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Right now, Tally’s head was in my lap, and I stroked my fingers through her soft hair. I was only half-watching the show about a British soccer team. Instead, my gaze kept drifting to the soft slope of her nose. The thick brush of her eyelashes. The freckles that kissed across her cheeks.
Her gaze flicked up to mine. “Stop staring, you big creeper,” she teased, her eyes dancing with laughter. Hayes chuckled, squeezing her thighs where they sat across his lap. She looked at him, then back at me. “I was thinking… I have my ultrasound tomorrow, if one of you wants to come?”
My heart did this weird little flip-flop thing in my chest, and I was nodding before I’d fully processed what she was saying.
Hayes had a better grasp on language, because he was leaning forward and kissing any piece of exposed skin he could reach. “Pretty sure I speak for both of us when I say we’d love to. Maybe we’ll take it in turns, so we don’t freak out the ultrasound tech?” he asked softly. I could only imagine how that conversation would go, but I had a feeling that ultrasound techs saw a lot of shit; maybe they wouldn’t even be fazed. “I have a meeting tomorrow with one of the engine manufacturers, so Jesse, you might be up first?”
He looked like it almost pained him to say it, and I understood. I’d want to experience this first, serious milestone with her too. But I appreciated him handing me the opportunity. That was the joy of our unorthodox relationship, right? That one of us was always here to meet her needs?
I lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. “I’d love to. You can go to the next one, man. I hear there’s a bunch of scans as you get closer to your due date.”
Tally raised an eyebrow. “Been doing a little research, Jesse?”
I shrugged, trying not to flush. Hell, I’d been doing research before we were a thing. I’d wanted to know how best to support her, and whether or not she might have the baby while hanging drywall, like this was some kind of eighteenth-century labor nightmare. After that, I’d researched the later stages of pregnancy, and the first few weeks postpartum, and then a few days ago, I’d moved on to milestones of the first few months.
Babies were hard work. They needed a lot of things. They were so damn fragile and delicate, and they couldn’t tell you if anything was wrong. I wanted to stay ahead of any problems, and maybe make Tally’s life a little easier. Sometimes, learning together was better than doing it all alone.
And it wasn’t just the baby. The first few months for Tally would be wild too: crazy hormones, lack of sleep, the fact that a woman’s body had to recover from hauling around a whole watermelon-sized human, then pushing it out of her vagina. And that was if she didn’t have to have a C-section, or any of the other hundred possibilities that could happen during birth.
The whole thing gave me cold sweats.
“Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t completely oblivious.”
Hayes reached between the couch cushions and came up with a battered copy of What To Expect When You’re Expecting. “Same.”
Tally laughed, but it was a soft, gentle sound, her eyes glassy with tears that I prayed didn’t fall. I wasn’t sure I was prepared for Tally tears. She pushed up on her elbows and kissed me, just a gentle brush of her lips on mine, then pulled Hayes up closer so she could kiss him too. “You two really are something else—you know that, right? Thank you.”
Hayes nipped her bottom lip. “It’s nothing. The literal bare minimum.” He gave an exaggerated sigh. “But if you really want to show your gratitude, you can scream my name so loud that the neighbors hear you while I eat this delightful little pussy.”
She paid him back all right, twofold.
“Okay, Miss Palmer. Let’s see how the little one is doing, shall we?” The tech pulled out a magic wand covered in what I assumed was lube, then squirted a heap on her stomach. “Your notes say this was a cryptic pregnancy? Bit of a surprise, I bet. To you too, I’m sure, Dad.”
It took me a really long moment to realize she was talking to me. “Oh. Uh, yeah. A real surprise,” I muttered, and Tally snorted a laugh.
Honestly, if I didn’t know she was pregnant, I’d just think she was an average, midsize woman who’d binge-eaten a bunch of carbs. I hadn’t known her when she was a tiny NASCAR driver, the way Hayes did. I loved her curves. I intended to memorize every single one of them.
The ultrasound machine picked up the subtle whoosh of a heartbeat, and there was no denying that the woman in front of me was pregnant. Heavily pregnant. You didn’t need to be an expert to see the face of a baby hiding inside the woman I’d had my dick in literally twelve hours ago.
I turned a little green. I tried to recite what I’d read on the internet.
Having sex during pregnancy is healthy.
The baby is safely tucked away and cannot see my dick.
I’m not going to hurt it if we take precautions regarding positions.
I repeated it again as the tech measured the baby, pointing out its tiny hands and feet. Tally’s eyes were transfixed by the screen. “Do you want to know the gender?” the tech asked, and Tally nodded vigorously.
I held my breath as the lady moved the wand around. “These things are never one hundred percent certain until they’re born. Plus, he’s a little shy. But in my professional opinion…” She paused, looking over at us. “Congrats, guys. You’re having a boy.”
She printed out pictures while I stared at the screen. A boy. Tally was having a son, and I guess, by extension, so were Hayes and I.
Oh, shit.
What if I fucked it up, and somehow traumatized the kid for life? Panic crawled up my throat, but I swallowed it down. It would be okay.
Tally reached out and gripped my hand, threading her fingers through mine. “You look like you’re about to pass out. Are you okay?”
