Page 55 of Made for Us

“Reason five million twenty-seven thousand as to why I love you.” I get closer to her. “You are the first girl I’ve been with since I got Penelope.” She gasps. “You are the only one I want to be with. I can’t explain it, but I feel complete when you and Penelope are around. Like it was always meant to be us. Asking you to move in with us was more about my need to have you close than anything else.” She smiles through her tears, and I can’t not move in and kiss her. My lips fall onto hers so softly I can taste her tears. “Please stop crying. I don’t like it.”

“Okay,” she says before she leans in and kisses me. “I’ll try.” Her tongue slides into my mouth, and I swear I moan out loud. I’m about to turn my head to the side and take the kiss deeper when my phone rings. I let go of her lips. Going over to my phone and grabbing it, I see it’s an alarm to go pick up Penelope.

“I have to go get Penelope,” I tell her, and she gets up.

“What if she hates the idea of a sibling?” she asks in a low voice. “What if she hates me for coming between you two?”

I walk over to her and grab her face in my hands. “She could never hate you.” I smile at her. “Never.”

“I really hope so,” she says as I kiss her lips one more time before slipping my hand in hers and walking out the front door. “Should I stay here?” she asks when I get in the car. “Should I give you guys alone time?”

“Hey,” I say, turning to her, “you know she loves you just as much as she loves me, right?” Her face fills with a smile.

“I love her just as much,” she declares as I reach over to her and grab her hand in mine. The drive doesn’t take us long, and she’s out of the car before I am, walking over to the chain-link fence where kids are playing.

Penelope must spot her right away because she squeals her name, “Abigail!” She runs to her, and Abigail has her arms open for her.

She wraps her arms around Penelope and kisses her head. “Did you get taller?” Penelope looks up at her, and the look they share is filled with love.

“Yeah,” Penelope says, walking over and grabbing her backpack, and swinging it over her shoulder.

“Is it me, or does she look like a teenager?” Abigail asks, and I just nod my head. I want to slip my hand into hers or put my arm around her, but I don’t know if she will be okay with it.

“Are you staying for dinner?” Penelope asks Abigail when she slides her hand in the same hand I’ve been itching to hold.

“I’m not sure,” she says, looking down at her.

“Dad can make your favorite dish?” Penelope looks at me, and I nod my head while she looks back at Abigail. “What’s your favorite dish?”

“Well, this week, it’s burgers,” Abigail says. “Bacon cheeseburgers.”

“Mine too,” Penelope says. “Dad, can we have bacon cheeseburgers?”

“Anything,” I tell her, opening the back door for Penelope, who stops in front of me. “Hello, by the way.” I lean down to kiss her head.

She laughs and gives me a side hug. “Hello.” She tilts her head back and scrunches her nose, just like she used to do when she was a baby. “What do you put on your burger?”

For the whole car ride home, she talks about what she did at school. Who she sat next to, who is friends with who. I don’t have a chance to get a word in.

She dumps her bag in the office as soon as we walk in and then walks to the kitchen and grabs an apple. I look over at Abigail, who is wringing her hands. “Hey, P.” I use the little nickname I sometimes call her. “Why don’t you come here so I can talk to you?”

She heads over, her ponytail going back and forth as she walks to the couch where we usually have our discussions. I wait for Abigail to follow her. She sits at the far end of the couch, and I sit next to her, facing Penelope. “What happened?” Penelope asks as she looks at us.

“Nothing happened, per se,” Abigail says to her, trying not to sound nervous, “we just have something to tell you.”

“Are you guys getting married?” she asks, clapping her hands together, and I just look at her shocked. “Can I be a bridesmaid and not the flower girl? I’m too old.”

“Um…” Abigail says, looking at me with the help me look on her face.

“We are not getting married.” I chuckle and don’t add yet because I still want her to move in with me. “But we are having a baby.”

Penelope gasps. “Is that your baby?” She points at Abigail’s stomach, and I just nod my head. “You guys had sex.”

“Um…” Abigail says, her eyes going big as she looks at me, but I’m too shocked to even think about anything except what she just said.

“Hold on.” I hold up a hand. “Who told you about sex?” Even saying the word with her, I want to throw up.

“Laura’s mom was pregnant last year. She came to school and said her mom and dad had sex to get the baby in there when Carver said the stork brought her brother,” Penelope states like it’s nothing.

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