The Love Position - Extended Epilogue
One year later
Eyes closed, Sophia breathed slowly in and out, her mind flowing through the sensations in and around her.
Her arms were on the side of the natural pool, a towel to cushion them, her head resting to one side. The rest of her body floated behind her, gently rising and falling in the water as she inhaled and exhaled.
It had been another glorious June, the midsummer sun heating the water and burnishing the grass till it was silky soft. Sophia spent as much of her time outside as she could, barefoot, breathing in the flower-scented air and grounding to the energy of mother earth.
Her lips curled into a smile. Her brother joked that she’d turned into a hippy, but Isaac said she was a living goddess. And as for her? She was just following her own body’s intuition and doing what felt right. And at this moment, she wanted to be in water.
At the sound of the house door opening, she lazily opened her eyes to see Isaac. He raised a hand in greeting as he made his way towards her, and a thrill of excitement tingled in her tummy.
Reaching the edge of the pool, he lay down so his face was level with hers and smiled.
‘How are you doing, my sweet and beautiful wife?’
‘I need a kiss.’
Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against hers, sending sparkles across her skin.
‘Have you been in here for the last two-and-a-bit hours?’ he murmured.
Sophia nodded, kissing him again. Over the last few months, her sex drive had gone through the roof, and Isaac made sure he checked in with her after every yoga class in case his services were required.
He drew back, concern clouding his features. ‘You aren’t cold?’
‘Not today.’ She gave him a dreamy smile. ‘ Definitely not today.’
Isaac’s face froze for a second, then he swallowed. ‘Do I need to call anyone?’
Sophia shook her head. ‘Not yet. It’s likely to be hours before we need to.’
‘What can I do?’
‘Help stimulate my oxytocin…’
Eyes lighting up, he jumped to his feet, flinging his clothes to the ground.
Sophia giggled. Their hypnobirthing teacher had told them that nipple stimulation and orgasms were good for easing and speeding up labour, and Isaac had been one hundred per cent onboard with this advice.
Slipping into the water, he came behind her, his hands finding her breasts.
She let out a low moan as he rubbed the end of her nipples. ‘That feels so goooood…’
Isaac nipped her neck, the heat of his chest firm against her back as he braced his feet on the bottom of the pool.
Desire pulsing through her, she angled her head over her shoulder to kiss him again. As his tongue tangled with hers, electricity arced between her lips, nipples and clit, sparking through her body. Every part of her was swollen and primed for release.
Her belly had been tightening for hours but she hadn’t told Isaac. She didn’t want him to worry when he was teaching, and the sensations felt natural and normal even though she’d never experienced them before.
But now, as one of his hands moved between her legs, the contractions were becoming stronger. Just like when she’d had tantric experiences, now too, her mind and body seemed to merge with the invisible currents of energy around her.
What might have felt like period pain, was wrapped up in pleasure, two colours complementing each other and joining into a swirling rainbow of light as it moved between her and Isaac, the water, the air, the earth.
The orgasm came suddenly, rocking through her. Ecstatic pleasure underpinned by a shuddering power that seemed to split her apart.
Her breath rushed in and out like a spring tide, following the feelings as they swelled and crashed inside her.
‘You okay, love?’
Sophia nodded, lost in the sensations. ‘More. More…’
Isaac’s fingers circled, rubbed, tweaked as if they were her own, knowing when to ease back and when to push forward.
Climax after climax rolled through her, a never-ending rollercoaster of pleasure that kept expanding the boundaries of her awareness until her edges dissolved into the universe. Every supercharged particle pulsing like a star.
A tiny part of her still knew where she was and what was happening. That part checked in with her intuition. Sophia had spent so much of her life doubting herself and second-guessing every decision, but since being with Isaac, her innate confidence in who she was and what she wanted kept growing.
And when she became pregnant, it was like a switch had been flipped, grounding her so completely in her own body that all she needed to do was ask what was right, and the answer came to her, as solid as the ground beneath her and as clear as the skies above.
Now, letting go of any fear and trusting the messages from her body, she surrendered to the process, tumbling through the tightening, the opening, the pressure. The sharp pleasure and ecstatic pain.
And through it all, Sophia knew she wasn’t alone. Isaac held her, helped her, breathed with her. His calm strength kept some part of her grounded as the rest of her hurtled through the universe on an unstoppable journey.
Time passed, but it was fluid, not quantifiable.
Then there was a lull, a moment of perfect stillness, as if the world was holding its breath.
‘Transition?’ Isaac murmured in her ear.
Her breath quietening, she nodded. ‘I think so.’
‘Do you want to get out of the pool?’
Sophia asked herself the same question.
The answer came back, louder than a bell, and she shook her head. ‘I’m okay. Everything’s okay.’
As she said the words, she felt the change inside her, the distant rumblings of a storm on the horizon as her body went from opening to releasing.
Sucking in a breath as the contraction hit, she exhaled slowly, bringing her feet to the bottom of the pool.
Isaac held her through it, kissing her neck as she subsided again into peaceful stillness.
‘Just tell me when,’ he said softly. ‘Okay, love?’
Sophia nodded, gearing up to ride another great wave as it bore down through her body.
There was a stinging sensation as her baby’s head crowned.
‘Breathe… Breathe, love,’ Isaac whispered.
She did, drawing on all her reserves to get her up the final slope of the mountain.
Four more powerful contractions thundered through her.
‘Isaac, the head’s out,’ she gasped.
He moved behind her as she felt the baby turn, marvelling at the instinctive act that required no thought or input from her.
Another wave built.
This was it.
‘I’m here, love. I’m ready,’ came Isaac’s sure voice behind her as she sucked in a breath, then exhaled in a rush as her baby slipped out.
‘Reach down,’ Isaac said.
Pushing away from the side of the pool, Sophia put her hands into the water, taking her baby from Isaac as he passed it through her legs.
Holding the child in her arms, she gazed at the little face as it opened its eyes, staring at her as if it already knew her soul.
‘Hello, little one,’ she said softly. ‘Welcome to the world.’
The baby’s mouth opened, and it gave a cry. Then its head moved, its lips smacking, as if wanting food.
Carefully supporting the head, Sophia moved the baby to her nipple. It latched on immediately, prompting another contraction.
‘Oh!’
‘You okay?’
She nodded, unable to tear her gaze away from the sight of her child suckling at her breast. ‘Just another contraction. It’s a good thing.’
Time seemed to stop as the three of them were held in an embrace so profound, Sophia knew it would alter them forever. Love flooded through her, deeper than the ocean and wider than the sky. She would always be her own person, but she was now connected to the baby in her arms and the man cradling them both, on a level that went beyond the physical and emotional to a plane so vast it was beyond comprehension.
‘Shall we see what we’ve got?’ Isaac asked.
A laugh escaped. ‘Yes! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.’
He kissed her cheek. ‘Girl or boy, it doesn’t matter. They’re already perfect. Just like you.’
As he moved the umbilical cord out of the way, Sophia glanced down.
‘It’s a girl,’ Isaac said, his voice full of wonder.
Sophia’s eyes filled with happy tears and more laughter bubbled out. ‘A little girl!’
Isaac tore his gaze from their baby to her, his own emotion spilling down his cheeks.
‘You’re a warrior, a goddess, and a queen, Sophia. I didn’t think it was possible to love you more, but I do. You’re my everything.’
She kissed him. ‘And now we’re three.’
He nodded, appearing lost for words.
As their baby suckled, another powerful contraction rippled through her and she felt the placenta release. For the first time in hours, she glanced around. The sun had almost set, and the light was beginning to fade.
Sophia giggled. ‘Thank god the pool is spring fed. How long will it take to be clean again?’
Isaac grinned. ‘Not long, although I don’t think anyone else should swim in it for a few days. Should I ring the midwife? Get her to come over?’
‘In a bit. Right now, I just feel like getting into bed and snuggling.’
‘With a big mug of hot chocolate?’
She nodded. ‘Sounds perfect.’
Two hours later, the midwife had been and gone and Sophia was in bed, her daughter sleeping peacefully in her arms.
Isaac entered the room, holding his phone. He swiped at the screen, then pocketed it.
‘Aeroplane mode is on and my parents send their love.’
Sitting on the end of the bed, he rested his hand on her leg. ‘And they’re relieved we didn’t call her “something weird and hippy”.’
Sophia snorted with laughter. ‘Linden and Maya aren’t exactly common names.’
Isaac grinned. ‘Yes, but I’ve been priming them for months to expect something along the lines of “Lentil Moonbeam”, so anything other than that they were going to accept with open arms.’
‘A very cunning plan, Mr Hayward.’
‘One of my better ones, for sure. Did your mum like her name?’
Sophia nodded. ‘Although, to be honest, I couldn’t really tell. She spent most of the call screaming with excitement and crying.’
Isaac’s smile was full of love. ‘Imagine what she’ll be like tomorrow when she meets Linden for the first time.’
‘It’s going to be amazing. Although prepare yourself for my dad to take off one of his gold chains and present it to her as if she’s the second coming.’
Isaac chuckled. ‘Her first bit of bling.’ He squeezed Sophia’s leg. ‘Can I get you anything?’
She yawned and shook her head. ‘Just you.’
Getting up, he turned off the main light, then got into bed beside her.
Sophia settled into the crook of his arm and let out a happy sigh. ‘If I fall asleep, will you take her?’
‘Of course.’ Isaac kissed the top of her head. ‘Rest, love. I’m here if you need anything.’
Closing her eyes, she let herself sink into his embrace, Linden snoozing on her chest.
Warmth filled Sophia’s heart. She was exactly where she wanted to be and everything was right in her world. Letting herself drift into sleep, one word and one feeling suffused her very being: love.