Chapter Five
Stacey
The doctor’s waiting room clock says that it is five to three, meaning its nearly time for Lydia’s appointment. I know that she is nervous as her leg is twitching up and down like crazy.
“Calm down, Lyd, everything is going to be okay,” I try to reassure her. She doesn’t acknowledge me, but she does stop the leg twitching.
Lydia’s name is called out a few seconds later and she stands up.
“Will you come in with me?” she asks, looking pale.
“Of course.” As if she even had to ask me.
I follow her to the correct room and Lydia knocks on the door.
“Come in,” a male voice says on the other side. Lydia takes a deep breath and pushes the door open, me following behind her. I close the door when I have entered the room, and I follow Lydia to the seats in front of the doctor’s desk. I sit in the left-hand seat and my eyes lock with the doctor’s.
Wow, he’s handsome.
He smiles warmly at me, which I return. His looks are striking. He has short, black, cropped hair, and a strong jaw line. There is no stubble on his chin, giving him the appearance of baby soft, smooth skin. His skin is lightly tanned, but it is his eyes that give him his stunning quality. They are brown, but they appear to have gold flecks in them.
I feel a little bit guilty assessing another man, but no one can hold up against Jake.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” the doctor says. “I’m Doctor Bradley. Which one of you is Lydia?”
“I am,” Lydia answers in a small, quiet voice. “This is my friend Stacey.” Lydia points at me as if it wasn’t already obvious.
“Hi,” I say, not wanting to appear ignorant.
“Nice to meet you, Stacey,” Doctor Bradley replies before he turns his attention back to Lydia. “So, Lydia, what can I do for you today?”
“Well, I’m, um...” She stops speaking and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. “I’m pregnant,” she says, only opening her eyes after she has spoken those words.
“Okay. I’m guessing that by the look on your face, that this isn’t a planned pregnancy?” he asks.
“No,” Lydia replies.
“Right. Well, Lydia, I need you to do a urine sample for me. It’s so that I can confirm your pregnancy for our records.” Doctor Bradley pulls open one of the draws on his desk and produces a urine sample container. He holds it out to Lydia and she stares at him, looking shocked.
“You want me to do it now?” she asks.
“If you feel that you are able to, then yes, please.” I hear Lydia gulp as she reaches for the pot. She looks at me nervously, and I smile and nod my head, trying to encourage her. She rises from her chair, and I watch her leave the room, the door clicking shut behind her.
I turn back to face the doctor and he is looking at me. I sit there feeling slightly awkward and avert my gaze. I don’t really know what to say, so I pull my phone out of my bag and I pretend to type out a text message for something to do.
Doctor Bradley doesn’t speak, but I can feel his gaze on me. If that was Jake sat there, looking at me, I would be on cloud nine, but although this doctor is handsome, it is just making me feel uncomfortable.
After what feels like forever, Lydia returns, and I put my phone away, feeling grateful that she has come back into the room. She hands the sample pot to the doctor.
“Thank you, Lydia,” he says, taking the pot off of her. She sits back down in her seat and looks at me. I put my hand on hers and give it a squeeze as Doctor Bradley walks over to a sideboard and pulls out a little strip of paper.
I watch as he pops on a pair of latex gloves, opens the pot, and dips the strip of paper into the urine for a few seconds. He then pulls the paper out, looks at his watch and waits. I watch the clock on the wall and three minutes later Doctor Bradley throws the strip of paper away and disposes of the pot and its contents. He pulls the gloves off, throwing those away too, and washes his hands before coming to sit back down.
“Well, you were right, Lydia. Congratulations, you are indeed pregnant.” Lydia doesn’t move a muscle, but her eyes start to mist over. The doctor notices and starts to speak again. “Lydia, if this isn’t something that you want, then you do have other options.” He speaks in a soft and gentle voice, obviously realising the sensitivity of the situation.
I hold my breath at his words.
The doctor clearly hasn’t looked back at Lydia’s medical history. If he had, then he would see that this is a topic that would affect Lydia, badly.
Lydia had an abortion when she was sixteen, and she has told me that it was the hardest decision that she has ever had to make. I can’t begin to imagine what she must have gone through.
Lydia lets a few tears fall down her cheeks and the doctor starts to pull some pamphlets out of another draw at his desk. He places them on the top of the desk and I quickly whip them away, shoving them into my hand bag. Doctor Bradley furrows his brows at me, obviously wondering why I have been the one to snatch the pamphlets away.
“Uh, thanks,” I say, not knowing how else to respond. I smile awkwardly, and I know that he is assessing my behaviour. I couldn’t really give a shit what he thinks, I just know that I need to get Lydia out of here as soon as possible.
Doctor Bradley clears his throat and then starts to ask Lydia a series of questions. Lydia answers every question, and I know that she is as desperate to leave here as I am.
“I will need to book you an appointment with the midwife. Is there any particular time that is good for you, Lydia?” he asks whilst looking at his computer screen.
She looks to me and I answer for her.
“Anytime is fine,” I reply, and the doctor looks up at me once again, looking confused. “I’m her boss,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders as a way of an explanation. He nods at me and looks back at the computer before he writes down an appointment time on a card and hands it to Lydia.
“Thanks,” she says as she stands up. I follow suit, and so does Doctor Bradley. He holds his hand out to Lydia and she shakes it quickly before turning and heading for the door. I am about to follow her, when Doctor Bradley thrusts his hand in my direction. I hesitate for a moment before taking his hand. He’s looking at me, and I feel a bit silly for feeling awkward, so I try to shake off my weird feeling. His grip is firm as he shakes my hand and his thumb brushes my wrist. I pull my hand away as quick as I can and mutter a goodbye as I go to leave the room. Lydia has already gone, and as I go to close the door, Doctor Bradley speaks.
“See you soon, Stacey,” he says. I don’t know why he has said it. Shouldn’t he have said that to Lydia? She is his patient after all.
I don’t know how to respond, so I give a nod of my head and close the door, breathing a sigh of relief as I get outside and inhale the fresh air.
Why the hell did I just feel so awkward in there?
I look for Lydia and see that she is stood by my car, waiting for me to join her. I unlock the doors and we both silently get in. I look across to Lydia, and she just looks deflated.
“Hey,” I say softly. “How are you feeling?”
“Like crap.” She runs her fingers through her wild hair and sighs. “Thank you for cutting the abortion talk short. I know that I was only young when I first got pregnant, and I know that it was the right thing to do, but it is still painful to think about it.”
“I know.” I start the car and put my seatbelt on. “Listen, I’m going to cover our shifts at the bar tonight––”
“No, Stace, you don’t have to do that,” Lydia says, cutting me off.
“Yes, I do. You are coming to my house and staying the night. No arguments.” I start to drive out of the car park and turn in the direction of my place.
“Stace, you have the temps coming in tonight. You have to be there.”
“No, I don’t. Susie can show them what to do.” I sound more confident than I feel. I really should be there, but Lydia needs me more right now.
“
But, won’t Jake mind?”
“Of course he won’t.” Yes, he will.
Lydia goes silent for a few moments, and I think that she is going to try and talk me out of covering our shifts, but she surprises me.
“Thanks, Stace, I couldn’t face going back to the flat right now.” I look over at her and see some relief across her face. I smile at her and turn my attention back to the road. I’m pretty sure that Jake is going to be really pissed off, but I can’t worry about that.
“Stace?” Lydia says, interrupting my thoughts.
“Hmm?”
“Please don’t tell Jake that I’m pregnant. I don’t want anyone else to know yet.” I hesitate to answer her. I don’t want to have to lie to Jake. Lydia must sense my discomfort. “Please, Stace. I need to work it out in my head first. I also don’t want to run the risk of Paul finding out before I have had the chance to speak to him.” I can hear the desperation in her voice and my heart goes out to her.
“Okay,” I say. “I won’t tell Jake.” I look across to her and she smiles.
“Thank you.”
I turn my attention back to the road.
How the hell am I going to keep this from Jake?
I’m going to have to pull off some major acting skills, so that he doesn’t see that I am hiding something from him.
Chapter Six
Stacey
Lydia and I are sitting at the kitchen island, drinking hot chocolate. I have just gotten off of the phone to Susie who is more than happy to show the temps the ropes tonight. I have also contacted some agency staff to come in tonight to cover Lydia and myself.
The last call I need to make is to Jake. I scroll through the names on my phone until I find him, and I am about to press the button to call him, when I hear the front door open. I hear Jake talking, followed by another male voice. I look at Lydia and she has paled considerably.
“Oh shit,” she says as realisation dawns on me that the other male voice is Paul. “Paul can’t see me, Stace. I can’t speak to him right now.” The desperation in her voice makes me jump into action.
“It’s okay, I’ll get rid of him.” I hop off of the stool and practically sprint to the kitchen door. I need a really good reason for not wanting Paul here.
Think, Stacey, think.
Jake and Paul have their backs to me as I enter the hallway. I close the kitchen door behind me and they both turn around.
“Hi, guys,” I say, a little too high-pitched.
“Hi, Stace,” Paul says. I give a little wave as I continue to rack my brains for a good excuse.
“Stace? I thought you were working tonight?” Jake asks.
“Oh, um, I was, but, uh…” Oh Christ, he’s going to know that something is wrong if I don’t form a sentence quick.
It is at that moment that the excuse I need enters my head. And that excuse consists of making Jake think that I came home to spend some alone time with him.
“Is everything okay?” Jake asks, looking a little perplexed.
“Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine. I just… I covered my shift so that we could, you know, spend some time together.” Jake raises one eyebrow at me and puts his hands in the pockets of his trousers.
“Is that right?” he says, his mouth twitching as he clearly tries to hold back a smile.
“Um, yes. I just thought that we could have made the most of tonight as I’m working every other night this week, but it doesn’t matter. I guess I should have called you earlier, but, um, sorting out cover for my shift took longer than I thought.” I try to sound as convincing as possible. Paul starts to fidget on the spot and I feel a little bit guilty about lying to both of them. “So, what do you guys have planned then?”
Hopefully it isn’t too important, and Jake will ask Paul to leave.
“Not much. Just thought that we would have a few beers and watch some sports,” Jake replies.
“Oh,” I answer. “Okay.” Just sports. Nothing too dramatic. “Well, I will just go and have a long soak in the bath and let you guys enjoy your evening.”
At the mention of having a bath, Jake’s eyes light up and I sense that I might be getting somewhere. I make my way to the stairs, giving Jake a quick kiss on the lips as I pass. I make it to the top of the first flight of stairs when I hear mumbled voices coming from below. I can’t make out what they are saying, but I pray that my feeble plan has worked. If it hasn’t and they both walk into the kitchen and see Lydia sat there, they are going to know that something is going on.
I continue to make my way to the second floor and head for mine and Jake’s bedroom. I make my way to the bed and am about to sit down and wait to see what happens, when I feel two hands grab me from behind, pulling me backwards. I connect with Jake’s hard chest as he wraps his arms around me, nuzzling his face in my neck. I giggle as his stubble tickles and I squirm in his arms. He loosens his grip, so that I can turn to face him before pinning me on the bed, arms above my head. His eyes sparkle with mischief.
“So, you said something about a long soak in the bath?”
“I did, but shouldn’t you be entertaining your guest?” I say as Jake rubs his nose against mine.
“Paul kindly left.” I feel a pang of guilt. Jake lowers his lips to mine and kisses me tenderly. I moan against his mouth, enjoying the sensation of his lips on mine. He lets go of my hands and I bring them to his chest.
I push against his chest slightly, causing him to pull his head away from me.
“Jake, I need to tell you something,” I say, feeling nervous.
“Okay.” He looks at me with those intoxicating eyes of his and I pray that he isn’t going to be too pissed off with me.
“Um, I may have told a little white lie, just now, downstairs.”
“What do you mean?” Jake asks. He moves off of me and sits on the edge of the bed, and I sit up, so that I am beside him.
“Well, I wasn’t completely honest about the real reason that I covered my shift tonight.”
Jake doesn’t say anything, clearly waiting for me to expand on my answer.
Oh boy, here goes. “I couldn’t tell you the real reason before because Paul was there.” He frowns at me, clearly wondering why Paul being here would be a problem. “Lydia is currently sat in our kitchen and she didn’t want to see Paul, but obviously I couldn’t tell you guys that just now. I was about to call you as you walked in the front door. She’s staying here tonight.” I am well aware that I am rambling right now.
“Hold on a sec. Why doesn’t she want to see Paul? I thought that those two were doing good now?”
“They are, she just, um…” I rack my brains for why the hell she wouldn’t want to see him. I don’t want to have to lie to Jake about why, but I’ve promised Lydia that I will keep her pregnancy a secret. I decide to be as honest as I can, considering I lied to him a few minutes ago. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why the hell not?”
“I just can’t. I’m sorry, but I promised Lydia.”
“But it’s me, Stace. You can tell me anything.” Oh God, does he have to make me feel guiltier than I already do?
“Yes, I know that I can. It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just can’t break my promise to Lydia.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Jake mutters as he stands up and runs his fingers through his hair. He walks into the ensuite and takes his jacket off, throwing it into the washing basket.
Oh yeah, he’s pissed.
I watch him as he turns the shower on and starts to undress himself. He doesn’t look at me, and then he disappears out of my view as he enters the shower.
Bugger. I knew he would be annoyed, but I thought that he would understand why I had to lie and why I can’t tell him anything.
I run down the stairs to the kitchen to check on Lydia.
I open the kitchen door and see that she is still sat at the kitchen island. She turns around at the sound of someone entering and looks relieved that it is me.
“Oh, thank God it’s you,” she s
ays.
“Don’t worry, Paul’s gone.” She smiles at me and I try to return it, but my mind is on Jake right now. “Do you mind just chilling in the lounge for a bit whilst I speak to Jake?”
“Sure, babes. Is Jake okay?” She gets off of the stool and walks over to me.
“He will be.”
“Oh no, I don’t want to cause problems for you. I’ll just go back to the flat, Stace––”
“No you won’t,” I say, cutting her off. “Jake will be fine.” I walk to the lounge, Lydia following me. I pick up the television remote and hand it to her. “You make yourself at home, I won’t be long.”
“But––”
“No buts, Lydia. Now, I’m just going to go and soothe a man’s ego and then I will cook us some food, and after we can watch a film.” I wink at her as I leave to the sound of her chuckling.
I race back up the stairs and see that Jake is still in the shower. Good.
I close our bedroom door and strip my clothes off. I enter the ensuite and see that Jake has his back to me. I quietly climb into the shower, standing behind him, and admire his naked form.
God, he really does have an ass to die for.
I carefully make my way over to him. As I reach him, I place my hands on his shoulders and start to trace light kisses across his back. Jake stops washing himself and I feel his body respond to me. I kiss my way down to his ass, my hands going around to the front of his thighs before I move my body around his legs, so that I am kneeling in front of him, the water pounding on top of me.
I close my eyes to shield them from the water, and I take his length in my mouth. I place my hands on his ass and caress his gloriously smooth skin. His hands run through my now sodden hair, and I lick and suck him, making him groan in pleasure.
I hear his breathing quicken and I increase the pressure, knowing that he is close to climax.
“Stace,” he says on a whisper as he explodes into my mouth. I suck him gently, swallowing all of his juices. When I have wrung him dry, I release his length and kiss my way up his torso, running my hands up the sides of his body.
The Complete Perfect Series Page 45