We all bust out laughing as Slick walks off. Huck shakes his head and goes over to speak to Elaine.
I walk over to Kara, “Babe, we might want to get going, we have our birthing class this afternoon.”
I hear the guys giving me a hard time about the classes but I don’t care. I look at them, “Hey, you just wait, Lox, until you and Sloan decide to have a kid. It’s scary as hell. I look at the pictures on the walls of the doctor’s office. There is going to be some wild shit going on in that delivery room, I’ve got to be prepared.”
They both clap a hand on my back. My brother pulls me into a one arm hug. “Nah, man, we just like giving you shit. We wouldn’t be good brothers if we didn’t.”
Lox grins. “Yeah, man, you’re growing up. We are so proud.”
“Shut up, both of you,” Sloan says as she comes to hug me. “They’re just jealous. We’ll get all of this stuff to your house. You guys go on to your class.”
I kiss her on top of the head. “Thanks, girl.” I raise my hand up and take Kara’s hand with my other one. “Thank you guys, we’ll see you later.”
Looking over at her as we walk out of the house, she’s smiling and it’s the greatest feeling in the world.
As we go out to the parkway, I notice a little Eclipse following kinda close. I hate it when assholes ride my damn bumper. I whip over into the turning lane for the doctor’s office and the Eclipse almost rear-ends me but speeds off.
“Those people are crazy,” Kara says as she’s getting out of the truck.
“Fucking crazy ass drivers,” I mumble as I walk around to grab the pillows we’re taking into the class.
She smiles over to me. “You ready for this?”
I smack her on the ass, she yelps and I kiss her. “You bet.”
CHAPTER 25
KARA
The Lamaze instructor, Pam, starts the class by doing some ice breakers. Looking down at my paper with my pig personality test, I start to laugh. Sly glances over at me and winks.
“Look at my pig’s tail, I’d say it’s a very accurate description of our sex life.” That gains a few laughs from the people around us. Trying to contain my own laughter, I shake my head as Pam actually starts instructing. I don’t know what’s more entertaining, watching Sly’s facial expressions as he tries to understand all of the terms or the girl on the other side of me that looks like she may pass out at any moment.
Nope, I’m immediately taking that back, said girl is now jumping up and running out of the room crying.
Which the little hippie girl on the other side of the room is running a very close race to the crier. She’s asking every question known to man that she has googled or had random people at her local herbal nutrition store tell her. I really want to ask her if she’s having special hemp baby clothes made. No doubt she’s going to be one of those women who believe in breast feeding a child after it can walk up and self-serve like a soda fountain. Yep, she’ll be walking down the aisle at the grocery store with her boob just hanging out. No kid even attached to it.
There is really a room of characters here, but I can tell we are all new to this and scared out of our minds.
Sly looks over at me and cradles my hand. “We are gonna rock this.”
Pam smiles. “All right, everyone, let’s take a seat on the floor. Partners, sit behind the mommies.”
I sit in between Sly’s legs and lean back against his chest. He blows against my neck and I start laughing.
Everyone glances at us just as Pam starts instructing our breathing exercises.
As the class moves along, we have the ultimate question that everyone wants to know. The crier asks, “Am I going to poop on the table?”
The men laugh, but all of us women are waiting for the answer.
Pam smiles. “That is a very common question. The answer is sometimes, but not always. It has to do with the pushing technique. With the bearing down, sometimes it happens.”
And the crier leaves the room again.
After class ends, Sly and I walk out to his truck. Once we get to it, I see the window has been busted out. “Sly.”
He steps around to my side. “What the fuck?”
Looking inside the broken window, he shakes his head. “It looks like whoever it was tried to hotwire it or something.” He takes out his phone and calls the police.
It takes two hours for them to finish their report before Sly calls Huck to come get us. Since they snatched the wiring harness out from under the steering column, the truck has to be towed to his friend Serge’s shop.
The cops think it was a group of teens they’ve been trying to bust for a little while. I guess they think “Grand Theft Auto” is real or something. The officers are hoping they get some little piece of evidence this time that will stick.
~*~
Looking over at Sloan on the way to the dress shop, I blurt out, “I can’t believe you’re getting married this Saturday.”
She glances over at me. “I know, right?”
“Does Lucas know?”
She nods, biting her lower lip nervously. “Yeah, there’s a part of me that feels bad about it. I mean he was a jerk to me and to Sage. He tried to strong arm me, but he’s trying to get help. And I think deep down inside he actually loved me, just not like he should have.”
“So are you guys thinking about Lox adopting Sage?”
She nods slowly. “Yeah, we’ve talked about it. Lucas has actually already agreed if it comes to that. He said at the end of the day, he knew for once in his life he needed to make the right choice, for someone other than himself. He said he knew Lox would be ten times a better father than he could be.”
“Well, at least he pulled his head out of his ass for that one.” I look at the floorboard, “I don’t think I’d ever be that lucky.”
“How many people know?” she asks casually.
I swallow hard. “Besides Sly and me? You, Lox and Huck. My mother, sister and Elaine may suspect but they’ve never breathed a word.”
She rolls her lips in like she does when she’s thinking. “Good. Are things getting better since he’s in prison?”
“Yeah, no more texts or phone calls. I think I’ll always be watching over my back, but that’s just life.”
“Yeah, I get it,” she replies as we get out at Mae’s, the dress shop where we bought our dresses.
As we walk in, Ms. Mae smiles. “You both look so happy. All right girls, last try on.” She touches my belly. “Maybe this little one hasn’t decided to grow more.”
We all laugh, considering the dress we picked for me has an empire waistline and flowing skirt, we should be fine. This last fitting is mainly for Sloan. Her dress needed to be taken in a little bit.
I study myself in the mirror as the coral chiffon dress wraps around my swollen stomach. I love this. Seeing Sloan step out of the changing room in her candlelight A-line dress makes tears come to my eyes. “You are one hot chic. I’m going back to my previous statement. If I swung that way, I’d totally ask you out.”
She and Ms. Mae start laughing. Sloan winks at me, “Well, if I swung that way I just might take you up on it.”
Ms. Mae laughs and cuts us off by asking if we are comfortable in our dresses or if anything feels like it needs tacking or letting out. We both tell her that they’re great and a few minutes later, we’re getting ready to head home.
“So, Doc says he has a big gift for Lox and me. Do you know what it is?”
I give her an evil laugh. “Yes, I do and no, I’m not telling you.”
“Why? You know Doc always goes overboard for us,” she whines out.
I point at her. “Yes and that is why I’m letting him. You let him spend God only knows what on that wooden cradle and expensive swing. You could’ve stopped him, but no, so consider this guilt your payback.” I sigh. “Okay, I’m still not telling you, but I do know he’s giving it to you guys when Lox comes by for lunch tomorrow.”
She huffs at me. “Fine.” Walking into her d
ressing room.
I feel a tightness in my stomach suddenly and a bad cramp. Ms. Mae sees me holding my stomach. “Honey, are you okay?”
“Yes, ma’am. I think it’s just some Braxton Hicks.” I walk toward the dressing room and it hits me again.
She walks beside me. “All right, let’s get you out of this dress so Sloan can get you to the doctor.”
I nod as another wave hits me. Slipping out of my dress and into my regular clothes, Sloan bursts in my dressing room. “Are you okay? Ms. Mae said something’s wrong.”
“I think I’m having Braxton Hicks or something. Do you really think I need to go get checked out?” I blow out.
She nods. “Yeah, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Especially this far along.” She takes my hand. “Let’s go get in the car and I’ll call the guys.”
I let out another long breath. “Okay.” As we drive down Universe Blvd., my head is racing. It’s way too early for this baby to get here.
CHAPTER 26
SLY
Lox comes running into the cardio room as I’m finishing up on the stair master. “Dude, we gotta go. Sloan is taking Kara to the hospital to get checked out.”
I jump off the machine. “What’s going on? What happened?”
“She said they think it’s Braxton Hicks, whatever those are, but they’re still getting her checked,” he pants out.
I nod. “Okay. Let’s go.” I don’t even bother to change out of my gym clothes, I just run out to Lox’s truck.
Once we’re inside, I look at him. “Thanks, man. She’ll probably need me to drive her home, so thanks for giving me a ride.”
He flies out of his parking spot. “First off, I’d never let you go alone. Second, what are Braxton Hicks?”
I laugh, “It’s false labor pains. It’s her body’s way of getting her ready to have the baby.” Lox looks at me baffled by my answer. “See, birthing class.”
“You’re right. Whenever we decide to have another kid, I’m signing up for that damn thing.” He lets out a huge breath.
I bark out a laugh. “See what I mean, man? Scary shit. You really wanna freak out, go on You Tube and watch a birthing video.”
He gives me a look that says, “What the fuck?”
After I finally stop laughing, I glance back over at him. “So have you and Sloan talked about it? You know, having another kid.”
He rolls his shoulders. “Yes and no. We want to wait until we’ve been married a little while and give Slick time to adjust. Plus, we need a bigger place and all. Her place was great for her and Slick, but add me and Flex to the mix, it’s tight quarters.” Him and his damn turtle. “We haven’t set an exact time frame or anything though. She has to go get that birth control thing taken out first.”
I wave my hand around. “Oh man, that only takes like a second. I watched doc take the one out of Kara. She got pregnant with it in. She said taking it out stung a little, but it wasn’t too bad.”
He shakes his head. “Thank god Huck isn’t in this truck with us right now. He would say we’ve grown vaginas.”
Oh shit, I haven’t called him. “Crap, I gotta call him. He’ll want to know about Kara. I know what you’re saying though. Not so long ago we were talking about never settling for one piece of ass and now, that’s all we want.” I look back out the window. “The main reason I asked is because I want our kids to grow up close like we did and since my brother is nowhere near commitment, that leaves you.”
“I have a feeling Huck is going to fall the hardest of us all. Probably for Elizabeth.” He looks over at me as we pull into a parking spot. “They have this whole love/hate thing going.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know, man. I pick on him about her but I don’t think it’s like that. I think it’s just Huck doesn’t like secrets among friends, you know that. She seems to have a lot of secrets and he doesn’t trust her. Says she’s hiding something big. He’s protective over us and Marco.”
Lox shake his head as we enter the ER. “Yeah, man, I know. I just think whatever she’s keeping a secret is personal to her, it’s not to hurt anyone, it’s just personal.”
I make my way to the desk. “My girlfriend, Kara Chambers, just came in, she’s pregnant.”
The girl looks up over her glasses, she has long blonde hair. She looks like someone kicked her in the gut for a second. “Sly Webb. Is that really you?”
“Yes.” I look down at her nametag. “Chelsea.”
She laughs. “Yes. We all went to school together. I didn’t really run in your circle or anything, plus I had really bad acne and I was about fifty pounds heavier. So no one was really giving me a second look.”
It hits me. “Oh wait, I remember you. Your hair was darker back then, you were like super smart. I think you tutored my brother, Huck.” She laughs and softly nods. I point over my shoulder. “Well, then you remember Lox?” She smiles and nods again. “Did you just move back here or something?”
“Yes, I was living down south but my mom got diagnosed with cancer so I’m helping my dad take care of her.” Just then, she has to answer a buzzing phone. She looks up and smiles. “Ms. Chambers asked that you be brought back as soon as you came in. But I will have to make you put a shirt on, we do have a dress code. Sorry. Most of the ladies around here would give me grief for making you cover up, but I kind of need this job.”
I look down and sure enough, I ran out of the gym without a shirt on. I turn to Lox, who reaches over his head and tugs off his over shirt, leaving him in a wife beater. “Here. I’ve got another in the truck I’ll go get. You go on back to Kara.”
I slap his back as I pull the shirt on. “Thanks, man.”
Chelsea leads me back to a small treatment room. “Here you are. Good to see you, Sly.”
I smile and nod. “Good to see you too, Chelsea, and thanks for all of your help.”
She shakes her head. “No problem. Just doing my job.”
An hour later, we’re sitting here waiting for all of the tests they ran to come back. Dr. Coleman steps in the room. “Okay, Kara. Everything seems fine. Braxton Hicks are common at this point, but you do seem a little dehydrated which can make them worse. So please drink plenty of fluids and you need to abstain from sexual intercourse for the next week. Just give your body time to recuperate a little. We are entering the home stretch, guys. You’re getting close, so this false labor may happen more and more. I’d like to keep that little girl in there for as long as possible. You’re one day over 35 weeks. I’d like to at least make it until 38 and sometimes this false labor is a warning sign.”
Kara and I both nod. “Yes, sir. I’ll do everything to keep her relaxed and that baby in the womb.”
~*~*~
Getting my woman to stay relaxed the last few days this week has been a major pain in the ass. Sloan and Lox’s wedding is tonight and she’s been all wrapped up in maid of honor shit. Doc even tried to help out by hiring someone part-time as a temp so that she could go ahead on maternity leave. Kara wasn’t having that though. She goes in at least for a half day, much to mine and Doc’s dismay. She’s a control freak over that front desk.
I’ve figured out quickly that Doc considers Sloan and Kara like daughters to him. He and his wife, Ms. Gloria, went crazy on baby gifts for us. Then he gave Sloan and Lox a week in Key West for a wedding gift. All expenses paid with a Visa gift card for a thousand bucks to have for spending.
We all made jokes with Marco about where our gifts like that were. He told us our gifts were the fact that he didn’t kick our stubborn asses out the doors of his gym when we were kids.
Now here we are, standing in one of the locker rooms, dressed in suits. The only one of us fighting tonight is Huck, which makes me happy. I don’t want Kara having to sit alone during the fight. Trying to keep her calm is tough enough without me beating the hell out of someone.
Gibbs pokes his head in the doors. “Hey, guys, Elizabeth says they’re ready.”
Entering the arena, I smile at
the small area beside the cage they have set up for the ceremony. Once we’re up front, Lox, Huck and I wait for the girls. Lox said he couldn’t pick a best man so we’re both doing the job. I don’t get the whole best man thing, it seems like we’re just standing here. I guess for females, the whole maid of honor thing is way more serious.
Soft music starts and Elizabeth walks in, followed by my woman. She’s beautiful, she looks so soft and classic. Slick walks in with his badass little suit on, he’s so freakin’ awesome. The music changes and Sloan walks in on the arm of her dad. I swear my boy, Lox, has stopped breathing. As soon as she reaches the front, he pulls her into a kiss. Slick whispers, “Lox, we aren’t at that part yet.”
The room erupts in chuckles. As the pastor gets started, I watch Kara and I barely hear anything they say the entire time we stand up there. This woman takes up my every thought and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
She’s something else and I don’t know how I became so lucky.
CHAPTER 27
KARA
Watching my best friend get married is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever witnessed. I can only hope that I get this one day. Sly and I have never talked about marriage really. I know he loves me and I know he’ll love this baby, but that’s just something we haven’t brought up. Huck’s fight is just about to start. Hearing “Simple Man” makes me smile, that is so Huck. Living in the house with Huck, he’s become one of my best friends and I’m sure he’s going to be the best uncle in the world. Damn it, I already have to go pee AGAIN. I turn to Sly. “Babe, I gotta go pee again.”
He nods, “Do you want me to come with?”
I laugh and shake my head. “No, because then you’ll have other things on your mind and Doc told me to rest.”
“Okay, well go to our locker room. It’s private and you won’t have to wait in line. Gibbs should be in there getting ready for his fight. If he has some skank in there, feel free to throw her out.” He winks, looking back to his brother.
In Sly's Eyes: In Sly's Eyes Marco's MMA Boys Book 2 Page 13