by Tory Baker
He kisses my forehead as he says, “Thank you.”
“I’m not sure you should be thanking me. I was being entirely selfish and leaving you out of everything,” I answer with exasperation as our little one kicks me.
“We’ll deal with that later. All I care about is that you’re home and healthy,” he mumbles as he sees my stomach move with the acrobatic moves happening.
I place his hand on top of my stomach and he feels our child move.
“Wow,” his voice is filled with joy and if I did anything right, it’s this right here. It’s coming home.
Chapter Nine
Jake
When I felt Larissa move in the middle of the night, I expected the worse. I know I shouldn’t have. She’s sworn she wasn’t leaving me ever again. Yet, I’m still fucking scared that she’ll leave and not because she’s pregnant with our child. No, I’m scared shitless she’ll leave me. Period.
I watch her sleep in the early dawn hours, not wanting to wake her up. I see the dark circles under her eyes and I’m not sure if it’s from traveling or from the weariness of the past nine months. I get out of bed, pull on a pair of sweats, and make my way to the coffee pot.
I grab my phone and call my secretary, Tina, and leave a message on her work line. I let her know I won’t be back in the office until Monday and I’ll be working remotely.
My next order of business is calling Declan and letting him know the news, but that will have to wait. It’s too early and if I wake up Kendall, I’d never hear the end of it.
Making myself a cup of coffee is the next order of business, before I look to see what’s in the refrigerator that I can make for breakfast. I see there are bagels, eggs, cheese, and bacon. I’ll make us a bagel sandwich. Then, as soon as the doctor’s office opens, I’ll see if I can’t get Larissa in there right away.
I know she said she went to the doctor while she was out in bum fuck Wyoming. I’d just feel better having her see one here.
Once my coffee is made, I grab my mug, snag my laptop, and make my way to the outside patio. I’m thankful it isn’t too cold out yet and I can sit outside and work.
My laptop is up and running and I’m deep into my e-mails when I hear the sliding glass door open. I look at the clock and see I’ve only been out here an hour and it’s still too early for Larissa to be up.
Her hair is piled on top of her head haphazardly, she’s got on my discarded shirt from last night and I can see she went rifling through my drawers to find a pair of socks to put on before coming out.
“Morning, baby,” I tell her as she comes closer. She bends down to kiss me, and I bring her to sit on my lap.
“Morning, Jake. You know, I’m too big to be sitting on your lap now,” I can hear the raspiness in her voice from sleep.
“Bullshit, you’re right where you belong,” I tell her. She takes my mug and before I can tell her she’s not allowed to have caffeine, she brings the cup up to her nose and inhales the scent.
I chuckle, knowing how much Larissa loves coffee. Even though I was about to open my mouth and make an ass out of myself, I know she’d never put our child in any kind of unwarranted danger.
We talked for hours on ends as best friends. She knew she wanted to be a better Mom than the one she had growing up. Her mom was more interested in herself than she was in taking care of Larissa. Her father wasn’t much better. He barely held down a job to keep a roof over their head. I couldn’t imagine the way Larissa grew up. My parents have always been my biggest fans.
“God, I miss coffee. Decaf isn’t the same. Not that I drink that either. I’m too scared of what would happen if I did,” she grumbles.
“Not much longer now, though,” I reply.
“I don’t see caffeine at all in my future, especially if I plan on nursing.” She looks back at my coffee wistfully. I can envision it now, her nursing our son or daughter. Her body nourishing our child with her own milk. Fuck, what it does to me.
“That’s something you’re planning on doing?” I ask.
“If my body will allow it, I’ll nurse our child as long as I can,” she says.
I’m dying to tell her my feelings, but I don’t want to spook her and make her leave again. Damn, do I love this woman.
“I’m so thankful to have you as the mother of our child, Rissa,” I use the name that’s reserved only for me. She once told me how she hated the nickname “Rissy”. To tease her, I started calling her Rissa. She never once told me not to, so I ran with it.
“You’re going to make me cry, Jake,” she says as she faceplants into my neck. I hold her until she settles down and the sun is high in the sky.
Chapter Ten
Larissa
My emotions have been a roller coaster the past couple of days. When I told Jake I was going to look for an apartment, he was adamant that I stay with him. He didn’t give me the chance to hedge. Jake simply took my keys and unloaded my car with all of my belongings and dumped them in the master bedroom closet.
I’m officially all moved in. The next thing I need to do is start looking for a job. Obviously, not until after the baby is born. I’m really glad I have money saved up. Babies are not cheap, and I don’t want Jake to feel like he has to pay for everything.
With that thought in mind, I push the laptop lid closed, head into the bedroom and get dressed for the day. I have some baby shopping to do before my doctor’s appointment this afternoon. One that Jake will be meeting me at. He tried to get out of the meetings he had lined up for this week but couldn’t. I wasn’t upset with that, although Jake was. He was cussing up a storm and yelling at his assistant, as if it were Tina’s fault. I rolled my eyes and walked away while he was on the phone.
I grab a pair of leggings, oversized tee shirt, a bra, panties, and changed quickly, throwing my hair up in a messy bun. When you’re in a small town in Wyoming, finding maternity clothes was hard. Add in my size twelve curves with a growing stomach, it was harder. I learned to stick with extra stretchy clothes and sized up. Plus, now that I’m at the end of my pregnancy, I don’t see the sense in buying maternity clothes.
I grab my keys, cell phone, purse, and head for the nearest Target. I have supplies to get for our bundle of joy.
It doesn’t take me long to get to where I’m going. I aisle shop, and, seeing how I have a few hours to kill, I slowly meander up and down the baby section. I take a notepad and pen out of my purse and start writing down what we’ll need immediately and what we can wait on.
I’m pushing the shopping cart and stopping along the way to toss in diapers, wipes, burb cloth’s, and diaper rash cream. I stop myself at the bottles, wondering if I should get a breast pump so Jake can feed, if he’d like to when I hear someone say, “Larissa, honey, is that you?”
I turn around and come face to face with Jake’s mom, Katrina. She’s smiling and waving the whole time. The one thing Jake and I didn’t talk about was when we’d tell his parents, but, from the joy on her face, I have a feeling he already told them. I smile back at her and say, “Hi, Mrs. Price. How are you?”
“I can’t believe your home. I’m so happy to hear the news. I couldn’t be happier!” She’s basically dancing in front of me before she brings me close and hugs me. I erupt into tears. I can’t believe how unbelievably amazing Jake has been, but, now with his mom, too, I’m a blubbering mess.
“Oh dear,” she says as she pulls back and holds me by the shoulders. “Larissa, you know I’m always here for you. Why are you crying?” she questions.
“Because…because, I don’t deserve this. I did so many things wrong and here you are and even Jake. He should hate me. You should hate me. Hell, I hate myself for staying away for as long as I did,” I say with tears streaming down my eyes. It seems all I’ve been doing the past few days is cry. Sure, I did that when I was out west. So, I’m sure it has something to do with pregnancy hormones, but what it’s really from is guilt.
“Oh, you sweet, sweet girl. We could never hate you. Sometime
s life pulls you in a very weird direction and we don’t know what to do. We get a little lost along the way, but the best thing you did was come back. Back to Jake and back to us. We’re here for you. Not just Jake either, but Mr. Price and I both are,” she says looking into my eyes.
“I’m not sure what I did to deserve you three in my life, but I promise I’m so thankful to have you,” I tell her.
“Well good, now let me be Grammie today and shop with you. We have loads to stock up on.” She grabs the shopping cart and we get everything we need and then some.
Chapter Eleven
Jake
I thought this meeting would never end. I’m rushing out of the office, knowing I only have thirty minutes to get to Larissa’s doctor’s appointment when my phone rings as I get in the car. I glance down at the dash and see it’s my mom.
“Hey, Mom,” I say into the Bluetooth that travels through my car.
“Don’t let Larissa get away. She’s the absolute best thing ever.” She doesn’t even say hello back.
“I know, Mom. I’m keeping her. I promise. I want a ring on her finger and my last name attached to her first name, but I’m trying to take it slow for right now. Well, at least until the baby comes,” I respond.
“Good, because I just spent the last two hours with her and I plan on coming over tomorrow to help get the baby’s room set up while you’re at work,” she states.
“Wait, back up. Where did you spend two hours with her? I thought she was at home?” I question.
“She was walking around Target, and it was by pure chance that we were both in the baby department. We shopped and talked the whole time and I have to tell you, Jake, I know she has pride, but I also know she was watching price tags and looking for coupons the whole time. Make sure you’re helping,” she admonishes.
“Had I known she was going baby shopping I would have gone with her or asked her to wait until after her appointment today,” I explain to her.
“Oh good, I thought she was trying to do it all by herself. She about burst into tears when I bought her a bassinet to keep next to the bed after the baby is born. Speaking of, do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” she asks.
“I’m going to spank her ass,” I whisper out, so my mother doesn’t hear that information and then tell her, “No, Rissa didn’t want to find out without me. We have her appointment today and we’ll know more afterwards. Hey, ma. I gotta go, I just pulled into the parking lot.”
“Love you, Jake. Give Larissa a hug from us,”
“Love you. I will, even though you just saw her,” I chuckled.
“Just do what you’re told. Bye,” she says with sarcasm in her voice.
“Bye, Mom,” I click the phone off and take the keys out of the ignition, unfolding from the truck I own. I make a mental note to see if Larissa will let me trade in her old beat up car and get her into something bigger and safer.
Speaking of, I see her car in the parking lot. She’s not anywhere where I can see her, so I head into the office building. I see her immediately. There she is, beautiful and hunched over a clipboard as she fills out paperwork.
Making my way over to her, I sit down next to her and watch her for a few minutes. She’s so lost in her work that she doesn’t realize I’m here until I clear my throat.
She lifts her head and sees me and that’s when I know she’s completely gone for me like I am for her. The smile on her face. The way she forgets the paperwork she was working on and her hands are tangled in my hair as she brings her lips to mine. I let her takeover the kiss, but when her tongue sneaks out to lick my bottom lip, it takes everything I have not to devour her here in the office.
I nip her lip as she pulls back, our foreheads meeting, and we stay still with our eyes locked on each other.
“Hey,” she whispers out. Her shirt is hanging off of one shoulder and I can see she has some kind of lace bra thing on. The things I would do to her, if we weren’t in public.
“Baby,” I grumble out. We part ways and she finishes filling out her paperwork while we wait for the nurse to call her back.
Chapter Twelve
Larissa
When the nurse called us back, she took me into a room before the actual exam room to take my vitals and the dreaded weight. I made Jake turn around when she did the last part. I know I’m pregnant with his child, but still there are some things a man doesn’t need to know or see.
She escorts us into a room where she tells me to strip down and put a gown on, with the opening in the front.
“The doctor will be in shortly,” she says, as she walks out. I start to undress when I hear Jake grouse, “This better be a female doctor.”
I can’t help it. I let out a loud laugh, my whole body starts to shake, that’s how funny I think him grumbling about my doctor is.
He sits back in the chair as I continue to strip out of my clothes. I’m down to just my bra and panties, when he rubs his hands down his face and says, “You just keep getting more beautiful every day, Rissa.”
I hold back my tears that I know will be on the verge of spilling down my cheeks. My curves have gotten curvier. My hips are wider, my thighs touch more than they ever have, and my breasts -- I swear they doubled in size during this last trimester and here Jake is, telling me how beautiful I am.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him I love him, when he stands up and walks over to me. He turns me around and unclasps my bra, kissing a path down my spine as he pushes my panties down to the floor. I do a full body shiver as he grabs the gown from the table the nurse laid it on and helps me in it.
“I’m so lucky to have you,” I finally whisper out.
“We’re lucky to have each other, baby,” he says, kissing my forehead, then backs away. I see what he’s trying to hide as he sits down. Being around Jake the past few days has made my desire for him go rampant and I know after the baby is born it’s going to be six weeks before he’s inside me again.
“Knock, knock,” we hear, and both turn our heads towards the door.
“Come in,” I say clearing my throat. Trying to stop the rampant thoughts that I was just having in my head.
“Hi, Larissa, I’m Dr. Patel,” she says and shakes my hand, then does the same to Jake.
“Hi, Dr. Patel,” I respond. She sits down in the stool as we talk about things and how I’ll be coming in every week from now on and I’ll be doing a kick count sheet daily as a precaution to make sure the baby is active and moving. It’s something that is normal at this stage. Then she asks the question I know is weighing on Jake’s mind.
“I’m just going to check you out and then we can do an ultrasound. Do you want to find out the sex of the baby? I know you didn’t at your previous doctor’s office,” she states.
I look over at Jake and I can see it written on his face. He wants to know, and I want him to know.
“Yes,” I tell her, and Jake’s hand finds mine as we hold hands while she does her business “downtown,” she says, “Everything looks great. Continue walking and drinking lots of water. I’ll be right back with the ultrasound technician, and she’ll do a scan and tell you the news. You can get dressed, shirt up and pants lowered. I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable that way.”
“Thank you, Dr. Patel,” Jake and I both say in unison.
“You’re very welcome. I’ll see you next week unless you go into labor before that,” she goes to leave and Jake asks, “Is she okay to go into labor at this time?”
“She is, I’ll take another look at her most recent ultrasound. Everything she is measuring looks great though. Have a great day,” Jake lets her leave after that with a look of relief on his face.
“Ready to find out what we’re having?” I ask him.
“Fuck, yes. It’s been killing me not knowing and it’s only been a few days. I don’t know how you held out this long,” he mutters.
“I didn’t want to find out without you. I was already doing too much without you as it was. I wanted this to be
our thing,” I say with emotion clogging my throat.
“Don’t cry, Baby. I don’t like to see you with tears. It pulls at my heart.” He wipes the tears that are trying to escape from the corner of my eyes. He helps me get dressed as we wait for the ultrasound technician to come in. I hate that I’m putting clothes on in front of him when I really want to strip him out of his suit and have my way with him.
Chapter Thirteen
Jake
We arrive home and the first thing I do is order dinner. It’s well after six o’clock and I know Larissa must be starving. I hated that we both had to take separate cars after finding out the sex of our child. I would have been happy with a boy or a girl, but when the nurse said we were having a little boy, I cheered, while Larissa laughed. I knew if I had a little girl and she looked like her mother, I would be truly fucked.
“What do you feel like? Pizza or Chinese?” I ask her as she plops down on the couch raising her feet on the coffee table.
“Chinese, oh my gosh. It’s been so long since I’ve had it. Can we get sweet and sour chicken, cream cheese wantons, and general Tsao’s chicken?” she asks as she tilts her head back on the couch.
I smirk to myself. I know she won’t eat all of that, but I know how she loves to eat leftovers too.
“I’ll get it ordered right away and then we can FaceTime mom and dad and tell them the news.” That gets her attention and her head lifts up, giving me the most beautiful smile ever.
“I’d love that,” her smile never leaves her face. I get back to ordering enough food to feed six people and then walk over to her on the couch. I sit down beside her, keeping my phone out as I bring up mom’s name and hit FaceTime.