13. Carter
13
CARTER
I t’s been a few weeks, and I’m not sure we’ve left this bed, but we have. Except mornings are a struggle. Just like today.
Which is more the reason that we are perfectly content here when the clock says it isn’t yet seven in the morning, but there is a little light sneaking through the blinds. Rosie’s in my arms as I spoon her from behind. It’s become a habit that my hand rests on her belly. There’s a little curve, but her belly isn’t the same as even a week ago. She has a radiance about her these days.
A few years ago, she glowed brightly because she was a free spirit who had no intention to let anyone have a bad day. Now? She’s still a free spirit, but now with a little more direction. Maybe it’s the age gap and our maturity levels were different but we chose to ignore it, or it could simply be that Rosie had to grow into someone she might have always wanted to be.
It has been a whirlwind. Our anniversary reminder that started out as a haunting but quickly changed into a reminder of what we were and could be.
It doesn’t matter how we got here in this bed but yesterday led us to it.
She’s here naked in my arms and begins to stir with those blissful little noises that she makes when she wakes. Her body wiggles against mine which doesn’t help my cock, but I’ve got to give her a minute before I slip right into her because she’s always ready.
She begins to stretch and yawns as her hand falls to cover my own on her middle.
“Morning,” she says groggily.
I plant a kiss on the curve of her shoulder. “Morning.” I begin to trail kisses up her neck, and the hint of apple is still in her hair from her shampoo. “You just rest right here, and I’ll take care of something.”
She snorts a laugh. “If you mean morning sex, then I’m all on board.”
I grin against her skin from her permission. Truthfully, she’s been a little extra frisky, shall I say, and as much as it’s me, I have to give some credit to hormones.
My finger lazily feels between her legs. Pressing against her clit a few times, I align myself and plunge right into her heat. She fits like a glove, and her hum every time I slowly rock into her only brings on my own moan.
I play with her nipples, giving them a pinch, and then give her clit a little more attention until she interlinks our fingers and rests our hands back on her belly as I continue on our quest for a release. We get there, and I fall back and sigh, as my heartrate needs to lower.
I’m in a daze, but Rosie is now fully awake and rolls to her side to look at me. She rests her head on a propped elbow, and her wistful smile doesn’t fade. “Need to recover, old man?”
I bark a laugh and pull her to me so her head can rest on my chest. “Don’t start, otherwise I’m tying you up tonight to prove a point.”
She giggles, and her fingers begin to trace the lines on my chest. A silence grows, and it’s a sign that she’s going to ask like she always does. “Are you sure we aren’t screwing this up? Getting stuck in lust and not thinking about the consequences? Should we be moving slower?”
I raise a brow at her, unimpressed. “You know the answer.”
Her lips pinch right before she plants a kiss on my chest. “It’s okay, I’ll follow you. I’m a prisoner in your bed, and there are worse things,” she muses.
I squeeze her arms and keep her tight to my body. “Good girl.”
“I just want us to get everything right.”
I refrain from giving her the long explanation today. “We will. Not hiding from everyone is already a solid step, nor are we rushing to get a marriage license.” Which hasn’t exactly not crossed my thoughts.
The mention of marriage causes Rosie to still. I can calm her about the now, but whenever it comes up about marriage number two or the long-term living situation, she recoils. Soon we will need to start planning the baby’s room, and it has to be here so she is rooted down to this house.
Because I’m a man possessed to make her mine again.
Mostly because I see it in her eyes that it’s what she wants too.
Her nails thrum on my chest. “Anyhow, we have an ultrasound coming up, and we can find out if it’s a girl or boy… Do you want to know?”
I can’t tell if she is testing me. “It’s your choice.”
She rolls out of my arms to her back and stares at the ceiling, but a smile skates across her mouth as she mulls it over. “I think not. Keeps us in suspense.”
Oh. I wasn’t expecting that. I kind of thought we’d had enough shocks when it comes to us, but okay, she’s running the show.
“Sure.” My response lacks enthusiasm.
She laughs. “Convincing. How about we decide on the day?”
“Deal.”
She yawns again and rubs her eyes. “Ah, the real world awaits us.”
I give her a quick kiss on her cheek, sit up, and slide out of bed. Walking straight to the bathroom off my room, I turn on the shower. While the water warms, I stand at the doorway to see Rosie has grabbed her phone and is checking a message.
“Joining me in the shower?”
She snorts a laugh and gets out of bed, holding her phone up when she stands in front of me. “Our moms are losing the plot.”
I do a quick skim.
Mom: Obviously, when the time is right we will have the baby shower here at Olive Owl.
Carter’s Mom: Obviously, it’s more appropriate to have the baby shower here in Everhope where my son and the mother of his child live.
Mom: Then all the more reason to let us host the baby shower so she can still involve all of the family.
Carter’s Mom: But Olive Owl isn’t that far away, so all family can come here to Everhope.
Mom: Again. Shall I remind us all of our family size? Rosie has her dad, three uncles, two aunts, two siblings, and about eight cousins, nobody knows the exact number as we all lost count. It’s my little girl, so the shower will be here at Olive Owl.
Carter’s Mom: And it’s my little boy.
Hailey: Or… we just have the baby shower at her sister-in-law’s/friend’s place so none of you win. Wow, what a smart idea. Give Hailey an award.
Rosie sets her phone on the dresser. “See?”
“Damn. It’s a little out of hand.”
We both make our way to the shower and step under the hot water as steam fills the bathroom.
“I’m scared about what happens when they discover that we’re not finding out if it’s a boy or girl. Speaking of which, after the ultrasound, I’ll be halfway, so we should probably start to think about what things we need. I really want to go for simple. Definitely get one of those wraps so I can carry him or her around. Obviously, we need natural baby soap and all of that stuff. We need to get an amethyst crystal to help with sleeping, and?—”
I interject. “Rosie. Relax. We have time.”
Her head wobbles side to side as she grabs her body wash. “Sorry. It’s just the list is in my head.”
I begin to lather soap on my body. “It also means we need to set up the baby’s room,” I casually mention.
“Maybe, the small room across the hall, right?”
I stop mid scrub, doubting if I just heard her. We’ve moved up the scale from a no, to a maybe on this house being where she and the baby will be staying on a more permanent basis, to a probably yes. Her eyes swim side to side because I don’t think she even realized she said it.
“Was that your subconscious?”
Her mouth parts open, but only a croaky sound escapes. “Well… I guess. It makes sense, right? Actually, it doesn’t matter, the baby will sleep wherever I sleep because of night feeds.” Now she’s sweeping what she said under the rug.
But I’ll have none of that. I snake my arm around her waist to bring her flush against my body. “It’s okay. I won’t make a big deal about what you just said. I’m only going to highlight that you said a room here. That’s something. I’m going to ask you, and you’ll answer honestly. No bullshit. Then we can happily get on with our day. We even still have those fake sausages that you like with toaster waffles.”
She bites her bottom lip, bracing herself. “Okay. We said we will go slow even though we’re sharing a bed. Apparently, it seems that a little more may have crossed my mind, and obviously something in my head decided to share it with all of us. Does that satisfy your standards of an answer?”
I kiss her forehead. “It does. I also get to analyze it, and it would suggest that I need to move some furniture out of that room. Would you like me to do that?” I’m coaxing her to be a little more blunt and see where we are exactly on the maybe line.
The way she grumbles, with her lips doing a little pout, is freaking adorable. “Yes.” It chirps out of her mouth at record speed, and it takes a few moments longer than normal, but her mood disperses, and that warm smile appears.
“Okay. Do you want me to pick up spinach when I’m at the grocery store later?” I’m keeping my word and not making a big deal about this small win.
She shoves my shoulder slightly because she understands what I’m doing, and her eyes flood with appreciation. “That would be great. I’m still trying these healthy smoothies for pregnancy.”
“How’s that going for ya?”
“They’re revolting. Why can’t I just have a chocolate shake, throw in a spoon of peanut butter, and call it protein and antioxidants? So what if I decide to throw a bucketload of whipped cream on top and a bunch of those cocktail cherries.”
“Then do it. You don’t need to do everything by the book, not unless it says sex helps during pregnancy, because that advice, we are going to follow without fail.”
A beaming grin floods her face as she continues to wash herself. It’s always kind of dangerous when I watch her clean between her legs where I marked her, because I just want to do it again now.
Alas, we do have things to do today. I have work. Rosie is off to teach a yoga class. I hate that she’s driving out of town, and I’m not 100% that she should be doing all of that bending due to the pregnancy, but she assures me it’s fine and reminds me that bendy is how we like it.
I trust her on it, so I let it go.
She quickly kisses my lips and begins to leave. “It’s been fun, but I gotta go.”
I grab her arm to stop her. “Then no way am I getting a chaste kiss.”
“Forgive me, Sheriff.”
Then she kisses away her mistake.
* * *
All week Rosie has been anxious about this appointment, but when she said that she began to feel flutters in her stomach and realized that it may be the baby, then she was all smiles again. I got nothing when I touched her, but they say that’s normal.
“Everything looks great.” Dr. White is still moving the probe around over Rosie’s belly that has a layer of gel.
Rosie and I smile at one another as I hold her hand.
“Did you two want to find out the sex?”
“No. It’s okay. We’ll wait,” Rosie answers calmly.
The doctor’s eyes bounce to me, and she must see that I’m not 100% in agreeance, but it’s Rosie’s choice. Rosie notices too.
Creases appear on Rosie’s glowing face. “You want to know?”
A croaky sound escapes me.
The doctor smiles ear to ear. “You’re not the first parents to find yourself in this situation. Either way, I can write it on a card in an envelope and you or someone can open it when ready, or I can tell one of you and you can keep it to yourself,” she explains the options.
“Who in their right mind would have one parent find out and not the other? Like, how do you not burst with that knowledge?” Rosie thinks it’s a crazy idea. My lips quirk out, and I rub the back of my neck. Rosie then gawks her eyes out at me. “Are you serious? You would do it?”
I shrug. “I mean… obviously it works for some people.”
Her eyes stay wide. “You know you can’t hold it in. Don’t we have complications enough considering you’re my ex-husband and here we are with your baby inside my belly?”
Ooh, sassy.
The doctor attempts to bite back her grin when the information we all already know is said out loud. Plus, she’s witnessing us quarreling, although it’s hilarious.
I kiss Rosie’s hand. “It could be fun.”
Rosie’s sight circles the room because I’m not sure she believes what she’s hearing, and truthfully, I never thought of it as an option. Contrary to Rosie’s beliefs, I am great at keeping secrets.
I give her fingers a little squeeze. “You always said we should follow adventures.”
She studies me for a hot second before a smile begins to crack because I’m winning her over. She smacks her lips together. “Okay. Let’s try this and humor him that he actually believes he can keep it to himself for the next twenty-ish weeks.”
I quickly give her a peck on her lips.
“Love when couples do this.” Dr. White moves the screen slightly so Rosie can’t see. She indicates for me to join her by the machine, and I do.
Rosie is still shaking her head in disbelief as she stays lying down.
The doctor zooms in on the screen. “I’m going to show you, but to clarify, I will input the gender in the computer, but I won’t print this one or put it in the app that we use to share with our patients.”
I rub my hands together. “Okay, let’s do this.”
The doctor uses her finger to show me the area that she squared in on and quickly types into the keyboard.
I keep my best poker face when all I want to do is grin.
This is going to be a good story. She thinks I will let the secret escape my lips, but I know she will be begging at some point.
“Alrighty. It seems we are done and you two can go.” Dr. White offers Rosie paper towel to clean her belly. “You can make an appointment at the desk for your next follow-up.”
Rosie and I both say thanks, and we are left for a moment alone.
Instantly, my ex-wife waves her finger at me with a scornful smile. “You are so bad.”
“And that’s the way you like me.”
She shakes her head and hops off the exam table. “Come on. We got through another day together, let’s just call that a win.”
Every day lately is feeling like a victory.