Between The Sheets Part 12

He shakes his head with a smirk. "You don't expect me to call her again, do you?"

My eyes roll back. "You and your sister are terrible."

"You don't have to tell us that. We've heard it our entire lives. Shel even more so. Maybe she should have considered my mom before she decided to get knocked up. The only grandparents the kid is going to have are my mom and dad. Thank G.o.d for my dad. At least, he'll have one sane grandparent."

"He?" I wonder if he realizes he just gave the baby a gender.

"I hope so. My mom is a lot easier on the boys. I had it ten times better than Shel ever did, and I tried to bear some of the grief for her."

"Enough about your mom. When you email her, tell her I thought the recipe was delicious and you did an amazing job." Which he did. The sauce was fabulous with the perfect combination of spice and tomato. And the homemade ranch dressing for the salad was mouthwatering. "Now, let's get this place cleaned up so you can take me to bed."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

Waking up in Tyler's arms again feels like heaven. I study the lines of his face while he sleeps. He was always good looking as a kid, but he's grown into this gorgeous strong man. His long chiseled jawline and cheekbones are like something you'd see in his paintings. I wish I had an ounce of his artistic ability so I could sketch him, and his s.e.xy as sin beauty mark. I'd love to see his features etched across a blank page, coming to life with the subtle movement of my hand.

"You're staring at me while I sleep," the m.u.f.fled words escape his s.e.xy mouth.

"I'm committing your face to memory. Drawing you in my mind since I can't do what you do."

With his eyes closed, a grin spreads across his lips. "Okay. Gawk all you want." He peels back the sheet to reveal his naked body. "Commit this to memory also. I wouldn't want you to forget the most important part of me while we're apart."

In a flash of movement, Ty's body is hovering over me and his face is an inch from mine. "It's my turn. But I don't just want to see you, I want to feel you too." His lips press to mine, hard and still. Then his mouth slides down my neck to my chest, his hands molding over my b.r.e.a.s.t.s causing heat to pulse through my sensitive body.

"Maybe you are are having sympathy pains for Shel." He squeezes my b.o.o.bs. "Before, they were a handful, now the cup overfloweth." having sympathy pains for Shel." He squeezes my b.o.o.bs. "Before, they were a handful, now the cup overfloweth."

"You're silly," I tell him with a smack to his shoulder.

"They're nice and soft too." He sucks hard on my left breast, dragging his teeth over my nipple.

I can't help but cry out with the sheer pleasure of his playful teasing. My hands press to his shoulders to steady myself from the overwhelming sensation. How did the tenderness of my b.r.e.a.s.t.s just multiply all of a sudden?

The gentle graze of his fingertips down my sides tickles but causes a few stuttered breaths.

"Mmm," Tyler moans against my heated flesh. "Your whole body feels so soft to me. So warm and soft. I love it." Kisses trail to my belly, and without even thinking, my knee shoots up to protect myself ... and my baby.

"Is that a nice way to tell me you think I'm getting fat?"

"Fat? No way, there isn't an ounce of fat on your body, Melly. You just have softened a bit. You don't look like you could kick my a.s.s as easily as you could before. He goes back about his business of sprinkling my body with kisses.

"Fine. Carry on," I tease, running my fingers through his thick locks.

After Ty has stuffed me with the best ham and cheese omelet ever, we snuggle on the sofa to watch the tube. I sit with my back against the armrest and my legs thrown across his lap while he hugs my body with his head resting on my chest.

"My very own body pillow. How long do I get to keep you?"

"As long as you want, baby."

"Sounds good to me." He doesn't say anything else so I just try to enjoy the closeness of our touch and the happiness I should feel being in Ty's arms. Except it's hard to enjoy it when something big, something so monumental is a secret between us. It doesn't have to be, but I'm being a Grade A p.u.s.s.y who can't open her mouth and say what's on her mind for once. For the first time in my life, I'm at a loss for words and I feel like my throat is closing every time I open my mouth to get anything out.

"Hey, have you talked to my sister?" His question pulls me from my over a.n.a.lyzing mind.

"Yeah, I chatted with her the whole way up yesterday."

"Baby talk?"

"Is there any other kind?" I say, happily thinking of my friend, but nervous about my own situation.

"Yeah, I bet. She's probably talking Matt's ear off. When is she due anyway?"

"Just after the New Year," I tell him.

"So how far along does that make her now?"

"Didn't you talk to her already?"

He chuckles. "Yeah, but I don't remember. I was just in shock when she told me. I didn't expect her to get pregnant so soon. They just started trying."

"She was pregnant already when they decided to try. It wouldn't have mattered if they wanted to or not. The baby was already coming."

With his head still on my chest, he continues, "Lucky for them. I think whenever we decide to have babies, we should really plan it. Make sure we have everything in order before we take a step like that."

"We?" He wants to have babies with me. That's something, right?

"Yeah. We. Not now, of course. We don't even live in the same zip code. That should be a requirement before we go that route, don't you think? h.e.l.l, we're not even married. We have a long way to go, Melly Belly. But just think. We can get some practice with the little Shel or Matt."

Yeah, we can get some practice.

Only one problem with that.

Our baby is coming first.

Ty's off to work at his volunteer gig so I take the opportunity to call my mother while I'm alone.

"Have you told him yet?" she asks when she answers the phone.

"Well, h.e.l.lo to you too, Mom."

"Never mind the pleasantries, Melissa. Did you tell Tyler you're pregnant?"

I feel like my doggies, with my head between my legs scurrying away. "No."

"Why not, mija?"

As if I can just blurt out the words. It's not like he's been inviting the topic. "Mom, there just hasn't been a good time. I almost died the other day when he mentioned he wanted us to plan our family and not just have it dumped in our laps."

I hear a deep sigh on the other end of the phone. "Don't you think everyone would love to plan a family? If it happens, that's great but more often than not, kids come along unexpected. And then the parents deal. Just like Sh.e.l.ly and Matt have. And you and Ty will too. I think you're making a big mistake keeping this from him. You're not giving him the credit he deserves."

"Maybe not, Mom. But I'm scared. I can't imagine what it will be like to see the disappointment in his eyes. It hurts so bad and it hasn't even happened."

"I think it's more than that, mija."

Oh goodness. Here it comes. The psychoa.n.a.lysis from my mother. She thinks just because she's watched every episode of Oprah and Christina she can figure out what makes everyone tick.

"You're deflecting your feelings for Nick and your breakup onto Tyler."

"Deflecting, Mom? Really?"

"Yes, deflecting."

"I don't give two s.h.i.ts about Nick or our breakup."

"Maybe not, but it has you scared enough to believe Tyler might leave you too. Couple that with the bad timing you've had in the past with him, you don't think you two will ever be truly happy. I think you're ready to sabotage it now before you take a chance on the love you share. You think it will hurt less if you walk away rather than giving it a shot."

I shake my head. No. That's not it. Why would I want to walk away from the one man who I've thought about my entire life and who is finally within my reach?

"Take a chance on Ty, mija. Give him the chance to prove you wrong. He's not Nick. He's not the teenage boy you fell in love with. He's a man now. And he loves you too."

A long sigh releases from my mouth. "I know, Mama. I know." My phone beeps and I pull it away from my ear to glance at the screen. "Listen, Mom. I gotta run. It's Sh.e.l.ly on the other line."

"Okay. You need to tell him. Now. Before he figures it out on his own."

"Fine. I'll tell him. Bye."

"Tell who what?" Shel's voice is in my ear.

Oh s.h.i.t. I must have hit the swap b.u.t.ton too soon. "Nothing. What's happening, Shel? How's that belly of yours?"

"Growing. It's crazy. I didn't notice anything before. But now that I know I'm prego, I have all these symptoms that weren't there before."

Tell me about it. Earlier I had to rub out the worst cramp in my leg. It was like a Charlie horse to my calf with the grip that wouldn't let go. My toes curled in pain until it was over. As soon as Ty left, I Googled it on my phone and sure enough, cramps come with the territory. I wonder what else there is.

"Like what?"

Shel doesn't waste any time telling me about how she wants to sleep all day, her tender b.o.o.bs, and how h.o.r.n.y she is. "I never thought it was possible to want my husband any more than I already did, but the man can just kiss me and I feel like o.r.g.a.s.mic. It's crazy. I'm surprised there's not some s.e.x drug that mimics the sensation of being pregnant. It's intense."

"Thanks for sharing."

"Hey, there's another thing. I had Matt dump out my beer so I wouldn't be reminded that I'm going to be cut off for quite some time. Then it hit me. I'd been drinking this whole time before I knew I was having a baby. I totally freaked. Got on the phone and called my doctor's night line because I sure as h.e.l.l couldn't wait until the morning."

Alright already. Spill it. What did he say? I want to strangle it out of her while she goes on and on about how difficult it is to speak to someone when you need them. I hadn't even thought about all the wine I've had since the baby was conceived. Was it before Ty and I drowned ourselves in Patron in Vegas? Oh, f.u.c.k me. On second thought. Don't. That's what got me in this mess.

"I'm sure the baby will be fine," I interrupt her rant so she'll get to the point.

"Oh, yeah. That's what the doctor said. He said it's not like I'm an alcoholic."

A snort erupts from me.

"Hey," she yelps. "I'm not. I don't drink every every day. And I don't day. And I don't always always have a six pack. Anyway, he said as long as I stop now, we should be just fine and there's no sense in worrying about something I can't go back and change now." have a six pack. Anyway, he said as long as I stop now, we should be just fine and there's no sense in worrying about something I can't go back and change now."

"I bet you want a beer now more than ever though." This stress is making me want a gla.s.s of wine. Or a bottle.

"Definitely. But Ben & Jerry's ice cream is doing the trick for now. I may gain a hundred pounds but it'll be worth it."

"Amen to that, sister."

"So how's my brother?" I guess baby talk is over. Well, if she knew the whole story, her brother and baby talk would actually go together. What sucks just as much as not telling Ty about the baby is also keeping it from Shel. But I can't put her in the situation of keeping something so big from her brother and I really would like the chance to tell him first.

"He's at the teen center right now."

"I asked how he is," she whines.

"Oh, he's great."

"Great? Did that dummy do something stupid?"

"Not at all." Not intentionally anyway. He has no way of knowing he's putting his foot in his mouth every time he talks about babies. "He said he wants to have babies with me."

"What?"

I have to pull the phone away from my ear. Her shrill has left my ear ringing. "Yeah. Not now. But someday."

"Someday when you live in the same city, I hope."

"That's what he said."

"Good to know he's thinking straight. You can't very well raise a kid from two opposite ends of a coastline." Just what I want to hear. Now, Shel doesn't know she's put her foot in her mouth.

"Yup, that would make it difficult."

Shel is quiet for a minute which makes me a little uneasy. "Well, he's making plans. That's a good thing, right?"

"I guess. Although, I don't think he's making real plans. Just kinda talking about it hypothetically. It's not like he said he's moving. Or he wants me to move. Not anytime soon, anyway. If he was interested in that, you'd think he'd say so already. If we're making those kinds of plans we only have the summer to get things settled before school starts again."

"Hmm."

That's it? That's all my best friend has to say to that? Hmm. What the h.e.l.l?