Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
B oon
Shae and Lydia made an appearance in the teacher’s break room for lunch today, something they hadn’t done since Shae’s morning sickness flared up.
Her gaze caught mine the second they walked in, a small smile playing across her lips.
She seemed to have gotten used to me driving her to work and back every day, including the goodbye kiss in the car, but I hadn’t approached a public display of affection. This was our workplace, after all.
“We hear there’s catering,” Lydia deadpanned, her deep voice carrying despite the flat nature of it. Everyone turned in their direction, in various stages of eating the trays of sushi the new restaurant in town brought in for the teachers.
“I call dibs on the tuna sushi!” Coach Johnson bellowed, elbowing his way to his precious tuna. Just looking at him, he did appear to have dropped a few pounds, so maybe that crazy diet of his worked.
“I gag now when I smell tuna,” Steve, the English teacher, grumbled under his breath, hurrying to plop some salmon rolls on his plate before Johnson got going on how nutritious tuna was for every human on planet Earth.
Lydia handed Shae a plate, then froze, the two staring at each other and communicating silently.
Lydia snatched the plate back, not letting Shae sample any of the sushi.
Then it hit me. In all the googling I’d done, it said sushi and lunch meat weren’t good for pregnant women.
I set down my own plate, unwilling to eat it if Shae couldn’t.
Alyssa, the school nurse who’d flirted with me shamelessly until I’d shut it down unceremoniously when I saw how much it pissed off Shae, swung her gaze back and forth between the two women.
She was pretty, exactly the type I would have gone for ten years ago, but she also seemed like the type who was always searching the room for someone better to talk to.
Exactly the type who would have dumped me the second I announced my retirement.
“What? Are you pregnant or something?” she mocked, giggling like just the idea of Shae being pregnant was a funny joke.
I saw the way Shae’s mouth tightened and the slight rounding of her shoulders like she wanted to curl in on herself. I was already halfway across the room to rescue her when Lydia turned to Alyssa, her eyes holding a promise of death.
“Oh, you sweet summer child. Did your mama just have the ‘birds and bees’ conversation with you?” Lydia answered with fake sweetness. Then her face fell into a murderous glare. “We didn’t invite you to this conversation. You have three seconds to get out of my face.”
Alyssa’s mouth dropped open, but she scurried away, darting glances behind her to make sure Lydia wasn’t following. I slowed my pace and approached the two women.
“Thanks,” Shae murmured to her friend under her breath. “I’m getting out of here. That tuna smell is…” Shae spun around, let her pinkie graze mine on the way, and then she was out the door.
Lydia and I watched her go. When the door shut behind Shae, Lydia popped a sushi roll into her mouth, chewing like she gave exactly zero shits what anyone thought of her.
“Thank you for protecting her,” I said quietly, meaning every word. I loved that Shae had such a good friend watching out for her when I couldn’t be there.
“I always will,” she answered, after swallowing the huge bite. “Especially from men who might break her heart.” The look she gave me told me that was exactly the threat I thought it was.
I held up my hands in a peace offering. “I don’t plan to do that. I’m doing everything in my power to do the opposite, in fact.”
Lydia’s unblinking gaze was freaky. “I guess we’ll see about that.”
I wasn’t a dumb man. Maybe a little slow sometimes, but eventually I understood the situation and I knew right now, I needed to get in good with Shae’s best friend if our relationship was going to work long term.
“Listen.”
Lydia held up her hand. “I’ll stop you right there.”
My head dropped. I was fucking this up already.
“I know. Sorry. It’s a habit to start conversations that way.
” I brought my head back up and leaned as close as I felt safe doing when the woman across from me looked like she probably had weapons strapped to her in places I couldn’t see.
“I already bought Shae an engagement ring. I plan to wait until I can ask her and she won’t punch me in the face.
I’m hoping she’ll love me back eventually, but nonviolence is my first goal. ”
Lydia’s lips wobbled like she was trying desperately not to laugh.
“Because I love her, Lydia. I think I always have, I just didn’t understand what I was feeling. My focus was on baseball and it didn’t leave room to explore anything else.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m her best friend.”
I nodded. “I know.”
Her finger came up and I braced for pain. Her voice dropped to a whisper, the kind that promises gory violence right before a jump scare in a horror movie. “I’m watching you, Boon Wolfe. The minute you fuck up, I’mma swoop in and deal with you and you will not like it.”
“Understood. I won’t fuck up. I promise.”
Lydia dropped her finger. “You will. But that’s okay, because I’m pretty sure Shae loves you already and she’ll give you a second chance.
I’ll get the pleasure of messing up that pretty face, you’ll crawl back to Shae, and she’ll train you right.
It’s a win-win-win.” She shot me a wink and sauntered across the room, done with me.
I watched her go, feeling like I was in some mobster movie. I’d just been threatened by the boss and I wasn’t sure if I was scared or turned on.
“Oh, hey, Lydia?” I asked, taking my life in my own hands. It would be worth it. I was pretty sure. She stopped and looked at me over her shoulder. “Can I ask a favor from you?”
Her eyes narrowed like I was getting on her last nerve. But for Shae, I’d do anything. I walked over and laid out my plan, highlighting what I needed from Lydia. By the time the bell rang for class, I thought Lydia and I might just get along in the future.
If she didn’t kill me first.
Shae let out a whimper when we got home that night, kicking off her ballet flats and plopping down in the massage chair.
I put the frozen casserole Mom had given me into the oven, set the heat and timer, and then came over to sit on the floor at her feet.
The massage chair could do a lot for Shae, but it didn’t massage her tired feet and it couldn’t give her orgasms. That was where I came in.
I took each foot in my hands and dug around until she was moaning and I was stupidly hard beneath my workout shorts.
I was starting to resemble the name of this stupid town with all the orgasm denial I was imposing on myself.
It was stupid, but ultimately, I just wanted to take care of her and the baby. My own selfish desires could wait.
“Today got me thinking,” Shae said quietly, startling me. I didn’t realize she’d opened her eyes.
“Yeah? What about?”
Shae shifted, sitting up a bit in the chair. “About when I should tell Principal Joseph. Our fellow teachers. I mean, I’m going to pop any day now. I’ll be seventeen weeks on Friday. I feel like I should front-run the situation.”
I nodded. “I think that’s a great idea.”
“I’ll email Principal Joseph for a formal meeting, then.” She pulled her phone out of her back pocket like she intended to do it right this second.
“I’d like to be there,” I added quickly.
Shae’s fingers paused. She lifted her head, looking confused.
Damn. When would this woman get it through her head that I was here for every small thing and the big ones too? I’d just have to keep showing up.
“I won’t let that man intimidate you into something that’s not in your best interest. I’ve looked up employment laws for pregnant women and they’re terrible! Like, reprehensible.”
Shae’s eyes went wide behind her glasses. “You’ve looked up labor laws?”
I nodded, letting go of her feet. “There’s no federal law stating employers have to give you twelve weeks off. But the labor unions here have negotiated fourteen weeks for teachers. Do you want to go back to work in the fall?”
Shae took a few minutes to think it through. She finally nodded. “Yes, I think I do. It’ll be hard at first, but teachers’ hours can work well with being a parent.”
I took her hand in mine. “Okay. We’ll make it work. I’ll probably quit teaching and just coach. That way I can be home with our son while you teach.”
Shae’s eyes went wide again. “You’d do that?”
I shrugged. “Of course. I’m not teaching for the money. It was just something to do with my time so I didn’t go stir-crazy. I mean, I have enough saved for retirement; you don’t have to work at all if you don’t want to.”
“I want to,” she said quickly.
“That’s fine too.” And I meant it. This could look any way we wanted it to.
We sat there staring at each other for a little while longer.
The chair massager timed out and shut off.
The oven dinged. I stood up and held my hand out to Shae.
She groaned about having to get up, so I leaned over and picked her up, princess-style.
She shrieked and lazily hit my chest. I shook my head at her weak protest.
I was almost to the kitchen when she froze, her hand flying to her stomach. The bottom of my own stomach dropped out and I froze too, suddenly alarmed.
“Are you okay? The baby?” Did I pick her up too quickly? Squeeze her too tightly?
Shae’s shocked expression turned to a watery laugh. “Yeah! I think I felt the baby!” Her cheeks went pink and she bit her lip. “I thought I’ve been having gas for like a week now, but I think it’s been the baby the whole time.”
Relief flooded my system. I diverted from my path and set her down on one of the chairs by the kitchen table. I crouched between her legs and pressed my hand to her stomach. We stayed just like that for several long, silent minutes. Shae moved my hand and forced me to press in harder than I’d like.
And then…I felt it.
A tiny flutter that could have been mistaken for anything else, but Shae’s gaze flew to mine. We both sat there, hands on her stomach, gazes locked, silly grins on our faces.
“Is that him?” I whispered, feeling another flutter.
“I think so.” A single tear ran down her cheek and I let go of her stomach to swipe it away.
My hands went to her hips, my face right by her stomach as I leaned in. “Hey, baby. It’s your dad. Are you wiggling to get Mommy’s attention?”
Shae gasped, obviously feeling the flutter again. “Keep talking. I think he likes it.”
I looked back at her stomach, envisioning our baby in there and pissed at myself for missing this whole phase when it was Kinsley.
“We haven’t picked out a name for you yet, but I bet we’ll come up with something good soon.
Something strong. Something that you’ll be proud of, just like we’re proud of you, son.
” My voice broke and I had to take a deep breath to keep my shit together.
Shae’s fingers slid through my hair, scraping across my scalp. I leaned my head against her stomach and we stayed that way until my legs started to go numb from crouching for so long. I stood, picking her up again. I headed for the kitchen, turning off the oven and heading for Shae’s bedroom.
“What are we doing?” Shae asked, voice deepening.
“I want to see you, lovebug. Kiss you. Every inch of this beautiful body that’s making our son.” I laid her down on the bed and stepped back, admiring how her breasts were pressing against the confines of her shirt, having grown the last few months in preparation to feed our baby.
I stripped out of my clothes in record time and then slowed down to peel her layers off. She let me, her gaze hot on my erection.
“You better give me that cock finally. You can’t show it off and then withhold it like you’ve been doing. It’s mean.”
I’d never get tired of hearing Shae get mouthy in the bedroom. Or hearing her say she wanted my cock. “I’ll give it to you, baby. Just be patient.”
She glared at me, naked and soft and feisty. Her hips were already more rounded and her stomach had the slightest pooch that no one else would have noticed, but I’d spent months studying her body.
“You’re so beautiful, Shae,” I murmured, climbing onto the bed and kissing my way from her ankles to her belly.
My shoulders wedged her thighs apart, parting her for my gaze.
She was already wet and pink and shifting impatiently on the bed.
I dragged my tongue up her center just to hear her gasp.
She tasted like forever. My home. My everything.
Before she could pull my hair or scream my name, I lifted my head and gave her breasts the attention I knew she loved.
With one knee hooked over my arm, I slid inside her gently but without reservation, both of us pausing to enjoy the feeling of being connected this way.
Damn. There was nothing like being inside Shae.
Knowing I was the only one making her pant and writhe and moan.
Knowing our baby was inside her belly right now, the one we’d made together before I even knew I was in love with her.
The love had always been there, manifested in our baby, but unknown to us.
I knew now though. Knew it in my bones. Shae Fletcher was the woman for me.
It didn’t take long for either of us to reach the end.
It had been too long for me, and Shae’s orgasms seemed to be on a hair trigger these days.
We came at the same time, our foreheads pressed together, breath mingling as we panted.
I slid to the side, taking her with me and wrapping her in my arms.
We eventually ate a cold casserole, naked in the kitchen, hoping neither my mother nor my daughter would come over and catch us.
And then I carried her back to bed to make love to her again.