by Mia Ford
I walked out of the bathroom clutching the test in my hand and looked around, realizing that I was completely alone. Immediately, I took off for the bedroom and pulled on my coat, hat, gloves, and boots. I hobbled through the living room and picked up my keys and wallet, looking around for a minute before bolting out the door. I took the stairs two at a time and turned the corner, walking into the parking garage. I quickly jumped into the driver’s seat and started the car, backing out carefully and heading down the street.
I gripped onto the steering wheel, watching the road and staring at the pregnancy test still grasped in my palm. I could barely believe what I was looking at, and instantly, emotions flooded me. What was Blaine going to say? Was he going to be angry? What was I supposed to do with this information? My life was exactly the way I wanted it. Was I ready to change it all? The epiphany I had before racing out of the house was lingering in my mind, and I could feel my heart beating a million miles a second.
My tires screeched as I pulled up in front of Blaine’s apartment building. I looked out the window at the valet parking attendant and smiled, putting the test in my pocket and grabbing my wallet. He gave me my ticket, and I tried to walk as slowly as I could manage across the courtyard and into the lobby. The front desk security was used to seeing me at that point, and he pressed a button on the desk, opening the doors to the penthouse elevators. I smiled and raced past the desk, climbing in the elevator and watching as the doors shut in front of me.
I looked up at the numbers above the door as they lit up and then fell dim again. My foot was tapping wildly against the floor, and I glanced over, catching the reflection of myself in the mirrored walls. I smoothed down my hair and wiped the crust from around my eyes, trying to make myself as presentable as possible. I sighed as I stuck my hand in my pocket and grasped onto the little test stick that floated around with a couple of pennies and a piece of lint.
When the elevator reached the top, I stood there as the doors slowly opened. I stepped out into the small waiting area and stared at Blaine’s front door. I felt frozen in place, and I wasn’t sure if I could even force myself to knock. I took off my gloves and shoved them in my empty pocket, smoothing down my wild hair and pulling at my sweatshirt. I stepped up to the door and pounded my fist against it, taking in a deep breath. It took him a minute to get there, but eventually, Blaine opened the door and looked out at me.
At that moment, I completely lost all of my brave.
Chapter 23
Blaine
Although I would have much rather been with Reese, sitting in front of the television, catching up on sports, and drinking a cold brew wasn’t a terrible way to spend a Thursday evening. I lifted my legs up and propped them on the table, focused on the football scores that were scrolling across the bottom of the screen. They were talking about hockey on the show, which bored me to tears, and I was mostly interested in hearing their picks for the Playoffs. I tilted my cold beer back and took a big gulp, watching as the show went to commercial. I sighed, realizing I was in a trance, trying to find out information about a sport I never actually watched.
As the commercials filtered through, some talking about new hair care products, and others advertising the upcoming games, my mind fluttered over to Reese, and I wondered what she was doing right then. Hopefully, she was asleep, finally finding a comfortable position and resting her body. This was the first time I was able to experience Reese sick, and I quickly found out she was one of those people that preferred to be left alone and not coddled when she wasn’t feeling well. For me, that was hard since all I wanted to do was to protect her and make her feel better, but I respected her wishes and stayed away, still sure that if I hadn’t caught it yet, I wasn’t going to. Whatever gave her peace of mind made me happy.
I pulled myself from the couch and walked into the kitchen, tossing my empty bottle in the recycling bin and pulling out another beer. I opened it and watched as the lid bounced across the counter and disappeared into a stack of dirty plates next to the sink. Not only did I miss Reese because we had become inseparable, but I also missed how she took care of me at every turn. Half the reason I never taught myself how to cook was because I hated doing dishes. It was very obvious as you glanced around the apartment that I never did a very good job of taking care of myself, which was why before Reese, I had hired a maid three times a week to come in and clean up my mess. Sure, it sounded kind of ritzy, but I didn’t care. It made my life less stressful.
As I was sitting there thinking about Reese, I decided that I would text her so that she would at least know that I had her on my mind. It wasn’t very often these days that I didn’t have her on my mind, but since she got sick, I was thinking about her a lot more. I took a sip of my beer and walked back over to the living room and picked up my phone. I hesitated for a second, wondering if I should wait in case she was asleep. Then again, when she fell asleep at my place, it would take a herd of elephants playing the trombone to stir her after she went to bed.
I opened up the messages screen and scrolled to our conversation, smiling at the picture she had sent me, sitting in the feed. She was making a funny face, holding up a new puppy, and her best friend was in the background, trying to corral the rest of them. She was such a goofball when she was feeling well. I began to type the message, deleting words a couple of times and fighting myself on what I actually wanted to say. I reread what I wrote and breathed deeply, shaking my head in approval. I wanted her to know I was thinking about her, that I missed her, and that I needed her to get better soon because I was lost without her. It sounded a bit much, but I knew that it would make her smile knowing I was sitting at my place, thinking about her. Caleb had tried to get me to take this time to go to the bars, but the last thing I wanted was for Reese to be sick and worried at the same time.
Just as I was about to press send, a loud banging came from the front door, and I jumped. I closed the message screen and looked down at the time, realizing that it was after eleven at night. I was really curious to know who was at my door, knocking loudly at that time of night. It was probably Caleb, too drunk from the bars to drive home, so he was going to crash here as he did from time to time. That being said, eleven may be late to me, but that was the getting started time at all the bars and clubs.
I groaned as I pulled myself from the couch and tossed my phone on the coffee table. The banging came again, this time louder, and I walked a bit faster, wondering where the hell the fire was. I reached for the doorknob. I flung open the door, expecting to see Caleb, but instead, Reese was standing there. Her skin was pale, but her cheeks had a hint of color to them, an improvement from the last time I had seen her. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were bloodshot still from being sick for so long. I wondered what in the world she was doing here that late at night.
“Reese,” I said. “Are you okay? I mean, come in. Get warm.”
I stepped to the side and watched as she blew past me, her hands shoved in her pockets. I closed the door and locked it, turning around and watching her as she walked down into the living room. She looked extremely nervous, and she started pacing the floor back and forth. I was instantly nervous, not knowing what I could have possibly done to get her into such a tizzy. She was basically falling apart at the seams. I walked toward the living room slowly, trying to give her time to calm herself enough to look at me. She was fiddling with something in her pocket, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Finally, she slowed her pace and turned, looking me in the eyes and letting out a deep sigh.
“Sweetheart, what are you doing out of bed?” I asked. “You’re sick.”
“I had to talk to you,” she said quietly, her eyes roaming the room.
“What’s wrong?”
“God, I don’t know how this happened,” she said, launching into a complete panic attack. “I checked the calendar, and I thought I just forgot. I had been so busy with everything. So, I wanted to just make myself feel better because Leena had freaked me out. She has this amazing way of do
ing that. I went across the street and bought it, not thinking that it would say what it did.”
I watched as she scrambled back and forth, trying to make sense of what she was saying, but she was talking in short fragments with very little information of any use. I walked across the floor quickly and down the stairs into the living room. I walked straight up to Reese and reached out, grabbing her by the shoulders and holding her still. Her eyes moved back and forth, and she continued to go on until I pulled my fingers up to her lips.
“Shh,” I said. “Take a deep breath, Reese. You aren’t making any sense at all. You need to slow down and think about what you are trying to tell me. I don’t know what happened, but you are in complete disarray. Remember, I’m here for you, for anything that you need. You just need to take a deep breath. Here, sit down.”
“No, I don’t want to,” she whispered.
“What is it?”
I held tightly to her shoulders, feeling as if I let go, she would just fall into a heap on the floor. There was something going on with her, and it was obviously pretty serious. I had never seen her like that before. She was usually completely calm and collected. When her breathing had slowed, I looked down at her, staring deeply in her eyes. Her hands moved out of her pockets and sat in front of her. She looked at me and tilted her head, her eyes going from my face down to her hands. With confusion, I followed her gaze to her hands and watched as her palms unfolded, revealing a long white stick. I squinted my eyes and looked down, not realizing what she was holding. Her eyes shot up to my face, studying my reaction.
Then, as if a light bulb went off, my eyes grew wide, and I realized exactly what she was holding. In her tiny smooth palms was a pregnancy test. She let out a deep breath, and tears filled her eyes. I was frozen in place, trying to compute what was going on.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered. “I didn’t even think about it until Leena brought it up. She asked me what my symptoms were and then made a joke about it. When she did that, it locked into my head, so I checked my calendar to just make sure. I hadn’t written anything on there since September. So, I walked across the street and bought a test, sure that it was going to say negative, but, well, I was wrong.”
I reached down, listening to her words, and took the pregnancy test from her hand. I turned and held it up in the air, looking at the two lines, bright as day, staring back at me. I could feel all the blood draining from my face, and I was sure by that point, I looked as pale as Reese did. I walked over to the couch and sat down, staring down at the stick and wondering what I was supposed to say because all the words had vanished from my mind. I wanted to be comforting, I wanted to be there for her, but first, I needed a minute to process what I had just found out. Reese was pregnant which meant I was going to be a father.
I looked up as Reese walked toward me, her mannerisms slowed and steady. She had calmed down completely and now looked very contemplative. She moved with care, as if she wasn’t sure whether to approach me or not. She sat down on the couch next to me and put her hands in her lap, her foot tapping on the floor beneath her boots. She sat there silently for several moments before speaking.
“I understand that this is a shock,” she said quietly. “I know that this might not be what you want at all. I understand if you need to think about things. I understand if this is not a situation you want to be a part of. You are not obligated to be part of anything that you don’t want to be part of.”
With the sound of the words she was speaking, I knew that I needed to bring myself out of this. I shook my head, pushing the shock out of my mind and turning to her. I furrowed my eyebrows and reached up, running the back of my hand across her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into me, opening them back up as I lifted her chin up toward mine. She gazed into my eyes, and the fear and anxiety that was there before quickly faded away. Everything about this was unexpected, but nothing about it was unwanted. It was time that Reese knew exactly how I felt about her and exactly how I saw our future, whether it followed my timeline or not. I leaned forward and pressed my nose against hers, closing my eyes.
“Shh,” I said, tipping my chin forward and kissing her lips. “I love you.”
Chapter 24
One Year Later
Reese
I pulled the dress up my body and pushed my hands through the holes in the straps. I reached back and zipped it up, looking at the body that I now had. Blaine told me every day that he loved the curves that the baby had brought me, and now, standing in the bathroom, looking at my reflection, I was inclined to agree. I could hear the baby cooing outside the door as Blaine bounced him up and down in his arms, waiting for me to finish dressing. There was something unbelievably sexy about Blaine as a father, and he had jumped right into it without even a blink in his eyes. It had been a year since I had told him that I was expecting, and we used the date as an anniversary of sorts, one that signified the moment our lives changed forever.
I quietly opened the bathroom door after checking my makeup and leaned against the doorframe, listening as Blaine talked softly to the baby. He looked up at the kitchen as Floppy Junior, our new puppy, and son of the original Miss Floppy, came stumbling out, tripping over his ears. I stifled a laugh as Blaine stopped and knelt down on the step, reaching out to help the puppy to his feet. He smiled at the baby and then looked back at the puppy.
“You need to watch those ears, buddy,” he said. “You are part of the family now, and we need you to stay happy and healthy.”
I took in a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom, my heels clacking on the smooth wooden floors as Blaine looked up at me. He smiled with charm and walked toward me, leaning in and kissing me on the cheek. I closed my eyes and felt the electricity of his touch surge through my chest. He still made me feel the same way he had the first time we’d kissed. Only now, he was a strength and comfort in my life that I never thought I would feel.
“I see you like the puppy,” I said, smiling and picking the furry little guy up.
“He’s all right,” Blaine said, clearing his throat and looking down at the baby as he cooed in Blaine’s arms. “Oh, now you’re telling on me, too? Traitors everywhere.”
I laughed and leaned forward, kissing the puppy and carrying him over to his crate. I put him inside and watched as he attempted to open the door that I had strategically sealed to avoid his escape. I smiled and shook my head, remembering when I used to find his mother running around the shop early in the morning.
“Like mother, like son,” I said with a smile.
Blaine walked beside me and smiled, offering me his arm as we headed out the door. We made our way out to the car parked on the street and buckled Tucker into his car seat before sliding into the car ourselves. I was impressed when we showed up at the restaurant, not realizing that Blaine had gone above and beyond to make the night as special as possible. He had rented out the entire place for me, him, and the baby, giving us complete and total privacy.
As we walked through the dining room, Blaine looked over at me and smiled, rubbing the baby’s head. I looked up and gasped, seeing the contrast of elegance and empty tables. In the center of the room was one round table, accented with candles and roses. There were two chairs and a high chair placed around the white table cloth, and the lights were dim and romantic. Blaine took the baby from me and sat him in the chair before turning to me and pulling out my seat. I nodded at him and sat, feeling him scoot the chair up underneath me. I expected him to take the seat across from me, but he stayed standing, watching as the server came and poured me a glass of champagne.
“I can still remember the day that I met you, with your wild eyes, sexy blue dress, and interesting way about you,” Blaine said, walking around to face me. “You told me that you weren’t the girl I was looking for, and at that moment, I knew that you might be wrong. I went home alone, a lonely bachelor dreaming of a girl he had only met for two seconds. Luckily, I had some good friends that made it possible for me to contact you. After our fir
st date, I knew that I would never be able to look at another woman the same way. You’ve given me so many things in this relationship, I’ve lost count. Most importantly, you gave me our child, this beautiful baby that I can’t take my eyes off, unless I’m staring at you, of course. You made me the man that I am today, and you continue to push me to be even better and even stronger. You have given me so many things to look forward to, and not a single one of them has to do with work. To go from career obsessed to family obsessed was quite a feat, but it happened to me long before you showed me that little white test.”
I sat there and smiled, leaning my elbows on the table and resting my head in my hands. It wasn’t often that Blaine talked about our relationship, and this was the most he had ever said at one time. He didn’t need to say how he felt on a daily basis. He showed me every second of the day. He protected us, cared for us, and made sure that Tucker and I were safe and secure all the time. Still, sitting there and hearing the words was extremely moving, and I couldn’t help but be captivated by every word that came from his mouth. He reached over, picked up his glass of champagne, and took a long sip. I smiled at him, expecting that he was done and ready to sit down. I went to say something back, but before I could, he cleared his throat and walked toward me.
“Reese, I have spent countless days sitting in my living room, my office chair, laying in my bed, and riding in my car, thinking about you in my life,” he said, bending down on one knee and taking my hand. “I imagined us traveling the world, making a family, and spending the rest of our lives hand in hand, growing old together. You have given me the most beautiful baby ever born, and now, I’m asking one more thing of you. Please, make me the happiest and most content man on earth by promising me that you will become my wife.”