Page 86 of Sexting the Coach
“I’m pregnant.”
I meant to think this through, to come up with the most articulate way to communicate it to him. I should have started with a pre-amble about what he said on the plane. Made it clear that no matter what he decided, I would respect it.
But, of course, I don’t just wear my heart on my sleeve, I also blurt the first thing that comes to mind.
We’re standing in a back hallway somewhere, a black velvet curtain to our left and a towering shelf of what look like sound equipment supplies on the right. Microphones and speakers, wires and stands.
Weston’s lips part, and his eyes dart down to my belly, which I’mcertainmust be visible with the dress I’m wearing.
“Elsie,” he whispers, taking a step closer to me, his eyes examining my face. “That’s why you were gone from work?”
I nod, swallowing and glancing away from him. “Morning sickness is a bitch. And also, I wasn’t sure how to tell you.”
“Fuck, Elsie?—”
“I know you don’t want kids,” I interrupt, before he can say whatever it is he plans on saying. I turn to him, putting my hands on his arms, heart thumping loudly in my chest, the knowledge that just as quickly as I got him back, I might lose him. This was always the final thing standing between us, and I have the feeling that I’m teetering on the edge of a cliff as I stare him down now. “Iknowthat. And I’m not expecting you to change your mind. It’s just that a very wise man once told me that I shouldn’t run from things. That I should talk them through. At least give the other person a chance to hear what I have to say.”
“I thought I lost my chance,” Weston says, and at first, I think he’s talking about with me, our relationship, but then his eyes skip down to my stomach again, and a shiver runs through my body. His eyes return to mine, soft and rimmed with tears. “I thought—Leda didn’t want kids. And I convinced myself that I was okay with that. By the time I realized I wasn’t, our relationship was ending, and I was way too old.”
“You’renot, Weston, lots of people?—”
He puts a finger to my lips, his eyes dancing with amusement. “I know that, Elsie. It’s just what I told myself to make it hurt less.”
Weston pulls his finger from my lips, and I can’t resist the urge to lick them as I hold his gaze. “So, what you’re saying…”
“I’m in love with you,” he says, bluntly, which is his way. “And I want to be parents together. To be the father of your child, or children.”
Happiness blooms inside me like a puff of pink powder set free on a warm summer day, drifting in the wind and filling up every part of me.
“Really?”
“Really,” he says, his voice rough. Jerkily, he runs a hand through his hair. “I’ve been falling in love with you from the moment I first say you. And trust me, I’ve done everything I could to avoid that happening. I’m too old for you?—”
“—you’renot?—”
“—and we’re complete opposites in every way, and sometimes your optimism is actually fucking saccharine, but it doesn’t matter. Because I love you, and I’m in love with you. And I can’t imagine a future without you.”
It’s the most heartfelt moment of my life, but I can’t help it—I laugh.
Weston quirks a brow at me, “Okay, so was my delivery off?”
“No,” I bite my bottom lip to try and keep from laughing, but it comes out again, and I lean forward, gripping his forearms. “I just—God, I should have just talked to you. I spent all this time building up the worst-case scenarios in my head, and all it did was waste time.”
“Well, from now on,” Weston says, pulling my hands from his forearms and gathering me up into an embrace, resting his chin on the top of my head. “You’re going to tell me what you’re feeling.”
“Oh, am I?”
“Yes, that’s an order.”
“You’re not my boss anymore, Weston.”
“I never was your boss, Elsie, and I’ll get your job back?—”
I open my mouth to tell him he doesn’t have to do that, but I’m interrupted by the nervous appearance of a young man in a suit and tie, who looks like he’s going to jump out of his skin.
Weston and I break apart when he tentatively clears his throat.
“Mr. Wolfe,” he says, taking a step back, “they’re just about to go out on stage for the ceremony?—”
