Chapter 21
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Quinn
This is different.
Her touch is gentle, our kisses slow and savoring.
There isn’t the frenzy, frantic, raw need driving us both.
In its place is something deeper.
As I push inside her warm, wet body, I feel at home. That’s the only way to describe it. I’m not fucking her. I’m making love to her. Because I’m completely in love with her. And that might come back to bite me in the ass, but I can’t help it. I’ve always loved her.
I draw out and pause before slowly sliding back inside.
My hands are all over her, gently touching as my need to feel every square inch of her body consumes me.
And her abdomen? I’ll never get enough. I can’t wait to watch her start to grow our child, to witness her belly firm and expand.
To be able to feel our baby kick and move.
My hands reach up and I slide my fingers between hers. Holding them above her head, I move my hips and claim her lips. She gasps as I grind against her, groans as her pussy starts to grip me. I can’t hold off much longer. It’s too much. Too overwhelming.
Too powerful.
When we both come, I cover her body with mine and roll us to the side. Her lips are soft as we try to regulate our breathing and let our heart rates return to normal. But I never stop kissing her. I couldn’t if I tried.
Finally, I know I need to get us cleaned up.
Pulling out of her body, I whisper, “I’ll be right back.
” With a firm kiss to her forehead, I get out of bed and make my way to her en suite bathroom.
I grab a washcloth and quickly clean myself up before grabbing a second and returning to where I left Charli.
She’s curled on her side, the faintest smile on her lips when I reach her. She extends her hand for the wet washcloth, but I keep it out of her grasp. “Let me.”
Charli doesn’t reply, just holds still while I get to work. I feel her eyes on me, and when I’m completely done, I start to climb back into bed but pause. I don’t want to assume she’s okay with me staying, especially when I really haven’t but a time or two since we first got together.
I can see she’s struggling. She wants me to stay, but there’s still a part of her that wants to say no. Even though I want to ask her about it, to get to the root of the real issue, it’s probably not the best to do that tonight. It’s getting late, and I know she needs sleep.
Tomorrow is a new day.
The best day.
We get to go to our first appointment and should be able to have our first peek of the baby, and then afterward, to dinner with her family.
Where we’ll drop the bomb.
“I’m gonna head out,” I state, moving over to grab my clothes. “You need rest.”
She nods, a look of relief washing over her face.
I dress quickly, giving her plenty of opportunity to say what’s on her mind. She chooses to remain quiet though, and when I’m fully redressed, I walk over to where she lies in her bed.
“Sleep well, sweetheart,” I murmur softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“You too,” she replies. She appears somewhat distant, maybe even a little cold.
It confuses the hell out of me.
“I’ll lock up,” I state, wishing I were strong enough to tell her how I really feel. But watching her shut down and prepare to push me away again isn’t something I want to deal with right now. “Night.”
“Night, Quinn,” she whispers, watching me go.
I make sure everything is picked up in the kitchen before heading for the front door and stepping outside. The night air is warm as I take off toward my house, leaving my heart behind, because if there’s one thing I know for certain, Charli Miller owns mine.
“Charlotte Miller?”
We stand up and walk toward the owner of the voice. An older woman with a pleasant smile greets us. “Date of birth?”
Charli replies, and we’re led to the back hallway into a little alcove where they go over some of Charli’s medical history.
She takes her weight, blood pressure, pulse oxygen, and then hands her a small plastic cup.
“Every appointment we’ll do this, including checking your sugars from a urine test. The restroom is across the hall, and there’s a little box in the wall to place it.
When you’re all done, come to exam room number two. ”
Charli nods as she moves across the hall, leaving me to follow the nurse to room two.
I step inside the room and look around. There are some diagrams of the female reproductive system framed on the wall, as well as some sort of 3-D model sitting on the counter.
I try not to stare, but I admit, I’m a little curious.
I did enough research online to know the basics, but to see the graphic in front of me, demonstrating the dilation from one to ten is pretty mind-blowing.
A woman’s body is fucking amazing.
The door opens and I make sure to step toward the corner of the room, giving Charli plenty of space.
She’s been very quiet since I picked her up.
Hell, since last night when I left. She barely spoke to me when I stopped by after my morning run, and her texts were very short and to the point.
And for the drive here, she seemed lost in her own thoughts, preferring to listen to the radio instead of engaging in the conversation I tried to start with her.
I’ll let her have some space—this is a big day, after all—but eventually, we’re gonna have this out.
If she wants to push me away and label us as co-parents and that’s it, then fine, but I refuse to be a booty call just for convenience.
It’s not fair to either one of us, and I know my heart won’t survive it.
The nurse and Charli talk about how her pregnancy is going so far, making notes for the doctor. Then, she gives us the date we’ve been anxiously awaiting. “Looks like your due date is January twentieth.”
My heart is beating wildly in my chest.
“Go ahead and strip down below the waist, and put on this gown. Dr. Greene should be in shortly,” the nurse states before exiting the room, gently closing the door behind her.
“Wow, January twentieth,” I say, still trying to wrap my head around it. Our baby will arrive about a month after Christmas.
What a gift.
Charli nods, looking around the room at the posters. “First time I’ve ever been inside one of these rooms with someone of the opposite sex.”
I snort, hands shoved in my pockets. “First time I’ve been in one of these rooms ever.”
“Well, get used to it. You’ll be in it a lot.” She grabs the paper gown and starts undressing.
Giving her as much privacy as I can, considering we’re in a small room together, I avert my gaze and stare at the very detailed diagram of a woman’s body. Probably not the best place to look, but I’m certain Charli wouldn’t appreciate me staring at her right now, so I keep my attention there.
“All done,” she says, climbing up on the exam table and covering her legs with the paper as best as she can. My eyes move to her flat abdomen, to the reason I’ll be in these types of rooms for a while.
“Knock, knock,” Dr. Greene says, pushing open the door and stepping inside.
Charli’s OB is a woman in her forties, with dark hair and eyes and a motherly smile. “Hi, Charli, how are you feeling?”
“Not bad right now,” Charli replies.
“Uh oh. Morning sickness?” Dr. Greene asks, giving her full attention to her patient.
I take a seat in the chair as Charli explains about her morning sickness. “I’m very fortunate it’s only happening first thing in the morning.”
“Very true, and as you get closer to the end of the first trimester, it should taper off. If not, or if it increases for you, let me know. We can prescribe you something for the nausea and sickness.”
She nods, and they dive into talking about other symptoms and what to expect in the coming months.
I sit here, taking it all in. A lot of what the doctor is saying are things I read on the internet already, but there are a few things I didn’t know yet.
I was going to drop by the bookstore and grab a book, but I figured in a place like Cooper Town, that would throw immediate red flags, and everyone would be talking about why I was buying pregnancy and parenting books.
Turning her attention to me, she introduces herself. “I’m Dr. Greene.”
“Quinn Garrison,” I reply, shaking her outstretched hand.
“Do you have any questions for me?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Okay, are you ready for a scan?” Dr. Greene asks, turning her attention back to Charli.
“Yes.” Charli sounds both excited and nervous.
“We’re going to do a quick pelvic exam too, which is standard practice at first OB appointments. We check the uterus, ovaries, and cervix, and also make sure we don’t detect any issues. It’s quick and mildly invasive, all things considered.”
“Well, I have to get used to having someone rooting around down there,” she mutters, lying back on the exam table.
“That is true, though I’ll only do it when absolutely necessary,” Dr. Greene states. “I’ll do the exam first to get that out of the way, and then we’ll take a look with the ultrasound machine.”
Charli nods and places her feet up in the stirrups. Because of my position in the chair, I’m just off to her left, and while I don’t have a direct view of what’s happening, I do have a leg positioned near me. I drop my head and rest my elbows on my knees, keeping my gaze down.
“All done, Dad. You can look now,” Dr. Greene says, removing disposable gloves and tossing them in the trash.
I glance over to Charli, who gives me a tight smile. Moving the chair a little closer, I’m able to reach her hand, which is lying on the table. I thread my fingers through hers and give it a gentle squeeze in support.
Dr. Greene pulls a small machine over and types on the keyboard.
“We’re going to do a transvaginal ultrasound today.
This little wand will be inserted, and I’ll be able to get a good look at the baby.
I’ll take measurements, and we should be able to hear the heartbeat.
Next month, you should be far enough along to use the Doppler, so this type of exam won’t be necessary. ”