Page 82 of Always Been You

His hand runs up and down my leg in a soothing manner. He watches his hand for a few seconds before meeting my eyes again.

“I was hoping you might take that test with me here this morning.”

It hits me after Josh proposed he showed me the pregnancy tests he bought at the recommendation of Grayson. My hands begin to fidget with the blanket in my lap as my mind begins to roll down the hill of what my being pregnant could mean.

Are Josh and I ready for that? I would have to take maternity leave at school. Can I afford to take maternity leave? What will our families say? We haven’t been together that long, and Matt only just learned that we are together. My mind continues to go down this path when it’s ripped out of its spiral by Josh’s fingers on my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes.

“Babe, I don’t want you to freak out. We will do this together. We love each other, we have each other no matter what.”

I stare into his beautiful eyes and I can see the happiness and love in them. The vice that had wrapped itself around my entire body loosens and an overwhelming sense of calm washes over me.

Josh and I can handle anything together.

I lean closer to him until I can feel his breath on my lips. “You’re right,” I whisper and kiss him.

“The tests are in the bathroom,” he says and I climb off the bed and head in there. Grabbing the box, I read the instructions before I pee on the sticks and place the cover on them, placing them on the counter. Josh joins me while I wash my hands and he wraps his arms around me from behind, placing his chin on my shoulder. I allow myself to lean into him as my hands join his on my stomach.

His thumb rubs softly up and down from its position on my stomach and he places a kiss on my neck before I feel him stiffen quickly. I look down at the tests and both screens say ‘Pregnant’ I turn in his arms and he grips my face tightly before he completely devours my mouth. I meet his tongue with the same fervour. I wrap my arms around his neck, and pull him as close to me as possible.

When we are both breathless, he leans his forehead against mine and I see his smile. “We’re having a baby,” he whispers, and I nod.

He drops to his knees in front of me. I’m still naked from last night, and he places kisses on my stomach.

“Hi baby. Daddy’s here,” he says between kisses.

I don’t realize I’m crying until I can taste the salt on my lips. I run my hands through his hair as he stays kneeling in front of me with his face pressed into my stomach. Aftera few minutes of us staying like that, Josh gets up and grabs my hand, pulling me toward the kitchen.

“We need to feed you, Mamma,” he says, and he encourages me to sit on one of the bar stools. I watch him as he makes his way around the kitchen, making bacon, toast, and cutting fruit. He hasn’t made eggs since we got back from the camping trip, and I’m not sure that I really want to try that out right now.

He places the food in front of me before taking a spot beside me. His hand rests on my thigh as we eat in companionable silence. When we both finish, he turns to me, grabbing my hands and rubbing his thumbs over the backs of my hands. I feel the warmth that often surrounds me when I’m with him.

“So, I know we are supposed to go to Victoria and Seattle this weekend, but how do you feel about going the following weekend and having a barbecue in the park this weekend with our friends and family to announce the engagement? I don’t think I can keep it a secret any longer than a few days.”

I don’t think I can keep it a secret any longer than this weekend, either.

“That sounds perfect. I’ll send invites out and plan it today.”

I look over at the clock in the kitchen and notice that we’ve been up for nearly two hours now. I pat my thighs with both my hands.

“As much as I love that you’re here with me right now, you should get to work and I should get to planning this barbecue,” I say.

After giving me a quick kiss, he heads toward our bedroom to get changed while I clean the kitchen. After he says goodbye, I get to work on planning the barbecue. I find a park close to both our parents’ places with an available space to rent. I book that and then get to work on making myselfa to-do list. After a few hours of work, I make myself lunch and get to work on sending out texts and e-mails with invites. Once I get them all sent out, I relax on the couch with my Kindle. I barely make it through a page before I fall asleep.

I’m woken bythe feeling of a hand on my head stroking my hair. I nuzzle into my position more and hear a deep chuckle from above me. I crack my eyes open and see Josh smiling down at me. I smile and rub the sleep out of my eyes.

“Hey babe, have you eaten dinner yet?” he asks.

“No, what time is it?” I mumble.

“Just after seven.”

I try to think and figure out when I fell asleep; I remember making lunch at 1 p.m. and then hunkering down to send the invites, and I made my way to the couch around 3:30 p.m.. I must have fallen asleep around 4 p.m. because I didn’t make it very far in my book. Somehow, I slept for three hours.

“I’m not hungry right now, but if you are, I can make you something,” I say before sitting up, allowing Josh to sit in front of my crossed legs.

“It’s okay. I’ll wait to eat with you.”

“How was work?”

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