Chapter 20
STEPHANIE
“ You look at it,” I whisper. “I’m too nervous.”
He shakes his head. “Let’s look together.” He takes my hand in his much bigger one and slowly, we turn to face the sink.
We step closer…
Lean in…
And there it is.
Two lines. Clear as day.
“Oh my god, I’m pregnant,” I breathe, the words surreal on my tongue even as joy floods through my bloodstream. “Tank, I’m pregnant. We’re pregnant!”
For a moment, he’s still, staring at the test with a blank expression, before he lets out a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. He turns to me with a giant smile that banishes any worry that he isn’t every bit as excited about this as I am.
“We’re having a fucking baby!” He lifts me off the ground, hugging me tight. I throw my arms around his neck, laughing and sniffling at the same time.
He sets me down, his hands framing my face. “You okay, beautiful? You’re happy?”
“So happy,” I whisper, blinking away the tears rising in my eyes. “So happy, I can barely hold it all inside me. You?”
“Same, baby. So happy.” He kisses me—soft at first, then deeper, every stroke of his tongue against mine promising he’s going to give me and our baby every bit of love in his big heart.
The kiss deepens, his hands sliding from my face to cradle the back of my neck, fingertips apply just enough pressure to make me moan into his mouth. The sound seems to trigger something for both of us because suddenly he’s pressing me back against the sink. I can feel his cock already hard against my hip, the heat of him searing through our clothes.
“We can’t have sex in the family bathroom,” I say, but when he cups my breast through my shirt, I don’t even think about pushing his hand away.
“Why not? Everyone else is on their way out of here for the weekend,” he murmurs, his teeth scraping my bottom lip before he sucks it into his mouth. His hands drop to my waist, fingers slipping under the hem of my tank top. “And knowing you’re pregnant with my baby is surprisingly fucking hot, Teach.”
I moan, my nipples already peaking, eager for his touch, and my panties well on their way to being ruined.
It is surprisingly hot…
“Need you, baby,” he says. “Now.”
I nod frantically. “Okay, but fast. And quiet,” I say, tugging his shirt over his head. The moment his chest is bare, I skim my nails down his pecs, admiring this gorgeous man whose body is my favorite playground. “Damn, you look good for the beginning of a season…”
“You look good all the time,” he says, pushing my tank top up, until my breasts spill free, nipples already tight and aching. “Look at you,” he murmurs, calloused thumbs brushing over my sensitive tips, making me gasp. “Do they look bigger already or am I crazy?”
“I don’t think…” I bite my lip, groaning as he continues to tease me. “Damn, I can’t think. I’m already so wet, babe. Why aren’t you inside me yet?” I arch into his touch, as I fumble with his belt.
“I don’t know, but let’s fix that.” He shoves his jeans down until his cock springs free, thick and flushed and already leaking at the tip. The sight summons a whimper from my throat. “Your turn,” he rasps, hooking his thumbs into my yoga pants. “Let me see that sweet pussy.”
I wiggle my hips, helping him strip me bare. I step out of the spandex pooled at my feet. “Fuck,” he groans, dragging a finger through my slickness. “So wet, baby. You need to get off, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I gasp, hooking one leg around his waist as I buck into his touch. “I don’t know why I’m already dying for you but I am. Please, babe. Please, now.”
He doesn’t make me ask again. A beat later his cock is shoving into me, thick and hot and as perfect as ever. My head rocks back against the mirror, a ragged cry tearing from my throat as he fucks with sweet and brutal precision.
“That’s it,” he growls, watching my face as he swiftly pistons me toward the edge. “Let me hear you, baby. Let me feel you squeeze my dick in half when you go.” His free hand palms my breast, rough and possessive. “God, Steph, I love you so much. I love you, sweetheart. I’m so fucking glad we’re going to be a family.”
The mixture of tender and filthy words sends me spiraling. My orgasm crashes over me, making me gasp as I clench and throb and gush around his cock. He doesn’t let up, not until I’m finally starting to spiral down.
Then, and only then, does he slam home one final time, filling me with sharp jerks as he groans against my neck.
“Best bathroom sex ever,” he finally pants.
I exhale a ragged laugh. “First bathroom sex ever, but yeah…pretty damned good.”
We pull apart, kissing as we help each other straighten our clothes and smooth our hair. The entire time, we can’t stop grinning at each other like idiots. Once we’re dressed, Tank presses a hand to my still-flat stomach, wonder written across his features. “I’m going to leave it all on the ice for you, kid. I promise.”
I cover his hand with mine. “And your dad is going to be the best dad you could have hoped for, buddy. No doubt in my mind.”
Tank kisses my forehead one last time before slinging his gear bag over his shoulder. But when he reaches for the door handle, it…doesn’t move.
“What the hell?” he mutters, jiggling it harder.
I frown as I tuck the test into my duffel, wanting to take it with me so I can take a photo in better light to send to my parents later. “Is it stuck?”
He tries again, putting more force into it, but the handle still refuses to budge. “Yeah, I think… Babe, I think we’re locked in.”
A bubble of laughter escapes me before I can stop it. “What? You’re not serious.”
He turns to face me, his face paler than usual. “No, I’m not.”
“Holy shit,” I mutter. “It’s like when you were stuck in the equipment room last year.” I arch a brow. “Except this time, you have company.”
His eyes widen. “You’re right. What the fuck? Am I cursed? Is there a ghost in this part of the complex that hates me or something?”
“I would say she loves you,” I tease, leaning against the sink with a grin. “After all, she wants to keep you locked away in her bowels forever.”
“No, don’t say bowels.” He presses a hand to his mid-section. “You’re going to summon a solid waste event.”
I snort. “Well, at least we have plumbing.”
He points a stern finger at my chest. “No way, woman. I am not now, or ever , evacuating my stuff in front of you.”
I giggle.
“Stop,” he insists. “It’s not funny.”
“Kind of funny,” I counter.
“Says the woman who didn’t even want me to see her peeing, let alone anything grosser.”
I make an effort to sober my expression. “You’re right. Sorry. We should probably call for help.”
He pulls in a breath, but I stop him before he can start bellowing with a lifted hand and a laugh. “Stop! My phone still has power. Let me text Stone. He’s a slow poke. If we’re lucky, he’s still in the parking lot. Or, at least not far away.”
Tank nods quickly. “Okay. You’re right. Try him. But if he is here, he’s never going to let me live this down. Not when this is the second time he’s had to come to my rescue.”
“Probably not,” I agree, tapping out a message. “But at least we won’t have to spend the weekend locked in a bathroom.”
“All weekend?” Tank goes marble white at this point, so pale I’m concerned for him.
“Are you sure you’re getting enough iron, babe?” I ask. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe you do need meat to function. You don’t have to stay a pescatarian if it isn’t working for your body. You know I won’t judge.”
He shakes his head. “No. It’s fine. I just… We won’t be stuck here all weekend. We’ll find a way out. Or security will notice us while they’re on rounds, or?—”
“Or Stone will come for us,” I agree, taking his hand. “He will. I know it.”
“Know it? Like one of your hippie vibe hunches that are always right?”
“I have a very strong feeling,” I assure him.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, my phone chimes with Stone’s reply. I exhale a sigh of relief as I read, “He says he’ll be right here. With a master key, just in case we really are locked in.”
“Of course, we’re locked in. Like we’re too dumb to know how to open a door?” he mutters, but he’s visibly more relaxed as he leans against the opposite wall.
“Are you sorry you came to pee on a stick with me?”
“No, way.” He wraps his arms around me, pulling me close. “I wouldn’t trade any of these memories for a lifetime of never being locked in a tiny cinderblock room again.”
I rest my head against his chest. “Me, either. I’m glad we looked into the future together.”
“Our future,” he echoes, sounding happy again. “With our baby.”
“Our baby who will never be allowed to use a bathroom on this side of the complex,” I add, making him chuckle.
We’re still grinning when a knock sounds at the door a minute later.
“Hey, you two,” Stone calls, his voice muffled through the wood. “Your rescue party has arrived. You guys decent in there?”
“Totally decent,” Tank calls back. “We were just using the family bathroom in a family sort of way, and somehow got locked in.”
“Family sort of way?” Stone mocks. “Is that what they’re calling it these days? Are you sure you didn’t do something to jam the lock?”
“It’s fine. It’s not their fault,” an unfamiliar second person replies—presumably the maintenance guy, though the voice sounds awfully feminine. “This entire wing is cursed. You couldn’t pay me enough to stay here after dark.”
“Agreed,” Tank calls through the door. “And thank you. We’re pretty desperate to get home.”
“No worries, we’ll have you out in a second,” the (woman?) says.
We hear the sound of a key sliding in a lock, followed by some jiggling and a solid thump. Then, the door swings open to reveal Stone standing in the hall with an amused smirk, beside a redhead I instantly recognize as Remy Lauder, Coach Lauder’s daughter and office manager for the Badger admin team.
“Well, well, well,” Stone drawls. “What do we have here? Locked in again, LiBassi? Maybe you should start carrying a Swiss Army knife or something.”
“Very funny,” Tank grumbles as he darts out into the hall with his gear bag, but I can tell he’s not really annoyed. “Thanks for the rescue.”
“Yeah, thanks Stone.” I collect my duffle and breeze out behind him. “Thank you too, Remy,” I add. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“No problem,” Stone says, his eyes darting to Remy beside him. “So, you um…know Remy already, Steph?”
“Yeah,” I say, frowning at him as Tank settles an arm around my shoulders. “Of course, I do.”
“She’s been teaching here going on four years, Stone,” Remy says briskly. “She knows everyone on staff. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to run back to the office and take care of a few things before end of day. Have a great weekend everyone.”
She turns, moving swiftly toward the staircase leading to the second floor, her heeled boots clicking on the tile.
“I’ll come with you, help return the master key,” Stone calls after her, lifting a hand to us as he backs down the hall. “Later lovebirds. Hit me up if you want to come hang at the pool this weekend. Might be the last hot one we have for a while.”
Before we can respond, he turns to jog after Remy. When he catches up, she shoots him a hard look, muttering something beneath her breath that makes him grin before they both disappear into the stairwell.
“Well, fuck,” Tank mutters.
I whip my gaze his way. “What?”
“Remy’s his red flag girl,” Tank whispers as we start toward the exit. “The one I told you about at the end of the season last year.”
My eyes go wide. “No way, that’s insane,” I hiss. “Couch Lauder will kill him if he finds out.”
Tank nods. “Yep. He’ll kill him, hire somebody to bring him back from the dead, then kill him again. Or maybe just lock him up in his basement, so he can torture him for a year or two.”
I shiver. “Yikes. I mean, we joke, but Lauder is so protective of Remy. I heard he hired a private investigator to get dirt on that investment banker she was dating last year. Now, the guy’s in jail awaiting trial for some kind of white-collar crime. But I mean…I guess the heart wants what it wants. And Stone isn’t stupid. Neither is Remy. Hopefully they’re being careful not to get caught.”
Tank pushes open the door leading to the parking lot, holding it for me before falling in beside me again. “Hopefully. But I still feel like I should talk to him, remind him what’s at stake. I mean, this is his last season, his last chance at the cup. He needs to be copacetic with Coach, not daughter-defiling enemy number one.”
“Poor Remy,” I say with a shake of my head. “It’s got to be so hard for her. She’s in her late twenties, for goodness sakes. It’s not normal for a dad to be so controlling at his point.”
“Protective, not controlling,” Tank corrects, making me arch a brow his way.
“Oh yeah? You really think so?”
He shrugs, pausing beside my car as I dig for my keys. “I mean, I wouldn’t want a pro athlete messing with my daughter. Not even one as nice as Stone.”
“Um, babe, you’re a pro athlete,” I remind him as I hit the unlock button. “In case you forgot.”
“Yeah, but I’m not the norm,” he says, tossing his gear bag into the back before reaching for my duffle. “I never partied. Not even when I was younger. I numbed out with pills and made my share of mistakes, but I never took a puck bunny home or dated a bunch of girls at once.” He shuts the door and turns back to me. “I’m a weirdo.”
I move into his arms, looping my wrists behind his neck. “You sure are. My weirdo.”
He grins as he hugs me closer. “Damn straight. Forever, Teach.” He presses a kiss to my forehead before murmuring against my skin, “My baby mama. Fuck, that’s still hot.”
“It is,” I agree, tingling for him all over again. “Should we skip dinner out tonight and stay home? We could order food in and then…hang out in our bedroom?”
“Yes,” Tank rumbles without a beat of hesitation. “Fuck yes. I’ll order quinoa bowls to arrive at five thirty while you drive.”
Back home, we’re greeted by enthusiastic snorting and wiggling from Mr. Sniffles and Piggie, both of whom have clearly missed us desperately.
Tank scoops them up, one in each arm, letting them cover his face with pug kisses while I laugh.
“I’ll get our hungry boys some early dinner before I hop in the shower,” I say, heading for the kitchen to prepare their bowls.
“I’m going to grab a snack, too,” Tank says, following me with the dogs still in his arms. “I can’t wait for dinner to be delivered later. I’m fucking starving. I think I’m having sympathy pregnancy hunger pangs.”
I roll my eyes affectionately as I fetch the dog bowls from their mat on the floor. “As if you aren’t always hungry.”
“Valid,” he says, setting the pups down with a grin. “But now I have an excuse.” He claps his hands together. “Fuck! You’re pregnant, woman. It keeps hitting me all over again. I still can’t totally believe it’s real.”
“Me, either,” I say, squeezing the last of the gourmet puppy food from its pouch into Piggie’s bowl. “Oh, that reminds me, I should call and make an OBGYN appointment before the office closes for the weekend.”
I do—silently cheering as I learn they’re able to get me in next week—and then head into the bathroom to find Tank already naked and in the shower, waiting for me under the spray.
I grin at him, propping a hand on my hip. “Oh, yeah? It’s like that, is it?”
He smiles, wide and shameless. “Yeah, it’s like that. But if you’re tired of my dick, I promise to leave you alone.”
“You’d better not,” I say, my voice husky as I strip off my tank top.
A few minutes later, I’m pressed up against the tile as my man takes me from behind, making me come so hard I see stars before giving me a scalp massage with my conditioning cream that has me sagging against him in the warm spray.
“Man, I love hair washing day,” I murmur, my eyes sliding closed. “You’re getting so good at that, baby.”
“I just wish I got to do it more than once a week,” he says, his fingers pausing at the base of my scalp. “Speaking of washing things, I was going to take Piggie to get his first bath and nail clip tomorrow morning while you’re teaching class. Is that okay? Or did you want to be there to take pictures of baby’s first visit to the torture chamber?”
Eyes still closed as I say, “Maybe he won’t hate it as much as Mr. Sniffles does.” Tank grunts, and I smile as I add, “But just in case, let’s take him together tomorrow afternoon. That way, you’ll have backup, and I can take pictures.”
“Sounds like a win, win,” he says, finishing his massage. “Ready to rinse.”
“Thank you,” I say with a happy sigh. I rinse just enough of the conditioner away before swiping the water from my eyes and turning to find Tank watching me, a tender look in his eyes that makes me feel like the luckiest woman in the world.
He’s such a secret softie, such a sweetheart, and the only man I ever want to take a shower with, from this day until my last day.
Several hours later, after we’ve taken the boys out for a walk, eaten our delicious dinner delivery, and locked ourselves away in our bedroom without the dogs, we make love again, slower this time. Tank holds my gaze as he fills me, and it’s perfect—steamy and connected and wild and safe, just like it always is with him.
He’s just my person.
My love.
My other half.
And someday soon, we’re going to be a family.
I truly couldn’t ask for more. Well…except maybe one thing.
Lifting my head from his chest, I whisper, “Is it wrong that I need ice-cream from Corner Creamery? Caramel swirl and raspberry sorbet? Since both sound really good right now, and I’m not sure which I want most?”
He pats my ass. “Nope. I’ll buy you ice-cream anytime.”
“But Corner Creamery doesn’t deliver,” I remind him.
He smiles. “I know. What do you take me for, Teach? A slacker too old and worn out to get his ass out of bed and jog a few blocks to get ice-cream for his sexy pregnant fiancée?”
I smile. “I told you, I don’t think we need to get married.”
“Yeah, but I’m going to keep hinting anyway,” he says as he slides out of bed, reaching for his track pants on the floor. “Maybe one of these days, you’ll say yes.” As he pulls his pants up, he nods toward the bureau. “The ring I bought you last weekend is in my underwear drawer, by the way. In case you decide you want to take a peek at it.”
I shake my head at him as my jaw drops. “What? How dare you? You know I can’t handle waiting for surprises. You know I have to know.”
He winks as he reaches for the bedroom door. “I know. Be back in fifteen. Text me if you change your mind about flavors.”
“Tank, don’t you dare leave,” I call after him, sitting up in bed. “Or talk to me about ice cream at a moment like this! Don’t make me look alone!”
“You can always just wait. I’ll be right back,” he says, the front door closing behind him.
“As if I can wait fifteen whole minutes. Maybe longer if there’s a line,” I mutter beneath my breath as Mr. Snuffles and Piggie gambol in, happy to see the bedroom door open again. “What do you think guys? I have to look, right?”
Piggie barks excitedly, but Mr. Snuffles blinks worried eyes, as if cautioning me to be careful. If I really don’t want to get married, I shouldn’t look at that ring.
“Don’t be silly,” I say, sliding out of bed and pulling my robe from the hook on the closet door. “Seeing a pretty ring isn’t going to change my mind about something as important as a binding legal contract. Because, that’s what it is, boys. It’s a contract, one that can be hard to get out of if things don’t work out. It’s not something to be taken lightly.”
Mr. Snuffles chuffs in agreement before plopping his round bottom down on my bare foot as I pull open Tank’s underwear drawer.
Where I find not just a ring box, but a hand-written note…
My Love,
If you find this before I have a chance to ask you to marry me in the most romantic way, possible, I just want you to know, there’s no pressure. I’m happy to live in sin with you for the rest of our lives. Any way I get to spend a day with you is a miracle by me, Steph, and something I’ll always be grateful for.
But I would also be so honored to call you my wife.
You really are my angel, Teach. You’re my light and my lady and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, inside and out. You’re my teacher and my friend and so wise and smart and kind, sometimes I can’t understand what you see in me. But fuck, am I glad you see it.
I can’t imagine a better purpose on this planet than spending the rest of my days loving you the way you deserve. And I want to help make all your dreams come true, just the way you have for me.
I am a lucky man to get to love you, Love, no matter what.
Every piece of the heart you healed, and then some,
Tank
p.s. I’ll take your last name, if that makes a difference. Love is a way better name for a family than LiBassi anyway.
By the time Tank gets back, I’m sobbing in the middle of the bed, flanked on either side by two very worried and devoted pugs.
Sobbing…and wearing the gorgeous ring he picked out on my left ring finger.
“But you’re not sad about the way I asked?” he asks again half an hour later, after we’ve made love in the closet to spare the puppies’ innocent eyes, and are finally fetching ice cream from the freezer. “You promise?”
I turn to him, resting a hand on his cheek as I lift my chin for a kiss. “Not even a little bit,” I murmur against his lips. “It was the best proposal ever.” I pull back, grinning up at him, “And now I have hard, written evidence of how crazy you are about me, in case you ever forget.”
He scowls. “I’m never going to forget, woman. Are you crazy? When I’m dead and gone and back on earth in some other body, I’m still going to remember you. And love you.”
My heart overflows all over again and fresh tears sting the back of my nose. “Damn, Tank. That was poetry. You’ve come a long way, Grunty.”
He grunts.
And I laugh.
And then we kiss some more, celebrating the end of another beautiful day.
The present moment has never been so good, and it’s getting better all the time.
THE END