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I laugh and kiss her nose. “She isn’t.”
I carry her to our bedroom and lay her on the bed. It was the first room we unpacked, and now I’m glad.
Eve is self-conscious, wanting me to turn down the lights and keep her shirt on, but I peel her clothes off slowly, kissing every inch of her skin as I go. And her nervousness fully fades away when I work my way up her thighs and towards her center. Her fingers dig into my hair, pulling me closer as I swirl my tongue across her and suck her into my mouth.
While she is still trembling from her orgasm, I roll her onto her side, curl up behind her, and press into her. The sex has become gentler as her pregnancy has progressed. It is intimate and slow, and I don’t mind.
I tuck her hair behind her ear and kiss her neck as she moans with each slow stroke. When I feel warmth building inside of me, I wrap a hand around her front and circle my thumb over her. The double sensation makes her gasp and moan, and the sexy sound of her flustered and breathless sends me over the edge. We come together, tangled in each other’s arms, and fall asleep not long after.
* * *
Iwake up to a sharp finger in my chest.
“Ouch.” I grab Eve’s hand and curl it within mine. “Stop.”
“I’m in labor.”
The words take a second to sink in. “What?”
“In labor,” she repeats slowly, jabbing me with the other finger. “I’ve been up with contractions for an hour, and my water just broke.”
This time, the words make sense. I sit bolt upright. The room is still dark, and Eve is sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Your water just broke?”
She nods.
“Okay.” I slide out of bed, change into jeans and a t-shirt, and run into the closet to grab the hospital bag we’ve had packed for weeks. “We are going to talk later about how you’ve been awake for an hour with contractions without telling me.”
She sighs. “I didn’t want you to worry.”
I grab her hand and help her stand up, and then keep an arm tightly around her waist as we walk to the car. “Too late. I’m worried.”
We drive to the hospital as quickly and safely as possible, and I run inside and get her a wheelchair. It is the middle of the night, but the hospital is blazing white light and loud voices and beeping machinery. They run on an entirely different time schedule, so even if I wasn’t delirious enough from being woken up in the middle of the night, I have no idea what time it is by the time we get into our room.
The nurses assure us things will progress slowly since this is Eve’s first baby, but her pain keeps ramping up and the contractions are non-stop. The next time a nurse comes in to check on her, her face blanches.
“You’re at an 8.5.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, looking from Eve to the nurse and back again.
“I’m going to call the anesthesiologist.” The nurse runs from the room and Eve reaches out and grabs my hand, squeezing so hard I’m afraid I’ll lose circulation in my fingers.
“What does that mean?” I ask again.
“It means the baby is almost here,” she says, gritting her teeth and squeezing my hand even harder through the next contraction. I might actually need a finger splint.
“Okay. Okay,” I say, trying to keep myself calm. I’m hopped up on crappy waiting room coffee and adrenaline, and I’m terrified. So terrified. “Do I have time to go to the bathroom?”
Eve’s eyes widen, and she looks at me like she might hit me over the head with her fist, but then she releases my hand and points to the door. “Go. Now. Hurry.”
I’m too nervous to pee, and I end up pacing around the bathroom for a few minutes, taking deep, calming breaths. I knew Eve was pregnant. Obviously. But I had spent very little time thinking about what that would actually mean for my life. But now, it is here. We are minutes away from having a baby, and I’m freaking out. Losing my mind, actually.
The door opens and a man with bags under his eyes walks in, takes one look at me, and raises an eyebrow. “New dad?”
“Soon,” I say.
He laughs. “Sleep while you can. It will never happen again. My wife is in there having our third.”
