Page 52 of Strike Zone

She managed to walk with my arm around her waist, supporting her weight, so that’s a big improvement on where we were earlier tonight. It seems like a lifetime ago we were here, in her room, having sex, and then she was ill. Now she’s pregnant, and I’m going to be a dad.

I wait until she’s under the covers before taking my leave, but her voice is a whisper in the darkness. “Could you stay in here… with me?”

“I don’t want my ass handed to me on a plate in…” I check my watch, “… five hours.”

“My family are notoriously lazy. I’m sure Brooke will be having puke-worthy morning sex with Anders while I just puke on command at six o’clock.”

“Well, that sounds lovely. How could I refuse such an enticing offer?” Humor is all I’ve got right now because my entire world is upside-down. Lying down next to her, knowing she’s pregnant with my child might be the most torturous, soul-destroying, amazing thing that I could imagine at this moment. Anders can keep his epic sex. For now, I’ll be content with Pukey Patty and our Peanut.

“I know I made a mess of this, and there are a million reasons why you should walk across the hall right now, but please, for a few hours, can we put a pin in all of this, knowing that we will talk it all through when we get back to Manhattan?”

There’s no point in putting up a fight because when it comes down to it, I don’t want to leave this room. I want to watch over her every second of every day. When she collapsed in my arms tonight, I was petrified. I’m not sure there’s ever been a time in my adult life that I’ve been more scared.

Without a word, I slide under the covers and settle at her back, pulling her against my chest. I don’t know what any of this means for us, but tonight, I need to feel the warmth of her skin on mine and rest in the knowledge that she’s safe in my arms, no matter how precarious that illusion may be.

"Linc, what are we going to do when pictures from the emergency room surface tomorrow?”

“I took care of it. There won’t be any pictures. Everyone that saw us can now buy themselves a new car tomorrow, on me.”

“You did that, for me?”

“Of course. I’d do anything for you, Diana.” She doesn’t respond. “Diana?”

Her soft breaths become shallow, and she seems so fragile in my arms. She’s sound asleep.

My mind is racing, unable to slow down—a freight train of fractured moments. Every minute Diana and I have spent together. The night we conceived this baby. The months that have gone by between her finding out and where we find ourselves today. Where we go from here. The fact that I’m going to be a father.

My entire world has been spun on its axis tonight, and I have no idea which way is up. Since the moment I first laid eyes on her, I’ve been drawn to Diana. It wasn’t a moth to a flame because that doesn’t do justice to the visceral effect she has on me. There’s a magnetism when I’m in the same room as her, and no matter how bad I know I’m going to feel when she inevitably leaves, I can’t pull away. I want her in ways I’ve never even contemplated with any other woman, but every time I get close, she walks away.

She feels that magnetic chemistry between us, but it’s different for her—it’s only skin deep. She wants my body, I know that much. I can tell if a woman is faking it, and there’s nothing fake about the way she moans for me. Shit! What if that’s something else I’m wrong about? There are many things I can recover from in this life—shitty parenting, growing up in the armpit of existence, heartbreak, defeat—but if a woman faked an orgasm, that would tear a hole in the space-time continuum or something. I’m Lincoln-fucking-Nash, for God’s sake.

Sleep doesn’t find me, so I savor the soft scent of Diana’s hair on the pillow next to me. It’s coconut or something similar. When the digital clock on her nightstand reads five o’clock, I reluctantly leave her room, stopping in the doorway for just a second to take in the sight of her. Diana is Sleeping Beauty—if Sleeping Beauty could kick your ass. At this moment, she’s serene, curled up in the covers, growing my baby inside her.

Nothing will ever be the same again.

* * *

The Lexingtons must think I’m the worst house guest on the face of the planet. I turned up just in time for dinner last night, disappeared, and resurfaced at lunchtime today. Way to make an impression on the future grandparents of my child.

Anders doesn’t let anything slide. “You’re a lazy fucker, Nash. And don’t think I didn’t notice you and Diana both went to bed early last night.” He’s gracious enough to mumble under his breath as we all sit down to lunch.

“I didn’t get my rocks off last night.” My statement is one hundred percent true. I can’t say we didn’t have sex. We had the most unsatisfactory sex of all time. Unless your fetish is a woman passing out while you’re inside her, it’s not a good way to keep a stiffy.

I couldn’t say I didn’t ‘sleep’ with her because although I need The Clockwork Orange to keep me awake today, Diana was sound asleep in my arms in her bed. So, I opted for a true statement of fact. My balls are purple, and I couldn’t jack one out in the shower because now this is the grandparents’ house, and it would be inappropriate.

It was wrong to hammer their daughter yesterday while they were downstairs getting drunk.

It’s clear to me that my lines of morality are hazy at best and need some work before I’m responsible for another human being. What’s also clear is that Diana and I have to start making nice around Brooke and Anders because we’re about to blow their minds.

Diana is sitting across from me, trying not to stare, but it’s obvious she’s overcorrecting herself. “Morning, southpaw.”

“Don’t you mean afternoon?” I consider her for a moment. There’s a softness, a trepidation no one else notices. “What are you staring at?” She attempts derision, but I’d give her a three for effort.

“I thought I saw a Cheeto in your hair.”

“I’m saving it for later. I might want a snack.”

Brooke sniggers next to her. “You two would be such amazing friends…” she gestures between us, all flailing arms and smiles, “… if you used your humorous powers for good.”

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