I was at Cliff’s place and fell asleep. I don’t know what it was, a weird chill. I don’t think it’s anything bad, just another reaction to the hormonal chaos in my body. Don’t worry. He’s going to drive me home in a few minutes, I’ll take a shower, and then it’ll be time for us to meet. I’m looking forward to that.
Immediately, I can see he’s typing an answer. I wait impatiently until it shows up:
I want us to see the doc later so we can make sure you’re both ok.
Yes, boss, I write back. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way, okay?
Right.
See you.
See you, Shai.
I put my phone back into my bag and hope he isn’t serious about the doctor. Of course both I and the baby are okay. My body is just reacting to all the hormonal changes.
Chapter 8
Nathaniel welcomes me with a wide smile on his face when I get off the bus. I return it shyly and slowly walk toward him.
“Hey, Shai,” he whispers when I stand face to face with him.
“Hey,” I echo just as quietly.
He pulls me into an embrace before kissing me on the cheek. “I’ve missed you.”
I sigh softly. “I’ve missed you, too.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, really. We don’t need to see the doctor.”
“I’d feel much better if we let him check on you really quickly,” he says, sounding worried. “Maybe you’re right and it’s nothing, but better safe than sorry.”
I sigh more loudly.
“There’s nothing to discuss, Shai.” His hand gently brushes my belly. “I don’t want either of you two to get sick or be feeling bad.”
“Wow. All it takes is a one-night stand to get you to worry about me,” I try to joke.
“That isn’t funny.”
I clear my throat, serious again. “I’m sorry.”
“So are we going to see the doc?”
“If you insist. Can’t have you going on like this the entire day.” I smile.
“Exactly. ’Atta girl.” He takes my hand, and we walk down the street. My gynecologist isn’t far from here.
“So how was Austin?” I ask him.
“It was cool, but I’ve already given you a daily account while I was there,” he replies with a smirk.
“True, but I don’t know what else to talk about right now.”
“Our baby,” Nathaniel says, beaming. “What are you wishing for, a boy or a girl?”
“A healthy child.”
“Sure, healthy is the main thing, but I’ll admit I’m wishing for a little Shailene.”
“You want a girl?” I giggle.
“Yeah, I’d really like to have a daughter.” He nods, lets go of my hand, and instead wraps an arm around me. “But most of all, I’m wishing that you and I can find common ground again.”
“And how do you see that happening?” I ask, genuinely interested in hearing his perspective.
“Well, I’ll give my best, work harder than ever before to win you back,” he says, leaning over and kissing me on the crown of my head.
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
“Why not?”
“Because … well, we made up for lost time over the summer, we’ve been rehashing all our options a million times, and I think we should just dive in and try to make it happen now. The worst that can happen is that we mess up. I want to remain optimistic and just … do it.”
He stops and pulls me into a gentle, cautious embrace, as if afraid I might break. Then he kisses me very softly. “Thank you, Shailene.”
“For what?” I ask, confused.
“For giving me, giving us, a second chance. I’m still wondering how I managed to convince you I’m worth it, but I don’t want to overanalyze it. So I’ll just take it as it is and be happy.”
“I’d say you resurrected old feelings that were merely buried deep, hibernating.”
He kisses me again, and this time I return the kiss, intensify it, and immediately feel an ache of longing and desire in my girly parts. Damn hormones. I all but rub myself against him, and he pulls away.
“What’s going on with you?” he asks in a breathless voice, obviously sensing my urgency.
“Hormones,” I say with an innocent smile.
“Doctor’s visit first, and then we’ll see what we can do about your hormones.” He grins.
I grumble softly as I let him steer me down the street in the direction of the doctor’s office. I’m starting to feel irritated by everyone’s fussing. It’s probably nothing at all, just a physical reaction to the hormonal changes, I’m almost certain. I should make that my mantra: Hormonal changes.
***
Nathaniel’s teary eyes are fixed on the monitor in the examination room, staring at our child, which tugs at my heart more than I can say. At the moment, I’m so sensitive that my mood can change from super cheerful to unbearably sad in a heartbeat. I focus on the screen, trying not to look at Nathaniel’s wet eyes for fear of breaking into tears myself.
“Do you see it?” the doctor asks Nate. “This is the head … and here we have the arms and the legs … It’s not fully developed yet, but easily recognizable.”
“And when can you see the sex of the baby?” Nate wants to know.
“That varies. In most cases, you start to see it after the sixteenth week, but it’s still mostly guesswork. The only way to be certain is with a 3D ultrasound.”
“When would be a good time to do that?” Nate asks.
“You still have some time. Your partner hasn’t even passed the first trimester. I’m afraid you need to have a little more patience.” The doctor looks at me. “No reason to be worried; both you and your child are doing fine. You probably got the shivers because your body is struggling with the adjustment to its new hormone cocktail, so to speak.”
I nod slowly. “Thank you.”
“You can get dressed again, Miss Cooper, and then please come into my office.” With that, he rises and leaves me and Nathaniel alone.
I sit up and wipe the gel from my belly. “See? Everything is fine. I told you.”
“Still, better safe than sorry,” Nate repeats calmly, but he seems much more relaxed now.
“And now you’ve finally seen her … or him. Cliff baptized our child Shaina, by the way,” I tell him with a grin. “For Shai and Nate.”
“Wow, that would be a cute name for a girl, don’t you think?” He helps me rise from the chair, after I’ve adjusted my clothing. We walk over to the doctor’s office, where my doc hands me a prescription for vitamins.
We’re also handed two new ultrasound pictures, which Nathaniel pockets with great enthusiasm. Then my doc shakes our hands and reminds me to return in two weeks.
We’re both relieved and relaxed as we leave the office. “You want to come to my place?” he asks as we ride the elevator back to the ground floor.
I turn to face him, wrap my arms around his neck, and grin up at him. “Absolutely.”
He smiles and leans down, kissing me on the mouth. “Are you allowed to have sex at all?”
“Of course.”
“Oh, okay. I thought maybe that was forbidden.”
“Why?” I ask, surprised.
“Don’t know. I just thought you had to be extra careful,” he admits. “I’m not a woman; this is all totally unknown territory for me.”
“Right, I forgot to tell you about my other five kids. They’re the reason I know everything about all this.”
***
Music is blasting out of Nathaniel’s apartment when we arrive, a lot of bass and oomph. “I thought you were living alone,” I say loudly, trying to make myself heard over the noise.
“No. I’m rooming with Draven and Thally.”
I nod, pulling a face. “Do you think you could ask them to turn it down a little? My entire body is vibrating.”
“Of course.” He points down the hall. “The room in the back is mine. Go
ahead, I hope it’s quieter in there.”
“Thanks, Nate.”
He gives me a kiss on the cheek and a soft push in the direction of his room. I smile as I walk down the hall and open the door. Of course I take a good look around, but I don’t snoop. Instead, I sit down on the bed, which is far softer than mine—I prefer a hard mattress.
The volume of the music lowers, and a moment later Nathaniel comes in with a bottle of water. He closes the door and locks it before coming over to sit next to me. He leans across me as he places the bottle on the nightstand, and I can’t help but inhale his scent deeply. He still uses the same cologne he used to. I think it’s called Cool Water, or something, and I like it a lot. I take his face in my hands and breathe a soft kiss onto his cheek.
“What was that for?” he asks with that half smile of his.
I smile and shrug before sinking back on the bed.
Nate lies down next to me and caresses my belly, pushing my top up a little. “How do you feel?”
“Could you stop asking me that every five minutes?” I plead, with a grin to soften the request. “I’m fine, and as soon as I don’t feel fine, I’ll let you know.”
“Reassuring,” he chuckles and places his head on my belly. “Let me hear what the little one has to say.”
“Do you think the baby’s going to talk to you?”
“Daddy,” he squeaks, which makes me laugh out loud.
“Sorry, sir,” I say, “I know when you’re bullshitting me.”
“I’m only fooling around,” he says, raising his head and kissing the spot right above my belly button. “When will the kicking start?”
“I have no idea. But I’m guessing the baby needs to get a lot bigger first.”
He smiles. “I’m looking forward to feeling that.”
“If I could, I’d switch positions with you right now,” I say dryly.
He keeps caressing my belly with a dreamy expression, his fingertips circling my belly button. “You’re beautiful.”
I lift my head, and my gaze meets his. “Am I?”
“Yes.” He nods. “Whoever says you’re not must be blind.”
“So far nobody has said I’m not,” I giggle and sit up. Nate puts his head in my lap. “Do you really think we’ll manage? I mean, you and I and a baby?” I ask quietly.
He looks into my eyes. “It’s not going to be easy, but it’s doable. We’ll get by.”
“Everyone is being so optimistic. Mom, Dad, Noah, Cliff, and now you as well.”
“You’ve already told your parents?”
“Yeah. My mom immediately sensed something wasn’t right, so I told them. They were surprisingly calm about it.” I place my hand on his cheek.
He purrs softly, a sound I’ve never heard from him before, but I like it. Then I bend down low to kiss him on the lips. Nate returns the kiss, raising his head to meet mine; then he rolls us around so I’m on my back. He slides a hand around the back of my neck to hold me, and our mouths indulge in a deep, probing kiss.
I grab his collar and fumble with the top button. When I’ve finally managed to open it, I work on the other buttons. I pull the shirt down over his shoulders and stroke them. Nathaniel utters a sigh of pleasure and helps me undress him more quickly. Then he pushes my skirt up and my panties to the side. I moan into his mouth when he touches my sensitive clit. He kisses me deeply, with a growl low in his throat, while massaging my clit in a slow rhythm that doesn’t fail to have the desired effect. My arousal mounts quickly with every slow stroke, and I seem to be racing headlong toward my climax.
Nathaniel breaks the kiss and bends down to follow an invisible trail southward. He pushes my top further up, helps me sit up so he can pull it over my head, and then unhooks my bra so he can take that off, too. When my upper body is naked, he pushes me back into the mattress again and proceeds to take off my skirt and panties. He kisses my belly, and I feel goosebumps spread across my skin, which he registers with a smile. Then he moves down further and breathes a kiss on my crotch.
“Nate!” I gasp, because even this feather-light contact is sending lightning bolts all through my body.
“Relax,” he murmurs and does it again.
I close my eyes and moan. “I am relaxed.”
“Good,” he whispers and continues to stoke the raging hurricane of lust that whirls through my center. I moan every time his tongue touches my sensitive bud, every time his tongue penetrates me. He knows his way around there like a pro. I feel as if I could fly. The warm feeling, the trembling, the spasms all the way through my legs—it’s all so unbelievably great.
And then I’m on the verge of climaxing due to the intensity of his touch. Nathaniel seems to sense it, since his tongue relents, but I’m already there. “I’m coming,” I announce with a loud moan, and the next instant that is exactly what I do. I explode while Nate pulls away and hastily unzips his fly.
Then he’s back, lying down next to me. “How do you feel now?” he asks softly.
I’m still panting, which is why I can’t muster more than a smile at first. Then I push him back and let my fingers mark a trail down his body, into his boxers. He tenses when my hand wraps around his shaft and starts massaging it gently.
Suddenly he pulls my hand away, but I free it from his grip to take off his boxers. I slide up on top of him and kiss him, while positioning myself so he can enter me. He moans into my mouth as I lower myself on his ready member, inch by perfect inch. When he fills me completely, I start moving my hips. Nate grabs them and holds on as he begins to thrust upwards with a lot of caution.
Of course, I press my pelvis against his grip, receiving his thrusts and moving with them, faster and faster, because I can’t hold back anymore. Those hormones are torture and joy all at once. The torture lies in a constant desire for sex, as does the joy, but Nate isn’t always around when the ache washes over me. We’ve just decided to give our long-ago relationship another try, so I’m absolutely faithful to him and I expect the same of him.
“Fuck, do you know what you’re doing to me?” he pants, breaking the long, passionate kiss.
I don’t give an answer, but instead lean down to nibble at his neck, never breaking my fast rhythm.
Nate bucks under me and then presses himself against me. I feel him discharge inside me, and a moment later I follow him with another orgasm, just from my still-sensitive clit rubbing against his pubic bone. I pant as I glide off him and then snuggle into his arm.
We don’t say anything, simply revel in the afterglow in silence. I feel utterly relaxed when I close my eyes, my hand splayed on his sweaty chest. Nate pulls up a thin sheet, spreading it across both of us with a flick. It billows around us. “We should take a shower,” he murmurs lazily.
“I want to stay here,” I murmur back.
“Do you want me to get some water so you can wash up in bed?”
“Mm.” I nod with a smile. “But I don’t want to let you go.”
He smirks. “Bummer. What do we do now?”
“Dunno,” I giggle. “I guess we could both stay here.”
He pulls away, and I growl a little. “I’ll wash up quickly, bring you some water, and then I promise we’ll cuddle some more.”
“I can live with that,” I say. “Barely.”
He gives me an affectionate look. “Back in a minute.”
While he’s gone, I muse about what we could do with the rest of the day. Maybe he wants to meet up with his friends, though I doubt it, since he spent almost the entire summer with them. They didn’t fight or anything, but he told me on the phone that he’d be glad to get a break after their time in Austin. I guess you could call it friend overkill—too many weeks as a group. I press my legs together so I won’t stain his sheets, but he’s already back with a bowl and a washcloth. That was fast.
I sit up and move to take the bowl from him, but he shakes his head. “I was the one who got you dirty in the first place, so I’m cleaning you up as well.”
I smirk. “
Yeah, you were the one to get me dirty first, but that was a few years back.”
He grins as he sits down on the edge of the bed, gently pushes me backward, and pulls my legs apart slightly. Then he proceeds to wash me with great tenderness.
“I don’t want to spoil your party, but I feel like an invalid.”
“You’re pregnant.”
“But I’m not half-dead,” I chuckle.
He clucks his tongue and continues his ministrations. “When do we drive down to see my parents and tell them they’re going to be grandparents?”
“I don’t know. Maybe soon, before we start classes. Summer’s almost over.”
“We could do it today,” he suggests.
“I thought your mom was still in the hospital.”
Nathaniel shakes his head. “She was discharged while I was in Austin. She seems to be doing a little better at the moment, though I am worried she’ll be shocked by the news.”
I clear my throat. “Maybe we should meet with your dad first, and then he can tell her as he sees fit?”
Nate shakes his head. “No. I want to tell them both, and who knows, maybe my mom will be happy to hear she’s going to be a grandma soon.”
“If you say so.”
He puts the washcloth back in the bowl and rises. “Cuddles now, or would you rather get the other stuff over with quickly?”
“Yeah, let’s get it over with. Admit it, that’s what you want, too.”
He nods and winks at me. “I’ll take care of this.”
I watch him carry out the bowl, then I rise and pick up my clothes from the floor.
***
I’m anxious as Nathaniel and I walk up the front steps. His parents live in a small house at the edge of town. It’s a really nice neighborhood, and I love the house because it looks like something straight from a fairy tale. Nate’s mom used to do a lot of work on it, both inside and in the garden, but I doubt she’s still able to do all of that. Still, the front yard is visibly cared for by a loving hand, and there are two dragon trees in huge terracotta pots on the front porch.
“Ready?” Nathaniel asks.
I nod quickly. “We need to do this, so I say sooner than later.”
He leans over and kisses the crown of my head. “We can do this.”
Nathaniel: True Love: New Adult College Romance Novella (Coral Gables Series Book 4) Page 10
