Until November (Until series) (20 page)

“Oh my God!” I screech and start jumping up and down. My tiredness is a long forgotten memory. The guy takes a step back and looks nervously to Asher for help.

Asher starts laughing. “Don’t mind her, Jack. She does this when she gets excited.” I look at him and I can see he’s thinking about when he told me he was taking me four-wheeling. I bite my lip when I see his eyes turn hungry.

Jack clears his throat. “Nice to meet you, November.” He sticks out his hand and I place mine in his.

“Nice to meet you, Jack,” I say then take a step back. “Sorry about scaring you. I’m just so excited,” I mumble, slightly embarrassed by my outburst.

Asher pulls me back into him and his arms wrap around me, his chin resting on top of my head. I feel his body shaking with silent laughter behind me. “I think he got that, baby.”

“Whatever,” I say quietly, wondering if it would be rude to elbow him in his ribs in front of a guest. I give Jack a big smile after I see him shaking his head.

“So, do you guys know the type of set up you want?” Jack asks, looking between us.

“Um, it has to be childproof,” I say, remembering Asher’s pool requirement.

Jacks eyebrows shoot up. “You havin’ a baby, man?” he asks and I wonder if it’s normal in Tennessee to ask a stranger that you’re going to be working for such a personal question. In New York, that question would surely get you fired, maybe even shot.

Asher must feel me go still, because he starts talking. “Me and Jack have been friends since high school, baby. He used to spend every summer break with my family up at the cabin. Now he owns the pool and spa company with his old man and does jobs for us when we have a client who wants a pool put in on their property.”

I nod my head, thinking someone should shoot me. Asher’s friend, and not some stranger, saw me jumping up and down being a dork.

“So, are you havin’ a baby?” Jack asks again.

“Not yet,” Asher says, squeezing me. I don’t know if his words or the lack of oxygen is responsible for the dizziness I'm feeling.

Jack nods his head. “Alright, so the only request you have is child safety?” he asks, looking at me.

“Um…”  I know nothing about pools except how to swim in one. This isn’t as fun as I thought it would be.

“You want a Jacuzzi, a grotto, a deep end?” he asks, looking at me expectantly.

“Um,” I repeat, feeling like an idiot.

“You got any books or pictures of work you’ve done that we can look at for ideas?” Asher asks and I'm thankful that he’s smart. I sag into him with relief and he kisses the top of my head.

“Yeah, of course. Let’s go to the table.”

“Would you like something to drink?” I ask as we make our way into the kitchen.

“Coffee would be good, if you got it.”

“Of course.” I pour him a cup of coffee and get one for me and Asher as well. I set out sugar and cream on the counter then take a seat between Asher and Jack.

“So these are some of the pool designs we did last year.” He pulls out three pictures. The first one looks like a tropical paradise. It has tons of flowers and plants around it. The pool was bright blue with sand color cement surrounding it. The second is a plain, bean shaped pool with an area for chairs and a table. The third is large and has two areas for sunbathing. It had a Jacuzzi that you could get to from inside the pool by walking up a set of stairs, or you could get to it from outside the pool area. It also had a shallow end that you could lay in and the water would only be about five inches deep. If you had kids, you could stay with them in that area.

“I love this.” I point to the third picture.

“I like this,” Asher says, indicating at the first picture.

“Well, we can incorporate what you both like into your pool.”

“Awesome,” I whisper.

“So, when can you start?” Asher asks, and I turn my head so fast that I'm surprised it doesn’t fly across the kitchen.

“Don’t you think we should discuss price?” I ask.

“You like it?”

“Uh yeah,” I say in a duh tone.

“So we’re getting it.”

“I like the pool, babe, but I also like diamonds. I still wouldn’t buy one without knowing the price,” I say quietly.

“I would,” Asher says with a completely straight face, causing me to do a double take.

“I guarantee the price is competitive,” Jack cuts in. “And you’re getting the family discount.”

“Oh...oh.” It’s all I can say.

“So, when can you start?” Asher asks again and I shake my head. I don’t think that it’s normal to make this kind of decision in less than twenty minutes. The prices of pool installations that I saw in my research online were twenty thousand or more. That seems like a lot of money to spend in just by looking at three pictures.

“It should take a week or so to get the permit then we can break ground. After we start to dig, it should take about six to eight weeks to finish. You guys should be swimming by the time the weather really changes.”

“Wow, that’s so fast,” I say, smiling at Jack. He smiles and shakes his head, looking over my shoulder at Asher.

“You get it?” Jack says, looking at Asher. I look at Asher, wondering what the heck he’s talking about. He pulls me close and kisses my temple.

“Alright, man. Send me the blueprints,” Asher says, standing. “Let me know when you get the permit and are gonna break ground.”

“I’ll call you later this week,” Jack says, putting all of his stuff back in his folder.

“Next weekend is Gran’s birthday. Everyone will be expecting you.” Asher changes the subject and reminds Jack of the upcoming celebration.

“I'm driving to Atlanta with Meg this week, but we should be back in time for the party unless her family convinces her to stick around through the weekend.”

“Bring her.”

“What?” Jack asks, shoving his folder under his arm and walking towards the front door.

“Bring Meg.”

“Bring Meg?” Jack repeats.

“Yeah, why not?” Asher shrugs like it’s no big deal.

“You hate Meg,” Jack says, looking at me. I shrug. I have no idea who Meg is or what her history is.

“No, I hated that Meg was a friend and she believed the bullshit that bitch fed her about having my child. Then, I was pissed that she confronted me in front of people in town about abandoning Joan after I knocked her up without ever asking me about it first. To top it off, she told Joan where I lived, so when I got home from a public blow out with Meg in town, I got to deal with Joan sitting on my front porch waiting for me.” Wow, I didn’t like Meg very much right now either. How could you claim that someone is your friend then believe a stranger over them?

“So, you’re tellin’ me you’re over that shit?” Jack asks, looking like he understands why Asher was mad. I think
anyone
would understand why Asher was mad.

“No, I'm tellin’ you that I know it’s not easy to choose sides, and that I'm willing to work on my relationship with Meg so you don’t have to choose.”

Jack looked relieved. I could understand that. I'm sure it’s not easy loving two people who don’t get along. “Okay. We’ll be there for the party,” he says, opening the front door. “It was nice meeting you, November.”

“You too,” I say as the door closes behind him.

Once Asher locks the door, I yell, “We’re getting a pool!” And I launch myself at him.

“No, I'm getting summers full of you in nothing but a bikini,” he says, giving me the dimple.

“Ugh.” I scrunch up my nose. “I have never worn a bikini.”

“Well, you’re not getting in the pool without one.” He looks at the ceiling, smiles then looks back down at me. “I will make an exception for you if you’re in your birthday suit.”

“Of course, you will,” I say sarcastically. “How generous of you.” I shake my head. “Hey, what are you doing?” I screech from my now upside down position.

“I'm going to make sure your birthday suit still fits, baby.”

“Oh.” I smile as he carries me to the bedroom and shows me his birthday suit. Let’s just say that his fits him perfectly. I didn’t ask how mine fit, but I did note that he wasn’t complaining.

Chapter 10

I couldn’t believe it. I looked at the calendar again, thinking that something had to be seriously wrong. But every time I counted, I came up with the same thing. I was not only late, I was L-A-T-E, as in three months of no period. I knew that my pants were fitting tighter, but I had also been eating like a pig. Now I knew the reason why I had been eating like a pig and the reason for my tightening clothes. If I was correct, I was three months pregnant.

“Holy shit,” I whispered into the top of the desk where my head had landed with a loud thud. I was on the shot. I had been on the shot since I was sixteen and my mother forced me to get on birth control. She quickly found out I wasn’t very responsible with taking the pill, so she made my nanny take me to the hospital where they offered me different forms of birth control. I chose the shot only because I never had to think of it again after I got it. Obviously, I didn’t think about anything. I didn’t think about the fact that I hadn’t had a period in three months. I didn’t think about my clothes becoming tighter. I didn’t think about feeling tired. I thought about nothing.  If I hadn’t been planning on getting my shot prescription refilled, I wouldn’t of thought about the fact that I hadn’t had my period. I would have ended up on that show where the girl says, “I didn’t know I was pregnant until I felt the baby coming out of my vagina.” No woman wants to think that she’s so out of tune with her body that she doesn’t realize that another human is growing inside of it. I started to laugh, and then a sob came out.

What was Asher going to think? Seriously, we had only been together for a few months. I needed to buy a test. I needed proof. I let my head thud on the desk a few more times, hoping that it would put my brain cells back in order. I called Asher and told him that I was leaving the club, got in my car, and began the mission of getting proof.

I called Liz to go with me to Target. Her job was to provide a distraction if we came across anyone that we knew while in the store.  Lord knows, if anyone from town saw me buying a pregnancy test, they would assume that I had gotten knocked up on purpose and rumors would run rampant.

“So, you’re late?” Liz asks, looking over at me.

“Late is an understatement,” I tell her as we walk down the aisle of the store. It’s ironic that tampons and pregnancy tests are located in the same section.

“So, what are you going to do if it’s positive?” She holds up a box, reading the back.

“I don’t know,” I say quietly.

“Well, you know he loves you so I'm sure everything will be okay.” She gives me a reassuring smile. I smile back and pick out a test. I thought about putting it in my purse until we reached check out, but I really didn’t want to get arrested for shoplifting, so I put it under my arm, trying to hide it. Going towards the front of the store, my worst fear is realized. Trevor walks around the corner.

“Hey, sis,” he says, trying to give me a hug, but the test is still under my arm and I don’t want it to fall out, so I half pat his back. “Liz,” he says, smiling, and I watch her face turn pink.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, looking around, trying to come up with a plan to abort the mission.

“I came with Cash. He’s picking up a cable for his TV.” He looks between me and Liz. “What are you doing here?” he asks and I look at Liz, hoping that she would think of something since my mind has gone blank.

“Tampons,” Liz blurts, and I notice a few people stop and look at us as she covers her mouth. Trevor seems taken aback for a second then he laughs, shaking his head.

“Well, I’ll let you guys get back to that.” He bends over, kissing my cheek, then reached over and tugs a piece of Liz’s hair. Without another look, he turns around and walks away.

“Tampons,” I hear Liz whisper to herself. I start giggling. “You owe me huge for this,” she says, groaning. After Trevor is out of sight, I run to check out with Liz following behind me.

“You guard the door while I take the test,” I tell Liz walking into the small stall.

“Let me know if you need me,” she says from the other side.

“Holy shit,” I whispered. There it is. The proof I wanted is right there in black and white. Okay, white and pink, but it is there in my face, proving that I'm an idiot. I’ve taken four tests, all different brands, so I know they couldn’t all be wrong. When I bought the first one and it came out with a giant plus sign, I left the stall that I had been holding up in. With Liz following behind me, we went and bought water from the coffee shop and a few more tests. Now all the tests have been taken and they all say the same thing. I had my proof. I shove the boxes and all except one of the tests into the little garbage can that hangs on the wall in the bathroom stall.

“You’re pregnant!” Liz squealed with excitement. I want to be happy, but I’m afraid about Asher’s reaction. “I hope it’s a girl. They always have so many cute girl things. So, what now?” she asks, looking at me expectantly.

“I…um, need to make a doctor’s appointment. I need to have them confirm it.”

“I'm pretty sure that the four tests you’ve taken confirm it.”

“I know. I mean, I need them to tell me that everything is okay, and that I haven’t harmed the baby over the last few months.”

Liz must have read the look on my face because she pulled me into a hug. “Hey, everything is going to work out,” she said quietly.

We decided to wander around Target. I needed time to think. I needed to figure out what the heck I was going to say to Asher. There was no way I could keep this from him. I didn’t want to keep this from him. I wanted his support. I needed him to tell me everything was going to be okay.

By the time we got to check out, the cart was overflowing. I knew how I was going to tell Asher that I was pregnant. Even if we didn’t plan this, I wanted it to be special. I also bought a few pairs of pregnancy pants with the stretchy material at the waist. My jeans were becoming so tight that I had to lie down to button them. I had been avoiding buying a bigger size. I didn’t want to admit to gaining weight. Now I knew I had to wear something bigger. It couldn’t be healthy for the baby to be squashed inside of me like that. Liz and I walked around the baby aisles looking at clothes, bedding, and toys. There were so many cute things and Liz’s excitement started to rub off on me.

***************************

I was sitting at the island in the kitchen when I heard Asher’s jeep pull up. I had been trying to read, but my mind was so busy going over all the outcomes of the news I was getting ready to announce, that I ended up reading the same page about five times already. The minute that Asher walked through the door, I wanted to throw up. That had never happened before. Normally when he walked through the door, I wanted throw myself at him. My stomach was in knots, and I was having difficult time breathing.

“Hey, baby,” he said as he walked to me, kissing my forehead. “What’s wrong?” he asked, and I started to tell him, but then I smelled nothing but the paint that was splattered on his clothes. I ran to the bathroom. Apparently, the baby didn’t like that smell. My hair was lifted out of my face and off my neck and then a cold cloth was laid there. “Feel better?”

I nodded, even though I didn’t feel better. My nerves were shot. “Come shower with me.” He didn’t give me a choice. He picked me up, my head laying on his shoulder and my arms going around his neck. He sat me on the vanity in our bathroom then started the shower. I hopped off the counter and started brushing my teeth, watching him in the mirror as he got undressed. I knew I needed to do this now before I completely chickened out, or ended up in an Asher fog where I would forget everything.

“I’ll be right back,” I told him and took off out of the bathroom before he could stop me. I went to the kitchen and picked up the box that I had wrapped. I shoved the test that was in my purse in the back pocket of my jeans. Once I was back in the bathroom, he only had on his boxers and was standing in front of the mirror, so I hopped back up on the vanity and handed him the box.

“What’s this?” he asked, looking at the box that was wrapped in yellow paper.

“Just open it,” I said with my stomach in my throat.

He unwrapped it then set it down on the counter to open the lid. I watched his eyebrows come together in confusion. Unless he remembered the conversation we had about kids, he wouldn’t know why there was a box of Trojan condoms and a little kid’s pink gun in the box. He stared into the box for what seemed like an eternity then his head came up and his eyes looked wet.

“Does this mean what I think it means?”

I nodded my head. He swallowed and shook his head. I leaned forward, taking the test out of my back pocket and handing it to him. His hand came up, his fingers wrapping around it. His head bent and there was no way for him to misinterpret the words
pregnant
that were on the screen of the test. “Fuck me,” he whispered and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His eyes were still locked on the test in his hand.

“I'm sorry,” I whispered after he still didn’t say anything. “I'm on birth control. I don’t even know how this happened.” I watched him drop the test into the box and close the lid. I was becoming more nervous. He didn’t look at me. He hadn’t said anything. He picked up the box and left the bathroom. I knew it was too soon. I knew it. I knew it. Oh God, what was I going to do? I put my head in my hands and tried to control the tears that I knew were coming. We needed to talk about this. Then, I needed to figure out what to do with myself.

Abortion was out of the question, and I couldn’t live my life knowing that my child was out in the world being taken care of by someone else. It had to be okay. We had to be okay. The thought of being without him made me sick. I needed to pull up my big girl panties and talk to him about this. I pulled my head away from my hands and started to get off the counter to go track him down. I was starting to get pissed. He married someone he didn’t love because she said she was pregnant with his child. He told her that it would be okay. He was supposed to love me. He needed to tell me right now that it would be okay, or I was going to walk away, regardless of how broken my heart would be.

I jumped back when Asher walked back into the bathroom. His hands went to my shirt and then it was gone. I was so surprised that I couldn’t form words. Then, my jeans were coming down and I was standing in my bra and panties.

“We need to talk,” I whispered, not knowing what the hell was going on with him. His face was blank, his eyes determined. Then, my panties were gone along with my bra. I was sitting back on the vanity before I even had time to think. “What the heck are you doing?” I pushed at his chest. He grabbed my hand, holding it between us.

“Seriously, you need to stop. We need to talk about this.” My voice was getting louder. I tried to shove him again. He didn’t move. My heart was racing, my breathing escalated. I noticed that he wasn’t even looking at me. His eyes were on my hand that he was holding. I looked down and my breath caught in my throat. On my left ring finger was a beautiful diamond ring. The center stone was round and surrounded by tons of smaller diamonds that traveled down and around the band. My hand flexed in his and he finally looked at me.

His voice was gruff when he spoke. “I’ve wanted to see you wearing nothing but my ring since I bought it for you. Knowing that, like the ring I put on your finger, I'm the only one. The only one who will ever see you in nothing but my ring. The only one who will wake up to your beautiful face every day for the rest of my life. The only one who will make love to you. The only one who will make babies with you.” I watched his eyes get wet. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you are carrying my child.”

His face came closer to mine. “I know that it’s fast, but this is right. We are right. You are the only one for me.” He kissed me deeply. When he pulled away, he laid his forehead against mine. “Tell me that you’ll marry me,” he whispered against my mouth.

Tears started to fall from my eyes. I couldn’t ask for a more perfect proposal. “Yes.” I shoved my face into his throat, wrapping myself around him. “Yes, I’ll marry you.” He picked me up, carrying me into the shower. He put me under the spray, taking his time to wash my hair. Then, he took his time washing me from head to toe, paying special attention to where his child was now growing. I helped him wash, and then we got out. He wrapped me in a towel and tied one around his waist. He picked me up again, carrying me to the bed where he sat me on the edge, my feet hanging over the side. He dropped to his knees in front of me. He opened my towel, his fingers traveling down the sides of my breast along my ribs down to my waist. His fingers resting on my sides, his thumbs moving over my lower stomach. His eyes met mine and the look of pure love that I saw shining made me hold my breath.

“It amazing,” he whispered, “to know that my purpose in life is sitting in front of me.” His hands moved to hold my face.
Holy crap
,
I can’t believe that he just said that
. Before I could even tell him I loved him, his lips touched mine, traveled along my jaw and down my neck.

My hands go to his head and mine falls back. His hands are along my sides, to my thighs first up, then down. Heat was pooling between my thighs with every touch. I whimpered when his mouth found my nipple and he gave it a firm tug. Then he sucked deep. My back arched and I moaned loudly. His hands traveled up my inner thighs, his fingers finding my center. “Soaked.” His fingers moving through the wetness he was creating, passing over my clit. I felt the heat building, but it wasn’t enough.

“Asher.” I whimpered. His mouth left my breast and he pulled my face to his. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, dragging it through his teeth. My mouth opened under his. His fingers were still slowly sliding through my wetness. Two fingers were filling me. My head flew back and my nails dug into his scalp.

“Yes.” His fingers were suddenly gone. My head came up and I watched as he pulled my other nipple into his mouth, bit down, and then dragged it through his teeth the same way he did my lip. He kissed the tip of my nipple. Then, his fingers were again moving through the wetness. I knew I was drenched.  He licked down my stomach around my navel. Finally, I could feel his breath against my clit. I spread my legs wider, not caring that I was becoming desperate.