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I nod because, again, it’s something I have been thinking about. But there’s something else on my mind. “Tank told me he loves me.” How can I possibly forget that when I’ve been looking for a good man to love me for most of my entire life? And here he is, larger than life, beautiful and kind, and sexy as hell? And he wants me.
Just me.
“Shit,” Josie moans.
I laugh. “Thanks?”
“No, I mean, that’s great, and I’m happy for you. Over the moon. But I know it means that you love him too, and I’ll have to resign myself to always worrying about you.”
I squeeze her hand back. “Thanks, Josie. For being here, and for being the best damn friend a girl could…oh!” A tight ball forms in my belly, and it isn’t anxiety or heartburn. It’s something else.
“Soph, what is it? Talk to me.” The panic in Josie’s voice does nothing to stop the worry from sliding down my throat and settling in my belly.
The pain passes, and I sit up, taking several deep breaths until I’m sure it’s gone. “Nothing. Probably just Braxton Hicks.” It has to be since the baby isn’t due for another few weeks.
“Are you sure?”
Not at all. “Yep.” I smile a little too brightly, nodding as if nothing is wrong. “Pretty sure.” The baby makes a liar out of me as another wave of pain grips me, and I double over. “Fuck!”
“Sophie!” Josie is out of her chair and at my side in an instant. “Breathe, Soph. Like me, like we practiced.” She inhales slowly and lets it out even slower. “Follow my breathing.”
My eyes slam shut as another contraction hits me mid-inhale. “Josie, something is wrong. It’s too early.”
“Plenty of babies are born a few weeks early.” She laughs when I glare up at her. “Now, breathe.”
I breathe deeply, but almost every breath is interrupted by another contraction. “We have to go. Now.”
Fear flashes in Josie’s eyes, and it’s quickly replaced by a look of determination as she helps me to my feet.
“Yep. All right. Let’s do this.”
She hooks one arm around my back, and together, we head to the door.
Another contraction hits, which draws a few eyes. If I wasn’t in so much pain, I might have laughed at the irony. “Just keep,” she says. “Going.”
Josie nods, and we inch toward the door when a guy slides between us and the exit. “Lockdown. You can’t leave.”
I recognize the guy as Diesel. He came to the clinic quite often. “We have to. Please move.” Sweat forms on my forehead, and my stomach is clenching so hard it’s difficult to stay on my feet.
“Sorry.”
Josie sucks in a breath, poking him in the chest with every syllable forming in her mouth. “Get your big ass out of the way before I move it for you!”
I almost smile because Josie is like a baby bulldog, always up for a fight no matter how big her opponent is.
Two women join Diesel, and I recognize the bitchy no-longer-pregnant-woman with the baby in her arms. Gia, with tattoos and vibrantly colored hair, says, “What’s going on here?”
“Baby,” I spit out just as another contraction hits.
Gia steps forward, glaring at Josie. “You know you’re not going anywhere. We’re on lockdown.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not asking,” Josie tells her with more than a little attitude.
“I’m not asking either,” Gia growls.
Josie snaps back, “Fuck you, girl. Sophie is in labor, and we’re going.”
The next contraction isn’t as bad as the previous few, but they are coming faster. I stand up tall and face the women who have done nothing to make me feel welcome here.
