Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Franky
“Are Beaker and Bunsen okay?”
Rosie flipped the phone’s camera to frame Bunny lying imperiously on the sofa. I assumed Beaker was lying terrified under it.
“Of course they are. It’s like a vacation for them when Momma’s out of town. So how are things in Motor City?”
I filled her in on my adventures in sperm delivery—the caper aspect—though I left out the steamier details. That memory certainly helped to fuel the required orgasm as I completed my end of the bargain after Jason left my hotel room.
My sister laughed at our shenanigans. “I still can’t believe that you and Jason are now baby-making besties.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I said glumly. “There’s this weird tension between us.”
“Oh?”
“I think he wouldn’t mind if we had sex.”
She cackled. “Of course he wouldn’t mind! I wouldn’t care for a quick roll in the hay—said no man ever. Has he asked?”
“No, but he—he jerked off in front of me.”
“Hello! And you’re only telling me now?”
I sighed. “Things were vibing after the sneaky hotel check-in. I think we both enjoyed the subterfuge and there was this energy between us, like buzzing electricity, and while we were thinking of the logistics of giving him space to produce his donation, he asked if I wanted to stay and watch.”
“Yeah, he did! And?”
My cheeks heated. “It was very … sexy.”
“And how involved were you?”
“A little, but then I asked him to leave right after.” I had wanted him to stay, but we had already crossed too many lines. “It’s weird that he wants to be part of this, isn’t it?”
Rosie hummed. “The sex part or the baby part?”
“Both?”
“I don’t think you realize how amazing you are. Or how attractive! Were your glasses on or off?”
“On.”
“There you go! He digs your nerdy persona. As for why he wants to be involved with the baby, I can’t really say. I assume you’ve asked him.”
“He doesn’t trust relationships, but he wants a chance to be a father.”
My sister thought on that for a second. “Sounds like you have that in common.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Franks. Kendra did a number on you, and it certainly didn’t help that some of the guys you’ve dated have been unappreciative of your intellect. I’m not sure of Jason’s situation, but I’ve heard he doesn’t get along with his dad, so maybe that factors into it somehow?”
Maybe. But I suspected something else with Jason. Something that stopped him from committing.
Not that I wanted him to commit to me. But if he wanted to be part of my baby’s life, I needed him to be serious about it.
“I get the impression that he’s interested in making the baby the old-fashioned way.”
“Bow chicka wow wow! Now we’re talking. And you’re worried about all the emotions wrapped up in that?”
“Yes? It’s sex with the purpose of creating a child. That seems highly emotional to me.”
Rosie blew out a breath. “But only if you let it be. It’s not like you have a thing for Jason, do you?”
“God no! But he is exceptionally attractive, more than I’m used to.” Or deserve. “However, we are not compatible in any way other than, perhaps, sexually. And even then, I can’t be sure.”
I had a pretty good idea, though.
“What’s the worst thing that could happen?”
I fall in love with him and then I have to see him—forever—because he’s the father of my child.
“The sex is terrible?”
Rosie chortled. “Better you know now instead of fantasizing about it and thinking you missed out.”
She had a point. Though I already knew: the sex would not be terrible.
Jason
Surrounded by Chicago Rebels players, Conor stood at the table in Pico’s, a Mexican restaurant we had found a couple of blocks from the hotel, and raised a glass.
“Here’s to a good game tomorrow, a hard-fought battle where the Motors set the tone for the rest of the season! AKA kick Rebels ass!”
I shared a quick glance with Hatch. “Why is he here again?”
My nephew squinted up at his baby brother. “Because he’s a Motors PSYOP. Everyone thinks he’s a goof when really, he’s a menace.”
Forward Cody Jacobs threw a balled-up napkin at Connie. “You’re the opposition! Why are we letting you make toasts?”
“Because I’m new to the league and you all think I’m the cutest motherfucker to ever walk this green earth.”
Peyton Bell, another of the Rebels forwards, shrugged. “He is kind of cute. Like a mascot.”
I pulled Conor down to the seat beside me. “Best not to outstay your welcome.”
“I could never.” He leaned over to lock eyes with his older brother, seated on my other side. “How’s your girl?”
“She’s good. Sent me a picture of her desk at the office.” Summer was a hockey stats nerd and had recently joined Lauren’s new sports talent agency as an analyst. Hatch showed us a photo of a desk in an office, but instead of folders and office equipment, there was a full-on cheese plate.
“Cheese?”
He grinned. “Uh huh. It’s our thing.”
I slid a glance to Conor. “It’s their thing.”
“Damn, that’s romantic,” his brother said. “You gonna jerk off to that cheese plate later?”
Hatch nodded. “I just might. Or maybe one of the racy photos my girl sent me.”
“Fun times with your hotel roomie later, Uncle J.”
Not if I could help it. The idea that Franky was in the same hotel and no one but me knew was making me a little crazy. My phone pinged and I surreptitiously checked it.
“The doc again? What’s going on?” Conor had seen the incoming text from Franky earlier, but as far as he knew I was speaking to the team physician.
“Nah, but I should give him a call.”
Thankfully, the meal was at an end, though NoBo was trying to convince everyone to order tres leches cakes all around.
I had promised Franky I’d deliver another sample before the night was through—hedging our bets seemed the way to do it—but I wasn’t sure how appropriate it was for me to ask her to participate.
Had she hated what happened earlier? She had ushered me out mighty quickly, and while I knew the sample was viable for a short period of time, I couldn’t help getting the impression she had been embarrassed about what occurred.
As much as I hated the idea, this time, I would retreat to our previous method.
Doc
Are you nearby?
Me
Can come over now.
Doc
Yes, please do.
As I headed back to the hotel, I wondered about couples with fertility problems, the ones that had to time sex to the point where it turned into a chore. I tried to imagine sex with Franky as a chore. Or just sex with Franky, period. Unfortunately, a little too easy to picture.
And there I was getting hard again, when really that was not the energy I needed here. I needed to treat this as the job it was and not let any other factors, well, factor.
I had barely raised my hand to knock when the door opened.
Damn, she looked sexy in those leggings and a Lakeshore U sweatshirt with her glasses slightly askew, her hair bundled up and held in place with a clip. The clip was shaped like a snail shell, which tracked, of course.
“Hi,” she said brightly. She seemed nervous.
“Hey there.”
We stood staring, like drinking each other in was an Olympic sport.
“Could I come in?”
“Oh yes! Of course!”
I closed the door behind me. “I should say sorry.”
Her brow crumpled. “Really?”
“What happened earlier. I crossed a line.”
“You think so?”
“Don’t you?”
“When you left, I felt awful.” Her eyes welled.
Damn, I had really screwed up here. I grasped her hand and sat her down on the bed. “Why, Doc?”
“Because—because I panicked. I wanted you to be here for the next part. But I was uncomfortable with what it said about me. About being needy. I don’t want you to ever think I’m clingy or desperate for your attention.”
If she needed me, she only had to ask. I would be there for her, no matter what. After all, we would be linked for life because of this baby.
“It’s okay to need people.”
“Up to a certain point. I think I was worried that the intimacy of it all would be confusing. We’re not a couple, at least not in the traditional sense, and I don’t want you to feel obligated to hold my hand through this.”
“Yet I didn’t mind when your hand held my balls.”
She snorted. “Okay, down to brass tacks.”
“Brass balls, more like.”
“You certainly have them.” Her smile was a little sad. “You’re braver than me, Jason. You have desires and wants, and you put it out there. While I have desires and wants, and I put them back in a box.”
I understood her reticence. Nerds never had it easy.
“Yet, you put this plan in motion. You turned this need you had for a baby into something actionable. Made it happen with some outside-the-box thinking.”
“You think so?”
I smiled. “I do. And it’s understandable that what’s happening draws us closer together. Gives us all sorts of ideas and pushes the boundaries.”
“The boundaries are there for a reason,” she murmured, “yet crossing them is quite thrilling.”
I inhaled deeply and took my shot. “Are you trying to tell me that you’d like this baby-making business to be more … sexy?”
“I don’t think it could get less sexy. Syringes are a bit of a buzzkill.”
I was still holding her hand. I traced a finger over her palm, then her wrist. She shivered.
“You’d like to go a more natural route. A sexier route.” I leaned in. “You want me inside you when I come?”
I suspected she wanted to remember how her baby was conceived and “turkey baster” was not it.
Her mouth wobbled. “Only if you’d like that.”
“Oh, I would. Very much. But I have a special request.”
“You do?”
I nodded. “If we do this, we do it my way. Do what I tell you, and I promise you won’t regret changing the rules of play.”
A tiny gasp that tugged at my groin. The doc liked Bossy Jason.
“As long as everything we do is aimed at making a baby.”
“Are you trying to get out of certain sex acts?”
She bit her lip. “I’m just not sure certain sex acts will contribute to the enterprise.”
I stood and removed my jacket, then my tee. “Such as?”
Just as before, she couldn’t take her eyes off my chest. I rubbed my hand over my pecs to let her know how touchable I was.
“Which sex acts, Francesca?”
“Things like non-penetrative sex. While undoubtedly pleasurable, it would be a distraction from the main goal here.”
“So the goal is a baby, and I’ve been doing some research.”
“Oh?” She looked hopeful, or maybe she liked the idea of me doing research.
I pushed down my sweats, my briefs with them. “On orgasms. How more powerful ones can trigger uterine contractions and draw the sperm to the egg.”
Her eyes were focused on my cock, which I now took in hand—and stroked.
She pushed her thighs together. Perfect.
“That’s not all I found out. Eyes up here, Doc.”
She glared at me, but I could see that hint of humor playing on her lips. “Are you saying you don’t want me to pay attention to your penis?”
“Not when I’m telling you all about my scientific findings. Take off that sweatshirt.”
She peeled it off, revealing a white bra, trimmed in lace. And whaddya know? As suspected, the doc had a gorgeous rack with beautiful swells above the border of the cups.
My thirteen-year-old self high-fived present-day me.
“Carry on,” she murmured.
“What’s that?” Those pretty tits …
“Your scientific findings.”
Right. “So a woman’s orgasm changes the pH balance of her pussy—”
“Vagina.”
Now it was my turn to suppress a smile. “So it’s more receptive to a guy’s swimmers. Leggings off. Now.”
“To be precise,” she said, “the orgasm changes the vaginal pH to more closely match the pH of the sperm sample. This creates a more hospitable environment for the sperm.” At the mention of sperm, her eyes fell to my cock, so I moved in a little closer.
“Love it when you talk dirty, Doc. You’re overdressed.”
“Oh, right!” Pushing off her leggings, she left on white panties. They matched the bra, and I could see the dark shadow of her pubic hair. I liked that she wasn’t overly groomed down there.
“So we’re agreed, orgasms are good for the baby-making process.”
“They’re good, but they can be just as easily achieved with (a) missionary for you, and (b) masturbation for me. Any bonus sexual acts are leaning into the pleasure aspect rather than the procreation.”
I curled my hand around her jaw. “If I can create an earthquake inside you, baby, then that’s gonna send my swimmers straight to home base.
And if you can milk my cock with, first, your tight little fist, then your greedy pussy, then I’m going to shoot so hard your eggs will be screaming for my boys.
Now how about you touch my cock and let me show you how good this baby-making business can be? ”