Page 50 of Crossing the Lines for Love

Our eyes connected as she sat back down. She sent a timid smile my way before averting her eyes.

“Who’s ready to eat?” a group of servers shouted.

They placed the pizzas on the tables, and you would’ve thought we hadn’t eaten in weeks. Once everyone had food and settled down, I noticed Aranda lift a slice of pizza to her mouth.Before she took a bite, she dropped it on her plate, covered her mouth, hopped from her seat, and ran toward the bathrooms.

Without thinking, I rushed to follow her. I heard several teammates inquiring about what was wrong. Although I didn’t believe he knew the issue, Coach Crawford assured them Aranda was good.

When I entered the women’s bathroom, she was already in the largest stall, aggressively vomiting. She probably would’ve preferred privacy, but I didn’t care. After wetting a wad of paper towels, I squeezed out the excess water and barged into the stall.

“Shit, baby. What do you need?”

I kneeled next to her on the floor, softly rubbing her back and patting her forehead with the paper towels until she finished, then helping her to her feet. She flushed the toilet, and I followed her from the stall. I watched as she washed her hands, wet her face, and rinsed her mouth at the sink. After she dried her face with paper towels, she looked at me with uncertainty.

“You okay?”

“I’m so sorry. I missed my doctor’s appointment because there was so much going on. My IUD expired. I think I’m pregnant. I swear I didn’t?—”

“Baby, slow down. You’re pregnant?”

“I think so, but it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t realize it was time?—”

“You’re having my baby?”

“I haven’t taken a test or gone to the doctor. My period is late, and I’ve been sick a few times. I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure.”

I extended my arm, grabbed the front of her shirt, and pulled her against my chest. Her body melted against mine when I kissed the top of her head and wrapped my arms around her.

“What do you want to do?” I asked.

“What do you want me to do?”

“It’s your body, so it’s your choice.”

She stepped back and looked into my eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Baby, if I’ve learned anything in the past few weeks, I’ve learned not to be selfish. I wanted to text or call you every day. I followed you home from practice a few times and had to talk myself out of knocking on every door until I found your apartment. I wanted to send lunch and flowers to your job to remind you how much I loved you. I can’t tell you how many things I had to stop myself from doing. I love you, and whatever you decide is what we’ll do.”

“If I’m pregnant, I want this baby.”

“It sounds like we might be having a baby.”

I tried to kiss her, and she quickly turned away. “I can’t kiss you with vomit on my breath.”

“I don’t give a fuck about that.” I gently pinched her chin and turned her face toward mine. “My tongue has touched every inch of your pussy. I’m not scared of a little vomit residue. C’mere.”

My lips landed on hers before she could deny me again, and my soul was on fire. Our tongues intertwined, and I immensely enjoyed every second of our connection. I missed her immediately when I pulled away.

“Coach Crawford knows,” she said.

“You told him?”

“No. He kinda told me, and I didn’t deny it. I’ll tell you about that later. We should get back to the table.”

“Hold on. I don’t want to make any assumptions because you might be carrying my baby.”

“Coach Crawford asked me to wait until the season ends because you’ve been locked in. He didn’t want anything to knock you off your square.”

“Only one thing will do that, Aranda, and I refuse to believe you haven’t been as miserable as I have since you left me. My heart still beats for you, baby.”

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