An Unexpected Life, page 31
“Yeah, just help me fasten this and I’ll be ready.”
After clasping the necklace, he left an opened-mouth kiss on the back of my neck and my eyes automatically closed at the sensation.
“You smell intoxicating,” he whispered, in my ear, before kissing the side of my neck and collarbone.
I grinned. “You know, if you keep doing that we’ll never leave.”
“That can be arranged,” he said.
I let out a small laugh. “You know we can’t, but I promise when we get back I’m all yours.”
“Okay,” he accepted, kissing the back of my neck again before standing up.
As we left the bedroom, I grabbed my matching flip-flops and we headed out.
When we got to my grandparents’, I shut off the truck and just sat there.
“You okay?” Steve asked, rubbing my leg.
“Yeah.”
“Nervous?”
“No, not really.”
“Well, good.”
“Yeah, I think it helps that my grandma and grandpa already know, especially my grandpa.”
“I bet.”
“Thanks for that, by the way.” I twisted my lips up at him.
“You’re welcome, and I completely understand,” he replied, and kissed me. “So, you sure you’re okay about everyone else?” he asked, when he pulled back.
“Yeah, they’ll be a piece of cake,” I answered, with a huge grin.
He laughed, as we kissed again.
Before going in, we decided not to outright tell everyone, to see if they could figure it out. When we went in, the only people in the house were my mom, my grandma, and Aunt Lynn, and they were in the kitchen.
“Hey,” I said, and Will came running up, so Steve picked him up and handed him to me.
“Hey,” Mom and Grandma said, while Aunt Lynn’s lips twisted up.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, as I petted Will.
“Well, Grandpa and Matt are outside cooking and no one else is here yet,” Mom answered, as she cut up some vegetables.
“Oh, okay. Where’s Jas?” I asked Aunt Lynn, once she hit the button on her Bluetooth. Her short, now highlighted blonde, hair was covering part of it.
“He went to get some ice.”
“Oh.”
“I think I’m gonna go outside,” Steve said.
“Okay. Oh, don’t forget to tell them,” I added, before he went out the door.
“Yes, ma’am,” he responded.
I looked at him, and he just laughed.
“‘Don’t forget to tell them’ what?” Aunt Lynn asked.
I turned back to her. “We decided not to say anything.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Yeah, we thought it would be fun to see if anyone figures it out, first of all, and if they do how long it takes them. So please don’t say anything,” I said, looking between all three of them.
“Okay,” they all replied.
“Good. We also want to see how many double takes there are,” I explained, and they chuckled.
“So, how are you feeling?” Mom asked, changing the subject.
“Pretty good, actually, besides feeling like I’m huge.” I laughed, lightly, and so did she.
“So, your morning sickness is gone?” Aunt Lynn asked.
“For the most part, yeah. I still have days where I feel queasy, and there are foods that still make me feel that way, but nothing like it was.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” I answered, with sarcasm, and she snickered, lightly.
Over the next half-hour, we continued talking and more and more people showed up. Over that time, several people looked at me, but didn’t say anything, while others seemed to be absolutely oblivious. By the time my brother and sister showed up with their broods, I was starting to wonder if I was really as big as I felt. When my brother, Charlie, and Aaron all hugged me they didn’t say anything, they didn’t even look at me weird. My sister, on the other hand, did give me a long look, but she, too, didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until Sam came up that I thought it was finally going to come out.
When he climbed on my lap, I hugged him.
He just looked at me. “You big, Aunt Bef,” he told me, seriously.
I glanced at Steve.
“Samuel Michael Smith,” I heard Morgan say, calmly, from the kitchen, but I could tell he was shocked and Sam got a worried look on his face. “That was very rude. What do you say?”
“I sowey, Aunt Bef,” he apologized, looking at me as if he was about to burst into tears.
Seeing his face, I couldn’t help but give him a hug, and he hugged me back, tight.
“Aww, it’s okay,” I assured him, feeling a little guilty that he had to apologize.
After that, I was sure someone was going to ask or say something, but no one did. Soon, the food was ready, and Matt said grace.
“Here you go,” Steve said, handing me my plate, and sitting between me and Uncle Jason.
“Thanks.” My lips turned up, and he smiled back. “I thought that was it when Sam said that I was big,” I whispered.
“I know, me too,” he whispered back, with a chuckle.
“I feel a little bad that he had to apologize.”
“I do, too. Is that okay?” he asked, changing the subject, and pointing to my plate.
“Yeah, it should be,” I replied, looking at it.
“Okay, I just wasn’t sure about the chicken. I know some things still make you a little queasy.”
“Well, it doesn’t have the skin on it so I think it should be fine.”
“That’s what I thought so I took the skin off.”
“Well, thanks.” My lips twisted up again.
Throughout lunch, I was able to eat everything on my plate except the chicken. I tried to eat it, but it upset my stomach so I gave it to Steve. I thought it had to do with its slimy texture, which was a little weird considering I was still able to eat macaroni without a problem. Since I couldn’t eat it, I had him get me more macaroni and potatoes. By my third plate, people started giving me looks, but didn’t say anything. They just continued in their conversations and it was starting to drive me crazy, and Steve, my parents, and Aunt Lynn could all tell.
When Steve got up and took both our plates, I decided that if no one said anything by the time I finished dessert I was just going to tell them. Soon he came back with two plates, and I gave him a huge grin. On my plate was a piece of both banana cream and sugar cream pie, a brownie, and a chocolate chip cookie. As I was scraping the meringue off my piece of banana cream, Michael came over and saw what was on my plate. He was wearing a dry T-shirt and swim trunks, but his dark, buzzed hair was glistening, so I assumed he dunked his head in the pool.
“Geez, Beth, you think you got enough there?” he asked, and everyone looked at me and laughed.
“Yep,” I answered, looking at him, with a smug smile, as I took a bite of pie.
“Well, that’s good because if you get anymore we’ll have to cut you out of those clothes.” He chuckled, and everyone, except me, looked at him.
“Just what are you trying to say? That I’m fat?” I asked, not fazed.
“I’m gonna get some more tea,” Steve whispered, with a hint of a grin, as he stood up. “Do you want more lemonade?”
“Yes, please,” I replied, returning the grin. I turned back to Michael and continued to eat my pie.
“No, just that you’ve definitely filled out or gained a few pounds,” Michael clarified, a tad nervous.
I smirked, deviously. “Well, that’s just a side effect of the pregnancy,” I told him, casually, and looked down to scrape the last of the pie off my plate.
When I looked up again, I saw everyone, except Aunt Lynn, Steve, my grandparents, and my parents, staring at me like a deer caught in headlights.
“What?” I asked, finishing off the little bit of pie.
“You’re pregnant?” Leigh asked, still a little shocked.
“Yeah.” I smiled at her.
“Since when?”
“The end of March.”
“I know you probably told Mom because of how she is,” she looked at Mom, her lips twisting up, slightly, before turning back to me, and continuing, “but were you ever gonna tell the rest of us?” she asked, implying herself, and sounding a little hurt.
“Yeah, but I wanted to wait a little while to make sure everything was going to be okay,” I said, looking at her, sympathetically, and she nodded in understanding. “Plus, I was a little preoccupied.”
“School, huh?”
“Among other things,” I added, the corners of my lips turning up a little.
“So I take it you didn’t take it so well?” she said, turning to Steve.
“Yeah, you could say that,” he replied, pouring our drinks.
I snorted. “That’s the understatement of the century,” I interjected, with a hint of sarcasm, and everyone laughed.
“That bad, huh?” she asked, turning back to me.
“Yeah,” I scoffed, with more sarcasm.
“Here you go,” Steve said, softly, setting my lemonade down on the table, and his breath tickled my ear.
“Thanks,” I said, sweetly.
“You’re welcome.” He kissed the back of my neck, before sitting back down.
“So, I take it things are back to the way they were before?” Aunt Lynn asked.
“Yeah, pretty much,” I replied.
“Well, good. I was starting to wonder if I needed to come up and smack some sense into him,” she replied, with a small laugh.
“No, now he just laughs at me when I can’t button my pants or get up,” I told her, a hint of a laugh in my voice, “but I can deal with that.”
“Yeah.”
“So when are you due?” Aunt Fran asked.
“The anniversary of our first date, actually... the 23rd of December.”
“Well, that’s kinda cool.”
“Yeah, it is.”
About a half-hour later we decided to go outside and sit by the pool. Once outside, Steve sat in a cushioned, patio chair next to the table. I sat next to him, facing the table, under the umbrella, stretched my legs out and put my feet in his lap because they were starting to swell and hurt. As we watched the kids play, he rubbed them and they instantly started to feel better.
A short time later, Morgan, Sam, Aaron, Charlie, and Leigh came out. While Aaron, Morgan, and Sam headed for the pool, Charlie and Leigh sat next to us at the table. Just before Morgan and Sam got in the pool, I asked for my camera and Steve got it out of his back pocket. At first, Sam didn’t like it because the water was cold, but soon he got used to it and started splashing around and had a good time.
As we watched him play with Aaron and Morgan, Mom came out to watch him as well. After watching him for several minutes, she started to leave, but stopped and looked at me before going back in the house. “I’m getting ready to do dishes. Do you want any leftovers?”
“Yes, please,” Steve responded, before I could, “because if not we’ll be out of food before the end of the week.”
Hearing him say that, Charlie, Mom, and Leigh started laughing. I looked at him with my mouth wide open, and smacked him on the chest and arm with the back of my hand. He just laughed.
“Okay,” Mom replied, heading back in, still laughing.
An hour later, everyone was back in the house and we were getting everything together to leave. While Steve put everything in the truck, I went to the bathroom because I knew if I didn’t I wouldn’t make it until we got home. After saying our goodbyes, I made sure we had everything when I got in the truck and we headed home.
Chapter 7
Throughout the first part of August, Steve and I were both very busy. I had to make sure IUPUI had received my transcripts from Illinois and make sure the financial aid information was correct, then register for classes. All that took a good two weeks, and by the time I was finished I just wanted to forget about it all. Especially since I tweaked my major. I didn't realize the English degree at Illinois was purely Literature based until I transferred. So after talking to my advisor, I decided to make my concentration Creative Writing instead of Literature. It was definitely going to be a lot of work, but I was up for the challenge.
Not only was I trying to figure out everything for school, I was also trying to help Steve clear out the spare bedroom so we could turn it into the nursery, especially because he was in class a few days a week. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help as much as I would have liked because most of the things were his weights or things that were too heavy for me to pick up or carry. Luckily, Alex and the other guys were able to help him.
Once the room was cleared out, I started thinking about how to decorate it. I had a better idea how I wanted to decorate it after we went to the doctor and found out that we were having a girl. At first, we weren’t going to find out, but we realized that it would make it easier for everyone when it came to clothes and things for the nursery. Plus, we also knew that it would drive us crazy if we didn’t know.
Like the first half, the last half of the month was pretty busy, but in different ways. Steve picked up some extra shifts at the mall and The Spaghetti Factory, on the days he didn't have class, until fall classes started, so he was gone during the day most of the time. I had to find ways to occupy myself. After making sure I had all the books I needed for my classes, I spent a lot of time shopping for things to put in the nursery. Most of the time I didn’t actually buy anything; I just went to see what I liked.
Besides shopping, or window shopping, for baby things, I spent time with Jo or Ryan. Spending time with them allowed me to see what life was like on a daily basis with kids. While I spent time with both of them, I found myself spending more time with Ryan, mostly because she lived right across the hall. Most of the days I spent with her, we talked and I got to know her better. I learned how she and Casey met. She also told me that she was a leukemia survivor. When I heard that, I was shocked and a little saddened, but thankful she was in remission. While we spent most days just talking, she also helped with nursery ideas.
Before I realized it, it was the twenty-second, and the first day of classes. I only had classes Monday-Thursday, but I had three classes a day because I was taking eighteen hours. I took so many hours to keep me on track because I figured I would only be able to take twelve next semester with the baby. I knew taking so many hours while pregnant would be exhausting, but I didn’t realize just how exhausting until after the first full week of classes. When I got home that Thursday, I went straight to bed and slept all night and most of Friday, only waking up to eat.
By the second week of school I was almost completely adjusted to my schedule. A lot of it had to do with Labor Day. Over the past weekend, we’d gone to four different gatherings. On Sunday we had also stopped by my dad’s to visit before he headed back to Vegas. Yesterday, itself, was very relaxing because we did absolutely nothing, and I was able to recharge my batteries, so to speak, and really started to focus on my classes.
Now as I sat in my math class, I was desperately trying to do just that, but was failing miserably thanks to my hormones. I couldn’t stop thinking of Steve and his body. It wouldn’t be so bad if what we were learning was even halfway interesting, but as it was, I was completely bored. As class dragged on, I found myself becoming more and more turned on by my thoughts and I just prayed that class ended soon because if not I was either going to go crazy or have to leave.
When it finally did, I quickly gathered my things and headed out. All I wanted to do was get home. Unfortunately, for me, when I opened the door I saw Casey, Alex, and Billy sitting on the couch facing the door and in a recliner.
“Hey, guys,” I said, shutting the door, and putting my purse on the end table and my bag on the couch next to me.
“Oh, hey, Beth,” they all said, looking at me, then turned back to the TV.
I headed into the kitchen to see what Steve was up to. When I came in, he had his back to me and was pouring some chips into a large bowl, and I just watched him, lustfully.
“Oh, hey, baby.” He grinned, when he turned around and saw me.
“Hey.” I returned it, moving toward him.
“Did you just get home?”
“Yeah, I did.”
Walking over to me, Steve gave me a kiss before putting the bowl of chips on the table.
“So, how was class?” he asked, pouring himself a beer.
“It was pretty good, but I had a difficult time concentrating.”
“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”
“Because I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” I told him, pulling up behind him, and running my fingers across his abdomen, slowly.
Feeling him shiver, I smirked to myself. He put down his beer and turned before leaning down and whispering, in my ear, “I’ve been thinking about you, too.”
“Then tell them to go home,” I whispered back, kissing his jaw.
“I can’t,” he replied, without an ounce of strength.
“Why not?” I asked, kissing the left side of his neck.
“Because I promised them that they could watch the game here.”
“Okay then, I guess I’ll just go study,” I said, backing away, quickly, and starting to turn.
“Uh-uh.” He grabbed the left armrest of my chair, as well as the controller and turned me back to face him.
I giggled, softly, just as he kissed me hard and passionately.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing him closer, as our tongues danced.
“What’s taking so long with the chips?” Alex asked, from the other room.
I chuckled, breaking our kiss. “You sure you can’t send them home?”
Steve's lips just twisted up at me as he laid his forehead against mine, still trying to catch his breath.
“They’re coming, just hold your horses,” he hollered.
I just smiled and moved back. Heading back into the living room, I went over to the couch and grabbed my bag.
“You’re not gonna watch the game with us?” Casey asked, as I backed away from the couch.
