Page 45 of Bless My Heart

I glance at Wes, and he’s looking at me to see what I’m going to say. Great. “Oh … well.”

“Are…are you pregnant?” Jordan asks.

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” Then I grab Wes’s arm and pull him toward me. “And this is my boyfriend, Wes. Wes, this is Jordan.”

Wes sticks out his hand, which Jordan reluctantly shakes.

“Wow, so you moved on quick, huh, Hazel?”

“Well, when you meet the right person, things just fall into place,” I say while gazing up at Wes, who’s smiling down at me. I imagine we look like we’re completely smitten, which is exactly what I want right now.

“We were together four years, and you never talked about wanting kids.”

“You never asked.” I look back at him. “You only cared about yourself, Jordan.”

Wes chimes in, “Don’t worry, man. I’m taking good care of her. Not that she needs to be taken care of.”

“Yeah, clearly.” Jordan rolls his eyes. “What do your parents think about this?” He motions his hand between Wes and me.

“They love Wes. They might like him even more than they like me.” Jordan shakes his head, not believing what I’m saying. “Well, it was good to see you, Jordan, but we’ve got to be going.”

Wes grabs my hand and makes a show of us walking down the aisle together. It’s the first time I don’t care if we are seen holding hands. It’s stupid of me to be so lax about this since we are still in Brunswick, where anyone could see us. But I let myself have a moment of happiness.

When we get back in his Jeep, I turn and say, “Thanks for doing that.”

“You don’t have to thank me for anything.”

“I know,” I say, picking at my fingernails. “But you didn’t have to pretend you were my boyfriend.”

“I’m not pretending, Hazel. I meant everything I said to you. I’m here. I’m not seeing other people. I hope you aren’t seeing other people. I want us to be together, ok? I know you want to keep it away from school, and that’s fine. But during the nights and weekends, you’re mine.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything. I know we had a nontraditional start to our relationship, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be successful. I want to see where we can take this thing, Hazel. I want there to be an us.” I smile at him. “Does that smile mean you agree?”

I take his hand in mine and put on the most serious face I can manage. “Wes. I agree to go steady with you.” He laughs and pushes my shoulder playfully.

“Good, because I don’t think my fragile man-ego could take another rejection from you.”

“I bet you aren’t used to rejections, are you, Mr. Mitchell?”

“I mean…” He shrugs his shoulders. “Not really. But you’re the one I want the most, and you’re also the one who’s rejected me the most.”

“Oh, great. So, now you’ve won the game. Does that mean I’m not exciting anymore?”

“Absolutely not. I’ve tasted that pussy. There’s no way I can turn away now.” I feel my cheeks blush.

“Well, maybe I can taste you later,” I tell him, trying my best not to look at him. I’m not used to talking dirty with anyone. It’s not that it makes me uncomfortable; I just don’t know if I’m any good at it. It turns me on when Wes says those things to me, but I don’t know if I’m doing it right for him.

“Don’t tease me, baby. You can taste whatever you want on me, any time, of any damn day.” I look over and see his eyes have darkened. Maybe I did it right after all.

“Well, take me home Prince Charming, so I can get my fill.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” He reverses out of the parking spot and races back to my apartment.

CHAPTER TWENTY

WES