Page 69 of A Baby for the Firefighter
The sound of footsteps in the hall registered in my brain only seconds before I spotted my mom standing in the door way of the living room, looking at me as I lay on the couch with Dean draped all over me.
Shit.
My mom knew that we were dating of course, but her seeing us act like animals was still embarrassing as hell.
“Dean!” I hissed, because he hadn’t seen her yet. He shot me a questioning look as I shoved him off me, but then his eyes grew wide as they fell on my mother.
“Oh,” he mouthed.
I forced a smile. “I didn’t know you were up,” I said, facing my mother, because I really didn’t know what else to say, cheeks burning up.
“I didn’t mean to disturb you…” She said on a laugh. “Don’t mind me, boys.” She left the room again.
Clearing my throat, I looked at Dean. “Uh, sorry about that. I really thought she was out.” And honestly, while Dean was on top of me, I forgot about her existence altogether.
Dean shook his head. “It’s fine.” He sat on the couch beside me. “But this reminds me what I came here to talk to you about.”
“What’s that?” My mother’s sudden arrival had quenched my arousal, and slowly, my ability to think returned. “Was there something you wanted? I mean, aside from the obvious.”
“I’m hoping it’ll lead to the obvious,” he admitted.
“Oh? You have my full attention.”
He grabbed my hand and ran his thumb across my fingers, making some of my blood flow south again. Hedefinitelyhad my attention.
“Shane and I were talking, and we were thinking it might be fun to go camping.”
“Camping?”
“Yeah, out in the woods. He and Conner would be coming, but we’d have our own tent, and we could stay a night longer. Think about it. Just you and me, and nothing but the wilderness. No one to run into us…” Dean gazed at me intently, painting all sorts of pictures in my mind of what we would be doing in that tent.
“I like that idea.” I liked it a lot.
“Great.” He gave me a smile, and a kiss. “Then it’s settled. How do you feel about going this weekend?”
“This weekend is great.” I swallowed, wondering if I might have any news to share with him by then.
* * *
The next day, I texted my brother to come by and bring a pregnancy test. I didn’t like the thought of Dean running into me again on the way to the drugstore—or, hell,atthe drugstore—and I’d bought his last time he got himself knocked up, so he owed me.
Like the great big brother he was, he obliged, showing up at my door just an hour after I’d first texted him. Thank God our mother was at the hospital with our dad. It seemed he was going to be released soon, and they had to discuss what they were going to do about their living situation then.
But I couldn’t think about all that now.
My pregnancy test came in a brown paper bag, which Eli held out to me without comment.
I accepted it grimacing. This was it. The time had come to find out whether I was going to be a dad or not. I took a deep breath, contemplating that.
“What are we hoping for?” Eli asked.
I had to laugh, because that was the exact same thing I’d askedhimthe last time he’d taken a test. He hadn’t been able to give me an answer, and now I understood why. This was so complicated. Ups and downs to every possible outcome.
“I get it,” he said, laying a hand on my shoulder when I didn’t respond. “I’ll wait in the living room until you’re done.”
I nodded, willing my hand to stop shaking. There was too much nervous energy cursing through my body.
Just get it over with, I told myself, and then I made my way to the bathroom to find out what the future held for me.
