Page 102 of Wants and Needs
“So, who’s Alex and Lucy?” I ask once the noise dies down.
“Oh, sorry.” Carter hurries over to my side and grabs my arm. “They’re Adam’s twin cousins.”
“They told us years ago they’d be surrogates for us if we wanted, and we did,” Theo says. His smile is a little more tensethan anyone else’s, and I can empathize there. The thought of having a baby on the way seems very stressful to me.
As if this too was choreographed, everyone begins to walk back to their chairs and sits, so again, I follow their lead.
“They graduated from Law school and Med school this spring, and now that they’re past the three month mark, we can finally tell people.” Mike bounces on his chair a few times, then as if he can’t help himself, he leans down and kisses Theo hard on the mouth.
“I’m really happy for all of you. I know how much you want this. I’m beyond excited to get more nieces or nephews. And who knows? Maybe they’ll both have twins,” Carter says, and I can hear the humor in his voice, so I know he’s teasing. Though it is statistically more probable to have twins via surrogate and artificial insemination, and when you add that the surrogate is a twin herself, the chances skyrocket.
What’s really funny, though, is how all four of them lose their smiles right along with most of the color in their cheeks.
24LIAM
“Hi, Milton,”I greet him when he opens the door.
“Nice to see you again, Liam.” He bows his head slightly, and I really try to smile at him. He’s a very nice man.
The three nights Carter and I have spent here this past week, we’ve eaten a lot better than when we’re at my place. Even having breakfast with my parents two of the three nights we spent there, there’s just no comparison.
“Is Carter already here?”
“No, but I think he’s only a few minutes away. Would you like something to drink?”
“I can get it?—”
“It’s my job. Please allow me.” He’s smiling at me, though I’m not completely sure why.
“All right. Can I have a Coke?”
“Right away.”
I stand there and watch him walk down the hallway to thekitchen. I’ve never been at the brownstone without Carter here, and now I realize it’s nerve-racking.
It feels bad not to go and talk to Milton, but am I supposed to do that? Or avoid it?
I don’t like ignoring people when I’m around them. I prefer to distance myself than to make anyone think I’m purposely not talking to them. That’s rude, and I don’t want to be rude, I?—
The door opening behind me cuts off my spiraling thoughts.
“You’re here.” I sigh and force my cheeks to stretch, but it doesn’t fool Carter.
Another thing I’ve realized about him in the past week is that nothing fools him, but he also doesn’t push me. He does expect honesty from me, though, and since I want the same from him, I don’t mind it. Even though sometimes I feel twitchy when I have to tell him I’m uncomfortable with something.
Like yesterday, when we met at Sculpt before he finished his late shift so we could grab a treat after work. He was talking to an older woman about a sculpture, and when I came in he called my name, and I felt forced to go over there and talk to this stranger who was probably judging me.
Eventually—okay a couple of hours later—I was able to explain that to Carter and he understood it instantly, promised not to put me in such a situation again, and then we both moved on.
So I suppose the twitchiness is worth it.
“Hello, darling,” Carter murmurs and walks right up to me. The kiss he lays on me is brief but perfectly hard. It helps me even more.
I stop him from stepping back by gripping the sides of his shirt tightly.
“I was starting to worry you were going to take too long, and I don’t know how to interact with Milton by myself,” I whisper, blurting out the words as fast as I can.
“No need to worry anymore,” he assures me with a smile. “Let’s go upstairs. I want to tell you something.”
