Page 83 of Never Really Mine
“Yeah. They want to monitor for a bit, even though she thinks it’s just Braxton-Hicks.”
“Good.”
Beau reaches over, taking my hand in his, his thumb drawing circles on my skin as he drives. We’re nearly to the birth center when I’m hit with another contraction. I squeeze his hand involuntarily, trying so hard to focus on my breathing. If this isn’t real labor, I’m terrified of what real contractions feel like cause these are a pain in the ass. They aren’t world ending, but they definitely aren’t comfortable.
Beau coaches me through it, and when it’s done, I lean back, taking deep breaths. “That one didn’t seem too bad,” Beau says, squeezing my fingers.
I turn my gaze toward him, my eyes wide and irritation flooding through my body, because oh my god? This man is telling me that it “didn’t seem too bad?”
“Are you serious?” I ask.
He spares a glance at me, and I see the shift in his demeanor. “No,” he stammers. “I just mean… Shit. I mean that compared to the one at the winery, this one wasn’t as long. It didn’t seem like it hurt as much.” I can tell he’s regretting his words, but fuck, I’m irritated.
“Do you have two babies suddenly occupying your ball sack, and squeezing the shit out of it every twenty minutes? If so please enlighten me on how I’m feeling right now.” I pause, waiting for him to give me some sort of answer. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t. “No? That’s what I fucking thought.”
I don’t let him reply. I turn as best I can in my seat, and watch the scenery as we make the last bit of the drive toward the birth center.
48
BEAU
Just over two hours after arriving, Marley and I are back in my car, heading toward home. The babies are both active with strong heartbeats and the contractions have ceased. They gave her some fluids and that seemed to help overall with how Marley was feeling.
Dr. Ness put Marley on bedrest, which I am secretly grateful for. She needs to rest, especially in the last few weeks of her pregnancy. Which means no sex, no extraneous activities, nothing.
We are meeting with Jake, a realtor I work with, tomorrow, to go over all the things about the house. We’re also going back to the house, so Marley can get a good look at it, and really make an informed decision, rather than the decision I made for both of us. I’m definitely going to be keeping an extra watchful eye on her tomorrow, and until the twins arrive. I don’t want anything to go wrong, and I want her to be as comfortable as possible.
I’ve been reflecting a lot in the last week since Marley and I had our argument. We’ve both been treading carefully, but I think things are better. Marley seems to be a bit more sure in where we stand, and I get that she’s not totally ready to go full-steam ahead with a relationship, but fuck, am I ever. I laid all my emotions and words out for her, told her where I am at. The ball is in her court now. I need her to be the one to take this next step, to tell me she’s all in, too.
I pull into her driveway, looking over at her sleeping form. She’s been exhausted lately, and I’m sure all the contractions from today didn’t help. I reach across the car, using the back of my knuckles to brush softly across her cheek. “Mar, we’re home.”
She wakes slowly, eyelashes fluttering open.
“Want to get into the cool air?” I suggest. The heat is nearing unbearable levels today, so I’m eager to get into the house too.
“Hmm,” she murmurs in agreement.
I get out and head to her side. She’s still sitting in the same position when I open her door. “Ready?” I offer her my open palm. She takes it, letting me guide her out of the car. She’s moving slow, like her entire body is aching, and I’m sure it is. Between the pregnancy, the wedding, and the minor scare today, she has to be exhausted.
I keep her hand in mine, leading her into the house. She breathes a long sigh when the air conditioned air hits her. “That feels so good,” she murmurs. I watch as her shoulders droop, no longer tense and tight.
“Want to shower?”
She nods. “That sounds amazing.”
Twenty-five minutes later, she’s walking into the bedroom in only her robe, her hair piled up in a towel on her head. I’m not ashamed to admit that I stood outside the bathroom door the entire time, making sure she didn’t need anything, only leaving when I heard her brushing her teeth.
There are dark circles under Marley’s eyes, showing me just how bone-deep her exhaustion runs.
“Sit down,” I tell her. She does so without complaint, and I grab a pair of underwear, cotton sleep shorts, and a t-shirt of mine from her drawer. I kneel before her, gazing up into her eyes.
She turns her face away, a red flush creeping up her chest and neck. Lifting her feet, I slide her underwear up her legs, then do the same with her shorts. The moment feels intimate, almost sensual, but in a comforting way. I rise from my knees, taking her hands to help her stand. I pull the underwear and shorts up underneath her robe, settling them on her hips. She lowers herself back to the bed, untying her robe. Her breasts fall from the fabric, her dark pink nipples hard and peaked under the cool air. It kills me, knowing that I can’t touch her, can’t make her feel as good as I know she deserves.
I help her into the baggy shirt, forever loving seeing her in my clothes. My cock grows achingly hard underneath my sweats, but I can’t do anything about it. I help her lay down, silently getting her comfortable with her pillow.
“Are you still wanting to go by the house tomorrow?” I ask, climbing into the bed behind her.
Marley reaches out, searching for my hand. “Yeah, I am. I want to see it again, and really start to plan things out.” I clasp our hands together, and she squeezes back gently. “Today scared me. I feel really unprepared.”
