“Are you saying the grandpa that owned it never got busy in the back?”
“We don’t know. Maybe grandpa was wild.”
“Maybe he was,” she said. “And it has been a while since I made out in the backseat with you.”
“We made out in the cab of my truck yesterday.”
“That’s not a backseat,” she said.
“Okay, you’re right. It’s been a while.”
“When I got my car, when I turned sixteen, we broke in that back seat, I remember,” she said.
“That was a good year. We could both drive. It was easier to see you then. Although, don’t leave prescriptions in the car.”
“Right,” she said, shaking her head at the memory, “we were lucky that I didn’t get pregnant. I was trying to keep my pills secret from the housekeeper because she’d tell my dad. So I left them in the car after I picked them up. I didn’t know they couldn’t get hot.”
“That was probably the first time I really remember being scared.”
“What about when your brother let you watch the Chucky movie?” she teased.
“Okay, that doesn’t count. Chucky was a demon doll. Everyone is scared of Chuckie.”
“I was not scared of Chucky.”
“That’s because your dad only let you watch PBS Kids till you were like fourteen.”
“I was eleven,” she protested. “And I had seen several Broadway shows and was allowed to watch classic movies.”
“Meaning westerns?”
“Did I have to watch Shane a ton of times? Yes, I did,” she laughed, “I saw The African Queen, too.”
“So, nothing made after like 1950?”
“I assume we’re not counting the American Pie movies I watched at Trixie’s house,” she said, “I did sneak around. You’re acting like I stayed sheltered.”
“You had to follow some strict rules.”
“Yeah, and I admit I was scared when I thought I might be pregnant.”
“I would’ve married you. You know that.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted you to marry me because of a baby, Drew,” she said. “That would be the worst thing, for me, to feel like I trapped you.”
“None of it was on purpose, and I would’ve been—well, apart from the fact that your dad might seriously have had me killed for getting you pregnant, I would’ve been happy for myself, because I had an excuse to keep you here. But the guilt was killing me—that I could have stolen your chances to go to a good school, travel and have an amazing life because I had carelessly got you pregnant.”
“Like you said, it wasn’t on purpose. I wouldn’t have blamed you. I was just terrified that I’d screwed up my whole life and my dad would hate me. I could just see us in some horrible, nasty rent house with rats and bugs with me waiting tables eight months pregnant and you trapped in a marriage to me—because he would’ve kicked me out and you would’ve felt like you had to marry me.”
“Which makes me furious because I know that if I fucked up, my dad would yell at me and tell me I was stupid, but he’d help me. He wouldn’t make me feel like a piece of shit or kick me out. I’m sorry that you were treated that way. It never would’ve made me feel trapped. And I don’t know why you thought we’d be living in the slums from, like, Oliver Twist.”
“I was dramatic and scared.”
“We weren’t ready to grow up yet.”
“Yeah,” she said, “and now we’re all grown up.”
“But we can act like we’re teenagers in this nice parked car.”
“I think we should. I mean, I brought you a cold lemonade on a hot day. Doesn’t that deserve a reward?” she laughed.
“I think so,” I said. Then I picked her up and she squealed. I set her down in the backseat and climbed in after her.
Laughing, we started kissing each other. I ran my hands up the outside of her thighs underneath her white sundress. I pulled her into my lap and loved the way the swell of her cleavage was right in front of my face. I buried my face in her breasts, kissing and licking. With a flick of my hand, the buttons down the front were unfastened and my mouth was on her nipple.
“Oh, I love that,” she said, arching her back to give me better access. She was rocking against me, eager, and I couldn’t resist her.
In an instant, she had the front of my jeans open and rose up on her knees. I slid my fingers between her legs, pulled her panties aside and fingered her. She was wet and ready for me. I guided my cock into her pulsing slit and groaned as she slid down the length of my shaft. We rocked and ground together, our rhythm flawless and fierce. Her white skirt was spread out over the place where we joined, her full breasts bouncing and the front of her dress unbuttoned. I played with her nipples, kissed her lips and neck. It was so hot, so sexy to have her riding me in the backseat of the Monte Carlo right here in my garage. I shut my eyes, imagining how we looked, as if I could look in a window and see a beautiful blond bouncing up and down in the lap of a very lucky auto mechanic. I slid my hand into her hair and kissed her mouth, sealing my lips against hers so I could swallow cries as she came with a ferocious grip as I drove into her deeply. I moaned into her mouth and my head went back when I gave in to the orgasm. She was grinning at me, pleased with herself, when I finally broke the kiss.
“That was amazing,” she said, “best lunch break ever.”
“We didn’t even have lunch.”
“This was better than lunch. This was exactly what I needed.”
“How did you and I go from months and months without having sex with anyone to having to be together twice a day?” I asked, smiling.
“We’re making up for lost time. And don’t rule out one more time today. I can’t promise I won’t miss you too much this afternoon… we may have to go to bed early tonight.”
“Sign me up for an early bedtime,” I said, kissing her, “there’s no place I’d rather be.”
After she left and I got back to work, John texted to see if the coast was clear and sent three laughing emojis just to give me crap about it. At the end of the day, Greg called me.
“Hey, brother. I’m coming in this weekend for my twentieth reunion. I’m staying at Mom and Dad’s, but I want to get together with you. How’s everything going?”
“Everything’s fantastic,” I grinned.
“What are you so happy about?”
“Mainly being with Michelle.”
“That’s great. I’m glad you’re going for it. Bring her along when we hang out this weekend.”
“I’ll ask her to come. I’d really like that,” I said.
“See you Sunday?”
“Definitely.”
As soon as we hung up, I messaged Michelle and asked her if she’d like to go out with Greg and me on Sunday. She texted me a thumbs-up. I was so excited to show her off to Greg, to have my two favorite people in the same room. I couldn’t wait.
23
Michelle
It definitely wasn’t the tacos.
I’d been telling myself for two days that I had just gotten a touch of food poisoning from the taco truck in Overton. Trixie had taken Ashton to the pediatrician there and had brought back tacos for Nic and me. We had eaten at her house and the next morning I was sick as hell.
I had dialed Trixie’s number at six in the morning, moaning that she’d tried to kill me with subpar Mexican food from a dodgy vendor.
“It was probably not even beef. It was probably something else. Something gross. I feel terrible. How are you?”
“Me? I’m fine. Ashton slept in until five-thirty so it’s like a vacation for me,” she said sarcastically.
“Why won’t he sleep in?” I muttered.
“Because he’s a toddler. They hate sleep and love noise. It’s part of their nature. Are you sure it was the tacos?”
“It had to be. I didn’t eat anything else weird. I feel like I’ve been run over. I’ve been puking since five.”
“Has anybody who works at the library been sick? Maybe you just ca
ught a stomach flu.”
“In June? Nobody gets the stomach flu in June. That’s a ruin-your-Christmas kind of event, not a summer thing.”
“Fine, argue with me. You need to hydrate. I have Pedialyte if you want me to run it over to you when Damon’s up. He worked late at the station so it’ll be a couple hours. I could bring Ash, but I really don’t want him to catch anything. Baby puke is hell to clean out of a car seat. And they always puke in the car seat. It’s like a law.”
“I’ll be okay. I’ve just got to drag myself up and shower. Maybe take an antacid or something.”
“Good luck. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Okay, bye,” I had said.
That had been day one. I’d felt better as the day went on, just tired. I had stayed over at Drew’s that night, but started sweating and feeling queasy around three. I crept to the bathroom and got very sick for so long that I fell asleep in the bathroom on the floor. When I heard his alarm go off, I’d hurried into the shower so it didn’t look like I puked myself into a coma in his bathroom. He’d just think I was an early riser. I had to do some fast talking to keep him from getting in the shower with me. I was barely keeping myself from throwing up again, and I really didn’t want him to watch me vomit or to, God forbid, try to kiss me.
I had told him that I thought some tacos upset my stomach and I really didn’t feel great, that I’d talk to him later. Then I left work early and went to my house. I didn’t see him that night. I didn’t even answer his calls. I messaged him that I had work to catch up on and I’d see him the next night. I had gone to sleep at eight o’clock on my couch and didn’t get up until I staggered to the kitchen sink to be sick around four thirty.
I was so exhausted from being sick, barely eating, that I had to drag myself around all day at work. It felt like I was trying to roll a boulder uphill the whole time. I made myself smile as I explained to an older man how to log on to the computer system. I helped patrons check out books. I encouraged Heather to go do the shelving and anything else that would have required me to get out of my chair. I drank Sprite and tried to keep myself together.
Nicole came to check on me at lunchtime, saying Trixie asked her to.
“I brought you something. Your favorite. Meatball sub!” she said, setting the greasy bag down in front of me on my desk. The smell hit me and I gagged. I clapped my hand over my mouth and ran for the bathroom. When I was done puking, I walked slowly back to my office, bracing myself for the stink of meat again. I knew I felt clammy and probably looked worse.
Nicole looked at me funny.
“What?”
“How late are you?”
“What?”
“Your period. How late are you?”
I sank into my chair and checked my phone. “About nine days,” I said in disbelief.
“Were you using protection?”
“I’m on the pill!”
“Did you forget to take it?”
“Only like one time. I was just a day late getting it refilled is all. That’s nothing,” I said. “Right?” My voice was kind of high and panicked.
“You stay here. I’m going to the drug store and I’ll be back.”
“Nic—"
“Trust me,” she said with a knowing nod that made me super nervous.
“Take the sandwich with you? I can’t stand the smell. But it’s just food poisoning.”
“Let me guess. You have ‘food poisoning,’” she used air quotes, “for a few hours in the morning, and then you’re just tired?”
I chewed my lip.
“Yeah, like I said. Be right back. Quit freaking out until you know something for sure, okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll calm right down,” I said sarcastically.
In the ten minutes it took Nicole to get back, I bit off all my fingernails. She handed me a bag and I took it into the staff bathroom. It didn’t even take the full three minutes for the two blue lines to appear on the stick. I tried to shake it like a thermometer to see if it would change. Then I wrapped it in the bag and stuffed it in the trash and washed my hands and put a bunch of paper towels on top of the bag in the garbage. I was shaking when I came out of the bathroom.
“It’s positive,” I said.
“It’s going to be okay.”
“No. I can’t do this. I mean, I can’t talk about it or think about it now. I have to do story time for the kids. I’ve got to set up the craft. We’re coloring rocks with markers today. And we’re reading, I don’t know, something with a fish in it. I can’t remember. I’m so tired, Nic. And so freaked out. I just—have to put that aside till after work. Then I can have the hissy fit I deserve.”
“Call me after work. Can I tell Trixie?”
“Yeah. I’ll call you both, and it’d be easier if she knew already,” I sighed.
I spent the rest of the day working on autopilot, a robot in a daze. When I was finally off work at seven, I tucked the library in and went home. I had a ton of messages from Drew and some missed calls. I couldn’t possibly deal with him right now. Not until I had my head on straight.
Once I was home, I flopped on the couch and called Nicole and conferenced Trixie in.
“Hey, mama,” Trixie said. “Look at you. I remember that feeling. Good times,” she said.
“It hasn’t been that long for me either,” Nicole sighed. “I lost my shit when I found out I was having Coop. Noah and I pretty much couldn’t be in a room together without arguing. I mean, there’s a slight chance that if the ceiling hadn’t fallen on me, he never would have admitted he loved me.”
“I don’t want anything to fall on me,” I whined. “I don’t want this to be happening! He keeps texting and calling.”
“Isn’t that what you want your boyfriend to do? I mean, being attentive is a good thing,” Trixie said.
“Yeah, if you’re not keeping a big damn secret from him,” I wailed. “It’s like he’s watching me or something. I didn’t go over to his place last night or have him come over here so he’s probably wondering what’s up.”
“Here’s a novel idea,” Trixie said, “you tell him the truth. You’re having his baby.”
“You have to tell him,” Nicole agreed. “Noah found out by accident when I was in the hospital. I wish I’d told him myself. It really hurt him that I kept it secret and didn’t tell him immediately. I underestimated him, and I was only focused on myself.”
“We’re only been back together for about five minutes!” I said. “I can’t tell Drew I’m pregnant!”
“Babe, you’re gonna have to,” Trixie said.
“Can you do it? I’ll send him flowers with a card that says, sorry, I accidentally got pregnant.”
“You’re joking,” she said flatly.
“I’m mostly joking. I’m ten percent hoping you’d do that for me.”
“No fucking way, sweetheart,” Trixie said. “You’re a big girl. Tell him the truth.
“Agreed a hundred percent,” Nicole said. “I made myself miserable thinking Noah didn’t want to be with me, and I could’ve had his love and support, but I was in my head too much and didn’t give him the chance.”
“I didn’t exactly run and tell Damon either,” Trixie admitted. “And we were married.”
“Things were going so well for us,” I said. “I can’t just drop this in his lap now,” I said miserably.
What was I going to do?
24
Drew
“I never eat dessert. We’ve been low carb for two years,” Greg said as he shoveled in a bite of Rachel’s killer cherry pie.
“It’s great pie,” I agreed. I looked at the clock over the counter and checked my phone. There were no new messages waiting for me. I had expected Michelle to be early, but she wasn’t there yet.
“How’s it going with ‘trying’?” I asked.
“Not so good. Negative again this month. I figured it would take some time, but Katie took it hard. She was sad all that day, and then on Sunday, when I thought she
was on the phone with her mom, I walked into the bedroom and she was just crying. She was sitting on the bed, with her hands on her knees and crying. It surprised me. She’s always been so tough and knows what she wants. But when I tried to tell her we’ll try again next month, she just shook her head and said she didn’t know.”
“That sounds pretty rough. How did you make her feel better?”
“I took her to hear some band in Millennium Park that I’d never heard of and then we got sushi.”
“That’s devotion. Sushi? It’s bait, man,” I laughed.
“Well, if your wife was crying because she couldn’t get pregnant, you’d eat a whole damn shark to make her smile, trust me. I think part of why she likes sushi is the face I make when the wasabi burns my mouth.”
“There is nothing about raw fish burning my mouth that makes me want to try it. I don’t care whose wife was upset.”
“Oh really? Like you’re telling me when Michelle’s upset you wouldn’t do anything possible to make her feel better?”
“I’d try to help. But eat raw fish? I don’t know.”
“You’re awful cocky for a guy who would’ve sold a kidney just to get back with her a few months ago.”
“I would not sell a kidney.”
“If I had told you all I needed to get her to take you back was your spare kidney, you would’ve been googling how to cut it out yourself,” he laughed.
“I wasn’t that desperate.”
“You so were. And it’s all good. I’m glad you’re with her. I can’t remember the last time you were this happy. I knew a month ago when I talked to you on the phone. You sounded like you had all this energy and it was all her.”
“She’s a terrific girl, Greg,” I said, stealing a bite of his pie with my fork. “That is excellent pie.”
“There she is now,” he said, getting to his feet. “Michelle, it’s been a long time. You look great.”
“So do you, Greg,” she said with a smile. I was on my feet, giving her a quick hug before she could even sit down.
Falling in Love: A Secret Baby Romance (Rockford Falls Romance) Page 13