by Nora Heat
I take the pregnancy stick out of the toilet paper and point to the pink lines. This is no joke. This is serious.
He can only stare at it, mouth slightly ajar, shoulders tense.
“Please say something,” I plead.
“I . . . well, shit, Naomi. Pregnant?”
I nod and he drags a rough hand over his face. “Fuck, I guess I should have seen this one coming,” he laughs.
“I know it’s not what you wanted! I promise I took the Plan B and I started my pills right away! God — I’m so fucking scared! Dad is going to find out eventually and I don’t know what to say —”
“Whoa, baby, calm down.” Dom comes closer to me, holding my shoulders. Our eyes connect and I calm down, only a little.
“What are we going to do?”
“We have to tell him before he finds out himself.”
“I-I don’t think I have the courage to tell him.”
“You won’t be alone,” he sighs. “We’re going to tell him. Together.”
“Together?”
“Yes.”
“But, he’ll hate you, Dom. He may even try to hurt you. He’ll never speak to you again.”
He pulls away, looking elsewhere. “Then I guess he’ll just have to hate me or hurt me, Naomi, cause there’s no way I’m letting you raise a baby by yourself. And there’s no way in hell I’m letting you get rid of my baby either. We did this. We knew what we were doing. I won’t let you go through this alone.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I thought he would completely flip out and shout at me — or worse, tell me to get rid of it.
“You want to . . . keep it?”
“Fuck yes, we’re keeping it.” He wraps his arms around me, and I sink into his warm body. I love when he holds me and kisses my forehead. I feel protected. “That’s my baby in your belly. No one is taking that away from me. I’ll face my consequences, but you aren’t leaving my side.”
“He’s going to yell at me. I already know it.”
“He may do some yelling, but you are still his daughter. I know Barry. He’ll be disappointed in you for a while, but he’ll come around. You’re his little girl. You’ll need him, and you’ll definitely need your mother.”
“But what about you?”
He releases me and shrugs. “He may never come around when it comes to me, and that’s fine. I brought this on myself the day I made you mine.”
I don’t know why, but I blush way too hard. My entire body rushes with heat. “When should we tell them?” I ask.
“Tonight. The sooner, the better.”
I am freaking the fuck out. Dom pulls into our driveway, parks the car, and then looks over at me, squeezing my hand.
I mesh my lips together and look back at where Hannah is sitting. She smiles at me, and something about her tiny smile comforts me. She loves me, and if she can love me, so can my own baby.
I just don’t think I’m ready for this.
I’ve never thought about having one of my own.
Dom steps out of the car first and goes for Hannah. I follow his lead, and when he has her, I walk to the door, ready to get this over with. I can hear my pulse whooshing in my ears, my hands all sticky and sweaty.
Dad is going to kill me.
I unlock the door with my key and the TV is on. And there he is, sitting in his favorite recliner. He’s got a beer in his hand, which is a good thing sometimes. When he drinks, he’s much more lenient than when he’s sober.
“Oh, hey, Omi. Back already?” He looks behind me, at Dom following my trail. Dad stands up when he sees Dom and Hannah, his face confused. “What’s up, Dom? What are you doing here?”
When Dad comes closer, I forget how tall and buff he actually is. Mom steps around the corner with an apron on. “Naomi? I thought you were going to hang out with Julia today.”
I shake my head. “Mom, you should come and sit.” She frowns but doesn’t hesitate. She sits down on the loveseat with a perplexed expression.
“Dad, you should sit too. Dom and I have something we need to talk to you guys about.”
“Well, what is it?” Dad asks. “Is something wrong with Hannah? Wait — is he firing you?”
He glowers at Dom.
“No, Dad! It’s not like that! Just sit please, and promise you’ll be calm when we tell you.”
Dad is caught off guard by my demand. Warily, he steps back, and takes the seat right beside Mom.
“What is this about, sweetie?” Mom asks, blinking quickly.
I glance over at Dom who comes closer to me, Hannah still in one arm. He uses his free hand to grab mine and as soon as he does, Mom and Dad’s eyes drop down to our hands. Mom’s jaw drops, but Dad’s eyebrows stitch together and his mouth forms into a solid line.
“What the fuck is going on here, Dom?” he booms, and shoots to a stand. I can tell he wants to attack Dom before he can even get answers, but with Hannah in his arms, he won’t do it.
“Barry, you know we are good friends, all right? You’re my best friend and you’ve always been good to me. You and Cathy.” He looks at Mom who, I believe, already knows what he’s about to say. “But your daughter is pregnant, and she’s pregnant with my baby.”
There is a thick, uncomfortable silence that hits us hard. The house is so quiet, I can hear the dryer running past the kitchen.
“I will fucking kill you, Dom!” Dad roars. I flinch as he starts to come for us, but Mom jumps in his way, and forces him back.
“Stop it, Barry!” she shouts.
“I know this looks bad,” Dom continues. “There is no explanation for what I did with Naomi. After Annie left, shit just got hard and everything became unclear. But the only thing that was clear to me was Naomi, and how she was helping me get through the hard times with Hannah. She was there for me and I relied on her more than I thought I would. She took better care of me than Annie ever did. We did things, yeah, and I regretted it at first because of our friendship. I value our friendship so much, but I don’t regret falling in love with your daughter, B. She saved me. She took care of Hannah. She had my back. She was there for me, and I’m never going to forget that.”
Dad’s seething comes to a stop. We are all caught off guard.
I look up at Dom. “You’re in love with me?” I ask, voice soft.
“Yes, I’m in love with you. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I don’t want you going through this alone.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Mom steps closer to me, holding my face in her hands. Tears immediately burn my eyes when she does. “Why didn’t you just come to me, honey? You know you can talk to me about anything.”
“I was ashamed, Mom. He’s Dad’s best friend and he’s your friend too. I didn’t want it to ruin things. But, Dad,” I say, looking over her shoulder, “…this was my choice too. He didn’t force me to do anything with him. It was mutual, so you can’t be angry with him. It just . . . happened. Things happen.”
Dad glares at me, but even harder at Dom. He steps around Mom and charges toward us.
“Dad!” I scream, but it’s too late. Dad is in front of Dom in a flash, his fist in the air, coming down hard and slamming into Dom’s face.
Dom stumbles back, holding his now bloody mouth. Mom and me gasp, our eyes wide. I take a big step away, holding onto Hannah, pressing her forehead to my shoulder so she doesn’t see her daddy bleeding.
Dom picks his head up, looking at Dad.
“I don’t give a damn if it was mutual or if you were both on acid! It was fucked up, Dom, and you know it!” Dad turns around and storms out of the living room, stomping through the kitchen and knocking one of the stools at the counter over.
Mom steps forward, pursing her lips together as she focuses on him. “Are you okay?” she asks Dom.
“I’m good,” Dom answers, but I can tell he’s struggling to hold the pain.
“Let him cool down and give him time to let it sink in. I’ll grab you some ice and a towel.” She walks to the kitchen and I step cl
oser to Dom, rubbing his shoulder.
“I’m so sorry,” I murmur.
“Nah,” he says, working his jaw and wiping his mouth with the back of his arm. “I saw that one coming. I deserved that.”
Mom returns with an ice pack and a white towel, handing it to Dom. “It is wrong,” she says upon her return, “but you are a good man, Dom, and I know you will take good care of my daughter, just as she has taken care of yours.”
Dom nods. “I will never let anything happen to her, Cathy. That’s my promise to you.”
She nods and then turns, reeling me and Hannah in for a tight hug. “You’re still going to finish college,” she titters over my shoulder, but I know she’s serious.
A laugh bubbles out of me. “I know, Mom. I know.”
“This is going to change a lot of things. Having a baby isn’t easy.”
That, I definitely know.
When she pulls away, she extends her arms for Hannah. “Come on, sweet girl! Come help me finish making lunch!”
Hannah nearly jumps into her arms and they take off, leaving Dom and me alone.
“Well . . . at least he didn’t give you a beat down from hell,” I joke, touching his jaw.
He winces and then sighs, wiping his mouth with the towel. “I’m going to go talk to him alone. You go hang with your mother and Hannah. She seems okay with it, but she’ll have to get used to the idea of us together too. It’ll be tough.”
I wrap my arms around him. “Are you sure you want to go alone? I don’t want him to hit you again.”
“It’ll be fine. If he really wanted to beat my ass, he would have done it by now.”
I stand on my toes, kissing his sore jaw. “Thank you for doing this, Dom. Stepping up and owning it.”
He tips my chin and kisses me on the lips. “I’ll do anything for you, Naomi. Always.”
Chapter Fourteen
Dominic
I walk through the garage door with a beer in each hand, eyeing Barry as he paces in front of the square poker table. He looks at me through the corner of his eye, slowing his pace.
“Brought you beer, man.” I lift a bottle. “It’s not capped — don’t wanna let too much of the air get out, right?”
He stops pacing, hands on his hips. I sigh, walking to the table and placing the beers on top of them.
“Look, Barry . . . I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” he spits. “Yeah, you should be fucking sorry. That’s my daughter, Dom! My daughter! You were never supposed to put your fucking hands on her that way!”
“I know I wasn’t. I won’t make up any excuses about it. What happened, happened.”
His nostrils flare up. “It’s taking everything in me not to flip this table and beat you into the ground.”
“If that’s what you need to do to accept this, then do it.” His glare is hard, brows furrowed, lips pinched tight. Several seconds later, he drops his arms to grip the edge of the table.
“Shit,” he curses.
I take a small step forward. “I’m not going to stay away from her, B. I’m not going to let her feel like she’s in this alone. I know she’ll always be your little girl — always — but as long as she’s carrying that baby — my baby — she’s my responsibility. I’ll take care of her.”
He sighs heavily, stepping closer to me. For a moment, I think he’s going to punch my ass again, especially when he lifts his hand, but instead he reaches around me, grabbing one of the beers. He stares me in the eyes before stepping back and taking a long sip.
I pick mine up, taking a bigger swallow, even though it hurts like fuck to do.
“I can tell she’s always liked you,” he admits after a brief silence. “Admired you. I just thought it was a phase and it would pass once she got to college and was surrounded by boys her . . . age.”
I look him over. “You know I love her, right, Barry? It’s not just . . . physical. I care about Naomi.”
“I know. That’s what makes it harder, I guess. I assumed you always saw her as your own child, like I see Hannah. Not as . . . this.”
I nod, looking at my beer bottle. “I will never hurt her. I’ll be there. And even when she feels like giving up, I’ll make sure she never does. She’ll finish school. She’ll be taken care of. I won’t pull her away from you. I know that’s any father’s greatest fear, but I won’t let that happen.”
He nods. “Good. I don’t want any awkward shit,” he chuckles, and I laugh with him.
“There won’t be. It will take some adjusting and getting used to at first, but the awkwardness will pass eventually, I hope.”
He lets out a long, weary sigh, and then holds his bottle up. “Eventually.” I clink my bottle with his. “I pray it does, man. But just know if you ever hurt her, Dom, I’ll come for you. Best friend or not.”
I laugh. “Oh, I know you will, that’s why I’m promising you now that I won’t fuck up and I won’t do her wrong. I know what kind of hell you can cause. I’ve been a witness to that shit.”
He raises a brow. “It might be a tough fight. I remember the fights you got into when we were in the navy, but let’s hope it never comes down to that.” He takes a swig of his beer. “Just promise me she’ll be okay.”
“She will,” I tell him, and I mean it. “You have my word.”
Chapter Fifteen
Naomi
Three months later, Dom and I are at the clinic to find out the sex of our baby. I don’t know which one of us is more nervous. He’s nervous because if it’s another girl, he’ll be surrounded by them. I don’t care what the sex is. I just hope the baby is healthy.
“I’m not sure I can handle another one,” he teased last week while we lay in his bed and he rubbed my belly.
We’re called back in no time and Dom sits to my right while the nurse tells me to lay down and lift my blouse. She dims the lights, squirts the blue gel on my stomach, pulls out the ultrasound wand, and then presses it on my belly.
We look at the black and white screen as she lowers the wand, and when she stops, that’s when I see it.
Two little legs and a little nub in between it.
“Oh, my gosh!” I laugh, looking over at Dom and squeezing his hand.
“Can you tell what it is?” the nurse asks with a grin.
“A boy,” I sigh.
“Yes!”
“Holy shit.” Dom huffs a laugh. “I guess if you wish hard enough for something, it comes true!”
I laugh when he kisses my forehead.
When we’re in the car, I ask him, “I know we’ve talked about it before, but did you give more thought to a name for him?”
He reaches over to rub my stomach. “Dominic Jr.”
“A junior, huh?” I scrunch my nose up, teasing. “So old school.”
He laughs. “Old school or not, he’ll be just like his dad.”
We make our way to my parent’s house, walking to the door hand-in-hand.
When we’re inside, Hannah is sitting on a blanket on the floor with Mom. Dad is in his recliner watching the news.
As soon as Mom sees us, she stops playing with Hannah and picks her up. “So?” she asks, eyes wide, begging for details. “What is it?”
Dom and me look at each other. “It’s a boy.”
“Oh my goodness! That’s great! Isn’t that great, Barry?” Mom asks, spinning around to look at Dad.
He stands up, nodding with a sigh. “Finally a little rascal we can get into sports.” I smile at Dad. I know he’s still warming up to the idea of me having a kid, but the light in his eyes isn’t easy to miss. He’s excited too. He’s always wanted a boy. Mom told me he’d bought blue paint for my nursery before he found out my gender because he just knew I was going to be a boy. To say he was disappointed would be an understatement. What made it worse was swapping the blue paint for pink. He steps up to me, kissing my forehead. “You’ll make a good mother, Omi.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“You hear that, Hannah? You’re going to have a ba
by brother!” Mom chimes, holding her in the air as she giggles, kicking her feet as Mom lifts her up and down.
I’m so glad they are beginning to accept this.
Chapter Sixteen
Dominic
We get home close to 7:30 and Naomi takes Hannah up to her nursery, gets her changed to pajamas, and rocks her to sleep.
She comes to the bedroom, exhausted, flopping down on the bed. “God, I’ve never felt so tired,” she groans.
“Rest, babe.” I lay beside her. “You have to save your energy.”
“What are we gonna do when I go back to school?”
“You’ll study, like you’re supposed to. I’ll come up to see you a few times a week, have Cathy watch Hannah for me.”
She smiles. “I like how that sounds.”
I press my thumb to her chin. “Like I said, you won’t go through this alone.”
“I’m glad.” She holds my face. “I love you, Dom. I’m happy to give you a boy.”
“I’m just happy to know you’re healthy, babe.” I kiss my way down, over her chest, down to her belly.
“Dom,” she calls when I pull her skirt down. “What are you doing?”
“Shh. Just relax,” I murmur, pulling her panties to the side.
“Dom,” she calls, giggling when I pull her skirt down.
It’s already too late. I push her legs apart and gently roll my tongue over her clit. I don’t know how, but she tastes even sweeter than before.
“Oh, Dom,” she moans as I run my tongue up and down. She squeezes a fistful of my hair, guiding me where she wants me to go. My tongue swirls up and down and she bucks gently, holding me tight. Her hips tilt up and I finish her off, making her cry out just enough for me to hear.
I push up on my elbows, looking up at her as she looks down at me. “What if told you I want to marry you one day?” I ask, stretching my arm up to cup her face.
She smiles. “I’d tell you I’d love that.”
