Royal Engagement

by Chance Carter

  “I never knew my dad. My mom died. I couldn’t afford to finish college. I needed a job. And, the doctors here were the only people willing to hire me without a degree.”

  Instead, I said the first thing that came to my mind.

  “I like babies.”

  “Oh,” Alexander said, curiosity filling his eyes. “So, you have kids of your own?”

  “I wish,” I blurted.

  I immediately wished I hadn’t said that. Nothing freaked a guy out more than a girl saying she wanted kids. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this tongue-tied around a guy. Oh well… he probably wasn’t interested in me anyway. Still, I did the best I could to backtrack.

  “I just mean that all my friends are starting to have kids, and I feel left out sometimes, like everyone’s moving on and I’m just stuck.” I couldn’t figure out why I was revealing my innermost thoughts and feelings to this virtual stranger, but, in some weird way, I didn’t really mind. It felt good to say these things out loud. After all, this wasn’t the type of thing I wanted to share with those same friends I was talking about.

  “I get it,” Alexander said. “I feel the same way sometimes when I see my best friend with his kids. But then I grab beers with my buddies who complain nonstop about their kids, and I don’t feel so bad. They talk about dirty diapers, and nap times, and teething, and it all just sounds so boring.”

  I could tell he was trying to make me feel better, so I faked a laugh. “I suppose that’s good.”

  Alexander cleared his throat. “You ever think about picking one of the sperm donors that comes in here to, you know, donate to you?” I wasn’t sure whether he was being serious or not, so I tried my best to play it cool.

  “Yeah right,” I laughed.

  Here I was, talking to the only guy I had ever dreamed about in that capacity. Now he was asking exactly what I was thinking. This felt like one crazy dream. Since I was fairly certain someone was going to pinch me and wake me up any minute, I didn’t see any problem with being honest.

  “Ok, so maybe I have thought about it.”

  “But there’s something stopping you,” Alexander said.

  “I could never afford it,” I said. “There is someone I have in mind, though. You know, in case I never get married and also win the lottery.”

  With a small grin, Alexander pushed forward his dimples and stared right into my eyes, his dark eyes clear as the ocean.

  “Who might that be?”

  I gulped, wondering if he already knew what I was going to say.

  “You.”

  Chapter 4

  Alexander

  In a matter of about twenty minutes, I’d learned more about Casey than most women I’d ever met. She was different from the others. There was something so genuine about her. She answered questions without asking why I’d asked them, and she opened up to me in a way that was so damn refreshing. I could see in her eyes how badly she wanted a baby. Her face lit up when she talked about it.

  “I’d be happy to contribute to the cause,” I said. I was slightly surprised to hear the words come out of my mouth, but it was too late to take them back.

  Casey smiled back at me with a look of confusion. “I don’t understand.”

  This was my chance to back down, but also my chance to change her life. It wasn’t that big of a deal for me, yet it could mean everything to her. Besides, lots of women her age—which I guessed was around twenty-six or twenty-seven— talked about having kids. When it came down to it, though, a lot of them didn’t actually want to go through with it. There was no harm in making an offer.

  “You know, a free donation,” I said.

  Casey looked all around her as if she was on some sort of hidden camera show. “But…like…how?”

  I raised my eyebrows suggestively as I placed my hand on top of hers. “No plastic container needed.”

  “Are you saying—?”

  “We can make this happen, Casey,” I said, interrupting her. I wasn’t sure where this confidence was coming from, but I felt a sudden certainty that this was what I was supposed to do. I’d given plenty of donations in the past, so this one would be just like those, except with some added benefits. “If it’s what you want, I’m happy to help.”

  It took all my self-restraint to keep from pouncing on top of her right then and there. Her chestnut eyes peaked through her wavy hair, seemingly searching for any hint of joking. I understood her hesitance. If someone had told me an hour earlier that I’d be offering up my sperm the good old-fashioned way, and to a girl I barely knew, I would’ve thought they were crazy. But something had changed. I was drawn to her, and she couldn’t afford a sperm donor. It seemed like an obvious match to me.

  “And you’re serious about this?”

  “Absolutely,” I said.

  “Oh my god,” Casey said.

  It wasn’t exactly an expression of shock. It seemed more like she was—have mercy—turned on. Damn was she sexy. I moved my hand ever so slightly to graze her breast, and she looked back at me with a look of determination I hadn’t seen from her before. It seemed we were both on the same page. I bit my lip in an effort to keep myself from pressing my lips against hers right there in the middle of her workplace.

  I wasn’t sure how exactly this would work. Maybe we’d make arrangements to sleep together at one of our places, or maybe a hotel. That would be that. Before I had a chance to think about it any further, Casey pulled my hand and dragged me into what appeared to be some sort of break room. I looked around me. The room was bare except for a single round table with four chairs, a counter with a microwave and coffee maker, and an outdated refrigerator. I turned my head to see Casey locking the door behind us.

  My heart began to pound faster as I grabbed her and turned her to face me. She turned and my lips crushed into hers. Our tongues danced together in perfect harmony. I wanted to drink her up. I wanted to devour her. I kissed her so passionately I thought I’d suffocate her, then moved my mouth down to her neck.

  I slipped my hands underneath her blouse and bra, holding her plump, pert, perfect breasts in my palms. I found her two nipples and gently squeezed them between my thumb and forefinger, torturing her with pleasure. A bead of sweat dripped down my forehead and Casey breathed lightly into my ear and let out a moan.

  “I’ve fantasized about this for so long,” she whispered.

  Damn… this was really happening. I pulled her top over her head and she did the same to mine. There was no longer any need for her pink lace bra, so I unhooked it as we kissed harder and deeper. Casey unbuttoned my slacks and bent over to reveal her breasts as she pulled my pants down and gave me a squeeze. The blood was already rushing downward.

  As I stripped Casey’s pants and panties from her voluptuous curves, I ran my hands down her thighs. Smooth as silk. My fingers went inside of her as we made our way on top of the table. Kissing her neck, I found myself wondering why the hell I had waited so long to talk to this receptionist who had been right in front of me for months. Donating sperm had never been this fun.

  Casey cradled my chin in her hand as she pulled me toward her. Oh, how I loved a woman who knew how to take control. Her lips made their way from mine, down to my neck, then to my chest. Her cold lips made my heart race with every touch. She kissed my tattooed skin, her tongue tracing the lines of ink.

  I moved my hands to her breasts and pulled them together. Then I took both nipples into my mouth at the same time and sucked on them. I felt her nails digging into the back of my head as I began to explore lower down her body. I kissed the underside of her breasts, her navel, and within seconds my head was between her delicious, pale thighs.

  I glanced up at her, catching her eye. It looked like her eyes were begging me to eat her pussy, while simultaneously telling me she was terrified of what I was about to do.

  I leaned forward and met the lips of her pussy with a kiss every bit as passionate as the making out we’d just been doing. My tongue stretched inside her, fucking
her as I tried to reach as deep inside her as possible.

  She cried out and rose her legs up, so that they rested over my shoulders. I pushed her back and spread her wide open, sucking on her clit and drinking every drop of her soaking pussy. She squirmed in pleasure as I devoured her like some monstrous predator.

  When I felt the shudder of orgasm rush through her, I grinned.

  “Good girl,” I said, then stood up and aimed my throbbing cock right at her soaking pussy.

  With a single, powerful thrust, I was inside her.

  I leaned over her, wrapping my arms around her and crushing her breasts against my chest as my cock slid all the way into the very core of her body. Our lips were a force to be reckoned with, finding their way back to one another at any given opportunity. She bit my lip and took a firm grip on my behind, her nails digging into the firm muscle of my ass.

  She was going to draw blood, I thought.

  I reached Casey’s center as she let out a moan. “We have to be quiet,” she giggled. “The bosses will hear us.”

  “Too late,” I growled.

  As I went deeper and deeper, she clawed into my back, a substitute for the moans she couldn’t let anyone hear. It only made me want to go in further.

  My peak was coming. I rose up and grabbed her breasts firmly in my fists as I let myself enjoy these final few moments. Finally, release. The orgasm seemed to come right from the very core of my body, surging through me, and pouring into her pussy in a torrent of ecstasy and passion. It went on and on, my cock cumming and cumming. I thought it would never end. Never had I experienced such a long, intense, ecstatic orgasm. We both shuddered in pleasure as my orgasm set off a wave of pleasure in her body. Then I collapsed onto her, gasping for air.

  For several minutes, without saying a word, we alternated between filling our mouths with one another’s tongue and trying to catch our breath.

  When Casey finally spoke, all she said was, “Wow.” That about summed it up for me, too.

  Before I could come up with something to say, Casey began to cry. It wasn’t a full-on sob-fest, but several tears rolled down her cheeks. She tried her best to hide them from me, but there they were. I definitely had never encountered this after sex before, but something told me it wasn’t about the sex.

  “Is everything alright?” I asked.

  “It’s nothing,” Casey said.

  I gently rubbed her naked thigh with my thumb. “Come on. What’s on your mind?”

  “I just can’t believe this really might happen for me,” she said. “I might get to be a mother. I’ve dreamed of this my whole life.”

  “You will get to be a mother.”

  Casey laughed. “You do know how this works, right? There are no guarantees.”

  “Well, then, consider yourself lucky,” I said. I puffed up my chest and blurted out the words before I could think about how they sounded. “Because you have a sperm donor who’s really passionate about this cause and willing to donate as much as needed until the goal is reached.”

  My declaration brought more tears to Casey’s eyes, but I knew these were different. These were tears of hope, of happiness. For the first time in a while, I felt like I was doing something meaningful. Sure, donating sperm at the clinic was significant, I supposed. But seeing the woman at the other end, the person longing for a child, was everything. I supposed most of those women weren’t as good looking as Casey, but I still had to admit that our break room romp was a hell of a lot more fun than jacking off to a magazine in a tiny, impersonal room.

  As we gathered our clothes and clumsily dressed ourselves, we made light of the situation. Casey made a joke about not having anticipated this on her daily agenda. I retorted with something about not needing to hit the gym after that workout.

  I finished buttoning my shirt and walked toward the door, but Casey’s outstretched arm pulled me back. “Alexander,” she said, “thank you.”

  “No,” I said, smiling. “Thank you.”

  I walked out of the clinic with my head held high, the imprints of Casey’s hands still fresh on my back. Another successful sperm donation was complete.

  Chapter 5

  Casey

  This was really happening. I stood in the bathroom of my small studio apartment as I waited for the plastic stick in front of me to show either one line or two. It took every ounce of self-restraint I had not to take a pregnancy test every day for the three and a half weeks since having sex with Alexander. As if the reality of sleeping with the sexiest man I’d ever seen wasn’t difficult enough to comprehend, the possibility of having a baby was thrown into the mix. I was slightly terrified, but mostly excited and exhilarated. I still hadn’t fully processed what had happened. I just knew that, for the first time in my life, a baby was a real possibility for me.

  The longest two minutes of my life were finally over. I squeezed my eyelids shut, then opened them for the big reveal. “Holy shit,” I said as I stared at the two faded lines. “I’m pregnant.” I said the words aloud as if this would somehow magically make them more true than they already were.

  Then, like something from a movie, I found myself skipping around my 500 square feet of space, jumping from one end of the apartment to the other. My dream was finally coming true. I was going to be a mother.

  I hadn’t told a soul about my desire to get pregnant, even my closest friends. I knew what they would say. Liana would say, “Are you sure this is what you want?”, while Jane would offer up something like, “Casey, you’re young. There’s still time to find Mr. Right.”

  I shook their voices from my head. I wouldn’t let them take away my joy. I wanted a baby, a family, a real love so badly, and it was actually going to happen. Not only was I going to have a little boy or girl, but I was going to have a gorgeous boy or girl. After all, I’d gotten the best sperm donation in all of Atlanta.

  I walked over to my nightstand and lifted up the picture I’d kept there every day since I moved in two years earlier. My mother was flashing her toothy grin as she held me, only ten or eleven months older than the baby in my womb, wrapped in a blanket. It was the only picture I had of the two of us.

  As if losing my mother in a car accident wasn’t bad enough, I had also lost nearly every photograph I had of her in the shuffling among fourteen foster homes in the eight years following her death. This seemed like the perfect time to visit my mother at the cemetery. I wanted to tell her about everything going on in my life. But the 180-mile drive to the cemetery where she was buried was too far a drive on a random Tuesday. I’d have to wait until my annual Christmas visit.

  I walked back over to the bathroom and held up the plastic stick that sealed the fate of my future. It still hadn’t hit me that it was really happening. I’d spent the past few weeks replaying that day with Alexander over and over again. I could still feel his warm breath against my ear as he kissed my neck. I could still see his model-worthy washboard abs and perfectly-tanned skin.

  It was completely strange to think about the fact that I was carrying Alexander Preston’s child. This had completely ruined my chance of having a normal relationship— with him or any other man. That was fine by me, though. I had the gift of a baby inside of me, and that was what I wanted most. I tried to ignore the fact that this pregnancy would make things awkward the next time Alexander came in to donate. I had another week until I had to worry about that. Waltzing toward my wardrobe in my bra, I settled for a lilac, three-quarter-sleeved dress and threw it over my body. My body. My body that was carrying a baby.

  I spent the whole ride into work thinking of all the baby name possibilities I’d compiled over the years. Maybe Aaron or Oliver for a boy. I liked Madeleine and Donna for girls, until I realized that Donna Donohue would be quite an unfortunate name. No matter. I still had months to decide.

  Once the initial shock wore off, I switched into panic mode. How was I going to raise a child on my own? I could barely make ends meet as it was. Should I move to an area where the cost of living was
cheaper? Would I be able to find a job without a college degree? There was also the worry that all expectant mothers faced—that the baby wouldn’t make it full-term. I had seen dozens of women at the clinic who suffered from miscarriages and stillbirths. It was something I had seen so often that I had almost become desensitized. That was, however, until it was my own baby I was thinking about. Whatever it took, I was determined to give this baby a great life.

  “Good morning,” Dr. Leonard said when I walked into the clinic. “How are you doing, Casey?”

  “I’m good,” I said. “How about yourself?”

  Dr. Leonard shuffled some magazines in the waiting room. “Doing alright. John came down with the flu, so we’ll have to reschedule a few appointments.”

  “No problem. I’m on it!” With that, Dr. Leonard went to the back to prepare for the day’s appointments. I couldn’t help but wonder if he would somehow be able to tell I was pregnant. Sure, I was only one month along, but did obstetric and gynecologic doctors have a special sense for something like this? I prayed they didn’t. I didn’t want to tell anyone for at least another month or two.

  As I sat down at my desk, I felt my phone vibrate in my purse. It was a text message from Liana, complete with a photograph of an ultrasound. Twins are looking great. They can’t wait to meet their Auntie Casey, the message read. I smiled. Little did she know she wasn’t the only one with a bun in the oven.

  Chapter 6

  Alexander

  “Mr. Preston, is that fine by you?” one of the interns at my company asked, handing me a piece of paper.

  “Yes, sure,” I said.

  “So, we’re good to go?” I nodded in agreement, and half a dozen interns left the room. The truth was, I didn’t have a clue what they’d said. I only had one thing on my mind. Casey. After my visit to the clinic, I got busy at work and didn’t have much time to think about her. Lately, however, she was all I could think about. I wondered if she did become pregnant like she’d hoped, what my next visit would be like, and, most of all, if she thought about me, too.