Once Upon A Half-Time: A Secret Baby Romance (32 page)

My fingers tangled with his—dark and light, soft and rough. I folded my hand in his as his breath tickled over my legs. I hadn’t opened them yet. I had no idea what would happen when I did.

Nate waited patiently at the edge of the desk, staring at me for a permission that would ruin
everything
.

Or would it?

A baby came with its own set of natural consequences, and what we had couldn’t get any more complicated. Was it really bad if his words, stare, and touch dizzied me in such a perfect way?

Nate was patient. He teased my legs, drawing circles up my calves and tickling behind my knee.

“I don’t know if I can do this…” I whispered.

“Do what?” He chuckled, and my legs fell open. Did I really wear the white panties with the polka-dot hearts? “Tell you what, baby. This is a freebie.”

“A freebie?”

“No strings. No expectations. Let me help you out…and I won’t expect anything else.”

“You…don’t want to have sex?”

“Of course I want to have sex. But this service is its own reward.” He arched an eyebrow. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Is it?”

“Well, no,” he laughed. “You ask, and I’ll eat you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

“Oh.”

His voice roughened as he stared at my panties. “But I promise. If you want this just for you, tonight? I won’t talk about it once we’re done.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because after I take you, you won’t hesitate ever again. I know what you need, and you’re gonna crave everything I can give.”

His lips pressed kisses along my thighs, and he knelt at the end of the desk with a smile.

Now or never.

And I wanted it now.

He stroked the outside of my panties with a knowing flick. I flinched, and he grinned. How was it possible my body already rocketed itself beyond reason and modesty? My panties were
wet
. Shamefully, revealingly wet.

And it didn’t matter.

Nate didn’t bother ripping them off. He gripped the material and pulled it aside, exposing my slickness for his inspection. He didn’t seem surprised. He knew I wanted him.

“Beautiful…”

His honest smile shocked me. I stared at the vibrant green of his eyes, the pale blonde of his hair, the hard angles of his brow, jaw, and chin. He was the beautiful one, but he admired me like I was something to be worshiped.

His tongue swiped against me, sinfully pink against the darkness of my petals.

“Relax, Mandy. I remember what you like…”

His mouth closed over my slit.

I was lost.

Nothing had ever felt so good. Nothing ever would again. His lips circled my clit and practically pulsed. A nibble trembled me like an earthquake, and I nearly leapt off the desk as his tongue darted inside me.

When did I get this sensitive?

And how was I supposed to get on with my life, go to work, and manage the wedding when all I wanted was to feel Nate’s tongue circling over my swollen clit?

This was a
bad
idea. It had started as a bad idea, and it would end as something worse than a mistake. Every bounce of my hips aided Nate in delivering me to the most needed and necessary pleasure of my life. If Nate promised to keep licking me, I’d never get off the desk.

He growled over my whimpers. I squirmed, but Nate knew how to keep me still. He licked his finger and pressed against my entrance, shushing me as he pushed inside. I groaned, but his profanity bit harder. I clenched over his finger. He stared at me in awe.

“Fuck, Mandy.” It wasn’t polite to talk with his mouth full. “You weren’t this hot before. How badly do you want me?”

“Bad.”

“How much do you want to come?”

“Too much.”

“You can. Anytime you want.” His tongue flicked harder against my clit. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to taste you again.”

Dangerous conversation, but I could do nothing to shift it, not while he lapped at me and buried his finger deep in my pussy.

“Tell me you’ve wanted me.” His order was hard to ignore as he curled his finger against that perfect spot inside me. “Don’t deny it, Mandy. Tell me I’m the best pleasure you’ve ever gotten.”

Technically he was. I wouldn’t argue with it. I nodded.

“Better than your other boyfriends?”

Again, I couldn’t lie. “Yes.”

Nate sensed me tense. It was the wrong time for that pleasure, but I couldn’t stop it. I gasped and writhed and bucked against his finger as he drew long and teasing strokes. He grinned as the trembling overtook me. My core superheated, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

The orgasm stole my rationality, common sense, and ability to lie. I clenched and exploded as his mouth suckled at my clit.

“Tell me I’m the best fuck you’ve ever had.”

I couldn’t stop the truth or my honesty. They blended into one, and I cried out.

“You were the only one I ever had.”

The orgasm stole my vision, hearing, and every other part of me that might have been embarrassed to reveal the truth. Why didn’t it stop my heart? Was it too much to ask for momentary muteness? Amnesia? Insanity?

What the hell did I just say?

I crashed hard, and my pleasure wasn’t there to catch me. My breath drew harsh and ragged over the desperate heat in my core. I wanted more. So much more.

But first I had to do damage control.

Nate pulled away as I shamefully quivered against the desk.

Did I leave a wet spot? Oh dear God.

His eyes widened. “That night…were…were you a
virgin
?”

There wasn’t a classy way to confirm or deny that. I looked down.

“Holy shit,” he said. “I didn’t know. I just thought you were…uptight. In more ways than the obvious.”

Awkward
. The word he wanted was
awkward
.

My fingers didn’t respond quick enough to untuck the panties bound against a very sensitive place. I swept my skirt over my legs instead and forced myself upright.

“Mandy…” Nate ran a hand through his hair, tangling it in the blonde. “Why… didn’t you say anything. You didn’t even act like…”

“It’s fine.” I swallowed. “You said we wouldn’t talk about it.”

“No, I said we wouldn’t talk about what happened
today
. This was sex a month ago. You didn’t tell me you were a virgin.”

Hadn’t told him I was pregnant yet either. I was 0-2.

“It wasn’t important,” I said.

“Like hell. If I knew, I would have…”

I smirked. “What? Gone slower? Been more tender?”

Nate leapt to his feet. “I probably wouldn’t have chased you.”

“Don’t kid yourself.”

“I would have made it better.”

“You couldn’t have made it any better than it was.” I crossed my legs and twisted my fingers in the skirt. Honesty was supposed to be easy. It was supposed to
relieve
me. “That night was special to me. And it was amazing. And it was fun.”

Nate set his jaw. “But?”

“That’s all this is. All you want.”

“What’s wrong with that?” He pointed to the desk. “Lay down. I’ll prove how much fun I can be.”

“I need more than
fun
.”

“Why?” Nate held me before I tumbled onto my wobbly, satisfied legs. “Fun is what you need. You’re wound tight, and you’re upset. Let me show you that there’s another side to life—one that doesn’t require love, marriage, and fairy tales.”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to see what he could offer. But all the fun and games and messing around in the world wouldn’t make my life any easier.

“I have to believe in fairy tales now,” I said.

It was hard to say, hard to feel, hard to admit, especially as Nate stared so intently at me, wanting more than just my excuses. My voice weakened.

Why did it hurt so much to say?

“And I’m afraid you aren’t the right prince.”

I
parked
my butt in the hospital cafeteria and waited for Rick. He was never too busy for a double bacon cheeseburger and onion rings.

I didn’t send him a page. I texted him a picture of the meal waiting for him. Eighteen hours at the hospital would have made McDonalds look like gold, but I got him the good stuff. I ordered his favorite from the diner near Dad’s advertising office.

Rick found me in the cafeteria, but he didn’t say hello. He didn’t smile. He dropped his pager, stethoscope, and ID on the table. I half expected the scrubs to come off too.

“For the next fifteen minutes, I’m not a doctor,” he said.

“…What are you?”

“A man about to make love to this burger.”

I giggled. “Want some privacy?”

Rick answered with a grunt as he took a giant bite. Ketchup and grease stained his lips. He didn’t care. He woofed down another mouthful.

“And you’re a
cardiologist
?”

“Do as I say…not as I do.” He mumbled over the mouthful. “Where’s yours?”

My single bite of a chicken sandwich rested somewhere in the bushes outside the hospital.

“Already ate.”

A handful of young nurses walked by, sighing as the most attractive doctor in the hospital gorged himself on fast food. Rick didn’t take a second look at the blonde, but she scoffed at me.
Meow
.

He inhaled half of the burger before pausing to wipe his mouth and hands. I arched an eyebrow as he rubbed the mustard off his wedding ring.

“Ever going to take that off?” I asked.

Rick was the most practical one in our circle of friends, but he shook his head. “I’m not ready yet.”

“It’s been six months.”

He nodded and went back to his burger. “Not ready.”

Poor guy. Jada really broke his heart when she left. I hoped no one told him about her pictures on Facebook. Apparently she was getting re-married—to the man who lured her away from Rick. I had a lot of choice words reserved for the happy couple, but Rick didn’t tolerate anyone speaking negatively about her.

“You know I’m fine.” He winked at me. “You don’t have to bring food and check on me.”

“You’re practically
living
here.” I gestured around the hospital. “It can’t be good for you.”

“As opposed to what? Want me helping Bryce with the wedding?”

“You’ve already been through a divorce. I wouldn’t torture you any more this year.”

“That bad?”

I was tempted to steal an onion ring. The baby wasn’t so keen on the idea. “I don’t know if we’ll survive to the wedding.”

He nodded. “Bryce told me about your parents’ fight.”

“It was awful.”

“It happens.”

“Not like this.” I sucked in a breath. “I’m worried.”

“About what?”

“I…” It spilled out of me. “They’re getting a divorce. I never thought it’d happen to them. And you were married, and I swore you and Jada would be together forever. And then Bryce and Lindsey have been a couple since
high school
, and now they’re constantly at each other’s throats.”

Rick’s eyebrow rose. Point taken.

“You’re right,” I said. “
Lindsey
is always at his throat.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“Is there anyone out there that’s actually
happy
with the person they love?”

“Heavy talk for a burger.”

“I know.” I apologized. “There’s just…a lot of things happening lately.”

“You okay?”

I hadn’t been okay since reading the positive line on the test. “I’m fine. I was talking to Nate and…”

“Wait.” Rick dropped the burger. “You were talking to
Nate
? About
relationships
?”

“It was pretty stupid.”

“More than stupid. Nate’s never committed to anything that takes more work than a grilled cheese sandwich.”

“He has the bar.”

Rick laughed. “Okay, I take it back. But he used the brewery and bar to fuck over his parents. That takes dedication, but its spite, not commitment.”

“He likes it.”

“Sure, and so he’s an expert on craft brews. Not relationships. He only puts the effort into getting a girl in bed. You know that.”

Boy, did I ever. “He said life isn’t about relationships. It’s about fun and simplicity.”

“I won’t say he’s wrong, but I don’t think his life is the one
you
want.” Rick pointed an onion ring at me. “I know you, Mandy. You’re like me. You wanted to find that right person and settle down and have the life that…a life people are supposed to have.”

“Is it a real thing?”

“Hell if I know anymore.” He shrugged. “I sure as fuck hope so.”

“I’m just worried what I want doesn’t actually exist. I see my parents, I see you, and it’s like…everyone’s family is so fragile. I thought you were all in love.”

He stopped me with a frown. “I’ll tell you right now, I loved Jada. I still do, even if she fell out of love with me.”

That didn’t make sense. “How can someone fall
out
of love?”

“Easy. They fell into it. You can’t control how and when you fall in love. It just happens. No one says it has to last forever. You can hope, but sometimes it doesn’t work that way.”

“You’re not helping.”

“Well, sometimes it
does
last forever.”

“Nice save.”

Rick laughed. “Mandy, if I understood marriage and love and women, I’d still be married. As it stands, I’m thirty. Divorced. Eating fast food between eighteen hour shifts. I’m no expert.”

“Neither am I.”

“No one is. That’s the way of the world. You aren’t dealing with anything logical or rational. It’s all passion—it’s why your parents were together for decades and now fight like they’re going for blood. That’s just a natural progression of something that volatile.”

I leaned forward, resisting the urge to plunk my head down on the table. How the hell could Rick talk about these things so easily? Like he had it all figured out and saw the world for what it was?

“Is it stupid to want that perfect life?” I played with his pager. He slapped my hand away before I set it off again.

“Nope. You won’t find it with Nate though.”

I looked up, my voice shrill. “Nate? Who said anything about Nate?”

He drank the rest of his soda, slurping what was left in the ice. “He’s been chasing you.”

“Nate chases after any girl he sees.”

“Well, he’s focused on you and
only
you lately.” Rick pointed the straw at me. “I’m good friends with him, but I’ll be the first to tell you he’s a dog.”

“I’m well aware.”

“But if you’re interested in him…”

I shook my head. “I think it’s pretty obvious I don’t know what I want. The only certainty is that Nate Kensington doesn’t fit into my life.”

“But?”

I met his eyes. Rick was always the smartest of the group. He was two years older than Bryce, Lindsey, and Nate, and he had a different perspective than us. He saw more than we did.

“But what?” I asked.

“What’s really going on, Mandy? You’re not acting right.”

Probably because I was acting for two people. “I’m fine. Just…thinking about a lot of things. The wedding and my parents going insane is kinda shaking my world a bit.”

He crumpled up the burger wrapper and bag. His stethoscope wove over his neck, and he clipped his ID and pager to his belt. He smiled, but it wasn’t patronizing.

“When you want to talk about what’s
really
bothering you, I’ll be here. Bring me a taco next time.”

“You got it.”

He stood, though he rapped his knuckles on the table. “And do yourself a favor? You’re my best friend, and I love you like you’re my little sister. Forgive me for going big-brother at the moment?”

“Always.”

“Don’t let Nate get too close. He’s only after one thing. Okay?”

Rick’s pager beeped, and he thanked me for the lunch with a wave as he jogged away.

Nate
was
only after one thing—and he got it. So why was he still chasing?

I had six weeks until the wedding. Six more weeks to keep the secret before I could sit him down and tell him what had happened.

I could last six weeks.

The smell of the cafeteria food twisted my stomach. I bolted from the table, but I didn’t make it to the bathroom. I threw up in the garbage can at the edge of the cafeteria, surrounded by doctors. One patted my shoulder, the OBGYN badge dangling from her scrubs.

“Don’t worry.” She somehow knew. “Pregnancy is the most magical thing in the world. It’ll all be worth it.”

Yeah. Right.

A girl could hope.