Challenge: A Contemporary MMA Romance: Oni Fighters Book 3 (20 page)

It wasn’t a pleasant combination.

I
felt better
but still “green” as I stood at the reception desk of the doctor’s surgery. I had never been so glad to have something to hold onto as the overhanging ledge of the desk.

“Take a seat, Sophia, it should only be a second.”

And she was strangely correct. No sooner had I sat down than Dr. Jacobs was calling me. This never happened in a doctor’s surgery normally. There were plenty of times I’d waited here for over an hour.

I walked in and sat down, Eden was fussing over me. Seriously, I’d thought about leaving her in reception but decided it was less hassle just to let her come in with me.

Dr. Jacobs was a woman in her mid-thirties, who always looked a little harrowed. Today was no exception. My guess was her young children were keeping her up at night. Her husband also worked in this practice.

“How are you today, Sophia? Good to see you too, Eden,” she asked with a friendly smile.

I always thought this question was a little weird. I mean, I wouldn’t be at the doctor’s unless I had a reason to be, therefore I had to have something wrong with me, didn’t I? Anyway, just my crazy logic, I guessed.

“Um, I think I might have eaten something bad. I fainted before and I’ve been feeling nauseous.”

Her brows pulled together a little. “What were you doing when you feinted?”

“Martial arts training. I have a fight in a few weeks.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand why a girl that looks like you would want to risk getting beaten around but I guess you know what you’re doing.”

“I agree,” Eden offered. I gave her a little glare.

I laughed it off. This wasn’t the first time that Dr. Jacobs and I had the philosophical discussion on whether or not fighting was a good or bad thing to be involved in. Then, I turned to Eden. “You do know you married a fighter, right?”

“But he’s a guy.”

I was fully intending to argue more when Dr. Jacobs brought my attention back.

“Had you been going particularly hard or anything different?”

“No. Actually it was a pretty tame session, to be honest.”

She nodded and typed a few notes into her computer.

“So, you said you have nausea? How long has that been going on for?”

“I guess I’ve felt a bit off for the last few days. I’m wondering if it’s something I ate or if I picked up a virus. A virus would suck. My brother-in-law, Eden’s husband, is training for a World Title fight and I’m training with him. If I have a virus, I can’t be near him. That goes for you too, Eden.”

She nodded her understanding. “I don’t think it’s quite that drastic. His fight’s not for weeks and weeks.” Eden was trying to reassure me.

All the time Dr. Jacobs watched the exchange with interest, then she dropped the bomb on me.

“Any chance you could be pregnant?”

PREGNANT! What the hell was she talking about?

She must have read the look of horror on my face. “It’s just a routine thing we’ll test for with a woman your age. You’re sexually active, correct? When was your last period?” Her eyebrows rose with her question.

“Well, yeah, but we’re always careful and, um, a few weeks ago, I guess.”

I started to try to figure things out in my head. When had I last had a period? Shit. Couldn’t remember—there’d been a bit going on, in fairness–who had time to take note of pesky shit like periods? Besides, I wasn’t one of those girls that was regular. Aunt Flow turned up when she was good and ready and not before, generally when least convenient, had been my experience.

I wasn’t even game enough to glance sideways at Eden, I could only imagine the look on her face.

Dr. Jacobs shrugged in dismissal. “Things happen and you’re not on any other form of contraception, at least nothing I’ve prescribed.”

I nodded in the affirmative. The pill had never agreed with me and I guess I’d never bothered to experiment to find one that suited better. I wasn’t going to worry about any of that right now. It was probably just some dodgy sushi. Although, now that Seth and I were officially “together,” I should probably look into what options were available. Wasn’t that what all men wanted?

“Yeah, I’m not on anything at the moment. Maybe we should look at something. The ones I’ve tried in the past haven’t really agreed with me.”

“Okay, we’ll figure something out after we get some blood tests done. I want to check to see if there are any viruses and just do a general look at all your levels. Most stomach bugs pass quickly if that’s what you have.”

She passed me a form for the blood tests. “You can have these done next door. I’ve put a rush on it because I’m guessing it’s important that you get back to training. We should have the results back tomorrow morning if you get the collection done now.”

“Okay. Sounds good. I need to keep training and my trainer is refusing to let me train until I’m cleared by you.”

“Makes sense and although fainting is not unusual, it’s not something that happens all that often. Let’s get to the bottom of it. Get Sue to make you an appointment to see me tomorrow afternoon. In the mean time, take it easy and drink lots of fluids and only eat if you feel like it.”

Stock standard advice.

Dr. Jacobs escorted me to the door. As she had asked, I made the appointment then went next door and had the blood collected. Eden still hadn’t said anything. Finally, I looked at her.

“What?”

“Pregnant?” she hissed.

I scrunched up my face. “No. We’ve always been super careful. That won’t be it.”

“No contraception is fool proof, Sophia. How could you not know when you last had a period?”

“Oh, spare me the lecture, Mum. And for God’s sake don’t mention it to Seth. Shit, he’s just getting used to the idea of us as a couple. Talk of pregnancy and I reckon he’d flip his lid.” We were both whispering, err hissing like a couple of alley cats.

“He needs to know, Sophia,” she argued as we approached the door.

“No, he doesn’t. I’m not mentioning that and causing a whole heap of worry over nothing.”

“You’re too damned stubborn for your own good.”

“My life, Eden,” I warned.

She shook her head and looked both pissed off and concerned.

Seth was waiting in the car right where we’d left him and oblivious to everything that had transpired. Exactly as I wanted it!

I settled myself in the seat and fastened the seatbelt and I felt the pressure of the anticipation from Seth. He was waiting for me to give them the doctor’s opinion.

“Well?” Seth asked impatiently. He was looking at me over his shoulder and my first thought was that the position had to be hurting his pelvis, screwing his body around like that.

I certainly wasn’t telling him what the bulk of our conversation had been about. Shit, he’d freak the fuck out for sure.

“She doesn’t know. That’s why she wanted the blood tests. Apparently, they’ll pick up if it’s a virus or something else…”

“What else?” He came back like a whip crack and Eden gave me the stink eye.

“She doesn’t know. Hence, the blood tests,” I said defensively.

“When do you get the results?” Seth asked in a far more rational and calm voice.

“She put a rush on it because I have to train. I’m seeing her tomorrow afternoon.”

I saw Seth nod, seemingly pleased with that bit of information.

“Okay, let’s get you two back to your place. I’ve got things to do,” Eden pronounced, obviously annoyed at me. I just hope Seth didn’t pick up on it. “We’ll drop your car off later, Seth.”

“Thanks, Eden, appreciate it.”

Back to your place
.

I liked the sound of that even if my stomach was in knots. I slid my phone from my pocket and pulled up the calendar app.

When was the last time I’d had a period?

Wasn’t that the question?

Surely not…

“Hey, babe, I need to head to the pool. You feeling up to it?” I called as I moved down the hallway. I could actually walk slowly without the aid of the wall or my mistress. Thank Fuck!

I was so over not being able-bodied. I really felt for anyone that had lost their mobility. Being laid up and not able to move just sucked. The only saving grace in my part was that I was continually improving. Most people, with disabilities, weren’t that lucky.

“Yeah, just give me a second to get my togs on.” Her voice was strong but not convincing. Something was going on with her and I was worried. She’d been quiet all day and that wasn’t like her at all. Either she wasn’t telling me something or the doctor had said something that had her worried. Problem was, I didn’t quite know how to broach that subject with her.

“Wear the green bikini, please,” I called out playfully.

“You wish,” she shot back.

“Yep, I do.” The damned witch had been stirring me since I started with my pool rehab. I was sure she was going to turn up to the session that first day in one of her skimpy bikinis. Mmm, she’d had the last laugh. She’d worn an almost full-length body suit. Yeah, Sophia won that round and fuck if I didn’t admire her more for it.

That damned suit was still as sexy as hell, even if it covered the bulk of her gorgeous skin and body. If she thought that very modest suit helped stopping me get aroused, she was sadly mistaken. Sophia was a damned hot package regardless of what she wore. Nothing always worked best for me.

I’d made it to the front door when she joined me. The trek to the car was getting easier and I could even manage to get my arse into the seat and not take half the day to do it. That surely was an improvement—right?

“You feeling okay, babe?” I asked her when she’d settled behind the wheel.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Mmm, I wasn’t convinced and that worried me.

“Not feeling faint?”

“Nope.” Her answer was quick, accurate, but vague. I didn’t have her full attention and that was weird. Normally, Soph’s focus was intent—unnerving even at times.

“Good.”

We pulled out of the driveway and headed to the pool. Soph was still off in her own world. “Want to fly to Paris for dinner?”

“Sure.”

“Okay. I’ll get right on that.” Yeah, what the fuck! I placed my hand on her thigh right beside her pussy and squeezed slowly before teasing my fingers higher.

She sucked in a ragged breath and I knew I finally had her attention. Her eyes cut to mine in question.

“So, Paris for dinner?”

“What are you talking about?” A small, cute frown formed on her face.

“I asked you before if you wanted to have dinner in Paris and you said you did. Where the hell have you been, babe? It sure isn’t here. You’ve been off all day.”

She sighed. “You’re joking, right?”

“About going to Paris for dinner, yeah. About you being off all day, no. What gives?”

There was another sigh. “Just a lot on my mind, I guess.”

That, I could understand. “Want to talk about it?” The fact that I was asking that obviously surprised her as much as it surprised me.

Since when did I want to know this sort of stuff?

She didn’t look too forth coming and that worried me. Wasn’t communication and talking about stuff something that she wanted?

“Guess I’m just worried about the fight and the new business.”

All understandable stuff and both areas I should be able to help her with. One thing sitting around did was give me a lot of headspace that I wasn’t used to having. I was typically a guy that was much more on the move.

“So, what’s worrying you about the fight?”

“Nothing really.” She still looked uneasy and restless behind the wheel. Obviously worried, but not really…ahhhh women! And she wanted me to talk about my concerns, right…

We pulled into the the carpark of the indoor pool I’d been swimming at. Or more accurately, exercising. I was ready to start swimming laps. I had a truckload of upper body strength, and I was sick of playing the cripple. Today, I’d give swimming a few laps a go rather than just doing the exercises prescribed by the physio. Their program was for “ordinary” people, after all. I was an athlete and more determined than most to boot.

It didn’t take long and we were both getting into the pool. Sophia all long elegant feminine grace. Me, a little more cautiously than I’d have liked.

Today, she was wearing a sexy looking black two-piece suit that was something a triathlete would have worn. The top had a racer back and it showed off the lean muscles of her wide shoulders to perfection. The little bikini panties covered enough to be decent but still looked hot as hell.

A couple of old timers were sitting on the benches chatting beside the pool and gave me the “nod.” Old pervs. They hadn’t missed just how fine my girl was.

Sophia waited in the shallow end for me to descend the stairs, then stood beside me as I started to work through the exercises. Truth was, I really didn’t need her here anymore. I wasn’t in any danger of drowning. Not that I had ever been. My biggest danger today was dying of a raging hard on. Although, I doubted that was top of Sophia’s priority list.

We’d been working through the exercises for a while and then she’d effortlessly swum a few laps, while I’d tried the same.

Just as I thought, I could swim fine. I’d done half a dozen laps and decided that was good fishing for the day.

I didn’t have to wait long at the end before she joined me again. She surfaced beside me, and pulled her goggles off.

Everything about her seemed happier, more relaxed. That was the effect exercise had on Sophia.

“How did you go?” she asked.

It was hard to keep the big satisfied grin off my face, so I decided not to bother. “Easy peasy.”

“I hope you didn’t over-do it.”

“Nah, half a dozen laps was nothing. It was all arm strength mainly anyway.” She still looked a little worried. “I’m not doing anything stupid,” I assured her. “I don’t want to have a set back, trust me.”

Then, I leant over to her and whispered in her ear. “I think I’m ready to try something a little more energetic in the bedroom. My hips feel good, next to no pain.”

Her eyes widened and I saw heat, excitement, and a little concern flash across her face.

“You think so?”