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“Yes,” I replied, smiling at her. I looked at Ginger, smiling widely at us as she came over to sit down.
“You know everything?” She asked as she took a slow look at us dressed in robes.
“Yes, I know all about the baby,” I beamed as I spoke and she let her shoulders slump as she let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank fuck. I’ve been holding back on Elena with that, but I am so relieved. That being said, she is still my best friend, and that is my niece, so watch it.” There was a gentle look of warning in her eyes, and I raised an eyebrow as I slipped an arm over Elena’s shoulders. “I am going to see this baby a lot. A lot. I just want you to know that.”
“You’ll have to fight that out with Aunt Marie,” I teased her as Elena smiled around the fork. “How was your date?”
“I’m home so obviously not all that great. There won’t be a second one.” Ginger rolled her eyes as she dropped her purse onto the table. “Oh, well. Next time, right?”
“Of course. You’re too fabulous not to meet a great guy,” Elena told her, and I watched as the girls hugged. These two were tight, like sisters and I knew that Ginger would always have her back. I wanted to hug her for that, but I refrained and took a bite of chili while Ginger walked into the kitchen for a bottle of water. Elena snuggled into me, and I breathed in the sweet scent of her shampoo as I smiled. This felt so good that I never wanted to live without her again. I’d do anything for her and this baby of mine.
We finished the food and washed the dishes before all three of us went to sleep. I stayed with Elena that night, watching her sleep for a little while in the moonlight. She looked peaceful and beautiful, making me so thankful that she was okay after the accident. She was okay, and my daughter was safe. I finally dropped back onto the pillows and closed my eyes, allowing myself the truth that this wasn’t a dream.
Neither of us had to be up early, so we slept in and made love sweet and slow after we were conscious. I knew that she was going to be horny for the next few months and I had no issues with that since we’d spent too much time apart. Elena’s eyes were beautiful when she came for me, the green a shade darker than usual as our eyes locked. I felt a little weird that Ginger was in the same apartment, but Elena assured me that it was big enough to not matter all that much. We just had to stay relatively quiet.
“Great,” I muttered with a frown on my face before laughing at her. I pulled on my jeans to go make some coffee for me and get her some juice, seeing that that apartment was still empty. We all must be sleeping in today. I got the drinks and walked back down the hallway, suddenly wondering what the baby’s room was going to be like. With that thought, I realized that I didn’t want them to live here. I didn’t want part time custody of my daughter since I was so in love with her mom that I’d marry her right here and now.
Elena was reading something on her phone when I walked back into her room, and she smiled sweetly at me. “I love you,” she told me softly, making my heart jump into my throat.
“I love you more,” I replied, handing her the bottle as I leaned down to kiss her. “Can you show me the baby’s room?”
“Sure,” Elena gave me a curious look but stood to get a robe before opening the bedroom door. If it were my choice, she would walk around naked all damn day, but we were in the place that she shared with a roommate. I still had my jeans on so I followed her, and she turned right and then took another right into a doorway. I looked around, grudgingly admitting to myself that the space was nice. It wasn’t huge, but they could fit everything needed in here, and from the looks of things, someone was already shopping. I smiled for a moment, and then the image of my family living apart in two different homes popped back into my head.
I shook it off. I couldn’t go all caveman on Elena and demand that she move in with me tomorrow. We had to give this time and ease back into it, especially since it was such a secret relationship, to begin with. I knew that she loved me and my feelings for her had been clear all along, and that was all we needed for now. I looked at her anxious face and nodded in approval. “I like this. It looks like you’ve gone shopping.” I gestured to the pile of clothes and blankets in the corner as she laughed.
“Ginger did the second we knew it was a girl. Between her and her mom, I will have everything that I need.”
“Don’t think that Marie won’t be adding to the pile. She loves shopping.” I smiled at the idea of my sister being an aunt and spoiling my daughter. “For that matter, I am going to pitch in a lot as well. I want to give her everything…and you.” Elena stepped towards me and embraced me there in that room, her belly pressing against me as we were surrounded by baby stuff. This was all too surreal as well as amazing, and I pulled her gently against me.
When Ginger woke up, the three of us decided to go out for breakfast. I felt a little weird, remembering when I couldn’t be seen with Elena. I remembered having to hide it so much that she could have been killed in a late-night wreck, shaking off that memory. She wasn’t my student any longer, and though I knew the pregnancy would garner some rumors, I didn’t give a shit. I was proud that she was mine and we’d work through that later. I took them in the Jeep, laughing as the girls sang along to the radio and danced to the upbeat song.
Ginger picked a local diner with Elena’s approval, and I parked in front as I watched Elena unbuckle her seat belt. She looked pretty with her hair braided over her shoulder, wearing a light green shift dress that was loose enough to not show off her stomach too much. I knew that she wanted to be careful as well. I opened the door for them, and my eyes automatically searched the restaurant for familiar faces as I followed the girls inside, hating that it was so automatic.
None of us saw anyone that we knew well that day. I knew that we would though, like the night I took Elena out for a date and saw Nora in the bar with some friends. It was a couple of weeks after everything went down and the look on Nora’s face was heartbreaking in some ways. She met my gaze and then took in Elena, who looked beautiful and happy. Nora’s eyes narrowed as her lips moved into a pout before she turned towards the bar and reached for a glass. I knew that seeing us hurt Nora but I merely guided Elena to our table out of sight of the group and found it easy to focus on her.
We saw students from the university as well. We’d been back together a month, and there was no hiding Elena’s pregnancy at that point, and we were both aware of the looks and whispers every time someone realized who we were. I knew that the stories included it being my baby that she was knocked up with trying to improve her grade, that she had a guy that headed for the hills as soon as he found out and I was the on
e stuck with her and much worse words. I never gave any acknowledgment to any of the talk since this was about Elena and me. We had Ginger and Marie supporting us through this, and it seemed like Elena’s parents might be coming around. They were talking on the phone and considering coming out to visit and meet me when they had some free time.
Elena assured me that practically never happened. She’d be surprised if they were there when the baby was born.
We spent time between the apartment and the condo for three months, but I was itching to get her to move in with me. The baby was due in a month, and I needed to know that she’d be safe with me. I was back to working and could support her just fine, just like before. There were some questions from some of the other staff about Elena once the talk got around the campus and I denied seeing her when she was a student here. I claimed that we met after she’d left school and hit it off, and beyond the age difference, there was nothing wrong with that. They agreed, but I still felt the looks that I got walking to class, frustrating me as well as Elena. She wasn’t back on campus, but she heard from Ginger about all the gossip and let it get under her skin.
It was one night when we were eating at my place that she was talking about the subject yet again. “Baby, stop. This will die down at some point because we’re going to keep being us. I don’t care what shit I get at school since I am just there to teach, and you’re not even back on campus yet.” She’d considered just doing online classes for the remainder of her time so she could be home with the baby. I urged her to do just that, even though I didn’t care if she finished school or not. She enjoyed writing, and I thought that she might end up doing something like that.
“I just hate that everyone wants to treat you badly and talk about you,” she said as I took her hand and squeezed it. Elena looked at me and sighed, knowing that I was over this conversation.
“Do you love me?” I asked as she smiled and blushed, nodding her head. “Good, because I am madly in love with you and I couldn’t be happier being together with you.” Another smile. “In fact, I’d really love for you to move in with me so we can bring the baby here to stay when she arrives.”
Elena looked at me with wide eyes as I leaned into peck her lips. “It’s only been a few months since we got back together, Liam.”
“I wanted you to move in the night after we got back together but I held back. It’s a month away, give or take now. I’d love you here with me, or we can even get a house. Anything. I don’t care.” I stared at her to make sure that she knew I was sincere. “I want you here with me.” We’d already set up a nursery here, and there was one at Ginger’s as well, which I was fine with. There was no doubt that Alanna would be spending a lot of time over there once she was old enough as well as with my own sister. I just wanted her main home to be here.
“I…I have wanted that a lot lately, too. I didn’t want to sound possessive and needy,” Elena admitted as I shook my head at her.
“Never. I love you, and we’re starting a family together. Move in here!” I urged her as she leaned in to kiss me warmly. Everything had been great apart from the rumor mill, but we even rose above that for the most part. We both knew what it was like to live apart from each other and never wanted that again.
