Page 1 of Baby on Board

1

Jade

My heart is lodged in my throat like a bite of dry turkey. I hate how that thought actually makes me more hungry. It’s been a while since I’ve been about to keep down anything more substantial than a few bites of something because what some people call morning sickness seems to be around the clock for me.

That’s why I’m here, standing outside Rafe’s brick apartment building in Brooklyn, waiting with my heart in my throat for him to answer his door.

The sperm donor. The father. The one-night stand. Whatever you want to call him, he’s the reason I’m in this mess to begin with. Before meeting Rafe, I had a career and an apartment and an almost perfect life. Well...mostly perfect since I hadn’t foundthe oneyet. But, one night at Brick, the new underground club off the Williamsburg bridge, changed all of that forever.

I knock again, harder this time. I’ve already been to the bar to see if he’s working. The bouncer at the door told me he was home on Sunday nights. He also eyed my rolling suitcase and laughed. Yeah, dude, your buddy is in for the shock of his life. He better not have called and warned Rafe I was on my way.

The lock disengages with a click, and the door opens to Rafe. He takes up the entire doorway in nothing but a pair of navy boxer briefs, his rock hard body, and his ink-covered skin. I take him all in, remember how hard his chest was under my hands, and how soft his lips were...down there.

I shake myself back to the moment. Thinking ofdown thereis why I’m here.

“Hello, Rafe,” I keep my voice curt. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

He’s got a lost puppy look in his eyes. He scratches the top of his head and moves to the side to let me pass.

“Jade.” His voice is coated with sleep. Good. I woke his ass up. “What are you doing here?”

He eyes the rolling bag I pull in behind me, and the satchel I dropped on the floor next to it. My back is so sore, and I just want to sit down. “We need to talk. Got anything to eat?”

I’m not shy. Never have been. Rafe’s couch is large and gray and calls my name before I plop down on it and kick my shoes off.

“Sure,” he sounds surprised, “But, why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here first?”

“I stopped by Brick, and your bouncer buddy told me you’d be home. Once he noticed my stomach, he gave up your address without much fuss.”

Rafe’s gaze darts to my middle. I’m six months along and only beginning to show. My curves make it easy to hide the bump when standing, but it’s noticeable when I sit.

“Fuck. Jade. I…”

“That about sums up my reaction two months ago when I went to the doctor thinking I had the flu.”

“Shit. Are you--”

I don’t give him a second to question my motives. “I’ve slept with two guys in my life and unless this is the longest pregnancy on record, it’s without question yours.”

He takes a seat on the opposite end of the couch and runs his hands over his glistening bald head. God, he smells good. Like a fresh shower mixed with a walk through a pine forest. That smell is what hooked me six months ago. It’s the reason this is happening now. “What are we going to do about it?”

“Well,” I start, and my stomach rumbles. “For starters, you’re going to find something for me to eat. Then we’re going to talk about making space for baby and me here in your apartment because, along with being pregnant, I was just laid off, and my parents kicked me out for my loose morals as they say.”

Rafe is up and crosses his small studio apartment to his micro-fridge. He opens the door, and I see nothing but beer cans and a jar of pickles. “I’ll take those,” I call. Salt and sour seem to calm the sickness. I’ll send him out for crackers and ginger ale once he settles from the blow I’ve given him.

He’s at my side again and hands me the jar. In his other hand, he has a beer. He cracks the tab back and sips like his life depends on emptying the can in one go. In a way, I envy him.

“So, I plan to live here until baby X is born, and I’m back on my feet. Then we can find a more permanent place to live once I can work full time again. Four months tops.”

Rafe runs a hand over his bald head again then he drags it down his beard. “You want to live here. With a baby?”

“Your baby,” I remind him over a bite of pickle. “We made this mess together. We figure out how to fix it together.”

Rafe

I’m in shock that she’s here. I’ve searched the city for Jade since the night she slipped out of my arms and vanished. The boys at the club call me whipped, but if they knew what this woman does to me, they’d see I’m the luckiest guy on the planet.

And now she’s here, back in my apartment eating pickles and pregnant. I’m not even shocked. I’m fucking ecstatic. I’ve always wanted a kid. Who cares if it’s a boy or a girl. The only difference is if it’s a girl, I’ll need to buy a shotgun because if she’s half as beautiful as her mother, I’ll need it nightly.

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