Chapter 26
Gavin
“What are you looking at?” Haddy leans her head on my shoulder.
I kiss her forehead then turn the screen for her to see. We’re sitting in the waiting room of New Beginnings Birthing Center, and I’m scrolling through pictures on my phone of the two of us at the gala.
The photographers picked up on our personal theme right away, and they had a lot of fun with us being Han and Leia. Some enterprising reporter even put together that Haddy was the same girl I caught falling off the welcome back float last October. Those headlines were a lot of fun.
WHITE KNIGHT IS THE REAL HAN SOLO!!!!
“I love those pictures,” she smiles.
Her pretty sapphire eyes meet mine, and my stomach twists. Leaning down, I plant a kiss right on her mouth.
Haddy was actually glad they figured out she’s an International Princess Woman, because she said she can use the gala as her community outreach this quarter, which she said she completely forgot. I don’t blame her. We’ve got a lot on our minds.
These past few weeks have been really great around the house. Being out to Gigi and Mav, has taken a lot of pressure off us. It’s really cool to be able to pull her in for a kiss without having to make sure nobody’s about to walk in the room or pop out from behind a corner.
Still, we try to keep the PDAs to a minimum out of respect, and I’ve quietly been looking for our own place. I don’t know how Haddy will feel about leaving her cousins, but I think once the baby comes, we’ll need it. Still, I’m checking for something in the neighborhood.
I’ve returned to sleeping in her bed, spooning her body with mine and placing my palm over her stomach, not wanting to miss a single kick from our baby. It’s fucking amazing this little being is already making his or her presence known.
It makes me think of some of the more outgoing members of both our families. Is it possible those personalities start so early?
What’s even better is she’s starting to show. In the mornings, she’ll climb out of bed to use the bathroom, and when she comes back sometimes her sleep shirt is hitched up over her bump. When that happens, I always have to sit up and pull her to me, kiss our little sweet potato good morning.
Only one thing could make me happier. I’ve been thinking about it a lot—every time I catch her smiling at me, every time I see her in the stands dancing and cheering in my jersey. I have images saved on my phone, and I’ve even planned out how I’ll do it…
“Bradford-Knight?” The familiar nurse holds out her hand, and we both stand, following her through the doors to the check-in area.
Haddy is weighed, measured, we go to a treatment room, and Dr. Barry pops in with her usual smiling, jokey manner.
“How’s it growing?” She gives Haddy a wink.
“So far, so good.” Haddy’s eyebrows rise as she looks down at her midsection. “I think the baby’s finally sticking out some.”
“It’s usually that way in first pregnancies.
” Dr. B squirts the blue goo on Haddy’s stomach.
“You get thicker and thicker, then all of a sudden, Pop! There it is.” She taps on screen of the iPad she’s holding.
“Your measurements are good; all the tests came back negative. Ready to see what’s cooking? ”
We both answer yes at the same time, and I lean forward to take Haddy’s hand. Today’s the day. We’re having the ultrasound where we find out if it’s a boy or a girl. I’ll be glad with either, but I still hope it’s a little princess just like her mama.
She’s reclining in the chair, and I can feel the tension in her muscles as well. We’re both excited for the big reveal.
“Keep in mind, if we don’t see anything, that doesn’t mean it’s a boy. Sometimes those little guys like to hide their junk. Still, with the 3D ultrasound, we’ve gotten a lot more accurate.”
Haddy and I exchange a glance, and she asks quietly. “Can we check again if you’re not sure?”
“Definitely!” Dr. Barry reaches out to give her forearm a squeeze. “Wouldn’t want you to buy a bunch of baby dolls for a little guy.” She hesitates, arching an eyebrow. “Although it might not hurt him to have one, am I right?”
My chin drops, and I exhale a laugh. “You might be onto something, Doc.”
“I think it’s good for little boys to know how to care for babies.” Haddy’s voice is small. “But Gav is doing really well, and I don’t think you had any practice.”
She wrinkles her nose at me, and I lean forward to kiss her cheek. “I’m a fast learner.”
“Well, let’s see what we can see,” the doctor says.
We watch as Dr Barry moves the wand around Haddy’s stomach. It is impressive how clear we can see the baby’s features in 3D.
All of our eyes are fixed on the screen as she focuses on the leg area. “That’s its little butt…” She uses the wand to push gently. “Come on, baby, spread ‘em.”
We both laugh softly, but at that moment, baby seems to understand the assignment. Its little body moves, and the tiny legs part.
“I think we have our answer.” Dr. Barry’s eyebrow arches, and she looks at us.
I look at Haddy, and her eyes are filled with tears. She reaches for my neck, and I lean forward to kiss her firmly on the mouth.
I’ve never wanted to tell everybody something so bad in my life.
Music plays in the kitchen, and Maverick is singing some country song while he works on dinner. I’ve been watching the ultrasound of our baby on my phone since our visit with Dr. Barry.
I can’t keep a smile off my face, and I’m already planning all the fun stuff we’re going to do. I wonder if I’m glowing. Do expectant dads glow?
The books only talk about gaining “sympathy weight,” but with all the skating and weight training and nonstop games, I can’t imagine how much I’d have to eat for that to happen.
Gigi bustles through the door with Spanky on his leash. Her brows furrow when she sees me sitting on the couch.
“Is Haddy working late again?” Spanky jumps all around and she leans down to unhook him. “She usually comes home early when y’all don’t have games.”
“Yeah.” Standing, I put my phone on the coffee table. “She texted that she has a video chat with Daniel and their faculty advisers. They’re examining the composition of the air… Or the density of the particulates or somethingorother…”
I stop before it sounds like I know what I’m talking about. Haddy told me exactly what they’re doing tonight, but it’s a lot of sciency jargon.
“I should probably let you read her text.”
Gigi waves at me, putting her jacket on the stand. “Don’t bother. I can probably infer what they’re doing from what you just said.”
“All I know is saving babies.” I grin, thinking of my girl being awesome. “She’s on her way now, though. I just checked our tracking app.”
“You are so cute!” Gigi skips over to give me a hug. “It’s a little stalkery that you track her location, but it’s also really swoony.”
“She shared her location with me.” I look at my phone feeling guilty. “I shared mine with her…”
“You two.” Gigi pokes my shoulder. “Where is she now? I’m starving.”
That makes me laugh. “So it’s okay for me to stalk your cousin if you’re hungry?”
“Definitely. I’d even go so far as to say it’s mandatory!”
Opening the app, I see she’s pulling into the driveway. I’m about to tell Gina when my best friend appears in the kitchen doorway glaring at me.
“Hey, Mav! What’s the ETA on… dinner…” My tone goes from upbeat to confused when I see his expression.
His jaws are clenched and his shoulders are bowed up. His brow is lowered, and he looks like a raging bull. I can almost see the smoke blasting from his nostrils.
I drop my phone as he storms across the room, headed right at me. Squaring my feet, I brace to stop him when he grabs the front of my shirt and slams me against the wall, forcing an oof from my lungs.
“What the fuck?” I grab him by the shoulders, trying to shove him back, but he’s pushing into me with equal force.
“I told Haddy you were a good guy!” His fists are clenched, but I’m ready to block if he tries to punch me.
“Maverick!” Gigi’s voice is loud. “Stop this! What’s wrong with you?”
“This is wrong with me.” He lifts his phone, shoving it at my face.
Pulling my chin back, I release his arms so I can take it from his hand. There on the face in all caps, bold black text with a string of exclamation points reads, CHAMPIONS’ KNIGHT SCORES OFF THE ICE TOO!!!!
“What the fuck is this?” I frown, trying to understand what I did.
“It’s a picture of you leaving a birthing clinic in Pasadena,” he shouts. “The article says you’ve been going there every month, meeting some chick.”
“Birthing center?” Gigi gasps, and my stomach pits.
“You tell me you’ve been secretly dating my cousin since Halloween, and now I find out you got some chick pregnant?” Mav comes at me with a forearm to my neck, slamming me against the wall again. “Who is she?”
“Jesus, Mav,” I grunt, trying to get him off my windpipe. “You don’t understand…”
He’s holding me hard, and sparks appear in my vision. “You made a big mistake messing with a Bradford.”
“Maverick!” Haddy shouts, her voice echoing in the living room. “Stop it! What are you doing?”
“I’m throwing this fucker out of our house. I’ll teach him to break your heart, get some girl pregnant…”
“It’s me, Maverick!” Haddy is right beside us now, pulling Mav’s arm away from my neck.
Thank God, because I was starting to black out.
“What?” The pressure disappears from my throat entirely, and I lean forward, holding my neck.
I do my best to catch my breath. Spanky bounds over and licks me right in the face. I guess he thinks this is all a game.
“I’m the pregnant chick,” Haddy explains.
“What?” Gigi’s voice goes high with a mix of wonder and excitement, and Spanky jumps, letting out a happy yip.
Haddy pulls up her oversized sweater to reveal her cute little baby bump poking through her pregnancy pants. Hell, I think the baby’s gotten a little bigger since the ultrasound. We are at the mango stage, I guess.