Page 52 of The Baby Twist
“Relax, Jenna. I just wanted to get it out in the open.”
“You could have warned me first. The entire office is buzzing.”
“They’ll get over it soon enough.”
Suddenly, I felt something in my belly that startled me.
“Oh, my God.” I placed my hand on my belly.
“What’s wrong?” Lucas jumped up from his chair.
“I’m not sure. Oh, my God.” I felt it again.
“I’m taking you to the hospital,” Lucas said.
“No, you’re not. I’m not having pain. I think the baby kicked.”
“Is that the first time you’ve felt that?” he asked as he walked over to me.
“Yeah. It is.” I grinned as I took his hand and placed it on my belly.
We both waited patiently, but nothing happened.
“Oh well. I guess she went back to sleep.” I sighed. “I need to get back to work. I’ll run down here if she starts kicking again.”
“Good idea. Forget about the email and forget about the buzzing. Come tomorrow, it’ll be old news.” He kissed my forehead, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t give me that look.”
“Then don’t do things that make me give you that look.” I arched my brow at him. As I turned and walked out of his office, I heard him chuckle.
One Month Later
Lucasand I were the true definition of having a friends-with-benefits relationship. I did my thing, and he did his. We lived separately but had sex whenever we wanted. The only string that was attached to us was our daughter. Everything was perfect, or so I thought, until I was out shopping one day. Pregnant couples appeared everywhere. Holding hands, kissing, and giving each other that look—the look of love, joy, and happiness. I felt like a pregnant fraud. Alone, unworthy, and scared. Maybe it was the hormones. Maybe it was the fact that I wanted more in my life now. Or maybe it was because I’d fallen in love with Lucas, and I knew he couldn’t return the favor. I couldn’t tell him how I felt because I wouldn’t risk damaging our friendship. I hadn’t heard from Bri since that day we talked on the street. Obviously, she was still in the grips of her controlling douchebag boyfriend. If I tried to reach out to her, it would be the same old shit. I couldn’ttalk to my parents because they would tell me it was my fault for getting pregnant in the first place without being in a committed relationship. As much as I felt alone in this situation, I knew I wasn’t the only single pregnant woman out there dealing with this.
After I left the baby boutique and five hundred dollars later, I stopped by the electronics store to pick up a new laptop charger. While there, I overheard a woman tell her friend when they walked past me that she needed a better microphone for her podcast. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in my head, and a smile crossed my face. I could express my feelings to the world, and nobody would have to know it was me. I was high-tech and knew exactly how to get a podcast up and running. After purchasing everything I needed, I returned to my apartment to set up my podcast, which I calledBaby Drama. I went by J. Elle instead of using my first name because I needed to be careful. Being open and raw was how I would record, and I wasn’t going to edit a single thing. What I said was exactly what people would hear, if anyone even listened to it. I didn’t even care if anyone listened or not because talking about how I felt and what I was going through helped me. After recording and speaking from my heart, I uploaded the content, shut my laptop down, and went to bed.
The next morning, I slid into the back of the car and said good morning to Thaddeus. Lucas hadn’t come down yet, and I was surprised. He was never late. A few moments later, the door opened, and Lucas climbed in next to me.
“Late night?” I arched my brow at him.
“Pretty much.”
I couldn’t help but wonder if he was with someone last night. He said he was going to JAMS to hang with Danny, where temptation was uncontrollable.
“I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. Would you like to come with me?” I asked.
“I can’t, Jenna.” He glanced over at me. “I have a very busy day.”
Disappointment shot through me because he’d never been to any of my appointments.
“Sure. I understand.” I gave him a small smile.
“Maybe next time,” he said. “How was your day yesterday?”
“It was good. I did some shopping and picked up some adorable sleepers from this cute little baby boutique over on Lexington.”
“And what did you do last night?”
“Oh, not much. I just pretty much laid around and watched TV.” I lied.
