31. Reese
You ever have those moments when the world stops? This is one of those moments for me.
I stare at Winnie, and she stares back, anticipation blowing her pupils wide. She worries her lips, waiting for me to respond, but all words are lost. My tongue is heavy in my mouth and not willing to let me reply with anything logical.
“Reese? Did you hear me? Well, I’m guessing you heard me, but… aren’t you going to say anything?”
What do you say to your dream woman when she gives you the best possible news you’ve ever heard?
“You’re pregnant?” Apparently, you repeat the same words back.
Winnie blinks and eventually nods. “I wanted to wait until the weekend was over, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer.”
“How long have you known?”
Winnie lowers her eyes to her hands on her lap and twists her fingers together. It might be easier to have this conversation with her if she wasn’t naked.
“I took the tests a few days ago.”
I wish she would have let me be there with her, but I understand why she didn’t. This isn’t just a big moment for me, it’s a huge moment for Winnie. She’s the one with a baby inside her. Not just a baby, but my baby. Our baby.
“Reese, you’re worrying me. I can’t tell if you’re happy or not.”
I can’t have her thinking I’m anything but ecstatic. I tug my shirt over my head and drop my sweats to the ground, and she shifts eagerly. Winnie lowers herself onto the bed, and I crawl over her, hovering and looking into the eyes of the woman I love.
“There’s nothing you could have told me that would have made me any happier than I am right now.”
Her chest caves with what sounds like a relieved breath. I press my lips to hers, soaking in the moment. Bringing my hand up, I lay it on her slightly swollen stomach. It’s not big enough for me to have noticed it before, but now knowing my child is growing inside her, I can feel the smallest difference from before. Or maybe I just want to think I can.
I shift down the bed and chuckle when she lets out a desperate sigh.
“Hi, baby. It’s your dad.” I flick a look up to Winnie and grin. “Your mom looks so fucking pretty right now.”
“Reese,” Winnie warns, still smiling.
“Shit—shoot. Damn, this is going to be hard. But I have nine months to practice.”
Winnie threads her fingers through my hair. “More like seven or eight.”
Oh, shit, that’s right. I drop my forehead to the smooth plane of her stomach and press a gentle kiss just under her belly button. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
My heart thunders as I meet Winnie’s watery chocolate eyes. “You mean that?”
She nods quickly. “I always have, Reese. I’m scared of what’s to come, especially telling my brother, but as long as we’re together, everything will be okay.”
God, this girl.
I press another kiss to her stomach, then trail my lips up her body. Hard, pointed pink nipples call my name, and I suck one into my mouth and swirl my tongue around it. Winnie whimpers, and my partially stiff dick fully erects. I’m too desperate for her to mess around with any foreplay, so I slip between her legs, line myself up, and slide into her with ease. She’s still unbelievably tight and strangles my dick in the best way.
Wrapping her arms around my neck, she pulls me on top of her, but I’m hesitant, wanting to protect her and our baby from my weight.
“You’re not going to hurt them, Reese. Fuck me properly.”
“Your wish is my command.”
Watching Reese do his best not to explode with the news is equally hilarious and heartwarming. He’s nearly bouncing, and anytime he opens his mouth, I’m sure it’s going to pour out. But we’ve been sitting with his friends for a good hour, and he’s held it back thus far.
We agreed—well, I decided, and Reese reluctantly agreed—that we should keep it to ourselves for the time being. I said at least until after the doctor’s appointment he plans on scheduling for me after the weekend, but I’m thinking until I can tell my brother. Which I’m still unsure how I’m going to do in a way everyone stays alive.
I don’t know why I was ever nervous to tell Reese. I should have known how thrilled he would be, but maybe that’s why. Thankful doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel that Reese is the way he is and couldn’t be more excited about having a surprise baby, but it only reminds me how scared and nervous I am.
There are so many variables; ages and life situations are only the tip of the iceberg. I don’t think he has thought about any of that, though, which is one of the many reasons I love him. He’s such an in-the-moment kind of guy, but it’s doing nothing to calm my nerves. After my appointment, I’m going to call my mom, and hopefully, she can talk me through all this. I mean, she’s done this two times, even if the last time was almost nineteen years ago.
“Wiiiiiinnnniieeee!” Laney falls next to me on the couch, a sloppy smile on her face.
I giggle into my hand at her obvious drunkenness. She’s gotten worse as the day’s gone on, and not because of me. After I told Reese, he’s done his part keeping the alcohol from me, but not by drinking it like she was, thankfully. Lugging around a drunk Reese would be a lot harder than five-foot-nothing Laney. “Hey, Lane. How you feeling?”
“Good! Great. I’ve never felt betterrrr.”
“Yeah, you seem like it.”
The room is lit by the glow of a few candles, wanting to save the batteries on the flashlights Reese eventually ended up finding.
Emma steps in front of the room, holding the microphone connected to the battery-operated karaoke machine. The lyrics to “Like A Virgin” slide across the little screen, and Sawyer uses that time to excuse himself to the bathroom. Apparently, listening to your sister sing about being touched like a virgin isn’t something you want to listen to. Who knew?
Emma finishes, and we erupt into a fit of clapping. To my surprise, Reese jumps up next.
He takes his time picking a song, and all I can do is sit back and smile. I’ve heard Reese sing before, but never in front of people. He’s changed so much since he was a shy, brace-face teenager. I’m allowed to call him that because he called me “train tracks” when I got my retainer.
I’ve always found Reese handsome, but if someone had told me that tall, lanky, awkward kid would grow up to be this still-tall but confident, sexy man he is now, I would have believed them, but I know others wouldn’t have. I definitely hit the lottery, and I know my baby is going to be beautiful with a dad like Reese—not just outside, but in too.
Reese stands, holding the microphone in his right hand and pointing to me with his left as “Juliet” by LMNT blares through the shitty speakers. He sings along, replacing Juliet with my name, and I’m giggling like a schoolgirl every time he does. He knows how much I love that song, and hearing my name in place of it is the cherry on top of a really good sundae.
Sawyer wanders in halfway through—suddenly shirtless—and drops into the empty seat on the other side of me.
“You really got him whipped.”
I grin, because he’s right. Maybe whipped isn’t the right word, and it’s not like I told Reese to sing this song for me or to replace the main name with mine; he just did it because he loves me. I’m glad Reese isn’t shy of showing off his feelings for me. It makes me even more confident in my choice of a baby daddy than I already was.
I wasn’t lying when I told him I loved him. It wasn’t a midst-of-the-moment type of thing—maybe it was, but I meant it as well. I’ve loved Reese since before I even knew what that meant.
“You mean in love.”
Sawyer snorts an ugly sound. “Sure.”
I narrow my eyes. “One day love is going to bite you on the ass, and I can’t wait to laugh at how big of an idiot it makes you.”
Reese passes the microphone to an eager Laney before sauntering toward me with a crooked smile tugging on his lips.
“You like the show?”
“You know I did.”
He squeezes behind me and pulls me to lay against his chest, then kisses my temple with a grin.
I recognize Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” immediately and smile at a cheerful Laney. The others who have gone kind of sucked at singing. Laney, on the other hand, is great. Better than great; she’s amazing. Even in the drunk state she’s in. I would love to hear her sober because wow.
“She’s amazing.”
To see Sawyer’s reaction, I glance to the side, only to find him with a harsh expression and a clamped jaw. “I know.”
I can’t get what Reese told me about them and their so-called history out of my head. They have obvious feelings for each other, so why don’t they just date? Maybe that’s a naive thought—that just because two people care for each other, they should date. But why not? Doesn’t that make the most sense? Dating the person you’re actually into instead of the one you’re not. There’s obviously more to that story, but it seems pretty cut and dry to me.
Especially when Laney walks over to us, looking to claim her seat, but instead stops in front of Sawyer. She sways a little, bites her lips, and eyes him not at all discreetly. It’s a good thing Emma is busy picking out her next song and not watching her best friend and brother eye fuck each other.
“You’re an amazing singer,” Reese butts in, either not realizing what is happening or maybe attempting to save his best friend. From what? I don’t know. I guess making a mistake he thinks Sawyer will regret.
Laney drags her dilated eyes to us, releasing her lip from her teeth, and offers a friendly smile that’s more like the Laney I know as she blushes. “Thank you.”
“Seriously, Lane. So amazing.”
Her face reddens more. “Thank you, Winnie.” She glances at Reese. “You’re not bad yourself.”
Reese snorts, and I can’t help but giggle. He tugs me into his side and nips at my jaw, making me laugh harder. “Thanks, but you’re drunk. If you heard me sober, you’d be laughing like this one.”
He digs his fingers into my side, and I scream out another laugh mixed with a beg for him to stop.
He grunts and grips my hips instead of tickling, then leans in close to my ear. “Keep wiggling that ass on my dick, and that’ll be the next virginity you lose.”
I swallow hard, and my eyes round. He leans back, spreads his arms over the back of the couch, and cocks an eyebrow like a challenge.
“That baby is so lucky to have you two as parents.”
Reese’s smile falls, and he waits for me to catch up to what Laney just said, which, to be fair, takes me longer than it should.
I whip my head to the side, but she’s already holding her mouth, apparently sober enough to know she let it slip. Aside from Reese, I asked Laney to keep it to herself until we were ready to tell people. I’m thinking the rest heard, considering all four guys are on their feet, eyes wide with disbelief.
Reese shifts under me.
“You’re pregnant?” Sawyer is the first to break the ice.
I swallow hard.
“I’m so sorry, Winnie. Reese. I-I’m drunk. That’s not a great excuse, but I promise normall—”
“It’s okay.” I place my hand on her leg, and her mouth snaps shut.
Tears form in her eyes as she murmurs, “I’m so, so sorry.”
“So are you?” Sawyer barks out impatiently.
I angle to meet Reese’s gaze. His eyes bounce from me to his friends as if he’s asking permission. I wanted it kept a secret, but I know it would kill him to lie to them, and honestly, there is no point after Laney just made it very obvious.
I nod for him to tell them, and a weight lifts from his shoulders. He pulls me close and gets the biggest, cutest smile on his face. “We are.”
We. I like that. Like no matter what I go through, it’s not just going to be me. That’s a really comforting feeling.
You wouldn’t think a bunch of giant hockey players—and Schmidt—would care about something like this, but I’ve never seen them look so excited. Beckett tugs Reese from the couch, and I fall into his seat.
Schmidt holds up a bottle and a handful of shot glasses. “Celebratory shots are in order.”
“Someone get some juice for the mama-to-be,” Gavin orders, and Avery scurries to the kitchen. She comes back with a shot glass full of red liquid and passes it to me.
“Congratulations, Winnie.”
Emma bounces into the seat next to me. “I cannot believe I’m going to be an aunt.”
I giggle but don’t deny her of her want. It’s nice having people so excited for me. Especially Reese and his friends, and if I didn’t know any better, I would say there are unshed tears in Sawyer’s eyes.
He looks at me for a passing beat and offers a nod of approval. I lift my shot, and we tip them back together.
This morning I was so nervous about everything. Telling Reese, being a mom in general. While I’m still nervous about becoming a mom, it’s really good to know the kind of support I’ll have around me when I do.