by Nikki Ryan
“You don’t look well. Why are you here? You should be in bed,” he said.
She didn’t respond at first and placed the box into the basket. Sam looked at her growing belly. She was much farther along than Alyssa but pregnancy really didn’t suit Carmen. He estimated that she had gained at least sixty extra pounds and her face was now riddled with acne.
“I guess you know by now that the baby isn’t yours.”
Sam nodded.
“Where is the father? Why isn’t he taking care of you right now?”
“When I told him the news he was less than ecstatic. That’s when I learned that he had a wife and three kids. He didn’t want us. Lucky me.” She rubbed her belly gently. He didn’t want to feel sorry for her after her lies but he did. She looked so sad.
“Carmen. Why did you make that ridiculous claim about me? You know I didn’t assault you.”
She looked like she was about to cry again. Instead she lowered her head and quickly skirted around him. Sam watched as she checked out at the register.
He didn’t bother to chase after her. She obviously was in no mood to talk. And he wasn’t going to push it. She had obviously made some big mistakes that she was now paying for. Besides, he had a woman at home who needed him to take care of her. He grabbed the medication that he went there for, and a bottle of Gatorade, ginger ale and saltines before checking out.
He brought the two pills along with a glass of ginger ale in to Alyssa who now had all three blankets wrapped around her so she looked like one big sausage in the middle of the bed. He placed the items in his hand on the night stand and peeked under the blankets to see her face.
She looked at him with a glazed stare.
“Still cold?” She nodded. He felt her head and cheeks and she was still very hot. He went into the bathroom and found the thermometer and took her temperature. Alyssa’s OB had told him that a high fever at this point in her pregnancy wouldn’t harm the baby so he wasn’t to worry. Nevertheless, Sam worried. His girl didn’t feel good.
After a few minutes, he pulled the glass stick out of her mouth and read the mercury marker. 102. He definitely wanted to lower that number.
“Honey. Let’s get you unraveled,” he said.
“No.”
He walked over to his dresser and stripped out of his uniform to put on sweats and a tee shirt. Then started pulling the blankets out from under her with her protesting wildly as she tried to rip the blankets from his grip.
“Alyssa. I want to give you some medicine that will make you feel better, then I’m getting in with you to keep you warm. So please, stop fighting me.”
Her body stilled as she allowed him to make the bed. He snuggled in beside her after she had taken her meds. She wound herself around him tightly leaving him little options for movement.
Her shivers finally dissipated after a half hour of them lying there. He listened to her soft snores as he held her until sleep finally took him as well.
When they woke, they were both drenched in sweat. Alyssa’s fever had broken.
Sam looked down at her. Her eyes still glazed over but she looked a lot better than she had two hours ago.
“How are you feeling?”
“A little better. My body still aches though.”
“Do you want me to draw you a warm bath?”
She nodded. When the water was at the level Alyssa liked, he undressed her and helped her into the bath.
“I want you in here too.”
“I was going to take a quick shower then fix us something to eat.”
She nodded. He saw the disappointment on her face.
“Scoot forward.” She followed his direction and sank into him once he had lowered his body behind hers. She reached for his hands and brought them around to rest on her midsection.
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
Sam softly massaged her belly and kissed her temple.
“Pleasure is all mine, princess.”
Alyssa was definitely looking better after having eaten the soup and grilled cheese he had made for her after their bath. He had instructed her to lay on the couch and watch TV while he made their bed with clean sheets. To play it safe, he washed the blankets one at a time in hot water before placing them back onto the bed. He hoped like hell he didn’t get sick.
Chapter Fifteen
“Geez. Did they invite the entire City of Boston to dinner?” Alyssa asked. Sam had turned into his parent’s driveway and was looking for a place to park. He was under strict orders from his mother that he was not to breathe a word about the baby shower that she was throwing for Alyssa. They had used the dinner as a ruse. Of course, his mother couldn’t doing anything half-assed.
It really did look like the entire city was here.
“You know Mom. She’s kind of crazy.”
Alyssa smiled. “Yea. She kind of is.”
Sam couldn’t find a place to park near the house so he drove back down the driveway and parked behind the last car off the side.
“Looks like we’re going for a hike,” Sam said and turned off the ignition.
They walked up to the house, their fingers linked together. Sam reached for the door, smiled at Alyssa and pushed it open.
“Surprise!” everyone shouted.
Alyssa’s free hand went to her chest. “Holy cow! I wasn’t prepared for that,” she said.
Sylvia ran up to Alyssa and drew her into an embrace.
“It’s a baby shower, dear. You’re girlfriend Kat helped me with everything. She’s just wonderful, that girl.”
“Kat’s here?”
“Yes ma’am, I am.” Kat walked up and hugged her best friend.
“Come.” Sylvia brought Alyssa into the living room. Kat’s entire family was there and her colleagues from work. She recognized the guys Sam was talking to and assumed the women standing next to each of them were their wives. Kat’s mother walked over to Alyssa and hugged her.
“Hello, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”
“Hi, Diane. I feel great actually.” Her hand went to her belly.
“That’s wonderful, Alyssa. We miss you, you know.”
“I’m sorry.”
Kat brushed the apology away with her hand. “Oh don’t be, Lys. Kat has been filling us in on everything. Robert and I couldn’t be happier for you.”
“Thanks, Diane. I love you both so much.”
“Hey, Lys. Come here. I’d like to introduce you to these lovely ladies.” Alyssa broke contact with Diane who winked at her. She made her way through the crowd, stopping to talk and kiss people on the way. Sam placed his arm around her shoulders when she reached him.
“Ladies, this is my beautiful girlfriend and soon–to–be mother of my child, Alyssa.”
The four women smiled at Alyssa. Sam used his beer as a pointer as he introduced each lady. “This is Jesse’s girlfriend, Shelley.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Alyssa said, shaking her hand.
“Likewise. I never thought in a million years we’d be at Sam’s baby shower. Amazing.” They all laughed. Sam introduced the rest of his colleagues significant others. Alyssa stayed and chatted with them for a bit then excused herself to find Kat. She found her in the kitchen with Sylvia pulling dishes out of the refrigerator and placing them on the table buffet style.
“It smells delicious in here.” Alyssa walked over to the crock pot and lifted the lid. “Are these your bourbon meatballs, Kat?”
“Uh huh.”
“Sylvia, have you tried these yet?” Alyssa grabbed a fork from the table and stabbed a meatball. She brought it to her mouth and blew on it.
“Close that lid, missy,” Kat spanked her playfully which almost made her meatball lose its connection to the fork. Alyssa popped it into her mouth and moaned as she chewed the delicious bourbon and brown sugar flavored morsel.
Kat and Sylvia laughed at Alyssa as they watched her practically have an orgasm over a meatball.
“I need a fork. Where’s a for
k?” Sylvia asked, searching the kitchen for a utensil. Kat handed her one from the table and grabbed a meatball from the pot. After a minute of letting it cool down, she too popped it into her mouth and moaned as she chewed. Just then, Diane walked in.
Can I help with anything?” She looked at Sylvia then looked at Kat. “Bourbon meatballs?” Kat nodded her head with a smile.
“Told you.” Alyssa smirked. “They’re heavenly.”
“You’re crazy,” Kat said, shaking her head.
Connor poked his head in.
“Oh. Hey, Kat.”
“Ass hat.” Connor shook his head and looked at his mother.
“The crowd is getting hungry. When’s chow time?”
“Tell them it’ll be a few minutes.”
The three of them got to work setting out the food. Alyssa had never seen such an awesome spread. Besides the meatballs, there were heaping amounts of pasta with marinara, garden salad boasting every color of the rainbow in vegetables, tangerine shrimp, Vegetable lo-Mein, bread and butter, and rolled sliced roast beef and cheese. Leave it to Sylvia to think of everything and make sure that everyone would find something that they’d enjoy. Alyssa immediately felt overjoyed with love at that moment and began to cry. The three ladies were immediately at her side.
“Oh, honey. Don’t cry,” Sylvia said. She hugged Alyssa and rubbed her back like a mother would to soothe her child.
“These are happy tears. This is just wonderful. Thank you so much.” Kat and Diane wrapped their arms around the two of them.
After a few moments, Kat broke away from the group hug. “We should call everybody into the kitchen.”
“That sounds good, dear. Would you do that for me?” Sylvia asked.
“Of course.” Kat disappeared into the living room. Not fifteen seconds later, people plowed through the door into the kitchen like they hadn’t eaten in a week. The kitchen was now at maximum capacity with a considerable increase in decibels as everyone conversed jovially with one and other as they went through the line loading their plates with the delicious spread in front of them.
Once the last of the plates had been cleared, Sylvia sat Sam and Alyssa together in front of the room with a myriad of gifts surrounding them.
Alyssa turned to Sam. “I love your mother.”
Sam smiled. “She loves you, Alyssa.” He linked their fingers together and brought her hand up to his lips where he placed a gentle kiss near her ring finger. Alyssa felt giddy. Was that just a coincidence or was he trying to send a message to her. She didn’t know. Time would tell.
Kat sat closest to Alyssa to record who bought what for the baby when she decided to sit down and write the many thank you cards.
Sam and Alyssa took turns opening gifts for the next hour and half. Sylvia and Diane walked around refilling beverages as the guests emptied them.
Alyssa lost count of how many times Connor looked Kat’s way that evening. Their eyes met a few times and Connor had turned bright red. Busted buddy. Alyssa made a mental note to discuss Connor and Kat with Sam. Perhaps it was time to help those two realize that they were meant for each other.
Once all the gifts had been opened, Sylvia brought out the cake. It was in the shape of a baby carriage and was at least one foot high. Alyssa wondered briefly if the “Cake Boss” in New Jersey made it. It looked like one of his masterpieces anyway. Of course, she certainly wouldn’t put it past Sylvia. So what if they lived in Boston.
They had so many gifts that only half fit into Sam’s BMW. His father packed the rest into his car and followed Sam and Alyssa to the new house to put everything upstairs in the baby’s room even though they wouldn’t be moving in until week after next. Sam still had two rooms and bathroom that needed painting and he didn’t want Alyssa living in the space inhaling paint fumes.
“I can’t believe it. Kat actually paid attention when we window shopped for baby items together. This is everything I wanted. Unbelievable.”
“Kat’s a great girl. You two are lucky to have each other. Now you just need a crib,” John said when he walked into the baby’s room balancing gifts in his arms. “And Sylvia and I want to buy that for you guys.”
Sam took the top two items from his father and they both deposited the gifts next to others on the floor.
“Sylvia told me,” Alyssa said.
“Damn that woman. She’s always stealing my thunder.” They all laughed.
Sam locked up as they exited the house for the night.
“Thanks for everything, Dad,” Sam said, hugging his father. “This party has been a huge help for us.”
“We love you two very much. I can’t begin to tell you how happy you’ve made your mother, Sam. She had given up on you.”
Sam covered his chest with his hand, faking heart ache. “That hurts.”
“Yea. Well. Let’s be honest, you weren’t in the market for love or at least your actions said that much.”
Alyssa laughed. “I’ll attest to that.”
Sam cringed remembering the thin wall between their two apartments. “Be nice, Lys.” Alyssa shrugged her shoulders in nonchalance. John laughed.
“Mom and I couldn’t have picked out a better woman for you.” He patted Sam on the back and got into his car. Sam and Alyssa did the same as John reversed out of the driveway.
“Did you happen to see Connor while we were opening gifts?”
“No, why?” Sam asked.
“I lost track of how many times he peeked at Kat. We need to do something.”
“No. Alyssa, we are not getting involved in their love life.”
“We’re not. We’re just going to gently push them into each other, so to speak.”
Sam looked at her with one brow raised. “And how do you propose we do that?”
Alyssa chewed on her fingernail as she thought about it.
“I’m not sure yet but it’s going to be epic.”
“Oh boy! Is that the pregnancy hormones talking or are you just going crazy on me?”
She tapped his arm gently. “That’s not nice.”
He took her hand in his. “I love you, my little matchmaker.”
“Love you too.”
Chapter Sixteen
Connor needed to say something to Kat. She’d been monopolizing his thoughts since he saw her at Sam and Alyssa’s house a couple of weeks ago. He thought about the weekend they had spent at the Cape.
He had first met her in the ER when he thought he had broken his ankle after an opposing player tried to steal the soccer ball from him but made contact with his ankle instead. She had been the nurse who took care of him from start to finish.
The ER had been so busy there weren’t enough partitioned rooms for every patient so there were gurneys against the wall in the hallway for the non-critical patients. He had been one of them.
Connor had been there for two hours but he didn’t mind. Because he was out in the open, he was able to watch her work. She was good. He especially liked it when she had bent over him and had given the straight on view of her perfect, tight ass. She worked fast and efficiently and certainly had a special gift when dealing with patients, even the crabby ones.
She worked alongside another nurse who was probably ten years older than Kat. It was obvious that she didn’t like Kat.
“What’s up with nurse Hatchett?” Connor asked when Kat brought an ice pack over for his ankle.
Kat rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. She didn’t like me the moment I stepped foot in this hospital.”
“She’s not as good as you, you know.”
Kat placed the icepack in position and met his stare.
“And what exactly do you know about nursing?” She raised a brow and smiled.
Her smile had done something to him that he had never felt before. He couldn’t put a finger on it. All he knew was that he wanted to make her smile more.
“Well. I’ve been sitting here for the past two hours watching you,” he said. “Nothing better to do,” he’d said when she r
aised her brow at him again.
“I see.”
“Well, you seem like you know what you’re doing. She doesn’t. And I’ve watched her go to that Doctor over there countless times batting her eyelashes. What’s up with that guy anyway? He’s a total dick.”
Kat threw her head back and she laughed out loud. Staff members close by stopped what they had been doing and looked over to see what was so funny.
Kat leaned in. “We all call him Dr. Dick. That’s so funny that you had him pegged so quickly.”
“Hard not to. He walks around this place like his dick is up his own ass.” Kat let out another laugh.
“I like you,” she’d said. “I’ll come back to get you when radiology is ready.”
“I’ll be here.” Then she smiled at him again. He was in love and he didn’t know what to do with that information. He did, however, manage to get her number that day. A few weeks after that, he gathered up his courage and called her, inviting her to a weekend beach getaway with him. She had accepted when he told her he rented a room with two beds.
He couldn’t believe his luck when they drove out of the city together; her sitting next to him in the passenger seat sifting through the music options.
“You have everything from The Eagles to country to Pit-bull,” she’d said.
“What’s wrong with that? I like to think that I’m well rounded.”
Kat slowly checked him out from top to bottom. “There’s nothing round about you,” she teased. Connor shifted in his seat when his pants began to feel too tight in the wrong places. Sensing this, she asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yes. Just dandy.” Connor knew right then that this woman would be the death of him. He had to have her. And soon. He prayed that she wasn’t a five date before sex kind of girl. They had checked in and immediately donned on their suits. Kat packed a bag with towels, the book she had recently borrowed from the library and suntan lotion. Connor removed two beach chairs from the trunk of his car and a cooler he had packed before they’d left. Together they walked over the knoll to the sandy beach. The smell of salty air had been intoxicating.
