boat, the swimming hole, this movie. His eyes were on the screen and I tried to avert mine too. I didn’t want him to turn and see every thought broadcast on my face because if he did, he’d see the yearning for something more, for him. And that couldn’t happen. If he knew how I felt he’d step back. Getting involved when we had a baby together was tricky—if it didn’t work out there was a child to consider.
I didn’t want to give him false hope like I had when we were kids. I never wanted to hurt him again. The baby wouldn’t keep me here. So far, he was confident I’d change my mind—that motherhood would change my priorities, and it had. But I wanted it all—motherhood, a career, and happiness. But I had to remember Wyatt had never been my end game and that wouldn’t change no matter how many memories he conjured up.
Wyatt
I was sure my plan was working. Lucy seemed touched by the day I’d planned. I needed to make it clear to her that I was in this for her and the baby. I didn’t want her to think I was pursuing her just because she got pregnant. I was determined to get her back before she received a job offer. She over-analyzed everything. If I waited until after the baby was born, she’d think I was only with her for the baby.
Lucy sat on the obstetrician’s exam table tugging at the paper blanket so that it covered her lap and ass.
“You know when the door opens, everyone in the hall will have the perfect view of your ass.”
“Thanks for the reminder.” Lucy tried one more time to wrap the paper-thin gown around her body but only succeeded in tearing it. “Ugh. This is ridiculous.”
I moved to block her from the door—an arm braced behind her and I leaned close enough to whisper in her ear, “Is this okay?” She shivered from my breath on her neck.
“Yes, thank you.” She swallowed.
I startled at the quick knock on the door before it swung open. “How are we doing today?” came the booming voice from the doctor. “I’m Dr. Kane and I’ll be treating you today.”
“Good. We’re good.” Lucy shook the doctor’s outstretched hand and then I did the same. Suddenly nervous, everything seemed more real now that the doctor was here.
Dr. Kane glanced at the paperwork. “Looks like you’re around eight weeks. How are you feeling?”
“I’m really tired and feeling nauseous.”
“That’s normal. There’s a prescription you can take for the nausea if you’d like but there’s nothing I can do about being tired. It’s par for the course, I’m afraid. We’re going to do a transvaginal ultrasound to determine the exact age of the fetus and to make sure everything looks good. I’ll try and see if we can hear the heartbeat.”
“We can hear the heartbeat today?” Lucy asked as Dr. Kane moved the ultrasound machine closer.
“Not always, but sometimes we can this early. Just depends.” Dr. Kane smiled at us.
“We’ll get to see the baby right?” I asked.
“That’s the plan.” Dr. Kane picked up the large wand with a condom covering it.
“Now if you’ll lay back, we can get started,” Dr. Kane said, staring at something on the computer screen.
Lucy slowly lay back catching my eyes. She looked concerned—whether it was about the size of the wand or the health of the baby I wasn’t sure.
“Just squeeze my hand if it hurts,” I said softly.
“Okay,” Lucy said as Dr. Kane inserted the wand.
“This little hamster image is your baby.” He pointed at the screen showing us the little blob on the screen. “Everything looks good. The fluttering is the heartbeat.”
He clicked something on the keyboard and a swooshing sound filled the room.
“That’s our baby’s heartbeat.” Lucy’s eyes stayed on the small screen, tears in her voice.
“It sure is.” The anxiety that washed over me when Dr. Kane had walked in dissipated as I watched the screen.
After a minute of watching the screen while Dr. Kane typed in the computer, he said, “You’re eight weeks five days. Due date is February 12th.”
This was real. I was going to be a father and I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather be doing this with. I squeezed Lucy’s hand and she smiled up at me. I hoped she was feeling the same way.
I leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Thank you.”
Lucy’s face was soft and tears shimmered in her eyes.
“This is your first child, right?”
“Yes. That’s right,” I answered because Lucy seemed overwhelmed.
“Any questions for me?”
I helped Lucy sit up and adjust the gown.
When she was covered, Lucy asked, “I’m a little confused about how the Nuvaring failed. We didn’t use a condom.”
“How did you store it?” Dr. Kane asked.
“I kept the extras in my bathroom medicine cabinet. When I moved, I discovered I’d forgotten to pack them so I put the bag in the glove compartment for the drive home. I forgot about it for a few days. When I remembered, I put them in the fridge.”
“You moved in the summer months?” Dr. Kane said.
“Yes, June,” Lucy said.
“The heat of the car could affect its effectiveness. It’s not supposed to be exposed to sunlight or extreme heat. It’s ninety-nine percent effective if used correctly.”