False Start

by Rebel Farris

  It stopped at a closed door. I looked back to Jared. He had a small smile playing on his lips.

  “Go ahead,” he urged. “Open it.”

  I gasped. There had to be at least a hundred lit candles in all shapes and sizes on every available surface. In the center of a large bathroom sat a huge tub filled with bubbles to the brim. Relaxing blues music played softly from a small radio on the vanity.

  Jared came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, his woody, earthy scent surrounding me. He’d done this for me.

  I melted into him and could feel tears welling in my eyes, so I forced myself to breathe. Damn pregnancy hormones had me blubbering like a fool over everything.

  “I thought you could use some pampering after being on your feet for so long. Consider it payment for coming with me tonight. I know you didn’t want to.”

  I started to protest, but he stopped me with a finger over my lips.

  “And it gives me an excuse to get you naked.”

  Goose bumps broke out over my skin as his hands retreated. Brushing my hair over my shoulder, he placed a kiss where my neck and shoulder met. Until that moment, I wasn’t convinced I believed in romantic love, but I was beginning to believe I was in love with him. Even though I wasn’t quite sure what that meant.

  He slowly unzipped my dress. It fluttered to the ground at my feet. I shivered in anticipation. My skin tingled under his touch as he turned me to face him. His eyes grazed over my body.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful. Since I’ve met you, all I have to do is hear your name, but seeing you like this…” He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. “I’ll wait, because this—” He gestured to the bath. “—is for you to relax. But after that, I can't be held responsible for my actions. Every cell in my body is screaming at me to have my way with you.”

  My breath caught in my throat. “I don’t want to wait,” I wheezed out.

  I didn’t have time to think before his mouth was on mine. We were pulling off our remaining clothes. It was clumsy. Teeth clashed as we stumbled and tripped our way to the bed. I’d never wanted anything more in my life. And that made it all the more beautiful.

  We broke apart as I tugged his undershirt over his head. “It’s only my second time. Third, if you want to get technical. Go easy on me. I might not be able to last that long,” he said.

  I just stared at him as the realization of what he was saying settled in. I took a deep breath to cut off the tears that threatened. He gathered me to him, pushing my hair away from my face.

  “I love you, Maddie,” he said, as he brushed his thumb over my cheek. “I have since the moment I met you.”

  As he searched my eyes, I searched his. I could see the sincerity there, lying underneath insecurity and hope. I’d made him doubt when I pushed him away. Now he was putting everything on the line, hoping for a chance at what he wanted. I could kick myself for causing him pain. The thought of the time wasted between us. The dam finally broke as the one thing that I hadn’t dared to hope for was just made true—someone loved me.

  “I love you, too, Jared,” I croaked, and I felt the rightness in those words.

  My limbs felt like jelly as I stood in the hotel shower. I watched, mesmerized, as my belly distorted with the movement of tiny hands and feet. The doctors told me because they were twins, they’d come early. We left the sex a surprise for the birth, but I just knew they were going to be little boys. I loved them already. They were everything. My family.

  I shut the water off and stood there, my hands pressed to my skin, unable to stop the smile that was making my face ache. I had to show Jared. It wasn’t the first time they were moving, but they were exceptionally active this morning.

  Jared laid some clothes on the counter after collecting the mountain of candles into a huge cardboard box and taking it down to the truck. He also informed me that there was a day-after-prom party at the lake and that we were just going to chill out and have a relaxing day of fun in the sun.

  When I got out of the shower, I was floored—Jared had brought my prepregnancy bikini instead of my maternity swimsuit. I put the bikini on and stormed out of the bathroom.

  Jared was sitting on the bed watching TV. He looked up and froze. I placed my hands on my hips and gave him my most pissed-off look.

  “What the hell were you thinkin’?” I demanded.

  At that, he rolled over on the bed in laughter.

  “Oh, my God,” he said, words muffled by the pillow. “You should see your face.”

  He didn’t stop laughing. I searched for the nearest thing, which was the TV remote, and threw it at him.

  “It’s not funny. Please tell me you brought my maternity swimsuit?”

  His face scrunched in confusion. “What in the hell is a maternity swimsuit?”

  “A swimsuit for pregnant women, dumbass. Pregnant women don’t wear bikinis."

  His shoulders were still shaking as he peeked up at me. “It looks hot.”

  At my not-amused expression, he buried his head back in the pillow to laugh some more.

  “Whatever,” I huffed and went back to retrieve the sundress and flip-flops he also brought.

  Once dressed, I stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me. He could finish packing up our stuff by himself.

  Down in the lobby, I found Evan and Stacey. Evan was downing a muffin from the continental breakfast table, but one look at me and he almost choked.

  “What’s up with you? You look ready to go on a murder spree.”

  “Nothing. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Tell me,” Evan said as he started massaging my shoulder nearest him.

  “He brought me a bikini to wear,” I mumbled.

  “He what?”

  “He brought me a fucking bikini, okay? If he had told me about any of this, I could’ve given him my maternity suit…” I turned to Evan.

  His face was turning red, and his shoulders heaved up and down.

  “Are you laughing?” I asked.

  He folded over in laughter.

  I looked to Stacey. “What’s with boys laughing about this?”

  “It’s not that funny.” She shrugged. “I’ve no clue.”

  “Spill it, Ev. What the fuck are you guys going on about?”

  “I can’t tell…”

  I shot my hand out and twisted his nipple with every bit of strength I had. He grappled to get away, but I wasn't budging.

  “Oww, oww… okay, okay, mercy.”

  I stopped and stared at him. “Out with it, asshole.”

  “Fine, Nic bet him a hundred dollars that he couldn’t get you to wear a bikini today.”

  “Then you’re on my shit list, too, for not stopping him.”

  “Maddie, is it that big—” He stopped abruptly when I picked up his muffin and threw it smack in the middle of his forehead. Blueberry juices dotted his face, and I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.

  That was the downside to my relationship with these guys. I wasn’t just a girlfriend, like Stacey, or a piece of ass, like Robin. I was one of the guys. I just happened to have female parts. They pranked me just like they did each other. I let out an exasperated groan and stood.

  “Fucking boys! I’ll get y’all back for this. You’ll pay. Maybe not today, but you’ll pay.”

  The ride to the lake was mostly silent. After Jared figured out I wasn’t speaking to him, he stopped trying to engage me, though at the party, he didn’t leave my side much, either. We met up with the other guys from the football team and some of their dates. Jared kept next to me the entire time. I let him because I wasn’t that mad, but he still needed to be punished. I was just biding my time. We were sitting on the tailgate of his truck when Nic arrived with his parents’ Jet Ski in tow.

  My eyes widened, and I lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. I loved riding the Jet Ski. I started to get up to see if I could ride when Jared tugged me ba
ck.

  “Where are you going?” he asked softly.

  “I wanna ride the Jet Ski,” I stated, shrugging him off.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t want you to get hurt.” His brow furrowed. He motioned to my stomach. “Besides the doctor said you should take it easy.”

  “I’ve ridden that Jet Ski lots of times, and I’ve never gotten hurt. I’ll be okay. And the doctor also said that we’re past the danger point and the babies’ll be fine if they’re born now. It’s not a big deal.”

  “Maddie… just don’t, please,” he said, his frustration becoming apparent on his face. “Besides, you don’t have anything to wear in the water anyway.”

  “What do you mean? I’m wearing a bikini.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re perfectly aware of that.”

  “Maddie, I’m sorry. It was a stupid bet. I thought at worst it would be funny. Now that I’ve seen it, you certainly can’t parade around in that. Pregnant women are hot. You’re hotter than most. The guys don’t need to see that.” He tugged me between his legs and kissed my forehead, letting out a breath.

  I wanted to melt into him and stay there, but then it clicked. I wasn’t comfortable walking around, displaying my pregnant belly in that bikini, but I was stubborn enough to do it just to watch him squirm. I backed away from him, holding his eyes as I slowly pulled my dress up and over my head. I tossed it on the tailgate next to him, then gave him my best mischievous smirk.

  His eyes widened. He swallowed heavily. I knew I had him.

  I turned around and sauntered to Nic, swaying my hips as much as I still could. Nic had finished unloading the Jet Ski into the water and was walking up the lakeshore when he spotted me. He was frozen in place watching me approach. When I was directly in front of him, I pulled back my arm and delivered a punch to his gut. He folded over.

  “That was for thinking up this stupid bet.”

  “Worth it,” he wheezed.

  “Fucking idiots, the lot of you,” I grumbled. “Where’s the life jackets?”

  “What?” he asked, still straining to catch his breath.

  “Life jacket?”

  “You can’t ride like that.” He motioned to my belly, and I rolled my eyes to the heavens.

  “I can and I will.”

  “You’re not gonna listen to reason, are you?” He squinted at me with one eye open.

  I shook my head, and he sighed wearily.

  “I’m not stupid, Nic. It’s not like I’m going out there to do tricks and hop waves. I just want to drive around the lake and be out on the water for a bit. There’s nobody else out there right now. The water is calm. The babies’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.”

  “Fine. I’m going out with you then.”

  I shrugged and followed him to his truck.

  We had been out on the lake, just coasting around in lazy circles, for about thirty minutes when it hit me like a kick to the gut. All the muscles in my belly clenched up, and pain rolled over me like a tidal wave. I gasped and let up on the throttle.

  Nic leaned forward. “You okay?”

  I nodded, still unable to speak. We floated there in the middle of the lake, rocking with the gentle sway of the water. I felt a pop that seemed to reverberate through my body, and clear fluid gushed from between my legs.

  “Oh, God. My water just broke.”

  Nic jerked and flew back, falling over the edge of the Jet Ski. The Jet Ski lurched to the side violently, and I clung to it, trying not to fall over myself.

  “What are you doing? We need to go to the hospital. Get back on.”

  “Fuck, no. I’m not touching your baby juices, that’s disgusting.”

  “Nicoli Lorenzo Gallo, stop being a fucking idiot and get up here now,” I said through clenched teeth as another contraction rocked me. I waited until it subsided. “Just splash some water up here and get on.”

  “Uh, no. You couldn’t pay me to touch that thing without it being bleached and scrubbed first.”

  “That’s just stupid. It’s not like I just dumped Ebola all over the seat—it’s just amniotic fluid. It won’t kill you. Now hurry up.”

  “I’d rather swim.”

  I looked to the shore. It would take him a good ten minutes to swim that far, but it served him right for being stupid.

  “Fine. Have fun with that.”

  I started the Jet Ski back up and eased it away from him, then headed back slowly to the shore. When I banked the Jet Ski, I breathed through another contraction before climbing off and trying to drag it up the beach farther. Evan saw me from where he sat with Stacey and rushed over to help.

  “Is that his payback?” He smirked, nodding his head toward Nic, who was still swimming to shore.

  “No. You done with that?” I pointed to the red Solo cup clutched in his hand. He tipped his head back and drained the rest, before handing it to me. I used it to pour lake water over the seat while Evan watched me curiously. When I bent over with my hands on my knees to breathe through the next contraction, his eyes widened.

  “It’s time?”

  “Ready or not,” I said with a nervous smile, taking off the life jacket and throwing it on the seat of the Jet Ski.

  Evan’s face lit up, and he wrapped an arm around my back, walking me up the shore to the truck.

  Jared was deep in conversation with some of his teammates, still sitting on the tailgate of his truck.

  “Hey, asshole,” Evan shouted at him. “It’s show time.”

  He looked up, saw us, and jumped off the truck, knocking over a beer. I saw it almost as if it were in slow motion as he turned and grabbed the nearest piece of cloth to clean it up, which just happened to be my dress.

  “Jared, don’t—” I started, but it was too late. My blood boiled. I shrugged Evan off and stormed toward him. Jared looked from me to his hand, and I could see the moment it registered what he had done. He started laughing, the bastard.

  “I’m gonna rip your balls off and shove them down your throat,” I shouted and quickly waddled after him. “You’ll never have children again.”

  He took off, hiding on the other end of his truck, still laughing at me.

  When I reached the end of the truck, I stopped and clung to the truck bed as another contraction hit me. Jared stopped laughing and took a step toward me, but at that moment I wanted to kill him, and I’m pretty sure he could see it on my face because he stopped in his tracks.

  “You’re a dead man, Wilson,” I panted out as the ability to breathe came back to me. I took off after him, but he kept to the opposite side of the truck.

  “Looks like y’all are both going to end up in the hospital,” Mike interjected. Everyone laughed. We probably did look like fools, but I didn’t care.

  “Shit, this’s an awesome start to the birth video.” Evan chuckled, and I noticed he had pulled out the video camera that he had on standby for when I went into labor.

  “Watch out, Jared. She has a mean right cross,” Nic added as we continued to circle the truck. I hadn’t noticed him join us, but Jared was doing a good job of keeping my focus.

  “Maddie, I’m sorry.” Jared tried to placate me. “I wasn't thinking.”

  “You’re damn right. All you do is think with your dick. I can’t go to the hospital like this, and I sure as hell can’t go in smelling like beer. Stop laughing, fucker.”

  “Come on, Mads. You gotta admit it’s pretty funny,” he said with a wink. “I love you.”

  I couldn’t help the grin fighting for control of my face. That was the thing about Jared—he was always so happy and carefree. He was like standing near the sun; you forgot about all the dark parts of life. Just reveled in the warmth and glow.

  “That’s not fighting fair.” I doubled over again and groaned loudly.

  He bolted around the car to my side.

  “Nut check!” I shouted as I smacked the back of my hand over his manly parts. I stood up and laughed.
r />   “Who’s not fighting fair now?” he asked breathlessly, grabbing himself and falling to his knees.

  Everyone was rolling in laughter. I got a few high fives.

  “Goddammit, you’re fucking awesome, Ned,” Nic said as he ruffled my hair. “Sure you won’t ditch this tool for me?”

  “I’m sure,” I said dryly and groaned at the tightening muscles and repressed ability to breathe as a real contraction hit me.

  Nic stopped laughing and helped me into the truck while Evan helped Jared off the ground. “We’ll be right behind you,” he said, and then we were off.

  Now

  As I wake to the quiet hum of my fan, I’m aware of the sunlight streaming through my windows. Just the sight of it makes me cringe. I shouldn’t have drank so much last night.

  It’s the day after my birthday, which means today we drive home to visit family—both dead and alive. It’s not my favorite day of the year. The only blessing this morning is that it’s oddly quiet.

  I stumble out of bed and step into the warm steam of the shower. The hot water feels good. I stay there for longer than needed, letting the water cascade over my skin. When I’m done, I grab my robe and sit down to towel-dry my hair because I’m not sure I can take the loud whir of my hair dryer. Then I brush my teeth and head downstairs, where the aroma of bacon permeates the air. My stomach growls fiercely.

  Halfway down the stairs, I can hear the strains of laughter and the murmur of happy conversations coming from the kitchen, and it brings a smile to my face. I step through the archway to find Evan and two eleven-year-old identical twin girls, Cora and Cat, manning the stove. Chloe stands at the coffee pot. Holly, sitting at the kitchen table, is corralling runaway Cheerios for her three-year-old daughter, Hope.

  “Stop, that’s enou— Look what you did,” Cat whines as she gouges her skinny elbow into Evan’s side. “You’re cleaning that up, mister.”

  He chuckles. “Oh no, I agreed to supervise this venture. I didn’t agree to clean jack shit.”

  “Uh-uh. You poured that shit down the side of the pan. I told you to stop. You did it, you clean it,” Cat says, smacking her spatula on the counter and tossing her long, black hair over her shoulder.