Page 9 of Labor of Love

“It’s weird, being pregnant,” he admitted, matching West’s near whisper from before. “Especially this early. Like, I know there’s a baby in there, but anyone looking at me would never be able to tell. Not even me. If I hadn’t set out to do this purposefully, I’d never know. I’d think all these mood swings and weird fluctuations in energy and appetite were coincidental, and I’d probably complain about it a couple times, load up on caffeine, and go about my day. But knowing why I feel this way? It makes it all so surreal. Like, there are these itty-bitty cells inside of me that are so small, they’re practically invisible, but here they are, making me feel things. Making medothings. It’s wild.” Eyes closed, he pressed his cheek a touch more firmly to West’s head so his lips were in West’s hair. “I’m not a different person than I was before, but I’m not the same, either—I’m both him and me.”

“Him?” West asked.

“The baby. It’s too early to know the sex yet, but that’s what my heart is telling me.”

“You think I gave you a boy?”

West took his arm out from beneath Luca and pressed a hand to Luca’s belly. The gesture was innocent enough, but it made Luca’s head swim with all the implications.

The deal was that the baby would be his and his alone, but here was West, taking ownership, making contact, asking after it. He would be such an amazing dad and an even better partner, and while that wasn’t in the cards, the same hormones that hadmade Luca feel like he would die if he didn’t cozy up to someone were now holding an all-out rager in his pants, getting him rock hard for the man who would have been the perfect father for his baby.

“Maybe,” he mumbled, embarrassed and flustered and vibrating from desperate need. “I don’t know. I’ve never been pregnant before. I could end up changing my mind.”

“A baby boy,” West murmured, the heat of his palm warming Luca’s belly. “Is that what you wanted? We didn’t really talk about any of that when you asked if I would get you pregnant.”

Luca’s face caught fire. “I don’t care about the sex. I’d be happy with a boy or a girl.”

“Mm. I can picture you with either. Maybe, if you want, we can try again after this baby is born so you can have one of each.”

Was West…

Was West flirting with him?

Straitlaced, literal West who had once balked at Luca’s suggestion of having sweet potatoes with dinner because he thought they were a dessert item?

No, he had to be mistaken.

West was too earnest and straightforward to flirt. All he was doing was trying to be helpful. Luca was the one making things weird by being horny about it.

“Maybe,” Luca offered. Then, to save himself further embarrassment, he fished a hand between their bodies and took West’s hand off his stomach. When West lifted his head and gave him a confused look, Luca smiled thinly and shrugged. “It’s the hormones. They’re making me want to be with someone, and when you touch me like that, they make me want to be with you.”

“Oh. I see.”

Luca didn’t let go of West’s hand, nor did West try to take his hand away. They remained near frozen, not speaking ormoving—except for Luca’s heart, which was breaking land speed records.

Why did it feel like West was going to kiss him?

Washe going to kiss him?

The chemistry between them was so thick, Luca could barely breathe, but what if it was all in his head?

“Is there something I can do to help you?” West asked earnestly after a simmering pause. “You know, kind of like how lying on you helped you feel less sad. Is there an equivalent to that for this?”

Luca’s mouth went dry. “I mean, if you want to make out sometimes, that would probably take the edge off.”

“You want to make out… platonically?”

“Yeah. Just. Platonically.” Luca lowered his gaze, eyeing West’s lower lip. “Just a couple of buds who made a baby together, kissing about it all the time.”

West’s lips parted. His eyelids drooped.

Slowly, apprehensively, he angled his head to the side and brushed his lips over Luca’s. It wasn’t a kiss, but with permission, it would be, and it made Luca shiver all the same.

“We can do that,” West whispered. He closed his eyes, and Luca did, too. “I’ll do anything to help you through this pregnancy. You just have to tell me what to do, and I’ll make it happen.”

Luca hummed in acknowledgment and threaded his fingers through West’s hair, using his grip to guide West’s lips to his not in allusion of a kiss, but in the absolute fact of it. West made the smallest noise of pleasure—one Luca felt more than heard—and kissed him back with overwhelming certainty.

His hand tightened around Luca’s, their fingers intertwining.

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