“Could you get me some water?” I ask Adam, and despite just sitting down, he practically jumps up.
“My personal favorite.”
My head tilts back with my laugh. Yeah, doing this with him can’t be that bad.
I take the glass of water and get this major urge to chug it. “I guess it’s safe to say this is definitely your child.”
That weird look flashes across his face again, but he quickly replaces it with a smile. “Never doubted it was. So, how do you want to do this, Mia? Where’s our list?”
Going in for another chug of the remaining water, I point to the side table behind him.
“From what Wyla said, I need to call my OB.” I set my empty glass on the table. “With the math in my head, I don’t think I’ll be far enough along for an ultrasound yet, but I need to make the appointment. I’ll get it for a day you’ll be in town…if you want to come, that is?”
Adam gives me a look that can only be interpreted asAre you serious right now?
“I assumed you would, but I was just double-checking!” I take a deep breath. “I don’t know if there’s anything crazy after that. I’ll need to get some prenatals, and pay more attention to what I’m eating and drinking…just checking to make sure everything’s safe for the baby. I don’t really know what else, if I’m being honest. I keep thinking about what’s next, what I can do…but I think we can just…rest for a minute.”
Adam tosses the notebook on the coffee table, then pulls me into his lap. “I hate that feeling.”
“I fucking hate that feeling.” I laugh. “We have nothing to fix. Nothing other than the tests telling me I’m pregnant. I’m honestly having a hard time believing it still.”
“Tell me about it,” Adam mutters, then kisses my shoulder. “Do you wait to tell people until that appointment or—I’m comfortable with whatever you’re comfortable with, Mia.”
“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with telling our close family and friends now. They would still be the ones we called on if this were to go…” I trail off, not liking the thought of any complications. I clear my throat. “But is telling them before a game going to be weird? You have games every day, then you leave, so I guess that doesn’t make much of a difference.”
“About that…would you want to come with me for these away games?”
“Adam—”
“I know, I know, you probably can’t. I just—I hate the idea of leaving you.”
“Babe, this is your job. I hate the thought of you leaving too, but like Wyla said, we’ll figure this out.”
“I know.” Adam takes a heavy breath.
I shuffle my legs so they rest on either side of him. I need to look him in the eyes while I tell him this. “Listen, last night you told me you wanted to still be with me no matter what we decided… Adam, I want you to know I’m in this with you, too. Maybe it would be smart for us to put our relationship on pause, but I don’t want to do that. Yeah, I feel better now with my list and after talking to Wyla, but the thing I’m going to need the most to get through this is you.”
I know I’ve implied wanting to do this with him already, but as the relief floods his face, it’s clear to me that he needed to hear it.
But when he moves in an instant, all it takes is his lips on mine to learn that he’s desperate for it.
Chapter 19
Adam
After some decompressing with Mia, we decide that we’ll tell the group and her parents before I leave for our first round of away games. Neither of us are good about sitting on our hands, and the idea of not telling anyone before I leave for two weeks has me feeling like my ribs are closing in on my lungs when I breathe.
As helpless as I’m still feeling, I have to prioritize Mia right now. We’ll tell the team today, and her parents tomorrow. It’s going to suck, and I hate the idea of us having to answer a million fucking questions about this, but at least we get it off our plate. One thing done and one step forward.
I don’t have to report to the stadium for another two hours, so I fire off a text in the group chat hoping we can land somewhere on a meeting place. It takes a total of fifteen seconds before my phone starts to ding like fucking crazy.
The Real MVPs
Adam
Hey, so can we meet at someone’s place before the game today?
Callie
