Page 30 of Rebound
She only hums in response and eats the last of her food. She meets my eyes briefly as she stands, taking both our plates to the kitchen. When she returns, she’s cradling a tall mug that reads woke up sexy as hell again and I smile. Her eyes twinkle and I feel something settle in my heart. It’s scary to feel these things for her when she spent most of last night being angry with me. I know it was a risk to kiss her, but she returned it and that tells me I’m not on the wrong track. It also means I have my work cut out for me.
And I’ve never shied away from hard work.
“What did you want to talk about?” I finally ask, sipping on the disgusting instant coffee concoction. It jolts me awake, but the taste is atrocious.
Tamara lowers her mug and takes her time adjusting herself on the couch. I don’t know why she bothers to make sure I can’t see anything under her dress. I’ve memorised every inch of her body; I will never forget what she looks like naked.
“Okay, so. I don’t expect you to take care of me. I can do that for myself. I make enough money and have a good support system, as you saw last night. I don’t need…that.”
I frown at what she’s not saying, but don’t reply, so she continues.
“We live our lives, you can be at doctor appointments. I’ll give you regular updates about the baby and keep you in the loop. You do whatever it is you do when you’re not winning medals. Date whoever, fuck whatever. Life as normal.”
What the fuck? On the inside, I’m bubbling with frustration. I hope I’m presenting a calm façade. The only way I’m getting through this morning is if I don’t yell. She did warn me we’d fight and it looks like I’ll be the one instigating it.
“This doesn’t have to be anything more than it is, right? I mean, we didn’t plan for this baby and I’m not expecting you to drop everything to be here for me or us or whatever. It’s not even born yet, so why force ourselves to do this?”
I don’t trust myself to speak; the words on the tip of my tongue are loud and angry. I get where she’s coming from, that’s the worst part. I hate she’s not aware of how deeply I’m invested in this. She’s right, though. We didn’t plan for this.
One thing I know for certain, I have no interest in going back to my life the way it was.
“Nope,” I say and stand up, finishing my coffee as I walk to the kitchen.
Eleven. Woman in charge
Tamara
“What…” I jump up and follow him to the kitchen. “What do you mean nope?”
“Did you buy more of these?”
I wave at the fridge, then catch myself. “What the fuck do you mean nope?”
He continues to ignore me and pulls out two sachets. I want to yell at him for being such an asshole, but the calm way he moves is distracting. Okay, he isn’t calm, but he isn’t saying or doing anything other than making coffee. Frustration rolls off him, though.
“Patrick.”
When he pretends not to hear me, I look around for something to throw and settle for stomping my foot. This fucking guy…From the first time I called him Trick at camp, he wouldn’t answer to anything else. Last night he told me everyone else calls him Patrick, but I must always call him the nickname I gave him twenty something years ago. I don’t want us to have this familiarity; it’s my way of putting some distance between us. Even if he won’t let me have it. I just want peace, a middle ground. I want us to do this baby thing without any more drama.
“Trick,” I say softly and the muscles in his back flex, shoulders rising and falling like he’s so tired of this conversation already. I did warn him we’d be fighting today.
“I’m offended, upset and disappointed,” he starts and I frown, retort ready on my tongue, but he turns and all the words vanish. There’s something dark in his eyes that surprises me. “That you think I can carry on with my life when you’re pregnant with my baby. That I can date and fuck whoever when you still exist in the world. You really think my life is ever going to be normal now?”
“Yes.”
“All right, then.” He pulls his cap off and scrubs a hand over his face. He doesn’t look at me as he finishes making his coffee. He walks off and I’m left standing at the counter in confusion.
“Actually, you know what? Fuck it,” he rumbles and I jump at how close he is. His expression is thunderous and my heart leaps at how intensely he’s staring at me. “The audacity in your perfect body to tell me to go back to my life like all of this means nothing is astounding.”
“You’re being an asshole.” My voice wavers.
“Get used to it, baby. You’re stuck with me. We may not have planned for a kid, but we’ve got unfinished business. Whatever you think I’m going to do with my life is wrong. You and me…this is the real shit. I don’t want to date or fuck anyone else. I apologise if I haven’t made it perfectly fucking clear that all I want is you. I get that you don’t trust or believe me, and you lash out. But the baby is mine too, Lotus. I’m in this. With you.”
I shake my head and he laughs, one hand cupping my jaw as he draws my eyes to his. The contact sizzles against my skin.
“I’m glad you have great friends and an amazing support system, but you’ve got me. Did you really think I was going back to Bangalore while you spent the next six months doing this alone? Jesus, Tamara. I am your support system. I will take care of you and our baby. I know I don’t need to provide for you, because you’re a fucking badass, but you’ve gotta let me help.”
“What if I don’t want your help?”
