by Lia Lee
“He wanted to talk to you about it the other night,” I said.
Lily nodded. “I didn’t want to see his face. I wouldn’t let him in.”
“Totally understandable.”
Lily sighed. “I don’t know what to do. I feel betrayed. And so angry. I don’t want to ever speak to either of you again. But… He’s my dad. I can’t just push him away. And you? You’re my best friend. How am I supposed to push both of you away and not feel a big hole in my life?”
She sank down onto the couch next to me. We sat in silence for a moment.
“I know, Lil,” I said. “I am so sorry. For everything. I should have spoken to you about it from start, but I felt like it was Evan’s secret to tell. And I understand why he didn’t speak to you.”
Lily shook her head again. It was like she was trying to rearrange her thoughts manually. She looked at me, and her green eyes were piercing. They reminded me so much of Evan’s eyes.
“Do you love him?”
Her question hit me like a truck. Did I love him? Love had never been part of the equation. It wasn’t what he was paying me for. But now that I thought about it, I did feel more for him than I was willing to let myself admit.
“I guess, I do. Yeah, I do love him. But it’s not that simple.”
“Why not?” Lily asked.
“Because he’s paying me a lot of money to have this baby,” I said. “Love was never part of the deal. I’m not going to make it difficult for him by telling him how I feel.”
I couldn’t know what Lily was thinking. Her face was unreadable, and she didn’t say much.
“All of this is so weird,” she said.
I nodded. It was weird. I was telling my best friend I was pregnant with her dad’s child. Children. I hadn’t told her that part yet. I was taken aback by her question of whether I loved Evan. I hadn’t thought about it until now. In the end, it didn’t matter.
“This is about to get weirder,” I said.
Lily eyed me.
“I’m not only pregnant, but I’m having triplets.”
I watched the information sink in. Lily blinked at me.
“Triplets?”
I nodded. “I went to the gynecologist for my first ultrasound just before you came over to the apartment on Wednesday. It was a bit of a shock to me, too. But Evan seemed ecstatic. He’s so excited about all of this.”
“I don’t understand,” Lily said. “He’s never mentioned that he wanted more children to me. I don’t know where all this is coming from.”
Evan should have communicated with her a long time ago. It would have made all this so much easier. But Evan was a man, and communication was not their strong suit.
“You’re right, though,” Lily said. “It did get weirder. You’re pregnant with what will be my brothers and sisters.”
I nodded, looking at my hands. “This is really hard for me, Lil,” I said. “I’ve missed having you to talk to about this. I know I should have said something sooner. Please, don’t stop talking to me. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. I really need my best friend.”
Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath, blowing it out very slowly. “This is so much to take in.”
“I understand that,” I said. “And if you don’t want anything to do with it, I’ll understand that, too. I’d hate it, but I’ll understand.”
Lily shook her head. When she looked at me, her green eyes were bright like she wanted to cry, but her voice was steady when she spoke.
“You know I’ll always be there for you. Even if we fight, even if you do something stupid like get pregnant. With my father’s child.” She shivered. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
“I have to admit,” I said. “I’m terrified now. One baby was scary enough, and now, there are three? I don’t know how I’m going to get through this. I’m only eight weeks along. There are still seven months left, and this is only the beginning.”
Lily frowned. “I don’t understand,” she said. “What was the plan, here? Were you going to leave him with the children and then walk out of his life again?”
I shrugged. “That was the contract,” I said.
“The contract, huh?” Lily asked.
I nodded. The more I thought about it, the worse it sounded. It had been all about the money at first, but I hadn’t been pregnant then. Now that I’d seen my babies on the monitor, it was a whole different story. I didn’t know how I would be able to just walk away. Even if he did triple the amount, these were still my babies, too.
“Everything is different now,” I said. “When I signed it, I hadn’t known that I would feel about it the way I do now. But we have an agreement. I’m not going to make this harder than it needs to be. I won’t expect something from him that we didn’t agree on.”
Lily shook her head again. She seemed to be doing that a lot today. It was a lot to work through.
“I still don’t believe you could have agreed to something like this.”
“I hit rock bottom, Lil. I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t get a job, bills were piling up, the prospect of so much money won me over.”
Lily blinked. “How much was he willing to pay?”
I cleared my throat and told her.
Her eyes widened. “What the hell? That’s enough money to buy a small country.”
I laughed, and it was a relief to let it out. The tension was so high, it felt good to break it.
“So, you see the appeal.”
Lily shook her head. “I don’t know if I would have carried someone’s baby for that money, but I see that you were desperate. I wish you would have come to me.”
I had been too proud to ask Lily for help. She had been so successful, when I had made a point of it to study further, and then that backfired on me.
“It’s just hard when I compare our lives,” I said.
Lily sighed. “I understand,” she said. “You still should have spoken to me. If not about your financial situation, at least about the fact that you were thinking of having someone else’s baby. I’m not even going to go into the fact that it was my dad.”
She was still very upset with Evan. I couldn’t blame her.
“Will you talk to him?” I asked.
Lily shook her head. “Why should I? He hasn’t bothered telling me anything. Not that he wanted more children, not that he was thinking of getting a surrogate mother instead of a wife, not that he had gone through with it with my best friend. He doesn’t deserve me speaking to him.”
It upset me that Lily did not want to speak to Evan. I guessed it was understandable. I knew that it would break his heart, but we had brought this upon ourselves. At least, Lily and I were okay. God knew I would need my friend in the months to come.
Lily and I spent more time together, talking about everything. When I finally left, we were okay again. At least, half of the mess was cleared up. Lily and I were in a good place again. I was glad I had my friend by my side to help go through all this. With Lily and Evan rooting for me, I felt like I had the support I needed to get through the most difficult thing I had ever done.
I made my way to Evan’s house. I needed to speak to him about how it went with Lily. He had been worried that we’d lost her. He would be glad that at least her and I had sorted things out.
“So, she’s not going to speak to me?” he asked after I told him everything.
I shook my head. “She still upset,” I said. “You can’t blame her.”
“No, I can’t,” Evan said. “But that doesn’t stop me from being upset about it, too. She’s my daughter. I can’t stand that she does not want to see me.”
I couldn’t imagine how hard it had to be for him.
Evan put his hand on my knee. “At least, the two of you are friends again,” he said.
It was sweet of him to see the silver lining, even though his side was not taken care of yet. Evan leaned toward me, and I didn’t move away. He pressed his lips against mine, and it was the f
irst time that he kissed me without any sexual pretext. I kissed him back. When I had told Lilly that I loved him, I had been honest. I knew that this was not going to work out, but I couldn’t help feeling how I did, and Evan kissing me, just for the sake of kissing me, meant so much more than he would ever know.
Chapter Fourteen
Scarlett
When Evan broke the kiss, he looked at me, and his eyes were drowning deep.
“I have to confess something,” he said.
I swallowed. What was he going to say? A myriad of thoughts ran through my head. Was there another woman? That couldn’t be.
“I love you,” Evan said.
I blinked at him. “What?”
I had come to terms with the fact that Evan wouldn’t ever love me. I was here for the pregnancy only.
“You heard me,” he said. “I know this was not part of the bargain. But I can’t help how I feel about you. You’re having my children, Scar. I want you to stay a part of my life.”
“What are you saying?”
Evan cupped my cheeks with both his hands. “I’m saying, I love you, Scarlett. I want you to stay in my life after the babies are born. If that’s what you want, of course.”
“I thought this was just a transaction to you,” I said.
Evan nodded. “It started out that way,” he said. “But then it changed. I never expected to fall in love with you, but there it is.”
I didn’t know what to say. I was consumed by a rush of emotions that was so much stronger than I was used to. Maybe it was because I was pregnant, and all my emotions were heightened. Or maybe it was because I felt the same way.
“I love you, too, Evan.”
I watched him take in the information. He looked surprised, and a smile spread across his face.
“Yeah?”
I giggled, nodding. “Yeah,” I said.
Evan grabbed my face and kissed me again. This time it was passionate, urgent. I knew what he wanted, and I would give it to him. This time, it had nothing to do with the contract between us, and everything to do with how we felt about each other.
He kissed me, hard. I let him pull me against him. I put my arms around his neck, and he held me as we kissed. His tongue pushed between my lips, and I melted against him. Kissing him was still the best thing. And this time, he kissed me like he meant every word he said to me. This was not just about sex anymore. He wanted me to stay in his life after the babies were born. I wouldn’t have to walk away anymore. When I set out to do this, money had been my motivation. Now, I was looking forward to a future with children I had never planned on having and the man I never thought I would love.
The kissing became more urgent, and Evan slid his hands onto my breasts, cupping them and massaging them. He rubbed his thumb back and forth over my nipple, and I shivered, getting turned on. I wanted him.
Evan broke the kiss and stood up, holding his hand out to me. I took it and let him lead me down the hall that led to the main bedroom. I had become used to being in his house, to having him lead me to his bed, but this time, it was different.
This time, he was leading me into his life, and I was here to stay.
Evan kissed me again when we were in the room, and he started undressing me, pulling my shirt over my head. I reached for his pants, undoing the buckle and unzipping him. His hands roamed my body while I pushed my hands into his pants, gripped his already hard cock, and pulled it out of his pants. I moved my hand up and down along his shaft, pumping it up and down.
Evan groaned. “Slow down, princess,” he said. “You’ll make me come in no time if you do that.”
I smiled and dropped to my knees. “We can’t have that,” I said. “Here, let me kiss it better.”
I closed my mouth around his cock, taking him in. I would never get used to his size, I decided. I pumped my head up and down his cock, sliding him in and out of his mouth, and he groaned, stroking my hair. It was loving and caring this time, not as wild as before. It was beautiful. I wasn’t sure which I preferred. Perhaps both.
When he’d had enough–I could tell with how he was starting to twitch from time to time that he was getting dangerously close–I let go of him and stood up again. I kissed him. Evan reached around my back and unclasped my bra, letting it fall to the floor, joining my shirt. He’d pulled off his own shirt, and I ran my hands over his abdomen, pushing my fingers into the splash of chest hair on his pectorals.
“You’re so handsome,” I whispered.
Evan grinned at me. “That’s the first time you’ve said anything about my looks,” he said.
I blinked at him. I guessed that was true. “I hadn’t felt the liberty before. But I find you impossibly attractive.”
Evan kissed me again. He laid me down on the bed and undid my pants. I lifted my hips, helping him undress me. He pulled down my jeans and thong in one motion and threw it onto the floor before he crawled over me. My thighs fell open for him. He positioned himself at my entrance, and I held my breath in anticipation.
When he pushed into me, I moaned. He split me open, his dick sliding into my body, and I yielded and stretched to accommodate him. I felt tighter, smaller, now that I was pregnant. Evan felt monstrous inside me.
As if he knew, he started moving in and out of me gently, with slow strokes. I closed my eyes and gave myself over to the feeling. Everything about Evan was fantastic–from the way he was in bed to the way he handled everything to do with the pregnancy. And the fact that he loved me.
That was the most fantastic of all.
Evan’s strokes picked up, getting faster and more intense. My moans turned into cries as he rode me, hammering into me. My body had adjusted to his size again, and I was lost in the ecstasy that flooded my body.
I inched closer and closer to the edge. Evan’s cock drove me wild, and I cried out as the orgasm shocked through me, contracting all my muscles. I curled my body around Evan’s, grabbing onto his back, closing my legs around his waist. He groaned when I did, and I felt him spasm and jerk, releasing inside of me.
He had never come this quickly before. We usually went through so many positions, and he was always a trooper, holding out to the very end. But this was different. Maybe it was because of how close we were, because we’d confessed our love to each other. Maybe it had to do with the idea that we were going to be together in this, having the children and raising them as a couple.
Maybe it was because for the first time since we’d set out on this endeavor, we weren’t fucking. We were making love.
Chapter Fifteen
Scarlett
Seven months later
I’d read so many stories about giving birth by the time it was my turn; my head was full of information that didn’t help at all. Other women’s stories, learning what they had gone through, hadn’t prepared me at all.
Labor was brutal. I endured eighteen hours of it before baby number one decided to make an appearance. And let me tell you, squeezing a baby out of your lady bits was no joke. Even if the babies were slightly smaller because there were three of them inside me.
I was on the bed, grasping sheets and Evan’s hand, my legs open wide with doctors assisting in getting the children out. All sense of embarrassment had left the room a long time ago. I just wanted this over and done with.
“Just one more push,” Monroe said. She had been great all the way through, but at this moment, I hated her. I did as she asked and felt the relief of the first child leaving my body. A moment later, the strangled cry of a newborn filled the room. I lifted my head, trying to see.
“We’re ready for the second one,” Monroe said. I groaned. This wasn’t over, yet.
I went through the process again, pushing when Monroe asked me to, waiting when she told me to take a breather. It felt like it took forever. Finally, baby number two was out. I heard the cry, and the sound triggered my maternal instinct.
“One more time, honey,” Evan said next to me. I must have cut off the circulation to his hand with how
hard I was squeezing, but he didn’t complain once.
I went through the process a third time, and finally, the babies were born. They took the children to the station behind Dr. Monroe to weigh and measure them while Dr. Monroe helped me take care of the afterbirth. When it was all over, she smiled.
“Congratulations, you two,” she said with a big grin. “Two healthy baby girls, and a baby boy.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks. I couldn’t help it. Evan hugged and kissed me, and he looked like he was going to cry, too. But he bit back the emotions. A man like Evan didn’t cry. A man like Evan was bigger than anything that came his way. But God, he was damn close to breaking that wall down and being a blubbering mess, just like me.
They cleaned me up, unhitched my legs from the stirrups that held them open, and pulled a blanket over my legs. They brought our babies to us. It was hard holding all three of them. Evan held the little boy. A moment later, Lily came in.
She looked emotional, too. “Let me help,” she said. “It looks like you need an extra pair of arms.”
I laughed and nodded, handing her one of the babies.
“Oh, my God, Scar, they’re beautiful,” Lily said, looking down at them.
They really were beautiful. I looked at Evan who was beaming down at the boy he was holding. He had wanted a son from the start, and now, his dream had come true. We had gotten three times what we’d bargained for at first, but looking at them now, it had all been worth it–the difficult pregnancy because of how big I’d been, how little space had been left for my organs after the babies had taken up all the space, and the labor I’d had to endure.
Everything had been worth it now that I looked at their perfect little faces and their delicate, perfect fingers. I had never thought that motherhood would be this overwhelming. To think that I–we–had created this was almost impossible.
“Have you thought about names?” Lily asked me.
I glanced at Evan. We’d spoken about it.
“We were thinking of keeping the flower streak going that your mother had started,” I said. “We’ll name the two girls Rose and Jasmin.”