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“What am I going to do with you? Little brat.” I flicked her nose.
She stood up on her tiptoes to speak directly into my ear. “Fuck it out of me,” she said, and then she was opening the door, sneaking out into the night.
I needed to splash myself with freezing water. Holy shit.
~ ~ ~
“Bryan?” I answered the phone, stepping outside onto the back patio to cool off after Noelle and I had snuck out of the bathroom. Thank God for the private bathroom downstairs with a locking door. I tried to find it in myself to feel guilty about it, that we had left the party and I had fingered Noelle on campus, but I just couldn’t.
If anything, I had just wanted to shout from the rooftops, she’s mine!, and growl at anyone who approached her. Because I loved her. I loved her, and I hadn’t told her, and I was going crazy not saying it to her every minute of every day.
“Matthew?” Bryan sounded a little breathless, though not at all in the way I had just been. “Elizabeth… she…” He took a deep breath before starting over. “Liz’s water just broke. We’re on our way to the hospital. Can you meet us there?”
I drew in a deep breath. My best friend and his wife were having their baby. Oh. God. It was early—way early.
And where was Noelle? I scanned the outside terrace for familiar red curls, finding her smiling and holding a wine glass in her hands. She looked even more beautiful than she had before I made her come. Fuck—not what I needed to be thinking about right now.
“We’re on our way,” I said to Bryan, asking for the details and what hospital as I was already weaving through the crowd towards my girlfriend.
“What’s wrong?”
“Liz is at the hospital.” Noelle’s eyes widened. “She’s in labor.”
“Oh. Oh gosh.” She turned back to the people she was talking to. “Excuse me, I have to go.” And she looked up at me, calming me instantly. “Let’s go.”
“Are you sure?” I looked around. “You want to come?”
She squeezed my hand. “Wouldn’t miss it. Now, come on, soon-to-be God-Dad. We have somewhere to be.”
We walked back to my truck—hand in hand, leaning against each other, not even caring if anyone saw us. And if I was honest, I needed this connection. It was helping me not panic or freak out about the fact that Liz was in labor a few weeks early, and it grounded me back to reality. I realized how much I couldn’t wait for the time in our lives when I could embrace her openly. I wanted this all the time: her leaning into me, holding her hand, feeling body heat pressed up against mine.
Soon, I reminded myself. Soon.
After you tell her you love her, you idiot.
~ ~ ~
We didn’t leave the hospital until almost seven am, staying up late in the night waiting for the news. I rubbed my hand over my face as I finally guided Noelle out of the hospital. I didn’t realize how long labor could take with women’s first pregnancies.
I looked at Noelle, wondering how she was feeling about all of this. She had been quiet, even as we gathered around the hospital bed, peering at Elizabeth and her little newborn.
They looked so happy, Elizabeth and Bryan, holding Baby Theo in their arms. They had even let me hold him, just for a minute.
“Hi, Theodore,” I whispered, hoping my feather-light voice was soft enough to keep him asleep. “I’m your God Dad. Uncle Matthew.” I looked up, and Elizabeth’s eyes were shining with tears. “I’m always going to be here for you, okay? Even if you want to play baseball instead of basketball.” I held him for a few more moments before sliding him back into Liz’s arms.
“Do you want to hold him?” Liz asked Noelle, and I could tell she had frozen a little in her tracks.
“Oh. Um. Are you sure?”
Liz nodded, and Bryan placed the baby in her arms. Even though he wasn’t ours, I still felt a rush of… Warmth and possessiveness over seeing Noelle with a baby in her arms.
It was insane, but something about it just felt… right.
Noelle yawned as we piled into my truck, leaning back against the seat. Neither one of us had slept all night—me, from worry, and Noelle, too focused on keeping me company.
“Thank you,” I said, watching her as she buckled her seatbelt.
“For what?” she just blinked at me.
