Page 18 of Orange Spell
Marlin would know it was him, but did anyone else have to know?Curran didn’t want to tell people.Hell, he didn’t want to tellMarlin.If there was a way for him not to, he wouldn’t, but Marlin would guess as soon as Curran started showing.
He looked at his stomach as he walked down the hallway.It was still flat, but it wouldn’t be for long.He’d be able to hide the pregnancy for a while longer, but what would he do once he couldn’t anymore?What would he tell Marlin?Hell, what would he tell Birch?Would his brother be happy?
Curran supposed it depended on what Marlin’s reaction would be.He was a good person, so Curran had no doubt that he’d want to help and take responsibility.That wasn’t how Curran wanted things to go, though.Yes, he wanted his baby to have both their fathers, but he wanted to be with Marlin.He wanted them to be a family.Instead, they’d be co-parents.
That wasn’t what he’d imagined his life would be like, and it was entirely his fault.If he’d been more careful, if he hadn’t given in to having one night with Marlin, this wouldn’t have happened.He wouldn’t be in this situation right now, scared and excited, nauseous and hungry, conflicted and confused.It was a lot to deal with, and he had no idea what to do.Should he go to Marlin and tell him?
Curran knew that the answer to that question was yes, but he couldn’t.He couldn’t face Marlin and tell him that their one night together meant that they would be stuck for the rest of their lives.Even when their child was an adult, they would still be linked by them.They would be parents soon—already were in a way—and that was life-changing.
He needed a plan.He needed to decide what his next steps would be.
Curran paused by a window and leaned against the ledge.Outside, the sky was pale blue, with white clouds lazily moving.Far in the distance, he could hear the screech of a dragon in flight.He wanted to shift, but at the same time, he didn’t.The thought of his body changing in both of his forms made his stomach twist.Would he still recognize himself once he started showing?Would he recognize his dragon?
His thoughts shifted back to Marlin—how they’d smiled at each other that night, how surprised Curran had been when Marlin had told him he wanted him.How natural it had felt to fall into each other’s arms after years of yearning.How good it had felt, even though Curran had known that Marlin wasn’t doing it because he loved him.
How impossibly complicated it had become.
He pushed away from the window and continued walking, staying away from the dining hall because he wasn’t hungry.He wasn’t ready to go home, either, so instead, he decided that walking down hallways was a nice way to spend an hour.Hopefully, his mothers would be gone once he went home, and he’d be able to snuggle into his nest and stare at the ceiling for a few hours.He needed some time to wrap his mind around the mess he and Marlin had made.
He snorted loudly enough that a dragon walking past him turned to look at him.He shrugged but didn’t say anything.
He and Marlin were in this mess together, but at the end of the day, it was Curran who was at the center of it.He was the one carrying their baby.He was the one who would have to lay the egg.Once that was done, they could both watch over the egg, but until then, the work was all Curran’s.
He swallowed.How long would he be able to hide the pregnancy?It should be fairly easy to do when it came to Marlin because they didn’t see each other that often, but Curran’s mothers saw him every day.They wouldn’t notice the instant he started showing.Once they did, he’d have to tell them what was going on, and Birch would find out.If he found out, Marlin would, too, and he’d know that he was the baby’s other father.Curran could lie to him and tell him there had been someone else, but he couldn’t do that.He didn’twantto do that.
He wouldn’t have a lot of time to decide what to do next, but he did have a little.For the next few weeks, he could ignore what was happening with his body and act as normally as he could.That normality wouldn’t last long enough, but it would give him time to decide what his next step should be and how to take it.It would give him time to accept what was happening to him and the way it had happened.
It would give him time to find a way to tell Marlin about it, and he desperately needed that time because he had no idea how to go about doing that.
Chapter Five
Curran was going nuts.Even though it had only been a few days since he’d found out about the baby, he felt like everyone could tell he was pregnant just by looking at him.
They couldn’t.His mothers didn’t suspect anything, even though he lived with them.He hadn’t seen his brother more than in passing, so Birch didn’t know, either, and Marlin, well, he was as absent from Curran’s life as he had been before the night they’d spent together.Curran had seen him from afar a few times, but it had been easy to turn around and leave quickly before Marlin decided to come over.
Curran was doing a good job of hiding the pregnancy, but he also felt like he was about to explode if he didn’t tell anyone about it.He wasn’t ready to talk to Marlin, and Birch was out because he would freak out.Curran’s mothers would be disappointed, and he wasn’t ready to deal with that.That left one person.
