Stephanie

Six months later…

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The human body hates you. Pregnancy isn't remotely natural with how it wreaks havoc on everything, from hormones to your body, and... well, as I said, everything.

It's a sacrifice.

It's completely worth it.

Full of aches, I finally understood why so many women used the word waddle to describe their movement.

"You really not going to stick around for the start of the next semester?" Professor Hatch was helping me gather some things after he dismissed his final class for the summer.

"Nah. I'm going to shift to early childhood education for now."

He smiled. "I guess you want to be best equipped to be able to teach your little one."

"Partially that. It's also a pain in the ass to command respect of the students since I'm only a year older than them. I figure I'll get some age on me, become that strict schoolmarm, and move back into higher education."

"Are you going to keep up with your child? You can embarrass him by constantly being his teacher all through his schooling years."

"It's a her, and I'm thinking about it. Might spare her the humiliation and just use my skills off-duty, if you follow."

"That's good practice anyway. As long as you're making this decision of your own free will. Dawson's out, so you shouldn't worry about him."

Crazy plans sometimes pay off. With all of the publicity, even when Dawson tried to call a hearing in, saying that I lied to the administration, the rest of the board didn't want to hear it. He was out-voted continually five to one, with his fellow administrators wondering why the heck he was taking on such a hard-line stance on my violation of the fraternization code.

The answer came three months later. Turns out he was projecting, and projecting hardcore.

Dawson was trading favors by the boatload to one of the school's cheerleaders. Grade alterations, preferential treatment, even just flat out giving her money. He was really the reason the rule existed: skeevy old assholes using their influence for their own sexual fulfillment.

My best guess is that by taking a strict stance against me he was hoping to deflect further investigation into his own abuses of power. It didn't help, and actually made his own termination from the school all the worse. Last I heard the board may even bring criminal charges against him, like for fraud or something.

A knock on a wooden door caught the professor’s and my attention. "Am I interrupting anything important, babe? And professor?"

"Oh, no," Hatch spoke up first, smiling. "I'll leave you two to it. I have my own wife to get back to, you know. So I'll leave the newlyweds be. Lock the door when you're done, Stephanie. Also before if you're going to do something stupid."

"What do you mean, something stupid?"

"You know exactly what I mean." He left, his barbs adequately launched.

With the professor out of the way, Trevor rushed in, and damn near almost tackled me. He swept me off a leg, holding me in place as he damn near forced his tongue down my throat.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

He was drafted first round, first pick. The Train was going to the big leagues. He got a nice sweet signing bonus too.

The future football megastar's first investments? A house for his mother. A house for me. A car for us both.

After that? Our wedding.

Jesus, he threw a big one.

I said I'd be fine with a small ceremony. The thing is? With everyone he wanted to celebrate our love with, it couldn't have been small.

My side was Emma. My parents. Some other relatives. Not much really.

His? The entire AU football team. Professor Hatch, Coach Boggs. A bunch of college friends. Some people from his new team.

It was just one of the things I'd have to deal with being with someone who was going to be such a big deal.

"Fuck, you're so damn sexy."

"You say that every day, Trevor."

"Well, because it's true. I'll keep saying it for as long as it's true." He paused a bit, rubbing his chin. "I think that'll be about forever, so get used to it."

I giggled.

He looked back behind himself. Hatch was gone and the door was closed. "Well, well, isn't this a bit nostalgic."

"You can't seriously be thinking of..."

"Thinking of what? Reliving an old thrill? We're not coming back to AU, Steph. So maybe we should leave on a good memory." Hatch had to mention it, didn't he?

"You know, we never did figure out who was taking pictures of us..."

"Maybe they'll be watching again. I like my side career of being a porn star."

"Trevor, really?"

"What? We’ve got nothing to hide. Maybe I want to show the world how sexy you are with that belly, and your delightfully swelling tits."

I was red as hell. "You're ridiculous."

"You're mine, babe, for better or for worse. You should be used to my insanity by now."

My man swept me off my feet, made a mess of the professor's desk by laying me flat on it, and started hiking up my dress.

I just laughed. I wasn't going to turn him down. Not now. Not ever.

This was my life now. A child on the way, the world's sexiest millionaire ravishing my body, and nothing but a bright future ahead of me.

A year ago, I thought I would be pressing thirty before I ever found the one, that I would be waiting forever for the right man to appear.

Trevor most definitely proved to me that you never know when your train is going to show up. Mine's taking me on a ride I'm never going to forget.