by Alison Mello
“Talk to me.” Stone leans on the table.
“What is there to say? I’m nervous and we have a ton of planning to do now. I can’t help but think about everything. Not to mention I’m starving, but I have no idea how well my stomach will handle this food.”
“Well, take it one meal at a time. Stressing yourself over it isn’t going to help you.”
The waitress comes over, and as soon as she’s done asking how we’re doing, I look her in the eye and ramble, “I would like a tall glass of orange juice, scrambled eggs with peppers and onions, raisin toast—light on the butter—and bacon.” She’s trying to fight a smile but she’s failing. “Sorry, I’m hungry.”
Stone bursts into laughter. “I’ll make it easy on you…make it two.” The waitress nods and walks away. “I spoke to Logan about the agent. She’s going to get in touch with me, but we need to talk about what we want in a place.”
“I would like something like you have now, but we need two bedrooms and two bathrooms.”
“I agree. I think we’re fine with two bedrooms.”
She nods. “I would also like to have a doorman like we do now.”
The waitress drops our food and I begin to eat while Stone tells me he agrees, and that he’s going to get to the agent with what we’re looking for and the areas we would like to be in. We don’t want to be too far from either of our jobs, but lucky for us, we don’t work too far from each other, so that shouldn’t be too difficult for her.
It takes me no time to finish my breakfast, and I actually feel pretty good. Stone takes care of the bill and we both head over to the doctor’s for my visit.
When we get there, the office is packed with pregnant woman and babies, and it’s making me edgy. I check in with the woman at the desk and she tells us to have a seat. I take a deep breath and find two seats side by side. Believe it or not, there aren’t many seats to choose from. I’m getting more and more nervous, my leg is bouncing up and down a million miles an hour while Stone holds my hand, rubbing his thumb along my knuckles.
The woman on the side of me has a little girl who looks like she’s only been walking for a short time and she’s visibly pregnant.
“First one?” she asks me. I smile at her and nod. “Don’t stress, you’ll be fine. I was nervous for my first one too, and now this is my third.”
My brows shoot up. “Really?”
She smiles. “Yup, my oldest is in preschool. This is Jordan.” She points to her daughter. “We weren’t planning on getting pregnant for a third so quickly after having her, but it happened, and so here we are.”
“We weren’t planning this just yet either, but we’re both thrilled and ready to take it on.” I smile, feeling better by the minute.
The doctor calls her name. She stands, takes her daughter’s hand, and wishes us all the best.
I turn to Stone with a smile. “I’m starting to feel like we got this. Seeing all these women in here pregnant and with little ones has actually made me feel better.” He squeezes my hand and we sit and wait.
“Miranda,” a woman in scrubs calls out.
Stone and I stand, walking toward her hand in hand. “How are you today?” the woman asks us.
“We’re good.” I smile, feeling more confident.
“Good, you can have a seat right in here.” The nurse points to a room and we both walk in. “Sir, you can have a seat in the chair, and Miranda, you can have a seat on the exam table.”
I climb up and Stone takes a seat beside me. We go through a round of questions, she checks my weight, and tells me the doctor will be in shortly. As soon as the door is closed, I exhale a deep breath. The breakfast I ate a short time ago is starting to upset my stomach. I’m trying really hard to keep it down, because I know it’s important that I eat and feed me and the baby.
There’s a knock at the door and a doctor comes walking in. “Hi, I’m Doctor Stryker. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She holds her hand out to me.
“It’s nice to meet you. This is Stone.” They shake hands.
She starts clicking away on her computer, and a minute later she turns to us. “Miranda, there’s no doubt about it…you’re definitely pregnant. When was your last period?”
I exhale a deep breath. “I lost track, but I think it’s been about three or four weeks. I’ve been so stressed out at work, I thought I was late from stress until I started getting sick.” This crap with Higgins is driving us all crazy, so when I first realized I hadn’t gotten a period, I simply assumed it was the stress, and I was just going to start it late.
She nods her head and continues reviewing and making notes. “How long have you been getting sick?”
“About a week now.” She comes over and begins her examination, listening to my heart and such as while we talk.
“Well, by your hormone level, I’m going to guess that you’re about seven weeks pregnant. I need you to start taking some prenatal vitamins right away. If your morning sickness doesn’t improve or you have a hard time keeping these down, we need to know so we can try to give you something, but hopefully it won’t last much longer.” She hands me a bottle of vitamins and tells me I can get more at the local pharmacy. She asks us if we have any questions, but right now all I keep hearing is that I’m seven weeks pregnant.
“Baby, do you have any questions?” Stone pulls me from my thoughts. Part of me feels like I was fighting the idea of pregnancy even though I knew it was a possibility.
“No, not now.”
“Okay, well, if you end up having any questions, give us a call, but I’ll leave you with these pamphlets to go over, and I want to see you again in four weeks.” She hands us a slip of paper. “You can see the secretary on the way out to make your next appointment.
“Thank you, Doc.” I climb off the table and shake her hand.
She shakes Stone’s hand, then we go out to the ladies at the front to make my next appointment. Once we have the appointment, Stone takes my hand with a huge smile on his face, and the look is contagious. “I know you have concerns, but this is going to be good. I can’t wait to find out what we’re having.”
I giggle. “Yeah, that will be fun.”
Chapter 17
Miranda
It’s Halloween night and the girls and I are super excited to be going to the club tonight. Lila and Katie will be here any minute because we’re planning to get ready together. We had so much fun shopping for our costumes and they were really easy to find. We went to a few donation stores in search of old dresses. I managed to find a white dress that was already slightly torn up and the girls each found red dresses. They were not the same, but that didn’t really matter for this occasion. When we were done, they came to my house to finish making our dresses look more zombie-like.
I’m pulling our dresses out and laying them on the bed when there’s a knock at the door. Stone shouts, “I’ll get it.”
When he opens it I hear Lila and Katie saying hi to him before they come barreling into my room, squealing with excitement. Katie hugs me and says, “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” I tell her. “I’m getting less sick every day.”
Lila hugs me next. “That’s awesome. I’m so glad you’re feeling better.”
“Thanks. Are you ladies ready for some fun?” They both nod and clap their hands in excitement. “Who wants to go first?” I ask. I have the hair products all pulled out and they brought a makeup kit, but no one answers. “Fine, Lila, you go first.” She takes a seat and we get busy curling and teasing her hair, then pinning it off her face. Once we’re done, we begin the makeup process and she’s done and ready to go thirty minutes later.
She stands to look in the mirror and then bursts into laughter. “This is awesome!” she shouts excitedly.
“Okay, the bride next,” Lila demands.
I take a seat and the girls start doing the same to me. Lila curls my hair and Katie teases it and pins it in place, but with me they have a tiara to put into my hair, so they slip
it into place and continue curling and pinning pieces around it. When they’re satisfied, they move on to my makeup, and it ends up looking similar to Lila, but a bit heavier on the eye shadow.
We start on Katie next, and when we’re finally all finished, we all stare at one another in the mirror. Katie and I look at each other and say, “Something is missing,” in unison.
“Powder,” Lila announces. “Our hair looks too clean.” I start laughing as I grab the baby powder from under the sink. I put it in my hands clapping them together over Lila’s head, causing powder to go flying everywhere. We’re laughing so hard I’m sure one of us is going to pee our pants when Stone comes in and sees powder everywhere.
“I don’t even want to know what the fuck you’re doing in my bathroom.” He shakes his head.
“I’ll clean it up, babe,” I tell him, still laughing.
“Mmmhhhmm.” He walks out of the room and we all erupt into a fit of laughter yet again.
The three of us walk out of the room fully dressed and ready to go. I have shreds of material hanging from my white dress and the girls have stains and tears in theirs. “Are you three finally ready?” Since Stone is driving us to Thrive, Slade and Cole will meet us there.
“Yeah.” We’re still giggling over our outfits.
“Good, let’s go.” He grabs the door and opens it, still shaking his head at our silliness.
“At least you don’t have to deal with me drunk.” I give him a kiss on the cheek and follow the girls to the elevator.
He mumbles, “Thank God.”
We pull up to the club and there’s already a line out front and it doesn’t open for another forty-five minutes. Stone parks in his usual spot in the back. Katie and Lila jump out the back and thank him for the ride as we all walk in the back door of the club.
When we enter, we are in awe of the place. It looks absolutely amazing. There are cobwebs hanging all over the place with some kickass Halloween décor, and I’m not talking cheap stuff. Logan went all out. Even the VIP sections are decorated with realistic looking spiders. There are skeletons and witches hung, as well as huge ghosts. I’m so stoked.
When we get to our section, Sky and Sadie are already there, and when they see me they start to jump up and down with excitement. “Congrats,” Sky shouts, hugging me.
I smile. “Thanks, you sexy Angel, you. Wait, how do you know already?” I question her with my brows furrowed.
“Well, Stone told Logan, and of course Logan told me. I’m sorry, I probably should have let you tell us, but I was so excited.”
“No, it’s fine. We have a lot going on since we’re planning to get married Valentine’s Day weekend so we’re married before the baby comes, and we have to find an apartment. He told me he was calling Logan to ask for his agent’s info so we can find a place more suitable to raising a family.”
“Well, don’t you worry about a thing, we’ll help you every step of the way,” Sky says.
“Thanks, I really appreciate it.” We all take a seat.
Sadie hugs me and says, “Congrats. How far along are you?” She’s dressed as a sexy angel.
“About eleven weeks now?” I let out a deep breath.
Shawna is our waitress tonight, and as soon as she comes over she says, “Here, try this.”
“What is it?” I question, hesitant that it might have alcohol in it.
“Don’t worry, I know. It doesn’t have even one drop of alcohol.” She winks at me as I take a sip.
“This is delicious,” I say with a huge smile. “What is it?”
“It’s called Afterglow. It’ll make you look like you’re drinking when you’re not.”
“You’re awesome, thanks.” She takes everyone’s order and walks off to get their drinks. The conversation switches to the wedding. “Since Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday this year, we’re looking at either the weekend before or after. I’ve called a few places and we’re going to go check them out and get pricing.” All of a sudden the music kicks on and people start flowing into the club. We’re all bouncing in our seat to “Our House” by Flo Rida, cheering as the night gets underway.
Sky tells us there’s going to be a best costume contest, and that Logan has prizes for first, second, and third place. Being part of the Club Thrive family, we’re not allowed to enter—not that we would win, because there are some really good costumes. I mean, there are tons of pirates and a variety of superheroes, but some of these people are very creative. The place is getting busy, and I notice that I haven’t seen Cole or Slade here. I grab my phone to text Stone.
Miranda: Are Slade and Cole here?
Stone: Yes, one of them is coming to your section now.
Slade comes over to our section and says, “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I just realized I hadn’t seen you yet, and I was getting nervous.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s really crowded in here, and we were trying to figure out the best place for Cole and the bouncers. We’ve been here for a little bit now.”
I give him a smile and turn back to my friends as he takes his position. We huddle up to take a few quick selfies, and then hit the dance floor, but it’s a bit crowded, and with all the costumes, it’s tough to dance without bumping into people. When Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” ends, the DJ asks everyone to leave the dance floor except the costume contestants. Logan and Shane take the dance floor with them, and begin pinning numbers on their costumes. When they’re done, the DJ tells everyone to take a look at each of the contestants. There’s Thor, which is kind of sexy. The guy has naturally long hair and a buff body. Next are Christian and Ana Grey, which is comical because he’s wearing a tux and Ana is wearing a gray dress, but he’s carrying a riding crop and flogger with him. Then there are some silly emojis up there. One is dressed as a big poop, and the other is blowing a kiss. There are so many it’s hard to choose. “Ladies and gentlemen, there are boxes around the club with paper and pens. Please vote for your favorite costume. We’ll be picking the winners just after midnight.”
The music starts back up, but people are milling around looking for places to vote, so we take full advantage and get back on the dance floor near Cole and a bouncer. The contestants are dancing around the middle of the floor. People are pointing and laughing because the poop is grinding with the blowing kiss emoji and Christian is flogging Ana. Thor is trying to hook up with an angel. When Thor is rejected by the angel on the dance floor, he spots Sky and makes his way over. “Excuse me, my lady,” he says.
Logan taps him on the shoulder and says, “She’s my angel. Now piss off.” We all laugh when he bows and walks away.
Logan growls, “I knew this costume was going to be trouble.”
Sky laughs. “He’s the first guy who’s tried to approach me, so relax.” She takes a curtsy. Her costume is a beautiful white dress that barely covers her ass, and the front reveals her cleavage, and she’s wearing these really sexy white heels. She shakes her ass against him. He slaps it and laughs as he walks away to finish work for the night.
We stay out on the dance floor for a few songs and then take a seat. It’s really warm in there and I’m feeling thirsty. Shawna rocks too, because when we get back there is a fresh round of drinks already waiting for us. I down mine and then ask her for some water. There’s a lot of juice in this, and I don’t want to keep drinking all that sugar. The doctor told me it’s not good for the baby, and that I need to pay attention to what I eat and drink. Stone and I went to the store after leaving the doctor’s the other day, and we grabbed some books, and one of them was What To Expect When You’re Expecting. It’s a very interesting read.
“What are you thinking about?” Katie asks.
“Sorry, I was thinking about a book we bought the other day on what to expect during pregnancy. It’s part of the reason I switched to water.” I pause. “Well, that and the doctor’s information. I don’t want to load up on sugar.” Sadie and Sky both laugh. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s
just that the doctors are going to give you so many pieces of crazy advice, as will a ton of people around you. Yes, you should listen to a lot of it, but unless you start having issues with your pregnancy, you can eat and drink almost anything you want.”
Sadie adds, “Now we’re not telling you to go crazy and eat ridiculously, but if you’re craving something, have it. Just don’t go overboard.”
“Makes sense. I just don’t want to get huge.”
“You’re pregnant, you’re going to get as big as you need to for the baby. I just hope he or she is on the smaller side, because dear lord, it wasn’t easy with a seven pound baby, never mind a nine or a ten pound one.”
“Guys, you’re going to scare her,” Katie pleads, coming to my rescue.
They both apologize. “We weren’t thinking. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I don’t want you guys to sugar coat it. I want to be prepared,” I tell them, but the DJ cuts off our conversation.
“Can all the contestants please make their way to the dance floor, please?” he asks. We notice there are fewer contestants than when the night first began, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because people got wasted and were thrown out. “Okay, there are first, second, and third place prizes. The voting was close, and as a matter of fact, there was a tie for first place, so the Club Thrive staff took a vote. Here we go. Third prize goes to the Human Condom.” A guy dressed like an unrolled condom jumps up and down. Logan walks over and hands him a gift card. We are all looking at each other with some serious shock on our faces. I can’t believe these people voted for a guy in a fucking condom costume. “Second place goes to Eminem,” the DJ announces, and starts playing “Slim Shady.” We all burst into laughter. “And first prize goes to…” his voice trails off as he plays a drum roll. “The beautiful Angel!” he shouts, and the club erupts into screams and cheers as the Angel steps forward wearing a costume almost identical to Skyler’s. This girl’s costume is just a bit shorter, her wings are bigger, and she’s wearing a halo above her head. The white boots that go up to her knees probably help too. The guys are all salivating over this woman. The DJ congratulates all of the contestants and announces last call, and I couldn’t be happier. Though it’s been a fun night, I’m tired and my feet ache.