Page 100 of Written By a Woman

I immediately jumped off the couch and ran, throwing open the front door to see Eloise St. James standing there in all her pregnant glory.

“Hi—”

“I’m going to pee my pants,” Eloise interrupted my greeting by quickly elbowing me out of her way and making a beeline toward my bathroom.

I laughed, after righting myself. Eloise was a smaller woman than me, in every way, and yet she almost knocked me on the ground to get to the bathroom in time.

After slamming the bathroom door closed, there was a sigh of relief that echoed in the bathroom as she relieved herself, making me laugh out loud again as I walked back to the couch.

A minute or so later, Eloise emerged from the bathroom, giving a grateful smile as she wandered over to me. A significant bump was already pushing against her shirt, and I clapped my hands excitedly as she noticed where my gaze landed and posed side to side for me to admire her pregnant belly.

“You’re so cute!” I squealed, “You make pregnancy look adorable.”

“That’s nice,” Eloise smiled as she finally settled herself on the couch next to me, throwing her feet up on my coffee table just like I was sitting, “But I’m always one sneeze away from either peeing or shitting my pants.”

I snorted and took a moment to laugh some more, “Is that why you decided to stop by without notice?”

Eloise shrugged her shoulders, “I knew I wouldn’t make it home from shopping with my mom in Newport, and when I realized how close your apartment was and how long it’s been since we’ve hung out, I decided to insert myself into your Friday night.”

I gave her what tried to become a grateful smile before my lip wobbled and I felt the threat of tears start to sting my eyes.

Eloise’s clear blue eyes widened at me in response, and she quickly tucked her light blonde hair behind her ears before throwing herself at me in a hug. I didn’t start sobbing or anything, because I was determined not to wallow too much about facing the consequences of my own actions, but I did hug her back while some traitorous tears escaped.

“Is everything okay?” Eloise asked against my hair. She smelled so good, like roses or something.

“No,” I sniffled, pulling back from her hug, and wiping my eyes with my sweatshirt sleeve, “I quit my job today.”

Eloise raised her eyebrows for a moment, nodded once, and waited for me to elaborate. When I didn’t, she asked, “…The job you’ve wanted to quit since starting?”

I smiled and huffed a laugh because she wasn’t wrong. I probably was giving off a lot of mixed signals.

“It’s more complicated than that.”

Eloise waited, so I released a heavy breath and made myself fill her in on everything regarding Zaid.

Everything including the live stream, the desk plant in apology to women everywhere, and the homemade lunches, until this afternoon. When Jacqueline discovered my deep dark secret, told Zaid about it, making me panic and quit so that I wouldn’t have to face his disgust with me.

“So, you haven’t spoken to him since you overheard Jacqueline telling him?” Eloise asked, “Has he reached out?”

I shrugged, “My phone is silenced in my bedside drawer.” I nodded my head in the direction of my bed against the other wall.

“…But what if he’s not upset about it, though,” Eloise pressed.

“Call me crazy,” I gave her a deadpan look, “But the look on his face really made me doubt that the man who wanted to wait to lay his pipe inside of me until we were serious was happy to hear that I had been writing a romance about him. A romance that includes some not safe for work, explicit content.”

Eloise was already giggling before I finished my sentences.

I smiled at her, waiting for her to catch her breath. Her face turned bright red with her laughter, a sign of the high blood pressure she had been struggling with since becoming pregnant a second time. “Hold on,” Eloise breathed through her giggles, trying to regulate, “Laying pipe. Good god.”

“Would you prefer dipping his wick? Entering my castle? Filling me out like an application? Putting his wand in my chamber of secrets? Shooting his meat rocket into my—” I was stopped by Eloise’s hand slapping itself over my mouth as she cackled.

“I’m going to pee again, you need to stop,” Eloise giggled some more. I listened to her warning because even though my couch wasn’t the nicest one around, I still didn’t want to clean her pee out of it.

After giving Eloise a few moments to catch her breath, I shifted and rested my fist on my cheek, my elbow on the back of the couch, “How are you doing with this pregnancy? You already have a little one this time. Do any of you need anything?”

Eloise rested her head on the back of the couch, her hand resting over her heart as she grinned at my question, “I don’t think so. Logan being retired is probably the best thing that happened for us.” I grinned, jealous that someone in their early forties could retire and be financially secure for the remainder of their lives. Perks of playing in the NHL, I guess, “Plus my parents are super helpful with Iris, thank god. She’s the most energetic four-year-old I’ve ever met.”

I believed her. Eloise used to work at a facility that provided therapies for babies and toddlers before teaching an exercise class at the gym where I met her. I went to it for a one-week duration, before never going back again. Because I hated sweating.

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