Black Belt Knockout

by Winter Travers

  “So that would mean your due date is—”

  “June twenty-fifth.”

  “I have to say that is rather impressive, Mr. Yeck.”

  Sage sighed and shook her head. “Don’t encourage him. Ever since he got some books from the library, he has been driving me insane.”

  “Well, I guess it’s better to have a man who is all in on your pregnancy than one that doesn’t care.”

  Sage’s face fell, and she dropped her gaze to the floor. The doctor didn’t notice the change in mood with Sage, but I saw it instantly.

  “Let’s listen to the heartbeat, and then I’ll send you up to maybe get a couple of pictures.”

  “We’ll get to see it?” From what I had read, we weren’t really going to be able to tell that it even was a baby.

  “Yup. Can’t promise an amazing picture, but it’s always awesome to see it the first time.” The doctor pulled a couple of things from the drawer and turned her back to Sage and me.

  I saw this as my opportunity to talk to Sage.

  “Are you okay?” I asked as I moved next to her.

  “Yeah,” she whispered. She plastered a fake smile on her face and gave me a thumbs up.

  “Don’t hide from me, Sage.”

  The doctor turned around, cutting off our conversation. “Go ahead and lay back. I’ll just put some goop on your stomach, and then we’re off to the races.”

  I had to say although the doc was cool, she was also a little bit off the wall.

  Sage laid back and looked down at her dress. “I really didn’t think this through when I got dressed today.”

  I ran my hand through my hair and tried not to laugh. Sage was either going to have to pull her dress up, exposing her underwear, or somehow maneuver the top down. I was good with either way she did it.

  “One sec. You’re definitely not the first mom I’ve run into this problem with.” The doctor bent over and pulled out a gown from a drawer.

  Dammit. Foiled by the good ole doc.

  Sage worked the dress up her legs and over her stomach. I had a good ten-second glimpse at her bright blue underwear and long legs before the gown was draped over her bottom half.

  “Sorry, Dad, but it’s kind of chilly in here. We can’t have mommy catching a cold.

  Sage laughed. “You’re shameless, Yeck.”

  I moved to stand by her head and leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek. “You like it,” I mumbled.

  She didn’t agree, but she also didn’t protest. I took her silence as agreeance that she did.

  The doctor made quick work of gooping up Sage’s belly and the small wand in her hand and started running it over Sage’s tiny baby bump.

  “Sometimes finding the heartbeat is a little hard when you’re barely ten weeks.” She moved the wand slowly, searching for the heartbeat until a soft but steady sound of a drumbeat was heard. “There it is,” she whispered.

  My jaw dropped at a steady rhythm, and I looked down at Sage. Her gaze was on her stomach, and she reached for my hand. I laced my fingers through hers, and we both listened to the heartbeat.

  “Sounds strong and steady. Working just like it should be.”

  I was speechless. We had made that. A small, tiny baby with a steady heartbeat was in Sage’s tummy, and I was the one who had helped make it.

  “Holy s-h-i-t.”

  Sage busted out laughing, and the doctor looked at me confused. Hell of a time for me to remember to start spelling out bad words.

  “You don’t have to curb your language around me, Mr. Yeck.”

  Sage covered her mouth with her hand and laughed her ass off.

  I cleared my throat. “I’m trying to not swear so much around Sam, and it seems to have spilled over to how I normally talk now. Shit.” There, I could still cuss.

  Sage laughed so hard that the gown draped across her legs fell off, and I would have been afraid she was going to pee her pants if she hadn’t just filled a cup. Even the doctor had a smile plastered on her face. I was apparently the entertainment.

  “Well, I think we’re done here. You can make an appointment up front for a month from now. I have you scheduled for a sonogram upstairs to verify your due date.” She turned off the machine and wiped the gunk off of Sage’s belly. “Go ahead and get covered, and you’re good to go.”

  Sage sat up and pulled her dress over her legs. “So everything looks good, right?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. Baby has a strong heartbeat, and once you go upstairs and get a few pictures of him, I’ll give you call after I review them.”

  “Did you have any questions?” Sage asked.

  I shook my head. “Nope, I think I’m good.” I’m sure as soon as we walked out of the building, I was going to have a billion questions, but right now, my mind was blank. All I could think about what the tiny little heartbeat we had just heard.

  The doctor quickly put everything away. “You can take a couple of minutes if you need. I’m on lunch after this so you can have the room for a bit.” She slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

  Sage looked down at the floor and wrung her hands.

  “Sage, look at me, baby.”

  She looked up, but her eyes didn’t connect with mine. “We should probably head up to the sonogram. We don’t want to be late.”

  “The appointment isn’t for another fifteen minutes. We have time for you to tell me what happened before.”

  “It was nothing, Roman. I just felt like an idiot acting like you were annoying for being so interested in the baby. The doctor was right when she said I should appreciate having you. I guess I was just used to having Sam and not having anyone there with me.”

  “I know Jack wasn’t around, but did you have friends or even his mom and dad to go to appointments with?”

  She shook her head. “It was just me for the most part. I’m sorry I was a bitch before.”

  I gathered her in my arms and pulled her close. “You weren’t a bitch, baby. Maybe a little testy, but not bitchy.”

  “Why are you so nice to me?” she whined.

  My hands slid down to her ass and squeezed. “Not gonna lie. This ass, baby. It’s all about this ass.”

  She leaned back, her jaw dropped. “You did not just say that.”

  “I did.”

  A huge smile spread across her face, and she slugged me on the shoulder. “You are such a dick.”

  “I am, but I just totally distracted you from thinking you’re a bitch.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re still a dick.” She grabbed her wallet from the chair and tucked it under her arm. “Let’s go see what this little monster looks like, Daddy.”

  She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door, and the only thought I had was how good that sounded.

  Daddy.

  *

  Chapter 13

  Sage

  “Sam knows.”

  Molly looked up from the coffee machine. “Knows what?”

  I glanced down at my stomach.

  “Holy shit! How did that go?”

  Surprisingly, he had taken it well. I think he was most excited about the fact Roman was the daddy. “Good. He was playing in my room while I was getting dressed, and he found the ultrasound picture.”

  “What? You haven’t even shown that to me!”

  I waved my hand. “You can’t even tell it’s a baby. The tech had to circle the small part that was the baby, and it’s basically just a blip. You can see the one when we find out what we’re having.”

  Molly grabbed a cup and started working on a vanilla latte. “Can I just say, you are completely cool and calm with this whole baby thing? Pretty sure if it was me, Kellan would have me on bed rest for nine months, and I’d be afraid to breathe.”

  I laughed. “Trust me, Roman drives me crazy sometimes.” With each day that went by, I could tell he watched me and always made sure I was okay and comfortable. While most of the time it was nice, sometimes it got on my nerves.

&nb
sp; “There's something that blows my mind. You and Roman being you and Roman.”

  I rolled my eyes. “It’s not that hard to believe.” Roman and I had slipped into a nice routine the past week. If it was nights Sam had class, Roman would pick him, take him to class, come home, then spend the rest of the night playing with Sam before he went to bed, and then the rest of the night he would play with me. Wink, wink. The nights he didn’t have karate, Roman planned little dates that included Sam. It was perfect.

  Molly finished the latte and set it in front of me. “You’re really happy, Sage. I haven’t seen you like this, well, ever.”

  I grabbed the cup and shrugged. “Life is good for the moment.”

  “You still coming over after you go to Mary and Dale’s tomorrow?” Tomorrow was Thanksgiving.

  “That’s the plan.” The plan also included me telling Mary and Dale about the baby. I had initially planned on telling them after I started showing more, but I knew with Sam knowing I was pregnant, he wasn’t going to keep my secret.

  “Cool. Dinner is at four.”

  “Perfect. Mary and Dale eat at noon, so I’ll be ready for round two.” I dropped the latte off with The Moaners who were intensely talking about men shaving their chest or going all lumberjack.

  “What about you, Sage? What is that ninja hiding under those clothes,” Bess asked.

  My cheeks heated, and I wiped my hands on my apron. “Uh, well.”

  “Lord have mercy, look at her blush,” a Moaner to my left cackled.

  “I bet he shaves,” another remarked.

  “Or waxes.”

  These ladies were shameless.

  “Well, spill, Sage. Is the Ro Man cleaned up, or au natural?” Bess demanded.

  Ro Man? I think I might have stepped into an alternate universe. “Um, natural, but not hairy.” I think that made sense. He had a little treasure trail, but he wasn’t covered with hair.

  Bess clicked her tongue and held her hand out. ‘Pay up, bitches. I knew those ninjas didn’t shave. They may be hot as hell, but they ain’t no prima donnas.”

  Each of the ladies slapped a five-dollar bill in Bess’ hand and grumbled under their breath.

  “Well, sorry, ladies.” They each rolled their eyes and waved me away.

  Molly was standing by the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. “I see Bess finally got to you.”

  “You knew about that?”

  She nodded her head. “Yup. She asked me, Hadley, and Kennedy the same question. It appears the karate hotties were the topic of discussion this week.”

  “So odd,” I mumbled.

  “Yeah, but that oddness in the corner helps pay the bills every month.”

  True that. Their weekly book club had turned into a daily book club.

  “Kellan said Roman’s training has been going well.”

  I nodded and grabbed my cup of decaf chai. “That’s what he says. He talks, and I listen because I have no idea what he is talking about.”

  Molly laughed. “That is exactly how I am when Kellan starts talking about forms and what he’s teaching. Totally goes right over my head, but it’s nice he loves what he does.”

  “Those guys are all lucky to have that,” I agreed.

  More than once, Roman had said how much he loved running Powerhouse. Knowing what you love and being able to do it for a job must be an amazing feeling. While I loved working for Molly at the café, it wasn’t what I dreamed of. Right now, I just needed to pay the bills, and Molly paid me generously so I couldn’t complain.

  Molly took her apron off and tossed it in the laundry basket. “I’m gonna run lunch over to Kellan and the guys. You wanna come?”

  “Someone needs to stay and wa—”

  “I got it. Go get a little ninja nookie.” Bess bustled over to the counter and untied my apron. She slipped it over my head and had it tied around her waist before I could even protest.

  “What if someone wants more than black coffee?” I protested. I wasn’t as good as Molly at making coffee, but I could do it in a pinch.

  “No fancy coffee for the next half hour,” Bess hollered. “You all understand that?”

  Grunts of acknowledgment came from the four tables that were taken. “Well, that works,” Molly laughed. “Can’t say I want you to ever do that again, but it’ll do for today. We won’t be gone long.”

  Molly grabbed a tray and two bags she had sitting on the back table and handed me one. “Why am I going?”

  “Because it’ll do you good to see your man working.” Bess snatched the towel I had in my back pocket and snapped it at me. “Be gone.”

  Molly looped her arm through mine and pulled me out the door and around the building to the door of Powerhouse.

  “Stop!”

  Molly skidded to a stop and rocked back. “What’s wrong?”

  “How do I look?” Yeah, that’s what I worried about. I didn’t know who was going to be in there, and I didn’t want to look like a frump next to Roman.

  “Sage, you look like you.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

  Molly hung her head. “Lord have mercy, child. That means you are gorgeous. You’re the only one I know who can work an eight-hour shift at the café and look like you just walked off the cover of a magazine.”

  Magazine? Did she mean Heffers Monthly? “I think we should skip going in there and go to the eye doctor instead. I’m pretty sure you are going blind.” She grabbed my arm and tugged me to the door. “You are Sage Wick, and you are beautiful.”

  I gulped and nodded my head. Yeah, sure, whatever.

  “Say it.”

  “Say what?”

  “What I just said.”

  “Say it?” What in the hell was she talking about?

  “No, the whole I am Sage part.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Have I ever told you that you are crazy?”

  “I’m quirky. Now, let’s do this. I don’t want to leave Bess unattended for more than we have to.” Molly pulled open the door and pulled me in behind her.

  The sound of grunting and yelling reached my ears, but I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I looked to my left and saw the mats where I figured classes were but couldn’t see who was grunting.

  “Hey, cookie. I didn’t know if you were going to make it over, or if I would have to come to you.” Kellan grabbed the bag from Molly and set it on the front counter. “Roman is still working out, and the other assholes are passed out on the couch.”

  “I am not passed out. Just resting,” Dante yelled. I would know that jerk’s voice anywhere. “Did you bring cookies?”

  “Yup,” Molly yelled. “Sage carried them over.”

  There was an audible groan from the back room, and I couldn’t help but smile. How nice we both hated each other.

  “I can handle getting the guys their food if you want to go let Roman know we’re here.” Molly ripped the bag from my hand and hip-checked me toward the mat.

  Kellan gave me a wink. “He’s over in the corner.”

  Oh Jesus. Everyone was conspiring against me, it seemed.

  The grunting got louder as I walked to the mat and looked at the other end. I stood by the half wall that separated the mat from the seating and watched Roman do push-ups.

  Lots of push-ups.

  I started counting and got to thirty-seven when he finally stopped. He laid flat on his stomach, his head turned away from me, and panted.

  “Think you could do that many with Sam on your back?” Yup, that’s how corny I was.

  Roman jumped, and his eyes shot to me. “Sage?” he gasped.

  “In the flesh,” I mumbled. It was kind of odd to see Roman in the light of day. Even on the weekend, I hadn’t seen him ‘til the evening because he spent the day doing classes or training.

  “You’re gonna have to come here, because I just did one hundred push-ups and I can’t feel my arms.”

  “F-u-c-k.”

  Roman chuckled and shook his he
ad. It had now become a joke between us to spell cuss even when Sam wasn’t around. “Kick off your shoes and come sit with me.”

  I toed off my shoes and moved to the edge of the mat. “Do I need to do that bow thing?”

  “You’re not taking classes, but it doesn’t hurt.”

  I awkwardly bent at the waist and stepped onto the mat. “Hey, this is cushy.”

  Roman patted the mat next to him and face-planted. “Sit,” he mumbled.

  “Why on Earth would you do that many push-ups?” I also wondered why he would want to do any push-ups, but I figured that was just a question because I was lazy.

  “Arm strength. Stamina. Building muscle.”

  “Am I going to have to ice your arms tonight?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “I do one hundred push-ups a day, Sage. You just never see me right after I do them.”

  Well, now that was impressive. “How long does that take you to do one hundred?”

  He laughed. “Too fucking long. Probably seven minutes.”

  My jaw dropped. Seven minutes was slow? “Well, even if it takes you two hours, that’s still impressive. I’m pretty sure I can’t even do five.”

  “You’re stronger than you think, baby.”

  “How sweet of you to say, but I know you’re just blowing smoke up my ass.”

  He didn’t deny it. “So, how are you feeling today? Excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow?”

  I shrugged and picked at a fuzzy on my sleeve. “Not really. I didn’t tell you, but Sam knows about the baby, and well, you.”

  His jaw dropped. “No s-h-i-t. Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I didn’t really have time for you to come over before Sam asked me a million questions.”

  He sat up and pulled me into his lap. “I mean why didn’t you text me after?”

  “I had to quickly drop him off at daycare, and then I’ve been swamped at the café all morning. I planned on telling you when you came and picked up Sam.”

  “Baby, we don’t have classes tonight.”

  I waved my hand. “Well, when you came over tonight then.” I couldn’t keep track of karate lessons on top of my normal crap going on. I totally had pregnancy brain.