Page 20 of Future Like This

“Not at all. It’s a valid concern. Sexual health is important. Especially within a relationship. Here’s the key thing to remember with medication: just because you take it tomorrow, doesn’t mean you have to take it in a month. We’ll check in. See what’s working and not. There’s no reason you couldn’t go off it, and you may not need it forever. Sometimes we go through periods in our lives where we need more help than others. Any medication I start you on will be a very low dose, so the side effects will hopefully be minimal, but again, we’ll discuss this more as we go on.”

“Thank you,” I say, letting out a rough sigh.

“No thanks needed. This is what I do. What do you do, Miles?”

“I’m a business consultant. Mostly I work with small businesses as they start or grow.”

“I’d be useless at that,” she says with a laugh. “We all have our strengths. This is mine. Let’s work together to help you be the version of yourself you want to be.”

“Sounds good.” Relaxing more, I sit back in the chair and settle in for the rest of our session.

When I walk through the apartment door, Amelia is in the kitchen, cooking something on the stove.

“Mm. Smells delicious in here. What are you making?”

“Shrimp with garlic sauce,” she says as I walk over and kiss her. “Seafood and garlic are my flavors of the month. She turns off the burner and sets the pan aside. “How was your appointment?”

“It was good. I feel like a weight slid off my shoulders.”

She nods. “I feel the same way. We’ve both been carrying too much.”

“Agreed.” I set a small paper bag on the counter. “She set me up with a super low dose medication for anxiety. I’m hoping it’ll be helpful and not negatively affect me.”

“Still worried about sexual stuff? Because I promise, I’ll do whatever is needed to work with that.”

I chuckle at her wily smile. “Not just that. Everything, but I’m going into this with optimism, and we’ll see what happens.”

“That’s a good plan.”

I sweep some hair from her face and look into her eyes, my thumb brushing her cheek. “I want to be the best man I can be for you and our daughter. For all of us.”

“You’re already incredible.”

I dip my head down and capture her lips. She’s the only drug I need. I’ll give the others a shot, but I wish I could bottle this feeling and take it whenever I need it because this heals me. Sets me on fire. Makes me feel invincible.

“I love you, Amelia Davis.” She laughs, and I squat down, lifting her shirt. “And I love you, Emmie Mae.” I press my lips into Amelia’s belly as she runs her hands through my hair.

“We love you too.”

I stand up again and pull her into my arms, holding her as tightly as I can. I fucking love her giant stomach and feeling our girl move, but I can’t wait until I can hold her the way I used to.

“Ready to eat?” she whispers.

“Yeah. I’m starving.”

She kisses me again, and I’m home. I’m always home with her. We’ve walked through our share of hard shit lately, but we made it here, and I know we’ll keep growing together as we build our crazy, beautiful family.

Chapter four

Uncertainty

Amelia

Pros:

I can plan ahead

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