Chapter 26
LORNA
“ Y ou look exhausted,” Cass whispers as Madalina calls out for another round of Baby Bingo. Serena and Mom both sit eagerly with their cards ready to get started, while some of the girls who showed up from college make decent enough excuses to leave.
“Thanks for coming.” I smile at all three of them, as they make their way toward the door, with Cass seeing them out to save me from getting up.
“Did I miss all the action?” Nic finally makes his entrance with Cass when she comes back to join us, and I’m so relieved to see him.
“Nic, we’re just playing Baby Bingo again, want to join us?” Madalina picks up a card for him but he shakes his head and comes straight for me.
“How’s it been?” he whispers as he leans down to kiss me.
“I’ve managed to survive,” I tell him under my breath.
“Nic, why don’t you go and have a drink with Dario?” Serena nudges him out of the way when he distracts her from hearing Madalina call out.
“I think I’m all baby-showered out. I should get some rest.” I start to stand, and when Nic rests his hand under my bump to assist me, one of the girls I’d never met until today scoffs a laugh. It’s loud enough to get everyone's attention and when she realizes she has her audience she does nothing to hide her amusement.
“Care to share with everyone what you find so funny?” I ask. In normal circumstances, I’d avoid confrontation like this, but I’ve been playing nice for more than four hours straight, my ass is numb and my patience is thin.
“Nothing at all. I think it’s sweet that Nic’s settling down.” She exchanges a sarcastic grin with the girl sitting beside her.
“The next word is… Pacifier.” Madalina calls out, trying her best to eliminate any tension.
“I mean, let's be honest, none of us ever thought we’d see the day.” The girl refuses to give up, and the way she raises her eyebrow at him suggests the two of them share a secret. I swear, if I could move fast, I’d tear the fake hair she’s wearing straight from her scalp.
“Come on, let's get you home.” Nic turns his back on the girl, urging Serena to hurry up and say her goodbyes. She immediately jumps to action, placing down her bingo card so she can kiss me. My mom quickly does the same, standing up and reaching over the table to kiss my cheek.
“Don’t forget to think about those names I sent you, sweetheart.” She moves on to kiss Nic, leaving a bright pink lipstick mark on his cheek.
“Thanks for everything.” I hug Madalina, hoping she understands how much I appreciate her efforts.
“Did you eat enough? You should take some of the cake home.” She starts to fuss.
“Honestly, we’re fine. I’m sure the little ones will finish off whatever's left.” I kiss her cheek and say my goodbyes to the rest of the room, passing Cass by the door as Nic leads me out.
“Thanks for helping Madalina.” I stop to hug her too.
“It’s not every day you get to help throw a glamorous baby shower,” she tells me with a smile. “Though next time, I’m taking full control of the guest list.” She narrows her eyes at the bitchy girls on the other side of the room.
“Next time, I could be throwing the shower for you. I’ve seen how close you and Jonah have been getting,” I tease, and the way she blushes proves that I’m not wrong.
“Get out of here.” She nudges me with her hips, before taking a deep breath and rejoining the group.
“You know, Madalina was just trying to help by inviting those women,” Nic explains as he helps me into the car.
“Of course, I do.” I smile, watching him close the door and round the hood. Once he gets behind the wheel, I feel that warm comfort flow through me when his hand rests on my stomach, the way it always does when he drives.
“So, do you know that girl well?” I question, trying to sound unaffected by what was said.
“Not really, her father is well-respected among the leaders. I’ve seen her and her friend at a few parties in the past.” He shrugs as if it’s no big deal but I get the sense that there's more to it. I saw the way those girls changed when he showed up, until then, they had barely spoken a word.
“Have you ever slept with any of them?” I get straight to the point.
“Have I…No.” Nic takes his eyes off the road and frowns. “Why would you even ask that?”
“You can’t really blame me, it sounded to me like your reputation precedes you.” I look down at my stomach and feel pathetic for even mentioning it. I shouldn’t be letting those bitches get to me when I have much bigger things to focus on.
“Lorna, you have to be kidding.” He shakes his head and laughs, and when I remain very serious, he looks deflated.
“No, I haven’t slept with either of them.” His hand grips the wheel and I can see he’s tense. “But…my dad did want me to marry the one with the very fake tits,” he adds.
“The one with the… Do you not even know her name?” I stare back at him, disgusted.
“I did, I just can’t remember it now, and do you know why?” He looks back at me. “Because she was irrelevant then, and she’s irrelevant now.”
“But you noticed the fake tits,” I add, knowing that I’m being pathetic, but also that I’m entitled to be. I’m pregnant, hormonal, and sensitive. He should have to deal with a little of it too.
“Lorna, a blind man would notice those fake tits. They’re ridiculous.”
“Oh, please. Don’t be like that.” The last thing I want thrown into this now is sympathy.
“Be like what?” Nic still plays at being confused.
“All men like big tits, especially fake, big tits.” I push his hand away from me, but he quickly rests it straight back.
“Not this guy. If I liked them that much I would have married her.” His clever response puts an end to our conversation, but not to the thoughts in my head. Suddenly, I feel enraged with jealousy. I can feel it heating up inside me and spreading through my veins but I manage to keep it controlled as Nic drives back to our apartment.
“I got it,” I tell him, holding the frame of the car door and trying to heave myself out of the seat when he opens the car door and offers to help me out.
“Babe, why don’t you just let me help you?” He stands patiently while I try to get the right angle.
“Because I don’t need help, I’m not an invalid,” I remind him.
“No, but you are very pregnant and clearly struggling, so?—”
“I wouldn’t be struggling if your car wasn’t so stupidly low!” I snap, hating that I have to give up and take the help he’s offering.
“There we go.” He aids me onto my feet, and I growl in frustration as he kisses my cheek, then leans back inside the car to pick up my purse for me.
“So, how many other fake bitches did your father line up for you to marry?” I can’t resist asking as we make our way toward the elevator.
“I don’t know, five, maybe six.” He shrugs as the doors open and we both step inside. “Does it matter, now?”
I can see that he gets off on the fact that it clearly fucking does, and I turn my back to deny him any more satisfaction.
“You're sexy as hell when you're hormonal,” he teases me, and when the door pings open he takes out his keys and unlocks the door to the apartment.
I kick off my heels and head straight to the bedroom so I can get out of this dress.
“Hey...” He follows after me and once I lift the stretchy fabric up over my head I look down at my own tits and sigh. Sure, they’ve grown a lot since I’ve been pregnant, but they’re still nowhere as big as those fake ones.
Maybe I should get a tit job done once I’m done being pregnant, it would help ensure they don’t sag.
“What are you doing?” Nic comes up behind me, cupping them both in his hands through my bra as if he can read the thoughts in my mind.
“I didn’t like what she said, okay?” I admit, never feeling so wide-open and vulnerable in my life.
“I can understand that.” His lips touch against my jaw as his hands continue to knead me through my bra. “But her words should mean nothing. She’s not important to us.”
“Nic, I…”
“These tits are getting huge, I’ll bet they’re going to start leaking soon.” He makes it sound as if the idea excites him, and I allow him to slide my bra straps off my shoulders and pull the lace down so he can examine them fully. “They’re feeling heavy.” He tests the weight of them in his palm before his fingers trail around my nipples. “Filling up so you're ready to feed our baby.” His hand lowers to stroke over the big, round belly that sticks out in front of me.
“I’m scared, we’re getting close and this baby’s got to come out soon,” I admit with a shaky breath.
“It’s okay to be scared.” He slides his hand through my hair before he starts to braid it for me. It’s something he often does before we go to bed, and I find it so soothing. “It’s a big deal.” He reaches over to the vanity table and grabs a hair band so he can tie it up. “I don’t want you getting stressed about it, when the time comes, you and I are going to deal with it just fine.” He leads me over to the bed and I sit on the edge of the mattress.
“I’m glad you didn’t do as your father said and marry those girls,” I admit, looking up at him and feeling like such an idiot. My mood swings have been getting so much worse these past few days, and I’m sure they’re worse due to my nerves.
“Maybe what I wanted all along was right there in front of me, I just wasn’t seeing it.” Climbing his body over mine he lies me back against the mattress and kisses me, rolling his tongue around mine as his fingers force my panties off my hips.
“I’m sorry for bei–”
His head shakes when I try to apologize. “You're pregnant, you're allowed to be antsy.” He kisses his way down to my tits, taking them in his hands again and when I watch him bring my nipple to his mouth and suck it deep, I’m surprised at how good it feels.
“Are you going to be a good girl and give me a taste?” He looks up at me as his tongue rolls around my areolas.
“I don’t know if they're ready?” I shake my head and laugh.
“Baby, they’re ready.” He sucks deeper and I clutch his shoulder when I feel it right in the center of my core and hear him starting to moan.
“Fuck, Lorna.” He squeezes my other tit in his hand, rolling the nipple between his fingers until I notice it starting to drip.
“I told you they were ready.” He moves up my body, filling my mouth with his tongue, and ensuring I taste what's on it.
“You taste that, princess? I know your body better than you know it, yourself.” He presses his forehead into mine. “You’re going to look so fucking hot feeding our baby with these juicy tits.” He continues to stimulate me until I drip all over his fingers, then he raises those fingers up to his mouth so he can suck them clean. “Just when I didn’t think you could get any more perfect.” He stands up and spreads my legs, wrapping his arms around my thighs and dragging my ass to the edge of the mattress so he can enter me. There are not many positions we can comfortably do it in now that I’ve gotten so big, but I appreciate this one when he makes a long, deep thrust inside me.
“Hold those pretty tits in your hands and squeeze them for me,” he tells me, watching over me as he pumps me full of his cock. “You look so ready to have this baby.” His hand makes a circle over my stomach before he clenches it possessively. “Look at you, leaking all over your fingers.” He takes two of his own and trails them over my stretched-out skin. “It doesn’t get more perfect than this.”
He takes my leg and rests it on his shoulder, kissing the arch of my foot softly before he grazes it with his teeth. “Fuck, Lorna, you’re so fucking tight.” He holds my belly firmly as he slams into me. “You grip hold of my cock like you're scared to fucking lose it,” he growls, sliding his tongue from my heel to my toe. “How can you be this fucking pregnant and still so desperate?”
My back arches from the bed, making my belly stick out higher. “That’s a good girl, you show me.” His eyes fix on mine and he smiles proudly. “You show me what a clever girl you are.” I feel myself starting to build as he strokes his hand over it proudly. “You fucking love it when I touch you here, don’t you? You love having my attention on this big, pregnant belly. You love having this pregnant pussy filled with cock. Tell me how much. Tell me how much you love that I put my seed in you.”
I come for him, instead, grabbing at whatever I can to keep me grounded as his hard thrusts send me over the edge and I feel the room start to spin.
“Holy shit, you're soaking me. Is that… Fuck! ” Nic closes his eyes and grips my hip as he comes, himself. Unexpectedly, judging by the shocked look on his face.
He takes a few seconds to catch his breath before sliding out of me and staring between my legs.
“Are you okay?” he checks.
“Never better.”I stretch my arms back over my head and notice the panic on his face as he reaches across to the nightstand and picks up his phone.
“What are you doing?” I yawn, starting to wonder what’s wrong as he frantically starts to dial.
“I’m calling Dr.Walsh. I think your waters just broke,” he tells me, rushing to get dressed while he waits for an answer.
“False alarm.” Dr Walsh retracts the spectrum from between my legs and smiles at us both.
“What do you mean, false alarm? You didn’t see the mes?—”
“I’m sure the doctor knows what he’s talking about, Nic.” I grip hold of his shirt and give him a death stare.
“But you…It was…” Nic is still in hyperventilation mode as he tries to get his words out, and if our trip to the doctor’s office today, has proved anything it’s that he needs to work on his relaxation skills.
“Given the nature of what you were doing before you called, I’d assume it was nothing more than female ejaculation that gave you cause for concern,” Dr Walsh explains, making me want to die. “I can assure you both that everything is still very much intact. You won’t be the first, or the last, to make that misjudgment, and it’s always best to check.” He snaps the gloves off his hands and I close my eyes in shame.
“You're sure you feel okay, no contractions?” Nic checks, despite what we’ve just been told.
“I’m positive, now can we just go home?”
“I need to get back to my routine patients, are there any other questions?” Dr Walsh asks as he makes his way to the door.
“No, we’ll see you in two weeks.” I smile, wondering how I’m ever going to face the man again as he leaves.
“That was scary, I thought things were really happening.” Nic lets out a long, deep breath once we’re alone.
“I know you did, all the way here I had to keep reminding you to breathe.” I stand up and attempt to make myself decent.
“How were you so calm?” Nic gets up from the chair he’s sitting in so he can help me.
“Because I wasn’t in any pain, and someone had to keep you calm.” I laugh.
“Don’t scare me like that again.” He strokes the side of my stomach, still looking sick with worry.
“Well, next time don’t make me come so hard.” I kiss his lips before sliding back into my shoes.
“We’re taking it easy from now on. I don’t want any more false alarms, not until this little one’s ready,” he warns, smothering me with more tummy rubs.
“That doesn’t sound like much fun at all.” I roll my eyes and head for the door. If anything has come from this, it’s the fact I’m feeling a lot more confident than I was a few hours ago about this whole birthing thing. At least now I know that one of us can hold it together.