GARRETT
It’s midnight when I finally bang out the last of my project and send it out to the team. I shut my laptop and stretch, working out the cricks in my neck.
Working away from the headquarters has both pros and cons.
Cons? Miscommunication, a fuck-load of it. I’m the most straightforward of my team—I have to be, since I head it—and it always falls to me to push back on bullshit or ridiculous demands from the CEO or clients.
Now that I’m not there, there are more wasted work and false starts before finally getting to the right path. At least my team’s learning to function better, even if it’s taken them half a year to get to the level of stability when I was there with them.
But even if they’re not, I’m still cool with this arrangement.
There’s more work, sure. But once I’m done with it, I get to go to the bedroom beside my study and crawl into bed with the most gorgeous woman in the world. It’s a damned good deal, if you ask me.
I smile at Jules’ sleeping form from the door where I stand, taking in the curve of her hip and waist under the covers, the gentle rise and fall of her shoulders as she sleeps.
I’ve had this bliss for six months now, and so far, no regrets. I got a pretty sweet house downtown where it’s bustling and sunny. I am from the city after all, and besides, I gotta keep the potted plant that Jules gave me alive and healthy. Jules sees it as some sort of indication of our relationship, and I’m going to make sure it lives forever.
Jules herself spends every weekend at my place. Her old man isn’t pleased about it. In fact, he’s threatened me another two times since then, but he’s beginning to get the idea that like him, I only want the best for Jules, and that I’m here to stay. Nothing’s stopping Jules from coming over to be with me either. Her reason is that she doesn’t want to spend another minute away from me if she can help it.
Now most people will count this as being clingy or that it’s a red flag, et cetera, but honestly, screw it. Who’s to say what’s right and what isn’t? I feel the same way about Jules and I’m more than happy that I can see her whenever I want, which is all the damned time.
I push off the door, strip off my sweats and get into bed behind Jules quietly so I won’t wake her. I wrap my arms around her naked body to draw her to me, and she stirs, shifting her round ass against my cock.
She isn’t the only one who’s stirring now.
“Hey babe,” I say in a lust-roughened voice.
“Hey,” she mumbles sleepily. “You’re done?”
“Yeah, ironed out some bugs in the code, it’s good for now.” I nuzzle her neck, growing more aroused as her soft body presses up against mine. “Did I wake you?”
“Actually…” she moans softly as I grind my erection between her ass cheeks. “Babe, wait. I have something to tell you.”
“It can wait till later.” I nibble her ear. “‘Cause right now I’m planning to fuck your brains out.”
Jules laughs, wriggling her ass some more to tease me. “You’re so freakin’ crass. But no, I want to tell you now, I’ve been holding it in for two days.”
I’m instantly alert. Keeping a secret for two days is like two years when it comes to Jules. I stop grinding against her ass and kiss her shoulder instead. “What’s up?”
My girlfriend nibbles her lip and turns around to look at me. “You know how we were talking about maybe having kids one day? Apparently, that one day is here. Or eight months later, to be exact.”
I go still. “How do you know?”
“I missed my period, which never happens, so I bought a test kit. And…” she reaches for a white plastic device on the nightstand behind her and holds it up for me. “It’s positive.”
“Holy shit.” I click on the lamp on the stand to see better. The two lines on the small paper is unmistakable. “Holy shit.”
“One of the condoms probably broke.” Jules replaces the kit on the stand and looks straight into my eyes. “Are you mad?” she asks solemnly. “Because if you are, I’m gonna get mad too.”
“Mad? I’m stunned.” I look down at the woman in my arms, feeling like someone’s pulled the rug from under me. “Fucking stunned.”
A life, inside Jules. A child made from the two of us.
A slow smile cracks my face. “Shit,” I breathe. “I can’t believe it.”
Jules grins too. “Believe it, city boy. You’re gonna be a daddy.”
The sound of that word shakes me a little. “What if I screw up?” My own father never gave a shit about me, and I know next to nothing about how to be one.
Jules gives me a long and deep kiss. “You’re not him,“ she says softly, guessing the reason for my apprehension instantly. “We’ll do our best, and I know you’ll be a great father. You’ll have to cut down on swearing once it’s here though.”
“Shi—I mean, crap, yeah, I gotta fix that. And a baby room.” I frown, my brain going through all the things a baby might need. “And we’ll need to take classes, do they have those here—”
“Calm down, we’ll be fine. I’ll ask my parents for advice, and everyone here’s more than happy to help.” Jules props her face on the pillow, grinning and looking more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen. “We’ll be just fine,” she whispers, “and the baby too. We’re just having another “First” together.”
I nod slowly. “Yeah. Everyone’s done it. We can, too.” I run my hand over her belly, which is still flat but will be growing with our child in the next several weeks. “You’re amazing. You’re so goddamn amazing. I need to marry you.”
“Wait, what hell kind of sloppy proposal is this?”
“It isn’t sloppy, it’s coming at just the right time.”
“I demand romance. I won’t be getting enough of it once the baby arrives.”
I grin, dragging my future wife into my arms. “You think I’m gonna let that happen? I’ll romance you every single day for the rest of your life, Mrs Hudson. You can’t escape.”
Jules laughs as I nibble her neck. “I’m holding you to that, city boy.”
“Do it, country girl. I fucking adore you.”
“I know. Like, what’s not to love?”
“Don't get me started. Some nights you snore like a turbine engine, and then you talk in your sleep, which is creepy as fuck.”
Jules scowls. “It’s not like I want to.”
I ignore her protest and continue. “You take way too long to decide what to eat, and you’re always arguing with me.”
“Jerk—”
“But you’re perfect for me.” I gaze down at her, feeling my chest go so damned tight it’s hard to breathe. “You’re my other half, like you were handmade for me.”
Jules turns pink, but I know she likes it.
“Sweet talker,” she gripes. “You’re just trying to get in my pants.”
“I’m always trying to get in your pants.”
“I know.” She arches her hips, rubbing her mound right against my stiff cock. “Right now too, aren’t ya?”
I shrug. “Just excited about the baby.”
Jules smiles slowly and reaches down to take my hard erection in her hands, squeezing me and making me groan. “I know just how to make you feel better, big boy,” she purrs.
And lucky me, my woman does just that.