"I know how to shut us up," I suggested, grasping onto her hips and pushing her towards her bedroom wall, my body pressing tightly against hers as I collided our lips together again. This time she actually kissed me back with just as much passion, letting her tongue gently slip inside my mouth and making my heart rate incline faster than as if I was running a marathon.
My hands roamed up her t-shirt, feeling her skin seem to get warmer the higher I lifted my palms. I found the back of her bra and toyed with the clip. As I fumbled to unclasp it, Annabel pulled away from me, letting out a faint sigh. "Stuart, no."
I rolled my lips over into a pout. "Babe, what's wrong?" I asked out of curiosity, begging her to open up to me more in an emotional way, not just begging to open up her bra for me.
She sat down onto the mattress, causing it to dip down a bit. I followed her actions, sitting down right next to her and keeping my eyes locked on her intently. Her tongue gently glided against the lips that drove me wild. "I don't know. I know I'm probably overreacting over this whole pregnancy scare, I just can't stop myself from being freaked out about the whole thing. And you being so sex crazed lately really isn't helping."
"Sex crazed?" I repeated in an incredulous tone, trying not to let my voice raise to an extreme volume.
Annabel nodded. "You nearly fingered me in front of our families at frickin' Christmas dinner!" She nearly shouted, before taking a deep breath and calming herself down. "Look, I don't mind all of this. I missed it and I missed you and I missed us. But this whole friends with benefits thing or whatever we have going on is just confusing me even more."
I picked up her hand, lacing it together with my own. My thumb carefully rubbed over her own, trying to soothe her with just a simple touch. "Okay, I'm sorry. I just can't help myself around you. We were apart for so long and now you're back and you still have feelings for me and it's like all a dream and I'm like touching you so much to figure out whether or not this is all real," I explained softly, not even believing that words as sappy as these were escaping my mouth. I knocked my knees against hers. "Plus I went that entire tour without getting laid, so I'm sorry my little friend got so excited."
She giggled, one of my favorite sounds to ever fill my eardrums. "Wait, you actually didn't sleep with anyone else? Not one single person even out of spite?"
I shook my head proudly. "Of course not. That would have felt so wrong. I was just always thinking about you. If I couldn't get you out of my head, how do you think I would let some other girl give me head?"
"Okay, you need to stop," Annabel ordered, burying her face into her palms to smother the sound of her chuckles.
I wrapped both of my arms around her waist, pulling her down with me as I laid back onto the mattress. She curled up against my body like the little spoon she always was, letting her head rest onto my chest and having one of her bare legs slip in between mine. I planted a kiss onto the top of her hair, the hair that smelled like a fruit basket. Her dainty finger reached up to trace patterns over my chest. She pushed down on the neck of my t-shirt, revealing the skin to her. I had to admit it tickled to have her explore my upper chest, but I'm sure the way I was stroking her waist had to be equally as weird. "Hm. You still haven't grown any chest hair," Annabel pointed out, her green eyes now pushed together into a squint.
I couldn't help but let a deep chuckle bubble from my throat. "Hm. You're still annoying," I fired back.
This would have made every other girl I knew huff in response or get slightly irritated by the insult, but it had the opposite result on Annabel. She sent me a small smile, one that reached all the way up to her eyes, and one that made my heart pound against my chest. I loved seeing that smile.
Her finger moved from my chest up towards my face. She trailed over my lips, playing with the way they bounced when she squeezed them tightly together and then let go. Annabel then proceeded to trace over the chapped craters on my lips as if she were reading Braille, and although it was adorable the way she inspected every inch of my body, I couldn't help but feel like a science experiment.
I gripped onto her wrist, prying her finger off of my lips. I guided her pointer finger even farther up my face, letting it approach my nostril. I brushed it against the interior of my nose, making her recoil immediately. I laughed at the sight of her disgusted face. "You're literally a child," Annabel complained, wiping her fingertip onto my shirt.
"Yeah," I agreed, letting out a content exhale. "Speaking of children, do you actually think you're pregnant?"
Annabel glimpsed up at me in shock, tilting her head so it was now placed closer towards my shoulder and giving her a complete view of my face. She scrunched her face together. "I, um, I don't know. I wouldn't have any clue on what that feels like."
I slid her shirt up, folding it over her chest, to unveil her stomach to me. My palms began to rub her belly in a circular motion. I touched every inch of her skin, even letting my fingers drag along the edge of the exposed band of her lacy underwear. "It doesn't feel like there's a baby in there."
She smiled at my purposely dumb response. "I obviously wouldn't being showing for a few months. That's if I actually am pregnant. But I really hope I'm not. I don't want a baby just yet."
"Me either. I want a baby with you someday, Ann. Just not right now. We're not ready for a baby," I declared, feeling the worry sink in to me again at the thought of having to be responsible for someone other than myself or having to take care of an instant constantly. "Let's say you are pregnant though. You'd get an abortion, right?"
Annabel immediately sat up, which startled me by how quick her reaction was to my suggestion. "No. No I wouldn't do that," She answered, shaking her head rapidly in a frustrated manner. "I don't have anything against it. It's their choice. I just- no. I wouldn't do that."
I furred my bushy eyebrows together, allowing creases to fold right above the bridge of my nose. "Why not?" I pressed, feeling confused on why she had shut the idea down so quickly. "You wouldn't have to deal with all of the backlash from the press or the hate online. And more importantly, you wouldn't have to raise a child at nineteen. We're not ready to be parents, Ann!"
"No, we're more ready than most teenagers. We are financially ready. We could pay for anything that child wants for the rest of their life. Most people don't have that. We're just not ready to give up the lives we have now. You're not ready to stop touring. I'm not ready to give up my eight hours of sleep every night. But we could be ready to be parents. There's a big difference," Annabel stated with a huff.
She made some valid points. I could never give up touring, it would let so many people, including my band, down. But if she was actually pregnant and didn't get an abortion, I would have to make some big changes. And I honestly might be too selfish to do that. "Well I'm just trying to give us some options here!"
Annabel stared right at me, shaking her head. "Stuart, the baby would be half you. Something as wonderful as that would be worth all of the hassle."
I instantly grinned, feeling my grin make its way up to my eyes and have those little crinkles appear again. I'm sure my cheeks were burning up as well. But her comment had to be one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me. She would be willing to put herself through nine months of hell and the many years that follow just because the baby would be connected to me. God, she was the sweetest girl I've ever met and I'm so so so in love with her.
"Marry me," I blurted out.
Chapter 61
Annabel
"What?" I shouted, suddenly being hit with a sense of pure shock from his outburst.
Stuart's cheeks flushed immediately. He nervously ran a hand through his hair, tugging on a few of the curls. "I mean, not right now. Like in the future. I just really love you and want to marry you someday."
"Oh," I responded, my lips curving up into a large grin. I wasn't ready to have to deal with a possible pregnancy and a marriage at only nineteen, so I'm glad it was just something that had slipped out of his pouty lips. I foun
d it adorable that he was overwhelmed with so much love for me that his brain proposed the idea of marriage. "Well who else am I going to marry?"
Stuart giggled, one of my favorite sounds in the whole world, and wrapped his arms around me again, pulling our bodies as close together as physically possible. "I love you, Ann."
"I love you too," I replied, pressing a kiss onto his chubby cheeks that I felt compelled to squeeze. "Are you going to sleepover?"
"Am I allowed to?" He asked cautiously, glimpsing around the room as if my parents were going to pop through the door at any second now.
"Yeah, I doubt my parents will care. They are already pretty suspicious that we are back together. But we're roommates anyways. We have to get back to our shared room lifestyle," I insisted, feeling a smile creep onto my face as I remembered the glory days.
"Okay. I always sleep better when you're next to me," Stuart admitted, flopping down onto the mattress and creeping underneath the covers. His long arms tugged me down, pulling my body against his. I wrapped my laps around his waist, as if I was a koala bear and he was the tree branch that I was clinging onto.
"Me too. Too bad I have to wake up early for that stupid doctor's appointment tomorrow," I whined, burying my head against his chest.
"Do you want me to come with you?" He offered, letting his palm rub circles against my back in a soothing motion.
"No, it's alright. That will kind of make it obvious if you're there," I said with a little giggle. I could only imagine the headlines if anyone got a picture of us leaving a clinic together.
Stuart nodded his head in agreement. He brought his lips up to my forehead, languidly pressing a few kisses onto the center of my temple. "I know. I just want to support you."
"You can support me by taking me out for ice cream afterward," I suggested, poking his chest.
"Is that your idea of a romantic date?" Stuart teased, raising his eyebrows up at me in amusement, with his little goofy grin overtaking his features.
I chuckled lightly, reaching up with one of my hands to squeeze his chubby cheeks. "No, I just really want some ice cream. But we can make it a date if you want."
"Well I technically do still need to ask you out," Stuart reminded me, his brown eyes locking on mine with a look of pure adoration. The intense eye contact, along with the topic of this conversation, made my nerves reappear and my heart rate suddenly inclined.
"Oh, right. Are you going to break up with me again when you leave for tour though?" I asked softly, in a non-accusatory manner. I was trying my best not to be bitter with what happened last time. This wasn't about that. I just wanted to know what his plans for our relationship was going to be.
"Ann," Stuart murmured in a strict tone. He pulled my body even closer to him, making sure there was absolutely no room for air to pass between us. His palms slid down further until they rested on top of my butt. "We'll figure all of that out later, okay baby? Can we just enjoy this month off together for now?"
"That's what we tried last time and look what happened," I mumbled, resting my head back onto his chest again. I didn't mean to be a pain. I just didn't want to lose him again now that I finally had him back, literally in my arms, once again.
"I'll think of a plan. I promise. I'm not going to let us lose touch. I love you too much for that to happen," Stuart assured me, kissing my forehead again. "Now get off of me so I can fall asleep you potato sack."
Waiting to get out of that scratchy hospital gown felt like the longest hour of my life. I have never really been a fan of the doctor's, mainly because I have an irrational fear that if I go in there for a sore throat they will tell me I have a terminal illness and only have two more days to live. But mainly, I just hated that overly clean smell of antiseptic and bleach and the cheap lollipops that I always said yes to.
This wasn't just a normal doctor's office though. They specialized in pregnancy and vaginas and all of the nasty things I couldn't believe people had to do for their job. But this doctor had just taken some tests, lectured me for being irresponsible, put me back onto the pill, and then of course asked me for a picture. She was so nice that I couldn't possibly decline.
As I finished getting changed back into my clothes and I left the hospital gown on the covered examination table, I made a beeline for the exit. I strolled through the waiting room with a smile on my face, feeling somewhat less nervous now that the appointment was over. The doctor also explained to me that the morning after pill is usually effective, so my chances of actually being pregnant was very slim.
"Annabel?" Someone called, making me freeze in my tracks. I had been spotted.
I sucked in a deep breath, casually swiveling my head around to figure out who the voice belonged to. I spotted a familiar fluff of blonde hair and sighed in relief, feeling the nervous perspiration that had been prepared to launch quickly diminish. "Benjamin? What are you doing here?"
He stood up, stuffing his hands into the denim jacket that I believe he had stolen from Bradley. "I had to pick up something for my mum, I don't know. Why are you here? Is everything okay?"
I smiled at his concern with my health. Thankfully, it was times like these when my workshops for improv training came in handy. "Yes Benjamin. Everything is fine. I figured since I was home I should probably get a check-up."
Benjamin's cheeks were faintly tinted with a shade of red. He leaned in closer to me and lowered his voice so the small crowd of distracted people couldn't here. "Like a check-up, like, down there?"
I clamped my hand over my mouth to smother any giggles from escaping. "No, Benjamin. They do other things here besides just pap smears and that sort of stuff."
He instantly cringed, backing away from me. A disgusted groan left his pink lips and he shook his head back and forth. "Ew. Stop. I don't want to hear any of this."
I chuckled, placing my hand on his shoulder to provide some sort of comfort. I opened my mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by a nurse, clad in her mint green scrubs, approaching me.
"Miss McKenzie? This is an extra morning after pill just in case anything happens again. It's always good to be prepared," She said politely and sweetly, handing me a purple plastic bag that crinkled loudly in my palm as the pill box rattled slightly with the shift of movements.
I nodded, smiling back at her. "Thank you," I mumbled as she sauntered off, letting my attention return back to Benjamin.
His jaw was hanging open.
"Checkup? This wasn't a checkup!" Benjamin whisper-yelled, his nostrils flaring as he grew angry or upset or concerned or whatever emotion he was currently attempting to show. "Annabel! Are you pregnant?"
I grasped onto his arm tightly, letting my finger nails dig into the middle of his forearm. "Shut up," I hissed, dragging him out of the waiting room and all the way to outside of the office. "I don't know yet, Benjamin. Most likely not. But there's a slim chance."
"Pregnant," He repeated with a huff, beginning to pace around the front of the building, his palms cupping his own cheeks. "I can't believe this. Who's the father? It can't be Stuart's, right? You hooked up with someone else, right? We're going back on tour in a month. He can't be a dad. Oh my God. It's not his, right?"
I felt a sudden wave of guilt flood over me. I knew this was going to put some strain on their band if I actually was pregnant, which I doubt I am, but I didn't realize it was going to affect them this much. "I- uh. It would be Stuart's. We had sex on Christmas Eve and his condom ripped."
Benjamin paced around some more, groaning once again. "Well Merry fuckin' Christmas to you too!" Benjamin shouted with a huff. "Oh my God. I can't believe this. I didn't even know you guys were back together! Why didn't anyone tell me anything?"
I shrugged, my gaze moving to the floor so I didn't have to meet his bright blue ones. "It just kind of happened, Benjamin. I mean, it was pretty much inevitable that we would be getting back together but I didn't expect any of this to happen."
"Obviously not! Otherwise you wouldn't be here right now! O
h my God, I just wanted to help my mum out for once and then I get sucked into this mess," He complained, throwing his hands up into the air in frustration.
Stuart's car pulled up along the curb. He rolled his window down, allowing us to see his confused face. "Benjamin? What are you doing here?" He called out to his best friend with his bushy eyebrows furred together.
I turned to Benjamin. "We're going to get ice cream if you want to come with us. I feel bad," I confessed, chewing on the top of my upper lip. Benjamin always seemed to have the weirdest reactions to situations and I just didn't want him to be stressed out or anything. "Yeah. I'm gonna need an ice cream to find my chill again," He muttered, spinning on his heel to head back into the doctor's office. "I'll meet you in the car after I get whatever the hell my mother needs."
I nodded, strolling towards Stuart's car that was waiting for me at the front of the curb. I opened up the door to the passenger side, admiring the way the bright sunlight illuminated against the sleek, black vehicle. I slid into the leather seats, buckling up my seat-belt. Stuart leaned over the seat to peck my lips softly. "How did it go, babe?"
"Good. The doctor said my chances of actually being pregnant are really small," I told him, which made his head nod. His jaw was clenched together tightly and his lips were puckered more than usual, making it obvious that he was clearly hiding whichever expression he wanted to give. "Oh and Benjamin's coming with us to get ice cream."
Stuart gaped at me. "What? Ann, no," He whined, hitting the back of his head against his leather seat. "This was supposed to be a date. I don't want to have to pretend like we're still just friends. I just want to spend some actual time with my girl."
He has been acting so clingy lately. It was kind of adorable. "Benjamin knows," I deadpanned.
Confused creases reappeared on his tan skin that I desired to pepper kisses all over. Benjamin's tall figure was slowly approaching the car, a bag now swinging from his pale hand. "He knows about the possible baby or about us?"
Raunchy Roommate Page 35
