by Magan Vernon
Dad sat up straighter. “We agree that the best course of action is to face this head on and use it to our advantage in the campaign. We will talk about that fact that you two are very much in love and do plan to get married and how this is changing your life. How so many young and pregnant couples aren’t as lucky as you.”
Michael smiled like he just discovered the secret of life. “It’s perfect, really. Sex is everywhere now-a-days, so much so that the governor’s youngest son couldn’t get away from the temptation and now he’s looking at fatherhood at a very young age. His fiancée is barely out of college and without a stable job. It’s like a warning label for everything that opposes the contraception act.”
My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe what they were saying. I thought they would bring us there to say we were going to talk to the media about how in love we were and get ready to move up our wedding so that our child would have married parents. But no. Instead this was just another push for the conservative agenda and the contraceptive bill. I wasn’t much of a swearer but what they were proposing was utter bullshit.
“You can’t be serious?” Monica muttered. “This has to be some kind of joke.”
“Serious as a sin, sweetheart,” Michael said.
“Don’t call me sweetheart,” Monica snapped.
Michael put his hands up. “Whoa, whoa. There’s no need to be feisty. I know it’s been a long day for the two of you and with being pregnant and all you’re probably just exhausted. I swear to you Miss Remy, we’ve all discussed this and this is what is best for the campaign.”
“The campaign? You can’t be serious right now.” Monica’s voice went higher. “This isn’t just some political ploy. This is my life. Our lives. Our child’s life. I don’t want my baby to someday watch videos on YouTube or whatever video watching device they have in the future and see her parents saying it would have been better if they didn’t have her.”
Michael smirked. “I can assure you this is about what is best for all of you. I’m sure you thought about that when you walked into an abortion clinic a few weeks ago. Or did you think about Trey in that matter?”
Every hair on the back of my neck stood on end. How did they know that? I was livid when Monica told me she went to the clinic but I also knew that she left. She couldn’t go through with it. She did think about us, but not at first...
“I did. I was trying to do what I thought was best.” Her words were muffled. She gasped for air before the crying started. I turned toward her and put my arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.
No one was going to make her cry. I didn’t care if it was my father or his campaign manager.
“Look, Dad, Michael. I understand that there is a lot going on here but there is no reason to upset Monica. I’m sure the clinic can be easily explained away since her degrees are in Politics and Women’s Studies and like you said she isn’t currently working a job in her chosen field.”
Michael shook his head. “I wish it were that simple. Too many sources started coming forward. People have pictures of her inside the clinic, waiting with a clipboard in her hand and then pictures of her running down Michigan Avenue. They’re all over the Internet. Once you’re in the spotlight, there’s no way out. You know that as well as I do, Trey.”
I sighed. It sucked that he was right. It sucked even more that someone would do that to Monica. That technology had taken over so much that anyone could take a picture of her with their phone and send it to some gossip magazine. This wasn’t the campaign I had in mind for my dad and this was the exact scandal the democrats would be looking for. I didn’t want him to lose because of us. Because of our actions. But I also wasn’t going to apologize for loving Monica or our child.
“Can Monica and I just have some time to talk about what you’ve proposed? You know, before we decide on anything?” I asked, rubbing her shoulder.
Dad nodded. “That seems fair.” He stood up. “It’s late and it’s been a long day for all of us. Why don’t you go upstairs and stay here tonight. We can discuss all of this in the morning after we’ve had a goodnight sleep.”
Like any of us were going to get any sleep
As much as I would have rather gone back to our own place and figured things out, I knew there was no way we were getting out of talking about it.
“Okay, Dad, that sounds great.”
Chapter 12
Monica
Staying the night at the Chapman’s’ place was never one of my favorite things and after the shitstorm that happened in their living room I wanted nothing more than to escape.
Usually I slept in the guest room while Trey slept in his old room, but tonight I didn’t want to be alone.
“Trey?” I whispered once we go to the top of the stairs.
“Yeah, Mon?”
“Can I sleep in your room tonight?”
He ran his fingers through his hair. I noticed how much he looked like his father in the dim light of the hallway. How they stood the same and held the same air of confidence. But I also knew there were a lot of parts of Trey that were nothing like his dad and for that I was forever grateful.
“Yeah, that’s fine. I can sleep in the guest room.”
I shook my head. “No. I mean I want to sleep with you. In your room. I don’t want to be alone tonight and I don’t see the harm in it now that I’m already pregnant. They have to know we sleep in the same bed at our apartment.”
He thought on it for a second, his brow furrowed, before finally the dimpled smile spread across his face. “Yeah. That actually sounds like the best thing I’ve heard all night.”
He put his arm around my waist and we walked past the guest room, down the hallway to his bedroom. The room hadn’t changed much at all since he was in high school and looked like something out of a Pottery Barn catalog. The walls were painted a sky blue and all the furniture was white like something they would have at a resort in the Hamptons. His king-sized bed sat in the middle of the room with the light from the moon shining in from the French doors and on to his dark blue comforter. His parents weren’t a big fan of us sleeping in the same room. No stopping it now.
He shut the door behind us then walked over to a low white dresser that was directly across from his bed. He opened the top drawer and pulled out two fluffy white towels. “I’m going to take a shower. I feel like I still smell like stripper and it’s not a good thing.”
I laughed. It was finally something that broke all the tension we were carrying that night.
“I got you a towel as well if you want to join me.” He patted the extra white towel.
“Yes. Actually, a hot shower does sound really good right now.”
He grinned and took my hand, leading me toward the open door. He turned on the light and my eyes adjusted to the white marble room. The bathroom was as big as my dorm room in college with a walk-in shower and a garden tub as well as two sinks that sat next to the entrance to a large walk-in closet.
“This is some bathroom. How did you ever leave a place like this to live in our dinky college apartment and our current place?” I whistled.
He shrugged before pulling off his polo and dropping it to the floor. “It wasn’t that hard when I felt like I was walking on eggshells no matter what I did in this house. When I’m away from my parents I can make my own choices.” He undid his belt and dropped his pants, stepping out of them and his shoes at the same time. “Choose who I want to love. To shower with. To spend the rest of my life with.”
He closed the space between us and put his hands on my hips. Trey Chapman was a fine specimen of a man. His body was lean and toned and every part of his smooth chiseled stomach looked like it was carved just for me.
“Well I’m glad you chose me.” I met his gaze as he slowly pulled off my sweater then unsnapped my bra.
I don’t think he’d actually really looked at me since we found out I was pregnant. I felt like my whole body was changing and I was just a vessel for something else. My boobs were always sore a
nd my belly was already popping out. There was nothing sexy about being pregnant.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, tracing the line of my bottom lip with his thumb.
I shook my head slowly. “I’m not. I’m a mess.”
He bent down, tugging my leggings down with my panties and letting them fall to the floor. Then he dropped his boxer briefs, standing back up in front of me. “You’ve always been the most beautiful woman in the world, Monica. Now you’re even more beautiful because I know you’re having our child.” He put his hand on my stomach. “All of me has always loved all of you. And I always will.”
Tears stung my eyes. I had no words. There was nothing left to say. He’d always loved all my imperfections and seeing that he was able to do that even in front of his dad made me love him even more. I tugged lightly on his hair and pulled his face to mine, meeting his lips.
He wrapped his arms firmly around my waist as I deepened our kiss, my tongue sliding along his and tasting all of him. He moaned slightly and pressed against me. His hardness pushed against my belly button and I gasped. I’d never thought about having sex while being pregnant and especially not trying to have sex at his parents’ house in his shower, but if he was willing to try it then I was too.
He broke the kiss slightly, but only to turn on the shower. The water sprayed a steady stream and he walked backward, pulling me with him and shutting the door behind us. As soon as we were both inside, with the water dripping down his face, he pulled me against him. His tongue meeting mine again.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. I wanted to be as close as possible. To know that all we did wasn’t wrong. That everything was still right in the world even if it was only in this moment.
His lips trailed from mine and down my neck to my collar bone. The sensation of the water falling over my body and his roaming lips made every part of my body tingle and I had to bite down on my bottom lip to keep from crying out. My hand traveled from his neck down to his shaft, stroking it gently. The more he kissed the harder I stroked until finally he put his hand on mine and stopped kissing me.
His eyes met mine. Deadly serious. “Is this okay? If we...would I hurt you?” He raised his eyebrows, the softness returning to his face.
I smiled, spreading my legs and pulling him toward me. “I don’t think you could ever hurt me, Trey.”
“I never will,” he whispered and pressed into me.
We fit perfectly together. We always had. Like two pieces of a puzzle. He rocked gently inside of me, pressing me against the shower wall and splaying his hands on either side of my hips. I put one arm around his neck and the other around his waist for support. He buried his face in my neck, trailing feather light kisses down my neck.
“I love you, Monica. I love you so much,” he whispered between kisses.
“I love you, Trey. Oh, I love you.” I rocked my hips forward as an orgasm hit that went straight from my core and all the way down to my toes. The intensity made me want to cry out and I bit down on his shoulder to make sure I didn’t make any more noise than necessary.
He shuddered and his body stiffened. I never knew how good that felt without anything between us and it was amazing. We both stood there, breathing heavily. Every so often he would place a kiss where his lips were buried in my neck, but mostly we just relished in the silence. The calm before the storm. We both knew there was a lot we would have to go through in the next few months with the election. And a lot we just had to deal with the next morning with his father and his campaign manager. But in that moment we had each other. Nothing between us. For now.
***
I woke up in a panic. I forgot that I’d spent the night at Trey’s parents’ and was confused as to where I was. My heart didn’t stop racing until I saw the picture of him and his two brothers on the dresser and was brought back to reality.
I turned over expecting to see Trey sleeping soundly next to me, but his side of the bed was empty. It wasn’t even warm. I glanced over at the clock and saw that it was six. Too early for him to go to work and it was a Sunday so he didn’t need to be there anyway.
Slowly I got out of bed, even though it was completely inviting. It still smelled like him and even though we’d been dating for three years and engaged I still loved inhaling the scent of his expensive cologne.
I found my discarded leggings near the bed and quickly slipped them on since I didn’t bring a change of clothes with me to his house and had slept in one of his plain t-shirts. Without even looking in the mirror I knew my hair was a frizzy mess from falling asleep with it wet but I didn’t have a comb with me so I used a hair tie that I had around my wrist and pulled my hair into a bun before trying to venture to find human contact.
As soon as I got out of the bedroom, voices carried up the stairs toward me. Talk about early morning meetings.
I crept down the stairs, careful not to make a sound. There was something about people always sneaking up on me at the Chapman residence. I think it was because the house was always full of people who worked for them and I also think they hid in corners and jumped out whenever I was around. Okay, so maybe that sounded really paranoid, but with paparazzi following us and people knowing my personal business, I could never be too careful and anything I thought didn’t seem so out of reach anymore.
“Dad, this isn’t just another bullet point on your political agenda. You’re talking about Monica and me and our future. Using this as some kind of ploy to get votes is unethical and frankly it’s downright crazy.”
Trey’s voice stopped me in my tracks. I didn’t know where that defense was last night when I felt like the governor and his campaign manager socked me in my throat, but now that he was defending me I was holding my breath and waiting for the response instead of being relieved.
“Trey, you know I care about you and Monica and your future. This isn’t about politics. This is about all of our futures. The future for America. Don’t you see that we can use your story to help others in this situation. People will finally realize the contraceptive bill is not only valid but necessary and things like abstinence-only education are completely viable options,” the governor said.
I cringed. Yeah, abstinence-only education worked out real well when his son got his girlfriend pregnant.
Slowly, I crept closer to the dining room where they were. I didn’t want to barge in because I wanted to hear more of what they were saying about me.
“I just think there is a better way to go about this. I didn’t want all of the secrets in the first place and now that it’s out in the open, I don’t think we need to make a political agenda out of it. Let’s just move forward and show your strong points instead of constantly talking about this,” Trey said and I completely agreed.
Kirk sighed. “I wish we could do that, son, but you know better than anyone that isn’t what the media is going to focus on. They aren’t going to care about what I have to say about healthcare or the war in the Middle East. All they’re going to ask me about in interviews is how I feel about my son and his pregnant girlfriend.”
“Fiancée,” Trey corrected. “We’re engaged.”
“Either way, you’re not married. You’re the son I didn’t expect this out of.”
“Well, Dad, sorry to disappoint you but it happened and the only thing I can do is move forward. I love Monica and I love our child. I know it’s crazy to think about it when it’s barely a fetus, but I never thought I could love someone more than I love Monica and the moment she told me she was pregnant I was scared and excited and nauseous all at the same time. It was the first time since I first met Monica that I’ve ever had so many emotions running through me. I’ve wanted to shout it from the rooftops that the amazing woman I fell in love with three years ago is now having my child but I’ve held it in for weeks and now that it’s out in the open, let’s embrace it instead of using it for politics.”
“Trey, I—”
“Miss Remy, should I set a spot at the table for yo
u?” A Hispanic woman’s voice sounded from behind me and made me jump.
Of course I’d been caught. Shit.
I turned slowly to see the Chapman’s’ maid standing there. The woman had a knack for seeing me at my worst. “Yes, ma’am. That would be lovely.”
I forced the biggest smile I could and turned back toward the doorway of the dining room. Since I’d been caught, I figured I might as well go in and have breakfast. I opened the door and saw Kirk on one side of the table and Trey on the other with his back to me. Kirk looked up and smiled politely when I walked in. Whatever he was about to say, I definitely missed it and wasn’t sure when I’d get my chance again.
“Good morning, Monica.” He sipped his coffee, averting his eyes from mine.
I took a seat next to Trey and the maid was immediately behind me, setting a full plate in front of me. “Coffee, Miss Remy?”
“That’d be great. Thank you.”
At first the whole maids and gardeners thing was weird to me, but after three years, I’d learned to accept it. But that didn’t mean that I wanted the same thing for Trey and me and I hoped he knew that. I didn’t want our kids raised by nannies or the hired help like he and his brothers were.
She poured me a cup of coffee and then left the room, which went silent again. I’d definitely interrupted them and I was pretty sure they knew I’d heard their conversation. I didn’t know what I was supposed to say. What they wanted me to say. Thank god Mindy walked in to save me.
“Good morning, everyone,” she practically sang. The woman was always chipper, always dressed and ready like she just walked off the runway. Her hair was pulled into a chignon and she wore a light blue polo and khakis instead of her usual pantsuit. That was considered casual wear for the Chapman family.
“Good morning,” I replied.
She took her seat next to Kirk and a plate and coffee were immediately set in front of her before the maid disappeared again. The lady was definitely hanging out in a corner somewhere to pop in when she could, I just knew it.