by Harper Sloan
“I’ll be right back,” I told him and took off out of the bathroom before he could stop me. I went to the kitchen and picked up the box that I had wrapped. I shoved the test that was in my purse in the back pocket of my jeans. Once I was back in the bathroom, he only had on his boxers and was standing in front of the mirror, so I hopped back up on the vanity and handed him the box.
“What’s this?” he asked, looking at the box that was wrapped in yellow paper.
“Just open it,” I said with my stomach in my throat.
He unwrapped it then set it down on the counter to open the lid. I watched his eyebrows come together in confusion. Unless he remembered the conversation we had about kids, he wouldn’t know why there was a box of Trojan condoms and a little kid’s pink gun in the box. He stared into the box for what seemed like an eternity then his head came up and his eyes looked wet.
“Does this mean what I think it means?”
I nodded my head. He swallowed and shook his head. I leaned forward, taking the test out of my back pocket and hand it to him. His hand came up, his fingers wrapping around it. His head bent and there was no way for him to misinterpret the words pregnant that were on the screen of the test. “Fuck me,” he whispered and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His eyes were still locked on the test in his hand.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered after he still didn’t say anything. “I'm on birth control. I don’t even know how this happened.” I watched him drop the test into the box and close the lid. I was nervous. He didn’t look at me. He hadn’t said anything. He picked up the box and left the bathroom. I knew it was too soon. I knew it. I knew it. Oh God, what was I going to do? I put my head in my hands and tried to control the tears that I knew were coming. We needed to talk about this. Then, I needed to figure out what to do with myself.
Abortion was out of the question, and I couldn’t live my life knowing that my child was out in the world being taken care of by someone else. It had to be okay. We had to be okay. The thought of being without him made me sick. I needed to pull up my big girl panties and talk to him about this. I pulled my head away from my hands and started to get off the counter to go track him down. I was starting to get pissed. He married someone he didn’t love because she said she was pregnant with his child. He told her that it would be okay. He was supposed to love me. He needed to tell me right now that it would be okay, or I was going to walk away, regardless of how broken my heart would be.
I jumped back when Asher walked back into the bathroom. His hands went to my shirt and then it was gone. I was so surprised that I couldn’t form words. Then, my jeans were coming down and I was standing in my bra and panties.
“We need to talk,” I whispered, not knowing what the hell was going on with him. His face was blank; his eyes determined. Then, my panties were gone along with my bra. I was sitting back on the vanity before I even had time to think. “What the heck are you doing?” I pushed at his chest. He grabbed my hand, holding it between us.
“Seriously, you need to stop. We need to talk about this.” My voice was getting louder. I tried to shove him again. He didn’t move. My heart was racing, my breathing escalated. I noticed that he wasn’t even looking at me. His eyes were on my hand that he was holding. I looked down and my breath caught in my throat. On my left ring finger was a beautiful diamond ring. The center stone was round and surrounded by tons of smaller diamonds that traveled down and around the band. My hand flexed in his and he finally looked at me.
His voice was gruff when he spoke. “I’ve wanted to see you wearing nothing but my ring since I bought it for you. Knowing that, like the ring I put on your finger, I'm the only one. The only one who will ever see you in nothing but my ring. The only one who will wake up to your beautiful face every day for the rest of my life. The only one who will make love to you. The only one who will make babies with you.” I watched his eyes get wet. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you are carrying my child.”
His face came closer to mine. “I know that it’s fast, but this is right. We are right. You are the only one for me.” He kissed me deeply. When he pulled away, he laid his forehead against mine. “Tell me that you’ll marry me,” he whispered against my mouth.
Tears started to fall from my eyes. I couldn’t ask for a more perfect proposal. “Yes.” I shoved my face into his throat, wrapping myself around him. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He picked me up, carrying me into the shower. He put me under the spray, taking his time to wash my hair. Then, he took his time washing me from head to toe, paying special attention to where his child was now growing. I helped him wash, and then we got out. He wrapped me in a towel and tied one around his waist. He picked me up again, carrying me to the bed where he sat me on the edge, my feet hanging over the side. He dropped to his knees in front of me. He opened my towel, his fingers traveling down the sides of my breast along my ribs down to my waist. His fingers resting on my sides, his thumbs moving over my lower stomach. His eyes met mine and the look of pure love that I saw shining through them made me hold my breath.
“It’s amazing,” he whispered, “to know that my purpose in life is sitting in front of me.” His hands moved to hold my face. Holy crap, I can’t believe that he just said that. Before I could even tell him I loved him, his lips touched mine and then traveled along my jaw and down my neck.
My hands went to his head and my head fell back. His hands were along my sides, up my thighs then down again. Heat was pooling between my thighs with every touch. I whimpered when his mouth found my nipple and he gave it a firm tug. Then he sucked deep. My back arched and I moaned loudly. His hands traveled up my inner thighs, his fingers finding my center. “Soaked.” His fingers were moving through the wetness he was creating, passing over my clit. I felt the heat building but it wasn’t enough.
“Asher,” I whimpered. His mouth left my breast and he pulled my face to his. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, dragging it through his teeth. My mouth opened under his. His fingers were still slowly sliding through my wetness. Two fingers were filling me. My head flew back and my nails dug into his scalp.
“Yes.” His fingers were suddenly gone. My head came up and I watched as he pulled my other nipple into his mouth, bit down, and then dragged it through his teeth the same way he did my lip. He kissed the tip of my nipple. Then, his fingers were again moving through the wetness. I knew I was drenched. He licked down my stomach around my navel. Finally, I could feel his breath against my clit. I spread my legs wider, not caring that I was becoming desperate.
“Asher.” I moaned as I watched his tongue licking me from bottom to top then circling my clit. I was on the edge. I knew that once his mouth focused on that one spot, I was going to explode.
“Jesus, is it possible that you taste sweeter?” He groaned, licking me again and circling my clit. Then, he filled me again with two fingers at the same time. He latched onto my clit. My whole body came off the bed with the force of my orgasm. I could feel the walls of my pussy contracting, sucking his fingers deeper as he sucked my clit and I saw stars. My thighs tightened around his shoulders and my hands were holding onto his head. He kissed my inner thigh, above my pubic bone, along my stomach, up to each breast. His hands moved under my arms, pulling me deeper onto the bed. One of my legs was straight, the other bent, resting on the back of his thigh. My hands went to his jaw. His hand wrapped around his cock and he entered me.
“Yes!” I moaned, loving the sensation of him filling me. I opened my eyes to see his were closed tight. I circled my hips and his eyes flew open.
“Don’t.” His voice was firm. He grabbed my hips, stopping my movement. He kissed me softly and pulled out just an inch and slid back in. I bit my lip to keep myself still. His hands moved to my thighs spreading my legs wider. He pulled out so just the tip was still in, and slammed in so hard that my breath hitched. Then, he slid out and started a slow pace while kissing me. His hands were pinching my nipples then traveling down, pressing against m
y clit. My hands were traveling up his back; my mouth and tongue kissing and licking whatever I could reach. Then I felt it start. It was slow and deep, and I knew that I couldn’t hold back. My mouth found his and I held his face close to mine.
I moaned against his mouth. My thighs wrapped tighter around him. “Please, don’t stop.” He didn’t. His pace increased, his strokes deeper, and I felt him grow. I knew he was close too.
“Come with me, baby,” he grunted, one hand fisting into my hair while his other was traveling between us, pinching my clit and setting me off. My whole body tightened around him, pulling him deeper inside of me. I moaned into his mouth as he groaned into mine. I could feel his strokes start to slow and turn lazy. He kissed me all over my face and down my neck. “I get this for a lifetime,” he whispered into the skin below my ear.
I tightened my arms and legs around him. “Love you, babe,” I whispered against his shoulder. He rolled to the side, taking me with him.
“Love you, baby,” he said against my hair. Closing my eyes, I cuddled deeper into his chest and fell asleep.
My stomach growls so loud that it wakes me from my doze. I can feel Asher’s silent laughter against my cheek. “Sounds like both my babies are hungry.”
“Yeah,” I mumble. I know I need to eat, but seeing the expanse of his chest in front of me, I can’t help but want something else that has nothing to do with food.
I'm rolled to my back and Asher is hovering over me. His eyes are watching his hand travel down my throat between my breasts. “I'm excited for these to get bigger,” he says, palming both my breasts.
He smiles up at me and I shake my head and giggle. Then, his hand starts to move again and he stops gently on my stomach, which has become slightly rounder over the last few months.
“I'm going to be a dad.” He shakes his head in disbelief. His eyes focus on his hands as he gently rubs my belly. Then, he kisses me right below my navel. His eyes meet mine and I see nothing but the same happiness I feel reflecting back at me. The mood is completely broken when my stomach gives another loud growl. We both start laughing.
“Alright, Daddy’s going to feed you,” he says into my stomach. We get out of bed and I pull on one of his shirts and a pair of panties. He pulls on a pair of baggy sweats that hang low and give the most amazing view of his abs. I hear him clear his throat. I look up and he’s smiling.
“I'm going to waddle and you’re going to walk around looking like that?” My hand moves up and down, indicating everything that is him.
“You’re carrying the life we made together inside of you. Your body growing to take care of our child is amazing. I can’t wait to see you with a big belly,” he says.
“I love you,” I blurt out. “I mean, you already know that, but I'm glad that you’re happy about this.”
“Happy is not the word I would use to describe how I feel, baby.”
“I know,” I whisper. “This is bliss.”
“Yeah,” he says, walking towards me. “This is bliss.” His hands frame my face and he softly kisses my nose then my lips.
I wake up feeling the sun warm the skin of my back. Last night, after Asher fed me a toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwich, we lay in bed and talked about the sex of the baby. I said I wanted a girl. Asher was still stuck on having a boy first. Really, I don’t care what I have as long as he or she is healthy. I smile into my pillow, thinking about the ring on my finger, the child growing inside of me, and the man who put both of them there. I pull my hand out from under my pillow and hold it up in front of my face, watching the light reflect off the gems. The diamonds are shining so bright that I could go blind by looking at them.
“You awake, baby?”
I scream and almost fall out of bed from flipping over at the sound of his voice.
“Jesus, what the fuck?”
“You scared the crap out of me,” I say, holding the sheet to my chest. “I thought you were working today?” I look at the clock and see that it’s ten thirty.
“Took the day off so we could go to the doctor.”
“Doctor?” I ask, confused.
“You’re pregnant and need to get checked out. Your appointment is at one.”
“Oh…yeah, of course.” Yikes, I knew I needed to go to the doctor, but hadn’t even thought about calling to set up an appointment. “You just beat me to it,” I say, playing it off and grabbing the shirt at the end of the bed.
“Come to the kitchen. I made you some tea.”
“Tea?” I ask in disgust. I'm sure my face shows how revolted I am at the idea of tea. “I only drink tea if I'm sick,” I say, shaking my head at him.
“Baby, you’re pregnant.”
“I know that. I took four tests yesterday to prove it,” I snap. First, he offers me tea then he reminds me that I'm pregnant. Seriously?
“You can’t drink coffee when you’re pregnant,” he says softly, and I realize that I just sounded like a total bitch. It must be the hormones.
“That’s not funny, Asher.”
“Baby,” he starts laughing, “It’s the truth. No coffee when you’re pregnant.”
“Is that a rule? Where did you see this?” I ask, starting to panic. This can’t be true. What was I going to do if I couldn’t drink coffee?
“It’s in that book that you brought home yesterday.”
“Did you check Google?”
“Baby,” he says again, shaking his head, and I can tell he’s fighting a smile. “We, can ask the doctor today and see what he says about it. But for now, come eat something so we can shower and get ready to go.”
“Fine,” I grumble, getting out of bed. Once I’ve eaten breakfast and showered, we head out to the doctor’s office.
“Well, there you go,” the doctor says, pointing at the screen beside my head. We had been at the doctor’s office for a while. First, they ran a urine test to confirm what I already knew. Then, we had to wait for the ultrasound machine to free up. Now, I am looking and listening to our baby. Tears start to pool in my eyes from the overwhelming emotions I’m feeling. I can see little arms and legs and the heartbeat is so loud in the background, it drowns out all the other noise. Asher is squeezing my hand so hard that I’m losing the feeling in my fingers. He has a look of amazement on his face. He bends his head and kisses my nose, smiling. The doctor types some information into the computer then clicks several times on the screen.
“From the measurements, I would say you’re about fifteen weeks along,” he says, looking at me. I immediately feel guilty for not knowing sooner that I was pregnant.
“Is everything okay? I mean, is he healthy?” Asher asks.
“Everything looks perfect.”
“I was on the shot and had no idea I was pregnant,” I blurt, not wanting him to think that I'm going to be a horrible parent.
“You would be amazed at the number of times I’ve heard that story. It’s not as uncommon as some might think.”
“Really?” I am so glad I’m not the only one this has happened to.
“Really!” He chuckles.
“You’re far enough along to know the sex, if you would like to find out?” he says, looking back at the screen.
“Um.” I bite my lip and look at Asher. He nods his head, so I take that as a yes.
“Yes, please.”
“Okay, let’s have a look,” the doctor says, moving the wand around a bit. “I hope you like the color pink.” He smiles.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, looking up at Asher’s pale face. “Babe, are you okay? You look sick,” I say, trying to sit up. I didn’t expect this from him. He seemed so excited.
He swallows and shakes his head. “I'm having a daughter.”
“Yeah,” I say slowly, hoping that he isn’t going to start freaking out. I need him to be together. I didn’t even remember that I needed to make an appointment. I didn’t know that I couldn’t drink coffee until he told me. He had to be the one to hold it together.
“Look at you.” His hand fram
es my face and his eyes roam all over me. “Jesus, God is fucking playing a joke on me.”
“What?” I whisper.
“You’re so beautiful. I was not a good guy before you. God is getting even.”
I can’t help it, I start laughing. I grab his face and look into his worried eyes. “Honey, you’re going to be able to pick out the bad boys from a mile away. She will be a total daddy’s girl, and you will keep her safe. I love you, okay?”
He takes a deep breath and kisses me, bringing his hand to my stomach where we know our daughter is. His eyes come back to me. “I keep thinking that this is all a joke, that no one should ever be this happy.”
“I know,” I laugh, shaking my head. It feels unreal.
“So, I read in that book that you should wait to tell people until you’re twelve weeks. We’re past that so who do we want to tell first?” he asks with a smile.
“Miss Alice,” I say right away. She has been so happy since me and Asher got together. I know that she will be excited to hear that we’re having a baby.
Asher smiles and I know that I chose the right person.
I am standing in front of the barbecue with the lighter in my hand and I’m getting ready to set the stupid pregnancy book on fire. It’s been four weeks since we went to the doctor and confirmed that I am pregnant. Everyone has been so excited. When we told Miss Alice that we were having a girl, I thought she was having a seizure. She started jumping around in her chair, clapping and mumbling incoherently. Then she told me that I needed to go to her old house and pick up all the stuff for the baby’s room. I looked at Asher and he shrugged his shoulders.
After we left Miss Alice, we went to my dad’s house and told him that he was going to be a grandfather. I think he almost fainted. Then he called my grandmother, uncles, and cousins, and had everyone come over so we could share the news. For Asher’s mom, I sent her a dozen pink balloons and a card telling her that she was going to have a granddaughter. When she called me screaming into the phone, I knew that she was happy. She made us promise not to tell Mr. Mayson or her boys until that evening at dinner. When Asher stood up at the table and announced that he had, as he said, knocked me up, I thought I would be bruised from the amount of hugs I got from everyone. After that, the book started to make appearances like Chucky.