Three Little Words (#dirtysexygeeks Book 4)

by Melissa Blue

  “Works for me.”

  “I’ll get you all set up.”

  Left to his own devices without the one thing that could keep his mind occupied, Porter turned around to people watch. He had to blink twice because Victor stood at the entrance of the store.

  Pleasure filled him at seeing his friend. “Are you finally giving up your love of Android?”

  “Iris.”

  His heart stopped. “What?”

  Victor put up his hands. “She’s okay, but she’s been trying to call you for the past two hours. She’s in labor.”

  Two hours. Two fucking hours.

  “What?” Seemed to be where he was stuck.

  Victor looked him up then down. “Do I have to carry you out of here?”

  “Maybe.” His legs weren’t working. Was he breathing? He couldn’t feel anything below his neck.

  Porter scrubbed his hands over his face. He’d broke his phone that morning out of anger.

  And today it could have cost him being there for the birth of his child.

  “Porter!” Victor clapped his hands together and that shit was loud in the store.

  He dropped his hands and started moving. “I’m going to need your phone.”

  Victor slapped it in his hand and slammed open the doors. “Ashley’s been sending me texts. She’s five centimeters and getting an epidural.”

  Five centimeters? Shit. “Is her sister there?”

  “Yup. Her sister, Eva, Ashley and Iris were at the nail place together when her water broke.”

  “Where are the guys?”

  “At Grady’s,waiting for the call.”

  They stopped at his car. “How did you find me?”

  “Nothing nefarious. Everyone tried to call you. Unless you were dead and face-down in a ditch, the only probable reason was your phone must have been broken.”

  “And I’d be at the store getting it fixed.” Porter opened his door and paused then asked the most important question. “How was she?”

  “Scared. She didn’t want to check in until someone reached you.”

  He pressed a fist to his chest. “Stubborn fucking woman.”

  “Ashley persuaded her.”

  Porter could only imagine how that went. “See you there?”

  Victor shook his head. “Headed to Grady’s to wait there. Eva’s delivery almost did me in.”

  Porter got into his car after that. He may have broken a few traffic laws, but in no time he was walking into the delivery room. Ashley stood at one side of the bed and Jessie stood on the other side.

  Iris lay still on the bed, her eyes closed. Since no one was wailing he figured the drugs had kicked in.

  His sister turned to him first. “Where were you?”

  “Broke my phone.” He glanced down and tilted his head. “Why do you have tissue paper between your toes?”

  “Didn’t Victor tell you? We were getting mani-pedis. Haven’t had time to take them out.”

  Iris shifted beneath the light blanket covering her up to her breastbone. She mumbled something he couldn’t hear, and he moved closer to the bed. Ashley stepped aside.

  He took Iris’s hand. She squeezed him back, her eyes fluttering open. Iris was high as a kite if the smile she gave him was anything to go by.

  “You made it. I can guess Victor hunted you down after I made him.”

  “You made him?”

  “It was one of the conditions to letting them admit me.”

  Porter laughed. “You staged a labor and delivery protest?”

  “I made a promise.” She smirked, and he wanted to kiss her. “I knew you wouldn’t want to miss Xavier’s grand entrance.”

  He couldn’t be sure if she was joking or serious. “Iris?”

  “Don’t frown at me. I’m in labor and can’t feel my legs.”

  He brushed his thumb over her knuckles. “How about Avery Victor Hicks?”

  She pressed her face to his hand, closing her eyes. “I actually like that. Could be the drugs.” Her face scrunched up. “Another one. They keep coming.”

  He crouched down next to the bed. “You got this. Breathe.”

  She filled her cheeks with air then let the breath out slowly. He breathed with her until she relaxed her hold on his hand.

  But she didn’t let him go.

  *****

  Iris woke up groggy and confused. Then everything came slamming back into her memory. Her water broke after a foot massage. Chaos and embarrassment ensued. Ashley drove her to the hospital while Eva and her sister followed.

  The contractions hit like a Mack truck. Porter hadn’t been answering his phone and she had to breathe into a brown paper bag to calm down. Threats and deals were made. The most important being Ashley’s husband turning over every goddamn rock to find Porter. The drugs came before Porter, thankfully, and she was too relaxed to bite his head off.

  Then Avery.

  She put a hand to her stomach and opened her eyes. Porter sat near the window, the thick curtains cracked open enough a stream of light fell over his face. Avery seemed to be nothing but a small bundle with a baby blue hat in his father’s arms.

  Iris pulled herself up. The action made Porter look her way.

  He smiled, and her heart kind of stopped. “Welcome back to the living.”

  She ignored her skittering pulse. “How long have I been out?”

  “Few hours. I scared away most of the people wanting to wake you up.”

  She glanced at the bundle. “Avery?”

  “He ate. He pooped. Sleeping at the moment.”

  Why did Porter look so at ease? They just had a baby for goodness sake. “You look...serene.”

  “Your eyes are getting wider by the second.” He chuckled.

  “Because at some point, they are going to hand Avery to us and usher us out of the hospital. Given the birth was easy, and there aren’t any complications, I figure they’ll do that within the next minute or so.”

  “Until then, breathe.”

  She fell back on the bed and did just that. He let her for a long while.

  Finally he asked, “Are you calm now?”

  “No, but I think the freak out is over.”

  “Are you ready to hold him?”

  No. She hadn’t after pushing him out. Of course he’d noticed. Ashley hadn’t. She’d cooed. Her sister hadn’t. She’d cried. Porter had waited patiently to hold their son. She’d stayed awake long enough for the afterbirth to be delivered and then fell into a coma.

  His brows furrowed then he nodded. “He doesn’t bite yet.”

  “How much does he weigh?”

  “Five and a half pounds. He’s twenty-two inches long.”

  She had to protect and care for something that was only five fucking pounds? “Fingers and toes?”

  “All accounted for, no extras either.” His brow furrow deepened, digging lines around his mouth. “There is that thing with his chest.”

  She couldn’t breathe. “What?”

  “It’s nothing to worry about. It’s just...a thing.”

  Her heart kicked. “What the hell do you mean? What is it, Porter? Tell me.”

  Porter unfolded from the chair, holding Avery in the crook of one arm. She curled her hands below her breasts.

  He placed Avery on her lap and began to unwrap him from the receiving blanket. Avery squirmed and let out the cutest whine. Iris’s heart squeezed. His fist went for the hat first and tugged the beanie up, revealing ears that were dark along the lobe while the rest of him was four shades lighter.

  “Why is his forehead so hairy?” she asked. “Is that normal?”

  “Family thing, I guess. Ashley looked part wolf when she was first born.” Porter’s hands were gentle as he pulled up the shirt.

  Avery’s belly button wasn’t one, not yet. The umbilical chord was cut and held closed with a piece of long plastic. He looked so fragile.

  “What’s wrong with him? Just say it.”

  Porter took hold of her hand. “You hav
e to see it for yourself. Let me show you.”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  Porter put her hand under Avery’s shirt and on his heart. She waited, barely breathing. Avery’s heart beat fast, but that was normal.

  “He has a heart murmur?” she tried to guess.

  Porter’s mouth lifted. “He’s perfectly fine.”

  “What?”

  “I just knew you wouldn’t touch him unless you were tricked into it.”

  She pushed Porter in the stomach, so angry and so relieved. He laughed like the jackass he was.

  “What is wrong with you?”

  He moved back to the chair by the window, still smiling at her. Avery fussed, on the bed in her lap.

  He was so small and cute, even though he did look part wolf from the brow up. His nose kind of looked like Ashley’s. He had a sharp chin. With an unsteady hand she pulled the beanie off completely to find a head full of thick curly hair.

  Because she’d done this before, with her nieces, she offered Avery her finger to latch onto. He took it, his grip strong.

  “Oh,” she said and had to swallow back tears. She knew what love felt like. She had it for her sister, Ashley, and Eva. She knew how her heart ached from missing her mother. More than once she’d fallen for a boyfriend.

  But how she felt about Avery couldn’t compare. Her chest hurt from how much she loved him. “I...I think my heart just exploded.”

  “Yeah,” he said as though he understood.

  “Oh, God.”

  He laughed. “Yeah.”

  She pried her finger away, put Avery’s hat back on, wrapped him so he’d be warm and then hugged him to her chest. “We’re so fucked, Porter. We’re going to be stupid in love with him.”

  “Going to be?” he said. “I think it’s too late for me.”

  She couldn’t stop looking at Porter, now. He’d been the one to give Avery his sharp chin. His lips. The thick eyebrows. Maybe when Avery got older she’d find herself in him too, but in that moment all she could see in Avery was his father. Her chest hurt just a little bit more. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Making him with me.”

  Porter looked out the window. “I can go get your sister.”

  “Yeah. Ashley too.” She paused. “Are your friends here? Do they want to see him?”

  “They can wait. I’ve taken a million pics. I’m sure you’ll want to sleep after the first round.”

  She held onto Avery a little tighter. “Will you come back?”

  “Do you want me to? Or do you want me to wait until you get home?”

  She started shaking her head before she said, “I don’t want you to miss out.”

  “But I am, Iris.” There was no anger in his voice. “He’s going home with you. You’ll be breastfeeding him, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “So for the next few weeks, I can come visit, and that’s it. I’m going to miss his first fart-smile. I’m not going to know how he falls asleep. I’m going to miss a lot.”

  She couldn’t say he was exaggerating. She couldn’t help but feel the ache in his words. Five minutes ago she hadn’t wanted to pick Avery up, and yet she’d take him home. She didn’t want that for him.

  “Porter—”

  “Let me go get your sister. Do you need anything while I’m out?”

  Her stomach rumbled loud enough he heard it. He smirked. “What are you craving?”

  He was still taking care of her. She wished her head, their heads were clearer and not filled with baby love. Then maybe she could know if anything they were feeling was real.

  Then what?

  Since she didn’t have an answer for that, she told him, “Burger and fries. I haven’t eaten in hours.”

  She watched him leave, her heart hurting for him. For them. At the sound of Ashley’s voice a minute later, she forced a smile to her face.

  It got easier when Ashley squeed. “I checked out the nursery. I have the best looking nephew in this joint.”

  Her sister came in, and then Eva. They agreed he was the cutest baby ever, loud enough Avery squirmed and whined at the noise.

  How was it possible for her heart to feel so full while it was breaking?

  Mulder + Scully

  Her apartment wasn’t big enough for the constant round of visitors. Porter’s mother showed up and stayed for a short forever before Porter pried her away from Avery. She left every number she could possibly be reached at and for anything. The woman likely meant it.

  Then Porter’s boys came by and there definitely wasn’t enough room to seat five men, including Porter, in her living room. Avery got passed around to get a proper once over by all of them. His namesake refused to give him up for at least an hour.

  She’d been worried at first about all of them, but they were gentle. She didn’t even have to tell them to wash their hands. It was the first thing they did. For that, she’d have to thank Eva. Then her sister showed up when she could. Then Ashley and Ms. Hicks again.

  Porter, too, but she could tell he was doing his best to be mindful of her space. It hurt to see him so full of love for their son. To see him pour nothing but patience and awe into Avery.

  Then, whenever he looked at her, his gaze would be guarded. Iris had did that. She’d fucked that up and didn’t even know where to begin to fix them, not when her every waking moment involved taking care of their son. Or being a hostess to people who wanted to see him.

  The stream of visitors tapered off after a week, leaving her utterly alone with Avery. They talked, or rather, she did. By the second week, whenever he would cry, she’d cry. She’d pull it together whenever company came by. She’d eat, shower then they’d leave her alone with the baby again.

  Week three, there were no visitors other than Porter, who came by in the morning to spend his self-allotted four hours with Avery.

  Week four was more of the same, but she couldn’t remember much of it. The only thing she could do was feed the baby, change the baby, burp the baby.

  But week five she didn’t have Porter. An emergency came up with the job in New York. He was due back at the end of the week.

  Iris told herself those four hours were barely anything at all. She just had to hold out and be strong. Single mothers did shit like this and more every day without wanting to cry. Being stuck in the house, a milk factory, caretaker, and entertainment was fine.

  Who needed adult contact?

  And she had Ashley and Jessie and Eva checking in on her or just texting. Texts Iris replied to that she was fine. Iris was more than fine. She could totally do motherhood with a newborn while being alone virtually all day.

  Until day one on week six.

  Iris didn’t know what set her off. All she did know is that she was down to two diapers, somehow, spit up covered one side of her back—wet, sticky, and funky. Avery had eaten greedily and then burped it all up. Then cried because he was hungry.

  Iris needed a shower. Something that wasn’t considered a kindergartner snack to eat. And sleep. Definitely sleep.

  Also, for Avery to be the sweet, sleeping baby he’d been the first month of his life, not the hell spawn demon who hated her.

  She remember vaguely calling Ashley. Calling Ashley made sense. Eva would be taking care of Izzie. Her sister had four kids that kept her hands full. Ms. Hicks had work, and how embarrassing to call Porter’s mother for help when Iris wasn’t even Porter’s girlfriend?

  Ashley was her only hope. Avery and Ashley usually forgot Iris’s existence when they were in the same room with each other. It was a cute and wonderful budding auntie and nephew relationship.

  For thirty minutes she paced the living room, rocking and patting him as they both cried, waiting for Ashley’s rescue.

  When she opened the door thirty minutes later, Iris thought maybe she should have forced herself to stop sobbing. Horror etched into Ashley’s face.

  Her friend’s voice was calm and measured. “Give me the baby and walk back tw
enty feet.”

  “I. Can’t. Stop. Crying,” Iris hiccuped.

  “I can see that. Give me the baby.”

  “I. Wasn’t. Going. To. Hurt. Him.”

  “It’s not him I’m worried about. When was the last time you went to sleep?”

  The question hit her sideways and forced her to think. Her last good rest had been a week ago, before Porter had left for New York. He’d taken care of Avery as she had napped. She couldn’t stay awake, not while his voice lulled their son and her. He’d been teaching him how to solve a Rubik’s cube. Crazy given the age, but Avery had paid rapt attention to the bright colors of the cube. He’d made it seem easy—both the cube and parenting, but of course it would look easy. Porter didn’t get the hell spawn. He got the sweet and happy baby.

  “Iris?”

  “Huh?”

  “Okay,” Ashley said, using her no-bullshit voice. “Go to your room and go to sleep.”

  That...Iris could do. That she could do right there on the floor since her body felt so damn heavy.

  Apparently she wasn’t moving fast enough. Ashley turned her around with one hand and guided her to the room. The messy room that smelled faintly of dirty diapers.

  “I had a schedule,” Iris tried to explain the mess, the stench...her life. “Wake up, change him, feed him. Clean the house. But then he stopped sleeping all night. It snowballed.” Iris’s throat tightened with another wave of tears.

  “Shhh,” Ashley said, pushing Iris onto the bed.

  “I didn’t want you guys to know.”

  “Yes, because you’re stubborn and independent.” Ashley pulled the cover up with one hand. Avery rubbed his face into Ashley’s chest.

  Her breast tingled in a familiar way. “He’s hungry.”

  “I’ll feed him. You go to sleep. When you get up you’ll shower because you smell like rotten breast milk and armpits.”

  Iris didn’t know about the armpit stench. She refused to check. The bed had come up around her like a warm hug. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m going to handle everything, and then I’m going to yell at my brother.”

  What had Porter done? He’d done nothing. He’d been short of perfect since...not perfect, but exactly what she’d needed. And she’d hurt him. “Don’t. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”