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I walk into Luke's living room and see Em lying on the couch with Holly, a bag of peas pressed to her head.
"What happened?" I ask worriedly. Soup forgotten, I walk to Em's side, gently lifting the peas. There's a small lump on the side of her forehead.
"She fainted," Holly says, smiling.Why is she smiling?Did she bump her head too? Luke walks into the room with a few bottles of Gatorade.
"You fainted? Why? Are you okay?" I question.
"I'm fine," Em assures me. She's smiling too.Weird. I feel like I'm missing something here. I look to Luke for guidance, and he just shrugs.
I look around the room. Everything looks normal. Nothing is out of place or different, but Holly and Em are grinning like maniacs. They're up to something.
"Are you two drunk?" Luke asks suspiciously, sniffing Holly's orange juice.
"No! I can't drink," Holly screeches from beside Em on the couch.
"Since when?" Luke laughs. "Is this some new fad you're trying?" A few years ago, Holly and Em tried some trendy "Green Diet," where they only ate green things. When I told Em that didn't include green Skittles, she almost had an aneurysm. Needless to say, Holly and Em didn't last a week.
"Can we get back to why you fainted? You've never fainted before. Should I take you to the doctor?"
"I've already booked an appointment. I'm going tomorrow after you're done practice, so you can come with me," she says calmly.
Alarm shoots through me. Em wouldn't see a doctor unless it was serious. The thought of something being wrong with her sends terror ricocheting through my body.
"I'm fine, Ryan. I promise." She smiles, standing up, taking my hands in hers. Her smile broadens as she looks into my eyes and slowly places my hands on her stomach. "I'm better than fine."
I look down at our hands, confused, until hope and understanding bloom in my chest. My eyes dart back to Em's.
"We did it," she whispers, tears filling the golden depths.
I choke, my throat tight. I love this woman so much. I don't know what I ever did to get this lucky. I don't think I could be happier if I tried. I wrap my arms around Em and laugh, before kissing her.
"Congratulations, man," Luke grins a minute later, slapping a hand on my back. "This calls for a celebration. I have a bottle of champagne and some cigars."
"Oh my god," Holly all but screams, throwing her hands up in the air. "I've married an idiot. We can't drink for crying out loud. And if you think you're smoking with two pregnant women in the room, you'd be very wrong."
Luke's eyes turn into saucers, zeroing on Holly's abdomen, then back to Holly's face. "Two pregnant women?"
"Shit! I mean," she stutters, trying to backtrack. "Oh, fuck it. So much for surprises. I had this whole thing planned with the pregnancy test, a tray of cupcakes, an airhorn and confetti, but I've ruined it."
"You're pregnant too?" He grins cockily. Holly nods, smiling back. "I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I'm a stud. You didn't marry an idiot, Holly. You married a stud with super sperm."
Both Em and Holly glance at each other and roll their eyes.
"No, I married an idiot," Holly deadpans. "But I love you anyway."
"Damn right you do!"
"You know," Holly adds, leaning back away from Luke's embrace. "Technically, if anyone has super sperm, it's Ryan. His swimmers knocked up eggs that didn't want to be knocked up."
I burst out laughing as Luke narrows his eyes at his wife.
Over the next few hours, we all contemplate parenthood. Holly and Em realize they're going to become moms at the same time and start planning outrageous shopping sprees for every baby thing imaginable, including something called a Mamma Roo. It seems fitting that they're doing this together like everything else.
My mind strays to Tyra and Taylor. I didn't tell Em yet, but I agreed to let them use my sperm to knock them both up. They were hoping to get the ball rolling in a month or two, and I wanted to talk to Em about Tyra carrying our baby. As long as everything goes well, that might not be necessary, but the idea of having two kids doesn't exactly terrify me. We always wanted more than one, and Tyra and Taylor want to be pregnant together. There's no guarantee Em will be able to conceive again, so this might be the perfect opportunity to build our family.
When I zone back into the conversation, Holly is realizing that she has no idea how to change a diaper or care for a tiny human. She has a minor panic attack, exclaiming, "We are going to screw our kids up, aren't we?"
Two minutes after that, Em insists Holly should have a little girl, and we can have a little boy, so they can grow up as childhood sweethearts and get married one day. Luke and I share a look.
These women.
Later that night, I lay in bed with Em curled into my arms. The feelings pumping through my body are indescribable. Happiness, joy, hope, disbelief, pride, fear, and love.
"I love you," I murmur into Em's hair, the scent of lemons tickling my nostrils.
"I love you too," she whispers back, kissing my chest and snuggling into me closer. "So much."
I gently place my hands over her stomach, trying to imagine the life growing inside her. The life we created. Our one in a million.
Everything I've ever wanted and everything I love is in this bed right now. I close my eyes and drift off to sleep, dreaming of tomorrow and all the tomorrows I have with Em from now until forever.
