David stood on Ophi’s lawn and stared up at the sky. It was a clear, cold night, and he could see all the stars. He’d always loved looking at the stars as a child. If he hadn’t fallen in love with literature and teaching, astronomy was something he might have explored. He loved how vast and mysterious the universe was, how there were elements and particles out there without a name, that hadn’t been discovered by the human race, and might never be.

But right then, David couldn’t imagine a more wondrous frontier stretching out before him than the possibility of becoming a father. Not a possibility…according to Ophi, a certainty.

“I’m gonna be a dad,” he murmured up to the stars, sending his little piece of joy off into universe, hoping it would bring some far-off creature a mysterious wind of happiness. He laughed at nothing and smiled for no one but himself. He ran his hands through his hair, looking around for someone to share this with, this amazing, insane thing that was happening.

Was it really possible to feel this much in one moment?

The door slammed open behind him, and Josh ran down the stairs.

“Listen, man. I’m saying this to you because we met before I was ever involved with this family. I’m going to give you two minutes to get your shit and get in your car and leave. If you’re still here after that, I will beat the crap out of you, and I will enjoy doing it.”

“Wha—why?” David was confused. Shouldn’t everybody be as happy as he was at that moment? Josh looked pissed.

Okay, David knew Josh well enough to understand he was generally annoyed by most things, but this was different.

“I’m counting down right now.” Josh lifted his sports watch, and sure enough, it displayed digital numbers counting down. David had one minute and forty-five seconds left.

“Why are you pissed?” Josh was David’s running buddy. They got together once a week to tackle long routes. They were friends.

“I get that you had a big shock in there, but that is no excuse for the weak move you pulled.”

“Yeah, it’s a shock but it’s an amazing one.”

“Amazing?” Josh paused, his anger seeming to dissipate a bit. “Like, as in good amazing?”

“Like in fucking great, amazing.” David grasped Josh’s shoulders and shook him. “I’m gonna be a dad.”

“If you’re so fucking happy about it, why did you leave your baby mama in a heap on the bathroom floor sobbing?”

David’s stomach dropped. “She’s crying?”

“She told you she was pregnant, and you walked out,” he said the words slowly, as if David were an idiot. “That would make me cry.”

“She told me to collect my thoughts, to take some time to think. I thought she wanted me to leave and give her space.” His heart stopped. “Does she think I left her?”

“Abandoned would be the better word, but yes. And my girl sent me out here to beat the shit out of you, and since I already consider Ophi my family, I’ll do it gladly.” Josh checked his watch. “Thirty seconds.”

David needed to fix this. He could fix it.

“No, I’m not leaving. I came out here because I needed air and I’m happy. So fucking happy. But I see that was a stupid thing to do because I should have stayed with her and told her I was happy. I should have said something. God, I really didn’t day anything about the baby. I don’t know how to do this. Shit, I fucked up. Can I go back in?”

Josh eyed him critically. “You want to be with her?”

“I love her.”

It was true. There had been a deep and gnawing pain in his heart the past few weeks without Ophi in his life. It felt all too much like heartbreak because that’s what it had been.

Josh stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded, waving David on to the door. No sooner had David taken one step the alarm on Josh’s watch went off, and Josh punched him.

David went down hard, sharp pain radiating across his cheek.

“Why did you do that, you fucking psycho?”

“I told you if you were still on this lawn in two minutes I was gonna hurt you. I always keep my word.”

“But I’m staying. I love her. I want that baby.”

“Doesn’t matter. You did a shit thing leaving her in there all alone. She’s locked the door and won’t let anyone in and her brother and sister are freaking out. Do you have any idea what this family is like when Ophi is upset? They go crazy.” Josh helped David stand, clapping him on the back. “You deserved it.”

David didn’t have to think about it. “I did. I’m gonna go in there now. Don’t punch me again.”

“No promises.”

After much convincing, David finally persuaded Nettie to give him a chance and let him speak to Ophi alone. Nettie, much like her brother, had wanted to throttle him at first but after expressing his true emotions and explaining his knee-jerk response, Nettie finally agreed to give him some time. Once alone, Nettie, Armie, and Josh distracting the kids upstairs, David sat on the floor and leaned his side against the door.

“Ophi,” he began. Now that he had his chance, he was at a loss for words. So much had happened to them in such a short span of time, and aside from her three-week-long radio silence, he was ecstatic about it all. “Ophi, I have too much I want to say, but I don’t think I have the words to say them. Let me start by acknowledging I shouldn’t have left you in there alone. That sent the wrong message. You told me to think, and I do my best thinking outside, so I went outside.” He might have been mistaken, but he could have sworn he heard her snort. Slightly fortified, he went on. “I just needed a second to gather my thoughts and feel all the wonderful, amazing things I’m feeling becauseI’m gonna be a father.

“I can’t remember what it’s like having a family to come home to. Did you know my parents died when I was a teenager too? But unlike you and your siblings, I didn’t have a town full of loving friends who looked after me. I was placed into the system, which sounds worse than it was. I was one of the lucky ones. I had some great teachers, and they fostered the calling I felt to teach and care for young kids like me.”

He had no regrets; there were plenty of children who suffered while in foster care or group homes. David made friends, and he received scholarships to college.

“I’ve always known what I wanted from life—a career in childhood education and a family to come home to. One I can protect and love, and cherish.”

“I’ve always wanted kids,” he admitted quietly, resting his head on the door. “I’ve always wanted a big, loud family. I see you with your kids at the elementary school functions, and I’m envious. Watching you around town with your sister or brother—I never had any of that.” He remembered the look of disappointment on her face a month ago when he’d mentioned her family after complimenting her. “But, Ophi, I want you to understand something. Even if you weren’t pregnant, if you didn’t have kids or siblings and were a loner who hung out on the street corners of this town playing Pokémon Go all day long, I would still want you. You have this crazy, bright light inside you, one I can’t turn away from. I want to always be near it. I want to be near you, with you.”

Without warning the door unlocked, opened, and David barely had time to register what was happening before a hand was pulling him inside. He landed on his hands and knees, sitting directly in front of his Ophi. She looked better; her color had returned, and her eyes were wide and vibrant, her ceaseless energy infusing every inch of her body.

“You’re happy?”

He sat back on his legs, facing her, a mere two feet apart. Her breath smelled minty, and he had to force himself to focus on her eyes and not the way her teeth worried at her bottom lip.

“I couldn’t be happier.” He took her hands, needing to feel a physical connection before going on. “I know we’ve been moving fast despite the past few weeks apart, but if I’m being honest with myself, I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you in that damn PTA meeting. And I think I’ve loved you since I saw you in that red dress.”

“You’re crazy,” she said, her eyes wide and her face twitching with laughter.

Good, he could work with laughter. “Why?”

“Love?” she asked, incredulously shaking her head as if to clear a fog from her vision. “You love me? We barely know each other.”

“When I know, I know.” He tried to sound as arrogant as possible, which earned him another chuckle.

“And it’s as simple as that?” She tilted her head, her long dark hair cascading over a shoulder.

“Yes.” He placed a hand over his heart, pouting at her. “Are you saying you don’t love me?”

“I never said that.” She shuffled closer to him, resting her hands on his thighs. She smelled like brown sugar and butter from all the cooking and baking. Looking at her hands, he could see small pinprick cuts, probably from where she’d accidentally jabbed herself with a needle. She was good at what she did, so focused when working on the smallest of sewing projects.

David severely wanted that focus trained on him.

“Then what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that” She huffed for a second, moving her hands up to rub his chest. Her fingers caught on the edge of his thick holiday cardigan. It was already unbuttoned, and it wouldn’t take much for her to push it off him. He seriously needed her to push it off him.

“Yes?” Heat spread from the point where her hands skimmed his skin. He swallowed hard, unable to keep from imagining her naked. It had been a few hours since she’d given him the best blowjob of his life, and his cock was ready for more. More lips, more touch, more of anything Ophi. It was almost terrifying, knowing without a doubt that this was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, yet at the same time, it was freeing.

“David.” Ophi rose to her knees, pushing her hands over his shoulders, then back down his chest again. She stopped right above his pants waistline, a millimeter from the closures covering where his cock twitched.

“Yeah?” He felt swollen, and the blood was rushing down to his dick at such a rapid pace that he barely had the power of speech.

“I don’t want to talk right now.” She explored a little bit farther. David could barely breathe through the anticipation. They were on the floor of her bathroom, and David was going to fuck her. It was inappropriate, but right at that moment, he could not give a single shit.

“I’m good with that.”

“Can we do something else instead?” Her index fingers toyed with the button of his pants, and the slight pressure she exerted felt like a hard tug on his cock.

“What?”

She popped the closure open and dipped her hand into his pants, squeezing the base of his shaft. Hard.

“Guess.”

He braced the back of her head, dragging his hand through her dark hair, and pulled her in for a rough kiss. They both sighed against each other. The blissful touch of her skin was a shot of alcohol or a hit from the purest drug. Ophi would be his only addiction. She dug her hands farther into his pants and cupped his balls, rubbing and gently squeezing, making him shake from the tension. He pulled back, knowing what he wanted.

She looked like a sex-crazed minx, demanding and assertive, and he loved every fucking second of it. David held her hips and pulled her on top of his lap, waiting until she settled her legs in a comfortable position. He reached underneath her skirt and yanked until her panties were ripped to shreds, the flimsy lace tossed onto the floor. He lay back against the cool tile and drew her bared pussy against his cock, using all his strength to lift her and position her against the tip.

She helped, taking him in hand and guiding him to her wet channel. With a steady strength, he drew her onto him, spearing her as she pulled him in, the natural wetness and suction of her body gripping his cock.

“David,” she moaned once he was completely seated inside her. He could feel the top of his cock touching the end of her channel. Knowing his child was growing safely inside her made him lift her and press her back down, showing her what he needed. His protective instincts told him to be gentle, but she was strong. She could take what he gave.

She braced against his chest and began a steady rhythm. First a slow, sensual grinding, her hips flowing above him like a belly dancer’s. David pushed her skirt out of the way, wanting to see their joining.

“That’s so good,” he said, watching his cock disappearing in and out of her as she moved, the shaft wet with her juices. He dipped his finger toward her pussy lips, dragging it across the hair to capture some of the liquid. He sucked it off his thumb while she watched, her gyrations speeding up, turning frantic, becoming more about the goal instead of the journey.

“Touch it.”

“Touch what, Ophi.” He knew what she wanted, but hearing her say it would drive him nuts.

“Touch my clit. Make me come.”

Remembering the last time he saw her orgasm tightened the pressure in his balls, making them draw up. He was going to come. David braced his feet against the floor, his knees sticking up, causing her to fall forward onto his chest. She was topping, but he needed to take control soon. She cursed, her eyes shut tight, her head burrowing into his neck as he fucked her to completion.

“Ophi. Love you.” His cum spurted into her, coating her pussy, claiming her in a much more deliberate way than last time.

All too aware that he’d finished before her, he lay back on the floor, pulled her off his softening cock, and slid farther beneath her legs until her cunt was directly above his mouth. He didn’t waste any time before bringing her succulent and tangy pussy down to kiss.

He could tell she was wound tight, and focused on her clit, flicking his tongue against it in a steady rhythm. He could taste his cum dripping out onto his tongue.

“Right there, David. Right there—” She gasped. Her following moan sounded muffled, but he kept at it, enjoying the way her juices flowed heavier as she came. After a moment, she swung her leg over, then settled on the floor next to him. They kissed, slowly, the rush and desperation over. Ophi laid her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“I don’t know when it happened,” she said after a moment.

“What?”

“When I fell in love with you.”

Warmth spread across David’s heart that had nothing to do with the body heat they’d just generated. “You don’t need to tell me, I’m thankful that you do.”