Page 38 of Falling for my First Crush

“Fine with me,” Joe says. He leans down to kiss me, and I melt against him. I honestly never thought that this could be my life.

“Hey,” I say, pulling away slightly. “I have some news.”

Joe tilts his head to one side, curious. I feel my heart start to beat faster. There is a whooshing sound in my ears, and the sides of my vision darken slightly. I don’t know why I’m feeling panicky, although this is some of the biggest news I’ve ever had. Telling Joe should be easy. I think I know how he’ll react. At the same time, we’ve only been married for two months. I’m not sure that either of us was expecting this so soon.

“You know what?” I say. “Maybe it would be better to tell you after the party.”

I give him a quick peck on the lips, pat his chest, and step out of the circle of his arms. I start to walk away, Gidget on my heels, when Joe reaches out, and grabs my wrist. “Really?” he says. There is a playful glint in his eye. As he pulls me back toward him, he says, “Tell me now. I don’t think I’ll last through a whole party.”

“Okay,” I say. I take a deep breath. “Well… I’m pregnant! We’re having a baby, Joe!”

A thousand emotions flicker across Joe’s face, before he lights up. “You’re serious? We’re having a baby?”

I nod. “I took a test this morning,” I say. “I suspected it for about a week, but I didn’t want to say anything, in case I was wrong. I mean, it’s still so early, I wouldn’t dare tell anyone.”

“I just can’t believe this,” Joe says. “I mean, I had hoped that we’d be able to start a family soon, but this is amazing. Are you sure we can’t tell people yet?”

“Just Gidget for now,” I say. “But don’t worry. When it’s time to make the announcement, we can do something big and cheesy.”

“Thank you,” Joe says.

“For what?” I ask.

“For waiting so long for me to come to my senses,” Joe says.

I laugh, because there’s a lot of truth in what he’s saying. I’m not sure how I waited so long, never really knowing if he would come back into my life. And then, if he did return, not knowing if he would even want to be my friend, much less see me as anything more than a ‘kid sister’ type of friend. Looking back on it now, I can see plain as day that my childhood crush never went away. I was always smitten, and it seems it was always meant to be our fate to end up together. Someway, somehow, I knew it deep down all along… even if it took his heart a long while to catch up to my heart…and for my head to catch up with my heart!

“Well, I love you. Always have,” I say.

“I love you, too. Forever always.” Joe says.

And it really does feel as simple as that. All the weirdness is in the past. Joe did have feelings for Maia when we were younger, but when he tried to rekindle those same feelings years later, it didn’t work. I give him another quick kiss. There is a knock at the front door. My friends are here. Now it feels like my new life is finally complete. Friends, family, a new baby... even a bonus pup to top it off! What more could I ask for?

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