Page 77 of Rebound
“Holy shit,” he murmurs, staring at my belly.
“I think they’re showing their appreciation for the cookies you sent.”
He smiles, still teary, and squats in front of me. “Hey kid. Thanks for letting us know you’re okay in there. I didn’t want to worry your mother, but I was starting to wonder if this was really happening or not. But you’re real. And I’m so thrilled to be your dad.”
My heart twinges at the affection in his voice and I thank my lucky stars I get to do this with him. When he kisses my belly, his cap shifts and I take it off, so I can smooth a hand over his head. Patrick stands up and wipes his tears away. Then presses his mouth to my forehead as one hand slides around my waist.
“Thank you,” he whispers and I hum in response.
He takes a small step away and with the hand on my back, we walk into the clinic. The AC instantly calms and cools me down. I’ve been in a state of emotional chaos since the last scan, and between that and Patrick’s moment with our baby outside, I might start crying randomly. The air-conditioning helps settle my nerves a little. A nurse leads us through the crowded hallways until we reach Dr. Gopalan’s office.
“Good to see you both,” the doctor says as we step inside. “Your test results are good. We’ll do another ultrasound today so you can see how your baby is doing. I know you were worried about this the last time you were here.”
I blow out a breath and reach for Patrick’s hand. He links our fingers and squeezes. I see the relief on his face, and smile. I feel the same way. My anxiety is still quite high, but I know it’ll come down once we leave.
“That’ll teach me not to Google things before I come to an appointment.” I laugh nervously and brush some hair behind my ear.
She smiles, signs the top paper of my file and closes it. “No harm in checking, but leave the actual testing to me, all right? Are there any other questions you two have?”
I chew on my bottom lip nervously and sneak a glance at Patrick. “Speaking of Googling, I read this article about a woman who had sex during her pregnancy and there were some complications.”
“Jesus, Lo,” Patrick mutters.
Dr. Gopalan smiles indulgently and shakes her head. “You’re healthy and so is your baby. Sexual activity will not change that. I would recommend not getting into anything too vigorous until after.”
I blush at the straight way she says it so I nod. While I do like a little manhandling, I’m not into rough sex. And to be honest, until that night with Patrick, I’d been in forced celibacy for three years. So it’s not like I know what kind of sex I like anyway.
After the ultrasound, we thank the doctor and walk to his bike. My head spins with the things we can do, but I can barely think straight. Patrick’s hands land on my stomach and I smile at how good this feels.
“You with me, Lotus?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t lie to Daddy,” he teases and I punch his shoulder. “I like it, by the way.”
Shaking my head, I toy with the front of his shirt. “Thanks for the flowers,” I tell him and scrunch up my nose. “But I didn’t save you a cookie.”
“I thought as much. You sure you’re good?” He smiles and pushes my hair back before sliding on the helmet.
“Yeah, Trick. It’s fucking hot and I’m tired.” My voice is muffled by the helmet, but he nods and puts his on, gently bumping the front of his against mine.
“Let’s get you home.”
He straddles the bike and holds out a hand for me. I take it and climb on, arms sliding around his waist instantly. I keep the visor open to get some air. When we finally pull up under my building, the back of my shirt is soaked and I’m sticky. Our phones ping one after the other and I pull it out to see a text in a new group titled ‘M & J’s party’.
Millie
You’re invited to a special party at our house tomorrow night. Wear your finest clothes and come prepared to have the time of your lives!
“Hey, Lo?”
I hum as I unlock the front door and let us in. Patrick sets everything on the table and grabs me by the waist. “What?”
“Go with me to Millie’s party?”
“I’m going to be there, obviously,” I say waving the phone, but he doesn’t let me go.
“As my date, baby. Be my date to Millie and Jon’s party.”
