CHAPTER 18
AVERY
It’s kind of wild how six weeks can change your life. Really, in my case, one day changed my life. The me of six weeks ago, before everything imploded, would not have believed it if someone told me I would soon be standing in the house of a rock star.
Cole Howard’s house to be exact, the lead singer of Suburban Outcasts.
Not only is it his house, but the entire band is milling around the living room and kitchen. It’s movie night, but these people don’t do movie night half-way. Hell no, they do everything with flair and a whole lot of attention to detail.
Tonight isn’t just a movie night. They’ve used some of the land the band lives on, which the family refers to as a hippie commune, and put up a giant screen.
I’ve heard that they normally just set out blankets and do it backyard style, but since it’s getting colder with fall here in full force, the drive-in plan was born.
Peanut kicks and I rub my hand over my belly with a smile on my face. I love feeling her move around. The best part is that now Bridger can feel it too. He loves feeling her movements.
The only problem with how much she moves is that sometimes she’ll sit right on my bladder. I’ve lost count of how many times I have to go to the bathroom in a day now. I’m sure it could be worse. At least I didn’t have horrible morning sickness.
“Is she moving around?” Bridger’s deep voice comes from behind me as his hands slide around my hips and cover my belly.
I make a humming sound as I lean back into his chest. He easily takes my weight. When his hands slide underneath my belly and he lifts, taking the weight off my back, I let out a moan which is not appropriate for mixed company.
Bridger’s chest rumbles letting me feel his laughter more than hear it.
“Oh, I loved whenever Beckett would do that for me,” Amelia’s voice is wistful as she pops up next to us. “It’s the best feeling.”
“It really is,” I agree with her.
She looks at me with concern and her voice goes soft, “How are you feeling, Avery?”
“I’m great.” I look over my shoulder at Bridger and smile. “Our peanut is growing and is healthy. The worst part is the number of times I have to pee.”
Amelia giggles and nods. “I hate to tell you this,” she grimaces, “but it doesn’t get better.”
I groan and melt back against Bridger completely. He’s solid and holds me steady, not even balking at the way I’m leaning against him.
Some kids run past us, giggling loudly. I have no idea what their names are or who they belong to. Honestly, I’ve met so many people today and I’ve already forgotten far too many names.
Everyone has been so kind and welcoming to me. It’s something I’ve never experienced before, not like this.
Bridger continues to hold my belly with one hand, and the other one comes up and rubs over the top of it. Our peanut rolls around and my man, with his broody exterior, sucks in a sharp breath.
“It’s beyond cool when you finally get to feel the baby moving around,” Beckett says as he steps up next to Amelia, a smile on his face as he takes in Bridger’s reaction.
“I’ve never felt anything like it,” there’s an awe in Bridger’s voice I can’t help but smile at.
My man has taken on everything to do with this pregnancy without batting an eye. He’s read all the books Amelia brought over and has even found more. I think he loves the pregnancy tracker app more than I do.
Yesterday morning when I hit the 26-week mark, he woke me up with his large palm rubbing back and forth over my bump. He nuzzled against the back of my neck, his voice still rough with sleep and rasped, “Peanut is the size of a head of lettuce now.”
“Iceberg or romaine?” I couldn’t help but tease him.
He helped me roll onto my back and moved down the bed while pushing my nightgown over my larger bump.
“Do you hear that, little heart? Do you hear how much sass your mom has?” I propped myself up on my elbows because watching my man talk to our little girl is special and I never want to miss it.
“I hope you don’t get your mom’s sass,” his lips brushed against my skin as he talked to our peanut.
I ran my fingers through his hair and smiled when he looked up at me. “You’re a big softie, have I told you that today?”
“Only when it comes to you and our little girl,” he rumbled.
He leaned down and peppered my belly with kisses before saying, “I was just kidding about you getting your mom’s sass. I want you to have it. It’ll help keep all the boys away.”
I laughed and let myself fall back on the bed. With my eyes closed, I listened to my man whisper words to our baby. He talked about what was on his schedule for the day and the plans we’ve been working on for her nursery. I think at one point he even went over the grocery list.
The entire time, the baby was moving and kicking. She loves hearing her dad’s voice.
Even now, thinking about it, I can’t help but smile.
Everything has been amazing. But there is one thing that hasn’t been sitting right with me.
Amelia tilts her head to the side and presses, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah,” I sigh, “I’ve just been thinking about applying for jobs. I just,” I scrunch up my face, “am not sure how it’s going to go, considering it wouldn’t be long until I’d be on maternity leave. I wouldn’t really blame a firm for not hiring me under the circumstances.”
“You were practicing corporate law before, right?” Beckett asks.
“Yeah?” He doesn’t push, but I feel the need to explain. “I guess, kind of. It’s not like I was really given any cases. I was really only allowed to be a paralegal with a law degree.”
“You know,” Beckett’s voice is thoughtful, “I bet the guys could use you in legal at White Picket Fences Records.”
I scrunch my face up before I can stop myself from reacting. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have an issue with that idea,” I start and then pause because I’m not sure what else to say.
“But it’s not the kind of law you’re interested in practicing,” Amelia offers.
“Exactly.” I bite my lip before admitting something I’ve only ever told Bridger late at night when we’ve been whispering to each other about our secrets, dreams, and favorite things.
“I’m not sure I would have chosen to be a lawyer if it had been up to me,” I tell them, “but since I am a lawyer, I want to help people.” I shrug.
“Right now, I’m feeling a little useless. ”
“You’re not useless,” Bridger growls and I roll my eyes.
He always gets growly whenever I talk about a job.
“You’re growing our little peanut. It’s a full-time job.
” His lips brush my earlobe, and his voice drops to a whisper, “And you know we’re good as far as money goes.
You don’t have to work if you don’t want to. ”
This is a conversation we’ve had more than once, and he’s been incredibly open about his finances. I wasn’t expecting him to basically open his books to me, but he has. He’s right, we’re fine financially, but I’m used to working and I feel a little lost now that I’m not.
As Amelia nods, I can see the cogs in her mind working. She looks at Beckett, but he gives her a look full of bewilderment. He chuckles and kisses her forehead. “Normally I can read your mind, Baby, but this time I have no idea what you’re thinking.”
She giggles and huffs, “Then what good are you to me?”
His hand slides down her back and slaps her ass which causes her to yelp. “I’ll show you exactly what good I am to you.”
Even though she rolls her eyes, she can’t hide the smile on her face.
“Yeah, yeah,” she dismisses him with a wave of her hand before focusing back on me.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard about it yet, but we put together a charity event around Christmastime.
We’ve been doing it for a few years now and last year the beneficiary was a woman’s shelter.
When I talked to the director about the difficulties the women there face, one of the things she mentioned were the legal issues and how difficult they are to navigate.
They don’t have the resources, the shelter or the women, to pay for a good lawyer.
On top of that, they need to keep a lot of the legal cases as anonymous as possible because of the dangers these women are running from. ”
I perk up even as Bridger stiffens. When he gently releases the hold he has on my belly, I lean toward Amelia and grab her hand. “They need volunteers?”
She bites her lip and shrugs. “I’m not entirely sure because I’m not a lawyer nor do I know a lot of them.
This issue really stuck with me because it must be so difficult to navigate getting a divorce or dealing with custody because of the secrecy around the shelter’s location and the fear around confronting their abuser, especially after they’ve gotten free. ”
“That must be scary,” I whisper. My mind wanders to what my life probably would have been like if I hadn’t gotten pregnant and subsequently kicked out of my life. What if I would have married Eric?
A shiver runs down my spine at the thought. I can only hope that if a woman gets trapped in his web she isn’t physically abused and can escape if necessary.
Amelia squeezes my hand.
“It’s not a job,” she reminds me. “At least, they weren’t able to pay anyone at the time. I’m not sure if it has changed with the money we were able to raise for them.”
“No, that work should be done pro bono.”
“I love it when you talk legalese,” Bridger murmurs and nips at my ear.
The more I think about it, the more appealing Amelia’s suggestion becomes. It could be something I do and keep my hours flexible, especially once our peanut arrives. And I’d be helping people.
“Can you send me their information?”
Amelia grins at me and nods. “Of course. This might be perfect for you. You can help people and I’m sure a lot of the work can be done from home, which will be good after your little one arrives.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” I admit.
“Grab your refreshments and start to pull your cars around to grab a spot,” Booker, Suburban Outcasts’ guitarist, shouts. “The movie starts in five minutes.”
“I still need to grab popcorn,” Amelia exclaims. She turns toward Beckett and commands, “You wrangle the kids.”
“You got it, Baby,” he agrees and kisses her.
It’s not just a simple kiss either. None of the kisses I’ve seen around this place have been simple. Everyone shows the love they have for their partner with everything in them. If I didn’t have Bridger holding me right now, I would be jealous.
But this thing between us has been getting better and better every day. I love him. With the way he looks at me, I think he loves me too.
We haven’t said the words, but they’re right there; I just know it.
“I’ll send you the info,” Amelia promises me. “Go and grab your snacks and stuff.”
Bridger helps me to grab all of my movie watching favorites. It’s one of the many things we’ve learned about each other over the last six weeks. We’re both quiet as he leads me out to his car and we drive around to find a good spot.
My voice is hesitant, “What do you think about Amelia’s idea?”
Once Bridger parks, he turns toward me and wraps his hand around the back of my neck. His touch grounds me, but it also has my nipples hardening.
“I just want you to be happy, Sweetheart.” His other hand glides over my bump. “I just want you and little heart to be happy. If helping these women helps give you a purpose and some peace, then I think it’s wonderful. They need a voice, and you can help give them one.”
Even with my belly, I manage to launch myself at my man. I press kisses all over his face and my heart soars as his laughter fills the space around us.
“Thank you,” I whisper before I press my lips against his.
He deepens the kiss immediately and only pulls back when we need air and are panting for breath. I almost wish we weren’t at this impromptu drive-in movie because I’m turned on and considering climbing on his lap and taking what I want.
“I know that look in your eyes, Avery,” he rumbles.
I sit in my seat and put on my most innocent look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He makes a humming sound, and his lips quirk up into a smile so sinful it makes my pussy clench around nothing. When he reaches for me, I go willingly.
I sure as hell don’t stop him when he slides his hand underneath the waistband of my leggings and into my panties. When a finger slides down my slit, I know he’s discovered just how turned on I am.
“You’re soaked,” he groans.
“It’s all for you,” I whisper as I look around.
There is plenty of room between the cars and I’m sure no one can see what we’re doing. I don’t think.
“No one can see us,” Bridger assures me. He leans closer and nips at my earlobe, “I’d never let anyone else see you come apart for me.”
That’s when he twists his wrist and plunges two fingers inside of me while his thumb presses against my clit. I grind my hips down against his hand, already on edge.
The feeling of his thick fingers pumping in and out of me has my head dropping back against the head rest and my eyes closing.
“That’s it,” his voice is low and husky. “You look so damn beautiful riding the edge of your pleasure for me. Are you going to come and coat my fingers in your juices?”
“Yes,” I whimper.
I’m right on the edge, my hips moving to meet each one of his movements. When he flicks my clit, it pushes me right over into pure fucking bliss.
I have to bite my lip to stop myself from crying out.
Once I go boneless in the seat, my chest heaving with every breath I take, he pulls his fingers out of me slowly. I crack my eyes open when I hear him suck my arousal off his fingers. It shouldn’t turn me on, but it makes my entire body buzz like he didn’t just make me see stars.
Bridger leans over the console and kisses me. It’s full of passion and a feral hunger I know we won’t be able to satisfy until later. But I can taste the promise on his tongue, along with myself, and I have no doubt he’ll be worshiping my body later.
I can’t wait.