by T Gephart
My phone once again lit up, the buzzer and my cell at war with each other as to who would get my attention. It was clear that getting Troy’s naked cock into me would need to wait. I kid you not, I almost cried.
“Yeah?” I palmed the phone and pressed it against my ear. The cell won out because I could still straddle Troy and neither of us had to put our clothes on.
“Megs,” Kyla huffed into the phone. “I know you’re home. Let me up.”
Kyla Heatherington was one of my closest friends and she lived about a block away with her bestie, Brianne. Ashlyn and I had been working at Garro’s sports bar for about three months when the two of them waltzed in and poured a pitcher of beer over Brianne’s cheating boyfriend’s head. Turned out it had been the same guy who had been hitting on me since I’d started, so we bonded over a mutual distaste for him. One margarita-filled evening later and the four of us became instant friends. Some things were just meant to be.
Noooooooooo. I bit down on my lip to stop myself from screaming it. That would be rude, right? As much as I loved her, now was not the time for a social call. My eyes closed as my fist tightened around the phone, I needed to keep my voice light.
“Kyyyylaaaa.” Ok, too light, you sound high. Try backing off a bit. “You’re here?” Now you sounded stupid. Of course she was here, she just said that. “What are you doing here?” Better, but was still going to get questions. Maybe I should have stuck with sounding high.
“Are you high? You sound funny.” Kyla’s voice snapped back. See, told you. A career in espionage was something I could safely rule out.
“Umm. I was just…” My brain searched its recesses for something plausible. I had nothing. “Give me a minute and I’ll let you up.” I ended the call and tossed my phone onto the couch beside us.
My eyes glanced longingly at Troy’s naked chest— it wasn’t going to happen. Not until I could get rid of her. “Fuck. I have company.” My teeth clenched so tightly I’m surprised any words got out.
“Okay, I’ll put my shirt back on.” Troy calmly reached for his T-shirt hanging of the arm of the couch.
“No.” My head shook as my voice rose. “No, you can’t be here.” My wide eyes went with the rest of the crazed expression I had going on.
“Megs, she knows we’re friends.” Troy pushed the tee over his head. “Just tell her I stopped by.” He shrugged calmly.
“Stopped by?” My voice rose yet again as I tried to rein in my panic. “Are you kidding? She will smell the sex on you.” My discarded tank top was retrieved and shoved back over my head.
“Ah, Megs we haven’t had sex yet.” Troy smirked as he kissed me.
“That is so unhelpful right now, I’m going to ignore it. You need to hide.” I jumped to my feet and yanked on his arm. Yes, that was solution. Where could I hide him? The closet wasn’t even a contender.
“What the fuck?” He laughed it off; my incessant pulling of his forearm did nothing to move him. “I am not going to hide.” He stood up defiantly and made for my front door.
“Yes you are.” He had to. Kyla had a big mouth and a tendency to gossip. If she knew—everyone knew. And I wasn’t ready for everyone to know. This was so not good. I raced him to my door, flinging my arms across it like a barrier. Ha! Like that would stop him if he wanted to get past.
“She can’t see you. Please go to my room.” My plea sounded desperate. I wasn’t even trying to hide how freaked out I was.
“Megs.” He rolled his eyes, saying my name like I was being ridiculous. Maybe I was being ridiculous. We could argue later, right now I needed him to hide.
“Please,” I begged, my arms still stretched out either side of me, barricading the door.
“Fine.” He relented, and my body relaxed a little. “But know this, the minute she is out the door, your ass is mine and I’m not going to be gentle about it.” He didn’t sound like he was kidding.
“Sure, sure.” I nodded so furiously I hoped it didn’t result in a brain injury, and pointed toward my bedroom door. “My room. I’ll be quick and take the file with you, I can’t have her seeing it.”
Troy muttered something under his breath and huffed a few times but thankfully turned and walked toward my room. He picked up the file from the coffee table, more muttering, and closed my bedroom door. Thank you God, I mouthed silently as I released the external lock and opened my front door.
“Oh hey, Kyla.” I leaned my body lazily against the jamb as I tried to sound casual. Kyla took the final few steps before she reached the landing. “What brings you here?”
“Why aren’t you answering your door? What took you so long? You’re already in your pajamas? It’s not even nine o’clock.” The barrage of questions had started and she hadn’t even entered the apartment. This was not going to be easy.
“I’m tired. I had the music on. I didn’t hear the door.” The answers rolled out of sequence from my mouth, and with very little conviction. The wave of my hand ushering her inside as I shut the door behind us.
“What the fuck happened to your hair?” She looked around my apartment like it would yield an explanation. I silently prayed Troy would not pick this moment to come out, thinking the jig was up. “And why is your face so red?” Her raised brow hinting she wasn’t going to be easily fooled.
“I was exercising.” The lame excuse leapt from my mouth before I had a chance to think of something better.
“In your pajamas? I thought you said you were tired.” Another raised eyebrow, with the folded arms thrown in for good measure. This wasn’t going well for me.
“Yeah I was, from the exercising.” I bounced in place to demonstrate like an idiot. You know, in case she didn’t know what exercising was.
“Okay, this is weird even for you, but whatever.” She waved and started wandering around my apartment. Being that throwing my head between my knees would attract attention, I tried not to have a panic attack.
“Ash called, said you’d had a few rough days at work so I came by to drag your ass out. Get dressed, we’re going out.” She picked up the latest edition of Cosmo that was sitting on my coffee table and started to randomly flip.
“No, I can’t.” I almost shouted as she went to sit down on my couch. The same couch Troy had been on moments before.
“Why not? Have a shower if you need, I can wait.” She ignored me, sinking into the seat as she thumbed the glossy pages.
“No, I have an early start tomorrow,” I stuttered. “I can’t go out tonight.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday. You don’t work tomorrow. What’s so important you need to be up?” Once again it earned me a raised eyebrow, the magazine was also tossed aside in disinterest.
“I have plans.” Once again my mouth opened without proper thought.
“Doing what?” She folded her arms across her chest, giving me her full interest.
“Tae Bo.” There was no hope. My ship was sinking fast when that was the best I could come up with. It was only a matter of time before it all unraveled.
“Tae Bo? Is that still even a thing? Didn’t it go to fitness heaven sometime after the 90’s? Megs, seriously, I’ll ask you one more time. Are you high?”
“No! Of course not.” The giggle and the indignation intertwined wildly in my tone. Did I mention how much I sucked at this?
“I’m not judging you, who hasn’t had a special brownie or two. Just saying if you were, it would be nice to share.” Kayla shrugged like it was no big deal.
“Well you’re out of luck because I’ve got nothing.”
“Okay, so stop being lame. Go get changed. We won’t be back late.”
“I really can’t.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because there is a man in my bedroom I’d really like to have sex with.”
The truth startled us both into silence. Well then. This wasn’t going to be an easy fix.
Kyla opened and shut her mouth a few times, words obviously eluding her. Her eyes flicked to my closed bedroom door
. “You have some man holed up in your room?”
“Yes. It’s new. I’m not ready to share him yet.” It was the most honest thing that had come out of my mouth since she’d walked in.
“Are we going to get to meet him?” She didn’t even try to lower her voice, probably hoping to flush out my hidden guest.
“Eventually, just not now. Can you keep this to yourself for a little while?” Not sure why I even bothered to ask, she was going to be on the phone to Brianne and Ashlyn before she’d even left my building.
“Fine, but you know I’m not good with secrets.” She huffed impatiently before lowering her voice. “When the hell did you hook up with this one? Weren’t you dating Josh like not even a week ago?”
“Yeah, I was. It’s…” There was no other word I could think of that was better suited, “…complicated.”
“Honey, you know I love you, right?” She planted her hands on her hips and I prepared for the I’m-worried-about-you speech. “But your life is complicated enough with your work, maybe you need to find some guy who isn’t going to add to that. Find a nice guy, someone you can…I don’t know, settle down with. Oh, there’s this nice guy I work with. He’d be perfect for you.”
“Kyla, thanks but this guy is a nice guy and I don’t need anyone setting me up.”
“Fine, just don’t let him break your heart.” She gave me a hug before raising her voice intentionally. “And make sure he treats you right because we have friends that can take care of it if he doesn’t.”
I cringed knowing Troy would have probably heard. “Thanks for that. I’ll call you.” My arms returned the hug before I pushed her toward the door. “And don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
She wasn’t happy about it but she left, the door slamming punctuating her exit. I assumed I’d have about a ten to fifteen minute grace period before she caved and told someone. If anyone was going to make those ten minutes count, it would be me.
“Troy Harris, it’s time for you to make good on that promise.” I almost ran to the bedroom and flung the door open. My hopes of a happy reunion were crushed as I was greeted by Troy’s pale face.
“Megs, you need to sit down.” He tapped the bed beside him and not in sexy kind of way, in the we-need-to-talk kind of way.
“Look, I know you probably heard Kyla be all protective but she is just looking out for me. She doesn’t know it’s you and trust me, she doesn’t have friends who can take care of it if things don’t work out, she was being dramatic.” The words bubbled furiously as I made my way to the bed; I wouldn’t let Kayla’s good intentions ruin what was supposed to be an amazing night.
“Besides, I know you aren’t going to hurt me and you already said this was for the long haul and I believe you, truly I do.” My mouth refused to be still, the look on his face putting the fear of God into me. Please don’t think this is all too much work, please don’t regret being with me. “And as soon as the wedding is over, we’ll go public and it will all be fine and this will be just—”
“Megs, shut up.” He placed his hands over my mouth as I sat down on the bed beside him. Probably for the best, it didn’t show any signs of letting up. “I need you to tell you something and I need you to listen to me.”
My head nodded being my mouth was still covered, not that I think words would have been able to come out right now, I was so afraid of him ending us, I couldn’t talk.
Troy took a deep breath but kept his hand over my mouth. “I love you. I know we have only been together officially for a week but those feelings have been coming at me for a while. Nod if you are on the same page with me.” I nodded wondering if it was declarations of love we were sharing, why I couldn’t be free to declare mine.
My heartbeat starting thumping wildly as I waited for the “but” that was inevitably coming, the look in his eyes too intense, too serious to be simply wanting to tell me he loved me. Perhaps my self-assurances that he wouldn’t break my heart had been premature.
“So there is something else you need to know.”
I braced myself, wondering if he was going to go the this-isn’t-going-to-work-out or love-doesn’t-conquer-all route, either would hurt just as badly.
“We’re pregnant.”
“What?” My mouth mumbled against his palm as my brain screamed what the fuck. How the fuck can I be pregnant? I’m on the pill for fuck’s sake. We’ve been using condoms. We haven’t had unprotected sexy time yet. I don’t feel any different. When was my last period? Oh my God, I’m going to pass out. The garbled noises continued from underneath his hand.
“Megs, I’m going to take my hand away. Don’t freak out on me.” He slowly unpeeled his hand from around my mouth.
“What! What? How can I be pregnant?” My head shook in disbelief, I was no virgin so divine intervention was out. Not that I thought I was a suitable mother for the second coming but… “How?”
“I have no idea, but this file.” He picked up my blood work and opened it to the second page. “Says that you are.”
And there it was a pregnant followed by the letters hCG and a bunch of numbers I didn’t understand.
“I—I…” I had no idea what to say, my brain went into free fall.
“No, no I.” Troy took my chin in his hands. “We, do you understand me? Us— together. This is our baby.”
“I got pathology to take the blood but submitted the samples to the lab anonymously.” Words had started to come out but the voice didn’t sound like mine. “I said it was a patient of mine, a minor. They didn’t ask questions. My brother works in the ER and my dad… I didn’t want my name on the sample and people asking questions.” It seemed so harmless. It wasn’t the first time I requested an anonymous sample. It happens a lot when a minor is scared they might have an STD or knocked up (trust me the irony was not lost on me) and didn’t want their parents to know. Patient, doctor privilege meant it could happen. We used a coding system instead.
“You didn’t read it all the way through I take it?” Troy pulled the file from my hands, the papers scrunched at the edges underneath my death grip.
“I wasn’t looking for that. It’s on the second page. It wasn’t even a possibility, I just wanted to prove I didn’t have gonorrhea.”
“Well, good news — you don’t have gonorrhea.” He smiled like it was no big deal.
“This isn’t funny.” His calm or his smile didn’t reassure me this wasn’t a big deal. “How can I be pregnant when we have used condoms and I’ve been on the pill? That’s like zero chance. Do you have like super sperm or something?”
“Megs, we need to get you to a doctor. I don’t know what these numbers mean and we don’t know how long junior’s been cooking in there. You’re also going to need stuff, vitamins and shit.” He put his arms around me, pulling my body closer to his. “We are going to work this out, you’re not in this alone.”
“Do you want to keep the baby? This is a big decision, Troy, like a life long decision. We can’t just decide we’re done— we’ll be parents.” My fingers wrapped around his forearms tightly like I could some how extract the definitive reassurance I needed. This wasn’t playtime, this was real life.
“What part of we’re not breaking up did you not understand? You think even without the baby, I could just be done with you?” He took my face in his hands. “I said I loved you and I meant it. Marriage, kids, that was always in our future. Someone just hit the fast forward button.”
“You are too calm, why aren’t you freaking out? I’m freaking the fuck out. You know how crazy I can be, I’m going to be someone’s mom. That’s insanity of the highest level.” Holy shit, there is a baby inside of me. Puking right now would not be out of the question.
“You’re not going to be someone’s mom, you’re going to be our baby’s mom. And I’m calm ’cause life throws you a curve ball every once in a while, big deal. It’s not like we’re sixteen with no futures ahead of us. Money isn’t an issue, we’re both healthy and we love each other. So maybe the
timing sucks a little, we’ve got to roll with it.”
He was so sure, not even the slightest hesitation. Part of me was mad that I was the only one about to hyperventilate, granted he had a few more minutes to adjust to the news before I did, and he wasn’t the one who was going to be blowing up to the size of Shamu.
“I love you.” I realized Troy had been the only one who’d said it, my wordless nod not really qualifying. “I want to have this baby— our baby.” It sounded so weird saying it but he was right, this wasn’t mine or his— it was ours.
To think my plans for the evening were a night of unrestrained sex, without a condom and then boom, I’m knocked up.
“Good, let’s get some sleep and see if we can’t get you an appointment tomorrow. I need to hold you.” He turned and pulled off his boots. The socks came next and then the shirt.
Woah. Sleep hadn’t been the plan, who was going to be able to sleep?
“Wait, sleep? But we were supposed to have sex. The whole getting pregnant is a non issue so there’s no concerns there.” Look at that, a silver lining. Let’s concentrate on that and stop with the no sex talk.
“As much as I want to, and trust me— I really want to— we need to wait until a doctor checks you out.” He stood and unbuttoned his jeans. They dropped to the floor, as did my hope for action tonight.
“People who are pregnant have sex all the time.” Valid argument, thank you brain for stepping in. Was good of you to finally show up.
“Yeah, but they knew they were pregnant and were taking care of it. We can wait. As soon as we’re given the all clear, I promise I’ll make it worth the wait.” Troy moved back on to the bed and pulled the covers aside and waited for me to crawl in.
“But I’m going to get fat and moody and then you won’t want me.” It was childish but I pouted, shoving myself into bed like an errant child. The moodiness had already started; we were in for a treat in the next nine months or so.
“You’re not going to get fat, you’re going to be carrying our baby and it doesn’t get sexier than that. Trust me, it’s going to be you who turns me down, not the other way around.” Troy crawled in and rolled me onto my side. We laid face to face, his arms around me, and his hard-on pressing against my leg. The danger of hyperventilation was back.
