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“Can we sit? I’m a little light-headed right now.”
“Of course.” We move to the bed and sit as he takes my hands in his. “What are you thinking? Are you considering an…an…”
“An abortion?”
Tears well in his eyes as he nods.
“I’m not 100% sure. I don’t know that I could go through with it, but I wanted to talk to you about it first. This isourdecision to make. I want to know what you want to do.”
He shakes his head. “The ultimate decision is yours Melissa, it’s your body. But if you’re asking me what I want…”
I nod. “I’m asking. I want to know.”
He swallows again as he appears to think for a moment. “I think I want to keep it.” He pauses, realizing the meaning of his words. “You know I lost my mother a few years ago. There’s just something very full circle about this and I personally would prefer to have the baby. But like I said, I know this decision is harder for you and I’ll respect whatever you choose. I’ll pay for whatever you decide. I’ll do anything you want.”
I have tears in my eyes. I reach over and kiss his cheek. “Thanks for being you, Jackson. If nothing else, I know our child will have a good man as a father.”
He gives me a small smile. “Does that mean we’re keeping it?”
I take a deep breath and slowly nod, finally feeling some sense of resolution on this. “I don’t think I’m capable of doing otherwise. Hearing your thoughts on it only bolsters that decision.”
Before I even process my last sentence, he immediately gets down on one knee. My eyes widen in surprise. “What in the world are you doing?”
He takes my hand in his. “Marry me?”
“What? Are you crazy? We’re too young to get married. We’ve only been dating for three months. We’re not in love. I care about you a lot, and I know you feel the same for me, but we’re not in love.”
“I know, but the love will come with time. We’re having a baby. Don’t you want our baby to have both of her parents around all the time?”
I pinch my eyebrows. “You said her. What makes you think it’s a girl?”
He tilts his head to the side and makes a face as if he didn’t realize he had said it. “I don’t know. I just always imagined that I’d have a daughter to protect.”
I can’t help but give him a small smile. He really is very sweet. I rub his handsome face. “Jackson, can we take a step back? We’ve just received some life-changing information. Can we take a minute to think everything through before making any more life-changing decisions? One a day is all I can handle.”
He nods. “Okay. Whatever you want. Just know that I’m willing to get married. I’m going to start thinking through finances and everything we’ll need to take care of our baby.”
He’s so…so…damn logical.
He wraps his arms around me. “I promise you I’ll be a good father. I had the best example growing up.”
He so…so…fucking nice.
I sigh. “Speaking of fathers,myfather is a bit of a hothead. He’s going to beat the shit out of you. So will my brothers. When the time comes, I’ll have to be the one to tell them.”
He shakes his head. “No. I’ll man up and tell them. If they beat me up, so be it. I won’t send you as my heavy. That’s not how a man behaves.”
I can’t help but let out a small laugh. I’m not sure he realizes just how bad it’s going to be. My father and brothers are all military and have deep religious views with regard to marriage and procreation. They’re going to legitimately beat the crap out of him.
He squeezes my hand. “You and I have a lot of decisions to make in the next few days and weeks. Once we have a concrete plan in place, I’ll be the one to sit down with them. It’s the right thing to do. I’m sure when they see how much we’re thinking things through, cooler heads will prevail.”
He’s nuts. They’ll beat him senseless without batting an eyelash, but there’s no need to argue about this with him right now.
I eventually head back to my sorority house. Of course, Jackson insists on walking me back and buying me food along the way.
We get to my house. He pulls me into his arms and gives me a deep kiss. He’s a really good kisser. He leans back and rubs my arm. “We’ll be okay. I promise. We’re in this together. We’re a team.”
I nod as I say good-bye to him and walk inside. Rayne and Isabella are standing there. Isabella is a sorority sister of ours that we’ve become close to this year. She runs over to me and hugs me. I give Rayne an annoyed look.
