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“Five minutes, Ms. Heart!” Kyle’s voice cuts through our discussion.
Ocean’s shaking and her hands keep reaching for me. I kiss her cheeks, her forehead, and pull her into my body, holding her tight. “Go. Be a star. I’ll be waiting for you in our bed when you get home.”
I release her and slip out of the room. It would be so easy to convince myself to stay, to rail her hard over the armrest of the couch, to sink deep inside her and fill her up. Right now, I couldhave. Her body was willing to listen to me. Her heart was shining in her eyes. Her mind just has to catch up with everything else. My own heart squeezes in my chest. Ocean does that to me. Caring about me, my job, my getting hurt. I’ll never forget how she yelled back at me with tears in her eyes, demanding to know who protects me. Silly, beautiful girl. She is the one who protects me, who keeps me sane, keeps me going. The rest of this world is just noise.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ocean
Ididn’t go home last night. And not to teach Ezra a lesson or to hurt him and carry on a childish fight. He wasn’t happy with my text message and did try to call, but I explained to him I was with Jade and Mia. He let it go without a fight, but I’m sure when I do get home, he’ll want an explanation. I don’t know what to tell him except that when I really thought about what my reservations with sharing our relationship are, I realized they do revolve around him. Ezra has done so much for me, I refuse to be the reason he could lose everything. He says he doesn’t care, but I do. I would die if later on he resented me for not having the company he fought against his uncle to have. If I’m going to do this then I need to do this authentically.
I called Mia, Tabbi and Jade and let them know I needed a meeting. With almost everyone in a different time zone, it was going to take some time to get together. Mia was willing to make it work though. Just as she promised me almost two years ago, she’s always there for me. I’m never alone.
Since I couldn’t go home yet, it gave me time to deal with my other problem. I’m late. It's been six days since my period was due. It doesn’t sound like much, but I’m never late. I’ve always had predictable periods. My neck heats remembering how often Ezra has come inside me and the fact that I’ve stopped fighting him not to. Obviously, this is what can happen. I know if I tell him he’ll be ecstatic. It's pretty much what he’s hoping for every time he pushes his cum back inside me and makes me hold still for a few minutes when we finish.
The pink box sits across from me in my private ensuite at Rosen Records. I’ve been staring at it for over two hours now when I should be at home sleeping. My fingers rub my forehead.
Am I pregnant?
What will we do? Ezra is so convinced that just because I’ve always wanted to be a mom, and I love holding babies, that we’ll be perfect parents. I try to imagine us running around the house chasing after kids, giving them bubble baths, and having family dinners. Then I picture the other part of life, taking the kids on tour and seeing the world from where I am when I’m on stage. Ezra would be waiting in the wings, carrying our child to safety while I sing for the world. I know it won’t all be easy. I’m going to have to sacrifice the lifestyle I have now. There will be cut backs and I won’t be able to keep the schedule I have. Then I picture a baby with bright green eyes and those sacrifices don’t seem terrible. They’ll be done with love. And let's be honest, with Ezra as the father, sacrifices will be few and far between. He probably already has a plan for it.
When I realized I was late, I didn’t feel disappointed. All I felt was a small flare of fear before a very confusing rush of happiness. A joy I never expected. Feeling brave, I open the box and pull a stick out. And then spend twenty minutes pacing the bathroom floor, building up the courage to actually pee on it.
I glance at myself in the mirror. “Woman up, Heart.”
Taking a few shaky breaths, I do what I need to do and set the stick on a towel on the counter. Voices from the other side of the door catch my attention. After washing my hands, I step out and I’m immediately swept into my best friend’s arms.
“Oce!” Jade squeezes me and I hug her back just as fiercely.
Mia is setting her papers down and pulling up a screen on her computer. Tabbi’s face pops on and then our lawyer. I walk over to Mia and she eyes me knowingly.
“Are you ready to do this?”
I nod, and biting my lip, hold my hand out for them to see. Ezra’s diamond ring sits proudly on my finger. I was prepared for the squeals and hugs, but not the tears.
“Why are you crying?” I ask Jade as panic starts to slip in.
She shakes her head, seeing the terror on my face. “No, these are happy tears. I’m just really happy for you. Ocean, you deserve everything good after what you’ve been through in life.”
I pull her in to hug her and we both start crying. I look over at Mia and she is also standing there with tears falling down her cheeks before throwing her arms around us and hugging us tightly. We’ve all made it this far, three best friends, three love stories. Without these two, my life wouldn’t be the same.
“Alright, are we starting now?” I laugh and pull away.
“Yes.” Mia clasps her hands and practically skips to the table. “Okay, Tabbi, we’re ready to start, I think.”
“Wonderful! After some thought, I think it's best to directly put out the information about how you met. That way we control the narrative and timeline. It leaves less questions or assumptions to be made. We will also highlight that he left for a period of time and how long it was since you were in contact again. From that point of contact to now.” Tabbi reads over her idea and notes.
“What is the current status of your relationship right now that we should be reporting on?” Tabbi asks, glancing at me over the laptop.
The room hushes and all eyes turn to me. For the first time in the public eye, I blush. “He’s my…he’s my fiancé.” And possible father to my child. I leave that out for now.
Everyone starts talking excitedly. Tabbi and Mia hash out the press release from Rosen Records and run it by our lawyers to weigh in on. That part made me nervous, for any backlash that could happen. But our lawyer was professional and assessed the situation in a way I hadn’t thought of. I can see why she is an asset to the agency.
By the time we’re done, I feel better and more prepared. There is a plan for every question or comment that may arise. A copy of the plan is ready to be sent to Caleb at seven, and it will hit my social media at nine.
I hug Mia and Jade goodbye as they head home to see their husbands. I’m anxious to get back to Ezra as well. I check my phone and see that it’s an hour until Caleb receives the news, in which I’m sure he’ll tell Ezra right away. There’s just one more thing I need to take care of first.
Once I step into the bathroom, my heart settles. I know whatever happens is going to be okay. I pick up the test. Smiling and with tears in my eyes, my heart bursts with love and happiness. I need to get back to Ezra.
