The Baby Interview

by Robbie Terman

  "Shh,” he soothed and moved her hands to her sides. “Let me..."

  His warm breath brushed her inner thigh, and Lucy tensed.

  "Relax,” he whispered.

  "Su ... Ahh!” The moan surged from within her unexpectedly as Cole buried his face between her thighs. Her back arched of its own accord, pushing her deeper against Cole's lips.

  As his tongue flicked at her crux, his strong hands moved under her buttocks and tilted her for better access. He licked a path up and down as she squirmed beneath him, her breath coming in tortured pants.

  When his tongue dipped inside her, she cried out, the sizzle of pleasure sending electric currents throughout her limbs. He was relentless in his task, paying homage to her until she quivered and screamed her release.

  While her body was still quaking in sweet agony, Cole pulled her down to the carpet, rolling until she was beneath him. He positioned himself between her legs and then plunged inside.

  He thrust to the hilt, filling her completely. Her arms and legs snaked around him as they found a rhythm together and rocked in harmony.

  Lucy hadn't thought she could find a second release so soon after the first, but suddenly fire burned within her again. Her hips rocked faster, desperate to reach the finishing point that loomed just ahead.

  Above her, the tendons in Cole's neck contracted, and she knew he was close. Then he reached between them, teasing her pleasure point with the tip of his fingers, and suddenly she erupted. Through her haze of ecstasy, she felt Cole tighten, and then heard a growl of satisfaction. He collapsed on top of her, his sweaty body red-hot against hers.

  The sound of deep breathing filled the room as they cooled. Lucy didn't have the energy or the will to move from her position. Cole, too, seemed incapable. He slid off of her just enough to not crush her and then grabbed the throw that had been on the window seat. He draped it over them with supreme effort and seconds later was softly snoring.

  Lucy knew she should get up, but decided to just rest her eyes for a few minutes. As she drifted off to sleep, she was vaguely aware of the sounds of the party still going on downstairs.

  * * * *

  Lucy awoke to complete darkness and complete silence. For a few seconds, she didn't know where she was or why she was lying on the hard floor. Then it all came rushing back to her. Cole's party, his father's threats, his friends’ mockery. Making love on Cole's bedroom floor as the party went on beneath them.

  How on Earth had she let that happen? She'd had doubts whether or not she and Cole could even be friends. Now she'd gone and thrown lover into the equation. And lover was probably being optimistic. Cole had made it clear he didn't want any relationship commitments. He probably meant it to be a one-time thing.

  She needed to get out of there. Clear her head. So when he told her the night didn't mean anything, she could be cool and collected. Make it seem like their night together hadn't mattered to her, either. And to do that, she needed to practice her act.

  Lifting the edge of the throw away, she tried to slither beneath his arm that had her pinned down.

  She had barely moved when she heard him, his voice still husky with passion. “Are you trying to sneak out on me?"

  Lucy pulled herself to a sitting position, her back against the window seat, and forced a smile. “It's late. I should get home."

  "Is Ben visiting?” Cole asked, turning to his side to face her. The blanket slid down and barely covered his middle.

  She swallowed the saliva that quickly built up from just gazing at his muscular chest. “No, he's back at school. Why?"

  "Well, if he's not at home, I don't see why you have to leave. We're both adults. It's okay if we have a sleepover.” Even in the darkness, his dimple was evident.

  His teasing turned her smile genuine. “Gee, I don't know,” Lucy teased back. “Do we need to ask Nanny Hilda's permission?"

  "I can ask her if you want.” He reached for her and grasped her calf in his hand, running up and down her smooth skin. “Although she probably already knows."

  "Oh, God!” Lucy covered her eyes with her hand. “Everybody probably knows. You just disappeared from your own party!"

  "Don't worry. It will make it all the more believable when you tell people you're using me for sex."

  She laughed as she remembered the conversation that had started this. The air around her suddenly seemed thicker, and Lucy felt as if an invisible string was pulling her to Cole.

  She moved on top of him, chest to chest. His smattering of hair teased her swollen nipples. “If I'm just using you for sex, then I'd better get my money's worth.” Cupping his head, she lowered her lips to his.

  He eagerly met her, his tongue reaching out to touch hers. His hands moved to her back, caressing the curve of her spine. They rose to a sitting position, their lips still joined.

  She could feel Cole, rock solid beneath her, and sighed against his mouth in anticipation. He moved his right hand between her legs to ready her.

  And froze.

  His hand dropped to his side, and he pulled his head back. His face was a mask of hardness.

  Icy fear stabbed at her heart. “What is it? What's wrong?"

  His Adam's apple bobbed. “This.” He reached again between her legs.

  She shrugged in confusion, so he took her hand in his own and placed it to his sticky seed dried on the inside of her thigh. And all of a sudden his meaning became crystal clear.

  "Are you on the pill?"

  She slid off him and stood, clutching the blanket to her nude body like a protective layer. “No! I'm not!” Her stomach churned and acid filled her throat.

  "Everything will be okay."

  Lucy stared at him as if seeing Cole for the first time. “You did it on purpose, didn't you?” she whispered the disturbing thought. “You knew I wouldn't have your baby, so you decided to force it."

  "Force it? Whoa, no way, lady.” Cole stood up, unabashedly nude. “You were the one who kissed me, remember? And as for the other. Well, we're both adults. You are just as responsible for remembering to use birth control as I am."

  His words made sense, but she was too angry to acknowledge it. “You must be really happy with yourself right now. You got what you wanted."

  Cole let out a huge, exasperated sigh. “Lucy, we don't even know if you're pregnant. This fight might be for nothing."

  She ignored his words. “I'm not giving you my baby."

  His face softened. “Of course not. I don't expect you to. If you are pregnant, we'll figure things out together, I promise.” He reached out a hand to touch her.

  Lucy twisted away from him. “Don't touch me.” In the darkness, she reached for her clothes. She pulled on the garments, gasping in dismay when she remembered the broken straps of her dress. “I need a shirt."

  Without responding, Cole walked to his closet, flipping on a light in the process.

  In the illuminated room, harsh reality was even more profound and she fought back tears. She would not let Cole see her cry.

  Still nude, he walked over to her and handed her a jacket. She slipped it on, then grabbed her sandals and headed for the door.

  "Lucy."

  She stopped but wouldn't turn around, the tears in her eyes dangerously close to falling.

  "If you're pregnant, I want to know."

  Her voice was ragged, but she managed to speak without breaking. “I can't think of any reason I would ever want to see or speak to you again. Goodbye, Cole."

  With as much dignity as she could muster, she walked out of Cole's life.

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  Chapter Six

  Lucy sagged against her shower wall as water pelted her, mixing with her tears of fear and rage.

  How could she have been so stupid? Cole had made no secret of what he wanted from her, and she had walked right into his trap.

  And the worst part? She was no better than the other women whose babies he'd tried to buy. She'd let him buy her an expensive new dress an
d invite her to a fancy party. And she had lost her head, forgetting who he was and who she was.

  He was a millionaire who thought he could buy himself a baby. And she was an idiot who'd given him her uterus on a dollar-store platter.

  The hot water gave way to cold and Lucy yelped as she tried to jump out of the frigid spray. She frantically turned the knobs on the faucet and stepped out.

  Lack of sleep and crying had left her mind in a dense fog. After coming home from Cole's earlier, she'd crawled into bed, hoping she would fall asleep and pretend the night had been just a bad dream. Instead, she had lain awake while their night of passion replayed itself in her memory like a bad movie.

  Now, when all she wanted to do was lose herself in unconsciousness, she had to get to the flower shop. A stack of paperwork was undoubtedly sitting on her desk, since she had blown off yesterday to go shopping. At least at the shop, her mind would be on work. No doubt sleep would be filled with thoughts of Cole if she didn't do something to get him off her mind.

  Lucy glanced at the clock. The flower shop was open for business, and her employees were probably wondering where she was. Bad enough that she'd left yesterday during the workday and not come back. Saturdays were too busy for her to blow off. She dressed with haste in her usual jeans and T-shirt, and then pulled her wet hair into a low ponytail.

  As she grabbed her purse and car keys, the phone rang.

  "Hello,” she answered.

  "Hi."

  Her heart stopped mid-beat at the sound of Cole's voice.

  "Lucy, are you still there?"

  She swallowed hard. “What do you want, Cole?"

  Silence. Then, “I wanted to know if you were okay."

  "I thought I made it clear I didn't want to talk to you again.” She prayed he hung up before she lost the battle with the lump in her throat and broke out in a sob.

  "Lucy, this is ridiculous. I never meant to trap you into having my baby. Not using a condom was stupid, and I should have known better, but I just ... I wanted you so badly I wasn't thinking straight."

  "Neither was I, obviously. But I'm thinking straight now. It's over. Whatever it is that we had, it's done."

  "So you admit we had something."

  "Cole,” she cautioned.

  "Are you pregnant?"

  The million-dollar question. Or the five-hundred-thousand dollar question, to be exact. One she was not ready to answer. Or even to know. “It's too soon to tell."

  "I want to know,” he warned. “Don't try to keep it from me."

  Her pulse beat in a rapid tempo at the threatening tone in his voice. “I've got to go."

  As she pulled the phone from her ear, she heard him yell, “Lucy! You're not going to keep this from me. Lucy!"

  She slammed down the phone.

  * * * *

  "Lucy, thank goodness you're here.” Lizzie's voice was frantic as she met Lucy out in the parking lot ten minutes later. “I tried calling, but first there was no answer, then the line was busy!"

  "Lizzie, calm down.” Lucy soothed her teenaged employee. What's wrong?"

  "The cooler must have broken down during the night. All the flowers are dead."

  "What?” Lucy charged into the store, her stomach muscles clenching tighter with every step.

  Her other employees were gathered around the cooler, their eyes anywhere but on Lucy. She walked into the cooler, and a warm wall of air hit her.

  She checked the temperature gauge. Ninety-two degrees. “Damn it!” None of the flowers had survived the sudden tropical heat wave. The beautiful roses in red, pink, and yellow that had just been delivered yesterday drooped and wilted. Enormous sunflowers were bent in half and brushed the floor. Petals from the irises, daisies, and hibiscuses littered the ground.

  "Lizzie, put the Closed sign on the door. We're not going to be able to open today. I'm calling the repair company. The rest of you, please clean out the cooler and get rid of the dead flowers."

  The normally boisterous group gave subdued nods.

  Lucy went into her office, shut the door, and then banged her fists against her desk. This was a disaster. She had lost an entire shipment of flowers, and she'd lost an entire day's business on her busiest day. Things couldn't get any worse.

  A half hour later, she was proven wrong.

  "How much?” Lucy asked, her voice two octaves higher than normal.

  The repairman, Phil, showed her the figure on his clipboard again.

  "I could almost buy a new cooler for this amount of money.” Lucy kicked the bottom of the wall with her toe. All she accomplished was a rush of pain running through her foot. Where would she get this kind of money?

  Cole.

  She kicked the wall again, this time savoring the pain, punishing herself for the traitorous thought. She would get through this crisis without Cole's help, and without giving him her child.

  Her hand found its way to her belly, wondering if at this very moment Cole's child was growing inside her. She assured herself it couldn't possibly happen to her. But she was ignoring that annoying little voice in her head, mocking her that if she had been trying to get pregnant, she couldn't have picked a more perfect day on her cycle.

  "Ma'am,” Phil interrupted her thoughts. “Should I go ahead and make the repairs?"

  Lucy shook Cole out of her head. There wasn't time to worry about the consequences of her night with him. She had a business to run. And some very serious financial decisions to make.

  "Go ahead and make the repair."

  She would find the money somewhere.

  * * * *

  "Child, are you still moping around?"

  Cole looked up from the fascinating bowl of cereal that had had him hypnotized for the last fifteen minutes. He watched the small oat O's float around the milk, become soggier and soggier until the liquid had receded to the bottom of the bowl. It looked as appealing as it had when he had poured it, his stomach revolting at the thought of food. Ever since his phone call with Lucy the day before, his body had been on the attack. Punishing him for his supreme stupidity.

  Their night together had run through his mind at least once a minute. Had there been even one millisecond where birth control had crossed his mind? One thought that he had pushed away?

  He didn't remember if he had. The only thing imprinted on his body and soul had been his insatiable need to be joined with her. But he didn't know how to convince Lucy that a baby had been the very last thing on his mind as he slipped inside her.

  Truth was, he didn't know if he'd believe it either.

  "You need to talk to Lucy.” Nanny Hilda took his bowl of uneaten cereal and set it in the sink.

  "I tried that,” he reminded her. “Yesterday. She doesn't want anything to do with me after Friday night."

  Even though they hadn't discussed particulars, it wasn't a secret that he and Lucy had disappeared from the party and not come back. Nanny Hilda had been his savior, intercepting calls from his mother all day yesterday. The last thing he needed was to be scolded like a child.

  Nanny Hilda put her hands on her round hips and gave an exasperated sigh. It was a movement he had seen her do a million times in his youth. It was her you're-missing-the-obvious-solution stance.

  "Don't call her. Go see her in person. Make her listen to your apology. I assume you have to apologize?"

  He could feel the heat rise from his neck to his ears. Nanny Hilda was the only person in the world who could make him blush with shame. “Yeah. I do need to apologize."

  "Then what are you waiting for? Go see her."

  Cole jumped from the stool. “Thanks, Nanny Hilda. I'll see you later."

  She was right. If he really wanted Lucy to listen to him, he needed to confront her face to face. It was a lot easier to blow someone off when you couldn't look into their eyes.

  He hopped on his Harley Davidson Sportster and headed to Lucy's house. If she slammed her door in his face, he knew he would need a long drive on his motorcycle to get rid of this en
ergy that was eating him up.

  When he pulled into her driveway, he saw several lights on, and hoped that meant she was home. To Cole's surprise, his hands shook as he removed his black helmet. This was ridiculous. He negotiated multimillion dollar deals before breakfast. He wasn't going to let one small, feisty woman leave him quaking in his leather boots.

  The anticipation that had dogged him for two days finally faded from his body and he moved with determined steps to her door. He knocked curtly and heard her footsteps approach the door.

  "Who is it?"

  "Cole.” Then despite himself, he held his breath. And let it out after he heard the deadbolt turn.

  As the door swung open, his first glimpse of her in days was like a dehydrated man finding water. He drank in the sight of her. Standing in the doorway in jeans and a tight tank top, she eyed him warily, a slight scowl on her full lips.

  But as annoyed as she looked to see him, he instantly felt better. The last two days had been horrible. Now he realized it was because he hadn't seen her.

  "What are you doing here?"

  "We need to talk.” Cole pushed past her and walked into the living room before she could slam the door in his face.

  He heard her growl behind him, and then shut the door. With her arms crossed tightly in front of her, she walked to face him. “I think we've said enough on the subject. I have nothing left to say."

  "That's too bad. Because I still have a lot to say. Sit.” He pointed to the couch.

  Eyes narrowed and jaw clenched, she stood her ground.

  "Lucy, please sit down."

  She must have decided it was either futile to argue or that this was the quickest way to get him to leave, because she plopped down in the middle of the loveseat. She left no room for him to sit beside her on either side.

  After racking a hand through his hair and sending out a prayer for patience, he pulled the ottoman from the oversized chair and sat on it before her.

  Her body was stiff, her head tilted to stare at the wall instead of him. But when he placed his hand just above her knee, she didn't swat it away. At least it was something.