Page 79 of His Sassy Omega
“The military probably cares.” He snickered. “Anyone in the military probably cares. People with common sense probably care.”
I once again shook my head at Fate, and wondered if she was drunk when she’d decided we were mates. I liked Quinn, a lot, probably more than thatif I was being honest, but…how could he not loveTop Gun? I couldn’t even right now. I decided to change the subject, to something safer.
“Aren’t you hungry?” I waved my hands at him. “You really didn’t eat anything.” He’d barely eaten a few bites, before tossing it up in mom’s kitchen sink. “Shouldn’t you be eating, and not doing whatever it is you’re doing.”
“Mocking your tastes in movies and music?” he deadpanned.
“Yes, that,” I say, trying to be just as serious, and failing. “I can’t even look at you right now. This should be a question on those dating apps. What are your feelings on eighties hair bands, and ‘Top Gun’? I didn’t realize this was a deal breaker, but it might be.”
He rubbed a hand over his stomach, and I wonder if it’s an unconscious gesture, or he’s feeling queasy or just nervous. “Don’t forget to add Morrison, the God,” he air quotes, “into your logical reasoning for a mate. Besides, if you’ve knocked me up, all bets are off. You’re stuck with me now.”
I couldn’t help it, and I broke into peals of laughter, and he follows. I pushed my wolf’s little zing of excitement down. Did he mean if he was pregnant, we would have a pup? He’d carry the baby? I chose not to ask, and focused on the teasing happening between us. I couldn’t remember ever laughing with anyone as much as I did when I’m with him. Or sparring with someone, and putting up with a sassy mouth, like I did his.
I didn’t mind it from him, I really didn’t. I thought, maybe I’m even coming to love it a tiny bit.
Maybe I lovedhima tiny bit. The thought startled me, as it hits me out of nowhere, and shakes me to my core. I can’t take the time to analyze it, with the other big thing hanging over our heads. The thing we are doing our best to not talk about. It’s almost like we think if we say it out loud, put the words out in the universe, they will be true.
Anything he or I might say is put on pause by the sound of my brother’s footsteps coming down the carpeted hallway. His large frame enters my library, and both Quinn and I face him, our precious light-hearted mood forgotten. Tension instantly radiates from both of us.
“Sorry, I let myself in.” Finn is holding his black doctor’s bag. He sits it on the sofa, opens it and pulls out a box. It’s exactly like ones I’ve seen at the pharmacy. I don’t know why I assumed doctors would have some fancy, special pregnancy test.
He holds it out to Quinn, who looks at it like there is a live snake in my brother’s hand. He makes no move to take the box from him. I take it, opening it up.
“How does this work?” I’m busy pulling out the contents, and end up with a white plastic thing that looks like a magic marker with a plastic window in it.
“It’s very complicated.” Finn’s voice is dead serious, and I glance at him. “Quinn pees on this end.” He pops off the top, exposing an absorbent end. “Five minutes later, this nifty window is going to say ‘pregnant’ or ‘not pregnant’.”
I glared at him. “That’s it?” I don’t know what I was expecting, but my mind had it built up in my head.
Finn rolled his eyes at me. “It’s a pregnancy test, not rocket science. It’s pretty hard to fuck up.”
Quinn still made no move to take the test from me. His eyes were wide, and his breathing had picked up again. Reality had just come crashing back down on us. I rubbed his arm with my free hand, calming him. His wide eyes met mine, and slowly I felt a calmness come over him.
“All kidding aside, these are better to do first thing in the morning,” Finn warned.
“I can’t wait until morning,” Quinn muttered, taking the test from me, and staring at it.
Finn nodded. “Yeah, I figured no one would get any sleep tonight if you waited. If it’s negative, we can do a blood test to verify what mom thinks she smells, but let’s start here first.”
“What…” Quinn took a halting breath. “What should I do with it…after?”
Finn gave him a kind smile, and I glimpsed the doctor in him. He may be an uptight, frowning faced grump most of the time, but he seemed to have a softer side when it came to dealing with patients. Probably why he was one of the most popular omega baby doctors around.
“Just put the cap back on it, and lay it flat on the sink. I’ll take it from there. It will take a few minutes, so you won’t see anything when you’re finished.”
Quinn took another deep breath, his green eyes locked with mine. He let his air in his lungs out in a rush. “I guess I’ll be back in a minute. Uh, where’s the bathroom.”
I showed him to the half bath off the hall and left him to it. I paced back and forth in front of the closed doorway, listening to the toilet flush and the water running, while he washed his hands. I could have gone back to the library and waited, but I felt like I needed to be here. I was as anxious as he was.
The door opened, and I could tell he was startled to see me waiting outside the closed door. He turned the light off in the small bath, and then leaned against the wall, opposite of me. We both had so much to say, but neither of us could seem to find the words.
I needed to know, though. What was he thinking? If I needed to prepare myself for heartbreak.
“What…” I started, and his eyes locked on my face. “If it’s positive, what do you want to do?”
He bit at his lower lip again, and this time I let him chew on it. I felt like chewing on mine too. He shook his head. “I don’t want children.”
There it was, then. Okay. It wasn’t like I hadn’t expected his answer. I’d heard him that day in my office, I had. I’d be lying if a part of me hadn’t secretly thought, if we worked out somehow, that he would change his mind. Somewhere, down the road. Years down the road.
