Suddenly a Bride (21 page)

He paused and listened for Caitlyn, relieved when he heard her telling her mom that she was okay.  Turning back to the trunk, he pushed past the annoying cats and found old ros
e petals in a plastic bag, two C
hampaign glasses from a senior prom, and a neatly folded stack of letters that had been tied together.

Curious, he untied them and opened one.  It was a letter from Randy.  Chris read through it, wondering why he referred to Caitlyn as ‘baby’.  The date on the letter indicated that Caitlyn was seventeen.  He might not have been on this world for long, but he knew that seventeen year olds were considered teenagers, not babies.  Did men on this world not understand that or was Randy on the less intelligent side?

He shook his head and continued through the letters, realizing that Randy liked music—a lot—and talked of marrying Caitlyn.  It was obvious that Randy loved her.  Randy even wrote poems with lame rhyming attempts. 
Chris didn’t see what was so great about the poems.  It wasn’t like they were literary compared to what he’d seen here on Earth from the greater authors he’d read while at Star Systems Unlimited.  But Caitlyn saved Randy’s poems for a reason.  Why?  Did she prefer sloppy writing?  Or was it because Randy wrote them?

Chris winced and rubbed his chest.  He couldn’t take this anymore.  He’d seen the contents of the trunk.  Now he knew what Randy was like and why Caitlyn loved
him.  He didn’t need to see anything else
. 
After he put everything neatly back, he closed the lid
.

Chapter Six
teen

O
n
Saturday morning, Caitlyn glanced up from the steak she was cutting into when Chris entered the kitchen.  She paused and took a better look at his face.  “Uh, Chris?”

“Yes?” he asked as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

“Did you forget to shave part of your face?”

When he glanced in her direction, she motioned to the area around his mouth.

He chuckled.  “Oh, this.  I thought I’d grow a goatee.”

“But I thought you hated facial hair.”

Shrugging, he grabbed a box of cereal and poured it into a bowl.  “It might not be so bad.
”

That didn’t sound like him.  If she remembered correctly, he claimed that facial hair made him feel
messy
.  She watched as he took the milk out of the fridge and poured it over the cereal.  Well, he was entitled to change his mind.  With a slight shake of her head, she turned her attention back to the steak, french fries, and two corndogs.  She hoped it would keep her full until lunch.  Th
ere seemed to be no end
to all the food she could consume.  So far, she hadn’t gained any weight, but she worried Chris would have to roll her to the hospital once her six or
however many months were up.

He set the juice and bowl on the table across from her before he went to get a spoon.
  “I’d like to go back to the mall.”

“Really?  You don’t strike me as a shopper.” She ate a large bite o
f steak and gulped down half a
glass of chocolate milk.  It needed more chocolate.  She p
icked up the chocolate syrup,
added more to the milk
,
and stirred it with her fork before
she
licked it.  She couldn’t remember a time when chocolate tasted this
good!  Glancing at Chris who
bent down to tie his loafer, she quickly squirted some chocolate syrup into her mouth
before he saw her
.  That was better.  She put the bottle back down and got ready to eat a corndog.  “What do you need to buy?”

He stood up and sat at the table.  “I thought I should get more clothes.”

She swallowed
the food in her mouth and drank more milk, thinking it was a lot better than before.  “You figured you need more shorts, huh?” she teased.  “I told you it gets humid in Florida.”

Dipping his spoon into the bowl, he said, “I thought I’d get some jeans and a couple of t-shirts.”

“But you hate the feel of jeans.  You said they were too tight, especially around the more interesting area of your body.”
She wiggled her
eyebrows suggestively at him.

“It might be nice to have some variety,” he replied before he put a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

Though he spoke, she had no idea
what he was talking about.  S
he took a good look at him and recalled how he looked naked. 
She wondered if that was a part of the pregnancy hormones or if it was a symptom of loving sex.  Even before she was
pregnant, she really enjoyed having sex with him.  He might possess a boyi
sh charm, but man, he was hot!

“So
,
is it okay?” he asked.

Blinking, she forced her mind back on their conversation.  “Is what okay?”

“That I get more clothes?”

She laughed.  “You don’t need my permission to get more clothes.”

“I don’t?”

“Of course not.  You’re a grown man.  You can make your own decisions.”

Glancing at her, he asked, “Will you come with me?”

“Definitely.” They both had today off work, and there
was
no way she was going to spend it without him.

He nodded and ate more of his cereal.

She watched him, her food temporarily forgotten as she
contemplated having
her way with him in the kitchen.  Her stomach growled, and she groaned.  This was awful.  How was she supposed
to focus on food when what she really needed was to have sex?  And how was she supposed to have sex when
her stomach was nagging at her?
  The hunger was going to win out.  She ate a couple of french fries and decided to pour
some chocolate syrup on them.

She quickly finished her meal, aware that Chris took his time.  Clearing her throat, she ventured, “Does pregnancy on your planet increase a woman’s arousal?”

Setting his empty glass on the table, he asked, “Arousal for food?”

“No.  I already know it does th
at.  I mean
does it increase a woman’s sexual arousal?  You know, like when you had to ejaculate every six hours.”

“Oh that.  No.  There shouldn’t be any change in arousal levels for you.”

“Hmm…” She finished her second glass of chocolate milk and grinned.  “I guess I’m just
horny by nature then.  Care to do something interesting?”

“Um…” He collected his bowl and cup.  “I want to go to the mall.”

Chuckling, she stood up and put her own dishes in the sink.  “So?”

“I want to make sure I get there before you need to eat again.”

She
snuggled up to him and kissed his neck.  “Come on.  I might eat a lot, but I can go without eating for a few hours.”

“I don’t think you can.”

“Of course, I can.  I might be eating enough to fill up an ark, but I’m not
eating every second of the day.”

“I really want to get those clothes.  It’s important to me.”

Sighing, she kissed his cheek while she ran her hands down
to
his butt and squeezed it.  “We’ll make it quick.” Pressing her body against his, she smiled when she felt his erection.  “I
t won’t take long.  I promise.”
She kissed him on the lips, and sighed in appreciation as his tongue brushed hers.

“Okay,” he replied when their kiss ended.  “But it’ll be quick so we can get to the mall, right?”

She giggled.  “Wow.  You shop with more enthusiasm than a woman.” When she noted the uncertain expression on his face, she reached for his hands and led him toward the bedroom.  “Yes.  We’ll be quick, and we’ll make it to the mall in plenty of time
to get those clothes you want.  I promise.”

***

The next day while Caitlyn was at work and the church crowd left the rest
aurant, sh
e wiped down tables while Sheila
filled the salt and pepper shakers.  When they were done, Caitlyn went to the counter to get a fresh pot of coffee st
arted, not surprised when Sheila
came over to her.

“So, Sandy said you and Chris
are going to
put a down payment on a house.”

Caitlyn didn’t hide her smile.  “It’s a great house.  It has a nice f
enced-
in bac
kyard where kids and a dog can play
.”

Sheila
chuckled.  “A woman’s mind is on children and pets when they pick a home, isn’t it?”

“Well, considering I’m going to have a child, I
’m
choosing a
neighborhood
and house suited for children
.”

“It’s nice to see you’re finally getting those things.” She patted
her shoulder.  “I’ll miss you when you quit, but I can tell you that you won’t regret being home with your little one.”

“In some weird way, I’ll miss being here too.  But not so much that I’d stick around.”

Jack opened the kitchen door and gave them a poi
nted look.  “You
are
aware that I’m back here,
right?”

Sheila
laughed.  “Oh, you can’t be surprised that Caitlyn would rather be home with her baby than here with you.”

“Of course I can,” he replied with a wry smile.  “I don’t require diaper changes.”

“Ha ha.” Caitlyn shook her head. 
“While that might be
true, the baby will be cuter
.”

“Sure, u
ntil he spits up on you and keeps you up all night,” he teased.

Sheila
rolled her eyes as she gathered a menu.  “You love your boys.”

“True,” he said, “but I’m still glad I’m the one who goes to
work so my wife can deal with the mess they make
.”

“She’s glad too, Jack,” Caitlyn replied, noting that Chris had entered the diner.  “It gives her a break from you.”

“You’re all heart.” Jack put a cigarette in his mouth and passed the counter.  “I’ll be back in five.  Hey, Chris.”

Chris waved to Jack and walked over to
the counter where he sat down on one of the barstools.

Sheila
placed a menu in front of him.  “I reckon you’re not here to see me so I’
ll leave you with the missus
.”

Caitlyn finished making the coffee while
Sheila
headed for the restroom.  Smiling, she went over to Chris.  “Bored, huh?”

Chris shrugged.  “I don’t feel like watching TV or reading.”

“I don’t know how entertaining we are here, but at least we can get you something to eat.  Have anything in mind?”

“I hear the roast beef hasn’t killed anyone yet.”

She laughed and t
ouched his hand.  “That’s good.”

His face lit up.  “You liked my joke?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m wearing a t-shirt and jeans.”

Amused that he felt the need to point that out, she squeezed his hand, “I noticed.”

“Do you like it?”

“It’s okay.  I keep telling you that you can wear whatever you want.”

“I know, but I want
to know if you like it.”

“Well, I prefer you in your birthday suit, but this is nice.”

“Birthday suit?”

Unable to stop the wicked smile that turned her lips up, she whispered, “In the buff.  Naked.”

His face grew pink, and she kissed him, finding it cute that even after all the times they’d had sex, he still exhibited a sh
y side when she talked to him
in
a sensual manner
.

“I’m ready for my lunc
h break, so we can eat together,
”
she said.