Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Marist's face turns red as she looks down at the floor. What the hell do I do?
“Marist?” Beck whispers her name, looking suddenly sober.
“I. Well-” she starts.
“It’s okay. I’ll be here with you.” Okay. Some of my insides melt.
“Maybe I could have been yours months ago,” she snips back. It clearly didn't have the same effect on her as it did me.
“I’m sorry. I was stupid. Do you”—he drops his head—“love him?” he finishes.
Her lips part, but no words come out.
“They’re mine,” I say. I’m not going to mess up whatever it is they have going on because I can’t talk to my own man. Maybe I should give Beck a break. “I asked Marist to get them for me.”
I glance over to Abel, who doesn't look shocked in the least at the news I just spilled.
“I got them.” Abel walks over, picking them up off the floor before taking the bag from Marist. “Thanks.” He sticks the others back into the bag. “I thought you only needed one of these things?” he asks me.
“I think we should give them a moment,” Marist says, motioning for Beck to come with her.
“You’re not pregnant?” He doesn't move.
“No. Now come on.” She gives him a look that goes right over his drunk head.
“You want babies?” Her face softens a little. “You’d make beautiful babies.” She’s not even knocked up and Beck is better at this than Abel, which is shocking because it’s freaking Beck!
“Come here,” she orders him with more force, holding her hand out. He walks over, taking it, and she yanks him from our office.
“Maybe they’ll finally talk.” Abel shakes his head like Beck is the crazy one. “Are you ready?” He wraps a hand around my waist, pulling me into him and dropping a kiss onto my mouth.
“Am I ready to--?” Take the test? What is happening here.
“To go home. You let Marist steal your breakfast and pick at your lunch. You need a full dinner.”
“You realize I think I’m pregnant.”
“Well, I hope so,” he says as he starts to move me toward the door. “I’ve been working on it for a few months now.” If he wasn't holding me up, I might have fallen over due to his revelation.
18
Abel
She doesn’t look thrilled that I know.
“Sorry I ruined the surprise, babe.” The traffic going out of the city is surprisingly heavy and slow going. Maybe we should stick around town until dinner time and then head home.
“You didn’t ruin it. The tests fell out of Marist’s bag.”
“You’re right. It was Beck’s fault.” I whistle cheerfully. “Since it’s out in the open, do you want to do some baby shopping? Clothes, diapers, shit for you. I was reading up and there’s some kind of vitamin for pregnant women. We’ll need to get you that stat. What else?” I drum my fingers against the wheel.
“I want to go home.”
“Sure. Should I stop by and pick up some pizza or maybe tacos? We haven’t had those in a while.” If I make a right up on 94th Street, I think I can get to Jimenez’s in about ten minutes.
“No. I’ll get my own food.”
“We don’t have to have tacos. We’ll get whatever you want.”
“I want to go home. Thanks.”
It’s the abrupt thanks that finally breaks through my thick skull that Pepper is really unhappy. “Home it is.” I turn the blinker off. I’ll run her a bath and massage her feet. She’s been working hard this week. I bet she’s tuckered out. She’s got another little body inside her.
“Not your home, mine.”
“Yours?” I’m confused.
“The apartment is done, isn’t it? That’s what we’ve been waiting for. I’d like to go there.” It is. A few units need a few more small things, but anyone who was living there before the units were finished are allowed to move back in.
“To see what it looks like? Sure. Let’s do that.”
“Not just to see what it looks like but—“ She stops herself. “You know what? Yes. I want to see what it looks like today.”
After that baffling exchange, she falls silent. Another thing my internet research revealed was that pregnant ladies can have mood swings which, again, is completely understandable when you’ve got another human inside of you. That’s crazy in my opinion. Biology is a wild motherfucker. I salute her.
We pull up to the newly renovated building. The parking lot is filling up as the workday is coming to an end. The white painted lines look fresh, and the concrete sidewalks don’t have a single crack. The boxwoods and small pines dotting the landscape make the big building look more like an estate home than a collection of apartments. It’s inviting but elegant. My chest puffs up with pride. I’m glad we came so Pepper could see the benefit of her hard work.
I tuck her hand in the crook of my elbow. “The outside landscaping is awesome, babe. You did a great job.”