Lessa gleefully nods, and K8 places her hands on their nonexistent bump. “Oh,” she exclaims, “I think I felt it move! James, you should feel.”
She turns to see James’s horrified expression as he stares at Lessa’s perfectly still stomach. Sure, she’s being a little fake, but Lessa shines under the attention. She inclines her head toward Lessa for James’s benefit.Please play along. If only she could telepathically communicate that to him. Or if he had an m-volt, maybe she could call him before he did something very un-manupartner-like.
He clearly would rather do anything other than touch Lessa’s stomach and pretend like he feels something. But because he’s a manupartner in this setting, she’s obligated him to do as she says. Several of Lessa’s coworkers stare as James sets the gift on the table with the others. Right as he’s about to reach out with a reluctant hand, Jett swoops in, spinning Lessa so their profile is visible to the group. People from their work or their former FRIENDS group drawn to the spectacle of someone they know becoming pregnant surround them. “I think I see a bump. What does everyone think?” Jett asks.
Murmurs of “Yes” and “Ooh, can I touch?” rumble throughout the crowd. K8 gives Jett a grateful nod before watching him drag Jamestoward the bar, where they meet Oro1. She’ll have to find him later. For now, she needs to hang around because she wants to be close to Lessa so she can get a seat near them when the games start.
Reusable confetti litters the floor from the last game. About half of the guests still linger, sipping on drinks and chatting. K8’s setting her prize on a table by her handbag when hands slide over her hips from behind.
A deep voice whispers in her ear, “You’re the one glowing now.”
She giggles, glancing over her shoulder at James. “That’s because winning the bottle toss took considerable effort, and what you’re seeing is sweat.”
“Are you sure you don’t want a baby?” he asks.
She can tell his question was meant to be lighthearted, teasing, but it makes her chest squeeze. She shrugs. “I don’t know. I told you I always hoped to win the lottery with the objective of companionship with the father.” K8’s explanation is clinical even to her ears. But it’s not untrue, is it? His question rankles her. Why is he toying with her like this? So what if she is having fun with Lessa, planning for their baby? She thought James understood her, but maybe she was wrong.
“So no thoughts of starting a family one day, then?” he presses, making her stomach jump.
Is he serious, then? She can’t for the life of her determine his motivation for asking and she can feel a furious blush rising on her cheeks. K8 glances over at her exuberant friend. Is this swirling feeling in her stomachenvy? No, surely not. She only ever wanted to get selected for the aforementioned reason. No reason to be silly. She’s only caught up in the moment.Baby fever, they say, which totally explains the dozen little outfits she’s bought. Plus the baby name analyzation spreadsheetshe’s preparing for Lessa. Plus the fact that she’s invited herself to every check-up appointment.
Still, James’s question requires an answer. “I suppose I never really considered it like that. People who can bear children get implanted with a Prevention Implantation Chip when they reach sexual maturity, so a natural pregnancy isn’t an option. Since getting selected is such a rarity, it is pretty much assured that if you get picked, you go through with it. The opportunity to give birth is coveted. Granted, some people don’t take to parenting, so they either hire out for the bulk of it or release the child into the adoption pool.”
“K8,” James grumbles, as if he doesn’t believe her. Then he nips at her ear, and she practically purrs, arching back into him.
“What about you?” she asks, trying to divert him.
“Yes, I always imagined myself with a wife and children. During my time, I was getting to the age and level of success where I’d begun considering the possibility. I don’t know if I’d be a decent father, but I’m capable of learning.”
As his warm breath caresses her ear, his hands snake around to her stomach as if he’s imagining what it might be like to feel a child inside her. A dream she never once allowed herself to recall in the morning. She’d fallen for this once before.
He spins her in his arms. “Stop overthinking. I’m not trying to trick you. I may not be a perfect man, but I meant what I told you earlier. And there’s no point in ignoring what is going on between us. But I want us to be on the same page about what we both want.” He leans down and whispers, “Can you tell me what you need from me, K8?”
His attention washes over her, making her insides quiver, and suddenly that longing she always feels around him blooms. She knows exactly what she needs.
“James,” she says on a breath, grabbing one of his hands. She pulls him into a dark hallway, determined to get this vengeful need relieved here and now.
He follows behind her, chuckling as if he can read her thoughts.
The moment they tuck into a dimly lit closet and the door clicks shut, he has her pressed against it. “Is this what you need, K8?”
She’s nodding in the dark as his mouth meets hers in a searing kiss. His tongue sweeps into her mouth while roaming hands make their way down her hips, pulling them flush with him. Zorg, she can feel him already hard against her. Instinctively, she lifts her knee to the outside of his thigh, and he catches it, rolling his hips against her center. He repeats the promise of pleasure. Of connection.
She moans, narrowly biting back the chant in her mind:Yes! This is it. Finally. Take me. End my suffering!
Her hand grazes the cool metal of his belt. “Please,” she whispers against his lips. Nothing wrong with pointing him in the right direction.
But he pulls away long enough to say, “The first time I feel you on my cock won’t be in a broom closet, sweetheart.”
K8 isn’t above whining, so when she says his name this time, that’s how it comes out. “James, don’t make me beg. I need release from this perpetual torment.” If he doesn’t give her something, she might die. She can only imagine what the headlines would read.
NHOS Citizen C-K8lyn-MSP-00023468 Dies of Sexual Frustration.
Woman, known as K8, collapses after being denied orgasm.
Can withholding sex kill? Discover one woman’s harrowing story.
When begging doesn’t work. K8—A Cautionary Tale.
