by Sarah Adams
“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh,” Jessie chants in a high-pitched voice with every step I take. I don’t want to move too quickly and startle the snake for fear that it would then startle Jessie and make her slip and fall.
So, I move in slowly and whisper, “Will you be quiet?”
“Don’t tell me what to do! I’m the one being held hostage by a snake. You’re not peeking, are you?”
“If you don’t zip your lips, I’m going to turn and look fully at you.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“I would. So hush until I have this snake in the bag.”
I hear her gulp, but she doesn’t say a thing as I approach. Moving nice and slow, I set the pillowcase down and open a few inches in front of the snake. It starts hissing, and Jessie whimpers. Finally, using her curling wand I found on the counter, I wave it toward the back of the snake, getting it to startle and slither into the bag. As soon as it’s inside, I pick the pillowcase up and cinch the top closed with my fist. The snake throws a fit inside the bag and Jessie immediately lurches forward, grabs the shower curtain, and pastes it to her body like a scandalous dress.
I finally make eye contact with her and smile. Her cheeks are bright red, whether from the hot shower, the embarrassment, or the snake, I don’t know. Either way, she’s beautiful.
“Thank you,” she says in a snooty, wobbly voice and then points toward the door. “Now get out.”
I shut the bathroom door behind me, and Henry apologizes profusely like he had something to do with a snake somehow making it into his house. Richard thanks me for removing it. I laugh the whole way down to the dock where I let it go near the lake.
Once the snake is taken care of, I sit down on the edge of the dock, still laughing over the sight of Jessie squealing with a snake hissing at her, and I wait. I know she will come find me, and I’m right. I hear her feet shuffling over the dock, and I look over my shoulder to see her wearing jean shorts and a lavender top. Her hair is wet, and her arms are crossed tightly over her chest, shoulders bunched up to her ears.
“Are you seriously still laughing at me?”
“Yes,” I say, not bothering to hide my amusement.
“You’re a jerk.”
“A jerk who saved you from a naked snakebite.”
She stops a few feet away from me and groans into her hands. “Oh my gosh, please don’t say that word!”
I hop up and go to stand in front of her. “Snake?”
She drops her hands, a humiliated-pleading look on her face. “Naked!”
I chuckle and put my hands on the sides of her arms. “It’s really not a big deal.”
Her eyes widen. “Not a big deal?! Drew!! I’m eight months pregnant, and you…you saw me…” She shakes her head. She can’t bring herself to say the word naked again. This is ridiculous. I can’t believe she’s even giving this a second thought.
“Jessie, you know what I do for a living right? I have seen one or two naked pregnant ladies in my day.”
Her face is serious as a heart attack. “First of all, that doesn’t help even a bit. And second, this is different and you know it.”
It is different, but I’m just trying to make her feel better. I’m honestly not sure what to say here. It feels sort of dangerous, like my only options are to say too much or too little.
I try to duck down and catch her eyes, but she’s not having it. “Jessie, what can I say that will make you feel better?”
“I want you to say you didn’t see anything and you will completely forget this ever happened!”
I’m a good liar—but I’m not that good. “I saw everything.” She drops her head and makes sounds of lamenting. I smile and lift her chin up so her pretty green gaze is forced to look into mine and see the truth for herself. Her watery eyes blink at me. “I saw everything—and I loved everything I saw. You are gorgeous. Every inch. And I have seriously never seen a more beautiful woman in all my life.”
The corners of her mouth turn down in a sort of sad smile, and her brows knit together. “Really?” she asks, in an insecure voice that’s brimming with hope. Don’t lie to me, her tone says.
“Really.” I wrap my arms around her and let Jessie bury her face in my chest.
“Thank you,” she says, words muffled by the fabric of my shirt, and I’m not sure I’ve ever been so thankful for the existence of snakes as I am now. “But I think you have to go skinny-dipping now so I can see you naked and even the score.”
“I would, but I think Henry is watching us from the window, and I don’t want to set the bar too high for Richard.”
“You know,” says Henry, coming back to the table to set a cup of hot tea in front of me after the snake fiasco. Drew is outside loading up the car before we head to my grandaddy’s house, and given the look on Henry’s face right now, I hope Drew comes back any second now because it seems like I have a feelings speech on the horizon. I’ve seen this look before in the salon when my clients want to share with me their tricks to catch a man, or how they’ve kept a happy husband in bed for 30+ years. (It’s actually not as dirty as you might think—all you have to do is feed him a pot roast and mashed potatoes, apparently.)
“I couldn’t help but hear you yelling for Drew not to look at you while you were…uh…in the shower this morning.”
Oh shoot. Of course he heard me and thought that was strange. Before I can open my mouth with an excuse, Henry leans over and squeezes my hand.
“No need to get embarrassed. I completely understand. Although I’ve never been in exactly your situation, I have been the listening ear to many, many of my pregnant friends over the years, and I know it must be hard to let your man see you in the nude when your body has changed so much.”
My worried expression clears. He’s not suspicious that Drew and I have been faking our relationship and today was literally the first time he’s ever seen me without my clothes—he just thinks I’m shy about my baby body. Okay, I can work with this. Also, I choose not to wonder why I care so much if Henry knows Drew and I are not really together. It’s not like anything bad would come of it or he’d out Drew to all his colleagues. Drew is going to have to tell everyone eventually anyway—that was the whole point of this prank, to force Drew into a humiliating situation. And yet…I want to protect him.
“It is hard,” I say, mustering up pretend emotion to really sell it. “I don’t even feel like myself anymore.” And that part isn’t even a lie. It’s hard to look in the mirror with this belly and hips and boobs and find the woman I once was. I’m sure she’ll be back one day, but for now I feel totally different.
My mind wanders back to Drew telling me he saw everything and thought I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. My cheeks heat just thinking of it. I won’t lie, that was a concern for me—Drew and me developing feelings for each other and taking things to the next level. How do you even begin to date someone at this phase of life? I’m about to have a child. Drew has never known me not pregnant. And then I can only imagine what things will be like down south after the baby comes out. It would be so weird to start dating now. Wouldn’t it? But then again…he saw me naked and thought I was beautiful as is, and with his profession, it’s not like anything would be a shock to him. He knows what he would be getting into. So how am I supposed to feel about that?
“I know you don’t, but believe me, you’ll bounce right back after the baby comes, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. And letting your fiancé see you like this is one of the greatest joys you can give your man.” I can feel my face turning into lava. This feels like a very personal conversation to be having with my fake boyfriend’s mentor’s husband. “The way Drew looks at you…it’s like you hung the moon. And I’m sure he loves nothing more seeing the woman carrying his baby in all her glory.”
Henry is beaming, but I am slowly deflating. His words have kicked me in the stomach.
This isn’t Drew’s baby. No, this child belongs to a man who had no interest in seeing me in all my glory.
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Henry misinterprets my sudden emotions. “Oh sweet thing, don’t cry. Drew loves you just as you are.” Henry chuckles happily, but I can’t handle it anymore. I pull my hand from his and wipe my tears with the back of my hand.
At that same moment, Drew comes back in the front door. “You ready to roll, Jessie? The car is all—” He stops talking when I quickly push the chair out and stand.
“Sorry! I have something in my eye. I think it’s a bug! Don’t worry about me! I’ll be fine. I just need to…” My voice cracks on a sob. “Get the bug out!” I move as fast as my feet will carry me back to the bedroom.
I blink at the empty hallway Jessie just raced down then turn my eyes to Henry. He looks just as stunned as me. “I’m guessing it wasn’t a bug?”
Henry shakes his head. “I have no idea. We were having a little heart-to-heart and then the next thing I know, she’s crying and running off. Oh, Drew, I’m so sorry. I don’t know…”
I hold up my hand and shake my head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it wasn’t you, but I better go check on her.”
“Yes, please do. And let me know if she needs anything.”
I smile and nod before heading down the hallway. Even before I reach out and touch the doorknob, I can feel Jessie’s mood. It’s intense and blazing through the door. I gingerly crack the door open, and it abruptly slams back in my face. Whoa. This is serious.
“Don’t come in here—I’m mad at you!”
Mad at me? I was gone for two minutes. What could have possibly happened in that time?
I look down the hallway and find Richard and Henry peeking around the corner. I smile and give them a thumbs-up, even though I’m sure Jessie and I look insane. I turn the handle again and feel the resistance of her pushing against the door (thankfully, it doesn’t have a lock), and with a happy-go-lucky-everything-is-fine smile on my face for the Greens, I shove my way through. Jessie finally relents and moves away from the door to go pace by the window.
“I said I didn’t want you to come in.” Her voice sounds wobbly, and I’m almost 100% sure this is why she doesn’t want me in here. Jessie is not one to cry in front of anyone.
“Why are you mad at me?” I ask in a tender voice that only seems to ignite her fury deeper.
Jessie whips around, and I see tear stains on her cheeks. She takes a soft pillow off the bed and chucks it at my head, making a face like she’s pitching in the World Series. I look down at the pillow by my feet.
“What was that for?”
She does it again with another pillow. The determination in her eyes is sharp and focused. Her blonde ponytail swings like a sassy pendulum as she finds anything soft within her reach and chucks it at me. “For being you!”
Okay I’m lost. I can’t even begin to know what’s happening right now. “Will you stop throwing things at—” WHAM. A circular throw pillow hits my face. “Okay, enough.” I lean down and pick up a pillow, chucking it at her this time.
She gasps and her jaw drops. “You just hit a pregnant woman!”
“Yeah, and I’ll do it again.” I toss one of the big pillows she threw at me right into her face. It springs off dramatically, and her eyes slant dangerously.
She picks it up and throws it at me harder. I throw another one even harder. Before I know it, she’s lunging at me with a king-sized pillow, I’m coming at her with a softer version, and we collide somewhere in the middle, pillows whamming into each other at epic speeds. (Don’t worry, I keep my projectiles aimed at her head and butt. Baby is safe).
“Jessie. Tell me why you’re mad at me,” I say while taking a blow to my back.
“I’m always mad at you!!” she says, with a hit so powerful the pillow splits open and feathers go flying.
“Why?!” Our voices are raised, and I’m sure Henry and Richard can hear all of this.
“Because, Drew! I didn’t want to get swept up again! I wanted to find someone tolerable. A partner. Someone to eat the other half of my dinner so I don’t have too much left over the next day. And then YOU showed up and ruined everything!” She’s still hitting me with a pillow, but she’s also crying. Feathers are sticking to her eyelashes.
I stop fighting and my hands fall down to my sides. “Are you swept up in me?”
She half laughs, half cries. She looks like she’s in physical pain. “Of course I am! You’re an expert-level sweeper! Look at you…and your dimples”—she pokes one—“and your biceps”—she pokes those too—“and your abs”—poke. “But dammit if it’s not what’s underneath all that that really kills me. Your heart is like gold, Drew—pure gold. And you’re funny, and thoughtful, and I want to talk to you all the time, and you terrify me!”
I raise and lower my hands with a sad smile. “You terrify me too, Jessie.” I step toward her, and she steps away, not ready to play nice yet.
“No, it’s different. Because I’m the one having a child, and at the end of the day, you’re a man who can walk away from all of it if you don’t want to deal with it. Believe me, I know, because someone already has walked away from me. Twice.” She hits me with another pillow like I’m the one who left her. “And what if I let you in, what if I take a chance and we do this, and then you get tired of me and the baby and leave too?”
Feathers hover in the air all around along with her words. I yank the pillow from her hand and toss it onto the bed. “But what if I don’t?”
I step forward now, determined.
She blinks and eyes the space disappearing between us like it’s lava climbing up to swallow her whole. “I’m not sure that’s an option. No, don’t come any closer!” She holds out her hand toward my chest, and I press into it easily until her back finds the bathroom door and she has nowhere else to go. She’s trapped, and finally, I’m going to make sure she hears me.
“Listen to me, Jessica Barnes. I’m crazy about you. I still don’t know what happened with your ex, but I know you can’t hide yourself away forever.” I move my hands up to cup both of her jaws. “You don’t just want a plain dinner partner, Jessie. You want fire and passion. You want pillow fights and prank wars. You want to be challenged, and fought with, and deeply wanted.” I pause, making sure there’s no room for miscommunication when I say, “And believe me, Jessie, I want you deeply.”
She shuts her eyes tight. Her breath trembles when she releases it and opens her eyes again. Tenderness tears through my heart. “I want you too. Please be good to me.”
I bend down and softly kiss her mouth. “I will.”
Jessie and I got on the road after spending thirty minutes cleaning up feathers. They were everywhere, and one look at Henry and Richard as they eyed our mess told me they suspect we are into some kinky stuff. Actually, I would have been very happy to lay Jessie down on that bed of feathers and consummate our new relationship, but it wasn’t the right time. Not only were Henry and Richard hovering outside our room, but…well, to be honest, I don’t know when the right time will be.
There’s really no sense in worrying about it, though. It’ll happen when it happens, and I’m in no rush. Nothing about our relationship is normal or follows a usual plan, so we’re going to have to wing it as best we can. I’m feeling more comfortable with that prospect than I used to.
Once we got in the car and were down the road a few miles, Jessie uncapped a Sharpie and gave me a questioning look. I smiled and nodded, and then she wrote Jessie + Drew on the glove box with a heart around it. She then reached over and laced her fingers with mine. Her smile was tentative, and I knew everything she’d just done was a massive display of her vulnerability. I raised her hand to my mouth and kissed it. After that, she opened up to me about everything. I mean everything. She started with her ex, Jonathan, and told me about how they had been dating for three months when she found out she was pregnant. She had been excited, thinking he would be too. He wasn’t. Instead, he was pretty cruel to her, accusing her of lying about being on birth control only to trap him in the relationship. Apparently, he is in a ba
nd that’s trying to make it big, and he thought she purposely got pregnant to keep him home and off the road. Jessie cried when she told me this story, and it tore my heart in half.
The jerk packed his bags and left, telling Jessie if she wanted to have her baby that was on her, but she’d do it alone and he wanted nothing to do with either of them. A real winner, that guy. She also told me about her dad and how he left shortly after she was born. She hasn’t heard from him since and wouldn’t even know where to begin to look for him. Other than her grandaddy, Jessie has never had a loving, loyal male in her life. Part of me wants to go find Jonathan and beat him into dust, but the other part of me is thankful he moved out of the way so I could be here with Jessie, so I could take over caring for her like she deserves.
“Lucy,” I say to my sister when she answers her phone. “I don’t have long. Jessie just ran into the gas station to grab a snack, but I need a favor from you.”
“No, I will not change all the locks on your house while you’re gone so you can keep Jessie out.”
I anxiously tap the steering wheel while tracking Jessie moving around inside. “First of all, you’re like eighteen steps behind, but I don’t have time to catch you up right now.”
Lucy laughs. “Let me guess, you realized how incredible my best friend is, and now you’re going to date her.”
“Well…basically, yeah.”
“What I should do is take this opportunity to go berserk on you like you did me and Cooper and warn you to stay away from her forever. But because I’m a remarkable human being, I’ll tell you I’m happy for you, and I think you and Jessie are perfect for each other.”
“Your saint of the year trophy is already in the mail. Now, please grab a pen and paper. I’m going to tell you my credit card number.”
Cooper barks out a laugh because apparently he and Lucy are like an old married couple now and he’s always lurking on the line without you knowing. “You don’t want to do that. She’ll buy enough stuff to furnish your whole freaking house in the time it takes you to cook dinner.”