“Good. But you are going to give yourself a headache if you keep on crying. That or become dehydrated.”
She snorts out a laugh.
“How about you get a shower and then we can watch that new teen rom-com streaming on Netflix?”
She perks up at this. “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before? You’d watch that with me? I’ve already watched it twice, but it’s so good.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, I’m dying to see what all the fuss is about.” I start gathering up all our new baby books.
“Don’t be hating. Peter Kavinsky is, by far, one of the best book boyfriends in the history of book boyfriends.”
I stand, bookbag in hand and pull her up from the couch. “Come on, let’s get you in the shower first, then we can drool over Peter Kavinsky together,” I tell her as I pull her down the hall to the bathroom.
“On one condition,” she says.
I look over my shoulder at her as I enter the bathroom. The light’s already on, but I move toward the shower to turn it on.
“You join me. You can wash my back,” she purrs.
“Hey, that’s my line. I’ve been asking you to wash my back for years.” I turn the knob and take a step back.
“Yes, and now that I’m using it, you’ll see better results,” she says as she lifts my shirt up and I pull it the rest of the way off.
“You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Jacobs.”
At that point, all things baby, future, and potty training are forgotten. The only things I can think about are the sexy-as-hell curves, the sweet-as-sin taste, and the wet and readiness of Ruby Jacobs.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ruby
I walk down the hall back into my room in my short, silky purple robe. It’s almost seven and I’m, of course, running late this morning. Not only did I not want to wake up, but Link had plans other than hitting my snooze button a few times.
“Well hello, sexy.” He whistles while pulling on his jeans.
I just smile at him as I walk to my dresser. He’s not wearing a shirt yet, and if I go to him, I’ll just get distracted. I hate being late for work, so I need to resist the magnetic pull he’s always seemed to have on me.
I feel him before I hear him. He’s walked up behind me, leaning into me, my back to his front. His large, warm hands slowly caress my thighs and I can’t help the sigh that falls from my lips.
“We’ve got time for a little bit more fun, Rubes.” His low, gravelly voice says in my ear.
“No, I’m already late,” I tell him.
“Oh, there’s always time for a little fun,” he replies as his right hand slides around to my front skimming higher across my skin until his fingers are at the apex of my thigh.
“Plus, you’re not wearing anything under this sexy-as-fuck robe. We can be fast.” He pushes my legs apart with his hand and his fingers start to explore.
I turn my head toward him and kiss his check. I must remain strong. Resist the pull.
“We can have fun later. I’ll lose the bra and panties and we can reenact this scene when I’m not late for work.”
He makes a noise that’s part whine and part growl. He finally accepts my words as his hands leave my legs to slide up to my arms and turn me around to face him.
I lean in and give him a quick peck on the lips. I can’t fully kiss him, or it will turn to more.
But instead of backing away, he lowers himself to the floor in front of me.
“Come on, Rubes, you’re all sexy— clean and still wet from your shower. We can definitely reenact this later, but why not set the scene now?” He looks up at me with the grin he knows is my undoing and lifts the hem of the robe up achingly slow. I feel my body tighten and flutter in all the places I know he’s about to explore.
He pushes me back slightly, so I’m leaning against the dresser and I instinctively spread my legs.
“That’s my girl,” he says before leaning in and kissing my belly. After that he moves lower with his kisses. As he devours me with his lips and tongue, I’m completely lost to the world. I don’t care what time it is, I’m not even sure if I know what day it is. All I know is, thank goodness for a sturdy wooden dresser. My grip on the edge of it tightens as he lifts my leg over his shoulder for better access and I nearly come apart the moment his fingers come into play.
I should have known he would rock my world with his mouth and tongue. Moments later, I’m yelling his name as my climax ignites deep in my core.
I’m catching my breath when Link puts me back to rights and stands in front of me. He still has bed head, which looks similar to his normal, everyday style. He’s wearing that cocky-ass grin as he leans in and kisses my cheek.
“Baby, now wasn’t that worth it?” he asks, stepping away from me.
“Hmm?” Is all I can manage.
Chuckling, he steps back almost completely out of my reach, but I lean forward and grab his hand to pull him back to me.
“What about your fun?” I ask and nod to the massive budge in his unbuttoned jeans.
“Nope, that was my fun.”
“No, let me …”
“Rubes,” he cuts me off but steps in closer to me, “that was fun and I’m taking care of you.”
“But—” I try.
“And you’re going to be late for work now,” he tells me.
Shit. He’s right.
He walks over near my bed and bends to snag his shirt up off the floor.
I pull out my underwear and bra and make quick work of getting dressed.
“But I mean, when we are reenacting that later, I’m all for a role reversal if you are,” he says as I turn around. I’m both disappointed and relieved he’s finally completely dressed.
“We’ll see. You just let me off the hook for a blow job. I’ll think about it.” I can’t help but laugh at his face since he clearly thinks I’m serious. But then his expression turns thoughtful.
“What?” I ask, brushing past him to my closet.
“I’m not sure it’s good for the baby, you giving me a bj. You know, being on your knees and all. Maybe we’ll just have to keep a tally and you can pay me back in nine months or so. It could be like a daily thing. Actually, I like the idea of that. Morning head.”
I blink slowly, with my mouth slightly agape.
“Wha— … what are you talking about?”
He starts to speak but I put a hand up to stop him.
“Nope, I don’t have time for this explanation. Pregnant women can still give blow jobs and I’m not going to give you morning head every day. This conversation is over.” I put my foot down.
He grunts in response and sits down on my bed, turning up the TV as I head back to the bathroom to finish getting ready.
Moments later I walk back into my room to grab my phone, and he’s ready and waiting to walk me out.
“Oh, I forgot to mention this last night, but I don’t want to tell anyone I’m … you know …”
“With child?” he offers.
“Yeah. Bernie knows, but that’s it. I love Morgan and Gia, but until my first appointment and I find out everything is looking good, I don’t want this to be a thing.”
“All right, whatever you want.” His hand is on my lower back as I open the apartment door and we head out for the day.
~~~
Me: I’m not ready for you to move out just yet.
Gia: You’ve been sick. You know I don’t like being sick.
Me: Yeah, but I’m not sick any more.
Gia: Are you sure?
Me: Positive
Gia: Because if you are still sick and now Link is sick because you guys are swapping spit, he’s moving in with you.
Me: I’m probably okay with this.
Gia: LOL WHAT? So soon?
Me: shrug emoji
With everything that happened last night after telling Link I was pregnant, the thought of moving in with him doesn’t scare me. I mean, neither of us come from old school families in that he’s going to be expected
to propose to me and us get married before the baby comes. I wouldn’t want that anyway, since we are still so new and adding in a baby might be stressful enough. I could see us moving in together after the baby is born — if he is the dad — to make life easier for both of us.
There is still a thought nagging at the back of my mind that if the baby isn’t Link’s, I need to give him another out. That life as he knows it does not need to end just because his girlfriend is a mom. I won’t do that to him. It might be hard to let him go, but I’ll need to do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn’t fall down the family hole with me, when it’s clearly not his time.
I push this line of thought away, it’s way too soon to be dwelling on this. I guess I’ll figure it out when the time comes. Right now, though, I’m ready to be done with work for the day. Missing yesterday wasn’t all that bad, my inbox didn’t fill up and there weren’t any fires to put out when I got in this morning.
I’ve got about an hour left in my work day and I’m not able to focus on work. So instead, I plan Morgan’s bachelorette party. It’s coming up soon and she doesn’t want to do any crazy clubbing. Gia is planning her shower, but I got assigned the fun party if you ask me.
I have an idea that I think Morgan might love, but I don’t want to plan it without getting her buy-in.
I push away from my desk and walk to the other side of the floor. Our company’s office space takes up two full floors, but Morgan and I have been lucky enough to stay on the same floor. If we had started on separate floors, we probably wouldn’t have become friends.
I knock on the partition wall of her work station. Most of us have large, cubicle-like work stations, but this partition is only chest high. There isn’t a lot of privacy, but it works because we are in a very teamwork driven atmosphere. The floor is reminiscent of what you would picture a newsroom to look like, but since we are a tech company, it’s about ten times cooler with the look, feel and gadgets.
“Hey you, got a minute?”
She turns in her chair. “For you, always.” She’s perpetually happy and I just love her to pieces. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Rube.”
“Just a little bug, I’m fine now.” For the record, it’s really hard not to tell your best friends you’re pregnant, but I really don’t want to steal her wedding thunder and I don’t want to make a big deal over things when I haven’t even seen a doctor. I took another pregnancy test this morning, officially eight days past my period, and yup, still positive.
“So, I had an idea for your party.” I step into to her small space and lean against her hip-high desk.
“Ooh, spill.” She rubs her hands together in anticipation.
“We should take a private pole dancing class.” I see her face start to redden but hold up my hand to continue. “Hear me out, Mo. The class would just be for whoever you invite to the party plus the teacher. I found a place that seems professional and hosts bachelorette parties often. They teach you basic moves and then they also teach you a strip tease dance. Tell me it wouldn’t rock Dex’s mind, you doing a sexy strip tease on your wedding night?” I let it all sink in.
She chews on her bottom lip in thought, and I’ve got my fingers mentally crossed.
One of the things I checked last night is if it was safe to pole dance while pregnant. It is, in your first trimester for sure, but if you’re not a professional pole dancer then you probably shouldn’t later in your pregnancy. Heck, I even found some prenatal pole dancing classes.
“You know pole dancing is actually a form of exercise. You can practice pole dancing and not be a stripper,” I say, because I know what she’s thinking: Why would she need to learn to pole dance?
“I dunno, Ruby,” she hesitates.
“Come on, it’s either that or we could have a sex toy party.” Her face goes beet red.
“You were just telling me a month or so ago that you wanted to spice things up for married life. This is perfect.” She and Dex are a super sweet couple and are perfect for each other. But they are vanilla as all get out. Heck, I remember the first and probably only time she ever tried to have phone sex with the guy. It totally went right over his head. They need this.
“Oh, all right,” she finally says.
I squeal in delight.
“I’ll get it booked, for six, right?”
“Yes ma’am,” she confirms, and I push off her desk and tell her bye.
I get back to my desk, book her party, pay the fee and mark a check next to my growing to-do list. Next on this list, figure out how the heck to tell my parents that they’re going to be grandparents.
Yay me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ruby
“I’m thinking we should just do a live stream tonight. We can record a couple classic showdowns later,” Link tells me from below. He’s sitting at his desk and I’m lying up in his bed. Yes, I can say with one hundred percent seriousness that my boyfriend still has a bunk bed and I’m actually lying on it.
I remember the first time I saw it, I nearly shit a brick holding in my laughter. I even made fun of him and asked about how the ladies he brings home like having to climb a ladder to have sex. At the time, with pure cockiness, he claimed he’d had no complaints. And well, I get that now, but I can’t stop from bristling at the fact that others before me probably had the most amazing sex as well in this bed.
I fight a shiver and start to regret this line of thinking because now I want to climb out of his bed. But that would take too much energy. When I arrived moments ago, right from work, I came in, tossed my bag on the floor, and climbed right on up here.
“Want to tell me your thoughts on that, Rubes?” he says, pushing out his chair from under his desk, looking up at me. In his defense, his bed is set up loft style, since he has a lot of gaming equipment and a small space. His arrangement actually makes sense but, still. He’s twenty-six and plays video games for a living. I guess it’s completely acceptable.
“I was contemplating a nap,” I tell him after yawning.
His smile softens as he stands. I push up on my elbow and lean over the edge to meet him for a kiss.
“I’ve been reading that this lack of energy should disappear for a few months once you hit the second trimester.” And my heart just melts.
“You’ve been busy.” I smile and give him another peck on the lips.
“Told you. We’re doing this thing. I’m going to be prepared for everything.” His cocky grin appears on his handsome face. “For now, though, take a nap. But in thirty minutes, you need to get that cute ass down here for a live stream.”
“Yes, sir.” I smile and then snuggle into the pillow I’m holding to my chest. I fall asleep quickly, in complete bliss, breathing in the smell of him.
A short while later, Link wakes me up as promised. A cat nap was all I needed to feel refreshed in time to kick Link’s butt during our live stream.
“All right, I’m here with Ruby and we are going to battle it out in today’s Classic Showdown while playing Donkey Kong Country. While we are playing, I want to hear all about how you love this game and how old you were when you first played it,” Link says to the camera.
We’ve both got a headset on and he’s got all of his recording software up and running. The whole thing is complicated, and he’s explained it to me several times but it’s one of those things where I just smile and nod when needed.
“My brother first introduced me to DK, when I was like seven, and it’s one of my favorites,” I say as Link works through the opening credits.
“Nice. Dex and I couldn’t get enough of this game in elementary school.”
“At the start of your gaming career?” I ask.
“You know it. So today, Ruby and I will be racing to see who can collect the most bananas.” It’s still kind of odd, since we are really just talking to the monitor, but I see tons of comments popping up as we get started.
“Don’t worry, I’m a great banana grabber,” I assure him.
He
laughs, and the comments go crazy. Yeah, I know what I said.
We get started and about halfway through the round, Link gets distracted with the comments.
“You guys, Ruby is not going to be catching anyone’s banana.” He laughs.
A few more comments come in, and I take advantage of Link’s distraction. I learned a while ago that you can’t read too much into online comments. The gaming world can be a mean, dark place if you don’t have thick enough skin. It’s filled with too many jerks hiding behind their keyboards. But Link, with the help of bots and his community manager, handles the comments a heck of a lot better than I do.
Hell, I think out of all of us, Bernie is the most adept at them, but for us non-gamers, Gia handles them the best. Being the significant other of a well-known person in any industry leads to hateful, jealous comments at times.
Link and I haven’t officially announced that we’re together, so I’m not getting any hateful votes from his female fan base … yet.
Link grunts next to me, and I can’t tell if it’s the fact that he is losing or the comments that cause it.
The round ends and I’m ahead, as expected.
“I’m a master, I tell you.” I look at him and laugh.
“It’s only one round, just wait, this isn’t close to over,” he replies but then leans over and kisses me. I start to get swept up in the heat of his kiss, when I remember we are filming live in front of thousands. I break away and try to hide my surprise, but his self-assured smile tells me he knew exactly what he was doing.
“Show the lady some respect, people. She’s not available for any real-life banana catching” he tells the screen and then I’m caught off guard when the next round starts.
I’m not embarrassed that he kissed me during a live stream, but more concerned as to what this means for him. The man is a charming, sexy-as-sin gamer boy with a personality the size of Texas. I haven’t asked, but I’m pretty sure nearly half of his fan base is women. Maybe not that much, but it feels like it sometimes. Now that he’s clearly claimed me as his, will that affect his following? I don’t know, I’m going to have to talk to him about this later.
Game All Night Page 16
