Page 84 of Make it a Double

Date: Friday, April 9th

32 weeks:

- Third trimester!

- Horny dreams about my baby daddy

The familiar smell of horse shit and worn leather filled my nostrils the moment I stepped out of my car. Bright stadium lights shone down on the freshly dragged arena as an announcer called out their thanks to the many sponsors who made the event possible.

Beckett rounded the vehicle, standing by my side in a freaking cowboy hat, courtesy of Lukas. Tonight, we were all gussied up and headed out to the rodeo. Frank’s was a big sponsor of the Pinecrest Junior Rodeo. When funds fell through two years ago, Duke and Liv funded the entire thing. At first, they refused any and all credit, wanting instead to focus on the scholarships it provided, but after a few conversations, the committee talked them into having their logos displayed across the program.

Having all that attention on the bar made Duke nervous. He was very aware of the funds Liv brought to their partnership, and didn’t want it to seem like he was taking advantage of that. But Liv made him see sense by telling him he was being stupid.

I turned to Beckett, hooking my finger through one of his belt loops. “I can’t believe you’ve never been to a rodeo before.”

“Because we have so many of them in New York?” he asked. “Even if there were, it wouldn’t have been my parents’ scene, so they never would have allowed it.” He paused, shaking his head. “God. I can just imagine their faces as they got the first whiff of shit.”

Reaching up, I flicked the brim of his hat. “You know, this cowboy thing is a good look on you.”

When Liv invited us to join her family, I’d almost said no. I didn’t want Beckett to feel like he didn’t belong in the sea of starched Wranglers and worn-out Stetsons, but he had immediately turned to me and asked if I would feel up to it. How could I say no to that face? It was impossible.

Much to my surprise, I’d walked into his house only two days ago to find a sea of shopping bags in the living room. Duke was talking to Beckett about the importance of heavily starched jeans and boot care. I wasn’t sure when those two had grown close, but it seemed like they were always hanging around one another over the past few weeks. Sometimes they even texted, which was just really weird for me to wrap my head around.

Beckett smirked, running the back of his hand down my arm. “You know, Duke told me there’s a rule about a man’s hat.”

“Did he now?”

Working at a bar in a small town, I was well acquainted with the tradition. If you wore the hat, you rode the cowboy. The only issue was that most of the men wearing them weren’t cowboys at all. They just liked to put on a costume to pick up women. Beckett wasn’t far off, except he didn’t even have to try.

I was already his, even if I hadn’t fully admitted that yet.

“Mmhm.” Beckett nodded, the smile never leaving his face. Then he leaned in and whispered, “Care to test the theory?”

My cheeks flushed as he pulled away. Since the night I mauled him in his dining room, we’d made out. A lot. More than I ever really thought possible. The issue? We hadn’t done anything else.

I loved the intimate feeling of lying in his arms as we poured all the words we couldn’t say into every kiss. Sometimes, the skin around my lips felt raw from his stubble, but it never stopped us.

However, I was now intimately acquainted with the phrase ‘blue balls,’ and it had nothing to do with Beckett. He was a perfect angel who never complained about not finding a release, but I was growing restless. There were only so many times a girl could very nearly reach climax from grinding on a thigh before losing her mind.

Yes, I’d often reach for my vibrator the moment I stepped foot into my room, muffling my cries against the back of my hand, but it wasn’t the same. Nothing could ever truly replace the feeling of his fingers, or the way he destroyed me with each languid thrust.

I didn’t know what his hang-up was. We’d gotten clearance from my doctor to have sex. I even asked her at our appointment three days ago, while he was sitting next to me, in hopes it would clue him in about what I wanted. So far, my attempts had not been successful. Each time we were on the brink of going further, he backed off despite my pleas to keep going.

I knew we should just have a conversation about how I was feeling, but it felt silly. I knew Beckett wanted me just as badly as I wanted him. The proof was present in every single kiss and the tent in his sweats. But that didn’t keep the unreasonable doubt from creeping in. My body had changed so much since the last time he saw me naked. My breasts had blown up, making the one that was already slightly larger than the other much more noticeable, and even my stretch marks had stretch marks. Don’t even get me started on how if it weren’t for maternity jeans, there’d be no way to get denim over my ass.

If this was my only chance to get it through his thick skull, then I’d take it.

Reaching up, I grabbed Beckett’s hat and placed it on my head. He pulled his lip between his teeth, staring at me with blatant desire. “Ball’s in your court now, cowboy. What’re you going to do with it?”

His hands traveled to my waist, tugging me forward until our bodies were as flush as he could get them. Then they dipped lower to my ass, squeezing. “Is that right?”

“Mmhm,” I nodded. He grabbed the hat, gently removing it before capturing my lips in a searing kiss. I opened my mouth, welcoming his tongue as it swept across my own.

“Get a room!” someone bellowed. We broke apart just in time to see Lukas sauntering up beside us. His eyes darted between us with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Hello, lovebirds. How are you on this fine evening?”

Beckett shook his hand, placing the hat back on his head. “Lukas,” I said, taking in his polished attire. “You look nice tonight.”

“You know, I was walking out of the house in my work clothes when I remembered how hot the moms are at these things. Figured it’d be worth dusting off my good boots for,” he said, giving us a wink.