by Lindsey Hart
CHAPTER 15
Ross
There had not been a single time in the history of the universe that his parents had ever been so excited about anything.
As soon as he walked in the front door, Teela trailing shyly in his wake, his mom had that oh my god, a baby twinkle in her eye and his dad had one of those I can’t believe you looks on his face. That was positive, Ross thought. Mostly positive. His dad wasn’t as baby crazy as his mom was but it wasn’t exactly a secret that the guy wanted to teach someone how to fish and mow the lawn on the ride on and do all that other grandfatherly things with.
“Oh my goodness, welcome! We’re so glad you could make it!” Ross’ mom skipped him completely and went straight for Teela. She wrapped her into a tight hug and after a second, Teela relaxed into it.
“Mom, you just saw her yesterday,” Ross protested, but his heart wasn’t really in it because Teela’s face actually looked relieved and happy when his mom let her go and it did something all tingly and weird to his stomach.
Every time he heard her talk. Every time he heard her laugh. Every single time he looked at her, breathed in around her and inhaled her fresh scent, he felt that same pinching in his stomach.
Every time his mind wandered, he pictured her naked and he’d swallow and still taste her on his tongue, it wasn’t his stomach doing the pinching. It sent a straight shot of hot lust straight to his groin.
It didn’t help that she’d worn something modest, a black maxi dress, and he’d popped a hard-on as soon as he saw her. He’d told it to behave but apparently, his dick didn’t get the listen to commands memo. He’d had to covertly adjust his jeans the whole ride over, right since he picked up Teela and she’d walked out to the car, her breasts outlined, and her hips defined and her ass when she turned…
Fuck. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Stop thinking about it.
“I have dinner almost done. I made roast beef.” His mom paused. “Oh wait. Maybe you don’t like beef. Maybe you don’t eat meat and that’s terribly offensive. Oh… I should have asked first.”
Teela smiled and it brought a little bit of color to her cheeks. Her eyes swept to his face for a split second. “Oh, no, that’s fine. I definitely eat meat.”
“Mom, I was barbequing yesterday when you came over, or did you forget?”
“Oh- well- I was trying to wipe last night completely from my mind.”
His father let out a snort and chuckled as he sauntered off into the living room to indulge in Monday night’s paper and watch the news for two and a half seconds before dinner was ready and his mom yelled at him to get his honey buns to the table. Yes. She actually said that.
His mother scuttled off to the kitchen, leaving them alone.
Teela’s cheeks were scarlet. “Oh my fucking god,” she hissed. “I thought you said they’d forget all about that.”
“They did. You heard her. She’s already wiped it from her mind. Didn’t even remember I was cooking steaks.”
“No, probably because she’s too busy thinking about what my who-ha looks like.”
“Your who-ha? Who calls it a who-ha?”
“What? Should I say my pussy? Would that be better for your delicate sensibilities?’
Ross liked the fire in Teela’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Come on. We’ll sit down at the table.”
“Shouldn’t we offer to help or something?”
“Oh god no.”
Ross took a chance and brushed Teela’s fingers with his. She didn’t pull away but her breath hitched. He felt that same breathlessness whenever he was near her and it was nice to see she wasn’t unaffected either. Or maybe she was just sighing, trying to gather enough oxygen into her lungs to keep her brain from imploding.
“No?”
“No. Offering to help my mom in the kitchen if you’re company is like sacrilege.”
“Why? My mom loves when people come over and help her cook.”
“Not my mom. She was a librarian her whole life. She has a strict set of standards that must be obtained at all times and company lifting a finger to either cook or clean in her own house is a huge no-no.”
“Does she help at other people’s houses?”
“Sometimes. I guess she’d say that’s different though.”
“How so?”
Ross shook his head. “I don’t know. My brain hurts. Let’s just go sit down.”
Teela nodded but as soon as they got into the kitchen, she dropped his hand and made a beeline for his mom, who was flying around the kitchen like a buzzing gnat, never stopping to land, never leaving anything alone.
“Could you use some help, Mrs. Day?” Teela asked politely. She glanced around the kitchen, which was all new.
Ross wouldn’t have been embarrassed to bring her into the house he’d grown up in but he was glad that his parents were in the new place. The kitchen was nice. It wasn’t large since neither of his parents believed in excess. His mom was a librarian and his dad was a high school teacher so they didn’t have the money or the time for excess when he was growing up. It was nice though, with white cupboards that curled around, big windows, granite countertops, and stainless-steel appliances. The huge window by the double sink overlooked the backyard and off to the right of the island was the dining area with the double patio doors. It let in a lot of light and was probably the best room in the whole house, even though his mom insisted on bay windows in the living room. They faced the wrong direction though, so the only time it was ever sunny was in the early afternoon.
“Oh, call me Mary-Anne. None of that Mrs. Day stuff. And no, honey, you just sit down. I don’t want you straining yourself in your condition.”
Ross grabbed Teela’s hand, ignoring the shiver that skittered up his arm at the contact, and led her over to the large table. It was one of those monstrous things that was way too big for his taste but his mom liked it. She’d chosen upholstered chairs in a black and white floral pattern to put around it. The thing housed eight of them it was so huge.
“That’s code for helping me in my own kitchen is sacrilege,” he whispered under his breath as he pulled out a chair.
Teela dropped into it and cast him a murderous glance. He grinned back. He vowed he’d stop trying to get under her skin, but he couldn’t help it. She was so darn attractive when she was mad that it got him all fired. He shouldn’t like being fired up where she was concerned, but, well, everyone had their failings.
In a few short minutes, his mom had filled up the table with plates and bowls overflowing with beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, creamed corn, and biscuits. She even added a bowl of ambrosia salad and a dish of peach pie.
“Hank, dear, get those honey buns to the table,” Ross’ mom called out as she plunked down a batch of serving utensils.
Ross cringed and had to stifle a laugh at the same time. Teela shot him a look and he could tell that she was probably biting on her inner cheek to keep from bursting out into laughter herself.
Ross’ father ambled into the room. He pulled out a chair, sniffed the air like he always did and sunk down. “Smells delicious. You’ve outdone yourself, sweetheart.”
“Oh, goodness sakes,” Ross’ mom brushed the compliment off but her cheeks were flushed when she sunk down in the seat beside his dad.
He was seated by Teela and his parents were on the other end. As usual, the other four chairs were empty. They probably had never been used, but his mom wouldn’t hear of getting a smaller table. Heaven help the world if they had guests over and there wasn’t enough room for everyone and they had to bring out the dreaded folding chairs.
Everyone dug in, filling their plates. Teela had probably taken two bites before his mom set down her fork. She had that tell-tale ear to ear smile on her face and Ross knew it wasn’t going to be good. Oh no, here we go.
“So, dear, how long have you been pooching my son for?”
CHAPTER 16
Teela
Pooching was a new
one. She couldn’t say that she’d ever really heard that term used before. She knew what it meant, but dear lord. It was all she could do not to spit out her mouthful of roast beef. As it was, she had to chew quickly and take a big gulp of water to keep from asphyxiating.
“Mom!” Ross ground out under his breath.
“Oh. I’m sorry!” Mary-Anne’s eyes widened like she didn’t actually realize she’d said anything wrong.
Hank sat beside her, studying his plate like his meal was the most interesting thing to happen that side of the century. He was probably dying a little inside.
“Teel and I- we’ve been er- seeing each other for a while. We were just easing into the relationship, as neither of us have had an easy go of it in the past and we didn’t want to jinx anything and then we found out that she was expecting.”
“So, you’re going to do more than just ease into it now? You’re going to do the right thing, aren’t you son?” Hank cocked a brow and Ross shriveled beside Teela.
Oh god, kill me now. Why aren’t spontaneous sinkholes a thing?
“We’re still working it out. It was extremely soon to find out and no one gets married just because they have a child anymore. We want to be good parents and whether that means together or just as friends, then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll put that kid first, don’t you worry.”
“See that you do,” Hank said quietly, but firmly. He sawed off a piece of roast beef and popped it into his mouth followed by a huge swallow of mashed potatoes. He sighed. “This is really good, Mary-Anne. You’ve outdone yourself.”
“Oh, nonsense.” Mary-Anne swatted at her husband’s leg underneath the table and it was pretty darn obvious that they were still in love, even after years of marriage.
It made Teela’s chest ache a little bit. Her parents loved each other. She figured they did, but they were never one of those touchy couples. She really hadn’t even seen them hug or kiss over the years. She just assumed they saved that stuff to do in private. Given that her dad slept on the couch nine nights out of ten because he said the bed hurt his back and the TV was much more interesting and just kind of lulled him into an early evening coma that lasted until morning, she thought that was the natural progression of relationships.
Even if people didn’t outright end up hating each other, they just kind of learned to co-exist and the passion just died away and they remained good friends who might give each other a hug now and then or a kiss on the cheek and cared enough to make sure each other had a good day. Even if her parents shared a bed, she doubted there was any kind of anything going on there.
“I’m sure you’ll both do the right thing,” Mary-Anne cut in after a lapse into silence. “Ross is a good boy. We tried to raise him right.”
“Mom!” Ross protested. His tone had the same sinkhole swallow me up desire that she’d just been feeling.
“Well, we did. I don’t see any shame in telling her that. You’re a good boy. A nice boy. And Teela, you look like a nice girl. Not at all like the kind of girls Ross was with in the past. If he had to accidentally make a baby with anyone, I’m glad it was you.”
“Oh my god, can we please just enjoy dinner,” Ross pleaded.
“Oh, well, alright. I suppose so.”
After that, the only sound in the room was the forks scraping on plates and the clink of utensils, the lifting and lowering of a glass of water. It was nice. Really. It wasn’t at all uncomfortable. Ross finished off his plate and went for seconds. And thirds.
Teela had no idea how on earth he stayed so trim and muscular if he ate like that. Maybe it wasn’t a regular thing. No one could resist a home-cooked meal. She’d eaten more than she had in months. The food was good. Really good.
She was honestly eyeing him the peach pie when her mistake became extremely apparent. The extra saliva in her mouth was a dead giveaway. Her palms grew damp and her heart began to pound. Her breath shallowed out and her stomach spun.
“Uh- Ross…” She reached over and gripped his arm. Hard. Hard enough to make him turn to her, eyes wide with surprise. He clearly got the memo. Maybe because she’d suddenly turned a sickening shade of pale. Or green. Probably green.
“Oh. Oh my god.” He had her out of her chair and was steering her out of the kitchen in a flash. They took a sharp left and then he wheeled her down the hall, shoved open a door and hit the switch.
It was good timing. She hit her knees and hugged the bowl as she lost the most delicious dinner she’d had in a long time. It was definitely far less delectable the second time around. She was very aware, even as she was heaving and retching, that she wasn’t a graceful puker. She probably sounded like she was going to die and she was sweaty. Her entire body was soaked, and her clothes clung damply. Her hair, which she’d tucked up on top of her head for the night, started to unravel and the strands lay plastered on her forehead. Her mascara was probably running down her cheeks since her eyes were watering so badly.
“I’m sorry,” she said pathetically as she flushed and leaned back. She rested the back of her hand on her damp forehead. “I seriously doubt your mom is ever going to invite me back to dinner again. That wasn’t very complimentary.”
“Don’t worry.” Ross looked at her, and he was… worried. His brow was furrowed, and his eyes narrowed, his lips thinned out and his jaw clenched. “Don’t worry about that at all. She used to remind me all the time, when I was particularly bad or bratty, that she’d been sick as a dog when she was pregnant with me and I should show a little more gratitude to her.”
Teela offered a weak laugh. “I’ll be sure to remember that. Maybe I can use it on our baby one day.”
“Our baby,” Ross repeated, wonderment tinging his words. He stared at her for a minute like he was seeing her for the first time. He shook himself out of his trance a second later, grabbed the glass that was sitting on the counter, and offered her cold water. She took it gratefully.
The water made her feel a little better. She was still shaking, but the sweating thing was slowing down, and her heart rate was returning to normal. She pushed to her feet, using the wall for support.
“You’re really pale.” Ross’ voice was thick with concern. “You don’t look well at all.”
“Thanks for that. Just what a woman likes to hear. How disgusting she looks.”
He shook his head and his voice was so soft it gave her chills. “That’s not at all what I meant. My parents have a guest room. It’s right across the hall. Why don’t you lay down for a few minutes until you feel better?”
Teela wanted to protest, but honestly, her stomach was still rocky, and her bones were achy, and she didn’t want to toss her cookies again, especially not in front of Ross, so she nodded weakly.
Instead of just showing her where the room was, Ross shocked her by angling around her and sweeping her off her feet. His strong arms cradled her effortlessly and swept her out of the bathroom, across the hall, and into an expansive guest bedroom with a queen-sized bed made up with a cheerful patchwork quilt, two matching nightstands, and the complimentary dresser. There was a huge painting hung over the bed, just abstract purple flowers, but it was nice, even though Teela normally didn’t like art like that.
“You didn’t have to carry me,” she protested. “It was like two steps.”
“That’s fine. Your body is doing all this work, creating that baby and cooking it. The least I can do is help you out in the few ways that I can.”
Teela didn’t really know what to say so she clamped her lips together. Ross set her down gently on the bed after he’d peeled the quilt and crisp sheets back. He slipped them over her. The bed was soft and the sheets were cool and felt like heaven against her heated skin.
“I’ll bring you some water and mint. I’m sure mom has a bag of them in the cupboard. I can’t imagine the aftertaste you have going on is very good.”
“Ugh, it’s really not.”
“When does it- you know… normally stop?”
“I hope it tapers off in
a month. For some people it does. For others, they aren’t so lucky. Some women are sick throughout their whole pregnancy.”
“Are you kidding?”
“I wish I was.” Teela closed her eyes. She let her whole body relax into the bed and it was sooooo good. “I’m lucky though. I feel pretty good and then it just sneaks up on me but I’m usually fine in an hour or less. Some women feel sick all day or throw up constantly. Mine is pretty sporadic. Sometimes I go for days with just like, heartburn to complain about.”
“It sounds awful.”
“It only gets worse. I can’t wait until I’m the size of a house.” Her voice had that soft mushy tone that said that she really wouldn’t mind it too much. Really, she didn’t. She’d wanted this. She’d dreamt for years of a baby. So, pregnancy wasn’t always roses and unicorns and all that, but that was okay. Like Ross said, she was making a life and that was truly amazing. Puking was a small price to pay.
Ross’ fingers grazed down her arm gently, so gently she almost didn’t feel them. She’d closed her eyes and it was a battle to open them because they were suddenly so heavy, so she didn’t. She heard his footsteps retreat out of the room and she tried so hard not to drift off like a complete ninny, in his parent’s guest bedroom when she already had the strikes of being pretty much a stranger and a stranger who let their son eat her out on his couch while the place burned down around them, but the bed was just too darn nice. It felt like that sinkhole she’d been wishing for and she let it take her off into sweet dark oblivion.
CHAPTER 17
Teela
The craziest thing about being pregnant? The super vivid pregnancy dreams. No one warned Teela that the dreams would be so real. Or so good. Or that she’d wake up, tense and sweaty, her body craving the one thing she told herself she’d never need again.
As her breath evened out and her heart stopped racing, Teela slowly became aware that maybe the dream wasn’t just a dream.
