15. Sophie
CHAPTER 15
Sophie
T he kiss on Alex's lips was like a gentle tickle that made my whole body tingle. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for him being fooled by Viki. It was sweet how he wanted a family so badly, but I didn't want to keep him around if there wasn't love between us. Perhaps, just perhaps, Alex could use this situation to get back to Vicki. But damn, his touch was irresistible and I found myself fighting against my own desires.
I kept telling myself that baby hormones were obviously the reason I led Alex to my bedroom. The reason why I let him yank my T-shirt over my head and unclip my bra with the same fervor, and why my hands were shrugging off his shirt. I was relieved when he tugged it completely off and dropped it to the floor.
It was also the exact same reason why our mouths were sliding over each other’s.
Teeth and lips and tongues all crashing together.
“Just so you know,” said Alex, breaking the kiss, pausing the urgency that had suddenly enveloped us both, slowing it down to a more manageable speed. “I didn’t come over tonight expecting sex, even though you are very beautiful.”
“I don’t believe you,” I said, not really caring what his reasons were. I had complete tunnel vision. All I wanted was his body on mine, his tongue in my mouth.
He chuckled. “Well, you should. And it wasn’t because of sex. Scout’s honor.”
My hands were on Alex’s lower back, pulling him to me, desperately trying to close every gap between us. “You never pegged me as a scout.”
Alex smiled and curled his fingers around the back of my neck. I arched into him as he kissed a trail up my throat. With his breath hot against my skin, he muttered, “Two years in high school. I even got my Star Scout badge.”
“Hopefully no mountains were involved in getting that badge,” I teased, my mouth inching toward his.
“Only a few hills.” Alex smiled, leading me to the bed. But we didn’t lower ourselves onto it just yet. His hands roamed down my bare stomach to my hips, moving back and forth over the bone, bringing us even closer together until my breasts touched his bare chest. “Do you really believe me when I say that I came here to talk, to get to know you? Not just to have sex?”
“I do,” I muttered softly, and leaned into his hand now curling behind my head, tilting my chin up before his mouth pushed down against mine.
He lowered me onto the bed, climbing on top of me, and then he angled himself off the side, his fingers skimming down my thighs. My legs fell open for him, as if his touch was a button and I had no choice but to comply.
His fingers slipped beneath my cotton panties, coming to rest in my center, and then with a feather-light touch he moved his hand down my core before he slipped two fingers inside of me. My hips lifted in response just as a guttural groan stuck in my throat.
Alex’s mouth, which was still on mine, pulled into a smile. “I’m glad you like this.”
“Don’t get a big head,” I mumbled, not daring to say that I didn’t just like his touch, I loved it. Alex’s skills were admirable, the way his fingers curled and traced and teased made me wetter than the ocean. I could easily have reached my peak, but then Alex moved again, this time leaping up from the bed.
Before I knew it, he had slipped both fingers beneath either side of my panties and pulled them down, cool air meeting my skin.
I was completely naked now, feeling slightly self-conscious, wondering if I was showing anything more than just a faint bloat at six weeks. But the way he was staring at me as if I was the most beautiful thing in the world dissolved all those insecurities.
With Alex’s eyes now latched onto mine, his smile unwavering, he unbuttoned his jeans and stepped out of them. He was wearing briefs, his hardness evident, and when he slipped them off, I heard another moan escape my throat.
I would’ve smacked my palm to my mouth, but then Alex climbed back on top of me, his skin hot against mine, yet goose bumps still broke out in tiny painful prickles.
I wanted him inside of me now, but there was something I wanted even more—to feel him. All of him, and the only way to do that was through an unfamiliar touch, something I hadn’t done with him before.
Reaching between us, my fingers wrapped around him and his breath changed, turning sharper, shallower as he moved himself within my hand, slowly and heavily at first, and then speeding up slightly.
By the look on his face, I was sure he was going to come.
But then he gripped my wrist and urged my hand free.
His mouth was back on mine, colliding furiously, sending stars up like fireworks in the dim room where only a bedside lamp—the bulb weak—gave little light. Still, I could see all the different aspects of Alex; the doctor who cared for his patients, the man whose heart was broken, and the future father of our children.
He was extremely beautiful.
This moment, despite its wrongness, despite the baby hormones kick-starting the whole thing, was beautiful, and I couldn’t get enough of him. A feeling I knew would evaporate as soon as I came, as soon as my climax spread down my legs, but I didn’t care.
It was so fucking worth it.
Alex moved on top of me again, wasting no time before he moved inside of me, my legs wrapping around him, coiling around his hips, eager to get as close as possible.
I buried my mouth against his shoulder, briefly wondering if we needed a condom but then remembering I was pregnant.
At least that was a plus.
My hands raked down Alex’s back, absorbing every taut muscle and ridge of his body, pulling him even closer while he pushed himself deeper into me. Every inch of me was aching for him. I wanted him so bad, needed him, and the uncertainty that was peeling me open like an orange grew weaker, as if Alex was putting each segment back into its rightful place.
Before I knew it, Alex had flipped us over so he was on his back and I was sitting on top of him, straddling him, bouncing myself up and down while he moved in and out of me. My palms were flat on his chest, my nails digging into his hard flesh.
“Fuck, Sophie. I can’t get over how gorgeous you are,” he groaned, his thumbs digging into the creases at my hips while the rest of his hands spanned over my ass, squeezing at every dip and rise.
Alex rocked deeper and then harder, his hips moving up and down with mine, and those stars just kept getting brighter, more pronounced, as if they were closing in.
All of a sudden, he sat up and pulled me into his lap, flattening his palm against my back, moving me with every roll and tilt of his hips.
We kept going like this, our mouths colliding just like our bodies did, and soon enough the stars exploded, falling like tiny balls of fire all around us, rendering our bodies lifeless.
I rolled off him and lay flat on the bed, my chest heaving, breath aching as it filled my lungs once more.
When the stars faded, that uncertainty about my future came back, creeping in like dust under a door, and everything we had just done suddenly seemed like a mistake. It worsened when I remembered Vicki—who kept leaping into my head at the most inopportune times.
What would she say if she knew I had slept with Alex, not once but twice? How hurt would she feel? Would she want Alex back?
My stomach clenched.
Of course, she would. Vicki was a proud woman. She’d take offense. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have the right to know.
Sooner rather than later.
Turning to face Alex, I felt a strange airy relief when his hand went to my hip, his thumb brushing along the bony ridge. He was smiling, his eyes glossy and satisfied.
“Alex,” I said, softly, gazing down at his smooth hard chest. “I’m going to tell Vicki about the pregnancy on Monday.”
Not about us , I thought, since there isn’t an us. This was just baby hormone-driven sex.
Nothing more.
He took a deep breath in, his hand still on my hip, and nodded. “Okay.”
“But I don’t want you to be there.”
He frowned, his eyes darkening briefly, but then he leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the lips. “Alright.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Becks, running her teeth over her bottom lip. “You can always just quit and run away with Alex. Caleb and I will visit you all the time.”
“I’m not going to quit,” I said firmly, though the thought had crossed my mind a few times—put in my notice before my belly started showing.
But I wasn’t a coward, and Vicki deserved to know the truth.
“It’ll be fine,” I said, walking into the gym, my eyes scanning the room while I hoped Vicki had in fact not shown up for work today.
Not that it would matter. Her absence would only buy me time; it wouldn't change the inevitable confrontation. The sooner the better. Then again, there was a strategy to catch her at the right moment. If Vicki was in a bad mood, which she often was, the aftermath would equate to Chornobyl. If she was in a particularly good mood, it would be like navigating a minefield—still dangerous, but at least I'd have a fighting chance.
There was no sign of Vicki, which meant I had at least a few more minutes to rehearse my speech: I'm terribly sorry for sleeping with your ex-fiancé and for being far too fertile for my own good. But you know, if you had just opened up a bit more, and told me about yourself, I would've known exactly who Alex was and steered clear.
“Can I be there when you tell her?” asked Becks, walking over to the patient board and erasing a few names. “I’ll be your backup.”
“No,” I said sharply, trying to resist the angsty nerves building up like a storm in my stomach. “You’ll only make things worse.”
“That hurts my feelings,” Becks said, pulling a face, and glanced back to the hallway that led to the treatment rooms. “Why don’t you go check if she’s in her office? Get it over with. Rip off that Band-Aid.”
Checking the clock above the life-size skeleton model dangling in the corner, I shook my head. “She’s probably still in the wards.”
It was nine a.m., and Vicki usually saw a patient or three in the surgical ward before she made her way back to the gym in time for her other appointments. This was why it was a massive surprise when the door swung open and Vicki’s voice rang out like a starter pistol across the room.
“Sophie, I want a word with you please.” Vicki spoke as she walked, barely glancing my way, only momentarily stopping short of the hallway when she added, “My office. Now.”
My entire body shut down. Panic was a physical force, crashing into me like a rogue football, knocking out my breath.
Becks’s eyes were wide as she mouthed, “Do you think she knows?” Her face crumbled as if she had just seen someone getting hit by a car. Given that I was on my way to certain death, it seemed entirely appropriate.
With my legs as heavy as tree trunks, my heartbeat thumping in my ears, and a sickly— not pregnancy-related—sensation creeping into my gut, I reluctantly made my way to Vicki’s office. The door was ajar.
“Have a seat,” Vicki said, her face stoic, giving absolutely nothing away. If she did know, if she had somehow found out about Alex and me, she was keeping it a secret.
I sat down, scooting the chair just a few inches back so that I was out of Vicki’s reach. If she decided to leap over her desk and claw my eyes out, she’d have to put in a bit more effort.
“I just got off the phone with Dr. Francis,” said Vicki, “and she says you tended to her daughter very well after her hip surgery.”
“I did?” I blurted, struggling to take in the compliment when I had such a big secret I needed to confess. This was not what I had expected when Vicki called me to her office. “I mean, good. I’m glad she’s doing better.”
“Well, Dr. Francis was so impressed, she was hoping you’d do a few home visits over the next two weeks to continue with her daughter’s rehab.” Vicki smiled, a beautiful smile that didn’t come often or easily. It was like seeing a rare comet streaking across the sky—brief and stunning. Too bad I was going to wipe it off her face in a minute. “Well done, Sophie. That’s exactly the kind of comments I want to hear from our doctors.” Viki's constant air of professionalism and seriousness makes me feel like I'm working with a robot programmed by the most uptight engineers
Great. Now I had to ruin the only compliment Vicki had ever given me in my three years of working under her.
When I didn’t stand to leave, especially after she had given a nod that finalized our conversation, Vicki switched on her laptop and glanced over the top of it in my direction. “Are you alright?”
“Yes,” I said softly, swallowing hard and looking down at my trembling hands. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?” she asked, frowning this time, her freckles clustering together.
I forced myself to meet her eyes, feeling like I might shatter to pieces under her gaze, and stammered, “When Alex came here for his back pain, it wasn’t the first time we had met. I . . . I slept with him at the seminar.”
A flush of pink suddenly crept up Vicki’s neck as if she had some skin disease. Her eyes bulged, her jaw clenched. It was obvious she was furious enough to wring my neck, but I didn't stop. The words came out like vomit.
“It’s just that I had no idea you two were even engaged. If I had known, if you had told me about him, I would never . . .” I took a deep breath in. I was speaking way too fast. “Believe me, I would never have slept with him if I’d known. But I did and I’m . . . I’m pregnant.” The last part I basically whispered.
When I finally managed to get everything out and sagged exhausted into the chair, I had barely two seconds to brace myself before the room seemed to explode in rage.
Vicki's face scrunched with fury. She picked up a stapler and looked like she might hurl it against the wall, like she might aim for my head, but then she did something far worse. She pushed back her chair, stood up, folding her arms over her chest, and glared at me so intensely that I could almost feel the heat radiating from her gaze, like her stare might burn a hole right through me.
When she spoke, it was soft, her words dripping with cold, calculated anger. “I need you to leave, Sophie. Now. Before I do something I shouldn’t. Something I’ll regret for the rest of my life.”
I opened my mouth to say something, to do damage control—if that was even possible— but Vicki only shook her head and said, even softer, even colder, “Now.”
I pushed back my chair, blinking my tears away, and stormed out to the gym, where Becks was waiting with her arms outstretched. "How was it?" she asked, her brows furrowed and her bottom lip curled.
“She’s going to fire me for sure,” I said and then broke down into a teary mess.