by Finn, Amber
“It’s time for you and me, baby.”
* * * *
“Avery, you are truly glowing. I mean it. When I was pregnant, my ankles were swollen, and I waddled like a duck. You can’t even tell you are pregnant from the back! What is your secret?” Sarah Whitehouse, Avery’s neighbor, exclaimed.
Avery smiled and brushed back the hair on Sarah’s baby girl’s forehead who was sleeping in Avery’s arms. “Sarah, you have a selective memory. As I recall, I prayed I could look half as good as you did.”
Sarah laughed. “You succeeded and then some.” The tiny baby began to stir and look around for her mommy. “Oh-oh. I’m over here, baby. Are you getting hungry?”
Avery handed her over and rubbed her own belly in anticipation of her baby, due any day to arrive.
“Just you wait, Avery. It’s amazing. You’ll fall so in love. It’s a love you’ve never felt before.” Avery smiled. “Oh, honey, I wish you didn’t look so sad when you smiled.”
“I’m fine, Sarah. Don’t be silly. I am getting tired, though, so I think I’m going to head back to my house and try to grab what could be one of my last uninterrupted naps!”
“Okay, honey, but you call if you need anything, got it? Steve and I have it all worked out on how we’ll get you to the hospital.”
Avery leaned over and gave Sarah a quick hug and baby Emily a kiss on the head. “What would I have done without you guys all these months?”
“It doesn’t matter because you don’t worry about it,” Sarah answered in her usual pragmatic way.
Avery smiled and made her way home.
The final weeks of pregnancy were sapping every ounce of strength from Avery’s body. She collapsed in her bed and fell soundly asleep. Only minutes later, she was awakened by terrific cramps.
“Whoa! What did I eat?” Avery asked herself. She started to run through her diet for the day when her water broke, and then Avery knew she’d be heading to the hospital that day. She took her time getting her things together before she called Sarah and Steve.
* * * *
Sarah called to Steve from the lanai, “Honey, could you bring me an iced tea? I’m dying of thirst out here while this little one is drying me up.”
“I’m one step ahead of you,” Steve replied as he stepped out carrying two iced teas and handed one to Sarah. He sat down next to her with his own.
“Thanks, honey. You always take such good care of me,” Sarah said with a sigh.
“You’re welcome, dear, but why do you say it with such sadness? Is there something else you are hinting for?”
“No, I’m sorry. I’m just worried about Avery. She looked so sad today. I think she’s missing Blake so much, but she won’t call him to tell him. She’s so stubborn, you know? But that’s not entirely her fault—it’s the hormones. She just needs some help, I think.”
“Oh no, don’t do it, Sar. Don’t start meddling. You don’t have a good history here. Your sister still isn’t talking to you after the disaster blind date you set up for her.”
“What was the matter with Gary? He was a great catch.
“Nothing was wrong with him! It was the fact you meddled after the date by calling him and telling him all about Caroline, too much information after one date, know what I mean? You scared him off, and Caroline really liked him.”
“Well, this is different. Blake and Avery have a history and, more importantly, a child together. He needs to be here. She needs him here. She wants him here, whether she is willing to admit it or not.”
“Sarah, even if all you are saying is true, there is nothing you can do about it. You have no way of contacting Blake. You don’t even know where he is.” Sarah smiled at Steve. “Oh, don’t tell me. Are you serious? How did you find out?”
“I have my ways, my darling husband. I have my ways.”
* * * *
Avery was finishing the packing when she decided it was time to call Sarah and Steve. Her contractions were steady but still not very close together, so she thought she had some time. She had read that actual labor could take up to twenty-four hours in some cases. She called next door and told Steve the news. Within fifteen minutes, the Whitehouse family was in her driveway, waiting for Avery. When it was time for Avery to bring the baby home, their plan was to have Steve and Sarah go back to Avery’s house to get her car and bring it back to the hospital. Steve would drive Avery home, and Sarah would follow behind in their van. With the plan in place, Avery lumbered into their van, and they headed to the hospital. Avery didn’t know if the pain of the contractions was making her crazy or if she was picking up vibes that Sarah was acting strange about going to the hospital.
“What is the name of your hospital again?” Sarah asked for the second time.
“Weston Methodist,” Avery replied. “Why?”
“Just making sure,” Sarah answered.
Sarah was tapping her feet nervously.
“Are you okay, Sarah?”
“Yes, of course. Just fine.”
Steve shot Sarah a warning look. Just then, a strong contraction hit Avery, and she forgot about the interaction between Sarah and Steve.
* * * *
They arrived at the hospital, and Avery was taken to Labor and Delivery while Sarah and Steve were shown to the waiting area. Steve held Emily while Sarah paced.
“Sarah, who were you talking to in the other room while I was changing Emily and then talking to Avery?” Sarah looked guiltily at Steve. “Oh, Sar, you didn’t. What did he say? How did he react to you?”
“Well, to be honest, it wasn’t the first time we talked.”
Steve almost dropped Emily. “What? You’ve been in contact with Blake and didn’t tell me? What have you been telling him?”
“What do you think? I’ve been keeping him informed about the pregnancy. Avery promised she would and hardly told him anything. She told him if there was anything she thought he needed to know, she would tell him. But he wanted to know everything. He wanted to see what she looked like. He wanted to know when the baby first kicked. He’s so excited. Steve, he’s devastated about questioning Avery about the baby’s father. He’s truly sincere. I can hear it in his voice.” Sarah paused. “That’s why I called him today to tell him I heard Avery call you when she had gone into labor, and I gave him the hospital information. He’s been scouting flights for the past week or so and booked a flight online while we were on the phone. He’ll be here in two hours.”
“I hope you know what you are doing, Sarah. That’s all I have to say.”
By the time Sarah was allowed in to see Avery, her contractions had progressed, and Avery’s discomfort level had increased dramatically. Over an hour had gone by, and Sarah was increasingly aware of the time. Blake told Sarah that he would get a cab from the airport to the hospital, which was only fifteen minutes away. She checked her watch again. Blake would arrive within twenty minutes. She prayed she had done the right thing. She turned her attention to Avery.
“Sweetie, is there anything I can do for you? Are you ready for the epidural yet?”
“Five centimeters, Sarah. I’m going to five centimeters then I’ll get the epidural.”
“Avery, I don’t know why you’ve set such an arbitrary goal for yourself. If you are in pain, get the epidural now.”
“No, I’m getting to five.”
“Boy, your stubbornness just digs in and won’t let go, no matter how much it doesn’t make sense.”
Avery looked sharply at Sarah. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, honey. Never mind. You need to concentrate on what you are doing.”
“No, actually, this is a good distraction. You weren’t talking about my epidural just now. You were talking about my decision to exclude Blake, weren’t you? I know you’ve always disagreed, haven’t you?”
“Well, frankly, Avery, yes. You are in love with the man, the father of your child, and you won’t make one call that could change your life—change all of your lives. He made a mi
stake. We all make mistakes, and he regrets his more than anything. But you refuse to forgive him, which means you are saying you can’t allow the fact that he makes mistakes. Do you really think that is reasonable? How is someone supposed to live up to that standard?”
Just as Avery was about to respond, Blake walked into her hospital room. Sarah turned from Blake to Avery, who, despite enduring contractions, was lying in stunned silence.
“I think this would be a good time for me to go check on Steve and Emily.”
Sarah made a move to leave and Avery stopped her.
“No, you should stay.”
The disappointment on Blake’s face was visible as Sarah turned to Avery. “I don’t think so, Avery. This is between you and Blake now.”
“No, I want you to hear this as you clearly had a hand in bringing Blake here.”
Sarah’s face turned red as her role in Blake’s arrival was revealed.
Blake was standing at the foot of Avery’s bed.
“Blake,” Avery began and held out her hand on the opposite side of the bed to Sarah. Blake looked to Sarah, unsure as to what to do, and Sarah nodded vigorously in the direction of Avery’s hand. “Blake, you have quite the champion over here. She happens to be also very wise.”
Tears began to well in Blake’s eyes, and Sarah couldn’t control her emotions as her tears streamed down her face.
“Please don’t. I’ll never get through this if I see you cry,” Avery whispered, choking on her own tears.
Blake did his best to dry his eyes. “I’ll try, baby.”
That was practically Avery’s undoing. “Oh, God, I’ve missed you so much. I was so wrong and so stubborn. I couldn’t see reasoning and logic through my veil of bullheaded views. I couldn’t admit I was wrong when an ‘I’m sorry’ would have been all it would have taken for us to be together. I am so sorry. I held you to an unfair standard that isn’t fair. It’s okay to make mistakes, and yet I made the biggest one of all. I let you go. Please forgive me. Please don’t ever leave again.”
Blake was openly crying now, holding Avery’s hand against his cheek. He kissed the palm of her hand as she cried uncontrollably.
“Shhh, my love. My biggest mistake was letting you push me away. This I promise you, I will hold on to you and never let you go the rest of our lives. Avery, look at me. Sarah has been updating me on everything about this pregnancy. I cannot wait to meet our baby and begin our life together as a family. You, me, and our baby. That is what I need, what I want, and I only want it with you. Are you ready? Let’s have this baby and start our life together, if you’ll have me.”
Avery smiled the first true, contented smile that Sarah had ever seen. “Blake, I’ll have you today and all the rest of my days.” Avery turned to Sarah. “Sarah, I owe you a debt of thanks for not listening to me and bringing Blake to me.”
Sarah wiped her tears. “Anytime, dear friend, anytime.”
“Now, will you ignore my earlier instructions and go get a nurse and tell her I want that epidural now!”
Sarah laughed. “You bet, honey!”
* * * *
Blake lay next to Avery as gently as he could while she held their infant daughter in the hospital bed. He held her tiny finger in awe.
“I can’t get over how small everything is. She is so beautiful. Just like her mother.”
“Thanks. We need to talk about names. I didn’t find out the sex, and with you here now, I think we should do this together. So I sent Amelia a text for some help. What do you think of Grace?”
Blake didn’t speak at first, and when he did, his was shaky with emotion. “My mother would be honored to have our daughter named for her, as am I. Thank you.”
“Grace it is. Beautiful. Would you be okay with my maiden name as her middle name?”
“Absolutely. Grace Jackson Emory. I love it. Will there be a wedding in our future?”
“That depends.”
“On what?” Blake asked with concern.
“You haven’t asked me.”
Blake smiled. “Avery Jackson. Mother extraordinaire. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“It would be my honor.”
Grace stretched and smiled her first smile.
Epilogue
Avery and Blake hungrily kissed and clawed at one another as they made their way to the hotel bedroom three months later. Not wanting to be gone long or far away, they traveled to the panhandle of Florida for a long weekend for their honeymoon. Blake fell in love with Florida and found his own teaching job only eight miles from Avery’s house on the beach. Steve and Sarah graciously offered to take Grace for the weekend. This was the first time since Grace was born Avery felt she had both the energy and the time for sex, and she could hardly wait for it.
Avery and Blake were naked in record time, and Blake picked up Avery as she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around him as he laid them both on the bed. Blake put Avery’s arms above her on the pillow and held them down with his hands as he dipped his tongue in her mouth then, with passion, kissed Avery on the lips, his tongue deep in her mouth. He’d pause and look her in the eyes and begin the kissing again. It was the most romantic, passionate embrace he had engaged in with her. Avery could already feel herself getting wet.
As if Blake could read her mind, he moved his lips to her neck. He sucked and licked behind her ear and continued to move down to her breast. His hand cupped the breast while he grabbed onto the nipple with his mouth and pulled hard onto it until it stood on its own. His teeth nipped it, and he sucked and pulled again until Avery began to writhe beneath him. She tried to caress his back and reach his penis with her hand, but he shook his head no and put her arms back on the pillow. He continued his descent and spread her legs with his hands. She realized where he was going and shuddered in anticipation. He took one finger and gently flicked her clit and then softly blew on it. She gasped at the sensation.
“Oh, Blake, oh my.”
He then teased her pussy with just the tip of his tongue. He stroked it as his hands cupped both her butt cheeks, bringing her closer to him, and then he plunged his tongue deep within her vagina.
“Oh, God,” Avery groaned, “More, please!”
His tongue deep inside, he sucked on the outer lip of the vagina. His tongue stroked in and out in a lapping motion. It flicked her clit and then back to her cervix, back and forth while his lips still sucked on the outer lips of her vagina. Avery began to move her hips in rhythm, seeking her first climax.
“Please, please,” Avery begged, “I need your dick inside me.”
Blake withdrew his tongue and sent three fingers inside. Avery sent her hips off the bed as far she could to get them as far and as deep as they could go. She was grinding and grinding her hips, increasing the speed.
“That’s it, baby. Ride me. Get to your place of ecstasy.”
Blake let Avery set the tempo as she rode him until finally reaching her orgasm. Her wetness spilled over his fingers, and her hips shuddered as she lowered them back to the bed. Avery could see white spots behind her closed eyelids.
“Now, I’m going to fuck you.”
Avery opened her eyes. Her stomach fluttered at his words as her vagina began tingling again already.
“Please,” was all she could say.
He put his hands in hers and thrust his penis in her swollen vagina in one swift motion. She swung her legs up around his waist, lifting her pelvis higher, allowing him to drive deeper than before.
“Ohh, baby,” he moaned as he lifted his head in reaction to her move. He looked back down at her and enveloped her with his arms. She wrapped her arms around him as well as he kissed her, long and hard. He had not yet begun to ride his penis inside her, and the sensation of his cock filling her vagina was exciting her. Avery kissed Blake back with great fervor.
Blake placed both hands on the bed beside Avery and began his motion in and out of her vagina.
“Is this what you wanted, baby?”
<
br /> “Blake. Ride me now. Harder. I want your cock, yes,” Avery panted. “Fuck me, Blake.”
Blake arched his back as he drove his penis deeper and faster into Avery’s pussy. Avery wrapped her legs higher around Blake’s back now, her arms around his neck to hold on.
“Yes, Blake. That’s what I want! Please, that’s what I want!” Avery cried out as she neared another climax. She shouted as she peaked, “Oh shit, oh my God, oh fuck, Blake. I couldn’t wait. Ohhh myyy God.”
She held on as Blake continued to ride, exploding as he shot his seed. “Avery—Avery, ah, ah, ah,” as his penis shuddered the final drops of his ejaculation.
“Avery, look at me.” Avery opened her eyes and looked at Blake. “I love you, my wife, my lover, mother of my child. I will always love you.”
Tears filled Avery’s eyes. “I love you, too, Blake.” She paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Did I ever tell you that on my first day of class at Cross, I thought you were one of my students?” Blake shook his head no. “Well, I did. If you had been one of my students, I’d say you would have been my most prized student, you know.”
“Well, in that case, teacher,” Blake said as he rolled Avery over on top of him, “teach me everything you know.”
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amber Finn lives in the Midwest with her husband and four children. She is a life-long romance reader but enjoys mystery, suspense, and contemporary fiction as well. At the end of the day, it is the romance which drew her to this genre as a career choice.
Amber holds a Bachelor’s and Masters’ degree in English and Composition. Language has always been a love for Amber. She believes in the importance of developing one’s skill for writing and helps young people develop their skill as her day job. When she isn’t teaching, she enjoys many creative pursuits including photography and piano.