AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ME:Are you sure you don’t mind?
DEREK:I just texted the doorman, he’ll let you in
DEREK:There are pineapple popsicles in the freezer
ME:I’m going to thank you on my knees later
DEREK:And I’m going to take you up on that
DEREK:Gotta get back to work. Dinner when I get home?
With a grin, I tuck away my phone in my bag and pack a change of clothes. On second thought, I grab an extra pair of underwear because pregnancy glow is all bullshit—it’s just sweat. Stinky, gross, sweat.
“Hey there, princess,” Derek says.
I’ve fallen asleep on the floor of his bedroom. I found a spot of cold concrete that was directly beneath a vent and it was so cool, so relaxing, that I laid down for just a moment, relishing the way the chill seeped into my thigh. And then the other thigh. Because I’m now officially too pregnant to lay on my back. But I must have drifted off at some point, and now my back hurts.
“Ow,” I say, sitting up and rubbing at my back. He chuckles, his amusement sparkling in his eyes as he helps me to my feet.
“Come here,” he says, sitting on the bed and pulling me down between his legs. “What were you doing down there? Do I even want to know?” He digs his thumb into exactly the spot on my back that hurts, and I moan in sweet relief. He’s a man with very talented hands.
“It was cool and comfortable, and pregnancy is weird.”
“Did you get stuck?”
“No,” I hiss, although I definitely couldn’t have gotten up that quickly without his help.
“What do you and the bean want for dinner?”
I smile and place my hands around my belly. I love when he refers to him or her as ‘the bean.’ I just think it’s so sweet.
“I don’t know. Maybe something a little sweet? And a little… acidic?” I twist my mouth to the side, trying to think of something that is both sweet and acidic.
“Pho?”
“Not on your life,” I say, looking out the window where the air, even ten floors up, seems to sizzle.
“Sushi?”
“Bless you.” He knows this desert dweller doesn’t do fish, cooked or not.
“Hmm…” He digs the heel of his hand into the tender area, working out the tight, sore muscle, and I let my head fall back in relief.
“You keep making sounds like that, I’m going to gorge myself before we ever leave this bed.”
My cheeks flush hot, and I clench my thighs. But then my stomach growls and my cheeks flush even hotter as he laughs.
“Let’s get something for that belly. How about pizza?”
“Oh, god no,” I say as my stomach recoils.
“Thai? Indian? Tapas?”
“Ugh,” I say, falling back against him and feeling the tears come up again.
“Oh, none of that now,” he says, leaning over and tapping my chin as if he knows I’m about to cry.
“None of it sounds any good, and I’m hungry, and I just can’t even think straight. I just need something sweet and vinegary and why is that so hard to find?”
