I spent the entire morning out with what I was now referring to as the moms. Lucille and my momma had become inseparable, much like me and Doc. They had such fun together, and I couldn’t deny them when they asked if they could take me baby shopping. Doc encouraged me to go, saying he had to make arrangements for Hope and work to do. In truth, I wanted to be part of the arrangements, but there wasn’t much I could do but put my trust in him. And I was trying. I really was.
Besides, I had a feeling Doc was trying to get rid of my ass for the day. I couldn’t quite figure out why, but I’d find out eventually. He couldn’t hide stuff from me for long.
I was exhausted, but I’d had fun even with the occasional back pains I was having. I would have said that my date last night with Doc had been the best of my life, but really it had been the only real date, so I guess it was still true. He’d known exactly what I’d enjoy, and he’d made it happen. We’d come home and gotten into bed. He’d rubbed my aching back until I fell asleep.
My Doc, he was good down to his soul. And stupid me, I was starting to believe that maybe this had all been fate. And I didn’t believe in fate. But somehow this whole thing felt entirely bigger than me. What else could I call it? The way Anthony had so effortlessly swept into our lives after all these years and fixed everything and somehow managed to love me, too. It had to be something greater than me. Something grander than him. Because together? We were pretty damn special.
The moms and I had a great day, too, but being out late and not being able to sleep much as of late was wearing me out. I’d been having these sharp pains in my back on and off for the past day or so. I was wildly restless and cranky, but still I chugged on, bound and determined to get everything we would need for the baby.
We picked out baby clothes and a small bassinet I could put next to my bed. A car seat and blankets and pacifiers. The list went on and on. My baby would be sick, so I knew there was even more I’d need to care for her. But it had been nice to celebrate her. Ever since I’d found out about her heart it seemed that every thought of her was filled with worry and fear. Today, I’d celebrated her life. Yes, today had been good. I’d needed it.
I schlepped off the elevator with a few bags of clothes feeling like I could fall over any minute, the moms behind me with boxes galore. We were going to get ready for the baby today, and I was excited. I was also worn out and my feet felt swollen and heavy. We had tons of things to assemble and loads of baby clothes to wash. I opened the door to my apartment and immediately felt something was off. My drum set was gone. It was too clean, not a speck of glitter or crumbs in sight. I became suspicious. I dropped my bags on the couch and walked to the bedroom and noticed the bed was made. I never made my bed. Ever. You couldn’t get back into a made bed. Everyone knew that. And I always got back into bed if I could.
I checked the closet, but it was empty, and I opened that drawer at the bottom of the dresser Anthony had so carelessly dumped all my shit in almost two months ago and it was empty, too. I growled low in my throat.
If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed I’d been robbed, but I did know better and I knew Doc, too. Smug bastard. He couldn’t just move my stuff! I marched out into the living room where the moms must have seen the look on my face because they looked a little scared.
They had the good sense to know you didn’t fuck with a fully pregnant woman.
“Let’s go,” I growled. I snatched up the bags and they grabbed the boxes, and we went back down the elevator two floors while I fumed. What in the hell was wrong with him? He didn’t get to make all the decisions for me. He already made all the decisions for the baby. Why couldn’t that be enough for him?
I could hear the moms whispering behind me as we exited the elevator and walked into Anthony’s apartment.
He was sitting on the couch, papers spread on the coffee table in front of him. “Oh, good, you’re home.”
I glared at him. “No, I’m not. My home is two floors up.”
He pursed his lips and raised a long finger. “About that.”
I dropped the bags and pushed my arm out and let my pointer finger fly. “No. No about that. You can’t just move my stuff without my permission.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “And yet, I did.”
“Oh my God,” I groaned. The man was positively out of his ever-loving mind.
“See, just like an old married couple.” Lucy snickered. “It’s adorable,” she whispered to my momma, but I heard everything they said because as we’d already established they were shit at whispering.
“Calm down. We decided you were moving in.”
He didn’t tell me to calm down. I told him to calm down.
I felt my eyebrows hit my hairline and my pointer finger turned and hit my breast bone. “I didn’t decide I was moving in.”
“We talked about this.”
I shook my head. “No, we didn’t.”
“We did,” he insisted.
“I think I would have remembered a conversation where I agreed to move in with you, Doc.”
He moved over to a spot in the living room behind the couch. “I was sitting right there and you were in my lap. I said you should move in.”
“Oh my God, she was in his lap,” the moms said in unison and I wanted to hurt Anthony.
My eyes got wide and then narrowed at him. “Stop,” I mouthed before saying out loud, “But I didn’t say yes.”
He raised his eyebrows accusatorially. “Oh, you said yes a lot that day, especially in the kitchen in front of the refrigerator.”
The moms tittered and my glare flew to them.
They had the good sense to look embarrassed. “We’ll just go make some iced tea,” my momma said, pulling Lucy along as she left the room.
I pulled my gaze back to Anthony. “I didn’t say yes about moving in.”
He walked to me. “But you kissed me and you came for me.”
I looked back at the kitchen, praying the moms weren’t listening. “I didn’t have a choice! My body has a mind of its own.” I totally had a choice. I loved that kiss. I loved coming for him. My body heated up at the mere mention of it all.
He wrapped his arms around me and rubbed his nose along mine. “I don’t know about you, short stuff, but all this kissing and coming talk is making me want to kiss the shit out of you. Maybe we should take this to the bedroom.”
I wanted to drag him to the bedroom, too, but we had things to discuss and the moms in the kitchen most likely listening. “I’m not moving in with you, Doc.”
He laughed. His lips were against mine. “You already did.”
And as soon as I opened my mouth to object, he was on me. His tongue sliding along mine, his teeth nipping the corners of my lips, his mouth wet and hot on mine. My eyes rolled closed. God, the man could kiss and he knew it. He kissed me like he owned me. He kissed me like he could kiss me for a thousand years and he still wouldn’t get enough of my mouth. Damn him. It wasn’t right. He’d always get his way if he used his kisses against me. They were my kryptonite.
“Move in with me.” He continued his assault of my lips when I didn’t answer. “Come on, make me the happiest man in the world,” he finished, his lips against mine.
Mmmm. If I moved in he could kiss me like this all the time. Maybe give me a few of those orgasms he liked to talk about so often. Every day. And he wouldn’t have to leave after we watched TV at night. We could go to bed and curl up against each other. We’d done that the other night and it had been so nice. I couldn’t come up with a good reason to tell him no besides my own damn pride.
“Well, I guess I’ll stay since all my stuff is here.”
The moms cheered from the kitchen and I rolled my eyes, but Anthony paid them no mind.
“Yeah?” He looked happy. And I decided then and there I wanted more than anything for my Doc to always be happy.
I nodded. He smiled and kissed me again. And again. And again.