Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Chapter 6
Stephanie
I sit on my couch, legs curled up under me, and stare out my apartment window. I don’t even know what to do today. Luc said he was flying back last night and he wanted to do something today. We haven’t talked again since his call after the Breakers game, but we have texted here and there. Last text I got was last night after I’d gone to sleep.
All it said was, Boarding plane. See you soon.
I know I should get up and get ready, because that “soon” could be anytime, I guess. But I’m groggy because I can’t drink coffee and it takes me longer to get going nowadays without my beloved caffeine. I also feel a little off. Not sick, but maybe more tired? I’m assuming this could be from the pregnancy, or perhaps it’s the fact I tossed and turned all night, having funky dreams about pregnancy. In one I remember I gave birth to a baby hippo and I was so proud of her, but my parents didn’t want anything to do with her. Not any type of surprise there, really.
A yawn overtakes me and I sit up on the couch, stretching my arms up high. I drop them and bring a hand to my belly, which is still completely flat at six weeks. I’ve been doing a lot of reading, obviously, and the baby is about the size of a peanut right now. I resist the urge to call him or her “peanut” as I lightly stroke my abdomen, wondering what gender it is.
And then an immediate wave of sadness hits me all at once and I have to rub my eyes with my knuckles so I don’t start crying. This has been happening on and off, where I’ll be giddy with excitement about the pregnancy, and then I’ll sink down into melancholy, telling myself I only want this baby because then I’ll have someone who loves me, and well…that’s just tragic.
The swinging moods, I’ve read, are also normal at this time because of fluctuating hormones. I haven’t actually felt hornier or anything, but I will admit, I do crave Luc with an intensity that scares me. He’s like an addictive drug, and not just because of his stellar moves between the sheets. I’ve been discovering that he’s actually easy to hang out with. Granted, there’s not an awful lot of talking, but when there is, it’s light and easy.
No pressure for us to do anything other than have some fun while we muddle through this crazy change in our lives.
A knock at the door startles me and I know it’s Luc, not because I don’t have any family or friends who would come knocking, but because I have an internal buzzing that just occurred and my body knows it’s him. The attraction we share is actually tangible, and I’ve never felt anything like this before.
I push up off the couch and pad to the door. I’m still wearing my pajamas—which consist of a flimsy camisole and boy-shorts panties—and my hair is wrapped up in a knot on top of my head. I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet, and there’s a day’s worth of hair on my legs.
This is just great.
Just before I open the door, I scrub my hands over my face and take a deep breath. I’m both excited and ambivalent about him being here.
Fucking hormones.
Putting my eye to the peephole, I confirm it is indeed one hot hockey player holding a white paper bag. He’s wearing a long-sleeve T-shirt, track pants, and a Cold Fury hat. I bet he’d even look amazing wearing a leotard and leg warmers, bitterly thinking that soon I’m going to be fat and undesirable.
Even as those thoughts run through my head, I snort so hard at myself that I’m actually laughing when I open the door.
“There is nothing funny about you opening the door wearing that,” he says as his eyes go slowly down my body and then back up again.
I smirk at him.
“What were you laughing about?” he asks without making a move to come in.
“You do not want to be privy to my thoughts,” I tell him with a grimace. “I went through about forty emotions all in the last ten minutes, and while I’m laughing now, I’m pretty sure I’ll be crying soon. These hormones are making me a lunatic.”
Luc’s eyes turn soft with sympathy as his head tilts to the side. He gives me an understanding smile and my eyes immediately fill with tears.
Oh God.
Oh God, no!
“You asshole,” I say as I laugh, then sob once, then laugh again. I step back, rubbing my eyes, as he walks in. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Jesus, you’re a mess,” he says softly, and then his arm hooks around my neck and he pulls me into him so he can press his lips against my forehead. “This will get better, though, right?”