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“How was your day?” he asks.
The truth is, we haven’t really spoken much or gotten to know one another any better than before he found out I was pregnant. This is the first time he’s asked about me personally and not just about my health. Progress, I suppose. Not that I want a relationship with the infamous Damon Siska, but if we’re going to be coparents, I’d like to know the man I’m sending my child off to every other weekend.
“It was okay.”
I don’t bother going into the fact that since he showed up at the school, he’s been the only thing people talk about. If I thought rumors were bad when I was a middle schooler, it’s nothing like now. But this town and my school community are filled with good people because I haven’t seen anything in the press about it yet, thank God. Though I have no doubt it’s coming at some point.
“I can’t imagine teaching hormone-crazed pre-teens all day.” He opens the door to the doctor’s office building.
“Thanks.”
When we reach the elevator, he presses the button, and it’s there immediately because most of the offices in the building are probably closed already. We step in, and once we’re in the enclosed space, all I can smell is his cologne.
Did he put that on just to come to the doctor’s appointment?
Maybe he has a hot date after he leaves here.
Ugh, why does that thought bother me so much?
“So…” he says when I don’t respond to his question because I’m busy fixating on who he might be hooking up with tonight.
“Oh, um… the boys are the worst. Always picking on the girls because they think they’re flirting. And the way the girls flirt back as if they like to be treated that way. It’s really sad.”
We reach our floor, and he holds out his hand for me to go first. “It really comes down to the boys and their egos. They don’t want them crushed, so the only way they can get a girl to talk to them is to pick on them. Don’t hold it against them too much. Eventually, boys like them turn into men like me after they find their confidence.”
I stop at the door to the doctor’s office and raise my eyebrows, then shift my vision down to my stomach.
He laughs and moves his hand to run it through his hair, but stops since it’s gelled and perfectly in place. Again, the fact he probably put in all this effort because he has a date overtakes all my other thoughts. “Okay, you got me there. But everybody has to start somewhere.”
I reach for the doorknob, but he moves in front of me and tugs at the handle, opening it to let me in first.
“I never realized you were such a gentleman.”
He laughs again, but this time it’s a deep chuckle that radiates into my bones. “We really should play a game of get-to-know-each-other. Then again, if your mom invites me to dinner, I’ll get all the answers I need.”
My face heats, and I swallow hard. “What did she tell you? You were alone with her for, like, two minutes while they weighed me.” I’m going to have to talk to my mom about this.
“She just said that you’re a rule-follower. It did make me wonder how far we’re talking. Like two below the speed limit kinda thing?”
We’re in the office, and I stare blankly at him. “I’m not that bad.”
“Well, I can’t guarantee what that little one will be like. I’m the biggest rule-breaker I know, so we might have a little hellion on our hands.”
I run my hands over my belly as though I’m being protective, and he shakes his head. “Maybe nurture will win out.”
“I have some strong genes,” he says and eyes someone over my shoulder.
I hate the way my heart pitter-patters when he refers to the baby as his when the paternity hasn’t been defined yet. I mean, the babyishis, but he has every right to want to wait until science confirms it.
“Hey, you two,” Dr. Griffin says, coming to the open window at the receptionist area. “Come on, I’ll let you in.”
Damon puts his hand on the small of my back, and goose bumps chase up my spine. Nope, my body cannot react to his touch. He’ll be in my life for the rest of time now, and things need to remain uncomplicated. I can’t strive to have a relationship with a guy like him. Beyond the obvious complications if things didn’t work out, dating a man who plays professional football can’t be easy. The women and the press would be like a tsunami to my self-esteem.
Dr. Griffin wears her white coat over a pair of scrubs. “Sorry about my attire, emergency delivery.”
“No problem. I’m just happy you were able to see us after hours,” Damon says.
She walks us to her office instead of an exam room and tells us to take the two seats in front of her desk. Now I’m scared. Maybe something more than just who the father is came back? Do they look at more than paternity in these tests?
