Weighting for Christmas

by A. J. Harmon

  With more than a few tears cascading down my face, I throw my arms around his neck and sob into his clean, dry shoulder.

  “I’m not sure if that’s a yes? Or is it a no?”

  “It’s a yes,” I stutter between catching my breath in between sobs.

  “Oh, thank God,” he laughs.

  *****

  I’m on the bed, on my stomach, naked, Chad straddling my ankles, his towel thrown haphazardly on the floor next to the bed.

  “Don’t move,” he orders, “and do not open your eyes.”

  “But I want to look at my ring,” I whine with a giggle.

  “Nope. Keep ‘em shut.”

  “Okay,” I comply.

  “I am going to show you, with my body, just how much I love you, and you are going to remain very still while I do so.”

  It seems like an eternity has passed since my world came crumbling down around me, my heart ripping into a million pieces. What I hadn’t realized up to that point, is that trust is earned by actions in the long-term, and Chad had earned it over months and months of loyalty and honesty. If I can’t trust him when he says he’s telling me the truth, we have no foundation for our relationship to continue building upon.

  As he held me, cradled in his arms while emotions poured out of me in the form of tears and sobs, and as I felt his heart beat in perfect sync with my own, the doubts I had allowed to plague me over the last few days vanished almost as quickly as they reared their ugly head outside the whore’s trailer.

  Chad has promised me that we will never see one of her movies, and even if she gains weight and gets morbidly obese, she will never be allowed entrance into our fitness center… ever!

  I try to still my mind, concentrate on Chad and what he is doing – placing sweet light kisses on my feet and ankles, carefully avoiding the overly sensitive arch of my foot that he knows will send me into hysterical foot kicking and screaming. His lips are soft and wet, and leave a trail of shivers with each kiss. As his mouth reaches my knees, he begins to use his tongue to sweep over my already tingling skin, sending waves of desire pulsing through my body, heat building deep in my core. God help me when he goes higher.

  And higher he does, licking and sucking gently on the inside of my thigh, making my hips buck involuntarily with a desire that only he can fulfill.

  “Chad,” I groan as I stifle the cry I feel rising in my throat.

  “Shh,” he replies in a stern tone, but I hear his smile. “I said no talking.”

  He flips me over and he settles between my thighs, the aching in between my legs becoming more and more unbearable.

  I quiet for a moment, only to have him leave his mark on my right hip, his tongue pulling my skin into his mouth to claim me as his. Sweet Lord of Mercy. I grab at his head, his stubbled head rough on my palms as I hold his mouth against my skin.

  “Mmm,” he breathes warm air against the moist trail on my hip that sends a shiver right up my spine. “I think you might just be enjoying this.”

  “I am,” I squeak.

  He laughs, a deep throaty laugh that tugs at my heart. “I said no talking. If you cannot comply with my demands, I may just have to punish you.” He laughs again, this time spreading a wave of excitement through me, goose bumps all over my already heated body.

  With my thumb, I feel the ring on my finger and a smile turns my lips upwards. And as Chad’s thumb finds my clit and rubs in a circular motion, the moan that escapes past my smile tells him all he needs to know.

  “Relax, baby, and let it all go.” With his tongue, he swipes across my throbbing nub, and as he sucks gently, and as his hand reaches up and takes my taut nipple in between his fingers, I arch my back as my orgasm spasms through me in a tsunami of convulsions. Beads of sweat drip from my forehead and onto the pillow as the exquisite heat rips through me.

  Chad’s forehead is resting on the fuzzy hair at the apex of my thighs, his breath labored and short.

  “What’s wrong?” I tense as I realize his heart is racing.

  “Nothing,” he mutters. “I… um… seem to have been… um… turned on when you just came. I think we may have to change the sheets.”

  And then we both laugh as he crawls up my body so that he is hovering directly above me, our eyes locked. The kiss that comes next is one I will remember for as long as I live. As his lips touch mine, there is an electric jolt that passes between us, an awareness that we will only ever feel this way about each other. We belong together and always will. Nothing will rip us apart as long as we strive every day to remain faithful to the trust we have earned.

  “Kate?”

  “Hmm?”

  “When shall we get married?”

  “I haven’t had much of a chance to think about it,” I chuckle.

  We are lying in each other’s arms, happily basking in afterglow.

  “Do you want a big wedding? Or a small one?” he asks.

  “Small is just fine with me,” I reply.

  “Good. Me, too. What about the ceremony? Church? City Hall?”

  “Is there another choice?” I ask.

  “Sure,” he chuckles. “We’ll come up with something. What about engagement? Short? Long?”

  “Definitely not long,” I squeak.

  “I concur.”

  I should probably take the opportunity to tell him the news, but for some reason I hesitate, afraid it will spoil the moment. I know he said he wanted to make babies with me, but he didn’t say right now. And besides, we have a new fitness club to open in a few short months. I just don’t know how he’ll take it. And how do I even tell him? Hey Chad. I know I was on the pill and all but hey, guess what? I’m pregnant! I just don’t see it going over well.

  “Babe? What is it?”

  “What’s what?” I respond.

  “You just went all rigid. What’s wrong?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Kate?”

  Well, fuck. Here it is. No getting out of it, I suppose.

  “Chad, I’ve worked really hard the past year to get in shape. I know that I actually only lost about thirty pounds, but…”

  “Okay, again, you are fabulous and sexy and the scale doesn’t mean a damn thing.”

  “I know. I know,” I mutter in agreement. “But all that work is gonna just fly out the window. I’m getting bigger and the weight is gonna come back.”

  Chad pushes me away and sits upright. I can see the tension and frustration in his expression, as his brows furrow and his lips flatten into a thin straight line.

  “At some point, Kate, there has to be a reset in the way your brain thinks. I understand that this has been a lifelong obsession, or issue, or problem, or whatever you want to call it, and I realize that changing your self-image can’t, and doesn’t, happen overnight. But it’s been over eleven months now. You’re working on a year and at some point I need to hear you say that you love your body and mean it.”

  He has no clue what I’m talking about and there is a devilish part of me that wants to just continue dragging him along in the dark.

  “I love my body,” I say.

  “Not good enough,” he sighs in irritation. “And you can’t just say it because you know I want you to. You have to say it because you actually believe it.”

  Fuck! I feel bad for him. I need to let him in on my secret.

  “I love my body. I love that I’m a woman. I love that my legs are strong and that you like to watch my calf muscles flex and move when I wear heels. I love my hair and I love when you run your hands through my hair. I love my stomach. I love the muscles I can really feel when I do sit-ups and I love that inside my stomach I have reproductive organs that will give us the babies we want.”

  Want. I want this baby. Saying it out loud confirms that I want this baby… and that I’m already in love with it. Now his response is more important than I ever imagined.

  “Kate,” Chad murmurs. I see the tears in his eyes, the overwhelming pride I also see there. “That is beautiful. You are
beautiful. And you aren’t going to get fat unless you choose to get fat.”

  “I choose to get fat,” I say as I exhale the breath I’ve been holding since I took the pregnancy test all those days ago.

  “You do?”

  “I do,” I confirm with a nod. “But I will need your helping in losing the extra pounds in nine months after our baby is born.”

  I wait, watching him intently for a sign that he understands what I am saying. It’s not hard to figure out, and Chad is an intelligent man, but he wasn’t expecting to hear the words I just spoke.

  Recognition slowly appears on his face, and then a smile – a great big toothy grin that engulfs his entire face.

  “You’re pregnant,” he mouths.

  I nod. “That’s what I was coming to New Orleans to tell you.”

  “Holy shit! We’re having a baby?”

  “Yep. Do you want to have a baby?”

  “With you? I absolutely want a baby with you.”

  “But do you want a baby with me right now? I mean, it’s not perfect timing.”

  “Will it ever be perfect timing? There’ll always be some reason or other that will make it less than ideal, Kate. I say, let’s make next year the year of extreme celebration. We’ll get married, we’ll open our club, and we’ll have a baby. Sounds like the best year of our lives to me.”

  The joy in his expression, the tears of happiness streaming down his face tell me all I need to know.

  “It does, doesn’t it?”

  EIGHTEEN

  “This is the last time, Mom,” I tell her when Chad and I arrive at my parents’ house. “Next Christmas we will be staying at our house and beginning our own traditions, okay?”

  She nods but I think she’s still planning on us spending Christmas Eve here just as I’ve always done. But this time next year, Chad and I will be married and we’ll have a baby.

  A baby! Can it be real?

  Every morning, Chad kisses my tummy and says, “Good morning, baby.” Every night, he kisses my tummy and says, “Good night, baby.” It is the sweetest moment of each day and every time he does it, my heart melts.

  Chad insisted that we see a doctor right away. With Grace sworn to secrecy, we decided to see her doctor, seeing as though she trusted him and had a great experience with Jack. Chad held my hand the entire time, and when the doctor let us hear our baby’s heartbeat, we both were overwhelmed with love for the little tadpole growing inside me. At our next appointment, I will have an ultrasound and we will get to see little froggy, as Chad has started calling it.

  But Grace is still the only one in the family who knows I’m pregnant, although I assume that even though I threatened her with her life if she did, she told her husband. I guess I can understand that. I couldn’t keep it from Chad if I were in her shoes.

  I admit freely that it’s incredibly weird to have Chad in my bed with me – my childhood bed. It’s a double bed, but even so, we are squished in here like sardines in a can. We’re used to our king bed, even though we sleep so we are touching.

  “Wanna get frisky?” Chad wiggles his eyebrows.

  I giggle just like I would have had I ever had a boy in here when I was a teenager. “With my parents in the room on the other side of this wall?”

  “Makes it even kinkier. Besides, they’re probably having a good time and not even thinking about you,” he laughs.

  “Oooo, don’t say that!” I cry in disgust.

  “So, do ya? Do ya?”

  “No. Go to sleep,” I laugh.

  “With your sexy ass cradling my cock? Not likely,” he smirks.

  “Want me to roll over?” I offer.

  “So your voluptuous boobs are in my face? Yeah, like that’s gonna help.”

  “I give up, then,” I giggle. “Have your way with me, but be quiet,” I plead.

  “I’ll be as quiet as a mouse,” Chad whispers. “It’s you I’m worried about. Your moaning can get loud,” he teases.

  *****

  The next morning, Christmas morning, as usual, we are all up before Mom and Dad. Grace and Will are already downstairs with Jack, going through his stocking, although being just a few months old, I don’t think he has any idea what’s going on, nor does he care.

  Mom has added a stocking for Chad, and we both sit on the living room floor and peruse our haul. Once again, Mom has spoiled us rotten with all kinds of fun things. Chad is duly impressed by my mother’s choice in stocking stuffers and whispers in my ear that, like Grace and her family, maybe we should just keep coming back, year after year. I just laugh, hoping that he’s joking, but I’m not so sure.

  When the parents appear downstairs, Mom puts the cinnamon rolls in the oven to bake, and a mere twenty-five minutes later, we are feasting on warm rolls and coffee. There are some traditions that no matter where we are, I will keep, and cinnamon rolls are most definitely on that list.

  When it comes time to open presents under the tree, Grace insists on Jack opening his presents first. I grudgingly agree, even though I wanted Chad’s and my gift to my parents opened first. But we wait… and wait… and wait some more. Chad and I were planning on visiting with his mom this afternoon, but at this rate it’ll have to be pushed back to next week!

  “How many flippin’ presents does a baby need?” I sigh after what seems like the fifty-seventh gift being opened.

  “Just you wait,” Mom chastises. “One day, you’ll have a baby to spoil and you’ll understand.”

  “Yes, Kate,” Chad grins. “One day you’ll have a baby and you will understand.”

  “Stop!” I slap his arm.

  He just laughs at me and we continue watching Jack showing no interest whatsoever in the mountain of toys and clothes that are being piled in front of him. Once his mountain of gifts is opened, I jump in and say it’s my turn.

  “Mom? Dad? This is for you.” I hand them an envelope and return to Chad’s side and watch with anticipation.

  “What is it?” my Mom asks.

  “Is it a cruise?” my Dad asks.

  “It’s not a cruise,” I laugh.

  Mom pulls out the paper inside and unfolds it to reveal the bill from my doctor. I can see her reading the name of the practice at the top of the paper, and then is Dr. Ross’ name, the words OB/GYN coming next. With a confused expression, she looks up at me, eyebrows raised high, a question forming on her lips.

  I nod and the huge smile begins forming on her face. Chad can’t hold the news in for a second longer.

  “We’re having a baby!”

  The whole room erupts in screams and giddy laughter. Even Grace is thrilled for our news.

  “I guess next year it’s your turn again,” I joke.

  “Nope. Not happening,” she laughs.

  “I have a present for you,” Chad says as he jumps up and hustles to the tree. He pulls out a beautifully wrapped box and hands it to me.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “Open it and see,” he chuckles.

  I pull the ribbon and the bow falls apart. I carefully unwrap the red foil paper and remove the blue velvet box.

  I look down at my left hand and the sparkling diamond on my finger.

  “It can’t be another engagement ring,” I assume aloud and look up at Chad who is anxiously watching me.

  “Open it,” he strongly encourages.

  Lifting the lid, I hold my breath, and find a beautiful necklace sitting on the velvet pillow. I reach from my throat and the Strong is Beautiful necklace I wear every day. But this necklace has a sterling silver barbell charm and my eyes instantly fill with tears.

  “It’s how we met,” Chad whispers in my ear as he sits down behind me.

  “It’s beautiful,” I cry as I lift the delicate chain lovingly and hold the charm in the palm of my hand.

  “For my beautiful girl,” Chad smiles and takes the necklace from me and places it around my neck. I lift my hair and he closes the clasp, the chain falling against my skin.

  The room erupts in
one “Awww,” in unison and we all laugh.

  “That is one lucky baby,” my Mom smiles. “You guys are going to be great parents.”

  I hope so.

  *****

  The tenth day of January is when we get the keys to the building that will be the location of our new gym for the chubby people like me. We still can’t agree on a name though, and as we are in a major discussion with the contractor who will be making the necessary changes to the layout, and adding locker rooms and offices, Ellis, one of the employees who has left the old gym with Chad to join us on our new adventure, interrupts us to say that there is a woman in the foyer asking to see Chad.

  “Well, I’m kind of busy right now,” Chad frowns. “They’re going to have to make an appointment and come back another time.”

  “But it’s Anna Baxter,” Ellis whispers in excitement.

  “That fucking bitch!” I hiss and sprint in the direction of the woman who almost ruined my life.

  I’ve never seen Chad run so fast. He bolts out ahead of me and manages to cut me off as we round the corner and see Anna standing by the glass front doors. Chad reaches behind his back and grabs my wrists and pulls my arms around his waist and holds on tight, essentially gluing my chest to his back. I can barely see over his shoulder and we shuffle a few steps forward.

  “What are you doing here?” he asks angrily.

  “I… I came to apologize,” she says meekly.

  “I don’t need an apology. I need you to leave,” Chad replies sternly.

  “Fuck that!” I hiss from behind him. “I need an apology.”

  “I am sorry, Kate.”

  “Sorry for what?” I sneer. Oh, yeah. I’m going to make the bitch say it all. Chad just squeezes my wrists and I feel his sigh. “Spell it out for me. What exactly did you do?”

  “I was in a very lonely place and I thought that if Chad could maybe see me as a woman, rather than just a client, then, maybe…”

  But she doesn’t attempt to finish her confession. Like that’s going to be enough for me? Hell, no! I want her to squirm.

  “And?”