Chapter 10

Alexander

I counted down the minutes until it was time to leave for my monthly appointment at the clinic, unsure if it was because I was dreading it or excited for it. Of course I was excited to see Casey, but I was also nervous about being back at the clinic for a reason I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Maybe I was worried things were going too well with me and Casey and going back to the clinic would mess it up. Or maybe it was that I was worried the doctors would find out about my relationship with Casey. What did it matter? There was nothing wrong with it.

I sat in on a meeting with the accounting department of the company, hoping it would help the time pass. Truthfully, I didn’t care much about budgets or profits at that moment—or really at all. That was the entire point of having a VP of Finance. Unfortunately for me, the VP of Finance had a stomach bug, so I offered to take his place in the meeting.

The other two meetings I had scheduled for the day—one in person and one via conference call— dragged on until 2:30 finally hit. I made my way over to the clinic, doing a quick check in my car mirror to make sure I looked ok. I had never felt this way about anyone before. I was falling for Casey, and I was about to go into her place of employment and masturbate. Our situation was as strange as it sounded.

My plan to act as nonchalant as possible lasted less than a minute, when I caught my shoe on the rug in the entryway and stumbled. I looked up at Casey, who buried the bottom half of her face in the sleeve of her sweater, clearly trying her best not to smile or laugh. I walked up to the counter and wrote my name on the sign-in sheet.

“Welcome back, Mr. Preston,” Casey said. “Please have a seat. We’ll call you back shortly.” If it wasn’t for the two couples in the waiting room, I would have jumped over the counter and kissed Casey right then and there. But, I retreated to the sitting area and took a seat with a prime view of the hottie behind the desk.

I scrolled through social media on my phone, doing my best to pass the time. Why was it going by so slowly? I reminded myself that I’d sat here a dozen times as Casey sat right behind that same desk, and I’d never made a move. I could handle waiting until our next date.

A visibly pregnant woman in a three-sizes-too-small dress walked into the clinic and up to Casey’s desk. For a moment, I imagined Casey six or seven months from now. She’d be waddling in here with her baby bump each day, sitting behind that desk and dealing with the same nasty patients I’d seen her encounter on so many occasions.

I still hadn’t quite grasped that she was carrying my child. There were probably other women who had been inseminated with my sperm that were carrying a child with my DNA, but it was different, I supposed, because I’d never had any interaction with them. Besides that, I was certain they had nothing on Casey.

I tried not to think about what would happen to my relationship with Casey as she became more and more pregnant, because I knew there were only two possibilities. We would either keep seeing each other and I would become a father—not only genetically, but emotionally and physically—to this child, or we would drift apart and I would have no part in either of their lives. Both of those possibilities scared me in different ways.

Get ahold of yourself, Alexander, I told myself. You’ve been on one date with this girl. Sure, it was amazing, but it was one date. See where it goes first. Start with another date.

“Mr. Preston,” Casey said, jolting me from my thoughts. I had to admit that it was weird to hear Casey calling me by my last name, in a professional tone, after days of calling me Alexander. “Follow me, please.”

I followed Casey to my usual room, but, instead of closing the door behind me, I pulled her inside. I leaned in for a deep kiss, which she accepted with ease. “Just needed some inspiration,” I said with a grin.

“Ok, but let’s try to keep it professional here,” Casey said. “I’m not sure what the protocol is for sleeping with the clients. Or, you know, being impregnated by one.”

Casey had a joking tone in her voice, but something told me she wasn’t kidding in the least. I understood her point. “Yes, ma’am.” I reclaimed her mouth for a final kiss and let her slip out the door.

Oh, how life had changed since the last time I was in this very room. One thing hadn’t changed, though. My inspiration for the task at hand.

I think I set a personal best for obtaining my contribution this time, which I could only attribute to my lovely inspiration. With images of Casey, her legs spread apart and nipples erect, still filling my mind, I set the plastic cup down on the counter and tried to cool myself down before leaving the room. I did my best to avoid eye contact with Casey as I walked out the door. I wanted to avoid any possibility of getting revved up again.

As soon as I stepped onto the sidewalk, I dialed the number of the clinic and watched from the window. “6th Street Clinic, Casey speaking. How may I help you?”

“Go on another date with me this weekend,” I said. A confused look appeared on Casey’s face as she looked around the room. Finally, she met my gaze through the window. I responded with a subtle nod and wave.

“Did you really call just to ask me that?”

I nodded through the window. “I didn’t want to risk getting you in trouble. So, is that a yes or a no?”

Casey giggled. “I’d love to.”

“Great,” I said. “It’s a date.”