Page 24 of Desire

“A lot of my events happen on the weekends,” she muses.

“You know I’ll be with Jussie, so if you’ve got something that keeps you from being there, I’m more than capable of keeping them on track,” I remind her.

“This is true. Okay, let me sort through the requests I have for them to perform and come up with a possible schedule that we can run by the band.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“When is Justine going to acknowledge that she’s pregnant?” Jacey asks as I close down my tablet.

“What?” I question.

“You didn’t know either?” she inquires. “I could be wrong, but I don’t think so, Sebastian. She’s got all the signs, plus she’s gaining weight. Haven’t you noticed?”

I stop and think, then realize that her body has changed a bit. Since she’s always been a bit too thin to my way of thinking, I don’t really care. However, her breasts have been more sensitive, and she has started napping during the day. “I better go get one of those tests. Do me a favor and keep that to yourself?”

“Of course. If it turns out that she is, she’ll need a good obstetrician. I’ll text you the information for the doctor I used when I was pregnant with Hadley.” My mind is somewhere else right now, the thoughts running through centered around my Jussie round with our child. Our child with her gorgeous golden locks and sass. Jacey laughs and says, “Get out of here, Sebastian. I’ll do what I said as far as possible concert dates and we’ll go from there.”

I nod and leave the office area that’s at the back of the studio. Seeing that the band is taking a break, I walk over to Justine and lean in to whisper, “We need to talk, pretty girl.”

Her eyes widen and I swear they well up with tears, but she reaches out and takes my hand, then follows me outside. Once I’m sure we’re away from prying ears, I pull her close, only to feel her tremble. “Sebastian? What’s going on?” she whispers.

“Why are you shaking, Jussie? It’s not a bad discussion, I promise,” I reply. “But something was brought to my attention and the more I think about it, the more likely I think it may have some truth.”

“Because no one likes to hear ‘we need to talk’, Sebastian. Literally, whenever I hear those words, everything I’ve ever done wrong comes to mind. Now what do you think is going on?” she asks.

“I think you’re pregnant,” I tell her. I watch as she opens her mouth to reply only to shut it with a snap.

She swallows audibly then asks, “What makes you think that?”

I don’t let on that Jacey is the one who said it was a possibility. “You’ve been nauseous for a few weeks now, which is well-beyond what the stomach flu lasts, you’re more tired than normal, and Jussie? Your breasts are extremely sensitive right now.” The last few times we’ve made love, she came from nipple play alone. I won’t complain about that, but it’s never been something that happened.

“How can it be, though? I got my Depo shot before my surgery,” she mutters.

“I know that regular birth control can lose its efficacy when the woman takes antibiotics. Not sure about that shot thing, but you were given antibiotics while you were in the hospital, plus you took them for two weeks after I got you home.”

“A baby?” she whispers, her hand going down to cup her abdomen. “I-I swear, if I am, it wasn’t deliberate, Sebastian.”

Cupping her face in my hands, I lean in and kiss her lips. “That thought never crossed my mind, sweetheart. How about we go get one of those tests so we can see if it’s just a coincidence that you’ve got some of the typical symptoms?”

“Okay, yeah, that’s a good idea. Come on, let’s go.” I help her into the truck, hiding my grin because she’s almost vibrating in her seat. I’m not sure if it’s due to excitement or nerves. Regardless, she’s mine so whatever the results, we’re going to handle it like we’ve done everything else since we became a couple—together.

Justine

As Sebastian drivestoward the local pharmacy, my mind is whirling with the possibility that I could, indeed, be pregnant. Thinking of a baby who grows up to be like him has my insides warming. Next to my dad and brother, he’s one of the absolute best men I’ve ever known.

And he’s mine.

He pulls into the parking lot and parks. “What has you thinking so hard, pretty girl?” he asks once he’s turned off the truck.

“We’ve talked about kids, but only in an abstract, future way,” I reply.

“Well, the future may be now, Jussie. Let’s go grab a test and find out.” He hops out of the truck and heads around to get me out. Like always, he laces his fingers in mine and practically drags me into the store and toward the back where the pharmacy is located. Instead of hunting for the pregnancy tests on our own, he goes to the counter and when the clerk notices him, he asks, “What’s the best pregnancy test we can buy?”

“Aisle four has at-home pregnancy tests. All of them are good but depending on how far along you think she may be, you may need an early detection test since that will pick up the minute changes in her hormonal level,” the clerk advises.

“Thank you,” Sebastian says. He turns and we head toward aisle four where my mind is completely shattered. There are so many tests available I don’t know where to start. “Let’s get these,” Sebastian suggests, holding three different tests. One is what the clerk recommended, an early detection kit; the other two boast being ‘the best’ test available outside of bloodwork.

“Okay.” We pay for the tests and before I know it, we’re heading home. I grin when we pull down our driveway. Sebastian had a local company string fairy lights in all of the trees and even though it’s still daylight, with winter nearly upon us, it’s getting dark earlier so they’re twinkling. He told me that at Thanksgiving, he’d have them come back and put up multicolored lights as well.

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