Page 33 of Interception

“Yeah. You say a lot of things. I wasn’t going to leave my baby mama in a mess. I cleaned the living room, and I’ve been waiting for you to come out of here, but there were no signs of life, so here I am.” He kneels beside me, reaching his arms underneath me.

“If you call me your baby mama again, I’m going to make sure the next time I blow chunks, that I do it in your direction.”

“What would you rather? My pregnant princess? My incredible incubator? Buddha-belly beauty?”

“I want to punch you so hard right now. You’re lucky I don’t have the energy.”

“Sorry. I need to learn not to piss off the pregnant lady. I just want to make you smile.”

“I’m gross. I smell like puke.”

“Not going to lie, I agree with the smell observation. How about I fill the tub, and we get you smelling better before I tuck you into bed?” He doesn’t wait for a reply, letting me lie on the cold floor for a few minutes longer while the water runs. When it’s ready, he strips me out of my seriously gross clothes and lifts me into the tub.

“Better?” He doesn’t leave but instead lowers the toilet seat and takes up residence, watching me carefully as if I could break at any second.

“Yeah. You didn’t have to do this… any of it. Thanks. I appreciate you staying even when I was a total hosebeast.” The water feels so good, washing away the wretched day.

“What kind of guy would I be if I left the mother of my child in a pool of her own vomit?”

“You’re really enjoying this whole ‘my seed is deep inside you’ thing, aren’t you?”

“What’s not to enjoy? You’re hot, I dig you, and our kid is going to have some killer genes in the looks department. Hopefully, he has your brains, or he’ll be an Adonis with the IQ of a football.”

“He? What if it’s a girl?” I can’t get over how happy he seems. I thought he was going to freak out like me. A soft smile spreads across his stunning features.

“Then she’ll be my princess. And I’ll have to go to the shooting range more often, so I can pepper the tailgate of any horny teenage boys who want to take her out when she’s sixteen.”

“How often do you go now?”

“That would be never. I’m good with a football, but I have had no desire to wield a weapon until now. I think you just tripped some protective, primal shit in my DNA.”

“Are you really okay with all this, or are you just holding in the freak-out until I’m not in the room with you?”

“I’m good. I just want to make sure you’re okay. I want to be in this with you, not standing on the sidelines like some spare part. Will you let me do that? Just admit that you’re my girlfriend and let me go out at three in the morning to buy whatever crazy cravings you have. Ice cream and pickles. Apple pie and hot dogs. Anything you want. You’re not in this alone, Zee. We’re a team now.”

I let that sink in as the warm water envelops me. We’re a team now. Good or bad, this changes everything. We’re in each other’s lives no matter what.

Chapter Nine

Coop

I’m going to be a dad. No matter how many times a day I tell myself, it still hasn’t sunk in. It’s been weeks since Zee found out she’s pregnant, but it’s still our little secret. She doesn’t even want to tell Faith yet. I get it—she says she wants to wait until the first trimester is over.

Another week, and we’ll be past the milestone. Zee has had crazy morning sickness. I don’t know why they call it that. It should be twenty-four-seven sickness. Of course, that has made it so much more difficult to keep it hidden from Faith and Hunter. I hate not telling Hunter, and I get the impression that he knows something’s up, but he hasn’t pushed me on it. It’s easier with him not being on the team anymore. There’s no way I’d have been able to keep it to myself if we were still training day in and day out.

Christmas was the hardest. My liver has taken a beating. Zee is eating for two—I’ve been drinking for two. Zee insists Faith would know the second she started refusing alcohol. So, I’ve been intercepting as many drinks as I can on her behalf. It’s easy when I’m the one ordering at the bar. When Faith or Hunter have been getting a round of drinks, I’ve been downing Zee’s on the sly. I’m surprised I didn’t slip up and tell them the good news in a drunken stupor.

Today is the day we get the three-month scan. If all is well, we’ve agreed to tell Faith and Hunter. I think I’ll be on the wagon with Zee. I’ve sickened myself with alcohol in my attempts to keep our secret. I need a break!

I offered to pick her up, so we could go to the doctor’s office together, but she insisted on just meeting me there. I’m trying to break down her defenses a little at a time, but she’s a tough nut to crack.

I make sure to arrive early because I want to be there when Zee arrives. What I didn’t factor in is the fact that I’m a dude sitting by myself in an OBGYN waiting room. It doesn’t help that most of the people here seem to know who I am. I’m so relieved when Zee walks through the door. She looks radiant—the pregnancy glow is a real thing.

When her eyes find mine, I’m happy to see a genuine smile on her face. After she checks in, she takes a seat next to me, and I lean in for a kiss, but she shies away, her gaze shifting from person to person.

“Everyone in here knows who you are. Best not to draw any more attention,” she whispers.

“I think that ship has sailed. Look where we are. I don’t exactly make a point of accompanying random women to their OBGYN appointments.”

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