Chapter 31
Claire
The seconds stretched out endlessly. Asher stood beside me in the small bathroom, his hand wrapped around mine.
His thumb brushed slowly over my knuckles like he was trying to keep both of us grounded.
I could hear the clock ticking in the kitchen.
The refrigerator hummed. Every little sound felt amplified.
My eyes stayed fixed on the test sitting on the edge of the sink.
Two minutes dragged in a way that felt almost unbearable. Asher squeezed my hand gently.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
I nodded, even though my stomach felt like it was twisting into knots.
“I didn’t expect to be this nervous,” I admitted.
His voice softened. “Me neither.”
Another few seconds passed. Finally, I forced myself to step forward.
“Okay,” I said under my breath.
I picked up the test. For a moment, I couldn’t bring myself to look. Asher stepped closer behind me, his chest warm against my back.
“What does it say?” he asked.
I turned the stick slowly so we could both see. One line. Negative. I blinked like it might change. But nothing did as the silence stretched between us. Asher let out a slow breath behind me.
“So…” he said gently.
“So… I’m not pregnant,” I finished quietly.
My voice came out flat and strange even to my own ears. I hadn’t realized how much tension I’d been holding until that moment. Relief came first. Then something heavier settled in. He searched my face like he was trying to read every thought running through my mind.
“Are you disappointed?” he asked softly.
The question caught me off guard. I opened my mouth to answer and then stopped.
“I think…” I paused, searching for the right words. “I thought I would feel relieved,” I said, trying to hold back tears I didn’t understand.
“And you don’t?” he said.
“Not completely.”
His eyes softened.
I let out a small breath then leaned into him. “When we thought I might be pregnant,” I admitted quietly, “I started imagining things.”
His arms wrapped around me. “What kind of things?”
“Staying here with you, having a baby,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat. My voice grew quieter. “Building something.” Asher held me a little tighter.
“I imagined that too.”
My heart skipped. I tilted my head up to look at him. “You did?” I felt surprised. But why should I be? It was nice to know we were on the same page.
“Yeah,” he sighed. His expression was open in a way I hadn’t seen before. “Seems like this situation made us think about the future,” he added, brushing a strand of hair away from my face. “I wanted to say pregnancy scare, but I wasn’t scared,” he swallowed.
“I wasn’t either. I mean, I was scared about the responsibility, but not the bigger picture, if that makes sense.”
“It does, beautiful,” he said.
I reached up and touched his face with both my palms. We looked into each other’s eyes. Beside us, the pregnancy test sat on the counter. A small plastic stick that had made our hearts race for the last few days. The tension broke when Asher let out a quiet laugh.
I laughed too. It felt like a release. The heaviness lifted from our shoulders.
“Well, you have to get some sleep,” I finally said.
“I wish I could take you to bed,” he said. “I want you beneath me, but Coach was pretty adamant about his no-sex rule close to fight day.”
“I could sleep next to you,” I offered, wanting to keep him close.
“I’d like that. Just don’t stick that fine ass anywhere near my cock. He has a mind of his own,” he warned.
“Okay,” I said.
“Do you think we should leave the bathroom now?” he asked.
We both laughed together. The mood lifted.
We were feeling lighter and had plans for our future.
I just had to keep myself from worrying about him and this fight.
The thought of him getting hurt terrified me, but there was one thing that had become clear to me, whatever happened next, we would face it together.