Entwined

by Lacey Black

  I’m panting like I just completed a half-marathon, and I’m pretty sure I have sweat marks in my pits right now. She’s fighting back her laughter, and looking up at me like I’ve lost my fucking mind. And yes, maybe I have lost it a little bit, but that’s beside the point. This is the second time she’s tried not to laugh at me in the last sixty seconds, and I don’t think I like it. Can’t a guy freak the fuck out in a room surrounded by vaginas without someone laughing?

  Finally, I look at her–I mean, really look at her. Her face is rosy and her eyes twinkle in a way I haven’t seen in a few weeks–not since she started throwing up so often. Her lips aren’t gray, but a delicious and sexy pink, which makes me want to kiss the hell out of them.

  Suddenly, I’m laughing. We’re talking tears rolling down your face, side cramping so much you can’t breathe, full-blown laughter. And I’m not alone. Sid’s laughing too, just as hard, and the picture is perfect.

  “You compared our baby to a turkey,” she says through fits of giggles.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it as an insult,” I say, dropping back down to my chair beside her.

  “Do you feel better?” she asks when the laughter fades.

  “I think so. Being here just made it real, you know? I guess I kinda freaked out a little.”

  “A little? You were upset because the poster wasn’t screaming in agony and depicting proper delivery room vibes.” She reaches over and grabs my hand, the mood suddenly serious. “I know you’re scared. I am too. Terrified, actually. But knowing that you’re here with me makes it a little bit easier to take. This was a huge surprise to both of us. Just promise me that when you feel the need to freak out that you talk to me. Don’t do it alone and then run away. I don’t think I could take it if you ran,” she says, those last few words a whisper as her eyes glisten with unshed tears.

  “I promise,” I reply and mean it. With everything I have, I promise not to run away when the going gets tough, and it’s undoubtedly going to get tough at some point. I bring her knuckles up to my mouth and kiss her delicate skin. “And you need to promise me that if I fuck up, you’ll be patient and maybe help me along the way. Because, Sid, I’m sure I’m going to fuck up–a lot. Don’t give up on me, okay? We’re in this together.”

  “I promise,” she whispers.

  After a few comfortable moments, Sidney adds, “I’m hungry.”

  “We’ll get you something when we get out of here. What are you wanting?”

  “Candy corn and peanuts.”

  “What?” I can’t help but laugh. “Candy corn and peanuts?”

  “Yeah, it tastes just like a Payday candy bar.”

  “Why don’t you just get a Payday candy bar?”

  “You don’t know anything about girls, Luke,” she says with a smile as the door opens and a woman in a white coat enters the room.

  “Good afternoon, Miss Rogen. I’m Doctor Ortega; it’s nice to meet you,” the young doctor says.

  “Nice to meet you,” Sid replies with a handshake.

  “And you must be?” she asks, looking directly at me.

  “I’m Luke. The father.” Deep breath.

  “Good to meet you, Luke,” she says with a smile before turning her attention back to the woman at my side. “How have you been feeling, Sidney?”

  “A little sick since I found out I was pregnant.”

  “Okay, well, we can give you something for that. The first day of your last period was February twenty-sixth so that puts your due date at December second. I looked over your chart beforehand and everything in your history and your annuals with Doctor Getty looks good, so we’ll move on to the exam and check out your baby. I’ll step outside and you can step into a gown. Do you want Luke to stay here or step outside with me?” she asks while pulling a paper sheet from a cabinet.

  “He can stay.” It’s crazy how those three words suddenly bring me so much comfort when facing the unknown. We’re facing it together.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Sidney’s quiet as she stands up and starts to undress. I try to avert my eyes, but I’m drawn to her. I couldn’t look away if I tried. She faces away from me, and whether it’s intentional or not, I’m not sure, but I can’t help but drink my fill of her gorgeous backside. Her hips arch beautifully into a curvy, succulent ass that makes me want to beg, right here and now.

  Neither of us says a word as she slips on the paper gown, ending my voyeurism, and sits on the table in the middle of the room. She offers me a small smile just before a knock sounds at the door. Doctor Ortega and the nurse from before step inside and prepare for the next part of the visit.

  “Okay, Sidney, we’ll conduct a pelvic examination first, and then we’ll take a look at your baby, get a few measurements, and snap a few pictures,” Doctor Ortega says as she slides stirrups out from the table. “Daddy, if you want to step around to Mom’s head, I’ll get this uncomfortable part underway.”

  With leaded legs, I stand up and walk towards Sid’s head. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be standing where I am, while the doctor does what she’s doing. It feels invasive, somehow, and I almost wish I had stepped outside for this part. My gut churns and sweat is already forming on my upper lip.

  “Gonna be a little cold,” Doc says, but my attention is pulled to Sid.

  She’s looking up at me, her brave face firmly in place. I can tell it’s uncomfortable; you can’t miss the way her mouth shifts when the doctor does her thing down below. But her eyes are locked firmly on mine, and for some reason, it’s calming. I take her hand and hold on tight. I repeat my promise in my head, as well as to her with my eyes. It’s crazy, but she smiles up at me, as if she knows.

  Our relationship growing up was always something they write books about. I’d pick on her; she’s cry but retaliate later with something equally as harsh. I’d push; she’d push back harder. I’d hold her while she cried, crying a little bit myself because she was hurting. She wasn’t just my neighbor, but my best friend. She gave me a gift on my graduation night that I never got to repay. So what’s this? It sure as hell looks like she’s awarding me another gift, the greatest gift, and all I can do is keep my promise; my vow to not run.

  “All done, Sidney,” the doctor says from between her legs. “Since we’re calculating the baby to be about seven weeks, we’ll do a transvaginal ultrasound, which means we’ll insert this wand into your vagina and look at the baby that way.”

  Trans-what? Vagina? Sidney snickers at the stricken look on my face. “You going to be okay there, Dad?” she whispers with a smile, her eyes shining with laughter.

  “Are you kidding me?” I ask, bending down and getting close to her ear. “I watched my brother get shot and helped apply pressure to the wound. I think I got this little transgender dildo-thing.”

  Her laughter draws the attention of the doctor and the nurse who’s finishing up the lab sample at the counter. “It’s a transvaginal wand, but your name might be better.”

  “Ready?” the doctor asks, pulling our attention to a small computer screen on a cart.

  Watching another woman insert a condom wrapped wand into your woman’s pussy is probably something that should turn me on, but all things considered, I’m too out of sorts to get a chubby. Instead, I watch, mesmerized as a weird black and white image appears on the screen. I don’t even realize I’m staring until I feel Sid’s fingers against my own and latch on.

  The doc moves around her instrument bringing up a bubble in the middle of the screen. No clue what I’m looking at, but what dude would? I glance down at Sid just as a tear leaks from her eye and disappears into her hair. I’m able to catch the second one with my thumb and wipe it away just as our eyes lock.

  Something happens in that moment. The earth shifts on its axis and everything suddenly changes. In this moment, I fall in love. Not only with the only woman who I’ve ever loved or even cared about, but with a tiny blip on a screen t
hat I can’t even really see. I’m about to blurt it out, ready to tell this amazing woman who is carrying my child that I’m so in love with her I can’t imagine what life was before she reappeared. It’s on the tip of my tongue, when…

  “Uh oh.”

  Two tiny words that make my heart stop beating all together. Air is sucked from the room and is replaced with fear. I see it in her eyes, over the planes of her gorgeous face.

  “What do you mean, uh oh?” I ask, doing everything I can to stay calm. Fuck knows if something is wrong, I’ll have to keep it together for Sid’s sake. There’s no room for me to lose my shit right now.

  “Do either of you have twins in your family?” she asks, a smile on her face.

  I have no clue where she’s going with this. Why in the hell would it matter if we have twins in our family? What the hell kinda game is the good doc playing on us right now. I’m about to ask that very question, my blood pressure approaching stroke level, when a gasp sounds from Sidney’s mouth.

  I glance down at her before following her line of sight to the computer monitor. And that’s when I see it.

  That little grey bubble in the middle of the image.

  Two tiny peanuts nestled within.

  The heading above each peanut.

  Baby A.

  Baby B.

  We’re having twins.

  Chapter Seventeen – Two For The Price of One

  Sidney

  I’m on autopilot as I make my way to Luke’s truck. I’ve wondered how his big Tahoe would look with a car seat in the back, but two? How in the world am I going to raise two babies? I’m terrified.

  Luke hasn’t said a word since we found out we’re expecting twins in December. The doctor took a few measurements of both babies and printed us sonogram pictures to take home. After scheduling another appointment for four weeks, we finally stepped out into the desert sun and made our way towards the vehicle.

  The truck swallows us whole as we sit in silence, each lost in our own thoughts, not even realizing we’re not speaking or moving. The universe just played a major F-U card. My dream of someday going back to school and finishing my doctorate just flew out the window and was replaced with mounds of diapers, drowned in formula.

  Sure, I know my dad made it clear that I was to work at The Diamond until I completed my portion of the will, but still, nestled in the back of my mind, was a tiny dream that someday I’d be able to finish.

  But now? I don’t see how in the world I’ll be able to finish. Not with two babies to take care of.

  I glance over at Luke and find him staring straight ahead. He appears a million miles away. I wish I knew what to say to him. Twins? A baby changes everything, but two of them? I might as well help him pack his bag because if the look on his face is any indication, Luke’s one comment away from flying off to Siberia.

  A tear slips from my eye, quickly followed by more. I know he promised me he’d stay and talk to me, but that was before we found out we were going to be purchasing two of everything. I’ve seen movies and sitcoms with twins. Every time one goes to sleep the other wakes up. When one’s hungry, so is the other. Sleep becomes a distant memory, your life forever upended. The exhausted, zombified parents walk around in a daze, lost in a sea of dirty laundry covered in poop and vomit.

  I don’t even realize I’m crying–and crying hard, at that–until I feel Luke’s arms wrap around me. His familiar scent and comforting arms envelope me as sobs rake through my body. I’m so exhausted and so emotional that I can’t seem to stop crying now that I’ve started.

  “Sid, angel, look at me.” His voice is firm if not filled with concern and something that sounds like awe. “There you are,” he says while taking my face in his hands. His skin is warm against my ears, his calloused fingers rough against my cheeks. “Hi,” he adds with a smile.

  It’s hard to see him through the tears in my eyes, but his green eyes are shining brightly. “I’m so sorry,” I manage to mumble as a new wave of tears spills from my eyes.

  “For what?”

  “Twins. Two babies. You didn’t sign up for this,” I pant through the tears, pretty sure snot is gathering beneath my nose.

  “Angel, look at me,” he says, brushing the tears from beneath my lashes. “I’m. Not. Going. Anywhere. The fact that you’re having twins isn’t any more your fault than it would be mine. Neither one of us has twins in our family so it must be some fluke thing that happened. You heard the doctor. It happens. And it’s happened to us. But you know what?” He looks at me, waiting.

  “What?”

  “I’m actually pretty damn excited. I don’t just get one piece of you, but two. Two beautiful little babies with your button nose and your gorgeous blue eyes. How could I not be excited about that?” He waits a pause before he continues. “What about you? How are you feeling about this?”

  I take a few moments to gather my thoughts. “I’m scared,” I confess. Then my eyes drop to the ultrasound sitting between us on the console. “But I’m excited too. I’ve always wanted to be a mother. I just never thought I’d be hearing the word twins at my first doctor’s appointment.”

  “I’m terrified, too. But do you know what? I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else.”

  His words strike me straight into the heart. My chest practically bursts with love for him, and I know. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am completely in love with him. I probably never stopped. I’ve always been that young, seventeen-year-old girl who had to walk away from her first love.

  “Me either,” I whisper.

  Luke’s lips are warm and soft against mine. The kiss is one of comfort, but still causes my body to heat up. Desire crashes into me like the waves on the shore, again and again in a rapid-fire sequence. My fingers tangle in his hair as his tongue slides along mine. I’m consumed with love as he tilts my head to the side, deepening the kiss.

  My body is alive. Luke pulls me closer, as close as he can considering there’s a console between us. I’d give anything to have my legs wrapped around his hard body right now. To be able to slide my hands up his chest and feel the way his muscles tense and flex beneath my touch. To be able to look into his eyes the moment he pushes inside me, stealing my breath and what tiny fraction of my heart he hasn’t already claimed.

  He releases my lips, and whispers. “We should probably stop before we give amateur porn enthusiasts everywhere a show.”

  “Do you think there’s a lot of amateur porn enthusiasts coming and going from the OB/GYN’s office today?”

  His lips graze against mine, rekindling the fire burning between my legs. “You do know what caused this condition in which we needed to go to the doctor’s office in the first place, right?”

  “Oh, I’m very well aware of how this happened,” I say with a smile.

  His eyes search mine. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  “Remember my promise. I won’t run away. I don’t want that to be a worry that you’re dealing with, okay? It’s you and me against the world. You and me and our babies.”

  A combination of the sweetness in his words and the words themselves makes me smile. We’re having not one, but two babies. And I am excited. So damn excited as the truth of the situation starts to settle in. Hope starts to bloom in my chest. No, I still don’t know what the future will hold for Luke and me, but I know we’ll be able to figure this out.

  As long as we’re together.

  He pulls a package of Kleenex from his console and hands me one. “Come back to my place,” he says, softly kissing my lips once more. “My house is closer than your penthouse, and all I can seem to think about is you naked in my bed.”

  “That sounds nice,” I say, sniffling and wiping away snot with the tissue.

  “Nice,” he says while throwing on his seatbelt and putting the truck in reverse. “I’m not sure nice is the term you’ll be using later. Dirty. Epic. Orgasmic. Those are the words y
ou’ll be using to describe what I’m going to do to you as soon as we’re back at my place.”

  No more words are needed as he heads off towards the promised orgasms.

  * * *

  The door isn’t even closed when I’m pulled into his arms and his lips claim my own. My blood ignites and my need grows as he leads me towards what I can only imagine is his bedroom. I pay no attention to our surroundings, only on the way his hands feel against my skin and his lips against mine.

  He picks me up and lays me on the bed, coming down to cover my body with his. My legs wrap around his hips, my core instantly moving in rhythm to the silent pulse of our joint need for each other. A phone ringing in the distance distracts me, and I pull away from the kiss. Luke’s having none of it though, and kisses his way down my throat before licking his way back up to my mouth.

  “Don’t you need to answer that?” I ask, breathlessly.

  “No.”

  “It could be important.” My voice is hoarse and gritty.

  “Nothing is more important than being inside you.”

  His hands make quick work at removing my clothes. The phone stops ringing, assumedly sent to his voicemail. Just as his pants hit his ankles, the phone starts to ring again. I tense a little, even though Luke appears to be ignoring it completely.

  “Are you sure you don’t need to answer that?” I ask, my eyes glued to his powerful thighs.

  “I’m sure,” he states as he slides back onto the bed.

  Heat radiates from him as his large cock slides against the wetness between my legs. My body hums with excitement and need as I grind against his erection.

  “Shit, you gotta stop doing that or I’m not going to last, angel.” Luke runs his left hand up my neck and cradles my cheek. “I want you so much right now.”

  “I want you too,” I whisper, my hands gliding along his tone back. “Please.”

  And with that one word, Luke flexes his hips and stretches my body to accommodate him. It doesn’t matter how many times we come together like this, it’s always as breathtaking as the first. I gasp as he fills me completely, stilling to revel in the way our bodies fit so perfectly. “Is this what you want?”