Sweet Cheeks (15 page)

“You like it.” Tanning grins.

“I love it. It’s beautiful.”

“My, um, cousin is an interior designer and she helped me. My uncle wanted it fully furnished, probably to give my cousin some practice, he indulges her. So he rented all this lot.”

I nod. Ah, the spoilt supermodel. That still stings for a minute, until I shake it off, realising there is nothing for me to be annoyed about.

“Wow, she has great taste.”

“I ah, got you a bed too.”

I turn from admiring the room and tilt my head at Tanning, who has a slight blush to his cheeks. “You did, huh?”

“Um ... yeah, well I figured you wouldn’t want to sleep on the couch.”

“That was real nice of you. I was going to borrow one for a few weeks. Bailey said they had a spare mattress.”

“You and Bailey getting on better,” he asks with raised eyes.

“Yeah. I mean, we won’t ever be besties or anything, but we get on.”

“Good.”

I nod. And look up at the stairs.

Tanning chuckles. “Go on up, I’ll bring your boxes.”

I smile and don’t wait for another invitation. Tanning has given me the bedroom with the adjoining bathroom. He insisted, said I needed it more than him. And with the way my bladder is at the moment he could be right.  Treasure Pot sure knows how to kick in just that spot that makes me want to pee. Particularly at night time, and I don’t want to keep waking Tanning up every time I race to the bathroom. Mind you that might not be so bad. Hmmm…

Mind slap! I really have to stop thinking like that.

Friends. We’re friends. Cool. I can be cool with that.

I rush up the stairs and open the first door on the left and gasp. The bed is frigging huge. It’s gigantic size. I’ve never had a bed like this, not even in good times with my parents. And it’s all made up with a gorgeous lemon colored bedspread and huge big fluffy pillows, I just want to dive into it. Then I look across and see a tv mounted on the wall with a small dressing table underneath. Oh, this is so perfect. I feel tears sting my eyes.

I rub my belly and hear Tanning breathe behind me. I don’t think in that moment, I just spin and launch myself at him, giving him a massive hug. “Thank you. Thanks for everything Tanning.”

I bite my tongue to stop any tears flowing. Tanning gives me a quick squeeze then releases me. I suck in a breath and turn from him. Shit, I have to stop doing things like that. It must make him uncomfortable.

“So you like it, then?” he asks softly.

“Oh, I love it. I can’t wait to dive into bed tonight.”

I think I hear Tanning gag on something and turn to see him looking down at the floor with a frown. Then he goes out into the hall and drags my suitcase in, followed by the other boxes of my stuff.

He shifts back to the doorway and scratches his head. “I’ll ah, leave you to it. I’ve got to go to my parents and get a few more things, but I can grab dinner if you like.”

I smile. “Yeah, that sounds great.” I reach for my purse, to give him some money, when he waves me off.

“Nah. I’ll get it this time. We’ll sort out all the money stuff later.” And he disappears out the door, before I can argue.

We still haven’t talked about my contribution to paying the rent and bills. Every time I bring it up Tanning waves it off and changes the topic. There’s no way I’m sponging off of him. I know he's got a full scholarship from his uncle's company to pay for his degree, and to help him with rent and stuff, and he said he's saved a heap of money while he was doing his building apprenticeship. But, he’s done too much for me already. I intend to open a bank account for the first time and put my share into it, or the share I can afford, then when the twelve months is up, I can give him a big fat check.

Us Jaimesons have always paid our own way, one way or another. That’s why we lost everything. My dad insisted on paying back every penny he owed, even if it meant leaving his family homeless. At the time I thought it was so stupid, but I kind of get it now. Now I know what it’s like to take on responsibility and look after yourself. And I don’t want debt, ever. Or to be indebted to someone. I couldn’t handle losing everything again. I would never put Treasure Pot through that kind of heartache.

Still, right now, looking at my gorgeous bed all I can think is, I’m here now. Here in this beautiful house with Tanning, and it might be a dream, but it’s a dream I’m not ready to wake up from just yet.

I let out a squeal and jump onto the bed and fall back on the soft mattress and squirm around in the pillows. Life does not get much better than this moment. My life that is, and I intend to love and live every second of it.

SeVeNTeeN

_________________________

I’ve got my next doctor’s appointment today, and I’m nearly jumping out of my skin. It’s my six month check up and I get to see Treasure Pot for the first time. I’m having an ultra sound. I haven’t been able to afford it until now, but my dad sent some money without my mum finding out, and he said to use it for the baby, so I’m splurging on this. I can’t wait to finally see him, or her. I still don’t want to know. I want it to be a surprise. The best surprise. I just want to count his fingers and toes and look into his gorgeous blue eyes. I assume he’s going to have my bright blue eyes and not Travis’s ice cold dark ones. I shiver at the thought.

I’m waiting in the doctors’ rooms in Forest. I decided to come here, as its closer to where I’m now living. That’s another advantage of moving, I’m closer to better hospital facilities which makes me feel more secure. Who knows what could happen and I’m not one for taking chances with Treasure Pot, I want medical assistance if I need it. He’s the most important thing and there is no way I’d jeopardise his safety because I want to go all natural. I could never live with myself.

I look around at the other three pregnant ladies in the waiting room, one looks like she’s about to pop any second and the guy sitting next to her, has stress lines all over his face. Poor thing. He’s jiggling his legs and holding her hand. Man, he sure looks like he needs a chill pill. Must be hard for the guy in that situation. Not like he can do anything, he just has to stand by helpless. She looks across to him and smiles, and he leans over and kisses her forehead. Aw ... so sweet.

Boy these pregnancy hormones are making me all mushy. Normally I wouldn’t give a fig about anyone else. I let out a big breath, and flick through another magazine. I hope it isn’t much longer. Finally the nurse comes out and calls my name. Thank goodness. I give the cute couple a small smile as I walk past into the doctor’s room. I haven’t met this lady doctor yet, and I’m hoping she’s nice.

The nurse lady dressed in navy pants and a crisp white shirt, asks me to take off my clothes and put on a gown, then tells me to sit on the bed and wait. I do as she asks, and sit on the edge of the bed, biting my lip. This is it. I rub over Treasure Pot and smile down at my enormous stomach.

I hear the shuffle of feet and the door opens. A tall, middle aged lady with a huge smile and warm brown eyes enters the room, and I know I’m going to like her. Thank god. Going through this alone, is not going to be easy, and I’ll need all the support I can get.

“Well hello there, Jennifer,” she says, and I smile back.

“Hi.”

“Big day. Have you had one of these before?”

“Um … no I haven’t.”

“Okay.” She frowns a little and checks over her notes. “So, you’ve never been to our clinic before?”

“No. I ah ... just moved closer to Forest, and thought I’d come here to have the baby.”

She nods, and a few stray locks of her pinned brown hair fall down around her face. “Okay, well let's take a look at you.”

She continues to ask questions about my general health and if I’ve had any problems, then prods around to feel the baby and checks all my vitals.

“Everything, seems to be going well. Now, are you ready to see bub?”

I nod, and swallow. I can feel a few tears threatening, and I grip the sides of the bed.

“This won’t hurt at all, you will just feel a little bit of pressure is all, and then when it’s over you can go to the bathroom if you need to.”

I give her a nod. I'm guessing I will, I don't have very good control over my bladder since hitting six months.

“She preps the equipment and places a blanket over my nether regions, while she lifts up the gown to expose my stomach, then rubs a cold gel all over the lower part. She pulls a monitor close and begins to push down on my belly with a warm medical instrument. It’s more uncomfortable than painful, but I’m not concerned about that any more, as she shows me a blurry image.

Treasure Pot.

He's there on the screen. I can see his little toes and fingers and his heart is pumping and I can’t hold back the tears now. They stream down my face as I watch in awe as he kicks out his little leg, and I feel a flutter in my stomach at the same time. Lord, he is so beautiful. And he’s all mine. Oh god, I love him so much.

“Do you want to know the sex of the baby,” I hear her ask.

“Um ... ,” in this moment, I’m unsure. I said I wouldn’t, and as tempting as it is, I decide to stick to my decision.

“No. I want it to be a surprise.”

The doctor smiles wide again. “Okay, well that sure is unusual these days, most folks want to know. Good for you.”

I don’t look at her. I can’t take my eyes off the screen. I want to take this equipment home with me, so I can look at Treasure Pot every day. Then the screen goes blank and Treasure Pot is gone.

No!
I want to scream.
Turn it back on.

She moves around to the back of the equipment and I hear a whirring sound, then she gives me a small piece of paper. “Your first picture.”

I look up at her with watery eyes. “You took a picture?”

“Yes. First one for the album.”

I don’t slip it into my purse. I hold it close to my chest and the doctor leaves telling me I can go to the bathroom and get dressed.

It takes me a minute to gain some sense of reality. Wow, that was some rush. I stare at the black and white scanned image of Treasure Pot. I can’t believe I have a photo of him. I give the photo a kiss and hug, before getting off the bed and heading for the bathroom.

I reach home still in a bit of a daze. I assume Tanning will be late home as usual. I don’t see much of him in the evenings, we haven’t had dinner together since that first night. His classes run late, and it's an hour and a half drive for him to get home. I think he said something about going out for drinks with his college buddies, so I figure it’ll be a night at home in front of the TV with some snacks for me. Tanning might even crash in one of their rooms, he's pretty sensible when it comes to drinking and driving.

We’ve settled into a kind of routine over the past three weeks. I tend to do the cooking and leave his dinner in the fridge for him, which he either eats when he gets in or takes for lunch the next day. I also do the washing and iron his clothes. He tells me not to, but I don’t mind. I’m so happy to be living here, it’s only a little thing and it makes me happy to know I’m helping him out. No other ulterior motives, which is unusual for me. My life has been spent only doing things for others, if I get something in return. I don’t feel that way with Tanning. Everything is so different with him.

I know I’m falling hard for him. I can’t help it. Each day it gets that little bit worse, but I continue to ignore it. For my own sanity and for Treasure Pot, I can’t afford to mess this arrangement up. The closer I get to my due date, the more urgent that is. I can’t be stranded with nowhere to live when I have the baby. I have to have some security.

Taking the groceries from the bags I put them away in the fridge. Tanning told me not to worry about dinner, so I decide on some cheese sandwiches with a jar of peanut butter. It’s a craving, what can I say. I have no idea why that is appealing, but it is.

After delivering my snack to the living room, I grab the picture of Treasure Pot, out of my purse and set myself up on the couch and turn on the TV. We’re all hooked up to the latest and greatest technology, so I’ve got movie select. I decide on an oldie but a goodie. Can’t get enough of Bridget Jones. I’ve discovered a great respect for her. And it’s my new favorite classic movie.

I eat my sandwiches and spoon in the peanut butter, mixing the two. Yummo. I finish eating and hold Treasure Pot to my chest giving him a little kiss every now and again. Half way through the movie, the air has turned a little chilly, so I reach up and chuck my new blanket over my legs and settle back into the snug contours of the soft couch. Man, I’m so comfortable, and so cosy ... mmmmmm