by Casey Diam
“It feels weird that Ash and Averie are at school,” I said, taking a sip from my drink as Gabby ate the last fry on her plate.
“I know. It makes me feel old.”
I laughed. “Don’t let older people hear you say that.”
“It does though.” She pouted. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, I’m going to be filling in for her at Darlene’s while she and Ash are in California for the summer. I’m going to miss them, but I’m also glad about the position.”
Her job at the Lu Mountain Resort Ski School had been temporary.
I placed my arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead, wanting to do so much more. I’d been sporting a semi since the airport, and fuck, the whole town would be seeing my package if I didn’t get her alone soon.
“You’re going to be fine. They’re only going to be gone for like two months.”
“I know, but she’s my best friend.”
“You have other friends.”
“Yeah, mostly guys.” She looked at me. “I mean, if you want me to hang out with them more . . .”
“No, forget your other friends.”
She chuckled. “That’s what I thought, but Nicky will be around until she leaves for college, and I guess I have my stupid brothers at home.”
“I’ve made it so hard on you, haven’t I?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve gotten used to their company, that’s all, but I still do my own thing from time to time, and since the weather got nicer, I’ve been going on hikes. I’ve already told you about my jogs.”
After being constantly physically active most of her life, I knew she would have had a hard time just resting when she wasn’t working, but as long as it was okay for the baby, I wasn’t complaining, because God damn, she was hot as fuck.
“Let’s take a pic.” I’d wanted one for my social media and I always forgot. Gabby wasn’t big on social media. She was more of a live in the moment kind of person and had even stopped doing the vlog she’d started for her Olympics journey. Recently, though, she’d been liking all my pictures and posting more, which I kind of figured was Averie’s influence.
She wrapped an arm around my bicep and leaned her head on my shoulder, sticking out her tongue as I clicked on the camera.
“Oh wait, Averie said the tongue thing is a vibe,” she said.
I clicked on the video to add a story. “What do you mean?”
“Like . . . you know.” She stuck her tongue out and made a sound. I grinned and touched the tip of my tongue to hers.
“Hey,” she said, pulling back, but I followed her, kissing her cheek.
I typed out: “Every time I see her,” and started to mess with the filters.
“You’re putting that up?” she asked.
“Yeessss. Why?”
“Nothing.” She smiled. “I like it.”
“Cool.”
“What do you want to do next?”
“I don’t know. It’s kind of warm out today, so whatever you want to do. I can save my going to Alpen Springs High to get my friends in trouble for another day.”
“Well, you could come over to my place.”
“To the scene of the crime?” I teased, knowing exactly where and how she’d gotten pregnant. I combed a hand through my hair. “I don’t know if I’m welcome there, Bunny.”
“Dad was just mad, and I think he’s getting over it. I sort of mentioned your idea—well, I made it seem like my own, but I told him that I wanted to see if I could try to get a spot after I have the baby.”
“What! You’re thinking about it?” My chest swelled.
“Yes, but I don’t want to jinx it, so I’m kind of keeping it on the down low.”
“Gabby, fuck,” I chuckled. “I’m rooting for you. Seriously, I know you can do it. And it’s no pressure or anything, it’s just that, you’re an amazing athlete, I’ve always known that, but if you do this—” I shook my head. “It’s going to be insanely fucking gnarly, and even if you end up not doing it, you’re still incredible for even thinking about it.” I leaned back against the seat with a smirk. “So, that’s what that glow is.”
“What glow? Why does everyone keep saying that? I don’t have a glow.”
I took in her pink lips, sparkling blue eyes, and radiant sun-kissed skin. “Yes, you do. You’re giving off this—” Sex appeal. I cleared my throat. “You look more beautiful than when I last saw you in person. Like you’re making my mouth fucking water, and I just want to fuck you.”
Her pupils dilated. “Probably because I’ve been so freaking horny,” she whispered.
“Really?”
“Yes, and now that you know, I should tell you that’s also why I am trying to get you to my house . . . no one’s home. Mom doesn’t get off work until three thirty, and my brothers are probably off smoking pot with Tyler somewhere.”
“Why didn’t you say so?”
Her head slanted. “I just did.”
My cock was so fucking hard, and even though I normally didn’t care, I knew I’d be giving the few people in the restaurant a show if I got up because there was a huge difference between walking around with a semi, and rock-hard erection ready for some much-needed action with my girlfriend.
“Give me a second,” I said, adjusting my dick. Her eyes followed my movement, and as she bit her lip, I almost groaned.
Ah, fuck that isn’t helping.
“Okay, come on.”
We tried to walk casually out of the restaurant, but I wasn’t sure if we did or we just looked like we were dining and dashing. Either way, once we were inside the vehicle, our lips connected, and we couldn’t stop kissing.
We managed to gain some sort of control a few minutes later, enough to get us to her place and lock ourselves in her room for my much-needed Gabby time.
Chapter 43
Gabby
“I can’t believe you still have that Nirvana poster,” Ryker said, staring at my bedroom wall.
We were still in my bed, all wrapped up in each other and the intimacy we’d been craving for months.
“Why wouldn’t I still have it?” I smiled at the poster. “I love it.”
“Since you’d been mad at me for so long, I thought you would have gotten rid of it by now.”
It had been hidden inside my closet for years, and it was probably a month before I’d approached him that I’d put it back up.
“Well, if you look closely, you’ll see a crease or two in it.”
His chest vibrated against my cheek as he chuckled.
“You crushed it! Wow, I could see you doing that too.”
I giggled. “Shut up.” His fingers combed through my hair and scratched at my scalp, causing me to shiver.
“I was thinking of asking if you wanted to get an apartment together in Oklahoma since I have to go back early for training in the summer. But now that you’re thinking about the Olympics again, it sounds like we need to figure out a new plan.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know if I can be without you for that much longer. I want you to have your dream, but it’s so fucking hard, and once you have the baby, I’ll just be there without either of you. It’ll be football season, and I won’t have the time to come here.”
I’d thought about that too, but I would need to stay here to train.
“I wish I could do both, but I would need to stay here where I’ll have help with the baby so I have time to train.” I peered up at him as my fingers trailed over his pecs. “It’s only for a few more months.” I adjusted, moving up his chest so I could kiss him. “The NFL is a long stretch from now, but if I can get a spot and place at the Olympics, it could be the start we need so that our baby can get anything that he or she might need without us having to ask for help.”
He sighed. “I know exactly what you mean, and I want you to have everything you ever wanted, but it doesn’t make it any easier for me to be away from you or the baby.”
The distance was hard on me too, but in order to make the best o
ption for us and this baby, this was something I needed to do, and I was also hoping that it was the right decision.
There was no way I was going to let him drop out of college and give up his dreams or future for us. I couldn’t bear that weight.
Not sure what else I could say, I leaned down and kissed him. He returned my kisses, one light peck after the other until our tongues entangled.
“It’s a boy,” the doctor smiled.
I looked at Ryker, who was grinning from ear to ear.
He might not have been there all the time, but I was glad he was for the ones that mattered. In these moments, he was everything I could have asked for and more.
“A little mini me, huh? Should I apologize now?”
“Why?” I asked.
“For all the headaches. He’s probably going to be a lot to handle like me.”
“Then he’s going to be perfect.” I pointed out.
His face flushed, and he squeezed my hand.
We might have been best friends before, but there was something magical about him being really mine, and this baby boy that was ours.
Chapter 44
Gabby
While Ryker and I had spent a lot of much-needed time together, the days and weeks got tougher after that.
By the third week of him being away, the calls and text started to come in less often.
At first, it was a missed day or two, but it had gotten to the point where we would go days without speaking, and even then, I was the one who would initiate that text or phone call.
It was the end of July, and Averie would be back in Alpen Springs, and I couldn’t wait to see her because I was a mess and I needed her to talk me off this cliff. I was freaking out and needed her to tell me everything would be fine. Because while there was no ignoring the fact that I was seven months pregnant, my focus had shifted to staying in shape. My thought was that if Ryker didn’t want me anymore, I would still be able to stand on my own two feet and support myself and the baby.
At around three p.m. as I was almost done changing out of my comfy shorts and oversized T-shirt into my denim jumpsuit with a small black T-shirt beneath, the sound of gravel crunching outside my house had my heart rate kick up a notch. Buttoning the strap to the front of the jumpsuit, I left my hair up in a messy bun, hurried to the front door, and stuffed my feet into my trainers.
Opening the door, I walked out and saw my best friend jumping out of her car with pink hair, a ruffled white crop top, and cut-out jeans, the amazing time she had in California with Ash clearly shining through her.
Her arms extended as she ran up to me. “Hey! Oh my God, you look so cute,” Averie shrieked.
I hugged her the crap out of her. “God, I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” She leaned back and looked down. “And the baby, oh my gosh! I can’t believe you went MIA online, and I didn’t get to see this. I think Baby Stanley is ready to come out already.”
“I wish, we still have three more months to go,” I said, resting my hand on my belly. “I love your hair like this, it suits you.” She’d also cut it so the wavy curls she’d made with her iron stopped at the base of her neck.
“Thank you!” She pointed at her hair. “I think this is as wild as it gets in my world now.”
“What did Ash say?” I asked.
“Oh, you must have missed it on my story, it was so funny.” She touched my arm. “We can go take a seat—”
“No, I’m fine. Let’s go for a walk down the road. It feels like I’ve been sitting around all day.”
“Okay,” she said, turning so we could head down the driveway. “Anyway, he literally had no idea since he was at a photo shoot all day, but he loved it, still can barely keep his hands out of it.” She chuckled. “But enough about me. You look hot! How much have you been working out, I bet your baby bump has abs.”
I laughed. “Shut up, it does not, and I’ve been doing a lot of walking and strength training, trying to take my mind off things, and I don’t know, working out makes me feel like I’m doing something.”
“How about Ryker, how are things between you two lovebirds? Is he going to make it to the baby shower?”
“I don’t know. I think he’s going to try.”
“Ugh, he better so your friend can do your maternity photoshoot.”
“I’m not looking forward to that. Is that bad? I hate dresses.”
“You don’t have to wear a dress, crazy.”
“Oh, well, all I saw were dress ones online.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I mean a lot of women prefer those gowns, I would, but I don’t see you as the gown type of person. Like I see you barefoot in distressed jeans like these.” She pointed to her legs. “With the top button open, and a bra on, so you’re showing off your baby bump, maybe even wearing one of Ryker’s white dress shirts kind of half on, I think that would be really cute, but also sexy.”
“Wow.” I smiled. “I love that idea.”
“See, what would you do without me?”
I chuckled. “I’d be lost, completely”
“Come on, there’s an opening in the trees here. Let’s take a picture. When was the last time Ryker saw you? You posted like one pic on Instagram the whole time I was gone, and it was a selfie.”
“I sent him one of my belly when I was lying down last week.”
“Oh my gosh, he needs to see all of you!”
I paused, biting my lip. “What if he—” I swallowed, resting a hand on my tummy. “What if he doesn’t like what he sees anymore?”
“What? G. Taylor. Are you insane? He loves you.”
“He hasn’t said it.”
“Have you?”
“No . . . I want to, but I don’t want to be the one to say it first.”
Sometimes, I felt like the words were on the tip of our tongues when we were saying good night, but neither one of us let them tip over our lips.
“Being away from him sucks,” I told her.
“I can only imagine. Honestly, I don’t know how you do it. I can’t even be away from Ash for a day. I would go crazy.”
I sighed and pressed a hand to my forehead. “I am going crazy, and with the Olympic training, I’m going to be away from him that much longer, and I don’t want to be, but—” I shook my head, frustrated with our situation.
“Why don’t you go see him?”
“Because we can’t waste money like that. It’ll be harder if I go there since he lives in the dorms. We’ll end up paying for a hotel or Airbnb. Plus, he’s going to be coming here soon.”
“Yeah, in like a month. Maybe you could go there for a few weeks, and come back with him for the shower and stay until Baby Stanley arrives.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Because maybe it is.” She winked and held up her camera. “Now, show me your good side.”
Chapter 45
Ryker
Fuck my life.
I dropped on top of my bed and immediately passed out, not waking back up until ten minutes before it was time to head out for my morning practice. Since games were starting a month from today, I had to take on as much at work as possible because, after they started, it would be back to depending on my art for income. My popularity had increased, but the income from my art still wasn’t enough.
Turning on the lamp, I grabbed my phone and did a quick video, showing my face and abs, typing ‘a little morning motivation.’ Within seconds, I started getting likes and comments. Even though I did these daily posts and stories on my social media for the attention, it was all to stay relevant as my business was online, and I needed to grow my following that had already increased by forty thousand since college.
I went to Gabby’s profile and saw that she hadn’t posted any new pictures, but I still clicked on the older ones. Something about seeing her and the baby bump gave me all the energy I needed to keep pushing.
I slid into her DMs.
Me: Morning, beautiful.
I knew she was stil
l asleep, but she’d see it later.
“Dude, are you still in your work clothes?” Trey, my roommate for this semester, mumbled, still mostly asleep. The only thing I’d had the energy to strip off was my shirt.
“Yeah,” I said, getting up and rubbing a hand over my face before unbuckling my pants. I dropped them in the full basket of dirty clothes and opened my dresser drawer for my last pair of workout shorts.
“Damn, I don’t know how you do it. I’m tired as shit just training, and with classes starting? Boy, you’re going to burn out if you don’t slow down.”
“I’m good, I’m only working at the store for a few more weeks.”
I knew something would have to give before then, and that something would be the extra one-hour training sessions I did outside of the two a day with the team. Even though it was something I needed to do to have that edge above my peers, I’d need to stop for at least two weeks while I wrapped up my job at the store in preparation for the season.
I spent most of the day at the library, working on a few designs I’d wanted to finish for my clients, and on my way back to the dorms, I ran into Ashley, my ex-roommate’s friend.
“I didn’t know you were back on campus,” I said.
She fell into step with me. “Yeah, I just got back. I was actually going to come see you. Liam said you wanted to talk to me about something.”
“Yeah, he said you were the photo expert in the group for that storm chaser thing you guys do, and I’m going to need a photographer in the coming weeks.”
“For?”
“A clothing line.”
Her head cocked. “What?”
I chuckled. “I’m a designer, remember? Anyway, I’ve doing some custom projects for people, but I’ve been developing a brand, and I want to open an online store. It’s in the works, and I’m going to get the samples soon, which means I’m going to need a professional photographer to take some pics of my friends and I wearing the products for the social media marketing and launch.”
