14. Truth Be Told
Chapter 14
Truth Be Told
Tatum || 18 weeks pregnant, October
“N ik, just do the commercial. It’ll bring you some extra money and attention for the team. You live off of those energy drinks anyways.” I sigh, swiping my access card as I jab the elevator button that will take me up to the condo.
“Dude, I don’t need the money, and honestly? I couldn’t care less if the team needs the attention.” Nik’s gruff voice comes through the earpiece. These hockey players have had me at my wit's end recently. First, Dom wouldn’t do the shelter campaign. I had to force Collins—who is still mad at me for it. Then, Maverick backed out of his energy drink sponsorship because Bella and Kodi have the flu. Now, Nik is avoiding being brought in just to be difficult and for literally no other reason.
“Listen, Nik, I don’t care if you need the money or not. You’re the captain of the team, so step up and do the ad. I don’t have time for this. I’m emailing them right now and telling them you’ll be there. Okay, thanks, byeeeeee.” I exaggerate that last syllable just to piss him off more then hang up the phone as the elevator doors open to the condo. As I walk towards the living room, I send a quick email to the company telling them how excited Niklaus Zaigraev is to be doing the energy drink campaign and how he will arrive promptly at eight AM for the shoot the day after tomorrow.
When I don’t find Darcy on the couch, I am headed towards her room but see a blonde, messy bun sitting at the island with a cup of mint tea for her nausea and a book propped open on the countertop. She must hear my footsteps approach, because she turns towards me as I enter the room, gracing me with a small smile.
“How was your day with Sin?” I ask, pulling Coke from the fridge.
“It was good. Sin and I started a trashy reality show and napped. Your mom called to check in, by the way. A little bird told her I had a migraine yesterday.”
I dig into the freezer, pulling out a frozen pizza. I hold it up to Darcy and she nods excitedly.
“Good. I was worried, D,” I confide, preheating the oven. Pulling out an assortment of veggies from the fridge, I start to prepare a salad across the island from her.
“I know,” she sighs, “I’m sorry that you had to take care of me.”
“Don’t apologize to me. I want to be here for you but I also need to know you’re okay when I’m gone.” I still, waiting for her eye contact, my hands halfway through slicing a tomato.
“I know, and I want to be. Yesterday I was just exhausted, and I have started to set food alarms for my naps so I get up and eat.” She lets out a self-deprecating laugh.
“You can call one of us to help you instead of being uncomfortable all day,” I point out as I resume chopping.
“Me, ask for help?” She laughs, more incredulous this time.
“Mama, I’m serious.”
“Ugh, Tate, I know everyone loves me and everyone wants to help and I have to learn to accept it. I get it, okay?”
“Good. Now, do you want cucumbers in the salad tonight?” I ask her.
“No… But.” I look up at her to find her smiling brightly at me.
“Pickles?” I laugh. Cucumbers have been hit or miss since she’s become pregnant. Pickles, though? Always a yes.
“Pickles.” She giggles. Pickles aren’t something I typically add to a salad that isn’t of the egg or potato variety, but it’s a minuscule price to pay if it makes Darcy Whitestone happy.
* * *
Eating our dinner on the living room couch, we catch each other up from our time apart. Wanting to talk to her about this morning, I steel myself for rejection. Maybe she doesn’t want me.
Maybe all this is, is two separate people destined to raise a child together.
I turn, facing my body towards Darcy, sitting cross-legged in her corner.
“So, about this morning,” I start, determined.
“What about it?” She questions, averting her focus to pick at her pilled blanket
“I was going to kiss you.”
“I know.” She laughs, lightly gesturing towards her bump that continues to become more prominent as the weeks pass, “but ya know?”
“I do. I’d like to try again.” I say, moving a little closer to where she sits, and gauge her reaction. Her cheeks flush. ”Kiss you, that is.”
“I…” She pauses.
“Can I?”
“Can you?” She raises her eyebrows at me, uncrossing her legs and giving me space to move closer.
“Can I kiss you, Mama?” I’m a hair's breadth away from her face, her breath fanning my face.
“You don't have to ask,” she whispers, “You can kiss me anytime you want.” Suddenly she tenses, her tone shifting. “Oh my god. I just said that out loud didn’t I?” She sounds embarrassed and her cheeks are beet red, it makes me chuckle.
“You did.” Before she can respond, my hand is snaking up the back of her neck and pulling her face to mine. Our lips meet softly at first, tentatively touching before she locks her hands around the back of my neck and lays back on the couch, pulling my body down on top of hers. My dick wastes no time, threatening an erection from its position nestled between her legs. She moans into my mouth when my tongue presses against her lips asking for entry, and our kiss becomes feverish. Teeth nip at each other's lips and my hands are tangled in fistfuls of her hair.
I pull back. Unwilling to take this any further tonight. There’s no sense in rushing our budding relationship, and I think she’s not fully recovered from yesterday. Glancing down, I’m enraptured by her body’s visceral reaction—her swollen pink lips, the way her breathing sounds slightly elevated, how her cheeks are still rosy, and her brown eyes thirst for mine.
“You’re breathtaking.”
“I’m a literal mess. I haven’t even brushed my hair today.” Her eyes crinkle in the corner as she giggles.
“You're right, let's get those off you for a better look” is what my cock encourages me to say but after silently telling it to shut up I say something more polite.
“My point still stands.” I smile down at her, I’ve somehow managed to hold my weight off of her stomach this whole time but my abs are starting to cramp and if I stay in between her thighs any longer, I may end up going back on the fact that I don’t want to rush us. I pull myself up into a sitting position bringing her with me so she’s nestled into my side.
“Let me take you on a date, Darcy.” She turns her head up to look at me, a grin planted on her beautiful face.
“I want to say yes but I’m scared.”
“Why?” Genuinely wondering what she means.
“Kissing you is one thing but going on a date feels like cementing something and I don’t know what that something is.”
“Darcy,” I sigh. I want her to know this isn’t just me trying to get in her pants or trying to force her into a relationship. ”I’ve had feelings for you for a bit now and we’ve been spending time together. Truth be told, I’ve always been attracted to you. Not just your body but your entire personality. We can take it one day at a time, but right now I’m just asking if I can take you on a date. Maybe we decide to stick to co-parenting or maybe we decide to do this together. Either way, I’d like to explore my feelings for you and continue getting to know you better—when you’re feeling up to it.”
She’s silent for a beat, taking in everything that’s just poured from my heart. “I’d love to go on a date with you Tate.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.” She smiles up at me and I place a kiss on her forehead.
“Do you want to watch some Gilmore Girls before bed?”
“Wait, what?” The surprise is evident in her tone, her eyebrows meeting her hairline and lips parted in a small o.
“I’ve been watching, trying to catch up so we can watch together.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I wanted to spend more time with you. It was one of the ways I could think of. I think I’m caught up, according to Netflix at least.”
“Let's do it. First though, team Dean, Logan, or Jess?”
“At this moment, Jess.”
“Good answer.”