Angel gulps back her tears. “Did you cry?”
“Sure,” the woman says, as if every woman cries when she finds out that kind of great news.
“So, I am normal?” Angel asks.
The woman nods as the elevator stops and just before they get off she offers a word of encouragement, “Don’t worry if you are. This man loves you. Anyone can see that.”
The elevator doors close and she looks up at me with red-rimmed eyes. “You do, don’t you?”
I nod and kiss the top of her head then pick her up as the elevator comes to a stop at the penthouse then I take her to our suite.
Laying her gently on the bed, I ask, “Should I call and get you one of those things, Baby?”
“I’m on the pill,” she says and gets up to go pull them out of her bag. She shows them to me. “See, I’ve taken them every day just like I’m supposed to.”
I take the pack out of her hand and look at the back and my nose wrinkles up instinctively. “Angel, these are a year past the expiration date.”
“What?” She grabs the pack out of my hands. Her eyes go round as she looks back at me. “Oh my God, Benny! That means I could be a couple of months pregnant! I didn’t even notice the damn date and I got these and last months at the same time from my doctor. The idiot! Call the desk. Call them now.”
She runs to the bathroom and I hear her throwing up. I laugh and shake my head as I pick up the phone in the room. “Hi, I need a couple of things. One pregnancy test and one bottle of non-alcoholic champagne, please.”
Just as I hang up, she comes out completely naked and pointing at her stomach. “I thought I was bloated. I thought maybe I was getting a little tummy because I’ve been snacking so much. Feel this.” She takes my hand and places it on her stomach that is a little bit bigger but not much.
“I can’t tell, Baby. But we’ll be fine either way. You know we will.”
She falls backward onto the bed and looks at the ceiling. “This is awful. If I am pregnant, then everyone will think you only married me because of that.”
I lean over and kiss her cheek. “Who cares what anyone thinks?”
“It’ll make the New York Times. I know it will. I can see the headline now, ‘Benjamin Worthington married a nobody because he got her pregnant.’ It’ll be everywhere.”
I have to laugh. “Okay, first thing, that’s no kind of headline. Second, it will never make the news. Third, who gives a fuck?”
A knock comes at the door and she sits up quickly. “Go get it and bring me the thingy to the bathroom.” She shoots into the bathroom as I go to the door.
The man at the door hands me a discreet brown paper bag and the bottle of champagne and a basket of fruit. He has a big grin as he asks, “Are we happy about this?”
I nod. “Very.”
“Great!” he says as he places the things on a small table near the door. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you guys then.”
After reading the directions to make sure she does this right, I take the test to her. She’s chewing at her fingernail as I walk in. “Here, Baby. Pee on this then lay it on this tissue on the counter top. Then I want you to put on one of these fluffy robes and come out to me. In ten minutes you and I will come back in here together and see what it says.”
She nods. “K.”
I leave her alone because I know she needs a bit of space to do what she has to. Grabbing two champagne glasses, I fill them up and leave them on the table. I sit on the sofa and in no time she’s coming out.
A white robe is covering her now, and she looks nervous as hell. I wiggle my finger at her and she comes to me.
Taking her hand, I pull her to sit on my lap. I pull her hair out of the bobby pins that are holding her hair up and run my hands through it to make the long waves hang down.
“You’re really beautiful, Angel.” I push the robe back and kiss her shoulder.
She smiles at me and runs her hands over my face. “And you are too, Benny,”
I pull her to me and take her lips with a deep kiss. A kiss that lets her know I love her with everything in me. A kiss that tells her everything will be okay. A kiss that tells her I’m happy no matter what.
The kiss gets me hot for her and I lay her back on the sofa and move my body over hers. Her legs wrap around me and I grind against her. A low moan comes out of her, making our mouths vibrate.
One breast finds its way into my hand and I squeeze it as our mouths take us to places only they can. My cock is straining inside the tuxedo pants and I somehow manage to kick my shoes off then her hand finds my zipper and the button keeping my pants on and she frees me up.
Opening her robe, I push it back and press my aching cock into her as she arches up to me. “Benny,” she moans as I enter her.
I move my mouth to kiss her neck as I move inside her and make gentle thrusts. “Angel Worthington, you taste delicious.” I suck her sweet skin and make her moan and writhe underneath me.
She unbuttons my shirt and runs her hands under it, all over my back. “Your body feels even better now that you’re all mine, Benny.”
I look at her with a smile and kiss the tip of her nose. “I am all yours, Angel. And you are all mine.”
She’s so gorgeous my insides ache knowing I get to look at her every day and every night. The way her legs wrap around me has her holding me to her and my thrusts are short.
She runs her hand over my head and looks at me intensely. “We’re married, Benny. That’s so weird.”
“I wouldn’t use the word, weird, my Angel.” I kiss her cheek. “I’d use fantastic.”
She bites her lower lip and says, “Yeah, it’s that too.”
“You know you’re a very rich woman now, Mrs. Worthington. What’s the first thing you want to buy?” I ask, as I pump slow and easy into her wet depths.
“I think my first purchase is going to be a tattoo of my name right over your heart. What do you think about that?” She runs her hand over the empty spot on my chest and I run my fingertips over the same spot on her.
“If I can see my name right here, then you can put your name right there,” I say then kiss the place just above her plump and juicy left breast.
She nods, “Deal. And I’m putting my new last name across the top of my wrist. Like a built in bracelet.”
I smile and kiss her and know I married the right one for me.
Our bodies move together like they were built for this. And suddenly I want all of our clothes off. I pull away from her and pull my clothes all the way off as she watches me.
Then I pick her up and carry her to the bed. I place her feet on the floor and take the robe all the way off then lay her back on the bed and look at her for the longest time.
This woman is mine. To love, care for, and take care of. She is my responsibility and always will be. Instead of feeling a weight on my shoulders, I feel an energy I’ve never felt before.
Her blue eyes look up at me and her face is void of any emotion as she holds her arms out to me. I go into them and her face fills with light. “I love you, Benny.”
I kiss her and know all is right with us.
ANGEL
The day finally took its toll on us and after we made love, we fell asleep. The light peeking in from the heavily curtained window wakes me up. Benny snores next to my ear as he holds me in his arms.
It’s the best sound I’ve ever heard.
Then the fog clears and I remember what’s waiting for us in the bathroom. I nudge him in the ribs and he grunts as he wakes up.
His warm lips touch my shoulder. His voice is scratchy as he says, “Good morning, Mrs. Worthington.”
“Good morning. Do you think you’re ready to go see what that test in the bathroom has for us?”
He moans a little as he squeezes me. “I completely forgot about that. All I could think about was you. And how happy I am you’re mine now.”
I turn in his arms and look at him then run my hand through his dark blonde hair. “I’m
happy too. More than I knew was possible. Funny how a little piece of paper makes things feel so permanent.”
He pulls my left hand from underneath the blanket and kisses the wedding set on it. “And the rings help too.”
I nod and bring his left hand to my lips and kiss the one on his finger too. “Yes, they do.”
“Okay,” he says as he looks into my eyes and runs his hand over my cheek. “We’re happy no matter what the outcome of that test is. Okay?”
I nod. “What else can we be?”
“Well, you could get all weepy again. That’s no good,” he says with a frown.
I smack him in the arm. “Hey, I might not be able to help that!”
He rubs his arm, “Ow!”
I raise my eyebrow at him and give him that look that says not to mess with me. “Well!”
“Okay. If you have to cry for reasons I’ll never understand then do it and I’ll try not to laugh at you. It won’t be easy, but I’ll try.” He gets out of bed and puts on the fluffy white robe that’s lying over the chair near him and I get out of bed and pick up the one he pulled off me last night from the floor and put it on.
“Come on, Big Papa,” I say as I hold out my hand for him.
He laughs and smacks my ass. “You come on, Big Momma.”
I shake my head. “Baby, there’s not a woman on the planet that likes to be called big anything.”
He laughs again. “Got ya. Come on, Lil’ Momma.”
So into the bathroom we go to see what we’re doing here. Partying like rock stars or like pregnant people.
My heart’s pounding so hard that’s basically all I can hear as my pulse fills my ears. And I close my eyes as Benny opens the bathroom door. He flips on the light switch and we lean over the counter top and I open my eyes.
“What’s that mean?” I ask as I didn’t read the directions, and he did.
“What does a plus sign usually mean, Baby?” he asks me with a smile.
“Positive,” I answer. “But, is that like a positive sign I’m not pregnant? You know, like this test is positive you are not pregnant.”
He shakes his head. “Come on, Baby. You know what a positive result is. Don’t act dumb.”
His arms surround me and he leans his forehead against mine. I run my arms around him and we just hold each other like that for a long time. Like longer than I ever recall holding anyone like this in my life.
Finally, I can speak without the threat of crying, “Benny, we sure hurry up and do things, don’t we?”
“We sure do, Baby,” he says then kisses my lips with a light kiss. “We sure do.”
Chapter 5
BLAZE
The squeaking of the rocking chair as it moves back and forth over the hardwood floor in the great room makes a comforting sound that’s not only putting our six-month-old son to sleep but also his very tired daddy.
The fireplace is in full blaze and the warmth it’s putting out is making things way too comfortable not to take a well-deserved afternoon nap. It’s quiet since Angel’s in her shop creating a masterpiece of artwork on the gas tank of the bike she’s putting the finishing touches on.
It’s her very first design, and she’s doing all the graphics by hand. We’re taking it to Milwaukie to the Harley Davidson plant next month to see what they think about her design.
It’s too lightweight for me but men like me are not who it was designed for, anyway. Angel designed it for people who weigh less than a hundred and fifty pounds. And are not terribly tall in stature either.
And she’s making it pretty. This first one is designed for a woman. She’s going to make another one of the same body style and frame but use graphics and colors for a man.
To say I’m proud of her just isn’t enough. She’s managed to make a baby inside her while finishing her degree and starting her first motorcycle design. Then she built it with her own two hands. She had a little help from me and a couple of men I hired to help with the heavy lifting, of course.
Then she had our son after twenty-seven hours of labor. To be honest, I’m not sure how she did that at all. She’s like a miracle woman!
After only four weeks of recovery time, she got back to work on her motorcycle while I took over most of the care of little Woodrow Wilson Worthington. We call him Woody. Grandfather came up with the name and Angel thought it would be a great tradition to keep up.
I wasn’t so keen on it, but we’ve learned how to make compromises. I get to name any daughters we might have. Although, Angel said it’s going to have to be a few years before we try for another kid so she can get the horrible labor she had with Woody far out of her mind.
Cuddles comes into the room, jumping and acting like a young puppy which means someone is here. The front door opens and I hear people walking inside. Then Angel’s voice floats out of the entry room and into the great room, “He’s going to be so surprised.”
Picking my head up off the back of the chair where I was resting it in hopes of a nap, I see Angel coming into the room with Gage walking next to her and carrying a little box that seems to be making a cheeping noise.
A wide smile covers his face as he looks right at the sleeping baby I’m holding. “Uncle Gage brought little Woody a friend.” He puts the box down where I can see inside of it and I see the thing making the incessant cheeping sounds.
Woody stirs and is fully awake within seconds as he hears the sounds too and has to see what it is. Gage picks the little yellow chick up and holds it out to Woody.
He nearly climbs off me to get away from the thing as he looks terrified. “It’s a baby chick, Woody,” I say quietly to him.
He looks at me as if my words alone make it safe. I’m like a God to this little guy!
I pet the little thing on top of its fluffy tiny head and my son follows me. Then he giggles and my heart fills with that crazy stuff that makes it feel wiggly and full of happiness.
One little giggle out of him does it to me every time. I hope it always does.
Gage is beaming. “I knew he’d love it. What are you going to call him, Woody?”
Angel rolls her eyes. “Gage, he can’t talk yet. He’s smart but not that smart yet. So let’s call it, Yellow Chick.”
Gage rolls his eyes right back at her. “No way. That’s a lame name. How about, Pecker?”
I let out a laugh, “Ha! No. I’m not going to have my son going around calling out, here, Pecker. Has anyone seen my Pecker?”
“Oh, yeah. Didn’t think that one out,” Gage admits.
His physical therapy is coming along great and he’s a hundred percent back to his former self like he was before his wreck. But the mental therapy is taking a bit longer.
Although Angel did have to admit he wasn’t up there in the high points where intelligence was concerned before his wreck. She said it was his muscles and handsome face that got to her, not his brain.
So he may be back to normal for him, anyway.
The baby watches the little chick peeping like crazy and he starts popping his mouth, making a little popping sound. Angel and I look at each other and we both say, “Pop Pop!”
Gage nods. “I like it. Pop Pop it is.” He holds his hand up as he’s managed to teach our baby how to high five.
Woody holds up his hand and they both laugh as they do a little baby version of it. Woody laughs like it’s the funniest thing in the world and it makes Angel and I laugh too.
This kid has been more fun than I ever knew a kid could be. Oh, he’s also been a horror show. Especially the diapers in the beginning. My God, those were horrible!
Angel really put it to me with those awful things. Seems like the smell was so awful it was always about to make her puke. So she’d shout out that she needed help and would quickly abandon me with the terrible task of finishing the diaper change.
She really is a little bit of Heaven and a little bit of Hell, in more ways than one!
But I wouldn’t have her any other way.
Gage holds his
hands out for Woody to come to him and as always he does. He loves his Uncle Gage. And their friendship which started right off the bat has been a huge help to Angel and me.
We have a reliable babysitter anytime we ask for one and I think it might be the right time to ask so I can take my wife out on a little motorcycle ride.
As I rock back and forth in the rocking chair, I reach up and pull Angel down to sit in my vacated lap. She giggles and runs her arms around my neck. I kiss her lips as Gage takes the baby and sits with him on the floor to play with Cuddles and the new baby chick.
“What do you say to a bike ride with your old man, Baby?”
She leans her head on my chest and sighs. “You gonna let me drive this time?”
“No,” I say with a chuckle. “You’re going to ride bitch like you always do. And you’re going to like it.” I kiss her lips again and she kisses me back a bit harder.
She pulls back and says, “Damn it, I love your ass.”
I run my hand along her side and over her hip. “I love your sweet ass too, Lil’ Momma.”
She gazes up at me with those deep blue eyes and flutters her thick dark lashes at me. “Can we stop at the Tasty Freeze for an ice cream cone?”
I nod and she smiles. And I have to wonder if just her smile alone will always make me feel this way.
ANGEL
The wind is cold on the sunny yet cold, late November afternoon. I ride behind my husband and use his body to shield my face from the freezing air. But he wanted to take a ride with me and I rarely tell him no to that.
Plus, he said he’d get me an ice cream cone and I rarely say no to that too!
But I find myself thinking back to the summer and I do recall bitching about how hot it was then. Seems I like spring and fall and that’s about all.
It’s hard to believe we celebrated our first wedding anniversary last month. The year flew by. Even being pregnant didn’t make it feel like forever although the pregnancy itself did feel that way.
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