Page 2 of Baby on Board

“Do you know the sex yet?” I reach a hand to Jade’s belly but pull back when she cuts her gaze sharp to me. I don’t know how the whole touching pregnant woman rules work, but that’s my kid in there, and I’m going to feel it.

“I haven’t asked. Thought it would be better to be surprised.” She reaches for my hand and lays it over her stomach. She’s hard there and round. “He’s sleeping now, I think. Once I am still for a while, he’ll wake up and kick like hell.”

“He,” I say. A son would be amazing. Playing ball, road trips. My Pops will be so proud.

“I have a feeling. He makes me so sick I can’t stop barfing before I’m barfing again, the reason I was let go from my job. Too many sick days and not enough work getting done.”

My protective side flairs. “They can’t do that. Where is this place? I’ll have a chat with your boss and—”

“And nothing will happen. They laid me off, or at least that’s what the official paperwork says. I’ve got benefits as long as I can pay for Cobra, but that takes about every cent I have, so here I am.”

She says it like it’s a bad thing. Being in my apartment when I wouldn’t have her stay anywhere else now that I know she’s carrying my child.

“You won’t need to worry about money. First thing in the morning, we’ll call and have your billing address changed to here. Anything you need, you just let me know, and we’ll take care of it.”

Her eyes are large, and the second pickle spear she was about to stick in her mouth drops to her side. “I don’t need you to pay my bills, I just need a place to crash.”

“You’re not stressing out while you carry around my baby.” I lay my hand on her stomach again. “Shit, the hell you’ve been through already...why didn’t you find me sooner? All you need to worry about now is taking care of you. I’ll do the rest.”

“That’s really sweet, Rafe, but I’m not asking you to upend your whole life. I just need a place to land.”

I study her. Jade is like the eighth wonder of the world. Her cheeks are plump and rosy, her chest full and round, her thighs thick, and her ass goes on and on until the end of time. I’ve always had a thing for curves, but damn! She’s perfection personified.

She also has a worried expression flashing across her face, and it hits me right in the center of my chest. “You have a place to land. A safe place. Whatever you need. I’m not going to let the mother of my child suffer.”

“Thanks,” she whispers. “I was hoping you’d feel that way.”

I smile. There are lots of ways I feel right now. Ways that would scare her if she knew.

“But, I do require one thing in return.” I stand and cross the room to the chest of drawers that holds my clothes. If she’s going to be staying, she’ll need room for her things.

“What?” She follows me and asks.

I stop dumping tee shirts on my bed and face her. She needs to hear me loud and clear. This is a non-negotiable clause to my letting her stay. “You need to marry me. This week. I want my name on that baby’s birth certificate, and I want him or her to know they have a father.”

“Rafe.” Her hand flies to my chest. “We don’t have to be married for the baby to have your last name.”

“We do for the name to hold any meaning,” I answer. “I can’t budge on this, Jade. I’m here and willing to help you in any way I can, but that baby inside you is mine, and I want us to be a proper family before he’s born.”

Jade sits on my bed. I’ve shocked her. I’m already stressing her out. I’m already failing as a father. But, I can’t take the chance she’ll disappear on me again. I need to know Jade and my baby are safe and in my care. I need my name to be theirs too.

“I’m not sure if marriage is such a good idea.” She looks up at me, and I see the tears welling at the corners of her eyes. My chest turns to stone, and I fight to breathe, but I can’t back down on this. “We barely know each other.”

I lean down and cup her chin in my hand. “We’re having a baby together. It’s a little too late for slow introductions.” When she doesn’t yield, I add, “Give me a week to win you over to the idea before you shut it down completely.”

She laughs. It’s one beat and far from humor, but the smile that follows gives me hope. “You really think you can win me over?”

It only took a night to bind her to me forever. A week and I’ll have her begging me for attention. “I don’t think. I know.” I grab my cell from my pocket. “Starting with food. What’s your favorite. I’ll have it here before you’re even unpacked.”

2

Jade

Rafe is a light sleeper which makes my many midnight trips to the bathroom impossible without waking him.

He’s taken the couch and given me his bed, and the bathroom door is between the two. Every time the bed creaks from me getting up, I see his head poking over the back of the couch, and he’s quick to ask what’s wrong.

The week goes on like that. At every turn, Rafe is right there, making things easier for me. He won’t let me cook or clean. He swears I’ll get swollen ankles if I don’t sit with my feet up, and two nights ago, he bought a night light for the bathroom so I wouldn’t trip on my frequent nightly visits. It’s odd to think we’ve only been together a week. At times it feels more like a lifetime. And at others, I feel we’re running a race with no finish line.

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